Guyanatime 14 march 2018

100th birth anniversary

Tributes P5 flow as IAC remembers Dr Cheddi Jagan Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Issue No. 3502

14 homeless after separate Berbice, EDB fires

See stories on pages 9 and 13

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WHAT'S INSIDE: Sugar downsizing

Decision P12 had “serious implications” for liquor operations – DDL Chairman

US ban on fish imports

PSC urges stakeholders to work towards lifting ban P3

Two fires – one on the East Bank of Demerara and the other at Corentyne, Berbice – have left at least 14 persons homeless. Inset: Pregnant Shennisa Willie and two of her five children sit helplessly after their home was completely destroyed on Tuesday

Page 9

NICIL to pay woman $30M after forcibly acquiring land

GWI flagged Top Cop denies for breaching Police involvement in killings Accountability Act Lindo Creek CoI

Page 7

Page 11

…maintains men were executed by "Fine Man" gang

Soldier, mother charged for assaulting P17 pregnant cop Couple P8 charged for throwing bricks at each other Signing bonus challenge

AG's chambers failed to file affidavit in P17 defence …case adjourned

Trump fires Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State

Page 15

Region 2 trench Guyanese wife, cleaners on the friend found guilty of killing breadline Page 7

…as NDIA takes away contracts

US citizen

Page 3

Trade unionist Ann Anderson dies at 51 P9

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BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Wednesday, March 14 – a night-time retraction at 03:30h and a day-time retraction from 14:30h-16:00h and Thursday, March 15 – a night-time retraction at 04:00h and a day-time retraction from 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Wednesday, March 14 – 14:45h-16:15h and Thursday, March 15 – 15:25h-16:55h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Sunny intervals with lightly cloudy skies can be expected throughout the day, with partly cloudy to clear skies expected in the evening. Overall temperatures are expected to range between 20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 6.25 metres.

High Tide: 02:44h and 15:00h reaching maximum heights of 2.28 metres and 2.38 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 08:35h and 20:59h reaching minimum heights of 0.93 metres and 0.78 metre respectively.

Guyanese wife, friend found guilty of killing US citizen

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fter a trial which lasted more than one month at the Berbice Assizes, a woman and her friend were found guilty of murdering her husband, Abdool Shakeel Majid in 2012.

Majid’s wife, Hemwattie Abdulla, also known as “Annie” and her friend, Seerojini Permaul known as “Usha”, 49, were accused of unlawfully killing Majid, a US citizen, whose battered body was discovered on the Number 63 Beach, Corentyne on April 26, 2012.

Special Prosecutor Ganesh Hira represented the State while Attorneys-at-Law Mursalin Bacchus and Arud

Dead: Abdool Shakeel Majid

Gossai represented Abdulla and Attorney-at-Law Nigel

PSC urges stakeholders to work towards lifting ban …decision a “big blow” to local industry – Public Health Director

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recent ban imposed on the export of all Siluriformes fish and fish products (catfish species) from Guyana could have a significant impact on local fishers, but the Private Sector Commission (PSC) believes this matter could be addressed if companies work along with Government to ensure that the ban is lifted.

private fishing company owner told Guyana Times that the issue that must be looked into was what caused the ban to be imposed. According to the businessperson who asked not to be named, the Agriculture Ministry, which has responsibility for the fisheries sector, should have ensured quality assurance. Chief Fisheries Officer Denzil Roberts told sec-

PSC Chairman Eddie Boyer

Veterinary Public Health Unit Director, Dr Ozaye Dodson

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During the trial, the court heard that bloodstains and sand were found in the trunk of the car that the couple had rented. Detectives had also retrieved Abdulla’s driving permit from the car.

The court found that Abdulla murdered her husband for the money which he had received after an accident in the US and got Permaul to assist her in executing the plot.

The women were both found guilty as the trial concluded at the Berbice Assizes on Tuesday. Justice Sandil Kissoon will pass sentence on March 29, 2018 at the Berbice High Court.

US ban on fish imports

SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2018

J

Hughes represented Permaul.

Majid and his wife had arrived in Guyana in April 2012 for a two-week vacation. However, five days later, Majid’s battered body with the scalp missing was found on the Number 63 Beach.

When the man’s body was found, Abdulla had already returned to the United States.

When relatives enquired why he did not return, she told them that her husband was enjoying himself in Suriname and that he had urged her to return home as her daughter was ill. However, she was arrested after she returned to Guyana when her husband’s body was found.

Chief Fisheries Officer Denzil Roberts

PSC President Eddie Boyer claimed that there was some discussion on the issue when it was brought to his attention that some containers of fish were rejected by the United States authority. He said the failure of these exporters to meet the requirements may have triggered the imposition of this ban. “I would imagine that the exporters would try to resolve this as early as possible, bearing the fact that these bans happen from time to time.

And we have to work quickly to resolve it – Government, private companies that are exporting because it is not something that has not happened before,” he stated. However, a

tions of the media that the ban was imposed after it was found that the local Siluriformes fish

and fish products’ inspection system was not equivalent to the US inspection system. turn to page 12

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

Deportees

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ccording to a recent US Immigration report, a total of 137 Guyanese were, for various reasons, deported from the USA in 2017. This, of course, is a significant increase when compared to the previous year (2016), which had seen 93 Guyanese nationals being sent back home.

With regard to the rest of the Caribbean Region, Haiti saw 5578 of its nationals being deported in 2017. Similarly, that figure represents a massive increase when compared to 2016, when just 310 Haitians were sent back home. Also, in 2017, 782 Jamaicans were deported; Trinidad and Tobago saw 128 persons being sent back home, and The Bahamas saw 95 persons being deported. Other Caricom nations also saw a small number of their citizens being deported in 2017.

The report was very vague in relation to the reasons for the deportations, and also did not provide much detail regarding the background of the deportees. This, of course, has been a major problem for regional Governments, which have always complained that such persons are forcibly being sent back to their countries of birth after years of living in their adopted countries, without adequate information in relation to the deportees’ medical and criminal backgrounds being provided.

Caricom Heads have complained bitterly that the practice was having a severe negative impact on the Region, especially as it relates to crime and security issues. They have also noted that very little help is provided by the US and other developed countries in terms of reintegrating the deportees in their country of birth.

It is no secret that while some deportees try as much as possible to turn their lives around in their new environment, many of them gravitate towards crime, which in most cases places a huge burden on the State. For this reason, regional Governments have been lobbying the US authorities to be more understanding as to the tremendous negative impact the practice is having on countries. However, the US officials have resisted the argument that the deportations are to be blamed for the increase in violent crimes in the Region.

It should be noted that the US has deported hundreds of convicted criminals to the Caribbean annually since 1996, when Congress mandated that every non-citizen sentenced to a year or more in prison be deported upon release.

Security officials in Guyana have routinely placed the blame for some high-level crimes on criminal deportees, particularly those crimes that occurred during the 2002-2004 crime wave that gripped the nation, when the Government at the time was forced to enact the 2002 Amendment to the Crime Prevention Act, which stated that any deportee who poses a threat to public safety can be placed under Police surveillance.

Additionally, deportation has caused devastating psychosocial effects, not only for deported persons, but for other family members, and in particular their children, the vast majority of whom have been left behind in the US, Canada, or in a few cases other countries, and who have little or no contact with the deported parent.

There is no need to elaborate on the challenges that confront countries such as ours when persons who have migrated many years ago are sent back after serving their time in jails overseas. What Caricom Governments need to focus on now is establishing an effective deportee resettlement programme for such persons, to cater for their smooth reintegration into the society; so that once again they can become productive and useful citizens. Many would want to believe that most of the persons who are deported are willing to reform their lives, but the absence of an effective and functioning support mechanism makes this process very difficult.

Guyana and its Caricom partners must continue to lobby their US counterparts in relation to information and intelligence sharing regarding criminal deportees, in particular access to complete dossiers on medical and criminal histories. Caribbean leaders must also lobby for more financial and technical assistance to establish reintegration programmes within Caricom Member States, to ensure that each person who is sent back to their country of birth becomes a productive citizen once more.

A cluster of sea lions weaves through the marine greenery, of the Great Australian Bight off the mainland’s southern coast, likely searching for a lunch of southern bluefin tuna. Years of heavy fishing have decreased the amount of prey available to the sea lions in recent years, though a growing coalition of conservation groups, industry representatives, and Governments is working to restore ocean habitats through creation of marine protected areas, science-based catch management, new technologies, and other practices

(National Geographic)

Unfortunate, surprising comments from SPU

Dear Editor, The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has noted the contents of an article titled ‘Ex Rose Hall workers refuse to take up jobs at the estate – SPU accuses union of undermining interests’ which appeared in sections of the media on March 10, 2018.

We found the comments that are attributed to a senior SPU official as unfortunate and surprising.

Our Union during an engagement with the SPU on March 9, 2018, raised the concerns of the Rose Hall workers. During that meet-

ing, the GAWU told the SPU team that it was unaware of its plans to re-engage workers. We reminded the SPU representatives that the Unit had previously committed that it would keep our Union abreast of its plans. In response, the SPU team informed that, at that time, no contract/s were formalised to engage workers and the Unit undertook that it would advise the GAWU when such arrangements were finalised.

It should not be forgotten that the Rose Hall workers, like other workers, have a right to accept or not ac-

cept what is being offered to them. In fact we did share with the SPU that there is a point where workers would choose to stay home and starve than to work and starve. It was against this background that our Union’s President expressed the workers concerns as the report. We must say too that we have urged the SPU to take account of such factors as expressed by the workers and take this opportunity to publicly urge that it does so.

While the GAWU recognises that the Union and the SPU may not always see eyeto-eye, we sincerely believe,

we both must be frank with each other in the interest of promoting good and positive relations. We were, therefore, disturbed that the SPU did not express its concern, as was outlined by the news article. We nevertheless look forward to strengthening and improving the fruitful relations we have with the SPU as we work in the interest of the sugar industry and the thousands dependent on its operations.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU

Don’t be caught in this trap

Dear Editor, In recent times, Guyana has experienced a proliferation of private educational institutions being set up to offer education at all levels. While the Education Ministry delivers and regulates public education at the nursery, primary, and secondary levels, the National Accreditation Council was set up by Parliament through ACT #12 of 2004 to ensure that all post-secondary and tertiary educational institutions in Guyana receive approval to operate and offer their services.

Each parent, guardian, and student needs to ensure the following: 1. Before enrolling at any educational institution above the secondary level, students should ensure that the institution is registered with the National Accreditation Council. The registration process is NOT

one where the institution pays a sum and gets its name on a register. It is a quality assured process that requires the institution to meet 23 standards that deal with the legal status of the institution, governance and administration, the quality of staff, the physical resources, the teaching-learning process, the system in place to ensure that quality is maintained, and that there is continuous development of the institution.

2.

The National Accreditation Council advertises on its website www. nac.gov.gy a list of all the institutions that are registered and have full approval to operate as post-secondary and tertiary educational institutions. If the name of the institution in which you are interested is not on the list, it has not received approval to operate.

3. If a student attends a

post-secondary or tertiary institution that is not registered with the National Accreditation Council, the certificates, diplomas, or degrees awarded will NOT be recognised by the National Accreditation Council. This means that if the student wants to use this certificate, diploma, or degree to obtain a job or for further study, he/ she would not receive recognition for the programme that he/she completed.

4. When Guyanese students migrate to other countries and try to use the certificates obtained in Guyana for further education, the administrators of the institutions that they seek to attend, normally make contact with the National Accreditation Council to verify the authenticity of their qualifications. Specific questions are asked about the institutions and the value of their quali-

fications. If the administrators are not convinced that the institutions and their programmes were quality assured, they do not accept the qualifications.

The National Accreditation Council implores the Guyanese public to be aware of persons who are setting up schools/institutions without the approval of the Council and are charging exorbitant fees.

Many persons have been caught in this trap! Exercise some caution! Seek the advice of the Council. Check the website. Call us at any of the following numbers: 223-7935/2237901/2259526/225-7662. Ensure that you get value for your dollar!

Sincerely, Deborah Jack Executive Director National Accreditation Council

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News

100th birth anniversary

Tributes flow as IAC remembers Dr Cheddi Jagan

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n Indian Action Committee (IAC)sponsored symposium at the National Library on Tuesday, to reflect on the life of late President, Dr Cheddi Jagan, saw tributes and discussions on the principles of the legendary leader in light of present-day Guyana.

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall cited concrete examples where Jagan exercised his vision for a better Guyana – a vision driven by principles the coalition Government was still trying to take up.

He pointed to Jagan's hydropower initiatives during the early years of his time as premier, the building of one of the first native universities in the British colonies and the formation of cooperative farming societies through legislation, a move he said coincided with Guyana being labelled as the breadbasket of the Caribbean.

Nandlall made it clear that Jagan would never have accepted the oil contract the current Government has "foisted" on the people of Guyana. He stressed that Jagan had established a balance between being anti-poverty and pro-business.

“Dr Jagan, whether you wanted to call him a communist, was a communist who was pro people, (anti) poverty, he was pro-business but against exploitation of workers. So, yes, you can have

present. Reflecting a more personal side of Jagan, he recalled his resolute good humour while incarcerated by the British. He recalled that as a child when peering at his father from the building adjacent to the jail, Dr Jagan would always be seen with a smile on his face.

Evolution

Late President, Dr Cheddi Jagan

foreign investors,” Nandlall said. “What was his position? You can have foreign investments, but they must not be to the detriment of the local people. Jagan would have never ever tolerated an oil contract like the one foisted upon this nation right now.”

Social commentator Ramon Gaskin took pains to stress that had Jagan been alive or his vision continued, the mass firing of sugar workers without severance pay would never have occurred.

People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP), Collin Croal pointed to Jagan's emphasis on youth development. He cited the creation of the University of Guyana and his mentoring of the youths as an example.

The former President’s son, Dr Joey Jagan, was also

Another MP, Vickram Bharrat, fielded questions as to whether the Party had moved away from Jagan’s founding principles. He refuted suggestions that the Party no longer reflected Jagan’s ideologies, while noting that as time progressed, the PPP has evolved. “…as a young person within the PPP, I want to say the Party is grounded along Cheddi Jagan lines.

Sometimes, we tend not to differentiate between Government and Party.

Sometimes, we tie the Party and Government actions into each other.”

“And we say that the government between 97 and 2015 did not act in this way and that way. But it is a different era. And we often say, maybe if Jagan was alive he would have taken these decisions that our leaders are taking today. One famous comment he made is we must learn to walk within raindrops. It means that as time moves, as people change, it may require different ideological thinking, policies and you must adopt

it. As time changes, we have to change with it too.”

Cheddi Berret Jagan was born on March 22, 1918, at Plantation Port Mourant,

Skeldon, Corriverton, Berbice.

We sent out correspondence to the Public Infrastructure Minister, the Guyana Power and Light, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) officials and other related parties regarding our ability to contribute to national development and stable electricity supply, through the provision of excess generated energy from this state-of-theart wind turbine. It was set up four months ago, after being imported to Guyana from India over a year ago.

However, as the situa-

tion stands right now, apart from feeling deflated in our quest to be supportive of national development efforts, we are contemplating dismantling the turbine, which is already set up and operational at tremendous costs to us, and shipping it back out of the country; because as it stands now…it could become a “white elephant”, as the primary purpose of supplying our new multimillion-dollar hotel (Classic International) with electricity and other concerns have not been allowed.

So, we are still part of the

Police recover dead man’s car

Dead: Romel Edison Gomes

P

olice have recovered the car which was stolen from murder victim, Romel Edison Gomes’ home on Monday evening.

Reports are Gomes, called “Eddie”, 32, of Lot 53 Wismar Housing Scheme, Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) was found at his business place with a gunshot wound to his head and his throat slit.

Guyana Times was told that the incident occurred at about 17:30h on Monday.

E Division (LindenKwakwani) Commander Anthony Vanderyden confirmed that the Toyota car with registration number PVV 2057 was recovered at about 09:00h

national grid, but would also like to supply the grid with affordable surplus energy from our wind turbine operation. We are calling on the Government to pay heed to our efforts in supporting its green thrust and utilise all available alternative energy sources.

Yours truly, Management of Classic International Hotel Skeldon, Corriverton, Berbice

It’s better to call a spade a spade Dear Editor, The media on Match 13 carried two letters side by side; one was forthright in its description of the public servants whose incompetence, aptly described as “asleep at the wheel” resulted in Guyana losing ‘a significant part of the export basket of fishing products to the US; the other was a long dilation on management theories using sophisticated language (typical of Churchill calling a spade an

agricultural instrument) to describe the various stages of managerial action/inaction in the public service which lead to success or failure in spite of the massive inputs of training provided to the public servants by high-powered local and international training providers. It is patently obvious from the latter that the public service is bogged down by its own indulgence in ‘splitting hairs’ over the meanings and application of var-

ious aspects of public policy with an over-kill on ‘strategizing’ (whatever that omnibus term may mean!) rather than focusing on effective, timely implementation and service delivery.

What I think was even more surprising/disappointing was the notation that public policy analysis is designed “to teach government officials and public servants to read critically; think analytically and write concisely in all sectors”. I was al-

(now Guyana). He headed the country’s Government again from 1957 to 1964 and from 1992 to 1997.

Linden robbery-murder

Non-support of our green state proposal

Dear Editor, We are very supportive of the APNU/AFC coalition Government’s thrust to create a “Green State” in Guyana. In fact, we support the “Green Development State Strategy” in principle. Also commendable is the national objective of creating and utilising alternative sources of energy.

As such, we are very perturbed and dismayed that we have not yet received a response to our offer to the Government for the supply to the national grid from our 250kv wind turbine, set up at

British Guiana. He was a politician and a union activist, who in 1953 became the first popularly-elected Prime Minister of British Guiana

ways under the impression that these basic competencies were necessary pre-requisites for entry into the service. If scarce resources must be devoted to providing public servants with these basic skills and competencies, then one has to question the initial selection criteria and decision-making on selection for entry into the service.

Sincerely, Nowrang Persaud

on Tuesday in an alleyway at One Mile, Wismar, Linden, about seven minutes away from the scene of the crime.

Gomes was allegedly killed by two males, one who was armed with a handgun. Investigations revealed that the victim and the suspects were seen arguing inside of the shop and shortly afterwards, a loud explosion was heard. Soon after, the suspects were seen fleeing the scene in the victim’s motor car which was parked in front of his shop. The victim, who lived with his three-year-old son, was discovered in a pool

The victim’s bedroom was ransacked. No arrests have been made. A post-mortem examination is expected be conducted on the victim today.

Meanwhile, a neighbour recalled seeing two males, both sporting braided hair, standing outside Gomes's shop some time before the incident. The men were reportedly wearing bandanas over their faces and caps pulled down to shield their identities. According to a neighbour, the deceased and his son were at home at the time of the incident, as they recalled seeing Gomes exit the shop and

The recovered car

of blood with his hands bound in front of his boddy and a kerchief (bandana) tied around his mouth. He was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) but was pronounced dead on arrival. A suspected gunshot wound was seen on the right temple, a small laceration on top of the head and another lacerated wound to the neck.

The scene was processed and a spent shell of a small calibre weapon was found along with a kitchen knife with bloodstains.

asked a neighbour who was about to enter the shop to take his son away.

"A brown skin one was standing at the gate… but he had a hat on he head pulled down in he face and plait hair,” a neighbour recalled. The neighbour reportedly left the scene with the child. Gomes, a former national footballer reportedly moved to Linden from Georgetown about two years ago to live with his wife, who now resides overseas.

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By Seth J Gillihan, PhD

I

n his book How People Change, psychiatrist Allen Wheelis describes childhood events that continued to affect him well into the sixth decade of his life, and probably beyond. One chapter is devoted to an episode when Wheelis was eight years old and his father made him spend his summer vacation cutting their large lawn with a straight razor rather than playing with his friends. He writes of his father: He made his mark on me that summer, and after his death that fall continued to speak on a high-fidelity system within my conscience, speaks to me still, tells me that I have been summoned, that I am standing once again before him on that glass porch giving an account of myself, that I will be found wanting, still after all these years a "low-down, no-account scoundrel"....

Wheelis is not alone in continuing to react in ways that appear to have developed in childhood.

Countless studies have shown that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) increase the risk for many difficulties later in life.

One of the best-studied adult outcomes in the context of ACEs is depression. In his recent review, psychologist Richard Liu concluded ACEs make adult depression twice as likely, and more likely to re-

guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

cur. ACEs are also associated with a longer time to recover from depression.

Liu noted that childhood adversity raises the risk for depression whether in the form of sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, or neglect.

Issues from childhood can affect not o n l y our emotional health but our physical health, as well. A longitudinal study in the UK showed that the family environment at age four predicted

whether a person would have persistent back pain in his or her late sixties.

Similarly, lower socioeconomic status (SES) at age four was associated with a substantially greater

risk of back problems six decades later.

And it's not just humans who show these effects of early experiences on later wellness. Research from Michael Meaney's lab has shown that the way rat pups are handled during their infancy affects how their bodies and brains respond to stress throughout their lives – even affecting age-related brain health and memory decline.

These findings have obvious implications for humans.

As a cognitive behavioural therapist I tend to focus on a person's present situation and challenges. At the same time, I'm struck over and over by how helpful it can be to understand where longstanding patterns come from. Simply recognising links from childhood to adulthood can be an important part of one's growth. The insight alone is usually not sufficient, but it can provide crucial clues that promote the healing process.

Many people I work with wonder why they're still struggling with things from so many years ago. They often battle self-criticism, telling themselves they "should be over this by now", and feeling like it's self-indulgent to discuss aspects of their childhood and upbringing.

In reality, time alone is no guarantee that the effects of our early experiences will fade. (Excerpt from psycholo-

By Natalie Kerr, PhD

T

he way we praise our children has profound and lasting consequences, yet many parents are doing it wrong. (Even the ones who’ve heard of the research I’m about to describe.)

“Straight As again?

You’re so smart!”

“Look at that drawing.

You’re such a good artist!”

Many parents assume

line. A growth mindset is the belief that your qualities can be cultivated; you can expand your abilities through effort, good strategies, and guidance from others.

The two mindsets affect how people view success and failure. People with a fixed mindset believe that success is due to one’s ability, and failure is due to one’s lack of ability. As a result, people with a fixed mindset are deflated by failure. They shy

gytoday.com)

that it’s good to praise children’s abilities because it boosts their confidence and self-esteem, which in turn paves the way to success.

However, a growing body of research suggests that praising children for their ability destroys their love of learning, their ability to persist in the face of failure, and their chances for success.

Fixed vs growth mindset To understand how praise can have such negative consequences, you need to understand the work of Carol Dweck. A social psychologist from Stanford University, Dweck has spent most of her research career studying mindsets. She discovered that there are two fundamental mindsets that affect the way you view the world. A fixed mindset is the belief that your qualities, like intelligence and athletic ability, are carved in stone and can’t be changed. You’re either smart, or you’re not.

You’re either good at sports, or you belong on the side-

away from challenges because they don’t want to risk making mistakes and looking bad.

People with a growth mindset attribute failure to a lack of effort or skill – things that can be improved through perseverance. When they fail, they don’t view themselves as failures. They believe that mistakes are just problems to be solved.

As you might expect, mindset has a profound influence on success in school, work, relationships, and many other areas of life.

How praise affects mindset Praising children’s ability reinforces a fixed mindset. When we praise children's ability after they experience success (by telling them they're smart after getting an A on a test, for example), it send the message that success is due to ability. It also sends the unintentional message that failure is due to lack of ability. (psychologytoday.com)

news

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wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GWI flagged for breaching Accountability Act …revised programme despite works already starting

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he Public Accounts Committee (PAC) clashed with the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) on Monday over the fact that a programme that was approved by the National Assembly was revised despite works already commencing.

While GWI and the Communities Ministry had held out that nothing wrong was done when it revised the terms of the Hinterland Water Supply programme, Auditor General Deodat Sharma informed them of their liability in the matter. According to Sharma, GWI in actuality breached the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA).

“Mr chair, that’s a breach of the Fiscal Act. The FMA Act says unspent balances must be refunded to the Consolidated Fund. But you only got the approval on 29 of December. So you are covering yourself afterwards. So that’s a breach,” Sharma explained.

GWI’s Executive Director for Project Implementation, Ramchand Jailal, faced the brunt of questioning from the PAC. He related that during 2016 the original programme was revised, but when asked for the specific date he could not provide it.

“No, no. We suspended the looking at these paragraphs the last time so that you would come with the rele-

PAC Chairman Irfaan Ali

vant information to the PAC. And we are not going to suspend another (time), you’ll have to find the relevant information today.”

“We have a serious situation here,” Ali continued. “We have a programme that was approved by the Parliament and very early, you actually changed that programme that Parliament had debated.”

Jailall subsequently confirmed that the revision was made on December 29. But Ali questioned the fact that the full amount was expended on December 31, after being approved only days before.

Ali noted that this meant the work had already started under the terms of the original project details. When Jailall confirmed this, the PAC Chairman questioned

the procedure GWI followed to revise the project.

“These are monies allocated in the National Budget for a specific project. You only revise your programme from December 29. When did you get the approval for a revised programme? He asked Jailall, who replied “December 29.”

“So how were you spending the resources before you got the approval?” Ali asked him. Jailall denied that monies were spent prior to approval being granted. He claimed that monies were only disbursed for the works afterwards.

Communities Ministry Permanent Secretary Emil McGarrell, who was present at the considerations, came to Jailall’s defence. He noted that there was precedence for GWI’s actions and that Ministries are known for holding cheques into a new year when they have not been collected.

A sum of $195.400 million was allocated for the completion and upgrading of water systems at Mahdia, Mabaruma and Paramakatoi for the year under review.

The Auditor General had found that on December 29, 2016, an approval for an adjustment of programme was granted for the amount of $195.400 million. According to the Appropriation Account, the full amount was expended as at December 31, 2016.

Besides this, the Ministry

had budgeted $585.863 million for completion of wells, water treatment plants and distribution mains at Esau and Jacob, Port Mourant, Eccles, Timehri, Wakenaam and Numbers 66 to 69 Villages.

Works were also planned for drilling of Wells at Lima Sands and Noitgedacht; for

the installation of transmission and distribution lines from Hubu to Naamless; installation of water supply system and distribution network at Friendship, Yarrowkabra and Waia Kabra.

There were also plans for the installation of distribution mains at Soesdyke, Ann’s Grove, Mocha, Dazzell

Housing Scheme, Golden Grove, Victoria, Lusignan, Le Ressouvenir and Vryheid’s Lust Housing Scheme; and rehabilitation and upgrading of Cotton Tree and Bartica Water Treatment Plants. According to the Appropriation Account, the full amount was expended as at December 31, 2016.

Region 2 trench cleaners on the breadline …as NDIA takes away contracts

T

rench cleaners in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) complained bitterly to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) at the monthly statutory meeting held on Tuesday after losing their contracts with the Region.

The RDC facilitated a meeting with the affected trench cleaners to hear their plight after their contracts were not renewed. According to some of the cleaners, they had been maintaining the trenches in the Region for as long as 10 years without many problems and suddenly they got instructions from the Drainage and Irrigation Department of the Region to ceased work.

Some of the trench cleaners complained that when they first received the con-

Some of the contractors meeting with the RDC on Tuesday

tract some of the trenches were in very bad condition and they worked for as low as $6, $7, and $8 dollars per rod. However, one cleaner has told the RDC that now the hard work has been done, the contract has been taken away from them and given to close friends of high officials within the Drainage and Irrigation Department for

a lucrative amount of $200 per rod. Regional Chairman Devanand Ramdatt immediately called on Councillors to vote for an immediate investigation and to put a hold on all new trench cleaning contracts within the Region.

As such, with the support of both sides of the RDC, a vote was moved for the investigation to be launched.

8 news

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IN THE COURTS

Businessman charged for stealing $10M wash plant Can’t touch this…

A

Kitty, Georgetown businessman found himself before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday after he allegedly stole a $10 million wash plant (used for crushing rocks into smaller sizes).

Vickram Singh, of Lot 42 Station Street, Kitty, denied the charge read to him by

Magistrate Fabayo Azore.

He denied that between February 1 and February 15, 2018 at Republic Park, he stole the wash plant from Maria Feguira.

The Court heard that the 32-year-old was entrusted with transporting the machine but failed to do so.

Police Prosecutor Simone

Payne asked that substantial bail be granted and requested that the defendant report to the East La Penitence Police Station on a weekly basis. She also asked that Singh lodge his passport at the Court as he operates a business in the interior.

Attorney Lesley

Benjamin, however, made an application for reasonable bail, given the fact that her client was willing to adhere to the requests of the prosecution.

As such, bail was granted in the sum of $500,000.

The defendant is expected to make his next court appearance on April 16, 2018.

Couple charged for throwing bricks at each other

A

couple found themselves before Magistrate Judy Latchman after an argument between the two escalated, prompting them to pelt each other with bricks.

Lashanna Adams, 26, and Devon Wallace, 31, both

of Louisa Row, Georgetown denied that they committed the act. Adams denied that on March 3, 2018 at Meadow Brook Gardens, Georgetown, she threw missiles (bricks) at Wallace.

Wallace denied that on the same day at the same loca-

tion, he assaulted Adams.

Magistrate Latchman questioned why Wallace, who also allegedly threw the bricks, was being charged with assault as opposed to the same charge as Adams.

Police Prosecutor Arvin Moore revealed that the

bricks Adams threw at Wallace did not hit him.

However, the one thrown at Adams by Wallace made contact. Both parties were released on their own recognisance and were expected to return to court on March 26, 2018.

W

…King! hy is it your Eyewitness isn’t the least bit surprised Royston King wasn’t censured by the City Council on Sherod Duncan’s motion??

Is it possibly because he’s not only stuck his middle finger at all his critics of his serial transgressions but proceeded to stick his index finger into their eyes, and was allowed to get away with it for almost three years?

Here’s a fella appointed by the Communities Minister – who’s never even brought him to task – much less to heel! – for so flagrantly abusing his office.

And an AFC Councillor to boot!! While Duncan seems to be a good egg (your Eyewitness is speaking RELATIVELY, of course!!) he’s effectively carrying around the neck the albatross the AFC’s been transformed into by their leaders. Who from the PNC will take him seriously when his leaders are jostling each other to become that party’s doormat?? And this is what it’s all about, isn’t it? Party politics.

Georgetown is PNC territory…and once you carry the party’s banner, all is forgiven. And Royston King is a “born PNC” so his mandate is “do wha’ you want wid dem!”!! Signing a parking meter contract that would’ve effectively had the City in hock to the Smart Operators…oops!!...Smart City Solutions – until the sun runs out of hydrogen?? No problem! Clearing Stabroek Market of vendors and herding them into a private lot?

No problem! Leasing City Land to private developers to create house lots. No problem!! And the list goes on, and on, and on….!

Royston King is a metonym for the politics of Guyana….and that’s why the Mayor has no shame or compunction in so blatantly subverting any hope of getting Georgetown back on its feet. They know they’re not being judged by any rational criteria such as “getting the job done” or efficiency or other such quaint standards…It’s all about keeping those PPP types OUT!! Remember when Hoyte – the leader of the PNC allowed the PPP to get back into the government? Well remember too that they voted for Hamilton Green for Mayor – because he’d resisted Hoyte’s move to hand over power!!

These same two connivers, Green and King, were behind the movement of half a dozen motions of noconfidence against Carol Sooba when she was the Town Clerk. So if they were OK then, why not now?? Funny you ask, dear reader…Carol Sooba was PPP!!! That’s why not!! And just to remind you, again, Georgetown is PNC. Like MC Hammer, King is singing, “You can't touch this…oh-oh oh oh oh-oh-oh!!! …sacred cow Why is it your Eyewitness also isn’t surprised David Hinds and Lincoln Lewis lost their columns in the Chronic. It does appear these two worthies really believed in David Granger’s avuncular demeanour and forgot the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover”!! And even with books there’s the Burnham corollary on what’s inside the covers: it’s not what’s on the lines that matters – it’s what’s between the lines!!

Both gentlemen had experiences with Burnham – the founder leader of the PNC, whose legacy Granger has vowed to continue. And what’s that legacy?

Burnham had bauxite workers tear-gassed at Linden in the early seventies when they wanted the money in the Canadian pension fund RILA NOT transferred into a local fund. Then later in 1979 – when Rodney was infiltrating the GDF…he fired the top tier and placed the relatively junior Granger at its helm. Read between the lines as to why.

And the rest, as they say, is history. A very sordid history. One that will brook nothing but slavish sycophancy. …wet run If a “dry run” is a trial run of something so as to get a feel for the real Mc Koy, then Exxon conducting a test of handling a possible oil spill at Splashmins has to be a “wet run”!!

Or a damp squib!!

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

9 Fire guts Supply home News

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NICIL to pay woman $30M after forcibly acquiring land

Caribbean Court of Justice

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he Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has upheld a $30 million court award of compensation to Deorani Singh on behalf of the estate of Mohan Pirtram Singh whose land was compulsorily acquired by the State over 35 years ago. However, the substantive appeal which carried the matter to the CCJ was dismissed by the Trinidadianbased court on Tuesday. The Attorney General (AG) and the State-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investment (NICIL) were the two named respondents.

The court found that none of the Appellant’s grounds of appeal succeeded and dismissed the appeal. The regional judicial arm however indicated that “the forensic reality is that the State was content to accept the decision reached by the Court of Appeal (judgment award) and, accordingly, it did not disturb that decision.

The Georgetown property, which was at the centre of contention, was the site where Mohan Singh operated his business until his death in 1980 and the then

State entity, the Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC) Limited, leased the property for five years. In a judgement summary issued by the CCJ on Tuesday, it was observed that the State, under the Acquisition of Lands for Public Purposes Act Chapter 62:05, compulsorily acquired the land from the Singh estate.

It was in 1984 that the State first sought to enquire from the High Court as to how much compensation should have been paid the original owners. A court ruling some three years later, in March 1987 fixed compensation in the amount of $578,000 less the sum of $496,850.13 which was already paid over to estate representatives which indicated that the total compensation was some $1,074,850.

Further background into the decades-long case pointed that the said property was leased to Citizen’s Bank

by GPC. Afterward in 2003, the property was taken over

by NICIL. However, it was in 1997, some six years prior that Deorani Singh filed a High Court motion, challenging the State’s com-

pensation, arguing that her and the estate’s fundamental rights and freedoms as observed by Articles 40 and 142 of the Constitution were “contravened”. She petitioned the court to have the acquisition declared as unconstitutional, null and void and to no effect.

Singh’s motion was heard in the High Court in 2002 and a judgement was delivered in 2010 by Justice Roy which viewed that the acquisition was unconstitutional and that passing the transport from the estate to GPC was a nullity.

However, the then AG appealed the trial Judge’s decision but the Appeal Court upheld the High Court’s ruling and awarded $30 million damages for the contravention meted out to Singh.

The CCJ highlighted that both the State and GPC “considered themselves as the lawful and genuine owners” of the property and that there was “considerable work done on the property” and two transfers of ownership. The court contended that it would be an “great injustice” to permit the appellant, Singh, to see an order to pronounce that the property was never acquired or vested in the State.

The CCJ however opined that there was significant delay in the judicial process as the constitutional motion was heard five years after it was filed in 2002 and judgment delivered in 2010 due to a missing file. The appeal was filed in 2010 and oral judgement was given seven years later in 2017 before the CCJ heard the matter in February 2018. The respondents were awarded basic costs.

…7 homeless

A

The ruins of Erk Junior Lyte’s home at Supply, EBD

fire suspected to be electrical in origin has completely gutted a house at Supply Village, East Bank Demerara (EBD), leaving at least seven persons homeless.

The fire reportedly started about 15:30h at the Lot 17 Supply Public Road home in one of the bedrooms. At the time of the fire, the owner’s reputed wife, Vanessa, was sitting on the back step with her two minor children while another was asleep.

The woman was alerted to the fire by her eldest child, who had just returned home from Georgetown. He saw the huge flames coming from one of the bedrooms and without hesitation grabbed his sister who was asleep and ran out of the house.

His mother managed to pick up the two children who were with her and run to safety. They were, however, unable to save any household items. When Guyana Times visited the scene on Tuesday morning, the occupants of the house had already made alternative living arrangements.

The owner, Erk Junior Lyte, who acquired the house from his grandparents after they died, was staying with

Trade unionist Ann Anderson dies at 51

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Ann Anderson

enowned Guyanese trade unionist Ann Anderson died on Tuesday following a brief period of illness.

At the time of her death, Anderson was 51 years and was the General Secretary of the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU). She was the first female to hold that position after joining trade unionism in 2005.

Upon her appointment as General Secretary, Anderson had vowed to attract more women into the movement. She wanted

to expand the Union’s organisational drive, targeting non-traditional workers and the self-employed including taxi drivers, and grouping them so that they could be represented.

A few months shy of one year after her appointment in 2009, Anderson led an exercise that picketed the Pegasus Hotel over management’s “union busting” tactics. At the time,

the Hotel had 52 staffers who were represented by the CCWU and Anderson had stated that the owner, Robert Badal, did not want workers of the Hotel unionised.

Anderson was also the Caribbean Regional Coordinator of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) at the time of her death. Her untimely passing comes as

she was to attend the first ITF meeting on March 16, 2018 in Argentina.

a friend in the village while his reputed wife and children took up short-term residency at a relative’s home in Georgetown.

Speaking with Guyana Times, Lyte explained that he did construction and painting work to provide for his family. He said he was at work when he received the news that his house was on fire.

He immediately contacted a friend who lived nearby and asked him to check on his family and to ensure all of them were accounted for.

He rushed home only to find the fire tenders at the scene without water.

However, after sourcing water, he added, the pumps failed to function. He flays the Fire Service for its sloppy response, noting that if they had turned up at the fire equipped, then sections of his house might have been saved.

He noted that the shop that he was constructing was also reduced to ashes owing to the incompetence of the Guyana Fire Service.

The frustrated man further

stated that upon arriving at the scene, he made sure that his family was safe.

While he could not estimate his losses, he related that his house was fully furnished with the necessary amenities to make his family confortable. Once the Fire Service completed its investigations, he noted that the area would be cleared to rebuild, but he was seeking the assistance of the public to do so.

“I must thank the people who assisted so far…people rushed to our assistance and we are thankful,” Lyte added.

A fire official when contacted told this publication that after receiving the call, a tender from Diamond, EBD was deployed but after encountering challenges, a tender from Timehri Fire Service was summoned.

The official further stated that by the time the tender arrived, the wooden structure was already burnt to the ground. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

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wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Modi Mania

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atiricus was caught in a quandary. As he hurried over to the Back Street bar, a frisson of excitement swept over him and he shivered! Here it was, Moti, his favourite politician in the entire world, was coming to his country. All right…he conceded, he’s also going to Trinidad, Jamaica and Suriname…but what the heck? He was going to see his hero in the flesh!! But his dilemma was he didn’t know how his local leaders, Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat would react.

“Is it a betrayal?” he asked his friends around the table anxiously. “Do you think they would mind?”

“Budday!! Hero na like wife!” said Cappo reassuringly.

“Yuh can gat nuff a dem!!”

“Yes!” agreed Bungi. “Me like Black Panta, and me like Supaman too!”

“But you don’t understand Sato’s problem,” pointed out Hari, as he passed a beer to Satiricus.

“Wha’ da?” asked Cappo.

“His leader Nagga Man announced he’s not Indian,” said Hari. “But Tamil.”

“And…?” asked Bungi, who’d been busy finishing off his beer.

“Moti might just think he’s a Tamil separatist!!” chuckled Hari. “But that’s not it.”

“Yes, I’m afraid if I carry on about an Indian, Nagga Man might just throw a fit!” admitted Satiricus.

“Damn right!!” said Hari. “Especially since this is the Indian PM Nagga Man’s water boy cuss out real good!!”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” said Satiricus.

“We in the KFC were told this Moti fella is a dangerous man.”

“Suh how come he a yuh hero?” asked Bungi.

“Well, he just made India the fastest growing economy in the world,” said Satiricus.

“Me can see wha’ mek ‘e suh dangerous!” chuckled Cappo.

“Yuh rite!” smiled Bungi. “Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat jine up wid de Pee an’ See even doh dem bin mek Guyana de fastes’ shrinkin’ ecanamy in de worl’!!”

“Well, I like how he don’t wear suit and tie!!” said Hari.

“Da dangerous!!” said Bungi. “Me like dat ves’ t’ing too!”

NEWS

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wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Lindo Creek CoI

Top Cop denies Police involvement in killings …maintains men were executed by “Fine Man” gang

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olice Commissioner Seelall Persaud on Tuesday denied Police involvement in the June 2008 Lindo Creek killings, maintaining that the eight men were killed and their remains subsequently burnt by notorious prison escapee Rondell “Fine Man” Rawlins.

The Top Cop, who is on pre-retirement leave, appeared before the Commission of Inquiry into the Lindo Creek killings where he maintained that a team of officers, led by him, did not venture into the Lindo Creek area.

Some time between June 12, 2008 and June 24, 2008, miners Cecil Arokium, Dax Arokium, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Clifton Wong, Lancelot Lee, Bonny Harry and Nigel Torres were shot and killed, and their bodies burnt at the upper Berbice River mining camp, which was being operated by Leonard Arokium.

Persaud, who was Crime Chief at the time, told the sole Commissioner, Retired Justice Donald Trotman that in June of 2008 Police Commissioner Henry Greene provided him with a map identifying Christmas Falls in the upper Berbice River area and informed him that notorious criminal Rondell “Fineman” Rawlins was in the area hiding out with his gang.

He said that he was then instructed to head an operation to arrest the prison escapee. Persaud related that he

Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud on the stand

mobilised a team of six other officers and a number of civilians who were knowledgeable about the area and then ventured to the Christmas Falls area.

The officers were Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken; Deputy Superintendent Withrite, Inspectors Layne and Narine, Assistant Superintendent Lowenfield, and Deputy Superintendent Nurse.

He said that they were all armed and took a boat with them.

The team arrived about 17:00h on June 5, 2008 and spent the night on the right bank of the Berbice River. The CoI heard that the next morning, a team led by Hicken crossed the river, made their way above Christmas Falls – which is in the Berbice River, and were engaged by a gang of men.

“I thereafter crossed the river using the same boat and observed that there was a body

of a person I later learnt to be Otis Fefe (one of Rawlins’ gang members)…with what appeared to be a gunshot injury to his face, and I also observed that the ranks would have seized nine firearms consisting of rifles, handguns, and shotguns and a quantity of ammunition,” he related.

Persaud told the CoI that he then contacted Commissioner Greene and informed him of the engagement and they were told to retreat to allow the Joint Services to pursue the escapees. He further related that they retreated on June 6 and arrived in Georgetown later the same day. Additionally, the Police Commissioner said that he played no other part in that investigation and as such, he could not definitively say whether any Police rank was dispatched to the Lindo Creek area, but maintained that his team did not venture to that area.

“My ranks were not at Lindo Creek. They were at Christmas Falls. I am sure they were not there because we left on the 6th and arrived (in the city) on the 6th,” he said.

He added that the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) led the investigation into the Lindo Creek killings and he played no part in the initial process. The CoI heard that following the discovery of the burnt remains of the eight men, one Cecil Arokium made claims that his workers were murdered by Joint Services ranks resulting in a visit to his Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo home from then acting President Sam Hinds and a team from the OPR who took a statement.

Persaud related that he was later instructed to take over the investigation and ex-

plained that the file was forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who advised that the case be closed.

Persaud said that the advice was based on the fact that they had evidence that the eight men were killed and their remains burnt by Rawlins and his gang. He further stated that he remained convinced that the Police played no part in the men’s death; hence, the reason for closing the file.

Commissioner Trotman asked Persaud whether he was surprised at the DPP’s advice.

Persaud said that he was not surprised because the Police had evidence to prove that the men were murdered by the criminal gang – most of whom were now dead.

Persaud’s answer to the question caused Commissioner Trotman to express his surprise at the advice of the DPP. He also asked the Top Cop whether he felt the need for a

coroner’s inquest into the incident, but Persaud informed that he saw no need for it, reiterating that the men were killed by “Fine Man” and his gang.

Under examination by the Commission’s Attorney, Patrice Henry, Persaud could not produce any evidence or definitively say that a post-mortem examination was conducted on the men’s remains. He also related that the men’s remains were ordered buried after the DNA results came back identifying three of them.

Persaud said that the identified remains were of Torres, Harry and another man whose name he could not recall. The CoI was told that the relatives of the three men were informed so that burial could be arranged and only one family responded, indicating that they could not afford funeral expenses; hence, the funeral parlour was instructed to bury the remains.

12 news

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Sugar downsizing

Decision had “serious implications” for liquor operations – DDL Chairman

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he downsizing of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has had “serious implications” for the liquor operations and as such privately-owned Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) has been forced to diversify operation to mitigate the potential effects of a minimised sugar industry.

This was amongst the challenges, albeit a very good performance, that the DDL Group faced last year, Chairman Komal Samaroo said in the company’s 2017 Annual Report.

He pointed out that, domestically, the economy was revised downwards last year and a significant contributing factor was the contraction of the sugar industry, which produced 137.298 tonnes in 2017 compared to 183.615 tonnes produced the previous year.

According to the Chairman, given the implications from the downsizing, the Group has been exploring all options as it seeks to mitigate any potential adverse effects of such downsizing.

“It is, in this context, that our strategic decision sometime ago to diversify our business must be seen as the right course of action by the Group.

However, our core business is rum production and molasses is a key raw material for such production. DDL has expressed to the Government an interest in

investing in the Enmore Estate to continue molasses production there. If that proposal does not prove to be economically feasible, DDL may have to source molasses from foreign suppliers to ensure adequate and reliable supply,” Samaroo detailed.

The challenges of the company extended internationally as the Chairman explained that while global economic growth strengthened in 2017 to 3.7 per cent compared to 3.2 per cent in 2016, countries that depended on commodity exports continued to be hard hit, experiencing sharp declines in foreign earnings.

He added too that with regards to the rum category, the cumulative annual growth was estimated at only 0.5 per cent that growth being confined to the premium and super premium segments, while the standard segment was projected to experience marginal decline.

“Given these projections, the Group’s strategic decision to premiumise its Eldorado Rum brand was certainly well timed,” the Chairman posited.

Regardless, the DDL Group managed to rake in a total of $19.569 billion in revenue last year, representing an increase of $1.460 billion or eight per cent over that of 2016. The revenue from both the domestic as well international markers showed steady growth, the Chairman said.

DDL Group Chairman Komal Samaroo

Group profit before tax for 2017 was $3.551 billion compared to $2.920 billion for the previous year, an increase of $631 million or almost 22 per cent. Earnings per share were $3.38 in 2017 compared to $2.85 the previous year. Additionally, Shareholders’ Funds increased by 13 per cent in the year, while net debt to equity ratio at the end of the year improved from 22:1 in 2016 to 13:01 in 2017.

With regards to the Group’s subsidiaries, Distribution Services Ltd (DSL) achieved $396 million in profit before tax in 2017 compared to $358 million the previous year, an increase of about 10.6 per cent.

According to the Chairman, this company has been the major focus of its diversification

plans. “This subsidiary has outgrown its present distribution facilities and a new warehouse and distribution centre is presently being constructed at Plantation Diamond. This 12,000 square feet new modern facility, including cold storage and offices, is projected to cost approximately $1 billion and is scheduled for completion in the second half of this year,” Samaroo detailed in the report.

This trend continued onto the Demerara Shipping Co Ltd (DSCL), which recorded an operational profit before tax of $132 million in 2017 compared to $102 million the previous year, an increase of 29 per cent.

However, the profit-gain-

ing performance eluded the Tropical Orchards Products Company Ltd (TOPCO) which endured the loss of the Education Ministry’s School Feeding contract that was handed to a foreign company.

According to the Chairman, while the company steadily increased its sales on the domestic market, it suffered a loss of $53 million during the year compared with a loss of $16 million the previous year.

Nevertheless, in January 2018, the company was awarded the School Feeding contract for the first three months of the year and Samaroo said they are hopeful for its renewal.

On the other hand, DDL’s

overseas subsidiaries also performed well contributing $212 million in profit before tax compared to $185 million the previous year. Demerara Distillers St Kitts-Nevis Ltd recorded a profit of $23 million; Demerara Distillers USA Inc recorded a profit of $37 million; Demerara Distillers Ltd Europe recorded a profit of $95 million, and Demerara Rum Co recorded a profit of $57 million.

Going forward, Samaroo said the Group’s diversification will gain momentum in 2018 with several major projects, still at the planning stage, that would significantly expand revenue from non-alcoholic products.

PSC urges stakeholders to work ...

from page 3

Roberts was also able to confirm that the Veterinary Public Health Unit of the Public Health Ministry was not able to satisfy the requirements demanded by the US. Guyana was unable to comply with several US conditions mainly due to factors such as modification of inspection procedures and outdated regulations, including those governing fisheries products, which Guyana is in the process of revising. The Health and Agriculture Ministries have general oversight and responsibility for the sector and monitor and verify the quality of products. The businessman contended that the Government should have known long before that these systems needed to be updated and improved, because compliance was a major issue when it came to exports to the US. He maintained that the Government erred in a major way by not preparing these companies to comply with the standards set out by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Roberts told the media that the Ministry was now working on “trying to fix these deficiencies”, by modifying the Inspection Procedures

manual and the regulations among other things. The Fisheries Department and the Veterinary Public Health Unit are working together on this.

Although describing the ban as a “big blow,” Veterinary Public Health Unit Director, Dr Ozaye Dodson has said that the imposition from the US export market was just a temporary technical barrier to trade. Dr Dodson said the move by the USDA was a “protectionist measure” by that country’s public health system lobbied for by the catfish farmers who have invested heavily to develop the industry there.

Guyana’s Veterinary Public Health Unit has been mandated under the 2002 Fisheries Act and the Fish and Fishery Product Regulations of 2003 with guidance of the inspections manual to monitor, inspect and certify vessels, landing sites, fish processing establishments and fishery products for the local and export markets.

Dr Dodson said there were daily inspections and certification of the catfish products to guarantee their “wholesomeness for human consumption”.

The US Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) asked Guyana to provide the

relevant documentation to verify this country’s inspection system equivalence to the US standards or its equivalent public health system. Dr Dodson claimed that Guyana complied with the request.

However, the country fell short of the US standards in three areas: firstly, on the issue of the presence of inspectors; secondly, there was insufficient documentation detailing verification of each step in the sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process and thirdly, there was insufficient documentation specifying how the industry manages adulterated catfish products. New US standards for import of catfish species demand the presence of inspectors at plants for one hour during an eight-hour shift. Dr Dodson explained that Guyana’s inspection system utilised a “risk-based approach”, which is a European Union (EU) standard.

Guyana was among several countries banned recently from the US catfish export sector. The other countries were Bangladesh, Canada, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

news

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wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

7 homeless after Corentyne fire …pregnant teacher among victims

and her husband have been renting the upper flat over the past six months and lived there with their five children ages 11, 10, nine, five and two.

Meanwhile, the landlord, Somattie Mohamed, claimed that she was recently offered $8 million for the property but refused to sell. She is of the view that the fire is an act of arson.

Meanwhile, the couple is appealing to the public for assistance. Willie said all the items, which she purchased for her unborn child, were destroyed in the blaze.

(Andrew Carmichael)

ry building was burnt and the firefighters had not yet arrived. She said she was at her landlord’s home when she learned that the house was on fire and rushed over.

“When I reach at the back there, the whole house already burnt. When I reach then the fire reel reach; the estate one and then after the other one come but everything was burnt.

Reports are the fire was

A section of the burnt building Shennisa Willie and two of her three children

A

mid-morning fire completely destroyed a dwelling house at High Reef, Albion, Corentyne, Berbice on Monday, leaving seven persons homeless including a nine-month pregnant teacher.

At the time of the fire, no one was at home.

A neighbour, Gangadai Ganesh, 58, told Guyana Times that he saw flames coming from a bedroom window of the upper flat of the two-story building.

She explained that there were strange sounds coming from the building which caught her attention.

“When me turn an watch at the people place, me see the fire start show, so me start

holla fo neighbours but nobody come out. Nobody na even ansa,” the woman said.

Ganesh explained that several phone calls were made to the fire department, but all were unsuccessful. After efforts to contact the fire department failed, villagers went to the nearby Albion Sugar Estate to seek help of their fire unit. It was sometime afterwards that another unit from the Rose Hall Fire Service arrived.

Shennisa Willie, an assistant teacher at the Community Based Rehabilitation Centre at Port Mourant said when she arrived at the scene of the fire, the entire two-sto-

Consumers’ rights expo opens tomorrow …aims to sensitise students on consumers’ affairs

I

Eyewitness Gangadai Ganesh

first seen coming from the back bedroom. Willie told Guyana Times that only a bed was in that room. She told this publication that when she left home the stove was turned off and all electrical appliances were turned off.

According to Willie, she left home at about 09:15h and the fire was seen about 30 minutes later. Willie

n observance of Consumer Rights Day, which will be celebrated on Thursday, the Competition and Consumers Affairs Commission (CCAC) will be hosting a student’s consumers’ awareness exposition at the National Exhibition Complex, Sophia, Georgetown.

The exposition is aimed at equipping the targeted audience (students) with the mandatory knowledge needed to make good purchasing decisions in keeping with the Consumer Affairs Act 2011.

Students from schools

across Georgetown will be educated on the levels of protection that they are entitled to under the law – protection provided by the Consumer Affairs Division and protection by the CCAC. The exposition is set to offer a set of advisories and know-how tools and to inform the public on the rights that they have in any buyer-seller scenario.

It is also meant to build consumers’ confidence to accept and pay for only services and products that they are satisfied with.

In recent years, the

Tourism Ministry had launched a “Know Your Consumer Rights” campaign, as Minister Cathy Hughes urged the Consumer Affairs Division to pay attention to the difficulties consumers often experience with regard to the poor quality of goods and services available on the market. The target audience for this campaign is also consumers from low to medium socio-economic areas since they are traditionally less likely to know and exercise their rights than those from the higher socio-economic brackets.

14 news

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Children poisoning trial

Mother admitted buying 3 tablets at Berbice park – Police

...says they were for cold

A

wena Rutherford, who is on trial for allegedly poisoning her two children, reportedly admitted, under caution, that she went to the Berbice park in Georgetown and purchased “greenish” tablets to treat a cold her children had. This was the account of Police Detective Sargent Lawrence Thomas, who testified at the High Court on Tuesday that he administered the caution statement of the accused woman on April 3, 2014, at the Beterverwagting Police Station, East Coast Demerara, one week after her children; Jabari and Odasia Codogan died from poisoning.

Sargent Thomas indicated that he was the principal investigator and followed up the March 27, 2014 report of the murder.

Reading from the caution statement that was admitted into evidence by presiding Judge Navindra Singh, Rutherford said she was having difficulty looking after her children as she was not working.

On the day of the deaths of her offspring, she travelled to the capital city to

Accused: Awena Rutherford

check on a job application to join the Guyana Police Force. This was after she dropped them off at an aunt in Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

The statement added that she bought three tablets at the Berbice park before uplifting the children at Ann’s Grove and returning to her sister’s Supply, Branch Road Mahaicony, ECD home where she was staying. She reportedly told the Police witness that the tablets which she bought on the park were for a cold.

Thomas further noted that Rutherford claimed

that her sister did not answer when she said “goodnight” and that she started to argue because she did not say where she was going. Later on, after she took a bath, she reportedly gave the children the tablets.

“I broke one tablet in half and gave the children and I drank the other two tablets,” the caution statement quoted the defendant as saying.

After the children started vomiting, they were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) where Sealey reportedly asked her sister what she had given the children and Rutherford admitted giving the children the tablets, the statement claims. She was hospitalised for one week.

The jury also heard that Policeman Thomas took Rutherford to the Berbice park on April 4, 2014, to look for the man who sold her the tablets. However, under cross-examination by the defendant’s lawyer, Adrian Thompson, the Police witness admitted that the accused never told him that she bought “rat” poison.

The accused woman

is indicted on two counts of manslaughter but she has denied that she killed her children. One-year-old Jabari Codogan and fouryear-old Odasia Codogan died from pesticide poisoning. Prosecutors Tiffini Lyken, Shawnette Austin

and Abaigail Gibbs are appearing for the State.

On Monday, the defendant’s sister, Monica Sealey, testified that her niece and nephew vomited after Rutherford gave them tablets to drink, claiming that they had a cold.

However, Sealey maintained that the children did not have any cold. Sealey had also recalled that the four-year old hesitated to drink the tablet. The case continues before Justice Singh. (Shemuel Fanfair)

Mahaicony murder

Father-in-law to be charged today

T

he wife and inlaws of 23-yearold Muneshwar Bisnauth of Airy Hall, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, remains in Police custody as charges are likely to be brought against the father-in-law as soon as today.

On Sunday, Bisnauth, a father of one, was reportedly imbibing with his 16-year-old wife and her parents at Lot 20 Dundee, Mahaicony, when an argument ensued. Shortly after, the fisherman’s lifeless body was discovered lying in the yard, with a gaping wound to the head.

Bisnauth’s father-inlaw has confessed to mur-

Dead: Muneshwar Bisnauth

der. The man reportedly confessed to killing the fisherman during an interrogation by detectives on

Monday evening. The suspect allegedly told Police that he dealt one blow to the man’s head with a piece of wood during an argument.

He also confessed to instructing his relatives to “wash down” the blood before they called the dead man’s relatives. Initially, they told Police that the man had fallen and hit his head.

Based on that information, the Police said the file has been forwarded for legal advice and charges are expected as soon as the post-mortem examination (PME) is performed. The PME is expected to be performed today.

15 Ramsammy’s Ruminations Trump fires Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State Another day, more U news

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

flagrant abuse of democratic norms

T

he assault on Guyana’s democracy continues unabated. Now daily, democratic norms are recklessly ignored or flagrantly abused. Everyday there are dictatorial impositions that deny people their rights.

Dictatorship is no longer a mere threat, its presence is real. Unless Guyanese speak out now and unite to stand strong against dictatorship, the brutal consequences will become difficult to overcome. It is an insult that as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Guyana’s greatest freedom fighter, Cheddi Jagan, we are confronted with the rise of Dr Leslie Ramsammy dictatorship again. Cheddi gave his life to fight against and defeat dictatorship. Yet as we pay tribute to him on his 100th birth anniversary, we start another fight against the evils of dictatorship.

We see just in the past few three examples of the authoritarian disposition that now engulfs Guyana. First is the continuing assault on freedom of the press. Two columnists of the Guyana Chronicle, the Government mouthpiece, were sacked. Both of them are friends of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (AFC/ APNU) Administration. But both of them, each with about 40 years of political activism, have occasionally dared to criticise the Government. The thin-skinned dictators could not stand for such criticism and decided to stamp their authority. The Board of the Guyana Chronicle admitted that they had no say in that decision. The Editor boldly stepped forward and took responsibility. Yet we all know that he was merely following instructions from higher up. This is classical dictatorship, stifling the freedom of the press.

Second is the behaviour of the Mayor of Georgetown.

She unilaterally averted a debate on a motion of noconfidence moved by Councillor Sherod Duncan and seconded by Deputy Mayor Lionel Jaikaran. The motion was for the Council of the Municipality of Georgetown to express no-confidence against the Town Clerk, Royston King, who has served as Town Clerk as if he is the Emperor of Georgetown. The Mayor dismissed the motion on the basis of a “legal advice” she received from a lawyer who happens to be the husband of a People’s National Congress (PNC) Councillor. No one requested the advice and the movers of the motion were never told that the Council would seek legal advice.

According to the advice from the lawyer, a former Magistrate, Maxwell E Edwards, the “motion, if passed in its present form would be otiose, nugatory, incompetent, and effectual and of no legal effect (an exercise in vain)” for a number of reasons. One of the reasons cited was that according to the law, “a Town Clerk cannot be disciplined by the City Council, but only by the Local Government Commission of the LGCA [Local Government’s Commission Act] which by Ministerial Order (as gazetted) became operations on 23 October, 2017.”

The problem is that the motion was not one that demanded disciplinary action or that called for dismissal of the Town Clerk. It was simply a motion that called on the Council to debate the functioning of the Town Clerk, as performed by Royston King. Of course, once the NoConfidence Motion was approved, the Council would have then been faced with what to do with the Town Clerk. Any recommendation for disciplinary action would then have to be referred to the Local Government Commission. So the Mayor knowingly and dictatorially placed the cart before the horse. The truth is that the Councillors who are members of the PNC were under instructions to ensure they did not act against the Town Clerk.

The third example is despicable. An executive member of the AFC and a Member of Parliament, Charandass, has called for the jailing of sugar workers who were sacked for not being able to send their children to school. Sugar workers who were terminated from their employment by APNU/ AFC are suffering, struggling to feed their children and send them to school. For those children unable to attend school, it is not a choice made by their parents but the consequence of the reprehensible action taken by Charandass’ APNU/ AFC Government to close sugar estates and not fully pay the workers their severance. This is the same man who stood by the side of people like Granger, Nagamootoo and Ramjattan and promised that no sugar estate would be closed and that sugar workers would be given a 20 per cent increase in wages. Now they want to jail the sugar workers for the poverty APNU/AFC has foisted on the people. This is how dictators behave and these are the norms under dictatorship.

S President Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson via Twitter, naming CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his replacement.

Tillerson’s spokesman said he only learned he was out of a job when he saw the president’s tweet thanking him for his service as top US diplomat.

The former ExxonMobil chief had a series of public rifts with the White House since he was appointed last year.

Trump also named Gina Haspel to become the CIA’s first female Director.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, Trump said his differences with Tillerson came down to personal “chemistry”.

“We got along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things,” said the President.

“When you look at the Iran deal, I think it’s terrible. I guess he thought it was OK.

Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson

“I wanted to either break it or do something and he felt a little bit differently, so we were not really thinking the same.

“With Mike, Mike Pompeo, we have a very similar thought process. I think it’s going to go very well.

“Rex is a very good man, I like Rex a lot.”

Tillerson is the latest in a long list of senior officials who have either resigned or been fired since Trump took office. The Department of State said Tillerson had not spoken to the President and was “unaware of the reason”

for his firing.

Under-Secretary Steve Goldstein said: “The Secretary had every intention of staying because of the critical progress made in national security.”

Goldstein himself was fired later on Tuesday by the White House.

Tillerson said later in a news conference that he had received a call from the President on Air Force One after midday, about three hours after Trump fired him via tweet.

He added that he would finish his term on March 31

and would “return to private life as a private citizen”.

According to the Associated Press, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly called Tillerson on Friday and advised him to watch out for a presidential tweet about him.

Kelly did not tell Tillerson when the tweet would be posted or what it might say, reports the news agency. The Secretary of State was on an official tour of Africa last week when he was caught unawares by Trump’s agreement to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The top US diplomat’s team said he was feeling unwell on Saturday and later in the weekend, the State Department said he would cut short his tour by a day. “I felt like, look, I just need to get back,” Tillerson told reporters on his plane home, reports the Washington Post. The 65-year-old arrived back in Washington before dawn on Tuesday to learn he was out of a job a few hours later.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

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news

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyanese nabbed with 20 “Towa Towas’ at JFK Airport

A

Guyanese man, who attempted to smuggle 20 live finches, popularly called “Towa Towas” into the United States of America was busted upon arrival at the JFK International Airport. The birds were found well se-

cured in his carryon luggage.

According to information received, the man travelled from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on March 3 and during a search by the US Customs and Border Protection officers

and agriculture specialists at the JFK airport, the birds were found.

US law enforcement officers found the birds in tube-shaped enclosures.

The birds were seized and put into quarantine while the man was fined US$300

and refused entry into the US. He was put on the next plane back to Guyana.

Based on a report in the Dailymail.co.uk, Leon Hayward, Acting Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations reiterated that “CBP’s agriculture special-

One of the finches in the secured tube-shaped enclosures

ists protect our country every day from pests and diseases, the introduction of an animal or plant borne pest or disease could have a devastating impact on America’s agricultural industry”.

However, local authorities have launched an investigation as to how the birds passed security checkpoints

at Guyana’s main port of entry.

This is not the first time birds have been smuggled into the US via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

Some time back, several birds were intercepted upon arrival at the JFK Airport in hair curlers.

DPP recommends more investigation in “Otisha” case

T

he Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has returned the file with regard to accusations of paedophilia against popular cross-dresser, Otis ‘Otisha’ Pearson, to the Guyana Police Force advising that additional work be conducted.

The Police said the file was returned on Monday with the advice that additional investigative work be done. They have since released Pearson who was in custody since March 6.

Pearson was taken into Police custody on March 6 after the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) forwarded the findings of its investigation of paedophilia claims against the sex worker. The Police’s investigation is still ongoing and the file is with the DPP for legal advice.

However, on Friday last, the Police sought an extension to detain the sex worker for an additional 72 hours as they await legal advice and wrap up their investigation.

The CC&PA’s investigation stemmed after Pearson went on national television, after he was released from Police custody for another incident, and claimed that he has “a little boy” for every day of the week. Following that claim, photos of the cross dresser and a teenaged boy were leaked to social media site, Facebook, sparking outrage.

To pacify the situation, Pearson, in the presence of Joel Simpson – founder of the Society Against Sexual Orientation and Discrimination (SASOD) explained that the term “little boy” is usually thrown

Cross-dresser Otis “Otisha” Pearson

around in the transgender community and denied being involved in sexual relations with any underage boy. This view was supported by Simpson who said his organisation does not condone such relations and that he was aware of the “little boy” euphemism.

The surfacing of the photos and subsequent response led to several persons calling for an investigation into the incident and accused Pearson of being a pervert.

Back in February, the CC&PA closed its investigation into the alleged misconduct by Pearson. It was discovered that the boy was below the legal age of consent, which is 16 and became a victim of bullying after the photos were leaked.

According to CC&PA’s Director, Ann Green, the Agency has gathered statements from a number of persons, including the young man at the centre of the controversy, and as such, it is expected to move ahead with the case.

NEWS

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wednesDAY, march 14, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Signing bonus challenge

Security guard released AG’s Chambers failed to on $30,000 bail for brawl

file affidavit in defence M

ikhail Gordon, a security officer from West Minster, La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD) appeared at the Wales Magistrate’s Court on allegations that he threatened and

…case adjourned

Opposition Member of Parliament Anil Nandlall

A

new date has been set for the court case where Member of Parliament Anil Nandlall is challenging Government's decision to deposit the US$18 million bonus received from ExxonMobil into a private account.

Nandlall was represented in the High Court by Attorneys Rajendra Jaigobin and Manoj Narayan at Tuesday’s hearing before Chief Justice (CJ) Roxane George at 13:00h in chamber.

Due to the Attorney General’s Chambers’ failure to file their affidavit of defence on time, an application for an extension was submitted. That application was heard on Tuesday and was granted by the CJ who has extended the time to March 20 to permit them to file their affidavit in defence on or before that date.

The CJ has also given timelines for the parties to file the requisite documents.

Nandlall has to file an affidavit in reply, on or before March 26. Thereafter, the applicant has to file the submissions before April 20 and the respondents have to file their submissions before May 11.

Nandlall in his legal challenge said the deposit of the signing bonus into a private bank account is contrary to, and in violation of, the Constitution and the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA).

In his application, the MP is also seeking, among other things, an order from the court directing that Finance Minister Winston Jordan transfer and deposit the bonus into the Consolidated Fund forthwith.

He argued that Government is in breach of Section 38 of the FMAA, which provides that all public moneys raised or received by the Government shall be credited fully and promptly to the Fund.

In accordance with Article 216 of the Constitution and Section 38 of the FMAA, Nandlall said the US$18 million bonus and such other sums collected by the Government under the Petroleum Agreement with ExxonMobil are public moneys and must therefore be paid into and form one consolidated fund.

This legal challenge follows a lawsuit that was filed in January by Attorney Christopher Ram, on behalf of anti-corruption activist Troy Thomas who also asked the High Court to order Minister Jordan to immediately deposit the US$18 million received from ExxonMobil as a signing bonus into the Consolidated Fund, while saying his failure to do so is unlawful.

When the matter was called, however, the challenge had to be retracted after Chief Justice Roxane George had ruled that the litigation’s format was flawed. It now has to be refiled and served on all parties before the court can proceed. The legal team, headed

by Ram, is currently in the process of reframing the documents and plan to file a new application soon.

The bonus in question was paid to the Government’s Central Bank account by US oil giant ExxonMobil in 2016. The existence of this bonus and the renegotiated oil agreement with the company was kept a secret until evidence of the transaction was leaked in

A

one RZ minibus windscreen valued $35,000, property of Selena Khan.

The Virtual Complainant (VC) and the defendant were reportedly arguing when Williams allegedly took up a weapon and damaged the bus.

The matter was reported, and Williams was arrested and charged.

Rushell Liverpool ordered that Gordon not have contact with Jackson and that he keep the peace for the remainder of the matter. She released him on $30,000 bail and adjourned the matter for May 3.

Accused iPhone thief granted $40,000 bail

A Attorney General Basil Williams

December 2017.

The correspondence of September 20, 2016, which was leaked to the media was addressed to the Governor of the Bank of Guyana with the subject being, “Signing bonus granted by ExxonMobil – Request to open bank account”.

It showed Finance Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Hector Butts, requesting that a foreign currency account be opened at the Bank in order to receive a deposit in the form of a ‘signing bonus’ to be given by the oil company.

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

After mounting criticism, President David Granger defended the transaction by saying it was the thing to do at the time. He also noted that the money was placed in an escrow account, though observers have disputed this.

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

The matter has been adjourned to June 14 at 15:00h for hearing or ruling.

Mother of 2 charged for damaging minibus 22-year-old mother of two had a charge of damage to property laid against her and appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Mariah Williams, of Lot 19 Garnett Street, Newtown, denied that on March 3, 2018 at Kitty, Georgetown, she unlawfully and maliciously damaged

threw missiles at his neighbour, Ranarta Jackson. The 31-year-old man denied that he committed the offences at West Minster on February 20, 2018, pleading not guilty to both charges.

Presiding Magistrate

However, Khan told Magistrate Judy Latchman that the defendant has agreed to pay for the repairs.

As such, she revealed that she would no longer pursue the matter.

The matter was dismissed, and the defendant was told that she was free to go.

taxi driver who reportedly stole an iPhone from a passenger found himself before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday.

Thirty-six-year-old Winston Matthews of Bel Air Village, East Coast Demerara (ECD), denied that he stole the smartphone valued $60,000 from Phillip

Poona on February 22, 2018.

According to his Attorney, Stanley Moore, his client was hired by the Virtual Complainant (VC).

However, after Poona exited the vehicle, he found that his phone was missing.

Attorney Moore added that his client denied carrying out the act. He noted that anyone could have

picked up the said phone if it was left in the cab.

As such, Moore made an application for reasonable bail as his client had already been placed on $20,000 station bail.

Magistrate Judy Latchman granted Matthews $40,000 bail. He is expected to return to court on March 26, 2018.

Soldier, mother charged for assaulting pregnant cop

A

soldier and his 46-year-old mother found themselves before Magistrate Judy Latchman charged for assaulting a pregnant Police Officer.

Twenty-five-yearold Dwayne Winter of Lot 68 Duncan Street, Campbellville, and his mother, Simone Winter, of Lot 528 East Ruimveldt,

Georgetown, denied that they committed the act.

It is alleged that on February 11, 2018 at South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, the Winters unlawfully assaulted Shauntey Hunt whereby a breach of peace was occasioned.

Dwayne Winter initially entered a guilty-with-explanation plea; however, following his explanation, a not-

guilty plea was entered.

He accused Hunt of slapping his mother which caused him to retaliate.

Police Prosecutor Arvin Moore had no objections to bail being granted and this was granted in the sum of $20,000 each.

Both defendants are expected to reappear on March 19, 2018.

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guyanatimesgy.com

wednesDAY, March 14, 2018

ARCHIE

Put greater emphasis on your relationships and how (March 21much each one costs you April 19) mentally, emotionally and financially. It’s time to rethink what you give and what you get in return.

ARIES

Steer clear of people who TAURUS tend to overreact or someone (April 20- trying to goad you into an arMay 20) gument or a dicey situation.

You need to focus on getting things done.

dilbert

A change of position or GEMINI friendships is encouraged.

(May 21Consider what you have been June 20) doing, what you want to do and with whom you want to do it, and make the changes that suit you best.

You’ll be forced to make a change to accommodate (June 21- someone. Don’t put up a fuss; July 22) just take care of whatever responsibility you are given so you can get back to what’s important.

CANCER

Peanuts

A change to the way you LEO do your job or get along with a (July 23- partner will make a difference Aug. 22) to the outcome of a project or joint venture. Transparency will help keep the peace.

Calvin and Hobbes

You may not approve of a VIRGO change someone makes, but (Aug. 23showing support and voicSept. 22) ing your concerns will have a greater influence than mere disapproval. Handle others with care.

A change of plans will LIBRA (Sept. 23- add to an adventurous day.

Oct. 23) Taking short trips or doing things with a friend, colleague, a loved one or children will result in positive change and greater respect.

WORD GAME TODAY’S WORD — NAIVETE

SUDOKU

Share your ideas and SAGITTARIUS press forward to bring about (Nov. 23Dec. 21) positive change. Look inward to find out exactly what you need to do to make life-changing improvements.

(NAIVETE: nye-EEV-tay: The quality of being inexperienced or unsophisticated.)

Average mark 15 words Time limit 30 minutes Can you find 21 or more words in NAIVETE? The list will be published tomorrow.

YESTERDAY’S WORD — DIETARY

dairy dare dart date dater dear deity diary diet dire dirt

dirty drat dray dyer idea irate edit tardy tare tear teary

terai tide tidy tied tier tirade tire trade tread tray trey

triad tried adit aery aide aired airy arid arty raid rate

rayed read ready ride rite yard yare year yeti

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Situations will get out of SCORPIO hand if you let your emotions (Oct. 24Nov. 22) take control and allow a fight to break out. Take a positive approach when dealing with others and you’ll have better luck.

solution for Puzzle

Instead of adding to what CAPRICORN (Dec. 22- you have, consider heading in Jan. 19) a minimalistic direction. The less you have to account for, the more free time you will have to enjoy.

Keep your talk precise AQUARIUS and easy for others to un(Jan. 20derstand. Life is simple; it’s Feb. 19) people who make it complex.

Don’t add to the confusion by using exaggerated facts.

PISCES Know your attributes and (Feb. 20- limitations, and set out in March 20) search of the unknown and unexpected. Live your dream and put your creative imagination to work. Don’t ignore an opportunity.

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018

19

Farinha among top karatekas at GKC grading

T

eenage Karate sensation Hannah Farinha was among the top performers as the Guyana Karate College (GKC) held its first grading examinations for 2018.

The grading which kicked off on February 28 was conducted under the expertise of Chairman and Chief Instructor of the International Karate Daigaku (IKD), Shuseki Shihan 9th Degree Black belt Frank Woon-a-tai.

Other senior officials included were from the Canada-based head-

Anna Farinha

quartered IKD, including 8th Degree Black Belt Shihan Maureen Woon-atai, 7th Degree Black Belt Shihan Bernice Hughes and Senior Instructor and Vice Chairman of the Guyana Karate College (GKC) 7th Degree Black Belt; Shihan Jeffrey Wong.

Headlining the examinations was the Marian Academy Farinha, who earned her 3rd degree black belt (Sandan rank) following crisp executions of her martial arts skillset.

The next best Karateka on show was Jonathan

Robinson who graduated from first degree to second degree black belt (Nidan rank). Other fighters to advance to black belt included; Angelina Campayne, Jadon Lee, Gavena Doodnauth, Vanita Chulie, Banesha Doodnauth, Jayanti Ram and Najuma Gibbs.

16 of the Karatekas that were graded were from the Guyana Karate College Shakties Dojo – West Coast Demerara, who comes under the instruction of Sensei Kenrick Cheeks. Four of these Karatekas earned their Shodan Rank or 1st

Degree Black Belt.

Also, 5 senior Black Belt Karatekas successfully sat an Instructors examination as part of their quest to become fully certified International Karate Daigaku Instructors and they were ; Kenrick Cheeks, Aliya Wong, Somlata Bispat, William Grant Snr and Paula Louis-Grant.

Another grading examination will kick off in July as the GKC team prepares to represent Guyana at the IKD World Karate Tournament set for Barbados in August 2018

DCC applauds Paul Salonika President & Rutherford on invades pitch with gun accomplishments T

T

he President and members of the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) express congratulations and best wishes to one of our members, Keemo Paul who was selected to the West Indies team for ICC World Cup qualifiers, currently being played in Zimbabwe.

Paul’s accomplishments come as no surprise. His elevation and progress is a testament to his hard work and the support structure of family, clubs, county and country.

That support has enabled him to exhibit excellence right throughout his junior career as is also evident in his brief stint at the senior level.

His achievements will motivate his peers and juniors at both the club level and those who hail from his hometown-island, Wakenaam.

In our excitement, we wish to advise that he grabs this opportunity with both hands and work even harder to realize his ultimate dream of playing for the West Indies at the Test level. Continue to be an ambassador, continue to strive for excellence, keep that fire burning and remain humble, the club released noted.

The club would also took the opportunity to congratulate another member, Sherfane Rutherford who is one of the Guyana Amazon Warriors' newest members

for the 2018 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Rutherford is another one of our exciting talents to emerge over the years. We want to wish him success and also to strive for higher heights, the release ended.

Keemo Paul

Sherfane Rutherford

he Greek Super League has been indefinitely suspended after PAOK Salonika's president invaded the pitch with a gun during a match on Sunday.

Ivan Savvidis, who had a gun in a hip holster, tried to confront the referee after his side had a late goal ruled out for offside against AEK Athens.

AEK's players left the pitch concerned for their safety and did not return.

The match was officially abandoned two hours later and local police are seeking Savvidis to arrest him.

Deputy sports minister Giorgos Vasiliadis announced the abandonment of all top-flight matches on Monday after a meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

"It won't start again unless there is a clear framework, agreed by all, to move forward with conditions and rules," he added.

Vasiliadis told BBC Sport the scenes had returned the sport to problems of the past.

"Such extreme phenomena demand courageous decisions," he said.

World governing body Fifa has threatened to suspend Greece from international competition and "expects" the national governing body to take "appropriate measures and rapidly". It added in a statement: "Even though the recent

incidents occurred in the context of a national competition, meaning that disciplinary measures fall under the jurisdiction of the competent judicial bodies of the Greek Football Federation, the Fifa monitoring committee is closely following this situation.

Greek FA".

Who is Savvidis and what did he do?

Savvidis, one of Greece's richest men, was born in Georgia of Greek heritage and is a former member of the Russian parliament.

He asked his team to leave the pitch after PAOK

Savvidis entered the pitch after Fernando Varela's goal was ruled out for offside

"Failure to take proper actions by the competent bodies to eradicate all sorts of violence in order to guarantee the smooth running of the national competitions would oblige Fifa to refer the case to the Fifa council for consideration and possible sanctions, including the suspension of the member association."

Uefa, European football's governing body, condemned the incident and said any disciplinary measures "fall under the jurisdiction of the

had a goal ruled out for offside in the 89th minute and then marched towards the referee with two bodyguards before being pulled back.

PAOK are third in the Greek top flight and could have moved within two points of leaders AEK with a win. The club was deducted three points - but managed to overturn the sanction on appeal - after Olympiakos coach Oscar Garcia was hit by a toilet roll thrown from the stands at PAOK in February.

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GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018

Ronchi’s blitz sends Islamabad into playoffs

R

ecent trends continued to prevail in the PSL, with the resurgent Islamabad United turning in their best performance to flatten Multan by 33 runs. Multan, who have now lost their last four, were set to lose by a significantly bigger margin, but were spared humiliation by an innings of ferocious power-hitting by Kieron Pollard. He belted six sixes in a 47-ball 73 to keep Multan in the contest till the last three overs.

game, who scored 46, and Hussain Talat (36 off 21), whose form in the PSL will surely be piquing the national selectors' interests by now.

The Multan bowlers' lengths were all over the place, with only Umar Gul able to establish any control over the batsmen. The rest of the time, they made hay, revelling in their recent confidence as Multan endured an off-day they could ill-afford.

The horror show continued with the bat, Multan

nal innings, but it was a sign of how wretched the rest of the day had been for Shoaib Malik's side that even then, they fell well short.

Where the match was won The Islamabad United innings was an unusual one, but that was precisely what made it so splendid.

There were no real peaks and troughs as far as the run rate went. They began positively, scoring between 9 and 10 an over, and contin-

they nearly did exactly that. It might have been to do with an uninspired bowling performance or simply Islamabad's batsmen's brilliant relentlessness, but what was clear is it won them the game.

The men that won it This is as close as a perform a n c e g e t s to a real

Guyana Amazon Warriors bound Luke Ronchi continues to be in rampant form

team

SCOREBOARD

Alex Hales made 46 on his return to the PSL© PCB/PSL

However, their bowling performance was far too poor, and the batting Powerplay far too disastrous, and Pollard, for all his brilliance, still had too much to do to pull off a magical heist.

Earlier, Luke Ronchi's brilliant form continued, the New Zealand wicketkeeper, timing the ball brilliantly en route a 36-ball 58. He was well supported by Alex Hales, playing his first PSL

losing Kumar Sangakkara and Saif Badar in the first over to the wily off spin of Samit Patel. Before long, they had been joined in the pavilion by Sohaib Maqsood and Ahmed Shehzad, and Multan were reduced to 20 for 4 chasing 186. The game was essentially over, but Pollard's reputation meant Islamabad were taking nothing for granted. He showed them why with a phenome-

ued that way right throughout the innings. Changing the bowlers, the end of the Powerplay, the strategic time-out, taking wickets, all these things had no impact on the Islamabad juggernaut, which simply continued to roll along without ever being pegged back.

That meant they were odds on to register the highest total in this year's PSL or thereabouts, and with 185,

Islamabad United Innings (20 overs maximum) L Ronchi † b Tahir 58 JP Duminy run out (Malik) 6 A Hales c Maqsood b Gul 46 H Talat c Pollard b Gul 36 A Ali not out 17 F Ashraf not out 13 Extras (lb 4, nb 1, w 4) 9 Total (4 wickets; 20 Overs) 185 Did not bat: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), S Patel, S Khan, A Butt, M Sami Fall of wickets: 1-46 ( Duminy, 4.6 ov), 2-91 (Ronchi, 10.5 ov), 3-126 (Hales, 14.4 ov), 4-164 (Talat, 18.2 ov) Bowling : Malik 1-0-10-0, Irfan 4-0-34-0, Tanveer 4-037-0, Tahir 4-0-29 -1, Gul 4-026-2, Whiteley 3-0-45-0 Multan Sultans Innings (target: 186 runs from 20 overs) K Sangakkara † c Hales b Patel 1

Mills appointed Technical Development Officer

T

he Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has appointed senior national player, Vurlon Mills, as Technical Development Officer (TDO) assigned to the GFF Scotiabank Academy Training Centre (ATC). This appointment will make him responsible for ensuring the national playing philosophy is instilled in the players of the Georgetown ATC. Technical Director of the GFF, Ian Greenwood, said Mills’ appointment is part of the technical development strategy of the GFF: “Engaging current and former national team players is a key component in our coach development and recruitment drive. Their understanding of regional and international football combined with GFF Technical Department training make them ideal candidates to deliver at the nationwide Academy Training Centres.”

Greenwood continued, “Not all players have the ability to transition from player to educator, but Vurlon certainly has those attributes. He has the temperament and enthusiasm to inspire a new generation of players from grassroots to senior football on the GFF player pathway. We feel he is a great addition to our ever growing bank of licensed and qualified coaches.”

A Shehzad c Butt b Ashraf 3 S Badar lbw b Patel 0 S Maqsood c Hales b Butt 13 S Malik (c) b Shadab Khan 12 K Pollard c Hales b Sami 73 R Whiteley c Duminy b S Khan 11 S Tanveer run out (Sami) 10 U Gul c Ali b Ashraf 10 I Tahir not out 7 M Irfan b Butt 0 Extras (lb 4, w 8) 12 Total (all out; 19.1 Overs) 152 Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Sangakkara, 0.4 ov), 2-2 (Badar, 0.5 ov), 3-20 (Shehzad, 4.2 ov), 4-20 (SMaqsood, 5.1 ov), 5-50 (Malik, 9.5 ov), 6-90 (Whiteley, 13.6 ov), 7-118 (Tanveer, 15.5 ov), 8-142 (Pollard, 17.4 ov), 9-148 (Gul, 18.5 ov), 10-152 (Irfan, 19.1 ov) Bowling: Patel 2-0-11-2, Sami 4-0-26-1, Ashraf 4-1-27-2, Butt 3.1-0-30-2, S Khan 4-0-33-2, Talat 2-0-21-0

In an invited interview, the attacking midfielder said he is happy to contribute to the development of the skills of the young players: “It is an honour to serve as the Technical Development Officer assigned to the Georgetown GFF-Scotiabank ATC. There are very talented players around and I believe with the right technical guidance, they will realise their potential. I have skills, which are transferable and can

help them in their development and ultimate selection to the national squad.

That makes me excited to serve, knowing that I’ll make a long-term difference to their life.”

The ATCs are a pathway to national team selection where players learn the necessary skills and attributes by certified coaches assigned. Sessions are conducted on a weekly basis in the nine Regional Member Associations

Where they stand Islamabad go top of the table, and, along with Quetta Gladiators, are guaranteed qualification to the playoffs. Multan are still in the running, but have to rely on Peshawar Zalmi losing at least one of their remaining two games. (Cricinfo)

Innovation 360 to host day of sports

I Vurlon Mills' expertise from years of playing should augur well for the development of young footballers

eff o r t , so where the batting is praised, it's only fair the bowlers get their due. Five different bowlers split the wickets among them, none of them being too expensive at the start where the game was wrenched away from Multan. Samit Patel blew the game wide open in the first over, and Mohammad Sami, Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan all pitched in with two wickets each. Even when the bowlers lost their nerve slightly due to the pressure of Pollard's brute force, Misbah was by their side as a calming influence.

This is a team playing for each other, and at the moment, a team winning for each other.

n recognition of International Day of Sports for Development and Peace by the United Nations General Assembly which will be celebrated on April 6, the Innovation 360 will be hosting a Grand Unity Family Fun day on March 25 at the C 3 Park Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice.

The event will include Cricket Clubs from Region 5.

In Addition there will be novelty events and a Cookout Competition. Talents pieces will also form part of the day’s entertainment and special prizes will be up to grabs for team and patrons.

In a release on Tuesday the group stated they are delighted to highlight this International Day of Sports since it believes that investment in sports presents the opportunity to mould young people minds and encourage cohesion and investment for the future.

Innovation 360 is urging other their communities to plan activities within their environment to celebrate Peace and Harmony as part of the International Day of Sports as declared the UN. Ice cream will be distributed to children along with free gifts. BBQ, Bars, Tassa and musical entertainment will be in full swing and the atmosphere will be lived up with various forms of entertainment.

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Chess Traps

E

veryone loves chess traps and so we take a look at some of the most popular as well as some of the not so popular traps that every chess player should know about.

Hopefully you will get to use a few of these on your opponents and won’t fall for them if your opponent sets one for you.

The Fishing Pole Trap is one of the easiest traps for white to fall for. Many times, Grandmasters have lost to club players at the hands of the fishing pole.

If a player is not familiar with the fishing pole the numbers of ways to hang themselves are sometimes too great and the game can

Jessica Clementson

forcing the knight to dance around the board even more. What white doesn’t realize is that black is not going to move his knight and instead will play h5, supporting his knight and baiting white to capture.

The problem for white is that if he does capture the knight the game will be

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Positive life choices while encouraging camaraderie and networking in addition to team spirit.

Some 52 races are carded and the event will see participation from seasoned athletes as well as to provide a platform for the discovery of others who may well further put Guyana on the international circuit.

“We expect stars to be born and records to be broken Fraser said.

Invitations have been issued to all regional education offices inviting them to field the best athletes from secondary schools, and higher education Institutions and we are awaiting the responses by March 21.

Fraser and his team

have commenced engaging prospective sponsors however the door remains open for other sponsors to get on board the train to ensure that their brand is a part of history as they support the development of budding athletes some of whom have gone on to represents Guyana at regional meets.

The meet director Aubrey Hutson, President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG)assures that the AAG is fully on board because this event provides another platform at the schools level for Guyana to produce, prepare and also build on the local pool of athletes for local, regional and international engagements.

‘Screw’ Richmond Schools football in Linden…

kicks off

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he stage is being set for the successful hosting of the 3rd annual Ministry of Education's, Allied Arts National Schools Relay Festival 2018. The committee headed by Nicholas Fraser Coordinator of Physical Education commenced meet on Tuesday ahead of the two-day mega event slated for staging at the National Track and field Centre Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

This is an event being hosted in collaboration with the Athletics Association of Guyana and its objective is to afford second and tertiary institutions to showcase their skills in track and field events.

It promotes healthy/

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From left: Marketing Coordinator Mondale Smith, Officials and Volunteers Coordinator Tanika Caldeira, Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) President Aubrey Hutson and Committee Chairman Nicholas Fraser

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21

end quickly. The Fishing Pole stems from the Berlin Defense when white responds with the most common main line move of 4. 0-0. After white castles, black has an interesting move of Ng4. This looks like an odd move because the knight has moved twice in the beginning which is usually not a good thing.

The knight is also exposed on the other side of the board and looks to be very vulnerable.

White’s most logical play is to kick the knight out with h3, gaining a tempo and

lost. Black can capture with his pawn on g4, then bring his queen to h4 and there is nothing that white can do.

The game will end shortly in defeat. Even if white tries to develop some of his other pieces, if he ends up taking the knight, the game will end up very bad for white.

The great thing about the trap is that if it does not work out, black can simply bring his knight back to a safe square and does not lose much as far as position and development. The possibility of an easy win is usually worth taking a shot with the fishing pole.

his year’s Edward ‘Screw’ Richmond Memorial Linden Secondary Schools Under-18 football championship will finally kick-off this afternoon with two matches a following a brief ceremony at the Wisburg Secondary School Ground.

Organising Secretary of the Linden Chapter of the Edward ‘Screw ‘Richmond Foundation Kevin Deyounge said that the two games to start the championship will be preceded by brief talks on the history of the tournament, the person whose name is being honoured with the tournament and remarks from officials from the Education Ministry her in Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice and the Upper Demerara Football association.

According to Deyounge the rules for this year’s championship includes the ‘sin bin’ factor where a player who gets a yellow card will have to sit out for seven

minutes of the 70 minutes game duration. If more than seven minutes remains, then that player will be allowed to return.

However, should the player getting a yellow card when there is less than seven minutes to go ,automatically he will miss the remainder of the games.

Compton London, a member of the ‘Screw’ Richmond Memorial Foundation in New York, who grew up watching ‘Screw’ Richmond excelling in several sports and become Linden’s f i r s t ever sen i o r national player will give his views on Richmond who is rated as among the best all round

sportsman ever from the mining town of Linden.

The first game will kick off at 14.45 hrs but the brief ceremony is at 14.00hrs.

The first game will feature Linden Foundation Secondary against New Silvercity and the second at 16.15 hrs is between Mackenzie High School and Linden Technical Institute.

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018

M

arque amateur boxers Keevin Allicock and Colin Lewis lived up to expectations and qualified for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games after some robust performances at the qualifiers being held in Tijuana, Mexico on Monday.

Allicock defeated Panama’s Leonel Gutierrez by unanimous decision while Lewis won via split decision against Carlos Tobar from Guatemala in the quarter-finals.

The Commonwealth youth silver medallist will have his bantamweight semi-final bout on Thursday against Cuba’s Robeisy Ramírez who is a product of the highly renowned Cuban School of Boxing and a two-time Olympic gold medallist.

Allicock, Lewis qualify for CAC Games Lewis who is nicknamed ‘Superman’ will have his work cut out against Costa Rican Eduardo Sanchez in the junior welterweight semi-final this afternoon.

Though the opponents are of high quality, the duo’s one week training camp in Mexico City has proven to be ample preparation given the results to date.

More so, experienced national coach Sebert Blake, who watched both fighters intensely via the live stream told Guyana Times Sport on Tuesday ‘they both looked solid but they are some areas they can improve”.

Blake who coaches Allicock at the Forgotten Youth Foundation gym in Albouystown, pointed out, “he [Keevin] got tired in the last round and lost some pace after going hard in the

first two

Guyana Boxing Association Technical Director Terrence Poole is flanked by Colin Lewis (left) and Keevin Allicock after their victorious bouts on Monday evening in Tijuana, Mexico

rounds.

He needs to tighten his defence and stick to his best attribute which is being elusive”.

The coached noted the Cubans are “flat-footed and could easily change their style at will which means Allicock will have to be cautious.

Regarding ‘Superman’ who hails from Guyana Defence Force gym, Blake underscored the importance of him using his length to his advantage and increase his punch combo as many of the boxers in his weight

him.

group s e e m to be shado w i n g

“Instead of just landing the upper-cut he can look at a left hook and some jabs and then land the powerful upper-cut”.

The duo are under the guidance of Guyana Boxing Association Technical Director Terrence Poole.

CAC Games will be held from July 19- August 3 in Colombia.

Prior to those Games, both fighters are expected to attend the Commonwealth Games from April 4-15 in Australia. (Akeem Greene)

Nathoo upsets Drayton at National Chess Championship ranking of 1945, the second highest by a Guyanese behind Wendell Meusa’s 1967.

T

h e S a s h a Cells National Senior and Junior Chess championship got underway over weekend with a major upset highlighting the first three rounds of action at the Windjammer Hotel, Kitty.

In the senior category, Loris Nathoo pulled off a major heist, toppling one of the favourites, Candidate Master Anthony Drayton, in their head-to-head showdown. Drayton has a FIDE

Based on those numbers, Drayton entered the clash with Nathoo as overwhelming favourite.

However, Nathoo, with a FIDE ranking of 1669, took matters into his own hands and dropped Drayton, whose tournament has not been going according to plan thus far.

Drayton was held to a draw against Meusa, and has recorded his only win after three rounds against Glenford Corlette in the

Loris Nathoo (right) and Anthony Drayton in deep concentration

opening round.

After three rounds, former champion Taffin Khan is leading the points stand-

ing with 2.5 points, earned from two wins and a draw.

Meusa, Nathoo and Ronuel Greenidge are stacked on

two points apiece, followed

by Drayton on 1.5.

Saeed Anwar Ali has a solitary point, while Corlette and Maria Varona Thomas occupy the cellar position with half a point each.

The junior tournament is sizing up to be a very competitive showdown for the title with two players locked at the top of the table. Tabletoppers Joshua Gopaul and Ghansham Allijohn have so far accumulated 2.5 points each, with two wins apiece and their head-to-head clash producing a draw in round three.

Jaden Taylor, Roshawn Washington and Ethan Lee are in a battle on two points each, while Nellisha Johnson has one point thus far. Dwayne Bess and Sasha

Shariff are languishing at the bottom of the table, both yet to score.

The competition will wrap up this weekend with action in both categories at the National Resource Centre, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

Guyana Chess Federation executive member, Irshad Mohamed, said another intense two days of chess rivalry is anticipated as the battle for the prestigious titles of Junior and Senior chess champions of Guyana for 2018 continues.

Mohamed also noted that should there be a tie at the top of the table, a tie-breaker with the players in question would be held on March 19.

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

23

Hero Caribbean Premier League…

“No reason we can’t have a successful year”

Veerasammy Permaul is a key figure in the Amazon Warriors camp

…Permaul confident in Warriors breaking title jinx

By Clifton Ross

W

ith the Biggest Party in Sport just months away, senior Guyana Amazon Warriors spinner Veerasammy Permaul is backing the slightly new-look side to finally deliver the elusive title to their Guyanese fans in the sixth the edition Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) One of Guyana’s leading bowlers and one part of the spin twin along with Devendra Bishoo, who is also his Warriors teammate yet again this season, Permaul told Guyana Times Sport on Tuesday, that he is most certain the Warriors can finally win the title which has eluded them for five years.

Drafted to the franchise win the inaugural year of the left-arm spinner has since gone on to achieve success with the Guyana Jaguars and even the West Indies A and senior sides but said adding the CPL title which has avoided his team to the accolades will be priceless moment for the entire country.

“It always a pleasure to be a part of the Amazon Warriors, I want to thank the franchise for keep their trust and belief in me and hopefully this year's we can

bring glory to this nation by winning our first CPL title”.

The Warriors, like most franchises have undergone changes over the years, however, with franchises retaining a few of their key players who might have been good to them over the seasons, Permaul credited his future team for yet again having the ideal blend of talent coming into the tournament.

“I think we got a really good team mixed with both experience and youth. Once we can play together as one unit when it comes to batting, bowling and fielding; I see no reason we can’t have a successful year”.

With 35 wickets under his belt from 50 innings and 2013 being his most successful CPL to date having bagged 10 wickets overall, his skill and effectiveness over the years has far outweighed his overall returns.

As a bowler with international experience and one of the Caribbean’s leading wicket-takers, the for-

mer Guyana skipper believes that it is crucial for him now as a senior member to be more consistent going forward.

“It’s always important for me to perform, every opportunity I got I always try to make it count and being a part of the A m a z o n Warriors is my home. For my franchise playing at home always drive me to perform, to see the fans and supporters happy, this is a very important tournament for me. I always look forward to it and I’ll always go out there (field) to give my all, which is110%”.

While the recent player draft saw the Warriors placing trust in a few of their soldiers such as; Rayad Emrit, Bishoo, Luke Ronchi, Sohail Tanveer, Gajanand Singh, Chadwick Walton among others, a few new faces will have their opportunity to shine this year.

Two of those in particular; all-rounders Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd are among the Amazon Warriors newbies.

Both players have been exceptional for the Guyana Jaguars, especially during

Conquerors, Titans TT partner for Child Care awareness workshop Some of the respective club members who attended the workshop on Sunday at the Guyana National Red Cross Headquarters

F

ruta Conquerors Football Club, in collaboration with the Titans Table Tennis Club organised a seminar on Child Care awareness for all coaches, team managers and parents at the Guyana National Red Cross Head Quarters on Sunday.

Opening the day's proceeding was chaired by the General Secretary of Fruta Conquerors Football -- Daniel Thomas who was also the planner and organiser of the one day seminar.

The workshop facilitators were Attorney at Law Ms. Juanita Allen and Orette Francois - Senior Probation and Social Services Officer - The Childcare Protection

Agency - The Ministry of Social Protection.

The workshop looked at a number of critical issues with regards to the abuse of children, the Childcare Act, the Do's and Don'ts for dealing with children among a number of critical and important areas.

A number of documents were prepared, including a Child Protection Risk Assessment Table, and a Child Protection Policy.

After the workshop all coaches and team mangers signed a Child Protection Declaration Form and a Code of Conduct for Working with Children. The workshop was well attended with fifteen participants from both clubs in attendance.

their title defense in the Regional 4-Dayers and Permaul believes their addition to the squad is a great thing.

“I think we got some very talented youngsters in the squad this year. I’ve been fortunate to play with both Rutherford and Shepherd for the Guyana Jaguars, they both are extremely talented and exciting all-rounders and I can’t wait to see both of them in action at CPL because I know they can deliver”.

Despite being dubbed fan-favorites over the history of the CPL; the Warriors who embody passion and aggression regardless of the make-up of their team, have managed just two finals; both of which ended in high fashion not in favor of the Warriors.

Concluding his interview, the 28 yearold said his team needs to find a way to break

the latter stage hurdles which have been afflicting the Warriors.

“The most important thing to me I think is that we need to find a way to get pass the semis and finals because we always play excellent cricket in the round stages but for some reason we are not able to go the extras couple hurdles”.

When quizzed about what advice he would give to the

newcomers as well as the seasoned guys, the spinner tossed one up by urging his teams to know their roles and stay focused.

“We got a good team on paper but it’s all about how you execute on the field in all departments (batting, bowling and fielding).

He continued, “Always try to be a head of the game and keep the momentum, every player should understand their role and what is required of them in any given situation. Once we can tick all the small boxes in the process all the big boxes will take care of themselves.” Permaul and company will look to get themselves organized in the months ahead with gala tournament set to bowl off August 8 with its first string of matches being played in Guyana.

wednesDAY, march 14, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Hero Caribbean Premier League…

“No reason we can’t have a successful year” Pg 23

…Permaul confident in Warriors breaking title jinx The left-arm spinner said they must find a way of getting over the line at the final hurdle and this could be the year they achieve such a feat

Pg 22

Colin Lewis

Keevin Allicock

Allicock, Lewis qualify for CAC Games GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, News Hotliine: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Sport: sport@guyanatimesgy.com Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 SALES AND MARKETING - lezas@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.