Guyanatime 18 february 2018

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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana

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Govt releases CGX oil contract guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 3485

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Page 3

…Guyana gets 1% royalty, 53% profit sharing

Children’s Costume Parade dazzles spectators Page 18

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$120 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Kwakwani man dies after lorry topples

P8

“Forests not property of P15 loggers” – GFC …as loggers raise concerns over stumpage value, poor roads

‘Whitewater’ a frontline community in defence of territorial integrity – President P10

Wales conversion plans?

Weeds taking over lands as rice cultivation seemingly shelved

Page 7

Former P11 Attorney General dies

…no word on poultry, livestock initiatives

Gunmen rob Mon Repos P15 businessman

Minibus driver Fire flattens shot, chopped Coldingen by bandits furniture store Page 8

Wales Estate closure

Page 8

D’Urban Park probe

Transparency: Jagdeo expresses suspicion over missing files Page 9

Remaining workers face March dismissal – sources P14 T&T has ISIS cell – PM confirms P17

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BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, February 18 – 05:00h-06:30h and Monday, February 19 – 05:00h-06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, February 18 – 05:40h-07:10h and Monday, February 19 – 06:15h-07:45h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Party cloudy skies with sunny intervals can be expected throughout the day, with partly cloudy skies returning in the evening.

Overall temperatures are expected to range between 19 degrees and 29 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tides: 06:08h and 18:25h reaching maximum heights of 2.69 metres and 2.74 metres respectively.

Low Tides: 11:59h reaching a minimum height of 0.51 metre.

SATURDAY, february 17, 2018

LOTTERY NUMBERS O

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20 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

DAILY MILLIONS 05 06 12 25

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LUCKY 3 9 7 6

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Afternoon Draw DRAW DE LINE

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Evening Draw

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

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SunDAY, february 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Govt releases CGX oil contract …Guyana gets 1% royalty, 53% profit sharing

W

eeks after its own self-imposed deadline expired, the Guyana Government has begun the process of releasing the contracts between the State and other oil companies – beginning with Canadian company CGX Resources Incorporated.

Under the Article 11 ‘Cost Recovery and Production sharing’ heading of the contract, the Government agreed to a one per cent royalty. In addition, a 53 per cent share of profit oil and gas; after recoverable costs have been satisfied was negotiated. This is providing the company moves from exploration to production.

The contract states that “All recoverable contract costs incurred by the contractor shall, subject to the terms and conditions of any agreement relating to non-associated gas… be recovered from the value… of a volume of crude oil or natural gas produced from the contract area and limited in any month to an amount which equals 75 per cent of the total production from the contract area for such month…” This is a greater share than the 50 per cent share the coalition Government would come to negotiate with ExxonMobil three years later. The one per cent royalty was, in fact, contained in the original 1999 Exxon agreement, until it was increased by one per cent by the coalition in 2016.

Oil companies, in this case CGX, are expected to use revenue from its production in order to make back its capital investment. This will be categorised as “cost oil”. Whatever remains of this is the ‘profit oil’ Guyana will have to spilt between the oil company and its associates, if there are any.

Relinquishment clause

Apparent in the CGX contract is that the Canadian company relinquishment clause is a comprehensive one.

Article Five of the contract states “If, prior to the

end of the initial period of the Petroleum Prospecting Licence issued to the contractor under Article 3.1, an application is made by the contractor for renewal of the Licence under section 24 (1) of the Act, the contrac-

maining agreements will be released in similar fashion.”

CGX’s entire portfolio is focused on Guyana, in both the onshore and offshore basins. The company has stakes in blocks located offshore and onshore

However, exploration results on the block have so far not yielded the success of Exxon, with three dry holes drilled in 2005. Moving offshore, it has a 100 per cent stake in three offshore blocks – Corentyne, Corentyne

of Corentyne, Berbice and Demerara. The Corentyne licence applies to 1.5 million acres, while the Demerara licence covers one million acres. Both of these operations are fully owned by CGX. Onshore, the company holds a majority stake in the Berbice Block, through the ON Energy joint venture, owned 62.5 per cent by CGX Energy and 37.5 per cent by local investors.

Annex and Pomeroon.

In 2012, CGX participated in two offshore wells – the Eagle-1 well was drilled on the Corentyne Licence and the Jaguar-1 well was drilled on the Georgetown Licence. The Eagle-1 well had oil and gas, and the Jaguar-1 well sampled light oil in two zones. Both wells were abandoned. Eagle-1 as a dry hole and Jaguar-1 for safety concerns.

CGX operations in the Corentyne

tor shall relinquish at the end of the initial period an area equal to at least 15 per cent of the original contract area…” It goes on to say that “If prior to the end of the first renewal period… an application is made by the contractor for a second renewal of the licence, under section 24 (1) of the Act, the contractor shall then relinquish at the end of the first renewal period an area equal to at least 25 per cent of the original contract area…”

This was invoked last year when the Canadian company gave up 25 per cent of its concessions after renegotiating its work commitments. As a consequence, its blocks in Corentyne and Demerara reverted back to the State.

In a statement that accompanied the news that the contract was released, the Natural Resources Ministry promised that “over the coming weeks and months, as all aspects for the release are worked out with the operators, the re-

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SunDAY, february 18, 2018

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

Editorial

Deepening ethnic politics

L

ast Wednesday was the third anniversary of the Cummingsburg Accord which sealed the coalition agreement between APNU and the AFC to contest the 2015 elections on a common platform. By the terms of the Accord, it could be reviewed after three years; and since very early on the AFC had expressed concerns that the powers allocated to the AFC Prime Minister candidate were not as per the agreement and had requested a review, it was widely expected one would have been forthcoming.

Instead, the AFC issued a statement which extolled the Accord as laying the “foundation for the restoration of honour, dignity, credibility and unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in executive governance in Guyana.” While this claim cannot be excused for its hyperbole, because it flies in the face of what has actually transpired with the coalition’s actions in almost every facet of its Governmental responsibilities – of which the oil contract is only the tip of the iceberg – we leave its interrogation for another day.

The following assertion, however, deserves to be addressed more urgently, since it reveals a fundamental disconnect with the actual framework of the kind of politics that is needed in Guyana, especially since the AFC claims otherwise: “The Cummingsburg Accord also dealt a significant blow to divisive ethnic politics which had ensnared Guyana for decades.”

It is now more than two decades of “free and fair” elections in Guyana, which have demonstrated the persistence of the salience of voting along ethnic lines in Guyana, rather than along some purported overarching “class” lines that were claimed to be more fundamental. Ethnic politics, however, is not seen to be some sort of “primordial” or atavistic throwback practice, but an outcome of political mobilisation along rational lines, structured by the imperative to garner majorities in transitioning democracies.

“Ethnies” – or groups identified culturally -- were tailormade for the post WWII decolonization and democratisation movements across the world. This movement has now reached its apogee with the universalism of being “white” through its several European variants, now acknowledged as also being particularistic and “ethnic” with the rise of Trump in the US and Brexit in Europe.

In Guyana, while resisted by some, many Guyanese felt some political progress was made when APNU reached out to the AFC because it wanted to acquire greater legitimacy to govern by adding Indian Guyanese votes to its African Guyanese-dominated base.

But three years after the experiment, the AFC cannot baldly assert that “a significant blow to divisive ethnic politics” has been struck. This is now an empirical question that can be answered only by examining the record of the coalition Government in that time. One of the innovations in the APNU/AFC coalition Manifesto was supposed to address a fundamental feature of ethnic politics: the proclivity for the various ethnic groups in the society to compare themselves to each other in having access to the patrimony of the state, as intermediated by the Government.

Governments in ethnic majoritarian systems were inevitably dominated by one ethnic group, and were assumed to “favour” that group both by their supporters and those “outside”. This was the source of most conflicts that ensued, and also acted to harden the ethnic divisions. The coalition manifesto proposed to issue “Ethnic Impact Statements” when initiating programmes to head off such rancor and conflict before, rather than after, the inevitable post-mortem evaluations.

Sadly, however, this direct confrontation of the adverse fallout of ethnic politics was never even tested. As a result, directly after the Government took office, the ethnic evaluations have been done in appointments to Ministries, Boards, Civil Service etc. and in awarding of contracts, scholarships, ambassadorships etc; in development of villages and, finally, in the decision to close four sugar estates and fire more than 5700 sugar workers, along with adversely affecting hundreds more cane farmers and thousands of their employees.

These actions, which predominantly affected Indian Guyanese adversely, have only exacerbated “divisive ethnic politics” in Guyana.

A Region Nine student showcases his region’s float at the annual Children’s Mashramani Costume and Float Parade Competition on Saturday. He led the region’s band as they made their way through the streets of Georgetown. Their float depicted the livelihood of the people in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. He was all decked out in traditional Indigenous wear carrying a giant benab.

The float also featured flora, fauna and human resources that are found in that part of Guyana. Adding to this colourful spectacle were the energetic revellers who follow behind, keeping in theme with the float parade as they danced their way to the National Park for the final judging (Dexter Ceres photo)

The misplaced focus of the Lindo Creek inquiry Dear Editor, The establishment of President Granger’s most recent Commission of Inquiry (CoI) raises troubling issues. On the occasion of his swearing in before Minister Harmon or Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan or both Minister Harmon and the Chief Magistrate – Justice Trotman is reported in the media as saying that he was committed to upholding the President’s promise of "probing the truthfulness of things.”

(Incidentally, as a judicial officer, the Chief Magistrate has no place at Minister Harmon’s office).

However, it is in this commitment by Justice Trotman to upholding the President’s promise where lies the germ that many perceive will infect the neutrality and impartiality of the inquiry. Justice Trotman’s commitment must undoubtedly be to his oath, which he has seemingly cast aside. Even though he has stressed the independence, impartiality, and integrity of the Commission, serious doubt is raised about his emphasis when consideration is given to further statements made by Justice Trotman, which, when juxtaposed to statements made by President Granger

significantly erodes Justice Trotman’s assurances of independence, integrity and impartiality. The learned Judge reportedly told the media that the Inquiry has two objectives: 1. To find the truth.

There could be no issue with this objective.

2. To bring healing and closure to the families, relatives and friends and all who require justice to be done in this particular instance.

Though, well knowing the inanity that emerges from the chambers of the Attorney General and other Government sources, I would nevertheless be shocked if Justice Trotman’s Terms of Reference as a sole Commissioner, charges him with the responsibility to bring closure and healing to the families, relatives and friends of those who perished at Lindo Creek. In this frame of mind, Justice Trotman has begun a journey, heading in the wrong direction. He has set himself an objective and will apparently be working towards it.

Quite coincidentally, President Granger on the other hand, is reported in the press as telegraphing his understanding of the outcome of the Trotman Commission of Inquiry, when he reported-

ly said: “ the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry into the Lindo Creek massacre, which claimed the lives of eight miners in 2008 will lead to the unravelling of the criminal network and exposure of operatives who were responsible for the reign of terror during the most deadly decade in Guyana’s history, while also ensuring that justice is served for the affected families.”

It is not clear whether Justice Trotman is parroting President Granger or vice versa, but what is clear is that there is a meeting of these two distinguished minds in relation to their predictions of the outcomes of the Inquiry and note must be taken of the fact that both President Granger and Justice Trotman have not qualified their predictions by the use of words such as “ likely” or “possible”. Their predictions of the outcomes of the Inquiry have been expressed with great clarity and certainty.

These statements throw up many questions. Is Justice Trotman also committed to unravelling some criminal network? We know that Justice Trotman has predicted closure and healing for families and friends of the Lindo Creek victims as an objective of his inquiry which President

Granger has declared will ensure justice for those families and friends. But President Granger has not yet heard the evidence to be presented to the CoI. How does he know that there will be an unravelling of any kind? How does President Granger and Justice Trotman know in advance that justice will be served to the families, relatives and friends of the Lindo Creek victims? It is not unreasonable, in the context of all the public comments made by both President Granger and Justice Trotman, to assume that Justice Trotman may just also be committed to meeting the expectations of President Granger.

In recent comments to the press about criticisms that were being made about the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry, Justice Trotman, who has been appointed a sole Commissioner reportedly said: “we are not fazed by it. We will press on.” Who is Justice Trotman, referring to, when he speaks of “we”? Could it be that unthinkingly, Justice Trotman was referring to himself and President Granger?

Perception is sometimes reality.

Sincerely, Selwyn Persaud

Struggles of old age pensioners Dear Editor, From my understanding of a press statement made by the Finance Minister and which was seen by me for the first time in 2017, a laid down principle was provided for old age pensioners countrywide to benefit from tax exemption on

their savings accounts.

The relief was considered to be helpful with the savings as we all know, no matter how infinitesimal becoming ever so important to have especially when exigency arises.

For the year, as a recipient of the relevant particu-

lars that were given at Anna Regina Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) office for withholding tax which expires at the end of each year and it was granted to me.

But for this year a similar request was rejected without given any reason even though

the same was done as the previous one with the only difference being another female who made me to understand that it is at the discretion of the GRA to do so but her explanation did not find favour with me. continues on page 5

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

M&CC in a perpetual state of financial crisis (Pt 2) Dear Editor, We were presented with information that the Council is considering foreign trips in 2018 for the Mayor and others, including attending a Sister Cities Project in China, participation in Dragon Boat Racing in China, a trip for the Mayor and her “Team” to attend the 21 Century Maritime Committee meeting (the Mayor had signed the 21 Century Maritime Agreement on her last trip to China – isn’t this the domain of foreign affairs?), and a trip for the Mayor to attend the Caribbean Conference of Mayors in Kingston, Jamaica. I had previously argued in Council that these foreign trips have not yielded any tangible benefits for the citizens of Georgetown and given the never-ending financial crisis at Council, all foreign trips should be halted.

The administration headed by Town Clerk Royston King and Mayor Chase Green have challenged interventions by the Communities Minister to correct some of their actions. For instance, they challenged the Cabinet’s decision to suspend the parking meter Bylaws when it was presented by the Minister and the Town Clerk even hired an attorney to communicate that challenge to the Minister’s authority. Then there was the letter from the Communicates Minister to the Town Clerk which was carried in some newspapers which clarified the authority of the Town Clerk due to complaints from citizens and some Councillors. And when the Central Government decided to assist the Council with an additional $200 million recently with recommen-

dations on how the money should be spent, they decided to go ahead with a plan they had already decided upon.

The Mayor even publicly accused the Communities Minister of meddling in the affairs of the Council while she conveniently forgot the assistance the Council received from Government to pay the garbage contractors, repair Council roads, repair the Kitty Market and the pending repairs to the Stabroek wharf.

We were now informed that the Town Clerk has plans to add a new ‘research and development department’ to the already over-bloated City Council staff but he has not yet provided any details even though this item was on the 2018 Budget discussions. This is in addition to Wardens he hired who are attached to his office and who are duplicating the functions of staff in other departments.

After having read many letters and articles about corruption and mismanagement at the City Council, you have to wonder what could be done to correct this situation since Central Government appears unwilling to “rock the boat” at City Hall perhaps due to overarching political considerations. But I strongly believe that the welfare and interests of the citizens must take precedence and this situate must be corrected post-haste. While this list is not comprehensive or all-inclusive, there are a number on actions and positions that can be taken including the Government finally accepting that the Council is bankrupt and that the Town Clerk, Mayor and Finance Committee Chairman are incompetent and have utterly failed in the discharge

of their responsibilities and should be removed from office immediately.

A robust forensic audit is necessary due to the lack of accountability and transparency in the financial dealings of Council where billions have been spent and the Auditor General has been unable to perform complete audits.

A team of experts from the various Ministries and the Guyana Revenue Authority is needed to examine systems and procedures in place or a lack thereof and to make recommendations in the areas of finance, engineering, security, health, accountability, transparency and good governance. I strongly believe that the City’s Public Health Department and Day Care Centres should be turned over to the Health/Education Ministries perhaps until such a time when competent and effective management returns to City Hall and when Council is financially viable.

The close examination of the workforce is necessary to ensure that there is no redundancy and that workers and management staff possess the right qualifications and/ or experience for the positions they hold. And finally, the election of competent Councillors who can understand and make recommendations on financial, legal and social matters and who will not be just seat-warmers or rubber-stamps and will be willing to stand up and challenge any actions that are not in the best interests of the citizens of Georgetown.

Yours sincerely, Bishram Kuppen – Councillor Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown

Longwinded process at GLSC Dear Editor, The Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), Trevor Benn, admitted to the media that there is a backlog of over 32,000 land applications going back to the 1980s for which he blamed ‘the process for acquiring lands being too longwinded.’

So, after 37 years, nearly four decades, the GLSC’s Commissioner has found the fault. He needs to be complimented, it could have taken another four decades, but I am sure that the resolution of that problem will involve an inordinate length of time.

There is no doubt that the GLSC is badly managed and that the ‘longwinded process’ is the direct result of that. It does not need a crystal ball specialist to tell us that applicants who ‘greased the wheels of processing’ have their applications processed with lightning speed. Applicants, who wait on the process wait forever and many of these are in the ’32,000 bundle’. There is corruption at each branch of the GLSC and many of these officers in charge and their subordinate officers are adept at the processing of the applications of those who are willing to be corrupted. Some of these GLSC officials can be seen in their company at expensive restaurants and clubs in New Amsterdam and Corriverton. For too long the corruption within the GLSC has been given the green light and many organisations have turned a blind eye to it.

At the recent ‘GLSC Outreach’ at Corriverton, officials were seen collecting bribes in full view of the public and in his letter, Yusuf made mention of this. I was there and saw this. One overseas ‘investor’ had no time to change his US dollars and the officials accepted the US cur-

Religious leaders should lead by example Dear Editor, The recent news captioned: “Rosignol Pastor gets 40 years for raping minor’’ was very shocking and disturbing since the rise and fall of our so-called pope among other religious leaders in the Christian community reminds me of the Jim Jones who killed 918 innocent souls in the name of God. The current news of a pastor getting a 40-year sentence for raping a minor sets a bad example for the Christian community, as well as other religious communities. As a reverend and religious leader myself, I wish to admonish all religious leaders from every religion to be very watchful; also political leaders and leaders of Government and private institutions.

When I attended Bible College or seminary, I was taught a course called “Ministerial Ethics” and over a dozen courses on the “principles of leadership”. I was taught about the three principles or weapons used by Satan to destroy men – power, sex, and money – as stated in the Bible.

From the “Ministerial Ethics” course I did, I learn that a minister of religion should not counsel a woman alone, be alone with a woman in a closed office, have a woman alone in his car, eat with a woman alone at a restaurant and same goes for female ministers of religion.

Ministers of religion need to set a better example to the church, community, society and nation. Even today we have a lot of “so called” pastors and church leaders who never went through any Ministry training but call themselves Apostles, Prophets, Bishops; many of whom can barely read at a very competent level.

What is important in Ministry and every capacity of leadership is our morality, character, integrity and respect for others. It’s not how nice we dress, it’s how morally upright we must be.

Good character is the leadership quality that distinguishes great leadership. It is the quality that most people admire. Leaders of good character have integrity, courage

and compassion. They are careful and prudent.

Ministers must see their own daughter in a next man’s daughter they must see the mothers, sisters, aunts as their own because they must have the love of God in their hearts and don’t see members of the opposite sex as sex objects and rape objects because we will reap what we sow.

Our words contain our life – that’s our character and attitude. Life is sowing and reaping.

Ministers of religion are

not angels and no man or woman is perfect and no sin is too big for God to forgive.

We can learn from our mistakes. My heart is broken when I read the bad news pieces in the press.

To live in harmony with the people of all religions, races, castes and nations may be added to the characteristics of high character. Character is a God given principle, given by God to man from His holy books.

Sincerely, Rev Gideon Cecil

Struggles of old age...

from page 4

This disparity is ever so much confusing and remains beyond my understanding with something definitely wrong for my humble opinion discretion is not applicable and totally irrelevant to this issue.

From my point of view, once the withholding tax becomes discretionable, it will obviously create an opening for corruption as it would be possible for anyone to pay and get one.

The Minister’s statement to me is ever so much pellucid on the entitlement of tax relief from which pensioners stand to benefit and must be so confined within the ambit of the law.

With GRA doing otherwise to now reject my request, some form of clarity along the line becomes necessary as a matter of public interest.

Yours faithfully, Baliram Persaud

rency. If an investigation is done, it will be seen that certain persons are being given preference over others and it is the main reason for the horrendous backlog. The processing is not done in an organised and sequentially chronological manner. It is not on a first come first serve basis.

One of the functions of the GLSC is ‘to receive and evaluate offers to ‘purchase’ and ‘to let’ public lands and to issue for and on behalf of the President, grants, leases and permits to occupy such lands’. The GLSC Act also makes it mandatory ‘to establish and maintain liaison with all agencies’ in certain aspects and ‘to advise the Government on policies relating to public lands’. This being so required it is quite an enigma why the land policy as it relates to cattle farming is being so blatantly ignored?

Both the Prime Minister and the Agriculture Minister said dairy and cattle farming should be promoted but not at the expense of those cattle farmers who are already utilising the #52/66 pasture. There are lands available elsewhere such as the #52 backlands which have been applied for by prospective and small cattle farmers who want to expand their cattle farming but nothing has been done so far to facilitate them. Some of these applications have been gathering cobwebs at the GLSC offices in Georgetown and Berbice since five years ago.

These persons have been given ‘the royal run around’ because they have refused to be part of the corruption. Benn can check some of these applications for lands to do cattle and rice farming and ask himself the reason why these applications have not been processed.

The Commission is also

required ‘to cooperate fully with all the Ministries, Government departments, agencies and other public authorities’. But unfortunately, even though these applicants would have gotten ‘no objection’ letters and letters of recommendations from the Regional Democratic Council in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), the processing takes forever. Moreover, in direct contradiction to the policy of the Government, the GLSC has taken it upon itself to invite offers to apply for lands already being utilised by cattle farmers. This shows the highhandedness of these GLSC officials who feel that they are beyond reproach and can operate in complete disregard for Government land policies.

I do firmly believe that the Government must start a massive investigation into the corrupt practices and do a massive reshuffling and I do feel that the present Commissioner has no vision to transform the current monolithic structure and organisation of the Commission.

Yours sincerely, Muhammad Mustapha

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Foundation and Resistance

Scores benefit from Better Hope medical outreach

“If we use antibiotics when not needed, we may not have them when they are most needed.” –Dr. Tom Frieden, Director, US CDC

I

Anu Dev

've been rotating through Internal Medicine for the past two months.

And one of the more common reasons we had to admit people was because of infections -- whether it was a lung infection, a urinary tract infection, or an infection of their blood. And once the infection was bacterial, they needed antibiotics.

Usually, we would start them off on a broad spectrum antibiotic and send a sample off to the lab to test for which specific antibiotics that particular bacteria was susceptible to. And alarmingly, it turns out that more and more strains of bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics that they used to be susceptible to.

And it made me think about growing up in Guyana and about our rather casual approach to antibiotics - in its prescription and usage.

Back in high school, we learnt about microbes like bacteria that cause so many diseases and illnesses. The discovery of these microbes

after the invention of the microscope led to the search for an agent, an "anti-biotic" that would destroy them and cure the diseases they caused.

Recently we had a class on 'Antimicrobial Resistance'. During the class, we learnt that many of the antibiotics that used to be able to kill specific bacteria were no longer effective against those bacteria.

Physicians now have to prescribe newer, stronger antibiotics to fight the bacteria that have developed resistance to the old antibiotics.

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global concern: more and more bacterial species are becoming resistant to the antibiotics we used to use to treat them. In fact, the theme for World Health Day way back in 2011 was "Antimicrobial resistance: no action today, no cure tomorrow." The theme was a call to action for us to start making changes now, or else we won't be able to depend on antibiotics to be able to be a cure for deadly diseases in the future. It's terrifying to think about bacteria

so resistant that we won't have any drugs that are able to kill them.

So what are some of the actions that we as individuals could take? Well, first of all, we could make sure we're using antibiotics correctly when we're prescribed them.

Doctors don't usually choose a random course of antibiotics for you to use; there's a method to their madness, I promise. So make sure you complete the entire course of antibiotics that you've been prescribed. Don't stop the course three-quarters way just because you're starting to feel better. Finish the course to make sure you've zapped all of the bad bacteria out of your system.

There are all sorts of bugs out there that can cause disease: bacteria, viruses, fungi. Not all disease are caused by bacteria. In fact, the flu that we all seem to get yearly is caused by a virus -- the influenza virus. Antibiotics don't work against viruses, so they won't do anything to cure your bout of influenza. That's why your doctor won't give you antibiotics for your flu; instead, the

doctor will tell you what to do to manage your symptoms -- things like Panadol for the fever, plenty of rest and fluids.

The medical system isn't the only reason for our problems with antimicrobial resistance though. The agricultural industry actually plays a major part as well.

There is a growing concern about the use of antibiotics in the rearing of livestock.

It is natural for bacteria to develop resistance; all living things adapt and evolve to survive in a changing world. But the problem we're facing is how quickly the bacteria are becoming resistant, and that's largely in part to the way we've been misusing and overusing antibiotics.

Antibiotics are a vital part of our fight against diseases. The discovery of penicillin, the first antibiotic, was a revolutionary turning point. Let's make sure we're doing our part to make sure that the antibiotics we have are still effective for many more years to come!

A pharmacist dispensing medication to patients at the Better Hope medical outreach

T

he Public Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Better Hope Assembly of God Church, on Saturday hosted its first ever health fair at Better Hope.

The health fair targeted

by outreaches or educational programmes. Health is an area we have to pay close attention to,” Dr Halls emphasised.

Dr Halls said the fair has seen great response from villagers, and has gone well

A resident having his teeth cleaned by a dentist during the outreach on Saturday

residents of Better Hope and neighbouring communities.

While delivering brief remarks, Inter-Ministerial Sector Coordinator within the Public Health Ministry, Seewchan (only name), told the gathering that there is dire need for cooperation among faith bodies and ministries in such activities. A doctor attached to the David Rose Mental Health Unit, Oletia Halls, said hosting health fairs is a way of delivering health services to the outlying areas.

“So far there has been a great turnout, (and) we are expecting more by the end of the day; so basically, we have had persons come in to do different tests, including eyes screening and blood pressure testing. We are trying our best to take the health (care initiatives to every) area, whether it is

over the target.

“In the blood donors section, out target was to receive 15 units of blood, and so far we already have 20 units of blood; so that tells us that persons are really interested and are getting involved,” she declared.

Pastor Dale Persaud of the Better Hope Assembly of God Church noted that, through the initiative, persons will be able to access health care at ease.

The fair offered the residents blood pressure testing, random blood sugar testing, HIV and blood grouping screening, blood drive, dental services, eye vision testing, and mental health screening.

The fair is expected to be taken to different communities across the country in the coming months.

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SunDAY, february 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Wales conversion plans?

Weeds taking over lands as rice cultivation seemingly shelved …no word on poultry, livestock initiatives

By Shemuel Fanfair

N

early two years after the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) announced that it had intended to convert some 485 acres of land at Wales Estate into rice cultivation, the plots in the area remain desolate, highlighting that the plan has been shelved.

During a visit to Wales on Saturday, residents, many of whom are former workers, highlighted to this publication sections of the land that are being overtaken with weeds. They expressed much dismay that, to date, no rice has been reaped.

Having observed this, Guyana Times contacted acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo, Paul Bhim, for an update on the conversion plans, but he related that he would be

The lands which Wales’ residents highlighted are being overtaken with weeds and bushes (Shemuel Fanfair photo)

unable to comment on matters relating to Wales, as that entity has been vested in the National Industrial & Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

This takeover was approved by Finance Minister Winston Jordan on December 29, 2017. Wales, in addition to the estates of Skeldon, Rose Hall and East Demerara (Enmore) are now being managed by the Special Purposes Unit (SPU), which falls under

the purview of the Finance Ministry.

Speaking in December 2016, Bhim, who also holds the profile of GuySuCo’s Finance Director, had told reporters that some 100 of the 1000 Wales workers were identified for the rice conversion plans, including husbandry practices.

“The ploughing of the land has started. The 100 workers will be doing husbandry practices – weeding, cleaning the canals…,”

Bhim had previously noted.

He had refuted claims of weed overgrowth at lands which were prepared when the Sugar Corporation was managing the entity. Now that a year has passed, Wales residents have stressed, weeds are indeed taking over the supposedly converted rice plots.

However, the current conditions of the lands at Wales are a departure from what Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had expressed last year when he gave indication that the first crop of rice at the Wales Sugar Estate was expected by March 2017.

“I want to make this clear: we haven’t closed Wales Estate. It is the factory that has been closed because, according to the CoI (Commission of Inquiry),

there aren’t any recommendations for the closure of any estate,” he had said last year.

In February of that year, the Minister told the National Assembly that the sugar factory would be converted into a business establishment that would see the rearing of poultry and other livestock. Prior to that, Minister Holder had announced in May 2016 that Government was examining the feasibility of converting the factory into plants that would have processed dairy products and fruit juices, among other products.

Termed as the “re-organisation of the West Demerara factory”, he contended then that this would have created opportunities for local farmers, as lands formerly used for sugar cane

cultivation were meant to be allocated to them for cattle rearing and cultivation of various crops which would have been required for the operation of the juice plant.

At that time, he said, “This administration has now rationalised the Wales situation, where you join Wales and Uitvlugt so that the Uitvlugt factory can now work at 100% efficiency.”

The merger was in keeping with Government’s plans to diversify and make GuySuCo more efficient.

However, the plans never materialized, and retrenched workers have repeatedly complained of their difficulties garnering alternative and consistent employment, which continues to affect their ability to adequately provide for themselves and families.

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Fire flattens Coldingen furniture store …over 48 jobless

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ver forty-eight persons are now jobless after a mid-afternoon fire flattened the Supra International furniture manufacturing complex

Businessman Keith Moonasar

at the Coldingen Industrial Estate on the East Coast of Demerara.

According to reports, the fire started sometime around 15:30h in the right wing of the building and quickly spread.

The Guyana Fire Service was summoned but only ar-

Yougeshwar, related that he secured the factory and left everything intact but received a call sometime later informing him of the fire.

He explained that he then returned to the site and summoned the Fire Service while attempting to save some items.

Owner, Keith Moonasar, was distraught as he spoke to Guyana Times. He related that he received a call informing him of the fire after which he immediately contacted his managers and foremen, who confirmed same.

“They said that there is a fire here and they are waiting on the fire brigade. They called the Fire Service and it took like one hour 15 minutes for them to get here. I was too shaky to drive so I took a cab and immediately rushed here and when I got here, everything was gone already,” he related.

He said the family was preparing for the wake of

1997 and that the Coldingen location was their manufacturing and storage complex.

“It is hard to estimate any losses but it is in the hundreds of millions. We

The section where the fire started

manufacture office furniture to sell at our sister company, Starcom Office Furniture.

We had foam, fabric, machinery and building furniture supplies (stored in the building),” he further stated.

A worker sits helplessly as the fire flattens his workplace

rived after the entire building was up in flames – some 75 minutes later.

The Police in a statement said the foreman, Gansham

his brother, who was the former manager of the complex, when he received the news. He noted that they have been in operation since

room.” He added that his 48 plus workers are now out of a job because of the fire.

“This is immeasurable lost. No amount of insurance can replace it. We have

The businessman noted that there were some combustible materials stored in the building, but they were locked away in a “sealed

outstanding orders, we have never been so busy, and we have outstanding commitments. How do you recover from this? How do you even begin to?” he questioned.

According to the security guard on duty, Baichan (only name given), he discovered smoke emanating from the building sometime at about 15:30h and immediately summoned the manager and foreman.

“Me come tek over at 3 o’clock and the foreman and manager them wait till me come and then them lock up the place and them left.

After them come about half hour later me see smoke and me hurry call the foreman and then them come back same time and call the fire reel,” he related. He also lashed out at the Fire Service for not arriving in a timely manner. (Lakhram Bhagirat)

Minibus driver shot, chopped by bandits

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inibus driver Alfred Braithwaite of South Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara is now hospitalised after being shot and chopped by three bandits to whom he refused to hand over his money.

The incident occurred on Friday evening at Victoria Road, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara; and the 37-yearold Braithwaite was report-

edly shot to his right leg and chopped to his face in this encounter with armed bandits.

Based on reports received, at about 18:45h on Friday, Braithwaite was standing in front of the Superbet Shop at Plaisance when he was approached by the three men, who demanded his money.

He reportedly refused their demand, and was shot to his right leg by one of the men, who whipped out a handgun

from his waist.

After being shot, the minibus driver rushed to his vehicle, which was nearby, and secured himself inside. Going in pursuit of the driver, the men damaged the vehicle’s windscreen and windows, and injured Braithwaite to his face. They then confiscated $14,000 from him.

The hapless bus driver raised an alarm, and public-spirited persons rushed

to his aid, but by then the three men, reportedly identified as “Juvenile”, “Bang” and “Kevin”, had made good their escape.

The Police have since taken a statement from the injured man, and are on the hunt for the three men, who are said to be well known characters in the Plaisance area.

Investigations are ongoing.

Kwakwani man dies after lorry topples

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Kwakwani, Berbice resident was on Friday evening killed after losing control of the vehicle he was driving along the 14 Miles Potaro Road, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

Dead is 30-year-old Kevon Sauers of Kwakwani River Front, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Reports are at about 21:00h on the day in question, Sauers was driving motor lorry GSS 6366 with a trailer bearing registration

number TRR 5291 and in the vicinity of 14 Miles Potaro, when the vehicle encountered mechanical problems while descending a hill.

It was at this time, the driver lost control of the vehicle causing it to topple several times before coming to a halt. Sauers was reportedly pinned and died on the spot.

The porter, Clifton Charles Rodrigues, who was with the now dead man at the time escaped with injuries.

Sauers’ body was removed after persons cut through the wreckage. He was taken to the Mahdia Hospital Mortuary. A team of Police Officers has travelled to the scene as investigations continue.

Only last week, the Police stated that at the end of January 2018, the Force record a 20 per cent increase in road accidents but a 14 per cent decline in road fatalities when compared to the same period last year.

Up to the end of January, six persons have lost their lives. The Police also reported that serious, minor and damage accidents have declined by 17 per cent, 15.3 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Speeding and drunk driving, coupled with speeding and pedestrians crossing in the path of approaching vehicles, were the main causes of the fatal accidents reports for the first month of the year.

Capitulation…

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...by AFC ust as your Eyewitness predicted, Valentine’s Day came and went, with the APNU-AFC Cummingsburg PreNup left unreviewed. Now, your Eyewitness doesn’t mind if the AFC doesn’t mind it was screwed royally

by APNU where their “fair share” of the governmental authority’s concerned. Some folks actually LIKE being screwed!! Who’s your Eyewitness to deny them getting their jollies off! Different strokes for different folks and all that.

What your Eyewitness is peeved about is the AFC’s taking their “eye pass” the Guyanese people to claim the Accord “laid the foundation for the restoration of honour, dignity, credibility and unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in executive governance in Guyana.” Which alternate universe are these AFC people living in? If it had come from Nagamootoo, who received the greatest screwing as “Prime Minister”, it might be excused. The poor fella, after all, was under anesthesia.

But Trotman and Ramjattan?? Pleeeeease!!! What honour has been restored? With all the thieving that went on at Jubilee Park; the Albuoystown bottomhouse warehouse; the Pharma contract; the cleaning of Le Repentir cemetery and other City Hall contracts …all Guyanese know they’re dealing with a pack of thieves, and that there’s no honour among thieves!! How can anyone who understands the meaning of “honour” issue such a press release??

“Dignity”?? What dignity has been left for Guyana after Trotman “re-negotiated” the oil contract? We were once famous as the country of Jonestown and being “just above” that Trumpian “Sh*thole” Haiti. Now we’ll never be confused with Ghana anymore: we’re the country that has the worst oil contract in the world – even taking into consideration Ghana’s!! Even Burnham must be spinning in his mausoleum at Seven Ponds – after he warned about contracts with multinationals!!

“Credibility”?? Who‘ll believe a country whose President talks about the “rule of law” and then introduces unilateralism in every decision where the constitution MANDATES the concurrence of the Opposition Leader?

And then have the temerity to say his ‘perception” of the Constitution is just as valid as that of the Judiciary’s!!

“Credibility?” When the PM from the AFC is promised to chair Cabinet meetings then the President says “OOOPs!!

Can’t do!” on HIS PERCEPTION of the Constitution??

“Accountability”?? To whom? This Government has certainly not held itself accountable to the Guyanese people. Why would they hide the signing of the oil bonus from the Guyanese people for over a year, and then deny it outright when “mouth open and story jumped out”?? The contract itself was revealed only after the Government was dragged kicking and screaming by an outraged civil society activist.

On “transparency”, the less said, the better. It’s exemplified by the stygian darkness in which the AFC’s statement was crafted! …on Police Reform Sometimes you’ve got to wonder about whether PNC folks think all Guyana suffer from ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Or whether they count on us being so preoccupied in grubbing to survive’ we don’t remember things. Your Eyewitness was struck by President Granger’s extraordinary statement on the need to curb police “lawlessness”.

We know from his decision to launch the CoIs into the Crime wave with Lindo Creek that Granger doesn’t like to start from the beginning of things. But as a historian, he should know every occurrence rooted in history is a matter of contingency. And so it is with the “lawlessness” he bemoans in the Police.

By and large, the Police Force under the British did things according to “the book”. It was when the President’s hero, Burnham, took over, he corrupted every state institution in Guyana – including (or maybe especially) the Police Force. In case he forgot the details, all he has to do is review the Rodney CoI Report.

Ooops! Forgot that’s not to be mentioned!! …by Bulkan Your Eyewitness hopes Minister Bulkan doesn’t take the decision to have Chase-Green remain as Mayor personally - even though she embarrassed him.

You have to be born PNC. And Uncle Shahab never had a PNC card!!

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

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D’Urban Park probe

Transparency: Jagdeo expresses suspicion over missing files …as Audit Office may be forced to close investigation without them

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he Audit Office of Guyana’s has registered its complaints that it was unable to acquire pertinent documents from the Public Infrastructure Ministry in its special D’Urban Park probe. This is being viewed with much concern by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

Last month, Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma had revealed his inability to access certain documents from the Public Infrastructure Ministry, while carrying out his probe of the D’Urban Park Project. At his press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo was highly sceptical of the disappearance of documents which relate to a project completed only in 2016.

“I have seen the Auditor General say he will conclude his audit of the D’Urban Park project, even though he has not received the financial information requested. Now you could recall that when they were pursuing this project in Parliament, there was a debate,” Jagdeo said.

“They said, the [People’s Progressive Party] PPP spent $38 million on building up the land at D’Urban Park and it was a waste of time; we built up the land and we just allowed bush to grow on it. The Minister who was presenting the case pointed out when the bid was issued for filling up the land, who won the contract,” the former President recalled.

Jagdeo noted that this development was reflective of a pattern and not a positive one. He contrasted the loss of documents pertaining to a two-year-old contract with the preservation of documents for a project the PPP conducted over a decade ago.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

“$1.4 billion (was spent), but we can’t find the details of a bidding process that was completed two years ago, yet they found elements of this bid for filling up the place that was done, 12, 13 years ago. It tells you a pattern,”

being used for rehabilitative works.

Ali had stated that these requests were in relation to follow-ups from the findings that had been included in the AG’s 2015 Report. In his 2015 report, the Auditor General had said that following checks on the accounts, it was found that while Government transferred $1 billion of the Lotto money to the Consolidated Fund in 2015, it held onto just over half a billion dollars to remain under the control of the Ministry of the Presidency and it spent $305 million on various activities.

But the audit into the D’Urban Park project has always been hindered by a lack of access to pertinent information, with the Audit Office being forced to write to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure requesting

D’Urban Park has been mired in controversy almost from the start

Jagdeo said.

Unanswered questions Last year, the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, Irfaan Ali, had requested further probing be done by the Auditor General into specific projects. Among those projects was the D’Urban Park Project, for which the AG in his 2015 report listed some $36.5 million in Lotto funds

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documents.

This was revealed by Sharma, who spoke to the media after handing over of his 2016 report. According to Sharma, he wrote to the Ministry requesting information on Homestretch Development Inc. to “I’ve written the Ministry of Public (Infrastructure),” he had related. “I need to know information concerning that com-

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson

pany that was established to set up the Durban Park. (But) information is not coming.”

That company in question was Homestretch Development Inc (HDI); a company in which former Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine was revealed to be a Director.

Notwithstanding the trouble to access information, however, Sharma stated that the audit was still ongoing.

Last month, Sharma subsequently stated in sections of the media that records from the company are yet to be provided and that when a request was made to the Permanent Secretary of the Public Infrastructure Ministry, he had pled ignorance.

In the report, Sharma had related that while he intended to write to the company, he would wrap up his audit by year end with or without the documents.

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‘Whitewater’ a frontline community in defence of territorial integrity – President

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s Guyana prepares to go before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to defend its territorial integrity against claims being made by Venezuela, security concerns are increasing and as such, Commander-in-Chief President David Granger has declared that villages along the border with the neighbouring country are frontline communities in the fight to ensure the country’s territorial integrity.

The Head of State was at the time speaking to residents of Whitewater, Region One (Barima-Waini) following a briefing at the new patrol base, which was set up by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in the community on February 14, 2018, after the Regional Intelligence Committee reported in a letter to the Head of State some security concerns as a result of the current situation in Venezuela.

These reports were acted upon and a base was set up in less than 72 hours.

Guyana’s border with Venezuela is nearly 800 kilometres long and villages such as Whitewater, Baramita, Kaikan and Arau are all border communities, which the President described as Guyana’s guardians.

“You’re like our guardian, you’re like our shield, you are in the frontline and let me tell you this, since Guyana became independent in 1966; 52 years ago, our western neighbour, Venezuela, has been claiming this very land that you’re living on,” he said.

The Commander-in-Chief told residents that the borders between Venezuela and Guyana have already been decided on and the country is readying itself to defend its territory at the ICJ. “I am very sure Whitewater, that after this matter goes to court, you’ll be able to live in peace and that you will not have any more provocation,” he said to loud applause.

However, President Granger told residents that while there is an end to provocation in sight, all branches of Government,

Valentine greetings

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Residents of Whitewater and other surrounding communities gathered at a meeting with President Granger

along with the security forces and residents must work together to defend and protect the country, noting that Government will do everything in its power to ensure their safety.

“We want to make sure that you are safe and I’m here because I’m concerned about your safety. I’m here because I don’t want anybody to attack you; I don’t want anybody to hurt you; I don’t want crimes to be committed against you,” he said. The military presence is intended to neutralise any illegal activity and provide a 24-hour guard system to ensure maximum security.

President Granger, who was accompanied by Chief-of-Staff of the GDF, Brigadier Patrick West; member of the National Security Committee, Brigadier Bruce Lovell; and Commander of F Division (Interior locations), Senior Superintendent Ravindradat Budhram called on the Army, the Police and the regional administration to continue to work closely together with Central Government to ensure that citizens of those frontline communities are safe. Turning to the residents, he urged them to create Community Policing Groups (CPGs).

Meanwhile, Region One Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley, explained that not only is the region faced with threats from the Syndicatos, it is also dealing with Guyanese, who are returning home as a re-

sult of the crisis in Venezuela through illegal ports of entry. He added that there are also instances where Venezuelan farmers and traders cross over into Guyana’s territory to sell their produce and other commodities.

“The intervention of regular patrols and [security] persons being there in those communities would help to alleviate some of the security concerns that residents themselves would have raised with us… In Whitewater for instance, the Toshao and Council would have reached out to the RDC with these concerns too. In addition to that, at the landing called Mora Landing, which is a very far distance of about three hours walk back and forth, we were told that Venezuelans were setting up a fuel depot there, which is illegal, so the presence of our Joint Services on patrol in those far flung areas is important,” the Regional Chairman said.

Ashley also called on residents to give their full cooperation to the GDF and other Joint Services ranks and urged them to be vigilant and to report promptly, any possible security threats.

The village of Whitewater has an area of over 74.8 kilometers. Residents of the community depend largely on farming, fishing, hunting and small entrepreneurial ventures for their livelihoods.

atiricus dreaded going over to the Back Street Bar. It wasn’t that he’d found religion or anything and became scared of “demon rum”; he just knew he’d be getting some good “tantalizing” from the fellas. “And why not?” he mused ruefully.

Hadn’t he been promising them all month that something big was going to happen this Valentine’s Day from the KFC? “OK…OK...fellas,” said Satiricus, who’d decided a good offence was better than a weak defence. “The Valentine Day announcement from my KFC leaders didn’t come out the way I was told.”

“Really? Na worry Sato,” said Bungi, who knew his friend very well. “Jus’ tell abee wha’ happen, na?’

“Well, like I told you chaps, Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat told us this will be their last stand,” said Satiricus. “They had drawn a line in the sand with the Pee-an’-See: no more pushing around.”

“Abee know da,” said Cappo impatiently. “So wha’ happen dat dem ben’ ova and leh de Pee-an’-See pee pan de line?”

“From what I heard through the grapevine,” said Satiricus.

“Nagga Man tell everybody he was satisfied with the perks. He didn’t want to make any waves.”

“I always figured Nagga Man would do that. No backbone!” said Hari. “Maybe they’ll insert one in the US?” “But wha’ ‘bout Rum Jhaat?” asked Bungi. “He na guh get wan fat penshan fuh throw back like “Nagga Man.” “Budday, he’s so scared of Grain Ja, as soon as the man said there’s no reason to change the agreement, he said, ‘Yes sir!’” admitted Satiricus.

“Well, me nah even aks ‘bout Trat Man,” said Cappo. “He done sell out since ‘e bin get Speakah wuk!”

“Suh wha’ yuh guh do, Sato?” asked Bungi. “Yuh guh still suppo’t de KFC?” “Well fellas, I still have hope, you know!” said Satiricus.

“Hope in what?” demanded Hari.

“Well, Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat now see how scampish the Pee-an’-See people are,” replied Satiricus. “Their eyes are clean.”

“And wha’ dem guh do diff’rent?” demanded Bungi.

“They’ll work from within!” said Satiricus. “To change the Pee-an’-See.” His friends all shook their heads in resignation.

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Former Attorney General dies F

Our culture of depravity

By Ryhaan Shah

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he People’s National Congress (PNC) Government was a dictatorship in its first go-round with all the ills of Statesponsored thuggery and murder, party paramountcy, institutionalised racism, and financial corruptions all played their part in destroying Guyana. Now, in its first iteration, the current PNC Government led by Granger promises to return the country to that past.

Granger ignores even the façade of upholding the Constitution as he goes down the path of authoritarianism with all the attendant corruptions and depravities intact. As the rest of the world moves on to take advantage of new technologies and ways of doing business, Guyana is being dragged backward to relive a dark and dangerous past.

This puts a severe strain on the idea that our country is a democracy and our plight is better understood when you consider that we, the citizens, have only fallen creatures to choose from as our leaders. The exodus to northern shores as Guyanese flee to seek peace and prosperity elsewhere continues and successive governments have done nothing to reverse or even stem the outflow of some of our best and brightest.

The country continues to careen from crisis to crisis, whether from political corruption, criminal activity, road carnage, social ills such as domestic violence and rape, cultural dissonances, blackouts, etc. It’s a way of life to expect one horror after another and Government stands at the very centre of the maelstrom as the chief instigator of the depravities.

The crime wave continues unabated with 32 gun-related attacks in 35 days, and bandits rob school children, pensioners and even the blind as Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan appears unable to offer any policy directives to curb the assaults.

They say the civilisation of a country can be measured by how well it cares for its weakest members. As such, Guyana simply cannot make any claims to being civilised, especially after we all read that heart-rending letter written by Dr Mark Devonish about the inhumane treatment his terminally ill brother received at the hands of the “caregivers” at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The tragedy is that his letter to the press did not uncover any secrets but stated what we all know to be true about the level of “care” currently provided by the public health sector.

Former GPHC CEO, Michael Khan, had made significant inroads in improving the standard of services at the Public Hospital but Granger replaced him for no good reason.

It was simply an act of ethnic cleansing to satisfy the PNC’s racist ethos. That is more important in Granger’s Guyana than providing good health care.

Now the GPHC is under the management of Granger’s pick of a retired Army Brigadier, and Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence who held a Evangelical prayer service for the staff of the GPHC recently.

Yet, for all the prayers offered, there is, apparently, no compassion available at the hospital and the poor, who have no option but to depend on the services of the public health system, need all of our prayers if they are to survive the uncaring attitude and lack of service.

Whether Granger wishes to own it or not, the GPHC’s crassness is what vulgarity looks like. It is not parliamentarians voicing opposition to Government policies but Government’s own actions and conduct which lead to cruelty, corruption and all manner of depraved behaviour.

On parade this coming week will be the fountainhead of all the depravities that taxpayers’ hard-earned money can buy in that vile wine-down called Mashramani. The nudity, backballing, vulgar music and aesthetically poor float parade amount to an annual show of contempt for all decency by a section of the citizenry who are encouraged to participate in vulgarity.

The Constitution which establishes a framework for law, order, and public decency will once again be under attack by Government itself and the lawfulness and morality on which good governance and progressive nations are built will again be trampled underfoot by the road-top revellers.

And as if one day isn’t enough, Granger has moved to bestow a whole week of lawlessness to be paraded in May in the newfound Guyana Carnival.

But when you consider that corrupt governments thrive in such states since the dissolute and depraved are easier to manipulate and control – no one can ever take the moral high ground to point accusing fingers – everyone can understand why Granger needs to dispense as much bacchanalia as he possibly can.

As Martin Carter so aptly wrote: “All are involved/All are consumed.”

ormer Attorney General of Guyana, Justice Mohamed Shahahbuddeen, died early Saturday morning in Toronto, Canada, after a brief period of illness, leaving behind an illustrious career.

Justice Shahabuddeen, 81, will be remembered for his distinguished service as an eminent Judge of the International Court of Justice, a lawyer, public servant, politician and diplomat.

In 1953, he graduated for the University of London with a Bachelor of Law. In 1958 he earned his Master of Law, in 1970 he earned his Doctor of Philosophy and in 1986 the title of Doctor of Law. Justice Mohamed Shahabuddeen began his public service as a Magistrate before joining the Chamber of the Attorney General in 1959. In 1962 he was appointed Solicitor General, a post he held until 1973. He was elevated to the position of Attorney General in 1987, serving in that capacity until 1987. In 1983, while serving in the capacity as AG, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President of Guyana.

From 1988 to 1997 he served as a Judge of the International Court of

The late Justice Mohamed Shahabuddeen

Justice in The Hague, the first from the Commonwealth Caribbean to be accorded this signal honour. Subsequently, he was Judge and twice Vice President of the Yugoslavia Tribunal until 2009.

In addition, he has been an Arbiter in the International Criminal Court, also in The Hague since 1997, and the Centre for International Arbitration in Cairo. In January 2009, he was cho-

sen as a Judge of the International Criminal Court.

Justice Mohamed Shahabuddeen authored several books, including The Legal System of Guyana (Georgetown, 1973); Constitutional Development in Guyana, 1621-1978 (Georgetown, 1978); Nationalisation of Guyana Bauxite (1981) and From Plantocracy to Nationalisation (1983).

In recognition of the distinction and eminence achieved by him, he was awarded by the Government of Guyana the Order of Excellence in 1988, the Order of Roraima in 1980 and the Cacique's Crown of Honour in 1970.

According to his biography on The Integrationist Caribbean, “To perceive Justice Shahabuddeen as a mere legal luminary is an injustice to one who has made a major impact on his discipline, on the public life of the region and on the regional and international stages.”

Meanwhile, President David Granger in a statement later on Saturday extended heartfelt sympathy to the family and loved ones of the late Justice Mohamed Shahahbuddeen, especially his children Faud, Sieyf and Shalisa.

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Back to the future: Peripherilising Indians

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here are some who, when they become advanced in years, do not think anymore; they merely remember. This is particularly dangerous when those who lead a country, such as in Guyana today, fall prey to this tendency; since they merely repeat initiatives that may not only be inappropriate in the present circumstances, but may have actually failed in their first incarnation.

One of the prevalent beliefs in the African Guyanese community, occasioned by the PNC’s accession to office in 1964, was that Indian Guyanese controlled the economy, and if this were combined with political power (in the form of the PPP), then they would have nothing left for themselves, as citizens of a country that they had literally slaved to found.

This conclusion about the “injustice” of outcomes within existing institutions and structures was the concrete manifestation of the “African Security Dilemma”.

It led African Guyanese to justify and accept the rigging of elections and other “innovations” by the Ravi Dev PNC from 1968 -- which was explained as the only way to level the playing field. When the PNC secured sole control of the government after 1968, they moved to make the “small man a real man”. Very soon, it was apparent that the PNC saw only the “African man” as a “small man”. We have come a full circle again in 2018.

By 1970, with the UF out of the way, the PNC announced that the model of economic development would be “Cooperative Socialism,” and formulated a new 1972-1976 plan intended to “house, clothe and feed” the nation by the end of the plan period.

Ironically, nationalisation was to be the grand strategy for growth.

The bauxite industry was the first to be nationalised, with the expectation that the learning curve of running industries would be first overcome by its supporters. The PNC then moved to control those sectors of the economy in which Indians were prominent, such as agriculture and petty retailing. While the PNC would like to justify their policies as guided by the model of “Import Substitution Industrialization”, where money is squeezed from the agricultural sector to finance manufacturing of items imported, the execution of the policy meant that the burdens fell overwhelmingly on the Indian population. For instance, rice was compulsorily bought cheaply by the Government, then sold on the world market at high prices, thus placing a huge implicit tax on rice farmers, and in the process destroying the industry.

The proposed spending in the PNC’s 1972-76 development plan reduced the PPP’s 55% of budgeted funds to Agriculture down to sixteen percent, and redirected sixty-two percent to various public works, where, as in the previous plan, its supporters dominated.

The PNC exacted a levy on windfall profits in the sugar industry (1974), nationalized it (1976), and further politicised and squeezed the workers to eventually bring the industry down to its knees. The PNC instituted an External Trade Bureau (ETB) which took over all importation of goods into the country; distributed these through the intriguingly named “Knowledge Sharing Institute” (KSI), mostly located in African areas; and put most petty retailers – predominantly Indians – out of business.

The co-op scheme was the vehicle for the “small man” i.e. the small African man, to become a “real man”. Huge swathes of agricultural land were transferred to co-operatives founded by African villagers.

The newly established Co-op Bank (more jobs for the PNC elite) provided them with agricultural loans, while the Ministry of Cooperatives provided land and technical help, and the Guyana Marketing Corporation provided a market. Co-ops paid no taxes on profits.

The PNC established at least fourteen housing schemes with thousands of homes, all for African Guyanese. The upper and middle class supporters of the PNC were empowered through jobs in the enlarged public sector (including the nationalised industries) and the boards, and directorships of the Government corporations.

Unfortunately, the sad fact is that most of these policies failed, and by 1980, Guyana was bankrupt and defaulting on its international commitments. What had gone wrong?

The PNC proved several things, which they appear determined to repeat today. Firstly, no Government can exclude or penalize half of the population of a country and still expect development, unless it is willing to introduce slave camps. Secondly, if a group is thought to be lagging in any sector of national life, and there is a need for programmes to rectify such disabilities, then the need and the programmes must be identified openly. While each Government may have been moving to rectify historical imbalances against Indians and Africans respectively, efforts to present the programmes as facially neutral fuelled suspicions of discrimination and racism.

These suspicions increased the ethnic and political polarisation, based on the nature of Guyanese ethnic politics.

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sunDAY, february 18, 2018| guyanatimesgy.com

Wales Estate closure

Remaining workers face March dismissal – sources

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s former Wales Estate workers, their relatives and other residents in the surrounding communities complain of depleting finances and sustenance challenges, over 10 more families will face simi-

lar circumstances as the remaining workers will be dismissed early next month.

Guyana Times had reported that while official operations were shut down in December 2016, skeletal staff was retained as the machines in

the factory were kept running.

However, according to sources within the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the remaining members of staff will be retrenched by March 5.

According to a source, operators within the Mechanical Tillage Department are currently being phased out.

“They will be going off one after the other and two persons will remain until the 5th of March,” the source indicated. It is not clear if any of these staff will be retained at other estates.

Meanwhile, another GuySuCo source revealed that some eight members of staff attached to the Wales office department, who are mainly women, are similarly being retrenched. Guyana Times understands that these workers are unionised under the National Association of Agricultural Commercial Employees (NAACIE).

This newspaper was informed that four of these members are from the human resources department and others work in the finance section.

These imminent dismissals come against the backdrop of hundreds of former sugar workers at Wales, Enmore, Skeldon and Rose Hall who have expressed much frustration over the estate closures. This has spurred repeated protest actions across the sugar belt, with many pleading with Government to reverse many of the decisions made on the sugar industry.

It was however disclosed that the remaining Wales factory and office workers are likely to receive their severance payment within a reasonable timeframe. This is unlike what many former sugar workers at Wales have faced as they have been waiting since late 2016 to receive their termination benefits after they refused to take up employment at the Uitvlugt Estate. This refusal was formed on the basis that they cannot be compelled, under the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act (TESPA) to travel beyond 10 miles from their original place of work.

Uitvlugt is some 22 miles away from Wales.

After word spread of Wales’ closure after Guyana Times broke the story, sugar workers were on February 9, 2016, given a three-day

ultimatum to sign indicating whether they opted for the severance package from Government or be transferred to the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate. These plans were however rescinded, and workers were retrenched in phases with union consultations.

The closure of Wales affected and displaced over 1000 workers directly and thousands of persons in Wales and surrounding communities indirectly.

Meanwhile, over 4000 workers attached to Enmore, Skeldon, Rose Hall were given dismissal letters by December 2017. However, some of the former Enmore and Skeldon workers could be re-hired under plans by the Special Purposes Unit (SPU) to re-open the two estates as the State-owned body eyes private investors.

This revelation has prompted stakeholders to push Government on rehiring all of the dismissed sugar workers on the contention that the sugar industry remains a viable one. (Shemuel Fanfair)

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SunDAY, february 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

“Forests not property of loggers” – GFC

Sovereign Wealth Funds within the context of Developing Economies (Part 6)

…as loggers raise concerns over stumpage value, poor roads

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oday’s edition is the sixth article compiled so far on the SWF series. In the previous articles, a definition of SWFs together with a presentation on the different models of institutional structures and governance frameworks was discussed. Other aspects covered so far include the legal framework, objectives, and risk management frameworks; and last week, an overview of the SWFs around the world, such as in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This columnist sought to put into perspective the rationale for their development by these countries, and their roles in the global financial markets and to the respective countries’ economic development.

Andrew Ang (2010) (a study by the Columbia Business School) proposed four benchmarks of SWFs to the extent where the benchmarks should take into account the economic and political contexts underpinning the establishment of the SWF, and the role that the SWF would play as one part of government’s overall policy. The first benchmark is legitimacy – which should ensure that the capital of the SWF is not immediately spent; and, instead, is gradually disbursed across the present and future generations.

The second benchmark is that it should recognize the implicit liabilities of the SWF by taking into account its role in government’s fiscal and other macro policies.

The third is setting the performance benchmark which should complement the governance structure of the SWF. And fourthly, the long-term horizon requires an SWF to consider the long run equilibrium benchmark of the markets in which the SWF invests, and the long-term externalities affecting the SWF. SWF and a developing country perspective Developing countries accumulated large foreign exchange assets in SWFs during the 2000s, and those are of growing importance. It is, however, recognized that the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves by developing countries is partly a consequence of deep financial integration and the instability that it can generate. Such actions feed into global imbalances through “fallacy of composition” effects (a simple definition for this term is where an individual assumes that something is true of the whole just because it is true of some part of the whole. For example, the paradox of savings: it is believed that if one individual can save more money by spending less, then the entire economy can save more by spending less. However, this is far from the reality, because if everyone reduces spending, then demand for goods and services will fall, which would in turn lead to lower growth and revenue for businesses. As a consequence, businesses may lower wages and lay-off individuals, and people would have less income to spend and less to save). Griffith-Jones & Ocampo (2008) argued that though these strategies may be rational for developing countries, they contribute to global imbalances. Simultaneously, SWFs have played somewhat of an unexpected stabilizing role by providing the funds that have helped to stabilize the banking system of developed countries during periods of financial turbulence. They have also generated an important opportunity to increase financial cooperation among developing countries, both on a regional basis and on a broader scale.

Moreover, it is worthwhile to note that SWFs are considered to be an important source of capital in the global financial markets. And these funds originate from countries with rich natural resources and favourable international balance of trade in ono-commodity goods and services (Patton, 2012). In order to lend a more meaningful insight with regard to the impact of SWFs on economic development within the context of a developing economy, the discussions presented hereunder examine some empirical evidence in the case of Nigeria and Uganda.

Oleka et al (2014) conducted an empirical analysis on SWF and economic growth in Nigeria.

Same was published in Journals of Economics and Finance (www.iosrjournals.org). The study found that the link between SWF and economic growth in Nigeria is statistically significant, but not positive. The reason for this outcome is because SWF is relatively new in Nigeria and there are several challenges facing its operation, and as such, it has not contributed much to the growth rate in GDP of the Nigerian economy. Additionally, the study found that the SWF gained significant recognition in the global economy, and has been acknowledged as a catalyst and veritable channel for economic growth, especially in developed economies. But the contribution has been less than satisfactory in Nigeria.

(This discussion will be continued next week). *The Author is the holder of a MSc. Degree in Business Management, with concentration in Global Finance, Financial Markets, Institutions & Banking from a UK university of international standing.

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

GFC Commissioner, James Singh

F

ollowing a presentation on the revised National Forest Policy Statement and Forest Plan, loggers raised concerns over the proposed introduction of stumpage fees and the poor infrastructure used to access concessions in the forest.

One logger called on the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to ensure that better infrastructure is afforded before the introduction of additional fees can be considered. The logger explained that if the new fee is introduced, it would cause loggers to become engaged in illegal practices, since the industry is already suffering.

Stumpage is the price paid for the right to harvest timber from a given land base. Historically, the price was determined on a basis of the number of trees harvested, or “per stump”.

However, the GFC Commissioner has explained that the GFC had been engaged in consultations for

Gunmen rob Mon Repos businessman

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usinessman R a m s u n d a r Persaud, who operates a general store at his residence at Railway Line, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, was relieved of an undisclosed sum of cash and his mobile phone after two armed men perpetrated a robbery on his store at about 15:15h on Friday.

Based on reports received, the two men entered the store under the pretext of wanting to purchase an item, and as the 48-year-old businessman took them to see the item, one of the men whipped out a handgun and held him at gunpoint. They then relieved him of the cash and the phone that he had in his possession.

They soon turned their attention to the man’s wife, whom they led into the house, which they ransacked but came up empty- handed.

The men then made good their escape, but Police are investigating the robbery.

over two years (2015 and 2016), and the decision has been made.

“Additionally, the forest laws require new charges to be instituted, but, as usual, the Forestry Commission does it through a very consultative and participatory process. We don’t just wake up one morning and say, ‘We are going to institute stumpage value’,” he said.

“We had extensive consultations one after the oth-

“The forests of Guyana are not the property of loggers; they are the patrimony of Guyana, and monies must be earned from these forest resources to fit into the social programmes of the Government. We have an obligation to ensure that whatever forest we give out, we

ue, there are certain benefits we want to achieve. I think we have to look at that. So if we have to look at stumpage value, then there are certain values we want to derive benefits (from),” he noted.

He added that there are provisions in the 2018 Budget for the rehabilitation of the infrastructure, particularly the road network.

The revised National Forest Policy Statement and Forest Plan was present-

receive a fair share of the earnings,” Singh noted.

Meanwhile, Ricky Ramsaroop, President of the Forest Products Association (FPA), has said he is scheduled at the next meeting to make a presentation about the current stumpage value to the GFC’s Board of Directors, on which he sits.

“We (the FPA) have (to) hold a meeting to discuss internally our position on stumpage value that we had before… When I look back at the current stumpage val-

ed to the stakeholders on Friday. It addresses the issues arising from the economic, ecological, social, and governance standpoints. The principles that guide the policy include balanced decision-making, inter-generational equity, local benefit, and the protection of the natural capital base.

The revised policy and plan reflects the moving away from utilizing forests for just wood, and is as a cornerstone of the country’s national patrimony.

used beneficially, and that is the reason why stumpage value is a fair charge,” he defended.

Stakeholders at the presentation

er in Kwakwani. The initial position of the GFC was to charge $8 per cubic metre per standing tree, and based on the consultation, we have reduced it to $5,” Singh added.

He further stated that the GFC is about to restart the consultation process on stumpage value and other issues affecting the users of the forest.

“A lot of forest in Guyana has been issued out. Some (may have been) used beneficially and some are not being

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SunDAY, february 18, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

COA Judges

“I didn’t make decision on short-term appointments” – Granger

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n light of questions being raised behind the rationale of Government’s move to appoint two shortterm Judges at the Court of Appeal, President David Granger has declared that the decision was not his.

“I don’t run the Judiciary; I simply obey the constitutional requirement for me to appoint the persons recommended by the Judicial Service Commission. So that question could be properly addressed to the Chancellor of the Judiciary, I don’t make those choices,” he told reporters when asked about the short-term appointments.

The current shortage of Judges at the Guyana Court of Appeal has led Government to appoint two short-term acting Judges to work on reducing the backlog of cases at Guyana’s highest court.

University of West Indies (UWI) Lecturer, Dr Christopher Arif Bulkan, and Senior Counsel Rafiq

President David Granger

Turnhan Khan were recently appointed as acting Justices of Appeal. Both of their appointments are temporary and will only last six months.

Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams had explained that the Constitution does provide for the appointment of acting Justices of Appeal.

Dr Bulkan, who is the

nephew of Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan, had told reporters that he will be working with all stakeholders to address the backlog of cases, which currently plagues the judicial system.

Having worked at the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers and being a Magistrate here, Dr Bulkan believes he would be able to make some headway in clearing up the backlog within his short tenure.

Khan, on the other hand, told reporters that he brings vast experience in civil procedures.

“When you come out of the Private Sector and come onto the bench, I think you bring a different perspective, not saying it’s a better perspective but you get wider views of complex legal problems and you have different experiences and it helps to widen the scope and vision of the decision you initially give,” he noted.

Chancellor of Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards

As these steps are taken to clear up the backlogged cases, Chief Justice acting,

Roxane George, last week disclosed that the number of those cases in both the High and Appeal Courts has been reduced by more than half.

She explained that the High Court is now operating under a system known as the Civil Procedures Rules, which was introduced on February 6, 2017.

As such, she added that cases filed before that date are being classified as ‘old rules’ matters.

The Chief Justice noted that “there are a number of them that we call live matters in the sense that they are matters that will go to trial unless the parties agree to settle but we also have a number of matters that will not be going

Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George

to trial. Under the old High Court rules, a Judge must adjudicate to formally complete them.” turn to page 18

Construction of Linden Passport Office moving apace

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onstruction work has commenced on the passport office at Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice). The project commenced last month, and according to officials, is expected to be completed by May 2018.

Presently, the construction is at the foundation stage, with work moving apace. Upon completion, residents of Linden and other areas in Region 10 are expected to enjoy the comfort of having a passport office which would cater for new applications within their community, easing the burden of their having to travel

The Linden Passport Office

to Georgetown to access the service.

Citizenship Minister Winston Felix travelled to the community last December for a sod-turning exercise at the site for the construction of the new passport office, which is situated in the vicinity of

the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building at Mackenzie.

Construction of the building, which will measure 2000 square feet, is being executed by R. Bassoon and Sons Contracting Company to the tune of $30,604,472.

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SunDAY, february 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

CJIA’s departure T&T has ISIS cell – PM confirms operations moved T

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n order to facilitate the ongoing expansion project at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the immigration and security operations have been shifted to the former Greeters Hall.

The airport advised departing passengers of this relocation in a statement on Saturday. The shift of these operations takes effect today at approximately 14:00h.

According to the CJIA Corporation, it is apt to note that the project is progressing smoothly and on schedule to the completion date, and this is a planned stage of the renovation works to accommodate the construction while maintaining operations of the existing terminal.

The Drop off/Check-in process remains the same.

However, passengers will be guided along a corridor to be processed by Immigration Officers, followed by security screening.

After the mandatory security checks, passengers will still have the opportunity to shop and browse in the duty-free shops, which

are also located in the former Greeters Hall area.

Passengers will then proceed along another corridor to the Departure Lounge area to await boarding.

Last month, President David Granger and his Cabinet were given a tour of the airport, and were updated on the progress of the works. During a presentation done on the project, it was revealed that some US$114 million have thus far been expended on the airport, while an additional US$27 million will be spent before the end of the year.

The airport expansion works are between 75 and 80 per cent completed. The Project’s Manager, Carmichael Thorne, during his presentation, stated that the project is geared at addressing four critical areas: insufficient public parking; overcrowding within the terminal; conflicts of parking aircraft while at the same time permitting larger aircraft on the international apron; and a safety area in the event of an aircraft over-

shooting the runway.

Under the previous administration, Guyana had secured a US$138 million loan from the China Exim (Export-Import) Bank to fund the expansion and modernisation project, for which the Guyana Government has injected some US$12 million.

However, when the coalition Government came in to power in 2015, the project was put on hold, but following discussions between Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and the contracting company, China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), it was announced that the project would be continued, but with a reduction in the design and capacity.

On completion of the expansion project, it is expected to yield two air passenger boarding bridges for passengers’ arrival and departure; a 450-person seating departure area; escalators and elevators, in addition to its extended runway that would cater for larger categories of aircraft.

rinidad and Tobago has an ISIS cell. The official confirmation came on Friday from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who was grilled by Opposition MPs on the recent threat -- the plot to disrupt Carnival 2018 -- and the causes.

Rowley fielded questions on the issue during a monthly Parliamentary segment involving questions for the Prime Minister to answer.

On the threat to the Carnival festivities, Rowley maintained: “The threat we specifically responded to was a threat to take action against the Carnival parades by persons of interest to the security services.”

Rowley was later asked

by United National Congress MP Bhoe Tewarie, “Is there anything in T&T that can be considered an ISIS cell or an ISIS satellite?”

Rowley replied: “It’s common knowledge across the world that T&T citizens subscribe to some of the doctrines of ISIS, and persons from T&T have travelled to areas of combat in Iraq and Syria. Many have been intercepted in Turkey and Britain; some have been returned to T&T. “Some are in custody in foreign countries, persons who seek to join ISIS. And in fact -- as ISIS has dispersed in Iraq and Syria -- that doctrine has now been spread to home-bound activities, and therefore we have to be particularly concerned about such persons, and the monitoring of such persons is an integral part of our national security. “...and the answer to the

T&T Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley

question is: ‘Yes’,” Rowley added, ending his reply to Tewarie’s query.

UNC MP Rodney Charles asked how many T&T nationals with ISIS connections have returned home.

Rowley said, “The figure of how many terrorists have returned is a floating figure, because not everyone who goes abroad and comes back is deemed to be a terrorist.

“The intent of persons will vary. However, in monitoring people whom we have reason to believe pose a threat -- don’t know if it’s 63 or 100 -- we’re taking steps to ensure all persons so described are adequately monitored.

“It’s not possible to monitor 24 hours a day every citizen, but persons deemed to be such would be monitored.

The guarantee we can give is that security services continue to pay attention to persons who threaten T&T’s stability.”

Tewarie asked if T&T security forces have the ability and capacity to monitor communication between an international ISIS operation and a local presence.

Rowley responded, “I don’t know any country is able to say that, as the communication is so varied and so technical.”

On whether intelligence services have the wherewithal to protect citizens from surprise attacks from extremists groups, the PM indicated a surprise attack may be a surprise, whatever is in place.

“However, I want to give the country the assurance that we’ve improved our ability to monitor, intercept and respond. That ability is one of our primary efforts, and we continue to improve in that area.”

He said the threat that T&T faces is a very amorphous one.

“It changes its shape, its size, and location; and Government, through its many agencies, is required to respond. We’ve improved the quality of our personnel.

“The training? We do so through international contacts, reports; we place persons on site whom we communicate with, and bring people to T&T to help with training and improved technical capabilities.

“But when you bear in mind that the nature of this particular threat -- which could lead to a surprise attack -- is one that resides within communication in the Internet, phones, and by the doctrines which are alien to us, this threat, as it exists in T&T and the world, will be with us for quite a while, and challenge us continuously.”

However, Rowley said Government is operationalising a counter-terrorism strategy. (T&T Guardian)

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sunday, february 18, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

Children’s Costume Parade dazzles spectators three-minute presentation of mind-blowing dance routines. All the stands were filled with parents and others who went to support their respective institutions.

Every act was perfected with the intention of winning this year’s top spot. Some were

By Jemima Holems and Rupdai Seenaraine

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he streets of Georgetown were engulfed in a sea of vibrant colours as the nation’s children participated in their annual Mashramani Costume and Float Parade on Saturday.

This event concluded the series of competitions scheduled by the Education Ministry which allowed for students to engage in Republic anniversary festivities.

Leading up to Saturday’s events, there were dance, masquerade, calypso, dramatic poetry, physical display and jump rope presentations at the National Cultural Centre and at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, which saw participation from all administrative regions of

One of the vibrant floats depicting flora and fauna

Park. Education Minister Nicolette Henry was present at Parade Ground to kickstart the event and support the Ministry’s activity.

Beginning at Parade Ground, the mini revellers moved through Middle Street, along Camp Street, into Lamaha Street and fi-

This float proudly features the colours of the Guyana flag

Guyana.

The last day featured a costume parade, which commenced at Parade Ground, moving through the twisting streets of Georgetown and culminating at the National

pions of this year’s activities.

Administrator of the Allied Arts Department, Lorraine Barker-King, who was present at the National Park, spoke with Guyana Times, saying that she was pleased with the imaginative ideas that came alive on

nally onto Albert Street which led to the final venue. They were cheered on by scores of parents, teachers and well-wishers who bordered their course waiting for a glimpse of the magnif-

icent spectacle. This also attracted the attention of many tourists along the way.

Despite the blazing midday sun, the students gyrated to the sounds of pre-dominantly Guyanese music, which was coupled with electrifying choreography that left the massive crowd in awe and merely asking for more.

The majority of the floats depicted Guyana’s resources, festivals and tourist attractions. They were accompanied by dancers dressed in accordance with the theme and featured a decorated banner.

Participants were required to take part in one of six categories. These included nursery, primary, secondary, regional, children’s organisations and individual.

Each category had its own sub-theme; the celebration of people, flora and fauna, industries, festivals and regions. The individual presentations had the choice of any of the themes proposed.

Upon the arrival of the participants at the National Park, the vociferous spectators were treated to a

The little revellers executing their dance routine

even accompanied by drummers who added the final touch to the performance. In addition to the judging checkpoints along the route, the final judging was done at the National Park by a panel of judges, who keenly observed choreography, relevance to theme and creativity so as to crown the rightful cham-

the floats and expressed her contentment with the large number of supporters this year. “Well I’m looking and wondering where all these people came from. I think this is getting greater and greater,” the enthusiastic administrator stated.

In collaboration with the Education Ministry

was Banks DIH Limited, which provided the funding for the event. Under their Rainforest water and Malta Supreme brands, the Private Sector giant donated in excess of two million dollars, a 100 per cent increase of last year’s donation. It was in relation to these sponsorships in which the event was a success.

The nonalcoholic brand manager of Banks DIH Ltd, Clayton McKenzie stated, “First of all, Banks DIH would like to thank the Ministry of Education for being part of such a spectacular activity. This is the biggest turnout I’ve ever seen for the children’s parade. We have a lot of spectators; the teachers are here, the parents are here.”

When compared to last year’s event, it can be said that the number of supporters for 2018 has increased by a substantial amount. The completion of these activities will set the tempo for those looking forward to the grand republic celebration on February 23.

“I didn’t make decision on...

from page 16

She informed that there are approximately 1500 matters before the Court that require trials or a full hearing, the remaining, from estimation, will have to be passed through the court for them to be formally closed.

During last year, 2063 fixed date applications were filed and 1452 completed. Additionally, 440 Statement of Claim matters were filed of which 54 were completed. Thus far, for 2018, 214 fixed date applications were filed with 95 completed; and

37 Statement of Claim matters filed and four completed.

Meanwhile, Acting Chancellor of Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards said since assuming office about a year ago, there have been three sets of case management or consideration and dismissal matters in the Court of Appeal.

The case management exercise, she noted, was intended to determine which of the matters would go forward, following which they were gazett-

ed, notices sent to the lawyers and litigants, publications issued in the newspapers and sittings held.

According to the acting Chancellor, “simultaneously we are doing the old matters as well as we are doing current matters and to my mind, that is a good strategy for dealing with the backlog and at the same time not create a backlog, hence the need for more Judges in the Court of Appeal to continue that initiative.” (Vahnu Manikchand)

sunDAY, february 18, 2018

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Milo Schools Football 2018…

Masters, Sir Leon’s Lessons soar in goal rush M

asters Academy and Sir Leon’s Lessonss combined to score 25 of the 31 goals scored when the second round of the sixth annual Milo Schools Football Tournament continued at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue on Saturday.

Masters made the afternoon one to forget for inaugural champions St George’s High by sinking them 15-0 on the back of six goals from forward Tryone Khan. The diminutive player in stature scored in the 1st, 18th, 24th, 26th, 51st and 60th.

Well-rounded Support came from Carl Lynch (25th & 29th), Jonathon Bart (29th & 57th), Calvin Peters (48th & 66th), Elijah Fraser (20th), Isaiah Anderson (59th) and Shannon Sammauth (64th).

Zion Grey produced a similar feat for Sir Leon’s by netting a helmet-trick with goals in the 12th, 31st, 58th and 69th. Lennox Young recorded a double (57th & 59th) while Slan Jones (20th), Teon Forde (30th), John McKenzie (55th) and Classom McClaren (60th).

Meanwhile, Pure Masters who had the most

sedate match of the day secured their first win by defeating School of the Nations 5-1. Goals were shared for most of the lads from Pure Masters as goal keeper Joel Murrary opened his team account with a penalty in the 24th while Junior Williams dab in the 28th took the scores to 2-0 at the interval. An own goal in the 43rd got the ball rolling again but School of the Nations eventually found some solace and scored in the 54th via Maris Dalima.

Tyrese Ford (56th) and Brandon Solomon (59th) eventually put the match to

Pure Masters were on the constant attack against School of the Nations on Saturday at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue

bed.

When action continues today some more intriguing matches should take the field as Ann’s Grove do battle with Vergenogen Secondary from noon followed by Linden’s

Christianburg/Wismar Secondary meeting Dolphin Secondary from 13:30h and the final match of the day being a tough one for The Bishops’ High School who tackle rampant 2017 run-

ners-up Morgan’s Learning Centre from 15:00h.

All matches will again prove great significance as the battle for a top two group spot for round-of-sixteen spots intensifies.

GTTA Junior & Cadet Championships…

Wong to battle Persaud for U-11 honours C

ollin Wong and Dhanesh Persaud will lock racquets in what is expected to be a tight battle today for the for the boys 11 and under championship in the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) Junior and Cadet Championships being staged at the National Gymnasium.

Wong defeated Ebo McNeil in straight sets 11-4, 11-0 and 11-5 while Persaud got the better of, Malachi Moore 11-4, 11-6

Ashish Persaud (left) and Tyriq Saunders engaged in a duel to secure a spot in the boys 18 and under semi-finals at the National Gymnasium

and 11-9.

In the 11 years and under category for girls which was played on a round-robin for-

mat saw Akera Watson win ahead of Jasmin Bellgeny and Samanva Sukhan.

The under-13s are

GCB/ Female U-19 Tournament 2018

Charles, Mangru flatten Berbice

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he Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB) Female Under-19 tournament began on Saturday with one of the scheduled matches at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

Following a washout of the opening match between Demerara and the GCB President’s XI in the morning, hosts demerara made hay while the sun shone to defeat defending champions Berbice by 15 runs in the afternoon.

Demerara won the toss and elected to bat first and

made a descent 124 for 1 off their allotted 20 overs.

Openers, Mandy Mangru and Casey Charles putting on an impressive 123 for the first wicket which ended when Mangru was run out in the final over for 41 (4x1). Charles finished on 60 not out with two fours and one six.

In reply, the champions failed to reach the required target after they were restricted to 109 for 9 when their 20 overs expired.

Shabika Gajnabi top scored with 29 and was supported by Sheneta

Grimmond who made 24 runs but no other batter showed any fight to the home team’s bowling which was lead by Yogetta Balkishun with 3-27.

Cherry Ann Fraser and Mangru bagged 2 wickets for 24 and 8 runs respectively to give wonderful support.

The final game of the tournament will be played today at the same venue, weather permitting when Demerara come up against the GCB President’s XI from 09:00h.

at their semi-final stage Kaysan Ninvalle playing Persaud and Jonathan Van Lange up against Wong.

While Wong and Ninvalle drew a bye, Persaud defeated Thuria Thomas 12-10, 11-5, 11-9 and Van Lange unleashing a rampage against Nawraul Nicholas winning 11-0, 11-2, 11-1.

Over in the under-15 division they are placed in their quarter-final

stage while the boys 18 and under semi-finals pits Miguel Wong against Jamal Nicholas and Ashish Persaud with Niron Bissu.

In the under-9 category which was played on Friday, Moore and Watson took the honours. Moore defeated Jonathan Cox 9-11, 11-5, 11-8 and Case Outar 11-5, 11-6. His route continued by making light work of work Zammani

Johnson (11-2, 11-3); in Outar’s second outing against Moore he lost went down 6-11, 3-11.

McNeil secured second place with three points while Cox came third.

Over in the girls’ division, Watson was followed

by Bellgeny and Quanna Torrington for the top three spots.

Action continues today from 09:30h.

20

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sunDAY, february 18, 2018

CWI/ Regional Super50 Cup 2018

Hemraj, Barnwell

power Jaguars to semis G

Since replacing Raymon Reifer, Christopher Barnwell has smoked 215 runs in five matches at an average of 53.75 (CWI Media photo)

uyana Jaguars beat Jamaica Scorpions by four wickets under t h e Duckworth L e w i s and Stern Method (DLS) in Friday’s day/ night Group B game at Coolidge to advance to the semifinals of the Regional Super50.

It was the closest finish in Group B of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Super50 after the Jaguars reached 213 for 6 with 8 balls to spare after they were set a revised target of 212 from 40 overs following two rain interruptions of significance.

It was the Jaguars’ sixth victory which propelled them to 26 points to occupy the top spot in the Group and to book a place in semifinals putting them one step closer to completing the regional double following success in the Regional Four-Day Tournament.

Earlier, Chadwick Walton won the toss for Jamaica Scorpions and elected to bat first on a hot day at Coolidge in Antigua.

The Scorpions were off to a positive start and with the score on 54, they lost Trevon Griffith and when Steven Taylor seemed set to go on to score a big one he was sent back after putting on 73 with the inform Walton.

Jaguars debutant off-spinner, Ramaal Lewis then had Andre McCarthy caught at silly mod-on next ball without scoring and the Scorpions were pegged back at 127 for 3. Walton was then joined by Brandon King and the pair added 63 together, which included Walton’s second century for the tournament. He eventually fell for a wellplayed 104 playing back to a ball that kept low from leftarm spinner Veersammy Permaul.

Alwyn Williams and Odean Smith proved a brilliant combination in the dying stages of the Scorpions innings. Together they posted a 59-run partnership, which took the Scorpions to 264/8 from their 50 overs.

Chanderpaul Hemraj was the best bowler for the Jaguars, finishing with 2/22 and was supported by Jamaican Lewis with two scalps as well.

In their reply the Jaguars

got their innings off to a flyer thanks to Chanderpaul Hemraj and Tagenarine Chanderpaul who came in for his first List A game for the Jaguars although he has played four matches previously for the West Indies Under 19 in 2015.

The opening pair reached 68 before Chanderpaul with strokes that resembled those of his father Shivnarine, fell for 27.

Guyana Captain, Leon Johnson once again couldn’t get his run-tally going as he fell for 5.

Then came the partnership that put the Jaguars on course for the semifinals. Hemraj and the determined Christopher Barnwell combined for 86 runs before Hemraj was out for a shotfilled 80 from 65 balls with five sixes and six fours, his second half century in his first season of List A cricket.

Barnwell continued and reached his second successive half-century but the interruptions for rain might have caused a lapse in concentration and he fell for 56.

The wickets kept falling as well as the rain for brief periods until Romario Shepherd and Ricardo Adams saw the

GFF/Pele Alumni Frank Watson U15 League – EBFA

Agricola needle Diamond to go on top …Panthers trounce Friendship 6-0

T

he action is heating up in the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) leg of the GFF/Pele Alumni Frank Watson U15 Intra Association League with three games on matchday six at the Timehri Red ground on Saturday.

A brace each off the boot of Neron Barrow, Tywell Lovell and Captain Prince Forde delivered a solid 6-0 win for home team Timehri Panthers against Friendship All Stars while Grove Hi-Tech and Agricola Red Triangle registered contrasting wins.

The young Panthers celebrated the return of competitive football to their venue in style by hammering Friendship into submission on a day where they sun was out but not in all its glory.

The switch in venue was as a result of consistent rain over the past week which has rendered the Grove Playfield unplayable.

Eager to showcase their skills, the Under-15 play-

ers, many of whom will be going on to the Scotiabank Academy and eventually represent Guyana, buckled down to business after more than a week of inaction.

Grove Hi Tech were set to oppose Diamond United by the latter did not show up which gifted the former full points that took them to 11 from five (5) matches but still one adrift of leaders, Agricola Red Triangle who needled Diamond Upsetters in the first match of the day.

The winner came off the boot of Brian Lambert in the

The marksmen for Timehri Panthers from right; Tywell Lovell, Prince Forde and Neron Barrow

24th minute to deliver his team’s fourth (4th) win in as many matches, their 12th point and Lambert’s 8th goal of the league. Upsetters displayed flashes of dominance in spurts but never really threatened the Agricola defense which stood solid.

What turned out to be the main event saws the home supporters enjoying the collective efforts of their team which has made a welcome return to competitive action on the East Bank.

Friendship found themselves behind from the 15th

minute when Neron Barrow netted the first of his two.

Tywell Lovell increased the advantage two fold with goals of his own in the 22nd and 27th minute which placed the Panthers in good stead by the half time whistle, 3-0.

Barrow continued the second half like he started the first by putting his team further ahead in the 40th minute to achieve his brace before Captain, Prince Forde tucked in two before full time, in the 44th and 55th minute, respectively.

The win for Timehri Panthers, their second in three matches has placed them in the fifth place.

Three more matches would be played today with Herstelling Raiders opposing Soesdyke Falcons from 10:00h followed by Friendship All Stars and Kuru Kururu Warriors and the final game of the weekend will see Swan FC and Timehri Panthers battling.

Chandrapaul Hemraj was named Man of the Match against Jamaica Scorpions after taking two wickets and hitting a careerbest so far of 80 (CWI Media photo)

Jaguars to a 4-wicket victory, reaching their target of 212 via the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Bowling for Jamaica Scorpions, Peat Salmon took 4/28.

Kent Spitfires vs USA Cricket

In the other Group B match of the day, Kent Spitfires edge USA Cricket by a narrow margin of 30 runs.

In fact, USA Cricket almost provided an upset when they had Kent on the ropes at 51/6 batting first.

But thanks to an 87-run partnership between Calum Haggett and Grant Stewart, Kent rescued their innings, posting 172/9 from their 50 overs. Stewart top-scored with 44 followed by Calum Haggett with 42.

The USA started slow and steady in the pursuit of their 173 target, but wickets fell steadily for them.

Sunny Sohal and Roy Silva gave them a chance of victory posting a 59-run partnership before Sohal fell for 29.

Silva went on to reach his half-century before becoming

one of Haggett’s 2 wickets.

The USA eventually all out for 142, 30 runs short of their target.

The Jaguars have completed their eight group matches but the other team from the group to advance to the semifinal will be decided today. Scorpions will take on USA at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground from 09:00h while Kent will take on hosts Hurricanes at Coolidge in the day/night match. Kent are second on the points table with 21 points and need just a victory to advance to the next phase of the tournament while Scorpions on 19 points will need maximum points as well and hope for the struggling Hurricanes can create an upset. In the semifinals, Group A leaders, Barbados Pride will take on either Scorpions or Kent on Wednesday February 21 while the Jaguars will clash with Group A runner up Trinidad and Tobago Red Force the next day.

The final is on Sunday February 24 at Coolidge, the same venue for the semifinals.

SCOREBOARD Jamaica Innings (50 overs maximum) CAK Walton*† b Permaul 104 TA Griffith c Barnwell b Wintz 21 SR Taylor c Wintz b Lewis 32 AM McCarthy c Hemraj b Lewis 0 BA King c Johnson b Adams 29 FA Allen st †Bramble b Hemraj 9 G Wallace run out (Rutherford) 0 P Salmon b Hemraj 3 AB Williams not out 27 OF Smith not out 32 Extras (lb-1, w-6) 7 Total (For 8 wickets; 50 Overs) 264 Did not bat: C Lamont Fall of wickets: 1-54 (TA Griffith, 7.6 ov), 2-128 (SR Taylor, 27.3 ov), 3-128 (AM McCarthy, 27.4 ov), 4-189 (CAK Walton, 39.6 ov), 5-191 (BA King, 40.3 ov), 6-193 (G Wallace, 41.2 ov), 7-199 (P Salmon, 43.5 ov), 8-206 (FA Allen, 45.5 ov) Bowling Shepherd 9-0-670 (w-4), Wintz 5-0-33-1, Rutherford 7-2-30-0 (w-1), Permaul 10-2-33-1, Lewis 6-0-36-2, Adams 10-0-42-

1 (w-1), Hemraj 3-0-22-2 Guyana Innings (target: 212 runs from 40 overs) T Chanderpaul c Williams b Salmon 27 C Hemraj c Griffith b Taylor 80 LR Johnson* c Smith b Salmon 5 CD Barnwell lbw b Salmon 56 R Adams not out 19 A Bramble† c Wallace b Taylor 1 SE Rutherford c †Walton b Salmon 1 R Shepherd not out 6 Extras (b-1, nb-1, w-16) 18 Total (For 6 wickets; 38.4 Overs) 213 Did not bat: V Permaul, RA Lewis, PG Wintz Fall of wickets: 1-68 (T Chanderpaul, 8.6 ov), 2-81 (LR Johnson, 12.4 ov), 3-167 (C Hemraj, 25.3 ov), 4-189 (CD Barnwell, 34.3 ov), 5-193 (A Bramble, 35.4 ov), 6-195 (SE Rutherford, 36.1 ov) Bowling Lamont 4-0-39-0 (w2), Williams 3-0-24-0 (w-3), McCarthy 9-1-35-0, Salmon 8-1-28-4, Smith 4-0-28-0, Allen 3.4-0-39-0 (w-2), Taylor 7-1-192 (nb-1, w-2)

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81 competing in ASK-G championships today

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T

he Association do Shotokan Karate Guyana (ASK-G) will host their 2018 National Championships at the YMCA Thomas Lands from 10:00h today.

There are 81 competitors competing for the title of "Champion" in 40 different Individual events. Age groups are: 5 and 6 years old, 7 and

8 years old, 9 to 11 years old, 12 to 14 years old, 15 to 17 years old and 18 years and older.

The various groups are:- Beginners, Intermediate and Brown and Black belts in the male and female divisions.

This 2018 Championship will start differently from previous years.

The first events will be the Brown and Black belts 18 years and older division the hottest division with Karatekas such as Roger Peroune, Keith Beaton, Malcolm Francis, Mahadeo Ramotar, Joel Kellman, D'Andre DaSilva, Jerry Santana-Bain and Angelo Harris.

Admission is free and all are invited.

Mashramani Swim Meet

Seaton, Noel & Sookram shine on day 2

A

ction continued to intensify in the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) annual Mashramani Meet at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal on Saturday.

Based on the preliminary results, the second day saw the likes of national swimmers Leon Seaton Jr, Rakewon Noel and Jeron Sookram produce some telling performances at the long course meet which will be used to select the CARIFTA Games squad for the March 30 to April 2 event being held in the Bahamas.

Competing in the 9-10 age group, Jeremy Sookram won the 200m Individual Medley in 3:29.65 ahead of Dolphin Speed Swim club mate Jeron who clocked 3:31.43 and Hashim Mohamed (3:52.84).

Jeron turned the tables in the 50m Butterfly winning in a time of 42.47 ahead of Jermey who stopped the clock at 45.71 and Mohamed at 48.68. He also won the 100m Freestyle in fine style with a time of 1:23.50 ahead of Jeremy with 1:24.29 and Micah Chichester (1:25.14).

Silver Sharks’ Seaton who is understood to have already qualified for the Games with some more impressive times won the boys 13-14 200m Individual Medley in 2:38.77 lengths ahead of Ejaz Mohamed

Rakewon Noel won his 100m freestyle well ahead of the competition (Akeem Greene Photo)

(2:53.93) and Joseph Matthews (3:33.31).

In the 50m Butterfly it was no different producing a time of 28.72 ahead of Dolphin’s Sekhel Tzedeq (32.53) and Sion Jeffers (33.53). In the 100m Freestyle he decimated opponents once again being the only competitor to dip below the minute-mark with a time of 58.76; Mohamed (1:07.15) and Jashmin Thom (1:12.47) rounded-off the top three. Noel, an 1112 competitor won the 200m Individual Medley (2:41.53), 50m Butterfly (31.76) and 100m Freestyle (1:04.06). In the female category Aleka Persaud produced an identical feat in the same events with times of 2:53.65, 32.38 and 1:04.06 respectively.

Meanwhile, on Friday’s

opening day the usual suspects dominated their favoured events quite comfortably. In the 1500m freestyle only two swimmers took to the pool for the challenge; Daniel Claxton competing in the 13-14 age group finished in a time of 33:20.22 while Culpepper in the 18 & over had a time of 26:18.62.

In the 200m Backstroke Dorado Swim club’s Monique Watson in a lone swim in the 11-12 group clocked 3:10.80 while Raekwon Noel of Sea Otters Swim Scademy clocked 2:51.09 ahead of Dorado’s Vladimir Woodroffe (3:00.44) and Elliot Gonsalves (3:21.57).

In the 13-14 Donna Carter recorded a time of 3:08:12 beating out Giselle Crane (3:17:11) while Tzedeq lone swam gave him a time

of 2:44.37 while Xiomara Getrouw clocked 2:51:25 in a lone battle for the 18 and over group.

The 400 M overall had a higher turnout but Watson again was the lone contender in the 11-12 winning in a time of 6:43.52 while Ethan Gonsalves (6:01.27) out swam Woodroffe (6:37.84) and Elliot (7:13.77) for the boy’s title.

The Sookrams made the boys 9-10 100m Backstroke their own as Jeron won in a time of 1:39.59 and Jeremy in 1:37.78 while Jason Allen came third with 1:51.91. Young prodigy Aleka Persaud of Orca Speed Swim Club won the 11-12 equivalent in a time 1:19.78, easily defeating Patrice Mahaica (1:23.96) and Waston (1:31.76)

Noel’s dominance continued as he won the 100m in a time of 1:18.09 by some distance in front of Woodroffe (1:29.20) and Gonsalves (1:37.20).

The 13-14 crows went to Donna Carter (1:23.78) and Tzedeq (1:15.75) while lone competitors Antonio Rodrigues (1:11.41) and Getrouw (1:15.00) won the 15-17 and 18 and over categories respectively. The 13-14 200m Butterfly were won by Lian Winter and Leon Seaton with times of 3:04.90 and 2:46.43 respectively.

The event will conclude today with the 200m freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 100m Butterfly, 100m Breaststroke and the 50m Freestyle. (Akeem Greene)

22

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sunDAY, february 18, 2018

Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” Football West Demerara Zone

The show continues

H

…Showstoppers blank ESPN for 3rd straight title

eading into a final billed with hype due to the talented players set to take the field, Showstoppers silenced ESPN 3-0 to send their humongous home crowd into a frenzy at the final of the West Demerara/East Bank Demerara Zone Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” Football Championships which concluded in the wee hours of Saturday morning at the Pouderoyen Tarmac.

A number of senior personnel, from Banks DIH Ltd including Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste, GT Beer Brand Manager Geoff Clement and representatives from co-sponsor Colours Boutique witnessed the final which though looked like a one-sided due to the score line was still filled with excitement.

With the likes of Pernell Schultz and the Lythcott brothers Trevon and Kevon

formed the core where threats from the champs arose as they took the initiative from the first whistle and played with invigorating pace and wittiness putting their opponents under immense pressure.

Well it did not take long for them to burst as the prolific Marvin Josiah scored in the 8th minute; there were opportunities for the opposition to equalize but steely defending kept them out.

The slippery conditions, due to rain earlier, seemed hard for ESPN to get a full grip and they kept slipping until there was no return since Josiah returned to score in the 18th followed by Dexroy Adams in the 21st to blanket the proceedings.

While the champs took home $400,000 and championship trophy, ESPN did not go away empty-handed and won $200,000 for their efforts however, both teams

Bounty Farm Ltd Handicap Tournament…

In-form players making strong progress

T

he second day of the ongoing Bounty Farm Handicap Squash tourney was laced with high octane battles that paved the way for a thrilling finish today.

Friday evening’s action at the Georgetown Club Court, Open category was highlighted by an encounter between Nicholas Naraine (-12) and Joe Mekdeci (2) in a three match affair.

Mekdeci emerged victorious in the first game, beating Naraine 15-3.

Naraine bounced back however, stunning his opponent to even things up as he ended 15-9. The third game was scattered with Mekdeci earning points reaching to 10 whilst Naraine climbed

Nyron Joseph

into positive points. Naraine then jumped from 1 to 13, conceded 2 points, then nailed the vital two points to end; 15-12.

In the Open Category Plate, Regan Pollard (-10) and Javid Rahaman (0) had a mixed match with Pollard winning the first 11-15 before conceding the second -1-15. Pollard the returned with a vengeance in game three sealing victory; 15-9.

Category A’s Kirsten Gomes (0) and Demetrius DeAbreu (-4) displayed skills bel y i n g their age, showing the resilience and fortitude the junior players possess in some outstanding ral-

lies. Kirsten dominated to secure both games in a 1511. 15-13 wins.

Another Category A match of note during Fridays’ play was between James Mekdeci (3) and Madison Fernandes (0).

James was able to step up and validate the results of hard work by triumphing over Madison 15-12, 15-13.

The finals will culminate on Sunday with Narine tackling Nyron Joseph (-22) who disposed of Taylor Fernandes (-4) in Friday’s Open category action.

Friday Evening results: Open Category Adam Alves (5) beat Ashley Khalil (-4) 15-6, 159.

Alex Cheeks (-2) beat Ian Mekdeci (8) 15-14, 7-15, 1510 Nicholas Naraine (-12) beat Joe Mekdeci (2) -3-15, 15-9, 15-12 Nyron Joseph (-22) beat Taylor Fernandes (-4) 15-9, 15-5

Category A

Abosaide Cadogan (0) beat Shiloh Asregado (11) 15-11, 15-12 Ethan Jonas (-2) beat Joshua Verwey (9) 1511, 15-9 J a m e s Mekdeci (5) beat Madison Fernandes (2) 15-12, 15-13

Paige Fernandes (8) beat Keenan Naraine (13) 15-13, 15-6 Kirsten Gomes (0) beat Demetrius De Abreu (-4) 1511, 15-13 Louis DaSilva (6) beat Jason Gomes (7) 13-15, 1514, 15-11 Michael Alphonso (-6) beat Lucas Jonas (2) 15-13, 15-9 Open Category Plate Robert Natiello (10) beat Andrea King (1) 13-15, 15-5, 15-7 Regan Pollard (-10) beat Javid Rahaman (0) 15-11, -1-15, 15-9 Brian Young (8) beat John Maikoo (8) 15-13, 1511.

Category A Plate Aishani Persaud (0) beat Kaden Pynaendy (2) 15-7, 15-10 Nicholas Verwey (5) beat Monisha Persaud (13) 15-10, 15-13 Zachary Persaud (7) beat Jared Saul (12) 15-7, 15-5 Noah Rahaman (13) beat Grant Fernandes (13)15-12, 15-7 Kamir Khan (7) beat Chad De Abreu (10) 15-8, 15-6 Lajuan Munroe (1) beat Beau Fernandes (11) 12-15, 15-6, 15-13 Teija Edwards (11) beat Brenno DaSilva (13) 15-13, 15-6

secured a spot in the national play-offs.

In the third place playoff, West Side Ballers defeated Dream Team 2-0 in a penalty shootout after regulation time failed to break a 1-1 stalemate.

Prince Gilkes gave West Side the lead in the 14th minute which was quickly erased via an own goal a minute later. West Side Ballers took home $100,000, while Dream Team’s efforts

made them $50,000 richer.

In the Plate Section final, Ballers Empire squeezed past Rising Stars 1-0 in a penalty shootout after their encounter finished 0-0 in regulation time. They went home with the $60,000 winner-take-all prize.

As Georgetown and the aforementioned zones are now completed, the high intensity street football action will now move to Berbice next month. (Akeem Greene)

Forde to represent GFF at FIFA Executive Summit

T

he Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will participate in the second edition of the FIFA Executive Summit scheduled for Lagos, Nigeria on February 20, 2018.

President Wayne Forde will represent the Guyana football fraternity with a presentation on the impact of the FIFA Forward programme on Guyana’s Football development. The presentation will highlight the progress of the Providence Forward programme and the efforts being made by the GFF to align its Governance and compliance policies and strategies with that of FIFA. “For Guyana to be afforded an opportunity to showcase its programmes and strategies at such as global football forum is inded remarkable and humbling. I am very proud of the fraternity and the progress we have made as a Federation in the implementation of a solid development strategy, which has spawned this opportunity. This truly is a proud moment for the football family,” Forde said in an invited comment before departure. According to a FIFA correspondence, among the key topics for discussion, as proposed by the Member Associations are: FIFA Forward Programme – Looking ahead to the next cycle; The Future of FIFA's Youth, Women’s and Club Competitions; How to Improve the Transfer System and The International Match Calendar and FIFA’s

GFF President Wayne Forde

Priorities. There will also be small group discussions “to give Member Associations an optimal platform to make their voice and ideas heard on FIFA's strategic topics, which will shape the future of both FIFA as an organisation and football as a Sport.” The summit, aimed at strengthening dialogue / bridging the gap between FIFA and its Member Associations, will be attended by FIFA’s President, Gianni Infantino; FIFA Council members, the FIFA Secretary General and representatives of the FIFA administration and Presidents General Secretaries from Member Associations.

This is the second occasion that President Forde will be presenting Guyana’s Development Strategy to the football world, the first being the youth development strategy at the XXXII Ordinary CONCACAF Congress held in Aruba in 2016. (GFF Media)

guyanatimesgy.com

sunDAY, february 18, 2018

ICC Women’s World T20 West Indies 2018…

Sanasie credits Govt for securing bid

By Clifton Ross

G

uyana Cricket Board (GCB) Secretary Anand Sanasie hailed the government’s swift action in helping Guyana to secure their bid to host this year ICC Women’s World T20, set to bowl off in November 2018.

During Friday’s gala at the Umana Yana where the official three countries tour bowled off with Guyana being the first destination, Sanasie during his remarks credited the local government; more specifically Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Sport, Dr. George Norton for his quick-response which was the catalyst behind the success.

The GCB executive said that it was good to see Guyana again getting back to its familiar ways of hosting international

cricket, adding that the event is even more monumental because for the first time the tournament will be staged by itself rather than run off concurrently with the males.

“Once again cricket has returned to Guyana and world cup cricket for the third time around but this time it’s unique because it’s a standalone tournament and Guyana will be hosting the warm up and preliminary stages.”

According to Sanasie, Guyana’s luck paid off due to the eagerness and fast response from

Minister Norton, who immediately insisted on doing as much as required to ensure that the country met the mandates needed to host such an event.

“When the bidding process started for the tournament and the GCB approached Minister Norton without out hesitation he said we will be bidding on it and we want all the different stages. So personally on behalf of the GCB I want to say thank you for the quick response which enabled us in being successful in doing that,” said Sanasie.

Sanasie, a Cricket West Indies (CWI) director noted that had Guyana have two international venues, the chances of hosting more matches or even the finals would have been possible; but nevertheless thanked the CWI executives in attendance for considering the country as one of their hosts.

With the event recording some 150 million views last edition which was won by the Windies ladies, Sanasie said

GCB Secretary and CWI Director Anand Sanasie speaking during the ICC Women’s World T20 Guyana leg opening at the Umana Yana on Friday

that this Women’s Cup has the potential to break new barriers and encouraged the world to visit Guyana come November and be a part of the spectacle.

With Guyana recently striking oil, the marketing and tourism possibilities have just quadrupled; resulting in more opportunities for Guyana to promote Sports and tourism fused in one.

Sanasie said that the event will allow Guyana to be seen from a spectrum much wider than imagined. “Recently in Guyana we have been talking about Sports Tourism and it doesn’t get bigger than this, so we have to ensure we make the most of this because we will have the opportunity to showcase Guyana to 150 million across the globe, thanks to CWI and the ICC”.

Guyana will prepare to host some eight days of cricket starting from November 4, including a few of the Cup’s preliminaries matches which will be played at the Providence National Stadium.

23

Barcelona overcome stubborn Eibar 2-0

Luis Suarez is the second top scorer in La Liga, with 17 - three behind team-mate Lionel Messi

B

arcelona got back to winning ways on Saturday after two consecutive draws, with a 2-0 victory at Eibar, thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, to go 10 points clear at the top of the Liga standings.

Suarez latched on to a pass from Lionel Messi to dribble round the home side’s goalkeeper and slot into an empty net in the 16th minute, while Messi hit the woodwork later in the game as did Eibar’s Fabian Orellana, who was sent off with 25 minutes remaining for a second booking.

Eibar coach Jose Luis Mendilibar was also dismissed later for angry protests against refer-

ee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez.

Barca finally made the most of their extra man when Alba sidefooted into the near corner with his weaker right foot in the 88th minute to give his side a first win in three games after surprise successive draws against Espanyol and Getafe.

The hard-fought win takes Barca on to 62 points for the season, 10 above nearest challengers Atletico Madrid, who play Athletic Bilbao at home on Sunday.

Champions Real visit Real Betis the same day.

Barca’s win, the 31st of the season equals their longest unbeaten run in La Liga. (Reuters)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Milo Schools Football 2018…

Masters, Sir Leon’s Lessons Pg 19

soar in goal rush Pure Masters goalkeeper Joel Murray beats his opposite number from School of the Nations during a penalty kick at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue (Akeem Greene Photo)

Mashramani Swim Meet

Pg 21

Seaton, Noel & Sookram shine on day 2 Leon Seaton Jr (lane 4) executes a well-timed dive to begin his fast-paced 100m Freestyle at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal on Saturday (Akeem Greene Photo)

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2 Sunday Times Magazine

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Feature

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n the occasion of celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival, I wish everyone a Happy New Year along with good health, prosperity, a happy family and all the best in the new year.

Time passes very quickly. But the successful events of last year are still fresh in our memories.

In 2017, China successfully held the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party. 452 major political parties in 165 countries sent their regards, including PNC, AFC, and PPP of Guyana. This congress depicted the grand blueprint of building a modern socialist country in two stages. In the first stage from 2020 to 2035, we will build on the foundation created by the moderately prosperous society with a further 15 years of hard work to see that socialist modernization is basically realized. In the second stage from 2035 to the middle of the 21st century, we will, building on having basically achieved modernization, work hard for a further 15 years and develop China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.

In 2017, the first the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was attended by heads of state and government from 29 countries as well as over 1,500 representatives from more than 130 countries and 70 international organizations. The Belt and Road Initiative has reached over 270 cooperation outcomes, sounding the trumpet of promoting the Belt and Road international cooperation and jointly creating the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind.

In 2017, the Communist Party of China in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting attracted leaders of nearly 300 political parties and political organizations from over 120 countries, including representatives from PNC, AFC, and PPP. This is the first time that leaders of political parties in the world have conducted such an indepth and open dialogue on the subject of creating a Community of Shared Futures for Mankind and building a better world. It demonstrates the willingness of the CPC to share governance experiences and pursue common progress with political parties

Cui Jianchun Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

around the world.

In 2017, China's economy continued to make outstanding progress. Our GDP surpassed 12 trillion USD for the first time, with a growth rate of 6.9%, contributing to 30% of world economic growth. More than 13 million jobs were created and more than 10 million poor people in rural areas were lifted out of poverty and by 2020 the poverty remaining for our 33 million citizens, will be eradicated. This is the solemn commitment of the CPC to the Chinese people and also a great contribution to human progress. We also adopted unprecedented policy and measures on environmental protection to build a more beautiful China. There is significantly less haze and more blue skies in Beijing, the living environment of residents has improved in leaps and bounds.

The year 2017 also witnessed continuous development of China-Guyana relations. The seminar and the performance for celebrating the 45th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Guyana were successful. On the basis of full exchange and communication with the Guyanese government, the Embassy put forward the 5IT Initiative, which consists of cooperation in infrastructure, investment, ICT, value-added industries, integration, thoughts, training, technology, trade and tourism. I want to thank His Excellency President Granger for naming it the "Jianchun Initiative" after my name. Key coop-

eration projects such as the renovation and expansion of Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the expansion of east coast Demerara road, the Arthur Chung Conference Center are proceeding smoothly. China donated engineering equipment to the Guyana Defense Force, police equipment and supplies to the Guyana Police Force and medical equipment to Georgetown Public Hospital. We invited 90 Guyanese officials and technical personnel to China for training in fields such as ICT, agriculture, forestry and public health. We provided training courses on aquaculture technology in Guyana and funded more than 30 people to China for educational scholarships.

About 500 students studied at the Confucius Institute at University of Guyana.

In addition,China Medical Brigade, Chinese enterprises and Chinese here have actively carried out public welfare undertakings. The above mentioned work has fully demonstrated the friendship between the Chinese government and people towards the Guyanese, winning the vigorous support from both the Guyanese government and people from all walks of life.

On January 12 this year, His Excellency President Granger, Prime Minister Nagamootoo and other honorable ministers attended the ceremony marking the 165th anniversary of the arrival of the Chinese held at the Windsor Forest Primary School, fully demonstrating the recognition of Chinese’s

contribution to the economic and social development of Guyana and the importance attached by the Guyanese to the China-Guyana friendly relations. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heart-felt thanks to His Excellency President Granger and all the friends who have long been committed to the practical cooperation and friendship between China and Guyana.

The year 2018 is the start of the comprehensive implementation of the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up making it a crucial year for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and implementing the 13th "FiveYear Plan". It is also the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. The first China International Import Exposition to inaugurate in Shanghai this November, is a major move by the Chinese government to firmly support trade liberalization and economic globalization. We will fully support the Guyanese delegation in taking advantage of this opportunity to promote Guyana and its products to China and the world, allowing for more Guyanese products to be sold to the largest consumer market in the world. Moreover, China is going to actively prepare for the 2019 Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

We will be ready to assist the high-level Guyanese delegation to attend this forum.

The Second Ministerial Meeting of the ChinaCELAC Forum concluded not long ago, China and LAC adopted the “Declaration of Santiago”, “CELAC And China Joint Plan Of Action For Cooperation On Priority Areas (2019-2021) ” and "Special Declaration On The Belt And Road Initiative", pushing China-LAC relations into a new era. Against this background, the prospect of joint development and all-round cooperation between China and Guyana is desirable. We are willing to work hand in hand with all sectors of Guyana to promote the synergy of the Belt and Road initiative with Guyana’s development strategies, constantly strengthen the traditional friendship between the two countries, expanding pragmatic cooperation and pushing our bilateral relations to a new level.

ccording to the Chinese Zodiac, 2018 is the year of the Dog and its characteristic word is ACTION! The year of the Earth Dog 2018 comes just after the Year of the Rooster (2017) and before the year of the Pig (2019) Chinese New Year of the Dog 2018 begins on Friday, the 16th of February and ends on 2019 Lunar New Year’s Eve on Feb. 4. The Dog occupies the eleventh position in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac. You are a ‘Dog’ in Chinese zodiac if you are born in one of these years: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, and 2018.

The Chinese New Year is an annual celebration marking the start of the New Year according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar.

The New Year always falls in the months of January or February. The Chinese Zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao, is based on a 12-year cycle, each year relating to an animal sign. The animal signs are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep monkey, rooster, dog and pig. However, each zodiac year is not just associated with an animal sign, but also one of five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth…the year of 2018 meets element of Earth, so 2018 is a Earth Dog Year.

According to Chinese Astrology, 2018 is a very good year regarding the financial aspects, but a little difficult from a health point of view. Actually, in the year of the dog, all zod i a c signs

people traditionally wear red clothes and give children “lucky money” concealed in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which, according to legend, can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

In Guyana, everyone joins in to celebrate the Chinese New Year at a grand fair, usually held at the National Park tarmac.

The climax of that event is the launch of lanterns into the evening sky. In China, the New Year atmosphere is brought to an anti-climax 15 days away when the Festival of Lanterns sets in.

It is an occasion of lantern shows and folk dances. One typical food enjoyed around this time is the Tang Yuandumplings made of sweet rice rolled into balls and stuffed with either sweet or spice fillings.

The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year season and afterwards life goes on as per normal.

Another tradition is the lighting of firecrackers.

These are an important element and are traditionally let off to frighten away ghosts so the New Year could start free of them.

Legend has it that long ago there was a monster that terrorised people. However, it was afraid of loud noises, bright lights and the colour red. At midnight on the last day of the old year, these things are used to frighten away the monster for the whole year. The Chinese New

will want to pay special attention to their health. Year 2018 is the ideal time to start eating healthy, doing sports and getting rid of bad habits.

Also known as the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year in pre-modern times signaled to farmers in China to begin preparation for the sowing of their fields.

At the Chinese New Year,

Year h a s b e e n celebrated for 3,000 years.

Festivities include the lion and dragon dances and parades with traditional costumes.

Years of the Dog include 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, and 2030... The Dog occupies the eleventh position in the Chinese zodiac, after the Rooster, and before the Pig.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine

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uyana was the first English speaking Caribbean country to establish diplomatic relations with China, in 1972. One year later Guyana opened the doors to its Embassy in the capital city of Beijing.

This year, China and Guyana will commemorate the 46th Anniversary of diplomatic relationship, which is considered milestone in the bilateral relationship between the two countries. During this period, the two countries have fostered strengthened and have achieved new accomplishments.

China is the second largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean, which is also a major destination for outbound Chinese investment, second only to Asia.

China’s direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean has exceeded US$150 billion.

Although 2018 will mark the 46th anniversary of diplomatic ties, the relationship between Guyana and China began as early as 1853. Chinese citizens from Guangdong province migrated to Guyana (then British Guiana), to assist with alleviating labour shortages across the country. Many of the descendants of these immigrants became influential members of Guyanese society, such that in 1970, Mr Arthur Chung, a man ofChinese descent, was appointed as Guyana’s

first President. He was the first ethnic Chinese to be head of state of a nonAsian country.

Over the years the relationship between the two countries has continued to grow and strengthen.

As such, Guyana is committed to redoubling its partnership with China in the international arena, to mitigate the modern scourges of poverty, underdevelopment, inequality, terrorism, transnational organized crime, and, in particular, the effects of climate change.

Investment and Cooperation

Guyana has witnessed a series of benefits through its increased cooperation with China politically, economically and culturally.

Tangible improvements are being seen in such areas as transportation, infrastructure, information technology, health and security. Guyana has benefitted significantly from increased Chinese investment and the trade volume between both countries has tripled within the last decade. The recent discovery of oil serves to compliment the country’s core industries including forestry, mining, energy, agriculture, construction and manufactured goods. All of these assets continue to make Guyana a lucrative investment destination for Chinese companies.

The two nations remain further committed

Celebrations on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between PRC and Guyana in 2017

to a series of wide-ranging initiatives through the China-CELAC Forum, the principal vehicle for China-Caribbean cooperation. Guyana is the only English-speaking Caribbean nation that is located on the South American continent. As such, this country serves as a natural bridge between the Caribbean and South America and is home to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) headquarters. With China becoming an increasingly more influential partner in the region, it stands to reason that its partnership with Guyana will

continue to be one of strategic importance. The future remains bright and both countries will embrace the next 45 years of diplomatic relations with confidence and optimism.

According to a draft Policy paper by the Chinese Government, China sees itself as brining development opportunities to the rest of the world. It is estimated that in the next five years, China will import US$8 trillion of goods, invest US$750 billion overseas, and Chinese tourists will make 700 million outbound visits. All this will present an even bigger market, more capital,

a greater variety of products and more valuable cooperation opportunities to countries around the world, including Guyana.

While enjoying deep diplomatic relations, China and Guyana hold similar views and have consistently echoed and supported each other’s positions, be it on key international issues such as UN reform, climate change, sustainable development, regional integration and cooperation between China and the Caribbean.

Over the years, the strong, comprehensive programme of bilateral cooperation has resulted in Guyana benefiting from the services of the Chinese medical doctors and technicians, the donation of equipment to the health sector, the educational work of the Confucius Institute, the support given to the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service, the donation of scientific equipment to the tune of $50 million to the Cyril Potter College of Education, infrastructural support for the expansion and renovation of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the widening of the East Coast Demerara Public Road, and the donation of vehicles and other equipment to the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

One Belt one Road Initiative

Celebrations on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between PRC and Guyana in 2017

Latin America is driving faster on the path toward deeper involvement in and with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this time with the Caribbean on board.

This development occurred during the recent 2nd Ministerial Forum

between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) held in Santiago, the Chilean capital, on Jan- 23.

Held under the theme ‘Celac-China: Working for More Development, Innovation and Cooperation for Our Peoples’, the meeting brought together 31 of the 33 member-states of the group of continental and island states, big and small, to facilitate a joint approach to the BRI. The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road were launched in 2013 with routes from China through Asia and linking to Europe and Africa. But Latin America soon indicated interest, as did several other regions.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the region was a natural fit for the initiative, which China has leveraged to deepen economic and financial cooperation with developing nations. The “One Belt, One Road” initiative, proposed in 2013

by Chinese President Xi Jinping, promotes expanding links between Asia, Africa and Europe, with billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.

The 1st Celac-China ministerial forum was held in Beijing in January 2015 and in the three years since much has happened to open a new Silk Road to Latin America – and now the Caribbean, as well.

CELAC, founded in 2010 and launched in 2011, is a key regional grouping established to facilitate closer, deeper and stronger regional integration between its 33 member-states.

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Feature

Arthur Chung

Marjorie Kirkpatrick

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s one of the six ethnic groups, the Chinese community has contributed to an integral part of Guyana’s history. The Chinese who arrived as indentured immigrants to Guyana in 1853 have since made their mark in the medical field, commerce, mining, politics, music and education. For the entire period of 1853 to 1879, a total of 13,541 Chinese landed in Guyana.

Engrained neatly in the fabric of the Guyanese Society are contributions by Chinese that include the tasty cuisine that continues to be popular in Guyana, folklore and the language which continues to be spoken , and is even taught at the Confucius Institute.

Arthur Chung- President of Guyana When Guyana became a republic under the leadership of Forbes Burnham in 1970, the National Assembly elected Chung as the country's first President; he took office on March 17, 1970.

Arthur Chung was born at Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara, Guyana. He was educated at Windsor Forest, Blankenburg and Modern High School. Before civic service Chung was an apprentice surveyor and sworn land surveyor. In the early 1940s Chung entered the Middle Temple of London, England and qualified as a barrister in 1947.

He returned to Guyana and was later appointed an acting magistrate. In 1954, he became a magistrate and in 1960 a senior magistrate. He also served as Registrar of Deeds and of the Supreme Court.

He then became a puisne judge and finally an Appeal Court Judge in 1963.

Hon. Arthur Chung was married in 1954 to Ms. Doreen Pamela NgSee-Quan, with whom he had one daughter and one son.

Jonathan Foo- Cricketer Jonathan Foo is among a rare breed of West Indies cricketers with Chinese descent, who was on September 11, 1990, in Port Mourant, Berbice. The young Guyanese all-rounder hails from a region which has produced

Jonathan FooCricketer

household names such as Alvin Kallicharran and Rohan Kanhai.

He was one of the stars to emerge from the inaugural Caribbean T2, and helped Guyana snatch victo-

ry in the nail-biting final against Barbados, hitting a 17-ball 42 under immense pressure.

Robert Victor Evan Wong- politician, civil engineer, businessman, rancher Robert Victor Evan Wong (July 4, 1895 - October 19, 1952) was a politician, civil engineer, rancher and businessman, elected to the British Guiana legislature in 1926 and 1934, and appointed to its Executive Council in 1928.

He is notable for being the first Chinese-Guianese member of both the British Guiana Legislative and Executive Councils.

Wong was born in Georgetown, British Guiana, and was the eldest son of a wealthy Chinese merchant.

He studied engineering and economics at the University of Bristol, receiving a B.Sc. degree in 1917 in England.

In 1926, at age 31, Wong won election to the British Guiana Court of Policy from the Essequibo Islands.

Wong had been identified as the first person of East Asian descent elected to a national legislature in the Americas. His subsequent ap-

Robert Victor Evan Wong

pointment to the Executive Council was also a first for a West Indian Chinese. As a legislator, Wong was a principal proponent of the introduction of personal income taxation.

He won election to a subsequent term on the Legislative Council in 1934 under a slogan reflecting his initials: Right Vanquishes Every Wrong.

Wong was co-founder and President of the Durban Race ; he died on October 19, 1952.

Trev Sue-A-Quan – Research Engineer, Author Trevelyan A. Sue-A-Quan was born in November 1943 in Georgetown, Guyana. He is the great-grandson of an indentured labourer who had embarked with his wife and son aboard the ship Corona at Canton. They arrived at Georgetown in February 1874 after 78 days at sea. The family was allotted to La Grange sugar cane plantation on the West Bank of the Demerara River. Many of the Chinese immigrants and their second generation descendants became shopkeepers, including Soo Samkuan the author's grandfather. In the process of cultural assimilation his name became transformed into

ministrator, was Chief Medical Officer and President of the Guyana Cancer Society and became the best-known name in medicine and public health in the country. He was also the head of former Guyana Agency for Health, Education & Food Sciences (GAHEF) and was also columnist Charles John Ethelwood FungA-Fatt, CCH, 24th June 1920 – 29th December 2001 An attorney-at-law, built a strong reputation in New Amsterdam, Berbice, becoming a Town Councillor and Mayor there and later served as a Judge of the High Court, Justice of Appeal and Police Complaints Authority.

Trev Sue-A-Quan

Henry Sue-A-Quan thus initiating the distinctive family surname.

Trev attended Queen's College in Georgetown and attained B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, England. He immigrated to Canada in 1969 but then pursued a career opportunity with a major oil company in Chicago where he was engaged in research in petroleum processing and fossil fuel utilization.

The interest in Trev's family history came from a curiosity about the circumstances that caused his great-grandfather to leave his native land. Almost 20 years after obtaining a copy of his ancestor's contract of indenture Trev has applied his training in analytical research to compile this comprehensive account of the experiences of the first Chinese immigrants in Guyana.

Trev Sue-A-Quan is the Author of Cane Reapers and Cane Ripples Marjorie Kirkpatrick- Author, Historian Born in Guyana and of Chinese descent, Mrs. Kirkpatrick nee’ TingA-Kee, was, for a number of years, Deputy President of the Chinese Association of Guyana, a task she performed with distinction until her retirement in 2014.

Proud of her heritage, Mrs. Kirkpatrick served the SinoGuyanese community with pride and in 2012, authored her second book, “The Way We Were – Memories of a Childhood in British Guiana”. In her publication, she chronicles the Chinese experience in then colonial British Guiana, recounting and capturing vividly the intrigues of her life as a third- generation Chinese girl growing up in the plural society of British Guiana in the 1940s.

Marjorie was the wife of Mr. Dougal Kirkpatrick, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Professional Guard Service, a premier security service in Guyana. She is also survived by three offspring: Melanie Mc Turk; Dougal I. Keith Kirkpatrick and Sean Maurice Kirkpatrick; daughter-in-law, Leana Kirkpatrick and two grandchildren: Dougal Michael and Stephanie Mc Turk.

Dr. Walter Chin- Pediatrician , Physician Dr Walter Augustus Chin, CCH, 12th December 1932 – 4th July 2004, an eminent pediatrician and physician and an accomplished ad-

plishment.

Godfrey Chin, social historian, writer In addition to being an avid historian, Godfrey Chin was also a photographer, author of the book Nostalgia and interior decorator in Guyana and the United States.

Several extracts of his works were also published in a local Newspaper.

He re-migrated to Guyana after living in New York and Florida for 27 years. Godfrey’s last major project was decorating Georgetown Club for Old Year’s Night 2011; he passed away in 2012.

In recent years, through various exhibitions, he presented classic photos of Guyana’s history,

Dr Ray Luck, distinguished international Pianist Guyanese Dr. Ray Luck CCH, has distinguished himself in the field of piano for decades in all parts of the world. He studied music with Millicent Joseph and Ruby MacGregor while attending Queen’s College. He received the LRSM and FTCL diplomas before going to study at the Royal College of Music in London, then subsequently won First Prizes in Piano and Chamber Music from Paris’s Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, and later graduated from Indiana University at Bloomington, USA Dr. Walter Chin

from cinemas, Old Georgetown, to sporting events; he also produced a book of those pictures, chronicling Guyana’s history from 1940-1980.

Dr Ray Luck

with the D. Mus Degree. He performed in recitals in several music capitals, such as New York’s Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Paris’s Théâtre des ChampsElysées, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. Concert tours have taken him to Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Caribbean, including a unique visit to Masakanyari, the village of the Wai-Wai in Guyana’s rainforest.

After a distinguished teaching career at Randolph College in Virginia, he was appointed the Charles A. Dana professor emeritus of music in 2002. Professional teaching awards include the Master Teacher Certificate from the American Music Teachers National Association and three Fulbright Senior fellowships to the Caribbean, Greece, and Canada.

In 1992, Ray Luck was awarded the Government of Guyana’s Cacique Crown of Honour in recognition of outstanding music accom-

Vivian Lee Vivian Lee was a well-known Guyanese entrepreneur in the world of entertainment, advertising, and broadcasting, who passed away on August 16th, 2012 in Richmond, B.C. He was the son of Lee Yew, an immigrant from Canton, China and the former Adelaide DeFreitas.

As a creative entrepreneur Lee was involved in television, promoting stage shows, advertisement, songwriting and radio as early as the late 1940’s. He owned a record shop and ran the Ace Records label based in the capital of Georgetown.

Lee was also a master on the soccer field and played for the Guyanese National Team. continued on page 7

Vivian Lee

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Sunday Times Magazine 5

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here are many reasons why people might start to trace their ancestors. It could be that they are trying to find out something about a grandparent, an interest in history or (most likely) just a curiosity about who their ancestors were and whether they had had inherited any characteristics or skills.

For many people, however, it is not until they start working on their family his-

was a young boy visiting the Chinese Association as a family. While there, he and his family became interested in the displays of other family trees. He said, “…we hunted, searching for familiar names, I think that this was when my father began to take an interest in finding out more about our roots.”

Interesting facts

While there are many benefits of tracing family genealogy, for the Lam’s, one

cestors who lived in China.

However, he acknowledged that this may become challenging as time elapses.

“Time is not on our side, and as more time passes, the likelihood of finding that information dwindle,” Michael said.

Challenges

According to Mr. Lam, one of the “problematic aspects” of the journey has been access to information, since the family has had to

part of our everyday life, but finding out much of the ancestral tree on both the maternal and paternal side has given a sense of “being”. But I am Guyanese, I know where I belong; what the names in the tree gives me is a sense of who I am, of where I’ve come from.”

Sense of Identity

He further explained that while the benefits of such an undertaking are, in the end, purely personal, he

Michael’s ancestry is from two ethnicities, Chinese and Portuguese, this is be reflected in his full ancestral chart

tory that they realise just how it can have very positive effects on their lives and how they feel about themselves.

Genealogy can certainly mean different things to different people. For Guyanese Michael Lam, he inherited the interest of uncovering his familial roots from his father, Mr. Christoper Lam, who he said has spent many years collecting the information, and putting it into various forms.

“It is from him that I inherited the interest in our roots, but neither of us has had the time to find out much more than names, the stories still elude us. Much of the information is the product of hard work by Trev Sue-a-Quan and Margery Kirkpatrick, both of whom did extensive research and documentation on the history of Chinese in Guyana, producing several books on the subject,” Mr. Lam explained to the Guyana Times Sunday Magazine.

He further explained that the journey began when he

of the most resounding results has been finding the name of the person who migrated to Guyana from China, the first of the family to live on Guyana’s (British Guiana’s) soil. This Michael explained was “one of the most significant and interesting things.” The family also discovered that their ancestors lived at Victoria Village on the East Coast of Demerara. He added, “My father himself was born in Queenstown, Essequibo Coast, and my siblings and I were born in Georgetown.

Typically, the families tended to be large, with the number of children ranging from 7 to 12; our current generation has sadly broken that trend with small numbers of children per person.”

Alluding to the progress made thus far, he noted that while his family has been able to trace their history back six to seven generations on the paternal side, his hopes are that the next generation would take up the mantle and perhaps find out more about their an-

comb through paper-records and not digital files. He added, “There is a lot of legwork involved in seeking out birth records, baptism and marriage records, and if we go farther back it would entail shipping manifests etc.”

In describing the process further Michael also told the Guyana Times Sunday Magazine that, despite this, he and his father have made concerted efforts to find ways to keep the records while adding to them. Both he and his father have used several programmes to gather and store the information uncovered. “I think the next step for me would be to try at some point to branch out online to resources such as Ancestry.com,” he added.

In pointing to the many benefits of learning about his family’s history and lineage, Michael emphasised that he now has a better sense of “being”. He explained, “As a youngster, I was only concerned with our nuclear family and the extended ones such as aunts, uncles, cousins who were

now has an enhanced sense of identity which came from understanding his descendants , knowing where he came from and who to identify with . “It gives me an

Paternal grandparents, George and Louraine Lam

Identity, a place and a people from which I descended and can now identify with, while still knowing that who I am is not defined by it, but it may help shape who I can be,” Michael stated.

For anyone thinking about embarking on such a journey, Michael advises to start with a basic family tree including parents and grandparents. He explained, “Start asking questions from there. Because of our immigrant past and the strong role religion played in many of our ancestral groupings, the Post Office and the Churches are often the best and more accessible resources.”

Michael C. Lam is a Guyanese photographer. His influences include the work of Ansel Adams, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Darren Moore. He holds a degree in Biology from the University of Guyana, was the Bronze medallist in the 2012 and 2017 Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition, short-listed in the 2014 edition of the same. Other than having his entries in all three competitions displayed in the exhibition portion, he co-exhibited with fellow photographer Nikhil

Ramkarran in the National Gallery at Castellani House in 2012 at an exhibition titled “Coastal Wanderings”.

His current Oniabo collection was previewed through a slide-show presentation at Moray House in October of 2014.

In June 2016, his work was chosen as part of a curated Exhibition titled VISIONS at Fitzgerald House, Georgetown, Guyana, alongside 16 other photographers; it was curated by Karran Sahadeo.

From July to September 2016, three pieces from his Oniabo collection was chosen as part of a Curated Exhibition titled Un | Fixed Homeland at Aljira, Newark New Jersey. Michael’s pieces were exhibited alongside 12 other artists of Guyanese descent from across the diaspora. One piece was selected for the 2017 curated exhibition Liminal Space, at the Caribbean Cultural Centre African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) in New York (June to November); his pieces were exhibited alongside 15 other artists of Guyanese descent from across the diaspora, but primarily from the New York area.

A photo of Michael’s parents Christopher and Noelma Lam, from their 45th wedding anniversary

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Celebrating the

A

lso known as the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year in pre-modern times signalled to farmers in China to begin preparation for the sowing of their fields.

At the Chinese New Year, people traditionally wear red clothes and give children “lucky money” concealed in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which, according to legend, can drive away bad luck.

The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom.

Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

In Guyana, many families with Chinese heritage also celebrate the occasion and would also join the Diplomatic Community in their festivities.

The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year season and afterwards life goes on as per normal.

Another tradition is the lighting of firecrackers.

These are an important element and are traditionally let off to frighten away ghosts so the New Year could start free of them.

Legend has it that long ago there was a monster that terrorised people. However,

Enjoying a Reunion Dinner

Scenes from a past event hosted by the Chinese Association of Guyana to commemorate Chinese New Year

it was afraid of loud noises, bright lights and the colour red. At midnight on the last day of the old year, these things are used to frighten away the monster for the whole year.

A special treat around this time are the dumplingshaped like Yuanbao, gold coins representing prosperity.

Pre-Chinese New Year Preparations (February

8–14, 2018)

Laba Festival Some Chinese start to celebrate and prepare for New Year as early as month 12 day 8 of the lunar calendar. This is a festival called Laba Làbā /laa-baa/ '12th lunar month' + '8'). It's January 24 in 2018.

Cleaning the House

Persons also clean their houses before Chinese New Year

From the 23rd of the 12th lunar month (February 8, 2018), Chinese people carry out a thorough cleaning of their houses. The cleaning is called "sweeping the dust", and represents a wish to put away old things, bid farewell to the old year, and welcome the New Year.

New Year Shopping

People buy New Year food and snacks, New Year decorations, and clothes for New Year before New Year’s Eve. Chinese New Year, like Christmas in China, is a shopping boom time.

Chinese people may be thrifty most of the time, but they seem quite generous in their spending during their traditional festivals. For example, they buy everyone new clothes for the festival, whether they need them or not. There are New Year

street markets on the days before the festival.

New Year's Eve Activities (February 15, 2018)

Putting Up New Year Decorations Although some people decorate their houses several days before the festival, most people do it on New Year's Eve. Houses are decorated with red lanterns, red couplets, New Year paintings, and red lanterns. 2018 is a year of the Dog, so dog images will appear on decorations.

Chinese New Year decorations are more complex in rural areas where people not only wish good luck for their family, but also for their livestock. Hence, people not only decorated their houses, but also the places where their livestock live.

Chinese New Year Eve dinner The New Year's Eve Feast is a "must do" dinner with all family members reuniting. Chinese try very hard to make this family event, often traveling long distances. This is the main reason for the huge travel stress throughout China.

People from north and south China eat different foods on this special occasion, and many New Year foods are symbolic. In northern China a traditional dish for the feast is jiaozi (dumplings).

They are shaped like old Chinese ingots, symbolizing wealth. Southern Chinese eat niangao (sticky rice cake) on this special day, because niangao sounds like "yearly higher", symbolizing improvement.

The Chinese New Year has been celebrated for 3,000 years. Festivities include the lion and dragon dances and parades with traditional costumes.

Setting Off Firecrackers and Fireworks The moment New Year arrives there is a cacaphony of fireworks and firecrackers all around, even in rural China. Families stay up for this joyful moment.

The tradition is to set off one string of small firecrackers first, followed by three big firecrackers, which symbolize "sounding out" the old year and "sounding in" the new year. The louder the three firecrackers, the better and luckier it’s believed it will be for business and farming in the coming year.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 7

Feature

T

he evolution of traditional Chinese Medicine closely followed the development of Chinese society, economy, science and culture. Traditional Chinese medicine developed over a long period, starting more than 5000 years ago, during the Neolithic Age. The use of traditional medicine has been instrumental in enabling the Chinese to combat disease, promote health and achieve prosperity for many millennia.

One important aspect was the use of Herbal Decoctions, which are a type of traditional Chinese remedy made by boiling various substances, primarily herbs, in water to extract the medicinal properties. Legend has it that the process of decocting herbs was invented by Yi Yin, a renowned Prime Minister said to have lived during the King Tang reign of the

ence also featured prominent speakers from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, Korea and Macau, to share views on products quality control, pharmacology, commercialisation, as well as sharing of successful

Shang Dynasty (c.16th Century BC). He was aid to be an excellent chef who also had a deep understanding of medicine. It is said that Yi Yin invented the first medicinal decoctions by simmering together several culinary flavourings such as cinnamon, ginger, licorice, jujube and peony. Although the story of Yi Yin is just a legend, the invention of herbal decoctions was an historical inevitability. Herbal decoctions represent the merging of medical and technological progress, and the emergence of the practice greatly accelerated the development of traditional Chinese medicine.

There are many other aspects to traditional Chinese medicine.

Commonly used herbs incude Ginseng, Ginkgo, Mushrooms, Cinnamon, Ginger, and Licorice a m o n g many others.

The International Conference of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine & Health Products (ICMCM) 2017 was held on 17-18 August at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This annual conference was built on Hong Kong’s unique status as a place where Eastern and Western influences have given rise to respect for and knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is backed up by world-class medical facilities and top-notch academic research.

The theme of the keynote presentation was “International Standardisation of TCM”.

Standardisation is important for the globalisation of TCM and is a critical process in its increasing modernisation. The confer-

cases.

Director, Prof. Pang-Chui Shaw, was invited to give a presentation on the topic of “Recent advances in molecular authentication of Chinese medicinal material products”.

Over the past few years, as TCM has become more popular, scientists have collected evidence that at least some chemical components of herbs and materials used in TCM are effective. According to a Reuters report, in 2015, a study found that the chemical tetrandrine, found in the stephania root, known in Chinese as hanfangji and used as an anti-inflammatory remedy, can help ward off the Ebola virus. Last year, a study found that TCM helped reduce

angina, or chest pain in test subjects.

“In my opinion, tetrandrine is now one of the most promising candidates that could be used to inhibit Ebola virus infection,” said Norbert Klugbauer, a pharmacologist and microbiologist at Germany’s University of Freiburg who also worked on the study published in the journal Science.

In 2008, a group of researchers found that 1,235 chemical components in TCMs were either included or structurally similar to those in the Comprehensive M e d i c i n a l Chemistry database for approved chemical agents. “All of these findings suggest that TCM, at least in part, has a scientific basis,” those researchers wrote in 2008.

Traditional Chinese medicine has also received a vote of confidence from the World Health Organization; the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014–2023 was developed and launched in response to the World Health Assembly resolution on traditional medicine (WHA62.13).

The strategy aims to support Member States in developing proactive policies and implementing action plans that will strengthen the role traditional medicine plays in keeping populations healthy.

from page 4

Even though Lee, born in 1919, wasn’t the first Guyanese in the record business he left his mark on many parts of national culture.

Singer Johnny Braff, who also had some success away from home, was the main artist on Ace Records. In 1966, Guyana obtained independence from Britain and as any experienced producer would do, Vivian Lee released a Johnny Braff album with the celebratory songs. Ace Records released around 50 titles spread out between 78’s, 45’s and albums. Lee was also behind one of the first Guyanese movies entitled “If Wishes Were Horses” featuring comedian Habeeb Khan. Both GEMS and Ace Records managed to record original material by legendary calypso artists Lord Melody and Mighty Sparrow(Excerpts from an interview with Vivian Lee published on othersounds.com) Martha nee Fung Kee Fung was one of the earliest female business owners in Guyana (1800s).

She became a landed proprietor who owned many businesses including a rice mill. She bought

two abandonedww sugar estates Waller’s Delight and Ruimzight at Windsor Forest which she rented to tenants to plant rice. Martha Street in Windsor Forrest is named for her.

Sarah Lam-a-Poo born in 1870, was the grandmother of Errol “Ping” Gillette, Guyana’s first Ombudsman after independence. She went into business as a young woman making Chinese cakes and Minshee, a seasoning produced from beans in her home.

Asin Ho a Shoo has the distinction of being one of Guyana’s first medical doctors in the first decade of the 20th century. She entered the University of Edinburgh, 1906 to study in the field of Medicine. In 1912 she was a Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons at University of Dublin.

She went on to obtain a Diploma in Public Health from the University of Dublin and become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Asin’s daughter Gem Ho a Hing became a Junior

Champion at Wimbledon, the only Guyanese to play there. Born in 1921, Gem was by far the shortestworld class tennis player of her generation, and perhaps of all time, standing well under five feet.

Her height was 4 feet 9 1/2 inches (1.46 metres). Crowds inevitably cheered for the tiny Chinese

Asin’s daughter Gem

girl with British citizenship. Gem never won a major or reached the world’s top ten. What she did capture was many hearts. Gem’s last performance at Wimbledon came in 1957, when she bowed out to eventual champion Althea Gibson.

Cheu Leen Ho a Shoo, another first generation Guyanese Chinese, who married Robert Evan Wong, in 1941 was appointed by the then Government as a Member of the Board of Governors for Bishops’ High School, her old alma mater.

Rosalind Fung/Lee was Miss Guyana in 1956 and also won the contest among the three Guianas.

This earned her the right to represent the three countries at the Miss Universe contest in Hollywood.

Doreen Chow Wah/Lee became the West Indies Table Tennis champion in 1970 and with Denise Osman won the ladies Doubles Championship 1967-1972.

An even more amazing achievement went to Ada Akai who became Deputy Head Mistress of the then all boys Queen’s College in 1974, an “almost unheard of feat at

Doreen Chow Wah/Lee that time in the country’s history”, Debbie Fung was not only a lecturer at the University of Guyana but was the Ladies Singles Lawn Tennis Champion in 1984 and with her sister Caryll won the Ladies Doubles Championship in 1974, 1975, 1980 and 1983-1985 while another, Diane Lee was Sportswoman of the year 1986.

8 Sunday Times Magazine

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Travel and Tourism

A breath-taking view of the Kamuni Creek (Martei Korley photo)

T

he Kamuni Creek (Kamuni Creek) is a stream found in in Demerara River. It is located at an elevation of 2 meters above sea level. Kamuni Creek is also known as Kamuni River, which cuts across the left bank of the Demerara River and is flanked on both sides by amazing greenery and rich vegetation .

The Hopetown settlement at Kamuni Creek (a creek more well-known for the present-day Santa Mission and Santa Aratak villages) began in 1865 as an effort by colonial authorities to induce Chinese indentured labourers to remain in British Guiana after their contracts were up.

Many had heard of the Chinese in Trinidad accumulating wealth from engaging in rice cultivation and commerce there, and saw no prospects for this in British Guiana. A Christian missionary in British Guiana known as O Tye Kim (Wu-Tai-Kam), recognised the dissatisfaction among them and devised a plan to encourage them to stay.

O Tye Kim’s solution was to establish a “Christian Chinese settlement” not only to spread Christianity but also to create a place where the former indentured labourers could work and live independently to accumulate their wealth and improve their future prospects.

He petitioned then Governor Hincks for a free land grant at Camoonie (Kamuni) Creek- approximately 30 miles up the Demerara River, and a small loan to establish the settlement on the left bank of the creek, a tributary of the Demerara River.

Enthusiastic about the idea, Governor Hincks granted the request and the petition was carried in 1865.

Immediately, some 25 settlers were taken to the area, and by the end of the year there were about 70 Chinese settlers.

Some historians put the original settlers at 12, with about 170 by year end.

The decline of the settlement came soon after. In 1866, just a year after the settlement was created, allegations of improprieties by O Tye Kim arose with regard to the settlement’s accounts and his own financial enterprises.

In 1972 it was agreed by Dr. Alan John Knight, then Bishop of Guyana, who was also the Archbishop of the West Indies, that the land should be leased for 99 years to the Chinese Association.

At its peak in 1874, Hopetown is said to have a population of about 800 Chinese. By 1891 that number was reduced to 240; by 1901 it had dwindled to 198, mostly the old and infirm.

A Chinese immigrant family (no date). The Chinese immigrants are said to have originated mainly from areas such as Hong Kong, Canton, Amoy and Whampoa

Travelling up the Kamuni Creek

Sky at Kamuni Creek (Girendra Persaud Photo)

An early Chinese Settlement

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 9

Literary Corner

Preserving our literary heritage

Black History Month Series: part two

Beryl Adams-Haynes

By Petamber Persaud

T

here are as many ways to celebrate as there are appropriate ways to celebrate.

The tenor of Black History Month should be celebrated with books especially with books on the history of places, peoples and events. Starting with books on places, here’s a glimpse of three villages.

The History of Victoria Village by William N. Arno, first published in 1966, reprinted by the Guyana Heritage Society 2000.

The book, ‘History of Victoria Village’, a slim publication, written by William N. Arno, tells the inspiring story of how a group of recently emancipated Africans pooled their resources together in order to make an unprecedented purchase of a sizable village on the East Coast of Demerara. The purchase was one aspect of that inspiring story. The other aspect was that those ‘intrepid’ ex-slaves were able draft rules and regulations to preserve their investment.

According to the book, in November of 1839, eighty three persons including two women bought

Parable of a Chinese farmer

A

what was then Plantation Northbrook for the sum of 30 thousand guilders ($10, 284, 63c.). It is mentioned here and in other places that two women were involved in that transaction but the list of names revealed there were more than two female who were involved.

Plaisance: From Emancipation to Independence and Beyond, by Beryl AdamsHaynes Georgetown, Guyana, July 2010.

The idea of writing a history on Plaisance came to the author some years after she re-migrated and discovered by chance that Plaisance was bought by emancipated Africans. The research stages were not easy; she moved from the national archives to the national library to sourcing information from London and the internet. It took some six years before it finally came to fruition.

The author said, ‘When I set out to write the history of Plaisance, I didn’t set out to do this [showing the book], I set out to write a few pages, a twenty-fivepage document perhaps for my own satisfaction but it took on new dimensions and has taken off in way beyond my expectations’.

Some sixty-five persons were involved in the purchase.

To the Youths of Agricola

by Muriel Doreen Branche and Jennifer Branche, published 2016.

This book is made up of thirteen chapters, an introduction and a biographical page on the two authors. The text is supported by illustrations and photographs. All of the above serving to unfold the his-

Chinese farmer gets a horse, which soon runs away.

A neighbor says, "That's bad news." The farmer replies, "Good news, bad news, who can say?"

The horse comes back and brings another horse with him. Good news, you might say. The farmer gives the second horse to his son, who rides it, then is thrown and badly breaks his leg.

"So sorry for your bad news," says the concerned neighbor. "Good news, bad news, who can say?" the farmer replies.

In a week or so, the emperor's men come and take every able-bodied young man to fight in a war. The farmer's son is spared.

tory Agricola from birth to its rise and decline with the aim for redemption.

Agricola bounded by Houston to the north and Rome to the south started after the emancipation of enslaved Africans. The actually genesis is traced to a time when Richard Michael Jones, owner of Plantations Rome, Huston, La Bonne Mere and Hope, who was more liberal than other plantation own-

founders were enamored by ‘the feats of the Roman conqueror, Gnaeus Julius Agricola…who was instrumental in the Roman conquest of Britain’. This last explanation bears some credence because the streets bear the names outstanding characters in Roman History – Remus, Romulus, Caesar, Cato and Titus.

The community spirit at the time was the hallmark for growth and sustained

Bert Carter with Doreen Branche

the governor of the colony staying in the ‘Great House’ while repairs were being effected to his official residence. Another claim of the book was that the founding fathers – John Figaro, Chandler and Hercules were visionaries whose visions were supported by the members of the fledging community who were industrious and cooperative

and whose industry produced newly dug canals and freshly built dams for the health and economic wellbeing of all. But with time, there were many changes, not all to the good, heralding a decline.

Responses to this author please telephone 2260065 of email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com

Poem ers sold plot of land to the freed Africans. The village was sometimes referred to as ‘Jonestown’ and at other times loosely called ‘Rome’.

But the word Agricola comes from Latin meaning agriculture or farmer. Another origin story is offered that the village

development.

Agricola was once a gated community when crime was ‘virtually non-existent’, when Agricola was a peaceful and a hospitable place ‘deemed to be suitable for entertaining and accommodating dignities’, with no lesser person than

Good news, of course.

Moral of the Story : It's easy to understand why the ancient story of the Chinese farmer resonates now, in times that seem way too full of bad news.

The tale of the farmer is said to be Taoist. Taoist (pronounced Dow-ist) theology emphasizes themes such as naturalness, peace, effortless action, detachment and receptiveness.

The farmer's tale captures many of those. In short, it reminds people that it's best not to get too upset -- or attached -- to what happens to us. Even something that seems dark and confounding can turn out to be an opportunity, when looked on in hindsight.

Notice to Readers

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

10 Sunday Times Magazine

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 11

Home & Cooking

Recipe

Ingredients Jiaozi dough: 3 cups all-purpose flour up to 1 1/4 cups cold water 1/4 teaspoon salt Filling: 1 cup ground pork or beef 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste 3 TB sesame oil 1/2 green onion (spring onion), finely minced 1 1/2 cups finely shredded cabbage 4 tablespoons shredded bamboo shoots 2 slices fresh ginger, finely minced 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

M

ore and more people are adding home offices, libraries and quiet rooms to their homes — but that doesn't mean the design has to be sleepy. All of these spaces are vibrant and inspiring, making it a room someone would seek out — not avoid.

Directions

1. Stir the salt into the flour. Slowly stir in the cold water, adding as much as is necessary to form a smooth dough. Knead the dough into a smooth ball. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

2. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling ingredients. Add the soy sauce, salt, rice wine and white pepper to the meat, stirring in only one direction.Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the same direction, and mix well.

3. To make the dumpling dough: knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Divide the dough into 60 pieces. Roll each piece out into a circle about 3-inches in diameter.

4. Place a small portion (about 1 level tablespoon) of the filling into the middle of each wrapper.

Wet the edges of the dumpling with water. Fold the dough over the filling into a half moon shape and pinch the edges to seal. Continue with the remainder of the dumplings.

5. To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add half the dumplings, giving them a gentle stir so they don't stick together. Bring the water to a boil, and add 1/2 cup of cold water. Cover and repeat. When the dumplings come to a boil for a third time, they are ready. Drain and remove. If desired, they can be pan-fried at this point.

Greatest Cooking Tips • Inexpensive and unprocessed foods like beans, rice, nuts and grains are far healthier than processed foods.

• Keep a well-stocked pantry with lentils, dried pasta, canned or semi-dried tomatoes to throw together for a quick meal.

• Instead of thickening sauces with flour, you can use a variety of things such as tomato paste, agar agar or instant potato powder • Prepare for the week ahead by cooking in batches (www.goodhousekeeping.com)

Home Help

• Slip a pillowcase over ceiling fan blades, one at a time, then wipe. Dust falls into the pillowcase, not on your furniture and floors.

• To clean popcorn ceilings, roll a damp paint roller over the ceiling to pick up dust and cobwebs • Spot-clean fabrics with baby wipes. They contain very little moisture, have gentle cleaning agents, and dry quickly.(don't confuse them with cleaning wipes, which might contain bleach or other harmful chemicals) • To remove dust and dirt buildup from woodwork and leave it looking shiny, wipe down using a mix of 1 part lemon oil to 1 part white vinegar.

Infuse with inspiration Color has the power to get your creative juices flowing and improve your mood (a must when work is involved) A bold piece of art will do the trick!

Keep the backdrop white Keep your space all white.

You can switch in new pillows, patterns and accent colours as you desire.

A pop of colour

This gorgeous home office idea uses neutral furniture and a bright pop of color to create a fun space you'll love to work at home in

12 Sunday Times Magazine

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Puzzles

Crossword

ACROSS

115 Walkman brand

1 Bakers' meas.

116 Phoenician deity

5 Slackened off

117 Pungent veggie

10 Not as busy

118 Author -- Wallace 16 Relieve

120 Dips in gravy

21 "Oops!" (hyph.)

122 Vaudeville family

22 Disturb a sleeper

123 Goat meat

23 Soft wool

124 Jotted down

24 Refrain from 128 Microscopic

25 Libertine

129 -- Enterprise

26 Ocean fish

130 Sine -- non

27 Egyptian god (hyph.)

131 Actress -- Williams

28 Krishna's lover

132 "Exodus" novelist

29 Prognosticate

133 Delivery truck

31 Folk-song mule

135 Make muffins 33 Canyon 137 Linger

35 June bug

139 Caesar's 1550

36 More accurate

140 Ballerina painter

37 Wearing something

142 Tavern fare

40 Bruce -- of Kung Fu 144 Aardvark

41 "Show Boat" composer 148 Moray pursuer

42 Diamond - 150 Hindu incarnation

45 Soyuz destination

153 -- Carlo

46 "The Raven" poet

155 Joyful shout

48 Part of AARP 156 Drizzling

50 Miss Del Rio

157 Gourd-shaped rattle

52 Fill the lungs

158 Tikal builders

54 Clinton, Gore, etc.

159 Ponce de - 55 "Take -- -- from me"

160 Fridge sticks

57 Casserole cover 161 Dismount

58 Aquarium scavenger

162 Pull -- -- one (try to cheat)

59 Mellow

163 Splinter group

60 Wax-coated cheese DOWN

62 -- New Guinea

1 Racing world 66 Gusto

2 Frighten a fly

67 Zodiac twins

3 Serve the coffee 69 Emergency

4 Piece of paper

71 Germany's Helmut - 5 Take up, as a cause

72 Athletic contest (2 wds.)

6 Battery terminals

74 Singer -- Torme

7 More achy

76 Sri - 8 Joule fraction

78 Even if, informally

9 Algerian governors

79 Rough shelters

10 Petite 80 Comparison

11 Moon buggy

83 Like an ogre

12 Prospector's find

85 Plied a gondola

13 Aileron site

88 Sherlock's lady friend 14 Register (var.)

89 Pharaohs' amulets

15 Laughed heartily

90 Beyond rad

16 Farm unit

93 Hostile forces

17 Grassy field

95 Relax, as rules

18 Roofer's need

97 Spike TV, once

19 On terra firma 98 Sneakier 20 Pines

100 Metal in bronze

30 Flatfish

101 Paramecium, e.g.

32 Crack pilots

106 Chapeau's place

34 Earth sci.

108 Woolen caps

38 A Knute successor

110 Foundation garment 39 Hinder

112 Ms. Korbut

41 Brownie creator

113 Goddesses' statues

42 Composer Franz --

Word Search

43 -- sanctum

44 Dalai Lama's city

46 Pumpkin seed 47 Portent 49 Neatly

51 Back talk

53 Eighth letters

54 Pocket change

56 "El Condor --"

59 Female ruffs

61 Vietnam's Ho Chi - 63 Writer Chaim - 64 Yeah (hyph.)

65 At -- -- for words

67 Prime meridian std.

68 Turkish inns

69 Genetic engineering topic

70 Travel on powder 73 Accolades

75 Tropical resin

77 Hersey's bell town

81 Author Anais --

82 Thousand bucks

84 QB's goal (2 wds.)

85 Page or LuPone

86 Held title to

87 Adagio cousin

91 Diamond org.

92 Peacock spots 93 Hitherto

94 Uses an aerosol

95 Cotton pod

96 Riviera summer

99 Psyche's beloved

102 Vitamin amts.

103 Martini garnish

104 Put in -- -- word for

105 Au pair

107 Fitzgerald and Raines

109 Relaxed sort (2 wds.)

111 Nigerian people

114 Fix the table

117 Midwest airport

119 "-- Only Just Begun"

121 Bounding main

122 Furnace need

123 Most terse

124 -- uno 125 Nightmare

126 Comic-strip toiler

127 Explorer Vasco -- - 130 Australian airline

134 Kind of blockade

136 Jeweler's measure

137 -- Tucker of country

138 Ketch cousins 140 Teetotalers

141 Rani's garment

143 Mme. Bovary

145 Quaker pronoun

146 Job rights agcy.

147 Landlord's income

149 U2 producer

151 License plate

152 Fritz's sigh 154 Lummox See Solution on Pg 13

KATHLEEN SAXE

WORD GAME TODAY'S WORD -- DILATORY (DILATORY: DIL-uh-tor-ee: Tending to postpone or delay.)

Average mark 47 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 70 or more words in DILATORY? daily droit lira tail told raid dairy idly load tailor trail rail dart idol lord tardily tray ratio dial idolatry adit tardy triad rialto diary idyl adroit taro trial riot dirt iota adroitly tidal trio road dirty lady airy tidy trod roil doily laid alit tiro troy roily dolt lair alto toad tyro royal dory laity arid toady oily yard dray lard aroid today oral drily liar arty toil radio RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of "s," such as "bats" or "dies," are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a "d" or an "s" may not be used. For example, if "bake" is used, "baked" or "bakes" are not allowed, but "bake" and "baking" are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 13

Tech

T

he dream of flying taxis whizzing through the skies above our cities may be closer to reality than you think.

Chinese company Ehang recently offered a glimpse of what could lie ahead, releasing its first video of passengers climbing aboard its autonomous drones and taking off with the push of a button.

It's one of a bunch of companies racing to bring their different versions of comput-

This is a different game from helicopters. Smaller, electric-powered aircraft are changing the shape of flying.

Rather than traditional gas-driven engines and large propellers or rotors for forward and vertical flight, new designs spread out the work across many small electric motors. They're giant, people-carrying versions of the small remote-controlled drones that have become hugely popular with consum-

The modified sunglasses are connected to an internal database of suspects

P

er-controlled airborne taxis to market. The contenders include big plane makers like Boeing (BA) and lesser-known startups.

Ehang says it first managed to carry passengers in its drones back in 2015 and has since racked up at least 40 successful journeys. It hadn't shared footage of the flights publicly until this week.

Its video suggests the Chinese start up is ahead of companies in the U.S. and Europe in the push to develop a new generation of aircraft that could potentially ferry people across cites, from one rooftop to another.

ers around the world.

Ehang created a buzz at the CES tech conference in Las Vegas in 2016 where it showed off a prototype of its passenger drone, the 184. But it says the technology has come a long way since then.

While other startups may have also carried out manned flight tests, no one is doing it on "this level," Derrick Xiong, Ehang's co-founder and chief marketing officer, told CNN in an interview.

Ehang claims the 184 is the world's first passenger drone capable of reaching speeds of more than 80 miles per hour. (CNN Tech)

China’s answer to Amazon Go aims to conquer with facial recognition

L

ong-waited Amazon Go opened its door to the public in Seattle last week and there has been overall positive feedback.

However, unmanned stores are definitely not a new concept for China’s tech-savvy consumers. Since May 2017, when Alibaba launched its

first unmanned store with the focus word “new retail”, a flurry of Chinese tech companies has created their own versions of unmanned stores with Shanghai becoming an important base.

BIU, Suning’s second big data-driven unmanned store, opened its doors in

Crossword Solution

Shanghai on in 2017, following the opening and trial of the first Nanjing-based store in August. Powered by facial recognition, the store held public events to both promote and test their systems.

Targeting Shanghai’s affluent and trendy consumers, BIU is one of the 4 new retail visiting spots in the region, along with 2017-opened Starbucks Roastery famous for its AR game, unmanned convenience store Bingobox, and Hema Supermarkets, which combines a supermarket, warehouse, and restaurant.

Thirteen out of 20 Alibaba’s Hema stores are based in Shanghai.

Since last year, Suning has aggressively developed their unmanned store project. BIU has so far been piloted in 5 different cities across the mainland. While Suning 4-stories home appliance retailers are easily seen throughout the country, their Shanghai BIU location is their first unmanned store to rely on facial recognition. (technode. com)

olice in China have begun using sunglasses equipped with facial recognition technology to identify suspected criminals.

The glasses are connected to an internal database of suspects, meaning officers can quickly scan crowds while looking for fugitives.

But critics fear the technology will give even more power to the government.

The sunglasses have already helped police capture seven suspects, according to Chinese state media.

Police used the new equipment at a busy train station in the central city of Zhengzhou to identify the suspects.

The seven people who were apprehended are accused of crimes ranging from hit-andruns to human trafficking.

The technology allows police officers to take a photograph of a suspicious individ-

ual and then compare it to pictures stored in an internal database. If there is a match, information such as the person's name and address will then be sent to the officer.But there are fears that China's authoritarian leaders will use the sunglasses to track political dissidents or profile ethnic minorities.

China is a world leader in facial recognition technology and regularly reminds its citizens that such equipment will make it almost impossible to evade the authorities.

The country has been building what it calls "the world's biggest camera surveillance network".

An estimated 170 million CCTV cameras are already in place and some 400 million new ones are expected be installed in the next three years. Many of the cameras use artificial intelligence, including facial recognition technology. (BBC Technology)

Tech TIP Save printer paper

• This one's easy: Every time you print a noncritical document, print it "2-up," meaning two pages shrunk down to fit on a single page (book-style). Look for this setting in the print dialog.

Likewise, if your printer supports automatic duplex printing, take advantage of it. You'll get documents printed on both sides of the sheet instead of just one.

(Mix in 2-up printing and you can get four pages for the price of one!)

Finally, ask yourself if you really need a hard copy at all. The best way to save paper is to "print" your documents as PDF files, which you can then store electronically. This capability is built into most software; just select "save as PDF" as your preferred printer.

Be safer behind the wheel • Mount your phone on your dashboard. That'll at least keep it up near eye level, far better than glancing down at your cupholder, passenger seat or wherever you typically keep it. It'll also simplify screen-taps, even though you shouldn't be tapping while driving.

• Enable "car mode."

Your phone is smart enough to automatically detect when you're driving and au-

tomatically respond accordingly to incoming text messages. That leaves you free to focus on the road.

Put down your phone

• Make no mistake, phones are incredible tools, but they're sucking up all our spare time -- they may be reducing the time we spend with our friends.

(They may also be making us sick: There's some evidence that excessive phone

use can cause anxiety and depression.)

Be nicer online • We all know how toxic the internet can be.

The question is, are you part of the problem? No author, no video blogger and certainly no fellow commenter deserves to be called fat, crazy, stupid or worse just because you have a difference of opinion -- or even if he or she gets something wrong. If you must weigh in, think before you type.

14 Sunday Times Magazine

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FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Bollywood/Hollywood

Priyanka Chopra sues Nirav Modi for non-payment of dues

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Priyanka Chopra and Sidharth Malhotra were appointed as ambassadors for Nirav Modi Jewels

riyanka Chopra, who was appointed as the global ambassador by luxury diamond jeweller Nirav Modi, has dragged the diamantaire to court for non-payment of dues. The Quantico actor has accused Modi of not paying her for the diamond ad campaign.

Modi, who ventured late into the business, gained a reputation as India’s top

O

nir, the National Award winning director of I Am, is back with his romantic film, Kuch Bheege Alfaaz. Set in Kolkata, the film explores the possibility of love between an RJ and a chance listener.

Directed by Onir, the film starring Zain Khan Durrani and Geetanjali Thapa, tries to understand the ‘language of love’. Kuch Bheege Alfaaz brings together two people who speak different languages yet are on the same wavelength.

Onir explains why the film appealed to him. He says, “When I read the script, it took me back to the ‘90s. It wasn’t the world of WhatsApp, Tinder or Facebook. Those were the days when you would spend nights inside chat rooms.

Also, I had never done this

jeweller to the Bollywood A-listers and even to Hollywood biggies including Kate Winslet and Dakota Johnson who walked the red carpet in diamonds from his eponymous brand.

Chopra has already cut off ties with Nirav Modi. She and her team have blamed him for non-payments for their endorsement deals, suggest reports.

"My association with Nirav Modi is like a meeting of minds in many ways. We are both fiercely proud of our heritage and are united by the idea of bringing a modern India to the global forefront. His jewels are one of a kind and effortless, with an understated elegance," the actress had said in a statement at the time of the appointment as an ambassador.

The news came in after India's second largest state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) discovered a $1.77 billion (Rs 11,400 crore) fraud at a single Mumbai branch. PNB named three diamond firms who have benefitted from the fraud -- Diamonds R Us, Solar Exports, and Stellar Diamonds. It may be noted that Nirav Modi and his family members are partners in all the aforementioned companies.

Kuch Bheege Alfaaz features Zain Khan Durrani and Geetanjali Thapa in lead roles

kind of romantic film.”

He adds, “It’s a film that will make you smile. You’ll relive your moments of love.

Celebrating inner beauty is also a very important part of the film. I grew up in a family where my sister and brother were fair. People would ask me ‘what happened to you’. I wanted to incorporate those experiences in a story.”

It took Onir six years to direct a film (Shab, 2017) after the much acclaimed I Am, and now this is his second film in seven months. “I kept developing stories in that period. I started shooting Kuch Bheege Alfaaz a week after the release of

Shab.”

So, what kind of emotions he wants to evoke with Kuch Bheege Alfaaz. “As a person, I am in a happier space now. I want my films to reflect my inner being,” says Onir.

Zain Khan Durrani, who loves poetry in real life as well, is playing the night time radio host in the film.

He says, “I am playing an RJ whose show is called Kuch Bheege Alfaaz. My character goes around the city, talks to people and understands their story. He doesn’t reveal his identity and prefers to remain anonymous.”

Bollywood franchises get star power boost

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ranchise films seem to have become a tried and tested formula for filmmakers, with every one of them doing well at the box office. To bring some novelty into this familiar framework, it seems that franchise owners are replacing one big name with another in the lead role.

After two successful films in the Murder series starring Emraan Hashmi, the audience was equally receptive to Randeep Hooda in the third film. Arshad Warsi delivered a sterling performance in Jolly LLB, but then the sequel had Akshay Kumar, and became a much bigger hit.

Dhoom is a classic case of a film franchise that has created a buzz with different actors each time.

This year, we see quite a few such instances.

Actor Sanjay Dutt has replaced Randeep Hooda as the gangster in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3, out on July 27. Dutt has opted out of the comedy series Dhamaal, making way for Ajay Devgn and Anil Kapoor in Total Dhamaal, out on December 7. In the action thriller Race 3, this year’s big

Eid release, Salman Khan has replaced Saif Ali Khan.

Bollywood insiders feel that a new lead actor energises a franchise. Remo D’Souza, who is directing Race 3, says, “There are franchises that have a different lead actor in every film — and they work. I think by roping in Salman, we have only upped the market value of the Race franchise, and we have Anil Kapoor for the recall value.”

Explaining that these cast changes are a twoway process, producer Prernaa Arora says, “Each actor weighs what’s important for their career, and if they’re not getting that kind of value in a [franchise] film, they may opt out. Also, if the actor doesn’t have dates and the producer can’t wait, a franchise has to pick the next best option.”

The impact on the box office is, in fact, greater with a new lead. Rahul Mittra, producer of Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3, says, “Big names matter in terms of initial pull and, then, if you can retain the core of the franchise in terms of story and continuity, the audience gets drawn into that world.”

N

o matter your opinion on the directing career of Clint Eastwood, it’s impossible not to admire the pace he keeps.

At 87 years old, he’s shown no sign of slowing down, essentially putting out a film every other year. It’s not the yearly pace of fellow octogenarian Woody Allen, but it’s not far off. With a new movie opening this week in The 15:17 to Paris, it seems only appropriate to talk about Eastwood a bit, specifically Eastwood the director. He’s an Oscar winner, after all, so even his newest seems like little more than popcorn entertainment, he’s certainly capable of more than one sort of movie.

His new film, obviously, is The 15:17 to Paris. Based on a true story, this is the long-is plot description that IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes has: “In the early evening of August 21, 2015, the world watched in stunned silence as the media reported a thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris–an attempt prevented by three courageous young Americans traveling through Europe.

The film follows the course of the friends’ lives, from the struggles of childhood

through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack.

Throughout the harrowing ordeal, their friendship never wavers, making it their greatest weapon and allowing them to save the lives of the more than 500 passengers on board.”

The three men in question are Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone, who all play themselves here. That meta bit adds another layer on to what otherwise might be another action drama from Eastwood. Dorothy Blyskal wrote the screenplay, based on the book by Sadler, Skarlatos, Stone, and Jeffrey E. Stern, while Eastwood directs. Professional actors in the cast include P.J. Byrne, Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer,

Tony Hale, Thomas Lennon, and Jaleel White, among others, while longtime Eastwood collaborator Tom Stern is behind the camera.

Eastwood is an A-list filmmaker, if sometimes a very inconsistent one. His best work, like the Academy Award winners Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven, have the feel of classic cinema. Other times, he can be guilty of prestige fare that never seems to have a point, like with J. Edgar, for example. Eastwood is thought to be in a bit of a funk these days, though his last film Sully was tremendous, and your mileage may vary with American Sniper.

Depending on what the reception to The 15:17 to Paris ends up being, we may be seeing a late career resurgence for the director.

In the actionpacked spy flick, JLaw plays ex-Ballerina, Dominika Egorova

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ennifer Lawrence is back on the big screen this spring with her highly anticipated thriller, Red Sparrow, and if you've watched the trailer you'll know exactly why we're excited for its release.

In the action-packed spy flick, JLaw plays ex-Ballerina, Dominika Egorova, who is recruited to 'Sparrow School' - a Russian intelligence service where she is trained to use her body as a weapon. However, things take a dark twist when her first mission,

targeting a CIA agent, threatens to unravel the security of Russia and the US. "She's forced into a program against her will and trained in espionage," the Oscarwinning actress explains. "She turns the tables, her mind is fascinating."

She continues: "She's ten steps ahead of everybody who's trying to use her."

The movie, which has been directed by Francis Lawrence, hits cinemas on 1 March.

We are counting down the days!

A

fter calling it quits on their relationship back in March 2017, a source confirmed to The Sun that the couple has rekindled their romance, saying: "They’re back on. Katy wants to make things work this time around. She tried, but she couldn’t cut him off.

She cares too much about him. This time, they’re keeping things low key – but they’re back together."

Rumours that Katy and Orlando were back on started last month after they were spotted by a fan having breakfast at luxury resort, Amilla Fushi, in the

Maldives... Orlando then shared a photo of himself at the same resort, wearing a very similar shirt to the one in the fan's post - do you need any more proof?

The pair previously dated for just under a year. In

February, a spokesman for the couple released a statement to US Weekly. It read: “Before rumours or falsifications get out of hand we can confirm that Orlando and Katy are taking respectful, loving space at this time."

guyanatimesgy.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 15

16 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Fun Times

Archie

The pressure is on, and your emotions are skyrock(March 21eting. Channel your energy April 19) into something that will encourage better cash flow, less stress and more time to enjoy life.

ARIES

Take care of your responTAURUS sibilities and refuse to take (April 20- on demands that are too May 20) much for you. Set boundaries that will deter others from taking advantage of you.

Put in the time and pump GEMINI up the energy. Bring about (MAY 28- positive changes at home that June 20) will help you channel your efforts into something that will add comfort and convenience to your life.

Don't hide your emotions.

Share the way you feel with (June 21- friends, relatives and loved July 22) ones. The response you get from others will be telling and will help you make an important decision.

CANCER

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Dilbert

Peanuts

Get involved in activities that will challenge you and make you aware of how lucky you are. Simplify your lifestyle and ease your stress. Practice moderation and avoid regret.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Do whatever it takes to stabilize personal relationships that affect your home life. Achieving balance and equality should be your goal.

A romantic gesture is encouraged.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Don't stifle your emotions.

The only way to make a troubling situation better is to discuss your concerns. Find out where you stand, and accept the inevitable.

Use your energy wisely. A SCORPIO (Oct. 24- physical activity will bring out Nov. 22) the best in you. Staying fit and enjoying friendly competition will do you good. Romance is highlighted.

If you want to avoid someSAGITTARIUS one interfering in your af(Nov. 23fairs, keep personal inforDec. 21) mation well hidden. Make a point to listen and observe more while saying less to gain clarity and insight.

Calvin and Hobbes

You'll come up with a good CAPRICORN plan that will help you ex(Dec. 22- pand your interests and talJan. 19) ents. Explore new ways to turn your skills into financial gains. Walk away from unpredictable individuals.

Only offer what you can.

AQUARIUS Talking big may draw crowds (Jan. 20- and attention, but if you canFeb. 19) not follow through, it will not help your reputation, status or chance to advance.

Discipline will serve you PISCES (Feb. 20- well when it comes to strivMar. 20) ing to maintain an appearance that pleases you. Proper exercise and diet will pay off and help you build greater confidence.