Guyanatime 3 june 2018

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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 3583

Sunday, June 3, 2018

GuySuCo pensioners left in crisis over pension fund …beneficiaries fear being short-changed by Govt

Page 9

… ascertaining potential link with mercury poisoning

Businessman on life support after fire Page 14 destroys home

Bandits posing as GRA officers rob WCD business Page 15

$120 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

NICIL still to raise $13.6B to recapitalise GuySuCo’s operations P12

Page 3

Minister of State Joseph Harmon shares a light moment with students of the Lower Bonasika Primary School in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), at the commissioning of a computer laboratory in the school on Saturday

Govt admits 4 GGMC employees died

PRICE

South Rupununi bridge collapses with overweight Page 9 heavy-duty truck

GRDB owes $2.1B to rice millers P11 – RPA Bounced P17 cheques land businessman in court

Minibus P13 conductors’ behaviour a serious issue – association President

Single mother prays for P6 miracle

…as she seeks help to support her paralysed son

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3 GuySuCo pensioners left in crisis over pension fund news

SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Sunday, June 3 – 05:30h-07:00h and Monday, June 4 – 09:00h-10:30h.

…beneficiaries fear being short-changed by Govt

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, June 3 – 06:50h-08:20h and Monday, June 4 – 07:45h-09:15h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light cloudy skies with drizzles can be expected throughout most of the day and early evening, while light to partly cloudy skies can be expected in the evening hours. Temperatures are expected to range between 23 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North-easterly between 1.78 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 07:05h and 19:38h reaching maximum heights of 2.56 metres and 2.40 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 00:40h and 13:09h reaching minimum heights of 0.85 metre and 0.75 metre respectively.

FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2018

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

President David Granger

E

ven as pensioners remain concerned over how much of their pension benefits they will actually get, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Agriculture Ministry are mum over the state of the pension fund for unionized workers.

Even as the workers remain in the cold about the status of their pension fund, some have questioned whether they would be treated like the bauxite workers, in Region 10.

A senior manager who is part of the fund told this publication that, in 2002, the then Government had signed an agreement with the two large bauxite unions, providing six weeks’ severance pay for every year of service, with a cap of 104 weeks. Additionally, the Government committed to pay the pension plan deficit and bring up to date outstanding payments for NIS and PAYE. The manager said that almost $3 billion was paid out by Government to fulfil these obligations.

This newspaper was also told that, separate from the pay out, the Bauxite Industry Pension Plan (BIPP) was wound up and the full benefits were paid to all members of the bauxite industry pension plan.

This is a major concern for another beneficiary of the GuySuCo pension plan called STEPS (Sugar Trading Enterprise Pension Scheme), which is the largest pension plan in the country. Its officials have said there seems to be no focus on protecting the workers’ benefits and ensuring fair treatment of sugar workers.

Just over 5400 sugar

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

Acting Chief Executive Officer Paul Bhim

GAWU President Komal Chand

Former Prime Minsiter Samuel Hinds who represented Bauxite workers

A former employee of the Corporation had told this newspaper that Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) pulling out from the fund has added pressure to the fund.

The employee had expressed the view that Government had to be aware of the dilemma. He said this on the basis that there was no likelihood that foreign investors would have joined the fund, as the Financial Act currently prohibits certain levels of offshore investment.

According to the former employee, there is likelihood that the scheme will lose its viability to provide a pension for those who are already receiving a pension, because of the lack of investment portfolios.

“The pension is already burdened by those already receiving a pension, and it will be exacerbated by the additional people who will now be-

come eligible for pension as a result of being severed from the company,” he added.

While the pension fund had been in trouble before the new Government took office in 2015, there was no move made to stabilise the fund, especially in light of plans to downsize the industry.

When contacted for information on the fund, GuySuCo’s acting Chief Executive Officer Paul Bhim had professed that the fund had a surplus.

However, he was unable to provide details on exactly what the balance of the fund represented.

He had informed this publication that there is usually a three-year valuation exercise done, with the next one due in June 2019. Bhim had revealed, however, that this exercise would be brought forward to this year, due to the massive changes.

workers were dismissed as Government closed four sugar estates and vested their assets into the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) since the end of 2017.

There is major fear that Government would shortchange the workers, a former employee told this publication on Saturday.

“Instead of the workers being paid both their contribution and that of GuySuCo, workers are concerned that they may end up with far less than the same treatment enjoyed by the bauxite industry,” a former senior staff stated.

The STEPS Fund has a history of negative figures, but several persons have opined that with the closure of several estates and the downsizing of the industry, there will be an influx of persons into the pension system.

Reports are that the Employees Retirement Benefits are in negative territory by $1.1 billion, as opposed to $2.4 billion in 2014, according to the 2015 financial statements produced by GuySuCo. And according to well-placed sources, the state of the fund has not improved.

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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

Pre-empting abusive relationships

G

uyana appears to have an intractable domestic violence problem, but this should make us work harder to alleviate this pernicious condition. While there have been several initiatives launched, one of the areas that has not received much attention in Guyana has been the dynamics operating between couples. Nowadays, arranged marriages are passé and couples date or otherwise have a relationship for extended periods before actually getting married. An evergrowing phenomenon, of course, are the couples who ‘live home’ even after children are produced in the relationship.

Are there signs of an abuser that can be discerned early on in a budding relationship, which can then be nipped in mandatory pre-counselling before matters proceed too far?

While Guyana has not ‘progressed’ to the stage of having dating services, some interesting warning signals have come out from those studies in the countries that we imitate in our social relations. The concept is the same as where the individual in Guyana reveals his/her personality after a few dates.

A paper published in the journal “Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin” examined the influence of prior experiences on partner preferences. The researchers themselves constructed a believable-looking “online dating service,” and thus were able to track the study participants’ preferences and selection of various partners. Although the study participants didn’t know it, the researchers had carefully chosen the profiles so that they differed in systematic ways.

For their first study, the researchers focused on heterosexual women’s preferences, and the men’s profiles that they looked at differed in how much they signalled potential for psychological abuse in intimate relationships.

The profiles themselves were actually real, with the profiles of potentially abusive men written by men who scored high on characteristics associated with abusive personality: impulsivity, anger, jealousy, low self-esteem. A separate sample of participants independently confirmed that the profiles gave off warning signals of potential abuse.

The researchers’ results are sobering: Women who had a history of being psychologically maltreated in a prior relationship were three times more likely to choose potentially abusive dating partners than women without this history. In other words, women who are at risk for being abused in their relationships are more likely to be attracted to the very features that others see as clear precursors of abuse. Often, these choices are rationalised: intense jealousy is misinterpreted as caring, and anger is romanticised as “dangerous.”

In a second study, the researchers turned the tables around, and focused on heterosexual men’s preferences.

Their question was this: Who do potentially abusive men prefer? The results showed that men who scored high on a measure of inflicting psychological abuse were 1.5 times more likely to choose a partner who is high on attachment anxiety. Attachment anxiety is a disposition associated with victims of abuse, and is characterised by an intense anxiety over rejection.

As such, people high in attachment anxiety are particularly vulnerable to being “treated like a God” during the courtship phase of a relationship: being flooded with flowers, adulated, constantly called. Fears of rejection overwhelm the ability to detect an unhealthy balance between independence and interdependence in their relationships. What does one do in the face of such data, with people high in attachment anxiety and their potentially abusive partners essentially judging each other as highly compatible?

Simple as it may sound, one powerful answer is to rely on your social networks. Listen to what your friends are saying. In fact, people in new relationships should actually ask friends their opinions about prospective partners and these friends should be honest in their evaluation. This is critical advice both if you are attracted to a potentially abusive mate, or if someone you care about begins describing abusive relationship patterns. Sometimes, we need to rely on other people to help us see what we cannot.

Most abuse and violence are committed by “significant others”. We bear much of the responsibility for choosing them.

Let us become educated for the signals sent out by abusers.

Fort Zeelandia is located on Fort Island, a fluvial island of the Essequibo River delta in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region of Guyana. The small fort is a 15 x 20 m structure surrounded by four ramparts at each corner. Constructed during the Dutch possession of the region, the fort was a vital defensive fortification strategically located at the mouth of the Essequibo River. Construction of the fort commenced in 1740 and with the labour of enslaved Africans, the structure was completed in 1743. (Photo compliments of Deopaul Somwaru)

Look at the wages Dear Editor, Based on the recent picketing by the minibus operators, it’s a relief to see the operators picketing for a reduction in gas prices, instead of fare increase. I would not agree to one article in the dailies: that for over a decade, there has not been a raise in bus fare.

A short drop fare is supposed to be $60, but during the PPP/C era, the fare was increased to $80; and sadly, on the West Coast of Demerara, it was $100. At certain hours they demand that, and some so called ‘shine buses’ charge three hundred instead of two hundred dollars.

However, instead of calling for a fare increase, they are calling for reduction; which is fair enough, because I am sure they are aware of the conditions of people’s wages in society today.

Editor, not too long ago, I

penned a letter about the wages and working conditions in places especially on the West Coast, and immediately after, I heard some official had visited a certain place I mentioned.

Now I am not hearing of any development at these places, and it should be noted that many places are still underpaying staff with threat of things hard, people looking for jobs and people want work.

Now, most shop girls are working above the seven or eight hours’ shift for a measly $1000 or $1200. I know definitely $1200 is the most being paid all over, especially in Berbice and West Coast of Demerara. What is even more disgusting is that they are forced to work whole day on Saturdays and Sundays for the same day’s pay, and they are given a day off during the week.

Now, that is not the only

atrocity being committed against the working public, but in Guyana, it seems as though your job designation has a different meaning. Most places you go to, including some Government Ministries, you will find the security guard querying your purpose, calling to verify etc.

Some have to either direct or escort you. The only part short of them being called guard-receptionist is them not answering the telephones.

Security has a whole new meaning here for me. You visit a store, the employees have to sweep and wipe. They have to fetch, pack, measure, and do a lot of extra work that is extended beyond their duty of sales girl/boy. They should have been given the cleaner’s salary and also the handyman’s/porter’s salaries because they are doing those jobs.

When this Government took over, their first agenda was to award themselves a huge salary increase, citing that will ease the corruption; but we are still hearing of allegations. They are allowed free living, some of them paying a huge rent a month that an average man cannot earn whole year. Their allowances are more than a month’s salary for anyone, and to top it off, round off any Minister’s salary to the hundred thousand and still the man doing a decent job not getting enough to match the change in a Minister’s salary.

One would only have to watch at what is taking place and make one’s own assumption and realise we are only living on promises whilst we are decaying.

Sincerely, Sahadeo Bates

Expected better of President David Granger Dear Editor, Now that the events have ended, permit me to comment on the ‘Stink and Dutty J’ouvert’ event that took place in the night of 25th May, 2018. Editor, this event was scheduled on what is usually the night that Guyanese witness the hoisting of the national flag to mark our Independence anniversary.

Editor, was this event the reason that things changed this year? Was the event the reason that the midnight flag-raising was cancelled?

Why was the midnight

flag-raising really moved to 14:00h in the afternoon?

The reports in the local newspapers about emails from Basil Williams, the Attorney General, about promoting certain events come to mind. The email said that the PNC’s re-election committee decided to support several entertainment shows with foreign artistes to win back support, especially from youths, because the PNC believed that “this will help to motivate the younger voting population” at the elections. Is this why the

midnight flag-raising was changed?

I raise this question because the PNC were given scores of free tickets for distribution by the entertainers.

The reports in the local newspapers also talked about Joseph Harmon, the Minister of State, engaging churches on the need for the religious community to play a bigger role in society. He talked about “an increase in goodness and righteousness in our society, in moral re-armament” in Guyana. Was Joseph Harmon being serious

about moral re-armament?

How does something named ‘Stink and Dutty’ line up with moral re-armament? But this is just my view. The main issue, Editor, is that the flag-raising ceremony’s timings were changed.

I, like many other Guyanese, expected better of President David Granger, since he is the kind of man who would prefer to be in church on Old Year’s Night instead of at a party.

Sincerely, Brian Azore

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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

Grave danger to Atlantic Coalition administration has lied to Guyanese Gardens residents

Dear Editor, Every day, road users on the East Coast highway are exposed to grave danger at the turnoff to Atlantic Gardens, at exactly the same spot where there was a major traffic crisis on Mother’s Day 2018, which I wrote about in a letter to the media in May. Eventually, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure offered an apology, which was published in the various newspapers.

Residents of Atlantic Gardens risk injury, or even death daily, plus the possibility of serious damage to their vehicles, because they are forced to cross a perilous bridge that was broken up as part of roadworks in that area being done by Chinese contractors and Guyanese engineers.

Finding a safe way to cross this partially dismantled bridge is not for the faint of heart. Sand has been dumped there, but the seasonal heavy rainfall has added mud and debris, transforming it into treacherous, slippery slush that has several flooded potholes in it. Some parts of this loam bridge are also breaking away as the water tries to

find its way into the gutter.

As such, the risk increases at night in this poorly-lit area.

The blame for this lies squarely at the feet of the contractors and engineers in charge of the roadworks.

They just go merrily about their business as if they have absolutely no interest in maximizing commuters’ safety and minimizing their inconvenience.

Apart from people possibly getting killed or injured, there is also the possibility of Government, or more accurately the taxpayers of this country, paying out millions of dollars to settle huge lawsuits arising from injuries and damages due to the slackness of the project managers.

Why aren’t the engineers overlooking this project en-

suring that the work is properly done? Don’t the contractors know better?

Who is ensuring that these contractors and engineers are doing their jobs properly with the interest of the Guyanese people at heart? Will it take death, severe injuries, or huge lawsuits to teach them to ensure the managers of the roadworks are doing the work properly?

I also urge the ministry’s public relations officer who issued the apology for the Mother’s Day crisis to come to the spot and witness firsthand the gravity of the situation. Then, hopefully, the ministry and project overseers would change their flowery words into effective action.

Sincerely, Roshan Khan Snr

Thanks for sharing your rich vocabulary Dear Editor, In today’s world of ‘texting’ and ‘tweeting’, there is very little, if any, appreciation for Standard English Language and rich vocabulary such as are characteristic of the writings of Mr Earl B John.

Almost every letter from Mr John introduces me to a new word; the past week has been especially enriching for me.

I wish to publicly thank

Mr John, and to encourage fellow Guyanese to take due note and try to emulate him.

I believe our standards of expression in vocabulary, grammar and style can be significantly improved, and I would like to encourage parents, teachers and community leaders to aim higher and resist the temptation to be content with mere understanding; to embellish their communication the same way they pay atten-

tion to their other forms of presentation.

Good writing, like clear speaking, is a sign of refinement!

Sincerely, Nowrang Persaud

Dear Editor, Economic policies establish the framework upon which governments intend to address a country’s growth and development prospects.

They get into office on these, and they also get booted for noncompliance or failure to realize commitments. One of the things about which few, if any of us, can disagree on is that we have been lied to by the coalition administration on the campaign trail going into the 2015 elections.

Nowhere on their campaign trail did they ever mention that they would be returning to Burnham’s policies and ideas on development. They have also made a complete u-turn on their commitment to addressing unemployment.

Growth in private sector loans, an indicator of economic activity, plunged from an average of G$17.4 billion in the two and a half years prior to June 2015, to an average of G$7.6 billion for the two and a half years of the coalition’s administration, ended December 2015.

The first major concern is Government’s willy-nilly attitude to destroying our nation’s wealth by running up its overdraft facilities with the Bank of Guyana. At the rate the economy is going, there is little if any likelihood of this money ever being recovered by 2020.

Secondly, increases in deficit financing by governments typically give rise to increased economic activity, which is usually underpinned by increased private sector borrowing. This is not happening.

Finally, based on cur-

rent trends, it seems reasonable to assume the coalition administration will continue its ill-informed policy of abusing its overdraft facilities with the Bank of Guyana.

The last thing Guyanese seriously expect is that the G$30 billion the administration is investing in GuySuCo will return the company to global competitiveness and profitability. It would be irresponsible of me or anyone to say that our economy has crashed, or is crashing; but

the figures just presented, which were extracted from the banking system statistics published by the Bank of Guyana, suggest exactly this.

It seems pretty clear the administration’s fiscal programme is not generating growth; and worse, is destroying our nation’s financial resources. The coalition administration is tying our feet and asking us to run.

Yours faithfully, Craig Sylvester

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Ashley Anthony

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very morning at Queen's College, I started my day with a recitation of the Lord's prayer. A Christian prayer, prior to my attendance at Queen's College I had not been exposed to. It always bothered me then, and it continues to bother me now that a public school, run by the Government of Guyana, a State which claims to be secular, practiced such a thing.

Personally, I believe

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Foundation

Complete separation of that in public schools, there should be a complete separation of religion and education. What aggravates me is that when this is mentioned; Christians recoil, as though you are threatening their religious freedom. The fact that every child, regardless of their own religious beliefs is expected to conform and say a Christian prayer, that alone is infringement on religious freedom. Are our public schools Christian schools? Do children of all religious beliefs not attend them? Why must they forsake what they believe every single morning?

Some argue that those who are not Christian do not need to say the prayer, but must at least be reverent. But how is this fair? Those children are given no time to say their

own prayers publicly, and what I believe this says to a child is that Christianity is more legitimate than your religion. If you don't understand what I mean by this, think about what would happen if the roles were reversed.

How would you feel if you sent your Christian child to a public school, and then they returned and told you that they had been made to recite Islamic or Hindu prayers?

Would you not be upset? So why is it acceptable that every child says a Christian prayer? It tells children that your religion is not as important, it is only acceptable to the public on special occasions, and that it is abnormal. Christianity is assumed to be the default, and I think this is honestly despicable.

Just last year, missionaries from the Faithful Word Baptist Church were able to gain access to students at public high schools in Guyana. That particular organisation has been deemed a "hate group" in the United States. For some background, the preacher of this group has prayed for former President of the United States, Barack Obama, to die and go to hell; has a documentary on the 'truth' of Hinduism; and has called for a war on the 'gays'. How on earth is it acceptable to subject Hindu children to listen

to a man who degrades and berates their religion in often 'viral' rants on YouTube?

How did such a thing even happen? If a radical Imam wished to come speak about how he believes Christians are going to hell, would he be given equal access to the children?

Personally, I believe that we should just keep religion out of schools all together.

There were talks of a universal prayer, but I don't see the need for it. If you are truly religious, can you not pray at home? Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no

problem with members of a particular religion practising their religion. My issue derives from when other people are forced to as well. I am all for religious celebrations for Christmas, Easter, Phagwah, Diwali, or Eid in schools. But they should be optional. In conclusion, no religion can prove itself to be the true religion. We should not treat any as more legitimate than the other, and finally we should operate as though we are the secular State we claim to be.

Keep the church out of the State and furthermore, out of the schools.

Single mother prays for miracle

…as she seeks help to support her paralysed son

By Davina Ramdass

W

hile most children are preparing to write their end of term examinations as they eagerly await the moment when they are free from school to enjoy their summer vacation, an eight-year-old boy remains bedridden and most likely anxious to run and play the way he once did.

Little Matthew Zaman was a pupil of the La Bonne Intention (LBI) Primary School before he met with an accident just in front of his home, which left him paralysed from his neck down. The child has not been able to utter a word since his accident and is unable to do anything for himself; something his mother, Bibi Shanaz Khan said he always loved doing.

He was struck by a minibus

The dashing young man before the life changing accident

outside their Lot 20 Felicity, Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara home on December 18, 2017, while he was playing.

The mother, who was al-

most brought to tears as she recalled the incident, said she was at work when she heard about her son’s tragedy and immediately rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

She said to her horror, when she arrived there, her son was motionless.

Little Matthew sustained a fractured skull which resulted in swelling in the brain, damage to his lungs and injury to his spine which hinders his mobility. At just eight years old, the child’s life has come to a drastic point where he is unable to function like a normal child his age.

Breathing only with the help of tubes, due to the damage to his lungs, and feeding only through tubes as well, little Matthew has met a cruel fate. Recognising this, his mother said she quit her job as a domestic worker to care

of her baby. Khan, a mother of eight, said she had no other option but to leave her job.

The child’s mother said this phase of their lives has become very challenging.

Matthew’s dad does not play a role in his life after his parents separated when he was just two years old, so his mother is left to grapple with all the expenses of raising her children and caring for Matthew.

Khan said she has a 26-yearold daughter, who assists her.

She said the driver of the minibus, who is scheduled for court, has offered help on several occasions as well.

The frustrated mother said after her son’s accident, she did not know what to do and had no idea how she would have managed.

While little Matthew was still hospitalised, she said she tried to take a photograph of him so that his relatives could have seen his condition, but was instructed not to by the hospital’s staffers. She said she even had to go to the Hospital’s Public Relations Officer to sign a document saying that she would not publish the child’s picture while he was hospitalised for approximately two months at the nation’s premier medical facility.

After this phase, while still uncertain about who to turn to for help, the boy’s mother said she went to the Imam from a nearby Mosque who later sent someone to her home, whose heart immediately went out to her son.

Members of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana has played a critical role in giving her a voice to get assistance for her son.

As a result of the help she has received from the religious organisation, she said persons have been coming to her home, calling and messaging to give whatever support they can.

Little Matthew being attended to by his mother

The distraught woman however said at this time of the year it aches her the most because her son would usually get decked out for the mosque in observance of Ramadan. “It tears my heart because sometimes I would sit down right by my window and see the little children passing going to church and it reminds me of how I used to dress him up too”. Almost in tears while still reflecting on her son’s active moments, she told Guyana Times that little Matthew used to suck his fingers and sometimes, with tears streaming down her face, she would put his fingers in his mouth just to get that glimpse of her active child again. Her son, she added, used to talk a lot and was very loving.

While he was still attending school, she explained that he used to sometimes come home without his lunch bag and pencils. She admitted that he was not fond of writing, but had an impressive memory with the undoubtable ability to learn. “I remember sometimes I would tell he a phone number and then like two or three days af-

ter if I ask him he can tell me.

Even at the shop, he would go and would walk all the aisles to make sure he brings exactly what I told him I wanted,” Khan revisited.

The tired and emotional mother said she is unwilling to give up her fight and is hoping that the faith that she has can be enough to bring back her little boy. She said as she watches him every day, she prays for a miracle so that he can have a normal life again.

She said sometimes her baby does not sleep and just out of concern, she stays awake with him to ensure that he is taken care of properly. The tubes, she said, have to be monitored, since he can become infected by them; as such little Matthew is still being monitored by the Georgetown Public Hospital and being treated with the hope of becoming active again.

The child’s mother is seeking the public’s assistance as she continues the struggle to maintain her child. Persons who are desirous of donating whatever they can to the child’s mother can do so by contacting her on telephone number 659-6766.

news

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SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyana’s justice system

Over 40% of inmates never had legal representation – report …81% never told of entitlement to lawyer

By Jarryl Bryan

T

he recently conducted Citizen Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP) prison survey was designed to let the prisoners have their say and they indeed had their say, with the report documenting several complaints about Guyana’s criminal justice system.

A major complaint from the prisoners was their civil and human rights not always being respected as detainees. For starters, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)funded report documented that most prisoners – 81 per cent – are not informed about their rights to a lawyer when they are initially detained.

According to the report, some 42 per cent of inmates reported not even having a lawyer. In cases where they did have lawyers, the prisoners had concerns over the quality of defence their case received.

“Four out of 10 inmates, 40.5 per cent, who had at least one lawyer thought that their lawyers defended them ‘very poorly’; 15.6 per cent or ‘poorly’, 24.9 per cent. Almost one third of the inmates, 29.5 per cent, had never spoken to the Judge directly and 43.3 per cent said that they understood ‘little’ or ‘very little’ about what was happening at the hearings and in courts,” the report adds.

Public defence

Besides these issues, the report also documented that there is limited access to public defenders. According to the report, only 14.3 per cent of inmates who were afforded a lawyer attested to having had a public defender.“Seven out of 10, 77.4 per cent, had hired a private

lawyer. In this scenario, a positive issue is that only a very low level of corruption among criminal justice personnel was found. In general terms, nine out of 10 inmates said that no public

According to Panday, this was the case with juvenile residents at holding centres who were awaiting trial before the courts. He had revealed that a proposal was made for a public of-

The report raises questions about the civil rights afforded to prisoners

official had asked them for money or belongings from the time of their arrest until their sentence,” the report states. Last year, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Rights of the Child Commission, Amar Panday had been reported as saying that 90 per cent of children at holding centres countrywide were denied legal representation.

fender’s office that would provide legal representation to children and vulnerable sections of society.

Guyana currently has the Legal Aid clinic, which is a non-governmental, non-profit making organisation. Open since 1994, it has provided legal aid to individuals though the majority of those benefiting have been women.

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SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

Return of…

N …terroristic violence?

ow that the characteristics of the Burnhamite dictatorship are sprouting like Jumbie Umbrella under President Granger – the present leader of the PNC, who’s vowed to complete the “legacy” of Burnham – should we be surprised that it looks like “kick-down-the-door” banditry is rearing its ugly and vicious head?

No, dear reader, we shouldn’t: dictatorships, like diseases of the body and the body politic, have a number of morbid symptoms that typify them.

And these are all self-reinforcing. The undermining of the institutions of democracy like the Judiciary, Elections Commission, the free press, etc operates at one level: the formal level, involving the neutering of competing elites.

At the mass level, the supporters of the Opposition must be terrorised – using a variety of strategems -- into a frame of mind that they see no alternative than making their “peace” with the PNC. Remember how Burnham used to boast he’d brought back “peace” to Guyana after the sixties? OF COURSE HE DID!!! He was the one who’d unleashed the violence in the first place - and could chose to rein it in whenever he wanted. Who owns the dog and all that…

And we arrive at the latest iteration of kick-downthe-door bandits. The key characteristics of this gambit is firstly to brutally show the citizens their home is not their castle.

In the Burnham era, the phenomenon spawned a whole new cultural change – wherein citizens willingly “grilled” their doors and windows to such an extent that their homes were nothing less than self-constructed prisons. These were the equivalent to the medieval drawbridge citizens hoped would ward off intruders.

Didn’t work in that go around – and wouldn’t work now.

Then there was the gratuitous violence -- to extract more loot -- and even then, for good measure, just to drive the condign lesson home. The “big guns” often borrowed from the Disciplined Forces; it was just to drive more fear into the terrorized, and remind them the penalty of resistance was death.

The firings of almost 6000 sugar workers is violence of a more subtle type – self-inflicted violence. But it is violence nevertheless. Without any source or hope of any income, this community would intensify the pathologies developed since indentureship by subsistence wages in the best of times. Expect suicide, alcoholism, -- now joined by drug abuse – domestic violence, violence against each other in drunken brawls to jump to stratospheric levels. They ain’t gonna fight the Government – but themselves!

Then there will be the passive violence of having the People’s Militia in the communities, spying on folks and reporting their every “infraction” – that is to say, any sign of supporting the PPP. They say forewarned is forearmed. But your Eyewitness isn’t optimistic.

…the Guyana National Service?

Did you read about the call by the Region 3 CEO – a PNC Government appointee of course, in the PPP controlled RDC – calling for the relaunching of the Guyana National Service (GNS)? Ever since the Government took office, there’s been a steady and growing orchestrated effort from operatives at the “bottom” to make this call. It’s not a coincidence.

The GNS was part and parcel of the apparatus of the Burnham Dictatorship. He had this “thing” about “discipline” – and saw the lack of this quality as a prime reason for the lack of progress to execute his “vision”.

In this way, he was like Dessalines, the Haitian despot who succeeded Toussaint and made himself “Emperor of Haiti”. That’s why you’ve been hearing from Granger and his army types in control about the need for “discipline”.

In Burnham’s case, he launched the GNS not only to instil “discipline” in the young recruits, but to “forge” a unity among them to make the ‘real Guyanese”.

It’s that “forging” we should be worried about!

…roustabouts

The meeting between Banks and Exxon execs “to foster mutual interests” is intriguing. Is Banks the official supplier of beer to the Exxon roustabouts - the unskilled labour on the FPSO? Fired cane cutters should do well here!!

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

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SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Govt admits 4 GGMC employees died … ascertaining potential link with mercury poisoning

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ollowing reports in the media of the recent deaths of four Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) workers that could be mercury related, the Natural Resources Ministry has confirmed the deaths.

The deceased staffers are: Dwayne De Jonge (ranger), Latchman Chiti (surveyor), Leroy Green (carpenter) and Clement Proffit (lab technician).

According to the Ministry in a statement, it has received no official or formal report indicating that the men – who this publication understands all died this year – were victims of the mercury contamination that has plagued the GGMC compound over the past few months.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources will await a report to this effect from the GGMC and will again engage the workers about any grievances that may exist. Further, there is simply no existing empirical data which establish that mercury is responsible for the deaths of miners and GGMC workers in recent times.”

However, the Ministry did admit that efforts are in train to scientifically establish whether there is a link.

“No effort and no expense will be spared in pursuit of the truth and the pro-

tection of the workers,” the Ministry said.

The Ministry’s admission of the employees’ death came after the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Friday questioned the death of the four employees while in a public statement expressed condolence to the

should be a cause for serious concern. It is disturbing that the Government and the GGMC have been reluctant to inform the staff and public about actions taken to ensure protection of not only staffers, but also those in surrounding communities,” the party said.

Office of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission

relatives of the deceased staffers.

According to the PPP, the issue is one that must be addressed urgently by the relevant authorities.

The Party also raised possible links to the mercury poisoning that had afflicted workers at the GGMC during amalgam burning exercises. According to the PPP, all four men were documented to have been affected by mercury poisoning.

“These four deaths, which follow each other in such a short period of time,

“This is not a political issue,” the party had stressed.

“The PPP will support the Government of Guyana to ensure that every effort is made to guarantee the health and safety of our people. We therefore urge immediate action by the relevant authorities including management of the GGMC and the Ministry of Public Health, to ensure the occupational health and safety standards are in place.”

According to the Party, precautionary measures such as testing and treat-

South Rupununi bridge collapses with overweight heavy-duty truck

The Yamatwao Bridge collapsed when a truck carrying an excavator attempted to cross

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s calls are being made for the suspension of heavy-duty vehicles from traversing the Linden-Lethem road during the rainy season, residents of South Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) were left stranded after the Yamatwao Bridge collapsed while an overweight heavy-duty truck was crossing it.

A Toshao of one of the South Rupununi villages, Nicholas Fredericks, took to his social media account to highlight the incident, which he said occurred at about 17:30h on Friday.

He explained that the flatbed truck carrying an excavator was attempting to cross the bridge when the structure collapsed, leaving residents in the South Rupununi stranded since it was the only

access bridge into the areas. “… They thought it not wise to unload the excavator off the truck. Now we in the South Rupununi are cut off in the rain season, making it already difficult [and] now this.

No traffic is passible presently, not sure for how long,” the recently elected Toshao of Shulinab Village said on his social media account.

The excavator that was being transported reportedly belongs to a Brazilian Miner, Cheong, and residents in South Rupununi are calling for him to repair the bridge.

Damage and cost to repair

Meanwhile, the Public Infrastructure Ministry on Saturday morning said a team has been dispatched to the site to “assess the severity of the damage and cost to rehabilitate” the bridge.

Nevertheless, the Ministry is calling on operators in the hinterland to pay keen attention to the weight limits.

Pointing out that this incident is not the first of its kind, the Public Infrastructure Ministry sought to caution that those who do not comply with the weight limits will be held accountable.

This incident occurred mere days after small operators traversing the LindenLethem road called on authorities to suspend heavy-duty vehicles from using the trail until the end of May/June rainy season. This call was made since the weights of those vehicles are causing the already deplorable roads to worsen, making them almost impassable and posing risks to commuters. In fact, it was pointed out that almost daily, vehicles are overturning along the trail, with the most recent incident being on Wednesday.

Only last week, commuters had complained bitterly about the condition of the roads, calling on Government to intervene and repair the sections that are almost impassable.

The Natural Resources Ministry on Friday announced that several interior roads have been contracted out to be rehabilitated, including the Lethem trail.

These works will commence after the May-June rainy season.

ment for all staff must be operationalised by the GGMC and the Public Health Ministry. The cost for this, the party advised, should be borne by GGMC.

Mercury and effects on humans

Following the discovery of high levels of mercury in its laboratory, which is in the GGMC compound, the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) had contracted the services of Trinidad-based Kaizen Environmental Services to conduct an independent investigation of the effect of the emission, and that company has said the mercury levels are back to normal.

According to the report, the study was conducted on March 28 at 10 locations, primarily located within the Guyana Geology and Mines Commissions’ compound and the surrounding areas.

“The Mercury (Hg) levels monitored at all 10 locations were within the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (US OSHA) eight-hour Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL),” the report stated.

Out of over 130 staffers tested, it was discovered

that more than 60 reported high levels of mercury in their system. Trotman, appearing before the National Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee, had subsequently revealed that the Gold Board had moved its gold burning operations to a private dealer.

According to research, the improper handling of Mercury can cause detrimental impacts on anyone, who is exposed to it without proper protection. This toxic poisonous heavy metal, which can induce public health disasters, can lead to horrendous effect on the neurological, reproductive, gastrointestinal and renal organ systems.

Research shows that mercury can enter the body through inhalation of mercury vapour, ingestion, injection or even absorption through the skin. In the case of mining personnel, a reading showing levels of 0-6 micro grams per litre is considered safe while 7-10 is high and above 11 dangerous.

The inhalation of mercury damages the brain, mercurous salts then forms causing remarkable changes to lining of the gut and kidneys. Once in the human

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

system, mercury poisoning has horrendous effects on neurological, reproductive, gastro intestinal and renal organs. In particular, mercury targets the GI track and kidneys.

Acute clinical presentation of mercuric salt poisoning, generally targets the GI tract and kidneys leading to abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea with potential necrosis of the gut mucosa. This may produce death either from peritonitis or from sceptic or hypervolemic shock.

Numerous studies have shown the impact of mercury cannot be reversed easily without long-term damage.

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SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

LBGT community hosts human pride march

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cores of Guyanese on Saturday joined a march organized and executed to mark the end of the LGBT Pride Week in Guyana.

Despite threats from the Georgetown Ministers’ Fellowship on Friday, hundreds turned up to the Pride Festival and Parade organized by the Guyana LGBT community.

The march, according to the organiser, Managing

Director of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), Joel Simpson, was really a protest and an opportunity for the LGBT community to continue its empowerment work.

The march was also held to show the LGBT community’s concern over Government’s non-fulfillment of its 2015 campaign promise, he said.

Speaking with Guyana

Marching for human pride

S Supporters and members of the LGBT community parades through the streets of Georgetown on Saturday as the LGBT Pride Week in Guyana culminated

Times at the rally was former Education and Human Services Minister, Priya Manickchand, a member of parliament for the PPP/C. Manickchand said her party does not support discrimination against minority groups, and Guyanese are committed to tolerance and inclusionary democracy.

On Thursday last, the Religious Fellowship, at a press conference, said: “The Christian community, which makes up more than 60 per cent of the population, is concerned by efforts to pressure the Government to legalize buggery.”

The Fellowship demanded that Government make known where its support lies in regard to decriminalisation of homosexuality, and threat-

ened to withhold votes for the APNU/AFC administration.

Pastor Desmond Rogers had asserted that with the LGBT community being only a mere 10% of Guyana’s population, their political support -- which is also being used as leverage against Government -should not place pressure on the administration to “legalise buggery.”

According to him, his Fellowship will not support this move, as it is deemed “immoral.”

But the march was more about human rights and dignity. There were no calls for the legalisation of same sex marriages, but for the decriminalisation of same sex intimacy among consenting adults, and for an end to discrimination.

atiricus was perturbed. Even though so many Christian Ministers had warned against it, the gays had gone ahead with their parade. He conceded to himself that nothing outlandish had taken place…but yet, how could he ignore the warnings of these “men of God”? He was caught in a dilemma, because he knew the subject would come up at the Back Street Bar, where he was headed, and his leaders Nagga Man and Rum Jhaat weren’t taking a firm position.

“Hey fellas,” began Satiricus, deciding to seize the bull by its horns. “What you all think about the Gay Pride Parade?”

“Budday, me na know wha’ mek dem Minista a mek suh much trouble fuh dem people,” said Cappo. “Wha’ dem problem?”

“Well, the Bible says being gay is wrong,” explained Satiricus. “Why should people march in pride for something that’s wrong?”

“Me glad yuh seh dem gay a people,” said Bungi. “De way dem Minista a carry aan, yuh can t’ink dem a animal!”

“But these gay people are doing things that are illegal in Guyana,” pointed out Satiricus. “Like buggery. We can’t allow that!”

“Don’t be alarmist, Sato,” said Hari in his quiet way. “Was there any buggery in the Parade?”

“Well…no,” admitted Satiricus. “But there was a lot of hugging going on.”

“Suh abee guh stap people fram huggin’ now?” asked Bungi.

“Listen Sato, even doh you book seh dem a do wrang t’ing,” said Cappo. “Adda book na seh suh!”

“That’s right,” said Hari. “Over in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, they have even made it the law that there’s a third sex.”

“An’ if all abee a people, wha’ mek dem gay cyaan do wha’ dem want?” asked Bungi. “If yuh finger get sore, nah tek am and throw way.”

“So people must be allowed to break the law and do whatever they want?” asked Satiricus.

“Check pan dem who a mek de law,” advised Cappo. “Nah all who guh a church house ah guh fuh pray.”

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SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

GRDB owes $2.1B to rice millers – RPA

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Proud to be Guyanese?

By Ryhaan Shah

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here is probably universal agreement about the need for a national culture that would truly define us as Guyanese. Such national identity and culture exists elsewhere, and is the cohesive glue that informs a nation’s character and determines how it deals with international diplomacy and business partnerships, with innovation and development, and with each other within the country’s borders. That national character derives from commonly held principles, ethics and values, and from the laws that govern behaviour and actions. These most often encompass qualities such as honesty, integrity, decency, morality, lawfulness, and acting responsibly for the common good.

While ethnic and racial differences are being singled out and blamed for Guyana’s conflict, the real issue is that, in 52 years, we are yet to stand proudly together under the umbrella of a common Guyanese culture that embodies the best of human nature and gives us more reasons to unite than to follow disparate paths towards discord and division.

If there were ever a national culture that valued principled, ethical and decent conduct, Guyana would not be in the dire situation it is in today, since successive governments, no matter who or what, would, with due pride and respect, uphold justice, integrity and morality, and protect and defend the institutions that are established to act without fear or favour within the framework of our commonly held values.

However, every single day we are reminded that we do not live in such a country. All evidence points to the indisputable fact that being Guyanese means supporting corruption, indecency, racism, lawlessness, and an uncaring attitude that is the antithesis of good neighbourliness.

Had it ever been otherwise, the two important national holidays of Republic Day and Independence Day would always have been celebrated with festivities in which every single citizen can participate with pride and patriotism, because of a culture that supports respect and consideration for others.

Instead, both holidays are marked by carnival-type events that derive from the minority African Guyanese culture, and African Guyanese themselves have never displayed any prick of conscience about the exclusion of every other ethnic group in the celebrations.

Further, the non-participation of other groups, which is based on their respective cultural values and norms of behaviour, is viewed as amounting to racism, and their reluctance or refusal to assimilate into the “oneness” that is touted as “Guyanese” is even regarded as unpatriotic.

In a country where civic pride and culture would include good neighbourliness, national celebrations would, as a matter of course, be inclusionary. This would necessitate consultations and planning that would honour commonly held values, and each ethnic group would actually care that the events should be accommodating and sensitive to their fellow citizens’ cultural norms. This is a very far cry from where Guyana is or has ever been, and the call for us to all be Guyanese without race or ethnic prefixes continues to fall on stony ground amidst the insensitivities and lack of consideration for others that have been indulged and encouraged by successive Governments.

No good example has ever been set by political leadership -- or any leadership for that matter -- and this past Independence Day even saw an illegal change to the flag itself. Since the country’s flag should be a proud symbol of our national character and be held as sacrosanct, the change executed by the Granger Government emphasises all the negative aspects of what being Guyanese means.

Our tit-for-tat politics with the pendulum swinging back and forth between the PPP and PNC has not allowed for any safe and solid middle ground where agreements can be reached, since the base of each party makes trade-offs that allow for lawlessness, corruption, and every indecency as long as their party is “on top”.

In the name of this racial solidarity, every transgression is forgiven, every principle compromised, and every value relinquished. The end result is a vacancy of human decency on which nothing can be built. What then does being Guyanese mean?

From my recent carnival experience, it means the gross inconsideration of fellow citizens plopping down a huge stereo sound system smack in front of a private residence and in full view of Police, and playing sounds called music at the highest decibel level possible from midday to midnight non-stop. The music-makers and their patrons, the winers and grinders, and the Police who condoned the lawlessness, provided a full-frontal display of what being Guyanese is all about.

Guyana’s tragedy is that there is no hope of even making a start towards creating a national character that would instil us all with pride.

he Rice Producers Association (RPA) is accusing the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) of failing to honour their financial obligations to several rice millers, despite having the resources to execute those payments.

On Saturday, an RPA representative confirmed to Guyana Times that the payments are outstanding, adding that some of the debt goes back to August 2017.

“The GRDB should pay the millers so that farmers can receive 100 per cent payments. The GRDB has the capacity to make the payments,” the RPA said.

The Association said the non-payment not only affects the operation of the millers

but rather it has a profound impact on the farmers. Just last week, it was revealed that an Essequibo-based miller owes several farmers on the island of Wakenaam.

The frustrated farmers informed Guyana Times that the miller has not paid them for paddy he had purchased since March, although he has already converted same into rice. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the farmers disclosed that having to go for months without payment has put them under grave financial strain, and they are now beginning to default on loan repayments, which is affecting their livelihood and sustenance.

Withholding payments to farmers is in contraven-

tion of the Rice Factories (Amendment) Act of 2009, which stipulates that farmers need wait no longer than the mandatory 42 days before being paid for their paddy. According to the Act, the manufacturer (miller) is required to pay the paddy producer (farmer) half the amount due that farmer within two weeks of receiving that farmer’s paddy and the remainder of the liability must be liquidated within 42 days of the parties signing the agreement of sale for the paddy.

Before the cancellation of the PetroCaribe (rice-for-oil) Agreement by Venezuela in 2015, farmers were obtaining premium rates for their paddy crops. Under that ar-

rangement, farmers accrued more than $5000 per bag of paddy, but this was reduced to between $1800 and $3000, depending on location.

In 2017, Guyana secured a new rice deal with Mexico under a $3.8 billion contract that created a market for over 60,000 tonnes of paddy.

The first batch was shipped in June of 2017.

In April, Essequibo rice miller Arnold Sankar won a $99 million lawsuit against the GRDB for its failure to pay for paddy it asked him to supply. In its award, the Court granted to Sankar the full sum of $99,670,273, which he lost as a result of the Rice Board’s breach of the paddy-supply deal.

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SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

NICIL still to raise $13.6B to recapitalise GuySuCo’s operations

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he National Industrial and C o m m e r c i a l Investments Limited (NICIL) still has to raise a whopping $13.6 billion to finance the complete revitalisation and recapitalisation of the operations of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

In a release to the media on Saturday, NICIL said it expects to raise the remaining sum of US$65,000,000 which is equivalent to GY$13.6 billion within the next few months through a combination of local and regional investors.

It is expected, according to the release, that the money will be used to finance the complete revitalisation and recapitalisation of the operations of GuySuCo which has been dogged by poor performing loans, increasing levels of debt and mismanagement as well as an inability to meet set and revised production targets. “… A targeted roadshow is expected to be launched

within the coming weeks that will likely include investor briefings in Trinidad and Jamaica” in order to raise the much needed funds, the release noted.

This is despite NICIL raising another whopping $30 billion via a syndicated bond this year.

Bond facility

NICIL also confirmed on Saturday that it officially issued a US$150 million equivalent bond facility, arranged by Republic Bank Limited exclusively through its Investment Banking Division, with local law firm London House Chambers headed by Devindra Kissoon acting as a transaction attorney. “…the bond will be issued in multiple tranches, with the first tranche of roughly GY$17 billion or US$85 million equivalent being issued to local investors on Friday, May 25, 2018. With the issue, NICIL became the first public issuer to raise debt in the local capital markets

CEO of NICIL, Horace James

in over 10 years”.

The holding company also confirmed that the bond is the largest ever bond facility arranged in Guyana and was oversubscribed by local investor on the first tranche as it explained that the proceeds of the bond issue will be used towards capital expenditure and general operations for GuySuCo. NICIL’s team was led by Colvin Health-London, the head of its Special Purpose Unit who managed to seal

the deal despite the fact that historically, cashstrapped GuySuCo struggled on its own to raise the funds needed to revamp its operations. “…under the management of Mr Heath-London, funding was secured through the Stated-owned entity with the support of the Government of Guyana through a sovereign guarantee.”

Guyana Times had reported that Guyana will have to pay approximately 4.75 per cent interest on the whopping $30 billion bond it secured recently to revitalise the operations of the three estates which fall under the management of GuySuCo, or all of the assets and companies owned by the National Industrial, Commercial and Investment Limited (NICIL) could be lost.

A source close to the Finance Ministry told Guyana Times had stated that while the interest rates secured would appear to be very favourable, the implications of failing to consistently repay the bond and related interest rates would be dire.

“This is a very serious undertaking and Guyanese must watch closely at the consequences for [Special Purpose Unit] SPU/NICIL, GuySuCo and the country if Guyana defaults on its payments to those local and re-

Head of SPU, Colvin Heath-London

gional commercial entities that granted the $30 billion bond,” the source emphasised.

When questioned during an exclusive interview on the repayment of the bond by GuySuCo, Board Chairman Heath-London insisted that the SPU and GuySuCo were committed to ensuring that all the necessary repayments were made and strict adherence to financial best practices were followed within GuySuCo to ensure that there was no wastage of revenues secured by the sugar company from its ongoing operations.

But the source close to the SPU revealed that GuySuCo, with the financial advice of NICIL and the SPU, would embark on a process that could see the

company selling some $3 billion worth of spare parts that were currently lying in its storage bond.

Also, a proposal has been made to secure another $10 million by selling scrap metal sourced from around the company’s East Demerara Estates.

This publication was told that over the next few months, GuySuCo would embark on the process of selling prime real estate which were not being utilised. Some 4600 acres would be up for grabs.

From that alone, the SPU and GuySuCo hoped to garner a whopping $50 billion if sold at different intervals.

Further, the Unit could seek to secure some $265 million by selling the lands in and around the Wales Estate owned by GuySuCo. Efforts by this newspaper on Saturday to confirm whether or not GuySuCo and the SPU were seriously considering taking the aforementioned measures in order to pay back the bond were futile, as calls and texts to the GuySuCo Chairman’s mobile phone went unanswered.

NICIL acts as a holding company for Governmentowned minority and majority interests, property management which includes the acquisition, disposal and rental of Government owned properties.

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SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Minibus conductors’ behaviour a serious issue – association President …calls for training before licence issuance

Scorning the “other”

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wonder why so many are now expressing outrage at the grotesque treatment meted out to that innocent Amerindian boy, who dared to presume, when asked to show up in his people’s traditional costume, it was meant literally. What the administrators meant, of course, was he should have dressed up in THEIR conception of what was his “native costume”.

But the reaction to the boy’s costume by a Georgetown elite school goes far beyond just “proper” clothes: it goes to the heart of a process that has been deployed to oppress and subjugate those without power from the moment those Dutch planters showed up on our shores with their African slaves back in the 17th century.

The scanty native African garb – quite suitable for their tropical home, mind you; like the Amerindians’ – was derided as a sign of their “uncivilised” lifestyle. And what was Ravi Dev “civilised”? Whatever they, the Europeans chose to do, eat or wear etc.. One anthropologist called this a “white bias” in Guyanese values that obviously persists into the present.

From day one, then, the Indigenous Peoples were deemed “uncivilised”: that they lived in the “jungle” tautologically reinforced the tag. Africans gradually jettisoned their culture – its products, practices and perspectives -- to survive, and adopted those of the Europeans. Yet, when they did so, they were snickered at for trying to be what they could never be: white. But that did not stop them from trying - into the present.

The illegitimate offspring from the rape of African women by white men introduced a new element in the Sisyphean struggle of the non-white to be white: they now formed an intermediate “coloured” strata that was “closer” to the ideal.

They, of course, to solidify their “closeness” to the Europeans, had to also emphasise their distance and difference from the African masses. They emphasised “proper” dressing– read, as close as they could to the European – and “proper” speaking. Africans who followed those rules could be co-opted into the Coloured strata – and would “marry up”; that is, marry a coloured woman. Burnham was an exemplar of this process.

But the arrival of the Portuguese, the Indians and the Chinese indentureds offered the ordinary Africans an opportunity to “raise” their status by showing how much closer they were to the white standard in speech, religion etc., to these people who replaced them in the fields at wages they had refused. The Portuguese and Chinese, being smaller in numbers and adept at business, soon worked out a modus vivendi with them after the initial scorn. But the East Indians, arriving in an unbroken stream into the 20th century, became the despised “other” and low man on the totem pole for all the other groups on the coast. They were “coolies” - “pagan”; “dirty”; “scavengers”; miserly”; and of course couldn’t speak or dress “proper”.

Over the years, they had to “civilise” themselves by adopting the white values, now represented by the Coloured and African elite. In his autobiographical novel “Swarthy Boy”, his lower middle class – but coloured family - warned Mittelholzer not to associate with their Indian Luckhoo neighbours. They were declasse. Two decades later, Cheddi Jagan never forgot the embarrassment his schoolmates inflicted on him when, coming from Port Mourant to Georgetown to attend Queen’s with the children of the elite, the person he boarded with had him cut grass for his cows. I was amazed he repeated this story to me in 1989 at the NY Sheraton at the first GOPIO meet. Words do hurt – more than stones.

It was the Portuguese who took the lead to “civilise” Amerindians in the interior by introducing them to Christianity, in the form of the early despised Roman Catholicism which they had doggedly established on the coast. But it is clear that even a genuflection to their “traditional ways” by Amerindians is seen as backsliding backwardness.

I remind these arbiters of propriety of the words of Martin Carter’s – himself an amalgam of Black, White and Amerindian: “I come from the nigger yard of yesterday/ leaping from the oppressors’ hate/ and the scorn of myself;/ from the agony of the dark hut in the shadow/ and the hurt of things; / from the long days of cruelty and the long nights of pain/ down to the wide streets of to-morrow, of the next day/ leaping I come, who cannot see will hear.”

Yes; one day, those who still oppress others through their self-reflexive scorn will one day “hear”.

The wrap designs which are unsupported by the Union

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n light of the challenges faced by passengers, caused by the sometimes disgraceful and shocking behaviours – displayed by not only conductors but drivers of minibuses – the President of the United Minibus Union, Eon Andrews, has made a call for conductors to be trained by the Road Safety Council before being issued their licences.

Union President, Eon Andrews, on Friday made his concern known over the very serious issue as he was addressing several woes encountered by commuters using this

specific mode of transportation.

He said conductors should have training sessions in the area of hospitality to be better capable of handling certain situations before they are issued their licences.

“As it relates to the unruly drivers (and) in most cases these conductors, we are advocating and we are trying to get it through the Road Safety Council where before you can become a conductor you have to go and do some kind of three or four sessions, where you (conductors) will have a paper saying that this per-

son has come and has passed the hospitality (requirements) and all of that before you can get one of those (licences),” Andrews pointed out.

Over the years and specifically over the past few weeks, persons have vented their frustration on social media after they were mistreated or mishandled by conductors of the public transport system.

In some of those cases, per-

President of the UMU, Eon Andrews

sons were even thrown out of the minibuses just for requesting the driver or conductor to lower their music. In other situations, persons were told not to enter the minibuses because of their size and were even threatened that if they did, then the bus would no longer be travelling the specific route. turn to page 15

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sunDAY, june 3, 2018| guyanatimesgy.com

Man on life support after fire destroys home al 20 minutes to source water. Nevertheless, the GFS was able to contain the blaze to one building after the Singh’s home had been completely gutted.

Neighbours told Guyana Times there had twice been blackout in the village before the fire, and when power was restored, a spark was seen in the front of the building, after which they began seeing flames which quickly engulfed the Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ceiling.

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Inside the house

Businessman, Hanuman Singh

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57-year-old businessman is now battling for his life at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) after suffering a stroke following a fire that completely gutted his Lot 360 Block 12, Non Pareil East Coast Demerara home.

The fire started at about 20:30h on Friday, leaving Hanuman “Latch” Singh, his wife Leila, two daughters and a grandchild homeless and with millions of dollars in losses.

According to information received, neighbours reported seeing smoke emanating from the ceiling of the two-storey building, and quickly raised an alarm. The Guyana Fire Service was summoned immediately, but arrived some 45 minutes later, and took an addition-

The gutted house

Residents in the area also bashed the Fire Service for its poor response time, with one woman lamenting, “Why them come fight fire without water? Them think is play, nah?”

Singh’s daughter, Reshma Singh, told this publication that the family was at their business place in the nearby village of Enterprise, ECD when they received the

“Beat Plastic Pollution”

call just before 21:00h, informing them of the fire.

She said her father took a bicycle and rushed to the scene while she and her mother closed up shop.

“So when them call we and tell we we house on fire, me father rush out. He take a bicycle and rush out and go, and when we left, the whole shop was actually full with people, so we had to send them out and

we take a little time. When we come, the whole house inside was already in flames right through, and then the fire reel take a little time to come, and them nah come with water. And by the time they get water, the whole house been already damage.

Them couldn’t really save anything,” the visibly distraught woman explained.

She noted that with the exception of a minibus, they were unable to save anything.

She related that when they arrived on the scene her father was nowhere to be seen, and after the fire had been put out, they formed a search party and mounted a search for him, but did not find him.

She said they later received a call that he was found unconscious at the Vlissengen Road entrance to the Botanical Gardens in Georgetown, and that he had been rushed to the GPHC, where he was still unconscious. “(At) about 10:00hrs, me father brother received a call that he at the (Botanical) Gardens, and the person (was) saying that he is panting for breath. We rushed down and we took like halfhour to reach there; and when we reach, the security guard tell we that they already called an ambulance and rushed him (to the GPHC), and when we come here, this is what we reached.

He is not responding to no medication and thing…,” the younger Singh said.

“The doctor said it is a shock and it’s a stroke. He is breathing very shallow, and we had to pay for a CT scan for him. And they couldn’t (do it) because his condition worsened and them rush he back and put he on life support…,” she added.

Doctors related that the man suffered a stroke coupled with low blood pressure, and is currently rejecting all forms of mediation.

His breathing is also very shallow, hence the reason for hooking him up to a life support machine.

Singh was placed on a life support machine, and doctors are monitoring him.

The family recently renovated their home and was supposed to move their business from Enterprise to the current location. Also, the family believes that the elder Singh may have walked from Non Pareil to Georgetown while in a daze.

traws, plastic b a g s , plastic bottles, plastic utensils, plastic cups: what do these items all have in common?

Besides the fact that they are made of plastic, in most cases they are used once, then disposed of. When was the last time you used one of those items? Probably just a few minutes ago, or you may even have one in your possession as you read this article. Think about it: around the world, millions of people like you are using and throwing away plastics. This problem not only presents a huge challenge to the environment and human health, but it also places enormous economic burdens on countries such as Guyana. Therefore, in an attempt to raise awareness on this escalating global issue, World Environment Day (WED) 2018 is being observed under the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’, with the slogan, ‘If you can’t reuse it, refuse it’. WED is an iconic day on the environmental calendar, as it is designated to spread awareness about various environmental issues, and seek to initiate positive actions for the environment. Over the years, the focus has been on many pervasive issues, which include climate change, wildlife conservation, and pollution, among others. First observed in 1974, WED is celebrated on June 05 each year.

This year’s theme

The focus of this year’s theme is on reducing plastic pollution due to the many negative impacts that can arise, especially from single-use plastics.

While plastics are a convenient item,

they pose significant environmental issues.

Improper disposal of garbage leads to the clogging of drains; and for those who live along Guyana’s coast, which is under sea level, there is the increased risk of flooding.

Plastics are non-biodegradable which means that when they are disposed of, whether in a landfill or not, they remain there for long periods of time (hundreds of years). In fact, plastics never completely go away; they are broken down into very tiny pieces that remain.

Plastics are a danger to wildlife. When we dispose of plastics improperly, they make their way into the marine environment, where they can be ingested by animals such as sea turtles and marine birds. Since these animals cannot digest plastics, they eventually die of starvation.

Plastics are a risk to human health since they contain a number of chemicals, many of which are toxic or disrupt hormones. These can make their way into our water supply, or can enter our bodies through food.

Plastics can also serve as a magnet for other pollutants, including dioxins, metals and pesticides.

Do your part to beat plastic pollution • •

• • • • •

Reduce the amount of plastics you use Make use of alternatives, e.g., paper bags, cardboard boxes, biodegradable food containers Refuse a plastic bag when doing shopping Take your own reusable bag when shopping Reuse plastic items to make craft Take your own lunch to school/work Take your water/juice to work in a reusable container

At the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we are committed to combatting this issue. Presently, we enforce the litter prevention regulations which make littering a crime. We also organise training and awareness sessions for various groups and organisations aimed at imparting practical knowledge of how plastics can be reduced. Additionally, we coordinate different programmes which highlight initiatives that are aimed at reducing the use of single-use plastics. We encourage all Guyanese to make it their motto to ‘REFUSE WHAT YOU CAN’T REUSE’, so together we can BEAT PLASTIC POLLUTION. You can also contribute to the movement against single-use plastics by attending any of the following activities:

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

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Bandits posing as GRA officers rob WCD business The principles and practices of Land and Property Valuations - Are the charges against former Finance Minister and NICIL’s former CEO meritorious?

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oday’s article seeks to weigh in on one of the most politically controversial matters, in which former Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and former Chief Executive Officer of NICIL, Mr. Winston Brassington, were both charged for misconduct in public office. According to information in the press, the two former senior government officials were charged for the sale of several state lands without obtaining a valuation (s) from a competent valuator.

Now, this may sound, to any sound-minded finance professional and any rational thinker, as an extremely absurd ideology from a strict and prudent business sense, especially in Guyana’s context. It is now, however, a rare development characterized as a phenomenon unique to Guyana – described by this author as a politically inspired paradoxism – albeit, an unfortunate scenario.

Theoretical concepts of Value and Definition Definition of Appraisal: To appraise means the act or process of developing an opinion of value (USPAP, 2010 – 2011 edition). It may be said that value is the present worth of all rights to future benefits arising out of property ownership, to typical users or investors. An appraisal report, or a valuation, is usually a written statement of the appraiser’s opinion of value of an adequately described property as at a specified date. It is a conclusion which results from the process of research and analysis of factual and relevant data. Real estate (this applies to land valuation as well) appraisal methods are usually standardized by virtue of the experience and practice of qualified persons in different parts of a country, who encounter the same types of valuation problems, and who, by various methods and processes, succeed in solving those problems in an equitable manner.

It is natural, however, that differences of opinion may exist as to the value of specific parcels of real estate and the means of estimating their value.

Principles and practices of property valuation Moreover, property rights in real estate are normally appraised at Market Value. There are many definitions of Market Value, but a good working definition is the most probable price the property/land would bring if freely offered on the open market with both a willing buyer and a willing seller. Further, according to the International Standards Council, market value is the estimated amount for which a property should exchange for on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller, in an arm’s length transaction after proper marketing wherein the parties had each exchanged knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion. This definition assumes that the parties to the transaction are prudent, act without compulsion, and have adequate knowledge of the potential and worth of the property. The vendor will only sell at the price he requires, and the purchaser will only buy at the price he considers to be a satisfactory price. They are both willing parties because they both consider the deal to their advantage. Generally, property professionals are more concerned about the assumption of a willing seller. This is because it is most likely for a seller to be under undue pressure to sell than a purchaser to be under similar pressure to buy. In addition, it is worthwhile to mention that appraisal or valuation by literal ‘Chinese’ translation is normally referred to as “price guessing”. But the word ‘valuation’ implies the objective is to assess “value”, and not to find “price”. In this context, it does not help very much in defining the exact rationale of appraisal. Appraisal is the process of collecting data, analyzing the variables, and making a judgement.

Misconceptions about valuations

Conclusion Putting these into Guyana’s context, first of all, Guyana does not have any form of a proper real estate market index in which to truly perform a real appraisal of a property, much less for a land – to derive a reasonable estimation of a market value. In the more developed countries, there are better developed and structured property markets in which the valuation principles alluded to here can be more fully applied. Finally, based on what is being reported in the press on this matter, if a public tendering process was carried out, then there is absolutely no basis whatsoever for such charges to be instituted against these two gentlemen.

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).

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Patentia, West Bank Demerara businessman is now counting his losses after five men outfitted with identification as Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Customs Officers descended upon his business and relieved him of a quantity of liquor, cellphone cards and cash.

The businessman has been identified as Ram (only name given).

According to reports, the man was tending to his business when the men entered and identified themselves sometime after mid-

day on Friday. He allowed them access and after that, they revealed their true identities when they started to demand cash among other things.

The men also took the CCTV DVR hard-drive and escaped in a silver Bluebird motorcar. Ram quickly alerted the Police and a number of roadblocks were quickly established but the men made good their escape.

The recent attack came after a similar group visited the business place of a woman and escaped with a

quantity of liquor as well.

Meanwhile, the GRA is advising the businesses to be on the lookout for persons posing as GRA officers who are visiting shops and other business premises to conduct “enforcement checks.” Several of these reported acts have occurred on the East Coast of Demerara, East Bank of Demerara and West Coast of Demerara in recent weeks.

Take the following precautions; request proof of identification since all staff of the GRA are required to

carry identification cards during the course of their duties; note the identification number and name of any individual claiming to be from the GRA; verify the legitimacy of the exercise by calling 227-6060 extension numbers 3201-3208 or 4601; and officers of the GRA are not authorised to collect monies from taxpayers since all payments are to be made at the cashier’s – GRA’s regional offices and its headquarters,” the GRA said.

The Police investigations are still ongoing.

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Anna Regina Town Council embarks on clean-up activities

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he Anna Regina Town Council is doing general desilting on all clogged trenches in the township. Speaking with Guyana Times, Deputy Mayor Darshan Persaud said as a result of the inclement weather conditions, the Council

decided to conduct general desilting exercises on the town’s main drainage system. He added that construction of new culverts, where needed, for a more improved and better managed drainage system has also been undertaken.

According to Persaud,

residents within the township will also see improvements of those streets, which are in deplorable conditions.

One of the main complaints the Council has received, he said, was the none functioning of street lights within the town-

ship.

According to Persaud, this matter will be addressed since Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Annette Ferguson said in her independence speech at Anna Regina that the Essequibo Coast will benefit from a total of 10,000 LED lights from Japan that will be imported to replace the existing street lights in Guyana.

Deputy Mayor Darshan Persaud

Minibus conductors’ behaviour... from page 13

Wrapping of buses

In the meantime, Andrews has also highlighted that he does not support the wrapping of minibuses.

The head of the UMU said he believes the minibuses should have just about two colours on them. He explained that this should be so, since in the case of an accident, a person would be able to say, “Well I was struck by a blue and red bus”. This, he said, is made difficult due to the several colours the operators have been protesting to have.

“What I know is that when you go to the GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority) you register your bus with a colour and that is what should be on your registration… when you get your documents from GRA the Police ought to see the

colour and as long as you come with these plenty colours, then you don’t issue the registrations. But then again, I believe these bus drivers are trying to smart the Police by collecting the registrations and then they go and spray on”.

Andrews said he has observed over a period of time that the buses with the ‘fancy colours’ have the drivers and conductors with some of the worst behaviours and “I don’t know if it’s a case where the colour demonstrates the character of the people.”

“If there is a law against the colouring of these minibuses, then it should be enforced by the Police as well as the other relevant authorities. If it is under their remit then they will have to deal with it,” the Union leader shared.

Earlier last month, an auto dealer had indicated he was willing to take a legal challenge over the issue of the wrapping of minibuses, since he believes that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) was unlawfully forcing minibus operators to remove their ‘wrap designs’.

Traffic Chief Ramesh Ashram held tight to the view that the minibus owners were in breach of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 51:02.

Back in March, a campaign was implemented to strip all minibuses that had wrap designs. The defaulting vehicles were taken to the Brickdam Police Station.

The affected drivers have related that the initiative has affected their livelihood, as they continue to lose money. Due to this, a protest was staged by the operators.

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SunDAY, june 3, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Bounced cheques land Timehri thief businessman in court jailed for B&E B K usinessman Jason Aaron of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara was on Friday arraigned before Georgetown Magistrate Judy Latchman on eight charges of fraud, but was able to secure his pre-trial liberty after posting $800,000 bail in the face of no objection being offered

by Police Prosecutor Arwin Moore.

The court heard that in Georgetown on May 16, 2018, with intent to defraud, the 32-year-old Aaron forged a power of attorney document belonging to Raymond Austin.

The court was also

Jason Aaron

told that on October 14, 2017, at Eccles, East Bank

Demerara, Aaron took from Keron Kasiawan the sum of $50,000, after assuring Kasiawan that he had the money in his account at the Bank of Baroda to honour a cheque, knowing same to be false.

Aaron was further charged with obtaining from Keron Kasiawan: $50,000 on October 8, 2017; $20,000 on October 11, 2017; $20,000 on October 18, 2017; $30,000 on October 23, 2017; $40,000 on October 27, 2017; and $26,260 on October 28, 2017 by promising that he had the respective sums in his account at the Bank of Baroda.

According to facts presented to the court,

Pensioner charged with assault

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pensioner of East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, on Friday appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he was charged with assaulting two persons.

Cyril Benjamin denied

the allegations after the charges were read to him by Magistrate Leron Daly.

It is alleged that on May 13, 2018, he used threatening language to Jermaine Frank and Constance Payne. He was released on

$15,000 bail for each offence.

Additionally, the other parties were cross charged and released on $25,000 bail.

The matter was adjourned to June 11.

Kasiawan operates a supermarket in Eccles, EBD, and on the dates mentioned in the charges, Aaron made purchases at the supermarket using cheques.

However, Kasiawan was contacted last month by the Bank of Baroda, and was informed that Aaron’s account did not have any money to support the cheques. As such the matter was reported to the Police.

The case will continue on June 5.

hemraj Ramgobin of Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on Friday admitted before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus that on May 29, 2018, while in the vicinity of Wismar, Linden, and while armed with a cutlass, he broke and entered the home of Anthony Lieu-Ken-Pen. An alarm was, however, raised by Lieu-Ken-

Pen, who was at home with his two children, and the 23-year-old Ramgobin was arrested and charged.

In a plea of mitigation, Ramgobin told the court, “I was really hungry, and I was calling really long… but I didn’t get to go inside far.”

Ramgobin has been sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for the offence.

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England batsmen put all hands to the pump to secure advantage against Pakistan T

he second Test at Headingley has officially been designated the Participation Test - a call to arms from the ECB for everyone with a passing interest in English cricket to get involved, and (so the unspoken reasoning goes...) help dig the sport out of something of an existential crisis.

Ever the diligent corporate citizens, England's Test cricketers have been leading from the front in that regard at least, and will go into the third day against Pakistan with a solid advantage borne of a collective team effort. After a four-way share of the wickets in the first innings, today it was the turn of all the batsmen to chip in for the greater good.

A total of nine scores between 16 and 49 - everyone taking a turn but none for so long that their teammates would get bored waiting - added up to an overnight lead of 128. It is the sort of position that ought, on the evidence of the series so far, to prove decisive. But it hardly added up to a decisive performance.

Pakistan simply kept chiselling away, their skilful attack finding sufficient magic at irregular intervals to dislodge a series of wellset players. But England were once again complicit in their own downfalls, and it was telling that their outstanding player of the day

was their 20-year-old nightwatchman Dom Bess, whose cover-driving evoked Joe Root at his most fluent, but whose spin bowling - his primary suit - has yet to claim a Test wicket, or even bowl an over in this match.

Root himself is becoming something of a past master at the unconverted start, and once again, he inadvertently set the tone for England's innings with a typically attractive but ultimately underwhelming 45.

He was the first man to depart as play got underway at 2.45pm after a three-hour rain delay - snicking outside off as Mohammad Amir's left-arm line once again exposed a slight chink in an otherwise enviable technique.

His technical issues, however, were as nothing compared to those that Dawid Malan was experiencing by the end of England's winter in Australia and New Zealand. Like his fellow lefthanders, Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings, he appeared to have reached for an off-the-peg remedy, in setting himself up outside of his crease and willing himself on to the front foot at every opportunity.

And just like Cook in particular, the approach appeared to be paying dividends for Malan, not least with the clarity of his cover-driving. He went to tea on 28 from 70 balls, with

five fours to his name and the air of a batsman who had found the answer to his struggles. But then, from his first ball of the resumption, he received a snorter from that man Amir, which bounced and left him, taking the shoulder of the bat as it did so, before looping invitingly to slip.

Bess, by contrast, hasn't got a care in the world right now. He'd like, presumably, to pick up that elusive first Test wicket at some point in the near future, but at the age of 20, and with the confidence of youth, he's used his batting to showcase his credentials as a player who is made of The Right Stuff . A second consecutive Test fifty appeared a done deal, especially when he scuffed a

Shadab Khan full toss to ease along to 49. But then one ball later, Shadab bit back with his best ball of the match so far - a fizzing top-spinning legbreak that slammed the gloves and nestled in the hands of slip before the batsman really knew what had happened.

Pakistan could - no, should - have taken three wickets for 20 runs in the space of five overs when Buttler, looking to bat with the same controlled belligerence that had briefly raised England's spirits at Lord's, clipped Shadab uppishly into the leg side, and straight through the hands of Hasan Ali at short midwicket. But the moment

SCOREBOARD Pakistan 1st Innings – 174 England 1st innings AN Cook c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Hasan Ali 46 KK Jennings c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Faheem Ashraf 29 JE Root (c) c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Amir 45 DM Bess c Asad Shafiq b Shadab Khan 49 DJ Malan c Haris Sohail b Mohammad Amir 28 JM Bairstow † c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Faheem Ashraf 21 JC Buttler not out 34 CR Woakes c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Abbas 17

SM Curran not out 16 Extras 17 (b 8, lb 9) TOTAL 302-7 (96 Overs, RR: 3.14) Yet to bat: SCJ Broad, JM Anderson Fall of wickets: 1-53 (KK Jennings, 16.6 ov), 2-104 (AN Cook, 34.5 ov), 3-138 (JE Root, 43.3 ov), 4-200 (DJ Malan, 65.1 ov), 5-212 (DM Bess, 68.4 ov), 6-260 (JM Bairstow, 79.6 ov), 7-285 (CR Woakes, 88.6 ov) BOWLING: Mohammad Amir (21-4-64-2), Mohammad Abbas (22-8-60-1), Hasan Ali (19-4-681), Faheem Ashraf (17-4-43-2), Shadab Khan (17-2-50-1)

Dom Bess

was lost, and so too seemed the momentum, especially when Jonny Bairstow successfully overturned an lbw appeal on 8, after offering no shot to Faheem Ashraf.

But that wasn't quite the end of the resistance.

Faheem got his man in his next over instead, as Bairstow nibbled outside off, having just helped himself to three fours in the space of seven balls. The fact that his dismissal came on the stroke of the 80th over rather added to the soft-headedness of the moment, even though Pakistan then chose to delay

the new ball, perhaps to give Amir an extra over or two to gather his strength.

Either way, Mohammad Abbas didn't waste it when he was finally handed it, and produced another pearler in the channel outside off to account for Chris Woakes for 17. It was left to Sam Curran to finish the day with a mini-flourish, two fours from the final three balls brought up England's 300 and underlined their eventual dominance. But it had been a circuitous route to the top. (ESPNcricinfo)

Serena to play Sharapova in 4th round

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eturning three-time champion Serena Williams set up a highly-anticipated French Open last-16 match against longtime rival Maria Sharapova by beating Germany's Julia Gorges.

Williams, playing her first Grand Slam since giving birth, won 6-3 6-4 against 11th seed Gorges.

Earlier on Saturday, Russian two-time winner Sharapova beat sixth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2 6-1.

Williams, 36, and Sharapova, 31, will meet in the fourth round on Monday.

Williams eased to victory over 29-year-old Gorges, who reached the world's top 10 for the first time this year, in just

one hour and 15 minutes. <<'The numbers don't lie'>> The match between two of the sport's biggest stars with 28 Grand Slam titles between them, plus personalities and marketability which have helped them transcend tennis - was one of the most eye-catching permutations when the Roland Garros draw was made last week.

Spiky exchanges between the pair over the years have fuelled the narrative of a rivalry which, on court, has never been much of one.

Williams, a 23-time Slam champion, has won 19 of their 21 previous meetings on tour - both of Sharapova's wins coming back in 2004.

that is upon you. You know, despite the record that I have against her, I always look forward to coming out on the court and competing against the best player.

"I think there is a lot of things in her game that she's done much better than I have.

Numbers don't lie."

Sharapova is competing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2015, having been refused a wildcard entry in 2017 after serving a doping ban.

The long-time rivals Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will rekindle their flame in the fourth round

"Any time you play against Serena you know what you're

up against," Sharapova said.

"You know the challenge

Williams underlines her credentials

Williams, who was playing just her seventh match after returning from having a baby, has so far played down

her chances of winning a joint-record 24th Grand Slam singles title. But against Gorges she underlined her credentials, dominating from the start with a break in the fourth game and she took the first set with an emphatic smash. She got an early break in the second set too before the German staged a brief fightback to level at 2-2, but another Williams break in the next game put the match out of Gorges' reach.

"It's really special to be here again," said Williams.

"This time last year I was pregnant and I was having a tough time and then I had a tough birth so every match at this stage of my return is a bonus."

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sunDAY, june 3, 2018

Southland Int’l Inc on board ‘Champion of Champions’

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o u t h l a n d International Inc became the latest entity to add its name to the ‘Champion of Champions’ Domino Tournament which is being organised by Senior Organising Secretary of the Georgetown Domino Association (GDA) Mark “Jumbie” Wiltshire.

On Thursday, the distributors of XL Energy Drink handed over a quantity of jerseys and an undisclosed sum of money to Wiltshire, at its Head office in Eccles, East Bank Demerara.

Making the presentation on behalf of the entity was Daniel Ramlagan, who in the presence of fellow staffer Chris Pasrameri handed over the sponsorship to Wiltshire.

Wiltshire shortly after thanking the entity for its support said the tournament will see teams that finished first and second in competitions this year battle invited teams from the three counties in Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo.

The experienced domino executive said over $300,000 in prize monies and trophies will be up for grabs, with the winning team set to receive $175,000 and a trophy;

ExxonMobil/ Petra Under-14 league postponed

Several students who will be participating in the Under-14 league

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Southland International Inc. Daniel Ramlagan hands over the sponsorship cheque to Mark Wiltshire in the presence of fellow staffer Chris Pasrameri on Thursday

while the second, third and fourth place finishers will take home $75,000, $35,000 and $20,000 respectively, along with trophies.

The entrance fee is $12,000 per team which must be paid on or before the start of play.

The top female player and the most valuable player will receive $5000 respectively. Wiltshire added that all prizes are guaranteed and interested teams can contact him on telephone number 665-5855.

Among the teams anticipated to participate are Gold is Money, All Seasons, Mix Up, Spartans, Rage, Providence, Gangster, C7, C6, Thunder, Phantom, R&R, Turning Point, Masters, Gold Star, Angels and OPKO. The invited teams are Orange Walk, NIS, East Taxi Service, Sun Flower Hotel out of Essequibo, Rockets, Players, Uprising, Mark Fitness Gym, Yhip’s Bakery, Lippy Lotto from Bartica, Golden Masters,

Beacons, Medi Care, the Geology and Mines Commission, Caricom, Lil Boys and Lion.

Some of the sponsors include Dynasty Sports Club, All Seasons Racing Service, Tony’s Jewellery, CBB&L Import and Export and Boston Casting Jewellery among others.

The competition commences tomorrow, at the R&R Sports Bar situated at 76 Meadow Brook Gardens and food and drinks will be on sale throughout the day.

D

ans and parents and schoolmates will have to wait an extra week to witness action in the ExxonMobil/Petra Under-14 schools football league, after the first games were postponed due to inclement weather.

According to a release from Petra Co-Director, Troy Mendonca, the organisers were unable to prepare the venue – the Education Ministry Ground – for play due to the consistent rainy weather. And as such, they have made the decision to delay the competition for one week, so as to have the playing fields in the best condition possible.

The highly anticipated competition has received

inesh Karthik, who was the top-scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018, will replace Wriddhiman Saha in the Indian cricket team for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.

Dinesh Karthik, who was the top-scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018, will replace Wriddhiman Saha in the Indian cricket team for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.(PTI) Wriddhiman Saha was ruled out of the Indian cricket team’s one-off Test against Afghanistan due to injury and Dinesh Karthik was named as his replacement, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Saturday. The encounter will take place from June 14-18 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Saha suffered a right thumb injury while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. He was under observation by the Indian cricket team medical staff and the management has decided to give him adequate rest before the start of the England Test series.

the stamp of approval from large companies such as ExxonMobil and Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) under their Pepsi brand and is expected to bridge the gap between existing competitions such as the peewee and Under-18 leagues.

When the league begins on June 9, the males will kick-off their competition straight away while the females will have to wait a little while to be a part of the action. During the first two weeks of the boy’s competition, the girls will benefit from training sessions that will be supervised by the technical staff of the Guyana Football Federation.

Karthik to replace injured Wriddhiman Saha for one-off Test According to sources close to the selection committee, MSK Prasad and Co are looking at the England tour, where Karthik could make the cut in the longest format also. Karthik was a surprise success when he played Test cricket in England in 2007.

He had three half-centuries -- 60 at Lord’s, 77 at Nottingham and 91 at the Oval.

Saha’s recovery period is expected to be around five to six weeks.

Saha did not have a good outing in IPL 2018 where he scored 234 runs in 14 games and was dropped by the runners-up for his lack of performances.

Dinesh Karthik, on the other hand, will be brimming with confidence as he was the star performer for his franchise – Kolkata Knight Riders – and he scored a mammoth 498 runs in 16 matches to guide KKR to a third-place finish.

Karthik had last played a Test match way back in 2010 against Bangladesh but has had a prolific first-class record with 27 hundreds and over 9000 runs. In 23 Tests for India, he has scored 1000 runs with a hundred and seven half-centuries.

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sports

GSL Unity Cup…

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Diesel XI, Superbet XI

T

win in West Coast Zone

he Unity Cup, organised by the Guyana Softball League, continued at the Leonora Primary School Ground despite the inclement weather, but only four matches were possible. The West Coast Zone was able to get in two matches as the inclement weather delayed the start.

In the first match, Diesel XI defeated Marics XI by 37 runs: Diesel XI batted first and made 105-4 in 10 overs with Mark Braithwaithe clobbering 47 not out off 14 balls which included 7 mighty sixes and one four. Panny Lalaram and Nandsam Rataram contributed 35 (5x6) and 22 (3x6) respectively. In reply, Marics were bundled out for 68 in 7.1 overs with Racindra Sukwah 2-9 off two overs and Nanbram Rajarm 2-5 being the destroyers.

In the other match, Superbet XI got the better of Crossbreed XI in a grudge match and high emotions.

Crossbreed XI won the toss and batted but were limited to 93 all out in 9.3 overs: Malcolm Hoddaro with 32(4x6) was the top scorer. Feroz Rahan rattled the stumps four times as he ended with 4-9 in 2 overs

Action in the ongoing Unity Cup softball cricket tourney

for Superbet XI. Superbet XI in reply raced to 99-5 in 6 overs with Feroz Khan making a quickfire 48 (7x6) off 12 balls opening the batting

and was only stopped by the run out route as the bowlers had no answer for his onslaught.

Malcolm Hobbit took

3-22 from 2 overs bowling after Khan’s dismissal but his effort was in vain as the others couldn’t hold the pressure.

Lower East Coast/East Bank/Georgetown/Linden Zone: Success Enforcers destroyed Better Hope by 9 wkts: Better Hope won the toss and batted but could only get to 53 allout in 9.3 overs. Rabindra Sookram took 3-16 off 2 overs and Dindial Lachan 3-3 off 1 over. In reply, Success Enforcers knocked off the runs scoring 54-1 off 4.3 overs with Chris Sookram cloobering 32 not out off 11 balls which included 4 sixes.

Farm continued their unbeaten run defeating Enterprise Youths by six wickets: Enterprise Youths batted first and scored 1045 in 10 overs with Kushial Beepat scoring 35 (3x6;1x4); Ameer Khan took 2-16 off 2 overs bowling for Farm XI. In reply, Farm XI made 110-4 in 9.5 overs. Travis Alphonso guided them with an unbeaten 47 off 16 balls and included 4 sixes and 2 fours.

Additionally, the one ball which carries a winning prize of $10,000 plus a trophy will continue in the various areas.

Grand Coastal Golf Classic tees off today O

rganizers of the much anticipated annual Grand Coastal Hotel Golf Classic tournament are hoping the inclement weather does not have much influence over the weekend, as they prepare to tee off today at 08:30hrs at the Lusignan Golf Club.

Grand Coastal Hotel and Conference Centre, located on the East Coast of Demerara, has been sponsoring Golf tournaments for past 12 years, and had partnered with DIGICEL in 2016 to sponsor the annual Guyana Open International Golf tournament.

As a joint initiative of Grand Coastal’s CEO Kevin Daby and LGC President Aleem Hussain, Grand Coastal began its partnership with the LGC by offering the incentives of special rates in addition to free golf coaching to its guests at the LGC. Daby reiterated Grand Coastal’s pleasure in continuing the years of sponsorship, which was started by his father in support of Golf in Guyana.

Tomorrow Daby will be inducted as an Honorary Member as a gesture of appreciation for Grand Coastal’s long and continuing support of the Golf Club.

The Grand Coastal Classic is open to all golfers in Guyana (members and non-members) who feel that they can take on the challenge of the

“Green Anaconda,” the proposed brand name for the Lusignan Golf Club.

Non-members are required to pay a nominal tournament fee which covers the green’s fee, lunch and a caddie for the18-hole tournament, and are asked to contact the Club at 2205660 or 668-7419 for information on how to register.

Prizes will be awarded for first to fourth Best Net scores, Best Gross score, Longest Drive and Nearest to a designated Pin. The public is invited, and is reminded that to witness this t and enjoy the ambience of the improved Lusignan Golf Course and there is no charge for entry.

Free introductory Golf lessons will be conducted tomorrow. Information can also be had by email, lusignangolf@gmail. com or by visiting the Club’s Facebook page – Lusignan Golf.

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sunDAY, june 3, 2018

GBTI Open to serve Visitors gain off on June 22 momentum heading T into first Test

Sri Lanka Tour of West Indies…

T

he visiting Sri Lankan side have made a bold statement following their dominance in the recently concluded warm up 3-Day match versus the Cricket West Indies (CWI) President’s XI. After three days of exciting cricket at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago, the tourists ended the final days’ play on Friday with a draw. Both sides would have been looking to get themselves settled before the Test series bowls off; with the visitors winning the first battle.

The hosts failed to utilise their bowler’s knowledge of the

Kusal Perera

Caribbean, thus resulting in the Asians pummelling more than 500 runs after batting twice.

After making a massive 428 all out thanks mainly to skipper Dinesh Chandimal’s ton; Sri Lanka gained much momentum when they restricted the Windies to just 272 all out in their first innings.

They followed up their robust batting performance by hitting 135-0 in their second innings with Kusal Perera retiring hurt but not

before chalking up his second successive 50 in the match; an even 50.

Talented top/middle-order batsman Kusal Mendis propped up the order to open; ended on a top-score of 60 not out to see the Sri Lankans to a good draw; more so giving them ideal momentum with just a few days left for the Test series.

From the Windies perspective, fifties form left-hand openers John Campbell and skipper Kieran Powell in the first innings was the only glimmer of real form as the rest of their batters struggled while their bowlers toiled for just a few wickets, as spinners Jomel Warrican and Rakeem Cornwall seemed to be the best operators with the leather.

Spin seems to be the key for the Asian side who will be relying heavily on the off-spinner Akila Dananjaya who stood out with the ball in the warm up match. The Windies bowlers were decent but failed to utilise the familiar conditions and were exploited by the class of the Sri Lankans.

With the warm-up match out of the way; both teams will now be placing further emphasis on preparing themselves for the first of three Test matches which bowl off on June 6 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

(Clifton Ross)

he Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited (GBTI) recently renewed their sponsorship commitment to the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA) for the game’s local governing body’s biggest championship on its calendar; the 2018 GBTI Open.

This year’s tournament is scheduled to commence on June 22 and will see the country’s top juniors, seniors and veterans fiercely vying for the coveted titles.

At the bank’s headquarters in Kingston, Georgetown, the sponsorship cheque was handed over to GLTA’s Vice President Cristy Campbell in the presence of recently elected President Samuel Barakat, Vice President Robin Singh, Secretary Molly Hassan and committee member Illeana Boodoo.

N a d i a De Abreu, Marketing and Communications Officer of GBTI (High Street branch); Pamela Binda, Public Relations and Marketing Manager of GBTI and other staff of the bank, were also pres-

ent where the bank stated its commitment to seeing the growth of the sport and pledging their continued support.

Barakat further extended gratitude to the bank for its support, not only for this tournament but throughout the year.

The GBTI Open was initiated in the 1980s and due to measures beyond control, was halted. The tournament restarted in 2010 and the GLTA stated that it has gotten bigger every year.

According to the GLTA, the GBTI facility in Bel Air, was offered to the Association for usage for high performance training for their top junior and senior players in Guyana.

sunDAY, june 3, 2018

Hockey Federation engages FIH Jagday’s 2-week clinic

L

ocal hockey players over the next two weeks will benefit from a major learning experience when they are graced with the presence of an international coach who has been in the business of coaching for over 40 years.

From June 3 to June 15, Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) coach, Shiv Jagday will host a series of comprehensive coaching sessions that will be catered to coaches, national and junior players.

The renowned coach learned the basics of the sport in his native land, India, and then went on to share his knowledge with the world. After successful stints in the USA and Canada, Jagday went on to lead the Canadian team to two Olympic appearances, two World Cups and two Pan American gold medals.

The effective coach made his first visit to Guyana in

1988 at the suggestion of then President of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) Chris Fernandes. Coach Jagday visited Guyana on several subsequent occasions in the 1980s and was instrumental in the development of the sport during that period.

More recently, Coach Jagday conducted a well-received course in 2017, which is very similar to the one he will conduct this time around.

Apart from his clinics in the USA and Canada, Jagday now spends his time in Melbourne, Australia and Punjab, India where he has helped to establish a regional training institute that has seen nine players from Punjab selected for the current Indian national team.

In the junior section, 40 boys and girls between the

Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) coach Shiv Jagday

Americas/ Caribbean darts team selected

A

power packed 13-member team has been selected to represent Guyana at the Americas/ Caribbean Cup in Trinidad and Tobago from July 6-16.

With representatives from Guyana who have excelled in the past and a few titles under their belt, the Guyanese contingent is expected to return home with many accolades.

The male team will consist of reigning singles champion Sudesh Fitzgerald, Luis Miguel Ramirez, Lallchand Rambharose, Norman Madhoo, Adrian Damon, Fedel Hunter and Andrew Balchand. On the other hand, the female team comprises of Mary Correia, Melisa Smartt, Shondell Hyles, Hemwantie

Balchand and Victorine Chandro.

Additionally, Guyana will also be defending their men’s doubles title which is currently being held by Sudesh Fitzgerald and Luis Miguel Ramirez. The team will be managed by Sheik Yassen, whilst Dr Terence Joseph acts as assistant manager.

Preparations for the champions are currently in full swing, with a number of the selected players producing top notch performances at a recently concluded game.

On the men’s side, Sudesh Fitzgerald expectantly came out on top with Anil Lachman and Sherwyn Greene, following in second and third place. Melisa Smartt conquered the female category whilst Shondell Hyles and

Sudesh Fitzgerald

Victorine Chandro ed as the runners

endup.

Although the teams are well prepared to represent Guyana, they are still lacking funds to travel to the twin island republic. And as such, they are urging for the support of benevolent persons to assist in covering their travel expenses. The man to watch will be Sudesh Fitzgerald who has had international success in the sport. Aside from being successful at the Caribbean and South American levels, Fitzgerald has represented the

Region four times at the World Professional Darts Championships (PDC) in London.

guyanatimesgy.com

ages of 13 and 19 will attend Jagday’s sessions. The male and female national teams who are currently preparing for the CAC games will come under Jagday’s guidance, in both theory and practical. Thirty coaches will also have the opportunity to increase their span of knowledge.

President of the GHB, Philip Fernandes, once a student of Jagday during his early visits, expressed great excitement and anticipation of the programme. He indicated that hockey always gets a welcomed boost whenever Jagday visits, since his

prese n c e leaves an indelible mark on local hockey.

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SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Pg 23

Hockey Federation engages FIH Jagday’s 2-week Clinic

FIH coach Shiv Jagday conducting a coaching clinic in Guyana

Sri Lanka Tour of West Indies…

Visitors gain momentum heading into first Test Pg 22

Pg 22

GBTI Open to serve off on June 22 GBTI’s Public Relations and Marketing Manager Pamela Binda (left) handing over the bank’s sponsorship cheque to GLTA Vice President Cristy Campbell

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JUNE 3, 2018

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2 Sunday Times Magazine

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JUNE 3, 2018

Feature

F

or their sterling contribution to national development, each year once the vacancy exists, the President who is also the Chancellor of the Orders of Guyana confers deserving citizens with National Awards.

This year, on that list is a record breaking 49 women who are awarded for their excellent dedication towards the development of the nation in their respective fields.

President, David Granger, recently released the list of 96 awardees and leading that list is the Founder of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics â&#x20AC;&#x201C;STEM Guyana, Ms. Karen Abrams, medical practitioner, Dr. Holly Patricia Alexander, veteran educator, Ms. Donna Ann Chapman and Optometrist, Ms. Michelle Ming all of whom will receive the Golden Arrow of Achievement. Also, veteran Presidential Photographer Sandra Prince is on this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list and would be receiving the Medal of Service.

So let us take a look at some of the National Awards of Guyana and a brief history of the various insignia:

Order Excellence of Guyana

The Order of Excellence of Guyana (O.E.) is the highest national award of Guyana and was established in 1970 under the Constitution of the Orders of Guyana it is limited to twenty five living citizens of Guyana.

Order of Roraima of Guyana The Order of Roraima of Guyana (O.R.) is the second highest National Award of Guyana, and is limited to only thirty five living Guyanese recipients. It was established in 1976 and is awarded to any citizen of Guyana who has given outstanding service to the nation. Citizen of foreign nations who are deemed eligible may be honoured as honorary members of the order.

The Cacique's Crown of Honour The Cacique's Crown of Honour (C.C.H.) is the second highest award in the Order of Service of Guyana. It is limited to fifty citizens of Guyana.

It may be awarded to any citizen of Guyana who has "rendered service of an exceptionally high quality beyond the normal call of duty in the public service, social and voluntary services, industry or trade unions, or in any other area of public service, or

achieved excellence of national or international standing and recognition in the arts, professions, sciences or sport or in any other area of activity."

The Golden Arrow of Achievement The Golden Arrow of Achievement (A.A.) is the

fourth highest award in the Order of Service of Guyana.

It may be awarded also to "any citizen of Guyana who has performed an outstanding and specific act of service or achievement of an exceptional nature, or is given for long and dedicated service of a consistently high standard in responsible offices, local government services, social and voluntary services, industry or trade unions, or in

any other area of public service."

The Medal of Service

The Medal of Service (M.S.) is the fifth highest award of the Order of Service of Guyana. It is awarded for ten years of dedicated public service, local government service, service to industry, service to trade unions or other areas of service to the community.

Military Service Star

The Military Service Star (M.S.S.) is the highest award presented for military service to officers of the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana People's Militia and the Guyana National Service.

It may be awarded for excep-

tional service, above and beyond the call of duty or for gallantry in action.

Military Service Medal The Military Service Medal (M.S.M.) is presented for military service to mem-

bers of the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana People's Militia and the Guyana National Service. It may be awarded for exceptional service, above and beyond the

call of duty or for gallantry in action.

Disciplined Services Star for Distinguished Service The Disciplined Services Star for Distinguished Service (D.S.S.) is the highest award presented to members of the

Guyana Police Force, Prison Service, or Fire Brigade. It is awarded for distinguished service above and beyond the call of duty.

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JUNE 3, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine

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Feature

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t a very young age, the mantra “I can do anything” was etched onto the mind of Julie Lewis and she forged ahead with that which resulted in her being among the list of the 2018 recipients for the Medal of Service. Julie is now 53 years old and a seasoned broadcaster but what makes her exceptional is

what they looked like. As Julie aged her sight deteriorated but that did not deter her parents from allowing her the liberty of enjoying a “normal” childhood. She was allowed to play in the yard with the neighbours’ children and he siblings and recalls constantly bumping into them and even walking off bridges into the drains.

““The only reason I haven’t achieved more is because of attitudes and societal challenges. For example at work I know I could’ve been higher up the ladder had I not been blind because I have the qualifications, I have the experience and we still are grappling with people attitudes and people putting themselves in your place and coming up short.” the fact that she has been blind for almost all of her life.

Julie is the ninth of her mother’s 11 children and was diagnosed with congenital cataract just before her first birthday. She recalls being able to see a few colours and the outline of her parents and siblings’ faces but was never to fully see

“I would get up and get going again. My mother and father never stopped me and I am happy because I was taught to be independent from a young age,” she related.

When it reached time for Julie to attend school, she was not spared or hidden away because of her condition rather her par-

Julie poses in front of her home

Julie with one of the typewriters she started working at GBC

ents ensured that she attended classes every day.

She recalls being in school and not being able to see on the chalkboard or even being able to write but her parents had no choice and insisted that she remain in the regular school.

Being a Georgetown girl, Julie first attended the St. Stephen’s Primary School but because of the challenges her parents were forced to enroll her in the David Rose School for Handicapped Children (now David Rose Special School) where she was introduced to more intimate teaching sessions and utilized resources available to make learning for a blind person more conducive. For the first time she was able to fully understand how to read and write while being exposed to Braille and Mathematics along with all the other subjects her “normal” counterparts were learning.

In 1977, it was decided that blind students had the abilities to be integrated into the regular classrooms and Julie was the first fully blind person to be placed in a CXC classroom. She was placed at the St Rose’s High along with two other visually impaired students and she was able to attain five passes at CXC. Surprised at the level of her success, Julie went on to become the first blind person to take on “A Levels” and was even more successful when she wrote History and Literature and even copped top honours in History. In 1994 she would graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies from the University of Guyana.

It was after that her career in the media began.

She joined the Guyana Broadcasting Company in October of 1984 and have been there ever since. She started as a reporter and was promoted through the ranks and today she is Senior Announcer/ Producer. Julie noted that had it not been for her blindness then she would have been holding an even higher position.

“The only reason I haven’t achieved more is because of attitudes and societal challenges. For ex-

ample at work I know I could’ve been higher up the ladder had I not been blind because I have the qualifications, I have the experience and we still are grappling with people attitudes and people putting themselves in your place and coming up short,” she notes.

Nevertheless, according to Julie, she is not the least bothered since she is living the best life doing what she feels is her purpose. Julie said being recognized for her service is one that came as a surprise but is a decision she is pleased with.

“This award is just a

big shock. I never gave it a thought that one day I would be recognized since I would be awarded for anything because as far as I am concerned I was just doing what was expected of me, what I could accomplish and that’s about anything,” Julie said.

Today Julie lives all by herself and cooks daily.

She says she frequents the market where she enjoy a good bargain. When asked where does she see herself in the next five years Julie said “still here doing what I love.”

Julie in her younger days working on a computer

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Feature

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ot many people can boast of dedicating more than 25 years of their life towards rescuing and caring for animals while fiercely campaigning for legislative changes to better protect animals, but for Syeada Manbodh that is her calling, her passion and her life.

Syeada’s selfless service of providing care, medical treatment and rescuing animals, often at her own expenses, for over quarter of a century

Syeada enjoying the sunshine in the company of a cat

has earned her a spot among this year’s Medal of Service National Awardees. However, she explains that she was extremely afraid of animals while growing up after she witnessed a dog mauling her late brother.

Syeada was born in the town of Bartica and later moved to the City with her parents where she completed her High School education.

She would then later move to Canada where she completed a two year technical course in

Syeada with a neighbourhood dog

Marketing and Accounting in Toronto.

The Animal Rights Activist returned home in 1993 where she met a South African woman named Nicole Fitzsimmons that helped her to overcome her fear of animals and that is when she began campaigning and serving them. Fitzsimmons would later return to her home country and Syeada was left with this new passion of helping animals such as dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, monkeys,

Tending to an injured horse

ing and accepting all cats and dog going into the sloths, iguanas, anteaters, parrots and birds.

She currently runs a Bed and Breakfast, shelters.”

Syeada is currently working with a small which helps finance her volunteer work but explains that over the year she would have formed group on a project to improve the animal enclobonds with a number of people who contribute to sures at the Guyana Zoo since she enjoys workher work in whatever way they can. ing with the Zoo employees and supervisors. She “However, over the years I have met many is also thrilled that government has recognized awesome people who were helping or wanted to the importance of animals and hopes they follow help animals in need. These animal angels re- up with more and greater efforts to protect all side mainly in the Georgetown area but several the animals.

“There should be zero tolerance for abuses to live in other towns. That allows us to reach out and have a bigger impact on more animals, both all animals including wildlife such as Iguanas, domestic and wildlife,” Syeada notes. parrots, monkeys, sloths and turtles being sold “The problem of “poor care for our animals” along our roadways. I would like to see a total is huge, so there is no way even 100 or 500 of us ban on the wildlife trade.” could give all the animals the care they deserve. We need to strive to make people in general more accountable. If you own an animal it is your responsibility to provide care, freedom and love. That includes having your animals spayed or neutered so they do not over produce and create more problems. Animal owners must become part of the solution and not add to the problems,” she says.

Syeada is not married and have no human children but her five female rescue dogs are her everything thing and plays the role of her children. For her there is never a balance when serving animals because they are voiceless and sees herself as their voice. She says because of that is obligated to respond to their needs regardless of the time of day or night.

When asked about how she feels receiving this awards, she said while it is a complete shock, it is not about her rather it is a recognition of everyone on the frontlines of helping animals especially the Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) “who is doSyeada with one of her favourite animals-the Sloth ing an amazing job with spaying, rehom-

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JUNE 3, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 5

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aren Abrams is a woman who deeply loves her family and who has been devoted to the development of Guyana since she first returned to represent Guyana in the Caribbean Basketball championships in 1986, after emigrating in 1984. She finds bias and discrimination at any level abhorrent and believes that Guyana has an opportunity to be a model for the world if citizens in our multi-ethnic society, decide to work together to develop the country.

Karen believes that technology is the path to that development and is confident that those who make the investments [in their children] today will reap the benefits tomorrow. It was along that line that led to Karen and her husband, Leon Christian, founding the Academy of Math, Science and Robotics in their Community.

Remembering what it was like growing up, Karen describes her childhood as being days of endless fun defined by community, sports and reading. It was her love for books that led her to gain a widespread understanding of everything that interested her. She attended the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School and when she wrote her Common Entrance Exams, she was offered a place at St Roses’ High School.

However, she would com-

Karen Abrams

State University with a Masters in Marketing.

After graduating from College in 1990, Karen started working at Mindspring Networks where she was exposed to the behind the scenes action of the tech industry. When she joined, Mindspring was just an internet startup company which is now the third largest internet service provider in the US. With all the

prepared my own children for Stanford, Cornell and NYU,” she says.

Although she left Guyana in 1984, Karen said she never really left since she came back quite often and sees the establishment of STEM Guyana as one of her many contributions.

“Today I am passionate about STEM because I know that it could play a very important role in changing the

Team Guyana building a robot

plete her High School education in the United States after she migrated whilst in fifth form.

Karen says because of her exposure to sports, at an early age in Guyana, she was offered full athletic scholarships to eight Universities throughout the US but settled for Howard University where she graduated with a BBA Degree in Management. She would later graduate from California

knowledge she gained about the tech industry, Karen decided to end her career as the company’s Director of Operations and founded the Academy of Math, Science and Robotics with her husband. The aim was to help to expose and prepare youths for opportunities in the tech industry and it also provided the foundation for her own children to build strong STEM foundations.

“I am confident that it was this experience that

lives of many, not only in preparing young people today for the jobs of tomorrow but also in changing their perspectives from one of pointing out problems to now taking steps to solve them,” she noted.

The STEM league challenges teams of 5 students to work together to solve problems with code and robots. It is the hope that the experience will strengthen their collaboration, communication and problem solv-

ing skills.

For Karen, finding a balance between STEM and her personal life is not much of a challenge since an amazing team of volunteers surrounds her and makes the job much easier. First Lady Sandra Granger have played an integral role in advancing STEM Guyana’s work by supporting them in outreaches as well as raising funds for them to travel overseas to participate in various competitions.

“In addition, the fact that my children are the cofounders of STEMGuyana and have been the key figures involved in designing and executing on many of our programs makes it easier I think. Our entire family is involved in one way or another. It was my husband Leon Christian, who suggested we look at the koker design to come up with ideas for our outstanding 2017 robot,” Karen says.

Presently, the STEM Guyana team is preparing for the robot Olympics in August of this year.

When asked about how she feels to be receiving the Golden Arrow of Achievement, Karen notes

STEM Guyana co-founders at Caleb’s High School Graduation 2018

that it means a lot but wishes her father was alive to see her receive it since he would be bursting with pride. She hopes that it makes every

one of their critical supporters and volunteers proud because it represents their contributions to the challenging mission.

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JUNE 3, 2018

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guyanatimesgy.com

JUNE 3, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 7

Feature

M

any of us would have come a breathtaking photograph

by Amanda Richards but not many of us know who Amanda Raichards is. It is that way because she is not the type of person who would be in your face and prefers to perform “silent service” without any expectation.

With personality and humbleness, one could only imagine what went through her mind when she first saw her name on the list of National Awarders for 2018 or when the calls came in and every time a congratulatory post appeared on social media.

“I was humbled and honored to have been nominated for this award, realizing that although my service to others is done quietly without expectation of benefit or reward, that someone noticed, and took the time to submit my name as someone deserving of such recognition. This award is an indication that I am on the right track, and will encourage me to continue to do what I do, and even more so in the future,” she notes.

Service have been at the center of Amanda’s life from an early age. She was always encouraged by her parents and extended family to be a well-rounded and disciplined person. She gained her early education at the St. Agnes Primary school, placed sixth in the country at the Common Entrance Examinations, and was offered a place at St Rose’s High School. Not only did she excel at her academics but Amanda took part in sports, earning a black belt in karate, and excelling at swimming.

She completed the YMCA 5 Star swimming course at the age of 6, and swam across the Demerara River at age 7. She also competed internationally in Trinidad and won several medals including one gold, and then at the Inter-Guiana Games, winning two gold medals and being judged best swimmer of the tournament.

Additionally, she was recognized with an Honorable Mention for Sportswoman of the Year.

Amanda is also an Associate of the Institute of

Canadian Bankers and holds a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Currently, she is the Administrative Manager/ Company Secretary of the Farfan & Mendes Group of Companies, and have been with the company for almost 25 years.

In this capacity, and through the generosity and corporate social responsibility policies of the company, Amanda and her team are able to contribute nationwide to deserving charities and causes, national events, youth development, and skills training, as well as to the visual and performing arts, and sponsorship of sports teams and events.

So you see service has always been a part of her live and according to her it will remain. She notes that her upbringing instilled in her the need to help anyone to the best of her abilities. Her life has never been without strong female influences who would have broken barriers and encouraged her to do the same.

“I joined the Rotaract

Club of Georgetown, and served as President before becoming a Charter Member of the Rotary Club of Demerara, the first Rotary Club in Guyana to accept women to membership. I later served as President of that club and

then President of the Rotary eClub of One World, an online Rotary Club based in California. I am still a member of the eClub. Outside of Rotary, I am a past president of the St Rose's Past Pupils' Association, and a current Director of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development,” Amanda related.

Back to her immaculate eye for capturing the perfect shot, Amanda relates that she has not always been interested in photography but got into it because she could not find the right pictures for her son’s school project.

She said she then armed herself with a “point and shoot” camera and started

her photography journey in 2009.

But prior to that she has been the subject of her father’s photography hobby during her childhood, adolescent and early adulthood days. From 2009 to now, she has not only continued on her photography journey but rather she has distinguished herself from the other by capturing the not necessarily captured.

Amanda enjoys the spontaneity and gets bored taking pictures at formal events, so the next time you see her with her camera in tow then give her a smile, you never know what magic she will create.

8 Sunday Times Magazine

JUNE 3, 2018

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Travel and Tourism

W

elcome to Itabac where you are surrounded by the mighty Pakaraimas. Itabac is located in the Sub-Region 1 of Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) and has a population of approximately 280 people from the Makushi and Patamona indigenous tribes.

Kanapang and Kurukabaru borders the village. The exact foundation date of the settlement where Itabac is located today is not entirely clear. The Community Development Plan document states that it was founded in the 1930s, however residents claim that Moses Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father and father-in-law were the first to settle in the current location in 1958 (the Amerindian Lands Commission Report says that the Village was established in 1960). After this, when the Village had established health and education services, many families came from Brazil and Venezuela as these services were not available in the communities across the

border at that time. However, during the time of the Rupununi uprising, 1968-69, many of these families moved back over the border again.

The present residents of Itabac claim that people have been living in the area for a very long time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; since the tribal wars. They were living in Pacau, Shuea, Sharang and Twede Mountains long before the foundation of the current Village. Clay pots can be found on Shuea Mountain and around Nopo, a small hill close to Timenawai. Knowledge has been passed down for generations about how Akawaio, Arekuna and Caribs used to pass through the area and they were called slegung, meaning bad people in Makushi.

The village has a rich history for adventurers to explore and engage in the local cuisine native to the village. (Photos by Micheal McGarell

Men working together to make passock, tasso ground with farine

A typical house in Itabac Village

The Village Church

Scenes from the Village trail

The men roasting their meat with corn

The Trail leading into Itabac Village

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JUNE 3, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine

9

10 Sunday Times Magazine

JUNE 3, 2018

Feature

R

andy Madray is an international fashion brand based in Guyana. It was founded by Randy Madray at age 19 but Randy started to venture into fashion at the age of 15. The brand is now know across the Caribbean as one of the most sought after pageant wardrobe brands.

Throughout the past five years Randy has worked with pageant contestants and beauty queens from countries such as St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, British Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and the United States.

The collection presented shows some of the pageant gowns worn by contestants and queens.

Randy is very excited about is very thankful for all the love and support shown over the years. The 25-year-old Queen's College past student believes that you must have humilty in all that you do but you must also know your worth.

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JUNE 3, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 11

Home & Cooking

Making use of

NATURAL LIGHTING

Ingredients:

• 2 karela – get ones that are wide so you can scoop out the seeds and stuff them • 1 teaspoon curry powder • 1 teaspoon ground geera • 1 teaspoon garam masala • 1.5 cups raw peeled & de-veined shrimp • 2 garlic cloves – minced or finely chopped • 1 tablespoon chopped onion • 2 teaspoons salt • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instruction

• Set a pot of 3 cups water + 1 teaspoon salt to boil.

• Cut off the ends of the karela so the tips and stem are off but the end is not open (you need it closed so you can stuff it later).

• Put the karela to boil in the pot for 15 mins, turning it every so often so it boils on all sides.

• In a frying pan, heat the vegetable oil to medium heat and add chopped garlic and onion until golden brown.

• Next, add the shrimp to the pan – and the remaining teaspoon of salt,

curry powder, ground geera, garam masala, and coriander.

• By now the karela should be ready for straining. Strain and wash with cold water so it cools off soon.

• Fry the shrimp in the curry mixture until cooked through – then move it to another bowl.

• When the karela is cooled enough to handle without burning yourself, cut both of them in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon so you have 4 hollow pieces.

• Fill about 2-3 spoonfuls of the shrimp mixture inside each karela. Press it in with the back of your spoon so it’s tightly packed.

• Turn the stove back on with the same pan that you fried your shrimp in, let it get to medium heat.

• Add each piece of stuffed karela to the pan and pan-sear on all sides so that the outer edge of the karela is browned. , add the coconut milk • When it begins to boil add the corolla and simmer for 30 minutes, this is flavor the sauce ,or you can eat as is with no sauce.

O

ne of the rewards of living in a tropical country is that we can conserve on our energy bills and make use of the natural lighting available to us. So here are some smart ideas on how to reduce our carbon footprint while making our homes comfortable and the center of attention.

One of the major ways of naturally lighting your home is by utilizing big windows and not shadowing them with heavy drapes and blinds. Make use of the windows, allow natural light and utilize cool tones for a relaxing experience

For most people, they like to keep their bedrooms dark to promote longer sleeping time but as the old saying goes early bird catches the worm. So pull back those drapes and allow yourself to be awakened by the kiss of the morning sun

Most of us have large backyards and underutilize it so take your next dining experience outdoors.

Use the exotic woods available in Guyana and create a rustic outdoor kitchen ideal for BBQs and limes

The dining room is very important because it is often used to connect over a meal. So let your imagination go wild and mix and match to your liking while never forgetting to allow natural light into the space

12 Sunday Times Magazine

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JUNE 3, 2018

Puzzles

ACROSS

1 Red-colored quartz 7 Squander

12 Chew noisily

17 Work the land

21 "Star Wars" group

22 Machu Picchu denizen

23 Price tag

24 Dueler's sword 25 Lethargic

26 ISS experience (2 wds.)

28 Waterloo locale

29 Sign before Virgo 30 Movies 32 Tints

33 Genghis Khan, e.g.

35 Put -- -- in one's ear

37 Tough fabric

38 Play horseshoes 39 Wobbles

40 Like many fences

42 Delt neighbor

43 Lacoste of tennis

44 Banged up 45 Wanderer

47 Cabbage cousin

48 Gill openings

49 PC monitor

52 Capp's -- Abner

53 Clink or cooler 54 Bus

55 Depot info

59 Gathered crops 61 Fair

62 Attractive guy

63 Hide away

64 Bitter 65 Honeysuckle

66 Kind of brake

67 Like half-melted snow

68 Stare at

69 Egg part

70 Phoenician port

72 "Hare Krishna," e.g.

73 Workout facility 74 Pout

75 Pat Morita show

76 Wave down

77 TV Tarzan, Ron - 80 Eurasian mountains

82 NASA outfit (hyph.)

83 It may be knitted

84 Busy as -- - 85 Ignited

87 Curved entrance

88 Multiplied

89 Floods the market

90 "Soapdish" actor

91 Kind of collar 92 Expect

94 Kitchen appliance

95 Dad's sister

96 Carpentry joint

97 Mongkut's domain 98 Estuary

99 Distress signal

100 Parachute material

101 RN assistants

102 Major artery 104 Reads

107 Doe's mate

108 Muser's mumbling

109 Delight in

113 Family members

114 Fine-cigar producer

115 Kashmir cash

117 Time long gone

118 Andre of tennis

119 "Auld Lang --"

120 Urban nuisance

122 Ms. Lupino

123 Finish last

124 Liquid metal 127 Banquet

129 TV genie portrayer

130 Male relative

131 -- and desist 132 Dreamlike

133 Move quickly

134 Inched forward

135 Puts a stop to

136 Like nacre

DOWN

1 Flying woe (2 wds.)

2 One-celled being

3 Start to grow

4 Orange seed

5 Guitarist -- Clapton

6 Hired a decorator 7 Shriveled 8 Thin-blooded

9 Get out fast

10 New Mexico town

11 Eur. nation

12 Sentence part

13 Wealthy folk

14 Kimono closers 15 Assembled

16 Famous rock

17 Boxers' ploys

18 Orbit extreme

19 Say another way

20 Lunch and brunch

27 Avignon's river

31 Where Kathmandu is

34 Elevator name

36 Pentagon VIP

38 Londoner's tube 39 Ruse

41 Gave out sparingly 43 Deluge

44 White, in Burgundy 46 Central

47 Batman creator

48 The "March King"

49 Rocky ledges

50 Brief review

51 Canvas cover

53 Hong Kong ship

54 Girl from Baja

55 British prep school

56 Flavor savorers (2 wds.)

57 Hearth residue 58 Reserved

60 Dessert pastry

61 Lingerie material

63 Foundry refuse

65 Encyc. units

66 Garden need

67 Bernard -- of CNN

69 Festive log

70 "No way!" (hyph.)

71 -- chi ch'uan

72 Lump of clay

74 Ditto

75 Coveted statuette 76 Worry

78 Dismiss (2 wds.)

79 Oui and da 81 Bombast

82

83

84 85

86

87

88

89

91

92

93

94

New on the job Fedora feature Rope-a-dope boxer Alias Kind of vaccine Low voices Meadow plaints Grind noisily Emery boards Humane org.

Eye signal Fragrant tree

96 Aura

98 Juliet's beloved

100 Wimple wearers

101 Oil jobs

102 Electrical units 103 Whichever

104 Far East temple

105 Whiteboard need

106 Hold a grudge

107 Slept over

108 Most immense

110 Social type

111 Harsh experience

112 Every January

113 Showed fright

114 Bike or trike 115 Adversary

116 Turn out to be (2 wds.)

119 Incites Rover

120 Urgent appeal

121 Calculator key

125 Ms. Merkel

126 Freud, to himself

128 Firearms lobby See Solution on Pg 13

KATHLEEN SAXE

WORD GAME TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WORD â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MALADIES (MALADIES: MAL-uh-deez: Diseases; disorders; ailments.)

Average mark 50 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find more

made maid mail malaise male mead meal medal media

medial meld mesa mesial mild mile misdeal mislead misled

aide ailed aimed aisle alas alias alms amid aside

words in MALADIES? lade ladies laid lama lame lase lead lied lime

dias dale dame damsel deal deism deli dial diel

dime dismal idea ideal ides idle isle email said

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.

RAVENCLAW ALBUS HIPPOGRIFF HERMIONE HAGRID

POTTER DARK ARTS HUFFLEPUFF GRANGER WEASLEY

HARRY SCAR J.K. ROWLING DUMBLEDORE RONALD

guyanatimesgy.com

JUNE 3, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 13

Tech

P

okemon has brought its popular role-playing video game series to Nintendo Switch for the first time with the launch of Pokemon Quest.

Two more Switch titles are set for an autumn release, with another due to come out in 2019.

The Switch is a hybrid gaming console, which can be used in connection with a TV or smart tablet, or as a stand-alone portable device.

Although Switch's worldwide sales have been strong so far, the new games are widely seen as a way to continue that momentum and avoid the fate of the console's predecessor, the Wii U. The Wii U console was discontinued in 2017 after a

five-year run, following what many considered to be a fatal dry spell of new games in its second year on the market.

The teased autumn titles, Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, build on the popularity of the Pokemon Go augmented reality game for smartphones by allowing players to connect their Switch gameplay with the mobile app.

Piers Harding-Rolls, director of games research at IHS Markit, said that the games are "obvious strategic decisions" for Nintendo.

"The new games fit with their strategy and appeal to young users, female gamers and family audiences, with co-operative game play," he

Executives from Niantic, The Pokemon Company, Game Freak, and Nintendo on stage in Tokyo

told the BBC. "They are taking advantage of momentum on different platforms. Pokemon Go

has a large addressable audience that's been engaged on mobile devices in the past."

"That shows me that their thinking is more allencompassing than a single platform strategy."

Nintendo has also announced a new device, the Pokeball Plus, which can be used to play Pokemon Go and the new Switch titles instead of the Switch's JoyCon controller. Switch has sold more than 17 million units, more in its first year than the Wii U sold in its entire lifetime.

Nintendo share prices rose by more than 4% in early trading after the announcements were made in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Nintendo's next big scheduled update will be at E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles in June. Further details - including the as-ofyet unnamed fourth title for Switch - may be announced there. (BBC)

P

People release paper planes, symbol of the Telegram messenger, during a rally in protest against court decision to block the messenger because it violated Russian regulations, in Moscow, Russia, April 30, 2018

A

pple and Russia are locked in a stand-off over the company's App Store.

The Russian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor has asked the US firm to remove the popular messenger app Telegram from the Russian version of the store. Despite attempts by Russian authorities to block the app since mid-April, it remains in widespread use.

Roskomnadzor has given Apple a month to reply

and it is unclear what will happen if it ignores the request. Apple has previously complied with Chinese requests to remove VPN services from its App Store.

Telegram was developed in Russia and is one of the world's most popular messaging services. It is available on tablets, computers and mobiles, giving users end-to-end encryption. This means only the sender and recipient of messages can see them. Messages remain

Crossword Solution

private from third parties such as the Russian government.

The company left Russia because of the country's internet regulations and is now based in Dubai.

Thousands gathered in Moscow in April to protest against the ban on the app.

Telegram's founder Pavel Durov, who was born in St Petersburg, took to Twitter to thank those who turned out.

Telegram claims on the FAQ section of its website that "Apple has been blocking Telegram from updating its iOS app globally since mid-April".

It is possible that, as a result, the app is not GDPR compliant. On the Android Google Play store by comparison, the app was last updated on May 26, the day after the GDPR implementation date.

A privacy expert has said the move marks the "ongoing power tussle between big technology companies and nation states".

"I wouldn't rule out Russia blocking access to the App Store," Dr Joss Wright, Research Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, told the BBC. "Of course you would have a lot of annoyed Russian iPhone owners." he added. (BBC)

apua New Guinea will ban Facebook for a month while it identifies fake profiles and considers the website's effect on the country.

Communication Minister Sam Basil said users posting pornography and false information would be identified.

He also suggested the country could set up its own rival social network.

Facebook has faced scrutiny following the Cambridge Analytica scandal and has been criticised over the way it has tried to tackle fake news.

Although only about 10% of people in Papua New

F

ollowing the gruesome murder of one of its drivers, ride sharing service Uber has announced that it will be pausing operations in the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

In correspondence to its users, Uber says it has made “multiple efforts to create a significant change in the country in regards to mobility and opportunities for entrepreneurship”. It goes on to say that it believes that

Guinea have internet access, the country is proving proactive in its regulation of online services. The government aims to use the month-long ban to analyse how Facebook is being used and prosecute those breaching the country's 2016 cybercrime law.

Mr Basil told the country's Post-Courier: "The time will allow information to be collected to identify

users that hide behind fake accounts, users that upload pornographic images, users that post false and misleading information."

The rise of so-called "fake news" has become a major problem for technology companies globally. They have been criticised for not warning users when information could be incorrect or misleading. (BBC)

“at this time…there is a lack of a proper environment for innovation and technology to thrive in Trinidad and Tobago” Julie Robinson, Uber’s spokesperson said, “As a last resource, we have decided to pause our services in Trinidad and Tobago strictly related to economic and business reasons. We already notified this decision to drivers and users, as we let them know what will be our next step. Despite the

circumstances, we are very grateful for the support we have received since the day we launched the platform in Trinidad and Tobago.” Uber launched in Trinidad and Tobago January of 2017. In the country, Uber had over 500 drivers and 7,000 active users in the platform.

According to the correspondence sent, the app will close its services to Trinidad and Tobago at 11:59 am on Wednesday 30 May. (LoopTT)

14 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

JUNE 3, 2018

Bollywood/Hollywood

B

ollywood film Veere Di Wedding, starring stars like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sonam Kapoor in a story of four girls, has been banned in Pakistan because of “vulgar dialogues and obscene scenes.”

Danyal Gilani, Chairman of the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC), told IANS via social media: “Members of the CBFC unanimously decided to not allow the film for public exhibition in the cinemas as its content flouts the Censorship of Film Code 1980.”

The movie was screened for the CBFC in Pakistan on Tuesday night. According to trade sources, the movie was deemed unfit for exhibition due to “vulgar dialogues and obscene scenes”. The Distribution Club also issued withdrawals of their application for the certification after witnessing the criticism from members of the board, reported

The Express Tribune.

Veere Di Wedding is co-produced by Rhea Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor and Nikhil Dwivedi. It also stars Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania.

The movie has drawn a lot of interest especially as it is Kareena’s first film since she became a mother, and Sonam’s first movie to release since her wedding. For Swara, it is a different zone that she is stepping into and Shikha is making her debut with the project, directed by Shashanka Ghosh.

They are cast in a coming-of-age story revolving around the lives of four friends who deal with the trials and tribulations regarding family acceptance, marriage and societal perceptions in the modern-day world. The girls openly talk about their sex lives and hurl abuses.

In India, the film was release on Friday.

(Indian Express)

T

he trailer of Rajkumar Hirani’s biopic on actor Sanjay Dutt titled Sanju was released Tuesday. If the trailer is anything to go by, the filmmaker (and a close friend of the actor) has not attempted to glorify Dutt, choosing instead to stitch together the real incidents of the controversial actor’s life.

So the trailer features the death of his mother Nargis, his drug habit and rehabilitation, his love life, his arrest in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case and subsequent conviction.

Dutt is being portrayed on screen by actor Ranbir

Sanjay Dutt with Ranbir Kapoor

A

ttending pal Meghan Markle‘s dreamy royal wedding on May 19 must have made Priyanka Chopra want to find a prince of her own.

Just a week after the biggest nuptials of the year, the former Quantico star has been spotted on several dates with singer Nick Jonas. The 35-year-old former Miss World and the 25-year-old “Jealous” crooner took in a Los Angeles Dodgers game together on May 24 and the next night reportedly hit up a performance of Beauty and the Beast Live concert at the Hollywood Bowl, making the most of their Memorial Day week-

end.

“They walked in together just before the performance was starting, they looked great together, but no hand-holding or obvious PDA,” an eyewitness told Us Weekly. “The two were seen heading to the concessions stand during intermission before returning to their seats to finish taking in the show,” the onlooker added. “They snuck out right as the show was ending.”

As for their very public outing at the Dodgers’ game, “Priyanka and Nick were talking really closely and

A

Roseanne Burr

Kapoor. The trailer begins with Kapoor saying he first took drugs because he was angry with his father, and it soon became a habit after his mother Nargis died.

Dutt has been candid about his drug habit in previous interviews. Additionally, the trailer also shows the actor admitting that he was a womaniser, something Dutt hasn’t spoken too much about.

Dutt though was linked with multiple heroines he worked with, including Tina Munim and Madhuri Dixit.

The biopic is scheduled to be released on June 29.

were very smiley and very happy,” an eyewitness told Us. “They weren’t trying to be private as they were in a pretty public place, but they were talking to people around them, sitting closely and they both just seemed super happy.”

It seems like late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel might have been the first to out their relationship.

When Priyanka appeared as program a few weeks ago, he seemed to will the relationship into existence showing a photo of the pair attending the 2017 Met Gala together. (Hollywood Life)

BC has decided to cancel Roseanne following Roseanne Barr's racist Twitter rant about former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.

In a statement, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey wrote: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Barr has also been dropped by her agent ICM Partners following her series of Tweets The news comes after Barr fired off a series of racist tweets comparing Jarrett to Planet of the Apes and linking her to the Islamist organisation Muslim Brotherhood.

Barr wrote, "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj" in replying to a tweet claiming Jarrett helped with cover ups during the Obama administration.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas at last year’s Met Gala

Twitter users were quick to point out that the actress-comedian's tweet seemed racist to which Barr said, "Muslims r NOT a race."

While the posts have been deleted, Barr penned a public apology to the former Obama adviser saying, "I apologise to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better.

Forgive me - my joke was in bad taste."

Shortly thereafter, Barr also announced that she would be quitting Twitter.

When Roseanne returned to ABC earlier this year, it quickly became the number one show on TV gaining the attention of 18 million viewers in its premiere. Following its premiere, the show was quickly greenlit for a second season.

Barr has yet to issue a statement about the show's cancellation.

guyanatimesgy.com

JUNE 3, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 15

16 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

JUNE 3, 2018

Fun Times

Archie

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Let your intentions be known, and follow through with action. Don't let anyone bully you or take advantage of you. Take better care of your health and home.

Emotions will be difficult TAURUS to control. Don't let the lit(April 20- tle things cause you grief. Be May 20) true to yourself, and don't let anyone make decisions for you. Romance is encouraged.

An opportunity to change

GEMINI the way you live your life is (MAY 28- apparent. Attend a workshop June 20) that will open your mind to a host of new ideas.

Sign up for an activity that prompts you to use your (June 21- skills and creative talents.

July 22) Children, loved ones and friends will play a positive role in your decisions.

CANCER

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Dilbert

Peanuts

Divulge your true feelings.

Ask questions and find out where you stand. A change based on the feedback you receive will help make your decision doable.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

If you learn all you can, you'll be armed with the answers you need to ward off someone's persuasive emotional tactics. Protect yourself against being used or taken for granted.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Take a stand and make your point heard. Stop letting others take control or make decisions for you. Positive change will happen if you are adamant about what you want.

Don't let your emotions SCORPIO cause you to make a bad (Oct. 24choice. Focus on stabilizing Nov. 22) your situation, not on causing a disruption. Look for unique solutions and make your move.

Review how you earn your SAGITTARIUS living and handle your financial (Nov. 23affairs. Get back on track and Dec. 21) avoid anyone who tends to be a poor influence on your behavior.

Avoid indulgence.

Calvin and Hobbes

Embrace change and conCAPRICORN sider the best way to incorpo(Dec. 22- rate new ideas and plans into Jan. 19) your current lifestyle. Listen to suggestions, but make your decision based on what's best for you.

Channel your emotional AQUARIUS energy into personal change.

(Jan. 20- If you discuss ideas with Feb. 19) loved ones, you will come up with a workable, cost-effective plan that is something you can all look forward to.

Say less and do more.

PISCES (Feb. 20- Reach out to someone you Mar. 20) love by doing something that

will make a difference. Being proactive will lead to a progressive and productive partnership.