Guyanatime 5 april 2018

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

Issue No. 3524

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Thursday, April 5, 2018

GPL seeks US$110M from Govt to end constant “blackouts” Page 3

…“keeping the lights on is the biggest challenge” – new CEO

M&CC approves amended parking meter by-laws

…return inevitable

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Little Diamond/ Herstelling NDC workers not paid March salaries P12 Linden businessman's shooting

Chef slapped with murder P8 charge …jailed for 2 years on robbery charge

Page 10

…citizenry being forced to accept illegal 40-year contract – PPP Councillor

National Page STEAM 13 Fair finals commence

2 NYC men charged for smuggling birds from Guyana P11

Cattle owners concerned over pastures being offered to investors P9

A student of Uitvlugt Secondary School explaining her model on solar heating at the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Fair 2018, at the St Joseph High School on Wednesday

Bicycle ‘thief’ shot Parents fuming over Page Page by unlicensed 12 Mae’s 42% school 11 firearm holder fee hike

Miner P8 charged for child rape

…also charged for firearm possession

…call for Govt oversight body to regulate private schools

APNU, AFC to contest LGE under one ticket

Security guard's murder

Page 7

2 confess to plotting to rob store P9

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thursDAY, April 5, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Thursday, April 5 – 05:00h-06:30h and Friday, April 6 – 09:00h-10:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, April 5 – 07:00h-08:30h and Friday, April 6 – 07:30h-09:00h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals with light cloudy skies will prevail throughout the day, with partly cloudy to clear skies in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North-easterly between 1.78 metres and 5.81 metres.

High Tide: 07:16h and 19:43h reaching maximum heights of 2.57 metres and 2.41 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 00:52h and 13:16h reaching minimum heights of 0.72 metre and 0.66 metre respectively.

wednesDAY, april 4, 2018

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GPL seeks US$110M from Govt to end constant “blackouts” …“keeping the lights on is the biggest challenge” – new CEO

By Samuel Sukhnandan

I

n an effort to end the constant blackouts and bring some level of efficiency to local electricity services, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc is seeking US$110 million to assist with a strategic plan to overhaul the entire operation, as well as upgrade and reconfigure the supply system to produce better electricity.

This revelation was made by the newly-appointed Jamaica-born Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Albert Gordon, who said that he has already made the proposal to Government.

Speaking on Wednesday at a cocktail reception at Pegasus Hotel, where he was formally introduced to members of the local media, Gordon said that there were several deficiencies that he discovered while on his familiarisation trip to almost all the GPL facilities across the country.

“That is the biggest challenge now, keeping the lights on and as I have mentioned in a different forum, there are different contributors to that.

Not the least of which is the existing infrastructure and configuration of the system.

The GPL system is evolving from a bunch of smaller systems that are being integrated and right now, there are serious deficiencies in the system that we need to address,” he said.

Power outages

In providing a detailed explanation on one of the issues that cause the constant power outages, the CEO explained that in a normal case where a distribution line takes power to someone’s house, in several instances they are connected directly to the generator. But he said this is not how a power system is configured.

“You generate, increase the voltage to some high-voltage lines, move it to a substation, reduce the voltage and then distribute to customers. That way the generator is shielded from events that may happen on the distribution lines that run along the road. Right now, that is not the case for a number of substations.”

Gordon said in the case of the Kingston substation, there are a number of lines leaving that station. “If there is a fault on any one of those lines, and they are long distribution lines along the road, if a tree falls on it, it feeds all the way back to the generator, takes out those generators. The other generators that are there to protect itself goes off, and the system goes down. So, that’s one major deficiency in the system.”

Another deficiency, the CEO pointed out, is the fact that there is not a lot of ‘redundancy’. “Normally when you are designing a power system, if any major piece of

New GPL CEO Albert Gordon

equipment should fail, the customer should not know, because there is a backup piece of equipment to ensure that power is still reaching customers.

“However, that is not the case. In fact, the transmission system is supposed to keep the rest of the system stable.” According to him, there are a number of lines leaving Sophia, which leads to other substations like Good Hope, Skeldon, and Kingston, which he described as spurs coming off a star system.

“It means that if there is a fault on line 16 going up from Good Hope to Skeldon, everything along that side is out and if you have a system separation and there is no balance in the generation, and one side has too much generation, the generators will speed and trip to protect themselves. One side has too little, they will slow down and trip to protect themselves and the entire system goes down again,” he explained.

According to him, it is not a case where the units do not try to stay on, but if you keep them on beyond a certain

point, they will damage, and it, therefore, shuts itself off.

While maintaining that there

is a multiplicity of things that can take down the system, he said it going down 25 times as it did last year is unusual.

“Normally, if you have a power system that goes down once every 25 years, it is a cause for concern. We had 25 in one year, so that is something that needs immediate attention. Aside from the entire system going down, because of the lack of redundancy in the network, there is no back up. If you take out a line for maintenance, you have outages because you don’t have a backup supply,” he added.

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

Clueless in sugar W

ith every passing day, it is becoming increasingly clear this People’s National Congress-led coalition Government is either absolutely clueless about the sugar industry, which was the raison d’etre for this country’s existence, or else it is determined to destroy it. The latest announcement by Colvin HeathLondon, presumably in his role of Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) – where he is presumably tasked with turning around the rump Corporation – rather than as head of the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) tasked with selling off the three estates that have been already closed – conclusively proves this.

The State-owned Chronicle reported his assuring “GuySuCo to return to profitability in two years” by following a “strategic plan that will guide spending of $30 billion that was raised via a syndicated bond recently. The first fly in the ointment was when Heath-London revealed that the plan – which is to be presented to “the Ministry of Agriculture and the Government level’ – was “still being concretised” and he and his team still have not met with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union, the Union from which he expects to get ideas that will “cross fertilise” his own. How can Heath-London possibly promise a twoyear turnaround in this still inchoate and fluid scenario?

But it was his response to questions in other sections of the press on his decision to reopen Enmore Estate to produce molasses for Demerara Distilleries Limited (DDL) that exposed Heath-London’s absolute ignorance about the nuances of industry he now totally controls. He had to temerity to suggest that the last stage of sugar production, when the crystals are separated from the molasses, is the most expensive, and as such, the cost of the molasses – containing all its original sugar content – that Enmore will sell to DDL is not very significantly higher than the cost of ordinary “strap” molasses. Firstly, the savings on the retention of sugar is at best 10 per cent of total costs.

Secondly, the ratio of sugar to molasses at extraction is approximately 2.5: 1. Meaning the 1100 tons of “molasses with sugar” produced in Enmore’s first week contained 785 tons of sugar and 414 tons of strap molasses. But with the total prior cost of production (minus 10 per cent) being incurred and the opportunity cost of the sugar at US$300/ tonne (present market price) versus strap molasses at the last quoted price of US$93/tonne, the selling price of the “molasses with sugar” will have to be at least US$250/ tonne just to lose as much as Enmore used when selling sugar to the EU at a higher price. Since this is the reasoning Heath-London is using to rationalise raising GuySuCo to profitability “in two years”, one can appreciate the conclusion stated earlier about the future of the industry.

The “un-fertilised” ideas that Heath-London floated up to now to turn around the rump sugar industry at this stage is based mainly on two new initiatives – co-generation of electricity to sell to the national grid and the production of “Plantation White Sugar”. After the heated debates we have been having in the press about the inability of GPL to absorb power generated by wind turbines to the grid, it will be useful if he can inform the nation whether GPL has given him the assurance they will deliver a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for electricity that will only be produced for less than half the year when bagasse is produced during the “sugar grinding” season.

On the “Plantation White Sugar” front, Heath-London should know that the market in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) he is counting on to kick in with a 40 per cent tariff, might just be a “bird in the bush”. While Caricom’s Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) has asked the Sugar Association of the Caribbean to conduct regional consultations with manufacturers who use refined sugar in their manufacturing processes, in the largest market Jamaica, the Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Karl Samuda had to assure them no decision will be made without agreement from members of the manufacturing sector because of the extra costs of processing Plantation White.

Students of Bishops’ High School explaining the process of calculating the water power of various rivers in Guyana at the finals of the 2018 national Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Fair, which commenced on Wednesday at the St Joseph High School (Carl Croker photo)

Police are powerless to challenge ‘Sindicato’ (Part 2)

Dear Editor, The 2018 Capital Expenditure for the Police Force is $11.5 billion, yet inexpensive necessities such as a few black tanks to store water; a 4-burner gas stove and kitchen utensils needed to cook meals for Police ranks and prisoners are some of the items in demand at the Matthews Ridge and Port Kaituma Police Stations. Yet little is done to improve the quality of life of Police Officers in these rural areas.

Also in Matthews Ridge, there is an urgent need to build additional prison cells to accommodate prisoners during court days. At times, Police are forced to house between 18 to 26 prisoners in the two unsecured “lock-ups”, each measuring about five feet by six feet.

Even prisoners deserve to be treated with some level of compassion.

Although the Police have knowledge of a number of Venezuelan men working illegally in Region One (Barima-Waini), and organised prostitution rings involving Venezuelan nationals, they lack transportation and language skills to clamp down on these illegal activities.

During the briefing, I was surprised to hear the Public Security Minister say, “I hear they gat some fella in the backlands hay does claim that he big, and he’s a big trafficker… and he gat he own boat and so on, and sey Police can’t do

Members of the Security Committee and Parliament staff visiting Port Kaituma Police Station

he nottin.” Yet Minister Ramjattan failed to ask the Police why is this “big trafficker” allowed to defy the laws of Guyana with impunity. Did the Minister report this to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), the agency that was set up specifically to deal with organised crimes?

My main concern with the news of this organised prostitution ring, is the need to prevent the spread of HIV and other social disease from putting an additional burden on our already fragile health services.

A joint task force involving the Police and the Public Health Ministry is needed to address this looming crisis.

No official policy decisions have been taken so far to address the problem of non-nationals in the region.

The Police station at Port Kaituma is in dire

need of a vehicle and a boat with a 200HP engine to patrol the riverine communities to restrict the flow of drugs and other illegal items, as well as to deter crime.

At a forum, the Parliamentary Oversight Committee for the Security Sector held with residents before our departure, a businessman described Kumaka as a lawless town.

Despite the presence of the Coast Guard, Police, immigration officials and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) at the port of entry, he claimed that “everything does come into Kumaka to sell. Guns, cocaine, ammunition does be coming in to this port.” He said the Venezuelans are coming here looking for help, but at the same time, “they bringing all sorts of things here to sell.” He urged the Police and the GRA to do “fine checks” to prevent these

illegal items from coming into Guyana because as he puts it, “We small community is being destroyed by what is happening here. In the Kumaka area where I live, some nights you can hear shooting.”

A call was made to have a Police Station built in Kumaka to ensure a permanent Police presence in this high-crime area. Although Minister Ramjattan agreed that this is necessary, he cited the lack of resources to get this done. He was then informed that the people of Mabaruma are prepared to build a Police outpost at Kumaka. What they are asking is for Government to provide the manpower, vehicles and communication system to manage the outpost effectively.

Minister Ramjattan welcomed this as “great news”.

One of the concerns expressed by the Minister is the failure to recruit locals into the Force. He made several appeals for Indigenous people to enroll into the Police Service, “We’re still short of about 600 Policemen, but we’re not seeing Amerindians willing to join the Force.”

Overall, this was a very successful fact-finding mission that hopefully will soon yield results to alleviate the threats facing our Police Officers in Region One. Sincerely, Harry Gill PPP/C Member of Parliament

guyanatimesgy.com

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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

Causing Government even greater embarrassment Dear Editor, My attention was drawn to a press release issued by the Natural Resources Ministry in response to my comments made in respect of Minister Raphael Trotman’s assertion that the Government can make impromptu visits to ExxonMobil’s oil operations.

In my comments, I cautioned that the least the Government says about the Petroleum Production Contract, which they signed in 2016 with affiliates of ExxonMobil, the better. The Natural Resources Ministry has ignored this good bit of advice and has now issued a statement that causes the Government even greater em-

barrassment.

Firstly, there was a public announcement that the oil and gas portfolio was removed from the Natural Resources Ministry and placed under the purview of the Ministry of the Presidency, with Minister of State Joseph Harmon being assigned ministerial responsibility for same. One must assume that there were good and substantial reasons for removing this portfolio from the Natural Resources Ministry.

In responsible Governments, portfolios are assigned to different Ministries with identified Ministers being assigned responsibility for same, so that the citizenry can hold these Ministers responsi-

ble and accountable for these portfolios. This is a fundamental tenant of good, responsible, democratic and accountable governance.

As I indicated, the oil and gas sector, we were told, was removed from the Natural Resources Ministry. Why does this Ministry continue to speak, publicly, on this sector?

Or, is it that the announcement that this portfolio was removed from the Natural Resources Ministry to the Ministry of the Presidency, a hoax?

On behalf of the citizenry, I respectfully demand that this matter be clarified, immediately.

Secondly, the gravamen of

my contention, in my response to Minister Trotman’s public disclosure, was not so much an objection to the clause, which mandates a notice to be served on the Contractor within seven days before a visit, but was that in the face of that very clear, unambiguous and express clause of the contract, Minister Trotman contends that the Government can make impromptu visits.

My simple contention was that these impromptu visits cannot be made, unless the Government intends to breach the contract.

If such elementary issues, expressed in the simplest of language, poses comprehension problems, then no won-

der a technical document like the Petroleum Agreement, is causing the Government such preponderance of problems.

To equate the contracts signed under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, when no oil was found, with one signed by this Government, when billions of barrels of oil were confirmed to exist within Guyana’s territorial space, is by itself, a graphic illustration of the level of confusion in which this Government is mired.

So, while I was the Attorney General, when these several contracts were signed by the PPP/C Administration, because they contain those

clauses, I never said publicly that the Government could make “impromptu visits” to the oil operations of the contractor. In any event, as I have indicated, these contracts were executed in radically different and material circumstances and therefore, there is no basis for comparison.

I can assure the Government that were I the Attorney General, no contract remotely resembling the 2016 Petroleum Agreement, would have been signed.

Sincerely, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP

Creating a dysfunctional Local Government system Dear Editor, The writing is on the wall for all to see, as this A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government continues its glaring and shameless moves in creating a dysfunctional Local Government system. Their methods of undermining have become a default position, evidenced by a total disregard of many elected Councils of Local Authority Areas (LAAs); together with moves to continuously weaken the essential constitutional monitoring and corrective institutions.

The outcomes can have devastating impacts if allowed to go unchecked. Under

point man Ronald Bulkan who leads the Communities Ministry, many Regional Executive Officers (REOs) and Overseers are being allowed to usurp the authority of the Councils and are supported by a few imposed political hacks to buttress their desired counter force. The conduct of many of these REOs and their reporting staff, have been partisan and outright objectionable, given their required role in providing service to community residents.

To state that the level of financial breaches by these officers have escalated to never before reached heights, is indeed an understatement.

At the same time, the silence

of, and seeming accommodation by Minister Bulkan’s Ministry, forces one to wonder if the Government is contemplating laying new financial bills in the National Assembly. Only recently, the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly exposed a few of the vulgar, atrocious and lawless behaviours of the REOs of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

Notwithstanding, however, information received suggests these revelations were just the tip of the iceberg.

Meanwhile, the suppression of the Local Government Commission (LGC) by the

Government via Bulkan’s Ministry continues unrestrained.

The appointed Commissioners are complaining bitterly about the Minister’s deliberate efforts to frustrate and hinder the work of the Commission. It is unacceptable that this vital Commission which has the mandate of supervision and monitoring all of the Councils in the municipalities, regions, NDCs and villages; still cannot be properly staffed, housed and provided with adequate transportation.

Under the circumstances, it is incumbent that Minister Bulkan and the APNU/ AFC coalition Government must let this nation know,

Arming City Police would be an effective deterrent to crime Dear Editor, With a La Penitence Market vendor nursing injuries after being shot to his head on Easter Monday, reportedly while trying to ward off four bandits from robbing his wife as stated in the press, whilst a company of unarmed and hapless City Constables screamed for help, speaks volumes of the profound mismanagement of the Georgetown Municipality.

What is the use of deploying unarmed City Constables in a crime ridden city? It shows a clear lack of trust and respect for their officers that they are not allowed to carry a firearm. What is the City Police Department doing with the firearms in their possession? Only making them available to the bodyguards and residential security that protect the King

and Queen of the City.

Just look at the City Constabulary training complex on Water Street which is in total ruins, but which was supposed to be rehabilitated since 2016, with a promise that emphasis would have been placed on recruitment and training. One could have only hoped that this facility would have been used to provide Police self-defence training to their recruits as a vital component of The Basic Recruitment Course.

As a matter of fact, in order to be prepared for today's dangerous and unpredictable world, City Constables need to learn self-defence for both armed and unarmed encounters. And what about the promise that they would have been sending batches of ranks for overseas training?

Was this just another pie in the sky pipe dream by the

Town Clerk?

Arming the City Police would be an effective deterrent to criminal behaviour in the markets and around Georgetown; most cities in Europe and North America routinely arm their Police Officers, in part to deter criminal acts. Armed criminals operate in many wards in our capital. Given this, a failure to routinely arm the City Police gives armed criminals a strong advan-

tage in terms of their ability to threaten and commit violence without any corresponding risk to themselves.

Is it not time for the City Council’s Legal Affairs and Security Committee to make this rag tag disrespected poorly trained, poorly uniformed outfit into a professional, effective and esteemed Police force?

Sincerely, Modi Sankar

what happened to all the monies that were allocated to the Local Government Commission in the National Budgets for the year 2016, 2017 and now 2018. It is an indictment on the Government that Commissioners are being informed that they may find ‘abode’ in the so called ‘Conference room’, to have meetings and discussions on topical issues bothering the residents within Local Authority Areas. Certainly, the conference room of another public entity cannot suffice when there are several meeting planned for the day at the particular time, considering that there are eight Commissioners. Additionally, Meetings with the public individually on separate matters would also be affected.

Sources have also informed that the strategy is to stymie the functions of the Commission.

One bitter Commissioner informed me that they are receiving a token for telephone calls they make in relation to

the Commissions work, using their personal phones. That at the meetings of the LGC, only a bottle of water is provided to the members. The situation is disheartening, and one characterised wicked vindictiveness personified. This APNU/ AFC-led approach to local governance has created Town Clerks so notorious, it seems that they are not answerable and accountable to no one or authority. The despicable behaviour of the Town Clerk at the Georgetown Municipality is an apt example.

All and sundry must hold the Government accountable for their continued party paramountcy approach, which would ultimate lead to significant imbalances and underdevelopment. We call on the President to take positive steps to remedy the fractured Local Government system. We demand support for the Local Government Commission now.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

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Foundation

By Vanessa LoBue, PhD

T

hree years ago when my son was born, my life changed forever. The first few months were the most difficult of my life, but the ones that followed were among the best. Every day I watch as he developed and became a more delightful person. It was difficult to imagine loving anyone more, even a second child.

Which is why when I found out I was pregnant again, I couldn’t possibly fathom what it would be like to have a second son – one that I would obviously love as much as the first.

Besides being worried about loving the second one as much as the first, I was also worried about how much time I would have for a second child; having one is hard, but splitting time between two (and a husband and full time career) sounded exponentially harder. Would I be able to give the second child as much attention as I’ve given the first? Would my first son still get enough time with me, even as I’m nursing the second? How would the second time around be different?

First, I quickly saw that physically having the second child was significantly easier than having the first.

When I went into labour, I knew exactly what was happening, I knew when to go to the hospital, and I knew what to do when I got there. I already knew how to nurse, how to burp a newborn, how to change a diaper, and how to swaddle. I knew that leaving my newborn alone for a few minutes in the crib was perfectly safe, and that I could easily take a shower or make myself some lunch without having to worry about every second that I wasn’t watching closely over my new baby. I knew that crying wouldn’t hurt him, and I knew that every bump in the road would eventually pass.

All in all, I am way more relaxed for the second child than I was for the first. But then again, I’m also more tired, busier, and have less total time to devote to #2, because I have a three-year-old who is perfectly capable of telling me when he wants my attention, and has a full repertoire of strategies up his sleeve that he can use in order to get it.

It certainly feels like there are large differences between the way I can be a parent to the first child versus the second, even though I’m still me, I’m raising them in the same house, with the same environment, in the same family.

Watching these differences unfold before my eyes has made me wonder about the effects of being the born first versus being born later. Are there real effects of birth order?

Although it’s hard for me to believe that these differences in my own behaviour won’t have a real effect on my children, research on birth order is surprisingly controversial.

One of the most consistent findings documented by several researchers is that children born first tend to do better in school throughout childhood, and some have even reported that they have a higher IQ than children born later (see Hotz

& Pantano, 2015, for a review). In contrast, younger siblings tend to be more rebellious, agreeable (Paulhus, Trapnell, & Chen, 1999), and open to new experiences (Healey & Ellis, 2007).

Most widely accepted explanation

Although some researchers have suggested that differences in school performance and IQ might be because babies conceived later are born to older moms whose biology is more apt to producing problems during pregnancy, the most widely accepted explanation is that parents have less one-on-one attention to give children who are born later and fewer financial resources; thus, these children get less attention academically and socially. Another view is that as the result of getting more attention from parents, first born children are motivated to fulfil parents’ expectations and therefore become more responsible. Conversely, as a result of wanting to a find a place of their own in the family, children born later are less conforming to what their parents want, and therefore more rebellious and open to new experiences (Solloway, 2001).

These theories are controversial, as are the realness of birth order effects themselves. Indeed, while several studies report effects of birth order on both academic achievement and personality, other studies report no such effects (eg, Bleske-Rechek & Kelley, 2014). What’s most likely is that if birth order effects do exist, they’re not huge and likely vary widely based on several factors, such as the spacing between kids, total number of children in the family, as well as cultural, and socioeconomic differences.

But besides birth order effects based on differences in parenting, the mere occurrence of having siblings present in

the household could also affect a child’s development.

For example, having a sibling has been shown to be related to the development of prosocial emotions like sympathy that might help children develop more advanced social skills (Harper, Padilla-Walker, & Jensen, 2016). Sibling support has also been shown to be a buffer against problems with depression and self-esteem in adulthood (Milevsy, 2005). In contrast, only children (who grow up without siblings around) have been shown to be more creative than children with siblings, but less agreeable, and recent work suggests that such differences might even be reflected in the development of the brain (Yang, Hou, Wei, Wang, Li, & Qiu, 2017).

From my own observations thus far, I can’t see how birth order will have no effect on my children. My first son experienced 3 full years of the undivided attention of a more stressed mother who was experiencing parenthood for the very first time. He has always had guidance for every new milestone, and careful attention has been paid to every one of his needs (at least until the second one was born). My second son has a mother with less overall attention to allocate to his development and he will likely have to do more on his own, but in a much more relaxed environment. He also has an older brother—another child in the house—that will motivate his development in very different ways. So I fully believe that having a sibling will inevitably change the lives of both of my sons, hopefully in ways that are mostly positive. I grew up with a younger brother, and I can say with confidence that I wouldn’t be the person I am without him in my life, in the best ways possible. I can only hope that the same will be true for my sons. (Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

D

on’t give up when you’re this close to the finish line! Stick with it, and finish it up.

Check your work

Make sure your homework is neat. Check for mistakes and fix any you find. If it’s a project or a book report, put on the finishing touches. Be sure your name is on it!

Be proud of a job well done

It’s OK to admire your work. Give yourself a compliment. “My book report turned out great! And I really like the picture I did for the cover.” It feels good to know you put your best into something.

Put it where it goes

Put your homework in the right folder. Make sure the folder is in your backpack. Put the backpack where it belongs. Now you’re DONE!

Ask for help when you need it

Being organised and focused seems easy for some kids. But for others, like kids with ADHD, it’s not easy at all. Everyone can get better at these skills.

Sometimes, it just takes a little more practice and a little help from other people.

Ask a parent or teacher to help you learn to organise your things. They can help you set things up in ways that work for you. If things get disorganised again, ask for their help to clean up. With practice and help, you will become more organised.

If you have trouble focusing on homework or getting yourself started, adults can help you with this too.

Soon you’ll get better at doing it yourself.

Learning how to do homework well (and make it fun!) takes practice. Be patient with yourself as you learn to organise, focus, and get it done. The more you practice, the better you get at doing it. (Excerpt from kidshealth.org)

news

APNU, AFC to contest LGE under one ticket

President David Granger

A

fter months of uncertainty, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) have finally decided to contest the Local Government Elections (LGE) under one ticket.

This disclosure was made

by AFC Chairman Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Wednesday. This decision, he said, was made even as the parties are still trying to put certain mechanisms in place to ensure that they contest the elections with a good slate of candidates.

“We have made a decision that we are going as a coalition. We have to trash out a number of issues preferably in relation to candidacy candidates, and number of other things,” he told the press, while noting that the AFC has noticed some unfortunate development in the Georgetown municipality.

Ramjattan was referring to the attitude of APNU Councillors, including Town Clerk Royston King towards AFC members, which he claimed is “bothering us.”

The AFC Chairman indicated that statements in this regard have been made and will be officially raised through communication with APNU officials.

“A letter has gone to the President (David Granger) as leader of APNU and we are supposed to address that through our leaders, Raphael Trotman and him. I think there will be some development this week,” he explained. A meeting between the two could be held soon to iron out those issues.

In mid-January, Trotman had announced the possibility of the party breaking away from the APNU for this year’s LGE. The AFC leader went as far as to reveal that there was a strong opinion of body within the party that the AFC should go alone, which may have been prompted over delays with reviewing the Cummingsburg Accord.

The AFC has, of recent, come under fire for the perceived submissive role it played when it joined forces with APNU. In 2017 top leadership of the AFC had decided to revise its governing agreement with APNU. Days later, General Secretary of the People’s National Congress (PNC), the leading party in the APNU coalition, Amna Ally, said the APNU is prepared to contest the LGE without the AFC. However, the President had hinted that contesting LGE as a coalition would have been the best option.

Meanwhile, despite several infightings among coalition members, especially at the level of the City Council, Ramjattan sought to defend both parties when he was asked to comment on the issue. He claimed that the relationship particularly at the Central Government level is cordial.

“We have tremendously cordial relationship at that highest of level. I have a very good relationship with President Granger and his entire team and it’s not reflective of any kind of rela-

AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan

tionship at the bottom there as had happened in the municipality,” he explained to the media.

The Minister admitted that the AFC’s opposition to the controversial parking meter project might have resulted in APNU controlling both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions. Only recently, the PNC dominated Council voted to replace AFC member Lionel Jaikarran as Deputy Mayor.

Despite this move, Ramjattan said democracy must be respected. “It is a democratic decision and we have to learn to live with democratic decisions and indeed, I rather suspect that those who voted the way they did, didn’t like the principled positions of Sherod (Duncan) and Dr Jaikarran and so if they have the majority in that Council and they want the new guy – Peter – well they will have him,” he added.

In trying to explain that the dynamics of Governments, whether coalition or not, he said everyone has some amount of issue.

He advised therefore that decisions should never be taken on the basis on one’s emotion, and suggested that the infighting at the municipality is more of a personality issue.

Linden welcomes new Mayor

Mayor Waneka Arindell and Deputy Mayor Wainewright Bethune take the salute during the Constabulary march-past on Wednesday

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ewly-appointed Mayor of the Linden Municipality, Waneka Arindell and Deputy Mayor Wainewright Bethune were given an honorary welcome into the Council on Wednesday with an officiating marchpast by Constabulary staff.

Following this, Arindell hosted the first statutory meeting of the Council since being officially sworn in as Mayor on March 28.

Outgoing Mayor Carwyn Holland was also awarded a token of appreciation by staff for serving two conservative terms. His name has since been added to the of-

ficial list of Linden Mayors displayed on the walls of the Constabulary Hall. Holland also thanked Councillors and members of the municipality for nominating and electing him to serve as Mayor. He also wished the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor a successful term, advising them to work together. "I wish to leave with the understanding that service to the community comes first. We have

to pay keen attention to petty politicking which can affect and stymie progress and cause major distractions. I wish that the new Mayor be allowed to function without these interjections coming from both Councillors and from Administration", he noted while advocating for the Deputy Mayor to be given an office owing to the demands of the post.

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thursDAY, April 5, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

8 NEWS

thursDAY, April 5, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Linden businessman’s shooting

Chef slapped with murder charge …jailed for 2 years on robbery charge

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John Caesar

ohn Caesar, a chef of Lot 227 East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown, was on Wednesday charged and remanded to prison for the murder of 32-year-old Linden businessman, Romel Edison "Eddie" Gomes.

Thirty-five-year-old Caesar made his first

court appearance before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Linden Magistrate’s Court and was also charged for disorderly behaviour.

The charge was instituted after he behaved in a disorderly manner in the said courtroom after the matter was called on Wednesday.

Additionally, Caesar was also sentenced to two years in prison in absentia after he was found guilty of a robbery committed at Lethem some time ago. It is alleged that on Monday, March 12, 2018, he inflicted injuries on Edison Gomes at his Lot 53 Wismar Housing Scheme, Wismar causing his death.

After the matter was called, Caesar started yelling and behaving in a disorderly manner in the courtroom, which led to him being taken back downstairs to the prisoners' holding cell. The case was adjourned until May 2.

Dead: Romel Edison "Eddie" Gomes

Caesar, who was the prime suspect in the murder case, was positively identified as an eyewitness after his arrest in the vicinity of Carmichael Street, Georgetown, last Wednesday. On the day of Gomes’ murder, Caesar was reportedly one of two per-

sons seen at the home of the dead man. The businessman was reportedly heard arguing with Caesar and another man prior to his death.

It was reported that during the argument, a loud explosion was heard, and the suspects later fled the scene in Gomes’ motor car – PVV 2057 – which was parked in front of his shop. Gomes was later discovered in a pool of blood with his hands bound in front of him and a bandana tied around his mouth.

He was found with a suspected gunshot injury to his right temple, a small laceration on top of his head and another lacerated wound to the neck. A post-mortem examination later gave his cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head. His car was recovered intact at One Mile, Wismar, Linden, the day after his murder.

(Utamu Belle)

Miner charged for child rape …also charged for firearm possession

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onaldo Persaud, a miner of 19 Miles, Rockstone, Essequibo River, on Wednesday appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse for the offences of engaging in sexual activity with a child family member, possession of firearm, and two break and entry and larceny charges.

The 19-year-old appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s Court to answer to the charges. It is alleged that he engaged in sexual activity with a child family member between October 25 and 26, 2016, at 20 Miles Anarika, Essequibo River. It is also al-

the Hururu Forest Station.

Persaud pleaded guilty to the firearm possession and break and enter and larceny charges, but denied engaging in sexual activity with a child family member.

A probation report was or-

dered by the Magistrate, and the matter was adjourned until May 18, 2018. He was remanded to prison. The other matters were transferred to the Kwakwani Magistrate’s Court and adjourned to May 20, 2018 for sentencing.

Armed robberies

Ronaldo Persaud

leged that he had a firearm in his possession without licence and that he broke and entered the dwelling house of Ameer Bacchus as well as

Labourer claims Police forced confession

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wenty-four-yearold labourer Jerome Smartt, of C Field,

Sophia Reserve, Greater Georgetown, was on Wednesday remanded to prison by city Magistrate Fabayo Azore after bail was refused on charges that he carried out two armed robberies on March 29, 2018.

Smartt is accused of using a handgun in the company of another person to rob Jamal Angus of US$200, 1 HTC mobile phone valued $26,000, and $1100 in cash. Smartt swiftly denied the charge.

He was also accused of using a gun to rob Donald David of his cellphone valued $40,000 on the same day in question at Prashad Nagar, Georgetown. Smartt also entered a not-guilty plea for that offence. The Court heard that a search was conducted on the defendant and a cellphone was found in his possession.

However, in Smartt’s version of events, he said that he found the phone on the road, and he added that he was in fear for his life. He claimed that Police forced him to confess to the crimes.

The presiding Magistrate remanded him to prison based on objections raised

by Police Prosecutor Simon Payne over the serious nature of the offences. The labourer will make his next court appearance on April 25, 2018.

Dazzling them…

I

…with industrial-strength BS t seems this PNC-led Government is diligently following the advice of the droll comedian WC Fields, who once famously suggested: “If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.” With their eyes firmly fixed on 2020 and the “Dead Meat” that the soonto-be-discarded AFC has become, the PNC’s giving the Amerindians the ole full-court-press!! And there isn’t even a basketball in sight – it’s all BS!!

Take the “Industrial Park” that’s supposed to be sprouting in Lethem like a Jumbie Umbrella. Can the powers-that-be say exactly which industry they plan to open up there? And if they protest they’ve jettisoned their “State capitalism” orientation from the old days, can they then say which companies they’re encouraging with appropriate inducements to plunk down their had earned cash on the plains of the Rupununi??

Truth of the matter, this Government can’t get a single new business to even set up shop in Linden – which is so chock-full of PNCites they named their town after the Founder Leader!! The industrial site is the same “bait and switch” conmen use to set up their marks. Some other stories from the region reveal the real attitude of the PNC to Amerindians.

Firstly, they’ve refused to honour the promise they made on the campaign trail back in 2015 to demarcate the extension to the Amerindians at Nappi village – which was part and parcel of the agreement between the kingdom of Norway and the Government of Guyana under the Amerindian Titling project. This would be a real test of the Government’s bona fides when it comes to being in the Amerindians’ corner.

But we know this will never happen – for the simple reason that the PNC has always opposed giving title to lands which the Amerindians have a right to –as acknowledged

by Annex C of the Independence Agreement. All the Amerindians have to do is show they’ve been living on lands from “time immemorial” – which is not as ancient as it sounds!! – and the land should be demarcated. On the other hand, the PNC’s busy setting up COIs for “Ancestral Lands” for their supporters.

With titled lands, Amerindians can make a living anyway they choose to – and not wait for some manna to fall on the industrial site at Lethem. Another sign of the PNC’s real disdain for the Amerindians was their creation of a lake on the wetlands of the Rupununi without any consultation with the people living there as to how this would affect their lifestyle. The PNC’s attitude as revealed, of course, is “Who cares?”

But Amerindians should follow another bit of advice from WC Fields: “Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against.” …with pic on high Your Eyewitness wasn’t surprised the PNC – and even the President himself – gave out kites in Berbice with the picture of Granger on them!! The man’s just following in the footsteps of his mentor Burnham – who’d placed his picture on the exercise books of the long suffering students of Guyana. No wonder the education system collapsed!! How could the kids concentrate on their work, when the visage of the man who’s caused them to do without breakfast stared back at them??

But back to Granger’s pic. Some may feel this is heresy since it was at Easter time Jesus ascended into the heavens. But didn’t Granger say it was “God’s work” he won the last election?? And while it was written that one from the LINE of David would rise into the skies, maybe this time around, David himself is rising?

Be that as it may, this is all in step with the “David Buses”, “David Bicycles” and “David Boats” that will lead to the “David Rig” come 2020!! …with duty-free The PNC fella who just lost the Mayorship of Linden is now President of the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM). And he’s now demanding duty-free vehicles for all members.

But since he’s not a Mayor any longer, he won’t ask for one, will he?

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

News

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thursDAY, April 5, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Corentyne cattle owners concerned over pastures being offered to investors

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attle owners on the Corentyne, in Berbice, have raised concerns over efforts by persons, who are reportedly closely connected with the current Government to give out sections of a communal cattle pasture.

The 52/66 Cattle Pasture, which consists of 17,000 acres was leased to a co-op in 1997 for the purpose of cattle rearing and targeted the small cattle farmers, is now being offered to investors.

Guyana Times understands that applicants are being told that they can have a portion of the pasture for $800,000 and that the Lands and Surveys Department is currently entertaining applications for leases of portions of the 52/66 cattle Pasture.

Recently the issue was discussed at the regional

A section of the 52/66 Cattle Pasture

level.

The Prime Minister’s Regional Representative, Gobin Harbhajan, explained that rice farmers are taking up the cattle pastures, hence there is less space for the an-

imals to graze.

Harbhajan also confirmed that persons have been applying for portions of the 52/66 Communal Cattle pasture and on those applications sent to the

Security guard's murder

2 confess to plotting to rob store

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wo employees of Sukhsram General Store at Lot 13 Public Road, Rose Hall Town, have confessed to plotting to rob the store over the Easter weekend.

The confession has also implicated the suspects in the murder of the store’s security guard, Munisperen Iyasammy Monien.

Guyana Times understands that a 19-year-old and another employee, who were both detained on Sunday, confessed to investigators on Wednesday.

The body of Monien was discovered in a pool of blood in a storeroom at Sukhsram General Store about 20:00h on Saturday last.

The Police were working on a theory that the robbery-murder was an inside job after it was discovered that the door to the back of the store and a few others inside the building were left unlocked when the business was closed on Saturday evening.

Dead security guard: Munisperen Iyasammy Monien

Following the discovery of the 53-year-old security guard and a later announcement that in excess of $1.5 million in cash was removed from the building, the Police arrested the manager of the store and five employees.

Investigators also arrested an ex-employee and his parents. However, the main suspect remains at large.

The main suspect was allegedly seen two nights prior to the robbery by the now dead guard attempt-

ing to break into the building. An alarm was raised, and the Police were later informed and given the identity of the suspect, who lives a few houses from Sukhsram General Store.

Details are still sketchy as to what alerted investigators to visit the premises where the discovery was made. This publication was told that when the store was closed on Saturday, between $1.5 million and $2 million was locked in a drawer. The money is reportedly missing.

Meanwhile, this newspaper understands that the Police have not released the store manager. The woman reportedly fell ill while in custody and had to be taken to receive medical attention.

The store owner, who was overseas at the time of the robbery, has since returned to Guyana and visited the manager.

Police are continuing their investigation.

Commissioner, the applicant has indicated that they have no intention of rearing cattle.

“If we allow that to happen then the poor cattle farmers with four or five heads of cows will not be able to have their cows there because people will fence

that area.”

Harbhajan said already some persons have fenced sections of the pasture. In addition, others have dug canals marking off their claim. He said also being affected are those who fish in the swamps which exist in the pasture. Many of those fisherfolk are confronted with ‘Do Not Trespass’ signs thus they cannot fish.

Meanwhile, Regional Chairman David Armogan says he had high-level discussions on the issue and is assuring that cattle farmers need not worry. According to Armogan, the Lands Commission has not made a decision on the issue as yet and will not be doing so until the completion of a land use policy.

“He (Lands and Survey Commissioner) told me that all of the land use policy has to be revisited. We have to know where cattle should be, we have to know where rice should be, we have to

know where dairy should be; you have to know where you should plant plantain and cassava; that is a part of the land use policy and that has to be put in place,” the Regional chairman said.

The Chairman added that senior officials from the Lands and Survey Department acknowledged that they have been entertaining applications for leases but until the land use policy comes into place, the 52/66 Cattle Pasture will remain as it is and available to cattle farmers. (Andrew Carmichael)

10 news M&CC approves amended parking meter by-laws thursDAY, April 5, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…return inevitable …citizenry being forced to accept illegal 40-year contract – PPP Councillor

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he Mayor and City Council of the City of Georgetown, on Wednesday at an Extraordinary Statutory Meeting, voted to adopt the amended By-laws for the controversial parking meter project, hence signalling its return despite strong objections from some Councillors.

Prior to the vote, Councillors were afforded the opportunity to debate the proposed amendments to the By-laws. However, Mayor Patricia Chase Green restricted them from discussing, among other things, the contract and concessionaire.

“We would have dealt with the contract on many occasions and we would

Councillors at the Extraordinary Statutory Meeting on Wednesday

have agreed that the contract that we have is binding and we will move forward.

We are at a stage where we had negotiations with the relevant partner where we

would have agreed also how we do adjustments…that was brought to the Council, that was agreed upon we are at the last stage of the parking meter entire project which is the 2018 By-laws,” Chase Green said.

However, the Mayor’s statements did not go down too well with People’s Progressive Party Councillor, Bishram Kuppen, who argued that the by-laws are linked to the contract with Smart City Solutions. He noted that the council is attempting to move forward with a contract whose legality is still in questioned and advised that it should not be proceeded with.

“The fact of the matter is that we are attempting to pass or approve bylaws for a contract that is yet not being proven to have come about in a legal manner… there were statements made at this council that this was approved at a previous council but there has been no evidence produced so far. The fact of the matter is due diligence was being conducted

after the fact when in fact it should be done before that contract,” Kuppen argued.

“I don’t see how we are moving forward with this particular contract or discussions because once it is approved today (Wednesday) then it will be forwarded to the Minister and maybe they will gazette the By-laws to make it legal for that parking meter project to come back in play,” he added.

Kuppen told all the Councillors present that if they support the amended By-laws then in essence they are forcing the citizenry of Georgetown to accept an illegal 40-year contract.

Additionally, Councillor Malcolm Ferreira called for the decision to be put on hold until all court issues regarding the controversial project is addressed.

“We need to exercise caution and allow the court to rule so as to offer legal guidance as well as endorsements of whatever decision we would then decide on… we should not rush into any decisions and more so decisions that have proven to be unpopular…,” he argued.

“If we truly care about this city and citizens we should not rush into rubber stamp any new By-laws without giving any thought to all possible outcomes… I beseech thy, I implore, plead with, appeal to, I obsecrate yuh, I beg yuh…it is my humble view that we should let the court make its ruling before we decide,” Ferreira said.

Expressing his unwavering support for the project was Councillor Heston Bostwick, who called for its speedy implementation.

Following all the debate, People’s National Congress

Councillors Akeem Peter, Winston Harding, Yvonne Ferguson, Welton Clarke, Oscar Clarke, Noelle ChowChee, Heston Bostwick, James Samuels, Trichria Richards, Lyndon Hilliman, Ivelaw Henry and Mayor Chase Green along with Team Benschop’s Jameel Rasul voted to adopt the By-laws. While, Councillors Kuppen and Sharma voted no and Ferreira and PNC Carlyle Goring abstaining.

Staying away

Meanwhile, former Deputy Mayors Lionel Jaikaran and Sherod Duncan – both of the Alliance For Change (AFC) refused to participate in the process by staying away.

Taking to social media, following the vote, Duncan posted a photo of a rippedup copy of the By-laws accusing the Administration of stifling those who oppose the project.

Now that the amended By-laws are approved, the Administration will have to display them for a minimum of 14 days in public spaces and during that time persons could write to City Hall expressing their concerns. Following that 14-day public display, the adopted By-laws will be forwarded to Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan for his approval and if given will be then gazette.

Under the new agreement, persons will be paying $150 per hour and $800 for eight hours of parking in the city. Meanwhile, residents of the city would be issued with a restricted residential pass for free parking from 17:00h-19:00h Monday to Friday while parking will be free on Saturdays.

NEWS

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thursDAY, April 5, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Parents fuming over Mae’s 42% school fee hike …call for Govt oversight body to regulate private schools

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ver 172 parents of children attending Maes Schools have registered their disapproval with the sudden hike in fees for the Christmas term and are calling on Government to set up an oversight body to regulate the operations of private schools in Guyana.

This move comes even as the Government removed the 14 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on education in its 2018 Budget.

According to the parents, they received notice of the increase just before school closed for Easter, indicating school fees for the Christmas term will be increased by up to 42 per cent depending on the grade.

For Playgroup, fees raised from $35,000 per term to $50,000; Nursery $45,000 to $60,000; Primary Grades One to Four $60,000 to $75,000; Grade Five, $70,000 ($60,000 + $10,000 lessons fee); Grade Six from $70,000 (60,000 + 10,000 lessons fee) to $80,000 ($60,000 + $20,000 lessons fee).

Additionally, this publica-

Mae’s School

tion was told that fees for the secondary department was also raised from $80,000 to $90,000.

“We call for a meeting to be held with the school’s administration and the parents to discuss our concerns and a resuscitated PTA. We call for a decrease in the percentage of the fee raise to under 14 per cent across the board.

We call for a regulatory body to be set up by the relevant authority to oversee the operation of private schools in Guyana, since it is a highly unregulated sector with little or no consumer protection or relevant legislation,” the

2 NYC men charged for smuggling birds from Guyana …26 finches found in hair curlers

The curlers with the birds inside after being taken from the men

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wo New York City men were arrested on Wednesday at John F Kennedy International Airport and charged for illegally smuggling Finches from Guyana, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said, according to an ABC News report.

The article published on Wednesday detailed that 26 of the birds were found stuffed in hair curlers and placed in the socks of the defendants, identified as Victor Benjamin, 72, of Brooklyn and Insaf Ali, 57, of the Bronx, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York.

“My investigation has revealed that individuals keep finches to enter them in singing contests,” said Gabriel

The birds found in curlers

Harper of the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the complaint, ABC News reported, while adding that, “In such contests, often conducted in public areas like parks, two finches sing and a judge selects the bird determined to have the best voice.”

Those who attend the singing contests wager on the birds. A finch who wins can sell for US$5000 or more, Harper said.

“Although certain species of finch are available in the United States, species from Guyana are believed to sing better and are therefore more highly sought after,” Harper said in the complaint. “An individual willing to smuggle finches into the United States from Guyana can earn a large profit by selling these birds in the New York area,” the report added.

Benjamin and Ali were stopped by US Customs and Border Protection after they landed at the airport on a flight from Guyana.

According to the US news agency, the men made an initial appearance in US District Court in Brooklyn and were released on a $20,000 bond. They did not enter a plea.

If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison, according to the ABC News.

parents said in a statement to the media.

The parents have since written to the school’s ad-

ministrator, Stacey French, asking for justification for the excessive increase in lieu of the removal of VAT on education.

The response given was that the school’s costs to do business have increased as well as the challenge of hiring teachers, who are both motivated and experienced, in addition to overall operational costs. However, according to the parents, there is no mention of the direct improvement to the school’s existing facilities such as poor ventilation and washroom facilities.

They noted that they are

not against a reasonable raise in the fees but are angry at the excessively high percentage. “It may have been better to increase fees incrementally starting below 14 per cent to cushion the effect,” the statement said.

According to the parents, ironically, the administration of Maes Schools stood with parents, who were against 14 per cent VAT on education last year but are now adding more than double that burden to the shoulders of parents. “We doubt this is what the Ministry of Finance intended as action by private schools when

Minister Jordan announced the removal of VAT on private education, since the challenges faced by parents remain the same,” the statement said.

“Yes we can move our children to other schools, whether public or private, but we wish to register our discontent and dissatisfaction with the school’s exploitative and rigid decision without any discussion or regard,” it added.

The parents are contemplating their next move since they claim that administration is ignoring their request to meet.

12 news

thursDAY, april 5, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Bicycle ‘thief’ shot Little Diamond/Herstelling NDC workers not paid March salaries by unlicensed …investigation launched firearm holder

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43-year-old man is currently hospitalised with a gunshot injury after he was found in the Alberttown, Georgetown yard of a businessman who is a not a licensed firearm holder, early Wednesday morning.

According to reports, the incident occurred at about 04:10h. The injured man has been identified as Vijay Singh, who has “no fixed place of abode”.

The 49-year-old businessman reportedly told investigators that he was awake in his Third Street, Alberttown, home when he heard a noise in the yard.

Upon investigating, the man related that he observed, through a window, that there was someone in his yard. The person, he recalled, was at the time walking towards the gate and was pushing a bicycle.

As such, the business-

man got his unlicensed Ruger 9mm pistol, went downstairs in the yard and discharged a round in the direction of the suspect, hitting him to his right leg.

The Police were then summoned and upon arriving at the scene, they found that a storeroom located at the western side of yard had the door open. It is believed that Singh removed the bicycle and was about to leave with it when he was shot.

Nevertheless, the injured man was picked up by the lawmen and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPH) where he was treated and is currently admitted under guard.

Singh is expected to be charged and placed before the court upon his discharge from the medical institution.

Meanwhile, the businessman has been taken into custody and is assisting with investigations.

T

he Regional Chairman of Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), Genevieve Allen, has ordered for an investigation to be launched into the non-payment of staff attached to the Little Diamond/ Herstelling Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).

During the monthly Regional Communities Committee meeting, concerns were raised by the Vice Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Earl Lambert and Assistant Regional Executive Officer (AREO), Ramnarine Singh, that the employees had not received their salaries, which were due.

This is in light of the fact the Chairman of the NDC, Madan Singh reportedly refused to sign the pay slips last weekend for the staff to receive fortnightly sala-

GPL seeks US$110M...

Priority

Given these issues, the new CEO said his first priority was to keep the lights on, but noted that all depended on the investment to make the necessary changes that were required to bring some normalcy to the system.

He said, “There is a lot of immediate action that is needed to address the problems…Aside from that, about 50 megawatts of the generating capacity, which is just over 130 megawatts is very old and in need of replacement. So, they fail very regularly. We need to change that and many other things we have to do.”

Meanwhile, Public Infrastructure Minister

David Patterson also announced plans to assist the company in its quest to improve its services and possibly loan the entity the required sum that is needed to assist with the strategic plans to bring some level of normalcy to the supply of electricity in Guyana.

Patterson also noted that a new Board of Directors for GPL could be named in two weeks’ time as plans are already being made to have a list of the possible nominees submitted to Cabinet for consideration. According to the Minister, this could be taken to Cabinet as soon as next week.

Meanwhile, this money now being sought by GPL

From page 3

from Government has already brought up discussions about the decision of Government to scrap the Amaila Falls project.

Amaila Falls could have been almost operational by now and consumers could have been close to seeing the end to expensive and unreliable electricity. Guyana would have been entering into the ranks of the top 10 users of clean energy worldwide.

The project, which would have been the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country’s history, had the potential to reintegrate the country with the global capital markets for the first time in over 40 years.

Overseer Candacey Atherly (at left seated) and Overseer from the Caledonia/Good Success NDC during last month’s meeting at Triumph, ECD

ries. As a result, 13 persons remained unpaid for the Easter holidays.

“This is unacceptable and I am launching an immediate investigation as this nonsense cannot and will not continue,” were the words of Allen who demanded that an investigation be launched to address this matter.

It was also revealed by the RDC Chairman that this

is not the first encounter of such behaviour by the NDC Chairman, adding that he refuses to attend meetings organised by Council. In one instance, a meeting was scheduled and when contacted, Singh indicated that he was attending the meeting. However, after several hours, he called to inform that he was no longer coming to the meeting.

“These persons have

worked and by law, they are to be paid, paid not when the Chairman feels ready and happy to, but paid within the stipulated time frame of when salaries are due,” the RDC Chairman stated.

She later disclosed that, “Mr Madan Singh has taken matters into his own hands in refusing to sign the vouchers and the other NDCs that were present were informed about the circumstances surrounding his refusal and I have launched an investigation after which we as a region will certainly have to take the appropriate action.”

However, when contacted, the NDC Chairman has waived all of these accusations as “misguided statements”, noting that the vouchers were not ready last week so he opted to wait until this week when all were ready and then he would sign them but according to Allen, it remains highly unlikely that the employees will be paid before this Friday.

“Big Foot” murder trial

Hotelier’s cat led employees to gruesome discovery

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wo former employees attached to the South Central Hotel testified before Justice Sandhill Kissoon on Wednesday that it was the pet cat of the deceased that led them to Joseph Jagdeo’s body, which was found bound and gagged in Room 10 of the guesthouse on November 14, 2018.

Bryan Leitch of Diamond, East Bank Demerara, is currently on trial for the hotelier’s murder but has denied killing Jagdeo who was known as “Joe” and “Joey”.

The prosecution contended that Leitch, also known as “Big Foot”, committed the crime between November 13 and 14, 2013 at South Road, Georgetown.

During Wednesday’s trial, former maintenance man, Wendell Eastman, called “Buxton”, told the 12-member jury that Leitch, the accused, was initially staying in Room Nine just over a week prior to incident. He however moved to Room 10 after the accused argued with a female, who was staying with him. Eastman, who was living at South Central at that time, claimed that the girl and Leitch argued over the defendant “stealing Mr Jagdeo’s phone” and that she requested that the accused be removed. He told the jury that his hotel owner’s office was some four feet away from Room 10.

Eastman said that

November 13, 2013 at 07:00h was the last time he saw Jagdeo when he gave him a $1000 to buy a bottle of porridge for him. He said a worker “Trevor” went upstairs for 10 minutes and came back down. He also stated that later on, the bartender went upstairs. After some time, Eastman too went upstairs and called for his boss and never got a response. He further told the jury that sometime after 12:00h on November 14, he saw Jagdeo’s cat lying in front of the office door.

“The cat leave the office door and start pushing its paw under the door at Room 10 hollering: meow,” the witness revealed.

He said that he informed another worker, Patrick Wilson, called “Bullai” of the cat’s “strange behaivour.”

After this, Eastman said he climbed onto a shed and peered through the jalousie window and saw the key to Room 10 on the bed. He claimed that he took a pipe, pulled out the key and gave it to “Bullai” who opened the room. The maintenance man said that at this point, the cat ran into the room, ran back out and started hollering “meow”. He said he told Bullai: “Don’t go in.”

Wilson then took the stand and corroborated much of Eastman’s testimony, adding that after he opened the door of Room 10, he saw the body under

Dead: Joseph Jagdeo

the bed. He said he took out his cellphone and called the Police. Both witnesses under cross-examination admitted that they did not see the accused after November 13 and that they could not say how the deceased received his injuries.

Meanwhile, former bartender at the hotel, Paulette Hollingsworth, testified that she tried several times to reach the owner, Jagdeo, but several calls to his cellphone were unsuccessful.

The court also heard that after Jagdeo’s murder, the defendant and his mother, Sharmain Rover, were taken to Police headquarters following a wanted bulletin for Leitch’s arrest. The State’s case is being presented by Prosecutors Lisa Cave and Mandell Moore. Leitch is being represented by Defence Attorneys Hewley Griffith and Lawrence Harris.

news

13

thursDAY, april 5, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

National STEAM Fair finals commence

One of the students showcasing her invention at the fair

An art exhibit that was featured from the Mazaruni District

he finals of the 2018 national Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Fair commenced on Wednesday at the St Joseph High School under the theme, “Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics paving the way for a green and sustainable society.”

Exhibitors ranged from primary and secondary to tertiary students. At the event, participants were al-

and as such, ways in which they can be resolved.

On such example is the use of an air compressor obtained from an old refrigerator to create a product to inflate flat tires, by students of the Wakenaam Secondary School. After recalling the days that they would be late to school and the use of large sums of monies to purchase bicycle pumps, the students came up with this idea.

Some of the other concepts highlighted at the bi-

T

lowed to visit the booths and interact with the presenters on the area of study, which they focused on in their project.

At the exhibition, winners from the regional STEAM fairs were given another opportunity to further promote their projects, which tackled new ways of improving the environment, nutrition and our livelihoods. The ideas also arose from issues that are faced by the students on a daily basis

Leguan gets ICT hub

The Leguan Community ICT hub equipped with 15 laptop computers

T

he National Data M a n a g e m e n t Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday opened a community ICT hub, this time at Leguan, East Bank Essequibo.

Housed at the Leguan Community Centre, the ICT hub is equipped with 15 laptop computers which will be accessible to the public.

This brings the total number of community ICT hubs across the country to 110. A target of at least 190 ICT hubs has been set for 2018.

Delivering the feature address, Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes said access to the Internet can help all members of the community, particularly students and other persons engaged in academic pursuits.

“With this ICT hub, if you do not have Internet at home, there is no excuse for you taking a little walk to the ICT hub and using the service,” she is quoted as saying by the Department of Public Information.

She informed that in the coming months, applications will be installed on the computers that will assist students preparing for the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and the Caribbean Secondary

Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

Further, Minister Hughes underscored the importance of Internet access for entrepreneurial purposes.

The Minister noted that “with access to the Internet you could meet those same markets that persons in the US access.”

She informed residents that the Bank of Guyana has unveiled its new financial payment plan, which will better position entrepreneurs to buy and sell services online utilising their mobile devices.

Residents were called upon to take advantage of the many opportunities

available in several sectors such as agriculture.

Reference was made to the Ministry’s plan of offering specialised training for citizens.

Meantime, Director of the NDMA, Phillip Walcott, in brief remarks pledged the NDMA’s commitment to continuous support in the management of the ICT hub.

Training will be provided to all persons requiring basic computer knowledge within the coming weeks.

Also, in attendance were members of the Regional Democratic Council, the Neighbourhood Democratic Council and the community development team.

ennial event included the reduction of litter in the surroundings, the introduction of new structures to protect the sea defence, creating an air conditioning unit using household waste and the use of natural repellents as opposed to aerosol sprays which emit hazardous chemicals.

Others also focused on the importance of dieting and the ways local produce can be used in everyday preparation of meals.

These concepts were developed with the aim of aiding local development and utilized creativity, research, inquiry and problem-solving skills.

The fair this year focused on 24 categories including agricultural science, Mathematics, technology, social and behavioural computer science, physics, chemistry and biology, and

A display which was aimed at the reduction of waste by creating useful products

saw participants from a wide range of areas across Guyana.

Through the fair, persons were sensitised on the importance of science and

opment of science and the other subject areas to aid in the further development of the foundation for national and global energy management.

A student giving a demonstration of her Mathematics model

new ways in which it can be applied to create new inventions.

There is hope that the fair will result in the devel-

The exhibition continues at the St Joseph High School until Friday.

(Rupdai Seenaraine)

14 NEWS

thursDAY, april 5, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Ramsammy’s Ruminations

Lindo Creek CoI

Victims’ families lost confidence Politicisation of national in Police investigation – Attorney events and institutions

A

ttorney Nigel Hughes told the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2008 Lindo Creek massacre that the victims’ families lost all confidence in the Police Force’s investigative capabilities after independent forensic services were denied.

The CoI heard that following news of the Lindo Creek massacre, the mining camp’s owner, Leonard Arokium, retained the services of Attorney Nigel Hughes to ensure that a proper investigation was done since the families of the victims were suspicious of the Joint Services’ involvement in the incident.

When Hughes took the stand before the Commission of Inquiry, he related at the time he wrote to then Police Commissioner Henry Greene indicating that they retained the services of United Kingdom’s Forensic Science Service to aid the Police in their investigation of the incident. Then Chief-of-Staff, Rear Admiral Gary Best, was also copied in the correspondence.

However, Greene acknowledged receipt of the letter but never took up the offer. Instead, they relied on the United States for help, which never materialised and then settled for assistance from Jamaica and Trinidad to identify the remains of the eight men.

“There was a very testy exchange between myself and Commissioner Greene in which I indicated to the Commissioner that we had

Attorney Nigel Hughes testifies before the CoI on Wednesday

virtually lost confidence in the ability of the Guyana Police Force to conduct a fair investigation or an investigation with any credit at all and we expressed those sentiments in a letter,” Hughes testified.

“I indicated to him that since the end of June or July had offered these services and now it appears that he had deliberately delayed the investigation and we expressed the sentiments and he responded, in I would say, the similar tone,” he added.

Hughes recounted that in August of 2008 they received information that the cellular phone of victim, Dax Arokium, was still being used.

He said they then got a print out of the calls made using the number and furnished it to the Police resulting in Greene denying any knowledge of the phone number and subsequently accused Arokium of withholding information.

However, Hughes testified

that they then wrote to Greene informing him that the number was provided when then Prime Minister Samuel Hinds along with the Home Affairs Minister and other official visited Leonard’s home on the West Coast of Demerara.

Additionally, the CoI heard that Yonette Torres, mother of victim, Nigel Torres last saw Dax alive on June 5 when he was heading into Lindo Creek. According to Hughes, she reportedly sent a message to her son informing him to be careful because of the heavy Police presence in the Backdam.

Varswyck’s role

Hughes posited that ex-Policeman Urie Varswyck, who had escaped from the Georgetown Prison and was killed in 2017, was part of a Joint Services team that went into Lindo Creek when the Police Force had been in search of the “Fine Man”

gang.

“I do have information that I received in a professional capacity, that I cannot disclose, that actually indicated the identity of some of the members of the team, one of them is now deceased, Mr Varswyck was part of the Police Force,” Hughes said.

He added that Varswyck was under the command of a serving member of the Guyana Police Force. When asked by the Commission’s Chairman, Justice Donald Trotman to reveal the name of that serving officer, Hughes declined citing fear of the officer’s life.

During the last CoI hearing, retired Assistant Commissioner Heeralall Mackanlall, who was at the time of the tragedy the Deputy Head of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), said he investigated the massacre upon request from Greene and was unable to find evidence implicating the Joint Services in the killings. At the same time, it was determined that a Police, Army and Special Forces team were in the general Lindo Creek area.

Sometime between June 12, 2008 and June 24, 2008, miners Cecil Arokium, Dax Arokium, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Clifton Wong, Lancelot Lee, Bonny Harry and Nigel Torres were shot and killed, and their bodies burnt at the Upper Berbice River mining camp.

Ramjattan backs Police in seawall shooting But last week, an ‘eyewitness’ Devon Lyte, who was reportedly working on a rooftop nearby, disputed the Police’s version of the story. However, he is yet to submit his statement on the matter. Following the surfacing of the alleged eyewitness, the acting Commissioner, David Ramnarine on March 29 declared that Lyte was never on the roof of the

“unfortunate”, it was not a regular occurrence.

“One swallow doesn’t make a summer,” he stressed.

However, following the shooting, the GDF swiftly interdicted the accused, Captain Orwain Sandy, who shot and killed Reona Payne at First Street, Alexander Village, Georgetown following a heated argument between the two on

The black vehicle the suspects were using and which was reportedly driven by Kwame Assanah

F

ollowing the shooting to death of three suspected bandits at the Georgetown seawalls, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Wednesday threw his support behind the Guyana Police Force.

On March 15, 2018, undercover ranks shot and killed Dextroy Cordis, Kwame Assanah and Errol Adams, on the Kingston seawalls after they allegedly attempted to rob a customer whom they had reportedly trailed from a city bank.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Regional Seminar for National Drug Observatories, Minister Ramjattan expressed confidence in the work of Police ranks.

“I am going to support my Policemen until such time that they are proven to have done something wrong,” Ramjattan observed, pointing out that the legal principal regarding the presumption of innocence is

across the board.

He noted that while he believes and supports the report given by acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine, Government is committed to ensuring that the matter is fully investigated.

“We are going to ensure that there be a complete, full investigation. We are waiting on the three statements from Mr Nigel Hughes. He called me and indicated that they are very fearful [but] we would like to complete the file and send it to the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] and I rather suspect that a coroner’s inquest will be ordered,” the Minister highlighted.

He maintained that he is more inclined to trust the reliability and credibility of the Police Force.

Following the shooting, the Police claimed that they came under fire first and it was in defence that they returned gunshots killing the men.

Reona Payne (now dead) and Orwain Sandy

Guyana Softball Association on Carifesta Avenue, as he claimed. Ramnarine asserted that investigators were in possession of three key statements which indicated that the Devon Lyte, a labourer, was working on the ground floor of the said building at the time of the shooting on March 15, 2018.

President David Granger has since announced that a probe was ordered into the shooting and a coroner’s inquest by the Director of Public Prosecutions will follow.

GDF rank shooting

Meanwhile, in a separate case involving the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) rank killed his partner, the Public Security Minister has indicated that while the situation was

Saturday last. He accused her of infidelity. The GDF Captain turned himself in at the Ruimveldt Police Station, and is awaiting formal arraignment at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for the capital offence.

A post-mortem examination was conducted on Payne’s body on Wednesday, revealing that she died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. The woman was shot 14 times, 13 to her chest and once to her head, at close range.

Meanwhile, detectives have since obtained an extension to hold the former soldier in custody while they await legal advice. This is expected to be given sometime today following which, Sandy is expected to be charged and placed before the court.

K

part of APNU/AFC’s autocratisation

ite distribution during Easter by the political parties and the Government has become a national tradition.

This past weekend saw prominent distribution by the President and by the Leader of the Opposition and leaders of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). The President did it in style, claiming that the Government spent some $30 million on kites. He used a helicopter to fly into various communities, spent a short time handing out kites. He travelled with the trappings of Government, but distributed kites rich with the symbolism Dr Leslie Ramsammy of A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change/ People’s National Congress (APNU/AFC/PNC). Taxpayers should not be paying for an APNU/ AFC event.

There is a time and place for politics. When a political party is elected to lead government, it is the Government of ALL the people, not just for the supporters of that political party and not just for those who voted for them. When a political leader becomes the President, he or she becomes the President of the people and must just as stoutly and just as vigorously promote and defend the rights and welfare of every citizen, whether that person voted for him or her. That is what a democracy is all about. Mature and respected leaders must separate their roles in Government from their roles as leaders of a political party.

In the last three years, the lines of separation between promoting the interest of the political party and that of the Government have not only been blurred, they have been deliberately and brazenly eliminated in favour of party paramountcy. There is no Government of the people, but an APNU/AFC machinery that has replaced Government. David Granger sees protecting and promoting the interest and welfare of APNU/AFC and their supporters as paramount and they behave as if the 2015 election has given them a mandate to replace a Government with an APNU/AFC machinery, where everything begins and ends with APNU/AFC. Over the Easter weekend, instead of seeing our government, the government of the people, mixing and celebrating Easter with our citizens, we saw the President brazenly engaged in selfaggrandisement and promoting the interest of APNU. The kites distributed, with Mr Granger on hand, were only in green colour (APNU/PNC) or sometimes mixed with yellow (AFC). No other coloured kites were part of the kite distribution by the President and the Government. Worst, all kites had the picture of Granger on them. I would have no problem if the kite distribution events were clearly listed as an APNU/AFC event. But at all times, the events were booked as the President in a Government activity funded by taxpayers. The President should not be distributing APNU/AFC paraphernalia as part of a Government activity.

Kite distribution by the President is not a new thing. It became popular under a PPP Government when kites were distributed in communities across Guyana and, most importantly, were procured from vendors in and across the communities. The colours were never imposed on the vendors and no political party was identified by colour or picture or any symbol. Granger abandoned this tradition and opted for a party-liked activity paid for by taxpayers. The Leader of the Opposition and his party leaders this Easter weekend also distributed kites, but they distributed across Guyana and without any identification of the PPP as part of the kites distributed, although they had a right.

Using party colours and paraphernalia and pictures of party leaders in national events have become the standard in Guyana since 2015, recalling the days of Burnham and the PNC. Pictures of the President and Ministers at events and even in promoting national events are not unexpected. But as President and Ministers of the Government of Guyana, not as leaders of APNU/AFC. Yet today we see them dressed in party colours and always ensuring all decorations comply with party colours and symbols. All buildings are now painted green, even fences. The State House which belongs equally to the citizens of Guyana has been painted in the colour of APNU. The Presidential Office is now painted in the colours of APNU/AFC, even the fences.

The 2015 election did not give a mandate to take over the country, it gave a mandate to govern for all the people. But should anyone be shocked? This is in the tradition of Burnham and the PNC. Remember even the exercise books in schools had to have Burnham’s picture. At least Burnham had a rationale – he had boldly, even if arrogantly and illegally boasted of party paramountcy. This APNU/AFC cabal is instituting party paramountcy but afraid to say so. This group is thoroughly hypocritical, embracing party paramountcy but calling it democracy. It is the autocratisation of the country.

thursDAY, April 5, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

I

n the backyard of an unassuming house in East Ruimveldt, the seeds of a revolution – long in the making – are being re-sown.

For Alanzo Phillips, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ABTK Interlocking Bricks, the company he started one year ago is no mere business endeavour. The simple clay brickmaking factory at his childhood home is the first step in his larger plans for giving back to "his Guyanese people" and its location on the premises where he once played and dreamt dreams that eventually saw him migrating to the USA is no mere convenience. This is where he learnt the joys of giving from an early age from a mother, who – although the family was not wealthy – was always helping people. His is a story of returning to your roots, armed with the necessary technology and skills, to bring its long-acknowledged potential to full fruition, of rubbing the dust of contemptuous familiarity away to reveal the treasure beneath.

"We in Guyana don't know what riches we have in this country," he declared passionately, as he demonstrated with the assistance of two workers how the bricks,

made of laterite (loam) and three per cent cement, were carefully and efficiently produced. Within the space of a few minutes, more than 10 freshly-made bricks laid on a table.

Just as Phillips intends to transform his childhood home into a modern showpiece of clay brick architecture, he plans on transforming the local construction industry using his more durable bricks, which come in various designs and configurations and enable

builders to use less steel and construct buildings faster, because of the interlocking design.

Gesturing to an example of concrete construction common locally, he pointed out how inferior cement blocks and shoddy workmanship plagued the sector, putting the populace – many of whom were already struggling and sacrificing to afford their own homes under further strain.

"I want to help people... that’s my whole thing: helping people in this country,” Phillips stressed, adding “people helped me when I reached America".

And while he has remained true to his mother’s example and, along with his wife and children, has helped the community via regular shipments of “barrels”, he has always wanted to do more.

“I really, really want to help this country, especially when I see somebody’s house burning, it really grieves me to see someone’s house burning.”

In the future, he plans to donate his services to rebuild fire victims’ homes free of cost.

How it started Phillips, who worked

Market statistics

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Cambio Rates

Calculated at 94% purity, April 4, 2018

Bank of Guyana Cur

Buying

Selling

USD

$1337.30

GBP

$289.18

$292.83

Gross

$262,889

CAN

$160.57

$162.43

Net

$244,487

USD

$205.98

$208.44

$ 253.05

$256.27

Indicators as on April 4, 2018

EURO

Indicators

US$ per barrel

Crude Oil

$68.02

Price

USD

Change %

-0.15 Change %

Rough Rice

$272.10/ton

-0.32

London Sugar

$351.20/ton

-0.99

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1330.30

$1331.30

Low/High

$1329.20

$1348.90

Change

Business Concept – Zoning

-2.50

-0.19%

Legislative process that divides privately-owned urban areas into different zones (such as residential, commercial, industrial) according to the specified land use. Each zone is regulated as to the density, location, size, and type of buildings permitted therein.

in the World Trade Centre building in New York and always had plans to turn his vacations home permanent, remigrated after 9/11 after more than 30 years aboard.

With remembered horror, he related that he had only flown home the day before and had lost a friend when the towers crashed to the ground.

“I told myself when I go back home…., I am going to open a brick factory, the same thing Mr (Linden) Burnham talked about, because I knew we have the material in this country and nobody seemed to do nothing with it… Miners are washing it away and on the streets, the Government seems to hardly use it. We don't know the value of it until somebody like me comes along and I am telling you and I am telling you and telling Guyana with what I am doing, we can build mansions stronger than concrete that we have right now and also fireproof, and I am telling you and telling everybody what we have in our country, no one can take away from us and we can build mansions and build this empire; and also for the low-income people, we could build back their house in seven days...”

The response has been encouraging to the blocks, he said, with several remigrants signalling their intention to build their houses using his

products, in addition to his local clients. The registered business is well-poised to take off, as Phillips has already registered with the Guyana Revenue Authority as a contractor and has his team in place.

Asked what would be his advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, Phillips, who noted that his primary challenge was the cost of the laterite, said: “Most of us are scared, many of us have the dream and have the thought, but we are scared.

We are s c a r e d to invest, we have the talent and the dream, but we don’t stay focused on what we want to do unless somebody come around and say, ‘you know what: I think you should get into this business’, but that is not your idea and at the end of it, when

15

you do it and that person leaves, you don’t know what to do, because remember, of course, it is not your idea. I always tell myself whatever is your dream, you stick to it, keep focusing and just continue to keep driving and driving and you will be successful, I know it (he smiles).”

“Our kids need to be encouraged to be entrepreneurs and own their own business.”

He related that over the years he has observed that “for you to be successful, you have to stay on the focus of what you want to do. Let noone, no-one tell you can’t do it. Stay focused. In business, you have to be creative, come up with unique ideas.”

“I always tell myself business don’t happen in five days, it happens in five years.

You have to prepare yourself to let the business see five years…”

The father of four then noted that the most important quality of an entrepreneur was being yourself. “You have to be yourself – you just got to keep pushing. Push.

Keeping pushing, stay on focus, because at the end of the day, it comes down to you.”

Contact: 220-9191, 693-3593/649-7865; Lot 14 East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown; alanzophillips@icloud.com

Investor’s Guide

Wall Street closes higher as China tariff fears ease

W

all Street’s three major indexes staged a comeback to close around one per cent higher on Wednesday as investors turned their focus to earnings and away from a trade conflict between the United States and China that wreaked havoc in earlier trading.

After investors fled equities in the morning due to proposed retaliatory tariffs from China, their concerns about a potential trade war eased by the afternoon after Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the administration was in a “negotiation” with China rather than a trade war.

Investors said they were comforted by the fact that any tariffs would not take effect immediately, if at all.

Strategists also cited the S&P’s bounce above a key technical support level and said they expect equities to rise further around the first quarter earnings season, due to start in mid-April.

“We’re starting to feel that while markets hate uncertainty, Trump’s bark is worse than his bite when it comes to trade,” said Robert Phipps, a director at Per Stirling Capital Management in Austin, Texas.

“It’s earnings that’s going to lift us off this bottom.

It wouldn’t shock me if we chopped around sideways for a little bit before earnings season ... The trade stuff is really a side show. We’re waiting for real economic data like the jobs report Friday and for earnings. For now it’s going to be all about the technicals,” he said.

The S&P opened below its 200-day moving average, a key technical level, but inched above it as the session progressed, and by afternoon was in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 230.94 points, or 0.96 per cent, to close at 24,264.30, the S&P 500 gained 30.24 points, or 1.16 per cent, to 2644.69 and

the Nasdaq Composite added 100.83 points, or 1.45 per cent, to 7042.11.

The turnaround marked the first time the S&P had showed gains for two consecutive days since early March.

Despite big swings in stocks, trading activity in US equity options was muted as expectations for strong corporate earnings quelled the urge to load up on contracts that benefit from a surge in market volatility. The Cboe Volatility Index, the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term volatility for the S&P 500, closed down 1.04 points at 20.06.

The technology sector rose 1.4 per cent with only two of its stocks ending the day in negative territory including Facebook Inc, which was pummelled after news its chief executive would testify in Congress over a data privacy scandal. It too closed well off its session low with a 0.6 per cent drop to US$155.10.

(Reuters)

16

guyanatimesgy.com

thursDAY, april 5, 2018

Regional

Tense Brazil awaits Supreme TT$350,000 worth of marijuana Court ruling on Lula prison seized on the Cabo Star in T&T

B

razil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday will resume hearing former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plea to remain out of prison while he appeals a corruption conviction, a case that has sharply divided the country, cast a shadow over this year’s presidential election and stirred rumblings in the Army.

The leftist leader is still Brazil’s most popular politician despite his conviction and six separate pending corruption trials. He is the front-runner in all polling for the presidential election in October, though his conviction will likely bar him from running.

The Supreme Court is split on Lula’s request to be allowed to exhaust his appeals before beginning to

Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

serve a 12-year prison sentence for taking bribes, and a ruling is expected to hinge on the vote of just one of its 11 justices.

Lower court judges, the country’s top prosecutor and business groups have urged the court to abide by its own 2016 ruling that defendants can be jailed if a conviction is upheld on a first appeal, as Lula’s was earlier this year.

Before that ruling, appeals in Brazil’s complex and badly backlogged legal system could stretched out for several years, guaranteeing impunity for those rich enough to afford lawyers who could launch countless technical appeals.

Demonstrations for and against Lula snarled traffic in Brazil’s main cities on Tuesday and more gatherings were called for Wednesday in scores of cities. A court ruling was possible as early as Wednesday.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

UN eyes transition of Haiti role from peacekeeping to development

T

he United Nations has already started to prepare for a post-peacekeeping presence in Haiti, a senior UN official said on Tuesday, stressing there are many reasons to be optimistic that the country’s progress towards stability is now irreversible.

“While achieving results should remain our common priority, we have already started to prepare for a transition to a non-peacekeeping presence, based on lessons learned in Haiti and in other contexts,” the Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, told the

Security Council.

He said that in the coming months, his office will provide progress assessments to allow the 15-member body to take well-informed decisions for the drawdown and eventual withdrawal of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH).

Established in October last year, MINUJUSTH replaced UN Stabilisation Mission, which operated in the tiny island nation for 13 years. Much smaller than its predecessor, which had more than 4000 military and Police personnel, MINUJUSTH assists Haiti

to further develop national Police, strengthen rule of law institutions and promote and protect human rights.

While the Security Council is expected to renew MINUJUSTH, whose initial mandate expires on April 15, 2018, Lacroix said the UN is determined to ensure it be the last peacekeeping operation deployed to Haiti.

Last month, UN released a strategic assessment of MINUJUSTH, including 11 benchmarks for a smooth transition to a non-peacekeeping presence by the last quarter of 2019. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

Immediate in-depth investigation called for to locate missing Haitian news photographer

Vladjimir Legagneur went missing on March 14

T

he Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has expressed concern at the disappearance in Haiti of news photographer Vladjimir Legagneur and urged the local authorities to investigate exhaustively and make available the necessary resources to locate him and bring those responsible to justice.

Legagneur, 30, went missing on March 14 when he was about to make a re-

port on the living conditions in the Grand-Ravine neighbourhood, one of the poorest in the capital city, Portau-Prince. The independent news photographer has not been seen since.

IAPA President Gustavo Mohme urged the authorities “to act with a sense of urgency and exhaustively investigate in order to locate the journalist as soon as possible and punish those responsible.” Mohme,

editor of the Peruvian newspaper La República, joined an international call for an immediate investigation.

The news photographer’s wife presented information of his disappearance to the Judicial Police Central Office (DCPJ) after he failed to return home, which he had left around 09:00h on March 14. Prior to his disappearance he had not reported any threats against him.

A hat found on March 28 on a vacant lot in Sillon in Grand-Ravine has been identified by his wife as belonging to the journalist.

The Police are still looking for the driver of a motorcycle accompanying the journalist.

Legagneur strings for several local media and non-governmental organizations. He worked at the newspaper Le Matin and the online news agency Loop Haiti, among other media.

(Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

P

olice Officers in Trinidad and Tobago seized TT$350,000 worth of marijuana in a panel van on the Cabo Star vessel as it arrived in Tobago on Monday.

A 36-year-old man from Bon Accord Estate was arrested in connection with the discovery.

According to a Police report, officers from the Scarborough CID and Tobago Task Force acted on information received and intercepted a panel van that was being brought off the cargo vessel at Scarborough Port at about 20:30h.

The report stated that there was a total of six ki-

The Cabo Star

logrammes of compressed marijuana wrapped in ten individual packets. The suspect has been charged by PC Dates with possession of marijuana for the purpose of

trafficking.

The Cabo Star is currently the only vessel operating between both islands at this time, carrying only cargo and vehicles. (Trinidad Guardian)

Castro’s successor to inherit long-standing conflict between Cuba and the US

Cubans wait in line outside the Colombian Embassy in Havana, to obtain a visa for Colombia in order to apply for a US visa at the US Embassy in Bogotá, due to the reductions in staff in the US Embassy in the Cuban capital

C

uba’s tense relations with the United States under the administration of Donald Trump reflect a scenario of conflict that is not alien to the generation that will take over the country on April 19, when President Raúl Castro is set to step down. Since the 1960s, Cuba’s nationalist stance has drawn on the animosity with the US, and the likely successors of the country’s current leaders, most of whom were born around the time of the 1959 revolu-

tion or afterwards, were educated in a culture of “anti-imperialist resistance”.

According to the official figures on the outcome of the March 11 General Elections, the average age of the new members of parliament fell to 49 years, compared to 57 years for the outgoing lawmakers.

The single-chamber National Assembly of People’s Power elects from among its members the 31 members of the Council of State, which according to the

constitution is the highest representative of the Cuban state, whose President is the Head of State and Government.

The most likely candidate to succeed Castro is the current first Vice President, Miguel DiazCanel, 57, although there is no official confirmation. The return to the tension that existed before the détente agreed by Raúl Castro, 86, and Barack Obama (20092017) on December 17, 2014, which led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana, brings additional difficulties to the weakened Cuban economy and puts a brake on the changes required by its socialist model of development. Trump’s adverse policy towards Cuba since his arrival at the White House in January 2017 has kept bilateral ties at their lowest level, with a skeleton staff at the two embassies, which are unable to carry out their consular and business duties, while it has restricted travel by US citizens to the Caribbean island nation, among other limitations. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Bolivia ex-leader ‘responsible for protesters’ deaths’

A

jury in the United States has found Bolivian ex-President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada responsible for the deaths of dozens of protesters in 2003. His Defence Minister, Carlos Sánchez, was also found responsible in the civil lawsuit. Their lawyers said they would appeal against the decision.

The plaintiffs accused the two men of ordering the Bolivian military to use force to break up the 2003 protests. The victims’ families were awarded US$10

million (£7 million) in damages.

The families welcomed the decision saying it gave them “great satisfaction”.

They also expressed the hope that it would not be overturned on appeal. The case was brought under a law that permits civil suits in US courts for extrajudicial killings.

The lawsuit was brought by eight families whose loved ones died during protests against plans to export natural gas from Bolivia to the US.

At least 67 people were killed and more than 400 people were injured when soldiers opened fire during the protests in the city of El Alto, near La Paz. Five former top military officers and two former Ministers were sentenced to jail over what is known as the “October massacre” in 2011.

Bolivia has long been seeking the extradition of Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez, who moved to the US shortly after the violent suppression of the protests.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

thursDAY, april 5, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

Trump agrees to keep US troops in Syria a 'little longer,' but wants out

P

resident Donald Trump agreed in a National Security Council meeting this week to keep US troops in Syria a little longer to defeat Islamic State but wants them out relatively soon, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

Trump did not approve a specific withdrawal timetable at Tuesday’s meeting, the official said. He wants to ensure Islamic State militants are defeated but wants other countries in the region and the United Nations to step up and help provide stability in Syria, the official said.

“We’re not going to immediately withdraw but neither is the president willing to back a long-term commitment,” the official said.

A US fighter stands near a military vehicle, north of Raqqa city, Syria November 6, 2016

Trump had signalled his desire to get US forces out of Syria in a speech last Thursday in Ohio, and officials said he had privately been pressing for an early withdrawal in talks with his national security aides.

Trump told a news conference on Tuesday with Baltic leaders that the United States was very successful against Islamic State but that “sometimes it’s time to come back home.”

His advisers have been

urging him to maintain at least a small force in Syria to ensure the militants are defeated and to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ally Iran from gaining an important foothold.

The United States is waging air strikes in Syria and has deployed about 2000 troops on the ground, including special operations forces whose advice has helped Kurdish militia and other US-backed fighters capture territory from Islamic State, also known as ISIS. The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that the U.S. military mission to eradicate Islamic State “is coming to a rapid end, with ISIS being almost completely destroyed.” (Excerpt

from Reuters)

Facebook says data leak hits 87M users, widening privacy scandal

F

acebook Inc said on Wednesday that the personal information of up to 87 million users may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, up from a previous news media estimate of more than 50 million.

Most of the 87 million people whose data was shared with Cambridge Analytica, which worked on US President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, were in the United States,

Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer wrote in a blog post.

Facebook said it was taking steps to restrict the personal data available to third-party app developers.

The world’s largest social media company has been hammered by investors and faces anger from users, advertisers and lawmakers after a series of scandals about fake news stories, election-meddling and privacy.

Last month, Facebook acknowledged that personal

information about millions of users wrongly ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will testify about the matter next week before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee, the panel said on Wednesday.

Shares in Facebook were down 1.4 per cent on Wednesday to US$153.90.

They are down more than 16 per cent since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke. The previous es-

timate of more than 50 million Facebook users affected by the data leak came from two newspapers, the New York Times and London’s Observer, based on their investigations of Cambridge Analytica.

Nigeria’s government will investigate allegations of improper involvement

by Cambridge Analytica in that country’s 2007 and 2015 elections, a presidency spokesman said on Monday.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

YouTube shooting suspect was angry site stopped paying her, father says

Nasim Najafi Aghdam, in a photo from her website. Photograph: www.

T

nasimesabz.com

he woman who allegedly opened fire at YouTube’s headquarters in a suburb of San Francisco, injuring three before killing herself, was apparently furious with the video website because it had stopped paying her for her clips. Police in California named the shooter as Nasim Najafi Aghdam, 39.

Aghdam was “upset with the policies and practices of YouTube”, San Bruno police chief Ed Barberini said at a press conference on Wednesday. “This appears to be the motive for this incident.”

No evidence had been found linking her to any individuals at the company where she allegedly opened fire on Tuesday, he said.

Two of the three shooting victims from the incident were released from the Zuckerberg San Francisco general hospital on Tuesday night. A third, a male in

C

have violated the rules of the World Trade Organisation, and have seriously violated China's legal rights".

Soya beans are the top US agricultural export to China and were among the 106 products on which China intends to impose the additional tariffs. The US is the second-biggest soya bean supplier to China, after Brazil. Neither the US nor the Chinese tariffs will take effect immediately.

The Chinese Government did not specify when its penalties would be imposed, but the Chinese finance ministry said that the authorities are closely watching how the US will implement its ac-

A worker takes a sample from an incoming truckload of soya beans in the United States

tions.

The tariffs may never even be imposed if the two sides eventually agree on a deal to open further China to US imports. US companies have until May 22 to

his 30s, is currently in “serious condition”, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday morning. A fourth victim had been injured, but not shot, in the incident, police said.

Aghdam had visited a local gun range on Tuesday morning before going to YouTube’s headquarters, Barberini said. A Smith and Wesson 9mm semiautomatic handgun, legally registered to Aghdam, was found at the scene.

The alleged shooter parked at a nearby business and appeared to have entered YouTube’s campus through a parking garage.

Local law enforcement agencies are facing questions about a warning her father gave police before the shooting, including that he was concerned she was headed to YouTube’s headquarters, which is more than 500 miles from San Diego, where she lived. (Excerpt from The Guardian)

Russian spy: Moscow bid for joint poisoning inquiry fails at OPCW

China imposes 25% tariffs R on key US exports hina has retaliated quickly against proposed United States penalties on Chinese goods and announced 25 per cent tariffs on critical American exports, including soya beans, aeroplanes and cars.

On Tuesday, the administration of President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on US$50 billion in Chinese imports across 1300 categories of products, ranging from industrial robots to locomotives.

Beijing's response came hours after the US revealed its plans, with China's foreign ministry saying in a statement that "America's measures to impose tariffs

17

raise objections and a public hearing is scheduled for May 15 in Washington, DC. It may thus take until the end of May or early June for the tariffs to come into force. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

ussia's proposal for a new, joint investigation into the poisoning of an ex-spy and his daughter in England has been voted down at the international chemical weapons watchdog at The Hague.

Russia has accused Britain of blocking access to an investigation being carried out by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Britain earlier said Russia's call for an inquiry with the UK was "perverse".

Russia lost the vote by 15 votes to six, while 17 member states abstained.

China, Azerbaijan, Sudan, Algeria and Iran were among the countries that backed Russia's motion at the OPCW executive council, Reuters reported.

Russia called the meeting to challenge the UK, which has

blamed Moscow for the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, southern England.

Russia has strongly denied any involvement and in a press conference after the vote said what happened in Salisbury looked like a "terrorist attack". It strongly criticised the US and EU countries for siding with the UK. The votes backing Russia and the abstentions showed that more than half of the council "refused to associate themselves with the West's point of view," said Russia's ambassador to the OPCW Aleksander Shulgin. He said the UK had told the council "a dirty flow of complete lies... outright Russophobia". The British Government says a military-grade Novichok nerve agent of a type developed by Russia was used in the attack.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

India PM Narendra Modi overturns Ministry crackdown on fake news

I

ndia's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered his Minister to withdraw an order that sought to "punish" journalists accused of fake news.

Information Minister Smriti Irani's announcement that the Government

would suspend the accreditation of journalists found producing fake news had drawn widespread condemnation. The order had also proposed amended guidelines for obtaining accreditation.

Indian journalists

and editors had called it an "attack on press".

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had justified its order, saying it was needed to combat "increasing instances of fake news". It did not, however, explain how it would de-

fine fake news. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation allows reporters significant benefits, including access to government buildings and official events. Modi's quick withdrawal of the Information Ministry's no-

tification has raised some eyebrows, while others expressed cautious optimism.

After the initial announcement from Irani, many swiftly condemned the move as an attempt by the Government to intimidate the press, pointing out var-

ious flaws in the new measures. Experts said it ignored journalists that do not have Government accreditation, raising doubts over whether it could actually temper fake news and the rise of alternative outlets. (Excerpt from BBC News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, april 5, 2018

ARCHIE

Take care of personal business. Get your tax re(March 21turn in order or follow up on April 19) a pending settlement. You have plenty to gain by being proactive.

ARIES

Refrain from sharing too TAURUS much about your personal (April 20- life. You are better off listenMay 20) ing and picking up information that will help you assess a situation and the people involved.

dilbert

Honesty is the best policy GEMINI regardless of the consequences.

(May 21Own up to your mistakes and June 20) don't hesitate to question anyone making suspicious remarks or evasive statements.

Don't be too rigid or you'll

CANCER meet with strong opposition.

(June 21- It's best to keep the peace and July 22) try to understand what others

Peanuts

want, while offering fair suggestions.

Communication will save

LEO the day. Share your thoughts, (July 23- feelings and intentions to get Aug. 22) the feedback you need to expedite your plans. Travel or visiting old friends or relatives is favored.

Calvin and Hobbes

Too many demands and not VIRGO enough time will cause you to fall (Aug. 23- short of your expectations. Make Sept. 22) it clear that you can only do so much, and prioritize with your benefit in mind.

Put more effort into solvLIBRA ing problems at home and (Sept. 23with your personal finances.

Oct. 23) If you've taken on too much debt, look for a way to increase your income.

WORD GAME TODAY’S WORD — REWARD (REWARD: rih-WARD: A thing given in recognition of service, effort or achievement.)

Average mark 15 words Time limit 20 minutes

SUDOKU

Make some adjustments SAGITTARIUS at home that will include (Nov. 23someone you enjoy spendDec. 21) ing time with. Sharing your thoughts and plans will result in you moving forward quicker than anticipated.

Can you find 19 or more words in REWARD? The list will be published tomorrow.

YESTERDAY’S WORD — CAPILLARY call calla carp carpal clap clary clay clip airy alar allay ally apiary

apical aria aril paca pail pair pall parlay pica pill pillar piracy play

playa pray pricy pyric illy lacily lacy laic laical lair liar lilac lily

lira lyric lyrical racial racially racily racy rail rally rill

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

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Look for job opportuniSCORPIO ties that will encourage you (Oct. 24to use some of your unusuNov. 22) al skills. Getting out of the mainstream and into something you find more suitable or intriguing is favored.

solution for Puzzle

You'll be outnumbered CAPRICORN (Dec. 22- if you try to make a practiJan. 19) cal suggestion. You are best off doing your own thing and avoiding a costly venture with an imprudent person.

A

moneymaking

oppor-

AQUARIUS tunity will give you a chance (Jan. 20- to get ahead. Offer your sugFeb. 19) gestions and talk about the changes you would like to see happen to impress someone who can influence your future.

Emotional misinterpretaPISCES (Feb. 20- tion will not help a relationMarch 20) ship with a friend, relative or loved one. Facts are what's needed to bring about positive change.

thursDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

P

Azam No 1 ranked T20I batsman following WI whitewash

akistan opener Babar Azam has reclaimed the number-one batting ranking while wrist spinner Shadab Khan has vaulted into second position for the first time in his career in the latest MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings, which were released on Wednesday afternoon following the conclusion of Pakistan versus Windies series in Karachi on Tuesday.

Babar, who captained Pakistan in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012, was in stellar form when he scored 17, 97 not out and 51 as Pakistan consolidated their position at the top of the team rankings following a 3-0 series win. For this consistency, Babar was adjudged player of the series and was also rewarded with a jump of two places, which has made him the highest-ranked batsman in the shortest format of the game for the second time in less than 10 weeks.

Babar had first surged

to the top on 28 January following the series against New Zealand, before Glenn Maxwell of Australia went top during the AustraliaNew Zealand-England T20I tri-series on 7 February.

New Zealand’s Colin Munro finished the series on 24 February as the number-one ranked batsman.

When Babar topped the batting rankings in January, he had become the second Pakistan batsman after Misbah-ul-Haq (20082009) to claim the coveted number-one position.

For his efforts in Karachi, Babar earned 95 points, which put him ahead of Munro and Maxwell.

Babar now leads Munro by 80 points, while Maxwell is another two points behind.

Other players to make an upward movement following this series include Shoaib Malik (32nd, up by four places), Fakhar Zaman (50th, up by 15 places), Hussain Talat (has entered in 54th spot) and Chadwick Walton (98th, up by 11 places).

MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings (as on 4 April, following the conclusion of Pakistan v Windies series):

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Team Pakistan Australia India New Zealand England South Africa Windies Sri Lanka Afghanistan Bangladesh Scotland Zimbabwe UAE Netherlands Hong Kong PNG Oman Ireland

In the bowling table, Shadab Khan has rocketed 10 places to second following his five wickets in the se-

Points 130 (+4) 126 121 116 114 111 111 (-4) 89 88 77 67 61 52 49 46 39 38 36 ries. Shadab, who played in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016, collected 125 points from the just-conclud-

ed series, which has put him just 26 points behind fellow wrist spinner Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, who interestingly is just 14 days older than Shadab.

It is also interesting to point out that six of the seven top-ranked bowlers are wrist spinners (Rashid Khan, Shadab Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ish Sodhi, Samuel Badree and Imran Tahir), while sixthranked Michael Santner of New Zealand is a left-arm spinner.

Fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali are also on the charge in the latest rankings. Amir has lifted 15 places to 12th, while Hasan has jumped 10 places to a career-high 30th position.

Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz is the biggest mover in the latest rankings. The 24-yearold took four wickets in the series, which has helped him to rise 66 places to a career-high 53rd rank.

Other bowlers to improve their rankings include

19

Babar Azam

Kesrick Williams (57th, up by seven places), Faheem Ashraf (68th, up by 24 places) and Shoaib Malik (82nd, up by five places).

Glenn Maxwell is the number-one ranked all-rounder, while Shoaib Malik is Pakistan’s highest-ranked all-rounder in ninth position after moving up by two places. Windies’ Marlon Samuels has slipped one place to fifth.

Meanwhile, Pakistan have opened up a fourpoint advantage over second-ranked Australia following a 3-0 win. In contrast, the Windies have dropped from fifth to seven after losing four points.

The annual update of the T20I team rankings will now be carried out on 1 May - all results from 1 May 2014 to 30 April 2015 will be dropped from calculations, while matches played from 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2017 will be weighted at 50 per cent and matches played from 1 May 2017 will be weighted at 100 per cent.

Bidding for Indian cricket ZSC T20 tournament a success rights nears US$1B T T

he bidding for the television and digital rights to broadcast Indian cricket from 2018 to 2023 is closing in on the billion-dollar mark, and the e-auction will enter a third day and resume at 11:00h IST today.

The bid value had reached INR 6032.50 crore (US$925 million approx) by 18:00h on Wednesday –- the second day of the e-auction –- in the Global Consolidated Rights (GCR) category, which includes worldwide television and digital rights. The figure has already passed the previous cycle's winning bid of INR 3851 crore (US$750 million approx at the time) by 56.6 per cent.

As things stand, the average cost per match for the Indian cricket rights is about INR 59 cr, which is higher than the average cost per IPL game for the 2018-2022 period – INR 54.5 cr – when Star India bought the rights in September 2017.

The first day of the auction had ended at 6pm on Tuesday, with the highest bid at INR 4442 crores (USD 680 million approx.). On Wednesday, the bids that were made public were of INR 4517.25 cr, 4565.20 cr, 5488.30 cr, 5748 cr, 6001 cr, 6003.09 cr and 6032.50 crore.

Once the process began on

Tuesday, participants had an hour to raise after every bid, making the e-auction a multi-day process because proceedings could not go beyond 6pm IST on each day. The process will continue until the participants notify that they do not wish to bid higher.

The bidders were narrowed down from six to three - Sony Pictures Network India, Star India and Reliance - after the BCCI's legal team carried out technical and feasibility checks before the e-auction began. There were three categories of rights on sale: the Indian television rights and rest of the world digital rights (GTVRD), digital rights for the Indian subcontinent alone (ID), and

the global consolidated rights (GCR) comprising worldwide TV and digital rights.

The successful bidder will get to telecast 102 men's international matches over the five-year period compared to 96 in the previous sixyear cycle from 2012 to 2018. The 102 matches will be split among the home seasons as follows: 18 in 2018-19, 26 in 2019-20, 14 in 2020-21, 23 in 202122 and 21 in 2022-23. The rights will also include men's domestic matches as well as the India women's international matches.

In 2012, Star TV, then owned by Rupert Murdoch, had won the rights to broadcast Indian cricket until 2018. That deal, which also included internet and mobile rights, was valued at INR 3851 cr (approximately USD 750 million at the time). The other bidder that year - at INR 3700 cr (USD 727 million at the time) - was Multi-Screen Media (Sony).

The sale of these rights will mean a second huge payday for the BCCI in less than a year. In September 2017, the BCCI had sold the worldwide IPL television and digital rights for the period 2018-22 for INR 16,347.5 cr (US$ 2.55 billion) to Star India.

he recently-concluded T20 tournament hosted by the Zeeburg Sports Club (ZSC) has been deemed a success by organiser Omar Narine.

The annual Easter event, which was held on March 31 and April 1, saw participation from five teams, Zeeburg Sports Club All-stars, Zeeburg Sports Club Bomb Squad, MetenMeer-Zorg Future Youths, Hyde Park Sports Club and Rising Stars Sports Club.

The tournament was hosted in an effort to garner funds for the construction of a grand stand for the sports club ground, which is home to many national players on the West Coast of Demerara.

The thrilling T20 action saw Zeeburg Sports Club All-Stars and Zeeburg Sports Club Bomb Squad coming face to face in the final on Sunday evening.

Despite a few hindrances, the match came off smoothly

and the Zeeburg Bomb Squad were crowned as this year’s champions. The winning team walked away with $120,000 cash and trophies while the runner-ups were awarded $30,000 cash and a trophy.

The Man-of the-Match award for the final was presented to national cricketer Kevin Boodie. Richie Looknauth was hailed as the overall best bowler of the tournament while the best batsman prize was given to Ricardo Adams, both of whom are national cricketers.

In assessing the expenses for the tournament, Narine noted that a good amount was raised to contribute to the construction project. “I think we would have made a sizeable profit,” Narine disclosed. Although there are no plans for another fundraiser at the moment, Narine assures that the Sports Club will continue to host the annual event, which is well-attended by cricket enthusiasts and residents of the surrounding communities.

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

thursDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

Commonwealth Games 2018…

Gold Coast event starts with colourful opening ceremony

T

Gold Coast 2018 began with a vibrant and colourful Opening Ceremony

he 21st Commonwealth Games are officially under way after a spectacular opening ceremony on the Gold Coast.

More than 4,500 athletes from 71 nations and territories will be competing for 275 gold medals over the 11 days of competition.

A crowd of 35,000 packed into the Carrara Stadium, normally the home of

Australian Rules football side Gold Coast Suns.

A heavy downpour of rain greeted the start of proceedings but that failed to dampen spirits.

The crowd and athletes were then treated to a ceremony showcasing music and dance drawing on Australia's history and traditions.

The Games were officially declared open by the

Prince of Wales, representing the Queen, the head of the Commonwealth.

However, there were protests outside the stadium by indigenous rights activists who earlier disrupted the Queen's baton relay as it made its way to the stadium.

The first gold medal of the Games will be awarded in women's triathlon on Thursday.

Superb Liverpool take 3-0 first-leg lead over Man City

Salah has now scored 38 goals for Liverpool this season

L

iverpool took a firm grip on their Champions League quarter-final as Manchester City were torn apart by a three-goal burst from Jurgen Klopp's side in the first 31 minutes at Anfield.

City's only Premier League defeat as they move to the brink of the title has been a 4-3 loss at Anfield in January - and they were made to suffer once more in the face of Liverpool's pressing, aggression and potent attack.

Mohamed Salah pounced in the area to score his 38th goal of the season after 12 minutes and Alex OxladeChamberlain doubled their lead eight minutes later when he unleashed a fierce shot past Ederson from 20 yards.

And the third goal that gives Liverpool such a commanding advantage to take to Etihad

Stadium next Tuesday came just after the half-hour when Sadio Mane rose to head home Salah's cross.

Liverpool, potentially crucially, emerged from the second half without conceding an away goal, although an injury that forced Salah off will be a concern.

Anfield was at its most hostile - but there were unsavoury incidents before kick-off when fans outside the ground attacked and damaged the Manchester City team coach on its way into the stadium, prompting an "unreserved" apology from Liverpool and an investigation from Merseyside Police.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had the better of his head-to-head meetings with Pep Guardiola before this game with six wins from 12 games

- and he outmanoeuvred his illustrious counterpart once more here.

Klopp took this game, if not the entire tie, out of Guardiola's reach by sticking strictly to his instincts and the fiercely intense pressing style that so unsettled City in their only league defeat of the season.

Liverpool, in Klopp's trademark style, never took a backward step and have uncovered an approach that rattles City in a manner that has escaped pretty much all of Guardiola's opponents in this stellar season for his side.

They never allowed City to relax into their passing style, with the likes of David Silva in particular simply not afforded the time and space that has seen teams picked apart in their runaway league campaign. (BBC)

CONCACAF conducts Compliance and League Visit C

O N C A C A F Club Licensing Representative Alfredo Quiros wrapped up a visit to Guyana on Wednesday during which he conducted an inspection of the facilities of the Guyana Defence Force Football Club (GDF FC) prior to that club's participation in the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield 2018 in April.

The two-day visit, which was aimed at confirming that the GDF FC satisfies both the domestic and regional criteria of the club licensing process as outlined in the 2017 Club Licensing Seminar, also saw Quiros reviewing Guyana’s club licensing regulations, club licensing processes and the club administration checklist.

During the Licensing

CONCACAF Club Licensing Representative Alfredo Quiros

Representative’s visit, he was briefed on the GFF Elite League and the discussions included the criteria for a professional league.

A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities

and Threats (SWOT) analysis was also conducted. Prior to his departure, Quiros paid a courtesy call on President Wayne Forde and also visited the Timehri Panthers, the youth arm of the GDF FC.

of time. Those are some really dark, dark times,” said Woods.

“The reason why I say I’m a walking miracle is that I don’t know if — I don’t know

to play this particular golf course.”

Woods is one of the favorites to triumph this week in a wide-open field and

HE’S BACK! Tiger issues Master warning

T

iger Woods has not competed at the U.S. Masters since 2015 but that did not stop the fourtimes champion from sending a warning shot to his rivals on Tuesday that echoed through the tall pines that line Augusta National.

Woods, who has missed three of the previous four Masters due to back problems, called himself a “walking miracle” and said he is feeling the best he has in “seven, eight years” heading into Thursday’s opening round.

“I feel great. I feel like I’ve really put a lot of pieces together,” Woods, who won the most recent of his 14 major titles in 2008, said during his pre-Masters news conference.

“We have worked on what body parts to get stronger, what body parts need to be more limber, and I feel fantastic. It’s just a matter of now going out there and competing and playing and posting numbers.”

The 42-year-old former world number one has enjoyed an on-course renaissance this year that few expected given the spinal fusion procedure he had last April that left him sidelined for the better part of a year.

Woods, who said it was only after playing an exhibition last December that he felt he would be able to compete in the year’s first major, has since shown flashes of the form that helped him earn a staggering 79 PGA Tour wins.

“It’s been a tough road. I’ve described a little bit of it, the pain of just sitting there and the amount of times that I’ve fallen because my leg didn’t work or I just had to lay on the ground for extended periods

Tiger Woods stands near his golf bag during the second day of practice for the 2018 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia

if anyone who has had a lower back fusion that can swing the club as fast as I can swing it.

That’s incredible.”

Stamping his authority as a four-times Masters winner, Woods said that while he hopes to play his best golf this week he felt he could slip into a Green Jacket on Sunday evening even if he is not firing on all cylinders.

“This is a tournament I think that where experience does help a lot. I mean, I have played here and I’ve won here not playing my absolute best, but there’s got to be a certain part of my game that’s on,” said Woods.

“I think that this tournament really helps with having the experience and really understanding how

the debate about where a possible victory for him would rank in the annals of sporting comebacks has already begun.

For his part, Woods said he has plenty of work still to do before entertaining that discussion but did tip his hat to golfing great Ben Hogan, who came back from a headon collision with a bus in 1949 to win the U.S. Open the following year.

“I think that one of the greatest comebacks in all of sport is the gentleman who won here, Mr. Hogan,” said Woods, who plays the first two rounds alongside Australian Marc Leishman and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood.

“I mean, he got hit by a bus and came back and won major championships.” (Reuters)

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sports

Golovkin-Saunders talks begin B

illy Joe Saunders would fight Gennady Golovkin “in his garden”, says the Briton’s promoter Frank Warren.

He told BBC Sport talks have taken place with the Kazakh fighter’s camp over a unification fight between the two undefeated middleweight champions.

Saunders, 28, could face Golovkin in June, instead of his scheduled fight with fellow Briton Martin Murray.

Golovkin was due to fight Saul Alvarez on May 5 in Las Vegas, but the Mexican withdrew from the rematch on Tuesday.

Alvarez is awaiting the outcome of a hearing into an adverse drug test.

WBA, WBC and IBF champion Golovkin, 35, said on Wednesday that Alvarez’s replacement would be named soon, adding he would still be defending his titles on May 5 in Las Vegas.

That date would be too early for Saunders, who is unable to spar until April 14 after picking up a hand injury, which caused the postponement of his WBO defence against fellow

Bill Saunders and Danny Golovkin

Englishman Murray until June 23.

“We have had conversations [with Golovkin’s camp] and will speak later today and see where it goes,” said Warren.

“Provided Golovkin would be willing to fight in June, Bill would be available.

“I understand they are

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Warren says the fight would have to be agreed “sometime this week”.

He said: “We need to know soon and not let it drag on. There is a short window to do it and we need to get a decision.

“In the meantime, we have not postponed the Murray fight, but if this one comes up in between obvi-

ously we would cons i d - er it, provided the terms are OK. Bill would like to fight Golovkin, there is no doubt about that.

“Bill said he would fight him in his garden.”

Warren said a contract was agreed for the two to fight last year, but Golovkin was instead rested before his first fight with Alvarez in September, which ended in a controversial draw.

“Golovkin has stated many times he wants to fight Bill. Bill wants it, Golovkin says he wants it. I do not know if Golovkin’s management wants it. There should be no problem making it – on paper it is a great fight.”

Despite Golovkin’s record of 33 knockouts from 37 fights, Warren believes Saunders could beat him.

“This is a fight that will define his legacy, and I genuinely believe he can win.

But he has to be 100 per cent, I am not having him get in there with a hand injury.”

Former England Hamilton chasing Football Captain maximum points and another record dies aged 61

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looking at May 5 in Vegas, but I am not sure if they will find an opponent or sell a show out in such a short space of time.

“I am hoping they will take the fight, then we can do it here or go to the States, but that will be their call,” added Warren, who said a fight in England would “have to be a stadium fight”.

21

Wilkins' last club job was as assistant manager of Aston Villa in 2015

F

ormer England and Chelsea midfielder Ray Wilkins has died in hospital at the age of 61.

Wilkins, who also played for Manchester United, AC Milan, Rangers and QPR, was being treated at St George's Hospital in London following cardiac arrest.

His family thanked "Ray's friends, colleagues and members of the public" for the many messages of goodwill.

Chelsea said they were "devastated to learn of the passing of our former player, captain and assistant coach".

The club added: "Rest in peace, Ray, you will be dreadfully missed."

Wilkins' family said: "It is with great sadness we announce that Raymond Colin Wilkins passed away this morning.

"Ray leaves behind his

loving wife, Jackie, daughter Jade, son Ross, and his beautiful grandchildren, Oliver, Frankie, Ava, Freddie, Jake and Archie.

"We are asking for privacy at this very difficult time."

Wilkins had been working as a TV and radio pundit.

As a player, he won the FA Cup with Manchester United in 1983 and the Scottish league title with Rangers in 1989.

He made 84 appearances for England and captained his country 10 times.

Wilkins had spells as manager of QPR, Fulham and the Jordan national team.

He was also Chelsea assistant coach from 19982000 and then 2008 until 2010, when he worked alongside Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.

ewis Hamilton will be out to secure maximum points, and equal a Formula One record, in Bahrain on Sunday after victory was plucked from his grasp in the Australian season-opener.

Mercedes’ four times world champion has scored in his last 26 races, one short of Kimi Raikkonen’s unprecedented run of 27 with Lotus in 201213, and stood on the podium in 19 of them.

The 33-year-old Briton, who last drew a blank when he retired with a blown engine while leading the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, will also be looking to make a statement as he moves on from Melbourne.

Hamilton was on his way to a comfortable win from pole position at Albert Park when an ill-timed virtual safety car and a computer bug threw Mercedes’ strategy predictions off and handed victory to Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel instead.

“It feels like a dark cloud but it’s not,” he told reporters after finishing second.

“We have a great car, we are still the world champions and with a couple of adjustments we can win the next race.”

Hamilton has taken two of Mercedes’s three wins from the last four years in Bahrain but Vettel and Ferrari broke the stranglehold last year when Bahrain followed China as third round of the season.

Mercedes are expecting another thriller under the floodlights.

“We saw in Melbourne that the Ferraris in particular were very quick, so I expect it to be a

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates second place on the podium with the trophy at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Australia

close battle,” commented team boss Toto Wolff.

The circuit’s four long straights could allow Ferrari to edge closer but Vettel — set to start his 200th race — may need another dose of luck to celebrate an unprecedented fourth win in Bahrain.

Ferrari will also have to watch out for Red Bull, whose Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap in Melbourne and piled the pressure on Raikkonen in his bid for a home podium.

“The track is one that I’ve always done well on,” said Ricciardo, whose lowest finish in Bahrain since he stepped up to Red Bull in 2014 is sixth. “So let’s hope it continues to be good to me.”

Sunday will also set the stage for another hard-fought midfield battle.

McLaren, who have Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding Company as major shareholders, will hope to win

that one after ending their first race with new engine partners Renault solidly in the points.

But they will have to overcome a Haas team whose Ferrari-powered car drew intense scrutiny after they stunned rivals with their pace in the opener.

The U.S.-owned team will be hoping to put behind them the disappointment of having both drivers retire in Melbourne after botched pitstops while on course for a best-ever result.

Off the track, the big story will be a presentation to teams by commercial rights holder Liberty Media and governing FIA of how they see the future unfolding after current agreements expire at the end of 2020.

New engine regulations are a key part of that, with the focus also on Ferrari after the Italian team threatened to walk away from Formula One if they do not like what is being proposed. (Reuters)

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

thursDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

Taylor progressing Ann’s Grove request time in record books to respond GFF Elite League...

W

indies Women’s Captain Stafanie Taylor was elated and surprised when she found out about her latest record. As one who is always focused on team achievements before individual accolades, she displayed typical modesty on handling the news that she is now fifth on the all-time women’s scorers list in One-Day Internationals, describing it as a “pleasant surprise”.

Taylor is hoping that her achievements “can inspire the younger generation of cricketers in the Caribbean to go after their dreams of playing international cricket”.

Taylor moved up in the record books to fifth place on the all-time top women’s scorers in ODI cricket during the recent ODI series vs New Zealand. Taylor surpassed New Zealand’s Debbie Hockley to move into the top five with 4230 career runs. The list is still topped

by Mithali Raj of India with 6295 runs.

That was not Taylor’s only achievement, s h e was also in second place in Women’s T20 career runs

with 2582 runs, just 24 runs short of becoming the all-time leading scorer in Twenty20 Women’s cricket. Charlotte Edwards of England, who is now retired, holds the top spot with 2605 runs.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) released its latest player rankings for the ODI and T20 formats and the Windies Women continue to dominate and do well.

Taylor maintains her number one ranking in T20 batting while Deandra Dottin stays in fifth place. Hayley Matthews also remains the number one ranked T20 all-rounder followed

by Dottin in second and Taylor in third. Matthews is third in the T20 bowling rankings.

Still reeling from the disappointing tour of New Zealand, Taylor is taking this achievement in stride, as she hopes her team will rebound to successfully defend their title in November this year.

The 2018 ICC World T20 Championships will be hosted in Guyana, St Lucia, and Antigua a n d Barbuda.

A

s if their run in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League III had not been plagued with consecutive defeats, Ann’s Grove, the tournament’s bottom runners on the points table, have requested more time to clear their fine for a no-show.

The GFF sanctioned the Ann’s Grove United F o o t b a l l Club (AGU FC) for a noshow at their scheduled Elite League match last Saturday, March 31, against Milerock FC at Number Five Ground, Berbice.

It, therefore, has resulted in Milerock Football Club being awarded a 3-0 victory, while three points have been deducted from the points tally of Ann’s Grove, leaving them at -2.

The AGU FC is also required to pay the fine of $200,000. This fee was scheduled to be paid prior to their next Elite League match on Friday, April 6 against Victoria Kings.

However, the dilemma is they will not be allowed to

Windies Captain Stafanie Taylor

A

compete if the fine has not been cleared.

This sanction was activated in accordance with Rule 4.16 of the GFF Elite League Season III: “4.16 - A No-show is when a team wilfully does not appear at a game without a specific agreement approved by the GFF.” The penalties for a no-show are as follows: 4.16.1 A 3-0 loss, a 3-point deduction from their standings and a League Fine of $200,000.

4.16.2 - All fines and fees must be paid before the next scheduled match of the Club in the Elite League. If fines and fees are not paid within the prescribed time, the GFF may consider options on continued participation in the League.

4.16.3 - A club may be expelled from the League if it accumulates two no-shows within one season. A team unable to attend a scheduled game because of an accident, weather or "force majeure" should immediately notify the GFF.

Female boxer already guaranteed a CWG medal

ustralian boxer Taylah Robertson is already guaranteed to win a Commonwealth Games medal – without throwing a punch.

With only seven boxers entered in the women's 51kg category, the 19-year-old received a bye into the semi-finals on Friday, April 13.

As both losing semi-finalists will win bronze, the teenager will definitely come away with a medal.

"It's nice to have a medal, but I want gold," Robertson said.

"With all the training I've done, I want to earn it. I'm not worried about who I meet in the semi-final, I'm ready."

The boxing competition starts on the Gold Coast today.

It is not the first time a

fighter has secured a medal without fighting.

At the 1986 Games in Edinburgh, which was boycotted by many of the African nations, only three fighters were entered in the super-heavyweight division.

Welshman Aneurin Evans was given a bye straight into the final, guaranteeing himself a medal, where he was beaten

by Lennox Lewis, who was representing Canada.

Although rules stated that all three medals could not be awarded unless there were at least five entries in the event, because of the boycott, nations voted halfway through the Games to award three medals regardless of the number of entries.

thursDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

23

Inter-county U-19 to kick off on April 10

T

he Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company on Wednesday reengaged its commitment with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) to host their annual Under-19 Inter-County Tournament.

The collaborative effort between the two entities is now in its third instalment, and seeks to identify and develop young talent across the country. The one-day and three-day competitions have produced exceptional talents over the years, many of whom were eventually selected for the West Indies Under- 19 squad.

Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Howard Cox noted that Hand-in-Hand was pleased to collaborate with the GCB and was looking forward to their continued partnership.

“We will continue to give our whole-hearted support to the GCB for this worthy cause,” Cox stated.

He went on to highlight that just two years ago the likes of Shimron Hetmyer and Kemo Paul benefited from the inter-county competition and they were now part of the senior West Indies’ One-day, Test and T20 teams.

GSCL Inc Over-40 and All-Stars tourney set for April 22

Hand-in-Hand’s Howard Cox hands over the sponsorship cheque to GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie

Before receiving the cheque on behalf of the GCB, Secretary Anand Sanasie spoke on the viability of the tournament and the importance of exposing players to both the long and short formats of the game. “The GCB would like to thank Handin-Hand for their continued support to the development of cricket, clearly Hand-in-

Hand’s contribution has given the GCB an opportunity to provide the U-19s with an ideal preparation ground,” Sanasie stated.

The three-day tournament kicks off on April 10 at Everest Cricket Club Ground and will conclude on April 20. The one-day competition runs from April 22 to April 28. The matches will be played at Everest, Lusignan,

Tuschen and Georgetown Cricket Club Grounds.

West Indies U-19 players Ashmed Nedd and Joshua Persaud expressed gratitude for the hosting of the tournaments. They explained that the tournament was consistent with youth development and preparation for a larger cricket arena. “I think it’s a bigger stage than at the club level; this is a really good

tournament in terms of developing youth players and taking cricket as a career,” Persaud stated.

Meanwhile, Nedd was optimistic about his performance in the tournament this year, stating: “I’m looking to come out as the bowler with the most wickets; last year, I came close, but I was beaten by just one wicket.

I’m also hoping to get a few

Pele Alumni Development Programme boosting youths

T

he Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL Inc)/ Ink Plus/Top Brandz and Chung’s Global Enterprise Over-40 and All-Stars tournament is set to commence on April 22 in Georgetown.

Registration is currently underway at the Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, 69 Seaforth Street, Campbellville, and teams can contact the office on 226-4205, 225-4802 or 6107902 for more information.

The winning teams will receive a trophy and $100,000 while the runners-up will take home a trophy and $25,000. The Man of the Match in both categories will also be rewarded.

half centuries.”

Demerara, the reigning champions, will defend their title against Berbice, Essequibo and a Select U-17 team. The U-17 team were placed in the competition in order to prepare them for their upcoming regional tournament. The county teams will later make up a National U-19 team who will defend their four-time title.

Participants and their assistants in the Parliament Chambers during their visit

P

ele Alumni Corporation Director Denis Carrington, coordinator of the second annual Youth Education Development Programme, has declared that the twoday programme, which started on Tuesday, got off to a great start at the Carifesta Sports Complex.

Some 58 youths between the ages of 10 and 16 saw presentations by Dr Colin Watson on Dental Hygiene, David Gomes of the Toastmasters on Public Speaking and Donna Chapman of the Bertram Collins College of Public Service on Career Guidance.

They were also taken on a

tour of Parliament Building.

Carrington stated that the Pele Alumni Corporation, made up of past Pele players living in the United States of America, was focused on giving back to the land of their birth and more importantly, assisting youths in developing and solidifying their education while they are partici-

pating in sports.

He explained that the players did not have to be playing football solely, and table tennis players were among the group.

The organisation, over the past seven years, has been investing in numerous grass-root competitions every Easter, but has

since shifted its focus to conducting educational programmes. It has now partnered with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), which has signed a fiveyear contract to run off the Pele Alumni Frank Watson Under-15 Inter-Association League being played by the Federation’s nine member associations.

Today’s sessions, which commence at 08:00h, will cater for interactive sessions on Conflict Resolution, Benefit of Sports, Preparing for the Future, Goal Setting for a Positive Life, Etiquette, Basic Table Manners/Use of Cutlery/Crockery Practice and Information TechnologyToday’s Needs.

Pele Alumni also partners with the Education Ministry on a yearly basis to run off an essay competition, which sees participation from eight of the nine districts. Some of the top students are then drafted into the Pele Alumni Scholarship Programme.

Five such children are presently part of the programme and they receive a monthly stipend towards their educational pursuits.

Other Pele Alumni Directors are Patrick “Labba” Barton, the organisation’s Treasurer, and Keith “Bumpy” Layne, the Secretary.

THURSDAY, aPril 5, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Commonwealth Games 2018…

Gold Coast event starts with colourful opening ceremony Pg 20

The opening ceremony was held at the Carrara Stadium

CONCACAF conducts Compliance and League Visit Pg 20

Azam No 1 ranked T20I batsman following WI whitewash Pg 19

GDF FC President Loring Bennons and Team Manager Dwain Daniels display club documents to CONCACAF Club Licensing Representative Alfredo Quiros

Pakistan opener Babar Azam

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