Guyana Times Epaper- Saturday, August 18, 2018

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Opposition wins Youth Parliament ...after UG students square debate off over topical issues Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 3659

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Queen's College, Anna Regina Secondary dominate CSEC 2018 See stories on pages 9&11

Christian Pile 19 ones

Shakira Bholo 18 ones, 2 twos

Salma Majeed 18 ones

Areeb Ali 17 ones, 3 twos, 1 three

Camecia De la Cruz 17 ones, 2 twos, 1 three

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$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE: Lusignan Prison raid

Syringes, pepper sauce P10 among items found

Father of 10 charged for sharing nude photos of wife P8

…over 600 students receive zero passes …1% improvement in CAPE results recorded Planned teachers' strike Policeman Govt’s hiring consultant charged for to settle impasse a killing Brazilian miner delaying ploy – Jagdeo Page 12

Page 2

20th Biennial Congress

Linden P15 hotelier nabbed for Trafficking in Persons

…2 foreign women rescued …claims they were sold for $25,000 each Implementation of JRA

Nandlall files contempt of court P10 proceedings against AG P2 Vendor wants $5M compensation from City Hall

PNCR committed to coalition – Granger

…for damage to food caravan

Page 3

Party Leader, President David Granger is greeted as he arrived at the party's 20th Biennial Congress on Friday at Congress Place, Sophia

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Policeman charged for Vendor wants $5M killing Brazilian miner compensation from City Hall A

Policeman was on Friday remanded to prison after he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts slapped with a murder charge.

Robert Daniels, 23, of Lot 57 Victoria Road, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, is accused of killing Estevao Marques Costa on August 11, 2018 in the vicinity of Puruni Backdam, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

In court on Friday, Defence Attorney Patrice Henry informed the court that he is surprised that his client was charged for murder. He informed the court that eyewitnesses on the scene stated that two shots were fired; however, only one bullet was missing from his client’s service weapon.

Further, he noted that

Police Constable Robert Daniels covers his face in a bid to conceal his identity as he exited the courtroom

only recently, a hotelier was released on bail after allegedly murdering his neighbour and had the charge reduced to manslaughter.

However, the Police Prosecutor told the court that the file is incomplete since statements from several witnesses are missing.

Reports are Daniels

along with a subordinate officer – both attached to the Kurupung Police Station – abandoned their post and left on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). They subsequently left the area via a boat and went to Puruni landing. Upon their arrival there, the Police Constable reportedly exited the boat and went to a shop.

The subordinate officer remained at the landing, but upon hearing a loud explosion, he rushed to the scene and was allegedly told that the miner had shot at the Police Constable, and he in response, returned fire thus mortally wounding the miner.

The Brazilian’s body was left lying on the ground, but it was subsequently picked up by the Policemen.

Other Police ranks who were in the area investigating another matter proceeded to the scene and took possession of the .30 carbine rifle which was used by the Constable.

According to eyewitnesses, the officers allegedly tried to dispose of the body. The matter was reported to the Divisional Commander who ordered the arrest of the two ranks and an investigative team was dispatched to Puruni to further probe the matter.

…for damage to food caravan

A

food vendor is now calling for $5 million in compensation from the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) after his food caravan was reportedly removed and destroyed by City Constables.

The vendor, Patrick John, who operated two buildings before Royal Castle on Croal Street, Georgetown complained that his food caravan was removed on Thursday without him even being served a notice. Guyana Times understands that City Constables removed the man’s food caravan at 12:00h while he was at home.

Speaking with this publication, John said he has the necessary permit to operate in the area, which was granted by the very Council in April.

The vendor added that this is not the first time City Hall has removed his caravan, but this time it cost a lot, since his means of liveli-

Patrick John

April and resulted in him being moved to Croal Street, Georgetown, where he was again removed from on Thursday.

“This time they caused even more damage because the container itself broke in half, my microwave, deep fryer, everything just

The food caravan

hood is now damaged.

“About two weeks after I got permission to open and start working, he (Town Clerk Royston King) just came and removed my container and said it can’t be there… I said I got to get GPL to come and cut the wires if I got to move and the next day he just went ahead and cut the wires,” John explained.

According to him, those activities occurred back in

crushed up inside there. It (just) break up and I would like to be reimbursed for my entire losses, the damage of my container and all the equipment,” the frustrated man told Guyana Times.

He said he estimates his losses to be about $5 million owing to the fact that he would have paid money to have the caravan shipped from the United States (US).

John said he does not mind if City Hall chooses to buy him a caravan, or give him the money so he can again try to vend to make his livelihood.

The food vendor said he was made aware of what was going on through a friend.

Head of the Vendor’s Union, Eon Andrews, has since condemned the actions of the M&CC, saying he believes the matter is a very troubling one, especially since City Hall evidently gave the necessary vending permits.

Several efforts made by this publication to contact the Town Clerk proved futile.

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BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, August 18 – 10:00h-11:30h and Sunday, August 19 – 11:30h-13:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, August 18 – 09:05h-10:35h and Sunday, August 19 – 10:20h-11:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

20th Biennial Congress

PNCR committed to coalition – Granger

– says party has performed well

ing bitterly about being sidelined. In fact, the party executives had even hinted that consideration is being given as to whether the WPA should remain within the APNU alliance given the treatment it is being dealt with.

However, President Granger during his address to the congress pointed out that as a coalition, they were able to achieve much in the past three years, bringing unquestionable benefits to the

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals with light cloudy skies can be expected in the morning, with sunny weather returning in the afternoon. Clear skies can be expected in the evening, with temperatures expected to range between 21 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East South-easterly to Easterly and East Northeasterly to Easterly between 1.78 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 09:35h and 21:57h reaching maximum heights of 2.28 metres and 2.27 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 03:05h and 15:28h reaching minimum heights of 0.85 metre and 0.98 metre respectively.

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people’s quality of life… The PNCR has performed well. It is the natural, national leader. It is the party of and for the future,” he posited, while adding that the coalition’s achievements has brought about measurable and substantive change.

Following in the same trend, PNCR Chairman Basil Williams, in his remarks draw from the theme of this year’s congress, telling party members that having grown

PNCR leader, President David Granger

L

eader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), President David Granger said his Administration is committed to the Cummingsburg Accord – the sweetheart deal it signed with the Alliance For Change (AFC) back in 2015 to form a coalition which got them into office.

He was at the time addressing a packed gathering at the opening of the party’s 20th Biennial Delegates Congress on Friday at Congress Place, Sophia, Greater Georgetown. This year’s congress is being held under the theme: “Better together for a brighter tomorrow”.

According to the PNCR Leader, the party has done more and gotten farther than any other party to create an inclusionary democracy by firstly establishing the five-party A Partnership for National Unit (APNU), which then in turn entered into a coalition with the AFC. Granger noted that the PNCR will continue to work with its political and civil partners in to uphold the Cummingsburg Accord and also to have constructive dialogue with the political parliamentary Opposition and with civil society to strengthen the practice of “inclusionary democracy.”

He further asserted his party’s commitment to the ideals of coalition politics and to the broader aspiration of national unity as well as to perfecting the country’s incipient system of shared governance in the belief that the coalition parties are better together than apart.

“Our commitment to the practice of an inclusionary democracy has been vindicated, confirming the efficacy and necessity of the unique coalition that we created and which the electorate accepted,” he posited.

The President’s remarks come on the heels of the AFC announcing nearly two weeks ago that it will be contesting the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE) in November separate from the APNU. The minority party in the coalition Government has been on the receiving end of heavy criticisms for the submissive role it has been playing since joining forces with the APNU. In fact, the top leadership of the AFC had decided back mid-November to revise the governing agreement with its majority coalition partner.

Moreover, regarding the

A section of the gathering at the opening of the congress Guyanese people in every field.

“It has allowed for the deployment of broad expertise to the task of nation-building.

It has reignited hope and galvanised goodwill to confront the challenges which we inherited in 2015. The coalition governs for the common good,” he stated.

The PNCR Leader said

Members of the diplomatic community among those at the opening ceremony APNU – which is comprised of the PNCR, Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Justice For All Party (JFAP), Guyana Action Party (GAP) and the National Front Alliance (NFA) – the WPA over the past year has been complain-

the coalition Government responded to a deluge of demands from the ordinary people, who needed change and wanted to see immediate improvements in their lives.

“The PNCR, in Government, has been a force of good in improving

after experiencing its fair share of triumphs and trails, the PNCR is in the best position to take Guyana to higher heights but this can only be achieved if everyone work together.

To this end, he spoke of the need to return to the grass root level to further strength the party.

Moreover, Williams, who is also the Legal Affairs Minister as well as the Attorney General, managed to push in some last-minute campaigning before Sunday’s voting which will see him going up against two other party Executives – Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Public Health Minister Volda Lawerence – for the chairmanship position.

The incumbent Chairman told party members that in order to ensure that the PNCRdominated coalition remains in Government to “care and control” the proceeds from the abundant oil and gas resources, then they should elect their “most tested, tried and proven” comrade so that the party gain the confidence of the electorate to win the 2020 elections.

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018

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

The hallmarks of service

T

he manner in which the Public Infrastructure Ministry (MPI) awarded the contract for the feasibility study and design of the new Demerara River Bridge has sparked much controversy; and after a complaint was made by the Parliamentary Opposition, the entire transaction was brought under the microscope by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC).

Some months ago, Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira wrote the PPC asking it to investigate the selection and award of the $146 million contract to LievenseCSO for the feasibility study of the new Demerara River Bridge, after it was revealed, and later confirmed by Minister David Patterson, that the company was sole-sourced.

Following the probe, the PPC found that the award of the contract breached certain aspects of the Procurement Act. The PPC report outlined that after some 23 companies had expressed an interest in providing consultancy services, 12 were shortlisted, and two managed to submit their proposals on time. However, Government failed to reach an agreement with either of the two companies in their negotiations, and as such, the tender was annulled.

According to the PPC report, the National Tender and Procurement Administration Board (NPTAB) then recommended that the MPI re-tender, but it did not. The PPC report went on to note that the Permanent Secretary of the MPI then “informed the Public Procurement Commission that subsequent to annulment of the tender by MPI, [Dutch Company LievenseCSO] Engineering contracting BV submitted an unsolicited proposal to provide consultancy services for the Demerara River Bridge project.”

As such, the Commission added, Minister Patterson approached Cabinet on November 18, 2016, seeking consideration and approval to use funds from the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) to fund the feasibility study and to commence a contractual engagement with LievenseCSO as of January 1, 2017. The Commission found that there was a breach when this request to Cabinet was made by the Minister, and not through the NPTAB. For its part, the MPI has maintained that it acted within the laws of Guyana and in the nation’s interest. However, the Ministry will have a very difficult time convincing the nation that this is indeed true. It is not the first time that the Coalition Government has come under severe fire for the manner in which it is spending tax payers’ monies.

In addition to this most recent case, there were several other examples in which the actions of the Coalition Government were found wanting. For example, citizens were made aware that two Government ministers were benefiting from full scholarships being paid for by the State only after questions were raised in the Parliament during consideration of 2017 Budget estimates. It was clear that the Administration wanted to withhold critical information such as the cost of the scholarships, who were the beneficiaries, and on what basis they were selected.

Then there was the controversial drug bond deal which saw then Public Health Minister Dr George Norton coming under severe pressure for advancing some $25 million to Linden Holding Inc for the use of the building for the storage of Government medicines. In justifying the request for the ‘emergency’ expenditure and the reasons for choosing the company selected, the minister made a number of statements in the National Assembly which were found to be inaccurate.

After much public outcry, he apologised and was transferred to another ministry. Mere weeks after, the minister who replaced Dr Norton, Volda Lawrence, was not even properly settled in her new position when she was forced to defend her ministry’s awarding a $605 million drug contract under highly questionable circumstances to a foreign company. These are just some of the many cases of Government not being forthcoming with regard to utilising public funds. While we are in no way accusing Government officials of being corrupt, it is the duty of the Government to show by its actions that it is accountable and transparent.

Some time ago, President David Granger, during a book launch, was quoted in the media as saying that his Government is committed to excising corruption, improving transparency, and instituting greater accountability, all premised on the pillar of strong institutions. The Government must not only talk about being transparent, its actions should also prove that it is serious about ensuring accountability and good governance, which are the hallmarks of service. After all, it was on this very basis that its officials campaigned for the 2015 General and Regional Elections.

A student of Bath Settlement, Berbice displaying his robot as students and facilitators of the First Lady’s Robotics Camp look on.

The two-day Robotics Camp, which saw the participation of 50 students was hosted at the Bath Primary School. The primary school received a gift of a Robotics kit from the Office of the First Lady and was encouraged to create a Robotics Club

Citizens need to keep a tab on City Hall’s food bill also Dear Editor, Of recent, a topical issue has been the estimated $700,000 that is being spent on food every time the National Assembly meets, which means almost $80 million would have been spent in the next three years on food alone for the National Assembly and Committee Meetings.

And one can understand the concern, when ordinary persons are struggling to put food on their tables to feed their families.

But one has to understand that it is not at the National Assembly alone that this dietary extravagance exists, it also exists at the Georgetown Municipality. Now, at City Hall, which claims to be in dire financial straits, there seems to be a meeting held every day of the week.

Apart from their fortnightly statutory meetings, there exists a plenitude of sub-committees, which achieve very

little, as their recommendations have to go to the full statutory meeting, where they are debated all over again before approval.

Then there are the ad hoc committees, such as the parking meter negotiating and renegotiating committees, anniversary planning committees, among a host of others, all for which snacks and meals are provided to cater for them to devour.

And meals and drinks are not only provided to the City Councillors, but also to the plethora of staff members who are required to sit through these meetings.

They can even be seen carting away boxes of food apart from consuming their share.

We’re reminded by the Georgetown City Council of the immensely popular song titled Hotel California, which was created by the legendary group Eagles, the lyrics of which went like this:

“Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said ‘We are all just prisoners here, of our own device’ And in the master’s chambers, They gathered for the feast They stab it with their steely knives, But they just can’t kill the beast Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back To the place I was before ‘Relax,’ said the night man, ‘We are programmed to receive.

You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave ...”

Citizens need to keep a tab on City Hall’s food bill also.

Regards, Jermain Johnson

A city is gauged by breadth of vision

Dear Editor, There has been quite a hubbub coming from City Hall of late, regarding the celebration of the 175th anniversary of Georgetown becoming a city, and quite a significant milestone it is.

Clearly, however, the planners are lacking in depth of intellect, emotion, and/or knowledge.

I would like to express my considerable disappointment that rather than our City planners finding ways to honour the past, to celebrate the present, and to dream about the future while drawing in community members of every age, creed and background, they have instead opted to make the celebration into a big bacchanal, with beach parties and cooler fetes, big ticket din-

ners and cocktail receptions.

Had those City Hall planners been interested in maximum appeal, they would have included a wide spectrum of citizens on their Anniversary Planning Committee, and hosted a city-wide brainstorming session prior.

But no, they instead decided to throw together a few of their own, who clearly lack vision and savoir vivre.

Why are they not having a parade featuring Georgetown’s oldest and newest inhabitants as grand masters? And why did they not encourage the school bands, youth groups, the Girl Guides, Scouting troops and local celebrities to participate?

This anniversary should be used to celebrate

our past accomplishments, the resilience of our people, and to set the course for our future; instead, the focus seems to be plain revelry or a valedictory celebration for the Mayor and her sidekicks.

I believe this anniversary is a tremendous teachable moment, an opportunity to introduce citizens to, and remind them of, the uniqueness of this city. It is a chance to partner with the people and to encompass all aspects of what it means to live and work in Georgetown.

Will they be opening their municipal archives, located on Water Street, for schoolchildren to visit? With an entire Public Relations Department in place, will they produce a proper 175th commemorative magazine?

They talk of using the anniversary to boost tourism in Georgetown; how will this be done?

Will they be hosting exciting and educational city tours? Have they encouraged the diaspora, who once lived in Georgetown but who now live overseas, to visit for the anniversary?

There is need for a city-wide historical symposium; there is need for a city-wide art festival to mark the anniversary, and there is need for a city exhibition.

Come on, Madam Mayor, a city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the breadth of its vision and the height of its dreams.

Sincerely, Amber Valentine

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

LGE 2018

Opposition to speak out on GECOM’s role on shaping boundaries

O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has again condemned the governing Coalition administration for tweaking boundaries in the Local Authorities system in a bid he feels will secure result in its favour at the upcoming Local

Government Elections on November 12.

Speaking at his most recent press conference at his Church Street, Georgetown office, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary reiterated his stance against Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan’s June 8, 2018 gazetted move, which signals that there will be fewer constituency elections

in 14 of the country’s Local Government Authorities (LGAs).

“There is the serious gerrymandering of boundaries.

I’ve already pointed out the reason for the Government doing this: because of their poor showing in the 2016 Local Government Elections and their need to create more local government bodies in areas they feel are sympathetic to them, and then, in PPP support areas, to change the configuration in the constituencies so that it will be favourable to APNU,” Jagdeo said.

Declaring that boundaries are being drawn in an “entirely partisan way”, the Opposition Leader pointed out that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has the constitutional mandate by law to draw the boundaries. “[GECOM] has a lot to answer for, and we will be speaking more about this in the public domain; about GECOM’s role in the drawing of these boundaries,” Jagdeo committed.

He reminded of the situation in the Good Hope/

Mahdia, Guyana’s newest town

Pomona Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), where there were reported attempts to merge two constituencies which the PPP had won, according to Jagdeo. One included the Middlesex area, and Jagdeo said the Opposition checked and there was no gazetted change for this area, and the PPP pointed this out to GECOM. “We will dedicate a special press conference to deal with the issue of this gerry-

mandering of the boundaries,” he noted.

Speaking on the Minister of Communities’ press release on the justification for creating townships, Jagdeo highlighted that the Minister had said Bartica is the home of Guyana’s first boardwalk; Mabaruma has transformed the Kumaka Waterfront, and Lethem is becoming the business hub of the Rupununi.

Jagdeo feels Government should focus more on the economic prosperity of the busi-

ness operators.

“Bartica may have the first Boardwalk, but if the minister (Bulkan) were to just go down there and ask the business places how they’re doing, he will find out that the town has moved from prosperity into a state of depression. Many of the businesses that are operating there are going bankrupt, hundreds of people have lost their jobs in Bartica, but they have a new boardwalk to walk on,” he noted.

According to Bulkan’s gazetted order, from June, in Rose Hall, where the PPP secured victory, the number of constituencies increased from seven to eight.

Additionally, reports earlier this year revealed that the number of allocated seats was reduced in several constituencies. These included Malgre Tout/Meerzoergen La Grange/Nismes Toevlugt/ Patentia Evergreen/ Paradise, Aberdeen/Zorgeen-Vlygt, Caledonia/Good Success, Woodlands/Farm, Zeelust/Rosignol, Blairmont/ Gelberland, Ordnance Fortlands/Number 38, Number 52-74, Mahaicony/ Abary and Adventure/Bush Lot. The Order was made under Municipal and Nieghbourhood Democratic Councils (Participating Local Authorities) Order 2018.

There are now nine towns and one city, Georgetown, being the capital. The towns are Anna Regina, New Amsterdam, Rosignol, Rose Hall, Corriverton, Bartica, Linden, Lethem, and the newest being Mahdia.

Can we now have a good life?

Dear Editor, The announcement by Dr Clive Thomas of a grand cash payout of US$5,000, the equivalent of Gy$1 million, sounds like the “good life” is finally here; yes, at last it seems like the present poverty will be a thing of the distant past. That announcement has caused some prominent personalities to write in exhilarating penmanship splashed all across the print and electronic media.

Listen to the comment from one politician/trade unionist, “Professor Thomas is on to something…let’s not shy away from conversation on its feasibility.”

Another politician has said, “I support cash transfers to Guyanese households”, and the list goes endlessly on.

In the first place, let’s take a look at the reaction of President Granger and his Finance Minister to the pronouncements of

Dr Thomas. Both gentlemen have expressed shock and disbelief as to what Dr Thomas was talking about.

You are speaking about the Economic Advisor to the President making certain pronouncements and the President and Finance Minister showing total ignorance as to what he was talking about.

So, if the movers and shakers of the economy can show such disparaging reactions to the same issue, what do you expect to happen when real dollars kick in? The answer: total chaos and confusion. In the end, corruption will flourish while the fortunes of the poor plummet.

From experience, raw cash handouts do not work, they just add to one’s economic woes. You just have to take a look at Trinidad and learn from their experiences when their oil revenues came on

Fix non-functioning traffic lights

Dear Editor, It is about time the Ministry of Public Infrastructure fix the numerous traffic lights in and around the city which are not working properly and are a traffic menace.

The light, for instance, where I drive every day: at the corner of Mandela Avenue and Joseph Pollydore Street, has been

flashing red, it seems, forever. I have personally seen drivers totally confused at that point.

The lights at the junctions of Sheriff Street are either on or off at peculiar times; they have nothing to do with traffic flow, and are not working at all.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

stream. Trinidad instituted a direct cash transfer in a programme called C.O.L.A (cost of living allowance).

C.O.L.A lent credence to a spending spree never before seen in the history of the poor in Trinidad. The poor in particular spent on things for this present frivolities while things permanent and essential were left undone; so when oil prices dipped, fortunes tumbled for the people whom it was designed to help. The evidence of this squandermania can still be seen in Trinidad today, where the so-called poor live in hovels. Those who took care of the transitory items, like wine, women and song, contrasted against the lasting permanence of those who took care of tomorrow. There is always the danger of hard cash being doled out to “the poor,” because this means there is bound to be a repeat performance of Trinidad.

What needs to be done -and this was already in place when the PPP/C was in office -- is there must be an admixture of cash handouts plus firm, sustainable, fiscal endowments with a futuristic view in mind; otherwise you are headed for certain failure as a nation. Below is a summary of these: 1. Revive or resuscitate the sugar industry, at least 7,000 jobs would be assured.

Those that are employed would be providing for their families while the country would be earning valuable foreign earnings as sugar exports rise.

2. Encourage foreign companies to invest in our economy as the economy gets a shot in the arm. These areas include forestry, fishing as well as mining.

3.

Enhance the WOW (Women of Worth Programme, where soft loans would be made available for the start-up of small businesses for our women, especially single mothers.

4. Revive the student loans at our tertiary institution, so that our best and brightest minds can be educated and have an equal opportunity as those who can afford a university education.

5.

Reinstitute the $10,000 per child “Because we care programme.” This programme is twofold in that it is real income for homes, while at the same time ensuring that each child stays in school and receives an education.

6. Revive the free social benefits such as free water and electricity for the elderly in our midst.

7. Revive the revolving loan agreement and duty free concessions for teachers and other public servants.

In this way, more persons would have a place called home as well as their own means of transportation.

You would have noticed that most of the points raised above start with the root words “revive”, “reintroduce” and “encourage”, which means that those programmes were there under the previous PPP/C

Administration; plans and incentives we hitherto enjoyed and have grown accustomed to. In this regard, I urge this regime to learn a serious lesson, if ever they are to become a success story. But this is all wishful thinking, because from what obtains, people’s development is the least of their concerns.

Finally, as we view the experiences of Third World countries, where sovereign wealth has suddenly come on-stream in their economies, let us learn from their mistakes and make our own situation a lasting success.

Sincerely, Neil Adams

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By Regan AR Gurung, PhD

T

he start of the school year is a time for new beginnings. For those in the academic world, the start of the academic year provides the same impetus as January 1. The first day of school can be a clean slate, a chance to practice effective behaviours.

Don’t squander it.

Thousands of college first-year students have opportunities to make new friends, people who know nothing about them. Sure you may have been someone who did not take work too seriously, but now you are in college and no one knows how you were back home. You can reinvent yourself. The onset of school can be a time to magically restructure life, habits, and behaviours. But does this mean there is no time for fun? There are a multitude of opportunities to have fun and, to use common parlance, to ‘get crazy’. The key is not to go overboard. The solution is to ‘Plan your Crazy’.

Planning well is one of the most important skills a person can have. Good planning can make the difference between success and failure. Good planning can minimise stress.

Unfortunately, too few people

Foundation

are good planners. Too many people do not plan at all.

Take the case of the first year in college. For too many first-year students, college is a time to do all those things not allowed in high school. Far too often students dive into school with no boundaries, no limitations, no plan. Every year I have junior and senior students express remorse over grade point averages blaming being too ‘out of control’ their first years in school. So with the school year starting, NOW is the time to plan to not make mistakes you will regret.

Whether it is getting homework done, or even completing all of life’s necessities, when we consciously and actively plan out what we have to do, the chances of getting it all done increase. There are some basic steps that are essential.

First, one needs to be aware of all that has to be done. IF you are taking five classes, make sure you know how much you have to read, what you have to write or complete, and when exactly it is due. Use a calendar or app to jot it down so it is visible.

One of my favourite planning apps is Wunderlist. This allows you to create checklists for all the different parts of your life

and easily access it on a phone or a computer.

Next, make sure you factor in time for fun. Plan your crazy. When you do not plan for fun, fun happens, distracts us and derails all our plans to do work. Too many folks end Fridays with great plans for all they will get done over the weekend. They do not factor in fun stuff (eg, exciting football game?) into their plans and end up getting sidetracked and running out of time. Planning your crazy not only ensures you have fun, giving you a break from work, BUT (and this is particularly important for college students who can find themselves in trouble when they get carried away getting crazy) it is also a safety valve.

When you plan your crazy you are consciously and explicitly expressing for yourself what you will allow yourself to do (e.g., stay up with pals till 1 am every now and then) and what you will not (eg, illegal, unsafe activities). The more we directly express our plans, the more likely they are to work.

May the new school year provide many successful new beginnings. Plan wisely to get the most out of it. (psychologytoday.

com)

different types of paper. Heavy cardboard didn’t work at all for us, but we also have a small living room, so maybe we needed more space for the boomerang to turn around instead of simply crashing into the wall! It turns out the watercolour paper worked the best! We speculated that perhaps the natural curling action (because it had gotten wet when I painted it) added to the aerodynamic action.

By Erica X

M

aking and designing an indoor boomerang was the perfect accompaniment to my kids’ recent obsession with making paper airplanes. (Did you see their awesome landing strips?)

It was a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon when we were stuck indoors. The kids got a little science tinkering time in, and testing out the boomerangs released a bit of their energy and because these are boomerangs made out of paper, no one had to worry about breaking the fancy china. (Oh, who am I kidding. There is no fancy china.)

as you will see. Also, it is great for Maths, art projects!)

Pencil Enthusiastic engineers!

(Required) Instructions Decide on the shape of your boomerang’s arm. We found that the design is not nearly important as having each arm exactly the same shape. Since most of the examples we saw

Troubleshooting (aka thinking like an engineer): None of the boomerangs we made were perfect. But some were more boomerang-ish than others! Here are some tips offered up by my 10-year-old: Try different launching angles. Hold the paper boomerang vertically, then try horizontally.

Try different launching speeds. Throwing too fast didn’t work too well for me, but maybe

What you need Heavy paper (This could be thin cardboard, cardboard, even watercolour paper (which made our best boomerang).

We experimented with different types of paper and I encourage you to do the same) Scissors Tape (If using heavy cardboard, you may want to use glue (allow for drying time), or rubber bands) 360-degree protractor (This is not essential, but VERY helpful had arms with a slightly larger tip, that is what we did. Of course this is an area where kids can experiment to their hearts content!

Right now you are thinking, why don’t they have a template I can print out? Here’s my answer: you don’t need one. Templates discourage experimentation! (At least with my kids.)

Once you have one arm, you can use it to trace more arms.

Cut out the arms.

Tape 3-4 arms together.

Use the 360-degree protractor to determine the distance between arms! We found this to be the single most important factor in producing a boomerang that returned to the sender.

When we eyeballed taping arms in thirds, the boomerang throws were unsatisfying.

Adjusting so that the arms were evenly spaced made a world of difference. So you will want the arms at 120-degree angles.

If your kids are motivated, decorate your boomerangs. My kids didn’t care much about this, but I decorated a few myself because I like that sort of thing.

You can experiment with

it will for you.

Try different paper types.

Make sure the angles are even! (This is where the 360-degree protractor is very handy!)

Even if it doesn’t come all the way back to you, it has a really cool spin.

Also, it’s really neat to throw two at a time and see which one works better.

Decorate your indoor boomerangs Extras: (thoughts from mom) For younger kids, make a sample boomerang to generate interest. My six-year-old was not interested in the creative part until I showed him how they work.

Get in on the action yourself.

Kids model what they see. Your kids may already be independent inventors, but mine are not.

They are much more interested if I participate in the project with them. Otherwise they tend to go straight back to Pokémon. (sigh) I absolutely loved how this project required the kids to think like scientists. Not every incarnation of the boomerang was successful. (wedowedoallday.com)

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Top contenders spending “big” on PNCR Congress campaign …party denies using State resources

A section of the gathering at the opening of the PNCR’s Congress on Friday

By Michael Younge

T

he top contenders for key positions within the People’s National Congress Reform have been spending “big” and investing a lot of resources in their bid to secure the various high offices that they are seeking ahead of the party’s 20th biennial Congress, which officially opened on Friday.

This year's congress is being held under the theme “Better together for a brighter tomorrow”, and will bring together delegates and observers drawn from party groups throughout the ten (10) administrative regions of Guyana and the North American and UK regions of the party.

“I can tell you that the top three contenders have been investing heavily in the elections competition and race. It appears, from what we are seeing, that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to produce flyers, short bills about people’s track record in the PNC, and general electioneering material,” a senior source on the party’s 2018 Congress Committee related to <<Guyana Times>> on Friday morning.

The committee member said that while this is not the first time in the history of the PNC that such lavish campaigns and electioneering are taking place, it is the first time that persons vying for positions have been able to travel from Central Georgetown to far-flung areas while serving as sitting Government ministers to engage and meet delegates directly.

“I cannot say how they are getting the resources, or where they are getting the resources from. I will not speculate, but what I know for sure is that the assistance being offered by the PNC/R is minimal, to say the least. We don’t have that wide assortment of vehicles or finances to provide the assistance that some of the contenders are providing for themselves,” the committee member said, before explaining that all of those running for office understand that the party expects that they operate with-

in the confines of the rules and that they do not blur the lines between the utilisation of their personal assets and resources, the party’s resources, and that of the State.

Efforts to contact PNC/R General Secretary Amna Ally, who is also the Head of the Congress Committee, to ascertain whether the office-contenders were briefed explicitly regarding the utilisation of state resources in terms of Government vehicles, staff and equipment not being allowed proved futile.

Another source close to Congress Place, speaking with the Guyana Times on Friday, said many of the top contenders are ministers who have funds and budgets at their personal disposal.

“I am not speculating, but you may need to ask what types of vehicles were used by these party executives when they visited delegates in Linden, Lethem and other far- flung areas? Where have they been sourcing the money from to campaign? And how have they managed to source all of those resources which pre-2018 they would definitely not have had access to?” the source explained.

Denial

But PNC Executive Member Joseph Harmon, the currently serving Minister of State in President Granger’s Cabinet, denied on Thursday

that those persons vying for top positions within the party, whose fate in this regard would be determined at the PNC/R congress, were misusing state resources, or even engaged in reassigning resources for their personal or political gain.

“That not true…that’s not accurate…that’s an inaccurate statement to be made”, Harmon said with a grin on his face.

Asked by a journalist at his post-Cabinet press-briefing whether it was party or personal resources being expended by the contenders, Harmon said, “Well, it would be both”, before ending the conference.

Already, hundreds of delegates and party personnel have being transported from far- flung areas to Congress Place with the use of at least two David Granger School buses, according to one report.

Over three years later, the PNC stalwarts will hold deliberations on the way forward for the party, and will discuss the party’s status within A Partnership for National Unity coalition. Discussions will also take place on the PNC/R and APNU’s relationship with the Alliance for Change.

Of utmost importance is the party’s plan in event the Alliance for Change decides to break away from the coalition to contest the 2020 elec-

tions as an independent political organism. The PNC/R leaders will also deliberate on that party’s performance in Government, and the need to reform the party in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead with a buoyant oil and gas sector envisioned.

Also, the old guard within the PNC/R will be scouting votes to ensure that someone who has a history of service and the blessings of the party’s former leader, Robert Corbin, assumes the Chairmanship of

the party. Currently, PNC/R Executives Volda Lawrence, Basil Williams and Joseph Harmon are vying for the title.

Lawrence is the favourite to cop the title among women, youths and traditional PNC/R supporters, but on Friday there were reports that Harmon had won the endorsement of key people within the delegates’ pool, including the party’s leader.

Over the past two months, both Harmon, Williams and Lawrence have been in a

head- to-head battle contesting the key PNC/R constituencies and canvassing for votes.

“It will be surprising to see who emerges victorious.

In the end, I think we will demand that the party does a post mortem to see where these contenders got their monies from, and what types of resources they utilised; state, personal or party. We don’t want to be like the PPP when they were in power,” the committee member explained.

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

IN THE COURTS

Teen among 3 slapped with cocaine trafficking charges

A

14-year-old lad was on Friday arraigned with three men before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on charges of trafficking 10.078 kilograms (22 lbs) of cocaine.

The men arraigned: Ricardo Denhart, 47; Patrick Ram, and Denzil Park, 49, all denied the charge when it was read to them. The lad has also denied the charge.

The court heard that on August 14, 2018, while in the parking lot of Popeye’s Fast Food restaurant at Vlissengen Road and Duncan Street, Georgetown, the quartet trafficked the prohibited substance.

Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield detailed that, on the day in question, ranks of

…a comrade?

Ricardo Denhart, Patrick Ram and Denzil Park being escorted out of the courtroom

the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) were on an intelligence-led operation when they swooped down on the men.

It is alleged that the CANU ranks witnessed when one of the men exited motorcar PWW 8454 and handed a shopping bag to another, who was seated in minibus PKK 6944.

After witnessing the exchange, CANU ranks allegedly intercepted and searched both vehicles, unearthing several “bricks” which were wrapped in parcels hidden behind the driver’s seat of the minibus. The parcels were examined and later proved to be cocaine.

The court was informed that the ranks have also

gathered close circuit television footage from the restaurant showing the exchange.

After listening to the prosecution’s submission, Magistrate McLennan released the teen on $200,000, bail but remanded the three adults.

The matter is expected to continue on August 31.

Father of 10 charged for sharing nude photos of wife

D

Forgetting…

C

esmond Simpson, a father of 10, found himself arraigned on Friday before Georgetown Magistrate Leron Daly on a charge detailing that on May 29, 2018, while in the vicinity of Georgetown, he shared nude photos of his wife to three persons.

He was charged separately for each offence.

He denied committing the act, and his wife Simone Simpson told the magistrate that she does not want to proceed

with the charge, and as such will not offer any evidence against her husband.

Magistrate Daly has however refused to discontinue the matter. In scolding the accused for his behaviour, she asked, “Aren’t you too old for this sort of behaviour? You shouldn’t even be accused of this offence!”

The Magistrate then placed the father of ten on $70,000 bail for each of the charges, and set the matter to continue on September 7.

Desmond Simpson

live Thomas has been in the news recently on account of suggesting that every household be given $1million annually from the coming oil revenues. One thing this has done is to knock criticisms of the oil contract “negotiated” by Raphael Trotman completely off the map! Maybe this is not entirely coincidental? At the time Thomas made his gambit, the place he chose to do it was interesting to your Eyewitness: at an Emancipation commemoration.

Now, even though Thomas’s proposal covered “all” Guyanese households, surely he chose a gathering of the descendants of African slaves because they prompted the thought that they needed to be helped. But Thomas was also Chairman of GuySuCo when the corporation fired 5,700 descendants of mostly indentured servants.

Didn’t it cross his mind then that he could’ve made the suggestion to the authorities to give those sugar workers some hope for the future? Are they not also people, and deserving of some compassion?

Be it as it may, your Eyewitness’s thoughts were drawn to Thomas for another reason: the other day, when he learnt that Samir Amin had passed away. Well, dear reader, if you’d gone to university in the 1970s, you wouldn’t have asked “Who is Samir Amin?” Amin was a revolutionary Marxist, along with Thomas -- yes, the same Clive Thomas, zipping his lips when thousands of workers under his charge are fired – leaders in pushing for developing countries to make a radical break with the advanced economies, especially the US! Thomas’s book summarising his position was “Dependence and Transformation”, while Samir’s was “Unequal Development”.

Under their “dependency” thesis, there was no way developing countries could actually “develop” if those links were not sundered. Their whole thesis was more anti-American than anything else, and they pushed a line that Europe should make common cause with China, India and Russia to neutralise the US. So, with Samir joined at the hip with Thomas – including their association with the Marxist Journal “Monthly Review” – your Eyewitness wondered why Thomas hadn’t even issued a message of condolence at his old comrade’s passing.

Was he embarrassed about what his old comrades at Monthly Review think about him joining the PNC in Government after what they did to Walter Rodney? Was he embarrassed that Samir didn’t sell out his Marxist principles on the altar of race? Or is it he doesn’t want to remind the US that he spent most of his life on the frontline denouncing their “hegemony” with their creation and maintenance of “Monopoly Capitalism”??

Be as it may, Samir Amin was a product of his times, and made some useful observations and analyses of the “World Order”.

He doesn’t deserve to be dropped like a hot potato

by Thomas!

…or traducing the Rule of Law?

Sometimes the application of the law in particular circumstances leads to unfair or ridiculous outcomes, and it‘s said “the law is an ass”! But it’s another thing to make an ass of the law, which is what this Government, in general – and its Attorney General in particular -insists on doing.

Take this nonsense going on with the AG about the application – more specifically, the NON- application of the Judicial Review Act (JRA), which “makes provision for citizens to challenge actions of public authorities on the grounds that their actions are unlawful, illegal, and capricious, contrary to some written law, ultra vires or violate the rules of natural justice.” Now why in goodness’ sake would the AG want to hold further “consultations” when the Chief Justice has confirmed it must be applied pronto? He’s just making an ass of the law and the Judiciary. Now we hear the JRA will be discussed in Cabinet!

So the Executive’s perception of the law will trump the Judiciary’s?

…injustice to the ordinary citizen

Cabinet will also be looking into the Broomes Affair… eventually! Ordinary guards are immediately detained for performing their duties.

But Broomes doesn’t even get a rap on the knuckles for abusing her authority!

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

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Queen’s College, Anna Regina Secondary dominate CSEC …over 600 students receive zero passes

By Rupadai Seenaraine

S

ixteen-year-old Christian Pile of Queen’s College has been named Guyana’s top performer at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) examinations for securing a remarkable 19 grade ones at the examination sat earlier this year.

In an interview with Guyana Times on Friday, Pile indicated that he was surprised at the results, but said he was somewhat certain that he would have ex-

Leshanna Bindah – 15 ones 2 twos 2 threes

celled. Plans for the aspiring orthodontist include attending sixth form this year.

Smiling widely, Pile indicated that he was filled with joy and pride at his achievement. He added, “I was really happy, overjoyed (and) really proud of myself. I knew I would have done really well at the exams, I just didn’t know that I would be the top student. My mom, she was really the driving force: she inspired me; she built my confidence; she made me know that I had the ability to do great things; so, basically, she told me why not try to challenge yourself?”

Balancing his time was one of the most important aspects of this successful outcome, and Pile explained that some of it included lessons and numerous hours of studying.

“In preparation for my CSEC exams, I had extra lessons in the morning (and) in the afternoon. I had numerous hours of studying.

Sometimes these ran early into the morning, around two or three. I also had to ensure I completed all of my SBAs (School-Based Assessments) on time, so that I would have adequate time to study. It really involved a lot of planning, time management, and organization,” he explained.

Christian Pile’s mother, teacher Fayann SimpsonPile, shared some advice for

Haema Dasrath – 17 ones, 1 two, 1 three

parents whose children will be sitting the examination in the following academic year: “You will have to be there.

Physical presence was important. I know all parents are not teachers. Some parents are very busy, but it’s important that, in some way, you make your presence felt and encourage your child to believe in himself; because, once you do, then 85 percent of the work is completed.”

Among the top performers are Shakira Bholo of Anna Regina Multilateral; Salma Majeed of ISA Islamic Academy; Areeb Ali of Queen’s College; Cemecia de la Cruz of Anna Regina Multilateral; and Haema Dasrath, Aarti Hooblall, Reseda Hack, Leshanna Binda and Yashoda Samaroo of Queen’s College.

Shakira Bholo of Cotton Field, Essequibo Coast, (Region Two, PomeroonSupenaam) copped the second position in the country with 18 grade ones and two grade twos. She related to this publication that she was very excited about her success, giving God praise for her ability and thanking her supportive parents.

Bholo, who attended the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School, is plan-

ning to follow a career as an economist.

In fourth place, Areeb Ali noted, “I just wanted to attempt something kinda big, and it’s just one chance you get to write CSEC, so I just did a good amount. I’d like to thank Allah, because my success is only by him; (I also want to thank) my parents, sisters, teachers and friends.”

Meanwhile, Camecia De La Cruz of the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School was able to capture the second place for Region

Yashoda Samaroo – 15 ones 2 twos

Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and fifth in the country. De La Cruz said her parents were the main reason for her success, as were the teachers of the institution.

Aarti Hooblall of Queen’s College explained that she was anxious to collect the results, and was quite surprised at what she read. She next plans to pursue law at sixth form.

“The anxiety to get the results was quite intense. I was trying for like hours, and it was just relief (when I finally succeeded). It was happiness!” she exclaimed.

Reseda Hack explained that she was grateful for what she’d achieved, noting,

Aarti Hooblall – 17 ones 3 twos

“I was just thankful. There were a lot of nights without sleep; a lot of lessons, and a lot of time spent behind my books, in order to ensure that I was prepared.”

Another top performer, Yashoda Samaroo, stated, “I was very overjoyed. My hard work actually paid off, and I want to become a lawyer.”

The announcement of the results was officially made on Friday at the National Centre for Education Resource Development, in the company of Education Minister Nicolette Henry,

Raseda Hack – 15 ones 2 twos 2 threes

Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson, and other Education Ministry officials.

During that time, Hutson informed that more than 600 students had received zero passes at the examination for public schools only. This means that they were unable to secure any grade. He was, however, unable to address where the disparity lies, but further related that the matter will be addressed.

It was also disclosed that an overall pass rate in Mathematics and English

improved when compared to last year’s statistics. English Language saw a pass rate of 64.14 percent when compared to 57.99 percent in 2017, while Mathematics improved with a pass rate of 43.39 percent when compared to 39.23 percent last year.

Apart from these numbers, there were also increased pass rates in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, while Agricultural Science showed declining statistics.

Improved performances were recorded in the business subjects, especially in Office Administration, Principles of Business, Accounts, and Electric Documentation Preparation and Management. Industrial Technology Building, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering all secured passes of over 85 per cent.

This year, some 12,266 candidates were registered to sit the examinations, which shows a decline when compared to 12,684 candidates in 2017. (Additional reporting by Mohanlall Seulall)

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Lusignan Prison raid

Implementation of JRA

Pepper sauce, syringes among items found Nandlall files contempt

A

routine search conducted at the Lusignan Prison on Friday has unearthed yet another set of contraband items, including pepper sauce and syringes.

The search was carried out by ranks of the Joint Services between 05:30h and 08:10h.

According to reports reaching Guyana Times, the following are among the illegal items found at the East Coast Demerara penitentiary: six earpieces; a quantity of razor blades; 17 chargers; 24 lighters; five cells phones; a quantity of wire; 10 improvised weapons; eight metal spoons; two pairs of scissors; one plastic knife; two nail clips; six syringes with needles; a quantity of Ziplock bags; six bottles of pepper sauce; one pack of cards; three bottles of medicine; four bottles of oil with suspected cannabis seeds; one memory card; three mirrors and one wrist watch.

These finds come on the heels of authorities trying to curb the smuggling of contraband items into prisons, which remains a perennial problem within the penal system. In fact, only

The illegal items unearthed during Friday’s search at the Lusignan Prison

last month, a similar search conducted at the Lusignan Prison saw authorities clearing the facility of a number of sharp weapons, such as knife, scissors and blades.

During that three-hour search, the ranks found: three cell phones; two cell phone batteries; 27 cell phone chargers; four phone casings; four ear pieces; one memory card; three sim cards; one pocket knife; four pairs of scissors; two packs of needles; a quantity of razor blades; two hacksaw blades; 13 improvised weapons; two mirrors; four

metal spoons; 24 lighters; a quantity of cigarettes; four Ziplock bags with marijuana, and a quantity of wires.

The authorities have been working to curb the practice of illegal items finding their way into prisons, which is said to be a “big business”, and their efforts have resulted in several prison officers having been caught facilitating the illegal trade.

In fact, Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, disclosed during a press conference last month that five prison officers have been

relieved of their duties after they had been fingered in an incident whereby a parcel containing cannabis had been thrown into the Lusignan Prison Holding Bay area.

He said, “It is quite disturbing, it is quite embarrassing, to have to face these situations on a daily basis; but this is not a situation whereby the prison administration is failing to act.

The reality of it is, despite we would do vetting and so forth, these prison officers are drawn from communities…and for some strange reason, despite they’re given their dos and don’ts, they allow themselves to be sucked into the financial gains that these activities can bring (them).”

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, expressing anger at the increasing attempts to smuggle contraband items into the prisons, has blamed possible collusion between prison officers and inmates. He noted that requests have been made for the procurement of scanners to be installed at the entry and exist points of the various prison facilities.

of court proceedings against AG

Attorney Anil Nandlall

Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams

ormer Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, has filed contempt of court proceedings against his successor, Basil Williams, for refusing to comply with the High Court ruling which ordered that he activate the Judicial Review Act (JRA).

The National Assembly had approved the Judicial Review Bill since October 2010, and it was assented to by the then President one month later. However, the Act, which allows Guyanese to seek legal remedies such as injunctions and compensation against any public official or any statutory agency, could not have been activated without the Civil Procedure Rules, which took effect in February 2017.

There has since been no steps taken over the past year to implement the Judicial Review Act. As such, Nandlall filed a lawsuit in May, asking the court to compel his successor to activate the law. Chief Justice Roxane George granted the request, ordering the Legal Affairs Minister to activate the Act by July 31, 2018.

However, Williams, who contended that the JRA needed to be fine-tuned before implementation, turned to the Appeal Court to have the lower court ruling stayed. But Justice of Appeal Rafiq Khan last week dismissed the stay of execution application, saying that the Minister is trying to frustrate and obstruct the operationalisation of the Judicial Review Act. In addition, the State was ordered to pay $150,000 in court costs.

Nandlall had since warned that if Williams continues to refuse to comply with the acting Chief Justice’s order, contempt of court proceedings would be filed against the Minister. Nandlall had also accused the Legal Affairs Minister of avoiding being served the order from the Appeal Court.

In fact, in the contempt of court proceedings filed on Friday, Nandlall outlined in his grounds that since the Appeal Court decision, there have been three attempts by separate Court Marshalls to serve Williams with the order since last week’s ruling but on all occasions, they were unable to do so. In two instances, the Marshalls left the Order of Court with two employ-

ees at the Minister’s office, while on the other occasion, the court officer was told that AG Williams was in a meeting and that it was impossible to serve him. “…The Respondent is obviously avoiding personal service and were he not avoiding personal service, this order of court would have been served upon him, personally… The Respondent has refused to comply with the said order of Chief Justice Roxane George… The Respondent’s conduct is in clear contempt of the said order of Chief Justice Roxane George and this honourable Court,” the court proceeding stated.

To this end, Nandlall is asking the court for “…an order committing the Respondent to Georgetown Prisons, Camp Street, Georgetown for such period and on such terms and conditions as are just for failing to bring the Judicial Review Act Chapter 8:06, into force on or before the 31st day of July 2018, as ordered by the Honourable Madam Chief Justice Roxane George on the 28th day of May, 2018.”

He is also asking for the Legal Affairs Minister be made to pay such costs as are just and to comply with any other order that the court considers necessary.

This move by Nandlall comes one day after Government’s spokesperson, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, hinted that Government could be moving to a higher court to again stay the ruling which compels the Legal Affairs Minister to activate the Judicial Review Act (JRA).

Harmon told reporters at the post-Cabinet press briefing on Thursday that the matter is currently before Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams, who will then have to advise Cabinet before a decision is taken on the way forward.

“There are various levels of courts, so it might very well be that the advice might be to take it to the next level.

So there are various options that are there, but Cabinet will need to be advised by the Minister of Legal Affairs on the course of action to be taken,” Harmon said.

The Minister of State has said the matter is expected to come up before Cabinet at its next meeting.

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

1% improvement in CAPE results recorded …9 Queen’s College students among top 10

This year’s top CAPE performer, 18-yearold Aadilah Ali

By Davina Ramdass

Q

ueen’s College has managed to produce nine of the top 10 students at this year’s Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).

This was revealed on Friday as the Education Ministry officially released CAPE and the Caribbean Secondary Examinations Council (CESC) results at the National Centre for Education Resource Development, on Battery Road, Kingston, Georgetown.

First on the chart was Aadilah Ali who secured eight Grade Ones in Communication Studies, Integrated Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Pure Mathematics and Physics.

She was closely trailed by Michael Bhopaul, last year’s top performer at CSEC, who also had eight Grade One passes in Applied Mathematics, Biology, Caribbean Studies, Chemistry, French, Pure Mathematics, Physics and Spanish.

Coming in third, also from QC, was Sariah Singh who achieved seven Grade Ones in Applied Mathematics, Caribbean Studies, Entrepreneurship, Integrated Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science. She also achieved two Grade Twos in Pure Mathematics and Sociology.

Rajiv Muneshwar, who was placed fourth, received seven Grade Ones in Applied Mathematics, Communication Studies, Integrated Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, Pure Mathematics and Physics.

Rawletta Barrow, another student of QC, accomplished six Grade One passes in Caribbean Studies, Economics, Law, Management of Business, Pure Mathematics and Sociology; while securing a Grade Two in English Literatures Right behind Barrow was her colleague Dalip Jeevan who attained six Grade One passes in Biology, Caribbean Studies, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Pure Mathematics and Physics.

Min Wen Gong scored six Grade Ones in Caribbean Studies, Integrated

Second highest CAPE performer, Michael Bhopaul

Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, Pure Mathematics, Physics and a Grade Two in Biology.

Eighth on the chart was Fatima Karim, who secured six Grade Ones in Caribbean Studies, Integrated Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, Physics and Green Engineering, while scoring a Grade Two in Chemistry.

Jamie Yearwood, also of QC acquired six Grade One passes in Caribbean Studies, Integrated Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science and Pure Mathematics.

Meanwhile, a student of Marian Academy, Farah Chin positioned herself on the country’s list of top performers as she also secured six Grade One passes in Applied Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Communication Studies, Pure Mathematics and Physics.

The students’ performances were graded as per the units they wrote in the exams written between the months of May and June 2018.

Examinations review This year, 923 students wrote CAPE from nine secondary schools and five privately operated centres. As such, Guyana has seen an overall improvement in its pass rates as well as an increase in the number of entries for the exam.

As of 2017, the pass rate was 92.57 per cent with 851 entries from students.

In 2018, the country documented 93.68 per cent passes with 923 entries from students. This represents a 1.11 per cent increase. Last year 3923 subject entries were made whereby 4224 were made this year.

In 2018, Integrated Mathematics continued to show improvements in Grades One to Five passes from 52.51 per in 2016, 83.64 per cent in 2017 and 83.84 per cent in 2018. Caribbean Studies and Communication Studies continue to record an over 95 per cent pass rate.

Digital media and animation and gaming design were written electronically, and 100 per cent pass rate was attained in all units.

Analysis of subjects The Education Ministry said it has recorded increased performances in 18 subject areas, namely

Jamie Yearwood

Accounting1, Accounting2, Applied Mathematics1, Biology1, Chemistry1, Chemistry2, Economics1, History1, History2, Law2, Literature in English1, Literature in English2, Management of Business1 and 2, Physics1, Sociology1 and 2 and Tourism1.

CAPE top performer “Relieved” is the one word that this year’s top CAPE

Dalip Jeevan

Rawletta Barrow

Fatima Karim

performer, Aadilah Ali used to describe her emotions on Friday as she was greeted to her exceptional scores.

The young scholar who hails from Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara, said she began preparing for her examinations when the term first started in September of last year, but ‘really got serious’ about two months prior to her exams.

The 18-year old said, “I feel relieved. I didn’t expect to do this amazing. I mean, I expected to do good but not

as good as this. I’m just really happy and relieved so no words can describe how I feel”.

Ali said now that she would have excelled in her studies, she now endeavours to attend the University of Guyana (UG) in pursuit of medical studies so she can become a paediatric surgeon.

She added, “The exams had their fair share of difficulties, especially Pure Mathematics, but overall they were alright and really tested us.”

The former student of Queen’s College gained 18 Grade Ones, three Grade Twos and one Grade Three when she wrote her exams in 2016.

“My advice to those who are about to pursue CAPE is to prepare yourself. CAPE is not like CSEC, it requires much dedication and patience. Trust in God that He has everything planned out but even so, always remember to work hard, focus and you will become successful,” she encouraged.

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Planned teachers’ strike

Govt’s hiring consultant to settle impasse a delaying ploy – Jagdeo

...Education Ministry appears more concerned with hiring scab labour – WPA

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ust days before an impasse resulted following talks with Government and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) over salary increases, Education Minister Nicolette Henry indicated that a consultant could be hired to sort the issues related to salary increases in keeping with what both sides had agreed. However, this commitment has drawn the criticism of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, who has described the move as a ploy to further stall the negotiations.

He made these comments on Thursday last when he said that Government must urgently look into the concerns of teachers.

“This is going like full circle again, and it is another ploy to stall for time; so I would urge the Government to treat with the concerns of teachers as an urgent issue and don’t drag them along in a never-ending issue of negotiations,” Jagdeo said recently.

Jagdeo said views were expressed on the very af-

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

ternoon that the stalemate was announced, when GTU and Government could not agree on the majority of the financial arrangements for teachers. In fact, the GTU, after meeting for nearly three hours with Government and labour officials, said Thursday that since the situation remained unchanged, their plans remain intact, meaning that an imminent nationwide strike will go ahead as planned.

Jagdeo, speaking at his press conference, pointed out that “for too long”, the nation’s our teachers have been dragged out with the hope that their demands would be addressed.

“It seems as though the Government never had any anything to accede on those demands...when we asked the minister what was happening with the report of the task force, and when the Government intends to pursue the recommendations, she practically gave zero answer,” he stressed.

Jagdeo said, too, that when Government has matters of similar nature, it should include in the delegations persons who have the authority to makes commitments of the Government.

“Another meeting with the minister, who always claims that ‘I can’t make any final determinations as to what we were hoping,’ is a waste of time,” Jagdeo opined.

WPA position

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA), which forms part of A Partnership

for National Unity (APNU), on Friday said it is perturbed at the administration for its inability to reach consensus with the GTU on wage increases. Weighing in on the impasse, the WPA said that Government appears to be indifferent regarding the threat of strike action.

“Rather than trying harder to arrive at an agreement, the Ministry of Education, according to reports, appears to be more concerned with hiring scab labour to counter the teachers’ threat. This insensitivity towards the teachers’ reasonable demands is at odds with President Granger’s strident education activism and advocacy for increased and improved access to quality education by our children,” the party noted.

The party noted that, from a political standpoint, it feels that the Government is committing “political suicide by picking a fight with teachers, most of whom voted for the Coalition. It is bad politics to alienate your supporters on a matter that

Education Minister Nicolette Henry

could be easily solved.”

Minister Henry held an emergency press conference following Thursday’s stalemate, at which she signaled that Government is already considering a 2003 Internal Standard Operational Procedure (SoP) which speaks to alternative measures to deal with the fallout from any strike action.

“What it says, parents have to get involved through PTAs (parent-teachers’ as-

sociations). It talks (of) hiring of temporary persons in the classroom to fill those gaps; the number of persons on strike or on board; whether you go half-day or rotate; but those are the technical issues, I’ve asked my CEO that we have all of the preliminary work done in the event that we have to activate,” she told the media on Thursday.

The GTU outright rejected Government’s request for teachers to agree to a debunching payoff of $200 million for 2018/19 and similarly rejected the $700 million cap that was placed on salary increases.

The stalemate also revealed that Government was not budging on the clothing allowance which remains at $8000.

On Tuesday, through a statement, Minister Henry said it was agreed at the initial meeting that “a consultant will be hired to determine how these monies are going to be allocated in the case of the teachers, regarding both debunching and salaries.”

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Opposition wins Youth Parliament debate – after UG students square off over topical issues

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he fourth Youth Parliament – the first in history that featured University of Guyana (UG) students participating – finished on a high note with the Opposition side managing to cop the win after lengthy deliberations by the judges.

The motions they debated included augmenting efforts to combat climate change and the establishment of a media monitoring unit – both moved by the Government side. On the other hand, the Opposition side moved two motions; the Amendment to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act and a proposal to build a local oil refinery.

Mover of the climate change motion, Youth Minister of State, Trevon Chichester set the bar high with an impassioned presentation. He argued for the continued implementation of the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), though the

Youth Citizenship Minister, Jarryl Bryan, makes a point

Opposition side questioned the absence of public information on the policy.

“We're approaching the end of 2018 and still there has been little to no effort to engage members of the public from outlying regions like Region Six. For far too long, citizens from the outermost

regions of Guyana have been kept, in layman's terminology, out of the loop! It seems as though the Government is waiting on the second coming of the messiah to engage the populace,” Youth Shadow Minister of State Uneisha Smartt rebutted, eliciting laughter from within the house.

Youth Public Telecommunications Minister Devta Ramroop moved a motion for a media monitoring unit (MMU) to be set up, arguing that freedom of speech must be a responsible one. However, the Opposition was having none of it and branded the motion as disrespectful to the media fraternity. According to Ramroop's shadow counterpart, Oniell Stephenson, the motion endangered freedom of the press and moreover, a media monitoring unit is already in place.

“Attempts to further monitor the media sound more like censorship and

that no more organisations be established to monitor and oversee the media.”

Decriminalising marijuana

Youth Opposition Leader Riaz Rupnarain during his presentation

the beginning of a totalitarian regime,” Stephenson pronounced. “I understand that Government monitoring the media is never a good look. But since Guyana's Constitution provides for freedom of expression and the law, freedom of the press, a well as the already established MMU, be it resolved

Youth Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs Kristoff Shepperd introduced a motion to have the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act amended to reduce the minimum sentencing and incorporate leniency and alternative sentencing.

The Government side rose to the occasion, however. Youth Social Protection Minister Yonnick David noted the highly addictive nature of the marijuana drug and also its categorisation as a gateway drug. In a moving presentation, he pointed out that drug dealers have no code of ethics among themselves and would not hesitate to sell the legalised but harmful drugs to school children.

Youth Minister of Citizenship, Jarryl Bryan,

Youth Prime Minister and best debater winner, Reon Miller

warned of the danger of “following for following sake.”

Bryan noted that unlike Guyana, many countries that have liberalised their laws regarding drug possession have impressive social systems in place, including multiple drug rehabilitation centres and free treatment for addicts. continued on page 14

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Youths in Natural Resources tour CGX logistics yard, port facilities

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he Youths in Natural Resources apprentice toured the logistics yard and port facilities of CGX Energy in Berbice on Friday.

The young people were briefed on the work of the CGX Energy Inc’s logistics yard, Palmyra, Berbice,

by Executive Chairman, Professor Suresh Narine.

They were also briefed about the company’s plan to construct a port facility at Crab Island.

Emanuel Trotman, an 18-year-old Linden Technical Institute student, said learning about the oil and gas industry has fuelled his interest to study that area. Trotman, who has pursued computer science studies at the LTI said he would like to study Geology at the

Executive Chairman of CGX Energy Inc, Professor Suresh Narine, engaging the Youths in Natural Resources at CGX Logistics Yard

University of Guyana.

“It was an awesome experience especially know-

ing they have onshore and offshore drilling operations.

Now since I’ve gathered a

bit of knowledge from CGX Managers, they gave me courage to go on and do ge-

Opposition wins Youth...

ology studies,” Trotman is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.

Following their tour of CGX Energy Inc, the youths were in New Amsterdam to witness the handing over of play park equipment and trees by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman towards the beautification of the Esplanade Park.

The donation was made to the Mayor of New Amsterdam.

Minister Trotman said it is his way of giving back to the community he grew up in. The Minister also committed an additional $3 million towards the restoration of the park.

Shevonne Joseph, a 19-year-old from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper

Essequibo) was among the young people on hand at Friday’s simple handing over ceremony. She said her experience with the programme has been educational. “Participating in this programme has really built my capacity and understanding of Guyana. We visited various regions and I got an overview of that region. I have learned a lot… I am hoping when I get back home I can share it,” Joseph said.

The Youths in Natural Resources Apprenticeship Programme was launched earlier this month. There are 26 students from across the country participating in the programme which aims to promote the natural resources sector as a career option.

acknowledged was commonplace in Guyana's National Assembly – they acknowledged the standout performers and praised the well-researched presentations.

Noting the difficulty in selecting a winning side due to the overall positive performance, the Opposition was given the win.

Trotman also requested that the Parliament Office transcribe the student’s speeches, and have them packaged and distributed to Members of the

National Assembly. Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland urged the students to continue to strive for greatness.

During the first sitting on August 15 that featured secondary school students, the Government side of the House won the debate, Best Speaker was awarded to Arifa Ahsidally, the Shadow Minister of Education. The Best Debater was awarded to the Youth Prime Minister, Jordan Kellman.

from page 13

In addition, he noted that Section 73 (1,b) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act already allows the Magistrates leniency when sentencing persons for possession of drugs... provided there are special circumstances.

“My learned colleagues, did you know that the law allows Magistrates to impose lesser than minimum sentences on those convicted of drug possession? If you relied on the Opposition's

motion for guidance, you wouldn't know. But it does.

That provision was put there by the framers of this law specifically to lessen the yoke of judicial punishment on the ordinary citizen who those special circumstances apply to!” Bryan stressed.

The final motion called on the Government to establish a local oil refinery. It was moved by the Shadow Minister of Natural Resources and eventual best speaker winner, Miracle Miller. A number of speak-

ers on the Government side argued against its establishment, but with the conclusion of this motion, it was down to the leaders of the respective sides of the House.

Youth Opposition Leader Riaz Rupnarain, in a performance commended by onlookers, took the Government to task on the various motions it debated.

When it came to the amendments to the Narcotics Act, he failed to address observations that the law already allows discretion. Youth

Prime Minister Reon Miller, the eventual winner of best debater, reinforced his Government's arguments on the motions.

Judging the youths were Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, Academic Engagement Officer Sharon Roopchand-Edwards and University of Guyana Senior Lecturer, Dr Valarie Leung.

While they expressed disappointment that most of the parliamentarians read from speeches rather than debated – a habit Trotman

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saturdAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Health Ministry receives ATVs, Linden hotelier nabbed for Trafficking in Persons $18M from PAHO/WHO …2 foreign women rescued …claims they were sold for $25,000 each

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Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) hotelier is in Police custody after Police swooped down on his premises and allegedly found two foreign women being held against their will.

Reports are the ranks raided the hotel and bar located at Wismar, Linden at about 21:30h on Thursday after a report was made about alleged Trafficking in Persons being committed by the businessman.

During the raid, two foreign female nationals were removed from the business premises and handed over to officials from the CounterTrafficking in Persons Unit at the Social Protection Ministry as investigations continue.

Information from the

Police indicates that ranks, acting on information received, went to the hotel and bar located at Burnham Drive Wismar, Linden, which is owned by a 54-year-old businessman. A search was conducted of the premises and two female Venezuelan ages 20 and 30 were allegedly

found in one of the rooms. The females were questioned using an interpreter app where they allegedly stated that they were being held at the hotel against their will and they were sold to the hotel owner by a man for $25,000 each. Investigations are in progress.

Charlestown man remanded for armed robbery

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ames Murphy, 22, of Lot 17 Broad Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, was on Friday remanded to prison by Magistrate Leron Daly after he was slapped with a robbery under arms charge.

Murphy denied the charge which stated that on August 15, 2018, while he

was in the company of others and armed with a gun, he robbed Mark Griffith of one gold band and $165,000; a total value of $350,000.

However, in a strange twist, Griffith refused to give evidence into the matter and told the court that he and Murphy are relatives and have decided to settle the

“Short Boss” arrested for murder of Timehri mason RECAP

"S

Dead: Ronsley Clarke

hort Boss", prime suspect in the shooting death of 21-year-old Ronsley Clarke, which took place on August 2, 2018 at “C” Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was arrested on Thursday on the West Coast of Demerara, after Police received information of his whereabouts and went to the area.

He was handed over to detectives in ‘C’ Division who are continuing their investigation into this shooting death.

“Short Boss” is shortly expected to be arraigned with the capital offence of murder.

Clarke, a mason of Timehri, East Bank Demerara, was shot in front of his girlfriend. Based on information received, the victim and the suspect had been known to each other, and had reportedly had a disagreement about a month prior to the shooting, while at a party.

On the evening in question, Clarke was in company of his girlfriend, Alesha Thomas, at the main access road at “C” Field Sophia when the suspect was reportedly seen drawing a small silver pistol from his jacket. An alarm was raised, but before anything could be done, Short Boss reportedly discharged three rounds in Clarke’s direction.

Clarke was struck to his right-side rib and to his right side upper back, and fell to the ground while the gunman quickly made good his escape in an unknown direction.

The Police were called to the scene, and Clarke was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Two .32 spent shells were recovered from the scene of the shooting.

matter. The Magistrate did not dismiss the charge but rather remanded Murphy to prison until a full settlement is paid over to Griffith.

The matter will continue on August 24.

PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow and Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence at the handing over ceremony

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he Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) has donated three all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) along with a monetary contribution of $18 million to the Public Health Ministry.

P A H O / W H O Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow handed over the ATVs to Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence at a simple ceremony at the Ministry’s Brickdam, Georgetown headquarters.

Minster Lawrence in brief remarks said, “The

provision of the three ATVs will help with our outreaches… where the staff is providing services (such as) vaccination and testing for local and neighbouring populations seeking access to these services”. Additionally, the Minister said the vehicles will be used specifically in the areas of Region One (Barima-Waini); Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo), which will boost the Ministry’s vaccination, environmental health, surveillance, and response to emergencies programmes

within these regions.

Lawrence lauded the strengthening partnership between the Public Health Ministry and PAHO/WHO, noting that the donation is a testament of “the collaborative efforts to ensure that the people of Guyana have access to healthcare.”

The monetary contribution will be placed on improving the human resource, surveillance training and vaccination campaigns in Region One; Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); Region Eight and Region Nine.

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saturDAY, august 18, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

National Climate Change $10M Mabaruma fish processing Committee hosts first workshop facility works moving apace

Head of the OCC, Janelle Christian

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he recently re-established National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) earlier today hosted its first capacity building workshop in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Among the agenda items were the genesis of the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and climate change; structure and organisation of the UNFCCC; understanding the negotiation process; thematic areas of importance for SIDS [Small Island Developing States] and LDCs [Least Developed Countries] with special focus on Guyana; establishing National priorities and National Determine Contributions (NDC).

In brief remarks, representative of the FAO, Reuben Robertson said as a specialised agency of the UN, the NCCC is committed to assisting countries in the development and implementation of climate change and disaster risk management responses at the policy, institution, sector and community levels all aimed at building resilience eradicating poverty and zeroing hunger.

“FAO has been working with countries to better understand climate change and its impacts; and moreover, to assist in the realisation

of the objectives explicitly expressed in the nationally determined contributions.

FAOs work through partnership for achieving the goals is very significant because FAO recognises that zeroing hunger, eradicating poverty requires smart and effective partnership and therefore Sustainable Development Goals numbers one and two – eradicating poverty zeroing hunger really require all-hands-on-deck be it the Private Sector, Public Sector, civil society the community and gender with the whole focus on women and youth,” Robertson is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.

According to the FAO representative, the organisation is aware of the impact of climate change and, therefore, has focused on sustainable management of natural resources, climate change and building resilience through strategic objectives, regional initiatives and country priority frameworks.

As it relates to Guyana, Robertson said the organisation currently has two projects ongoing, estimated at about US$300,000 where they are mainstreaming disaster risk management in the agri-sector. “We are happy to say that we are in about seven to eight communities throughout Guyana where we are building resilience among farmers and

the communities through best practices,” Robertson explained.

He added that a number of local communities are directly impacted by the collaborative work between the FAO and local stakeholders.

According to the Head of the Office of Climate Change (OCC), Janelle Christian, climate change is not just an environmental management issue. Christian said it is an economic and development issue also and requires action across all sectors. “… it involves and needs the voice of women so we can address the issues of gender, it needs the representation of youths, it needs the representation and voice of those who operate within the social sector,” she said.

The Office of Climate Change (OCC) is the governmental agency responsible for leading the development and implementation of national policies and actions for ‘climate change mainstreaming’ and the coordination of efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Originally conceived primarily to support the preparation and implementation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy in 2009 the office is expanding its role to lead Guyana’s national climate change efforts.

The OCC is the national focal point for climate change and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and therefore has a core responsibility to coordinate Guyana’s international engagements with the UNFCCC and other climate change processes.

The NCC existed before the Office of Climate Change which was established around 2009 and served the Unit responsible for climate change with the Agriculture Ministry. It constituted several stakeholders and sectors which shaped decisions relating to climate change in Guyana.

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he newly-introduced fish and crab processing initiative in Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini) is said to be moving along in keeping with the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry’s mandate to ensure that the site is in operation in the coming months.

This was shared by the Junior Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Valerie Garrido-Lowe, who told Guyana Times on Thursday that a piece of land has been identified and the residents are working to clear the area. She noted that the $10 million budget is being processed and the works will commence shortly.

“The site for the building has been identified and the people have begun to prepare the area and they’re doing things like weeding the land and digging drains.

The money is being processed right now and once that’s completed, we will go ahead with the construction. Budget is $10 million, but it comes from effort from the residents. The villagers have put their input too and it is their land and they’re promoting family farming,” the Minister stated.

Junior Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Valerie Garrido-Lowe

She indicated that training would be provided shortly for persons in the region.

The facility will provide employment for a maximum of 15 persons, but they will initially begin with seven.

Shifts will be rotated to ensure all are provided with employment.

“Along with that, training will also be done with persons in the community, where we’re looking to provide employment for 10 to 15 persons. They will not gain full-time employment,

so it will be rotating. This means that every two weeks or so, a person will be able to earn from the facility, so it will be rotated among those persons.”

Earlier this year, it was related that plans were in the making to establish the facility, since many residents would not make a significant profit from their crab and fish owing to a lack of market and unavailability of storage. In this way, the shelf-life of the seafood is lengthened and fisherfolk can supply neighbouring areas.

Garrido-Lowe also commented on the coffee project which is ongoing in Region One, noting that by November, the seedlings should be planted along with cash crops to sustain the farmers until the coffee beans could be reaped.

“For the coffee project, the people have identified that land; we decided what cash crops to plant in between; we’re going back there by next weekend.

We’re carrying in another specialist there and I think within two months or so, coffee should grow,” she said.

GRA engages Linden municipality and Chamber of Commerce

Tax Specialist Roopnarine Ramkishun speaking to personnel at the Linden Mayor and Town Council

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he Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) recently engaged staff of the Linden municipality and the Linden Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) as it culminated its 2018 Regional Tax Campaign.

The campaign was facilitated by the Communication and Tax Advisory Services Division which focused on several topics relevant to procedures at the GRA and the 2018 tax laws and regulations.

At the meeting held with the Linden Municipality, one of the main topics covered the two per cent Withholding Tax on resident contractors which the Town Council, as a Central Authority, may have to apply when outsourcing. GRA’s Tax Specialist Roopnarine Ramkishun led discussions in that regard,

expounding on the obligations of both the contractor and contractee and the entities and transactions that are exempt from this law.

The residents were also notified of the current developments at the GRA’s branch office at Casuarina Drive, including the selling of a quantity of alcoholic beverages by way of sealed bids. The public was informed that the winning bid will be subject to G$16 per excise stamp for each bottle. The rationale behind the introduction of the excise stamp was explained in detail at the workshops.

The engagement with the LCCI concentrated more on trade and miscellaneous licences, in particular the recent passage of the Tax Amendment Bill which will allow the GRA to issue a provisional licence to small shops

pending the grant of such permits as building permits and fire permits.

Discussion with the Chamber members enabled the Authority to garner feedback about its services and whether or not those services are working in the best interest of businesses in the Town.

The tax sensitisation campaign is in keeping with the GRA’s mission to promote compliance through education. The exercise commenced in May 2018 focusing on the 2018 legislative amendments and Excise Stamp control programme. Essequibo, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); Lethem, Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo); and Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) were the locations visited.

saturdAY, august 18, 2018

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17

Around the World

India monsoon floods kill Venezuelans rush to more than 300 in Kerala shop, fill tanks before monetary overhaul

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Hundreds of troops have been rescuing trapped residents in Kerala

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t least 324 people have been killed in flooding in the southern Indian state of Kerala in what local officials say is the worst flooding in 100 years. India's monsoon season started in June, but the death toll in Kerala has soared in the last 24 hours.

Rescuers are battling torrential rains to save residents, with more than 200,000 people left homeless in camps. The state government said many of those who died were crushed under debris caused by landslides.

With more rains predicted and a

red alert in place, Kerala's main airport is expected to remain shut until August 26. Hundreds of troops have been deployed to rescue those caught up in the flooding.

Helicopters have been airlifting people marooned by the flooding to safety, with photographs and footage emerging from the area showing elderly people and children being rescued.

More than 300 boats are also involved in rescue attempts, AFP news agency reports. The government has urged people not to ignore evacuation

orders, and is distributing food to tens of thousands who have fled to higher ground.

The Indian home ministry says more than 930 people have now died across India since the country's monsoon season began. The region's chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has described the flooding as the worst the state has seen in a century.

Parts of Kerala's commercial capital, Cochin, are underwater, snaring up roads and leaving railways across the state impassable. (Excerpt from BBC News)

WHO expects more DRC Ebola cases as violence hampers aid efforts

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ilitia violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is preventing aid workers from accessing potential Ebola victims, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

A total of 78 confirmed and probable cases of the disease have been recorded in northeast DRC since August 1, WHO said on Friday. The latest outbreak has claimed so far 44 lives (17 confirmed and 27 probable), it added.

At least 1500 people have been potentially exposed to the deadly virus in North Kivu province but violence in the

region means officials cannot be sure if they have identified all the chains by which it is spreading in the east of the vast country.

In the area, health workers are being forced to navigate their response among more than 100 armed groups.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO chief, said the region was sprinkled with so-called "red zones", or inaccessible areas.

"We don't know if we are having all transmission chains identified. We expect to see more cases as a result of earlier infections and these infections

developing into illness," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a news briefing in Geneva.

"The worst-case scenario is that we have these security blindspots where the epidemic could take hold that we don't know about," he said.

The outbreak is spreading across the lush farmlands of eastern Congo and has already reached neighbouring Ituri province. Ebola causes serious illness including vomiting, diarrhoea and in some cases internal and external bleeding. It is often fatal if untreated. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

ittery Venezuelans on Friday rushed to shops and lined up at gas stations on concerns that a monetary overhaul to lop off five zeros from prices in response to hyperinflation could wreak financial havoc and make basic commerce impossible.

Shoppers sought to ensure their homes were fully stocked with essentials such as food and dry goods and their tanks full before the measure decreed by President Nicolás Maduro takes effect on Monday.

Inflation hit 82,700 per cent in July, according to the Opposition-run congress, as the country’s socialist economic model continued to unravel, meaning purchases of basic items such as a bar of soap or a kilo of tomatoes require piles of cash that is often difficult to obtain.

The change appears un-

likely to generate the chaos of December 2016 when Maduro removed the largest note in circulation without providing a replacement for it. That led to protests, lootings and hundreds of arrests as the country was effectively left without legal tender.

Drivers also rushed to fill up on Venezuela’s heavily-subsidized gas, the world’s cheapest at around 2896 gallons per US penny. Some drivers were worried about paying for gas come Monday as there will be no new legal tender small enough to pay for a full tank.

Maduro also said this month that gas price should be increased, but has not provided a timeframe for the price hike. A half-dozen sources at service stations said they had not been briefed about any changes and were not expecting an imminent rise in prices.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

China's top diplomat says cooperation with Iran to continue: Xinhua

UN human rights committee asks Brazil to let Lula run in election

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he United Nations Human Rights Committee has called for imprisoned former President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva to be allowed to run as a candidate in Brazil's presidential election in October.

The committee, which oversees countries' compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said on Friday that Lula cannot be disqualified from the poll because his legal appeals are still ongoing.

In an emailed statement, the Committee said they

former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva

urged Brazil "not to prevent him from standing for elec-

tion in the 2018 presidential elections, until his appeals before the courts have been completed in fair judicial proceedings".

Brazil's Workers Party nominated Lula as their candidate earlier this month, despite him currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption. The former President is leading the polls by a wide margin. He and his supporters say the charges are politically motivated. Under Brazilian law, candidates with a conviction upheld cannot hold office for eight years.

But a conviction does not

bar them from campaigning. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which has until September 17 to rule on Lula's candidacy, is expected to bar the 72-year-old from running, a decision his lawyers could then appeal to the Supreme Court.

Voters go to the polls on October 7 to pick their next President, as well as vote for their local and national representatives and state governors. In no presidential candidate secures more than 50 per cent of the vote, a runoff vote between the top two contenders will take place on October 28. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Virus outbreak affects hundreds at Sandals Bahamas resort

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debilitating stomach virus has spread like wildfire through the Sandals Royal Bahamian resort in Nassau, blitzing guests and staff members alike with severe vomiting, abdominal pains and diarrhoea, in what some have described as the worst viral outbreak to occur on cruise ship or resort facility in The Bahamas to date.

According to the Health Ministry, some 100 guests and visitors were admitted to hospital, experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

The Health Ministry and the Department of Environmental Health were dispatched to the property in an attempt to determine the exact cause of the illness and how to contain the spread to others guests and staff members.

Trip Advisor, the travel and hotel review and booking website, made mention of the illness through its visitor reviews portal over the last few days.

Speaking to Caribbean News Now, Bahamas Hotel Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (BHMAWU)

President, Donnell Ferguson, said that her members at the Sandals Royal Bahamian property were put in harm’s way by the management and something that is dangerous and life threatening could have been mitigated by the union if managerial staff had been diligent and vigilant in reporting warning signs through proper communications channels and mechanisms.

The BHMAWU said it is working overtime to assist staff and visitors alike during the outbreak. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Singapore, August 3, 2018

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hina will continue its cooperation and relations with Iran, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday, citing a statement from Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most Western sanctions, is in line with the international community’s “common interest”, the Chinese diplomat said in a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, according to Xinhua.

“We have openly indicated that we oppose the wrong practices of unilateral sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ in international rela-

tions,” Wang Yi was quoted as saying. Beijing has cultivated close commercial links with Tehran, especially in the energy sector.

China’s ties with Tehran are open, transparent and lawful, its foreign ministry said earlier in August, after US President Donald Trump said companies doing business with Iran would be barred from the United States.

Earlier this year, Trump took the call to pull the United States out of the JCPOA, ignoring pleas from the other world powers that had co-sponsored the deal, including Washington’s main European allies, Britain, France and Germany, as well as Russia and China. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturdAY, august 18, 2018

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Engage in events that will encourage new friendships and discussions regarding your intentions. Be willing to give a little to get a little.

Discuss your feelings with TAURUS a loved one. If you want to (April 20- make changes at home or to May 20) your relationship, it’s best to be open and honest about your plans before you begin.

dilbert

Put more time, effort and GEMINI (May 21- thought into looking your June 20) best and projecting the image you want to portray. Social events will lead to interesting discussions that encourage positive change.

Express your feelings and consider alternative ways to (June 21- do things that will please othJuly 22) ers. Take better care of your health. Proper fitness and diet should be enforced.

CANCER

Peanuts

Look for unique ways to LEO improve your home life with(July 23- out going into debt. You canAug. 22) not buy love; you must earn it. Pitching in and doing your part will help.

Taking short trips, visitVIRGO ing friends or relatives or just (Aug. 23changing your routine will Sept. 22) give you the pick-me-up you need to spark new ideas or find ways to move in a positive direction.

Calvin and Hobbes

You’ll do better helping LIBRA (Sept. 23- strangers than you will tryOct. 23) ing to please the people close to you. Take a moment to do something that makes you feel good about your appearance.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

Plans can be made, and SCORPIO get-togethers are encouraged, (Oct. 24as long as you don’t overdo it.

Nov. 22) You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a personal change.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

solution for last published puzzle

Old friends will be a reminder of what made you move on. Don’t let someone put you down. Use charm and diplomacy to show how far you’ve come.

Stick close to home and CAPRICORN (Dec. 22- make the alterations that Jan. 19) you’ve been contemplating.

A change will make you feel good about your life and the direction in which you are heading.

Put your best foot forward AQUARIUS when dealing with others.

(Jan. 20- How you share your thoughts Feb. 19) and engage in activities will set the tone for how well you will get along going forward.

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

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

An emotional situation can set your plans back.

Choose not to meddle in other people’s affairs. Focus on your personal interests and finances. Aim to stabilize your life, not to disrupt it.

saturDAY, AUGUST 18, 2018

19

De Bruyne out Imran Khan elected for 3 months Pakistan Prime Minister F

ormer Pakistan captain and World Cup winner Imran Khan has won a parliamentary vote, confirming him as the next prime minister of Pakistan. Following the success of his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice), in elections across the country last month, his election to the top political job was imminent.

H e b e a t the rival can-

didate, Shehbaz Sharif, by 176 votes to 96.

All that remains before Imran officially takes over as prime minister is an inauguration ceremony, to be held on Saturday. Initially, Imran had grand plans for the event, wanting it to be a celebration that extended beyond the political nature of the occasion, and hoped to invite a number of his cricketing contemporaries from India. Invitations were being mooted for, among others, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Sidhu.

However,

I m r a n backtracked later, opting for a more "austere" cer-

emony. Sidhu, who had called Imran a "pure soul who led from the front" after the elections, will be present though.

Imran's dovish remarks about India since the elections may have given long-suffering fans on both sides of the border hope that cricketing ties between the two countries may be clos- er to resuming.

Political tens i o n s h a v e m e a n t India and Pakistan h a v e n ' t played any bilateral cricket since Pakistan toured India in 2012 for two T20Is and three ODIs, while the last time they played a Test match was back in 2007.

The next fixture between the two, however, is mere

RHTY&SC Patron’s Fund continues to do well

weeks away - a group stage tie at the Asia Cup in the UAE in September.

Since retiring from cricket after winning the World Cup in 1992, Imran has increasingly turned his attention to politics. He formed his own political party in 1996, but it wasn't until 15 years later in 2011 that he emerged as a serious political force. His party was one of the main opposition forces after the 2013 elections, when Nawaz Sharif became prime minister.

Now, with Imran finally ascending to the job he has eyed for over two decades, there could be significant changes afoot in Pakistan, particularly as far as cricket is concerned. He has a famously poor relationship with the current chairman of the PCB, Najam Sethi, who he has repeatedly accused over the years of helping Nawaz Sharif unjustly win the elections in 2013.

With the prime minister allowed - according to the PCB constitution - to change the PCB chairman if he so desires, Sethi's days at the helm of the PCB could be numbered. (ESPNCricinfo)

Kevin de Bruyne

M

anchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne will be out for three months because of a knee injury.

The Belgium international, a second-half substitute in Sunday's 2-0 victory over Arsenal, suffered the injury in training on Wednesday.

City say De Bruyne, 27, has a lateral collateral ligament lesion in his right knee, but does not need surgery.

He missed 12 games in 2016 after injuring the same knee during an EFL Cup semi-final victory over Everton.

De Bruyne was City's player of the season last term, scoring 12 goals and providing 21 assists as

his side won the Premier League and EFL Cup. He helped Belgium finish third at the World Cup in July, the country's best ever finish at the tournament.

"He will be a big miss," said City boss Pep Guardiola, who advised the player to "take the holiday he didn't get this summer".

"It is not easy to replace Kevin," he said. "We are going to try and do our best without him and try to be there by the time he returns."

De Bruyne is likely to miss league games against Liverpool (7 October), Tottenham (28 October) and Manchester United (11 November), and the opening Champions League group games. (BBC Sport)

Three Peat Promotions/ Guinness Cage Competition

Teams battle to reach final 16

Minister Dawn Hasting-Williams with students who received the bags

T

he ten cricket teams handed over four cycles and dozens of school bags to students while the oldest resident in Rose Hall Town also received an electric sewing machine.

Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) President, Hilbert Foster, has explained that under the Patron’s Fund, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) will be sharing out five hundred school bags, twenty-five bicycles, and twenty cricket bats to youths in observance of the Patron’s Birthday.

The Club is also sponsoring a Green Economy Cricket Competition for the BCB, and has also made donations to the Buxton Cricket Club, the East Bank Football Association, Rose Hall Town

Council, and other organisations under the Patron’s Fund.

Dozens of cricket clubs across Berbice have also benefited from donations of cricket equipment, while twenty promising cricketers are to receive a cricket bat each.

The Patron’s Fund would also honour the top Region 6 students of the National Grade Six Examinations.

The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, Foster stated, is fully committed to assisting youths to fulfill their full potential on and off the cricket field, and in the classroom.

Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams, has hailed the outstanding work of the RHTY&SC and has urged the Club to contin-

ue making a positive difference in the Ancient County.

She said she was pleased that the Club was assisting to fulfill President Granger’s Five Bs Programme, which consists of buses, boats, bicycles, breakfast and books.

She urged the youths to take proper care of the items that they would have received, and she spoke widely of the importance of education and sports.

Meanwhile, Datsie Brusch, who at 96 years is the oldest resident of Guyana’s smallest township, requested and was provided with an electric sewing machine from the Patron’s Fund. She uses the tool to sew shopping bags which she sells at the Rose Hall Market.

A

fter two nights of pulsating action, tonight’s round of matches in the Three Peat Promotions/Guinness Cage Competition is anticipated to easily surpass the previous nights in intensity and excitement as the teams battle for survival to clinch a spot in the next round.

Dubbed the “East Coast Best vs. the Rest,” the tournament will again see Haslington Market Tarmac become the combat zone for the expected thrill in what has become the most popular format in the sport locally.

A number of teams are on the precipice of exiting the competition, among them is the country’s most celebrated team, Sparta Boss; while other established teams, such as Buxton Diamond, Melanie ‘A’, Beterverwagting ‘B’, and even the increasingly popular Uprising, all are in must-win situations to

secure their berths in the Round of 16 segment.

The support from the fans has been excellent all round, and this trend is likely to continue as they focus on helping their respective teams move on in the competition.

Among the entities in support of the cause are: Banks DIH under its Guinness and Power Wine brands, Clarks footwear giants Chetsons, E-Networks Inc.,

KSM Investments, Yhip’s Bakery, Brass Aluminium & Cast Iron Foundry (BACIF), Ray’s Auto Sales, Y.K. Investments, Trophy Stall, Express Shipping, Woodpecker Products, National Sports Commission, ‘C’ Division of the Guyana Police Force, Jai Signs & Auto Designs, Gaming Authority, Julius Variety Store, and C & C Prestigious Styles.

The fixtures are:

Broad Street vs Avocado Ballers - 19:00hrs Victoria Church Yard vs North East La Penitence - 19:20hrs Leopold St. vs Paradise - 19:40hrs Sparta Boss vs Haslington Hypers - 20:00hrs Back Circle vs Melanie ‘B’ - 20:20hrs Tiger Bay vs Albouystown - 20:40hrs Kitty Hustlers vs Victoria Eagles - 21:00hrs Alexander Village vs Ol Skool Ballers - 21:20hrs Buxton Diamond vs Vryheid’s Lust - 21:40hrs Melanie ‘A’ vs Blazers - 22:00hrs Plaisance vs Belfield Warriors - 22:20hrs Uprising vs BV ‘B’ - 22:40hrs

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturDAY, AUGUST 18, 2018

Guyana, TT record wins in CWI Regional U-19 50-Over tourney T

rinidad and Tobago’s quest to do the double got off to the perfect start when they thoroughly thrashed the Leeward Islands by a mammoth 176 runs in the first round of the Regional Under-19 50-Over Championship here yesterday.

Fresh from capturing the threeday title, T&T produced a solid batting performance on their way to posting the day’s highest total of 249 for seven from their 50 overs.

Leonardo Julien, who top-scored with 82, and Joshua James, who stroked an unbeaten 53, were the mainstay of T&T’s innings.

Julien, who faced 114 balls and smashed four boundaries and four

sixes, shared in two half-century partnerships to help guide T&T from a spot of bother early on.

He joined forces with Crystian Thurton (26) to add 62 runs for the third wicket, after they had slipped to 34-2.

Following the dismissals of Thurton and Mbeki Joseph (9), he and James added 60 runs in 12 overs to help push the score to 189-5. Once Julien lost his wicket trying to up the tempo, James found a worthy partner in Rivaldo Ramlogan, who smashed a quickfire 35 from just 20 balls to help them up to their eventual score.

James hit two fours and one six in his unbeaten 64-ball knock.

The Leewards never came close to mounting a serious challenge, with Teron Jadoo and Justyn Gangoo running through the middle- and lower-order to skittle them out for just 73. With the score on 43-2, the Leewards incredibly lost their last eight wickets for just 30 runs.

Elroy Francis who scored 32 was the only double-digit contributor.

Jadoo finished with the spectacular figures of three wickets for one run, while Gangoo snagged 3-14.

Both Guyana and the Windward Islands recorded six-wicket victories over Canada and Jamaica respectively. Thanks to a four-wicket haul by Kevin Sinclair, Guyana bundled out Canada for 146 runs,

50 graduate from 11th Annual Republic Bank Summer Camp

with Kavian Naresh being Canada’s main contributor with 57.

Propelled by Joshua Persaud’s 62-ball knock of 80, Guyana then made light work of the total, racing to 147 for four in just 24 overs. It was a similarly comfortable win for the Windward Islands, who dismissed Jamaica for a paltry 159. They then motored along at almost six runs an over on their way to scoring 1644 in 27.5 overs. Openers Kimani Melius, who top-scored with 86, and Jahseon Alexander, 58, put on 146 for the first wicket to set the Windwards on the path to victory.

(CMC)

Kevin Sinclair

Frank Watson U-15 G/T leg kicks off today

– Minister Dawn Hasting-Williams urges youths to make education a priority

T

F

The twelve top students pose with Minister Dawn HastingWilliams and Republic Bank Manager Eon Grant”

ifty grade six students preparing to enter secondary school in early September successfully completed the six weeks’ Republic Bank Summer Camp, and graduated last weekend during an impressive ceremony hosted by the ten cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS. Minister of Public Affairs, Hon Dawn Hasting-Williams, was Guest Speaker at the event, which was also attended

by Manager Eon Grant of the Republic Bank’s Rose Hall Town Branch, executives and members of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS and parents of the students.

Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, Hilbert Foster, presented a comprehensive report on the camp, which started in early July with sixty students registered. Ten students failed to complete the camp due to several reasons, but Foster hailed the 2018 camp as the best ever due to the hard work and commitment of Director Damon Vantull.

The main objectives of the Republic Bank’s Summer Camp are to make sure that the students make a successful transition from primary to secondary, to promote the club’s Say No/Say Yes message, and to assist the students

to understand their roles as mentors.

Foster praised the outstanding work of Camp Director Damon Vantull and Asst Secretary Simon Naidu, for their efforts in making the camp successful. Vantull, a former Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club member, volunteered his services, and assembled a battery of educators across Guyana to teach the students on a wide variety of subjects, including Maths, English A, English B, Social Studies, Information Technology, Geography and Agriculture Science.

The students were also involved in a wide range of career lectures from several prominent Guyanese, including Attorney-at-Law Charles Ramson Jnr, Asst Commander of Police ‘B’ Division, and an officer of Republic Bank.

Vantull also conducted sessions with the youths on topics such as Suicide, Drug Abuse, Importance of Discipline and Personal Hygiene. The students were also involved in several sporting sessions as well.

Minister Dawn HastingWilliams, in an inspirational feature address, spoke widely on the importance of education and the role it plays in the lives of youths. Education, she stated, open doors of opportunities, and she urged

the youths to take advantage of Government’s investment in the educational system.

She spoke broadly of President David Granger’s efforts to make a positive difference in the lives of students via his Five ‘Bs’ Campaign, which are boats, bicycles, books, breakfast and buses. She congratulated the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club on the outstanding work it is doing among youths in Berbice, and urged others to emulate the Medal of Service awardee.

Republic Bank Manager Eon Grant stated that the Bank was pleased to be associated with the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, and congratulated the graduates for successfully completing the camp. Republic Bank, he stated, strongly believes in investing in education, sports and culture.

Allan Bangari copped the Top Student Award, with Antowne Walters, Divya Singh, Kamini Looknauth, Ashmini Brijbasi, Leah Puran, Annah Puran, Noel Lewis, Delena Marks, Divy Gwalani, Avinash Kessa and Seeta Budraj completed the top twelve students who received special prizes. Bangari collected a bicycle, trophy and medal, while each student at the camp received a school bag from the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club Patron’s Fund.

The Timehri Panthers are the inaugural champions of the East Bank leg of the Frank Watson Under-15 tournament

he Interim M a n a g e m e n t Committee (IMC) of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) will kick start the Pele Alumni “Frank Watson” Intra-Association Under-15 Tournament today at the Tucville Ground from 09:30hrs.

All ten teams involved

in the tournament will be in action. The day kicks off with Masters battling Santos in the first match, after which East Ruimveldt battles Tavel from 10:45hrs.

When the clock strikes noon, the Fruta Conquerors versus Pele showdown is set to get underway. Mocha’s Riddim Squad will do bat-

tle with Black Pearl from 13:15hrs, then the days wraps up with Beacons taking on Ordis at 14:30 hrs.

So far, the grass-root level tournament has seen an intense level of competition, having already being hosted in Linden, Berbice, East Bank, East Coast and West Demerara.

4-team softball action returns to MSC

A

The action will pick up as the tournament gets closer to the knock out stages

fter a brief break for various reasons; the Back to Eden, Permaul Trading, Khan’s Trading and Trophy Stall sponsored softball tournament resumes on Sunday with two matches at the Malteenoes Sports Club ground on Thomas Lands.

In the curtain raiser at

10:00h, Amazon Masters will take on Wellman Masters while Success Masters and Tropical Springs will take the field at 13:00h as the intensity in the masters’ over40 category picks up.

The competition is organized by the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) and

also features teams in the Masters’ over-50 category and Female Open.

The format is round robin.

For further information, teams may contact Wayne Jones on 650-1790, Anil Beharry on 623-6875 or Jailall Deodass on 615-8644.

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Mohamed’s Enterprise/ExxonMobil futsal…

Green Jags, Germans battle for supremacy tonight

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NOT RECEIVING YOUR

DAILY & SUNDAY COPIES OF THE

T

he Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) hard court will tonight be illuminated from 19:00hrs for the finale of the Mohamed’s Enterprise/ExxonMobil futsal tournament, which sees Figgy Green Jags and Germans United playing for top honours.

This is the final of seven nights of high intensity futsal involving 20 teams from Linden, Georgetown and West Demerara; and according to a release, organisers of the event, New Era Entertainment, have stated that all systems are in place for fans to enjoy the anticipated matches in a safe and secure environment.

Jags are pegged as the favourites

to lift the championship trophy while pocketing the $600,000 first place cash prize, but the road ahead in this regard is not easy; as, unlike the 14-8 semifinal victory against Quiet Storm, they come up against the doughty Germans.

John ‘Brown boy’ Waldron, with his flair and power shots, will be one of the players to watch for the fan favourites Jags, while the youthful Andre Mayers of Germans United has proven that he is capable of keeping up the pace and outperforming many of the seasoned campaigners in Linden.

The evening starts with an exhibition match between Silver Shattas and High Star, and this would surely be a

The ‘Little Champs’ will resume their battle at the MYO ground

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on Phone: 223-7230 EXT: 55

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worthy warm-up to pique the fans’ interest in what ought to be a suspenseful third place playoff between Quiet Storm and Goodfellas.

The third match of the night will involve the animated Harry’s Seven and Nut Genasyde before the finale.

The runners-up will receive a handsome $250,000, third place winners $100,000 and fourth place winners $50,000.

The sponsors of the tournament include Mohammed’s Enterprise, ExxonMobil, Bakewell, Cell Smart, Power Producers & Distributors Incorporated (PPDI), Stag Beer, Dragon Stout, Sankar’s Auto Works and Bumper to Bumper Services.

V-Net Little Champs action resumes with top of table clash

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sports

T

he extended rainy season has ended and it’s time for cricket to resume in the city where several competitions were suspended.

One such tournament is the inaugural V-Net Communications Under-13 Pairs Cricket Competition which stared in April.

After three days of action at the Muslim Youth Organization (MYO) ground, Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) are leading the points table with 40 points and are followed by Bel-Air Rubis on 23 points. The other two teams in the competition are Transport Sports Club (14 points) and Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) with one point.

In the exciting format, two players at a time bat for five overs and score

runs normally however, after a dismissal the team is penalized with the deduction of runs. Each innings lasts 25 overs which means 10 batsmen will bat.

When the action resumes today at MYO, it will be DCC and Bel-Air Rubis squaring off from 13:00h.

According to organizers, the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Malteenoes Sports Club recently formed an under-13 team and preparations are being made to include them in the round-robin tournament.

The competition is also supported

by Cerluean Inc, Give Another Chance Foundation, Guyana Trading Company and Eco Atlantic International Investment Inc. Meanwhile, the New Building Society (NBS) 40-over second division

tournament will also resume today with one match. Everest Cricket Club (ECC) will host Transport Sports Club from 11:00h as this competition also nears completion.

And due to the unavailability of a suitable venue the General Industrial and Supplies Enterprise, Star Party Rental and Trophy Stall two-day first division tournament will have to wait a little longer to resume. DCC were down to host Malteenoes Sports Club but the Queenstown venue remains unplayable due to additional rain recently.

However, with the weather looking favourable, the GCA is optimistic that venues and teams will be fully ready for action by next weekend where a total resumption is anticipated.

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

saturDAY, AUGUST 18, 2018

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2018…

Table-leaders Tallawahs, Warriors square off in Florida F

ollowing a strong start to this year’s tournament, the Guyana Amazon Warriors will have their first overseas match when they lock horns with table-leaders J a m a i c a Ta l l a w a h s in Fort

Lauderhill, Florida in Match 11, which bowls off at 20:00h today, Saturday, August 18.

G u y a n a looked a welloiled machine, sporting a newlook side with new captain and coaches.

The former finalists won two of their three opening home games at Providence, beating St Kitts Patriots and St Lucia Stars in b a c k- to - b a ck games before losing a good game to the Barbados Tridents.

With a few days off since their last match b e f o r e leaving Guyana, t h e

Warriors will be looking to resume their winning ways come Saturday, but would need to reignite the fire that burned a few matches ago if they are to upset the Tallawahs.

While none of the Warriors has fully fired, they have been exceptional at setting good totals as well a s chasing b i g targets.

Openers Chadwick Walton and New Zealander Luke Ronchi have not yet fired on all cylinders, but have managed to play a few good shots and get starts; and with Walton’s knowledge of playing against his country’s f ra n c h i s e and some teammates, each opener would need to get a good score under their belts.

Guyana’s middle-order has been flourishing, with skipper Shoaib Malik getting his feet going with a few good scores, while West Indies p l a y e r

Shimron Hetmyer will most certainly be the player to watch. The Test lefthander is in tremendous form dating back to the ODIs versus Bangladesh prior to the start of CPL. His fiery match-winning 79 not out in the opening game trumped Chris Gayle’s brutal knock, while he followed up with some brisk knocks of 21 and 22. Hetmyer will be one of the key players to whom the Warriors will look to provide some fireworks.

One major concern for Malik is the form of Jason Mohammed, who has been enduring a tough time with the bat.

He managed 16 in the first game before seeing the team home, and 20 not out in game 2; but he fell for a duck in the final match. A good all-rounder and a clean striker, a change of venue could bring out the best in the Trinidadian righthander.

Another promising star for the Warriors seems to be all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford, who played a mature knock of 48 in a losing cause versus the Tridents, but could likely continue his form and show fans that his whirlwind 134 not out in the Canada T20 tournament was no fluke.

Few worries bother Guyana in the bowling department, as their bowlers have been operating in a pack-like manner, systematically dissecting the opposition’s batting order to restrict or run over teams.

Leading wicket-taker, South African googlyspecialist Imran Tahir, could be a handful in the North American conditions; so, too, might be Aussie offspinner Chris Green, while frontline seamers Sohail Tanvir

and Rayad Emrit will want to follow up their good economy returns with more victims.

Jamaica, on the other hand, have been playing purely aggressive cricket, with centurion Andre Russell, among the runs and second on the wicket-takers’ list, leading the franchise for the first time in a positive manner. The Tallawahs, much like Guyana, have a balanced team, and their bowling department have been on a roll thus far.

Bustling fast-bowler Oshane Thomas and experienced leftarm seamer Krishmar Santokie have been among the wickets, and feature in the current top 10 leading wicket-takers with four wickets apiece. Another leading wicket-taker is Australian leggy Adam Zampa, who has been in ripping form with 6 wickets, and could fancy himself against his old franchise.

With veteran Samuel Badree; Guyanese Steven Jacobs, who

could also play a role against his old franchise; and classy Imad Wasim, a key player with bat or ball, in the side, the Tallawahs will be up against a potent spin attack.

Tallawahs’ batting will revolve around the dynamic Glenn Phillips, who has scores of 58 and 41 under his belt. International star Ross Taylor smoked a classy 51 not out in the last match after finding some form; while Rovman Powell and Russell will provide power-hitting options in the middle.

This match will be important for Jamaica, who will utilise Florida for their home games, while Guyana will need to rebound from their loss last week and move up from their third place spot come Saturday night.

The Warriors also enter the match with some psychological advantage, beating the Tallawahs twice last season. (Clifton Ross)

VIVA Slammer Rammer table tennis to serve off in September T

he Titans Table Tennis Club will collaborate with Guyana Beverages Inc. to stage what is anticipated to be a highly competitive two-day tournament in September, in an effort to display the country’s junior talents.

Dubbed the VIVA Water Slammer Rammer Junior Table Tennis tournament, the event is set for September 8-9 at Marian Academy, and several categories to be contested.

At the official launch on Thursday morning, President of the Titans Table Tennis Club, former national player Dwain Dick, highlighted that 11 categories will be contested, inclusive of 10 juniors and B Class.

The juniors will compete in the Boys and Girls Under-9, Under-11, Under-13, Under-15, and Under-18 divisions. VIVA Water Brand Manager Raymond Govinda has said Guyana Beverages Inc. is committed to supporting the growth and devel-

From left: Kevin Farley, Dwain Dick, Raymond Govinda and Daniel Thomas

opment of the country’s youths through their participation in sport.

“Over the years, we would have invested in other sports such

as cricket, football, boxing (and) athletics, just to name a few. This year, we’re elated to partner with the Titans Table Tennis Club to host the first-ever VIVA Water

Slammer Rammer Junior Table Tennis tournament,” Govinda said. He explained that the reason for using the newly rebranded VIVA Water to sponsor the tour-

nament is simple: it is a healthy choice for sportsmen and women.

“It has zero calories; a lot of vitamins is added to it. Also, it has green tea extract, and it’s perfect for diabetics and any person who would like to pursue an active lifestyle,” he explained.

Public Relations Officer of Titans Table Tennis Club, Daniel Thomas, said the club is once again looking to make an impact on the development process for table tennis in Guyana through the two days of competition that the players would be exposed to.

Apart from Guyana Beverages Inc., the club has been able to solicit support from Netsurf Telecom, Beacon Snackette, Metro, Power Producers and Distributors Inc., General Industrial Supplies and Enterprise, the Outar Family and Paul David of the USA. Meanwhile, registration will take place between 08:00h and 09:00h on September 8, after which competitive action will serve off.

guyanatimesgy.com

saturDAY, AUGUST 18, 2018

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2018…

23

Pollard, Fletcher propel Stars to record total

by Cornwall before he held out to Holder off Wahab Riaz. Stars were now 57 – 2.

Riaz struck the very next ball as Lendl Simmons was trapped leg before wicket for a duck to leave Stars looking vulnerable at 57 – 3.

That meant the entrance of the captain Kieron Pollard, coming off a brilliant 65 not out. Of course he had enough experience to survive the hat-trick ball and keep the board ticking.

Fletcher and the skipper put on a dazzling show as Stars did not miss a

S

Andre Fletcher

t Lucia Stars produced yet another dominant performance with the bat as they took on the clinical Barbados Tridents on Friday evening at the Darren Sammy Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia.

Stars once again treated their supporters batting first and registering the highest Caribbean Premier League (CPL) total of 226-6 in 20 overs. An impressive feat after equaling the record a day ago against the defending champions, and somehow not being victorious.

They were led by a solid captain’s knock of 104 from Kieron Pollard and an aggressive attack from Andre Fletcher.

Fletcher launched his assault very early taking 20 off of Mohammed Irfan in the first over, but Tridents struck right back with some offence of their own as captain Jason Holder removed the dangerous David Warner with scoring on his second delivery.

Nicholas Pooran made no mistake in taking the catch behind the stumps, but unlucky for Warner who hit a crafty unbeaten 72 against TKR on Thursday at the same venue.

The big man, Rahkeem Cornwall, entered at three and was once again effective with the bat smashing three maximums and two fours in an 11-ball 30.

Cornwall and Fletcher assaulted Irfan and Holder to bring up the first 50 in 3.5 overs. However, it was a good show to back up the 53 scored against TKR

step with the bat.

The opener reached the half century mark in 34 balls while it took Pollard one ball less to achieve his 50.

Their 148run fourth wicket partnership ensured a c o m mandi n g end to their first i n -

Kieron Pollard

SCOREBOARD

St Lucia Stars Innings (20 overs maximum) ADS Fletcher † c Mohammad Irfan b Wahab Riaz 80 DA Warner c †Pooran b Holder 0 RRS Cornwall c Holder b Wahab Riaz 30 LMP Simmons lbw b Wahab Riaz 0 KA Pollard (c) c DR Smith b Reifer 104 DJG Sammy c Nurse b Reifer 0 Qais Ahmad not out 0 KAR Hodge not out 0 Extras: (lb 3, nb 2, w 7) 12 Total: (6 wickets, 20 Overs, RR: 11.3) 226 Did not bat: MJ McClenaghan, OF Smith, OC McCoy Fall of wickets: 1-20 (DA Warner, 1.2 ov), 2-57 (RRS Cornwall, 4.3 ov), 3-57 (LMP Simmons, 4.4 ov), 4-205 (ADS Fletcher, 18.3 ov), 5-226 (KA Pollard, 19.4 ov),

6-226 (DJG Sammy, 19.5 ov) BOWLING: Mohammad Irfan 4-0-50-0, JO Holder 4-0-42-1, RA Reifer 4-0-67-2, Wahab Riaz 4-0-35-3, AR Nurse 4-0-29-0 Barbados Tridents Innings (target: 227 runs from 20 overs) DR Smith not out 36 MJ Guptill b McClenaghan 7 Extras: (w 1) 1 Total: (1 wicket, 4.6 Overs, RR: 8.8) 44 Yet to bat: HM Amla, SD Hope, SPD Smith, N Pooran †, JO Holder (c), RA Reifer, Wahab Riaz, AR Nurse, Mohammad Irfan Fall of wickets: 1-44 (MJ Guptill, 4.6 ov) Bowling: MJ McClenaghan 3-0-20-1, KAR Hodge 1-017-0, OF Smith 1-0-7-0

nings. The partnership was broken in the 19th over when Fletcher was caught off Riaz for 80 after hitting sixes fours and an equal number of sixes in his 52ball stay. Stars were 204-5.

Pollard’s triple was constructed with six fours and eight sixes in 53 balls – the 54th one, he was caught by Dwayne Smith o f f Raymon Reifer in the fin a l over.

It was an eventful final over which cost 10 runs and saw Darren Sammy being caught by Ashley Nurse for 0.

Riaz finished with 3 – 35 while Reifer was expensive with 2 – 67 and Holder accounted for the other wicket. He went for 42 in his four overs.

Up to press time, Tridents were 44 for one from 5 over in reply.

Wahab Riaz and Martin Guptill celebrate the dismissal of Lendl Simmons

saturDAY, AUGUST 18, 2018

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

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Hero Caribbean Premier League 2018…

Kieron Pollard celebrates his century

Pollard, Fletcher propel Stars to record total

Mohamed’s Enterprise/ExxonMobil futsal…

Green Jags, Germans battle for supremacy tonight Page 21

Page 23

Andre Fletcher and Kieron Pollard during their partnership

Guyana, TT record wins in CWI Regional U-19 50-Over tourney Page 20

Joshua Persaud

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