Guyanatimes 19 march 2018

Local university hosts mental health targeted outreach P10

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

Issue No. 3507

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Monday, March 19, 2018

PRICE

US fish export ban

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Govt’s recklessness shows disregard for welfare of fishermen – fmr Minister

...Govt working on measures to comply – Holder

Govt yet P10 to receive report on $68M IDPAD conference

Pages 3&14

"Learn from our mistakes" – Trinidad warns Guyana on oil industry

No arrest yet in Belle West pensioner’s P11 murder

Page 14

Border controversy

Govt preparing to present pleadings to World Court Page 9

Armed men rob Camp St water business Page 11

Ranks of the Guyana Police Force’s Tactical Services Unit (TSC) Division on Camp Street near Police Headquarters, Eve Leary. The top law enforcement unit underwent routine training last week to sharpen their crime-fighting skills (Carl Croker photo)

Guyana should not auction remaining oil blocks – Oil Attorney Page 7 ...says Constitution sets limits on use of natural resources

Wind turbine saga

Govt upbraids businessman for misleading statements Page 2

Linden has most child abuse cases in Region 10 – CCPA P7 Director

P8 Guyana to host historic OAS Conference next week Police yet to ID killers in former Linden footballer’s P14 murder

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news

MONDAY, march 19, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Wind turbine saga

Govt upbraids businessman for misleading statements P

ublic Infrastructure Minister David Patterson is refuting claims that businessman Hareshnarine Sugrim was not kept in the loop in relation to his request to store power from his wind turbine, and to transfer same to the national grid.

Sugrim last year commissioned a billion-dollar five-star hotel called the Classic International Hotel at Corriverton in East Berbice.

He also imported a wind turbine to power his operations, but the turbine would have produced more power than he required, hence he had approached Government to have the excess power transferred to the national grid.

The Classic International Hotel has said in a statement that it moved to acquire the wind turbine in support of the Government’s “Green State” vision, and that despite the turbine having been set up for a number of months, Government is yet to decide on purchasing the excess power.

The Classic’s statement said: “Also commendable is the national objective of creating and utilising alternative sources of energy. As such, we are very perturbed and dismayed that we have not yet received a response to our offer to the Government for the supply to the national grid from our 250 KVA wind turbine set at Skeldon, Corriverton, Berbice.”

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson

The hotel statement said relevant correspondence had been sent to Minister Patterson; officials of the Guyana Power and Light in Region Six, and to other stakeholders.

“It has been set up four months ago, after being imported to Guyana from India over a year ago. However, as the situation stands right now, apart from feeling deflated in our quest to be supportive of national development efforts, we are contemplating dismantling the turbine, which is already set up and operational at tremendous costs to us, and shipping it back out of the country,” the hotel said.

In an interview with this publication, Narine said he would be forced to pack up his US$75,000 wind turbine and send it back to India, since

Government is lagging in taking up his offer.

However, Minister Patterson, in a statement, said Government applauds the businessman for his interest in advancing the Green State Agenda, and it is disappointing to read his claims of non-responsiveness on part of the GoG, “when several correspondences from different agencies within the MPI were sent to him”.

The minister said he would have met with Sugrim in the past in relation to the matter.

Chronicling the events, Patterson said that in April

use, since the wind turbine was designed, procured, and installed without their knowledge.

“Nonetheless, we replied shortly afterwards and indicated that, under the law, any person can self-generate.

However, we had said the law only restricts persons from supplying power to another, except in cases where a license is granted by the minister.

“We also invited Mr. Narine to meet with us to clarify any questions and to provide whatever assistance we reasonably could,” Patterson said.

The wind turbine Classic International Hotel installed in Berbice

of last year, the MPI and its energy- related agencies were surprised to read the reports of the launch of the wind turbine, and were also surprised about the mention of a request to MPI, the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), or the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) for its installation and

He further explained that in September of 2017, the businessman wrote to GPL to introduce his wind turbine, which has the capacity to generate 350KVA of power, and he had indicated that he would be requiring a mere 20 percent of that for his operations.

Haresh Narine Sugrim

Minister Patterson said that via letter on October 17, 2017, he was then briefed by the hotelier about the turbine, which was expected to become operational by the end of that month. He said it was related that Sugrim’s initial intention was to use the power from the turbine to power a housing development, but the project never materialized, resulting in the underutilization of power and the issue of storing the excess power.

“However, GPL’s existing frameworks cover the connection to its grid of either independent power producers (IPPs) supplying 10 MW and more or businesses supplying 1.5 MW and above. As a result, Mr. Narine was advised that it was not possible at this time for an individual to connect to the grid unless the supply met the minimum of 1.5 MW. He was

further advised that GPL was limited due to ongoing development of a policy, and legal and technical frameworks to permit and guide supply that is less than 1.5 MW and the sensitive technical issues affecting any supply of power of an intermittent nature (such as wind or solar) to the grid,” Patterson outlined.

“Nonetheless, we agreed to examine Mr. Narine’s proposal with GPL with the objective of identifying and addressing the technical issues while we develop the framework for intermittent power supply below 1.5 MW to the grid. On January 22, 2018, a letter from Mr. Narine to His Excellency, President David Granger, stated that the wind turbine could not operate without a connection to GPL’s grid, as per the advice of engineers from India, who came to Guyana upon Mr. Narine’s invitation for the turbine’s commissioning.

On the said date, Mr. Narine wrote to me urging the connection of the turbine to the grid, since his invited engineers were present. On January 25, 2017, he later requested a licence to supply power to the grid,” Patterson related.

The Minister said he met with the businessman in February and agreed to discuss his request with GPL. He also urged persons be mindful of GPL’s policies when it comes to the intent of supplying power to the national grid.

news

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MONDAY, march 19, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS

US export fish ban

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

Monday, March 19 – 05:00h-06:30h and Tuesday, March 19 – 05:00h-06:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, March 19 – 05:20h-06:50h and Tuesday, March 19 – 05:50h-07:20h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Weather: Sunny intervals with lightly cloudy skies can be expected throughout the day, with partly cloudy skies expected in the evening. Overall temperatures are expected to range between 21 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 5.81 metres.

High Tide: 05:43h and 18:08h reaching a maximum height of 2.81 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 11:37h and 23:55h reaching minimum heights of 0.37 metre and 0.45 metre respectively.

SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2018

LOTTERY NUMBERS L

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23

09 Bonus Ball

FREE TICKET

DAILY MILLIONS 11 18 29 20

25

LUCKY 3 3 2 9

5

Afternoon Draw DRAW DE LINE

05

26

07

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11

7

7

Evening Draw

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

Govt’s recklessness shows disregard for welfare of fishermen – fmr Minister

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recent ban on Guyana’s export of Siluriformes fish and shrimp into the United States (U.S) has been described as ‘sheer recklessness’ on the part of Government, who had adequate time to ensure that the country became compliant with new regulations.

Former Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy is of the firm belief that at no point did the current Minister ever caution fishermen of the impending disaster, and that fishermen would not be able to export their catch or put mechanisms in place to reverse such an imposition.

“Such incompetence displays a reckless disregard for the welfare of the fishermen and their families, and for Guyana’s trade earnings. The question then is: Who is right? Is the loss of the fish export to America because of protectionist policies of the US, or is it the incompetence of the Government?” the former minister questioned.

While the U.S. has insisted that the demands made were not intended for Guyanese fishermen, but for fishing industries in all countries exporting fish there, it is clear that other countries did take the necessary steps to prepare and export their fish to the U.S., and have therefore not been affected. Gaskin said, “The Guyana Government must act with alacrity to ensure

that this glitch is temporary, and that, before long, we would meet the new standards that America wants. They are doable, and do not require provisions that are too onerous.”

Dr. Ramsammy reminded about another mistake made by the Government -- made with rice farmers after May 2015, when Guyana lost the Venezuela rice market. The rice industry has since struggled, and has not fully recovered. “If we cannot recover the American export market for our fish, it will prove disastrous for our fishermen and our economy. In a country where CoIs have become the go-to response for Government, a CoI is necessary. The Ministers of Health and Agriculture are guilty of dereliction of duty,” Dr Ramsammy added.

The former minister maintained that both Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence are responsible for the loss of the fish export market to the U.S. “They are unequivocally guilty of dereliction of duty.

The APNU/AFC destroyed the sugar industry, leaving thousands unemployed and depriving Guyana of much-needed foreign currency. They have weakened the rice industry. Now they threaten the fishing industry, leaving thousands of fishermen fearful of their

Former Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

and their families’ future,” he lamented.

There are already reports of fishermen putting away their boats, since they are finding it difficult to make ends meet. And according to Dr. Ramsammy the thriving fishing industry is now feeling the full effects of the recklessness and incompetence of the APNU/AFC government.

Export of various fish species to the U.S. represents a major part of the fishing industry. Success of the fishing industry is unequivocally linked to export. With that market essentially shut down since February 2018, hard times have already descended on the industry.

While successful, the fishing industry is not unlike sugar and rice. Even when both of these industries were doing well, most of the people who depended on them depend on weekly wages, living from pay-

day-to- payday. “Similarly, fishermen are generally people living from payday-to-payday. But, like sugar workers and rice farmers, the fishermen have been abandoned, (and have been left) floating in dangerous waters by a reckless, incompetent and uncaring Government,” he added.

The US Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) has asked Guyana to provide the relevant documentation to verify this country’s inspection system equivalence to the US standards, or its equivalent public health system. Dr Dodson claimed Guyana complied with the request.

However, the country fell short of the US standards in three areas: firstly, on the issue of the presence of inspectors; secondly, there was insufficient documentation detailing verification of each step in the sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process; and thirdly, there was insufficient documentation specifying how the industry manages adulterated catfish products.

New US standards for import of catfish species demand the presence of inspectors at plants for one hour during an eight-hour shift. Guyana was among several countries banned recently from the US catfish export sector.

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guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, march 19, 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

Working for Guyana

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here is no dearth of explanations or reasons proffered for our anaemic post-independence development: underdevelopment of our economy and our society by the departed colonials; squabbling politicians; lack of capital; ethnic/racial divisions; brain drain, etc. But for each of the identified constraints and then some (for instance, lack of physical resources), other countries, such as S. Korea, Singapore, and others in the Far East, have yet jumped from Third World to First.

But we would like to place on the agenda one factor that somehow has not received the attention that we believe it should: the need for us to have a strong desire to work for the common good of Guyana. Now, it might be said that this is a consequence of the ethnic divisions in our society, but Malaysia, for instance, also has these divisions, and was able to leapfrog them to knock on the doors of the First World. If the successful ‘developed’ and developing countries are analysed, more often than not, one would discern a strong sentiment of ‘doing it for my country.’

This emphasis can be measured by the degree to which, emotionally or consciously, people agree that a common good justifies restrictions on the individual, including oneself. It could also be described as the degree to which the members of a society are willing to forego individual advantages if thereby a larger advantage is secured for the community. Can we say we have this sentiment widespread in Guyana?

Some time ago, noted CUNY political scientist Richard Wolin visited China and asked one worker, “What do people here do on weekends?” The reply, to his surprise, was, “We have no weekends. We have to work hard to pass America!” On his tours across many campuses and cities, he found the same sentiment very widespread. The people were willing to work for what they saw as the good of their country. Because of such an orientation, China has, for three decades, been able to maintain a doubledigit growth rate, and is now the second largest economy in the world – nipping on the heels of the US. Japan, which led the thrust for ‘miracle growth’ in the post WWII era, was also helped by a strong patriotic fervour among its people.

Many people conveniently forget that the Industrial Revolution in Britain and Europe followed their consolidation as nation states, where the people were willing to sacrifice for ‘King and country”. While the US overthrew the king, its citizens also rallied for the national cause.

In Guyana, we are still at a point where the feeling of ‘we the people’ has not been inculcated into the psyche of our people. In the absence of such a sentiment, individuals will act only in the interest of their sub- group or themselves on an individual basis. Looking out for “No 1” becomes the rallying cry. It is up to the leaders in our society to mobilise these individuals for the ‘common good’.

Unfortunately, the present PNC-led Government has jettisoned all its promises for an inclusive Government that would transcend our divisions, and has actually exacerbated them. Immediately upon achieving office, it slighted its AFC partner, which had purportedly brought in Indians who were traditionally outside the PNC’s constituency. Guyanese today should compare the differential rates of development in the Far East, where exertion for the common good is commonplace, and that of, let’s say Africa, where most countries are riven along ethnic lines – like us. We must do better.

In societies lacking an ethos of the common good, people do what is advantageous for themselves, and have no qualms in abandoning principles or changing sides when it is beneficial to them. This expedient behaviour also encourages corruption, which is not just a problem of political systems, but is an attitudinal problem. Persons who are little inclined to accept personal disadvantages for the common good are easily corrupted.

The lead characters acknowledge the audience after the Georgetown International Academy’s theatrical production of “Shrek: The Musical Jr” on Saturday at the National Cultural Centre (Carl Croker photo)

The criminal enterprise must be dismantled Dear Editor, I knew this was bound to happen as sure as I knew this was going to happen; that is, the family member pleading on behalf of the criminal. She said he was in the "wrong place," caught in the company of some guys who were on the wrong side of the law. “My husband is no criminal! He was a professional who wanted to become a pilot, but due to family commitments changed his career path. He is an innocent family man”.

If he was so innocent, just and good, what was he doing with a carload of criminals and crime paraphernalia?

The answer to that question might very well be that he was just doing these guys "a favour" in giving them a lift, being totally oblivious of the fact that they were on a criminal mission.

These excuses are so silly and ludicrous that they cross

the line of crass stupidity.

Was she not aware that her husband had been a bandit?

She is just one of those dozens of family members who are now frantically putting some damage control measures in place, vainly trying to cover up the shame and embarrassment.

She might also be pandering to law enforcement for a return of the vehicle used in this nefarious act. From information at hand, the vehicle is supposedly owned by the wife of the slain man, and she would like it returned to her.

Now, this is the strategy used by criminals out there for some time now. Whenever the vehicle used in criminal exploits is impounded, the owner turns up later, claiming that they had no prior knowledge of the criminals' plans, and that their vehicle was not used for the purpose it was intended -- in this

case, her husband supposedly giving "some guys" a lift, not knowing of their planned intent. How could she be so wrong here? This writer has always advocated for the confiscation of all vehicles used in criminal pursuit, and for them to become properties of the state. This latest situation is a case in point, and the state must take immediate ownership of that vehicle, period! It is a sure way to put a permanent dent in the crime network in our country.

Further, I would advise bank officials to put under surveillance the teller who did the transaction with the man the bandits were trailing. Those tellers to the immediate left and right should also come under surveillance.

These robbers were acting on information they received from the inside of the bank. It is a sure way of knowing who to go after.

The man who was trailed

had obviously made a large transaction, and that information was passed on to the crime comrades outside. What I am saying is not something plucked out of thin air, this is solid evidence to support my claim. Only months ago we had a similar situation at another bank, where classified information was passed on to the criminal by an informant who was an employee of the said bank.

So we have a wealth of experience to go on.

Finally, we must dismantle the criminal network in Guyana piece by piece.

From the "intellectual authors" at the top of the chain down to the common criminal, all have to atone for their evil, sadistic deeds. Our citizens as well as our foreign friends must feel safe again.

Respectfully submitted, Neil Adams

President Granger’s Government is undermining local democracy Dear Editor, President David Granger continues to ignore the real issues affecting local democracy. His last visit to Region Six was another indication that he is focusing on one section of the society, and his frequent visit to his traditional support base in Region Six is very much a cause for concern.

What is even more hypocritical is when he said "I believe in Regionalism, regardless of political parties, regardless of ethnicity". He also said he would like to see participation and cooperation in building a stronger, safer and a more secure region.

Granger and his government are the main reason why

local democracy is being eroded in the country. Granger failed to address the issue that arose at the Corriverton municipality, where one of his ministers of Government confessed that she was the reason why a national event was stopped in Corriverton.

This self-professed democratic Granger should discipline this individual to uphold local democracy.

Why is nothing being done

by Granger to stop the lawlessness that's happening in Region 5? A Governmentappointed Regional Executive Officer in Region 5 and councillors of the APNU/AFC coalition Government are instrumental in hindering development.

After over two years of local government elections, many NDC and municipal elections are not completed as yet because of the negligence of this Granger Government.

Granger and Bulkhan chose their own commissioner on the Local Government Commission without the approval of the RDCs and NDCs, or consultation.

They imposed flags in the regions without RDC approval. The minister’s appointment of a mayor when municipality elections resulted in a tie cannot be forgotten.

The Regions are being trampled upon by Central Government, and projects are being executed without the knowledge and approval of

the RDCs. Motions that are being approved by the Regional Democratic Council are not being respected and implemented by the minister and Granger cabinet.

These are just some of the few issues to let you know that the President is not serious in upholding local democracy. The President comes to Berbice to say that we should have Regional Conference to address impediments to development is nothing but a farce. The real impediment that needs to be addressed is the APNU/AFC coalition Government.

Respectfully, Zamal Hussain

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, march 19, 2018

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

Worried about sovereign wealth fund management

Dear Editor, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, announced last December that the details of Guyana’s proposed Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) could be released to the public as early as the first quarter of 2018; and as we get closer to the date of disclosure, I am deeply concerned that the details will be poorly designed and badly managed if left in the hands of politicians and their ‘Pet Pigeons.’

Although I love my country dearly, it is an undeniable fact that it is a dangerously corrupt nation. My biggest fear is that the political corruption that has plagued Guyana for decades since Independence will infect the SWF and turn it into the biggest corruption scandal in the history of Guyana and maybe the world.

Friends and families, I am not being emotional or exaggerating. The proposed SWF will be a vast reservoir of oil revenue, and this will definitely fatten the eyes of every corrupt politician and official. Even those who are not yet corrupt will be exposed to enormous temptation. I wonder how many would be unable to resist.

There is an old saying: “the real reason for locks on doors is not to keep thieves out, but to stop honest persons from becoming thieves”.

We need to bear that saying in mind when setting up Guyana’s Sovereign Wealth Fund.

As a businessman, I see several weaknesses when I look at what undermined these failed or failing SWFs across the world. That is why I urge my fellow citizens to join me in calling on the Government to depoliticize Guyana’s Sovereign Wealth Fund and take its design, implementation and monitoring out of the hands of politicians and put it in the hands of an independent body approved by the citizens of the nation, as well as international anti-corruption agencies. We have to put powerful transparency and accountability mechanisms in place to protect the SWF from being subject to wrongdoing and poor investments. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is urging Guyana to put systems in place to ensure that the fund is not abused.

These are my suggestions: 1. Members of the SWF Board must not be appointed directly by Government,

because this usually results in political favouritism, incompetence, inefficiency and slack oversight. The Board must comprise competent, independent professionals drawn from civic society, or even accomplished professionals from Caricom or elsewhere, to ensure that it is professionally-managed by accountable officials and is managed according to transparent policies.

The board can comprise representatives from the private sector; the Chamber of Commerce; an Indo-centric and Afro- centric voted leader; a member from the Inter Religious Organisation of Guyana; a leader of the Universal Peace Federation of Guyana; a representative of Transparency International, and Mr. Christopher Ram. Trust me, the level of accountability will be tremendous. But professional politicians will bawl “Is we time now!!”

2. The roles and responsibilities of the Board must be clearly defined and made public.

3. There must be clear rules governing domestic/ external investment, and these must be made public.

Specifically, the Sovereign Wealth Fund must be protected from abuse by diverting funds to currency stabilization, or to do damage control for bad public spending or any political reason.

4. There must be a national public information and civic education campaign, so ordinary citizens can understand objectives, checks and balances, and benefits of the SWF. 5. There must be clear and harsh penalties for wrongdoing, and a suitable time frame for prosecution must be clearly defined. For example: life imprisonment or death for pilfering with the fund.

6. The SWF Board must be made accountable to Parliament, auditors and the media, and the details of this accountability must be clearly defined and made public.

I am making these suggestions now because I am worried about Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s implication at a press conference that the Government’s preliminary legislation is being patterned on Uganda’s legislation. Uganda is thought of as a corrupt nation by Transparency International (www.transparency.org). To me, Guyana’s SWF cannot

succeed without public confidence, and this will not be achieved by modelling it on the SWF of a corrupt nation.

That is not the way to go.

Our SWF can help generate long-term economic benefits, but it must be well-planned and well-managed.

I hope my letter makes other citizens think about what important conditions they would like to see in the SWF in order to produce the intended results. I know politicians as career ones,

and dishonest public officials will not appreciate my views and look to hurt me economically or by hiring professional bloggers to defame me, as was done when I led the original protests against VAT on education, which aroused others and was successful, albeit slowly. Parents and students benefit today.

People of Guyana, we hire political leaders. They are our servants and are paid handsomely; let them

fulfil our needs and our wishes as the people. On the other hand, I encourage this Government which took the seat of power recently after 23 years: Cherish the victory!!! Serve the people well!!

Do not think that the people will ever be gullible to politicians ever again (maybe a few). So create history, consult your people at all levels without political or racial rhetoric, and lead as a well-defined Government that we as Guyanese can

honour and be proud of for many, many decades.

As a patriot, I only want what is for the good of Guyana and for all Guyanese. To those in political control and their henchmen, The Lord my God is my Watcher.........Karma!!!!!

Sincerely, Roshan Khan Sr, National Patriot

Berbice needs more developmental projects Dear Editor, Along the Atlantic Coast of Berbice, in what is known as the Corentyne, there are 2 major towns that anchor the development of the area, those being Rose Hall and Skeldon.

It is quite substantial, given the size of Berbice. Over the years, there has been significant investment in these two areas to ensure banking, Government, and commercial facilities are modernized and all the amenities of a 21st Century town are available in these 2 areas, which support the surrounding communities.

The 2 sugar factories which carry the same name have been significant contrib-

utors to the stability and development of the Corentyne.

With the ongoing focus on sustainable development, it is important that there is continued investment opportunities in these areas, so as to ensure successful economic growth in this substantial part of Berbice.

The University of Guyana campus in Tain and the technical development offered by GuySuCo over the years have enhanced the skills of the workforce in these areas, and have positioned them well for future growth in multiple industries.

It is important that Government continues to nur-

ture this development, and quickly invest in the continued economic growth of these areas, so as to reduce potential long-term unemployment and economic slowing of this highly populated region.

We, as a nation, must continue to do the responsible thing when it comes to our citizens and their long-term well-being, while also keeping in mind the limited skilled human resources we have available in the country.

If we are serious about Guyana being for Guyanese, we must give first priority to our citizens when it comes to employment opportunities. If the local talent is

available and the infrastructure is in place for successful investments in key areas of the country, as in the case of Rose Hall and Skeldon, then the overall payback on the projects undertaken will be shorter. Thus resulting in faster profitable growth for investors. Currently, the plan to offset the economic impact of the closure of parts of GuySuCo is still unclear to the population of the affected areas. There is a communication gap that needs to be rectified if such a plan does exist.

Best regards, Jamil Changlee

We will stand by the legacies of Cheddi and Burnham Dear Editor, After reading the Cheddi Jagan bashing letter of Leyland Roopnarine (New York) “We must stop admiring our two dead Socialist Leaders” (KN, 17th March 2018) I wondered at the gall

of some people to tell people whom to admire.

Whom should we admire, Leyland Roopnarine (New York)? President Donald Trump of the USA? The Queen of England? President Putin of Russia? YOU?

Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan did a lot for Guyanese, and that is why they are remembered fondly. Their failings were in not understanding the true world of politics, especially Cold War politics at the time. And

for that they are forgiven.

Guyana is NOT AMERICA’s backyard, to do with as they please. We are not a colony of America or the UK. Yours faithfully, Sean Ori

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MONDAY, march 19, 2018

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guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

In high school, the kids are not all right

…with social and academic pressure mounting, a teacher shares what he’s learned about tracking his students’ mental well-being

By David Tow

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ased on my observations, the lives of the high school students I teach are hemmed in everywhere by social pressures and expectations: high-stakes testing, the looming shadow of college admissions, the fiercely competitive school system, the painful process of figuring out who you are, and the ubiquitous desire for peer acceptance. Add to this the unseen pressures – fractured or fragmented home lives, emotional or physical violence and abuse, struggles with substance use, legal problems…and it makes for a period of unsustainable emotional distress. In recent weeks, the constant pressure has meant dealing with student depression almost daily, and helping support those who I feel might be toeing the line of selfharm.

There are few resources for dealing with high school student mental health issues. The sources that do offer strategies tailored for high school students tend to be either excessively academic or so general as to be useless.

Reviewing my notes from my joint credential and master’s program, I find inconsistency and a frustrating lack of clarity. The strategies include things like teaching positive management strategies and promoting emotional competency, or educating staff on mental health issues and encourage social supports.

As a practising teacher, I don’t find

that very helpful. And in my day-today work life, I see two common – and mostly inadequate – mental health strategies deployed to help high schoolers who look like they might be struggling: First, take some time, and second, get caught up. Even if the advice is phrased differently, it’s usually a variation on the same theme. Students are advised to take the adolescent equivalent of a personal day, and then complete their work accordingly. I’m not pointing fingers. I’ve done it myself.

In my case, frustration drove me to seek some better answers. In a series of recent conversations with the mental health professionals I trust, with colleagues who have a long history of putting students’ mental well-being first – and of course with students – I’ve assembled a list of strategies for classroom teachers to implement that might help not just treat the symptoms but also address the underlying issues.

5 strategies for promoting high schoolers’ mental well-being Ask “How are you doing?” – and mean it

For the past six years, I’ve stood at the door and welcomed my high school students in with a handshake and a variant of that question. If I sense any problems, I might ask “Really?” or “You sure?” I think it’s reassuring to students to know that an adult in their life cares about their well-being, and the research strongly supports that position.

Student responses, even if they don’t answer honestly, can reveal volumes about their actual mental and emotional status. In my class, as students complete the warm-up, I go to my roster and note which students seemed upset or otherwise off.

Over the course of an average month, I think it’s a good goal to seek out one substantial check-in with every student, no matter how they seem to be doing. The teacher will have made a meaningful one-on-one contact, and the student will know that the teacher has their well-being at heart.

Furthermore, it’s easy and cheap in terms of time invested, but can yield important insights.

Set office hours

This is a policy I’ve borrowed from some of the best teachers I’ve worked with: Set formal office hours and use them to meet with students about more than just academic concerns. For example, I’ll try and meet with each of my students once per semester at some point outside of class time and use the conversation to learn more about who they are, what their academic goals are, and whatever other concerns they have. More often than not, these conversations move into more meaningful territory –most of my students just want or need someone to talk to. The primary objection is that this costs a great deal of time, and I agree. It’s time intensive, but I think it’s worth it.

(Adapted from edutopia.org)

to be continued

Why can’t I get over my painful

childhood?

New studies explain the enduring effects of early adversity

Conclusion

By Seth J Gillihan, PhD

Some of the patterns we develop early in life can actually get stronger later in life, particularly through our interactions with others.

Consider attachment style, which is the way we relate (or "attach") to close others in our lives. Our relationships with early caregivers play a big role in whether we're generally secure or anxious in these connections.

Someone with an anxious attachment style will have a hard time feeling cared for in a relationship, which might lead to frantic efforts to avoid being abandoned. These behaviours, in turn, might lead a partner to distance themselves, which will further trigger the fear of abandonment and clinging as the cycle continues.

As a result, our interactions with others can amplify the tendencies that we developed in childhood. A recent study confirmed this pattern among adults with a history of physical abuse and neglect.

The researchers found that childhood maltreatment led to an anxious attachment style, which in turn led to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Brain changes

It's now been more than a decade since cognitive neuroscientist (and my doctoral advisor) Martha Farah demonstrated the effects of poverty on brain development.

In his review article, Liu also highlights some of the brain differences associated with childhood adversity, including reduced size of the hippocampus (crucial for learning and memory), greater reactivity of the amygdala (involved in fear and other emotions), and abnormalities in parts of the frontal lobes associated with regulating emotion and planning complex behaviours.

These kinds of studies make it clear that our experiences literally shape our brains, just as Michael Meaney and his colleagues demonstrated with rat pups. Thankfully our later experiences can continue to shape our brains and stress responses, in a positive direction given the right conditions.

Core beliefs

Given that our experiences affect our brains, it shouldn't be surprising that they also affect our minds. In cognitive behavioural therapy, core beliefs are defined as our fundamental way of seeing the world and ourselves, which develop through our experiences.

For example, if I have the core belief that I'm unlovable and my wife doesn't greet me warmly when she comes home, I'll be quick to interpret her behaviour as, "She doesn't care about me." That automatic thought will lead to feeling sad and dejected, and possibly to withdrawing, thereby weakening my relationship.

Core beliefs have the poisonous quality of being self-reinforcing, because they bias our perception of reality, driving our automatic thoughts which in turn reinforce our core beliefs. It takes considerable effort to recognise and reshape these beliefs, often in the context of focused work with a therapist.

Unprocessed memories

Very traumatic life events can so overwhelm our nervous systems that our memories of the events are not fully processed. Our desire to avoid these painful memories further prevents us from facing – and ultimately making peace with – these haunting episodes.

And yet despite our best efforts to bury these memories, they intrude on our awareness – popping into our minds out of nowhere, triggering panicked responses to trauma reminders, flooding our bodies with stress hormones, and affecting how we see ourselves, others, and the world.

These dynamics may be clearest in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Whether the trauma happened in childhood or later in life, undigested memories can continue to haunt us. I've worked with veterans on facing their combat-related trauma of 40 years earlier, and the memories felt as fresh as when they were 22 years old on the battlefield.

By facing our darkest memories in a safe and supportive setting, we can allow the open wound to heal.

We'll be left with a scar, but the pain will no longer be acute.

(Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

7 Guyana should not auction remaining oil blocks – Oil Attorney news

MONDAY, march 19, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

– says Constitution sets limits on use of natural resources

By Samuel Sukhnandan

A

local attorney who has extensive experience working with many oil companies is cautioning the current Government against making rash decisions when it comes to the remaining oil blocks offshore Guyana. This attorney, Melinda Janki, has said there should be no auction of the remaining blocks.

Janki, who worked as an in-legal counsel for British multinational oil and gas company BP at its head office in London, said the first priority of the Government now should be to change the Petroleum Sharing Agreement (PSA) that Minister Raphael Trotman signed with Esso, Hess and Nexen. “The Government did not obtain competent legal advice. They did not obtain competent financial advice.

Obviously, the Government failed in its legal duties to the people of Guyana. They need to fix that before they do anything else,” Janki told Guyana Times on Sunday in an exclusive interview. Opposition Leader of Guyana, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, has called for the implementation of competitive bidding for the remaining oil blocks,

or for the blocks to be kept for future generations.

Jagdeo has been extremely critical of Government’s handling of the PSA with these oil companies. However, Government has said that a process of both direct engagement and selective bidding would be used to allocate the remaining blocks. Minister Trotman has expressed that direct engagements with other State-owned companies, such as Brazil’s Petrobras, would be sought in the future, but Janki has reminded that the Constitution of Guyana sets limits on what can be done with Guyana’s natural resources. She pointed to Article 149 J, which states: Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to his or her health or well-being; the State shall protect the environment, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures designed to prevent pollution and environmental degradation; promote conservation; and secure sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

“Present and future generations” means that one can-

tains that money can’t be eaten, nor can oil be drunk.

“The Government has to comply with Article 36. They have to preserve clean air, fertile soils, pure water, and the rich diversity of plants, animals and eco-systems. Before they auction any blocks, they must correct the mistakes they have made in the deal with Esso, Hess and Nexen,” she added.

Oil contract

Attorney-at-Law Melinda Janki

not use up everything now.

They must take into account children, grandchildren. You must put aside things for the future. This is not about infrastructure and other projects. That is out of date economics based on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth,” she opined adding that there is a legal duty is to hand on to the next generation an intact natural capital base.

According to her, this is clear from Article 36 of the Constitution, which also states that, “The wellbeing of the nation depends upon preserving clean air, fertile soils, pure water, and the rich diversity of plants, animals and eco-systems.” Janki main-

Linden has most child abuse cases in Region 10 – CCPA Director

By Utamu Bell

W

ith Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) recording the largest number of child abuse cases in Guyana in 2017, with a 22.1 per cent of the country's total, Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) Director Ann Greene has confirmed that most of the reported cases in the Region came from Linden.

According to information from the Agency, the overall rate of child abuse for Guyana in 2017 is 15.8 per 1000 children.

Greene recently noted the importance of understanding "rates", in terms of population size when looking at the number of children being abused, as she pointed out that Region 10 has the highest rate.

She also indicated that Region 10 has the highest rate of child neglect and sexual abuse. Greene noted that there was hardly any neglect reported in Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), but stressed that there was a high rate of sexual abuse.

"In every thousand children, 15 are being abused. If you look at last year's stats data, it also means every two hours a child is abused; every day 11 children (are) abused.

When you look at figures like that, when you give numbers, it must say something for you ... in terms of the population of children. So, the rate is saying something ... More people live in Region Four, so most of our abuse would be in Region Four, but (according to) rate,

CCPA Director Ann Greene

Region 10 is the highest," Greene explained.

In 2016, the highest rate came from Region Seven.

Greene noted that these were only the reported cases, which she said were "just the tip of the iceberg", adding that child abuse was “a hidden crime".

As such, she called for sexual regulation at the family level, as she explained that there was much more work to be done. m "It is done behind closed doors and some children really ain't got a voice ...

Some children not even aware that they are being abused.

We got children didn't even know that it is wrong to sleep with their brother or sleep with their father. Because sexual regulation has to be done in the family and families perhaps don't have the capacity to make the children understand ... it's a lot of work that we got to do," Greene pointed out.

She added that data obtained would assist the Agency in programme planning. In this regard,

Greene said the Agency would be looking at the Linden community, given that most of the cases for Region 10 derived from it. Other cases, she noted, came from riverine areas such as Kwakwani.

In looking at the factors which may be responsible for the high rate in the Region, the CCPA Director said a lot of it may be considered general. "A lot of it is parents lacking the capacity to parent –intellectually and everything they're lacking and they put the children at risk".

Other factors outlined by Greene are poverty and substance and domestic abuse, which she explained all create vulnerability in children.

Poverty, she noted, is a fundamental factor which cannot be excused. "So, we got to look at the low-income groups. Mother got to go out and work and the children are left with not proper caregivers and they are exposed ... it's not that Region 10 really different from anywhere else, it's just that the rate comes in, in terms of the population," she explained. Greene further explained that the Agency planned to heighten the level of awareness, which she noted, ultimately leads to an increase in reports. It is her belief that there is not an increase in child abuse, but rather in the reporting of such cases, as she explained that the rate showed that awareness programmes were working. "Getting an increase in reports could mean ... people are more willing to talk…," Greene explained.

On the issue of the largest oil contract signed with Government, the Britishtrained Guyanese lawyer told Guyana Times that most people have failed to realize that the PSA is not with ExxonMobil, but with Esso, Hess and Nexen. “The focus is on Exxon, (but) the focus should be on these 3 compa-

nies. Who are they? What are their assets? Do they meet the requirements of the law? Has the Government carried out a proper due diligence investigation of these 3 companies?” she lamented. Janki said the criticisms about this agreement are too many for the Government to simply ignore.

“These criticisms have to be taken seriously on the financial aspect of the deal… From a legal perspective, the contract is very unbalanced. The Government of Guyana has agreed to terms and conditions that give these 3 oil companies (an) unusual amount of benefits.

For example, there seems to be no real mechanism to check what is happening. How will Guyana know something as basic as how much oil comes out?”

The attorney said the

contract should be replaced by something that is fair to Guyana and the people of Guyana. She said it is not a matter of being pro- or anti-Government, but a matter of the national interest.

“This is a matter of law. The Government owes a legal duty to the people of Guyana. If the people of Guyana are not satisfied with this deal, if they are not satisfied with what the Government has done, then the people are perfectly entitled to object to the deal, and to insist that the terms of this deal are altered,” she explained. She said ministers cannot just sign any deal that they like. A minister, she said, must exercise his or her power for the benefit of the country. Therefore she believes there is scope to change the contract.

8 NEWS Former friends charged with assaulting each other T Misdiagnosis…

MONDAY, march 19, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

hirty-eight-yearold security guard Melissa Azore and 54-year-old poultry farmer Linden Lewis, both residents of La Retraite, West Bank Demerara, appeared on Thursday before

Wales Magistrate Rushell Liverpool, charged with assault committed on each other at La Retraite on February 10, 2018.

Azore denied that she had assaulted Lewis, and Lewis likewise denied that

he had assaulted Azore, causing her actual bodily harm.

The court heard that the parties had been friends at one point, and Magistrate Liverpool ordered that neither party must interfere

with the other while the matter is before the court.

Azore was released on $5,000 bail, while Lewis was released on $25,000 bail. Their next court date is May 24, 2018.

GTT receives high honour at Mashramani 2018 prize-giving

G

TT/Pulse Amazon Gems Band took the road by storm on February 23 last, and lived up to its promise to be the biggest and best band for the 2018 Mashramani Costume and Float Parade. The band was adjudged as having had the most colourful costumes, which represented several of the precious minerals found in Guyana. For this excellent showing, GTT has received high honour with its second place win in the

A representative from GTT receiving the trophy from an official of the Mash Secretariat

Full Costume Large Band category. Honours were bestowed on the GTT at the recently held Mashramani prize-giving ceremony held at the National Cultural Centre. GTT stood out as the lone private sector agency to have participated in the Costume Band and Float Parade. GTT now expresses special thanks to designer Olympia Small–Sonaram and the revellers who made the Band as fantastic and outstanding as it was.

Guyana to host historic OAS Conference next week

G

uyana is set to host for the first time the 24th Inter-American Congress of Ministers and High-Level Authorities of Tourism (CITUR) of the Organisation of American States (OAS).

The meeting, to be held March 21-22, will be hosted at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, and be attended by several international and regional tourism officials.

According to the Director General of Tourism, Donald Sinclair, the National Coordinator of the XXIV

Business and Tourism Development Minister Dominic Gaskin speaking at the launching of the Congress in January

Congress, the response has been significant, and 25 out of the 43 countries have al-

ready confirmed their attendance.

“What I am hearing

from the OAS authorities is that this is perhaps the best-attended Congress. If that turns out to be so, then Guyana deserves the kudos,” Sinclair said.

OAS Conference Specialist Luiz Coimbra underscored the importance of the collaboration which would arise from the meeting of tourism stakeholders.

“Nobody can do tourism on its own. No country can solve the tourism question on its own. We all need to be connected, not only because the problems are common, but also because each country can offer complementary things, and we are stronger if we have common standards for tourism,” he said.

The OAS representative added that the Congress was the culmination of an extended period of work between the Organisation and local representatives.

The two-day Congress will be held under the theme, “Connecting the Americas through Sustainable Tourism.”

It will be preceded by a tourism exhibition organised by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana on March 20.

Guyana is expected to benefit significantly from hosting the 24th CITUR. This is according to Business and Tourism Development Minister Dominic Gaskin, who underscored the importance of the event and the benefits to be realised from staging it in Guyana.

Speaking at the launching of the Congress in January, Minister Gaskin maintained that the Congress would raise the country’s tourism and business profiles, and would also contribute to Guyana’s economic growth in several other ways.

I

…of ADD in Guyana t’s clear this PNC-led coalition government believe Guyanese are stricken with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Why else would they make so many promises that they haven’t kept, even though they’ve been in office for almost three years?? Do they think folks will forget?

We could start with the 21 promises they insisted they’d implement within their first 21 days. How about: “Within 3 months, appoint a Constitutional Reform Commission to amend the Constitution”?? Hope you weren’t holding your breath!!

Then there was that “Code of Conduct…for Parliamentarians, Ministers etc…” Wasn’t this one supposed to lead to the dawning of a new age of corruption-free governance?? But even after Jubileegate; Pharmagate; Parking meter-gate…etc…there are no signs of a Code.

But it’s not just the grand promises on national matters. This Government even welsh on the concrete, humdrum promises that just can’t possibly be forgotten, since they affect the lives of real, live people.

Just take the one revealed by this paper yesterday – the backdam road from Wales to Uitvlugt to transport the cane of private cane farmers after they unilaterally closed down Wales Estate. Now, these farmers were a special set of people who accepted the challenge from the sugar producers back in the day to produce sugar cane privately. They were so successful, they ended up supplying 40% of the cane to Wales – because they were so much more efficient than the estate operations.

GuySuCo was unsuccessful because it just couldn’t get its act together - especially in the fields. And interestingly, the Wales farmers had the solution. You’d think that rather than shuttering the factory and its 8000 acres, GuySuCo would’ve passed on the lands to the farmers to have a go, and keep the factory. But the geniuses on the Board ignored their CoI, shut down the factory, and promised to lease the lands to the workers to diversify, while they would construct a road to transport the farmers’ cane to Uitvlugt factory.

But here we are, no road, and the cane farmers left with their cane to rot! Their stories are heartrending: fractured families; fractured communities; fractured lives. The lands to be leased and diversified? You’re a real true believer if you asked, dear reader!

The Government, on its own, put 400 acres into “seed paddy,” but we’re yet to hear officially about the disaster that was!! This Eyewitness will bet dollars to donuts that if they’d leased those lands to farmers, seed paddy would’ve been coming out of their kazoos!!

But that would mean the Government keeping even .1% of their promise!! In 2010, however, they’ll find out Guyanese don’t have ADD: They’ll know where to place their “X” sign!!

…of Guyanese politics The WPA’s ‘all shook up’ about the treatment accorded to its Executive member David Hinds by its partners in Government – the PNC and AFC. In case you were vacationing on Marx during the past week, Hinds’s column was dropped from the state-owned Chronic faster than a shooting star!! And with as little warning!!

Your Eyewitness dealt with who did the (dirty) deed in his last column, so today he’ll examine the WPA’s misreading of the political calculus. Very bluntly, their usefulness is over. Their role was to sanitise the PNC in 2011 to the well-meaning Afro and Mixed constituencies who’d become disillusioned with that party’s “goon” image. By 2015, their job was done, and the PNC moved on to court the AFC’s 10% Indian support.

With the PNC back in the saddle and the avuncular Granger riding high, the WPA is redundant, since, in a bifurcated polity, the PNC vote won’t be “split”!! The latter should expect more humiliations.

It’ll be cold comfort that it’ll soon be the turn of the AFC to be ditched!!

…of the Gilbakka ban The Govt wasn’t lax…it was a strategic move to allow the cuirass stock to increase, and tempt the Venezuelans to catch one.

That’d give us the excuse to declare war to protect Exxon’s oil. Not one cuirass!!

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

News

9

MONDAY, march 19, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Border controversy

Govt preparing to present pleadings to World Court A

lmost two months after United Nations Secretary General António Guterres referred the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy to the World Court for judicial settlement, the coalition Government is currently working on its pleadings to submit to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“You will hear later in the month or early next month exactly when it’s going to be submitted. The lawyers are working on it,” a senior Government official told Guyana Times.

The official went on to reveal that Guyana has already selected the panel of lawyers to represent its interest before the World Court. “These are international lawyers who have been working on such things elsewhere and then, of course, there is going to be a local team,” he added.

According to the Government official, the Foreign Affairs Ministry is currently working on building that local team.

He noted that the Ministry has since enlisted the help of diplomats and historians to work on the case.

This publication was told that the border controversy case can take as much as six years before litigation is completed.

After Venezuela reignited the border controversy, with new claims to Guyana’s territory back in 2015, the coalition Government has maintained that the issue was a legal one and needed to be settled via a legal process.

After some two years of failed mediation, the UN Secretary General, on January 31 this year, announced in a statement that he has sent the matter to the ICJ for resolution, a decision the Spanishspeaking nation had not accepted.

According to the UN

duction commences in two years’ time.

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman had told a gathering of members of the local legal fraternity during the Guyana Oil and Gas Law Training Development Conference two weeks ago that preparations were already underway for first oil in 2020.

In fact, he disclosed that Government’s fast-tracking of oil production is “inextricably linked” with the border controversy with

Attorney General Basil Williams

Secretary General’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, enough progress was not made towards solution of the controversy and as a result, Secretary General Guterres referred the matter to the ICJ. This is in accordance with the framework left by his predecessor, Ban Ki-moon.

However, Guterres did not rule out the continuation of the good offices process of the UN to complement court proceedings.

The border controversy gained new life when oil giant ExxonMobil announced in 2015 that it had found oil in Guyana. Venezuela has staunchly been against oil exploration in Guyana’s Stabroek Block, where multiple oil deposits were found by ExxonMobil, and has since renewed its claim to the Essequibo region, which represents twothirds of Guyana’s territory.

In the meanwhile, ExxonMobil is continuing its successful exploration activities, making its seventh discovery of “high-quality” commercial oil offshore Guyana last month. According to the company, this will help bring Guyana’s production to more than 500,000 barrels per day when oil pro-

neighbouring Venezuela.

He said that Guyana has

been strategically pushing for first oil in 2020 in light

of the claim by its western neighbour over waters offshore Guyana that are being explored by the US oil giant.

The Nicolás Maduro Government had issued a decree in late May 2015, claiming most of Guyana’s territorial waters, including the Liza Field located some 120 miles off Clonbrook-Mahaica. That decree, which extended into Surinamese and Barbadian waters, was subsequently withdrawn.

Firearm and ammunition charges…

Amelia's Ward man to know fate Friday

A

vmed Dial, also called "Bucko," of 5034 Phase 2 Amelia's Ward, Mackenzie, Linden, facing three charges relating to the possession of a firearm and ammunition, is set to know his fate on Friday, March 23.

His case had been tried on March 12 by Linden

Magistrate Clive Nurse, and this date has been set for ruling in the case.

Dial allegedly had a .32 Taurus Magnum revolver, serial number TB12429, in his possession at his Amelia's Ward home on Monday, May 12, 2017, without being the owner of a firearm licence at the time.

It is also alleged that on the said date, he had in his possession at his home five rounds of .32 ammunition for an automatic weapon and 20 rounds of .32 Magnum ammunition, without being the holder of a firearm licence.

Dial was represented by Attorney Gordon Gilhuys, who argued that other peo-

ple resided at the home where the firearm and ammunition were found, and the prosecution had failed to establish that the firearm belonged to the defendant. He therefore asked that the defendant be found not guilty of the charges.

The Magistrate then set the March 23 date for ruling.

10 NEWS

MONDAY, march 19, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Local university hosts mental Govt yet to receive report on $68M IDPAD conference health targeted outreach

F

A

s part of efforts to sensitize citizens about mental health and related illnesses, the American University of Peace Studies on Sunday hosted a medical and counselling outreach for residents of Georgetown living primarily in the Campbellville area.

Over the course of last week, the students of this institution visited homes in several communities around Georgetown to inform them of the outreach.

As part of that exercise, the students took the opportunity to sensitize persons on the symptoms and effects of mental illnesses, and encouraged them to visit Sunday’s outreach so that they may be able to learn more.

Speaking on the reasoning behind the benevolent initiative, Lecturer Nadine McIntosh-Ramsarran said, “What we found out is that a number of times persons have anxiety issues, and the anxiety issues manifest themselves in the medical issues.”

She explained that one aspect of a person’s health tends to affect the other, this mix-up often resulting in wrong diagnosis or inability of a physician to identify the problem.

“Medical issues patients have do affect their mental health, and mental health also affects physical health,” she noted. The Psychologist high-

ollowing a four-day conference that was dubbed a success by stakeholders, organisers of the International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD) Summit 2018 are expected to hand over a full report of the event to the Guyana Government, which had allocated some $68 million in its 2018 Budget for

Counsellors, therapists and students of the University surround Lecturer Nadine McIntosh-Ramsarran (centre)

lighted that as a result of this, a doctor may carry out various medical tests on a patient and still find no physical evidence of the illness.

Aside from mental health screening, persons were able to benefit from services such as blood sugar testing, blood pressure testing, eye testing, heart testing and HIV testing. In the case of the eye tests, persons were able to receive spectacles they could utilize. In the aspect of mental health, counselling and therapy were provided for individuals seeking help and support with family and relationship issues. Therapy for anxiety and depression was given, as well as counseling for children with emotional and behavioural issues. Medication and prescriptions were also

made available to patients visiting the outreach.

The team for the outreach consisted of medical doctors among whom was an OB/GYN; an ECG technician, counsellors, therapists, and students of the institution.

An elated McIntoshRamsarran dubbed the outreach a great success and noted that the services provided were very effective.

“There were some patients who came in thinking they had heart problems, but when we checked it out, it was just anxiety,” she noted.

American University of Peace Studies is a tertiary educational institution registered with the National Accreditation Council of Guyana.

Joey Jagan predicts PPP victory at 2020 polls – urges party to address public perceptions

V

ictory may have just eluded the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in the last General and Regional Elections in 2015, but according to Dr Cheddi “Joey” Jagan, the son of the party’s late founder, that party is likely to return to governance.

Speaking recently during an Indian Action Committeesponsored event in honour of his father, former President Dr Cheddi Jagan, “Joey” pointed to the party’s track record of bouncing back stronger than ever from defeat.

“I come from the PPP. I grew up in the PPP. So I have sympathy for the PPP. I will always have sympathy for (them). I feel the PPP is the birth of politics in this country, and will end up as the party to carry this country forward eventually. Everybody will come back to the PPP, just like it started. That’s what is going to happen,” he predicted.

“If you understand history, the PPP is like the Romans. The Romans took a beating from Hannibal in one afternoon and the Romans came back with two armies three months later. So the PPP are like the Romans. You can knock them down, you can hit them down. They will come back.”

He urged the party in the meantime to address the perceptions of the party held by the public. According to the junior Jagan, addressing these issues will be key to the party’s return to the seat of governance.

Also speaking during the event was PPP Member of Parliament Vickram Bharrat, who fielded questions as to whether the party had moved away from Jagan’s founding principles. He had refuted suggestions that the party no longer reflected Jagan’s ideologies, while noting that as

cating the issues of African descendants through the implementation of possible solutions.

The four-day conference was held at the Guyana Marriott Hotel under the theme “Where we are, Where we ought to be, How we get there”. During his presentation at the opening ceremony, Second Vice President

Dr Cheddi “Joey” Jagan

time progressed, the PPP has evolved.

“I know this has been a burning question, something finding its way around the media and the circles: that the PPP is moving away from Cheddi Jagan’s principles and teachings. But as a young person within the PPP, I want to say the party is grounded along Cheddi Jagan lines.

Sometimes we tend not to differentiate between government and party.

“Sometimes we tie the party and Government actions into each other, and we say that the Government between 97 and 2015 did not act in this way and that way. But it is a different era, and we often say, maybe if Jagan was alive he would have taken these decisions that our leaders are taking today.

“One famous comment he (Jagan) made is: we must learn to walk within raindrops. It means that as time moves, as people change, it may require different ideological thinking, policies, and you must adopt it. As time changes, we have to change with it too.”

Taking on suggestions of a fraction within the party, Bharrat noted that, like any “family”, there will be dis-

agreements and dissenters among the party leaders. But he noted that when the party shows its face, it is a united one.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who is also the PPP General Secretary, has long been publicly confident of a PPP win at the polls.

He has repeatedly referred to large numbers of persons formerly loyal to the coalition making the crossover to PPP out of disillusionment over the Government’s actions.

The IAC event was in honour of Dr. Jagan’s 100 birth anniversary. Cheddi Berret Jagan was born on March 22, 1918, at Plantation Port Mourant, British Guiana. He was a politician and union activist who, in 1953, became the first popularly-elected Prime Minister of British Guiana (now Guyana).

He headed the country’s Government again from 1957 to 1964, after which the People’s National Congress (PNC) retained power.

That was until late former President Desmond Hoyte ran and lost to the PPP in 1992, after which Jagan returned to power until his death in 1997.

From there, the PPP/C’s grip on political power remained strong, until the 2011 General and Regional Elections when it lost parliamentary control. As a result, a few years before the 2015 election, then President Donald Ramotar ruled Guyana in a minority Government.

The APNU/AFC narrowly won the 2015 General Election, securing 206,817 votes, while the PPP/Civic accumulated 201,457 votes, a difference of 5360 votes, which brought an end to over two decades of PPP dominance in government. The APNU/AFC secured 33 seats in the 11th Parliament of Guyana, while the PPP/C received 32 seats.

A section of the gathering at the opening of the IDPAD Summit 2018 held at the Marriott Hotel

sponsorship of the conference.

The summit was held in observance of the International Decade for People of African Descent and brought together more than 60 academics, Black activists and other expert speakers from around the world to focus on eradi-

and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge told the gathering that he was expecting a report from organisers so that he could brief Cabinet on the outcome of the conference.

“I can assure you that because of (President David Granger’s) abiding interest in

this subject … I will be called upon to give account, if not necessarily blow by blow, an assessment of what has taken place during this event,” Minister Greenidge, who was at the time acting President, had stated.

However, when asked whether he had received such an update from the summit organisers, the Second Vice President replied in the negative, but added that he was expecting that information which was promised.

The Decade was launched by the United Nations in New York in 2015 to highlight issues relating to Africa and millions of African descendants around the world, including the 200 million people who identify as Africans in the Americans alone.

The conference served as a platform for participants to openly discuss the serious issues facing African descendants, as well as the solutions they envision to address the problems, and ways of implementing those solutions.

President attending World Water Forum

P

resident David Granger is attending the eighth World Water Forum, which is being hosted in Brasilia, Brazil.

He departed Guyana on Sunday morning.

He is attending the Forum on the invitation of the President of Brazil, Michel Temer and will participate in the official opening ceremony on Monday and return to Guyana on March 20. The event is being held from March 18 to March 23.

Guyana Times under-

President David Granger

stands that the World Water Forum is the world’s biggest water-related event and is organised by the World Water Council.

Its mission is “to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues at all levels, to facilitate the efficient conservation, protection, development, planning, management and use of water in all its dimensions on an environmentally sustainable basis for the benefit of all life”.

NEWS

11

MONDAY, march 19, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana’s AML/CFT regime No arrest yet in Belle still in chaos – Nandlall West pensioner’s

G

uyana’s Attorney General, Basil Williams, has been accused of contradicting the impression that the country is compliant with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements, based on statements he made in the National Assembly on Thursday.

Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Anil Nandlall pointed out that Williams admitted in Parliament he was informed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) that amendments made to the AML/CFT Amendment Bill in 2015 are in violation of the international guidelines.

Williams, he said, told the House that he was also directed to remove them from the legislation.

Nandlall recalled that when the coalition took office in 2015, the first Bill it passed was the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill, No.1 of 2015. It was tabled at the very first sitting of the 11th Parliament.

“It contained all of the objectionable amendments. It was tabled by Williams. He

Opposition MP Anil Nandlall

was boastful that he was able to pass the Bills that the previous Government could not pass. It is obvious, therefore, that we were never compliant with the international requirements, as the AG (had) previously informed the nation,” he said.

The former Attorney General also noted that while in the Opposition, the now Government caused Guyana to be blacklisted by the CFATF, and to be sanctioned internationally. “Now in Government, they have caused the very same thing to happen! The incompetence knows no limit!” he posited.

Nandlall drew attention to the fact that the APNU+AFC used their one-seat majority in the 10th Parliament to vote down certain legislative amendments tabled by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government, which were required to be enacted to bring Guyana’s financial system into compliance with international standards established by the FATF and the CFATF. As a result, he said, Guyana’s financial system was visited by a regime of sanctions, which are still in force. “I am sure that everyone would recall the monumental efforts which were expended in attempting to get the Opposition to cooperate and support the amendments tabled by the then Government in Parliament.

“During that period, the AML/CFT Bills were taken to a Select Committee twice. The APNU+AFC took the majority seats in that Committee, which meant that they had control over it. In that Committee, they made a host of amendments to the Bill that was under review.

“Prominent among those amendments was the creation of a top-heavy, 20-mem-

Armed men rob Camp St water business

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rmed bandits robbed the Ultra Waters business, located at 194A Camp Street Cummingsburg Georgetown, at about 17:30h on Saturday, making good their escape with all of the day’s sales and the salaries of some employees.

The owners are now counting their losses after this incident.

Guyana Times under-

stands that two men entered the premises posing as customers. One of them then walked straight into the manager’s office, brandishing a firearm and demanding cash and all other valuables. The man then assaulted the manager, and placed him to lie on the floor while he ransacked the manager’s office. In the process, the bandit found and confiscated his booty.

Having completed their mission, the men beat a hasty retreat and entered a waiting tinted vehicle that sped away with them.

Contacted on Sunday, Police officials said no arrests have as yet been made, but surveillance footage of the incident has been taken as Police continue their investigation of the incident.

ber Authority to oversee the functions of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Ten of those 20 members were ex-officio office holders of various statutory/constitutional offices in Guyana. For example, the Commissioner of Police, the Governor of the Central Bank the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority etc.

The PPP side disagreed with these amendments, he said. “I pointed out that the creation of such an Authority was not among the recommendations from the international agencies. I further pointed out that such an Authority would compromise the functional independence and autonomy of the FIU, and that the independence of that Unit was an indispensable requirement of FATF and CFATF,” Nandall recalled.

The former AG had also argued that the National Assembly, which is comprised of “politically exposed persons”, cannot be part of the appointing mechanism to the AML/ CFT infrastructure, because these very persons are to be investigated by the FIU, and this will constitute a conflict of interest.

Williams’s admission is, no doubt, according to Nandlall, another major blunder made by the Government.

murder

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etectives are continuing the probe into the death of 68-year-old pensioner Ursilla Padarta, although they are yet to finger the woman’s killer.

Padarta, called “Data,” of Lot 566 Belle West, Canal #2 Polder, WBD, was found dead last Wednesday morning in a sitting position in a chair in her living room.

Her body bore a stab wound to the neck and another to the head.

The discovery was made by a carpenter who had gone to discuss the construction of a sceptic tank that the woman had planned on doing.

According to the Police, the woman was killed at some time after 19:45h on Tuesday and 07:30h on Wednesday. The murder weapon – an ice pick – was reportedly found in the house.

Guyana Times was told that the woman had called a relative to talk about the construction works at some time around 20:00h last Tuesday; and at the time, the contractor was at her house. The following morn-

Ursilla Padarta

ing, the man informed relatives of her demise after reportedly stumbling on her dead body.

The contractor, whom the woman had known because he would usually go to her house to spend time, had found Padarta’s door locked from the outside. He opened it and went inside, and made the gruesome discovery.

Padarta’s nephew, Naresh Singh, believes the woman was killed after the phone call on Tuesday night. turn to page 14

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MONDAY, maRCH 19, 2018 | guyana

H 19, 2018 | guyanatimesGY.com

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14 news

MONDAY, march 19, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

US fish ban

Govt working on measures to comply — Holder

– admits requirements are difficult to meet

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n wake of the United States (US) ban on the import of catfish species, Government is seeking to assure it is taking measures after the fact to address the ban; something likely to have a ripple effect on a number of fishermen.

In a brief interview with this publication, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder declared that Government is trying to satisfy the requirements it had been warned it would be in default of.

“We’re putting things in place to satisfy the requirements. The requirements are stringent and it’s difficult to meet some of them, easily because of the laboratories, the analyses of the water, and a number of things,” he said.

“But we’re working towards it. The ban applies to us, to Canada, the West Indies, everywhere. This is like them trying to protect their industry. That’s what they’re trying to do. What we supply is not farmed fish, our (fish) are from the ocean,” Holder added, ending the call before further questions could be posed.

Amid calls for Government to speedily rectify the issues involving the recent imposition of a ban on exports of Guyana’s catfish species, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo recently said the first thing that must be done is for the administration to accept full responsibility for the plight created for local fishermen.

Jagdeo said he has noted the coalition Government’s silence on the matter, and the arguments from Government quarters that this is somehow a ‘protectionist move’ by the United States (U.S.). However, he said these arguments have since been exposed as shallow and disingenuous.

The Opposition Leader had said that had it not been for the statement from the local U.S. Embassy in

Government, and it seems to be the defining characteristic of the current Administration.

Technical assistance

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

Guyana, stakeholders would have maintained a misguided view.

“I am of the firm view that the Coalition Government is fully responsible for the plight of local fishermen, given that they were notified of the USA’s pending changes to export regulations since November 2015,” he stated.

Catfish is usually a prized commodity

He had noted that despite having received notice of these changes, the Government failed to communicate effectively with the stakeholders of the fisheries sector, many of whom have invested heavily in this area.

“To make matters worse, the Coalition Government received an extension until February 3, 2018, to bring Guyana into compliance with the new export regulations, and failed again,” he pointed out.

This failure, Jagdeo believes, is further evidence of the ineptitude that continues under the current

No arrest yet...

“She was sitting on the chair with a stab wound to her neck, so it gotta be that it happen last night; because, too, her door wasn’t closed from inside; it look like she was watching TV or something and wasn’t ready to lock up as yet,” he said.

According to neighbours, the pensioner, who lived alone, usually locked up her home late in the nights.

However, they did not recall hearing or seeing anything strange the night before.

Meanwhile, this publication understands that the woman had collected approximately $123,000 cash, which was sent by her grandson from overseas on Tuesday to do the works.

Her handbag which con-

The former President also said he has noted the offer made by the U.S. to provide technical assistance to the Government to help Guyana’s fishermen and women to comply with the new export regulations. He therefore called on Government to immediately take measures to support compliance with the new regulations, and also take measures to support the local fisheries sector in the meantime.

“The fisheries sector cannot be allowed to suffer irreparable losses, as we have seen in other productive sectors since the APNU+AFC Coalition Government took office,” he added.

Veterinary Public Health

from page 11

tained the money, cell phone and other documents, has gone missing.

On the other hand, Guyana Times was also informed that investigators were on the hunt for a known junkie in the village, who had an argument with the now dead woman on Tuesday and was heard threatening to “deal with her” later.

While neighbours could not say the reason behind the row between Padarta and the junkie, they suspect he might have gone to steal from the woman. According to nearby residents, he was last seen around the area earlier on Wednesday, shortly after the discovery was made.

Unit Director Dr Ozaye Dodson has said the imposition from the US export market was just a temporary technical barrier to trade. Dr Dodson said the move by the USDA was a “protectionist measure” by that country’s public health system, lobbied for by the catfish farmers.

The US Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) asked Guyana to provide the relevant documentation to verify this country’s inspection system equivalence to the US standards, or its equivalent public health system.

Dr Dodson claimed

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

Guyana complied with the request. However, the country fell short of the US standards in three areas: firstly, on the issue of the presence of inspectors; secondly, there was insufficient documentation detailing verification of each step in the sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process; and thirdly, there was insufficient documentation specifying how the industry manages adulterated catfish products.

PSC President Eddie Boyer told this publication on Tuesday that the ban is nothing new, but could be lifted if Government and private companies that are exporting work together to comply with the new requirements. He said it is not an impossible task, but advised that both parties work diligently so as to lessen the economic impact this ban will have on the trade of these specific fish species.

New US standards for import of catfish species demand the presence of inspectors at plants for one hour during an eight-hour shift.

Dr Dodson explained that Guyana’s inspection system utilised a “risk-based approach”, which is a European Union (EU) standard.

Guyana was among several countries banned recently from participating in the US catfish export sector.

“Learn from our mistakes” – Trinidad warns Guyana on oil industry

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uyana has been warned of impending corruption within the oil and gas sector, after being told that it should heed Trinidad and Tobago’s mistakes and shortcomings.

This warning came from Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI) Chairman Dion Abdool on Saturday evening. In his address to the Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) annual fundraising dinner, Abdool called for an independent third party to be responsible for reconciliation and accounting of revenue and transactions.

“This is of paramount importance, and there must be an independent third party looking at the revenue coming from the corporation that is extracting the oil and from the entity – the Government – that is receiving it,” he stated.

Abdool proposed that the independent third party should be the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GEITI). “Like TTTI, the Guyana Transparency Institute sits at the EITI table, they must insist for transparency and accountability in the reporting of the revenue so that there can be no tax leakage.

Learn from our lessons well in Trinidad; it will redound to your benefit,” the TTTI Chairman urged.

Abdool’s suggestion came as a result of Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Minister identifying “tax leakage” as the reason behind a drop in revenue; this drop was initially thought to be caused by a simple decline in production.

Additionally, Abdool urged that Guyanese be aware of entities within their own country, noting that “rip-offs” can come

Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI) Chairman Dion Abdool addressing the audience at Saturday’s dinner

from locals, rather than just foreigners. As an example, he cited Trinidad’s recent experience of a fake oil scandal. He explained that an audit of the State oil company found that the country was swindled of millions of dollars within a few months.

“In just a few months, they found that the volumes recorded by and reported and based on which the extractor was being paid were wrong to the tune of many, many millions of dollars.

Learn from our experiences,” he pleaded.

“Disclosure is in everyone’s best interest. The absence of information leads to mistrust. All may be well, but the mere fact that the information is not available leads to mistrust in the public’s mind.”

Abdool said this to highlight that it was integral for data to be readily available in order to build and maintain trust between citizens, corporations, and Government.

There are also plans to equip Journalists with the requisite training so that they could play a part in the anti-corruption cause.

Police yet to ID killers in former Linden footballer’s murder

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ne week after former national footballer Romel Edison Gomes was brutally murdered in his Buck Hill, Linden shop during a robbery, police in ‘E’ Division (Linden-Kwakwani) are yet to identify his killers.

Divisional Commander Anthony Vanderhyden told Guyana Times on Sunday that investigations are still continuing. He explained that investigators had taken in some persons in custody and did some profiling, but in the end came up empty-handed.

According to Commander Vanderhyden, Police are still working on identifying the perpetrators. He added that

the Police are depending on the assistance of persons in the community to get this done.

The 32-year-old businessman, Gomes, was discovered unconscious in a pool of blood on Monday evening.

He was at the time in his shop, which is attached to his Lot 53 Buck Hill, Wismar Housing Scheme, Linden home.

Based on information received, Gomes was seen arguing with two males, one of whom was armed with a handgun, before a loud explosion was heard.

The two men were then seen fleeing in the victim’s Nissan Bluebird motorcar,

Dead: Romel Gomes

PVV 2057. Gomes was subsequently discovered with a suspected gunshot wound to the head, his throat slit, his hands bound, and mouth gagged.

He was picked up in an unconscious state and taken to the Linden Hospital Complex, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Detectives have since retrieved a bloodstained kitchen knife and a spent shell from the scene. The victim’s bedroom was also ransacked, but the Police are unable to determine whether the motive was a robbery.

Meanwhile, Gomes’s stolen motor car was found abandoned at One Mile Wismar on Tuesday morning. A post-mortem examination conducted the following day gave Gomes’s cause of death as gunshot injury to the head.

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monDAY, march 19, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

VOX POPULI

What the people say

I SAY...

Is the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) efficient with the services that it is offering to the Guyanese public?

Joshua Jordan “I think there is need for much more improvement on GPL’s part. Having lived abroad for eight years, I had only experienced one blackout throughout that time. GPL causes inconvenience to its citizens sometimes when we receive blackouts. I speak as a student who needs power and electricity to do work.”

Roycelyn Alleyne “Nope. With all of the blackout that we have that shouldn't even be a question.

When I talk to anyone out of the country they are startled to know that that is something that we still have here. Every country is developing with things such as power, but we are getting worse. It is sad.”

Ashley Dover “Yes, partially. Being the only plant supplying power to the entire country and with the increase in demand for power, it may be understandable if ever so often there was an outage. But in the case of following up on inquiries, supplying power to areas where there has been none for a number of years, and their response time for maintenance or repairs, they should be able to do way better, especially given the number of years that they have been around.”

Melisa DeFrance “I am convinced that no one is serious about fixing

the issues that continue to generate itself from the poor services provided to the general public by the infamous Guyana Power and Light Company. GPL is, by far, one of the most unreliable, inefficient and incompetent service providers in this country. No matter the public relations campaigns, there is no doubt the issues at GPL are nowhere close to ending. I haven’t seen any significant changes over the years and the service to Guyanese is beyond poor. It’s downright ridiculous, slow, and unprofessional. Not even the emergency service unit is effective.”

Kristie Coleman “The Guyana Power and Light has failed Guyanese.

In this day and age, imagine us as Guyanese have to endure power outages; that is shameful. When are they going to get this right? How much longer must we wait?”

Nandy Laundry “Well, in a way I would say yes, reason being, due to the fact that we are local, it's good that we are an independent country and not dependent, so with GPL providing efficient services, we are pleased that at least we have light in our homes to see where and what we are doing and to conduct other business. So it does benefit me a great lot, since I can rely on them for power to charge my computer, to do my school work since I am a student of UG.”

Ameila Lindie “I would say not always.

There are instances where GPL may not have control of emergency situations, but, on the other hand, there are certain situations where they could do better. Services are not efficient many times which result in inconveniences. Too many times, people end up in unnecessary expenses because of negligence from GPL. Let's look at the situation they had in Bartica just last week.

That could have been avoided if things were put into place from the inception.”

Grace Sam “Hmmm, this question will have a lot of answers, but as for me … I think there are things they can do to improve their efficiency – emphasis on the estimated bills.... We, the people, need to pay for what we are using only. So, GPL should stop sending estimated bills to people. But I must say in my area there hasn’t been much power outage, so I must commend them on that.”

Matthew Gaul “No. GPL's service is extremely inefficient. It's a Government-managed entity with absolute advantage in the electricity generation sector and they have failed miserably like most other Governmentmanaged entities.

Incompetent, inefficient and pathetic are three adjectives to describe GPL.”

Ex-sugar worker conquers adversity I

n light of facing adversity, a laid off sugar worker has utilized the resources present around him in order to create a new livelihood for himself and his family. Afzal Deendial, a former GuySuCo worker, had served the institution with hard work and dedication for some 21 years before he was laid off when the Enmore estate was abruptly closed. Instead of allowing this disappointment to burden or frustrate him, Deendial took it upon himself to find a new means of income.

In an effort to maintain his economic viability, Deendial ventured into the fields of barbering and farming. He established

Region four Chairman Genevieve Allen and Afzal Deendial (centre) surrounded by members of the RDC

the ‘Classy Touch Barber Shop’, which is located at

Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara where he lives

with his family. His cash crop farm is also located in

this area. “I was disappointed when the estate closed as I had 21 long years working there. However, I refuse to give up as I have a family to care and feed and I can’t allow that situation to get me weak,” the ambitious man stated.

However, Deendial did not stop at that, the laid off sugar worker has been pursuing ways in which he can improve and expand his businesses. The man had heard about the Self Reliance Business Workshops for women and as such approached the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Region Four with hopes to join the workshops. He made a simple request of being allowed to

take part in the workshop so as to attain knowledge and benefit from some business related training. He noted that all he wanted was the little ‘know how’ on how to get started officially and tips on running the business.

Deendial humble request was granted and he elatedly expressed gratitude to not only the First Lady of Guyana Mrs. Sandra Granger, but also to the Regional Chairman, Ms. Genevieve Allen for initiating the workshops and allowing him to be a part of it. “I will use this training to further grow my barber shop and cash crop farm as hopefully it may even create employment for others,” a thankful Deendial stated.

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guyanatimesgy.com

monDAY, march 19, 2018

Regional

Antiguan PM, Opposition Carnival detainees start legal action against State MPs in war of words

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Prime Minister Gaston Browne and two Opposition members who hope to replace him. Harold Lovell, who wants to become Prime Minister, and Wilmoth Daniel, who is hoping to take over as the representative of the St John’s City West constituency from Browne

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war of words erupted on radio Friday afternoon with Prime Minister Gaston Browne and two Opposition members who hope to replace him.

Harold Lovell, who wants to become Prime Minister, and Wilmoth Daniel, who is hoping to take over as the representative of the St John’s City West constituency from Browne, were the opposition pair in the faceoff.

Both Lovell and Daniel are from the United Progressive Party, which is aiming to take the reins of Government from the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) on Election Day, March 21.

In an 18-minute long noholds-barred exchange, the

trio hurled insults and levelled accusations of corruption at each other while they shouted over each other and the hosts on ZDK Liberty Radio.

In between that, Browne, who has been given the alias “Worl’ Boss,” promised to resign before the general election if Daniel could prove the claims of corruption he made about Browne.

Daniel threatened to sue PM Browne over some of the claims that were made regarding contracts under the Ministry of Public Works over which Daniel presided when the UPP was in power.

As they continued to attack each other, Browne was accused of flipping land at Long Bay and Friars Hill as

well as exchanging land and more “rip-offs” for the benefit of his family.

Browne said regardless of whether his son made 10 times more in selling the land, it does not matter because the deal was legitimate.

He then levelled similar allegations against Daniel about land flipping and benefits, which he said Daniel got, to which Daniel said, “I will sue you. I am getting the recording.”

The conversation shifted, and Browne was bombarded with more questions about “bounce cheques” allegedly paid to the Ministry of Works when he, Browne, was doing a project while he was in Opposition. (Excerpt from

egal action has been filed against the State and more is coming from Attorneys for several people detained by Police during the Carnival threat alert.

By today, at least three of some 13 people detained and released in the Carnival searches would have issued legal letters to the State.

On February 8, Police revealed they had credible information concerning a plot to disrupt the Carnival.

A total of 15 people were detained in Police searches from El Socorro/Aranguez, Malabar, and other parts of the East-West Corridor to central and south Trinidad.

Exercises were also done in Tobago where one person (from Trinidad) was held.

Thirteen of the 15 were released after seven days without being charged.

Two – a couple – were charged with firearm com-

A total of 15 people were detained in Police searches from El Socorro/Aranguez, Malabar, and other parts of the East-West Corridor to central and south Trinidad. Exercises were also done in Tobago where one person (from Trinidad) was held

ponent possession. The man was not given bail, but the woman was. They reappeared in court last Friday.

Where other detainees are concerned, Attorney Wayne Sturge said he issued a pre-action protocol letter to the State last week

P

er who is married to an American, Kuczynski told the committee that the offshore company, Dorado Asset Management Ltd, was controlled by his daughter and helped him sidestep US taxes on his properties in Peru.

“Why would we pay Uncle Sam and Mr Trump a bunch of money that’s here in Peru?”

Kuczynski is heard telling the committee in a four-minute segment of the audio recording from the closed session.

Kuczynski will meet with US President Donald Trump, who himself has called tax avoid-

Antigua Observer)

ance “smart”, at a gathering of the Region’s leaders in Lima next month. In response to the recording, one of Kuczynski’s attorneys who was present during the session, Gonzalo del Rio, told Reuters the transaction was legal and praised Kuczynski for being willing to discuss his personal finances with the committee despite the heated political climate.

Karina Beteta, the Opposition congresswoman who asked Kuczynski about Dorado, confirmed the contents of the recording were accurate. (Excerpt

from Reuters)

State of emergency declared in Jamaican parish

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rime Minister Andrew Holness announced a State of Public Emergency in the St Catherine North Police division on Sunday morning.

Joint military and Police contingents were Sunday morning deployed in large numbers to the area.

Holness, appearing alongside National Security Minister Robert Montague; Chief of Defence Staff Major General Rocky Meade; acting Police Commissioner Clifford Blake; and Justice Minister Delroy

Chuck, made the announcement at the Office of the Prime Minister. Holness said the State of Emergency was effective Sunday and would last initially for 14 days. It was necessary to facilitate enhanced security measures in the area, which has been subject to a high level of criminality which has threatened public order, he added. Reports reaching Observer Online have been that large numbers of military and Police personnel were spotted in areas such as Central Village and other

sections of Spanish Town, Bog Walk, and Linstead Sunday morning. Holness said under the enhanced measures, security forces will have the power to search, curtail business operating hours, and detain persons without a warrant.

All persons using any roadway leading into and out of the St Catherine North area will be subject to search. The Prime Minister said he would address the Parliament at the earliest opportunity on the measure. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

from Trinidad Guardian)

Argentina: G20 finance meeting overshadowed by US-China trade tensions

Peru’s President says he used offshore firm to legally avoid US taxes – audio eru’s embattled President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski told a congressional investigative committee that he used a company in the British Virgin Islands to legally avoid paying US taxes, according to audio heard by Reuters on Sunday.

Kuczynski made the disclosure during more than seven hours of questioning on Friday as he tried to disentangle himself from a growing corruption scandal less than a week before a new impeachment vote in Congress.

A former Wall Street bank-

on behalf of Clint Rivers.

Rivers, a customs officer of Malabar, is seeking compensation for false imprisonment. Rivers is currently on suspension from Customs, Sturge confirmed. Rivers is a Muslim, he added. (Excerpt

Argentina’s Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne looks on during the 2018 G20 Conference entitled “The G20 Agenda Under the Argentine Presidency”, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 18, 2018

W

orries about the potential for a USChina trade war and frustration over US President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs threatened to dominate a gathering of finance leaders this week amid strengthening growth.

US Treasury Secretary

Steven Mnuchin, who arrives on Sunday in Buenos Aires ahead of a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers, will be in a position of defending Trump’s trade plans against widespread criticism from G20 partners.

At the same time, he is likely to hear pleas for exemp-

tions from the steel and aluminium tariffs, said Edwin Truman, a former Treasury and Federal Reserve international policy official now with the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

“He’s going to get an earful from them,” Truman said.

“Mnuchin is going to be playing defence in his comments and he’ll put the best face on it that he can,” Truman added.

The US import tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium, set to become effective on March 23, have raised alarms among trading partners that Trump is following through on his threats to dismantle the decades-old trading system based around World Trade Organisation rules in favour of unilateral US actions. (Excerpt

from Reuters)

Man who shot himself in the hand jailed for 6 years in Bermuda

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24-year-old man who accidentally shot himself in the hand with a homemade gun has been jailed for six years by a Supreme Court judge.

Shayne James, who was earlier convicted by a jury on two charges that of handling a firearm and discharging it, was sentenced on Thursday.

Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves, who took into account James’ age, character references and reports, said there was a marked difference between the homemade firearm and manufactured firearms that “wreak havoc on the community”. James

was remanded into custody last September after a Supreme Court jury found him guilty of the offences, which occurred in August 2016.

He had denied both charges. The court heard that James arrived at the hospital with a single gunshot wound to his left hand, claiming he suffered the injury when a man approached him and pointed a gun in his face. Prosecutors said James was evasive when asked about the incident and unable to provide officers with a description of the alleged shooter. A Police canine

unit sent to the scene found a pool of blood on a road in Pembroke parish and a spring coil in the blood trail.

Police followed the trail and found a homemade firearm – a pipe gun – hidden in a banana tree nearby.

They also discovered a bullet head in a wall, which appeared to have lodged there after it was fired.

Forensic samples were also taken and an empty cartridge was found inside the weapon.

Tests showed that samples found on the pipe gun matched James’ DNA. (CMC)

MONDAY, march 19, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

17

Around the World

Putin wins another 6 years at North Korean diplomat Russia's helm in landslide victory heads to Finland ahead of possible US talks R ussian President Vladimir Putin won a landslide re-election victory on Sunday, extending his rule over the world’s largest country for another six years at a time when his ties with the West are on a hostile trajectory.

Putin’s victory will extend his total time in office to nearly a quarter of a century, until 2024, by which time he will be 71. Only Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ruled for longer. Putin has promised to use his new term to beef up Russia’s defences against the West and to raise living standards.

In a widely expected outcome, an exit poll by pollster VTsIOM showed Putin, who has dominated the political landscape for the last 18 years, had won 73.9 per cent of the vote. The Central Election Commission, speaking after almost a third of the votes had been counted, put Putin on 73 per cent.

Backed by State TV, the ruling party, and credited with an approval rating around 80 per cent, his

Russian President and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin at a polling station during the presidential election in Moscow, Russia March 18, 2018 (Yuri Kadobnov/POOL via Reuters)

victory was never in doubt.

His nearest challenger, Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, got just over 11 per cent, according to exit polls, while nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky got around six per cent.

None of the seven candidates who ran against him posed a threat, and Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny was barred from running. Critics alleged that officials had compelled peo-

ple to come to the polls to ensure that voter boredom at the one-sided contest did not lead to a low turnout.

Russia’s Central Election Commission recognised that there were some irregularities, but was likely to dismiss wider criticism and declare the overall result legitimate.

Putin loyalists said the result was a vindication of his tough stance towards the West.

“I think that in the United States and Britain, they’ve understood they cannot influence our elections,” Senator Igor Morozov said on state television.

Valentina Matviyenko, a close Putin ally and speaker of the Upper House of Parliament, hailed the victory as a moral one over the West.

“Our elections have proved once again ... that it’s not possible to manipulate our people,” she said.

“People came together. No other country in the world has such open and transparent elections.”

The immediate question is if and when opponents like Navalny organise protests, citing fraud, and how large and sustained those protests will be. A senior Opposition politician has warned they could descend into street clashes if Police crack down too hard on demonstrators.

The longer-term question is whether Putin will soften his anti-Western rhetoric now the election is won. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Trump berates Mueller's 'biased' Russia inquiry

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onald Trump has attacked special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election he won in 2016.

He tweeted that the inquiry was unfair – and reiterated there had been "no

collusion" between his election campaign and Russia.

He added that it was dominated by "hardened Democrats" and supporters of his defeated opponent Hillary Clinton.

Mueller, a highly regarded former head of the FBI, is a Republican.

The President's comments came a day after his lawyer, John Dowd, said it was time for the special counsel's investigation to end.

Initially, Dowd said he was speaking for the President, but later clarified he was "speaking for

myself".

Mr Trump's latest tweet – apparently the first time he has mentioned Mueller by name in attacking the inquiry – drew warnings from fellow Republicans about interfering with the investigation. (Excerpt from BBC

News)

Sri Lanka violence: Nationwide state of emergency lifted

S

ri Lanka has lifted a state of emergency imposed on March 6 in response to an outbreak of violence against Muslim communities.

Two people were killed, nearly 450 Muslim-owned homes and shops damaged and 60 vehicles burnt in attacks in the central district of Kandy.

Curfews and social media bans were brought in to try and quell tension.

Violence has risen in the Buddhist-majority country since 2012, said to be fuelled by hard-line Buddhist

groups.

They have accused Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites. Dozens of Muslim religious sites have also been damaged.

Police have so far arrested almost 300 people, including a hardline Buddhist organisation leader they suspect of inciting the violence. Under the state of emergency, Sri Lankan authorities were able to arrest and detain suspects for long periods if they deemed it necessary. (Excerpt from BBC News)

The violence left hundreds of Muslim-owned businesses and homes damaged

Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of trying to destabilise its security

E

thiopia has accused neighbouring Eritrea of attempting to destabilise its security by supporting "destructive" groups while the country continues to be under a state of emergency.

According to Ethiopian State television, the country's emergency council

managed to capture weapons from "destructive" groups trying to smuggle the arms into the country from across the border.

Asmara and Addis Ababa have had two bloody wars over border disputes in the past. This was the first accusation made at Eritrea since Ethiopia declared a state

of emergency on February 18, following the resignation of its prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn.

In February, Desalegn abruptly announced he would step down as Prime Minister and head of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition,

citing ongoing "unrest and a political crisis" in the country as major factors that prompted his resignation.

The current state of emergency, which is expected to last until August 2018, is the second state of emergency to be declared in Ethiopia in the last two years. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

A

North Korean diplomat Choe Kang Il (centre)

senior North Korean diplomat left for Finland on Sunday for talks with former US and South Korean officials, Yonhap News Agency reported, amid a series of diplomatic encounters ahead of a possible US-North Korean summit. North Korea is pursuing its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of United Nations Security Council sanctions and has made no secret of its plans

to develop a missile capable of hitting the US mainland.

It defends the programmes as a necessary deterrent against a possible US invasion. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea, but denies any invasion plans.

Tensions have eased in recent weeks, coinciding with North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics held in the South last month. (Excerpt from Reuters)

India issues 13th note verbale to Pakistan to protest “intimidation” of officials – sources

A

day after India issued its 12th note verbale to Pakistan protesting the "intimidation" of its staff there, it gave another such diplomatic note to the neighbouring country on Sunday, taking the tally to 13, reported PTI. The latest note came after several Indian High Commission officials on Sunday faced harassment in Pakistan, reported ANI quoting sources.

"On March 18, the second secretary at the Indian High Commission in Pakistan was aggressively followed by unidentified people in a car in close proximity in an intimidating manner while he

was going to Chhaye Khana restaurant. Videos were made using mobile phone," the sources said.

In another incident Sunday, four High Commission officials travelling in an official vehicle were "aggressively followed" by two unknown persons on motorbikes in an "intimidating manner" when they were on their way to Aabpara market, the sources shared further.

They alleged that the website of the Indian High Commission continued to be "intermittently blocked causing inconvenience and affecting the normal functioning of the mission."

(Excerpt from Times of India)

Cirque du Soleil: Aerialist Yann Arnaud dies in Florida show

A

Cirque du Soleil aerialist has died after falling on to the stage during a show in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Yann Arnaud, 38, was taking part in a performance involving aerial straps on Saturday when he fell.

The French performer died in hospital later. "The entire Cirque du Soleil family is in shock and devastated," a statement said.

The company said it was working with local authorities to investigate what had gone wrong.

It has cancelled two shows scheduled for Tampa on Sunday.

Arnaud had been with the Cirque du Soleil for over 15 years.

He "was loved by all who had the chance to know him", company CEO Daniel Lamarre said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

18 News

MonDAY, march 19, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

GIT donate $2M in food hampers to jobless estate workers in Canje - Hot school meal programme for Skeldon

T

wo organisations have come together to assist former workers of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate in East Canje and the Skeldon Sugar Factory, after Government closed those estates in a move which is widely being viewed as political.

The Guyana Islamic Trust, in collaboration on Sunday with the Muslim community and Bakewell, donated $2 million worth of food hampers to the Canje workers, while the East Berbice Sugar Workers Relief Community organised a schools hot meal programme for students of severed sugar workers on the Upper Corentyne.

Executive member of the Guyana Islamic Trust, Wasir Baksh, told this publication that the organisation met with the people of Canefield, Canje in January to find out ways in which it might be able to assist them. He said one of the people’s main needs was the creation of jobs based on the available skills in the affected community.

Baksh, Head of Department of Education and Training,

Some of the meals prepared for the school children

noted that the community had said there would be need for food in three months.

“They mentioned to us that by March they will need some foodstuff, based on what they have and based on what they anticipated to get from the Sugar Welfare Fund; that

by March they would have a need for foodstuff. So we decided that, on March 18, we will do some distribution of food hampers.

“Basically, we decided to make this intervention in East Canje, because at Wales and

Corrivertom there are people doing some programmes to assist the workers in those communities who have been terminated. However, based on our investigation, nobody is doing anything in Canje, so we decided that we should go to Canje and see what we can do to assist.”

He said it is hoped that this occasion would not be the only time the organisation can coordinate assistance for the community, but future assistance would depend largely on corporate Guyana lending assis-

tance, more so the Muslin community.

“We are encouraging the private sector if they can come and make some intervention and create business or better industries in the community,” Baksh said. He also said that investors would have to take note of the skills available. This, he said, should go a far way to create some stability for East Canje through the creation of jobs.

The hampers were distributed at three locations: 350 at Canefield, 250 at Cumberland, and 150 at Overwinning, Greater New Amsterdam.

(The hampers were distributed to) “the sugar workers from the Canje estate who were sent home, because we are dealing with the retrenched workers. So, where they are located, we are trying to meet them,” he explained.

Nine hundred workers were sacked when the Rose Hall Estate ceased grinding and closed in December last.

Since then, about 150 either were re-employed, found alternative jobs, or migrated.

GIT food hamper distribution in Cumberland

Some 4000 sugar workers from Enmore, Rose Hall and Skeldon were dismissed from their jobs.

Meanwhile, on the Upper Corentyne, where the Skeldon Estate was closed, putting more than 1000 workers out of a job, the East Berbice Sugar Workers Relief Community has come on board to assist the children of some of those workers with a community service programme called Schools Hot Meals.

The feeding programme, brainchild of Shanta

Romana Youngkam and S.K. Bhagerath, was started on January 29, and provides for children of the affected workers on Mondays and Fridays.

Seven schools are currently benefiting from the programme: Skeldon High, Linepath Secondary, Linepath ‘C’ Nursery, Crabwood Creek Nursery and Primary, Skeldon High Annex and Skeldon Primary.

A total of 225 students from these schools are provided with a hot meal two days per week

Soesdyke Health Centre launches 3 clinics for adolescents

P

regnant and adolescent mothers can now access enhanced health care at the Soesdyke Health Centre through the institution of the adolescent and antenatal clinic day.

This is as a result of the Regional Health Department of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) taking a multi-sectoral approach, thus collaborating with the Public Health Ministry’s Adolescent Unit and the Education Ministry.

The adolescent clinic will see pregnant teens now being able to access health care and services that were formerly provided by Grove Health Centre. Additionally, two other initiatives were launched – the Adolescent and Wellness Clinic, for adolescent girls who are not pregnant and boys, in and out of school, and the Community Parenting and Support Group, which provides an opportunity for persons accessing this clinic to walk along with someone who can lend moral and other

Four of the pregnant women at the launch

support to them.

Giving insight into the initiatives, Dr Fazeeda Singh at Soesdyke Health Centre disclosed that the clinic was fully equipped and ready to offer assistance to persons accessing them.

She urged the young mothers to utilise fully the benefits and opportunities being made available. Dr Singh reiterated that the clinics were open to anyone irrespective of location.

Appealing passionately to preg-

nant adolescents, Dr Singh urged them to encourage other adolescent girls who may be in similar situations to come forward and access the many services which were being made available to them. Dr Singh reminded those who have not joined the clinic to do so immediately.

“Please encourage them to join the clinic even if they are older than 19, as they would be able to access the care of this health centre,” Dr Singh stated.

Representing the Regional Health Officer, Dr Quincy Jones, was Dr Mark Vyhius, who told the young women that the clinics have a mental health officer. This, he said, is so as to provide and address any mental health issue.

He further noted that in further enhancing the services being offered, these persons could access the help of a social worker too. “Please when you guys come to clinic just feel free to say whatever problem is affecting you, because we are aware that some

of you have a lot of problems and we are here to see in what way we can help. However, we want you to feel comfortable to tell us what is bothering you,” Dr Vyhius said. He added that persons visiting should be open as this would help the staff at the Health Centre in determining to which personnel the person should be referred.

Nurse Patricia Thomas from the Grove Health Centre told the mothers that the initiative was first birthed at her Health Centre some three years ago. She expressed excitement over the growth of the initiative, which she said could address a number of issues faced by the adolescent mothers.

“I have seen that before the establishment of this initiative, many young teen mothers didn’t know where to go, how to access critical information that they needed as there was no one to tell them where and what to do, so I am happy that you mothers despite being teenagers can access help and assistance,” Nurse Thomas said.

Use GuySuCo lands to create industrial jobs – economist …says new Board not competent enough to turn industry around

L

ocal economist and outspoken commentator Ramon Gaskin has called for the Government to utilize the lands of the closed sugar estates to create new industrial jobs, which can boost the country’s overall development while improving the economic situation in the surrounding estates.

He said this can be done, even as he opined that the current GuySuCo Board, headed by Colvin HeathLondon, cannot solve any the problems facing the industry because most, if not all, of the members of the new board do not possess the capacity to develop strategic interventions for something as technical as sugar.

“First and foremost, they don’t have any idea what to do with those peoples (sugar workers). They are just trying

to sell the assets of that place.

They don’t know what to do with people, and how to create alternative employment or economic activity for those communities,” he opined.

Gaskin, who has been privy to the names of members of the new GuySuCo Board, told Guyana Times on Sunday, “This new board doesn’t have a single new idea of what could be done with those people. They don’t have the background, the training, the skills, the intellect, the ability to come up with ideas and solutions.”

The economist claimed that the subsidy of $1billion to help bail out GuySuCo each month could have been better utilized in such a way that alternative jobs were created two to three years before the downsizing was implemented.

“Over $40 billion was wasted. A lot could have been done to employ those people. And not a single idea has come from the Government, the Opposition or the Union,” he added.

Government’s decision to downsize the sugar industry has not gone down well with a majority of the Guyanese population, especially those who are directly, or in some way or the other, linked to the industry.

“Government is now in the process is getting rid of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) as a state- owned company that is costing the treasury a lot of money. That is what is happening,” Gaskin opined.

From an economic standpoint, he told Guyana Times, while it was wasteful to pump subsidies of $1 billion into the

sugar industry, one of the biggest blunders made by the coalition Government is the manner in which they went about closing the industry.

“There are so many workers involved, so many communities, families; there had to have been greater planning and alternative jobs for those people,” he stated.

Gaskin continued, “And that has not been done. The decision has been taken to get rid of GuySuCo, but no plan has been made so far to deal with the workers and the communities and their families. That’s the big problem we are faced with now as a country. It is my opinion that some estates can’t make it, but this does not mean that alternative things cannot be done to keep the workers gainfully employed.”

Economist Ramon Gaskin

Forgotten

The Government, according to him, has failed in that regard. In Berbice, there is a reasonable chance that the estate could break even because of the sale of the ener-

gy to the power grid, he said.

Gaskin is of the firm view that people have been abandoned by the Government and all those involved in the sugar industry.

Asked what approach he would have taken had he any influence on decision-making, the economist said he would have started with working to make each estate an industrialized company.

“My own approach would be to start with one estate at a time, start with Wales and then go down. Wales cannot produce sugar, but there is nothing preventing Wales from becoming an industrial estate the way we have Ruimveldt. We can do small things like furniture making and other industrial jobs,” he stated.

guyanatimesgy.com

monDAY, March 19, 2018

19

ARCHIE

Take on responsibilities and show everyone what you (March 21are capable of. Don’t limit April 19) what you can do just because someone is being unreasonable. Know your target and stay focused.

ARIES

Knowledge is a powerTAURUS ful tool that will give you the (April 20- edge you need when faced May 20) with competition. Keep the facts in mind and your ideas a secret.

dilbert

Take advantage of a situaGEMINI tion that will help you do things (May 21a little differently or allow you June 20) to learn something new. Do the work and you’ll reap the rewards.

Taking on a job that doesn’t offer remuneration (June 21- will turn into a burden as July 22) well as lead to a loss of respect. Offer your services, but insist on something in return.

CANCER

Peanuts

You can rise to the top.

LEO Make positive changes that (July 23- will encourage more opporAug. 22) tunities. A change to the way you earn your living or handle your money looks promising.

Calvin and Hobbes

Only participate in funcVIRGO tions that won’t financially (Aug. 23or physically jeopardize you.

Sept. 22) Overdoing it to prove a point will backfire, leaving you at a loss. Common sense and practicality are encouraged.

A change to the way you LIBRA handle your money will be (Sept. 23Oct. 23) necessary. Debt needs to be cleared before you start spending money. Talk to an adviser or put a budget into effect.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

TODAY’S WORD — EXCLUSIVE

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

SATURDAY’S WORD — SPLAYED

sped splay pale palsy peal pedal play plea plead

pled lade lady lapse lase lead leap lyse aped

apse yelp easy espy dale deal delay

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

to do next and how you can use your creativity to get ahead.

You’ll never have the apSAGITTARIUS proval of everyone around (Nov. 23you, so stop waiting and Dec. 21) start following your heart and gut feelings. Trust in yourself, not in what others do or say.

(EXCLUSIVE: ek-SKLOO-siv: Restricted to the person, group or area concerned.)

sadly sale seal sepal slap slay sled spade spay

Dig in and get things done.

SCORPIO What you accomplish will help (Oct. 24you figure out what you want Nov. 22)

solution for Puzzle

Think twice before you CAPRICORN (Dec. 22- take over for someone who Jan. 19) hasn’t been doing a good job.

You’ll be left to deal with authority figures who won’t care if you are just a facilitator.

Reach out to someone AQUARIUS who can offer you alterna(Jan. 20- tives. Knowing your options Feb. 19) will make it easier to avoid wasting time. Being realistic and having a good plan will bring about positive change.

Revisit old dreams and PISCES (Feb. 20- make a point to reconnect with March 20) people you miss but somehow lost touch with. Learn from your past and restructure the way you move forward.

20

monDAY, march 19, 2018

ICC World Cup Qualifiers Super Sixes…

Ireland defeat Scots to keep their World Cup dream alive

I

reland roared back into contention in the CWCQ with a statement victory over joint-leaders Scotland to close the gap between the two to just

other four teams still to play two, the race for the final – and automatic qualification to the showpiece tournament in England next summer – is set to

SCOREBOARD

Ireland won by 25 runs Ireland Innings (50 overs maximum) WTS Porterfield (c) b Wheal 17 PR Stirling c & b Wheal 0 A Balbirnie lbw b Watt 10 NJ O’Brien run out (Wallace) 70 KJ O’Brien c Wallace b Sole 46 Simi Singh b Wheal 7 GC Wilson c Watt b Sharif 3 AR McBrine not out 5 BJ McCarthy c MacLeod b Sharif 5 WB Rankin run out (MacLeod) 0 Extras:(lb-4, w-9) 13 TOTAL (50 Overs, RR: 5.42) 271-9 Did not bat: TJ Murtagh Fall of wickets: 1-1 (PR Stirling, 0.6 ov), 2-45 (WTS Porterfield, 11.4 ov), 3-183 (NJ O’Brien, 37.1 ov), 4-241 (A Balbirnie, 44.6 ov), 5-251 (KJ O’Brien, 45.6 ov), 6-258 (GC Wilson, 47.3 ov), 7-263 (Simi Singh, 48.2 ov), 8-270 (BJ McCarthy, 49.4 ov), 9-271 (WB Rankin, 49.6 ov) Bowling - Wheal (10-143-34), Sharif (10-0-52-2), Sole (8-0-46-1), Watt (10-0-60-1), Leask (8-0-39-0), Berrington (20-9-0), MacLeod (2-0-18-0) Scotland Innings (target: 272 runs from 50 overs) MH Cross c Wilson b Murtagh 18

a single point.

With both teams still to play another game and the

KJ Coetzer (c) b Rankin 61 CS MacLeod c Balbirnie 21 b Simi Singh RD Berrington b Murtagh 44 HG Munsey c wkp O’Brien b Rankin 1 CD Wallace c & b Rankin 6 MA Leask c Murtagh b Simi Singh 2 SM Sharif b McCarthy 34 MRJ Watt not out 31 CB Sole c wkp O’Brien b McCarthy 7 BTJ Wheal c wkp O’Brien b Rankin 14 Extras (lb-3, w-4) 7 TOTAL all out (47.4 Overs, RR: 5.16) 246 Fall of wickets: 1-26 (MH Cross, 6.1 ov), 2-94 (CS MacLeod, 18.4 ov), 3-112 (KJ Coetzer, 23.6 ov), 4-114 (HG Munsey, 25.2 ov), 5-122 (CD Wallace, 27.4 ov), 6-132 (MA Leask, 30.3 ov), 7-183 (RD Berrington, 40.1 ov), 8-200 (SM Sharif, 42.5 ov), 9-208 (CB Sole, 44.2 ov), 10-246 (BTJ Wheal, 47.4 ov) Bowling- Murtagh (9-3-512), McCarthy (9-0-44-2), Rankin (9.4-0-63-4), O’Brien (1-0-12-0), McBrine (9-040-0), Singh (10-0-33-2)

go right down to the wire.

They may have spluttered through much of the

competition but Ireland were irresistible today. Their marquee players – Andy Balbirnie, Tim Murtagh, Boyd Rankin, the O’Brien brothers – all proved their pedigree in this makeor-break fixture, ensuring that Ireland’s 25-run victory keeps their World Cup dream alive.

For Scotland, meanwhile, whose form coming into the match had, in Calum MacLeod’s words, been “one ball short of perfect”, will be cursing a middle-order collapse that set them back after such a rambunctious start to their runchase.

At 112-2 after 24 overs, with the captain Kyle Coetzer rattling along, and the in-form Richie Berrington settling in, Scotland would have fancied their chances of reeling in Ireland’s competitive but hardly insurmountable 271-9.

Desperate for a wicket, William Porterfield recalled Boyd Rankin into the attack, and the 6ft 8in quick immediately delivered, pinning Coetzer on the crease to take out his off-stump.

On such moments can whole tournaments rest, and Rankin sensed it, duly nicking off the left-handed George Munsey and then inducing an eccentric shot from Craig Wallace, who flat-batted an easy return catch to give Rankin three in the spell.

For Scotland, there was no coming back from such a gutting, and despite Berrington’s 44 and some sparky late-order hitting from Safyaan Sharif, Ireland’s target was never really under

any sustained threat.

The consolation for the Scots is that this is a first defeat of the tournament; the concern for them is that the West Indies lie in wait in their next match.

Ireland enjoyed playing cricket over St Patrick’s weekend. Though their innings started slowly – Paul Stirling unluckily chipping a return catch, off bat-pad to Brad

format during the course of his knock, O’Brien was much more fluent, reaching his 18th ODI half-century with a cracking straight drive. The boundary also brought up the 100-run stand between the two in the 32nd over.

Niall stroked a run-a-ball 70 carving a 138-run stand with Balbirnie for the third wicket Niall stroked a run-a-ball 70

Balbirnie, playing the anchor role throughout the innings, soon reached his century with a nudge to mid-wicket, but the stage was set for Kevin O’Brien, who made his intentions clear early on, thumping Wheal for a four and a six in the 40th over to bring up Ireland’s 200.

Despite a late-innings wobble which saw just 20 runs added in the final four overs

Andy Balbirnie struck a majestic ton to keep the Irish hopes alive

Wheal, who then powered through William Porterfield’s defences to leave Ireland 45-2 – it came to life when Niall O’Brien joined Balbirnie for the third wicket.

While Balbirnie was the more circumspect of the duo, taking up 78 deliveries to bring up his sixth ODI half-century, and crossing 1,000 runs in the

carving a 138-run stand with Balbirnie for the third wicket Poor judgment ended the 138run stand in the 38th over, when O’Brien clipped Wheal straight to mid-wicket and set off for a run that was never on.

Wallace threw down the stumps to catch him well short of his ground, and O’Brien was gone for a run-a-ball 70.

after O’Brien’s dismissal for a 27-ball 46, it was still a target on a sluggish surface that would take some catching.

Scotland, for the first time in the tournament, would come up short. They play the Windies on Wednesday, while Ireland faces Afghanistan on Friday in the final Super Sixes fixture. (ICC-Cricket.com)

"Time to move on!"

Though he has shown glimpses of his enduring class in his recent engagements, it is plain that the passion has ebbed away from Pietersen's game and flowed increasingly into his new love of rhino conservation, for which he is an increasingly committed spokesman. He is having a house built near Kruger national park in South Africa, and used two of his final appearances, for Surrey in last season's NatWest Blast and Melbourne Stars in the BBL, to promote the cause with fundraising "Rhino Days".

Pietersen leaves the sport as England's second highest run-scorer across all forms of the game combined, including 8181 runs in 104 Tests between 2005 and 2013-14, until he was sacked in a dispute over team ethics in the wake of a disastrous 5-0 drubbing in that winter's Ashes.

The acrimony of Pietersen's split with England clouded the final years of his career - not least because the ECB's selectors

have, arguably, never yet found an adequate replacement for him in their Test middle order.

But Pietersen's greatest hits will endure long after the bitterness of the latter years has faded. Foremost among the memories will be his unforgettable maiden Test hundred at The Oval in 2005, with which England secured the most absorbing Ashes contest of all time; his Man of the Tournament display in the Caribbean in 2010, when England won the World T20, their first and, to date, only ICC global trophy; and his central role in England's series wins in Australia in 2010-11 and India in 2012-13.

Michael Vaughan, Pietersen's captain during that 2005 Ashes, led the tributes on Twitter. "Well done @KP24 on an fantastic career," he wrote.

"Not everyone's Cup of Tea but you will do for me ... Best Batsman I had the pleasure to play with ... 1st England batsman that put fear into the Aussies .. #WellDone"

Pietersen calls time on playing career K

evin Pietersen, one of the most brilliant and divisive cricketers of his generation, appears to have called time on his playing career with a four-word update to his 3.65 million Twitter followers.

Pietersen, who had declared in February that this season's Pakistan Super League would be his last tournament, tweeted "BOOTS UP! Thank you!" to his fans in the wake of what seems to have been his final appearance for Quetta Gladiators on Thursday night.

Pietersen's returns in the tournament were underwhelming as Quetta finished fourth in the table to earn themselves a play-off berth - he made 7 from six balls against Islamabad United in that final innings, and managed just one half-century in eight innings all told - albeit an explosive 52 from 34 balls against Karachi Kings.

But now, with the tournament shifting to Pakistan for two Eliminator matches in Lahore before the final in

Kevin Pietersen has had many retirements – including this one in the Big Bash (Getty Images)

Karachi on March 25, Pietersen has joined his fellow England cricketers, Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales and Jason Roy, in opting out of travelling to the country for security reasons.

At the age of 37, Pietersen's enthusiasm for the hard graft of competitive cricket has been

visibly waning in recent months.

He warned that he was "nearly done and dusted" during his stint with Melbourne Stars during the Big Bash, and prior to his departure for the PSL, he posted an emotional farewell to his family on Instagram, adding that "this evening is the last one

I'll ever have to do."

Pietersen added a further update on his Twitter feed on Saturday morning, which appeared to cement his decision.

"Just been told that I scored 30000+ runs which included 152 fifty's & 68 hundreds in my professional career," he wrote.

sports

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DAILY & SUNDAY COPIES OF THE

Corona Futsal Tournament

Tiger Bay, West Front Road show ominous signs – Sparta, Leopold also progress to quarter-finals

T

he crowd enlarged and so did the level of intensity which corresponded in a plethora of goals on Saturday’s final night of the round-ofsixteen action in the Corona Futsal Tournament held at the National Gymnasium.

Some of the big names heading into quarter-finals are Tiger Bay, West Front RoadGold is Money, Sparta Boss and Leopold Street.

Led by Deon Alfred with a helmet-trick (8th, 11th, 12th & 18th), Tiger Bay easily disposed of Xtreme Campbellville 8-1. Supporting Alfred were Orin Moore (13th), Jermaine Beckles (16th), Kerwin Heywood (16th) and Jason Meredith (18th); Carl Griffith had given the Campbellville unit the lead in the 6th.

For West Front Road, the brothers did the damage as Jamal Pedro breezed to a hattrick via goals in the 8th, 14th and 20th. Next was Randolph Wagner (2nd & 5th) while Michael (10th) and Hubert Pedro (12th) along with Colin Nelson (20th) etched their names on the score sheet against Alexander Village who

Circulation Department on

Phone: 223-7230 EXT: 55

Leopold Street and Showstoppers produced an exciting match on Saturday evening at the National Gymnasium

could only respond with Shem Porter (16th) and Leon Yaw (17th).

Leopold Street and Showstoppers started off looking very promising with both sides trading goal for goal, rousing the fans in attendance.

However, the West Demerara

unit Showstoppers were overpowered in the physical battle.

The man who inflicted the misery upon Showstoppers was Eon Alleyene with five goals (1st, 6th, 12th, 13th & 18th) while Omalo Williams (14th & 19th) and Daren

Benjamin (2nd) added the other goals. For the West Demerara side Dexroy Adams (3rd & 5th) and Trayon Bobb (8th & 11th) led the early response.

Defending champions Sparta strolled into next phase by hammering

Albouystown 5-1.

After Moses Gittens placed the defeated ahead in the 3rd minute, it was all Sparta with Courtney Britton (6th), Keyon Richards (9th), Gregory Richardson (12th), Quincy Adams (13th) and Sheldon Shepherd (18th) making it a team contribution.

The quarter-finals will be contested on Saturday where Tiger Bay opposes Bent Street from 20:30h, West Front and Leopold from 21:45h, Alpha Warriors collide with California Square from 22:30h and the final match being Future Stars and Sparta from 23:15h.

At stake in the tournament which is a collaboration with NAMILCO Wheat Gem, is the winning purse of $600,000 and the championship trophy.

Second to fourth will take home $300,000, $150,000 and $75,000 along with the corresponding accolades.

The sweet of the pudding comes in form of two Hero motor cycles which will be awarded to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the other to a lucky spectator at the Easter Weekend final.

ECB bowls off U-19 trials A

head of the upcoming Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Under-19 InterCounty tournament, the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) are set to bowl off trials on March 19, 2018.

The Cinderella County have had major success in recent times, winning the Jaguars 3-Day League title; their first major title in domestic history.

The franchise also did exceptionally well in the 50-over format going unbeaten for most of the tournament.

Meanwhile, their younger batch of players will now have the chance to assert themselves into the fray such as; the Anthony Adams, Ricardo Adams, Ronsford Beaton and others who would have represented the county at the various levels before going on to play at the highest or national levels.

The Trials which is set to starts Monday (today) will run up until the March 22nd. Two 50-over matches will accompany a lone 2-Day match, which will be played at the Imam Bacchus Ground, Essequibo from 8:30am.

The ECB are also urging its players to be punctual during the trial Flashback: Essequibo and Demerara in the GCB Under-19 Inter-County Tournament, 2016 period.

EDFA Frank Watson Memorial U-15 Football...

Henriques hat-trick guides Buxton to victory

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olin Henriques fired in three as Buxton United prevailed over Golden Stars in East Demerara Football Association’s (EDFA) Frank Watson Memorial U-15 Football Tournament on Saturday.

Playing at the Golden Grove Ground, Henriques drew first blood in the 32nd minute but that was answered by the opposition as Emanuel Evans found the back of the net in the 43rd minute.

Henriques responded moments later with another goal to put his side ahead in the 45th minute. Buxton’s David Clarke extended the lead five minutes later then Henriques completed his hat

trick in the 56th minute as the game ended 4 – 1.

Victoria Scorpions defeated Buxton Stars in the first match of the day 3 – 1 with Mark Robers leading the way with a double in the first half. He scored in the 22nd and 24th minutes while Buxton Stars’ Cory Thomas put one in for his side in the 32nd minute.

In the second half, a 50th minute goal from Jeremiah Bowman seemed to be the decider since the opposition had no fight left in them.

The day’s final match saw BV/Triumph defeat Mahaica Determinators 3 – 0. Goals from Tyrice Dennis (27th) and Samuel Garnett (32nd & 57th) put the victory beyond doubt.

KUSC to host Busta Super League softball & volleyball

T

he Kendalls Union Sports Club (KUSC) and Guyana Beverage Incorporated will be hosting the Busta Super League softball and volleyball tournament, which is scheduled for March 26 at the #19 Cricket Ground.

Persons who wish to

The President of the KUSC (second from left) receiving the sponsorship cheque

attend the event can expect a fun-filled day with activities for all ages. However, the main attraction is the tournament, where prominent volleyball and softball teams will be competing for cash prizes and trophies.

The events will kick-start at 09:00h in the morning and

there will be a well-stocked bar, barbecue on sale and trampolines for the kids.

Additionally, the KUSC will be drawing their raffles where other prizes will be won. Teams that are interested in participating can contact the club on 6451205 and 658-0751.

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monDAY, march 19, 2018

Barnwell, Perez set up easy DCC win

D

emerara Cricket Club (DCC) completed a resounding eight-wicket win over Everest thanks to a blistering Chris Barnwell second innings ton on Sunday when the GISE/Star Party Rentals 1st Division (2-Day) cricket weekend Competition continued.

Action between DCC and Everest over the weekend

Playing at the DCC Ground, Malteenoes made 282 in their first innings after out-of-favor West Indies opener Rajendra Chandrika slammed a classy 149 not out, headlining a mediocre batting performance.

Guyana/West Indies youth spinner Ashmead Nedd snapped

up five wickets for DCC who replied with 297 in their first innings with West Indies U19 player Raymond Perez scoring a stylish 95 at the top of the order.

Skipper Chris Barnwell supported well with 89 after some magic from Guyana Jaguars

spinner Gudakesh Motie who grabbed four wickets for Everest.

Batting a second time Everest were kept to 207 after National all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford ran through the lineup with 3-15 while spinner Steven Sankar chipped in with

two wickets. Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul resisted with a top-score of 42.

Barnwell then hammered 9 sixes as he surged to 102 not out, taking DCC to 194-2 in the end from 14 overs. West Indies U19 wicket-keeper Joshua Persaud supported the chase with 37.

Federer survives scare, to face Del Potro in Indian Wells final

W

orld number one Roger Federer survived a scare from unseeded Borna Coric to beat him 5-7 6-4 6-4 in the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday and set up a final showdown with Juan Martin del Potro who cruised to a 6-2 6-3 win over Milos Raonic.

The victory kept Federer’s hopes of winning a record sixth Indian Wells title alive but first he will have to get past the big-hitting Argentine, who got the better of the Swiss in the U.S. Open quarter-finals in September.

The partisan crowd erupted when Federer broke Coric at love to take the deciding set and end the unex-

pectedly competitive two hour twenty minute battle against the 21-yearold Croatian on a windy morning in the California desert.

An upset was on the cards when the speedy Coric used his ferocious backhand to take the first set off the Swiss, the first time defending champion Federer had dropped a set at Indian Wells in nine matches.

He then broke Federer to start the second set and silence the stunned crowd, which included Hall of Famers Rod Laver and Pete Sampras.

But despite playing below his usual standards, the 20-times grand slam champion was able to eek out victory by finding his serving rhythm

and winning the biggest points of the match as nerves finally caught up with Coric.

“Those 10 minutes when he was up a set and a break were tough for me to accept,” Federer said during an on-court interview.

“I had to move on with it and say that I was just happy to stay in the game. Maybe he’s going to get a bit nervous and I think that’s exactly what happened,” he said.

“And I got a bit lucky too of course.

It was a good match and a tough one for him.”

The 36-year-old Federer improved to 17-0 for the year, his best ever start to a season. (Reuters)

Jamaica's Blake sees Commonwealth Games as step to build on Bolt's legacy

N

ext month’s Commonwealth Games will be Yohan Blake’s chance to build on Usain Bolt’s “legacy” and step out of the track great’s shadow, the former 100 meters world champion said on Sunday.

“Usain Bolt was at the track in Jamaica before I left,” said Blake. “He said, ‘if you don’t win there is going to be problems’.

“I don’t have a Commonwealth medal. It’s very important for me to have one in my trophy case.”

Blake, who finished fourth in the 100m at the Rio Olympics, w a s in top form last year heading into the w o r l d championships in London and qualified third fastest for the final.

However, he was shut out of the med-

als by Bolt, who took bronze behind winner Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman.

Blake also failed to make the 200m final in a surprise.

The absence of Canada’s Andre De Grasse makes Blake a leading contender in both the sprints, though he will have stiff competition in the 100 from Adam Gemili, the Glasgow silver medalist, and another Englishman in Zharnel Hughes in the 200.

“It will be a better year this one and I want the Commonwealth Games to set the year up for me,” Blake said.

“We are ready to go. My body is great.

Australia is where it all begins.” (Reuters) Yohan Blake

Roger Federer as he defeated Borna Coric (not pictured) during his semifinal match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden

Harvard Rugby Club booked for GRFU 7s

Flashback! Trinidad and Tobago Rugby Football Union (TTRFU) President Leslie Figaro (white jersey) presents Sir Solomon Hochoy Cup 2012 title to Harvard Club Captain Claudius Butts

T

he Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) will open their 2018 Rugby season on March 24, with a sevens tournament, featuring Trinidad and Tobago’s Harvard Rugby Club.

With the event set for the National Park, the Guyana Defence Force, Pepsi Hornets, Yamaha Caribs, Guyana Police Force and Panthers will match skills with the Twin Island Republic’s leading sevens team for a winner’s purse of $200 000.

The team finishing second, according to the GRFU, will pocket $100,000 and the player adjudged the most valuable (MVP) will receive

$20,000.

The GRFU, in a release, noted that the day will also see Guyana’s leading female ruggers in action in a playoff for $50,000.

Rawle Toney, Vice President of the GRFU, related that an official launch will be held on Wednesday, where details with regards to sponsorship and other information will be given.

“This will be the maiden voyage for Harvard Rugby Club to Guyana, and with players like Claudius Butts on their rosters, I believe it will be the biggest season opening ever,” Toney said.

monDAY, march 19, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

OSCL/ Orlando Cup II

23

Regal earn a spot in both finals

R

egal Masters and Regal All Stars will contest the final of their respective category of the second edition of the Orlando Softball Cricket League (OSCL) Orlando Cup on Sunday after convincing victories in the semi-finals on Saturday at Hogshed Ground.

Regal Masters side beat Ontario Masters by the wide margin of 62 runs on a small ground that produced a lot of runs.

Regal opted to bat first and got to 202 for 6 from 20 overs.

Opener Mahesh Chunilall continued his fine form with another half century this weekend with 52 from 47 balls including five fours and a six.

However, it was Eric Thomas and Eon Abel who pushed the match out of the reach of their opponents with pugnacious batting that also entertained the colourful Orlando crowd.

Thomas made 35 not out from 19 balls (6x4; 1x4) while Eon Abel slogged 33 form 13 balls (2x6; 3x4).

Rajesh Parsnauth and Wally Bacchus took 2 wickets each for the Canadians who rallied to 140 for 6 to lose by 62 runs.

K e n Sanichar top scored with 35 (1×6; 5x4) while Mahendra Parasnauth made 21 Not out.

David Harper had 2 for 19 and got support from Fazleem Mohamed with 2 for 24.

I n Sunday’s final, Regal Masters w h o won the

Florida Cup in 2017 will take on another Guyanese side in Floodlights Masters who defeated New York Softball Cricket League Masters.

In the Open Category, Regal All Stars made light work of Hurricanes of South Florida in their semi-final tie.

Hurricanes were inserted but came under tremendous pressure from the Regal bowlers and were reduced to 95 for 6 from their allotment of 20 overs. Preevnath “ P o w t i e ” Motielall picked up 3 for 18 from 4 tidy overs. Only M. Sooknandan with 17 runs showed some fight.

In re-

Richard Latif

Eon Abel

ply, Fazal Rafiek and Richard Latif then knocked off the target with 7.1 overs to spare.

Rafiek scored 36 (2x6; 4x4) and Latif 27 (2x6; 1x4) as the 2017 winners of the Florida Cup finished on 96 for 4 from 12.5 overs to win by 6 wickets.

R. Persaud picked up 3 wickets for 34 runs.

In their quest for more Florida glory, they will have

Assassins in their way. They beat Assassins at the preliminary stage of the tournament and will fancy their chances again on the big stage.

Assassins beat Guyana All Stars by 9 wickets on their way to the final after overcoming a stiff challenge from Speed Boat in the group stage where they won by 1 wicket with 1 ball to spare.

The stakes are high but winning another double is the ultimate prize for the well-oiled Regal teams. The All Stars will battle for the Orlando Cup and US$4,000 while the Masters will play for their Orlando Cup and US$2,500.

The tournament attracted 26 teams over the three days.

Cheddi Jagan Memorial Cycling Road Race…

Garbarran

takes 2nd leg

Dovizioso pips Marquez to win MotoGP opener in Qatar I

Ducati Team rider Andrea Dovizioso of Italy (left) and Repsol Honda Team rider Marc Marquez of Spain compete at the Qatar Motorcycle Grand Prix

talian Andrea Dovizioso won the Qatar Grand Prix for Ducati by the blink of an eye on Sunday as MotoGP served up a season-opening thriller at the floodlit Losail circuit Honda’s reigning world champion Marc Marquez finished a mere 0.027 seconds behind the man who took last season’s title battle down to the wire.

Valentino Rossi, the Italian great starting his

23rd grand prix season at the age of 39 and with a new two-year Yamaha contract freshly signed, joined them on the podium after the night-time race.

Dovizioso had started eighth but seized the lead from Frenchman Johann Zarco, who had set the pace from pole position, with five laps to go and pulled away with Marquez in close pursuit.

The Spaniard made his move at the last cor-

ner of the last lap but failed to make it stick, with Dovizioso using the Ducati’s power to take his ninth MotoGP win.

Britain’s Cal Crutchlow was fourth for LCR Honda, the best non-factory rider, with Zarco dropping to eighth as his tyres lost performance.

“It was a perfect race, perfect weekend,” said Dovizioso of his first win in Qatar after three times finishing runner-up.

“We did a really bad start but I was calm. I recovered very slowly and saved a lot the tyres and was able to push at the end,” added the Italian.

“As always with Marc, the last lap is very difficult but I was able to beat him again.”

Marquez, winner of four of the last five MotoGP titles, did all he could at a track he sees as one of his most difficult.

(Reuters)

Shanika Texiera

D

eeraj Garbarran claimed the second leg of the 21st annual Cheddi Jagan Memorial cycling road race on the West Bank of Demerara on Sunday.

He was followed by Walter Grant-Stuart for second while Alonzo Ambrose (third) missed out on making it two for two after winning the opening leg a week ago in Berbice.

Jamual John was fourth

while Junior Niles and Curtis Dey rounded out the list of top finishers in the senior category.

Briton John was the top Junior finishers with Adealie Hodge coming in second while Shanika Texiera was the lone female rider.

Niles also finished as the top Veteran while Raymond Newton and Alexis Meides were second and third, respectively.

monDAY, march 19, 2018

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

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Cheddi Jagan Memorial Cycling Road Race…

The top performers pose with their prizes following the conclusion of the second leg of the 21st annual Cheddi Jagan Memorial Cycling Road Race

Garbarran takes 2nd leg

Pg 23

Corona Futsal Tournament

Tiger Bay, West Front Road show ominous signs Pg 21

Federer survives scare, to face Del Potro in Indian Wells final

Pg 20

– Sparta, Leopold also progress to quarter-finals West Front Road’s Randolph Wagner and Alexander Village’s Shem Porter in a battle for possession

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