Guyanatimes 23 june 2017

Govt signs loan agreements for 2 projects with World Bank P8 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 3250

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Friday, June 23, 2017

“Nothing wrong” with foreign companies getting local contracts

– says Procurement Board Chairman

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

UG to P15 establish 1st Diaspora Engagement Centre

Page 3

Heavy rains cause flash flooding

Man robbed of brand-name sneakers, other valuables at Mon Repos P10

Agreement inked for visafree travel to Colombia P11

– stall owners counting losses at La Penitence Market

Page 16

Concessional financing for agriculture needed – rice magnate P9

A section of Main Street, Georgetown under water following heavy downpours on Thursday, as MayJune rains continue to lash Guyana. Other parts of the country were also flooded

Court returns passports to charged GRDB officials Page 2

Foreign GECOM head “impossible”– Granger

Page 7

...excuses rejection of 2 lists of nominees

Govt to provide low-income homes for squatters

2 news Court returns passports to charged GRDB officials C friDAY, june 23, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

hief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Thursday morning ordered that the passports of the former officials of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) be returned to them, when they appeared for the second time at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for their trial.

This order followed a request made by the team of defence lawyers bemoaning the stringent conditions of bail, alleging same to be an infringement on the constitutional rights of the charged individuals.

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Members of Parliament Dharamkumar Seeraj and Nigel Dharamlall; former Deputy General Manager of the GRDB, Ricky Ramraj; former GRDB General Manager Jagnarine Singh; former GRDB Board member Badrie Persaud; and former Deputy Permanent Secretary (Finance) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Prema Roopnarine, were in May hauled before the

PPP/C Member of Parliament, Dharamkumar Seeraj

Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer several charges of fraudulent omission, indictably laid in relation to the operations of the GRDB between the years 2011 and 2015.

The charges were laid one day after they had been summoned by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for questioning.

The first three charges, which were initiated against all but Opposition MP Dharamlall, allege that all

PPP/C Member of Parliament, Nigel Dharamlall

five of the others had, between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015, omitted to enter into the GRDB ledger $130 million, $9.7 million and $147 million, respectively.

A subsequent charge detailed that all six defendants, while being then members of GRDB in 2012, had omitted to enter into the ledger some $77.3 million. And finally, Roopnarine, Dharamlall, Singh and Ramraj were jointly charged with fraudulently omitting to account for $52

Former GRDB Deputy General Manager Ricky Ramraj

million in 2011.

The defendants were not required to plead at the initial court sitting due to the indictable nature of the offences, but the granting of the Administration of Justice Act (AJA) on Thursday saw all six individuals entering not guilty pleas. The former members of the GRDB were represented by a team of attorneys comprising Priya Manickchand, Anil Nandlall, Sase Gunraj and Glenn Hanoman, who requested the magistrate to

Former GRDB General Manager Jagnarine Singh

reconsider the conditions of bail (granted on the previous occasion) in light of the nature of the defendants’ line of work, which entails consultations for rice markets abroad.

This condition, according to Hanoman, affects the very livelihood of his clients.

Nandlall, on the other hand, reminded the court that there is no basis to fear that the defendants (prior to being charged) conveyed any form of indisposition, as they voluntarily co-operated with officials during the investigation period. Moreover, he enunciated on his clients’ constitutional right to leave the jurisdiction -- a right which should not be interfered with. The Chief Magistrate was then inclined to grant the request of the defence lawyers to return the travel documents after Prosecution Counsel indicated no objection to the request.

Responding to Manickchand’s request to have a preemptory trial on the next date, owing to the prosecution’s lag in submitting statements, Magistrate McLennan declared that the court is of the opinion that the prosecution should be given sufficient time. Meanwhile, Nandlall enquired through the Magistrate whether the other

Former Agriculture Deputy PS (Finance) Prema Roopnarine

Ministry

Former GRDB Board Member Badrie Persaud

directors of the GRDB Board are likely to be charged. "I cannot understand on what basis 6 directors are charged and others are not. They all ought to be equally culpable for the omission. They are all directors and therefore in equal position of authority and responsibility," he argued. The Prosecutor was unable to say whether the other directors would be charged.

This matter continues at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on July 11, 2017, when statements are expected to be filed. Meanwhile, former GRDB accountant Peter Ramcharran was on Tuesday arrested in Canada.

news

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, June 23 – a night retraction at 04:00h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h and Saturday, June 24 – 04:30h-06:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, June 23 – 16:10h-17:40h and Saturday, June 24 – 16:50h-18:20h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Weather: Thundery to heavy showers can be expected during the day, with light rain showers in the evening. Temperatures should range between 24 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging from East South-easterly to East North-easterly between 1.78 metres and 2.68 metres.

High Tide: 16:07h reaching a maximum height of 2.69 metres.

Low Tide: 09:38h and 21:55h reaching minimum heights of 0.39 metre and 0.54 metre respectively.

WEDNESDAY, June 21, 2017

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friDAY, june 23, 2017 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Nothing wrong” with foreign companies getting local contracts – says Procurement Board Chairman

By Shemuel Fanfair

F

ollowing concerns over local companies being sidelined in favour of foreign-based entities, Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Berkley Wickham remarked that nothing was wrong with international companies being awarded contracts to carry out local projects. He made these comments at a tender evaluation workshop in Georgetown on Thursday.

With the country set to become an oil and gas producing nation, local contractors and engineers expressed fear of better skilled and equipped workers and companies flooding the local market. In this vein, many noted that foreign companies could be favoured in the awarding of local contracts once the country improved economically. However, Chairman Wickham posited that with all things being equal, it is allowed for contracts to be granted to overseas-based entities and nationalities.

“I see comments in the media where people seem to feel that giving contracts to international companies or to other nationalities, even Caribbean companies, is a problem. There is nothing wrong, absolutely nothing wrong in terms of the Procurement Act with that, providing the playing field is level,” the Chairman declared.

The contractors of several major projects, including the one for the $1 billion Kato Secondary School, have come under heavy criticism for poor construction work. Often times, millions of dollars of public funds have to be allocated to correct the issues. It has been observed that foreign entities with higher capacities bid and

NPTAB Chairman Berkely Wickham

eventually took over several of the major projects.

Despite these concerns, the Procurement Board Chairman highlighted the legal provisions that allow for foreign companies to garner contracts.

“There are some key concepts and guiding principles for procurement enshrined in the Guyana Procurement Act of 2003 maximising efficiency; maximising economy and efficiency in procurement; fostering and encouraging participation in procurement proceedings and suppliers and contractors regardless of nationality, thereby promoting international trade – that is enshrined in the Act,” Wickham explained.

The NPTAB awards contracts to suppliers based on predetermined criteria. Contract man-

agement and post-contract evaluation are facilitated by the State agency which tendered the bid.

Earlier this year, Trinidadian-based company ANSA McAL was granted a $605 million contract, sole sourced, for the supplies of drugs to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Prior to that, local juice company Tropical Orchard Products Company (Topco) had won an appeal to the Bid Protest Committee in January over the Government’s decision to award its supply contract to a Surinamese company. Topco, which is a subsidiary of the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), was a long-time suppli-

er of juices to the Guyana Government for its national school feeding programme. However, the Education Ministry, the procuring entity, had deemed its bid for a continuation of the contract unsuitable, based on past performance. According to the Committee, which is based at the NPTAB, the Education Ministry did not make known that past performance was a criterion for selection beforehand.

Meanwhile, members of the local Private Sector had argued the point that foreign companies bidding for goods and services in Guyana very often do not pay VAT, PAYE and other taxes and contributes very little to the local economy.

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FRIDAY, june 23, 2017

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, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Fuelling Sugar

M

uch has been said, and will continue to be articulated as it relates to sugar and its industry, simply because of the economic and social ramifications that would accrue should Government and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) go the intended route of ‘downsizing’ the sugar industry.

The incumbent Administration, through its Ministers, has adumbrated at length in the National Assembly and elsewhere the hemorrhaging that the ailing industry is costing the national coffers ($18 billion-$24 billion annually), and has used that as its main argument to downsize the industry, since it does not know how else to proceed, even though the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) that was launched into the industry laid out a clear direction that didn’t recommend the closing of estates but privatisation after three years.

With the Wales Estate closed (swelling the ranks of the unemployed by thousands), that community has already begun to show signs of economic distress and fatigue – a situation we are sure would obtain in other communities where estates are earmarked for closure.

The Opposition has long argued that the downsizing of sugar – a prelude to closing the industry – would tangibly affect well over 80,000 persons, devastating the surrounding villages and communities that rely on the industry for survival and economic growth.

Government expectedly brushed aside the inputs emanating from the Opposition as being political, and, in its defence, said that the closure of the estates would see the lands being divested to farmers for the proliferation of other crops, such as rice, among others, which it said would fill the gap.

Whether those touted diversification mechanisms would yield the same level of income generation for the thousands now jobless in Wales is yet to be determined.

Moreover, it was only recently that the Private Sector Commission (PSC), among other stakeholders, articulated the same concerns of the Opposition, and even outlined the consequences of what would unfold with Government’s plans for the industry.

Citing the 2015 audit of GuySuCo’s financial statements, the PSC disclosed that more than $10 billion would be removed from private employment income should Government proceed with the closure of estates.

“This, in turn, would have a direct negative effect on consumer spending in the communities which, directly or indirectly, depend upon income from sugar. Such a decline in consumer spending would also have a diminishing impact upon all commerce, with concomitant negative spin-off effects on the economy as a whole,” the PSC posited.

We expected that with the facts being presented before it by numerous stakeholders calling for the sugar industry to be sustained, Government would have reconsidered its current disposition and realign its financial strategies to ensure the survival and profitability of the industry.

Even now, as the Government, against the wishes of the majority, scuttles to rid itself of an entity it deems “a bottomless pit”, other countries, such as neighbouring Brazil, have realised and embraced the tremendous potential that sugar has to offer in the form of energy.

Brazil’s success in converting sugar to ethanol, which is then blended with imported fuel to significantly lower its fuel import bill while simultaneously lowering its carbon footprint, is legendary.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic, before it was ousted from power, had started diversifying sugar along this route by investing together with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in an $85 million bio-ethanol demonstration plant that converts a sugar by-product – “blackstrap” molasses into ethanol. The plant has seemingly been abandoned by this Administration.

With all its talk of going green, wouldn’t have continuing along the route of ethanol diversification been one of the most feasible ways for this Government to proceed?

It would’ve ensured that sugarcane production is maintained, if not increased; as opposed to what is obtaining now, where the production target for sugar is slipping to the point where there might be a shortage of sugar on the local market. One of the answers to saving sugar lies in the production of ethanol, since it would address manufacturing and employment deficits while allowing for the estates and the industry to remain operational. This, in turn, would boost consumer spending. In regard to the future of the sugar industry, Guyana should never be in a position where all our eggs are in one basket, which it seems is the intent with the incumbent Administration and oil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stands in the rain in front of honour guards during a wreath-laying ceremony marking the anniversary of the Nazi German invasion in 1941, by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia (Sputnik/Alexey Druzhinin/via Reuters)

GAWU will continue to defend workers’ interests Dear Editor, The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) refers to a letter titled “GuySuCo is inviting sugar workers who feel misled to meet with management” which appeared in the June 21, 2017 edition of Stabroek News. The letter, under the hand of the Corporation’s Senior Communications Officer Ms Audreyanna Thomas, is seen by us as yet another public relations stunt employed by the sugar company in an effort to again denigrate our Union for its unrelenting and principled stance in defending the rights of thousands who stand to be affected by the ill-conceived plans for the sugar industry, as being advocated by GuySuCo. From the Corporation’s letter, it seems that the Union-organised protests at several estates are getting under the not-too-thick skin of the Corporation and its handlers. Our most recent activity -- at Albion on June 20, 2017 -- attracted an appreciable turnout, and demonstrates the disagreement shared not only by workers and their families, but by the wider communities with the plans for sugar, which will definitely pose severe and grave challenges to their livelihoods.

Ms Thomas, in her letter, referred to the State Paper, which speaks to the continued operation of Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt estates; but she does not speak about the threat to

close Uitvlugt, which was announced even before the ink had dried on the State Paper. Nor did she speak about the closure of LBI Estate in the latter half of 2016 on the grounds of consolidating Enmore, and then the about-face a few months later, when we learnt on December 31, 2016 -- which was confirmed in the State Paper -- that Enmore Estate would also be closed. Such contradictory statements do not repose much confidence in the State Paper and the utterances of GuySuCo. The GuySuCo officer may recall that – not too long ago, after the announcement of the Wales closure -- we were informed by Guyana’s highest official that, in all likelihood, no more estates would be closed. Then, a few months later, we were advised about the need to close more estates. Obviously, credibility is seriously lacking.

Our Union, nevertheless, is supportive of all plans which would secure the sugar industry; but, at the same time, cannot lend a supporting voice to plans which would wreck lives and imperil entire communities, as we have seen playing out at Wales. The Communications Officer may be interested to know that during the publicizing of our recent Albion activity, we met a vendor who resides at Wales and had plied his trade at the Wales market, but is now being forced to conduct his business at the Port Mourant market,

as a result of the depressing state-of-affairs that have gripped the communities linked to Wales Estate. He expressed his fear and apprehension for the outlook of the future should more estates be closed. We ask: How can any right-thinking organisation offer its support to such a plan?

Ms Thomas speaks about the securing of the industry through its non-sugar diversification programme, but this aspect seems to have suffered a stillbirth. As far as we are aware, apart from the planting of rice in some areas of Wales, nothing else is being done. Furthermore, our anxieties in this area have been heightened after we read Mr Tony Vieira’s letter, which also appeared in the June 21, 2017 edition of Stabroek News. Even the heavily promoted aquaculture venture Ms Thomas spoke so eloquently about had cold water thrown on it by Mr Vieira. While Ms Thomas spoke about workers being given lands to engage in agriculture production, this seems to be a pipe dream. As far as we are aware, no worker has, at this time, been given any land in this oft-touted intention, which by itself poses critical questions.

The Corporation, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, goes on to speak to provision of transportation and medical services to the workers and their families and pensioners. Is the company expecting the agriculture workers

to join public transportation from their home at 5.00 am, and travel to the cultivation some 5 to 10 miles in rugged off-road terrain? We urge Ms Thomas to become acquainted with the history of the industry. Those facilities she mentioned pre-dated GuySuCo, and were not provided charitably, but came into being out of the struggles of workers. Moreover, the Corporation, in its submission to the Government in October 2016, sought to cease providing medical services, which have been in place for almost 65 years.

It is saddening that mere days after our nation celebrated the heroism of the Enmore Martyrs, GuySuCo is obviously seeking to alter history. On the Weekly Production Incentive (WPI) scheme, the Corporation should be ashamed to call attention to this. Probably for the first time since the scheme’s introduction over 28 years ago, no worker benefited from any WPI incentive during the just concluded 2017 first crop.

On the strikes in the industry, we reiterate that the majority of the strikes are confined to workers in a gang, and are not all industry-wide, as the Corporation seeks to paint. Most of the strikes are related to price disputes that arose from sub-optimal field conditions, and which are deemed legitimate in keeping with the agreement between GAWU and GuySuCo. continued on page 5

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, june 23, 2017

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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

Anchors of acceptable actions GAWU will continue to defend... from page 4

Dear Editor, Like the rest of the world, Guyana has been changing, as indeed it must, to avoid being left behind in the globally competitive environment. In this context, it is easy to lose sight of certain fundamental principles of decent human behaviour and become entrapped in the proverbial rat race, or dog fight, or survival of the strongest, as the media has been reporting to be the case, especially among various groups of Guyanese leaders.

In this regard, I am reminded of an address given by His Holiness the Aga Khan in Pakistan many years ago, in which he warned about changing the anchors of acceptable behaviour. I quote the relevant paragraph below: “I have observed in the Western world a deeply changing pattern of human relations.

The anchors of moral behaviour appear to have dragged to such depths that they no longer hold firm the ship of life. What was once wrong is now simply unconventional, and for the sake of individual freedom must be tolerated. What is tolerated soon becomes

accepted. Contrarily, what was once right is now viewed as outdated, old-fashioned and is often the target of ridicule”.

I thought of bringing this to the attention of my Guyanese compatriots, having regard to the distressingly unmannerly, uncouth and unconventional behaviours of Guyanese in all strata of our society, from manual workers to Members of Parliament, as reported in the daily media.

In our search for solutions to the apparently endemic backward divisiveness in our society, it is incumbent on all of us to hold steadfastly to the anchors of acceptable behaviour; and, like the Aga Khan, the Mahatma Gandhi, the Rev Martin Luther King and the indomitable Nelson Mandela have demonstrated over the years all across the world, call upon our own leaders, our own comrades, to reflect on the counter-productiveness of finger-pointing, and strive to work together in search of cures for our self-inflicted wounds.

Sincerely, Nowrang Persaud

Response to Sase Singh's letter "Why has GRA’s Annual Report for 2015 not been laid in Parliament?"

Dear Editor, The Guyana Revenue Authority wishes to respond to a recent letter from Sase Singh in the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News captioned, “Why has the GRA’s Annual Report for 2015 not been laid in Parliament?”

The Guyana Revenue Authority wishes to advise as follows: 1. The Audit of the Revenue Statements for the fiscal year 2015 was completed by the Audit Office of Guyana. Officials from the Revenue Authority were thereafter summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee in relation to the findings that were highlighted in the Auditor General’s report.

2. The GRA’s Annual Reports, however, are dependent on the finalisation of both the audit of the Agency’s revenue and its expenditure, and the ensuing Financial Statements, which form an integral part of the report. The Audit Office of Guyana has since completed the audit of the Financial Statements for the year 2011. This is presently with the printers, and will be presented to the National Assembly shortly.

3. The audit of the Financial Statements for the years 2012 and 2013 are currently being finalized, and the laying of these reports will follow shortly thereafter.

4. The Guyana Revenue Authority does not believe in double standards, and agree that this inherited state of affairs must be immediately addressed, with both the Audit Office of Guyana and the Revenue Authority showing a firm commitment to bringing the audited Financial Statements up to date. This will allow the Agency’s conformity to not only the Fiscal Management

and Accountability Act 2003, but also the Revenue Authority Act 1996.

Godfrey Statia Commissioner General, Guyana Revenue Authority

and GuySuCo. Interestingly, price dispute strikes predated GAWU’s presence in the industry. Ms Thomas went on to refer to 150 strikes in 2016, but does not say man-days lost by strikes were the third-lowest between 2001 and 2016.

We ask GuySuCo: Doesn’t it find it paradoxical that, whilst the rate of unemployment is steadily growing, it has a difficulty to attract workers? Two (2) years of no pay increases; shortchanged API in 2015, and no API in 2016; arbitrary cutting down of workers’ benefits; present and potential threats of closure have certainly not been helpful to the company’s cause in its recruitment drive. We note, too, the reference to $17M lost daily as a result of strikes, that figure was also quoted in a whole page ad that appeared under the hand of ‘Concerned Guyanese’ in the June 15, 2017 Kaieteur News. It seems the plot is thickening.

We take serious and utmost umbrage with GuySuCo’s view that the GAWU is engaged in sabotage. This is completely unfounded and is a figment of someone’s imagination. The necessity of “customs and practices” is also questioned by the Corporation. Its ref-

erence, in our view, points to continued efforts to withdraw long established practices which have evolved over the years and are reflective of the unique nature of the operations in the sugar industry. Moreover, the Corporation also seems to question the wisdom of the workers’ protest actions, but wouldn’t any rational person whose livelihood is threatened take a similar approach? Ms Thomas and her colleagues, ensconced in the comforts of GuySuCo hierarchy, would sing a different tune had the shoe been on the other foot.

In passing, Ms Thomas needs to be reminded that workers and the tax-paying public are still awaiting an account of the big sums of money given to GuySuCo in 2015, 2016 and this year, with no showing of any noticeable or tangible results.

It’s quite befuddling that when the company’s intent is to lower even the current low production to 147,000 tonnes per year, it speaks of its efforts to increase production and productivity in sugar. GuySuCo seems to be in a haze of confusion.

GuySuCo says it will very soon demand a “higher level” of service from GAWU, but such a call is best suited to GuySuCo. For

instance, we have seen press reports of the intended expenditure of $1.5B of what is styled the Uitvlugt Estate Improvement Programme (UEIP) and the intention to produce 40,000 tonnes sugar by 2020, for which neither the Union nor the workers of Uitvlugt have been engaged, and remain clueless about at this point in time.

We wish to caution Ms Thomas that our Union is working, and will continue to work, in the interest of our members. We are not a vendor or service provider to GuySuCo that the Corporation can seek us to provide them (GuySuCo) with better quality service.

It seems the Corporation wishes to go back to the days of Company Unionism. We wish to advise the GuySuCo that that ship has long sailed.

GAWU wishes to assure Ms Thomas that it will continue to appropriately respond in defending and safeguarding the interests of our members, and to inform the public about the grave dangers that lurk from the plans for sugar at all possible forums.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary GAWU

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friDAY, june 23, 2017

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guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

– which child will be more agreeable: your oldest, middle, youngest or only child?

By Susan Newman, PhD

N

ot too long ago I explained why people still “feel sorry” for only children. Negative thoughts and myths about them have swirled for centuries. And in spite of a steady spike in the only-child population in most developed countries, children without siblings are still singled out for intense scrutiny.

Here we go again: A new study published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior – “Only-child and Non-onlychild Exhibit Differences in Creativity and Agreeableness: Evidence from Behavioral and Anatomical Structural Studies” – claims that only children are more creative, yet less agreeable.

To investigate and reach their conclusion, Junyi Yang and a team of researchers in China studied the brain’s structural development in only children and in children with siblings. Their results revealed that “only-children exhibited higher flexibility scores (a dimension of creativity) and lower agreeableness scores (a dimension of personality traits) than non-only-children”.

The study included 303 participants – 126 only children and 177 children with siblings. When discussing their findings, the researchers qualify their results: The study was small, conducted in China, a country with a very different culture than in the US, and looked at brain structure (the structural differences in grey matter) rather than behaviour. The researchers point out that their sample centred largely on “highly educated young adults” and that further studies exploring specific differences between adolescents or younger children could reach different conclusions.

“Only child” is a birth order

We can draw some conclusions about only children and agreeableness from

Rohrer and her colleagues examined the effects of birth order on personality.

Although only children were excluded from the study, its large scope and methodology bring into question the issue of “agreeableness” raised in the China study.

Siblings from three countries – the US (5240), Germany (10,457) and England (4489) – were measured to find birth-order effects on personality. The researchers concluded, as have others, “that birth order does not have a lasting effect on broad personality traits outside

─ some have argued that we are in the midst of a boy crisis. But is this the case?

By Rob Whitley, PhD

rest as a viable explanation for the fascinating differences we see across people and siblings in the typical ways in which they feel, think, and behave.”

Being an only child is a birth order and thus it seems that Damian and Roberts’s conclusion and their own investigation of 377,000 students – “The Associations of Birth Order with Personality and Intelligence in a Representative Sample of US High School Students” – apply to only children as well: “Scientific evidence strongly suggests that birth order has little or no substantive relation to personality trait development.”

The problems with pigeonholing

of the intellectual domain”. They “consistently found no birth-order effects on extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, or imagination.”

Rodica Ioana Damian and Brent W Roberts, psychologists at the Universities of Houston and Illinois respectively, explained why Rohrer’s investigation is so valid for assessing personality traits. In their commentary on the subject at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – “Settling the Debate on Birth Order and Personality” – they write: “We commend Rohrer et al for conducting the most thorough and methodologically sophisticated examination of the relation between birth order and personality to date. [It] clearly laid to

Given that Yang’s Chinese team tested a sample size of only 303 students, to accept that only children are not as agreeable as children with siblings is a reach. Many parents of only children don’t agree. They are quick to tell me, “Maybe some children are just more agreeable than others, regardless of their family constellations. Our personalities are impacted by so much more than that.” Indeed, myriad factors influence any given individual’s personality, over the course of a lifetime.

We need to make sure “not agreeable” doesn’t get tagged on to a long list of stereotypes about only children.

More than 10 years after his book Born to Rebel: Birth Order Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives, Frank Sulloway, a strong proponent of birth order effects, softened his position and told a USA Today reporter, “People love to pigeonhole individuals by birth order. These are modest differences. It’s important to understand that there are a lot of exceptions to these generalisations.” (psychologytoday.com)

J

une is Men’s Health Month, and thus an opportune time to reflect on the welfare of males. The well-being of young men and boys is a key concern. Indeed, scholars such as Warren Farrell have long stated that we are in the midst of a ‘boy crisis’, manifesting itself in various domains. But is this the case?

Education One of the domains of concern is the field of education. Young men now account for only about 40 per cent of recent university graduates. Likewise, boys drop out of high-school at nearly double the rate of girls. Reliable figures are difficult to obtain, but recent data suggests that almost one in five Canadian boys does not graduate high school. This figure rises to a shocking one in three among French-speaking Quebeckers. These figures are significantly higher than girls.

Respected author Christina Hoff Sommers argues that these drop-out rates maybe a consequence of a ‘war against boys’. She states that traditional boyhood pursuits have been curtailed in schools, with a significant decline in activities such as physical education, sports, woodwork, metalwork and break-times. She argues that this prevents boys from letting off steam and expanding natural energy, leading to inattentive boys in the classroom.

Others have noted that only around 15 per cent of elementary school teachers are men, meaning that impressionable young boys can lack male role models in the school setting.

These drop-out rates are especially concerning given that we now live in a service-based economy. Long-gone are the days when unqualified young men could easily find honourable and well-paid occupations based on manufacturing and manual labour.

Consequently, an increasing number of young men are experiencing what sociologists call ‘failure to launch syndrome’, an inability to launch a life independent from one’s parents. Almost 50 per cent of Canadian men in their twenties still live in the parental home, with many remaining unemployed or under-employed.

The family Another domain of concern is the family. Around 40 per cent of marriages now end in divorce, while rates of single parent families have risen to around 20 per cent of the total number of households.

These figures are even higher in the United States. This means a significant proportion of boys in North America are being raised in fatherless homes, with nefarious consequences for the boys concerned, as well as society as a whole.

All the statistics indicate that boys raised in fatherless families are significantly more likely to experience negative psychosocial outcomes. This includes higher rates of running away, school dropout, incarceration, substance abuse, and suicide.

Charitable bodies such as the National Parents Organisation have criticized family law, noting that it is not configured to ensure that boys (and girls) spend the necessary time with their fathers.

These advocates have lobbied for serious family law reform, mainly for a model known as ‘shared parenting’, which would mean children spend 50/50 time with each parent. However, shared parenting remains uncommon in North America, even though research shows that this is beneficial for the children concerned.

Mental health A final domain of concern is poor mental health in young boys. Boys are three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), with rates almost doubling among school-aged boys in the last decades.

Consequently, increasing numbers of young boys are being medicated with stimulant-based drugs such as Ritalin.

Some have argued that these high rates of diagnosis are directly related to these changes in the education system and family structure, with medication being used inappropriately to control boys’ boisterous energy, in the absence of involved fathers driven away by family courts.

These theories are understandably controversial, but the facts speak for themselves. Boys and young men are less likely to graduate from university or launch successfully into employment and independent living. Contrariwise, they are more likely to drop out of high school and be diagnosed with stigmatising mental disorders such as ADHD, and medicated accordingly.

The way ahead Men’s Health Month generally passes not with a bang but a whimper. The same can be said for attention given to inequalities experienced by boys and young men. These inequalities are rarely on the public radar, despite a massive cost to the affected boys and society as a whole.

Seeing reality is the first step towards changing it. Raising awareness is a start, but concrete measures are necessary to increase the well-being, mental health and social inclusion of boys and young men.

We may very well be in the midst of a boy’s crisis. If so, inaction is not an option. (psychologytoday.com)

large studies of siblings. In 2015, Julia

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friDAY, june 23, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Foreign GECOM head “impossible”– Granger ... excuses rejection of 2 lists of nominees

P

resident David Granger has ruled out appointing a foreign national to the post of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), describing that development as undesirable and impossible.

Speaking during this week’s airing of the Public Interest, (which had been conspicuously absent for some time), Granger also sought to excuse his rejection of two lists of nominees for the GECOM Chair submitted to him by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

“The Constitution requires the Leader of the Opposition to give me a list of six persons who are not unacceptable,” Granger said. “And if he gives me a list with five or four or three, it would be a breach of the Constitution. The danger is that some names -- and I’m not going to name any names -- may appear on the list (but they) do not conform to the criteria, and it narrows my choice.

I have to have six names from which to choose. If five are unqualified, I have no choice. He (Jagdeo) drives me into picking one person, and I need to have a choice of six.”

Asked about a timeline in light of the approaching elections in 2020, Granger was adamant that this issue can be settled “in a week.” He repeated his contention that the two lists were not consistent with the Constitution.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

The President’s inflexibility comes even though the second list included two retired judges and three attorneys-at-law.

The Opposition has long argued that the Constitution is on its side, and that the interpretation of the constitutional provision in regard to the appointment of a GECOM Chairman had been settled by the People’s National Congress (PNC), with the then party leader Desmond Hoyte, SC, even submitting Granger’s name twice for the top GECOM position.

“My criterion has not been challenged,” Granger said. “When the second list came, there were names that did not conform to the criteria. I hope the third list conforms to the criteria. I’m not going to choose

President David Granger

from one person.”

Almost five months and two lists later, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had suggested to the President that there be an amendment to the Constitution to allow for foreign nationals to be nominated to the post of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission.

Jagdeo has said this was one of the propositions he had made to the President when he met with him recently to discuss a way forward on the GECOM matter and to resolve the impasse.

The former Head of State said, “Why not let us jointly amend that part of the Constitution, where we can submit now (names of foreign nationals for the post of GECOM Chair)?

We can search around the world, so my list now can show people from around

the world; some of the best people from around the world, so that is one of my suggestions.”

Jagdeo said Granger had not agreed with this suggestion, and had suggested as a counter-proposal that a search committee be established that could possibly comprise six respected individuals; three from each side.

But Jagdeo argued that this would only enable the President to pick one of the nominees instead, which according to him is a direct violation of the Constitution.

Jagdeo, in April last, had submitted to President Granger a second batch of six nominees for the post of Chairman of GECOM. They were retired Justice of Appeal BS Roy; retired Justice William Ramlall; former Magistrate Oneidge Walrond-Allicock; Attorneys Kashir Khan and Nadia Sagar; and businessman Captain Gerald Gouveia.

This second list followed Granger deeming the first list “unacceptable” in early January 2017 because none of the nominees was a judge, retired judge, or eligible to be appointed a judge. Granger’s rejection of the list was in keeping with his interpretation of Guyana’s Constitution.

Govt to provide low-income homes for squatters

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he Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is currently engaging financial agencies, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to secure funding for low-cost housing in order to assist persons squatting on Government reserves. Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Adams-Patterson, has said the intention is to improve conditions under which the people live. Specific emphasis, she said, will be placed on Sophia and East and West Ruimveldt in Georgetown.

“It makes no sense (for) you (to) remove a squatter and give them a piece of land. They are going to move the very shack they’re (now) living (in) to that location … You are just transferring a shantytown from one area to the next, and that is not what this Government wants for our people… So my belief is that we must be able to have some low-cost houses built – whether what form we use, self-help or others – we build the house and then we relocate that squatter,” Minister Patterson was quoted as saying in a Government Information Agency (GINA) report. It is the view of the CH&PA that the people’s standard of living must be raised, and people must be provided with all the necessary amenities, in keeping with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ensuring access to safe and affordable housing, Minister Adams-Patterson explained.

From data collected, the CH&PA is looking at the relocation of close to 12,000 persons.

These include people from East and West Ruimveldt, Sophia, and Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara. However, this figure accounts for only those persons who have been squatting for a certain number of years, not those who continue to build on squatting areas or those who rebuild on areas previous cleared of squatters.

Minister Adams-Patterson made it clear that those persons who are not on the CH&PA inventory will be served notice to dismantle and remove. “Since we’ve been saying that we will be relocating those persons, there has been a mad rush for squatting, and overnight some shacks are being erected. (But if) you are not on the inventory, you will be served contravention notice (which instructs you) to dismantle; and if you don’t (dismantle), we will dismantle you,” the Minister has warned. Industry, East Coast Demerara, is one of the areas identified to have those houses built, because it is in close proximity to Sophia and East and West Ruimveldt, Minister Adams-Patterson explained.

She said it is the intention of the CH&PA to have this project included in its 2018 budget in December, so that works can begin early next year. Whilst the CH&PA has been working to relocate persons living in zero-tolerance areas, (on government reserves) the authority has also been working to regularise a number of areas, including Angoy’s Avenue (Cow Dam) which is the largest squatter settlement in Region Six, and has approximately 1,010 lots.

8 news

friDAY, june 23, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Govt signs loan agreements for 2 projects with World Bank G

overnment on Thursday signed loan agreements for two projects, one in education (US$13.3 million) and one in the financial sector (US$6 million), funded by credits from the International Development Association (IDA) through the World Bank.

Director of Projects at the Finance Ministry, Tarchand Balgobin, said that both projects will contribute to laying the foundation for the Guyanese economy to address opportunities and challenges in relation to the high expectations arising from the upcoming investments in the nascent oil and gas sector. He noted that a high quality education and a strengthened financial sector infrastructure will be critical.

Balgobin explained that the Guyana Education Sector Improvement Project, involving more than 150,000 students and teachers, will improve Mathematics learning and teaching, and benefit from an improved medical faculty as a result of a US$13.3 million credit from World Bank. According to the Ministry official, Guyana has achieved near-universal primary education enrollment between 2014 and

Finance Minister Winston Jordan (left) receiving a copy of the contract agreements from Senior Country Officer, Guyana, Suriname and Belize for the World Bank, Pierre Nadji (right)

2017, and secondary education is expanding rapidly.

“Education continues to be a priority for the Government. However, low quality of teaching and learning at all levels and inequalities in learning outcomes present significant challenges. Only 14 percent of grade 2 students achieved ‘standard’ scores in literacy and numeracy in 2016,” Balgobin explained.

Among concrete results to be achieved by the

project are: a new curriculum framework; teaching guides and course outlines for nursery, primary, and lower secondary levels; 6,500 teachers trained in the new curriculum; a new building and facilities for the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Health Sciences; and improved standards for the University of Guyana’s medical programme, in line with the Caribbean Accreditation Authority in Medicine and other Health Professions.

Balgobin said the project builds on a long engagement in education in Guyana, including two previous and three ongoing projects amounting to about US$62 million. It is financed by IDA, the World Bank Group's concessional financing window.

“It also builds on UNICEF-Bank collaboration to improve nursery education, and will help Guyana meet health education standards of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)…

The credit has a final maturity of 25 years, including a grace period of 5 years,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry

official said the next loan is for the Guyana National Payment System Project, which deals with the development of the national payments system which supports Guyana’s economic growth and diversification.

“The objective of the project is to improve Guyana's national payments system (NPS) by enhancing safety and efficiency of payments.

The Government of Guyana could save up to $266 million (0.04 % of GDP) annually by switching from paper-based payment mechanisms to electronic payments,” he explained.

The banking system, according to Balgobin, will have the capability of settling transactions across banks in real time, benefiting a wide range of consumers, including individuals and small businesses, commercial banks, money transfer agencies and the business community.

Development of the NPS supports economic growth through a financial sector that is stable and enables efficient financial intermediation. Payment and securities settlement systems have a strong bearing on financial stability. A sound payment system can mitigate financial crises by reducing operational credit, legal liquidity investment, general business and custody risks in a system.

Improvements in payments infrastructure are critical for efficient provision of financial services.

The Ministry has emphasized that a safer and more efficient domestic financial system will support economic diversification in Guyana, and a well-functioning domestic financial sector is essential for diversification.

Guyana is a resource-rich economy, mainly dominated by large extractive sectors that are funded from abroad. This includes forecasted large revenues from the oil industry. The national payment system is one of the principal components of a country’s financial system, and is therefore crucial to a country’s economic development.

For example, improvements in Guyana’s NPS would raise economic efficiency through fiscal gains for the Government, by reducing usage of paper-based payment instruments and increasing electronic payments.

Consumers benefit from more efficient financial intermediation by enhancing the quality and improving the cost-efficiency of all types of payments; wider availability and usage of payments instruments for consumers, such as e-money and debit cards.

Development of these instruments has great potential to reach the financially excluded.

Politricks…

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…and the PPP here are few things more poignant than the anguished cries of the true believer when he discovers he was worshipping at the altar of false gods all along. And right now, the dark skies over Guyana are being rent by weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth at the revelation the WPA wasn’t consulted when President Granger selected their Co-Chair Rupert Roopnaraine to be Minister of Education.

And why was this the cause of so much angst, dear reader? Well, just that from its launch in 1974, the WPA had set itself up as the very model of political rectitude and propriety. Chock-full of PhD’s in a region where “Doctor Politics” reigned, they claimed the higher ground and even managed to suggest they weren’t even concerned about assuming power. They didn’t become a “political party” until 1979!

The present turmoil has its origin after the “free and fair” 1992 elections. The WPA, with its iconic leader Walter Rodney assassinated 12 years before, had contested, convinced it would win the elections. In a pre-election attempt at forming an Opposition coalition to take on the PNC, the WPA demanded more Ministries than the PPP! After they were comprehensively wiped out, the PPP magnanimously offered the most crucial Finance Ministry to their Presidential Candidate Clive Thomas.

Now you’d think that would be snapped up, wouldn’t you? But this was the WPA - which jumped on its high horse to announce, since Jagan hadn’t made the offer to the WPA but to its member - that member, Thomas, wasn’t allowed to take the offer!! Imagine that!!

Most observers believed that was one of the most critical misjudgments in the history of modern Guyana.

It could’ve led to a snapping of the ethnic stranglehold on Guyana’s politics . Clive Thomas wasn’t a token. He could’ve staved off the attacks that were immediately launched by the PNC of “ethnic cleansing” …and which ended a decade later in “slow fyaah; mo’ fyaah”.

Fast forward to 2015. The question from the WPA faithful was why hadn’t the party raised the same objection they’d raised back in 1992 to the PPP?? Why a different rule for the PNC? What made the latter different. And the answer is very ugly, isn’t it?? It couldn’t have been ideological: back in 1992, Clive Thomas and the WPA were very open about their “socialist” ideology in common with the PPP. It comes down to race, doesn’t it? After all, as part of its claim to be “different”, the WPA always criticised the ethnic-based PPP and PNC’s support. …and the bannuhs Basil Williams just denied that some e-mails circulating weren’t hacked from his account. Said the name on his account starts with a “small b” unlike the capitalised one on the mail. But even if that were true, why didn’t the folks to whom the mails were sent - all PNC big wigs (including Raphael Trotman) raise red flags since early May? Since when has the PNC been reticent about exposing claimed “dirty tricks” of the PPP? Anyhow the mail to ex-COP Winston Felix - whose tapped phone conversation with Williams was also denied, right bannuh? - was most revealing: “Assure them boys that the Jagdeo third term thing not going anywhere. Cummings will slow it down here and some of our people talking to Judges. No fear CCJ is a black people thing.”

The other mail about changing unpopular policies just before 2020 isn’t surprising. Just the recruitment of the leader of one micro party, who suddenly acquired a doctorate.

And space in the Muckraker’s letter’ pages!! …Shill style The Shill lauded Trotman’s “feral blast” against Jagdeo in the hallowed halls of our Parliament! Not surprising for a graduate of Propaganda Press. But equating Trotman’s fisherwoman’s shrieks to the “political giants” of the past??

Boysie and Odo must be rolling in their graves!!

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

news

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friDAY, june 23, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Concessional financing for agriculture needed – rice magnate for those in need, so that the sector can be viable.

While funding has been provided for the agriculture industry through the Rural Development Fund and Micro Enterprises Development Fund, stakeholders have largely been reliant on the commercial banking sector for loans.

By Jarryl Bryan

W

ith financing being a fundamental concern of many current and prospective farmers, a rice magnate has become the latest voice to call for concessional financing to be made available for those in the sector, such as farmers.

According to rice industrialist Beni Sankar, some commercial banks usually give loans with a rate of approximately 14 per cent interest.

Noting the difficulty in meeting this, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kayman Sankar and Company Ltd spoke of how Government could help.

“What is happening is that the banks are normally charging 14 per cent on money they lend,” Sankar said in a recent interview. “If the Government can get some money and lend the farmers at six per cent (interest), that’s something that can work.”

Sankar pointed to the European Union Development Fund (EDF) programme which commenced in 2003 with €24M. The programme had been implemented through the Forum of the Caribbean Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM), with the Guyana Bank for Trade, Industry and Commerce

GAIBANK

Kayman Sankar and Company Ltd, CEO Beni Sankar

(GBTI) managing the funds.

“There was a rice grant from the European Union -about US$11M -- and that was administered by GBTI, where they lent money to farmers at a low interest, and when the farmers get their (crop) they pay them back. That money was supposed to have been revolving.

Suriname got the same (system), and that is still revolving,” Sankar explained.

He noted that this is similar to a Guyana Agriculture and Industrial Development Bank (GAIBANK) scenario. According to Sankar, Guyana’s production strength has always been in the agriculture sector, and he stressed the necessity of an agriculture lending facility

At one time, farmers benefited from the GAIBANK, which was first established in 1973 by the Government as a state-owned development bank catering for the agricultural and industrial sectors.

The bank was intended to fulfil the financial needs of farmers that were not being met by the terms provided by the commercial banks.

It helped, with grants and loans from the international community.

Since coming to office in 2015, the coalition government had signalled that GAIBANK’s return was on the cards. However, it had indicated that the logistics of the bank would be dependent on a study that would take into account the circumstances of GAIBANK’s collapse and the demise of other developmental banks within the Caribbean. In a bid to redress financial difficulties and recover its loan portfolio, which was lagging behind, GAIBANK had been merged

New drug procurement process to officially kick off next week

M

inister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, has indicated that the revised drug procurement process will officially be implemented next week.

Starting on Monday, June 26, 2017, the Ministry will roll out the revised Drug Procurement Plan, beginning with the “hiring and training of procurement and warehouse staff”, Minister Lawrence said.

“This is an ongoing process...We are going to review it and we are going to look at the loopholes and the gaps,” which will be addressed.

This new procurement

process will bring closure to the ongoing drug shortage issue countrywide. Minister Lawrence explained that, in the past, the procurement and the ordering of drugs were not properly forecasted or catered to. The Ministry of Public Health is actively working to ensure that the first supply of drugs under this new procurement system will be here by September, 2017.

According to a GINA report, Minister Lawrence also explained that, due to poor management of human and financial resources in the past, many drugs were left to be expired. During a

recent visit to health facilities in Region Six, the minister highlighted that there is need for better resource management within the Public Health sector.

Space has to be made at the varying hospitals and clinics to accommodate the new supply of drugs

by September 2017. In the month of July, the next phase of the procurement process will be to visit regional hospitals and clinics to remove expired drugs.

Minister Lawrence said the Ministry is aiming to rid the system of all expired drugs by year end.

with the Guyana National Co-operative Bank (GNCB).

Back in 2015, Finance Minister Winston Jordan had announced that the Government had requested that the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) undertake a study into the feasibility of setting up the bank. Minister Jordan had also stated that a reanimated GAIBANK would not necessarily have the infrastructural form of a bank, but could be a window/division operating from a commercial bank.

harvested at the Wales Estate in September. More specifically, the Public Relations Unit of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has said that 200 acres are under cultivation. Harvesting is expected to begin by the second week in September.

According to the sugar corporation, the lands at Wales which were previously used for sugar cane cultivation have been transformed into rice fields to accommodate the process of diversification of the industry. Among

Rice production figures are strong, but the situation in the industry is far from ideal

Current state of rice

Meanwhile, Government has announced that approximately 7000-8000 bags of seed paddy are expected to be

other things, rice has been determined as one of the feasible avenues of diversification.

GuySuCo further noted that, when harvested,

the rice would be sold to the Guyana Rice Development Board. GuySuCo’s interest in rice is as a component of an integrated commercial aquaculture production and processing project. Therefore, seed paddy cultivation is a part of the diversification programme, and is a preparatory measure to support the aquaculture project.

Recent end-of-crop figures provided by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) showed that farmers harvested a total of 89,290 hectares, or 23% over the first crop of 2016, resulting in paddy production of 518,667 metric tonnes of paddy – 26 percent more than for the same period last year.

However, while there have been increases in production, the Rice Board has been grappling with a decrease in exports of rice and paddy for the first four months of the year. This is as a result of exports to the Panama market for the first crop not being realised.

For the first crop 2017, exports amounted to 239,442 metric tonnes, some 60,000 tonnes less than for the same period last year. Foreign exchange earnings from the export of rice and paddy amounted to US$92,026.

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guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, june 23, 2017

News

NPTAB hosts workshop for potential tender board evaluators

Man robbed of brand -name sneakers, other valuables at Mon Repos

he National P r o c u r e m e n t and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) on Thursday hosted a training workshop for possible tender evaluators. Speaking at the Police Officers Training Complex in Georgetown, Chairman of the Procurement Board, Berkley Wickham, introduced potential evaluators to the guiding principles of public procurement, where he noted the importance of integrity and transparency.

Public procurement is a process wherein Government identifies the needs and problems regarding acquisition of goods and services, and engages potential suppliers after

resident of Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke/ Linden Highway was on Wednesday evening relieved of a pair of brand name sneakers and other personal belongings by a knife-toting bandit at Mon Repos, on the East Coast of Demerara.

The 24-year-old labourer was reportedly heading to visit his child’s mother when he was held at knife point and relieved of the Nike AirMax sneakers that he was wearing at the time, along with other valuables that were in his possession.

Based on reports received, the victim was walking along the Mon Repos School Road when he was pounced upon by the driver of a motor car allegedly bearing registration number PRR 1787. The driver whipped out a knife, placed it to the man’s neck, and demanded that he get into the back seat of the car, where two other male occupants relieved him of the footwear, silver jewellery, his mobile phone and other items.

The man was then thrown out of the vehicle, which fled the scene.

However, in their bid to escape, the bandits came into

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A section of the potential evaluators on Thursday

which contracts are awarded.

The potential evaluators were told that public procurement accounts for nearly 30 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), where the noted weakness of the private sector was highlighted.

“Public procurement in Guyana has been estimated in the order of 20-30% of GDP. In Guyana, we do have a very weak private sector, so Government has had to act as the primary economic driver of the economy,” the Chairman asserted.

The prospective evaluators heard that public procurement could play a positive role in Social Cohesion, and can bring about improvement in social standards, such as living and working conditions. Wickham stressed that Government does not award contracts to suppliers that exploit labour or engage in child labour.

It was further explained that, under the guiding principles, there must be fair and equitable treatment of all suppliers and contractors; while transparency, integrity and public confidence in the pro-

curement process must be promoted. The principles that govern evaluating tenders include: non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency and confidentiality.

Currently, evaluators who assess bids for contracts are paid only G$3000 per evaluation, but Chairman Wickam noted that this figure is likely to increase in the near future.

He added that although 80 persons responded to the ads seeking evaluators, only half attended the workshop due to Thursday’s heavy downpours.

A

contact with another car, resulting in minor damage, but the driver failed to stop.

The owner of the other vehicle reportedly summoned a community policing group patrol, which responded promptly and managed to intercept the car and its driver in a nearby village.

The driver’s two accomplices were nowhere to be seen.

The driver and his vehicle were escorted to the Beterverwagting Police Station, where the robbery victim was making a report of the robbery. The victim was able to positively identify the driver as the culprit.

A search of the vehicle unearthed a knife fitting the description of the one used to commit the robbery. The 21-year-old suspect, who resides at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo and Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, remains in police custody assisting with the investigations.

The Guyana Police Force has commended and recognised the swift and professional approach by the members of the community policing group in apprehending and handing over the suspect and vehicle to the Police.

11 Agreement inked for visafree travel to Colombia G news

S RAIGHT Guyana’s economy remains very fragile in 2017

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espite the 2016 upswing in production from the two gold mines, which were incubated under the PPPC Administration, the opening wicket for the Guyana economy in 2017 is not looking good. The Guyanese economy in 2017 does raise major concerns. Anyone who seeks to invest in Guyana today will face some of the worst long-term returns in the entire 51 years of Guyana’s independent existence, and the scenario would be very comparable to those horrible days under Burnham's regime -- in the early 1980s.

For many years, Guyana had insane house prices, and the economy was hotting up so much that businesses were prepared to borrow beyond their capacity to expand. But those opportunities have evaporated since 2014, after that silly “prorogation” call by the Ramotar Administration. But what started out bad in 2014 has, all of a sudden, gotten multiple times worse, because of the mediocre management of the economy under this Granger Administration. Any investor with any common sense would metaphorically run for the hills when it comes to committing to any new investment under this clueless Granger Administration. It make so much better business sense these days to go to places like St Lucia or Grenada to invest.

If one were to look at the Bank of Guyana’s First Quarter Report for 2017, one would observe that a growth rate could not even be attached to the quarter. That is a clear sign that the economy is not where it was projected to be in the 2017 Budget. All eyes will be on the Minister’s Half Year Report to Parliament, when he would catalogue the state of the economy.

From unofficial sources, I was advised that the first quarter experienced negative growth, and thus the reluctance of the Central Bank to release the figures. If one were to read the Bank of Guyana Report, one would see that agriculture is flat (rice up, sugar down); forestry is down by 21%; gold is clearly not doing great; bauxite contracted by 17%; and all other sectors continue to record lower-than-expected activities. The state of the economy under President Granger is a disaster so far in 2017, and there is no silver lining on the horizon to make it any better anytime soon.

Soon we will be hearing from this Government that the bad performance in the economy under Granger's watch is because of the weather, because officials have now run out of excuses after 2 years. In true PNC style, they will now label the state of the economy as an “ACT OF GOD”, as one of their earlier leaders did way back in the days; but financial analysts and informed thinkers will see past such bunkum.

But of more concern to the analyst community is the creeping pinch on the Guyanese consumers. As I revealed last week, the cost of living is rising faster than disposable income, and more Guyanese are finding themselves having less money available for critical essentials like food. Real wage growth under this Granger Administration has slowed to a crawl, while household indebtedness is increasing. In April 2014, household indebtedness was G$23.7 billion; and in April 2017, it was G$29.2 billion -- an increase of G$5.5 billion. But the evidence is proving that more people are failing to pay their debt installments on time, leading to a deterioration of the quality of assets at the banks. The share of the non-performing portfolio to the total loan portfolio was 11.4% at the end of March 2017, compared to 4.8% in March 2014. This is a clear sign of where the economy is heading.

The people are struggling financially, and consumer spending is under severe pressure. That matters to investors. If the consumers cannot buy, then those who dare to invest in Guyana will struggle to sell their products on the local market, unless they are producing for export. But with Guyana having one of the highest costs of electricity anywhere in the Caribbean, even competing on the international scene is not feasible in 2017. This is the real challenge; and yet, even after the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) had secretly overcharged the population since 2016, there is no inclination by this Granger Administration that the rate of electricity would be lowered, even with cheaper Bunker C fuel on the market. This financial deception and skullduggery has resulted in GPL amassing a handsome sum of cash of more than G$20 billion in its bank account. Is this part of the new parallel Treasury for the PNC boys?

This "grab and spend on self" attitude of this Granger Administration will land it in some really hot economic mess very soon. Even with the promise of oil, it will take at least 2 to 3 years after first flow to reverse the damage done to the economy in the last 2 years. But if the first flow is expected in 2022, what should the Guyanese people expect between now and 2020? Did someone say guava season is here? This Granger Administration wants to plant guava and reap sugar apple. Good luck to this Please share your thoughts at sasesin1@yahoo.com. administration!

friDAY, june 23, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

uyanese no longer need visas to travel to Colombia, as the Government of Guyana has concluded an agreement with the Spanish- speaking country that will allow visa-free travel between nationals of either state.

The agreement, dubbed the “Agreement on mutual exemption of visa for holders of ordinary passports”, was signed on Wednesday by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, in Cancun, Mexico.

He made the agreement on the sidelines of the 47 Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS). The agreement will allow persons from either country with ordinary passports to not only enter, but stay in the two territories without a visa.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement, however, persons cannot exceed 180 days’ stay total per year. Nationals of either country will be allowed to stay for

The agreement being signed by officials

an initial 90 days, which can be renewed.

The Ministry has stated that the agreement becomes effective after “the internal legal procedures for entry into force have been completed by both countries.”

“The conclusion of this Agreement signals a continuation of efforts to advance cooperation between the two countries and the development of friendly relations between their peoples,” the Ministry noted.

Earlier this year, the Arton

Capital’s Passport Index ranking international had noted that Guyana’s passport allows its citizens to visit a total of 74 countries without a visa, giving it a ranking of 103 out of 199 countries.

Guyana’s place on this year’s updated list had represented a drop in just one year, as Guyana was ranked at number 99 out of 199 countries in 2016.

Back in 2016, Guyanese citizens did not need a visa when travelling to 73 locations.

While Guyana had added one

more destination, the country’s drop had indicated the rise of other countries who gained even more visa-free travel destinations. Guyana’s standings are expected to improve on the chart with the agreement in place. The highest ranked South American nation is presently Brazil. Listed at number 40 with 143 destinations, Brazil jumped three places higher than the 2016 list.

In comparison to Guyana’s continental neighbours, only two other South American nations are ranked lower. These are Bolivia, at number 116 with 67 destinations; and Suriname, at 109 with 70 destinations.

Barbados is the highest ranked Caribbean state, topping the region at number 50 with 132 destinations. Following closely are The Bahamas, at 53 with 129 destinations; Antigua and Barbuda, at 56 with 124 destinations, and St Kitts and Nevis, at 57 with 123 destinations. Trinidad and Tobago was ranked at 59, with 121 destinations.

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friday, june 23, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Miss World Guyana 2017???

- grand coronation set for Sunday evening at The Marriott

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MISS REGION 1

MISS REGION 2

MISS REGION 3

MISS REGION 4

MISS REGION 5

MISS REGION 6

MISS REGION 7

MISS REGION 8

MISS REGION 9

MISS REGION 10

he Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel is expected to be on fire on Sunday evening as 10 of Guyana’s most beautiful and intelligent young ladies take the spotlight as they compete for the title of Miss World Guyana 2017.

The 10 delegates representing each Administrative Region underwent intense training and several preliminary competitions. From all indications, they are ready to hit the stage.

On pageant night, the delegates will have a chance to impress a qualified line-up of judges in several segments, including intelligence and evening gown.

The finalists vying for the Miss World Guyana 2017 title and the amazing opportuni-

ty to represent Guyana in China come November are: Miss Region One Delisha Wright, Miss Region Two Sharda Pramdeo, Miss Region Three Hemwantie Seodat, Miss Region Four Vena Mookram, Miss Region Five Joelly Valentine, Miss Region Six Thamesha Watson, Miss Region Seven Ariell Basdeo, Miss Region Eight Crystal Wills, Miss Region Nine Manisha Wong and Miss Region 10 Nitifah Thompson.

Tickets are available at GTT offices, Cara Lodge and John Lewis Styles, and cost $7500 for standard seating and $12,000 for VIP (inclusive of VIP cocktail hour).

Happy Feet Dance Studio - a studio for all...

H

appy Feet Dance Studio, located in the Camptown Centre, First Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, was founded on February 25, 2015. It is owned and run by Tiana Codrington.

The idea of the Studio came out of the need to engage the youths from Campbellville and adjoining communities in artful and meaningful activities as well as to give the founder an opportunity to share her love of dance and impart the knowledge she possesses to others.

The Studio offers different genres of dance, with specific focus on modern, African and contemporary routines, along with Zumba classes. It caters to students from as young as age four.

Although the main focus is on youth development, there are a number of adult members. At present, there are 75 students enrolled at the Studio. The beginners’ class has 35 students between the ages of 4 and 12, teens and young adults class h a s 30 students between the ages 13 and 24, and the adult class has 10 members.

In just two years, the Studio has steadily built a reputation. The students have done a number of guest performances at functions, with the most notable being those hosted by entities such as Courts (Guyana) Ltd and Sterling Products Ltd. They have also participated in the International Dance Day Concert and workshops held by the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport within the Education Ministry.

These performances, however, only allow for a small group of the most accomplished dancers to showcase their talents beyond the walls of the Studio.

To allow all students the exposure and excitement that come from entertaining an audience, the Studio held its first major dance production, “Unveil”, on May 28, 2017 at the Theatre Guild.

The students of all age groups were given the opportunity to perform the many routines learnt for their parents, families, friends, neighbours and classmates. The production was a huge success.

However, Director Codrington is no stranger to competitive dance. She began dancing competitively at the age of seven. In her teenage years, she enrolled in the Dance Fanatics Theatre, where she was educated on the technical aspects of dance.

This was followed by a short stint with the Classique Dance School. In 2015, she successfully wrote Theatre Arts Dance at the CSEC level, as her first step towards a professional qualification.

At Happy Feet Dance Studio, Codrington is ably assisted by two dance enthusiasts like herself – Donnette and Yonnette Holder.

Together they provide a quality programme, which ensures that students learn dance in an environment that is stimulating and exciting, as well as safe and welcoming. The aim is to have fun through movement while striving for excellence and achieving each student’s potential.

guyanatimesgy.com

friday, june 23, 2017

13

“Watch De Ride 3 11 to vie for - Snapchat Blues” Miss Renaissance 2017 title on this weekend @ NCC

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he Miss Renaissance Pageant will be held in August, with 11 professional women competing for the coveted title.

The delegates were introduced to the media late last month in a sashing ceremony at the National Cultural Centre.

The pageant serves as a catalyst to re-educate the public about inner beauty, creativity, cultural awareness and accomplishments of the mature Guyanese woman, 30 years and older.

Meet the delegates: Delegate #1 Name: Stacy Katina Carmichael Age: 32 Occupation: Senior Communications Officer, Ministry of the Presidency – Press and Publicity Unit Academics: Diploma in Communications Studies, UG Interests: Singing, dancing, meeting new people Delegate #2 Name: Jillian Viola Moore Age: 42 Occupation: Police Inspector Academics: Reading for a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations Interest: Singing

Delegate #3 Name: Nokolo Aresa David Age: 32 Occupation: Publication Officer, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Academics: Diploma in Accounting and Business Management, Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Guyana Interest: Playing board games, travelling, interacting with people and shopping Delegate #4 Name: Odessa Natasha Nicola De Barros Age: 40 Occupation: Administrative Professional Academics: University of Guyana English Programme Interest: Cooking, volunteering and event planning Delegate #5 Name: Tessa Eileen Fernandes Age: 52 Occupation: Senior Mistress (English and Social Studies) Academics: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management; Diploma in Public Management Interests: Volunteering, sewing and mentoring

Delegate #6 Name: Deon Jewel Smith Age: 40 Occupation: Wedding Planner, Interior Designer Academics: Tertiary education Interests: Teaching, decorating and designing

Delegate #7 Name: Oletta Sohanie Alleyne Age: 39 Occupation: Teaching Academics: Bachelor’s Degree in Education Interests: Reading, gardening and cooking

Delegate #8 Name: Bevon Austin Age: 42 Occupation: Deputy Head Teacher Academics: Bachelor’s Degree in Education Interests: Teaching, spending time with family

Delegate #9 Name: Carolyn Cleopatra Legall Age: 42 Occupation: Social Worker Academics: Bachelor of Science Degree Interests: Counselling, volunteering

Delegate #10 Name: Marica Edwards Age:32 Occupation: Trained Peer Educator Academics: Master’s Degree in Public Management, UWI Interest: Volunteering

Delegate #11 Name: Jennifer Lall-Shiwbalak Age: 37 Occupation: Teaching Academics: Bachelor’s Degree in Education Administration Interests: Communicating, meeting new people, pageantry

“W

atch De Ride 3 – Snapchat Blues” is the best of the trilogy and holds true to the old saying of “saving the best for last”.

This is according to the playwright, Ronald Hollingsworth.

Subtitled “Snapchat Blues” to highlight its relevance to today’s society, the play opens with a burst of thrilling events which lead to a series of intense complications and conflict – children versus parents, neighbour versus neighbour, the cultural expectations of societies enshrined in traditional gender roles versus the dynamics of a changing young population and the list goes on.

As the drama sheds light on dark treacherous places, between our conscious and our actions, between our soul and what linger in the back of our minds, “Watch De Ride 3” will surely not disappoint theatre enthusiasts.

The production is billed for the National Cultural Centre on June 24 and 25 under the direction of Hollingsworth and Sheron Cadogan-Taylor.

The play could be considered a classic based on the subject matter and its philosophical underpinnings as it puts a timely question to parents and guardians of today’s youth.

How do we respond to situations when our children find themselves in deep trouble with the law or on the opposite side of the high morals and values we uphold as a society?

In this theatrical spectacular, the minibus culture is brought to the home of an unsuspecting family. While mom and dad are at work, their school-age children use their absence as an opportunity to experiment physically and emotionally.

Many times over, young adults in our lives make choices that weigh heavily on parents and society in general. The play brings the complexities of secrets, impulsive decisions, lies and trade-offs out from under the carpet and thrust them before the audience.

The cast includes Nelan Benjamin, Kimberly Fernandes, Mark LukeEdwards, Sean Thompson, Nicola Moonsammy, Nathaya Whaul, Leon Cummings, Simone Dowding, and Paul Budnah.

This dynamic cast is working assiduously, pushing to set the Cultural Centre stage ablaze on those two nights. In other words, “Watch De Ride 3 – Snapchat Blues” is a must-see production. Tickets cost $1500 and $2000 and can be uplifted at the box office of the National Cultural Centre. Action starts at 20:00h.

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friDAY, june 23, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

15 UG to establish 1st Diaspora Engagement Centre news

friDAY, june 23, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

– preparing to host inaugural Diaspora Conference in July

T

he University of Guyana (UG) will be hosting its inaugural Diaspora Engagement Conference (DEC) next month, and one of the major highlights of the six-day event will be a proposal for the establishment of a local Diaspora Centre.

The conference is expected to provide a platform for fine-tuning a strategy that will outline the way forward to establish the first Caribbean Diaspora Engagement Centre.

This project is being spearheaded by UG, and according to Vice Chancellor Professor Ivelaw Griffith, the concept paper will be distributed and discussed at the conference, scheduled for July 23rd to 28th.

“The idea is to enable a permanent entity that can facilitate a variety of things over time. One of the things that we’re looking to have that entity facilitate is linkages between university and the diaspora; Guyana beyond the university and the diaspora,” he stated.

The Centre is expected to institutionalise engagement in research, outreach and talent management, among other things. “(It) will facilitate maintenance of a talent databank. We, for example, have Guyanese across the world,

including in Antarctica, but we don’t have a central database of where the talent is, and who’s interested in doing what. One of the things we will be asking the centre to do is to manage that,” Professor Griffith said.

To this end, the Vice Chancellor outlined that those discussions on the concept paper that will be held during the conference will pave the way forward in terms of both the structure and mission of the centre.

He added that conversations on funding for the Diaspora Centre have already commenced with several organisations, including the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

“I don’t want to say much more than that, but it will be an opportunity for the University of Guyana to extend partnerships across Guyana and the rest of the world,” the UG Vice Chancellor stated.

Professor Griffith added that other matters, such as location and directorship, will be determined down the line.

In the meanwhile, it was noted that this centre will not be duplicating the function of the Diaspora Unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the two will work alongside each

Mexican Ambassador Ivan Roberto Sierra-Medel; UG Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith and UG official, Dr Fitzgerald Yaw at Thursday’s press conference

other to create synergies.

In fact, Director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives at UG, Dr Fitzgerald Yaw, pointed out that the conference will be a platform for Government to talk about its own diaspora engagement strategy.

“Right now, a Cabinet sub-committee is reviewing a Government of Guyana Diaspora Engagement Strategy. We had actually asked Government to officially launch that strategy at the conference… but they will definitely be talking about that Diaspora Engagement Strategy at the conference,” the UG official said.

Dr Yaw further posited that with Guyana having significant political division, it is felt that such a centre at UG is a good location to have the diaspora work to-

gether towards developing this country without any political influence or interference.

It is anticipated that the Diaspora Engagement Centre will be established and operational on a phased basis from September.

On the other hand, the six-day conference will be held at the Ramada Princess Hotel under the theme: “Dreaming Diaspora Engagement, Doing Diaspora Engagement”. It is expected that some 150 participants from within and outside of Guyana will attend.

The conference will be focused on two main overreaching pillars: human, social and entrepreneurship development; and diaspora philanthropy, diplomacy and educational engagement.

At the press conference on Thursday, Vice Chancellor Griffith noted that this event will not be a traditional conference.

There will be a mixture of both local and diaspora speakers, as well as presentations from politicians, businessmen and academics.

“We’re spending a week doing a variety of things, only two days of which are the traditional conversations. But those conversations are not only by academics. We have businessmen, civic society, diplomats, government and political officials as part of the mix,” the Vice Chancellor noted.

The academic conversations will focus on issues such as international and regional migration policies and experiences, cultural

identity dynamics, financial transfers and remittances, role and contribution of hometown associations, diaspora trade and investments, and tourism.

Moreover, coming out of the conference, the university is not only expecting monetary funding, but for Guyanese in the diaspora to open opportunities.

“Part of it is monetary, part of it is non-monetary – its opening doors… So it’s how can diaspora Guyanese and non-Guyanese help to give not only financially, but time, talent, opening doors to help us connect, to help our students, our faculty, and help our university overall,” he stated.

The conference will also feature a ‘Know Guyana Day’ with visits to several landmarks across the country, and will conclude with an investiture ceremony and a cultural extravaganza. The conference, which is the brain-child of the Vice Chancellor, has received support from the business community as well as several government ministries and agencies. The Mexican Embassy is also a major supporter of UG. Persons wanting to participate in the conference can sign up online at http// diasporaconference.uog. edu.gy/.

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guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, june 23, 2017

News

Heavy rains cause flash flooding – stall owners counting losses at La Penitence Market

A

s Guyana continues to experience excessive rainfall owing to the May-June rainy season, stall owners at the La Penitence Market are left counting their losses as a result of the deteriorating roofing system which leaves the market susceptible to flooding.

Guyana Times was told that the roofing system of the market continues to disintegrate and nothing is being done to resolve the issue. This is despite nu-

merous complaints made by vendors to the market’s management.

The leaking roof exacerbates the facility’s vulnerability to flooding as water easily gushes in from the drainage system with the slightest of rainfall.

During a visit to the market on Thursday, vendors at the well-known La Penitence shopping hub expressed their aggrievance over the deplorable conditions under which they are forced to operate.

Speaking to this publication, Mahabeer Chunilall, the owner of two stalls, explained the difficulties experienced whenever it rained.

continues to make empty promises. As a matter of fact, the vendor even took it upon himself to purchase the materials for the renovation, and was merely

A portion of the market affected by the flooding

Stalls remain closed as a result of the flooding

A patient wading through the flood waters in the compound of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)

“Since February month I am punishing with this.

The zinc break and I’m reporting it steady, and nobody coming to do anything about it,” Chunilall lamented.

The frustrated stall owner pointed out that the contractor attached to the market has visited on two separate occasions and

waiting on the construction workers to commence the repairs.

Chunilall went on to say that customers were often deterred from visiting his stalls on account of the water leaking from the roof and, as such, he was significantly affected by the deteriorating conditions of the Market.

Another stall owner also expressed dismay over the conditions, noting that she and other vendors were severely affected by the poor state of the facility.

“All over the market leaking…look the market flooding and nobody ain’t saying nothing. I want the Council come and repair the market, because the stall roof got to repair,” the women, who had been vending at the Market for a number of years, said.

Moreover, the disgruntled vendors indicated

to this newspaper, stalls would close for days whenever it rained, as they were unable to operate in the water-drenched facility. Nonetheless, they are still forced to come up with their monthly payments and therefore continue to suffer a loss.

As such, they are calling on the Georgetown Mayor and City Council to commence renovation given that vending is the sole source of income for many playing their trade at the La Penitence Market.

US looking to prevent ISIS “foothold” in Caribbean H

aving recognised that “significant” extremists from the Caribbean have joined the self-styled Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL), the United States is seeking to severe any ties the notorious terrorist organisation may have in the Region.

This is one of the areas of concern that the North American nation is aiming to address as it seeks to establish a framework for enhancing security, among other things, of its Caribbean partners and self.

To this end, the US State Department, in coordination with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), on Monday submitted a multi-year Caribbean strategy paper to Congress – “Caribbean 2020” – to increase the security, prosperity, and well-being of the people in the US and the Caribbean region.

The Caribbean, dubbed America’s “third border”, is a vital part of US efforts to counter organised crime and illicit trafficking, and support democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere, the United States said.

The strategy paper outlined that the US and the Caribbean face many common threats across the Region. On this note, it was pointed out that small but significant numbers of violent extremists from the Region have joined ISIS. “On security, we will

work with our Caribbean partners to ensure ISIS is denied a foothold in the Region…,” the paper stated.

Over recent years, the conversation has been deepening on ISIS turning to the Caribbean Region for recruitment. In fact, recent reports have revealed that the twin island of Trinidad and Tobago, with a population of just 1.3 million, is said to be largest recruitment source for ISIS per capita, in the Western Hemisphere.

This is following revelations by the T&T Government back in February that some 130 of its nationals, including women and children, have left for Syria and Iraq over the last four years and are suspected of being involved in terrorist activities.

Subsequently, a New York Times article had reported that law enforcement in the celebrated tourism destination country were “scrambling to close a pipeline that has sent a steady stream of young Muslims to Syria, where they have taken up arms for the Islamic State...”

This was after the then newly Presidentelect, Donald Trump, had a phone conversation with Trinidadian Prime Minister Keith Rowley about terrorism and other security challenges.

“American officials worry about having a breeding ground for extremists so close to the United States,

fearing that Trinidadian fighters could return from the Middle East and attack American diplomatic and oil installations in Trinidad, or even take a three-and-a-halfhour flight to Miami,” said Journalist Francis Robles in the February 21, 2017 article titled “Trying to Stanch Trinidad’s Flow of Young Recruits to ISIS”.

There are propaganda videos released by the Islamic State portraying fighters, speaking with Trinidadian accents, training in the desert with sniper rifles and encouraging their countrymen to join them.

This prompted the island’s State security officials to begin intensive surveillance and monitoring of the country's home-grown Islamist movements. In fact, the T&T Government have since proposed amendments to tighten its anti-terrorism laws with the aim of cracking down on the flow of money to Islamic State fighters overseas by establishing criminal penalties for those sending money to the group.

Trinidad has a history of Islamic extremism.

Back in 1990, a radical Muslim group – Jamaat al Muslimeen – held the then Prime Minister and several Cabinet members hostage during a six-day siege which claimed 24 lives. More recently, in 2012, Trinidadian national Kareem Ibrahim was sentenced to life in prison for joining a failed plot to

blow up the John F Kennedy International Airport, New York, in 2007.

While there has been no linkage of Guyanese nationals joining the Islamic State, back in December 2015, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud had disclosed that the Guyana Police Force was in receipt of “unverified” information of a suspected ter-

rorist in Guyana.

Moreover, the Police Commissioner had told media operatives then that there were no reports of Guyanese, who have travelled to terrorism-torn countries joining the Islamic State or returning to Guyana from any of those countries.

That revelation had come on the heels of re-

ports of terrorist Adnan El Shukrijumah, claiming to be Guyanese. The Al Qaeda member was shot and killed in Pakistan by its military in December 2014.

Shukrijumah, who was believed to be of Guyanese parentage, was wanted by the United States over a 2009 plot to attack the New York subway system.

AG denies being author of ‘fake’ email

A

ttorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams SC, has denied being the author of what he claims is a ‘fake’ email in circulation about the next general elections and the judiciary, among other things.

“The email in circulation is not mine. That is non est factum. Don’t use me to change conversations, I can make my own news,” Williams took to his social media Facebook page to say.

The alleged ‘fake email’ was circulated by someone called Adron Pires. One of two attachments in Pires’s email purportedly indicated that the AG wrote Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, talking about an impending third term case involving former President Bharrat Jagdeo and possible interference with the Judiciary.

“Assure them boys that the Jagdeo third term

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams

thing not going anywhere.

Cummings (Chancellor (Ag) Yonette Cummings) will slow it down here and some of our people talking to Judges. No fear, CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice) is a black people thing.”

The other attachment sent by Pires showed an email purportedly sent by the AG to several Ministers,

including Joseph Harmon, Amna Ally, Winston Felix and Raphael Trotman, speaking of an action plan to reverse some tax measures and use “friendly” media houses to reverse the tide of poor sentiments for the administration.

Williams made it clear that the email was totally fake. He said that from his own investigations, the email address purporting to be his was recently created.

According to him, there is an “Uppercase B in the fake email”, while his email was created with a lowercase ‘b’ for Basil.

“Furthermore, the fake email’s inbox revealed four, while AG’s email inbox has around 1000. Efforts are being made to verify in whose name it is registered.

Additionally, Mr. Raphael Trotman is not a member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).”

friDAY, june 23, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

17

Haiti ex-coup leader Guy Guatemala landslide Philippe sentenced in US death toll rises to 12 T T

he leader of a 2004 coup in Haiti that toppled President JeanBertrand Aristide has been jailed for nine years in the United States for conspiracy to launder drug money.

Guy Philippe, 49, had pleaded guilty.

He was arrested earlier this year in Haiti after taking part in a live radio show and extradited to Florida.

In his guilty plea, he admitted taking bribes to protect narcotics shipments to the US while he was working as a senior police officer.

The US Justice Department said Philippe had shared some of the money that he was paid in bribes with fellow Police Officers, to buy their silence.

The bribes he took between 1999 and 2003 are believed to have amounted to as much as US$3.5 million.

he number of people killed in a landslide in Guatemala has risen to 12 after a 94-year-old man who was rescued on Tuesday died in hospital.

Heavy rains caused the mudslide in the municipality of San Pedro Soloma.

A minibus carrying 10 people to work was buried by the mudslide, which

Guy Philippe led the 2004 coup against Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Charges of drug trafficking, which would have incurred a lengthier sentence, were dropped as part of his plea bargain.

Philippe was arrested in January, days before being sworn in as a senator in

Haiti, which would have given him immunity from prosecution.

While he first pleaded not guilty, he changed his plea to guilty in April in exchange for a reduced sentence. (BBC News)

came down the Wachuná hillside. All passengers on board were killed.

During last year’s rainy season, which lasts from April to November, 15 people were killed in landslides.

The landslide hit a hillside road and the homes below it.

One of Guatemala’s most deadly landslides hit

the mountain village of El Cambray in October 2015.

More than 200 homes were buried and an estimated 280 people died.

Guatemalan Vice President Jafeth Cabrera said the situation this year was particularly worrying as much of the soil was already saturated with water.

(BBC News)

Venezuelan crisis: Opposition calls for civil disobedience

New York-based Trini offers home to countrymen affected

by Tropical Storm Bret

T

hough thousands of miles away from his native Trinidad and Tobago, New York school teacher Ricardo Babulal is always on top of what’s happening in his beloved homeland.

This week, he looked on with distress as Tropical Storm Bret brushed the twin-island republic with its gusty winds and heavy winds, leaving behind damaged homes, uprooted trees, broken infrastructure and heavy flooding.

The scenes of devastation have spurred him into action.

Babulal, who lives in New York City, is offering his two-bedroom home in Debe to flood victims who have nowhere to turn.

“I saw a lot of people in crisis and realised that offering my home in Trinidad may be a way of helping those in need,” he told he Trinidad Express newspaper, asking interested persons to contact him via email at Ricardo.babulal@ yahoo.com or on Facebook (Cardo A Basdeo).

V

The country has seen about two months of anti-government protests and deadly clashes

enezuela’s Opposition has called for widespread civil disobedience in a new push to remove President Nicolás Maduro’s Government from

power.

The country has seen about two months of anti-government protests and deadly clashes with security forces over its worst econom-

ic crisis in decades.

Maduro also wants to redraft the Constitution, which has angered his opponents even more. (Excerpt from Al

Jazeera)

Remains of former President’s son exhumed

T Ricardo Babulal

Several families were displaced in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bret, as roofs were blown off and flood waters entered their homes.

Meanwhile, the Trinidad Guardian reported that a full-term pregnant woman, trapped by rising flood waters, was Wednesday rescued by a Guardian Media team and residents of St Helena Village, after

waiting for over two hours in vain for help from the Regiment and the Office of the Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM).

Karma Jackson, 32, who is 40 weeks pregnant and is due to give birth today, had summoned help from the ODPM. An official promised to return the call in five minutes, but none came. (Caribbean360 and Trinidad Guardian)

he remains of the son of former Argentine President Carlos Menem have been exhumed, 22 years after he died in a helicopter crash.

A judge ordered the exhumation as part of a new investigation into the cause of his death.

Carlos Saúl Facundo Menem, known in Argentina as Carlitos or Menem Jr, died when the helicopter he was flying crashed into high-voltage cables.

His mother Zulema Yoma said he was the victim of a terrorist attack.

She believes he was shot

in the head and the body in his grave may have been swapped to hide evidence of a bullet wound. He was 26 when he died on March 15, 1995.

Forensic experts will carry out new DNA tests in the remains exhumed on Wednesday morning from the San Justo Islamic Cemetery in Buenos Aires province.

The crash happened near the town of Ramallo in Buenos Aires province.

For many years, his father backed the official finding that the death was accidental.

But several years ago he

accused the Lebanese Shia Islamist group, Hezbollah, of killing his son.

Menem said the he could not have revealed the information before because it was a state secret.

Hezbollah was under investigation after prosecutors accused it of carrying out a deadly bomb attack in 1994 against a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires.

The bombing of the cultural centre run by the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (Amia) in central Buenos Aires killed 85 people and injured many more.

Cash-strapped Bahamas Government announces job freeze

J

ust six weeks after coming to office, the Dr Hubert Minnis Administration in the Bahamas has slapped a freeze on hiring in the public service.

The moves comes on the heels of damning revelations from Dr Minnis this week that the former

Progressive Liberal Party engaged in a US$14 million “wild hiring spree” in the last five months leading up the May 10 general elections.

The Government issued a directive to the departmental heads this week that there would be no new hires in the public service

unless it was absolutely critical.

A June 19 letter, issued

by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Elise Delancy and obtained by the Nassau Guardian newspaper, read: “Please be advised that effective immediately, there should be no new

hires or renewal of contracts except where there is a critical need. Under such circumstances, the approval of Cabinet will be required.”

Delancy also stressed that the authority to appoint workers solely rests with the Ministry of the Public Service

and the Public Service Commission.

Public Service Minister Brenzil Rolle recently told Parliament that the public service increased by 6500 people during the last term without any consideration given to whether the Government was able to pay them.

“Every Minister hired whomever they wished, at whatever rank they wished,” he said.

Rolle’s charges were also backed by Prime Minister Minnis who added that contractual workers were also engaged in addition to permanent employees. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

18

friday, june 23, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

In Brussels, weakened May Anger in Mosul after destruction offers EU expats a ‘fair’ deal of historic mosque B T ritish Prime Minister Theresa May offered fellow European Union leaders a “fair” deal on Thursday for compatriots living in Britain after Brexit, though her peers are likely to push for more from a prime minister weakened by an electoral misfire two weeks ago.

Given the floor at the end of a Brussels summit dinner, her first since she launched the two-year withdrawal process in March, May outlined five principles, notably that no EU citizen resident in Britain at a cutoff date would be deported.

There are roughly three million living there now.

That was, she told them, “a fair and serious offer”, a

British Prime Minister Theresa May

British official said. It was “aimed at giving as much certainty as possible to citizens who have settled in the UK, building careers and lives, and contributing so

much to our society”.

Promising details in a paper on Monday, May also said those EU citizens who had lived in Britain for five years could stay for life.

Those there for less would be allowed to stay until they reach the five-year threshold for “settled status”. Red tape would be cut to make gaining permanent residency easier and there would be a two-year grace period to avoid “cliff edge” misfortunes But May’s push to set the cut-off date as early as March 29 this year, is unlikely to wash with many in the European Union, whose position is that nothing must change until Britain leaves – scheduled for March 30, 2019. And there was much missing from an outline offer which the British previously called “generous”.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

US man ‘gave top-secret information’ to Chinese agent

A

former US diplomatic officer has been arrested and charged with giving top-secret documents to a Chinese agent.

According to an affidavit, Kevin Mallory, a 60-yearold from Virginia, is said to have travelled to Shanghai in March and April 2017.

He also failed to declare US$16,500 (£13,000) in cash found in two carry-on bags when travelling through

Chicago airport, said the Associated Press.

Under the federal Espionage Act, he could face life in prison.

The FBI has confirmed he was entrusted with high-level clearance when working for the Government.

His access was rescinded when he ceased to be a state employee in 2012, after which he became a self-employed consultant.

The Washington Post said that, according to two Government officials, Mallory was employed by the CIA, but this information was not given in court.

During a voluntary interview with FBI agents in May, Mallory said the person he met in Shanghai told him he was working for a Chinese think-tank, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS).

The FBI has, since at least 2014, believed that Chinese spies use SASS affiliations to cover-up their identities, according to the US Department of Justice.

The affidavit also detailed a note Mallory allegedly wrote to the individual, saying “your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid”. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

South Africa’s High Court allows secret Zuma no-confidence vote

years of Government corruption scandals, record unemployment and slowing economic growth.

The ANC has said it will vote against the motion to remove the 75-year-old leader. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

he leaning al-Hadba minaret that towered over Mosul for 850 years lay in ruins on Thursday, demolished by retreating Islamic State militants, but Iraq’s Prime Minister said the act marked their final defeat in the city.

“In the early morning, I climbed up to the roof of my house and was stunned to see the Hadba minaret had gone,” Nashwan, a day labourer who lives near the mosque, said by phone. “I felt I had lost a son of mine.”

His words echoed the shock and anger of many over the destruction of the Grand al-Nuri Mosque along with its famous minaret, known affectionately as “the hunchback” by Iraqis.

The demolition came on Wednesday night as

Iraqi forces closed in on the mosque, which carried enormous symbolic importance for Islamic State (IS).

It was there that its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a “caliphate” as militants seized swathes of Syria and Iraq. He proclaimed himself the caliph, ruler of all Muslims, from the mosque’s pulpit.

His black flag had been flying on the 150-foot (45-metre) minaret since June 2014, after Islamic State fighters surged across Iraq.

Russia said on Thursday there was a high degree of certainty Baghdadi was dead, according to RIA news agency. Moscow said last week its forces might have killed him, but Western and Iraqi officials are sceptical.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Russia’s Lavrov says

new US sanctions harm ties with Washington

R

ussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his US counterpart Rex Tillerson on Thursday that new sanctions imposed by Washington on Russia would damage relations between the two countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Actions of this kind, put the entire sphere of RussianAmerican relations at serious risk,” the Ministry quoted Lavrov as saying in a phone call with Tillerson.

Lavrov said Moscow was still waiting for a US response to earlier proposals to improve ties, and Washington’s latest actions in Syria violated the sovereignty of the Arab country. (Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian following their meeting in Moscow, Russia June 20, 2017

Sedition charges against ‘Pakistan supporters’ dropped

S

South Africa’s highest court handed down the ruling on Thursday

S

outh Africa’s highest court has ruled that lawmakers can cast secret ballots in a confidence vote against President Jacob Zuma, an outcome the Opposition hopes will pave the way for his ouster.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that parliamentary speaker Baleka Mbete, a ruling African National Congress (ANC) member and Zuma ally, can decide on a secret

vote.

Opposition parties wanted a secret ballot in the belief that disgruntled ANC lawmakers could turn against Zuma if their votes are not publicly disclosed.

Mbete had said parliamentary rules did not allow for a secret vote, but Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng disagreed on Thursday, saying she had “the necessary latitude”.

However, he stopped short of ordering a secret

ballot, saying it would be a violation of the separation of powers between the Constitutional Court and Parliament.

A date for the vote now has to be set.

The ANC holds a large majority in parliament and Zuma has survived similar votes in the past, which have not been secret.

Zuma’s sacking of respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in March fuelled public anger over

tate Police in central India have dropped sedition charges against 15 Muslim men who were arrested for celebrating the Pakistan cricket team’s victory over India in the Champions Trophy final.

The men, aged 19 to 35, were arrested in central Madhya Pradesh state’s Burhanpur district after locals complained they shouted pro-Pakistan slogans and lit firecrackers after the match on Sunday.

Similar arrests of four people were carried out on the same day by the

Karnataka Police in Kodagu district after the men allegedly set off firecrackers and raised slogans supporting the Pakistan cricket team.

“It’s difficult to prove the sedition charge,” Senior Police Officer Burhanpur Parihar told The Indian Express, adding that the 15 men have now been charged with disturbing communal harmony instead.

Pakistan defeated reigning champions India by 180 runs at The Oval in London to win their maiden Champions Trophy title.

Earlier, Amnesty

International slammed the arrests of the men and demanded their immediate release.

“The arrests of at least 19 people for celebrating Pakistan cricket team’s victory over India in the final of a major tournament is another worrying sign of the erosion of freedom of expression in India,” the human rights organisation said in a statement.

Asmita Basu, Programmes Director of Amnesty International India, said “it is not a crime” to support Pakistan. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

friDAY, JUNe 23, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

guyanatimesgy.com

19

ARCHIE

Taking a business trip or having a discussion with (March 21- someone who has more expeApril 19) rience than you will help you make an important decision about your future. Verify any information you are given.

ARIES

Don't believe everything TAURUS you hear. One of your peers (April 20- will purposefully mislead May 20) you. Stay on top of the facts and be secretive about your endeavours.

dilbert

Partnership issues will GEMINI (May 21- need to be addressed before June 20) you can move forward. Reveal how you want to move forward and find out exactly where you stand. Focus on equality.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

Keep your plans secret until you are ready to move forward if you want to avoid someone meddling in your affairs. Consider your motives before you make a personal change.

Evaluate what you are being told by someone close to you, and make adjustments as necessary. Love can cloud your vision, causing you to make bad choices if you aren't careful.

Discover what life has VIRGO (Aug. 23- to offer. Attend a seminar, Sept. 22) or network with people who share your interests to find inspiration to develop new relationships and expand your dreams.

If you share your plans with LIBRA someone close to you, together (Sept. 23Oct. 23) you will bring about positive change. A joint effort will lessen your burden and encourage success.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

Use your skills and SCORPIO strength to reach your desti(Oct. 24nation. You can make posiNov. 22) tive changes if you put in the time and use your talent to outmanoeuvre anyone who gets in your way.

Keep changes at home to a SAGITTARIUS minimum. Staying within your (Nov. 23- budget regardless of the temptaDec. 21) tions you face will help to maintain a sense of financial security.

If you live within your means

CAPRICORN and avoid making unwise choices (Dec. 22- and promises, you will avoid an Jan. 19) unnecessary setback. Focus on keeping life simple and spending time with the one you love.

solution for Last Published Puzzle You’ll gain ground if you AQUARIUS pick up additional knowledge (Jan. 20that will help you change diFeb. 19) rection, improve life in your community or better your relationships with others.

Rethink your priorities.

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

Making home improvePISCES ments or hosting an event or (Feb. 20March 20) family entertainment is highlighted. If you use your imagination, you will come up with an idea that will please the people you love.

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

friDAY, june 23, 2017

Windies must be wary BCCI to receive US$405M of Associates, warns Sammy

F

ormer West Indies captain Darren Sammy doesn’t not believe the team is guaranteed to secure a spot at the 2019 World Cup through the qualifiers after being almost certain to miss out on earning an automatic spot.

The regional team had targeted overhauling Pakistan in the world rankings, with only the top eight teams in the world as of September 30 guaranteed direct entry to the tournament. Those ambitions have, however, been severely dented following a win for the Asian team in the recent ICC Champions Trophy and a poor performance for the Windies against Afghanistan in the three-match series during the corresponding period.

The results will almost certainly see Pakistan extend the 14-point lead over the ninth-ranked regional team, with much ground unlikely to be make up in difficult upcoming series against India and England.

The team’s most likely route into the tournament will come from the 10-team 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which will yield two spots. Having had their hands full against Afghanistan recently, Sammy has warned against taking associate teams lightly.

Former West Indies Captain Darren Sammy

“Qualifying for the last two spots, that’s not even guaranteed. It is difficult to beat Ireland in their conditions. We just saw Scotland beat Zimbabwe, so all kinds of countries are improving,” Sammy said.

“Just like Bangladesh have improved and gone past us and we saw in the last World Cup where Ireland defeated us as well, so it is a long way to go. I think with the way we structure our cricket, we’re going nowhere.”

Afghanistan recently shocked the West Indies after winning the first match of the series in the Caribbean, which ended in a 1-1 tie. (Sportsmax)

from ICC as per agreed revenue sharing model A fter being at the receiving end in the last couple of meetings of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) has got better returns in the negotiations at the ICC annual conference in London.

As per the new revenue-sharing model approved by the ICC, the BCCI is set to receive US$405 million from the ICC for the cycle 2016 to 2023.

Initially, the BCCI’s share was decided at US$293 million with ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar offering an additional US$100 million in a compromise formula.

Even though the amount is less than the US$570 million that they were to get in the original ‘Big Three’ formula drawn by former ICC Chairman N Srinivasan, the BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was the only one to object to the new revenue sharing model of the International Cricket Council (ICC) (AFP)

will be getting a sizeable amount more than the other member boards.

T h e Eng-land and Wales C r i c k e t Board will receive US$143 million, the second highest share. In other key decisions for the BCCI, they have been given a seat in the all-im-

portant Governing Council and the Strategic Working Group.

It was also announced that the FTP (Future Tour Programme) will be decided by each country on their own. It suits BCCI the most. With the FTP in their control, they can decided when and whom they want to play. It will allow them to negotiate better with the broadcasters and more than make up for the deficit from the original share.(HindustanTimes)

Virat Kohli hints Anil Kumble broke dressing room ‘code’ I Jamaican basketball player heading ndia captain Virat Kohli didn’t say in as many words but politely hinted that coach Anil Kumble’s decision to make public the differences between them broke an unwritten code that everyone must respect the sanctity of not revealing dressing room matters.

“I attended eleven press conferences in Champions Trophy and created a culture in the team wherein the sanctity of the dressing room was maintained,” he told a media conference at the team hotel on Thursday when asked if the situation could have been handled better.

“I tried to maintain that and the belief that whatever happens there (in the dressing room) stays there.”

It seemed the India skipper, who had been denying that there was any rift and had even alleged that journalists were concocting stories for a living, was let down by Kumble who chose to reveal his side of the story and the differences with the captain through social media.

“Anil bhai has expressed his views and taken a decision to step out. We all respect that decision. It is something that has happened right after the tournament.

“I always maintain whatever happens in the change room is sacred and is not to be expressed in public. But his opinion is there and we respect it,” said the India skipper.

Anil Kumble stepped

home after 5-year manslaughter ordeal

Anil Kumble resigned as India's cricket team head coach earlier this week. He said his ‘untenable’ relationship with Captain Virat Kohli led to the decision (AFP/Getty Images)

down as coach on Tuesday, deciding not to travel with the team to the West Indies.

He released a statement on Twitter, saying there were ‘untenable’ differences between him and Kohli.

Both Kumble and Kohli are strong personalities and the decision to pick certain players led to flare-ups, if talk doing the rounds is to be believed. There is also talk that Kumble being a strict disciplinarian didn’t go down well with Kohli who, though intense, is more outgoing.

This ODI series is happening right after the Champions Trophy and Kohli says coming to the West Indies is a welcome change as the atmosphere is always relaxed.

However, a bigger task for him will be to prepare the team for World Cup 2019 all

by himself now that Kumble is not there.

“I have great respect for him (Kumble) and there’s no taking away from him what he’s done for the team,” he said.

The India skipper con- Jamaican basketball player Kimani Ffriend firmed that Ajinkya Rahane lmost three years Dragutinovic, a 30-year-old will open with Shikhar after he was sen- account executive, while Dhawan in place of Rohit tenced to a three- driving drunk in Belgrade Sharma, who has been restyear jail term after being at about 4:00 am on the ed. found guilty of vehicular morning of November 3, Confirming that the core manslaughter in Serbia, 2012. of the team will remain the While he awaited the Jamaican basketball playsame for World Cup 2019, he said there will be slots up for er Kimani Ffriend is head- verdict of the appeal he repgrabs. ing home at the end of the resented Dynamic in the “You have to identify the month.

Serbian Basketball League 15 out of a pool of 25 and Ffriend, who turns 40 and was named MVP avpick those who are perform- in July, on appeal had eraging 22 points and 11 ing and handling the preshis sentence reduced to rebounds for the season. sure well. There is plenty of time already served and He was also awaiting his exciting talent and opportunities to prove and there’ll set free several weeks Jamaican passport which be slots up for the grabs.” ago. In September 2014, a he received on Monday.

A relieved Ffriend told judge in Serbia found him (HindustanTimes) Monday guilty of killing Nevena SportsMax.tv

A

night that he is happy to put this chapter of his life behind him. “Well, it (that he now free) has not hit me yet. Everything is still surreal. It’s been a long four and half years and I am just thankful to God that I can move past this and learn and allow this situation to influence me in a positive way and to those I cross paths with,” he said.

He said he is eager to get home and the first thing he wants to do is eat some fried fish and festivals. (Sportsmax)

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West Indies fall to South Africa by 6 wickets in final warm-up

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he West Indies Women’s woeful run up to the ICC World Cup only got worse on Thursday when the Caribbean side went down by six wickets to South Africa at Oakham.

It was the worst batting display since arriving in England as the team, playing without Captain Stafanie Taylor, lost their last seven wickets for three runs to be bowled out for 63 in just 23.5 overs.

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Indies to 51 for 3 at in the 16th over. But when Deandra Dottin was dismissed for 6 at the end of the 18th to make it 60 for 4, the West Indies lost their remaining wickets over the next five overs as no other batter came close to double figures.

South Africa’s medium pacer Masabata Klaas proved to be the bane of the Windies batters returning figures of 4 for 14 off 4.5 overs.

Chasing 64 for victory, South Africa duly obliged. Laura Wolvaardt (26) and Lizelle

Lee (18) put on 45 for the first wicket laying the foundation for the victory. And even though Anisa Mohammed caused a bit of jitters taking two for 6, the South Africans always remained in control to get to 65 for 4 off 19 overs.

This is the second official warm up match the West Indies have lost and fifth overall since arriving in the United Kingdom to prepare for the World Cup. The West Indies lost their first official warm up match to Pakistan by five wickets on Tuesday.

Stindl denies record-breaker Sanchez A lexis Sanchez broke Chile’s scoring record against Germany, but Lars Stindl ensured Group B’s fate will be decided on the final matchday.

Lars Stindl’s equaliser ensured Germany made Chile and record-breaker Alexis Sanchez wait for a place in the Confederations Cup semifinals with a 1-1 draw in Kazan.

Sanchez became Chile’s alltime record scorer early on, passing Marcelo Salas with his 38th international goal after a mistake from Arsenal teammate Shkodran Mustafi.

Eduardo Vargas hit the crossbar for Juan Antonio Pizzi’s men, but Stindl struck for the second consecutive game before half-time.

A quieter second half did not produce a winning goal,

meaning Chile and Germany stay level on four points at the top of Group B, three clear of Australia and Cameroon, who also drew 1-1 earlier on Thursday.

The two teams will progress to the last four if they avoid defeat in their final matches on Sunday, Chile facing Australia and Germany up against Cameroon.

The world champions are still waiting for their first victory against South American opposition in the tournament, having previously lost twice to Brazil and drawn with Argentina.

Chile took the lead after only six minutes, Sanchez capitalising on Mustafi’s misplaced pass to play a slick one-two with Arturo Vidal and stab a left-footed finish in off

the near post from eight yards.

Stindl forced a sharp save from Johnny Herrera with a low strike at the other end, but it was Chile who came within inches of scoring the game’s second goal.

Vargas seized on a loose ball 25 yards out and smashed a dipping strike against the underside of the bar, which bounced agonisingly to safety, having had Marc-Andre ter Stegen beaten.

Germany levelled four minutes before half-time when Emre Can’s throughball found Jonas Hector, whose superb cross from the left allowed Stindl to slide in and convert from inside the six-yard box.

Sanchez worked space for himself and forced a onehanded save from Ter Stegen before the end of a first half

Alexis Sanchez

which ended level.

The Arsenal star curled a free-kick just over after the break, while Vidal’s looping header and Vargas’ clever effort also narrowly missed the target.

Stindl’s shot led to an

unconvincing save from Herrera at the other end, but there was little late drama as Germany, who did not make any substitutions, extended their unbeaten streak to 12 matches. (Sportsmax)

Hamilton clarifies F1 retirement talk L

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ewis Hamilton said walking away from F1 at the end of this season is not on his mind at the moment.

Lewis Hamilton says he is not planning to bring his Formula One career to an end this year soon after hinting that he could walk away from the sport.

The Mercedes driver fuelled speculation over his future ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with comments reportedly made to the FIA’s official in-house magazine, Auto.

Hamilton is said to have told the publication “My destiny is in my own hands. I can decide to stop at the end of this year.”

However, in an inter-

view on the official F1 website, the Brit said he is not looking to walk away, just as his former team-mate Nico Rosberg did after winning the world title last year.

“Firstly I do not feel that I am in a place that I have to move aside for a youngster coming through right now.”

Hamilton said.

“For sure, the dream for a lot of sportsmen is to retire whilst still on top - but in reverse you could then say that people stop before their time.

“I have decided not to stop before my time and at the moment I do not plan to.”

Hamilton added: “The grass is always greener on the other side. There are

Lewis Hamilton

many parts of the season that stop you from doing other things, but there are also so many great things

that come along with it, which I am really enjoying at the moment.

“Of course there are a

lot of things that I would like to do if I had more time throughout the season. There is so much that I would like to achieve and tick off my bucket list. But then I would probably look back and realise that I would not be racing a Formula One car.

“There is a time and a place for lots of different things and I guess prioritising is important, as well as choosing the right time.

Right now I am very fortunate being within this team.

“I have an amazing team around me, and an amazing boss who enables me to have time for other interests. All of this keeps me going.” (Sportsmax)

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

fridAY, june 23, 2017

Pulsating go-kart

BCB 50-over tournament…

4

action returns tonight at GT Motorsports D

espite the gloomy weather, racing heat is expected to reign when the GT Motorsports’ Endurance Rental returns to the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club at Albert and Thomas Street.

The monthly event which was paused since March re-

one hour of racing during the previous three events.

Each member has a maximum of 15 minutes on the track.

The team with the most number of laps at the conclusion of 45 minutes will be declared champion.

matches slated for this weekend

Matthew Phang. Tenpow and Phang had the fastest lap times in their respective categories.

Chandrapaul Hemraj will be eyeing another sublime performance

T

Local speedsters will resume their intense rivalry this evening at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club

turns with the addition of a 10-lap All Girls event. The first race is set for 19:00 hrs.

The Endurance races, which cater for teams of three competing in the 500lb and 600lb classes, have been reduced to 45 minutes each, down 15 minutes from the

At the last event, Team Nexus made a clean sweep of both the 500lb and 600lb classes. The 500lb drivers were Brian Tenpow, Gregory Mohamed and Carlos Rodrigues, while the 600lb drivers were Rodrigues, Steven Nobrega and

Berbice basketball tournament resumes

T

he Berbice Amateur B a s k e t b a l l Association 2017 Basketball Tournament which is sponsored by president of the Guyana Basketball Association Nigel Hinds will resume on Sunday, June 25, with the Rose Hall Town Jammers opp o s i n g

Hopetown Stealers at the Hopetown Basketball Court from 16:00 hrs.

L a s t weekend the opening encounter of the tournament between the Canje Knights a n d

Fyrish Black Sharks resulted in a walkover for the latter at the Fyrish Court.

The President of the Berbice Basketball Association (BBA) Vibert Garrett, said that the system currently being used in Berbice will result in the development of clubs and player. However he noted that there will be some challenges along the way.

The competition attracted six teams; F y r i s h B l a c k S h a r k s and Ithaca Hardliners from West Berbice while Canje Knights, Rose Hall Town J a m m e r s , H o p e t o w n S t e a l e r s and New Amsterdam Warriors are from East Berbice.

The two top teams in each zone will advance to the knockout rounds, at stake in the competition are trophies and incentive prizes.

The Endurance Rental Cup is sponsored by Secure Innovations and Concepts, Auto Fashion, Monster Energy Drink and Karcher, and organised by GT Motorsports. Admission to the venue is free.

16

he Competitions Committee of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) has announced on Thursday its fixtures this weekend’s Senior 50over competition with four matches scheduled to be contested at venues around the County.

The Albion Cricket Club will do battle with the Young Warriors Cricket Club at the Albion Community Center, Port Mourant Cricket Club will be hosted by Blairmont Cricket Club at the Blairmont Community Center, West Berbice Cricket Association and Bush Lot will compete

at Bush Lot Community Center, Tucber Park will engage Police Cricket Club at the Port Mourant Community Center and Rose Hall Estate Cricket Club will meet hosts Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club at the Area H Ground, in Rose Hall Town.

Last Sunday, A brilliant half century and bowling figures of 4-15 from national middle-order batsman, Chandrapaul Hemraj led Port Mourant to a massive victory over Police Cricket Club.

Playing at home, the host won the toss and elected to field. Their bowlers

proved too much for the visiting Police team which was bowled out for 74 in 30 overs. Batting for Police, C. Lindie top scored with 20 while S. Phillips followed second with 12. All the other batsmen failed to reach double figures.

Bowling for Port Mourant, l Hemraj took 4 for 15 in 9 overs, which included 3 maidens. Omesh Mathura and Arrif Chan captured 2 wickets each while Doorasani Mahadeo took 1.

Hemraj made an aggressive 52 not out from 42 deliveries which included four fours and two sixes.

He received valuable support from Loydel Lewis and Daniel Samaroo.

The competition is contested by 12 first division teams in the county. Teams are mandated to play on a round robin basis in their respective zones to qualify for the next round of competition. Two Teams from each of the two zones will qualify for the quarter final stage.

Matches are scheduled to start at 09:30 hrs and teams are urged to be punctual as penalties are attached for lateness.

teams to contest Bartica Guinness in the Streets Football

─ action kicks off tonight at community centre tarmac

T

he final Zone in the 2017 Guinness Greatest of the Streets football competition will kick off in Bartica this weekend with sixteen teams battling for top honours and a chance to compete in the grand finals.

The tournament will kick off on this evening with six matches at the Bartica Community Centre tarmac starting at 19:00 hours.

The opening fixture will bring together Almanac Kings against Time Square to be followed

by Campbellville battling Street Kings at 19:30 hours.

River View will square off with Lotto Arcade at 20:00 hours while thirty minutes later Plantain Slice oppose Young Guns.

Police will face Beacon One Love at 21:00 hours while the final game of the evening will feature All Stars against Beacon Die Hard at 21:30 hours.

Two more preliminary matches will be played on Saturday featuring Potaro Strikers against Lazio at

Bartica is expected to have red-hot football action this weekend

19:00 hours to be followed

by Impact versus Ballers before the quarter final matches.

The semi-finals and finals are scheduled to be played on Sunday along with the third place playoff and several exhibition matches.

The winner will advance to represent the mining community in

the grand finals billed to next month featuring the top zone teams from Georgetown, East Coast Demerara, Linden, Berbice West Demerara/East Bank Demerara.

Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste said that fans in Bartica can expect an exciting weekend of football.

“We expect an exciting

tournament and the residents of the community will prove that they are “Made of More” as they support the teams in their quest for glory,” he added.

The winners are set to receive $400,000 and the championship trophy, while second, third and fourth placed finishers collect $150,000, $75,000 and $50,000 respectively.

guyanatimesgy.com

friDAY, june 23, 2017

Non-traditional events to be reintroduced ─ National Seniors Athletics Championships launched

AAG President Aubrey Hutson (centre) and members of the Organising Committee

W

ith Guyanese Junior athletes competing and medalling in non-traditional events such as the 110 Metre hurdles at the recently concluded South American Junior Championships, the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) will be reintroducing the Steeplechase, Hurdles and Hammer throw events when the National Senior Championships is held from July 2-3 at the Leonora National Track and Field Facility, West Coast Demerara.

This was revealed at the launch of the event on Thursday morning by the president of the AAG, Aubrey Hutson.

“We are going to have this year, the steeplechase, and hurdles as well as the

hammer throw events,” Hutson declared.

The AAG president disclosed that as was the case last year, a total cash prize of $20,000 will be at stake in each event. This is breaks down to the winner receiving $10,000 while second and third place finishers are guaranteed $6,000 and $4,000 respectively.

Hutson explained that with the AAG’s hosting of the South American Youth Championships, its financial coffers have been heavily hit.

As a result the Association will be doubling the upcoming event with a fundraising barbecue. Any patron purchasing a barbecue ticket for $1000 will be afforded entry to the event while regular tickets will cost $500.

The AAG President is

confident of a large turnout of spectators at the National Senior Championship which he claims will be a byproduct of the successful staging of the South American Youth Championship last month.

At the championship the host nation’s athletes placed 2nd out of 13 participating countries while amassing 25 medals.

The haul remains the highest number of medals achieved by Guyana in the 49- year history of the championship. The stellar performance came on the heels Guyana’s good showing at the CARIFTA Games in Curacao where 11 medals were won inclusive of which 5 golds

GMR&SC National Race of Champions…

Seejattan wary of intense competition G

roup Two driver Shan Seejattan will not be throwing caution to the wind when he competes in Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) National Race of Champions slated for July 2 at the South Dakota Circuit.

At the last meeting in April, Seejattan sped his way to a first and two second places. However he is adamant that an even greater test awaits him given the increase participation by drivers and boost to their machines.

The likes of Ramez Mohamed, Chet Singh Shairaz Roshandin and Daniel Deokie, are expected to form the core of tough opposition.

“The group is very competitive and it will close racing. I’ m not worried but at the same time I’m not over confident. So let’s just see what happens and hopeful-

T

The National Gymnasium will come to life with boxing action from June 27-29

After the conclusion of the National Novices championships, the GBA will turn their attention to the Lennox Blackmoore National Intermediate championships as well as the Terrence Ali National Open Championships slat-

ed for September and November respectively. Boxers to represent Guyana in St Lucia at the Caribbean Development Championships (CDC) will be selected based on their performances at National Open tournament.

Group Two driver Shan Seejattan

ly we have a good day of racing but I look forward to the competition”.

His hatchback Honda Civic suffered a broken motor at the last meet at South Dakota and his reliable team is in the process of rebuilding.

“Technically the handling was really out of the car at the last meet and that

is priority on our list. I have been getting a lot of practice with Go-kart which has helped me keep my skills sharp,” Seejattan explained.

“It is going to be an exciting day of racing. A lot for cars will be out there. Every race meet everyone is getting faster”, he contended.

Seejattan is hopeful that he can acquire more sponsors to add to Special Auto and Blue Spring Water so that he can make the trip for the second round of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) slated for July 30 at Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway in Trinidad and Tobago.

The speedster is thankful for the support of Top Power Racing mechanic Brian Tenpow and the rest of his mechanical team which he believes is the reason behind his success to date. (Akeem Greene)

Former world beaters Windies in limbo

Andrew Lewis Novices for June 27-29 F he Guyana Boxing Association’s (GBA) “Andrew Lewis” National Novices Championships will be staged at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue from June 27 to 29.

Some 75 pugilists are expected to take the ring as they clash for top honours over three days across 11 different weight divisions.

The defending champions, the Guyana Defence Force gym will come up against tough competition from the Forgotten Youth Foundation Gym, Republican Boxing Gym as well as the up-and-coming Wakenaam gym and upstarts Vergenoegen boxing gym.

The Young Achievers, Police, Harpy Eagles, Rose Hall Town Jammers, and Carryl Boxing Gym of Linden are all expected to compete in the annual competition which was named after the first Guyanese to win a world title.

23

Jason Holder

Virat Kohli

By Delvon McEwan

In searching for another reason for the downfall of the Maroon Caps one just needs to point to the rapid evolution of cricket in other territories. Compare the investment by England, South Africa, India and Australia, their facilities and developmental programmes and the picture of why we are lagging behind becomes clearer.

Last year West Indies narrowly missed out on qualifying for the recently concluded Champions Trophy which was won by Pakistan. Their absence was a major injury to fans at home and around the world who have become addicted to the `calypso cricket`.

While that event was being played West Indies, almost in regulated style took on minnows Afghanistan, who managed to win the opener before the three match series ended in a draw. Put that against the backdrop of our last ODI series victory while opposing a full-member team being in 2012 against New Zealand It is hard to believe that the 1975 and 1979 World Champions have found themselves in this position. However, a gutsy performance in the upcoming series against India could be the magic portion needed to turn the frog into a prince.

Winning this series would enhance chances of qualifying for the World Cup in 2019 and will serve as a much needed boost for a team low on confidence gas.

However, It would take a herculean effort from the Jason Holder led Maroon Caps and good-hearted fairy godmother for West Indies team to get pass India in one match much less the entire series. Although a series win is not impossible, the odds are so heavily stocked against the home team that even their most dedicated fans are stocking up on tissues. Let’s pray it comes in handy for tears of joy.

ormer powerhouse and world beaters West Indies will engage number three ranked side India in five One Day Internationals starting on Friday at Queen’s Park Oval in the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

However, judging from the West Indies continuous decline in the international arena, the big question is whether this series would be a walk in the park for the visitors as has been the case for several touring sides in recent years, especially in the limited over formats.

Could an inexperience West Indies unit compete with their confident Indian counterparts? Can the hosts manage a win?

Would the hosts bowling be of concern to the visiting batsmen? Will the local batsmen manage to set competitive totals? These are some of the key questions that will be answered as the series unwraps.

Led by the talented Virat Kohli, the Indians will be aiming to complete a whitewash against their counterparts, who are placed at number nine in the ODI rankings. India arrives here snarling after being defeated by arch rival Pakistan.

But isn’t the West Indies are known for springing surprises when it matters most. One example is the stunning of the cricket world in 2004 to win the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Another is the journey to the said tournament in 2006 after having to play in the qualifiers.

However, a lot has changed since then and poor administrative policies and withdrawal of senior players’ among other issues have ensured dismal returns from the Caribbean lads and fans of the team.

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

FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Pg 23

Pg 21

Andrew Lewis

Novices

for June 27-29

West Indies fall to South Africa by 6 wickets in final warm-up South Africa players celebrate the wicket of Chedean Nation of West Indies during the ICC Women's World Cup warm-up match between West Indies and South Africa at Oakham School on June 22, 2017 in Oakham, England

GMR&SC National Race of Champions…

Pg 23

Seejattan wary of intense competition Shan Seejattan leads the pack at South Dakota Circuit

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