Guyanatimes 3 october 2017

Leonora Hospital’s maternity unit expansion completed P11

– to be commissioned shortly Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 3350

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

City Hall workers protest non-payment of salaries …workers faced with threat of being laid off

Student bleeds after ‘wild cane’ beating by teacher Page 10

– at private school in Berbice

Page 3

President responds to “free land” offer Page 9

Tree-wrapping exercise on Camp St

PRICE

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Man dies P7 after wakehouse brawl – 4 in custody

Man clubbed to death by drinking buddy at Industry P2

All child rapists should be P9 publicly known – Red Thread

“Mahatma Gandhi was a great soul” – PM P14 Nagamootoo

– kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities Women of the Guyana Cancer Foundation and Guyana Telephone Telegraph (GTT) officials wrapping a tree on Camp Street on Monday

58 dead, 527 injured

in worst mass killing in US history

Page 11

Cop commits suicide after “compromising” photo leaked P10

2 news

tuesDAY, october 3, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Man clubbed to death by drinking buddy

– at Industry

A

deportee from the United States was on Monday morning beaten to death during a drinking spree with his pal

at his Industry Front, East Coast Demerara home.

The dead man has been identified as 44-year-old Bhagwan Ramadhar, also

called ‘Alan Bhagwandin’, of Lot 50 Industry, East Coast Demerara. The Guyana Times understands that the two men had been in the

Ramadhar was lying under the house in a pool of blood.

She did not attempt to ask her brother what had transpired, but instead the police were summoned. The incident, she added, came as a shock not only to her, but to the residents. The suspect was arrested and has confessed to the murder.

The piece of wood suspected to be the murder weapon was collected by in-

The body of Bhagwan Ramadhar being taken away by undertakers

habit of consuming alcohol, and on the day in question, they were engaged in a heated argument.

During the argument, the suspect, Mahase Dhanraj, also called “Crusher,” picked up a piece of wood and dealt Ramadhar one blow to the head. Although the victim fell to the ground in an unconscious state, the suspect continued to hit him to the head. From reports received, Ramadhar’s face was battered.

It is not clear what prompted the argument, but persons in the area, including the suspect’s sister, related that the two men had been ‘drinking buddies’, and would become embroiled in heated arguments from time to time; but this was the first time an argument had become so violent.

At the scene, the suspect’s sister, Sumintra

Sugrim, told media operatives that the now dead man had lived alone, and her brother would frequently visit his home to consume alcohol. She explained that Monday morning was no different. Her brother went over to the dead man’s house, and the drinking spree began.

However, whilst she was attending to her plants at the back of her yard, she heard the argument between the two men, but rather than enquiring, she continued doing her chores.

This, she noted, was because the men would argue whenever they were “drinking rum”.

Nevertheless, as she reached to the front of the yard, she saw her brother in a drunken state and he was trembling. Soon after, she heard her neighbours calling out to her, relating that

Murder suspect Mahase Dhanraj

vestigators to be lodged as evidence.

Meanwhile, Guyana Times understands that the now dead man had been deported from the US a few years ago, and had lived alone at his Industry, ECD home, where he plied his trade.

His drunken state had persuaded persons not to give him work. As a result, he had resorted to doing odd jobs for people in the area.

The murder suspect is expected to make his first court appearance shortly.

Struck in head with wooden object

Recuperating schoolboy getting headaches

By Shemuel Fanfair

T

he 16-year-old schoolboy who received injuries to his head, allegedly at the hands of a Venezuela-born teen in an attack at Post Office Street, Sisters Village, West Bank Demerara (WBD), has reportedly been suffering headaches over the past few days.

He had claimed that on September 18, while walking home, the foreign-born youth, also 16, struck him to the head with a wooden object, which caused him to be briefly hospitalised. He was treated and received stitches and was sent away, while his attacker was released on $10,000 bail on charges that he unlawfully wounded the schoolboy.

Guyana Times caught up with the West Demerara lad over the weekend, who disclosed that since the attack, he has been suffering periodic headaches.

“It does be usually around midday and it would last throughout the day.

Sometimes I can’t focus,” the

The West Demerara schoolboy who was attacked at Sisters Village, seen with injuries last month

WBD teen explained. The attack occurred on Monday, September 18, and he has missed a full week of classes.

The two lads appeared at an in-camera hearing at the Wales Magistrate’s Court on September 21.

Reports were that the Venezuelan teen, a supermarket attendant, waited as the schoolboy was passing and reportedly hit him to his head before running away from the scene. However, the foreign-born youth, who is of Guyanese heritage, denied the allegation when he appeared in court. He contended that the accuser was

in fact the aggressor.

This publication was told last month that the wounding stemmed from a personal matter whereby a Guyanese cousin of the Venezuelan youth and a cousin of the schoolboy shared a rocky relationship and would often engage in heated confrontations.

There had been a spat whereby family members of both youths physically sparred. It was believed that this is what led to the altercation between the two young males. They are scheduled to return to court on November 2.

news

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TUESDAY, october 3, 2017 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, October 3 – a night retraction at 03:00h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h and Wednesday, October 4 – a night retraction at 04:00h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, October 3 – 14:50h-16:20h and Wednesday, October 4 – 15:25h-16:55h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light to heavy rain showers will prevail for most of the day, with lightly cloudy skies in the late afternoon. Lightly cloudy to clear skies are expected in the evening, with temperatures expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

City Hall workers protest non-payment of salaries …workers faced with threat of being laid off

By Ashraf Dabie

S

cores of labourers attached to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) on Monday morning staged a demonstration in the compound of City Hall to protest the delay and non-payment of their salaries.

This is following the passing of the date agreed upon for the release of their month-

Workers expressing their grievance to Town Clerk Royston King

Winds: Ranging from South-easterly to North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 15:06h reaching a maximum height of 2.55 metres.

Low Tide: 08:39h and 20:59h reaching minimum heights of 0.68 metre and 0.63 metre respectively.

General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union, Carvil Duncan, speaking to the media

saturDAY, September 30, 2017

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ly and retroactive remunerations, and as such, the city workers are demanding their hard-earned money.

At the forefront of the demonstration was General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union, Carvil Duncan, who defended the rights of the labourers by highlighting the inconvenience brought on by this delay. In fact, he noted that this matter continues to affect the livelihood of the city workers, as it persists on a monthly basis.

Duncan, in outlining what prompted the protest action on Monday, said, “They said that they will pay on or before Wednesday (of last week); the workers were not paid. There is some retroactive payments for 2015 and 2016 that ought to be paid in September, but that has not been paid. So the workers thought it best to come down to City Hall to find out what exactly is going on.”

The Union Representative further pointed out the ways in which this non-payment of monthly earnings disrupts the lives of the workers, and more so prevents them from catering to the needs of their families. On that note, he argued, “They have obligations, and that is why they work. They expect that they provide you with the labour power and in return you will pay them whatever salaries they earn, so that they can meet their social obligations.”

Duncan indicated that the City Council has pinned the blame for the delay in payment on the lack of finances. However, joined by the workers, he questioned the logic of this excuse, given that the Council allegedly continues to employ a num-

ber of new clerical staff, a decision which was dubbed unnecessary given that they believe the field workers contribute to the more significant aspects of City Hall’s operations.

“The Town Clerk is saying that they have financial difficulties, which we know, and as a result of that, he can’t make the salary. But my major problem is: if you can’t and you’ve been encountering those difficulties for a few months, why you constantly taking on people to increase the salary bill and you can’t

pay the present staff that you got?” Duncan contended.

Meanwhile, in defending the Mayor and City Council, Town Clerk Royston King pointed out that City Hall’s income of about $80 million falls below that of its monthly payroll, which amounts to in excess of $110 million.

Further, he explained that revenues which were expected to be generated from a number of projects are no longer a possibility, given that several ventures have either been suspended or have not materialised.

Nevertheless, King indicated that the release of salaries has commenced. He noted, “We have already started paying people last week. At least half of the staff, or little more than half, have already been paid, and we are work-

ing now to pay the rest of the staff by the end of Wednesday (of this week).”

As such, the Town Clerk is calling on the labourers to be patient as the M&CC works to resolve the matter. “I wish to ask workers to be patient with us, to understand, and to see what is happening. It is a very tight financial situation, but we are moving speedily to have this resolved,” he expressed.

The M&CC currently employs in excess of 900 workers, a number which comprises both in-house clerical staff and sanitation officers operating in the field. Given the financial restrictions, the job security of the workers is now being threatened, with some even expected to be redeployed or sent home in the coming weeks.

4

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, october 3, 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

Don’t leave the elderly behind

L

ast Sunday, October 1, International Day of the Older Person was observed. Stakeholders, such as international organisations and governments, used the opportunity to highlight the issues affecting older persons, and lobbied for more support for this segment of the population.

There is no doubt that among the more pressing issues affecting older persons are health concerns and the quality of care being provided to them on a daily basis. Hence the World Health Organization (WHO) used the occasion to call for a new approach to providing health services for older people.

The organisation highlighted the role of primary care and the contribution community health workers can make in helping to ensure that older people live healthier and longer lives.

According to Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, by the year 2050, one in five people in the world will be aged 60 and older. It is therefore crucial for governments to put in place systems which would allow for older persons to obtain the health services they need.

WHO’s new Guidelines on Integrated Care for Older People recommend ways community-based services can help prevent, slow, or reverse declines in physical and mental capacities among older people. The guidelines also require health and social-care providers to coordinate their services around the needs of older people through approaches such as comprehensive assessment and care plans.

Director of the Department of Ageing and Life course at WHO, Dr John Beard, noted that older adults are more likely to experience chronic conditions, and often multiple conditions at the same time. Yet, today’s health systems generally focus on the detection and treatment of individual acute diseases.

He reasoned that if health systems are to meet the needs of older populations, they must provide ongoing care focused on the issues that matter to older people – chronic pain, and difficulties with hearing, seeing, walking, or performing daily activities. He noted that this would require much better integration between care providers.

According to Beard, integrated care can help foster inclusive economic growth, improve health and wellbeing, and ensure older people have the opportunity to contribute to development, instead of being left behind.

According to WHO, some countries are already making smart investments, guided by WHO’s Global Strategy on Ageing and Health. For example, Brazil has implemented comprehensive assessments, and expanded its services for older adults. Japan has integrated long-term care insurance to protect people from the costs of care. Thailand is strengthening the integration of health and social care as close as possible to where people live, while the Ministry of Health in Vietnam will build on its comprehensive health care system and the large number of elderly health care clubs to better meet the needs of older people in their communities. In Mauritius, the Ministry of Health provides universal health coverage for older adults, including a network of health clubs and primary care clinics with more sophisticated services in hospitals. The United Arab Emirates is meeting the health needs of older people by creating more age-friendly cities. In France, a new WHO collaborating centre called Gerontopole, located in the Toulouse University Hospital, is helping to advance research, clinical practice and training on Healthy Ageing.

Here in Guyana, not much is being done by the authorities to raise awareness about the issues affecting the older population and/or to lobby for more support for them.

Now that the Government is in the process of preparing Budget 2018, it is hoped that more resources would be allocated towards effective and targeted programmes aimed at ensuring our elderly are well taken care of. For example, there is need for more special care homes, retirement homes, special transportation, and priority treatment for our elderly.

Also, there must be increased focus on long-term health care of older adults suffering from mental disorders, as well as to provide caregivers with education, training and support.

Finally, if we are going to ensure that our senior citizens enjoy the “good life”, then they must, first of all, be entitled to a decent and livable pension at the end of the month.

Added to this is that it would be a great joy for many if the Government were to take a decision to have the water and electricity subsidies restored. That said, we must always continue to explore ways and means of creating a more comfortable life for our elderly.

Artists dressed as Hindu gods Rama and Laxman act as fireworks explode during Vijaya Dashmi, or Dussehra festival celebrations in Chandigarh, India (Reuters/Ajay Verma)

Is the legal system benefiting perpetrators of sexual offences?

Dear Editor, Assuming the accuracy of the statistics provided (in another section of the media on 10/1/17), Demerara High Court trials are in a state of serious dysfunction. Of the 167 cases listed on the docket, only 28 cases made it to trial, of which six ended in a jury verdict. Of the six, one murder and one rape case ended in conviction, with the jury returning not guilty verdicts in the other four. The rest of the cases reaching court were disposed of administratively, either by changing pleas from murder to manslaughter (7), being formally stopped by the Judge (5), withdrawn by the Director of Public Prosecutions (8), or withdrawn by complainants (2).

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) is particularly concerned that of the 17 sexual offences/rape trials, 10 were withdrawn either because the complainant could not be found or had informed the court they were not pursuing the matter. This speaks to inordinate delays in High Court trials exposing victims to a variety of stressful experiences involving police, families of the accused,

or victims simply moving on with their lives.

The disturbing story behind these statistics is that women’s access to justice in the most vital area of their lives, namely bodily integrity, is diminishing. Greater awareness of sexual violence, improving counselling services, and bettering vigilance over young children of both sexes mean little if not backed up by legal action. The speed at which reforms of sexual offences laws and procedures are implemented lags far behind the forces encouraging violence.

Lessening of legal protection is the local reflection of global trends. Readilyaccessed fantasies of pornography and lewd music are encouraging a male demeanour of dominance. This hostility is most readily evident in what women endure for expressing themselves on the internet or in social media settings, and is manifest also in the rolling back globally of legal protection on reproductive rights.

In a widely-quoted study, issued in 2005 as the first in a three-part series undertaken by the GHRA, it was revealed that conviction rates in sexual

offences cases were less than 1% of all reported cases. The study also indicated that the chances of a conviction rose substantially – to almost 50% -- if the cases actually made it to a High Court trial. The experience of the last assizes indicate this is no longer the case, and that the situation has worsened substantially to less than 20% of High Court cases reaching a conviction.

The only conclusion to be drawn is that the campaign initiated in 2005, which achieved fundamental renovation of the Sexual Offences Act, remains far from ensuring justice for female survivors of sexual violence.

The habit of looking backwards to proclaim how far women have progressed is a well-honed technique to disarm women’s rights activism.

The more appropriate human rights stance, however, is to look forward -- to ask how long will we tolerate the systematic and pervasive abuse of women, which constitutes the most serious of any human rights challenge across the globe.

More specific to the legal system, when will the experience of taking sexual offences to court become more

intimidating to perpetrators than it is to survivors?

Despite female appointment to high office, the judicial process continues to be steeped in chauvinism more likely to re-victimize survivors than punish perpetrators. Juries, unschooled in legal niceties, for example, feed off the dominant culture and are quick to identify with demeaning attitudes too frequently communicated by legal professionals.

Recent harrowing newspaper accounts of what victims experience in their own villages following ‘not guilty’ verdict are sufficient to attest to this.

Changing the judicial culture with respect to rights of women is not simply a matter for judges. It imposes obligations on all actors in the justice system, both male and female; the private bar; prosecution services, and the Guyana Police Force. It also challenges the complacent permissiveness across the society with regard to sexual explicitness in films, music, and uncensored access to the internet by immature people.

Executive Committee, Guyana Human Rights Association

Questioning the leadership of GuySuCo Dear Editor, I must admit that I found GuySuCo’s recent press statement decrying the workers’ strike actions in recent days as nothing more than the shedding of crocodile tears. The statement, in my view, is largely a repetition of what the sugar company said a few days prior, when it sought to defend its miserable management of the industry, which ultimately will affect the lives of thousands of poor, ordinary Guyanese.

GuySuCo is seeking to lay,

squarely and firmly, blame for the industry’s current state of affairs at the doorstep of the workers and their unions. But this seems to be a very muddied picture; and given the age of the current GuySuCo hierarchy, hallucination is not farfetched, as the reality demonstrates a completely different picture.

As is generally known, the sugar cane plant operates on a one-year cycle; therefore meaning what is reaped this year was planted and tended last

year. It is important that we bear in mind this point as we evaluate the leadership of the corporation in recent times.

Of the three (3) CEOs, under Mr Hanoman’s ‘leadership’, the industry’s average production is 192,955 tonnes sugar, assuming the 2017 target is met. Messrs Bhim and Singh, during their stints, had average sugar of 214,347 tonnes and 231,071 tonnes respectively. The facts speak for themselves.

Quite clearly, whenever

Mr Hanoman is the leader of GuySuCo, the sugar industry takes a nosedive. This, to my mind, says a lot about a gentleman who has been entrusted with $32 billion from the State since June 2015. The Government and the Board needs to ask themselves: Is the best person in charge of the industry? This as his record certainly isn’t reflective that he is.

Yours sincerely, Patricia Persaud

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, october 3, 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

No defence for these An open letter to President Granger silly comments Dear Editor, Reading Christopher Ram’s letter (in the media) captioned “What are the real curses?” was quite refreshing, since I really thought the local thinkers were going to allow those reprehensible statements from President Granger to slide.

It is shocking how hugely and strangely ill-informed Mr Granger really is on the topic of the workings of the Guyanese economy, both now and in the last century, although he claimed he is a historian.

The danger for Guyana is that there is in charge today someone who does not have a clue what these so-called curses mean for the working family in the mining, forestry, and agriculture sectors.

But what is even more dangerous is that there is an unwillingness to understand what these so-called “curses” did for black and brown lives in Guyana for centuries.

Pulling them down is not an option if you are too incompetent to replace them with alternative economic sectors. Thus this Granger cabal have not earned the right to call any sector a “curse” when their track record reveals that they are clearly unable to construct alternative economic sectors to exculpate their position.

Thus there is no defence for these silly comments from Mr. Granger.

One hears of the “green economy”, the “digital economy”, the “good life”; but I am convinced that once this kleptocratic Granger regime is in place, all these phrases are an adventure in storytelling (in Guyanese parlance, Nancy Stories). Here, we have a CEO claiming that he wants to rebuild the systems in Guyana, but rather than do the honourable thing and declare his intent to restructure the system in a fair, transparent and accountable manner, he launches into sly actions to provide coverage for his action.

One has only to reflect on the recently concluded Paul Slowe-headed Commission of Inquiry. Such a course of action represents a character flaw that is grounded in dishonour, deception, and dishonesty. Millions of taxpayers’ dollars were wasted on a Commission of Inquiry to investigate bogus charges brought by a clearly mentally challenged individual when the work of an experienced

detective would have done adequately. But these millions had to be wasted to provide the cover for an agenda that is grounded in prejudice.

Current research on this Granger regime really points to the fact that it is a really chaotic project that is focused on the seemingly private enrichment of a small cabal, funded by the public treasury. But what is most concerning is that, fundamentally, this Granger cabal is widely perceived to be structured along racial lines.

What Mr Granger’s legacy has been to date is the manifestation that one group of people has more rights to, and more economic privileges to, rule over the ordinary black and brown people of Guyana.

‘Grangerism’ is nothing but a stain on our collective identity. Unfortunately, many in the ruling cabal

Dear Excellency President Granger, First, let me thank you for your humanitarian sugthink Grangerism is a good gestion to invite to Guyana thing because of their new- our Caribbean brothers and ly bestowed perks and priv- sisters from Dominica, who ileges. But for the ordinary have suffered from the ravblack and brown families of ages of Hurricane Maria.

Guyana, who are finding it I would like to think that increasingly difficult to make you would hold community ends meet, their plea every meetings to hear the views day is that they have not seen of citizens, because they are things this tough in Guyana the ones who would have to since the horrible days of host the Dominicans.

1984 under Burnham.

More than anyone else, So, in conclusion, when YOU should be aware that Mr Granger exhibits such ex- Guyana is facing a socio-ecoecutive arrogance, where he nomic crisis. The closure of believes he can utter words some sugar factories has to the effect that the indus- caused increased unemtries that fed the families ployment. Employers would of Guyana for over a centu- soon be forced to send home ry are “curses”, he must be workers if the economic situcalled out. His statements ation continues. are nothing but an aloft atI would like you to give tempt at revising history. details to the nation on how He must not be allowed to you intend to accommodate do this; not today, not tomor- and employ Dominicans. row, not ever!

Mr President, on many occasions I have heard you Regards, said that you are a man of Sase Singh truth. I have no reason to

doubt you. You have spoken about lands that you would make available to Dominicans for agriculture, but does your Government have the resources to build the infrastructure in a new environment for these refugees?

How much would it cost the Government? From where would you find the funds to build roads, houses, schools, hospitals, etc, and supply electricity and water? History has taught us there is a price to charity.

Is your invitation to the Dominicans a way of getting more people to vote for you?

I have no problem with that.

If I were in your position, I would do the same.

Most of your ministers are conjuring a dream that oil will bring salvation to Guyana. But this is really a pipe dream.

An article posted on AlterNet by Nafeez Ahmed stated that the oil industry is crumbling. He wrote, “It’s not looking good for the

global fossil fuel industry.

Although the world remains heavily dependent on oil, coal and natural gas - which today supply around 80 percent of our primary energy needs - the industry is rapidly crumbling.”

In an article published in Clean Tecnica, Paul Gilding wrote that the fossil fuel energy industry is now entering terminal decline.

Gilding wrote, “It’s time to make the call – fossil fuels are finished.”

Guyana should take a look at the economic crisis that is now bedevilling Trinidad, which depends heavily on oil.

All politicians are known to spin hopes and dreams for their constituents.

Mr President, please explain how you intend to accommodate Dominicans in the wake of abysmally low oil prices worldwide.

Sincerely, Jai Sears, Grenada

Meeting the spending burden Dear Editor, The country, the state, the community can only prosper by paying its bills; paying for security, health, education, sport, culture, social services, maintenance and infrastructure. Business and employment are the chief drivers to meet such bills.

It is the generated and collected taxation revenue from such drivers which must be expanded to meet the spending burden. Economic growth and diversity must therefore be forecast and maintained to match (inflation) increasing expenditure. Economic data, managed and available to all taxpayers, is the solution.

Large operations or business groups, as employers, already contribute and pay towards national development, but are highly subjected to worldwide, regional and local market influences.

Entrepreneurs and small business, being much more flexible, can easily maintain their earnings despite economic vulnerabilities. Hence it is so much better for a society to depend upon small operations’ expansion than to invite more large operations to grow the national tax revenue.

Badly needed tax revenue, to meet the nation’s obligations and balance the national budget, is better collected from a wider pool of individual taxpayers -- collected from increasing registered

small businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as from the large-scale business groups.

The individual employee and taxpayer pays contributions through a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, withheld by employers. While sale, consumption, or value added taxes, along with environmental, business levy and corporation taxes, are collected by, and charged to, big businesses, which have the internal resources to administer such reporting. The small or startup operations, which are harder to administer, should simply be charged an annual licence fee upon registration as their

contribution to the national economy.

The economic growth, therefore, will depend on widening groups of consumers, foreign and domestic, which support small business and entrepreneurs’ expansion. Balancing the national budget and the diversification of the economy must be led by this employment expansion -- employment which grows from widening consumer groups by targeting new markets with innovative products; using existing national expenditure to promote such products into such new markets;

and establishing, valuing and protecting the national brand. It is this risk-taking, needing only a few successes, which will generate and measure economic growth.

So-called entrepreneurs (risk-takers) and small businesses desperately need access to large, relevant, and generally affordable to any single small business, back office data to make good decisions and to compete.

Such publicly available data should be, and very likely is, gathered and analyzed by relevant agencies at taxpayers’ expense, and needs to be freely disseminated as infor-

mation to all who need it.

There is need for external data to be analyzed into intelligence and streamed to an accessible business dashboard, where it is incorporated with internal data; tracking point of sales, highs and lows in targeted markets, on-route container tracking, currency exchange rates, etc., which would allow for quick decision-making and actions. This would result in expanding business investment, job creation, and sustainable development.

Faithfully, Terrance A Jennings

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TUESday, october 3, 2017

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Foundation

Parents teach their children to lie The subtle process of learning deception

By Jack Schafer, PhD

H

ow many times have parents told their children “Look me in the eye and then tell me what you did?” I don’t know about the other children, but it didn’t take me long to figure out that when I wanted to lie to my parents, I had to look them square in the eyes. This is a lesson most children take into their adult lives.

It comes as no surprise that most people think gaze aversion signals deception. Intuitively, this makes sense.

People who feel embarrassed avoid eye contact. People who feel ashamed avoid eye contact. People who are under a heavy cognitive load tend to avoid direct eye contact.

However, it does come as a surprise that research shows there is no connection between lying and the amount of eye contact between the liar and the target of the lie. In fact, research demonstrates that liars maintain more deliberate eye contact than do truthful people.

People tend to look at people or things that they like and avoid eye contact with people and things they don’t like. Liars must overcome the natural urge to avoid eye contact with their lie target to make themselves believable. Consequently, liars tend to overcompensate by maintaining longer eye contact. This behaviour stems from the generally held belief that liars avoid eye contact – a lesson most people learned from their parents.

Commonly held beliefs about eye contact and deception convolute our ability to detect deception. Research shows that eye aversion is not an indicator of deception, yet people rely on the commonly held, but erroneous, belief that liars avoid eye contact. In or-

guyanatimesgy.com

der to be believed, liars must make deliberate eye contact, which, ironically, is not a dependable cue to detect deception.

The next time someone looks you in the eyes and tells you something that is too good to be true, look at other nonverbal cues to determine if what they are saying is too good to be true.

Throat clearing. It's our fight-orflight stress response causes the need for throat clearing in liars as the moisture usually present in the throat reroutes to the skin in the form of sweat.

Hard swallowing. Similarly, the lack of moisture in the liar’s throat due to the fight-or-flight response causes

hard swallows often referred to as the "Adam apple’s jump."

Jaw manipulation. Some liars open their mouths and slide their jaws back and forth. The back and forth movement of the jaw stimulates the salivary glands in the back of the throat. This movement is an attempt to moisten their dry throats due the fight-or-flight response.

Eye pointing. Our eyes point to where the body wants to go. Liars often look toward the nearest exit, telegraphing their desire to physically

and psychologically escape the anxiety caused by lying. (People who look at their watches telegraph the same message, signalling a desire to cut short a conversation.)

Feet pointing. Liars will also often point their feet toward the door, signalling their desire to physically and psychologically escape an uncomfortable situation.

Lack of emphatic gestures. Liars typically experience difficulty using emphatic gestures such as finger pointing, light hand tapping on a table, or forward head movements. Denials combined with emphatic gestures usually indicate truthfulness.

Backward head movement.

Liars will tend to move their heads slightly backwards when they lie. This subtle gesture is an attempt to distance themselves from the source of their anxiety. People tend to lean toward the people and things they like and distance themselves from people and things they dislike.

Backward leaning. Liars often sway their entire bodies slightly backward to distance themselves from their targets.

People we're lying to cause us anxiety because of the fear of being caught by them.

Suprasternal notch. This is the indentation at the base of the neck, and it's one of the most vulnerable parts of the body because any infiltration of it can interfere with normal breathing.

When liars feel threatened, they sometimes cover their suprasternal notch to psychologically protect themselves against the threat of discovery. Women lying while wearing necklaces may grab, tug, or pull at their necklaces as a means to protect their suprasternal notch. (Excerpts from psychologytoday.com)

Why is doing arithmetic with fractions so difficult?

Teaching children Maths they will use Continued from Monday

By David Ludden, PhD

T

he methods that students learned for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing are fairly straightforward to perform. Furthermore, the reasons why they work are easy to demonstrate with objects – such as blocks or buttons –that children can manipulate and count. But the methods for fractional arithmetic are complex, and the reasons for them are opaque. Why do you need to find the lowest common denominator when adding or subtracting fractions but not when multiplying them? And why do you have to invert the second fraction and multiply when dividing? Dunno, just the way it’s done. With such a shallow understanding of rational number arithmetic, no wonder so many people have difficulty with it.

Although these inherent complexities plague all of us, other sources of difficulty with rational number arithmetic are cultural in original. It’s these “culturally contingent sources of difficulty” that account for the better performance among East Asian students compared with their North American counterparts. Specifically, these include: Teacher knowledge. Grade school Maths teachers in China, Japan, and Korea receive better instruction in rational number arithmetic than do teachers in the US or Canada. When asked what is meant by the expression 7/4 ÷ 1/2, most US teachers could not provide an explanation, but most Chinese teachers could. It’s hard to provide quality instruction to your students when you only half understand the concepts yourself.

Textbook quality. A comparison of grade-school Maths textbooks shows that Korean textbooks devote far more space to rational number arithmetic and provide more practice problems than US textbooks. To the extent that practice makes perfect, Korean

schoolchildren have a decided advantage over their American peers.

Language. The Chinese number system is much easier to learn than European systems because it’s strictly base ten. There are no irregular number names, such as “eleven”, “twelve”, or “twenty”.

These are rendered instead as “ten-one,” “ten-two,” “two-ten,” and so on. As a result, Chinese children learn to count at a much earlier age than North American or European children. Fractional expressions are also more straightforward. For example, the fraction 1/3 is expressed as “one third” in English but as “one of three parts” in Chinese. In other words, the meaning of the fraction is explicit.

Both Japan and Korea adopted the Chinese number system many centuries ago, and so they also reap the benefits of this highly logical system.

One reason why so many people experience Maths phobia is because they don’t see the relevance of mathematics in their daily lives. Traditionally, algebra has been the standard Maths course in high school – and it’s often repeated at the college level. But many people protest – and I think rightly so – that they never use algebra in their daily lives.

In higher education, there’s an ongoing debate about whether algebra or elementary statistics is a more appropriate math course for non-STEM majors. After all, students in the liberal arts will never need to solve a quadratic equation, but they will need to deal with statistical information, such as polls, surveys, census data, and economic reports. And these kinds of data are frequently presented as rational numbers –fractions, decimals, and percentages.

A recent survey found that 82 per cent of white-collar workers, 70 per cent of blue-collar workers, and 40 per cent of service workers used fractions in their work. (And you just used fractions as you interpreted these statistics.) Clearly, rational number arithmetic does have relevance in people’s lives, and so we need to do a better job teaching it.

However, improvements are going to have to start at the very top, with better education for our teachers. We can also benefit by looking at how rational number arithmetic is taught in East Asia.

After all, such an exercise can provide valuable lessons in how to improve our own Maths instruction. (Excerpt from psychologytoday.com)

news

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TUESDAY, october 3, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Patterson's actions an attempt Man dies after wake-house brawl to cover up corruption – PPP – 4 in custody

By Gary Eleazar

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he Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI), through its public relations officer, has admitted that the tender process for emergency works at the Georgetown Prison relative to the construction of administrative blocks has been annulled.

The MPI has stated that the annulment was to allow for the project to fall under the relevant ministry, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). The Public Infrastructure Ministry was responsible for technical support.

The opposition Peoples’ Progressive Party has since observed that the response from the MPI, led by Minister David Patterson, makes three definitive statements, the first being that “Patterson’s response is an admission, as it relates to his proclivity to annul tenders and flaunt procurement procedures – which is a major point made by the political Opposition...

“That said, his admission that the tender process was annulled raises even more questions”, the PPP has said.

The PPP has since questioned how it was that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure had gone as far as to invite contractors to submit bids before realising that it was taking on works and spending money budgeted under the Ministry of Public Security.

A total of 20 companies were shortlisted from a prequalification process. All 20 companies were informed of this development on July 25, in a letter from the Public Infrastructure Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Geoffrey Vaughn.

The companies had, on July 27, 2017, been invited by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to conduct a “mandatory” site visit. They were given one day, the deadline being July 28, 2017, to respond and indicate their inten-

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson tion to bid for the works. The companies were informed that they then had two days after the site visit (the deadline being July 31, 2017 at 11:00hrs) to deliver sealed bids to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

The July 27, 2017 site visit was then rescheduled by the Ministry’s Work Services Group Manager for Procurement and Contracts, Philip Bryan. In an email to the 20 companies, Bryan explained that the site visit was now fixed for July 28, 2017.

However, following his July 25, 2017 letter, Vaughn, on July 28, 2017, wrote again to the bidders, saying, “The Ministry regrets to inform you that a decision was taken by the executing agency to annul this bid.”

All of this occurred, before the tender process was annull ed.

According to the PPP, the Guyanese people would recall that during the consideration of Financial Paper 2/2017, the matter of Minister Patterson answering questions as they relate to capital works budgeted under the Ministry of Public Security was raised by the political Opposition.

“Is it gross incompetence?

Is Patterson admitting to incompetence, or is this a mani-

festation of a poorly disguised attempt to cover up an act of corruption?” the PPP asked.

According to the PPP, the excuse given by the Public Infrastructure Ministry – that the annulment was to allow for the project to fall under the relevant ministry, the Ministry of Public Security – now puts Minister Khemraj Ramjattan in the spotlight.

“None of the substantial questions raised by the political Opposition about the works at the Georgetown Prison have been answered... All that we have seen are excuses that not only raise questions about Minister Patterson’s competence, as we have pointed out, but now leave Minister Ramjattan in the proverbial ‘hot seat’.”

According to the PPP, it must be noted that the website of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board gives no information on any bid process involving the Ministry of Public Security and the works at the Georgetown Prison in question.

The Ministry of Public Security’s website also details no information, save for a September 26, 2017 tender for works at the other prisons.

“While the Public Infrastructure Ministry’s response attempted, futilely, to discredit the concerns raised by the political Opposition, the fact remains that Patterson continues to avoid core and substantive issues in the face of serious concerns (relative) to the rule of law, adherence to the procurement laws, and about corrupt acts”, the PPP has said.

The party, by way of a public missive, said that while Patterson and his spokesperson talk up “mischievous attempts to spread falsehoods,” the Guyanese people would have remained in the dark, thinking that all is well, had it not been for the efforts of the political Opposition.

By Bhisham Mohamed

D

ays after receiving a sound trashing at a wake-house in Industry, East Coast Demerara, a painter succumbed to his injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Hetram Ramchand, 39, of Lot 51 Crown Dam Industry, East Coast Demerara, was beaten on Friday evening, and succumbed on Sunday evening.

Based on reports received, he had attended a wake in the village, and had been part of a gathering looking at a few men gambling.

After the game of cards was over, an argument ensued among the players for money owned to each other. One of the players was a relative of Ramchand’s. This newspaper understands that the argument turned into a confrontation and then a scuffle.

Ramchand, in a bid to defend his cousin, was lashed to the head, and fell to the ground.

The mob then turned on him, and dealt him a sound trashing for intervening. The men were subsequently put out of the wake-house.

Based on reports received, the injured Hetram Ramchand was escorted by a nephew to the Sparendaam Police Station to lodge a complaint, but while doing so, the sons of two popular businessmen in the community turned up and claimed that

Dead, Hetram Ramchand

they had been assaulted by Ramchand. The two men were sent to the Georgetown Public Hospital to seek medical attention, but the trashed Ramchand was placed in the lockups.

Speaking with Guyana Times, Pooran Ramchand, father of the late Hetram Ramchand, explained that his son had been kept in the cell until Saturday evening, before he was taken to the hospital.

“Is after he catch a ‘fits’ because of the beating to the head (that) the police chain he and carry he to the hospital… Meh son dead while they had he chain to the bed,” the distraught man lamented.

The angry father recalled receiving a telephone

call from the police at about 03:00h on Saturday, informing him that his son was involved in “lil story” and had been arrested.

“They never tell me that meh son was beaten and that he was at the wake when the fight bruk out… They never tell me that was meh nephew carry he to the police station…Them police know who does give them money, and they got to do everything to protect them people”, he charged.

It was not until he arrived at the police station that he realized how badly his son had been beaten. He contended that although the family had requested for the painter to be sent for medical attention, the Police officer in charge had refused to so do. As such, he is blaming the Police for his son’s death, and is calling on acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine to look into the matter.

In addition, he is asking Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan to intervene, so that some sort of justice can be given to the aggrieved family.

The Police, in a release, stated that four men have been arrested and are assisting with the investigations.

Ramchand’s body is at the GPHC morgue awaiting a post mortem.

He leaves to mourn his parents and two siblings.

8 NEWS

tuesDAY, october 3, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Friendship man charged for fraud

T

wenty-four-yearold Patrick Watts appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, accompanied by his lawyer, to answer to a charge of fraudulent conversion on Monday.

The father of two, of Friendship Village, East Bank Demerara (EBD), opted to have his case heard summarily at the Magistrates’ Courts, and pleaded not guilty to the charge which

read that between August 24, 2017 and September 11, 2017, at Durban Street, Georgetown, whilst being a bailee of one Toyota minibus valued at $3.1 million, property of Elvis Smith, he fraudulently converted same to his own use and benefit.

The defendant’s lawyer argued that Watts was a first-time offender, posing no flight risk and requested reasonable bail in the circumstances.

Police Prosecutor Shawn

Gonsalves relayed the facts which revealed that the Virtual Complainant (VC) had entrusted to the accused the said vehicle to operate and keep at the cost of $7000 per week. According to Gonsalves, the defendant had stopped making payments after some time and the VC’s efforts to contact him via phone calls, hereafter, proved futile.

The court was informed that Smith reported the incident to the Police who traced

the bus to Timehri, EBD, where it was discovered to have been stripped of some of its parts.

Investigations revealed that the defendant had sold the bus to a third party for some $300,000, a fact to which he admitted in a caution statement, according to Police.

The accused was placed on $100,000 bail pending the outcome of the trial, which is expected to commence on October 16, 2017.

3 separately charged, remanded for ganja possession

A

ttorney-at-Law Mark Waldron appeared on behalf of Stanwin Small, a 36-year-old taxi driver, while Rhonda Hercules, a 33-year-old mother of two, stood unrepresented before the court of Magistrate Judy Latchman, who remanded the duo to prison after they denied a joint charge of trafficking in narcotics.

It is alleged that Small and Hercules were in possession of 1.1 kilograms of cannabis for trafficking purposes in the Georgetown

Magisterial District on September 28, 2017.

Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves strongly objected to bail citing the seriousness, prevalence and the penalty attached to the offence, further compounded by the fact that no special reasons were advanced by the defence.

The statements and analyst report are yet outstanding and the case will be called again on October 5, 2017.

The defendants who are residents of the Linden min-

ing town will face the Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan on this day for report and assignment.

Meanwhile, in yet another case of trafficking in narcotics, Bernard Meyers appeared before the principal magistrate and pleaded not guilty to a charge alleging that he was involved in trafficking 83 grams of cannabis on October 1, 2017, at Fort Street, Kingston in Georgetown.

The 47-year-old labourer of Kingston was busted by Police, who visited his home

upon receiving reports.

Meyers is alleged to have tossed through a window, a bulky plastic bag when he became aware of the presence of the Police.

The bag was retrieved by the officials and opened in the presence of the defendant, revealing a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems, suspected to be the prohibited drug.

The case continues on October 30, 2017, and Meyers will remain incarcerated until then. (Paula Gomes)

Mouth (finally) open…

O

…on land giveaway n Sept 19th, Prezzie spoke to the regional press corps on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and made an intervention on Hurricane relief for the just battered Caribbean islands. GINA reported the Ministry of the Presidency’s press release the same day on its website: “Guyana stands in solidarity with Dominica, ready to offer support”. There was not a word about what form the “support” would take.

However, CARICOM followed up the next day (9/20) with some more details on their website, which, for some reason, indicated the Government’s news agency was rather modest in its announcement: “Guyana’s land space can serve as ‘gift’ to the Caribbean battered by hurricanes – President Granger”. The following day, TT’s Newsday cut to the quick about Prezzie’s offer: “Guyana offers land for hurricane victims”. In the meantime, the state-owned Chronic, whose local reporter had featured prominently in the photograph of Prezzie briefing the press, remained mum.

It took this newspaper, on Sept 24, to break the news of the Government’s generosity of offering land to the hurricane-hit ‘small islands’. Now, this subject of “giving away lands” was a very touchy issue in Guyana. ACDA, for instance, had made quite a stink about Indigenous Peoples getting lands in the interior - even though some pointed out it was ALL their lands to begin with!! Your Eyewitness figured the Chronic didn’t report Prezzie’s extraordinary offer because they feared ACDA might take to the streets if they found out about it!

If they’d objected to Indigenous Peoples getting land, imagine how they would object to these FOREIGNERS getting land!! The plight of the hurricane-hit islanders wouldn’t cut any ice with ACDA, since surveys from Independence to last month showed the Indigenous Peoples had never recovered from the hurricane called the “European Invasion”, which had hit since 1500!! But ACDA, for some reasons that escape your Eyewitness, didn’t utter a word of protest, and it took the ex-AG from the PPP days to take an ACDA-like line and complain that Prezzie had no legal authority to give away Guyana’s patrimony.

Well, the Minister of Information’s water boy finally had the Chronic give the OFFICIAL version of the land giveaway. They quoted the Foreign Minister, who made such a ridiculous statement that it bears full repetition: “If West Indians are interested, and if those who are providing relief, need a place in the short term, at which people can be resettled while (their) land is being rebuilt and made habitable, Guyana is prepared to assist in that regard.”

So the islanders would leave the land they own (but where their houses were destroyed); move to Guyanese undeveloped land; develop those and erect TEMPORARY housing, and then MOVE BACK to their islands to rebuild their PERMANENT houses?

Something na regulah!!

…on reason for land giveaway The unanswered questions set your Eyewitness thinking as to what is really going on. He found a clue in the Chronic’s paraphrase of Minister Greenidge’s explanation: “…making lands available to islanders is nothing new…lands were made available to St. Lucians and other Caribbean nationals along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway in the past.” The “past” of course, was during the first PNC regime under Burnham, whose reason for bringing in Caribbean nationals weren’t on humanitarian grounds.

According to declassified US 1965 files, the Dep CIA Director wrote: “In a conversation…on 20 November, Forbes Burnham stated that his immediate objective is to launch his economic development plan so that he will be able to induce large numbers of West Indians of African descent to settle in Guyana prior to the December 1968 elections. His purpose is radically to alter the racial balance now existing in the electorate in sufficient time to enable him to win a plurality in the 1968 elections.”

Is the latest offer déjà vu for 2020?

…on Amaila Falls Hydro After playing ducks and drakes for two and a half years, the APNU/AFC government’s finally admitted what’s been clear from the beginning: they’ve abandoned AMFHP. Cutting Guyana’s nose to spite Jagdeo’s LCDS face?

Pitiful…

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

News

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TUESDAY, october 3, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

President responds All child rapists should be to “free land” offer publicly known

President David Granger

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ess than one week after being strongly criticised by Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Anil Nandlall for his offering of land as a “gift” to Caribbean victims of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, President David Granger rebuffed his critics over the weekend, suggesting that there ought to be more “compassion” for the plight of Caribbean people.

Moments before he made his presentation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA in late September, President Granger told the international press that his country

Nandlall has said that while he empathises with the Caribbean people and supports Government’s efforts to provide them assistance, the President could not take it upon himself to offer mass land to foreigners without consulting the locals. “(Neither) the Leader of the Opposition nor anyone else was informed or consulted in any manner whatsoever. Are we unimportant in the President’s mind?

From whence has President Granger derived the authority to offer our patrimony and sovereign territory to foreigners?” Nandlall pointedly queried.

In an address to Lindeners on Sunday, ahead of this week’s National Tree Planting Day, the Head of State, citing the impact of climate change, offered his own queries, pondering why his critics would question his move to offer help.

“We are seeing frequent and fierce storms largely because of global warming, and our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean are in jeopardy, and some people are criticizing me (for) offering help. You tell me something: if your neighbour’s house burns down; he has no food,

Hurricane Irma left three dead in Barbuda, and virtually wiped out the island

has a vast land mass which can be used as a “gift” for the affected Caribbean people to rebuild their lives.

However, this did not sit well with some observers, and Nandlall has led calls for the President to first consult and seek approval of the citizens of Guyana, whom he reminded are the country’s “real land owners”.

water or shelter; nothing to eat, children left exposed, wouldn’t you say, ‘Come in temporarily, let me help you get on your feet’?” the President expressed earlier this week. “People have no compassion in this world.” the Head of State further stated.

He also suggested that changes must be made in altering our current practices,

so as to reduce the environmental impact associated

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall

with the climate change phenomenon.

“These difficulties will go on, unless we change the way we treat the environment; because climate change and global warming are the contributors to the damage to structures and deaths that are being caused,” Granger later observed.

Local land issues

There has been much controversy surrounding land-related matters in Guyana. Government earlier this year ordered a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) over the issues surrounding African ancestral lands and Amerindian land titling.

The Amerindian titling aspect of the CoI was deferred.

However, the Opposition has strongly condemned the land CoI, calling for it to be scrapped. Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has claimed that the land CoI could create a wedge between the racial groups, setting back race relations “for many years to come”.

– Red Thread

T

he names of rapists convicted of physically or emotionally hurting children should be made public, rights activist and Head of Red Thread, Karen DeSouza, has said.

Commenting against the backdrop of recent talks about finally establishing a Sex Offenders Registry, DeSouza said the law currently does not provide for the names of those convicts to be made public.

The outspoken activist said society and culture have a way of trying to protect relatives and friends even if they know that those persons are vicious and are truly rapists. She asserts that this must come to an end.

“The 2009 Act states that the Director of Child Protection and the Minister of Social Protection shall keep a list of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with children, upon conviction.

“That therefore means that we have a problem, given our trial system, that (the name of) a person whom people are convinced is in fact guilty will not be entered in the register, which is a problem,” she lamented.

DeSouza said the purpose of the register is only to ensure that a person who has been convicted of harming a child is not allowed to work as a caregiver, or at any establishment with responsibility for children.

She said, “I know there are fears about finger-pointing if a person is in the register, but I think we have to live with some finger-pointing if children are to be cared for.”

She continued: “There is nothing in the law about

Rights activist Karen DeSouza

where they live, whether they can hang out at the playground; or if there is a children’s outing, if they should be there. No specifics.”

DeSouza also believes that the law is circuitous in many ways, making things unnecessarily complex; and she has therefore recommended that a revision should be implemented.

Although Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), Ann Greene, recently announced plans to establish the registry to strengthen CCPA efforts against child sexual abuse, De Souza thinks this could take some time, because the legislation must be strengthened by a lot of provisions that must be put in place.

Further, the rights activist told this newspaper that, as the law stands, the registry would not have any impact whatever on the situation at Sisters Village, West Bank Berbice, where a teenage boy was raped and killed.

“The placement in the registry is to ensure that an offender is never allowed to work with children. These offenders never seem to be interested in working with children…they were basically predators,” she observed.

DeSouza is therefore of the strong opinion that the law should be made much clearer in relation to persons accused of sexual offences, and she is recommending that amendments be made to the legislation.

“I would be interested in seeing (the authorities) ensure that (convicted predators) are kept away as far as possible from children. We also need to be looking at how the law deals with paedophiles, and what possibilities (there are) of addressing that,” she said.

Beyond acquittal and conviction, she said, there is no provision within the law for rehabilitation of the victim or the paedophile. This omission may be because of the lack of expertise, which should be looked at, she said.

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, OCTOber 3, 2017

News Tree-wrapping exercise on Camp St – kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities

Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Green, and members of the Guyana Cancer Foundation at the tree-wrapping exercise on Monday on Camp Street

By Kizzy Coleman

T

he Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities kicked off on Monday afternoon with the

annual tree-wrapping exercise along Camp Street, Georgetown.

The event, sponsored by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT), in collab-

oration with the Guyana Cancer Foundation, saw trees along the street being wrapped with pink cloths to symbolise the importance of showing support to

Student bleeds after ‘wild cane’ beating by teacher – at private school in Berbice

By Andrew Carmichael

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student attending a private school on the Corentyne in East Berbice, Region Six, was forced to seek medical attention after reportedly being whipped several times on different parts of the body until he bled.

Shazan Khan, a first form student of the Berbice Islamic School at Tain, Corentyne, was given an injection and other medication at the Port Mourant Hospital on Monday afternoon after a beating he allegedly received from a teacher at his school earlier in the day.

In the presence of his brother-in-law, Khan told Guyana Times that he was beaten and called “an animal”.

According to him, he had lent his homework exercise book to a friend to copy his working when a teacher (name given) took the book away and threw it out of the classroom before asking Khan for his homework assignment.

“I ask him why he throw my book outside, and then he did not answer. Then he go in the office for the ‘wild cane’, came back and asked me for my homework, and I told him, ‘Sir, how can you ask me for my homework when you throw my book outside?’ then he start beat me all over my skin with the wild cane,” the student related.

Khan showed this publication a bloody shirt, which he said was soiled when he started to bleed from the lashes he had received. He also showed marks on his shoulder, while relating that several students, he being one, were chewing gum while in the classroom, and they were told to go and empty their mouths.

“He tell me to go and empty my mouth; that I chewing like a goat; and I tell him that he don’t have the right to call me a goat, and he tell me to get out of the class.”

This shirt belonging to the schoolboy became bloodstained allegedly after the beating he received from his teacher

According to Khan, who also gave the police a statement on the incident, he told his teacher that he was going home to inform his parents what had transpired, and the teacher held on to him and physically assaulted him. Thereafter, he was taken to the office.

“Then he want to give me six (lashes with) the wild cane, and I told him, ‘No, you can’t beat me with the wild cane. Let me go home and tell my parents’,” Khan detailed.

Khan’s brother-in-law, Gladwin Abdulla, said the matter has been reported to the Prime Minister’s Office. He said what was done to Khan was inhuman, and he is seeking to take legal action against the school.

The matter has been officially reported at the Whim Police Station.

The teacher at the centre of this allegation is a retired Education Officer with the Department of Education in Region Six. It was not clear up to press time whether the teacher has been questioned by the Police.

Young female footballers of the Guyana Football Federation lending their support at the treewrapping activity (Carl Croker photo)

women affected by breast cancer in Guyana.

The first tree was wrapped by Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia ChaseGreen, who noted that it is important for all Guyanese, women and men alike, to show their support and to participate in the activities planned for this month.

Chase-Green expressed satisfaction with the turnout of women, and explained that it is necessary for similar level of participation to be shown throughout the month of October.

Just concluding work for the day did not prevent a large group of women from stopping to lend their assistance in wrapping the trees.

Bibi Hassan of the Cancer Foundation noted that the event, which signifies commencement of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is one to be applauded as the initiative is creating awareness in Guyana.

“I really hope that people are made aware of this,

and I also hope that it inspires hope to those who are struggling at the moment,” Hassan said.

For the entire month of October, there will be sharing of the stories of cancer survivors, and of the list of activities planned, the signature event is the inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness 5K and 10K walk, slated for

October 21. For a small sum of $2000, persons can register for the walk online at gtt. co.gy/cancerwalk Another activity planned for the month is dubbed “No Bra Day”, and is scheduled for October 13. Women would be required to go braless for the entire day to show their support for the fight against breast cancer.

Two of the women participating in the tree-wrapping exercise

Cop commits suicide after “compromising” photo leaked

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Police constable took his own life on Sunday evening after a photograph ended up on Facebook of him kissing another man.

The dead Police constable has been identified as 20-year-old Peter Shivraj Harilal of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice.

Based on reports received, the young police rank, who had been stationed at Clonbrook Police Station, ECD, became perturbed after the photo appeared on social media, and he had gone to drink with his friends. While partying, he reportedly told

Dead: Police rank Peter Shivraj Harilal

his friends about the incident, and threatened to take his own life, but they convinced him not to entertain that thought. However, the young man left his friends and went home, where he reportedly committed the act. His body was discovered by a relative, and an alarm was raised.

A relative of the dead man, when contacted, refused to provide any information, but confirmed that the young man had consumed a poisonous substance at home, and had died at the Fort Wellington Hospital.

tuesDAY, october 3, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

11

News

58 dead, 527 injured in worst mass killing in US history of the city’s gaudy casinos blended with those of emergency vehicles.

Police said Paddock had no criminal record. The gunman killed himself before Police entered the hotel room he was firing from, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters.

“We have no idea what his belief system was,”

There were more than 10 rifles in the room where the gunman Stephen Paddock killed himself

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64-year-old man with multiple machine guns rained down gunfire from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel to a country music festival on Sunday, slaughtering at least 58 people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history before killing himself.

The barrage of bullets from the Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of 22,000 people lasted several minutes, sparking panic.

Around 527 people were injured as some fleeing fans trampled each other while Police scrambled to locate the shooter.

Police on Monday identified the gunman as Stephen Paddock, who lived in a retirement community in

Mesquite, Nevada. They said they believed he acted alone and did not know why he attacked the crowd.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the massacre, but US officials said there was no evidence of that. Some investigators have suggested psychological issues, but there is no confirmation of this.

The preliminary death toll, which officials said could rise, eclipsed last year’s massacre of 49 people at an Orlando, Florida nightclub by a gunman who pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Shocked concertgoers, some with blood on their clothing, wandered streets, where the flashing lights

Stephen Paddock

Lombardo said. “I can’t get into the mind of a psychopath.”

Federal officials said there was no evidence to link Paddock to militant organisations.

“We have determined to this point no connection with an international terrorist group,” Aaron Rouse, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) field office in Las Vegas, told reporters.

US officials discounted the claim of responsibility for the attack made

by Islamic State in a statement.

“We advise caution on jumping to conclusions before the facts are in,” CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in an email.

Lombardo said there were more than 10 rifles in the room where Paddock killed himself. His arsenal included multiple machine guns, according to a law enforcement official.

Police found several more weapons at Paddock’s home in Mesquite, about 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Mesquite police spokesman Quinn Averett told reporters.

Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said when Police searched the property after the attack they found “in excess of 18 additional firearms, some explosives and several thousand rounds of ammo, along with some electronic devices we’re evaluating at this point”.

The shooter was not known to Police.

President Donald Trump described the attack as “pure evil” in an address from the White House on Monday.

The shooting, just the latest in a string that have played out across the United States over recent years, sparked a renewed outcry from some lawmakers about the per-

Hundreds of concert-goers fled the scene or ducked for cover amid heavy gunfire (BBC)

vasiveness of guns in the United States, but was unlikely to prompt action in Congress.

Efforts to pass tougher federal gun laws failed following a number of mass shootings, including the

2012 massacre of 26 young children and educators in Newtown, Connecticut, and the June attack on Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game. (Excerpt from Reuters

and BBC)

2 Nevada gun shops say Stephen Paddock passed background checks

Leonora Hospital’s maternity unit expansion completed – to be commissioned shortly

T

he maternity unit at the Leonora Cottage Hospital has been expanded to aid in the reduction of maternity cases being referred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

The newly-extended unit, which was catered for in the Public Health Ministry’s 2017 Budget, is expected to be commissioned shortly.

The West Demerara Regional Hospital has been overburdened with referrals of maternity cases from the West Demerara-Essequibo Islands Region (Region Three). The Leonora Cottage Hospital, being strategically located in the Region, will be able to facilitate maternity cases requiring urgent and emergency care.

Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings visited the Leonora health facility to receive an update on the services being offered.

The Leonora Cottage Hospital building which houses the extended maternity unit

She said that the maternity unit’s expansion was part of the President’s vision to ensure a reduction in the number of referrals daily.

According to the Department of Public Information, she said the unit’s expansion was in keeping with the country’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Three, which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of all ages.

More specifically, the second aspect of SDG three considers the implementation of systems to safeguard the health and well-being of newborns and children under five. Additionally, focus is placed on ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age by 2030, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least 12 per 1000 live births and under-five mortality to at least

25 per 1000 live births.

“We definitely want to reduce that (maternal deaths) towards Sustainable Development Goal Three, where we want to have well-being for citizens. We are hoping to very soon have operations down here and we can have persons making this a stop gap instead of going straight to West Demerara [Hospital] and to be a hub for riverine areas,” the Minister explained.

Dr Cummings noted that Guyana fell short of achieving Millennium Development Goal number five which looked at improving maternal health. As of August 2017, eight maternal deaths have been recorded in the country for the year. Focusing on Region Three, the Minister is confident that the rehabilitation, upgrading, and expansion of maternity units throughout the country can result in reduced maternal mortality.

T

wo Nevada gun shops confirmed Monday that they sold firearms to Mandalay Bay shooter Stephen Paddock in the last year and said he passed all required background checks.

It was unknown if the weapons Paddock bought from the gun shops, New Frontier Armory in North Las Vegas and Guns and Guitars in Mesquite, were used in the casino massacre.

Police said they found 19 firearms, along with explosives and thousands of bullets, at Paddock’s home in Mesquite. Another 23 guns were found in his hotel room, officials said.

David Familglietti of New Frontier said that Paddock purchased a rifle and a shotgun in the spring and that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in-

terviewed the employee who handled the sale.

“The rifle was not fully automatic, and a shotgun isn’t capable of shooting from where he was,” Familglietti told NBC News when asked whether it was possible that the guns were used in the mass shooting.

“He’s only shopped there once, so it wasn’t someone we knew personally,” he said.

“We’re very sad about the news of this tragedy. We’re in the business of selling firearms legally and took all precautions on this sale, as we do with all sales. My staff takes their job very seriously, and if there were any ‘red flags,’ the sale would have halted immediately.”

He added, “All state and federal laws were followed, and an FBI background check took place and was passed by the buyer.” (Excerpt from NBC News)

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TuesDAY, october 3, 2017 | guya

‘V

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re your taste buds in the mood for something exotic but familiar?

Do you want to dine out, but are you not quite sure where you should go?

Are you looking for service with a smile and food that is worth the while?

Then Aagman’s is the place for you. Located on Sheriff Street, it’s both convenient and safe. The ambience itself is the perfect mixture of homely and elegant.

The restaurant servers are not only affable, but they are also extraordinarily helpful, so if you’re not sure what to eat, or how to order, then you can tap into their wealth of knowledge. They are easily able to recommend and assist.

And not to worry vegetarians, Aagman’s menu caters to your needs, so there really is enough to go around.

So, in the name of all things curried with the authentic flavours of India, drop by Aagman’s for your next date night!

intage’ is defined as being the year or place in which wine, especially wine of high quality, is produced.

This article, however, is not just an ode to all the lovers of sweet liquid bread, but also to connoisseurs of great food, a comfortable environment and an even better time!

Do you want to hit the bar with your girls or guys and take a few shots down?

Vintage is the place to go!

Do you want to dance to Latin music with your comrades, but there is no place to go? Then worry no longer, my friends, because Latin night on Fridays is where it all happens!

If you’re lucky, you might even pick up a move or two.

Do you and your partner just want to go out for a dinner under dim lights with a beautiful town view? Then Vintage really is the place for you!

S

arou to ca well Stre sine

13

er 3, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

Shanta's

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ith arms wide open, Beacon Café has the perfect layout to welcome a crowd, a couple or just a party of one with enough tables and space for fresh air to circulate!

Their menu is vast, and their specials, way too scrumptious to be fair to anyone who thought that they could simply enjoy their homemade lunches throughout the week and be satisfied.

Now then, let’s start things off with Monday because in Beacon’s case, she’ll run straight into Wednesday with hot servings of chicken, beef or cow heel soup!

What about Thursdays, you say? Well, Beacon usually offers hot metem on those days!

If that didn’t excite you, then how about Black and White Pudding on Fridays inclusive of Barbeque chicken that will also be prepared for Saturdays.

When you dine with Beacon, you will find that their prices are also absolutely right, and that their service is timely and the employees cordial!

For your local cravings – whether it be a dining experience or simply for food on the go – drop in at Beacon Café today!

S

hanta's was opened in 1955 by Parbatie "Betty" Persaud. A small family restaurant, to this day, it's known for its world-famous dhal puri and its exceptional Indian and Creole cuisine served with a smile. Shanta’s, without question, is the best local food around. It is inexpensive and delicious! Shanta’s always has a variety of curries, from fish to catahar (bread nut). The coconut choka is outstanding! The puri is paper thin and goes well with Shanta’s peanut punch. Conveniently located at 225 Camp and New Market Streets, Georgetown, make Shanta’s your next stop when looking for delicious local cuisine. Super cheap and super yummy!

14 news

tuesDAY, october 3, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

“Mahatma Gandhi was a great Petition on severance pay Agriculture Minister soul” – PM Nagamootoo still to carry out G President’s commitment

uyana joined the rest of the world in celebrating the 148th birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on Monday, as the Indian High Commission hosted its annual commemoration ceremony at the monument erected in honour of the ‘Father of Peace’, in the Promenade Garden on Middle Street, Georgetown.

that Gandhi left a legacy for the world to follow.

“Today, if we are to take anything away to influence our own lives from the great Mahatma, we should take away the need to build our character, to promote truth even though it may be uncomfortable, to promote incorruptibility, to promote our own selves not as who we are in positions of status and in offices that may

By Shemuel Fanfair

T Indian High Commissioner Venkatachalam Mahalingam

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

Indian High C o m m i s s i o n e r V e n k a t a c h a l a m Mahalingam welcomed Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo as the chief guest along with other officials and Indian cultural activists at the early-morning event.

Speaking at the event, PM Nagamootoo described Gandhi as a “great soul”.

Gandhi, during his lifetime, advocated for non-violent actions which brought down colonialism and gave independence to his homeland of India. His teachings of peace and humanity greatly influenced various freedom struggles and inspired several world leaders such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela in their fight for equity.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo, delivering the feature address, said

Minister said, is a beneficiary of Gandhi’s teachings which played an integral role in helping the country achieve its independent status.

“We achieved the status of a democratic country, proud to stand up with the rest of the world as a people of peace and a people of purpose without violence, without wars and if we were to adopt the principles of the

have,” the Prime Minister stated.

Indian High Commissioner Mahalingam said that Gandhi’s teachings of peace still hold much significance in today’s society. The High Commissioner said that even though during Gandhi’s lifetime he was faced with challenges, he refused to resort to violence to achieve a peaceful society.

he end of October will mark 10 months since the closure of the Wales Sugar Factory, and many workers who were attached to the Estate and rejected the option to transfer to Uitvlugt are still to be paid their severance packages.

As the former sugar workers continue to cope with their noted strain and difficulty in obtaining good paying and consistent employment, Minister

for the matter regarding the non-payment of severance packages to hundreds of sugar workers, and the matter was to be called up in the High Court. As of last week, the case was not listed to be called before a judge.

Several workers had their service transferred to Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, but the remaining workers were promised severance payments, some since December 2016 and others by February 2017. After this period elapsed, GuySuCo contended

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Indian High Commissioner Venkatachalam Mahalingam pay their respects to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on Monday at Gandhi’s monument site in Georgetown

be bureaucratic, but as servants of the people,” he stated.

Guyana, the Prime

great Mahatma Gandhi, we should keep it that way, we should treasure what we

From left: businessmen Hemraj Kissoon and Yesu Persaud, PM Moses Nagamootoo and Indian High Commissioner Venkatachalam Mahalingam at the event

Quoting from the words of Martin Luther King Jr, the High Commissioner stated, “Gandhi is inevitable; if humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable.

He lived, taught and acted inspired by humanity towards a world of peace and harmony. We may ignore him only at our own risk.”

In making brief remarks, Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green said that Gandhi was a legend and lived a life worth emulating. She added that Gandhi was a gentle giant, who would whenever he could, impart knowledge, wisdom and good practices to foster unity, peace and love for all of humanity.

A few of Mahatma Gandhi’s most inspirational quotes are: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”; “an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind” and “happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

of Agriculture, Noel Holder, has not carried out President David Granger’s request to look into the concerns of those aggrieved.

Sugar worker Vishnu Jailall, on behalf of his fellow unpaid employees, had sent a signed petition to President David Granger in late July, urging him to ensure that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) meet its legal obligations to pay out severance benefits. In an attached letter, Jailall had contended that the payments should be paid as the corporation had made the workers’ jobs redundant.

President Granger acknowledged their concerns in a response in early August, wherein he observed that the Agriculture Minister would have tendered a response to the former employees. The petition was signed by over 30 other cane cutters and transporters.

However, the signatories to the petition remain without definitive word on their future, as Minister Holder has not, of recent, engaged in dialogue with the workers. In a brief interview with Guyana Times, Vishnu Jailall related that he had not received a response from the Minister, though he remains hopeful that their issues can get addressed.

It is unclear when the workers would be able to obtain or garner resolve to this issue, as the matter is yet to be called in the High Court.

In May, Guyana Times reported that attorney for the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Senior Counsel Ashton Chase, had compiled and filed documents

that all of the workers who requested severance were paid. As such, the workers who did not agree to accept their severance within the stipulated timeframe have not been paid, and have supposedly been “left in the wilderness”, as described by GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine.

At a community-level meeting between Wales residents and several Government ministers earlier this year, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan told the workers that Government has no money to pay the severance to which the workers are entitled. In September, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo chaired high level-meetings with GuySuCo after the corporation had reportedly run out of money to pay certain categories of workers their salaries.

While it has not been disclosed how senior management workers have been affected by the payment deficit, many workers have reportedly been unpaid for services for almost two weeks.

They were finally paid on September 20.

The Wales Estate closure has been seen as a cost-saving measure due to billions of dollars that were allocated to the declining sugar industry, especially to that former entity. There has since been the announced scaling down of other estates across the country, but many stakeholders have called for social impact studies to be carried out to assess how communities across the sugar belt would be affected by sure closures.

news

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tuesDAY, OCTOber 3, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Titled boundaries debacle

Santa Rosa Village Council threatens legal action if issue not amicably resolved that the issue was made even worse, since after the village would have been demarcated and an application was made for extension, the Shell Beach Protected Area was established and part of that constitutes land the village claims.

While the Government had recommended the establishment of a land rights Commission of Inquiry (CoI) that will seek to address the joint and communal ownership of lands acquired by Left to right: Former Santa Rosa Toshao Basil Cornelius, current Village Toshao Sherwin Abram and Santa Rosa Village Councillor Paul Atkinson at Monday’s press conference

By Samuel Sukhnandan

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lthough the largest Amerindian village in the country, Santa Rosa Village, located along the Moruca River, Region One (Barima-Waini), is faced with a major unresolved issue since 2006 when the village was demarcated, but the Village Council there hopes that the matter could be resolved amicably in earnest.

The Village Council said if no proper action was taken to resolve the disputed boundaries issue, it would have no choice but to take the matter to court, as they believe that the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) did not properly demarcate the boundaries for the village.

During a press conference on Monday at the Amerindian Peoples Affairs (APA) headquarters, a team of three village leaders from that area told the media that the matter was raised with the previous Government and at countless National Toshaos’ Conferences, but to no avail.

Former Toshao Basil Cornelius noted that while his village was not against demarcation, the village was still maintaining that it was incorrectly done. According to him, several communities have been directly affected by this, and it has created some level of uncertainty among residents. demarcation “When took place under the 2006 Amerindian Act it was done with the description by the

1976 Act and it was done by the GLSC. They did not fully follow the 1976 Amerindian Act description,” he explained, noting that more than 160 people have been directly affected.

Apart from several islands being placed outside the boundary of Santa Rosa, Cornelius said that one community was cut in half during the demarcation process, which has caused a great deal of worry among residents, but the Village Councils continue to maintain peace among villages.

“What (land) we legally supposed to have we were robbed. I would say it’s because of the haphazard way our village was demarcated,” he added.

It was further explained

Corentyne man missing for 2 weeks

By Andrew Carmichael

A

Tain, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) family is in a frantic search for a man who disappeared some two weeks ago.

The missing man is 60-year-old Samuel Pargass of Sixth Street, Tain Settlement.

Today will make it 14 days since he went missing.

According to the missing man’s wife, the retired cane harvester walked out of the yard two weeks ago.

“After he take breakfast, he put on his cap and slippers and he gone,” Mrs Pargass said.

She said she warned him that the sun was hot and it might be better if he did not go out at that time.

“He still gone, he ready and he raise he hand an gee mi and gone,” the woman said.

She related that she later went out and was expecting to find her husband at home when she returned; however, he did not return.

That evening, the search started and the search party went West up to the village of Albion and to Manchester in the east. “He would normally go and walk and come home back. We check all dem family who he does go an walk by. Sometime when he come back an ah ask he

Missing: Samuel Pargass

where he been, he would say he went by street side wid dem boys,” she explained.

Noting that her husband did consume alcohol, the 59-year-old woman said on many occasions he would go fishing and, in 2014, he went missing for one night. Then, she said, there was a chikungunya outbreak in Guyana and her husband got an attack while fishing in the backdam and could not walk to get home. He was rescued the following day from a swamp.

Pargass was last seen clad in a lilac long-sleeve shirt, short pants and a pair of slippers, reportedly heading towards the Upper Corentyne area on foot.

Mrs Pargass, who has lived with her husband since

1980, explained that the couple, along with a niece, lived in the house. Three weeks before the disappearance of Pargass, the niece left for overseas and was expected back the very day he went missing.

Mrs Pargass further related that in recent times, her husband would sit without speaking unless spoken to. “If I ask he something, he would answer, but he don’t say anything to me.”

The distraught woman said during the past year she took him to see a psychiatrist. “The doctor say everything okay and give him some medication… I can’t say if he has lost his mind and don’t know where he is.”

Two days after the disappearance of Pargass, a man reported seeing him standing in front of a business place at Number 35 Village.

However, the family received this information the following day and when they arrived, he was not there.

Persons have also reportedly seen him at Number 55 Village, but that was one week ago. “We look all over.

We look on all dem beach, backdam and we asking people in dem village till up the Corentyne.”

Persons who may have information on the disappearance of Pargass should call his wife on 337-1619, 612-8973 or 650-4935.

freed Africans and the claims of Amerindian land titling, several organisations had come out against it.

Some claimed that the Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the CoI were vague, as they did not define clear objectives of addressing the issue of communal lands belonging to Amerindians, while the composition of the CoI team was questioned as there were few experts in Amerindian land titling on the team.

Nevertheless, the Santa

Rosa Village Council was granted the opportunity to meet with Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock and they discussed the matter in full detail. While the team was not given any assurances that the Government would have the issue resolved, it was advised to dialogue with the neighbouring Village Councils and to come up with a plan to address the issue properly.

Over 500 elders honoured in Region 2

Some of the elders from Region Two being treated on Monday

I

n observance of the Month of the Elderly, Sunrise Centre – a branch of the Guyana Foundation in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), in collaboration with the Social Protection Ministry on Monday honoured more than 500 elders on the Essequibo Coast. The pensioners were given hampers and also treated to a snack.

According to Coordinator of the Sunrise Centre, Marian Roberts Hinds, the effort was a collaborative one which aims at reaching out to elders. During the Month, various services will be offered including grooming (pedicure and manicure) and counselling. Hinds said

Smiles on the faces of some of the elders at the event

that elders are important in society and as such, should be given the respect they need.

Hinds also noted that the distribution was conducted at various post offices along the Essequibo

Coast. Hampers are also expected to be distributed by the Guyana Foundation to more elders. The beneficiaries were loud in praise and thanked both organisations for their timely donation.

(Indra Natram)

Capoey community pushes to improve education delivery

T

he Capoey community in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), continues to place emphasis on the important role education plays in the development of the nation’s youth.

Capoey Toshao Melrose Henry said the Village Council “realised that education is the only way to success, and being educated is beneficial for our young people, as they will become well equipped so that they can take on the role of leadership”. to the According Department of Public Information, she explained that in keeping with Government’s agenda to en-

Capoey Toshao Melrose Henry

sure every child attends school, the Village Council decided to purchase a 25-foot boat equipped with lifejackets to assist in transporting

students to their various secondary schools. Henry added that a newly purchased bus will deliver students to the region’s public road, from where they will obtain necessary transportation for the remaining destination.

These services are provided free of cost to encourage regular attendance by students at their educational institutions.

The Capoey toshao reiterated that the community would continue to encourage its young people to acquire education, as it would help to shape their future, and they in turn would aid in the development of their village and that of the nation as a whole.

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guyanatimesgy.com

TuesDAY, october 3, 2017

Regional

Earthquake rattles Barbados lifts ban on UK poultry, poultry products parts of Caribbean B arbados’ ban on poultry and poultry products coming from the United Kingdom has been lifted.

According to a statement from the Agriculture Ministry, commercial importers and the general public are now free to import live birds, hatching eggs, and fresh, frozen and chilled poultry meat and products, including table eggs, from that territory.

The decision follows the UK’s declaration of freedom from the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza resulting in the lifting of a ban which was placed on these products last December.

As a result, importers may now apply to the Ministry’s Veterinary Services Department for permits to import poultry and poultry products from the UK. “Commercial import-

ers are reminded that all commercial shipments of live animals and animal products must be accompanied by an Export Health Certificate issued by the UK’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs,” the statement said.

In addition, a passenger meat import permit is needed for personal (passenger) imports of meat and meat products, which must be in

their original packaging and bear an official inspection mark.

Passengers must also declare these items on arrival and present them to the agricultural quarantine inspector for examination.

However, persons are asked to note that a ban remains on the importation of poultry and poultry products from other countries in the European Union. (Caribbean360)

Jamaicans to vote in 3 by-elections

J

The quake was felt in St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia and Grenada

A

n earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 rattled several Caribbean islands Monday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) reported that the quake was

felt in St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia and Grenada.

It occurred at 08:08h and the epicentre was located 11 kilometres north west of Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines; 95km south west of Castries, St Lucia; and 140km north east of St George’s, Grenada.

The preliminary depth was 107 kilometres. (Caribbean360)

Gas prices to rise in oil-rich T&T

D

rivers in Trinidad and Tobago will pay more for super and diesel gas at the pump.

In his 2018 Budget presentation, Finance Minister Colm Imbert on Monday announced that the price of super fuel will go from TT$3.58 to TT$3.97 per litre while the cost of diesel fuel will go from TT$2.30 to TT$3.41 per litre.

In what would surely be good news for gas station owners who have been clamouring for higher margins, the Minister said the margins would be increased on premium, super and regular gas; diesel and kerosene.

Stating that 35,000 cars were imported in 2017, Imbert said the importations have cost the country TT$500 million in foreign exchange.

He said the T&T Government was maintaining the removal of all tax-

es on hybrid passenger vehicles and extended that to CNG vehicles.

However, to stop the importation of luxury vehicles, the waiver will only apply to cars with engines under 1599 cc.

There will be a moratorium until December on those vehicles that have already been purchased and en route to the country Motorcyclists will also benefit from tax exemptions.

The Minister said he proposes to harmonise the customs duty on all tyres at 30 per cent, whether new or used.

However, the customs duty on the importation of new tyres utilised on buses and lorries will remain at 15 per cent. This measure will also be implemented on October 20.

There will also be an increase the inspection fee.

This measure will take effect on December 1. (Trinidad News)

amaica’s political parties are fired up and ready to step up activities on the campaign trail as Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared Monday, October 30 as the date for three by-elections.

The seats in contention, all held by the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) are: St Mary South Eastern, St Andrew South Western and St Andrew Southern.

Speaking at rally in St Mary Sunday night, Holness signalled that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) was ready to eclipse the PNP’s stranglehold – a challenge PNP officials immediately dismissed as they welcomed the by-election date.

“Now that the date has been given, we will do all that we have to do to make for a successful election,” PNP Chairman Fitz Jackson told the Jamaica Observer.

“The three candidates have been out there campaigning, and we intend to step up our efforts, particularly in St Mary South East.”

That constituency, where two medical professionals will square off, has emerged as the seat to watch.

The PNP’s Dr Shane Alexis, for-

JLP Leader and Prime Minister Andrew Holness (right) announced the date for the by-elections at a rally Sunday night

mer President of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association and the Medical Association of Jamaica, will go up against the JLP’s Dr Norman Dunn.

Both have expressed confidence in being triumphant.

Pundits expect the PNP to retain

its hold on the St Andrew seats.

In St Andrew South Western, a seat previously held by former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who stepped down from elective politics earlier this year, former Kingston Mayor Angela Brown Burke is expected to step up to the plate. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

advises Americans IMF announces US against travel to Cuba essay contest for following mysterious C’bean students sonic attacks T T he International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday announced an essay competition for Caribbean students on the theme “Inclusive and Resilient Growth in the Caribbean”.

The IMF said that the contest is open to students aged 18 to 25 and are nationals from the Englishspeaking Caribbean and Haiti. The deadline for the contest is October 23, this year.

The Washington-based financial institution said that the students should be currently enrolled at any university or college in the Caribbean.

According to the IMF, the essay contest will provide an opportunity for young people to articulate their views on how to improve their welfare in the Region.

“We hope to engage the

youth on an issue where public policies will have long-lasting impact on the prospects for the people in the Caribbean Region,” said Alejandro Werner, Director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the IMF. Entries will be judged by a panel of IMF staff, faculty of the University of the West Indies, and the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI).

The contest is being held in the run-up to the 2017 High Level Caribbean Forum, co-organised with the Jamaica Government, to take place in November.

The winner will be invited as a special guest to the Forum, which brings together Finance Ministers, policymakers, and representatives of international financing organisations to discuss growth challenges for the Caribbean. (CMC)

he United States Department of State has warned Americans not to travel to Cuba because of a series of sonic attacks on diplomats in recent months.

During the summer, at least 21 employees at the US Embassy in Havana were targeted in specific attacks.

They reported a range of symptoms including hearing loss, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping.

A sonic attack is the use of extremely high-power sound waves that can disrupt or destroy the eardrums of a target and cause severe pain or disorientation.

“Because our personnel’s safety is at risk, and we are unable to identify the source of the attacks, we believe US citizens may also be at risk and warn them not to travel to Cuba,” the State

Department said.

Last Friday, it ordered the departure of nonessential US employees and their families. It said that until the Cuba Government can assure the safety of US Government personnel in Cuba, the Embassy will be reduced to emergency personnel so as to minimise the number of US Government personnel at risk of exposure. The remaining personnel will carry out core diplomatic and consular functions, including providing emergency assistance to US citizens in Cuba.

Routine visa operations were also suspended indefinitely, and short-term travel

by US Government officials to Cuba will also be limited to those involved with the ongoing investigation or who have a need to travel related to the US national security or crucial embassy operations. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

tuesDAY, october 3, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

17

Around the World

Catalan leader calls for international Body clock scientists win Nobel Prize mediation in Madrid stand-off

T

T

he secessionist leader of Catalonia called for international mediation on Monday in the region’s dispute with Madrid, a day after hundreds of people were hurt as Police swung truncheons and fired rubber bullets to disrupt an independence referendum.

Results showed voters had overwhelmingly backed independence in the referendum, which Spain has ruled illegal and which opponents of secession mostly boycotted.

The vote was valid and must be implemented, said Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont.

“It is not a domestic matter,” he told a news conference on Monday. He said it was “obvious that we need mediation”, adding: “We don’t want a traumatic break ... We want a new understanding with the Spanish state.”

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy met leaders of other political parties and his conservative government issued a statement saying he was seeking a joint response to the crisis. He also spoke to other European leaders and thanked them for supporting Spain’s constitutional order, the statement said.

In Barcelona, hundreds of students

People raise their hands during a protest the day after the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain October 2, 2017

gathered in a central square to protest at Sunday’s Police crackdown, chanting pro-independence slogans and waving Catalan flags.

The government crackdown had “provoked an unacceptable totalitarian situation using state violence,” student Albert Lopez said. Another protest

was held later outside the headquarters of the Spanish National Police in Barcelona.

Elsewhere, life in the city returned to near normal, but the violence had clearly left people in shock and may have hardened attitudes among those who favour independence. (Excerpt from Reuters)

hree scientists who unravelled how our bodies tell time have won the 2017 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

The body clock – or circadian rhythm – is the reason we want to sleep at night, but it also drives huge changes in behaviour and body function.

The US scientists Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young will share the prize.

The Nobel prize committee said their findings had “vast implications for our health and wellbeing”.

A clock ticks in nearly every cell of the human body, as well as in plants, animals and fungi.

Our mood, hormone levels, body temperature and metabolism all fluctuate in a daily rhythm.

Even our risk of a heart attack soars every morning as our body gets the engine running to start a new day.

The body clock so pre-

cisely controls our body to match day and night that disrupting it can have profound implications.

The ghastly experience of jet lag is caused by the body being out of sync with the world around it.

In the short term, body clock disruption affects memory formation, but in the long term it increases the risk of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

“If we screw that system up we have a big impact on our metabolism,” said Prof Russell Foster, a body clock scientist at the University of Oxford.

He told the BBC he was “very delighted” that the US trio had won, saying they deserved the prize for being the first to explain how the system worked.

He added: “They have shown us how molecular clocks are built across all the animal kingdom.” (Excerpt

from BBC News)

Palestinian Prime Minister visits India marks the 148th birth Gaza in move to reconcile with Hamas anniversary of Gandhi

T

he West Bank-based Palestinian Prime Minister crossed into the Gaza Strip on Monday in a move toward reconciliation between the mainstream Fatah party and Hamas, a decade after the Islamist group seized the territory in a civil war.

Rami al-Hamdallah said at a welcome ceremony his unity government would

begin assuming control of Gaza’s administrative affairs, as well as “security responsibilities and responsibility for crossings and borders”.

Hamas, considered a terrorist group by Israel and the West, made its dramatic step toward unity last month, disbanding its Gaza shadow government, after Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the

United Arab Emirates imposed an economic boycott on its main donor, Qatar, over alleged support of terrorism. Qatar denies the allegation.

Under previous understandings, some 3000 Fatah security men would be integrated gradually into a Gaza police force overseen by an Interior Ministry headed by Hamdallah. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Cameroon Internet shut for separatists has condemned the violence and called for dialogue. (Excerpt from BBC News)

He is remembered for his non-violent protests against British colonial rulers and his criticism of the country’s caste system

I

ndians are celebrating the 148th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the South Asian nation’s independence.

He is remembered for his non-violent protests against British colonial rulers and his criticism of the country’s caste system.

Gandhi, who is known

as the father of the nation, worked to liberate India while also bridging internal divisions. He was born on October 2, 1869.

The following quotes highlight Gandhi’s legacy of tolerance grounded in an expressed faith in human goodness: “Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but out of justice lived and done by unarmed nations in the face of odds.”

“My religion teaches me to love all equally.”

“To be dissatisfied with the slowness of progress betrays ignorance of the way in which reform works.”

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Trial begins of Syria war: Suicide Benghazi accused bombers target Ahmed Abu Khatallah Damascus Police The Internet shutdown earlier this year badly affected businesses in English-speaking regions

I

nternet services have been shut down in Cameroon’s Englishspeaking areas after clashes involving separatists.

Security forces opened fire on demonstrators who were calling for independence at rallies on Sunday, killing at least eight people A BBC reporter in Bamenda says the city is now in lockdown with no

cars or people on the streets.

The authorities blocked the Internet for three months earlier in the year amid similar unrest.

Main Opposition Leader John Fru Ndi told the BBC he believed that at least 30 people had died in clashes.

At least 50 people were wounded and about 200 arrested, reports say.

President Paul Biya, 84,

F

ederal prosecutors have opened their case against Ahmed Abu Khatallah by telling jurors he orchestrated the 2012 attack on a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador, and three other Americans.

Khatallah has been awaiting trial since 2014 when he was captured by a team of US military and FBI officials in Libya and transported on a 13-day journey to the US aboard a navy vessel.

Before his capture, he

was part of a revolutionary armed group aimed at overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi’s government.

The charges against Khatallah include murder and providing material support to “terrorists”.

Khattala, who has a long, grey beard, entered the federal courtroom in Washington, DC on Monday and shook hands with members of his legal team.

Before the opening statements, US District Judge Christopher Cooper gave the jury 30 minutes of instructions. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

A

number of Policemen and civilians have been killed in a twin suicide bomb attack in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar said one assailant blew himself up at the main entrance to a police station in the central Midan district.

A second detonated his explosive belt after being shot by officers on the first floor of the building, he added.

There was no immediate claim for the bombing, which was the first such attack in the city since July.

Shaar did not say how many people were killed in Monday’s attack.

The UK-based activist monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that at least 11 died, among them six Police Officers, while the pro-Government al-Mayadeen television channel put the death toll at 10.

The Syrian Observatory also said that a car bomb had been detonated during the attack, but Shaar did not mention a third explosion. (Excerpt from BBC News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, october 3, 2017

ARCHIE

ARIES

Don’t let a lack of qualifica-

(March 21- tions or other people’s responApril 19) sibilities stop you from mak-

ing a move or reaching your set goal. Common sense and practicality will be required.

Get involved in a creative TAURUS project or look for a way to (April 20- make improvements that will May 20) contribute to your appearance and encourage you to be more outgoing. Make romance a priority.

dilbert

Difficulties with children, GEMINI a loved one or someone who is (May 21putting too many demands on June 20) you must be regulated carefully. Set boundaries and make it clear what you will and won’t put up with.

Forming a partnership will CANCER be to your advantage. Share (June 21- your thoughts and interests to July 22) help develop allies and encourage opportunity. Romance is in the stars.

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

Change can be good if it’s well thought out and made for the right reason. Someone you are dealing with will have ulterior motives. Emotional manipulation should be recognized and avoided.

Look for a unique way to VIRGO use your talents to earn a liv(Aug. 23ing.

If you enjoy what you do, Sept. 22) you will do a good job. Personal growth is highlighted.

Handle your affairs perLIBRA (Sept. 23- sonally. Don’t be fooled by Oct. 23) someone using emotional situations to alter your way of thinking. Protect your heart and let your intuitive intelligence be your guide.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

An interesting option will SCORPIO arise regarding your lifestyle.

(Oct. 24Working alongside others will Nov. 22) help you determine what’s best for you. Romance will make your personal life better.

It’s important to take care SAGITTARIUS of your physical and emo(Nov. 23- tional health. Don’t give in to Dec. 21) someone using manipulative tactics to get you to do something you don’t want to do.

Creative financial moves CAPRICORN will help you secure your po(Dec. 22- sition, but get all the facts Jan. 19) first. Someone will try to mislead you or persuade you to take part in a risky venture.

YESTERDAY’S WORD – WHIMPERS

solution for LAST PUBLISHED Puzzle A partnership will need AQUARIUS to be monitored carefully. If (Jan. 20- someone tries to use emotionFeb. 19) al tactics to get his or her way, shut him or her down quickly.

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

Don’t be fooled by what PISCES (Feb. 20- others do. Look out for your March 20) own interests and be careful to weed out what is and isn’t true when dealing with partners, co-workers or your boss.

tuesDAY, OCTOber 3, 2017

19

Herath's wizardry flattens Pakistan

H

ow did we get here?

How did we hurtle, from the dullest 11 sessions of Test cricket possible, to this stirring, heart-palpitating, dramedy of a conclusion? Sri Lanka, out of the match surely when they set out to defend 136 after lunch, yet victors by 21 runs, Rangana Herath breaking records, scuttling Pakistan again - 6 for 43 to his name.

The pitch began to sing for him, the batsmen played him with fatal hesitation, Dilruwan Perera was even denied the winning wicket by a no-ball, just so Herath could complete 400 Test wickets the first left-arm spinner to the milestone.

With this mild insanity of a spell, he has confirmed himself one of the greatest defenders of scores in Test history. He has 11 fourth-innings five-wicket hauls now.

Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne? Puh, only seven apiece.

When he floated one up beautifully to Mohammad Amir, and then got it to connive between bat and pad to hit middle stump, Herath also became the first bowler to complete 100 wickets against Pakistan. Perera thought he had Yasir Shah caught at short leg, prompting wild Sri Lankan celebrations, but was found to have overstepped. Herath doesn't over step. His was the final

triumphant act - a slider to nail poor Mohammad Abbas in front of off stump.

Pakistan were visibly heartbroken. How had they lost this Test after Yasir's 5 for 51 had swung the match almost completely in their favour? How had they been such kings with the ball in

valry of the past 10 years.

The last time these two teams played, Sri Lanka set Pakistan a mammoth 377 runs to win, and still managed to lose.

Following their lavish home thrashings suffered at India's hands, Sri Lanka were desperate for a victo-

The last-day surprise is now something of a trope of Sri Lanka-Pakistan matches, several compelling conclusions having been summoned by these teams since 2009.

This game, perhaps has had the strangest final five sessions at all. At one stage, Sri Lanka were in control. Then

Rangana Herath became the most successful left-arm spinner with superb figures

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka lead the two-match series 1-0

the morning, taking 6 for 69, and then become such klutzes with the bat in the next two sessions, surrendering all ten wickets for 114? So go Sri Lanka v Pakistan Tests, though - surely the most unpredictable and close-run ri-

ry to win their public back.

Herath was the perfect figure to lead the PR exercise, but Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne, had all played their roles as well.

Pakistan took the match by the collar. The first innings, after which only three runs separated the teams, now seems like a long set-up for what eventually became a gripping second-innings shootout. (ESPN Cricinfo)

Sri Lanka 1st Innings 419 Pakistan 1st Innings 422 Sri Lanka 2nd Innings (Overnight 69/4) FDM Karunaratne c Shan Masood b Yasir Shah 10 JK Silva lbw b Haris Sohail 25 HDRL Thirimanne c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Asad Shafiq 7 BKG Mendis lbw b Mohammad Abbas 18 LD Chandimal* c Asad Shafiq b Yasir Shah 7 RAS Lakmal c Babar Azam b Mohammad Abbas 13 N Dickwella† not out 40 MDK Perera lbw b Yasir Shah 6 HMRKB Herath c Shan Masood b Yasir Shah 0 PADLR Sandakan c Mohammad Amir b Yasir Shah 8 ANPR Fernando b Hasan Ali 0 Extras (lb-3, nb-1) 4 Total (All out, 66.5 Overs) 138 Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-33, 3-51, 4-65, 5-73, 6-86, 7-101, 8-101, 9-135, 10-138 Bowling Mohammad Amir 124-27-0, Mohammad Abbas 12-3-22-2 (nb-1), Yasir Shah 27-5-51-5, Hasan Ali 7-021-1, Asad Shafiq 3.4-0-7-

1, Haris Sohail 5-2-7-1 Pakistan 2nd Innings (target: 136 runs) Shan Masood c Silva b Perera 7 Sami Aslam c Karunaratne b Herath 2 Azhar Ali c †Dickwella b Lakmal 0 Asad Shafiq c Karunaratne b Herath 20 Babar Azam c †Dickwella b Perera 3 Haris Sohail lbw b Perera 34 Sarfraz Ahmed*† st †Dickwella b Herath 19 Hasan Ali b Herath 8 Mohammad Amir b Herath 9 Yasir Shah not out 6 Mohammad Abbas lbw b Herath 0 Extras (b-1, lb-4, nb-1) 6 Total (All out, 47.4 Overs) 114 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-7, 3-16, 4-32, 5-36, 6-78, 7-98, 8-100, 9-111, 10-114 (Mohammad Abbas, 47.4 ov) Bowling Lakmal 5-1-12-1, Herath 21.4-4-43-6, Perera 18-446-3 (nb-1), Fernando 2-1-4-0, Sandakan 1-0-4-0 Result: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs

Gatlin not on Athlete of the Year shortlist W

orld 100m champion Justin Gatlin is not one of the 10 male nominees for the IAAF 2017 World Athlete of the Year. It is the first time since 2004 - when the American was also left out - that the world or Olympic 100m champion has not been shortlisted for the title.

Gatlin, 35, beat Jamaican sprint great Usain Bolt into third to win gold in London in August.

Britain's Mo Farah is on the list after retaining the 10,000m. IAAF members and fans via social media decide the award.

Gatlin has twice served a doping ban and athletics' governing body changed its rules on who could be nominated in 2015 so that anyone sanctioned for a serious doping offence could no longer be put forward.

That came after Germany's Olympic discus champion Robert Harting reacted to Gatlin's inclusion on the 2014 IAAF shortlist by asking for his own name to be removed from it.

Gatlin was jeered by the crowd inside London Stadium as he was

presented with his medal during the summer.

Lord Coe, president of athletics' governing body the IAAF, admitted he was not "eulogistic" over the American's victory.

He was one of the nominees in 2005 after winning that year's world title, 12 months before he accepted a second doping ban.

South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk is one of Farah's rivals for

South African Caster Semenya is a three-time world 800m champion

Gatlin was also omitted from the athlete of the year list in 2004 despite winning Olympic gold in Athens, although he was nominated for performance of the year.

the title after he retained his world 400m title in London.

Caster Semenya of South Africa heads the women nominees after winning the 800m title in imperi-

ous style on the closing night of the World Championships.

Australia's Sally Pearson is also a notable nominee after claiming gold in the women's 100m hurdles in 12.60 seconds.

Voting closes on 16 October and the winners will be announced at the IAAF Athletics Awards in Monaco on 24 November.

The nominees for 2017 World Athlete of the Year Men: Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qat); Pawel Fajdek (Pol); Mo Farah (GB); Sam Kendricks (US); Elijah Manangoi (Ken); Luvo Manyonga (SA); Omar McLeod (Jam); Christian Taylor (US); Wayde van Niekerk (SA); Johannes Vetter (Ger) Women: Almaz Ayana (Eth); Maria Lasitskene (Ana); Hellen Obiri (Ken); Sally Pearson (Aus); Sandra Perkovic (Cro); Brittney Reese (US); Caster Semenya (SA); Ekaterini Stefanidi (Gre); Nafissatou Thiam (Bel); Anita Wlodarczyk (Pol) (BBC Sport)

Justin Gatlin is the world 100m champion

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

tuesDAY, october 3, 2017

South American Youth Games 2017…

Guyanese boxers floored without throwing a punch

A

rguably Guyana’s best prospects for medals at the South American Youth Game games, the boxing contingent suffered a TKO even before a punch was thrown as it was indicated to Coach Terrence Poole at that Guyana’s boxers would be unable to participate in the games due to a change in the age stipulation. However, this was never communicated to the Guyana Olympic Association.

Contrary to the stipulated age as outlined in the Technical manual provided for Boxing to Guyana’s Chef de Mission, Godfrey Munore and as provided for the games management on the Extranet indicated that National Olympic Committees can register and have accreditation for athletes for the boxing competition born on January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2000, which Guyana complied with in their submission of athletes Christopher Moore and Keevin Allicock.

However, contrary to the manuals provided, a change was made twice to the age requirement for boxing and was never communicated to the Guyana Olympic committee.

Following a letter from Munroe, a verbal apology was made to the Guyanese contingent outlining that the technical committee for the games would meet and

– other athletes remain optimistic Tennis begins today where the draws for the competition will be made to determine the groups the players are placed in as well as the time and events schedules. Competition starts on Wednesday and concludes on Sunday (October 8) with game time set to begin at 10:00h daily.

Coach Idi Lewis has been putting Guyana’s table tennis prospects for medals Miguel Wong and Nickolus Romain through their paces daily. Lewis indicated that he likes the focus of the players and their response to training sessions. Coach Lewis has high hopes that they can convert their form to actual competition but pointed out that the weather is a concern since it takes longer to get warmed up.

Fourteen countries will be participating in the boys division of the competition

review what transpired and a formal response would be issued.

Nevertheless, the decision was taken at the technical congress to not allow the Guyanese boxers to participate since it was felt that they would be too experienced.

Despite that set back, Guyana’s boxers continue to train and have been very supportive of their team mates.

Arrival

After arriving in Santiago, Chile on Friday last, the first challenge for the Guyanese contingent was adjusting to the climate as the temperature is minus 10-18 degrees.

However, reports from the Chef-De-Mission, Godfrey Munroe indicate that the team spirit is high as the confident athletes continue to train.

The first event in which Guyana is scheduled to participate in is Badminton which begins today with play starting from 10:00h with 10 countries participating.

Guyana’s hopes will be led by Priyanana Ramdhani and Tyrese Jefferey in the singles category as well as the mixed doubles and mixed teams.

Coach Gowkran Ramdhani has been putting the players through their paces and feels Guyana has

3x3 Basketball

Guyana’s hopes of medalling in boxing were dashed due to controversial age range changes made by the South American Youth Games technical committee

a very competitive chance once the draw is favourable, he noted that his players are confident and focused going into the competition

Table Tennis

Meanwhile, nical meeting

the techfor Table

The technical meeting for Basketball 3x3 begins on the Wednesday (October 4) where the draw will be made in the competition to determine the groups the players are placed in and the time and schedule of games.

Ten teams are in this competition and will run from Thursday to Sunday.

Coach Junior Hercules has been going through the paces with his charges Nigel Bowen, Akeem Crandon and Isaiah Hintzen.

The team has also been engaging various teams including Argentina, Colombia and Panama who have proven to be very competitive.

Coach Hercules indicated that his biggest challenge would be the adaptation to the cold and getting the cardio of the team up given the higher altitude, weather and the fast paced nature of 3x3 basketball which uses a 12-second shot clock.

The team was invited to witness a Chilean professional league and played Colombian team in a n exchange exhibition friendly at half time over the past weekend.

Athletics

The technical meeting for Athletics begins on Thursday when the draws will be made.

Guyana’s charge for honours in athletics will come from the five-member team of Kenisha Philips who will compete in 100 and 200 metres. Her teammate Deshauana Skeete will compete in the 200 metres and 400 metres events while Annalisa Barclay will compete in the Long and broad jump events respectively.

Representing for the males is Mark Solomon who will compete in the 100 and 200 metres sprint events along with Jermaine King.

The athletics squad will be in action from Friday (October 6).

South Africa players oppose 4-day Tests

O

n the day that two of South Africa's leading Test cricketers voiced their strong opposition to the concept of four-day Tests, it has emerged that Cricket South Africa failed to properly consult with their players prior to scheduling a four-day match against Zimbabwe. Although the players have promised to take part in the match if the ICC approves CSA's request for it to carry Test status, the game is likely to be cancelled in the event that it is not.

On Monday, captain Faf du Plessis and opening batsman Dean Elgar both expressed their desire for five-day Tests to continue in the wake of South Africa's victory over Bangladesh in the first Test, which was only sewn up on the fifth morning in Potchefstroom, while du Plessis said that removing a day would make the game less challenging, Elgar suggested that crick-

et "should not tinker with something that's not broken."

"I am a fan of five-day Test cricket," du Plessis said. "I believe the great Test matches have gone to the last hour of the last day on day five. That's what is so special about Test cricket.

In four-day cricket or first-class cricket, it does feel easier because there are only four days.

"For five days you have to graft it out. Bowlers have to bowl a lot more and batters have to construct much bigger innings.

This Test proved that a day five was needed. If it was a rain-off yesterday, it would have been very disappointing so I am a fan of that."

Yet Elgar, who does not play the shorter formats for South Africa, was even more vociferous in his support of five-day games.

"I'm a five-day Test specialist, and it must stay that way in my opinion," he said.

"I don't think you should tinker with something that's not broken. If you go and play around the world, Test cricket is followed quite well. If you play in Australia, if you play in England, even if you play in South Africa against the relatively big nations you still get very good crowds.

There are other formats that are being experimented with. I don't see why Test cricket should suffer. I am a purist when it comes to that. Hopefully the game can have longevity in the five-day format."

Such vehement opposition to four-day Tests raised the question of why CSA pushed the concept by scheduling a daynight game against Zimbabwe on Boxing Day, but it turns out that no formal consultation took place.

While CSA's then-chief executive Haroon Lorgat had informal discussions with the South

Dean Elgar and Faf Du Plessis were very vocal in their support for Test matches in the original format

African team management when Russell Domingo was still the coach, the final proposal was supposed to be discussed with the players - through the South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) - after their tour of England. Despite the fact that those talks are yet to take place, CSA announced last month that

it intends to host Zimbabwe for a four-day day/night Test in December. Both the playing conditions for the game and the match's Test status will need to be ratified by the ICC when it meets in Auckland next week.

But is the four-day day/night Test against Zimbabwe is the answer? (Cricbuzz)

21 4 Guyanese picked for Blind World Cup in Delhi sports

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The experienced Guyanese trio of Leroy Phillips, Kevin Douglas and Ganesh Singh will be joined by Douglas Tika in the squad for the World Cup

T

he West Indies Cricket Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired (WICCBVI) has announced its 17-man squad to par-

ticipate in the fourth edition of the 40 over World Cup for the blind and visually impaired. The tournament, which will run from January 7 to 21 January in

Dubai, sees four first timers named in the Regional side. The large majority of the squad comprises members of the T20 World Cup in India earlier this year.

Local marksmen impressive ahead of international duties …Braithwaite almost flawless, Romalho steps up

O

n Saturday September 23, the Guyana NRA held a recorded shoot at the newly renovated Timehri Rifle Ranges located on the Soesdyke Linden Highway.

Veteran marksman, Lennox Braithwaite in what seems to be a reappearance of his form from earlier in the year had an almost flawless day, recording 120:10 Vees and in the process not dropping not a single point.

In subtly changing conditions, and shooting on the right bank so as to get accustomed to it, Braithwaite shot a possible - 50:5 at 300 yards, then had 35:4 at 500 yards and 35:1 at 900 yards. In second place was Leo Romalho who appeared to be getting his game together after replacing his shooting lens with scores of 49:3 at 300 yards, 33:1 at 500 yards and 34:3 at 900, for a total of 116.

In third place was Fullbore Captain Mahendra Persaud who after winning the last 2 recorded shoots had to settle for third place with a total of 115 and 14 vee bulls, having shot 48:6,33:4 and 34:4.

This was done as part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming West Indies Full Bore Shooting Council Championships (WIFBSC) which begins on Sunday, October 8.

This WIFBSC competition coincides with the Guyana National Rifle Association’s 150th Anniversary celebrations. Over 110 shooters from England, Ireland, Canada, the Falkland Islands along with the rest of the Caribbean are competing over 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1,000 yards. Teams are expected to begin arriving from today with the arrival of part of the Canadian contingent along with the shooters from the Falkland Islands.

The three days of individual shooting NAME LENNOX BRAITHWAITE LEO ROMALHO MAHENDRA PERSAUD RANSFORD GOODLUCK PETER PERSAUD DYLAN FIELDS ROBERTO TEWARI DANE BLAIR

300 YDS 50:5 49:3 48:6 49:1 47:4 47:3 42:1 47:1

will be followed by a final day of competition where the top 60 then 30 will vie for top position. Then there is a rest day on Friday October 13, where the visitors will have a chance to experience Guyana’s tourism packages. Already about 40 are booked to visit the majestic Kaieteur Falls.

The Guyana NRA are hopeful that some more companies in corporate Guyana will come on board to assist to make this momentous occasion a success. Already quite a few companies have part sponsored or donated to the Championships.

The scores for Saturday 23rd were as follows:

Lennox Braithwaite is in tip top form ahead of this weekend’s shoot

500 YDS

900 YDS

TOTAL

35:4 33:1 33:4 33:1 34:4 32:3 35:5 31:2

35:1 33:1 34:4 32:1 32:1 30:2 28:0 23:2

120:10 116:07 115:14 114:03 113:09 109:08 105:06 101:05

The new comers are; Sean Straker, Douglas Tika, Seon Mitchell and Oshane Fortella.

The squad consists of six B1s, five B2s and six B3s.

B1; refers to persons who are totally blind, B2 are persons who are partially blind and B3 are those who are partially sighted.

The squad reads: (B1) Leroy Phillips, Ganesh Singh, Douglas Tika (Guyana), Jason Ricketts, Marlon Cole (Jamaica) and Shawn Straker (Barbados).

B2s: Gregory Stewart,

Alvin James (Jamaica), Ricardo Manning, Kci Ward-Ryan (Barbados) and Seon Mitchell (Guyana).

B3s: Lo-Shane Myles, Dennal Shim, Oshane Fortella (Jamaica), Kevin Douglas (Guyana) and Karl Sobers, Halden Ford (Barbados). The team will be coached by Glendon Coke and Managed by Stevenson Evelyn. Carrison Henry will be the team’s Physio.

The team will assemble in Guyana for a one week camp before departing the Caribbean on January 5.

Hamilton worried about Ferrari’s pace L

ewis Hamilton is worried about the pace of rival Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari despite extending his championship lead in Malaysia.

Hamilton is 34 points ahead of the German after finishing second behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, while Vettel fought from the back to come fourth.

Asked if Ferrari's pace concerned him, Mercedes driver Hamilton said: "Yeah, definitely. We have some work to do."

He could be helped by a grid penalty for Vettel in Japan next weekend.

Vettel was involved in a bizarre crash with Williams driver Lance Stroll on the slowing down lap, which smashed his left-rear suspension, and will get a five-place grid penalty in Suzuka if the gearbox needs changing.

Ferrari said they did not yet know the extent of the damage to the gearbox.

A spokesman said that if only the gearbox casing was damaged, the team could replace that without a penalty, but that would not be the case if the unit also needed internals.

Hamilton gained six points on Vettel in Malaysia and said the result was "pretty good considering the pace deficit we had in the race".

Mercedes struggled for speed in Malaysia but Hamilton's title hopes were aided by reliability problems for Ferrari.

An engine problem in qualifying left Vettel at the back of the grid and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who was due to start second behind Hamilton, did not make the start, also hit by engine failure.

Hamilton took pole against the run of play and his car was slower than the Red Bull and Ferrari in the race.

"We still have problems with this car and it was magnified here," Hamilton said.

Vettel said he was optimistic he would avoid a penalty in Japan.

"We need to see but I am sure we will find a way," he said. "It's not my fault if somebody decides to pick up rubber and hit another car."

However, the stewards ruled that "neither driver was wholly or predominantly to blame" for the incident with Stroll, and BBC Sport understands Ferrari will not be able to claim 'force majeure' as a reason to get a free gearbox change if one is necessary.

Of his wider chances, Vettel said: "We should have won but starting last we did what we could. Not a great weekend but for sure the speed is promising.

"The car is quick so we have reason to believe we can be strong [in Japan]."(BBC Sport)

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

tuesDAY, october 3, 2017

Golden Jaguars dispose of Heritage All-Stars

G

olden Jaguars President’s XI made light work of the Heritage All-Stars in a feature charity football match on Sunday evening at the Everest Cricket Club. In a match which main emphasis was to raise funds for the Caribbean hurricane victims while at the same time gave some amount of preparation to the National Football team ahead of their International Friendly against Grenada on October 7, the Jaguars won 3-0.

Curtez Kellman in the 37th while second half goals from Gregory Richardson (70th) and Jeremy Garrett (86th) blunted any late resistance shown by the Heritage All-Stars.

The all-stars had their chances to breathe greater life into the encounter and failed to convert mainly due to indecisive play. The Heritage AllStars comprised players from the various regions that participated in the Indigenous Heritage Games which

concluded on September 24 in Georgetown.

In the earlier match, the National under-17 ladies stormed to a 7-1 over Fruta Conquerors female unit.

Leading the route was Tiandi Smith with a hat-trick.

Smith had her movements of glory in the 20th, 23rd and 29th while Annalisa Vincent and Lakeisha Pearson each assisted with a brace.

Vincent scored in the 37th and 40th which capped off

Pearson’s strikes in the 28th and 31st.

The fixture was witnessed by a sizeable audience which included Guyana’s Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Sydney Allicock and Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs Valerie Garrido-Lowe and Guyana Football Federation President Wayne Forde and other executives and staff.

Bowlers set up South Africa’s huge win

B

angladesh lost seven wickets for 41 runs on the final morning in Potchefstroom, crashing to 90 all out in a whopping 333-run defeat to South Africa. The visitors lasted only 83 minutes in the morning session as Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj ran through the side.

Rabada, who took over the lead fast bowler's role in the absence of Morne Morkel, struck three times in his first four overs of the day, while left-arm spinner Maharaj added three wickets to his tally to take his innings figures to 4 for 25 and complete a match haul of seven wickets.

This was the first time in ten years that Bangladesh were bowled out for a double-figure total in Tests, and the first time they were dismissed by South Africa for less than 100 runs in a Test.

Mushfiqur Rahim was the first to go, falling to Rabada for 16 off a deliv-

ery that bounced sharply, and Hashim Amla held on to a good catch over his head at slip. Rabada then got Mahmudullah to drag one on to his stumps, similar to his dismissal in the first innings off Morkel. Within 30 minutes, Bangladesh had lost their last two senior batsmen.

Liton Das, who had earned credit with his smart wicket-keeping on the fourth afternoon, left a Rabada inducker that slammed into his front pad, making it an easy lbw decision for the umpire. Five balls later, Maharaj trapped Sabbir Rahman leg-before as he attempted a sweep early in his innings.

The Bangladesh tail folded quickly after that.

Maharaj removed Taskin Ahmed while Rabada's throw found Shafiul Islam short at the striker's end after the batsman had opted for an unnecessary third run. The match ended when Mustafizur lobbed a simple

SCOREBOARD South Africa 1st Innings 494/3 decl.

Bangladesh 1st Innings 320 South Africa 2nd Innings 247/6 decl.

Bangladesh 2nd Innings (Overnight 49/3; Target 424) Tamim Iqbal b Morkel 0 Imrul Kayes c †de Kock b Maharaj 32 Mominul Haque lbw b Morkel 0 Mushfiqur Rahim* c Amla b Rabada 16 Mahmudullah b Rabada 9 Liton Das† lbw b Rabada 4 Sabbir Rahman lbw b Maharaj 4

Mehidy Hasan Miraz not out 15 Taskin Ahmed lbw b Maharaj 4 Shafiul Islam run out (du Plessis/ Rabada/†de Kock) 2 Mustafizur Rahman c & b Maharaj 1 Extras (b-1, nb-2) 3 Total (All out, 32.4 Overs) 90 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-49, 4-55, 5-62, 6-67, 7-67, 8-71, 9-75, 10-90 Bowling Morkel 5.2-2-19-2 (nb-1), Rabada 10-3-33-3 (nb-1) Olivier 5.4-1-12-0, Maharaj 10.41-25-4, AL Phehlukwayo 1-1-0-0 Result: South Africa won by 333 runs

South Africa celebrate bowling out Bangladesh for under 100 runs for the first time in Tests

catch back to Maharaj.

Bangladesh began this Test by opting to bowl first on a decidedly flat pitch, a decision that surprised even South Africa captain Faf du

Plessis. Faced with South Africa's first-innings total of 496, they avoided a follow-on but in their second innings, the panic seemed to set in during the fourth

evening, when Bangladesh lost their top three quickly after being set a target of 424. The second innings will be a big disappointment for the visitors and could be an

ominous sign for the remainder of the series. The second match starts from October 6 in Bloemfontein. (ESPN Cricinfo)

GCA/Noble House 2nd Division 2-day

Everest CC surge to 368-run victory

– Rasheed bags 13 for 64

E

verest Cricket Club helped themselves to a handsome 368-run victory over Diplomats on Sunday in the in the Georgetown Cricket Association’s Noble House Second Division Two-day Competition at the Ghandi Youth Organisation ground on Sunday.

In pursuit of 443, Diplomats ended their sec-

ond innings closed on 75 for 7 since the remainder of their batsmen failed to show a face at the venue.

Left-arm spinner Javed Rasheed was yet again the menace with the ball, claiming 4 for 18 from 8.4 overs to end with match haul of 13 for 64.

Everest, resuming day two with a lead of 159, were bowled out for 284, as

Khemraj Ramdeen followed up his first innings 120 (17x4s) with another fine innings of 101, while Rasheed supported with 79 (13x4s; 1x6). I. Caesar and K. Augustus took three wickets apiece.

On day one, Rasheed was a misery to the Diplomats batsmen when he wreaked havoc with figures of 9 for 46 from 13 overs. The spin-

ner’s impressive returns saw Diplomats being bundled out for 147 in response to Everest CC mammoth first innings of 306 for 5 declared.

Javed Rasheed

Editor’s Note: Guyana Times Sport had previously reported on Monday that the match ended in a Draw.

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tuesDAY, october 3, 2017

23

radicals confirmed for CMRC at South Dakota

T

he final leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing

Championships (CMRC) which Guyana hosts at the South Dakota circuit continues to grow immensely, especially with the recent revelation by Motor-Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) president Rameez Mohamed that five radicals will compete at the event on November 12.

“It’s confirmed that we have five Radicals so far,” the GMR&SC top man confidently stated while speaking to the media on Sunday at the conclusion of their ‘Caribbean Invasion’ Drag Meet.

Quizzed on who will be the pilots behind the fast machines, Mohammed revealed, “So far confirmed are Mark Vieira, Kristian Jeffrey, two of Stanley Ming’s cars- I think his son (Calvin Ming) is driving one; I’m not sure who’s going to be driving the second one- and there’s a guy name (Suleman) Esuf from Barbados- he’s coming as well.”

Fans should remember Guyana’s first Formula driver, Calvin Ming doing a demonstration in 2015 and reeved up some high speeds. Though it is quite two varying machines, the high speed machines should be a thriller.

Likewise, the championships’ group four action should be another given that the big names such as Roger and Barry Mayers should be making the trip from Barbados.

“Yes. He [Roger Mayers] did not confirm with us, but they’re already making preparations…well so I heard from his mechanic, they’re making preparations to come for the race meet- he and his brother [Barry Mayers],” Mohamed explained.

The November meets brings the culmination of the CMRC events after stops in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. The twin island Republic are the current defending champions. (Akeem Greene) Caption: Local boy Kristian Jeffrey (front) is hopeful to lead the pack again when he races at the South Dakota in his radical on November 12

GAPF/ Fitness Express Jeffrey cops RAW Nationals…

4th at Tobago Oudit shatters Cycling Classic records on G

uyana’s National Cycling Champion Raynauth Jeffrey performed admirably over the weekend at the 2017 Tobago International Cycling Classic. Jeffrey who represents Team Pharmaco finished in fourth and even led in the 11th and 12th laps of the 50-lap event.

However, Dutch rider Peter Schulting (Netherlands/PSL) was declared the winner of the Classic scoring 33 points, despite finishing ninth in the 50 laps/50-kilometre race around the Scarborough Market.

Schulting led after winning the first stage in Carnbee on Wednesday and maintained his lead after he was second in Stage Two (Thursday) and sixth in Stage Three (Friday).

Schulting ensured the title returned to the Netherlands as Arno Van Der Zwet won last year’s crown. However, Van Der Zwet finished down the field in 43rd position.

Schulting was elated as he recorded his first ever race win.

Seventeen-year old local rider Kemp Orosco of DPS took care of the Division Two category after he captured the 20 laps/20km event in 28:59.76. Orosco, who rode with PSL in Tobago, was ahead after his victory in the first stage in Carnbee on Wednesday.

The 31st edition of the Tobago International Cycling Classic (TICC) ended on Monday with the UCI 1.2 Tour of Tobago which begins at the Scarborough Esplanade, Milford Road. In the 120K race the riders travelled through Plymouth, Castara, Charlotteville, Speyside, Roxborough, Mason Hall and ended at Scarborough.

Jeffrey will next look to carry his success to the inner circuit of the National Park in Guyana on Saturday. October 7 in the 13th Annual Hand in Hand Group of Insurance Companies 11-race cycle meet.

Mohammed’s Enterprise coming full –deal inked with trio of steam international riders for CMRC

O

nce again the motor cycle category of this year’s final leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) will be one of the feature attractions since Mohammed’s Enterprise will be adding fuel to the fiery contest with the signing of three foreign based riders.

The trio of Bryce Prince, Matt Truelove, Josh Herrin are expected rain down havoc at the South Dakota Circuit on November 12 when the gun down the precious chequered flag.

Prince and Truelove had their debut season last year and in rampant fashion, made a clean sweep of all the races they competed in.

Prince a former MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion continued with Team Mohammed’s Enterprise for the 2017 season and has already clinched the championship title winning all of this races in record times in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados.

Fellow MotoAmerica rider, Herrin is the newcomer to the powerful trio. In 2016 he won eight races, including

a streak of seven in a row, en route to earning the 2016 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 title. Herrin, a former AMA Superbike Champion, made a move to the Motul Superbike class this year with his Yamaha crew.

Team principal Azruddin Mohamed speaking to Guyana Times Sport on Monday explained that the move is aimed at improving the level of racing in the country and putting Guyana on the map.

While not stating who he thinks will triumph among the three riders, Mohamed contended it will be healthy competition and the fans will be highly intrigued.

The team and their Nissan GTR, which has been repainted in full black, has the local drag racing record of 7.569s on the quarter-mile.

Though experience and superior machinery will be on the foreigners’ side, 2016 Super stock Matthew Vieira along with cousin Elliot, Kevin Persaud will wage a fight on home turf. (Akeem Greene)

way to title

…Rahim is male champion

Lisa Oudit (right) before she went off on another record breaking lift on Sunday

L

isa Oudit who trains at Buddy’s Gym’s erased a couple of records on her way to claiming the Overall Best Lifter title for the females while Berbician Vijai Rahim of the Hardcore Barbell Club reigned for the males when the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF) held its Fitness Express sponsored RAW Nationals on Sunday.

Held at the Saints Stanislaus College, Brickdam, Georgetown, Oudit who competed in the 84Kg category set new records in the Squat, bench Press, Deadlift and Total categories.

In the Squat lift, Oudit squatted 130.5kg to obliterate Jackey Toney’s previous record while her Bench Press of 60.5kg also bettered Toney’s previous record.

She (Oudit) also set new records for Deadlift and Total which were all held by Toney. The new Deadlift record stands at 135.5kg, while the new Total record is 326.5kg.

Upper Demerara Barbel Club’s Colin ‘Mr. Clean’ Chesney powered his way to a squat of 700lbs to set the stage for his supremacy in the 120kg Male Masters 1 and Open divisions.

Meanwhile Rahim, who moved up to the 74kg class took the top spot ahead of Donnell Perry of Life Fitness Gym. Total Fitness Gym’s Arif Immamdeen also set new records in the 66kg class when he set new Junior National Squat, Deadlift and Total records, erasing his old marks in the process.

Immamdeen’s new Squat record now stands at 175kg, Deadlift record at 215kg and his Total record is 485kg.

Listed below are some other results: 72kg Female Junior 1st Place Grace Babb (Tower Gym) 72kg Female Open 1st Place Grace Babb (Tower Gym) 72kg Female Open 2nd Place Indra Mekdeci (Buddy’s Gym) 72kg Female Open 3rd Place Blossom Babb (Tower Gym)

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

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Golden Jaguars

dispose of Heritage All-Stars

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radicals confirmed for CMRC at South Dakota

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