Guyanatimes 4 july 2017

NBS opens new branch in Corriverton

P14 THE BEACON OF TRUTH

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

Issue No. 3261

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

PRICE

Region 9 flood woes

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Evacuation intensifies as water rises Page 12

…relief supplies sent in, schools closed off

Man stabbed to death during row at Stabroek P13 Market

Lindener fined for assaulting mother P8 Sugar industry’s future

Region 6 Private Sector urged to submit proposals

P13

Caricom not a waste – SG

… calls for more conversation by member states P14

As residents in Region Nine battle floodwaters, the Guyana Civil Defence Commission on Monday took in some relief supplies. Water levels are rapidly rising as rainfall persists in South Rupununi and the Pakaraimas

Wakenaam rice farmers still owed

Page 7

…miller cites country’s economy as reason for non-payment

Drunken man killed in Linden-Soesdyke Highway accident …still to be identified

EU payment

Jagdeo says Govt’s figure is “total falsehood” Page 3

Page 9

Guyanese, 2 P9 others busted with cocaine in Barbados charged Junior Police ranks need to support CPGs – Ramnarine P9

2 NEWS Chile calls on Guyana to strengthen ties with South America tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

By Ashraf Dabie

T

he Ambassador of Chile to Guyana, His Excellency Claudio Rojas Rachel, is calling on the Government of Guyana to establish further relationships with its South American neighbours, rather than relying primarily on its links in the north. This is as Guyana continues its historical and political ties to the Caribbean.

During a ceremony that involved the graduation of three Guyanese who had cashed in on a postgraduate exchange programme hosted

by Chile, Ambassador Rachel called on Guyana to strengthen ties with South American nations, and highlighted that while Guyana is prone to align itself with Caribbean states, especially with the presence of Caricom, there is much this country could benefit from with well-established links among the Southern countries.

The Chilean ambassador posited that Guyana being the only English-speaking country on the continent of South America should be considered an advantage, rather than a cultural barrier.

“It can be something positive to enhance our relationship. It can be something positive also to build on the basis of diversity,” Ambassador Rachel relayed.

The ambassador indicated that Guyana can provide

The Ambassador of Chile, Claudio Rojas Rachel joined by the graduates of the Bipsycho-social Rehabilitation programme and Government officials

the gateway between the Americas and the Caribbean region. He thus explained: “You can be our springboard in helping us get more related with the Caribbean region.”

Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr. Karen Boyle, of the Public Health Ministry, welcomed the call for further collaboration between Guyana and Chile, and indicated that the Guyana Government would be amenable to developing further ties with South America nations.

“Historically, Guyana has always looked northwards, and you understand why. But I think it has become more and more apparent that we have so much we

can learn and benefit from our neighbours right here in the South,” the Deputy Chief Health Officer posited.

It has been less than a year since Guyana entered into a visa-free travel agreement with Chile, while it has entered into a similar arrangement with Colombia just weeks ago. Guyana continues to embark on similar efforts towards regional integration in the South.

Guyanese postgrad programme

Following the completion of an exchange programme in Chile, three Guyanese on Thursday last graduated from the Biopsycho-social Rehabilitation Approach course offered through the Agency of International Co-

operation, ACCID. Receiving their postgraduate certificates at the ceremony hosted at the Chilean Embassy were Dexter George, Aruni Shamnarine and Ariane Mangar, who will now go on to adapt the integrated approach during their attachment at rehabilitation centres across Guyana.

Guyana Times caught up with gradate Dexter George, and he explained the basis of the Biophysco-social course and how their participation would benefit Guyanese.

The physiotherapist noted, “The programme really is (about how) to take care of persons with disabilities; and what we did is look at persons in a whole, as a full unit; not only to just give

them therapy, but where we can get them involved in the community, and the community involved with them.”

The programme offered not only focuses on the rehabilitation of persons living with disabilities, or those who have suffered injuries; but also zooms in on social inclusion, which is aimed at reintegrating these victims back into society.

While representing the Public Health Ministry at the graduation ceremony, Dr Karen Boyle congratulated the trio on attaining this significant accomplishment, and expressed delight in the emergence of three qualified professionals who will now be able to render holistic rehabilitation services in

Guyana.

“This training now allows them to not only look after the bio-physical aspects of rehabilitation, (but is) a more integrated approach to managing people, recognizing that they are not just physical bodies,” Dr. Boyle highlighted. She added: “Rehabilitation in its fullest meaning means that the persons have to be able to function optimally; and that means (they have to function) physically and socially and (become) productive members of society.”

Now that the three professionals have returned home, they are set to apply the knowledge and skills attained during the programme as the go on to impact the lives of hundreds of Guyanese. In that regard, gradating student Aruni Shamnarine hinted to this publication that their first project is likely to be conducted at the Palms Geriatric Home in Georgetown.

This is the first time Guyanese have benefited from a Bipsycho-social Rehabilitation programme offered in Chile, and it therefore creates the pathway for additional exchanges in the future. This initiative is an effort to strengthen the relationship shared between the two South American countries as Guyana continues to align with regional and international partners.

news

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Tuesday, July 4 – a night retraction at 02:00h and a day retraction from 14:00h-15:30h and Wednesday, July 5 – a night retraction at 02:30h and a day retraction from 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, July 4 – 13:10h-14:40h and Wednesday, July 5 – 14:05h-15:35h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Weather: Sunny conditions in the early morning hours followed by thundery showers, with heavy rain showers in the late afternoon.

Clear skies can be expected in the evening.

Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging between South South-easterly and Easterly between 1.34 metres and 3.57 metres.

High Tide: 13:15h reaching a maximum height of 2.23 metres.

Low Tide: 06:46h and 19:06h reaching minimum heights of 0.94 metre and 0.97 metre.

SATURDAY, July 1, 2017

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tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

EU payment

Jagdeo says Govt’s figure is “total falsehood” O

pposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has debunked claims made by Government that under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) leadership, Guyana received $348 billion in European Union (EU) funding between 2006 and 2013, and did not utilise these funds properly or used them where they were most needed.

In fact, Jagdeo has rejected the statements as a “total falsehood”, stating that the contention being peddled that the EU paid to Guyana that huge sum of money as compensation for the 36 per cent cut in preferential market prices for sugar is far from the truth.

The former Head of State pointed out that the total sum paid to Guyana was approximately $30 billion.

“Indeed, the final instalment of G$5.4 billion was paid to the coalition Government in October last year. The sum of G$348.5 billion is over ten times the sum actually received by Guyana,” he said in a statement.

Further, more than $30 billion was spent by the PPP/C Administration on the Skeldon Factory alone, Jagdeo said, while making a commitment to address this issue more expansively upon his return to Guyana later this week. Jagdeo is currently on a visit to New York, where he is meeting with the Guyanese Diaspora.

Meanwhile, former Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy also commented on the issue, labelling the Government’s statement as a blatant attempt to distort the truth.

“The fact is the EU provided budgetary support to be allocated over several sectors. Sugar and infrastructure were priority areas for support. The PPP Government provided support to Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for over $30 billion during that

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

time, much more than the EU could have provided for sugar,” Dr Ramsammy said.

The former Minister said the statement that Guyana received $348 billion was a “fantasy”.

Dr Ramsammy has since called on the EU to correct what he described as “misinformation”.

Last week, during the post-Cabinet press briefing, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon had said that the PPP/C received $348 billion, which was supposed to have been plugged into projects that would make GuySuCo more competitive as well as be able to explore diversification.

Harmon claimed that if the money was spent on the sugar industry, Guyana would not be facing the situation of having to bail out GuySuCo to the tune of billions of dollars annually.

Also last week, the EU announced the closure of its funding programme, which saw Guyana benefiting from billions in budgetary support to aid in sugar sector reform.

EU Ambassador to Guyana, Jernej Videti? said while the last grant was issued in 2013, it was not released to Guyana until last

year after the country failed to meet the necessary criteria required.

The EU Sugar Grant was established to compensate for the 36 per cent cut in preferential market price after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had ruled that the preferential market access violated global free trade rules.

A total of 1.28 billion euros were allocated for disbursement to the sugar protocol countries benefiting from the programme to help them adapt to the new market conditions. Guyana received its first instalment in 2006.

The Guyana Government has moved to downsize and diversify the sugar industry. However, this move has since attracted countrywide protest action with many, including the parliamentary Opposition and the largest sugar workers representative body, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), calling on the coalition Administration to reverse its decision.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder recently presented a “White Paper on the Future of the Sugar Industry” to the National Assembly, revealing plans to close the Enmore and Rose Hall Sugar Estates, sell the Skeldon Sugar Factory, reduce the annual production of sugar, and take on the responsibility of managing the drainage and irrigation services offered by GuySuCo.

Former Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

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

Strategic approaches to eradicate the HIV/AIDS scourge

G

uyana has successfully initiated approaches, compatible with the JSI/World Education Centre for HIV and AIDS formula, to addressing HIV/AIDS-related issues. These include, inter alia: engaging multi-sectoral organisations to combat the epidemic; strengthening the skills, talents and resources of local communities through participatory technical and organisational skills training; working with communities to stem the spread of HIV; targeting people and communities most at risk of contracting HIV; developing and adapting technical and organisational skills training for people at all levels of education and literacy; effectively monitoring and evaluating programmes; and documenting and disseminating best practices.

When Guyana’s beloved theatrical personality, Andre Sobryan, contracted the dreaded virus a couple of decades ago, hearts wept throughout the land and in many places beyond Guyana’s borders where Andre had made his mark and left his peculiar imprimatur.

Andre was an unabashed homosexual who did not impose his choices on anyone, but who respected the rights of all to make their own choices on their journey along the pathways of life.

The fateful diagnosis informing him about the imminent end to his life did not inhibit his zest for life. Instead, he packed even more activities into his days, and his creative juices flowed in overabundance.

The world of the creative arts – especially the fraternity of theatrical buffs – has never again been the same in Guyana since Andre’s passing at a relatively young age. Although his achievements are many, the most impactful of his contributions to Guyana’s society is that he was the first person to publicly acknowledge his status and thus contributed significantly to the health sector’s efforts to destigmatise the disease.

Over the years since Andre’s passing, Guyana has made great strides in combating the disease – in partnership with several organisations, especially the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

On December 11, 2008, the National AIDS Programme Secretariat of the Ministry of Health in Guyana (NAPS/MoH) convened a National Conference on “Faith-and-HIV”, in collaboration with UNAIDS, with the aim of engaging a coalition of faith-based organisations of all denominations all across Guyana to deal with issues of stigma and discrimination against those afflicted with HIV/AIDS and their families within communities.

Andre Sobryan began sending his message home through theatrical and audio-visual programmes. The initiative by NAPS/ MoH/UNAIDS further humanised the afflicted and their families and helped to integrate them into their communities through their various houses of worship.

There are many persons who are followers, but few who are leaders, and there is no limit to what a good leader can achieve.

Many religious leaders preach on every subject under the sun and expound on religious philosophies during their discourses, but few transfer the rhetoric to action, which at times disillusions their congregations. However, the churches of the land could prove the most effective medium to take the message of compassion and goodwill to one’s fellow man, following the philosophy of “Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Impartation of information through this avenue proved another useful product of this joint initiative, because people living in remote locations were informed about formal healthcare and its accessibility; about their rights to access education, treatment, care, and support in a loving environment; that HIV is no longer a death sentence, but a treatable disease; that HIV-afflicted parents can have children free from HIV, among other facts useful in the prevention and treatment of the disease, and the way to treat HIVaffected persons with compassion that would not be discriminatory, but would rather enhance their lives.

“The response to HIV, in any country, is heavily dependent on the broad mobilisation of its leaders, institutions and movements.

Faith leaders and their communities are present literally everywhere people live their lives – with enormous outreach as well as in-reach.

They are important stakeholders in responding to HIV, as they have a strategic advantage in supporting, understanding and accepting people living with HIV, and in playing a crucial role in preventing new HIV infections,” said Dr Ruben del Prado, former UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Guyana.

Pioneers in this battle for life such as Andre Sobryan have left their efforts emblazoned on the lives of those who are taking responsibility and dealing with their disease in a mature way.

Hopefully, this head-on approach would help to finally eradicate the disease in Guyana and, indeed, in every nation afflicted by this unrelenting plague.

All eyes in the world of fashion turn to the city that defines high fashion for Haute Couture Week in Paris. The Haute Couture Fashion Week kicked off on Sunday. In photo, a stunning creation from Iris Van Herpen Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017/2018 (Reuters/Charles Platiau)

Guyanese in NY urge non-closure of sugar estates Dear Editor, A group of Guyanese nationalists paid glowing tribute to the Enmore Martyrs last Sunday afternoon at the Liberty Palace in Richmond Hill, New York. The Enmore martyrs incident refers to the cold-blooded murder of several sugar workers during a strike on June 16, 1948.

The workers were subjected to inhumane working and living conditions, causing them to take industrial action to force management to improve working conditions.

And the British Government ordered troops to open fire on the protesting workers, killing five and injuring scores.

The dead were buried at Le Repentir cemetery. A large crowd, led by Cheddi Jagan and leaders of the PAC and GIWU, marched from Enmore to the Le Repentir cemetery, where the bodies were interred.

“It was not merely a march to mourn the lives of five innocent people; not merely a march to cry for their fallen brothers; it was a ‘march of defiance’; it was

a ‘march for freedom’; a march that started the journey to independence,” said Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who was the feature speaker at the event.

The Richmond Hill event was organised by the Guyanese Solidarity Movement (GSM) 100th Indenture Anniversary Foundation led by Dr. Tara Singh, this writer, and others. I gave opening remarks, reminding the audience about the sacrifices made by the Enmore strikers and those who were injured or killed by British troops.

I also spoke about the dire situation of workers from my visit to several sugar estates, particularly Wales, two weeks ago.

Among other speakers were Walter Raghu, a former GAWU official and sugar worker, who spoke of the traumatic situation the sugar workers find themselves in; and Frank Bassoodeo, who spoke about the history of sugar workers and the difficulties rice farmers face as a result of broken promises by

the current coalition government.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy gave the feature address, on the Martyrs and on the current state of the sugar industry. Dr. Tara Singh served as moderator for an interactive (question and answer) session; Robert Mahase read a poem on the Martyrs; Rohan, the flutist, performed a musical tune with a flute.

Mahendra Ramkhellawan, the popular Chutney singer, graced the event with his presence and sang a new CD about how sugar and the closing down of sugar estates was putting workers on the bread line. The DJ and sound system was provided free of cost by Deodat Singh.

Dr Ramsammy claimed that the Government betrayed the sugar workers, and are determined to end sugar production because they see sugar as an important support base for the PPP. “It is political vendetta, not good economics. The decision to close SUGAR is not a policy derived from any good analysis and study, but driv-

en by a wicked political motivation. SUGAR and the sugar workers are collateral damage. In the process, all of Guyana will pay an economic and social price,” Dr. Ramsammy said.

“This is likely to be the last tribute paid to the Martyrs in Enmore with an operating Enmore Sugar Factory, unless we stop the callous plan of the APNU+AFC Administration to close the Enmore Estate”. APNU+AFC have announced plans to close the Enmore Estate at the end of 2017.

He called on the audience and the public at large to mount a fight to keep Enmore and other estates alive. The organisers plan to host other town hall-type events to keep the diaspora abreast of happenings in their former homeland.

This writer urges the Government to pursue a policy that provides employment for those out of jobs at Wales and elsewhere.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

Seeking advice of the Diaspora Dear Editor, Press reports state that massive amounts of oil have been discovered in Guyana, and foreign company ExxonMobil has been contracted to explore and carry out the extensive operations to market the “black gold”.

While ExxonMobil is spending tens of billions of dollars in the exploration process, concerns are being expressed by Guyanese within and outside of Guyana about the arrangement between the Government and ExxonMobil.

The latest came from Nigel Hughes, an outstanding attorney and Director of Guyana Oil and Gas Association

(GOGA).

Two prominent and highly qualified Guyanese in the diaspora -- Dr Tulsi Singh, who has been in the oil business for decades in Midland Texas, and Sam Boodhoo, CPA, CA, a certified professional accountant of Canada, who had given professional advice to several oil companies -- feel the Guyana Government should be very cautious in signing its final agreement with ExxonMobil.

Boodhoo has written a paper on Guyana Oil Dealings, wherein he highlighted the pitfalls and stressed that Guyana should establish a corporation owned and controlled by Guyanese to man-

age the oil resources. He feels that there might be deficiencies in the negotiation process.

Dr Singh, on the other hand, who was not too optimistic that Guyana would earn billions from the oil, is now of the ‘view that the Republic would benefit tremendously because of three factors: (1) Hess Corporation, a 30% owner in ExxonMobil, is making financial arrangements for the Guyana project; (2) XOM, as the operating partner in Guyana, has confirmed a $4,4 billion on the deal, and XOM has engaged SBM Offshore NV, a Dutch offshore oil and gas behemoth, to convert a huge crude oil tanker into a

floating production storage and offloading platform.

The minister responsible for the oil Industry, Raphael Trotman, an attorney who is not an expert in oil, should seek the advice of Guyanese in the diaspora who are experts in the field and who are willing to offer their advice.

Two other Guyanese entrepreneurs – Brian Ramphal of California and Mc Sood Amjad of St Maarten – have also expressed their concern and want to ensure that Guyana is not taken for a ride by foreign big business.

Sincerely, Oscar Ramjeet

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Squalid state of State of Le Repentir Cemetery New Amsterdam Dear Editor, Please permit me to express my dissatisfaction on the infrastructural fragilities of New Amsterdam.

The town has, over the past 25 years, suffered from the worst forms of infrastructure neglect.

The four major roads in the town: Republic Road, Stanleytown, Strand and Main Street, need major resurfacing, as potholes and uneven surfaces make daily traverse a difficult exercise. Smythfield Road and Angoy’s Avenue, two major road arteries, are both in deplorable condition, with teninch-deep craters that create hardship for vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

These roads were rehabilitated some ten years ago, and were supposed to last for twenty years, but engineering and administrative negligence have resulted in the current state of affairs.

The residents of Theatre Alley have not seen any maintenance work executed on this street, and it is the worst access road in the town.

Last May, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, at the unveiling of the Anthony Sagba Arch, expressed passion and desire to see infrastructural growth in this country. I now publicly ask this minister to visit NA with his team of engineers and see firsthand the dilapidated road network in the town, which is reminiscent of those found in war-torn Third World countries.

The NA Municipality and the Region 6 RDC seem to have neither the human resource capacity nor the vision or desire to start the process of liberating the town from its “depressed community” status to one

of infrastructural advancement and economic growth; hence the input of central government is urgently needed to halt the social and economic decay of this town.

I suggest that the following initiatives be taken to assist in improving the town’s infrastructure.

Firstly, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure needs to re-establish its road maintenance unit in Berbice, to carry out regular maintenance in patching emerging potholes and repairing road shoulders on a regular basis, to prevent their disintegration to the point of becoming craters and costing tax payers millions of dollars for substandard repair work.

In the eighties, the then Ministry of Public Works had in Berbice an office that carried out this task efficiently, until it was disbanded in the nineties with no justification being given.

Secondly, Central Government needs to provide engineering oversight when road works are being carried out in NA. A walk around the town would reveal that parapets along major roads are filled with overgrown shrubs and desilted mud from the canals, which allow for the creation of water pools in the rainy season, thus weakening the road shoulders; as there is no runoff area for the water, and this gives rise to the formation of potholes and craters, which result in great inconvenience to road users.

Thirdly, with the increased volume of traffic in the town, there is need for traffic lights to be erected at critical junctions: Main and Philadelphia streets, Republic Road and Philadelphia Street, and Main and Vryheid Street.

These traffic control mea-

sures would go a long way towards controlling the chaotic traffic congestions that occur during the rush-hour periods in the mornings and afternoons.

I invite our Local Government Minister, Mr Ronald Bulkan, to visit the town and observe the effects of a dysfunctional waste management system.

It has been more than a year since Local Government Elections were held, and residents of the town are still to experience the transformation of this process, hence the need for Central Government to have a more proactive role, as the local government organs struggle to fully understand their roles in providing basic services to the community.

Without out central government’s input, the enjoyment of the good life promised after the May 2015 general elections will continue to be an elusive dream for residents, and would, come 2020 general elections, result in a disgruntled electorate who would have felt betrayed by the current administration’s unfulfilled promises.

I look forward to Ministers Patterson and Bulkan visiting NA and meeting with regional and municipal representatives to design and execute a developmental plan that would start the process of transforming the town from its “depressed community” status to a state of prosperity and economic growth.

Yours faithfully, Michael Baird, Jr

Dear Editor, The recent epiphany experienced by City Councillors of the Georgetown Municipality at their last statutory meeting -- particularly those who were there for the last two decades -- regarding the ostensible disorder and lawlessness that accompany funerals, is just pathetic to say the least.

These modern day Rip Van Winkle personalities seem unaware that this has been going on for years now, and they had all turned a blind eye to the situation. The city of Georgetown became uncontrollable and unmanageable under their watch over the last two decades.

First of all, they keep referring to Le Repentir, which was created in March 1861, as a cemetery. It is not. At best it is a graveyard. But, more practically, the Le Repentir graveyard has to be the worst graveyard in the world. It is a complete eyesore.

A cemetery is a burial place where the grounds are neat and attractive, there are clean avenues and pathways, well-kept lawns and lots of specially planted trees and shrubs; in variety, flower beds here and there, and a Sexton who is in touch with everyone, easy to approach, sympathetic in nature, and courteous at all times.

A person who has bid final farewell to his or her loved ones finds it extremely difficult, if not impossible, one year later to lo-

cate the burial sites where their loved ones have been interred. And alas! These Councillors are arguing about whether or not music should be played at funerals. A visit to the brightly painted green Le Repentir office building where the burial records are kept reveals that these records are not in order, which results in a serious problem of not being able to find where family members, relatives and friends are interred.

And these Councillors prefer to spend hours debating about the disruption of traffic, the noise, and alleged drunkenness of the attendees at funerals.

Should they not be focusing instead on computerizing burial records and data?

The canals which form the northern and southern boundaries of the cemetery, including the inter-locking side trenches, are clogged with grass and all sorts of unmentionables. There is bush everywhere in Le Repentir, and the path-

ways are impassable; and the Councillors are arguing instead about the so-called damage to the fence.

The grave diggers and other workers in the graveyard do not have the requisite tools and safety gear.

They are most times paid their salaries late, and are still awaiting the payment of their leave passage allowances which should have been paid since the beginning of the year; but the Councillors are more concerned about ‘who goes to dance up and wine up when they don’t even know who died’. Be reminded that some of these very Councillors were attendees at such festive-like funerals in the past.

Those Town Hall meetings are more like stand-up comedy shows, rather than serious business where level-headed and rational persons set policies for moving the city forward.

Regards, Riley Matthews

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Foundation

– new study: moms’ emotional supportiveness linked to worse adjustment at school

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here’s plenty of evidence that when parents help preschoolers understand and cope with negative feelings, they teach children important skills. But a new study suggests that supportive responses to our children’ negative feelings may not always be helpful.

Vanessa Castro and her colleagues (Castro, Halberstadt, & Garrett?Peters, 2017) had moms rate how they typically respond to their third graders’ negative feelings and also rate their social adjustment. They found that moms who reported being more supportive also rated their children as more socially skilled, but teachers said these children had fewer socio-emotional skills and more problem behaviours.

So, how do we understand this surprising finding?

Unfortunately, the measure of emotional support used in this study was a mixed bag, including a wide range of parental responses such as distracting, comforting, and problem-solving, so it’s hard to know which specific responses were or weren’t helpful. Also, because this is a correlational study, we can’t tell what causes what. Maybe children who have trouble getting along at school elicit and need more emotional support from parents. Maybe these children would be even worse off if their moms weren’t so supportive!

Future research will help sort out the implications of these findings. In the meantime, it’s worth thinking about the possibility that, as parents, we might sometimes overdo emotional support to the detriment of our children’s coping and relationships. When we pay attention to our children mainly when they’re upset, we could accidentally teach them that that’s the best way to get our attention. Also, as children get older, their social lives become more complicated, and the strategies we used to comfort our upset toddlers may not be enough to teach school-age children how to manage their emotions in situations when we’re not around.

Here are some ideas to consider in your role as your child’s “emotion coach”:

Focus on emotional behaviour as well as emotional experience

Too often, people believe the myth of emotional venting, which says that we have to “let out” negative emotions.

There’s not a shred of empirical evidence to support this perspective! In fact, acting aggressively by, say, punching a pillow and imagining hitting the target of our frustration, can actually intensify anger (Kennedy-Moore & Watson, 2001).

School-age children need to learn what to express, with whom, and how. They need to begin to imagine what kind of response they hope to get from others and what actions are most likely to get that response. (Hint: It’s unlikely anyone will respond well to getting yelled at!) They have to learn effective ways to ask for what they want or to tolerate lessthan-ideal situations without resorting to tantrums.

Consider peer reactions

From about first grade on, other children tend to react negatively to children who frequently become very emo-

tional at school. They may feel frightened or uncomfortable around children who are often intensely upset, or they may just prefer to hang out with children who are easier to get along with. Unfortunately, some children are entertained by big emotional displays and may tease or try to provoke these reactions.

School-age children are beginning to be able to imagine someone else’s perspective in greater detail and with greater accuracy. They can start to consider what someone else wants, in addition to what they want.

They are also beginning to become aware of social norms, which are unwritten rules describing expected or unexpected behaviour in different situations. For instance, if no one else is crying after losing the baseball game, your child should consider the possibility that his reaction is bigger than the situation warrants and might even make teammates feel bad.

Avoid overdoing for children

In general, we don’t want to do things for our children that they can do for themselves because that robs them of the opportunity to learn important coping skills. If we overdo in the emotional realm, we may accidentally teach our children that they can’t handle any distress on their own, and they have to get an adult to fix things.

Babies and toddlers have few options – other than crying or yelling – when something isn’t right. School-age children have a wide range of coping options. They can distract themselves, say encouraging things to themselves, think about a problem in a new way, ask for specific help, keep trying, take a short break then try again, or walk away from an unhealthy situation.

In a calm moment, you can help your child think through which options are likely to work best in a particular challenging situation. Don’t just give answers; ask questions to guide your child toward coming up with a solution. “What have you tried so far?”, “What do you think might help?”, “How do you think they’re likely to react?” and “How will you know if it’s helping?” are possibilities.

In no way does the study by Castro (or this blog post!) imply that parents should be “unsupportive” when their children are upset. Having parents who are frequently harsh or uncaring is devastating for children. Parents can be an important source of comfort even as children grow into adulthood. We all need people in our lives who are always on our side!

However, if we think of our job as parents as helping our children learn how to be in a relationship, then it’s clear that support alone is not enough. We can and should acknowledge our children’s feelings and offer our loving acceptance, understanding, and comfort. However, we also want to help our children learn to manage their emotions, communicate effectively, and care about others. We may be their emotional training wheels, but our goal is to help them become capable of riding freely on their own. (psychologytoday.com)

By Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD

E

very worry-prone child I’ve ever worked with has had an exceptionally vivid imagination. These kids are masters at conjuring vivid mental pictures of possible terrible events. Then they fret endlessly, replaying those pictures in their minds, unable to tear their mental eyes away from the imagined potential disaster.

The worry images kids create are scary! So, they try hard not to think them, but that only makes those thoughts pop up more frequently and more intensely.

Some children also think that if anything bad might happen, they have to worry about it. They say, “I can’t stop worrying!” but part of them believes that this worrying is useful and necessary. If they fret constantly, maybe somehow magically they can cause the scary thing not to happen.

Reassurance can make worries grow

Worries are “What if?” thoughts. When children say them aloud, parents tend to respond with reassurance. “Don’t worry. That’s not going to happen.”

Sometimes reassurance helps. Your child might not know something or might not understand something and clearing up the facts or making a plan can ease your child’s concerns.

If reassurance is going to work, it will work right away.

But worry-prone kids are rarely satisfied with a quick bit of reassurance.

For anxious kids, reassurance might bring two seconds of relief, but then the worries come back even harder. You can’t guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen, and they can always come up with another, “But what if...?” So they keep asking, and asking, and asking…

Reassurance-seeking can quickly fall into a negative spiral. The more parents say, “It’s fine. Don’t worry!” the more anxious kids demand, “But what if…?”

Using imagination to counter children’s worries

Here’s a simple strategy that may help your worried child let go of scary worry images: Rather than trying to reassure your child, one coping strategy is to help your child vividly imagine other possibilities. For example, if your child says, “What if everyone makes fun of me because of my haircut?” ask, “What if that doesn’t happen? What would that look like?”

When I’ve done this with children in my practice, they tend to give me a startled blink and a slightly confused expression. It hasn’t occurred to them to imagine anything except terrible disaster!

The key to this strategy is to bring in additional images to counter the scary one. Realistic images will probably work better than overly positive ones.

Sometimes kids need a little help coming up with alternative images. So, in the haircut situation, you might say something like: What if they don’t notice your haircut?

What if they say, ‘Oh, you got a haircut,’ but they’re not very interested, so then they just keep doing what they were doing?

What if they say, ‘Nice haircut,’ and then just keep doing what they were doing?

Encourage your child to imagine the nondisastrous possibilities even harder than the disastrous one. Your child’s imagination may contribute to worries, but it can also be a means to quiet those worries. Being able to imagine nondisastrous situations makes the disastrous one seem less likely.

With practice, children can become better at coming up with their own “What if it doesn’t (or didn’t) happen?” scenarios in response to worries.

Managing your own worries

This strategy can also be useful for parents. I worked with a mom once whose son was on a driving trip with some friends and didn’t call her at the scheduled time. The first thought that popped into her head was, “What if he died in a car accident?!?” That would be terrible!

Fortunately, she’d learned the “What if it didn’t happen?” technique, and she vividly imagined him 1) forgetting to charge his cell phone, 2) losing track of time because he was sitting around chatting over lunch with his friends, or 3) making a last-minute decision to do something fun with his friends and accidentally leaving his cell phone behind. These alternative images were all more likely than the car accident, so they helped her manage her anxiety until her son called.

Yes, he was fine. Lunch had run long. (psychologytoday.com)

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tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Wakenaam rice farmers still owed …miller cites country’s economy as reason for non-payment

By Shemuel Fanfair

A

s the weeks and months go by, farmers in the Essequibo island of Wakenaam are still encountering difficulties in acquiring payment for their paddy.

Early last month, this newspaper highlighted that many of the farmers were not paid for paddy produced for the crop that ended in April.

Guyana Times understands that a delegation of farmers recently visited one of the main millers to appeal for their outstanding payments, which amount to millions of dollars. However, one farmer who preferred to remain anonymous told this publication on Sunday that that miller detailed a series of excuses that chronicled why farmers cannot yet be paid.

“They try he yes; they even went, and the miller tell them about the crisis (in) the country, how it going and all [kinds of things],” the farmer observed.

The rice farmer ex-

pressed frustration at not having enough money to purchase the requisite materials to continue rice cultivation. “If ‘Rice Man’ do business, he got to have money [to] do he business; but they (the millers) just want to use the farmers,” this farmer angrily stated.

Withholding payments to farmers is in contravention of the Rice Factories (Amendment) Act of 2009, which stipulates that farmers need wait no longer than the mandatory 42 days before being paid for their paddy. According to the Act, the manufacturer (miller) is required to pay the paddy producer (farmer) half the amount due that farmer within two weeks of receiving that farmer’s paddy, and the remainder of the liability must be liquidated within 42 days of the parties signing the agreement of paddy sale.

Less than one month ago, it was announced that, through a fertilizer credit system which Government had termed a cost-effective approach to assisting farm-

A rice field

ers, rice farmers can access fertiliser and repay the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) at the end of each crop. Guyana Times was told that although Wakenaam farmers are able, under this arrangement, to obtain the 6:25:25 fertiliser, they need to likewise access urea, to blend with what was provided, but have been told that this chemical is not available.

“The expense is too much; and if you had cash at hand,

you can able to do something better. Everybody done shy back, them just waiting on their money to buy fertilizer,” a farmer told Guyana Times on Sunday.

The Agriculture Ministry disclosed last Friday that 17,000 tonnes of paddy have been shipped to Mexico, and 43,000 tonnes more will be shipped to that country over the next two months in a deal said to be worth some US$17 million (G$3B).

However, the days of

farmers getting premium rates for their paddy crops have since passed, following the end of the PetroCaribe (rice-for-oil) deal which was cancelled by Venezuela in 2015. Under that arrangement, farmers accrued some $9,000 per bag of paddy, but this has been reduced to between $1800 and $2,500, depending on location.

When Guyana Times interviewed the farmers earlier this month, their reluctance to engage in production

this year was noted, but was understandable, considering that they are owed for their produce. One miller who owes farmers millions of dollars had reportedly switched off his mobile phone and had refused to take telephone call from farmers at that time. Guyana Times had also reported that a similar situation of non-payment obtained on the neighbouring island of Leguan, where numerous farmers there had also not been paid for their paddy.

Large-scale farmer Takur Persaud told this publication in June that even though farmers had easier access to fertilisers, many of them had opted against preparing their lands for cultivation because of the outstanding sums they were owed. He had also explained that while one miller had paid farmers $2000 per bag for a previous crop of paddy, because farmers had not been given vouchers, they were unsure what they would have been paid per bag for the most recent paddy crop.

IMF report

Public Sector lacks capacity to implement projects – analyst

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Financial analyst Sasenarine Singh

he decline in public investment in Guyana is mainly a result of the poor implementation capacity within the Public Sector and the lack of properly qualified engineers, project managers and specialists within this sector, overseas-based Guyanese financial analyst and former Alliance For Change (AFC) Executive Member Sasenarine Singh has said.

Singh made these comments against the backdrop of the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, which alluded to the fact that “delays in public investment weighed down on activity”. The financial expert says that the powers that be in the Finance Ministry seem lost on the

fact that there has been a significant drop in Public Sector savings over 2016.

The IMF 2017 Staff Report on Guyana highlighted the fact that Public Sector savings declined from 4.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015 to 3.4 per cent of GDP in 2016. According to Singh, “What I found alarming, is the rate of decline in the Public Sector saving in the first three months of 2017.”

The Bank of Guyana’s First Quarter 2017 Report also highlighted the fact that “the Public Sector (net) credit position worsened by 70.9 per cent to G$11,845 million from G$6929 million at end-2016 mainly on account of a reduction in the deposits of the non-financial

public enterprises. And the net savings in the public enterprises decreased by 23.8 per cent in the first three months of 2017.

But, according to Singh, the Administration seems to be struggling to make progress on major public infrastructural investments.

“We got to accelerate the construction of the British-funded Linden to Mabura Road; we got to accelerate the new bridge across the Demerara River.

Unfortunately, President (David) Granger continues to delude himself by talking green energy ,but to date no earth-shaking progress has been made on any sort of green energy – be it solar, wind or hydro.

All he is doing is a public gaff on the “Public Interest Programme”, but his weak words are backed by insignificant actions.”

The former AFC Executive Member said too that in order for Government to drive economic growth through the Public Sector Investment Programme, it would need to aggressively formulate a programme to build the capabilities of the Private Sector to handle big projects.

Singh concluded that the IMF was indeed correct when it said “delays in public investment weighed down on activity and this is manifest in the construction sector.”

8 news

tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Lindener fined for assaulting mother A

Lindener, who appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Linden Magistrate’s Court, was found guilty of assaulting his mother.

Nigel Carrington, 52, was also charged with making use of abusive language against his mother, but that charge was dismissed as a result of insufficient evidence.

The court heard that the defendant "chucked" his mother on the day in question as she sought to have him remove his bicycle from a step at her Independence Avenue, Mackenzie, Linden

home. The court further heard that the defendant took away a mop stick, which the woman had in her possession at the time and

broke it into three pieces.

Carrington, however, denied the allegation, noting rather that she "lashed" him with the stick. Magistrate

Nurse then indicated that the Virtual Complainant in her testimony gave no indication of being dishonest, thereby rendering the defendant guilty as charged.

He was fined $10,000.

Failure to pay the fine will result in him serving two weeks in prison. After being fined, Carrington apologised for his actions, stating "you don't hurt the ones you love", as he maintained that he did not assault his mother.

He was also placed on a bond to keep the peace for a year or serve time at the Camp Street Prison.

Disorderly behaviour lands man before court S

haquille Mingo was fined $10,000 by Magistrate Clive Nurse for the offence of disorderly behaviour, which was committed inside a Police Station.

Mingo, 20, appeared at the Linden Magistrate’s

Court, where he was also charged with making use of threatening language. It is alleged that on June 21, 2017, he made use of threatening language against Charlene Piggott at Upper Demerara. He, however, denied the charge.

The prosecution is contending that on May 7, 2017, the defendant, who was arrested for making use of threatening language, was at the Ituni Police Station when he began to stomp his feet and speak in a loud tone of voice. After being cautioned several times by Police ranks, it is alleged that the defendant still continued with the disorderly behaviour, which led to him being charged.

In court last week, Mingo admitted to the disorderly behaviour charge, but not the threatening charge.

"I did not threaten anyone, Sir,” he told Magistrate Nurse.

He was fined $10,000.

Failure to pay the fine will result in a default sentence of two weeks in prison. He is scheduled to reappear in court on July 19 for the threatening language case.

Tales…

Y

…of moral rottenness our Eyewitness just can’t take it anymore with this stench from the pus of moral rottenness oozing out of the PNC-led coalition government, as the media continues to scratch the surface of the façade of sanctimoniousness they adopted when in Opposition.

They have been wallowing in every moral failing they accused the PPP government of committing, and this is what makes it unforgiving.

They cannot excuse the rapacious behaviour of their functionaries on the ground that they “didn’t know this could happen”. Forewarned should be forearmed.

The point that they haven’t been able to prove their strident charges against the PPP (Nandlall's law books are the best they can do?? Puleeese!!) makes their present orgy of raiding the public purse even more revolting.

And let’s not think it’s only the PNC; they at least have the excuse they’re keeping up their party’s tradition. Let’s just look at “Mr Holier-than-thou” Rupert Roopnaraine from the WPA -- a sitting senior minister of the government. Whatever happened to that corporation he and a host of hustlers formed to “develop” Durban Park for their big Jubilee Bash?? How many millions did they collect from businesses?? Why can’t they reveal who those businesses are, so we can be spared the exercise of connecting the dots when certain businesses collect their “political investments”?

As Minister of Education, he can put his foot down and prohibit poor people’s children from writing more than 10 subjects at CSEC. So what if they do that, hoping to snag one of the few scholarships being offered to the complete student pool?? HIS daughter was able to get her scholarship with less than 10 subjects, didn’t she?

Not to mention that his then junior minister, Nicolette Henry, also huffed one.

But this “house rent” scam is in a league all by itself!! Okay, the 50% raise for ministers was hard to swallow -- especially when 10% couldn’t be found for the government workers who actually do all the work the ministers take credit for, and the pay raise had to be investigated through investigative journalism by GTimes -- but the people of Guyana swallowed. Then came the obligatory tinted black SUV with chauffer, maid, gardener, security guard (with luxury toilet!) and $25,000 “housing allowance”. It was more difficult, but again Guyanese swallowed.

But to be now informed that while all that raping of the treasury was going on, junior ministers were secretly getting rentals of $500,000/MONTHLY paid for by Parliament is just too much. And it’s not even “affirmative action”, since the Amerindian junior minister from the deepest Rupununi was forced to live in the government “Villas”.

What next? That warehouse rentals are paid for even when there’s no warehouse?

…in Maths Looks like Maths is also a challenge to the EU and some in the local press. They announced that, between 2006 and 2016, the EU delivered $348 BILLION to Guyana in support of our sugar industry for the 36% cut in prices they unilaterally imposed back in 2005. Now you’d think the EU would know this was RIDICULOUS! After all, the TOTAL amount they’d allocated for all 71 countries in the ACP to compensate for breaking their Lome/Cotonou Protocol on sugar was 1.2 billion Euros.

This works out to around $348 billion Guyana dollars!!

So did Guyana get ALL of the money?? Sheesh!! But of course, the Muckraker jumped all over the PPP to have them “explain” what they did with the $348 billion.

Even though, on Jan 24, 2015, they reported, “To date, Guyana has received over $31B since the execution of the Guyana National Action Plan (GNAP) in 2006 on Accompanying Measures for Sugar Protocol Countries alone.” And that after holding up payments, the EU gave the final $5.4B to APNU in 2016.

Total?? $36.4B!! …and fishy stories Agri Minister Holder acknowledged Climate Change is affecting the ocean’s salinity. And to deal with Guyana’s adaptation, he’s introducing new species of fingerlings!

He plans to restock the ocean when we can’t even farm tilapia in ponds.

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

news

Junior Police ranks need to support CPGs – Ramnarine A

ssistant Police Commissioner David Ramnarine is calling on the junior ranks of the Guyana Police Force to increase their support to members of the Community Policing Groups (CPGs).

Ramnarine made this call on Sunday after CPG Chairman Dr Mark Constantin had delivered his report at the Biennial General Meeting of that entity, held at the Police Sports Club at Eve Leary. Speaking on behalf of Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, Ramnarine said the problem between the GPF and the CPGs seems to be an “Achilles heel.” He noted that the issue of trust and respect must clearly be improved between the GPF and the CPGs if they are to move forward and fulfil their respective duties.

CPG Chairman Dr Mark Constantin is of the opinion that the lack of support from junior police ranks comes from the idea that the CPGs are there to “police the police.” However, he pointed out that such a perception does not reflect well on the CPGs. According to the Government Information

Assistant Police Commissioner David Ramnarine

Agency (GINA), Ramnarine declared, “It is distressing, and it is very sad, to know that despite the good work, despite the rich history, despite all the improvements, despite more classes, despite more educational opportunities, despite more training opportunities, the problem still exists.”

Ramnarine wants all police officers to understand that all the research so far done in this regard has shown that the police cannot do (policing) alone; thus he is calling on junior ranks to cease viewing the CPGs as nobodies.

“It is clear that trust and

respect need to be improved between you and the police; the police to you; liaison to you; liaison to the police; and, along with your leadership, to the (Public Security) Ministry. Trust and respect must be present if the GPF and GPGs are to move forward,” Ramnaraine said.

The Assistant Commissioner urges the CPGs to understand that: “The major issue in our country right now is the safety of (every) community; and if we cannot put aside the differences (we harbour) and work with each other, then we might as well stay out and let those who want to work

together continue to work together.”

Dr Constantin also made a call for CPGs and members of the GPF to work together.

He said that while the CPGs receive support from the GPF, it comes from the senior officers only. “We, as community policing members, are here to work with you, to support you and to help you so that, together, we can achieve the desired success we all, I am sure, desire to have,” Dr Constantin explained.

Additionally, the Chairman called on members of the CPGs to act more professionally. Professionalism, he said, is something the organisation needs from all its stakeholders. “After forty-one years of experience, the time for childlessness needs to be put away, since it does not help us to get better in any way,” he explained.

Dr Constantin also made some recommendations in his report to improve the work of the CPGs countrywide. These include: the establishment of a fixed place for the CPGs to conduct their business; ongoing training for CPG members; and more cooperation from the GPF, among others.

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tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Drunken man killed in Linden-Soesdyke Highway accident …still to be identified

A

n unidentified man was on Sunday evening struck dead by an allegedly speeding car on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

Reports are that the driver of motor car HC6634 was heading in a southerly direction when, in the vicinity of the one-mile Swan Turn, the pedestrian -- shirtless and clad in a pair of long pants -attempted to cross the public road but ran into the path of the car and sustained severe injuries to his body. He allegedly was under the influence of alcohol.

Rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, he was pronounced dead on arrival.

His body was transported to the Lyken Funeral Home to await identification and post mortem.

The 45-year-old driver, a resident of Kuru Kururu on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, was arrested and is assisting with investigations. The breathalyser test he underwent has cleared

him of driving under the influence.

An eyewitness told Guyana Times that the dead pedestrian had earlier been seen imbibing at a shop in the area. From reports received, another driver had earlier spotted him attempting to cross the road as he walked along, and had reportedly stopped for him to so do. An argument had reportedly ensued between the two men.

During that argument, the driver of HC 6634, who was heading toward Splashmin’s Fun Park, took the turn and slammed into the man, who was reportedly standing on the roadway. His body was reportedly flung into the air, and landed onto the windscreen of the motor car before tumbling onto the roadway.

Up to late Monday afternoon, the dead man’s identification had not been determined.

Investigations, however, are ongoing.

Guyanese, 2 others busted with cocaine in Barbados charged

G

uyanese Abdool Sameer Manan, 37, is among three persons charged following the June 29 cocaine bust in Barbados.

The two others are Michael Yarde of Grenada and David Ian Brathwaite of Barbados.

The three are expected to be arraigned in court today.

Brathwaite and Yarde have been jointly charged with unlawful possession, possession with intent to supply, trafficking, importation, and conspiracy to traffic both cocaine and marijuana. Manan has been charged with trafficking, and conspiracy to traffic cocaine and marijuana.

It was reported that a joint team from the Drug Squad, Police Marine Unit, Barbados Coast Guard, and Regional Security System

Air Wing intercepted a Barbadian vessel offshore the land of the flying fish on Thursday last.

A total of 50.5 kilos of cocaine, which carries a street value of US$2.5M; and 160 pounds of cannabis, which carries a street value of US$640, was seized from the boat.

Last March, Guyanese men Coco Profitt and Paul

Fraser both admitted to possession, trafficking, and importation of 14.5 kilogrammes of cocaine and 2.0 kilogrammes of cannabis into Barbados.

It has been reported that members of the Barbados Coast Guard, acting on information received, boarded the “Lady Sandra” at Port Bridgetown on September 10, 2015 and conducted a

search after speaking with the captain.

Ten packages with a white substance suspected to be cocaine, along with four packages containing vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis were found at various points on the boat.

The boat had reportedly left the John Fernandes Wharf in Guyana on September 7, 2015.

10 news

tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Something “sinister” about Govt’s plan for sugar industry – Ramotar

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here is something sinister about Government’s attempt to downsize the local sugar industry, even after promises were made to the electorate in 2015 that tangible investments would be made in the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to assist with its recovery and sustain thousands of jobs.

This is according to former President Donald Ramotar, who told Guyana Times in a recent interview that having paid attention to the Government’s statements on sugar, he has come to the realisation that something seemed a bit off, especially since it has now flipflopped on its decision.

Ramotar recalled that back in 2015 when Finance Minister Winston Jordan presented the annual budget to the National Assembly, much emphasis was placed, during his speech, on the importance of the sugar industry and how Government planned to keep it alive.

Earlier speeches made by President David Granger, before the 2015 election and after he assumed office on several occasions, highlighted the importance of sustaining the industry. And he had promised to do whatever it took to keep the industry afloat despite the challenges. However, after about one year in office, the President and his Cabinet in 2016 changed their position and moved to set up a Commission of Inquiry (CoI)

Former President Donald Ramotar

to assess the industry’s performance. At the completion of the CoI, no recommendations were made to either downsize or close the industry.

However, the Government on May 8, 2017, through Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, presented a white paper on sugar, revealing a massive policy decision to commence the downsizing of the industry.

“So, why have they changed their mind? That has been bothering me.

They knew. They can’t say that they didn’t know before they got into Government the state of the sugar industry,” Ramotar stated.

According to the former Head of State, the management and board of GuySuCo appeared before a Parliamentary Economic Committee in the National Assembly when the coa-

lition parties were in the Opposition and gave them every detail and piece of information on the state of the industry.

“So, again, why have they changed their mind?” he questioned.

Ramotar continued: “That is what is bothering me all the time, because this was not their original position. Their position in less than a year changed and as I mentioned for emphasis, it’s not a case where they don’t know what they were inheriting, they knew.”

Value added

While recognising that the industry has many challenges, Ramotar maintained that under his leadership, Government had piloted value added production as a means of making the industry more viable and sustainable, because they knew how important it was to many Guyanese.

“One of the first things my Administration did was to make the industry more flexible. Already at Albion, we had experiments going on with ethanol. So, we were planning to switch from sugar to ethanol and when the price for sugar was high, we could have come back,” he recalled.

In addition to that, the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government also moved to find other solutions and by doing so, steered GuySuCo towards more value added

production, where the company began refining sugar. Ramotar said the intention then was to ensure that Guyana tapped into the market, having been a producer of raw sugar for decades and given the fall in international prices for sugar.

The former President also pointed out that as a member of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Guyana could also take advantage of that market, which has an annual demand for 220,000 tonnes of refined sugar. “With the arrangements we have in Caricom, most of that market could have gone to GuySuCo, only if this Government would make the investment and go into that direction of refining sugar,” he stressed.

Further, Ramotar believes that co-generation plants could also be placed at Albion and Enmore Sugar Estates to assist with the provision of electricity for thousands more Guyanese. He said if the Administration was serious about creating a green economy, this would be a step in the right direction.

“You could also generate electricity with bagasse and cut down on the amount of wood used to restart the factories. Millions [are] spent on buying wood. Putting them in boilers damage the tubes”, he said, while also pointing out that GuySuCo could make a big profit from molasses and crude alcohol.

Community outreach

GuySuCo to meet with Uitvlugt residents on Wednesday

A

s part of its ongoing Community Outreach Programme for residents in sugar-dependent areas, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will be meeting with the residents of Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara on Wednesday.

The first meeting in this regard was held on Thursday last at the Wales Community Centre, and sugar workers had stormed out following a dispute between the former manager of Wales Estate and the workers.

Sugar workers say they are not going to attend the Uitvlugt outreach, although some of them work at the estate. They promised to continue calling for their severance pay, since, in their opinion, Uitvlugt Estate “is sheer blows.”

The aims of the outreach include creating awareness on the need for employees to show up to harvest cane, and mobilizing community leaders and other stakeholders -- such as customers, suppliers, Government, private and civil society sectors -- around the importance of

Flashback: Some of the workers before the walkout at last Thursday’s meeting with GuySuCo officials

improving attendance on all estates.

At last Thursday’s meeting, the workers were told they would be fired if they fail to turn up for work at the Uitvlugt Estate. But they stood their ground and informed the GuySuCo officials that they refuse to attend work at the estate.

Since closure of the Wales Estate in December 2016, some 1700 workers have been directly affected, and thousands of persons in Wales and contiguous communities have been indirect-

ly affected.

GuySuCo is yet to pay some 375 workers their severance benefits, and the workers are planning to seek an audience with Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who visited the community in March, for an update on the position in regard to his promises. The workers also plan to meet with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) for an update on the court proceedings against GuySuCo. Contacted in this regard,

GAWU President Komal Chand has said there is not much of an update for the workers, since the case has not yet been called. He promised that the union would provide updates as the matter progresses, and noted that should the workers ask, they would be informed of the status.

“We are in the process of completing a petition and getting the workers to sign, so we can take it directly to the President so he can look into the matter,” Chand said.

The AfricanGuyanese experience

I

n a few weeks, on August 1, Guyanese in general and AfricanGuyanese in particular will be celebrating Emancipation Day, in observance of the abolition of slavery in 1834, or for some, in 1838. Regardless of the difference in dates, most of the Caribbean, and actually most of the New World, will follow suit like Guyanese, since the African emancipation experience resonates across the New World.

In anticipation of this yearly event, I will provide a series on the African-Guyanese experience in the upcoming weeks. Any analysis of the African experience in Guyana and the New World, I argue, starts with two fundamental provocative thoughts: Were Africans the first people to come to the Americas? And did slavery lead to racism, or did racism lead to slavery? The former thought -that Africans arrived in the New Dr Lomarsh Roopnarine World before any ethnic group -- was interestingly put forward by a Guyanese named Ivan Van Sertima. The gist of Sertima’s argument is that the huge African-looking Olmec head found in Central Mexico is an indication that Africans were in the New World before any other ethnic group. Sertima’s theory received some currency in the African-American community as being sound, but it was virtually ignored by academics, especially by Cultural Anthropologists, as being rubbish.

Sertima’s theory, however, has challenged the established historical narrative that Amerindians were the first people of the New World. The theory has remained a one-man show, but has been copied by various African sensationalists and separatists, like some in Guyana, to claim rights to land.

The second thought -- on whether slavery did lead to racism, or the other way around -- is really a question I often ask students in my Caribbean History class when I analyze the African experience. In some ways, it is difficult to separate the two questions, since they could potentially occur at the same time. We know that slavery occurred in Africa before the arrival of Europeans in the region, although the style of slavery was very different from plantation slavery. The main difference is that slavery in Africa was less dehumanizing. We know also that as soon as Europeans, slave traders in particular, arrived in Africa, the scale of slavery intensified, as the Europeans pit one African group against another to obtain slaves.

There is also a school of thought that suggests racism was the single factor that led to African slavery, because Europeans saw Africans as anthropophagi (inferior people) and treated them as such. This thought is convincing, because we know from readings on the literature of the “Other”, the noble savage, that Europeans had limited knowledge of the world beyond themselves. To grapple with this deficiency, or more so deviancy, they applied fanciful and fanatical labels, but made very little attempt to go beyond their myopic views to understand people different from themselves.

I am not sure how much of this has changed, even in the age of globalization. Social and biological Darwinism might be gone, but mental Darwinism is surely still around.

There is also a thought that European interest in Africa was driven by economic greed and creed, and that slavery and racism were imminent consequences. What is absolutely sure is that, when Europeans made contact with Africa for slaves for the New World, slavery took on a new dimension, which is still with us today.

When two different races come in contact with each other, with one having a sordid and sinister intention to exploit the other, as in the case of European (white) and African (black), slavery and racism is not only harsher, but irreparable.

I challenge anyone to challenge this view. Do you really think Africans will ever forget that they were enslaved by Europeans?

To do so would mean to rewrite the history of the New World. It is possible to forgive, but impossible to forget.

What the two provocative thoughts suggest is that we are still trying to have, or trying to understand, the starting point of African-Guyanese and African New World experience. Certainly, if Africans had taken the Mayflower to the New World, their initial history would not have been so obscure. To accept that Africans were not merely pushed out of Africa through devious methods and pulled to the Caribbean to provide slave labour to European overlords would be a misnomer. The process and the purpose of Africans being in Guyana is more complex and multifaceted. What is absolutely sure is that the arrival of Africans led to the transformation of Africans -- as well as Guyana and other communities in the New World – on a scale hardly seen since. What emerged were: cultural retention and continuity; a rigid master/slave relationship; racism; resistance and accommodation; revolutionary trends; ecological changes; and, of course, the further development of various “isms”, like capitalism, imperialism, colonialism and multi-culturalism. To be continued. (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu).

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tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Tackling mental health issues

Hazard emergency management simulation Corporal punishment contributes to suicide, mental staged in Bartica illnesses – Psychologist …more talking, listening required before administering lashes

By Lakhram Bhagirat

C

F

The simulation exercise staged during the training

ollowing the initiation of a national MultiHazard Emergency Management Plan, the Public Health Ministry has embarked on a simulation exercise aimed at assessing the efficiency of its systematic approach to disaster control in the gold-mining municipality of Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni).

The four-day activity provided a training opportunity for 25 medical practitioners, caregivers and other stakeholders to aid in accident aversion and disaster management, given the many hazards associated with the mining industry. It also allowed the Ministry to test its newly-designed plan

initiative to his Region.

Also speaking at the session hosted over the past week was Deputy Regional Chair Olinda KyrenhoffGriffith, who shared the sentiments of his superior.

“I would say that the training was much needed. Things were done in the past, but we hadn’t a functional structure in place.

Now, all the agencies will be able to better respond if a crisis or disaster hits the region,” Kyrenhoff- Griffith noted.

The Deputy Chair further highlighted the significance of such efforts, stating it was “an opening to make stakeholders understand their functions in a health

them a structured and coherent and collaborative framework that facilitates better/enhanced DRM in facilitating timely response, detailed and accurate damage assessment,” he said.

Moreover, the Preparedness and Response Manager posited, “I believe I was able to achieve the objectives of the four days.

The manifestation of this achievement is the quality of input from the participants during the (simulation) exercise; the demonstration of learning and the transfer of knowledge.”

These speakers were backed by a series of professionals, including Kelwya Yaw, Head of the Bartica

hairman of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the state of the education sector, Ed Caesar said that the consultations revealed that parents and teachers were calling for the reintroduction of corporal punishment in schools. However, Psychologists and social workers say this will be detrimental to children’s mental health and well-being.

Corporal punishment is still being used in the school system and in some cases, it is so severe that children are left bruised and in pain.

Former Education Minister Priya Manickchand had instituted restrictions on the administering of corporal punishment in schools. One of the restrictions states that a child should not be flogged for being unable to learn or for not doing school work, while another mandates that no child should be flogged in the presence

“Psychologically, corporal punishment harms children because you don’t know how they are behaving a certain way, they are acting and to beat them is like adding insult to the injury.

So for some kids, it will scar them permanently and that is why some of them will lash out or rebel,” Pollard informed.

He noted that corporal punishment was “just a way of finding a solution to a problem it cannot fix; it’s like curing the symptoms without finding out the cause. There are no systems in place to help to listen. There is no one to listen and that is why some of our youths want to commit suicide because there’s no one to give an ear; that is the sad reality of it.”

Despite the psychological impacts of corporal punishment, teachers and some parents are adamant that it is the only means of maintaining discipline in schools.

Parent Navita Beykarran

Psychologist Jermain Pollard and social worker Alicia Solomon

Participants and facilitators of the Hazard Emergency Management training

for emergency management by creating scenarios which would employ the strategies outlined in the proposed plan.

Addressing the participants during the training was Region Seven Chairman Gordon Bradford, who commended the Ministry for its investment in ensuring the safety of those within the Region. The Regional Chairman also urged the 25 participants to take full advantage of the training opportunity.

Bradford pointed out, “Once you understand something, you are better able to respond. Your early and timely response may very well save lives or more destruction”, as he explained the importance of such an

situation. Health involves everyone and not just the hospital administration”.

Meanwhile, Civil Defence Commission (CDC) Preparedness and Response Manager Sean Welcome underlined that the Regional Multi-Hazard Preparedness and Response Plan (RMHPRP) outlined how regional authorities and stakeholders should conduct Disaster Risk Management (DRM) within their region.

The plan details an all-hazards/comprehensive approach to the DRM, Welcome explained. As facilitator of the exercise, Welcome said that Barticians would benefit in many ways from the implementation of the plan.

“Generally, it provides

Fire Station as well as Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr Edward Sagala.

This simulation exercise to test the impact of the Multi-Hazard Emergency Management Plan was as a result of a collaboration which saw the Public Health Ministry partnering with the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/ WHO) and CDC. Stemming from this initiative, the Ministry is now confident in the strategy employed to avert and control disaster in a hazard-prone region, and was able to increase the capacity of citizens to execute the regulations outlined in the newly-designed strategic approach.

of other children. Quite often, those restrictions are breached and some teachers say it is for the good of the child. However, both social workers and Psychologists who claim that hitting a child adds insult to injury while offering no solution vehemently dispute the notion of administering ‘ashes.

Psychologist Jermain Pollard told Guyana Times that he believes that corporal punishment should be completely removed in the interest of the mental well-being of the child. He added that children’s bodies were constantly changing and quite often, they were unable to cope with those changes and would lash out because of not being able to cope. He explained that when that child would go to school and misbehave, there should be systems in place to counsel the child and offer long-term solutions to the issues.

said she had no issue with teachers hitting her child if it would assist in ensuring he secured a proper education.

Another parent, Samuel Tyrell, said he would give teachers permission to administer lashes to his son, providing there was probable cause. When asked what probable cause would require lashes, he informed: “If he is disrespectful or don’t do he work, then he has to be disciplined and if they don’t do it, then I will.”

During her tenure as Education Minister, Manickchand conducted several consultation sessions with stakeholders across the country on the issue of corporal punishment and the resounding call was for it to be reinstituted.

However, former President Bharrat Jagdeo in 2007 publicly condemned the use of corporal punishment as a

Former PPP/C Education Minister Priya Manickchand

disciplinary method.

Guyana is a signatory to several conventions that prohibit hitting a child, which is considered child abuse.

Adding to the discussion, social worker Alicia Solomon told this publication that corporal punishment pushed the fear factor and made children withdrawn. In addition, she called for alternative disciplining methods to take the place of corporal punishment.

“We have to put things in place, so that we can help those children because most of the times the children that we see have something going on at home and they are coming into the school system and are going to act it out and say that somebody is going to recognise it,” the former school counsellor explained.

“We need to sit down and investigate where does that come from and how can I help this child? The school system fails some of these children because they misbehave or don’t know how to conduct themselves; we put them at the back of the class and that doesn’t help them or we send them home. We need to talk more and in the Guyana context, we don’t talk,” Solomon added.

She said rather than making violence seem the norm, emphasis should be placed on moral education and the effects of violence.

Former Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine had said he was disturbed that corporal punishment was still being administered in schools. He also said that the Ministry was working on the abolishment of policy that dictated corporal punishment.

It is unclear since Roopnaraine is no longer at the helm of the Education Ministry whether the abolishment of corporal punishment will be a priority. Efforts to determine the status of the policy change proved futile.

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tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Region 9 flood woes

Evacuation intensifies as water rises …relief supplies sent in, schools closed off shelters have been activated at the Arapaima Primary School, the Amerindian Hostel and the Culvert City Nursery School. Hotlines have been set up, and drivers and vehicles are on standby to evacuate affected persons to the shelters.

Over 30 homes have been evacuated and more residents are moving to higher ground. This publication understands that in excess of 2000 persons have been affected; however, the CDC says an official count is still underway.

RDC’s Regional Emergency Operations Centre.

“We are waiting on further assessment to get a better understanding on what’s happening at the other remote locations. In those locations, the water is a bit high and it is difficult to get to those locations, so we are waiting on the Toshaos to send in the information to us to get a better understanding of the overall situation,” Craig added.

He said that they were also closely monitoring accessibility to communities in

The Tabatinga Creek

By Lakhram Bhagirat

P

rime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan on Monday led a team from the Guyana Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to assess the level of flooding and offer relief to residents of affected communities in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Persistent heavy rainfall over the weekend forced the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to activate its Regional Disaster Management Plan and hold a meeting with the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force and various regional departmental heads to address the issue of relief and evacuation of affected residents.

Several communities The family living in this house had to be evacuated since the water was rising rapidly

A house surrounded by water; the occupants had to be evacuated to higher ground

However, Guyana Times understands that water levels are rapidly rising since it continues to rain heavily in the South Rupununi and the Pakaraimas.

within the Region were under water after the Takutu and Rupununi Rivers overtopped their banks and as a result, several creeks overtopped as well. Emergency

The Regional Chairman, Brian Allicock, has stated that almost all the Toshaos and village captains in the Region have reported that their farms were under water and the villages of Karasabai, Parishara, Nappi and Hiowa were cut off from Lethem because the road was completely under water.

The team, which travelled to the Region on Monday, included Deputy Director of the CDC, Major Kester Craig, who told this newspaper that the schools in the area have been ordered to remain closed until the end of the week. He added that the CDC has deployed its Preparedness and Response Manager to the Region, and was expected to work closely with the

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan meeting with officials from the Lethem Town Council and the Regional Democratic Council

Southern Rupununi and the Pakaraimas, since most have been completely shut off and on account of the water lev-

The flooded St Ignatius access bridge

She added that they were constantly checking their farms trying to save the cassava and have already begun pulling some that were under water.

There are reports that the village of Awaruwaunau in Deep South Rupununi has been under water for over a week, since the area has been experiencing heavy rainfall for more than two weeks.

Some 35 farms are completely washed away, but the residents are battling to save the cassava plants.

Since the beginning of the May-June rainy season, citizens were warned to expect higher than normal rainfall and to take the necessary precautions. However,

to the heavy rains the Region is currently experiencing.

The residents there are fearful of rebuilding since the threat of another flood is looming on the horizon. Roadways and access to the other zones in the village remain flooded.

Villagers are also accusing the Government of neglecting them since the water receded from their lands.

They complained that following the initial relief supplies, the Government has yet to offer any additional supplies to the community as they are still battling to recuperate. Farms in the village were washed away and residents were finding it difficult to restart.

since it began, several villages have experienced major flooding and some are still trying to rebuild after the floods. The hard-hit communities were mostly limited to Regions Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) as the water washed away houses, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

One such village is Chenapau in Region Eight. Water levels in the Amerindian village rose to approximately 20 feet in some areas and the Potaro River remains flooded owing

Approximately two weeks ago, access to Aishalton, Region Nine was cut off when the Kabanawau Creek overtopped its banks and flooded the area. The bridge leading to Aishalton was flooded, cutting off access to the village for several hours.

Just last weekend, several communities along the East Coast of Demerara and in Georgetown reported water levels over two feet in some areas. This was a result of heavy rainfall and poor drainage management/ infrastructure in some areas.

The Lethem Market area

els, the team was unable to visit those communities.

Craig also said that there were several farms that have been destroyed by the excess water.

Guyana Times understands that the water levels are rapidly rising and up to press time, villagers in the Deep South are battling to save their crops despite the water levels.

Meanwhile, Deputy Aishalton Toshao Dorothy James said that a woman almost drowned when the boat she was travelling in capsized while attempting to cross the Rupununi River.

13 Man stabbed to death during row at Stabroek Market T news

tuesDAY, july 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

wenty-nine-year-old Sheldon Braithwaite of Lot 119 Mazaruni Street, Guyhoc Park Georgetown succumbed to the injuries he sustained in an altercation with one Troy Maxwell on Friday in the vicinity of the Stabroek Market Square in downtown Georgetown. Maxwell himself is reportedly in critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital following that stabbing incident.

Reports are that Maxwell was pushing a cart in the area and one of the wheels ran over Braithwaite’s feet.

After Maxwell refused to apologise, the ensuing argument quickly escalated into

an altercation, during which Maxwell reportedly pulled out a knife and attacked Braithwaite, stabbing him once to the abdomen and once to the hand.

Braithwaite’s brother, Kevin Braithwaite, upon realizing that his brother was stabbed, allegedly disarmed Maxwell of the knife and dealt him several stabs.

Maxwell reportedly fell to the ground, and Kevin Braithwaite rushed his injured brother to the GPHC while public-spirited citizens reportedly picked up Maxwell and took him there as well.

Contacted, Nicolette Braithwaite, sister of the

late Sheldon, explained that the family received a telephone call at about 16:38h on Friday, informing that Sheldon had been stabbed and was in hospital. When family members arrived at the GPHC, the doctor informed that her brother was in a critical state and there

was a 50-50 chance of saving his life. She noted that Sheldon had sustained to his stomach a stab wound which reportedly caused severe damage to his lung and liver.

“All we were told was that Sheldon was stabbed by someone pulling a cart

Sugar industry’s future

Region 6 Private Sector urged to submit proposals M inister of State, Joseph Harmon has issued a call to members of the business community in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) to develop proposals for the way forward for the sugar industry over the next six months.

He also urged them to pursue options for diversification in exploring non-traditional sectors and value added production. The Minister made these comments on Saturday evening at a fundraising dinner hosted by the Berbice Chamber of Commerce at the New Amsterdam Town Hall.

Noting that Government has embarked on a process to determine what were the best options to ensure the viability of the industry, the Minister called on stakeholders in the Region to be drivers of economic diversification as Guyana could not continue to rely on what the President calls the six sisters: sugar, rice, timber, bauxite, gold, and fish.

“There are greater opportunities that present themselves for businesses individually or working with the workers’ union or workers’ organisations to take the benefit of what is going to happen in the short space of time,” Minister Harmon is quoted in a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency as saying.

Harmon added that while it was the Government’s responsibility to continue to develop an investment-friendly and more enabling environment for the growth of businesses, it is the responsibility of the Private Sector to

during an argument…

Apparently the cart ran over my brother’s foot and the man refused to apologise… and this is what led to the stabbing,” she stated.

The aggrieved sister noted that her brother took his last breath at about 20:40h on Friday evening.

This newspaper was told that Maxwell would usually provide push-cart service for people in the Stabroek Market area; while Braithwaite, a father of one, who had worked for some time in the hinterland, had been a poultry farmer who reared sheep, chickens and other livestock.

While the police have not

released an official statement on the stabbing incident, Guyana Times understands that they are seeking to apprehend Kevin Braithwaite to assist in investigating the incident. His father has said that if the police want to find his son, who is still traumatized by the incident, they have an address.

The late Sheldon Braithwaite leaves to mourn his six-year-old son, parents, and four siblings. His body is at the Georgetown Public Hospital Mortuary awaiting a post mortem examination on Wednesday.

Police are continuing their investigations.

Guyana to host OSWI Conference 2017

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon speaking at the Berbice Chamber of Commerce's fundraising dinner at the New Amsterdam Town Hall

tap into available resources to grow their businesses. Many of the concessions that were placed in the 2017 National Budget and resources allocated for Guyanese businesses are yet to be tapped into, Minister Harmon said.

Private Sector officials were encouraged to recognise Guyana as a single investment space and were called on to bid for contracts as well as invest in other parts of the country.

“Step out of the box in which you operate and see that greater opportunities are available for you as business people,” Harmon said.

Additionally, Business Minister Dominic Gaskin, who was also at the event, told the gathering when the annual bailouts and investments in the sugar industry were considered against the current price of sugar, it was clear that things could not continue as they were and Guyana had to expand local manufacturing.

“This might be a good time for us to invest more in value-added productive

businesses. If your imports aren’t selling, I can guarantee you that Guyanese want to buy local products.

Guyanese are proud whenever we put quality local products on the market and this, for us, is a direction that we have been trying to nudge investors towards,” Minister Gaskin said.

Also speaking at the event, Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes told the members of the Private Sector gathered there that embarking on “out of the box” business ideas in the technological sector could result in profitable economic activity. Pointing to the use of robotics, Minister Hughes said numerous possibilities exist in the digitised environment and Guyana was poised to take advantage of the strides being made in Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

“I am saying to you that this is how we take traditional agriculture, the traditional things we have done for many years that are still important to our

country, still vital to our people and this is how we take it to another level, to a new generation of technology that we are well positioned to take advantage of,” she said.

Meanwhile, newly-elected President of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce, Ryan Alexander made the commitment that the Private Sector in Region Six would be working arduously to seek opportunities outside of the traditional sectors. He touted the idea of using the vast estate lands for the development of micro-enterprises.

Representatives of the Indian High Commission, members of the Upper and West Berbice Chambers of Commerce and other Government officials were in attendance at the fundraising dinner, which provided the opportunity for Private Sector officials to mingle with the Ministers as they discussed the future of business in the Region and how they could work together to push economic development.

T

he Public Health Ministry is set to facilitate the Ophthalmological Society of the West Indies (OSWI) forum for the first time this year, after being awarded the honour of hosting the regional conference in Guyana.

The annual event which allows for the convening of vision-care practitioners and other stakeholders will be staged from July 5th to July 8th at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

The Conference allows for the gathering of eye surgeons and clinicians, ophthalmic nurses and technicians, ophthalmic pharmaceutical and equipment distributors, as well as other affiliated partners within the region to advocate and promote policies and standards in the administering of vision care.

At the same time, this ini-

tiative serves to enable the continuation of professional development opportunities for eye physicians, surgeons, and other health professionals.

This year’s conference will feature distinguished ophthalmologists from the USA and the UK, who will present and share information on the latest advances in their various fields of Ophthalmology.

The list compromises presenters attached to the Bascom-Palmer Eye Institute of Miami, which currently holds the record of being the topchoice eye hospital in the US. Participants will be engaged in a symposium and workshops during the 4-day conference, and there will be intense focus on conditions such as glaucoma, cataract and paediatric ophthalmological conditions.

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Caricom not a waste – SG

Over 100 youths trained in First Aid, Home Nursing

…calls for more conversation by member states

W

hile the objective of the Caribbean C o m m u n i t y (Caricom) has not yet been fully realised, the 15-member grouping, which seeks to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, is not a waste of time.

This is according to Caricom Secretary General (SG), Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, who met with regional journalists on Monday, ahead of the 38th regular meeting of Caricom Heads of Government, which opens today in Grenada.

LaRocque sought to dispel Caribbean citizens’ perception that Caricom has not been as effective as was initially intended at its formation in 1973.

“Imagine, if there were no Caricom, the amount of things we take for granted would not be there,” LaRocque told reporters.

He posited that the issue of Caricom, and the thinking

by Caribbean people that it is a waste of time, is due to the lack of information provided by individual member states to their citizens. “(What is needed) is constant communication with the people of the Caribbean (on) what we are planning and doing going forward,” he opined. He said member states need to inform their citizens on how they are benefiting from Caricom.

The SG noted, for example, the assistance rendered by the Caribbean Public

Caricom Secretary General (SG) Irwin LaRocque

Health Agency (CARPHA), particularly in the area of testing for the many mosquito-borne diseases out of Guyana, including Zika and Chikungunya. He said it is because of CARICOM that such opportunities and assistance exist.

The 38th regular meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government opens at 17:00 hrs today at the Grenada Trade Centre.

Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell has assumed the six-month rotating Chairmanship of Caricom, on June 1, succeeding President David Granger of Guyana; and will chair the meeting, which will come to an end on July 6.

And asked about the successes of policy implementation by member states and Caricom in general, the Secretary General admitted that he would like to see better implementation of the decisions that are taken. However, he noted that given the large scope of is-

sues being dealt with by the organisation, things are not too that bad.

“There are always a few things (on which) I think we can do better, but I think we are doing not too badly. We often tend to think about what is not being done, as against what is being done,” he told journalists. He said Caricom, at the last meeting, took stock of the issue regarding the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), particularly since some countries are still lagging behind in some areas.

He said there is a roadmap for such countries.

“We are in discussion with them about timeframes that need to be adhered to,” he said. “I think when you think about the number of areas that we are dealing with, we are not doing too badly; but there is always room for improvement,” LaRocque asserted.

Meanwhile, as the twoday confab gets underway, LaRocque said Heads of Government will be look-

ing to further implement the various elements of the CSME, explore other areas of the economy, hold discussions on access to financing for sustainable development, and discuss tourism.

On the agenda is also the Multilateral Air Service Agreement, which he said he hopes could get policy sign-off by Heads. That policy, the SG said, would allow for easy travel within the region by Caricom-owned airlines.

Another major issue to be brainstormed by the regional heads is Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). NCDs LaRocque noted, remain a major issue within the health sector.

“We are seeing obesity becoming a problem, especially among young people.

And some estimates have shown that NCDs are costing the region anywhere between 2 and 5 per cent of GDP. While it has an impact on an individual’s health, it also has an impact on the economy and the ability to provide support to those suffering from the NCDs,” he explained.

Along with security within the region, Heads would also discuss the continued trade relations with the United Kingdom (UK) post Brexit. LaRocque said Caricom has been having some informal discussions with the UK Government in regard to proposals to roll over the trade agreement.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud; Chairman of the St John’s Association, Vibert Parvatan; and other members of the Association’s Board pose for a photo with the graduands

P

ut all that you have learnt and experienced into practice and become a great, organized, rational and humane health worker; and the right attitude will emerge and propel you to your dreams.”

This was the admonition of Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud to more than 100 young graduates at the annual graduation exercise of the St John’s Association last week.

The simple ceremony, held at the St John’s Headquarters at Cowan Street, Kingston, saw 62 persons receiving certificates in First Aid and 42 in Home Nursing.

Speaking on behalf of Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, Dr Persaud further encouraged the graduands to move on to nursing, then allied professions, then on to health administration and even medicine.

He advised the graduands to take time to understand science and technology; to learn to communicate well; to make people feel comfortable; to dress well, and to be clean and pleasant.

“Listen attentively, ask right questions, give feedback, and ensure clients understand what is going on,” he counselled the graduands.

He further admonished them to keep reading, and to always have a pleasant attitude; noting that repeated behaviours become attitude, and they should strive to have a great and positive attitude towards health.

Chairman of the St John’s Association of Guyana, Vibert Parvatan, in brief remarks, referred to the vision of the association’s new patron, His Excellency President David Granger, on expanding the activities of St John’s countrywide, to make First Aid be seen as an integral part of health care.

Every year, scores of young people who normally cannot gain access to start a career in nursing are trained at the St. John’s Headquarters in Cowan Street, Kingston in foundation courses of First Aid and Home Nursing; and from there they are accepted in public and private hospitals.

The St John’s organisation also offers First Aid services to the business community, and as such, the graduation is a manifestation of the organization achieving the goals it had set itself.

St John’s is an international charitable organization established in many countries around the world, and is well known for its work.

NBS opens new branch at Corriverton

T

he New Building Society (NBS) Limited has extended it services to the residents of Upper Corentyne communities in East Berbice, Region Six. Last Saturday, the entity opened at Corriverton a branch of its operations costing $110M. The opening ceremony was attended by Finance Minister Winston Jordan, who commended the Chief Executive Officer and Directors of NBS for making such an investment in the town of Corriverton.

Minister Jordan noted that the opening of this Corriverton branch comes at a time when sugar, one of the main economic activities in the region, is in “deep trouble”, as there is a steep decline in the premium price being paid in the European Union Market.

The minister pointed out that Government has, to date, invested $32B in the sugar industry, besides creating a white paper that would ensure the industry engages in sustainable sug-

ar production. He pointed out, however, that the NBS would have a key role to play in revitalising the fortunes of sugar, an important sector to Guyana’s economy.

Minister Jordan is quoted by the Government Information Agency (GINA) as saying, “Although your mission is to provide your customers with the best mortgages and savings products, it is expected that, at this troubled time, your support to Berbice (would) involve a great amount of thinking and innovation, to ensure that appropriate financial products and services are delivered to the communities.”

Jordan pointed out that banks such as NBS usually have unique perspectives on the communities in which they are situated, by investing heavily in community development projects and local businesses. It is also important that the NBS promote financial inclusion by providing financial services at affordable costs to vast sections of disadvantaged

Finance Minister Winston Jordan cutting the ribbon with young Annanmika Ramdat as Directors of NBS look on

and low-income groups, Minister Jordan said.

“Your task is to ensure appropriate and quality financing is accessible and affordable to low income and other vulnerable groups that are excluded from the formal financial system,” he explained.

Additionally, Minister Jordan said the provision of, and access to, adequate housing is a core element of social welfare and economic development in any country.

He added that housing is one of the three basic needs for survival, with clothing and food being the other two.

“Housing also has the potential to translate into poverty reduction, since the acquisition of a home can provide the collateral that is necessary to access financial products and services from the formal financial institution,” the minister explained.

Chairman of NBS, Floyd McDonald, in brief remarks said, “Our Society is committed to the provision of mortgages and related services to the benefit of all Guyanese, in particular as it relates to the enhancement of a national housing project.”

The New Building Society Limited (NBS), first established in 1940, has since opened seven branches across Guyana. Four of those branches are in Berbice, while other branches are located in Georgetown, Essequibo, and Mackenzie, Linden.

The assets of the NBS, upon establishment worth $153,000, today stand at more than $61B. In each of the last three years, the bank has made a profit of more than $1B. Also present at the event on Saturday were Corriverton Mayor Krishnand Jaichand, NBS Chief Executive Officer Anil Kishun, and members of the Board of Directors.

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Social ills abound as rice industry Brazil President challenges in Wakenaam continue says corruption charge against E him ‘weak’

By Shemuel Fanfair

ver since the cancellation of the PetroCaribe rice-for-oil deal in 2015, rice farmers have faced steep challenges continuing in the industry.

Before the deal had ended, farmers received premium rates for their paddy, with some earning as much as $9000 per bag. As previously noted, farmers are now coping with decreased rates ranging from $1800 to $2500 per bag of paddy. Apart from the depleted earnings farmers are getting, the time frame in which they could start receiving payment for their crop is being stretched out by millers. This ongoing situation has caused spinoff consequences for many persons whose livelihoods are dependent on the rice industry.

Wakenaam, located at the mouth of the mighty Essequibo River, is an island that is heavily dependent on the rice industry. However, in light of the prevailing challenges, farmers have strived to reduce production costs in an effort to remain in the industry. Meanwhile, others who saw the financial challenges as too burdensome opted to halt rice cultivation altogether and instead focused on cattle rearing and cash crop farming.

This change, however, has

Wakenaam is heavily dependent on the rice industry

had far-reaching impacts as many youths were left to cope with reduced opportunities for employment, as rice farmers sought to downsize their operations. According to reports that this newspaper has received, a number of social issues have been exacerbated by the lack of employment, with a now heavy dependency on drug use among the ill effects. A resident recently disclosed that alcohol and marijuana use continue to plague the social fabric of the once serene rural community.

“One of the major issues we have right now is drug abuse, mainly marijuana and alcohol use. Most of the youngsters abusing the alcohol a lot and we [also] have domestic issues; a lot of married couples are being separated,” the resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity observed.

Another noted that the downscaling of the industry

has added to the employment deficit.

“They don’t have much job opportunities on the island.

Of recent, there is a slowdown because of the rice industry; you don’t have much people planting. The persons who used to get jobs with the rice industry [was reduced] as people cut their investment, so obviously jobs would cut,” another resident said.

It is thought that more social and counselling programmes are needed on the island. Guyana Times was told that religious groups have begun to craft measures to tackle the issues on the island.

To this end, the Belle Plaine Sarah/Friendship Sanatan Dharam Mandir started special Hinduism classes which will include special sessions on dealing with social issues. It was explained that local representatives from the temple will conduct the lectures, while invitations will

Cuba love hotels to make comeback, State announces

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he authorities in the Cuban capital, Havana, say they are restoring a network of hotels where rooms are rented by the hour to lovers.

State-run "posadas", or love motels, disappeared during Cuba's economic crisis in the 1990s when they became hurricane shelters.

Private householders filled the gap in the market, but at exorbitant prices.

Officials say the posadas will be cheaper and will help

end the practice of lovemaking in Havana's open spaces.

Private renters usually provide air-conditioning, a fridge and a comfortable bed and cost about US$5 for three hours.

But that is around a sixth of the average monthly Cuban salary (US$29.60) and unaffordable for most people.

State housing officials at the Provincial Housing Company of Havana say the new network of five posadas

will be highly lucrative and will help people struggling with Havana's overcrowded and scarce housing.

Many families often share the same apartment in Havana and divorced couples often have nowhere to go and are often forced to remain together because of the housing shortage.

The officials said they hoped the new chain would provide cheaper options for couples in the city. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

Syrian Army announces ceasefire in south ahead of Astana talks

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he Syrian Army said on Monday it would suspend combat operations in southern Syria until Thursday ahead of a new round of peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, but rebels said the Army had already violated the ceasefire by striking areas under their control.

The army general command said in a statement carried on State television the ceasefire began at midday (0900 GMT) on Sunday and was to support "recon-

ciliation efforts", in the second such unilateral ceasefire in the last two weeks.

Hours after the announcement, rebels and witnesses said Syrian jets resumed dropping barrel bombs – drums or cylinders packed with explosives and shrapnel that cause indiscriminate destruction on the ground – on rebel-held areas in the southern border city of Deraa, the town of Naima to its east and countryside near the provincial city.

There was no immediate

comment from the army on the rebel allegations.

Russian-sponsored talks are planned in Astana today. The last round of Astana talks in May led to the signing of an agreement between Iran, Russia and Turkey to create four de-escalation zones in Syria, one of which is in the south.

But the Syrian army has in recent months escalated its strikes in Deraa in a campaign to reach the border with Jordan and wrest full control of the city. (Excerpt

from Reuters)

be extended to other organisations which focus on social activism.

It is, however, believed that additional counselling services should be made available on the island as inhabitants may be reluctant to disclose the issues that affect them to persons with whom they are familiar.

“It’s a small island; everybody knows what’s happening here and in having discussions, people may not want to reveal all their problems; they are not open-minded. We need more support. People don’t want to talk about their problems. [We need] an agency here where people can sit and tell someone their problems,” a youth leader told this publication.

In late 2015 and early 2016, El Niño conditions plagued the country and many Wakenaam farmers suffered many losses as many acres of rice were lost.

This was compounded by rice millers taking months to pay farmers for paddy supplied months prior. When this publication visited the island in 2016, residents noted several challenges including rising costs of equipment and spares, a lack of seed paddy and fertiliser subsidies and reduced engagement of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).

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Brazilian President Michel Temer

razilian President Michel Temer said on Monday he was confident Congress would support him and vote to block a corruption charge levelled against him by Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot.

In a radio interview, Temer said he has enough votes to quash the charge that he took bribes from executives at the world's largest meatpacker, JBS SA.

"The charge is weak and inconsistent," he said.

Janot said over the weekend there is ample proof of wrongdoing by Temer.

Under Brazilian law, two-thirds of the Lower House of Congress must vote to approve any criminal charge against a sitting president, who could then only be tried by the Supreme Court. (Reuters)

Canada 150: Trudeau sorry for Alberta speech gaffe

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anada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has infuriated people from Alberta, after failing to give the province a shout-out on Canada Day. The gaffe came as the country celebrated its 150th birthday at the weekend.

Kicking off celebrations, the PM name-checked 12 of Canada's 13 provinces and territories – but not Alberta.

Within minutes, angry Albertans were debating the

slip on social media, with many insisting it was deliberate.

"The omission was completely intentional. He had a teleprompter," fumed Twitter user Dave Dunbar.

"When you let the whole country know how you feel about #Alberta eh' #Trudeau," wrote one young woman in the western province.

"Did Justin Trudeau really leave out Alberta in his

speech? I'm howling here, oh my God what a moron," rued chooseylucy1 in Toronto.

Trudeau quickly realised his mistake, and jumped back on the stage at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

"I love you, Alberta," he called out, blowing a kiss.

The Liberal Party leader was seen shaking his head as he sat down again. A little later, he repeated his apology online. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Guyana to host...

The programme also includes workshops for junior doctors, during which the Residents (junior doctors in training) will be given opportunity to present their research papers. As such, with the conference being held in Guyana, the local team will capitalize on the avenue to present papers on conditions which pose a threat throughout the country. Prior to the main forum, the OSWI will be organizing a series of preparatory events during which Guyanese will be able to cash in on a number of educational opportunities. These include a pre-conference CME (continuing medical education), and a session for Health Care Professionals of Guyana,

which is slated for today (Tuesday, July 4) also at the Marriott Hotel.

The CME will be facilitated by three ophthalmologists, with lectures zooming in on the current outbreak of Acute Red Eye as well as Acute Vision Loss and Retinal Detachment. Participation is open to General Practitioners, Optometrists and medical students.

The conference will wrap up with a treat of Guyanese culture, as the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs will collaborate to organise a special post-conference lime at the Umana Yana in Georgetown. The venue will take on the ambience of

FROM PAGE 13

an Indigenous village to display the culture, music and dance, arts and craft, and food of our Indigenous Peoples, affording the delegates a true Guyanese experience. The Guyana-held Conference of the Ophthalmological Society of the West Indies is the undertaking of the Ministry of Public Health through the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s Department of Ophthalmology. As such, both the Public Health Ministry and the GPHC administration are extending a warm welcome to all the delegates, while at the same time commending the effort of those involved in the planning and execution of this landmark event.

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Regional

Venezuela Opposition challenges Maduro with unofficial referendum

Venezuelan Opposition Leader and Governor of Miranda state, Henrique Capriles attends a meeting of the Venezuelan coalition of Opposition parties (MUD) in Caracas, Venezuela, July 3, 2017

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resident Nicolás Maduro's foes announced plans on Monday for an unofficial referendum to let Venezuelans have their say on his plan to rewrite the Constitution and the Opposition's alternative push for an election to replace him.

The Opposition, starting a fourth month of street protests against the socialist Government it decries as a dictatorship, will organise the symbolic vote for July 16 as part of its strategy to delegitimise the unpopular Maduro.

Venezuelans will also be asked their view on the military's responsibility for "recovering constitutional order" and the formation of a new "national unity" government, the Democratic Unity coalition announced.

"Let the people decide!" said Julio Borges, the president of the Opposition-led National Assembly, confirming what two senior Opposition sources told

Reuters earlier on Monday.

The Opposition's planned vote, likely to be dismissed by the Government, would be two weeks ahead of a planned July 30 vote proposed by Maduro for a Constituent Assembly with powers to reform the constitution and supersede other institutions.

"The Government is trying to formalise dictatorship," said Opposition Leader Henrique Capriles, warning the nation was approaching "zero hour".

According to a recent survey by pollster Datanalisis, seven in 10 Venezuelans are opposed to rewriting the Constitution, which was reformed by late leader Hugo Chávez in 1999.

Maduro, 54, Chavez's unpopular successor, says the assembly is the only way to bring peace to Venezuela after the deaths of at least 84 people in and around anti-government unrest since the start of April. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Brazil ex-Minister accused of obstructing corruption probe

Brazil's Minister Chief of the Secretary Office of Government, Geddel Vieira Lima looks on during a meeting with deputies and Government leaders of the Chamber of Deputies, in his office at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil (file photo)

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, july 4, 2017

razilian Police on Monday arrested former Minister Geddel Vieira Lima as part of an investigation into loans that State bank Caixa Econômica Federal extended to meatpacking, finance, toll road and real estate companies between 2011 and 2013, the Prosecutor General's office said.

In a statement on

Monday the Prosecutor General's office accused Vieira Lima of acting to obstruct the investigations.

Vieira Lima was in charge of President Michel Temer's relations with congress.

An attorney for Vieira Lima did not immediately reply to requests for comment. (Reuters)

Colombia: FARC leader Timochenko recovering from stroke T

he leader of Colombia's FARC rebel group, Rodrigo Londoño, is being treated in hospital for a stroke.

Londoño, who is known as Timochenko, is expected to leave hospital today and make a full recovery, doctors who are treating him said.

The 58-year-old was admitted to hospital in the city of Villavicencio on Sunday

morning.

His health is "in a stable and satisfactory condition," doctors said in a press conference.

The FARC initially denied reports that he was ill.

But one of its leaders, Felix Antonio Muñoz Lascarro, known as Pastor Alape, later spoke to Journalists at the hospital in Villavicencio.

Timochenko will not be transferred to another hospital, he said, adding: "This clinic provides the necessary conditions to treat him."

Timochenko suffered a heart attack two years ago when he was in Cuba negotiating a peace deal with Colombian officials.

The left-wing rebels signed a historic peace accord in November after four

years of negotiations.

They agreed to hand over their weapons after more than five decades and are now allowed to set up a political party.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to put an end to the conflict.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Trinidad Minister fired for 2nd time — this time just 48 hours after returning to Cabinet

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efore even getting the chance to take her seat in Dr Keith Rowley’s Cabinet, after getting a second chance to be a minister, Marlene McDonald has been fired – again.

And it appears it’s all over someone who showed up as her guest at her swearing-in.

Just two days after McDonald was sworn in as Public Utilities Minister, the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister advised President Anthony Carmona to revoke her appointment, making her likely the shortest-serving Minister in the country’s history.

McDonald had first been fired as Housing and Urban Development Minister

Marlene McDonald is likely now the shortest-serving Minister in Trinidad’s history

in March 2016, after hiring her common-law husband Michael Carew and his brother at her constituency office, in breach of Parliament rules, and amid questions about donations

from her Ministry to a foundation, of which Carew was said to be a director.

She was returned to Cabinet in a reshuffle announced by Rowley last Wednesday, and officially

took the oath of office two days later.

Rowley had defended his decision to allow McDonald back into the fold, saying that the Integrity Commission had found no basis to conclude that she had breached the Integrity in Public Life Act. He had also indicated that if something else came up against McDonald, he would act.

However, eyebrows and questions were raised when photos surfaced of Cedric Burke, who was detained in the 2011 state of emergency and charged with being a gang leader – although subsequently freed – in photos from the swearing-in ceremony that took place around 1:30h last Friday.

(Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Organiser of failed Bahamas musical festival arrested, charged with fraud

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criminal complaint was unsealed in New York on Friday charging William McFarland with wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in a company controlled by McFarland, Fyre Media, as well as a related entity responsible for organising a music festival set to take place in The Bahamas (the Fyre Festival).

McFarland was arrested on Friday in New York.

Acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon Kim said: “As alleged, William McFarland promised a 'life changing' music festival, but in actuality delivered a disaster.

McFarland allegedly presented fake documents to induce investors to put over a million dollars into his company and the fiasco called the Fyre Festival. Thanks

to the investigative efforts of the FBI, McFarland will now have to answer for his crimes.”

Assistant FBI Directorin-Charge William Sweeney said: “Under McFarland's direction, Fyre Media created a promoter's marketplace for entertainment bidding. In addition to this initial business venture, McFarland went one step further in establishing a

subsidiary of the company, Fyre Festival LLC. But in order to drive the success of both entities, as alleged, McFarland truly put on a show, misrepresenting the financial status of his businesses in order to rake in lucrative investment deals. In the end, the very public failure of the Fyre Festival signalled that something just wasn't right.” (Excerpt from Caribbean

News Now)

Regulator says no to Barbados Government’s plan to sell oil terminal

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he proposed sale of the Barbados National Terminal Co Ltd (BNTCL) to regional petroleum giant Sol, which was expected to pump desperately needed foreign exchange into the economy, is now in serious doubt after the island’s regulator objected to the deal. In a preliminary ruling dated June 14 and obtained by the Nation newspaper, the Fair Trading Commission

(FTC) said “it is of the view that merger should not be permitted.” The Sol group had made a bid to purchase the State-owned oil terminal – which manages the importation and supply of gasoline, diesel and fuel oil – for more than US$100 million, but it was stopped in its tracks by competitor Rubis which took to the law courts to challenge the sale. Rubis secured an interim injunction barring

the sale, which it argued would create a monopoly.

The company also filed an application in the High Court for judicial review of a decision to approve the inclusion of a 15-year moratorium clause in the Sale and Purchase Agreement between a Sol Subsidiary and the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOCL), BNTCL’s parent company. The FTC found that sections of the pro-

posed sale bid would hurt competition and were, in fact, unlawful. It made particular mention of a controversial moratorium on construction of new terminal facilities or new import deports. The regulatory body described the moratorium as “inherently anti-competitive” and restrictive, as well as contrary to the FTC Act and the Fuel Adjustment Act. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

tuesDAY, july 4, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

Death toll in Pakistan tanker blast rises to over 200

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he death toll from a powerful oil tanker explosion in eastern Pakistan late last month has risen to at least 205 people, Government officials said, as more victims succumbed to their wounds.

The fuel-carrying truck overturned on a main highway linking Karachi to Lahore on June 25. It exploded minutes later as residents from a nearby village gathered to collect fuel from the vehicle.

"The death toll from the tanker fire incident is now 205 after the expiry of more injured people," senior local administration Rao Tasleem in Bahawalpur, the nearest city, told the AFP news agency on Monday.

The tanker overturned and later exploded on the highway linking Karachi to Lahore on June 25 [Reuters]

A doctor at Bahawalpur's Victoria Hospital, Asim Bukhari, put the toll at 206 after a new death later on Monday, though that was unconfirmed by officials. govern-

ment authorities.

Following the blast, local officials had given a death toll of at least 153.

Locals said that several people who were injured in

the incident lost their lives due to unavailability of burns units at the nearby hospitals as dozens were transported to Multan and state capital Lahore hospitals for better treatment.

Some 125 unidentified victims have already been buried following a mass funeral at the site of the fire as their bodies were badly charred and beyond recognition.

Motorway police spokesman Imran Shah has said that a government inquiry into the incident had found at least five police officials guilty of hiding information.

According to initial investigations, a cigarette is suspected to have caused the massive blaze. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Counting the dead in Manipur's shoot-to-kill war

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ore than 1500 people were allegedly killed in a wave of extra-judicial executions by security forces in India's insurgency-ridden north-eastern Manipur state between 1979 and 2012. Last year, in a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court asked relatives of the victims and activists to collect information on the killings. The court will rule in July whether to order an official investigation which could lead to

17

convictions. Soutik Biswas travelled to Manipur to find out more. Manipur, a hilly north-eastern state on the border with Myanmar (Burma), has been a cauldron of insurgency for more than four decades.

At one point, the state was home to some 30 armed groups. Six main groups are outlawed.

The violence is stoked by ethnic rivalries, and demands for independence and affirmative action for lo-

cal tribespeople. Some rebel groups also act as social watchdogs, targeting liquor sellers, drug traffickers and banning Bollywood films.

Lack of jobs has worsened matters.

According to the Government, 1214 civilians were killed by insurgents between 2000 and October 2012. Also, 365 Police and soldiers were killed by insurgents during the same period.

A controversial anti-in-

surgent law, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Afspa) – which protects security forces who may kill a civilian by mistake or in unavoidable circumstances – has been in effect here since 1958 and been partly blamed for the "perpetual immunity" enjoyed by the forces. In July 2016, the Supreme Court remarked that the law could not be an excuse for retaliatory killings and excesses. (Excerpt from

Macron seeks to cut number of France MPs by a third

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rench President Emmanuel Macron has proposed a radical overhaul of the country's Government.

Speaking at the historic Palace of Versailles, he said he planned to cut the number of lawmakers by a third.

Doing so would produce a more efficient government and put France on a "radically new path", said Macron.

The French President says he has a broad mandate after sweeping wins in presidential and parliamentary elections this year.

If his proposed changes were not passed by Parliament within a year, he said he would take the decision to a referendum.

In his 90-minute speech, the 39-year-old leader vowed to return a "collective dignity" to France.

"In the past, procedures

have taken preference over results, rules over initiative, living off the public purse over fairness," he said.

The proposed cuts would reduce the number of National Assembly members from 577 to 385, and the numbers of Senate members from 348 to 232.

He also said: The European Union had "lost its way" in the past 10 years amid growing bureaucracy – a solution was a "new generation of leaders" France's electoral system would be changed to allow more proportional representation, so more voices would be heard at government level Macron is not the first president to convene a session at Versailles, the grand 17th Century palace outside Paris built by Louis XIV, "the Sun King". (Excerpt from BBC News)

US no longer a 'friend' in Merkel election programme

BBC News)

Several killed in Bangladesh garment factory explosion

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t least eight people were killed and up to 50 injured after a boiler exploded at a garment factory in Bangladesh on Monday, authorities said.

Dozens of labourers were on site at the facility in an industrial district outside the capital, Dhaka, when a blast tore through the six-storey building, causing

its walls and a roof to collapse.

"It is a terrible scene.

Fire brigade officers have arrived and are doing rescue work. The factory's boiler exploded and the blast also affected other buildings near the factory," police officer Harunur Rashid told the AFP news agency.

"Eight people were killed

and approximately 50 were injured. Six bodies were recovered at the spot and two more in the hospital. The casualties included passers-by who were walking outside the factory," Mohammad Akhteruzzaman, deputy assistant director of the fire service, told AFP. He said the explosion was so powerful that it de-

stroyed parts of the factory, including "a roof and several walls".

Thirty-five people are undergoing treatment at different health facilities in the Gazipur district, according to physician Pronoy Bhushan Das, and many of those injured are in critical condition. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Trump talks North Korea threat in calls with China, Japan leaders

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he threat posed by North Korea was a key topic in phone calls between US President Donald Trump and the leaders of China and Japan, along with trade issues, the White House said on Sunday.

Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of expected meetings with the leaders of Asia's two biggest economies at a Group of 20 nations summit in

Germany later this week.

"Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearised Korean Peninsula," the White House said of Trump's call with Xi from his resort property in Bridgewater, New Jersey, where he is spending a long weekend.

"President Trump reiterated his determination to seek more balanced trade relations with America’s trading partners," it added.

Trump has become increasingly frustrated with

China's inability to rein in North Korea, and the reference to trade was an indication the one-time New York businessman may be ready to return to his tougher-talking ways on business with Beijing after holding back in hopes it would put more pressure on Pyongyang.

Trump and Xi discussed the "peace and stability of the Korean peninsula", China's Foreign Ministry said, without elaborating.

Ministry spokesman

Geng Shuang later told a daily briefing that the United States was "very clear" about China's position on North Korea. Geng did not elaborate on what Xi told Trump about North Korea.

"Negative factors" have affected Sino-US relations, and China has already expressed its position to the United States, Xi told Trump, according to a readout of a telephone call between the leaders carried by the Ministry. (Excerpt from Reuters)

German Chancellor and head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Angela Merkel attends a meeting of their conservative bloc to discuss their election programme in Berlin, Germany, July 3, 2017

I

n their campaign programme for the German election, Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have dropped the term "friend" in describing the relationship with the United States.

Four years ago, the joint programme of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), referred to the United States as Germany's "most important friend" outside of Europe.

The 2013 programme also described the "friendship" with Washington as a "cornerstone" of Germany's international relations and talked about strengthening transatlantic economic ties through the removal of trade barriers.

But the words "friend" and "friendship" are missing from the latest election programme – entitled "For a Germany in which we live well and happily" – which Merkel and CSU leader Horst Seehofer pre-

sented on Monday ahead of a Sept. 24 election.

Instead, the United States is described as Germany's "most important partner" outside of Europe. CDU officials were not immediately available to comment on the change in wording.

The change in wording underscores how relations between Berlin and Washington have deteriorated since US President Donald Trump entered the White House in January. During his campaign for the presidency, Trump said that Merkel was "ruining" Germany with migration policies he described as "insane". He has repeatedly denounced Germany's trade surplus with the United States, accused Berlin and other European partners of owing "massive amounts of money" to NATO, and unsettled western partners with his decision last month to pull out of the Paris climate accord.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesDAY, july 4, 2017

ARCHIE

Temptation will lead to trouble. Don’t feel compelled (March 21- to make a decision based on April 19) what someone else is doing.

Offers will not turn out to be as beneficial as presented.

ARIES

Interaction with someTAURUS one from a different cultural (April 20- background will motivate a May 20) domestic change. Keep loved ones up to date and informed to avoid opposition. Romance is encouraged and will help your current situation.

dilbert

Implement ideas or methGEMINI (May 21- ods that are diverse and unJune 20) expected if you want to capture the interest of someone looking for something unique.

A partnership will help you move forward.

Pay attention to what othCANCER ers are doing, and contribute (June 21- what you can to the effort.

July 22) Interacting with like-minded souls will encourage you to form an alliance with someone who has something special to offer.

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

Alter the way you do things at work, not at home.

Being more efficient will give you more time to spend doing the things you enjoy with the people you love.

Your actions will have an VIRGO (Aug. 23- impact. By helping others, Sept. 22) you will make a difference that will show who you are and what you are capable of doing.

Looking back can help you LIBRA move forward. Someone from (Sept. 23Oct. 23) your past will give you reason to rethink your current position or partnership. Don’t give in to manipulation or high-pressure tactics.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

If you express your feelSCORPIO ings, you will be able to re(Oct. 24solve any issues regarding Nov. 22) your next move or a challenging relationship.

Financial, legal and health SAGITTARIUS matters should be dealt with (Nov. 23- cautiously. Go over the fine Dec. 21) print and make conclusions based on the facts presented, not on assumptions. Physical adjustments look promising.

solution for Last Published Puzzle

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

A simple approach will CAPRICORN help you keep your costs low.

(Dec. 22- Don’t sign up for something Jan. 19) you know little about. Too much of anything will lead to disaster. Stay focused on your responsibilities.

Wrap your head around AQUARIUS whatever job you are given, (Jan. 20and aim to succeed. Showing Feb. 19) consistency and an ability to get along with others will encourage new work-related propositions.

Someone you trust or who PISCES has more experience than you (Feb. 20March 20) will help you figure out what to do next. Hone your skills to fit your revised plans and make your dream come true.

tuesDAY, juLY 4, 2017

19

A

fter three consecutive losses to start the ICC Women’s World Cup in England, Stafanie Taylor, captain of the West Indies Women, is desperately trying to find a way to motivate her players to break out of their horrific slump that threatens to see them ousted from the tournament before the end of the preliminary round of matches.

The Windies Women lost their opening match to Australia by seven wickets, and then lost to India by eight wickets. However, the most humiliating defeat came on Sunday when they were routed for just 48 runs in 25.2 overs by South Africa who then needed only 6.2 overs to race to victory. Dane Windies Women’s Captain Stephanie Taylor van Niekerk set a world record becomwe really need to look into ourselves and see ing the first bowler of any gender in interna- what we’re doing wrong and just to rise above.” tional cricket to take four wickets in a match Against South Africa, Taylor said the team without conceding a run as she helped commit lacked focus. the West Indies to a 10-wicket loss, the biggest “I guess when you look back at the game esof the tournament to date. pecially for the batters, we just got out softly Taylor believes she has to find a way to and a lot of our batters, especially at the top oravert the crisis. The question is, how? der, we didn’t apply ourselves properly. We’ve “I’ve been asking myself that, to be honest. been in England for a while, it’s not like we’ve As a captain, you are thinking, you’ve lost all come here yesterday where we don’t know three games, what do you say to these play- what has been happening. I didn’t think that ers now? But if you really want to make it to our mindset was right. I don’t think we were the semi-finals, you’ve just got to find a way to focused.” turn it around. We’ve lost three games now, we Meantime, two players have been brought have four more games to go, so we just have to in to address another problem facing the team. bounce back and keep fighting,” said the frus- Kycia Knight and Subrina Munroe have been trated captain, who said there was still hope. selected to replace the injured Shakera Selman “There’s still a chance, I do believe there is and Shamilia Connell. still a chance, we still have games to go and West Indies’ next match is against former teams that I know we can beat. As individuals, champions New Zealand on July 6.

(Sportsmax)

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espite being linked with a move away from Manchester United, Wayne Rooney was front and centre of the release of their new home strip.

Speculation around the future of Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is likely to increase after he was used for the release of the club’s new home shirt for 2016-17.

Rooney fell down the pecking order at Old Trafford during Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge, in which he only made 15 starts in the Premier League.

The 31-year-old rejected the chance to leave the club in January but he has been heavily linked with a move before the start of next season, with former club Everton and teams from the Chinese Super League reportedly interested.

Those rumours increased when Rooney was removed from United’s Facebook cover when their away strip for upcoming season was launched last month.

However, the club’s record goalscorer

enus Williams broke down in tears during her post-match news conference at Wimbledon on Monday when asked about a recent motoring incident she was involved in, which led to the death of a 78 year old Florida man.

Williams, who won her first-round match against Belgian Elise Mertens in straight sets, was asked about her feelings regarding the incident.

“There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and...yeah. I’m completely speechless. It’s just yeah, I mean, I’m just,” said the American before breaking down in tears and leaving the room.

The five-times Wimbledon champion returned shortly afterwards to finish off the compulsory media briefing.

News of the fatal incident near her home in Palm Beach Gardens surfaced on Venus Williams celebrates winning the first round match against Belgium’s Elise Mertens Thursday.

Beach county medical examiner.

Palm Beach Gardens police released a preliminary reThe police report estimated Williams was traveling at port saying she was the driver at fault in a June 9 accident about 5 miles per hour (8 kph) at the time of impact and was that left Jerome Barson, a passenger in the other car, with not distracted or suspected of any drug or alcohol use. fatal injuries.

Before breaking down in the news conference, Williams After the crash, Barson was taken to a Florida trauma had been asked several questions about her emotions in the center where he died 13 days later, according to the Palm past month but had avoided directly addressing the matter.

was used as a central figure for the release of United’s new home shirt, featuring in i m a g e s on their official website and Twitter account alongside Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and new signing Victor Lindelof.

The pictures are likely to encourage speculation that Rooney will be given a chance to stake his claim for a place in Mourinho’s side next season.

Recent reports in England have suggested that England’s leading goalscorer is not pushing for a move away and would be happy to stay and fight for his future.

(Sportsmax)

“Life, you can’t prepare for everything. I prepared for a lot of matches, tried to get ready for whatever my opponent will throw at you, but you can’t prepare for everything,” she said.

“I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. That’s all I can say about it. That’s what I’ve learned,” she said to another question on how she was handling the situation.

Last week Williams released a statement on Facebook saying that she was “heartbroken” and “devastated” by the death of Barson.

Williams also said she was missing her sister Serena who is on a break from the game while she is pregnant.

“I miss her a lot. I think she misses me,” she said.

The 37-year-old American faced a tenacious opponent as she began her bid for a sixth Wimbledon singles title with a 7-6(7) 6-4 victory.

While a nervous Mertens struggled early, going 3-0 down in the first set, the 21-yearold, ranked 54th in the world, battled back to force a tiebreak which Williams won 9-7.

Williams, who last won Wimbledon in 2008, was unable to convert two match points in the second set before a rain break, but she returned to serve out for victory.

(Reuters)

20

tuesDAY, JULY 4, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

S

tan Wawrinka is the first major casualty of Wimbledon, but Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal had no such trouble in their openers on Monday.

Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal commenced their Wimbledon campaigns with straight-sets victories on Monday, but Stan Wawrinka was unable to get beyond the first round.

Defending champion Murray comfortably saw off Alexander Bublik 6-1 6-4 6-2 on Centre Court, while Rafael Nadal cruised into the second round courtesy of a 6-1 6-3 6-2 triumph over John Millman.

Wawrinka, seeded fifth, found things far from routine, though, as he fell to a 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-1 loss to world number 49 Daniil Medvedev.

beat Malek Jaziri 6-7 (57) 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-2), while Roberto Bautista Agut (18), Sam Querrey (24) and Steve Johnson (26) all advanced to the next round.

Fernando Verdasco (31) was sent packing by Kevin Anderson, while Ivo Karlovic (21) was defeated by Aljaz Bedene in a mammoth match that saw just one break of serve in a whopping 62 games.

KYRGIOS GOES AGAINST THE DOC’S ADVICE

BIG GUNS BLOW AWAY MINNOWS

Reigning champion and world number one Murray showed little sign of a hip complaint as he thrashed Bublik, while another of the favourites Nadal was similarly dominant against Millman.

Murray has struggled for form through much of 2017, while Nadal was playing at Wimbledon for the first time in two years but neither showed any signs of rustiness.

Nadal delighted an appreciative Court One crowd with a string of impressive shots – none better than a drop shot with enough spin on

it to make Shane Warne proud up against Aussie Millman.

Murray naturally had the Centre Court gathering at his back, who remained in high spirits despite a couple of rain delays - it is Wimbledon after all!

WAWRINKA CRASHES OUT

A beaten finalist at the French Open, world number three Wawrinka would have been hop-

ing for a deep run at Wimbledon an event in which he has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals.

However, a surprise defeat to Medvedev means his wait for a career Grand Slam is prolonged by another year, with the Swiss ruing a troublesome left knee which he was seen icing during the match.

“I had some problem with the knee since Queen’s, so it was not the way I wanted to get ready for this tournament,” said Wawrinka.

Serene Sagan sprints to dramatic stage win despite slip-up

A

lthough his foot slipped off the pedal at the start of his final sprint, Peter Sagan had enough in the tank to win on the Tour de France.

Peter Sagan showed incredible composure to overcome a dramatic slip-up and sprint to victory on stage three of the Tour de France, while Geraint Thomas kept hold of the yellow jersey.

World champion Sagan saw his right foot unclip from the pedal when commencing a sprint for the line but stayed cool and managed to hold off Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) and Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors) to win the 212.5-kilometre route from Verviers to Longwy.

The reigning five-time points classification winner closed the gap to Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) in the green jersey, while Team Sky rider Thomas will stay in yellow despite team-mate Chris Froome lurking among his closest rivals.

Nathan Brown (Cannondale-Drapac) picked up the first King of the Mountains point after the riders ventured onto the iconic Formula One circuit of Spa-Francorchamps – a tribute to racing driver Jacky Ickx, a close friend of cycling legend Eddy Merckx.

Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) won the intermediate sprint at Wincrange in Luxembourg and outsprinted Frederick Backaert up the category-four Cote de Wiltz, before Brown beat him in an attack of Cote

d’Eschdorf to take his KOM points haul for the stage to three.

The duo were reeled in and dropped by Thomas De Gendt, Romain Hardy, PierreLuc Perichon and Lilian Calmejane, who went solo before being caught with 10km to go.

Bora-Hansgrohe positioned themselves for Sagan to sprint for the line on the final climb, and the Slovakian finished the job despite a nervy moment.

GOOD DAY / BAD DAY

Romain Bardet, the 2016 runner-up, was involved in Sunday’s pile-up that included yellow jersey wearer Thomas and defending champion Froome, and he encountered more problems on Monday.

A mechanical issue caused the AG2R La Mondiale rider’s latest woes and resulted in him changing bike and falling off the back of the peloton.

Bardet’s team-mates hung around to help him make it back to the pack, though it brought a premature end to any hopes he had of mounting a strong finish.

(Sportsmax)

“Apparently grass is not the best surface for my knee.”

WINS FOR NISHIKORI, TSONGA

Some of the higher seeds to cruise to straight-sets wins included Marin Cilic (7), the runner-up at the Aegon Championships, Kei Nishikori (9), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12), and Gilles Muller (16).

Lucas Pouille, seeded 14th, had to battle from a set down to

Much like Murray, Nick Kyrgios’ preparations for the tournament were blighted by a hip problem. Unfortunately for the Australian, his injury proved too severe as he was forced to retire when 6-3 6-4 down to Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

“I kind of knew I was in trouble. I have been feeling my hip ever since I fell over at Queen’s. I never got it right. I was doing everything I could to help it, but just not enough time,” said Kyrgios, who ruled out surgery for the time being.

“I spoke to the doctor before the tournament started. He was leaning towards me not even playing.

It’s my favourite tournament. I do well here every year. So it’s tough for me to go out there and get beaten and pull out. It’s not the easiest thing for me to do.”

(Sportsmax)

Amla key for South Africa - Hussain H

ashim Amla has lost his fellow pillars of South African batting, but Nasser Hussain believes he can shine regardless.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes Hashim Amla holds the key to South Africa enjoying a fruitful Test tour against Joe Root’s men.

Amla entered the sides’ meetings in South Africa last year searching for form but was supreme throughout the series, scoring 470 runs at 67.14 – including a majestic double-hundred in Cape Town.

Once again Amla will face the English perhaps with something to prove, having registered just one Test century in the past 12 months and struggling badly in New Zealand earlier this year.

With captain Faf du Plessis missing the first Test at Lord’s and AB de Villers absent for the entire red-ball schedule, the pressure is on for Amla, but Hussain has backed the former Proteas skipper to shine.

“He’s right up there alongside Jacques Kallis,” Hussain told Omnisport. “You look at his record in one-day cricket, he was the fastest to 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, whatever, he just breaks every record.

“Twenty20, he goes off to IPL and gets Twenty20 hundreds. Remarkable story.

“I was there, his first game we were commentating on and I think it might have been Port Elizabeth or something. There was a whisper of, ‘he’s only being selected because of quotas, etc,’ he had his big whirly backlift, like the Jim Furyk of the cricketing world, but boy does he know how to bat.

“He’s like Kallis in as much as, when he’s in that bubble, he ain’t giving his wicket away.

He’ll bat for his life and he’ll bat long.

“He’s got double hundreds, triple hundreds.

He’s played brilliantly in England. If you ask me, the one wicket England will want desperately this summer will be Hashim Amla.”

Proteas legend Barry Richards backed up Hussain’s claims, but highlighted the added pressure Amla will be under to shine without significant back-up.

“He’s a great player, he’s been one of the architects of our batting along with Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers,” Richards told Omnisport.

“That was the triangle, or you could make it four of them with Graeme Smith. They’ve provided the backbone over 10, maybe 12 years.

“He’s been very much part and parcel. It’s going to be added pressure, there is no Kallis, no Smith and no AB de Villiers. Suddenly your four-sided becomes one-sided.

“That’s a little bit of added pressure for Hashim.

“He’s a little bit older as well. How he responds will determine how well South Africa do.

“There’s no disputing, he’s been one of the great players of South African cricket and world cricket for that matter.”

(Sportsmax)

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roup One motor racer Azaad Hassan obliterated all challengers at the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club National Race of Champions winning all six races on Sunday at the South Dakota Circuit.

Hassan’s performance was the highlight to a rather gloomy day at the track due to the inclement weather.

He had the fastest lap time of 42.015s in the Street Tuner (1500cc) and 45.439s in the Sport Tuner (1600cc) with his dependable neon green Toyota AE91.

Hassan credited his sublime performance to his eagerness to race in the rain given the teachings from his mentor and renowned Trinidadian driver Tanko Baboolall.

“I love driving in the rain; it gives you a lot of experience. If you can get three victories in the rain it will be a big confidence booster”, the driver stated.

His machine withstood the pressures that prevailed on track quite unlike the others and according to Hassan, his team is to applauded.

According to the `Team ER’ driver the team has built a new engine with hopes of competing at the second leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) slated for July 30 at the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway in Trinidad and Tobago.

However additional sponsorship would be needed. At present Hassan is sponsored by GUYOIL, Buddys Entertainment Complex, Toucan Industries, Marvex Bleach, Twins Manufacturing, Leon Dorado Int’l Hotel and is prepared by Emran & Raymond Automotive Hassan and his AE 91 held a lead over his opponents that was hardly ever relinquished Services.

(Photo courtesy of Avenash Ramzan)

Windies 1st win just a Russia passes Confed Cup test first step - Stuart Law ahead of far bigger challenge R

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n Sunday the Windies notched their first mark on a One Day International series against visiting India, but according to the coach, Stuart Law, that doesn’t mean anything yet.

The Windies managed to keep the series alive, down 2-1 after four games, with the possibility of tying the series in the final affair.

The first game of the series at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago was a no result after persistent rain made play impossible.

The Windies lost the second game, against at the Queen’s Park Oval, by a massive 105 runs before being drubbed in a 93-run loss five days later at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. On Sunday at the same venue, they managed to turn things around to win a low-scoring affair by 11 runs.

According to Law, that victory was “one step and it’s a big ladder for us.”

The Australian is not taking anything away from the West Indies though, saying the result, while only just a first step among many, was still one that took them closer to where they want to end up.

“It’s a lot of hard work and we are working hard, believe me. The people of the Caribbean probably don’t see us working as hard as we are and I just want to let them know that we are very pleased that we’ve put a win on the board today for everybody in the region,” he said.

“I’m very happy, very proud but we’ve still got plenty of work to do,” he said.

The Windies will attempt to level the series when the teams play at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Thursday.

(SportsMax)

ussia received far more praise than complaints from FIFA and the teams that competed in the Confederations Cup ahead of the much more daunting task of hosting 32 teams at next year’s World Cup. The country exceeded low expectations for its hosting of the eight-team tournament that ended on Sunday, a World Cup dress rehearsal which passed off without any major incidents of fan violence or problems with infrastructure.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino hailed the four-venue tournament as a “great success” after shrugging off the logistical and security concerns that had cast a shadow over Russia’s preparations.

“We have been hearing before this Confederations Cup about a lot of problems that we would experience here in Russia,” Infantino told a news conference, listing fan indifference, stadium violence, racism and incomplete infrastructure among the potential issues.

“We had no incidents. If a problematic tournament looks like this tournament, then I want many of these problematic tournaments going ahead.”

The Confederations Cup took place in four cities, Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi, all of which already have solid sports infrastructure and a history of hosting major international events.

The country now has to pull together eight additional World Cup venues in seven other cities, including some with limited experience of organizing large-scale events.

Russia must also be ready to accommodate four times as many teams, as well as the large crowds that will flock to the country for the tournament.

Russian authorities have pledged to draw conclusions from the Confederations Cup but have yet to outline the areas that need improvement ahead of the World Cup. “Everything will be exponentially more difficult (for the World Cup),” TASS news agency quoted Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko as saying on Monday.

“But if we transpose the level, the (organization) standard of the Confederations Cup to the World Cup, then it will be a complete success.”

Foreign fans were generally upbeat about Russia’s organization of the tournament, praising the country for providing free train transportation between host cities.

“Everything was great around the stadi-

um but it was more difficult to get around in the cities because few people speak English,” Mexican fan Yajaira Lira, 33, told Reuters ahead of Mexico’s third-place match against Portugal.

ADDRESSING COMPLAINTS

Most of the complaints about the organization of the two-week tournament revolved around the traffic conditions and the state of the pitch in the new St Petersburg stadium, which had to be hurriedly re-laid after it was damaged during the 68,000-seater venue’s inaugural match in April.

Mutko said authorities would work to ensure that grass at the St Petersburg pitch, which Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo complained was too long, would be able to sustain the stress of seven World Cup matches.

He told TASS that if the pitch’s retractable technology would not work, the grass would have to be re-laid every three months.

Cameroon coach Hugo Broos complained that heavy traffic in Moscow, home to more than 12 million people and notorious for its gridlocks, caused his team to arrive an hour late for a training session. Broos reported similar issues in St Petersburg, Russia’s second city.

The local organizing committee did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on how it was addressing Cameroon’s concerns.

SCREENING FANS

Russia’s efforts to curb fan violence at the Confederations Cup succeeded, but it will need to screen a far larger number of local and foreign fans as the World Cup nears.

All ticket holders at the Confederations Cup were required to obtain a personalized fan-ID, allowing authorities to screen them and keep hooligans away from the matches.

Several fans, including some with ties to hooligan movements, said organizers had granted them fan-IDs but revoked them as they made their way to matches, effectively banning them from attending.

“Because the Confederations Cup is a rehearsal for the World Cup, I think this type of fan selection will increase,” Vyacheslav Shirinkin, a singer in a punk band that appeals to Russian hooligans whose fan-ID was canceled, told Reuters last month.

“I think that apart from some guys with beer bellies, their wives and maybe some kids, other people will not be able to go to games.”

(Reuters)

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

tuesdAY, juLY 4, 2017

AAG National Senior Athletics Championships

Caesar, Phillips confirm status as

C

Sprint King and Queen

ompton Caesar stamped his authority in the 200 Metres Final on Monday afternoon at the National Track and Field Facility in Leonora to officially confirm his status as Guyana’s leading male sprinter.

Caesar who was once again strongly challenged by Emmanuel Archibald won the 200 Metres final to claim the sprint double with a +2.8 wind assisted time of 21.28s.

Archibald who finished second behind Caesar for the second consecutive day pushed the CARIFTA and South American U-20 Gold medalist to his limits, on the 100 metre turn Archibald and Caesar were neck and neck bringing the crowd to its feet; however Caesar shifted gear and finished just ahead of Archibald.

The UWI student athlete (Archibald) copped silver in a time of 21.36s while Daniel Williams took bronze in 21.59s.

In the females 100 Metres final, Kenisha Phillips produced a sterling performance on her way to claiming gold ahead of Alita Moore and arch rival Onasha Rogers.

Sprint Queen! Kenisha Phillips strides to victory ahead of Alita Moore and Onasha Rogers in the Women’s 200 metres final

110 Metres Hurdles with a time of ver with 14.76m and Dennis Roberts bronze 18.23s with Shimar Velloza com- with 14m.

The Police Progressive Youth club won ing in second in 20.32s and Marvin overall title while the Guyana Defense Force Tinnis third with 20.61s.

Another growing but healthy athletics club was second.

With the AAG’s National Senior rivalry that bodes well for the future of athletics in Guyana is the Championships now over, the next big event one between Samuel Lynch and on Guyana’s athletics scene is the Aliann Sprint King! Compton Caesar dips in just ahead of Emmanuel Anfernee Headecker, both of whom Pompey Invitational meet slated for July 15 Archibald to claim the sprint double are S.A U-20 medalists. The rivalry at the National Track and Field Facility at In the Men’s Shot Put the GDF duo of continued on Monday afternoon in the Men’s Leonora.

Osafo Dos Santos and Selwin Henry had a A number of international athletes in800 Metres final. joint throw of 13.38m with the former being Headecker started the race strongly lead- cluding the likes of former World Champion awarded Gold. Police athlete Kleon Spellen ing the pack until the final 100 Metre where Kim Collins are scheduled to compete. took bronze with 12.92m.

“Sammy” as Lynch is affectionCleveland Thomas ran a time of 16:24.44s ately called, made his move powon his way to Gold in the Males 5000 Metres ering down the back stretch to race while Jonathan Fagundes was second take gold with a time of 1:54.21s in 17:27.95s and Calvin Thomas third with ahead of Quacy Morian who was 19:26.42s. Spectators were denied a showsecond with 1:54.42s. Headecker down between Cleveland Thomas and his who “burned out” at the back longtime rival Winston Missigher as the latend of the race finished in third, ter was late for the race. clocking 1:56.42s.

Over at the High Jump mat, Natrina Tenesha Cort, who on Sunday Hooper out jumped Cindy Fraser and Chantoba Bright jumps her way to gold in the set a new national record in Shontel Browne in the females event to take Triple Jump event the Women’s Javelin, recordgold. Hooper’s best effort was a height of ed a doubled as she won gold in 1.70m while Fraser had 1.60m and Browne the Women’s Discus throw with Phillips finished in a time of 24.07s while 1.45m. a distance of 35.03m. Her closJoanna Archer surprised Claudrice Moore came in second with 24.55s. Rogers est challengers was Sophina who looked slightly off form, was third as McKoy in the Women’s 800 Metres as Vanderstoop who threw the disshe strode past McKoy to end the race in she clocked 24.63s. cus a distance of 33.48m and Earlier in the day as proceedings be- 2:14.55s and claim gold. McKoy finished secthird placed Annesia DeAbreu gan in the Women’s Triple Jump, Chantoba ond in 2:15.36s while Kezra Murray ended with 31.97m.

Bright claimed yet another gold medal with with 2:22.45s copping bronze.

In the Men’s Triple Jump Fans were treated to the first Hurdles a leap of 12.24m; miles ahead of second Lloyd McCurdy leaped his way (L-R) Women’s 100 Metres Medalists: Onasha Rogers placed Cindy Fraser who’s best jump was event at a national meet after decades. to gold with a distance of 15.67m (silver), Kenisha Phillips (gold), Toyan Raymond Hosea Glen took gold easily in the Men’s measured at 10.71m. while Lurex Stewart claimed sil- (bronze) along with AAG President Aubrey Hutson

CASA Junior Championships

Mekdeci, Fernandes progress to finals – Wiltshire, Cadogan also advance

By Akeem Greene

B

enjamin Mekdeci and Taylor Fernandes are making good on their quest for Under-19 title glory after they progressed to their respective finals of the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Championships when action continued at the Georgetown Club on Monday evening.

Mekdeci thumped Jamaica’s Jonathan Walker in straight sets, winning 11-1, 11-7 and 11-6.

Though the margin spells a one-sided contest, that was far from the reality as Mekdeci was pushed on several occasions by his counterpart who showcased some cheeky dabs.

However, with the home court advantage and supportive fans, the Guyanese captain withstood the pressure with his own nifty plays to seal his spot in today’s final against Barbados’ Josiah Griffith. Griffith won 11-5, 11-13, 11-8 and 11-10

against Jamaica’s by fellow countryman Tahjia Lumley.

Madison Fernandes, but For Fernandes, withstood the heat, winshe was pushed by ning 11-8, 10-12, 11-7 Trinidad’s Marieand 11-3 to set up a fiClaire Barcant to win nal showdown with the 11-5, 2-11, 11-3, 11-5.

Bajans’ Chelsie Samuel.

Fernandes is expectSamuel won her ed to face Barbados’ semi-final against St Amanda Haywood.

Vincent and Grenadines’ Favourite Daniel Giovanna MillerIslam fell in straight Alexander in straight sets to St Vincent and sets (11-5, 11-8, 11-7).

Nevis’ Kia Bentick in In addition, Kirsten straight sets (7-11, Gomes has advanced 9-11, 10-12). to the final of the girls’ Likewise, Makeda U-13 against Barbados’ Harding suffered a Sumairaa Suleman, but Benjamin Mekdeci serves up one of his powerful hits against crushing defeat (8in the boys’ category, Jamaica’s Jonathan Walker 11, 6-11, 5-11) at Michael Aphonso fell to Barbados’ Darien Benn. Trinidad’s the hands of Jade Jace Jervis and will now Pitcairn which means she has Christopher Anthony will face have to do battle in the third-place to face Barbados’ Jada Smith- Wiltshire after he won against play-off against Alex Stuart.

Cayman Islands’ Charlie Riker.

Padmore in the third-place clash.

In the U-11 final, Mohryan Joy soon returned for the home Anthony won 11-1, 7-11, 4-11, 11-6 Baksh will face Trinidad’s Seth team, when Shomari Wiltshire and 11-3.

Thong, while Beau Fernandes is Fellow U-15 competitor leading the local charge in the girls’ reached the Under-15 final after winning 11-2, 11-3, 11-7 against Abosaide Cadogan was pushed category.

All finals will be played today with matches commencing from 09:00h.

The team segment will begin on Wednesday and conclude on Saturday with the hosts hunting their 13th consecutive title.

Team Guyana reads – Boys: Shiloh Asregado, Chad De Abreu, Nathan Rahaman, Louis Da Silva, Mohryan Baksh, Demetrius De Abreu, James Mekdeci, Michael Alphonso, Ethan Jonas, Shomari Wiltshire, Gianni Carpenter, Samuel Ince-Carvalhal, Lucas Jonas, Daniel Islam, Anthony Islam, Ben Mekdeci, Alexander Cheeks and Rithew Saywack.

Girls: Christiana Fernandes, Isabella Ramjohn, Beau Fernandes, Kirsten Gomes, Paige Fernandes, Aliyah Persaud, Abosaide Cadogan, Madison Fernandes, Haley Carpenter, Makeda Harding, Sarah Lewis, Rebecca Low and Taylor Fernandes.

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, july 4, 2017

23

Hero Caribbean Premier League…

Refreshed Lynn ready to lead Warriors’ charge

looking forward to playing with Rashid Khan,” he exynamic top orplained. der batsman Responding to a quesChris Lynn is eation on how to break the jink ger to display more carof not winning the title, the nage with the bat in hand right-handed batsman said for the Guyana Amazon he feels there is not much to Warriors in this year’s change. “I don’t think I’ll be Hero Caribbean Premier doing much different to last League (CPL). year; we had a very successLynn was the team’s ful campaign. At the start of best batsman last year, the tournament, if you said scoring 454 runs at a rethat we would have come markable average of 45.4, 2nd, I think nearly everyone and recording a highwould take that. We lost our est score of 86 from his way in the final, but that hap12 matches. Those stats pens in the game of T20 crickhelped the three-time runet; so, hopefully, the luck of ners-up reach the final the bounce goes our way this against eventual winners year”.

Jamaica Tallawahs.

He added, “We are a very Despite the undisputed “After a couple of weeks break from the driven team and are led by IPL and ICC Champions Trophy I’m talent the player possesssome quality coaches, but the feeling refreshed and can’t wait to get es, his international career back to Guyana” best thing is that we had a for his native Australia lot of fun along the way, and has been curtailed by injuAccording to grew as cricketers, but mainries when he seems to be in top form.

‘Lynny’, as he is ly as men”.

His participation at this year’s Indian called by teamThe cricketer is also lookPremier League (IPL) playing for the mates, the plan ing to return to Florida, where Kolkata Knight Riders saw him sustaining a is the same as obGuyana won both of their shoulder injury while fielding. He had start- tained in previous matches last year against the ed that tournament in blazing form, crack- years: score runs Chris Lynn was dynamic last year, scoring 454 runs at a remarkable average of 45.4 Barbados Tridents. He hopes ing a 41-ball 93 which included eight sixes and help win matchthat history can spur them Amazon Warriors] is a bloody wonderful to start their campaign on a winning note and six fours against the Gujarat Lions in es. his first match.

“My goal this year is to back up my sea- privilege. The pride that the players put when they play St. Kitts and Nevis’ Patriots “My personal preparation is going real- son last year and to be leading run scor- into that jersey is something that has stood on August 5. ly well. As I said, I’ve had time to freshen er again. Traditionally, scores are fairly out to me and for me personally. Playing in The fifth edition of the league will run up, and now I’m starting my training cam- low at Guyana, so to be leading run-scorer Guyana is the total opposite conditions to from August 4 to September 9, and the paign for the CPL. The body is feeling really with four home games there, I thought was what I have been brought up on, so I have Warriors will have four home matches from well after my shoulder concerns. I’ve worked a great achievement. So the goal is to back really enjoyed taking up that challenge to do August 17 to 22nd. my backside off to get back to where I want that up and go one better as a team this well”.

On the 17th, they play the Jamaica Commenting on the composition of the Tallawahs; after which they play arch-rito be,” the player disclosed in an interview year,” he disclosed. with <<Guyana Times Sport>>.

Though Lynn is becoming an important squad, the Queenslander said he is happy vals Trinbago Knight Riders two days later.

He added, “After a couple of weeks’ break international name in T20 Cricket, he ad- that the core remains the same. “Not too The Warriors then clash with the Barbados from the IPL and ICC Champions Trophy, mitted to having a sense of pride in wearing many changes, which is always a good sign. Tridents on the 20th, and then have their fiObviously, I lose my best mate, ‘Zamps’ nal home match against the St Lucia Zouks I’m feeling refreshed and can’t wait to get the Amazon Warriors’ jersey. back to Guyana.”

He explained, “Playing for GAW [Guyana [Adam Zampa]. But in saying that, I am on the 22nd.

By Akeem Greene

D

Ravi Shastri formally applies for post of Indian cricket team head coach

After conquering Pacquiao, Horn lines up Mayweather

Ravi Shastri has emerged as the front-runner for the post of head coach of the Indian cricket team following the resignation of Anil Kumble after the ICC Champions Trophy 2017

R

avi Shastri has formally applied for the post of India cricket team’s chief coach.

The former India team director confirmed to Hindustan Times that he has sent in his application to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which has fixed July 9 as the deadline.

There are some other high profile names in the fray, including Virender Sehwag and Australian Tom Moody, but Shastri is the frontrunner for the job. Former West Indies batsman and coach Phil Simmons has also joined the race for the India coach’s job, according to reports. Simmons has coached Zimbabwe, Ireland and West Indies. His most recent assignment was his home side, but fell out with the Windies board over his critical comments, leading to his exit.

The former India all-rounder well in his first stint with the Indian team of around a year and half from 2014 to 2016 when he es-

tablished a good rapport with captain Virat Kohli. He is also known to have the backing of the BCCI officials.

Sunil Gavaskar, speaking to NDTV, credited Shastri for turning around India’s fortunes. “After India lost in England, the BCCI asked him to come in as a team director... suddenly there was a change in the team’s fortunes over a period of time.” Gavaskar also felt that Shastri was the front runner for the post of head coach.

“I would imagine the CAC would go back to a person the team feels comfortable with and give him the job,” Gavaskar said.

The new coach will be picked by the threeman Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman on July 10, immediately after India’s tour to the West Indies. The new coach will take charge of the Indian team for the series against Sri Lanka.

(HindustanTimes)

W

BO welterweight champion Jeff Horn is still basking in the glory of his win over Manny Pacquiao as he hopes to take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. Having defeated Manny Pacquiao, Jeff Horn is hopeful of securing a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr once the American has fought Conor McGregor.

The Australian secured a shock points win over Pacquiao in Brisbane on Sunday, although the unanimous verdict was questioned by many in the aftermath.

Horn was quick to shrug off the critics after achieving what he described as “climbing the Pacquiao mountain” and he has quickly turned his attentions to scaling another, more formidable, summit.

The undefeated Mayweather will come out of retirement to take on UFC superstar Conor McGregor in a mega-money bout in Las Vegas in August, but Horn is hopeful of being the American’s subsequent opponent.

“I hope so. I’m world champ now. And he has been out of action and coming back to have a fight with Conor McGregor,” Horn said.

“It will be a good test for him to cement his record in history to fight another boxer for his title.

“I would prefer to come back here to fight in Queensland or Australia, but, look, there is always a chance that the fight could possibly be made in America.”

(Sportsmax)

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

TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2017

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AAG National Senior Athletics Championships

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