Guyana Times 7 June 2018

Border controversy case

ICJ President P13 calls for meeting with Guyana, Venezuela Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 3587

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Berbice man stabs wife, daughter to death …commits suicide at abandoned house guyanatimesgy.com

Page 3

Dindamattie Behari

Surujdai Khan

Jainarine Seetaram Undertakers removing 37-year-old Dindamattie Behari’s body from her Glasgow New Housing Scheme, Greater New Amsterdam home where she and her daughter were killed at the hands of her husband on Wednesday morning

Farmer shot during home invasion Page 2

Employment discrimination

President distances Govt from GECOM hiring process Page 9

…as PPP reiterates lack of confidence in employment practices

Newborn dies at GPHC …parents file legal action against hospital

Page 14

PRICE

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE: Piracy attack

“Shameface” slapped with murder charge P8

42-year-old charged for sexual activity with teen girl P8 Oil and gas

Govt fails to address plans for P7 onshore supply base, gas project

Bandits trail woman from bank P7

…snatch bag containing $900,000

Mae's offers public P11 apology to humiliated Indigenous child …apology issued to child, parents

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

CJ, Chancellor appointments

President stands firm on original nominees

…refuses to confirm Justices Cummings-Edwards, George to posts

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resident David Granger on Wednesday confirmed his unwillingness to confirm the two judges who have been acting in the capacity of Chief Justice and Chancellor respectively since last year, as he declared that he was sticking with his original nominees for those posts even though they have been rejected by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

The Guyana Constitution does not allow the President to confirm a substantive Chief Justice or Chancellor without the agreement of the holder of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

President Granger on Wednesday continued to pour cold water on the criticism that his Government is facing for its inability to

President David Granger

strike a compromise with the Opposition Leader on candidates.

Justice Yvonne Cummings-Edwards is the current acting Chancellor

while Justice Roxane George is acting in the capacity of Chief Justice.

The President’s nominee for the post of Chancellor is Justice Kenneth Benjamin and for Chief Justice, Justice Cummings-Edwards.

Jagdeo has hinted several times that he was willing to have dialogue to arrive at a more suitable consensus candidate, who would enjoy the full confidence of the entire Judiciary and political corps.

Asked whether he was inclined to support Justices Cummings-Edwards and George to be confirmed as the country’s next Chancellor and Chief Justice respectively, President Granger dodged the question, signalling an outright unwillingness to even entertain the idea.

Justice Yvonne Cummings-Edwards

“I am inclined to support the Constitution. The Constitution makes it clear, very clear, how the Chancellor has to be appointed. I don’t have the au-

thority to go outside of the Constitution … Everything I have done is according to the Constitution. If other people can tell me what part of the Constitution empowers them, I would like to become aware with them myself.”

The Head of State’s comments come on the heels of calls within the Diaspora, the legal fraternity and pressure from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to fill the top two posts in the Judiciary, which would restore complete confidence in their remit and the Judiciary’s ability to pilot reforms.

President Granger instead is standing by his nominees Justices Benjamin and Cummings-Edwards – for the substantive posts of Chancellor and Chief Justice respectively.

Asked further if he intended to replace Justice Benjamin with another nominee, Granger responded in the negative.

“I took my time in making that decision, and I am not prepared to throw it out of the window,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked of his intentions to meet with Jagdeo to discuss the

Justice Roxane George

matter, the President said, “I have other business to discuss with him: the appointment of the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and some other Commissions and when Parliament gives me those names, I will put all of those on the agenda for the meeting.”

Guyana’s last Chancellor was Justice Desiree Bernard, who resigned to join the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in 2005 and its last substantive Chief Justice was Justice Carl Singh.

Farmer shot during home invasion

The home which was invaded by bandits

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father of three is now hospitalised with a gunshot wound, following an early morning attempted robbery on the West Bank of Demerara on Wednesday, by two armed and masked men.

Peter Mangal, a 38-year-old farmer of Lot F Bordeaux, Canal Number One, was shot once to his right arm after two bandits entered his two-storey concrete home.

According to a Police report, Kevin Mangal, 68, the father of the now wounded man, was in the bottom flat of the house when the gunmen pounced on him and dealt him several lashes to his head and body with a handgun.

The men then ordered him to take them upstairs where they demanded cash from Peter Mangal.

According to a Police statement, “the two men headed upstairs escorting Karan where they met Peter Mangal and they began demanding cash; as a result, Peter began to scuffle with the suspect who was armed with the handgun and he received a gunshot injury to his right arm above his elbow.”

After the shot was fired, the suspects fled the house without taking any valuables.

Moti Mangal, the brother of the now hospitalised man, told Guyana Times on Wednesday afternoon that the Police went to the house where they dusted for fingerprints. He said the family was hoping the Police would find the perpetrators.

Investigations are ongoing.

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com

Berbice man stabs wife, daughter to death

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, June 7 – 11:30h-13:00h and Friday, June 8 – 12:30h-14:00h.

…commits suicide in abandoned house …11-year-old son witnesses ordeal

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, June 7 – 10:30h- 12:00h and Friday, June 8 – 11:50h-13:20h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Thundery rain showers in the early morning is expected to give way to light rain showers that will last throughout the morning. Light cloudy skies will dominate in the afternoon, followed by brief sunshine before partly cloudy skies creep in for the night. Temperatures are expected to range between 21 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly to North-easterly between 2.34 metres and 6.25 metres.

High Tide: 10:55h and 23:35h reaching maximum heights of 2.22 metres and 2.25 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 04:26h and 16:59h reaching minimum heights of 1.05 metre and 0.95 metres.

WEDNESDAY, june 6, 2018

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12 20 23

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DAILY MILLIONS 01 03 10 17 26 LUCKY 3 4 6 3

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Afternoon Draw DRAW DE LINE 01

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

Jainarine Seetaram and his wife Dindamattie Behari in happier times

By Andrew Carmichael

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n East Bank Berbice man was on Wednesday morning found hanging from a rafter under an abandoned house at Glasgow Village, moments after he killed his wife and daughter.

The double murder was witnessed by the couple’s 11-yearold son.

Dead are Dindamattie Behari, 37, a housewife; her daughter Surujdai Khan, 20; and their killer, Jainarine Seetaram, 41, also called “Radoo” all of Lot 1078 Glasgow, New Housing Scheme, Greater New Amsterdam, Berbice.

Behari’s body was found in a hammock, while her daughter died on her way to the New Amsterdam Hospital. A short distance away, Seetaram was found hanging at an abandoned house.

According to the Police, the couple’s 11-year-old son related that about two weeks ago, his father accused his mother of having of an extra-marital affair and they had a misunderstanding over it. The 11-year-old related that he and his sister Surujdai Khan were in the upper flat of the house while his parents were in the lower flat, when he heard his mother telling his father to remove from next to her. As a result, he along with his sister went down to the lower flat to see what was happening. When they got downstairs, he saw his father was armed with a wooden handle hammer in his right hand while his mother was sitting in a hammock.

He stated that his father then dealt his mother a lash to her head with the said hammer. According to the son, the father also attempted to lash him with the same hammer, but he managed to run half a mile to his grandmother Omawattie Behari’s home and related what had occurred.

Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Lyndon Alves told the media that the Police were informed of the incident but by the time they reached the scene, the suspect had already fled.

The Police in a statement to the media said that the 11-yearold subsequently returned to the home where he saw his mother lying in the hammock motionless with blood about her clothing and body while his sister was on the ground helpless with blood about her clothes and body. Dindamattie Behari was seen with injuries to the right side of her head and a cut to her throat. Surujdai was seen with a cut to her forehead.

Meanwhile, according to another eyewitness, the cou-

ple was under the house having breakfast when the man attacked his wife with a cutlass and hammer.

One neighbour responded to the woman’s screams and was told by the attacker that they had disrespected him. He fled the scene when alerted neighbours went to the mother and daughter’s aid.

Ex-Police Officer Trevor Marcus heard the screams and responded.

“As I approached the guy, he ran away. I ran behind him and me and two others did not catch him,” Marcus said.

He said the man ran and crossed a canal and entered the canfield and disappeared.

Meanwhile, about one hour later, a construction worker noticed a man wearing a brightly coloured red shirt hanging under an abandoned house.

According to the Police, Seetaram was found under an abandoned house about 400 to 500 meters South-east of the scene with a rope tied around his neck. A wooden handle shine blade knife with what appeared to be blood stains was seen on the beam from which he was hanging. The couple had been together for 21 years.

Meanwhile, the dead woman’s mother told this publication that her daughter visit-

ed her home almost on a daily basis and was very kind to her, even coming to assist her with house chores. She related that her now dead son-in-law worked overseas.

Villagers described the family as being very quiet.

Marcus told Guyana Times that earlier in the morning, he walked past the house and saw Seetaram on his bridge and said hello to him and he looked his normal jovial self.

Dindamattie Behari is survived by her four siblings.

The bodies are at the Arokium Funeral home awaiting post-mortem examinations.

Dead: Surujdai Khan

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guyanatimesgy.com

thursDAY, june 7, 2018

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

Fuel prices and the domino effects

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he recent steep increases in fuel prices and their natural domino effects continue to take a harsh toll on the lives of ordinary Guyanese. Strike action is ongoing by operators of the public transport system in various parts of the country. That in itself has its own domino effects: primarily inconvenience resulting in lateness or probably absence from work and school for those who have no other means of transportation. As bad as it is, it is not the most telling effect of the hike in prices.

No convincing is needed to understand and accept how it will exacerbate people’s challenges to make ends meet which had already been herculean prior. The devastating effects are not confined to the seeming impossibility of stretching incomes which have been deemed inadequate, but as additional assaults on the human psyche. An epistle can easily be crafted to remind of the social impact it can have on both the family and communities.

While much has been said about that, it may be useful to restate the basic. The gamut of cost of living escalates with raised fuel prices as especially food and transportation become more burdensome. The situation worsens for families with children who have to use public transportation and who need adequate supplies in their lunch bags. Added to the woes, there is the strong possibility of electricity and water rates moving upwards.

While the strikes by some minibus operators appear to be out of concern over increased fares on commuters, others have already implemented a markup. The bottom line is that the ordinary people will feel the brunt and will suffer.

The wholesalers and retailers will endeavour to insulate themselves by passing the increases on. In the realm of commerce, they generally cannot be faulted. However, some have blatantly taken advantage of the situation by increasing prices on commodities much higher than deemed necessary for offsetting.

Their natural propensity is to milk the situation by blanketing the new prices on stocks bought cheaper previously. The free and open market, therefore, makes it virtually impossible for regulation to cushion the effects on the citizenry, thereby further worsening their vulnerability. The painful reality is that poverty-stricken families will be, among other things, heading to work and schools with less than what is considered to be adequate for sustenance.

Austerity measures, precipitated by a plethora of taxes over recent years, have crippled the ability of the masses to generate disposable incomes. This surplus is vital for the advancement of their families from the standpoint of the home environment, convenience and academics. Its absence has a rippling effect with dire consequences for the national economy. With a lessening or a disappearance of disposable income, as in the case for many, the improvement of the standard of living would be stagnated; the same for escaping poverty. This adds to the social impact in a society that seems saturated.

In recent years, the economy has been struggling for propulsion. A natural derivative is a rise in unemployment evident from the closure of some entities. Those without the means to help support and mitigate the effects of an increasingly harsher economic climate would see themselves as without a straw to clutch, thereby compounding their woes.

This resurfaces the plight of the thousands of sugar workers who lost their jobs and those from other establishments which were closed.

The obvious cry, especially for them, would be to question why their lives are being made harder and harder in a time when they really should not be. The sentiments would be similar for the masses. While economists will offer different views and possible solutions, for and against, the question remains pertinent and deserving of an honest answer.

Those who feel it know. They know, and they experience the unabated stacking of burdens upon burdens for which they are gradually being made weaker to carry. They know how bleak the future seems at the moment as despondency engulfs and much-needed relief appears unattainable.

Relief is being clamoured for. Experts have posited the reduction of the relevant excise taxes to buffer the hike in the fuel prices; something which has been done in the past. It naturally begs the question of why not now. A now tax-driven economy may offer an answer as to why not. If that were to hold, then relief may unfortunately remain elusive for an extensive period, much to the despair of the affected.

Worrisome, is not just the seeming secrecy, quiet revelation and lack of reason for the unexpected increases, but the apparent absence in the public domain of compassion and an attempt to address mitigating measures. If the current situation remains, the negative impact will grow rapidly and become far-reaching – making, for many, a life of a better disposition a mere utterance skilfully crafted. The reality does not suggest otherwise.

Pope Francis arrives to lead the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican (Reuters)

No ‘dressing’ will diminish Govt’s responsibility for economic situation Dear Editor, The column ‘Report on End of year Outcome 2017’ written by Anand Goolsarran warrants a response, since what Goolsarran claims is out of sync with the substantiated views expressed by economists, like Sasenarine Singh and others.

Only recently, sections of the media published comments from Singh, where he pointed out that Guyana’s exports had dropped by $615 million in 2017. And this is the least of the worrying economic signs that have been pointed out. Another economist, Tarron Khemraj, also in sections of the media, pointed out that it is the coalition Government that must take blame for the loss of investor confidence and the depreciation of the local currency. Khemraj also criticised this Government about the economic perfor-

mance by pointing out that is it unfairly suspicious of the Private Sector and that the Budget 2018 presentation “gives the impression that not everyone in the APNU/AFC Government fully appreciates the crucial importance of stable macroeconomic forces.”

Goolsarran is not an economist, yet he claims that, based on his supposed analysis, Guyana’s macroeconomic fundamentals reflect a stable economy. This conclusion by Goolsarran would be strange if it were considered on its own. But, Editor, it is an interesting coincidence that Goolsarran’s comments came days after Finance Minister Winston Jordan was making great predictions about the economy for 2018, as reported in the State media.

No one has forgotten that Goolsarran was an ardent advocate for the APNU/AFC

coalition Government.

No one has forgotten that Goolsarran also benefited from millions in forensic audit contracts, all of which were awarded in breach of the law. One of those audits alone was for $2.3 million.

This was the man who, as a former Auditor General, presented himself as a champion for ensuring that the procurement laws were followed. Yet he accepted monies in breach of what he actually argued for. All the forensic audit contracts were given out to people.

The laws were not followed.

In addition to not being an economist, wouldn’t such an action call into question his principles as an accountant too?

Editor, Goolsarran has also not told the Guyanese people yet about the $28 billion that was ‘lost’ annually because of weak procurement systems. As recent

as 2015, Goolsarran was talking about credible reports of corrupt behaviour in public procurement. But he has not said anything about this since then. Why? Editor, I submit that in the whole context, Goolsarran’s comments and his conclusion about a stable economy must be questioned. There must be some level of responsibility to the people when certain comments are made. After all, it is the people, regular Guyanese people, who are feeling the squeeze caused by the present economic conditions. No amount of ‘dressing’ by people like Goolsarran will diminish the APNU/AFC coalition Government’s responsibility for the present economic situation.

Sincerely, David Williams

Public apology to student Dear Editor, Diversity in education and the creation of educational opportunities for students from diverse cultural backgrounds constitutes the bedrock of Mae’s Schools.

As an educational institution, we are defined by the belief that a multiplicity of ideas and beliefs, cultures and cultural values enrich the learning experience of our students.

We hold deeply the view that respect for and celebration of the several cultures which make up our country creates a diverse, dynamic environment for our stu-

dents.

On the day of May 25, 2018 there was a most unfortunate and deeply regrettable incident at our school.

We recognise that this event created trauma for the student, his family and the community.

We deeply regret the incident, and offer our most sincere and profound apologies to the student and his family for the hurt and pain which he suffered as a result.

We recognise also that various aspects of the event have been mischaracterised and misrepresented in the

media.

It was not our intention to hurt, disrespect or degrade such an important part of the beautiful cultural mosaic which constitutes Guyana.

Our primary focus and concern was, and remains, that the unintentional hurt and pain caused by this event be addressed in a manner which not only repairs any damage caused, but reconfirms our commitment to cultural diversity and its importance in the dynamic educational environment at Mae’s.

We have engaged and

will continue to engage those institutions in our society which are dedicated to protecting and promoting Indigenous culture as an integral part of our educational experience.

We will continue to strive to provide increased educational opportunities to students from all cultures in an environment of creative dynamic learning, underpinned by discipline and rules.

Sincerely, Stacey French Mae’s Schools Director

guyanatimesgy.com

thursdAY, june 7, 2018

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

Let’s not get comfortable with chaos (Pt 1) SARA seems unwilling

Dear Editor, Many are lobbying for Guyana to welcome with open arms the impoverished, unfortunate Venezuelans running from lives of misery in their homeland, but our country has been unable to get its act together to improve the lives of its very own people.

I can point to our dire crime situation or our stores bending over backwards for foreign buyers. I can focus on our ramshackle markets, even our inability to provide potable water and reliable electricity for ourselves after 52 years of Independence.

But the unbridled wild beast that our public transportation has become might be the defining issue that crystallises all the trials and tribulations our people face.

The public transportation system is now in the clutches of minibus operators and it seems to be totally unregulated. It has become a sad re-

flection of our culture, which over the years became liberally veined with lawlessness, low levels of tolerance, uncouth behaviour, lack of empathy, fearfulness and an ‘anything-goes-just-makemoney’ approach.

Of course, like anything else, not all minibus operators are like this; but it seems to me that the majority who are, taint the ones who aren’t.

On any given day, we can see a multitude of minibuses, some garishly coloured in avid and dangerous competition with each other, despite the obvious risks to the lives of travellers and pedestrians. I speculate that in many cases passengers do not protest because rides within Georgetown are usually just short ones.

On any given day, speeding overcrowded minibuses put the lives of people’s children, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters in grave dan-

ger. It’s all about the money.

In the typical bus operator’s mind, passengers’ safety is a minor consideration, most likely such thoughts are a nuisance.

I remember witnessing two minibus drivers jostling to get a single passenger and grazing the sides of each other’s vehicles in their recklessness. And I don’t need to regurgitate the details of many serious accidents involving minibuses when torsos, arms, legs etc were violently separated from their counterparts on human bodies and bloodied remains were strewn everywhere.

On any given day, we can see ragamuffin-looking touts for minibuses grabbing and groping prospective passengers, trying to force them to board specific buses.

On any given day, we can see minibuses and other vehicles for that matter, racing to beat traffic lights, which, ironically, were erected to

control traffic and prevent accidents. We can see them forming extra lanes on busy roadways to beat the lights and be a few seconds ahead of other buses in the jostle for passengers.

On any given day, we can encounter rude, aggressive hoodlum-type characters functioning as minibus conductors and drivers, some making passes at schoolgirls.

On any given day, we can honestly mistake some minibuses for moving dance halls blasting music with the filthiest lyrics that would make any conscious parent cringe while travelling with a child.

I have actually witnessed minibus drivers and conductors openly buying bottles of Guinness stout to drink while operating their vehicles with paying passengers on board.

Sincerely, Concerned citizen

Stabroek Market Constabulary afraid to act Dear Editor, The Mayor and City Council had made it clear that no vending nor other related business will be allowed on the tarmac in front of the Stabroek market. Lo and behold, a caravan is now on that tarmac, day and night, selling various cooked food products. The Stabroek Market Constabulary is very concerned about this development, but they are afraid to remove the caravan since it is obvious that

to the Stabroek market tarmac, the same can be said of Roxanne Burnham playfield, people are just fronting for them. As a certain Mayor likes to say “Selling on Stabroek market tarmac is a No No.” May God help the small vendors.

the persons have the blessing of City Hall hierarchy. It is my belief that the owner of

that business could be found from among the power brokers at City Hall. Otherwise

Sincerely, Eon Andrews President Guyana Market Vendors Union

Commissioner Benn needs an evidential basis for his cry

Dear Editor, A few years ago, on the eve of the determination of Gocool Boodoo’s contract as the Chief Elections Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) took to the media accusing the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Commissioners of targeting Indo-Guyanese for dismissal. On that occasion, I was forced to break my silence. I made it known publicly that it was Gocool Boodoo who initiated and insisted on the dismissal of two Indo-Guyanese senior staffers of GECOM. On that occasion, the PPP’s resort to ethnic politics, to have Boodoo retained

by GECOM, did not work.

Boodoo’s contract was not renewed and GECOM no longer had to contend with a CEO who on two occasions, 2006 and 2011, personally presented and vowed for the wrong results of those elections.

Now, on the eve of the determination of Vishnu Persaud’s retention by GECOM, the PPP in the person of spin-doctor Roger Luncheon has once again employed the said approach by going to the media and purporting to have been informed that the PNC Commissioners

are “Giving low to zero scores to candidates of Indian origin” and “Finding extraneous reasons for eliminating top rank candidates of Indian origin.”

There are two issues at hand, here. Firstly, there is no such thing as party commissioners, although that is the exact way that the Commissioners appointed by Jagdeo allow themselves to be described. In fact, they act as party representatives rather than constitutional officers nominated by the Leader of the Opposition. They even turn-up at Jagdeo’s political press conferences to take partisan positions on matters pertaining to GECOM. Secondly, since when is Desmond Trotman a PNC or its representative? Trotman, of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), was appointed by the President after consultations with his coalition partners. It is important to note that Trotman was nominated to be a Commissioner after his party had publicly indicated that it would not support or condone rigging of the elections. It is my understanding that Trotman was one of the persons who crafted the WPA’s statement prior to its release. To label Trotman as a PNC can only be an attempt to mobil-

ise support on the usual anti-PNC and associated ethnic politics of the PPP. I will not be drawn into the unethical behaviour of discussing the Vishnu Persaud matter in public since it is still, as I write this letter, to be determined by the Commission.

However, it would be remiss of me if I did not disclose that the granting of high and low scores, including perfect scores, is a precedent created by a PPP nominated Commissioner.

Luncheon must be judging others by the known standards of his colleagues.

To date, three potential employees have been identified by GECOM. Of the

three – one, who has been identified to fill the most critical of the positions is an Indo-Guyanese. This position has been the source of much controversy in the past, yet the so-called PNC Commissioners also gave the nod to the Indo-Guyanese.

If Commissioner Benn, who is the main protagonist of the ethnic balance mantra, is serious, he needs to come up with an evidential basis for his cry and provide concrete solutions in support of his proposition, rather than providing fodder for the politicians.

Yours truly, Vincent Alexander GECOM Commissioner

to investigate actions of this Govt

Dear Editor, I read the report from another section of the media about the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) working with regional administrations to ensure that budgetary funds are properly spent and accounted for. This support role is a new turn when you consider what the SARA law is mainly focused on. The SARA law, when you read the reports from the Department of Public Information, stipulates the functions of SARA to include investigating whether State property was obtained through unlawful conduct involving a public official or any other person and the tracing and identifying of property wherever situated, suspected to be State property obtained from unlawful conduct involving a public official or any other person.

But SARA isn’t talking about taking the Regional Executive Officers (REOs) to court over overpayment on contracts and that sort of action. All Guyanese have seen the unwillingness of SARA to investigate anything connected with actions of this Government; even last week’s media reports about Government Ministers selling passports and work permits and setting up front companies to benefit from taxpayers’ monies. So, if SARA isn’t going after Government Ministers, why would they

go after these REOs who are acting contrary to the laws, right?

Or is it because most of the REOs were appointed by the same Government that appointed the people running SARA? Aubrey HeathRetemyer himself said SARA is not in the regions to “run things,” but is there to “point out” where there are things that are going in the wrong direction.

Or it is that SARA knows that if it takes cases against these REOs, or even Government Ministers to court, it would not win the case? The SARA Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) are in positions, despite what the law says about how appointments to these positions should be made. Everyone was of the view that a new Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) would be appointed, once the Bill was passed last year. Their functioning of Aubrey Heath-Retemyer and Clive Thomas is unconstitutional and in contravention of the law.

Editor, these are serious issues that raise many worries for Guyanese people. The SARA law gives much power to the people running it and since the people running it were handpicked by this APNU/AFC Government, the SARA Bill gives much power to them.

Sincerely, Attiya Baksh

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Foundation dinner with the family. But if that child is running around the dining room instead of eating, we are all over him for misbehaving.

This is not to say we shouldn’t give a child negative consequences for running around when he is supposed to be sitting at the table. We should. But we also need to provide positive attention to him when he is sitting and eating. In other words, we should always be looking for and acting on opportunities to praise children for their positive behaviour.

Q: How can parents put this into practice in their homes?

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he following is a Q&A with Boys Town behavioural expert Dr Patricia Gisbert, on some of the most common questions parents have about using praise with their younger children.

A: First, I encourage parents to list the negative behaviours they want their children to stop and then write

down the positive “opposites” of that behaviour. So if your child is hitting, the positive opposites of that behaviour could include “being gentle”, “keeping hands to self”, or “staying calm.”

Then, I ask parents to start giving more attention to their child’s positive behaviours so he or she starts associating that attention with doing something good.

Parents can use “Labelled Praise” to do this, and those statements can sound something like this: “I like how you are being gentle with your sister,” or “Thank you for keeping your hands to yourself even when you are mad.”

Using Labelled Praise to call attention to a positive behaviour encourages the child to use that behaviour more often in the future. It also teaches a child which behaviours are good, something

just saying “Good job” does not do. For example, praising a child who has difficult time staying seated by saying, “I like how you are staying in your seat,” lets the child he is able to do it, provides recognition that you like that he is doing it, demonstrates that doing it will earn positive attention from you, and encourages him to keep doing it.

Q: With what types of behaviour issues does this method work best?

A: Honestly, effective Labelled Praise can be used to help change any negative behaviour. The most important thing is to find the positive opposite of the negative behaviours the child is displaying. Here is a list of examples of Labelled Praise statements that can be used with specific negative behaviours.

(Excerpt from parenting.org)

Q: What is praise?

A: More than anything else, children want and need the attention of their parents and they will do anything to get it. Praise is the positive attention and approval children crave from their parents. Unfortunately, we often tend to give children negative attention only when they are doing something we do not like and pass up opportunities to give them positive attention (praise) when they do things we want them to do. For example, we might not acknowledge a child who is sitting at the table eating

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lthough making friends comes easily to some children, others struggle to connect with their ?peers. If your child is having a tough time making friends, talk with your child about friendship, and work with him/her to develop social skills that will help: Sit down with your child and discuss what friendship means and what makes a good friend. Ask your child how he/she picks friends.

Ask your child what his/ her interests are and who else shares those interests.

Ask your child how a friend makes him/her feel.

Practise social skills with your child.

Friends are supposed to make us feel big in life. Does a particular friend make you feel big in life or small in life?

Tell your child that you believe in them and that they can do this.

Make sure to take every opportunity to praise your child when you see him/her using friendship skills effectively. This will give your child the confidence to use these skills on the playground or at school and to develop strong relationships with peers. (parenting.org)

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thursdAY, june 7, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Oil and gas

Govt fails to address plans for onshore supply base, gas project

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aving received some staunch criticism from the Opposition regarding its reluctance to provide information about the nascent oil and gas sector to the general public, the Government, through the Natural Resources Ministry, has responded claiming that it has done its best to provide as much information as possible.

The Natural Resources Ministry on Wednesday said that there was evidence that the Government has been more open to sharing information, engaging citizens, and accepting criticism than the previous Administration. The Ministry used the release of several oil contracts, including ExxonMobil’s, as one example of being transparent and open.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

In addition to making the contracts available to the public, the Ministry said that it has also conducted public outreaches through-

out Guyana to inform residents of developments in the oil and gas and natural resources sector and these were ongoing. Each of these sessions, it said, was well attended and questions asked by residents were answered factually and honestly.

But in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Opposition, it noted that there is still no word yet on the promised Local Content Policy. It accused Government of name-dropping titles of international agencies to somehow lend believability to the notion that it was addressing the matter diligently. But instead, Guyanese are still unaware about what the final drafts will look like and when they will be ready.

In response to that particular criticism, the

Bandits trail woman from bank …snatch bag containing $900,000

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olice in A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) are reviewing surveillance footage in an effort to identify bandits who snatched a handbag containing $900,000, along with other valuables from a woman in a city café on Wednesday morning.

Guyana Times understands that the victim had visited a commercial bank

and soon after leaving, stopped at Oasis Café, located on Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

According to reports, as soon as the woman entered the business premises, a young man reportedly followed closely behind and snatched her handbag.

The suspect immediately walked out of the café and escaped with his accomplice who was waiting on a motor-

cycle.

When contacted, employees at the establishment refused to divulge any information on the incident.

Nevertheless, the matter was reported to the Police and an investigation has been launched.

Police sources told Guyana Times that it is believed that the suspects trailed the woman from the commercial bank to the café.

Ministry said in the process of developing a Local Content Policy, it has engaged a number of organisations, including five Chambers of Commerce, the University of Guyana, other ministries, professional associations, and individuals.

“These engagements allowed persons the opportunity to make their contributions towards a Local Content Policy for the oil and gas sector. The second draft of the policy is now available for perusal by the public on the following websites: www.business.gov. gy and www.nre.gov.gy,” it added.

In an effort to prove Government’s openness and willingness to share information, the Ministry also stated that the records of the National Assembly will show that Minister Trotman and Minister Simona Broomes have appeared before the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources on sever-

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman

al occasions, and have had frank presentations that addressed the developments in the oil and gas sector.

But the Opposition had made reference to the promises of building a US$500 million onshore supply base that was supposed to be erected at Crab Island, in the Berbice River, in 2017.

Additionally, the Opposition said Government has not named the village earmarked for the gas project as though it is a State secret. This particular observation was not addressed in the Government press statement.

Another point raised by the Opposition was the fact that for three years, Guyanese were told about legislation coming to the National Assembly that included the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). This was supposed to come before the end of 2016, but it is now 2018 and it is still nowhere close to being finished.

The Opposition had also reminded that Guyanese were told that the oil and gas sector will be treated in an apolitical manner, but were met with a Petroleum Commission Bill, which vests obscene levels of control in the hands of the Minister responsible for oil.

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Piracy attack

“Shameface” slapped with murder charge

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ust days after a Corentyne, Berbice businessman was charged for allegedly killing a fisherman during the course of a robbery which occurred at sea, a teenager on Wednesday stood before acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus slapped with the same charge.

Nineteen-year-old Alexander “Shameface” Denhart, of Lot 79 Village, Berbice, had the indictable charge read to him which stated that he murdered Tilacknauth Mohabir, called “Caiman”, some time between April 27, 2018 and May 3, 2018 at Corentyne, Berbice.

The teen was remanded to prison and was scheduled to make his next court

Alexander Denhart

appearance on June 13, 2018 at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.

Denhart’s accomplice and alleged mastermind of the attack, Nakool Manohar, was last Wednesday also charged for murder.

He was also remand-

ed for two previous charges of robbery on the high seas committed in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

The accused is expected to be back in court shortly to have read to him another murder charge, that of Mahesh Sarjoo, called “Cooba”.

Mohabir’s and Sarjoo’s bodies were the only two that were positively identified by relatives in Suriname after the attack by pirates on four fishing boats at a place called Wia Wia Bank in the Atlantic Ocean.

Reports coming out of Suriname indicated that 20 fishermen were the victims of that attack and 11 were still missing and feared dead.

Meanwhile, one of the

Chain of being…

G Nakool Manohar

two other bodies found was still to be identified, law enforcement was currently awaiting DNA results.

The other body was that of Gowkaran Outar, and was found on the Number 63 Beach. He was identified by a tattoo on his upper body.

42-year-old charged for sexual activity with teen girl

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jetman called “Pharaoh” was on Wednesday slapped with a sexual misconduct charge and appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Feron Hernandez, 42, of Port Kaituma, North West District, denied the charge against him.

It is alleged that he engaged in sexual activity with the 14-year-old by kissing and touching her breast.

Reports indicate that the teen was fetching water on June 2, 2018 at Canal Back, Port Kaituma when the incident occurred.

After fetching the water, the teen visited her grandmother’s home to change her clothes when the man, who is known to her, reportedly barged in, ripped off the teenager’s bra and forcibly kissed her and touched her breast.

The teen managed to escape his grip and reported what had occurred to another rela-

Feron Hernandez

tive.

That relative reported the matter to the Police and Hernandez was arrested and later charged.

In court on Wednesday, Attorney Dexter Todd made a successful bail application.

Hernandez was released on $250,000 bail on the condition that he stay 200 feet away from the Virtual Complainant (VC) and any other relative involved in the matter.

The case will continue on June 15, 2018.

Miner charged for 2016 attempted murder

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rincipal Magistrate Judy Latchman on Wednesday read an attempted murder charge to a Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown resident.

Chatterpaul Singh, 35, was not allowed to plead

to the indictable charge which stated that on July 4, 2016, he attempted to commit murder by wounding Chatternauth Persaud on Sheriff Street, Georgetown.

In court on Wednesday, the Virtual Complainant

(VC) informed the court that he did not wish to pursue the matter. He was, however, advised to write the Police on the matter.

Singh, a miner, was released on $100,000 bail. The case will continue on June

12.

Reports are Persaud and Singh are known to each other. On the day of the incident, Singh reportedly saw the VC chatting with his girlfriend which annoyed him, and an argument ensued. The two ended up in a fight and Persaud was stabbed.

“Donkey” charged for stabbing man

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21-year-old resident of Port Kaituma was slapped with a wounding charge after he allegedly stabbed a man about his body on Tuesday last.

Delroy “Donkey” Parish of Orenoque, Port Kaituma, North West District, Region One (Barima-Waini) appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus on Wednesday and denied the charge.

It is alleged that Parish unlawfully and maliciously wounded Robin Adams on June 5, 2018 at Orenoque, Port Kaituma.

According to the accused, he was attacked by Adams and was only defending himself. He was released on $50,000 bail. The case will continue at the Matthews Ridge Magistrate’s Court on August 7, 2018.

…and Mae’s

etting the Mae’s administration to sit down with the parents of the Amerindian boy they humiliated – and representatives of the Indigenous peoples – produced more drama than getting Trump to sit down with Kim Jong Un! In the case of the US and N Korea, the subject was nuclear weapons the latter claimed it possesses – with the capability to land them into US soil.

With Mae’s, the subject was no less tectonic – deriding the culture of the Indigenous Peoples and sending a message that they simply don’t count. While the US and Trump are rightfully concerned about N Korea’s devastating nuclear potential it doesn’t appear Mae’s appreciates its actions reverberate far beyond its school buildings and yard and represents the stubborn fag end of a bomb far more dangerous to the Amerindian peoples than N Korea’s.

This bomb was the narrative bomb hurled by the Europeans – headed by the Dutch – who came to this land, saw the Amerindians living here with their crops and vegetables etc – and yet declared that the land was “terra nullis” – empty land, which they could claim according to THEIR law!! And where they didn’t invoke “terra nullis”, they pronounced the Amerindians were UNCIVILISED so BY THEIR EUROPEAN LAW this gave them the right to take over the latter’s lands!!

Mae’s attitude to the Amerindian boy and the Amerindian groups that were finally ALLOWED to sit across the table from them, represented that premise that Amerindians are still not up to par with the elite they represent. When the Europeans stuck their flags and claimed Amerindian lands, their philosophers concocted the notion of a grand “Chain of being” – which started from the rocks and the trees at one end and ended up with the angels and God at the other. Man, of course, was just below the angels – but there was “man” and there was the White Man!!

The White Man were the ones just below the angels and the other races were firmly stuck below them – with Africans at the very bottom of that totem pole. In that scheme, Africans didn’t even possess a soul…and was therefore beyond redemption. In fact, it was this premise the Spanish used to bring in Africans as slaves and leave the Amerindians to die off from the germs they brought.

It’s therefore the height of irony that the administrators of Mae’s, descended from the mixed offspring of Africans and Europeans, are implicitly using the “Chain of Being” argument to deny Amerindians a seat at the table of “civilised” Guyanese!

Did you notice Mae’s first insisted they’d apologise privately to the parents of the boy...but eventually after pressure made a PUBLIC apology?

There’s hope.

…and GECOM hiring

A firestorm erupted when a GECOM PPP Commissioner dared to point out that the entity’s hiring practices acted to discriminate against Indian Guyanese.

Robeson Benn claimed the staff were almost 90 per cent African Guyanese. “Not so!!” shouted the unilaterallyappointed geriatric Justice (Chief?) James Patterson.

Without offering any evidence for his assertion, Patterson immediately adjourned the meeting. He’d probably exhausted himself with the exertion of shouting!!

Anyhow, when the meeting reconvened he unilaterally declared Benn couldn’t speak any further! If there was any doubt why Granger plucked Patterson to head GECOM, that’s been cleared! After all, any reasonable Chair would’ve told Benn he’d look into his charge.

Later, PNC Commissioner Vincent Alexander offered two contradictory assertions. On one hand, he claimed the African-dominated imbalance in ethnic composition was always there – like with the public service. But on the other hand (according to the Chronic) the ethnic imbalance was in favour of Indian Guyanese!!

Now without including cooks and bottle washers, your Eyewitness hopes a list of the GECOM employees will be released.

…and vandalising Victoria

Ah…how ungrateful can we be!! After slavery was abolished under Queen Victoria, we named the first village we founded after her – Victoria.

Yet we’ve now doused her statue with paint. Even as her Ambassador’s reforming our security system!!

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

News

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Employment discrimination

President distances Govt from GECOM hiring process …as PPP reiterates lack of confidence in employment practices

PPP GECOM Commissioner Robeson Benn

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ased on recent reports regarding the ethnic composition of staff within the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by members of the Opposition, President David Granger on Wednesday asserted that his Government has nothing to do with the employment process.

The President pulled himself and his Government completely out of the current controversy surrounding the alleged discrimination in the hiring practices at GECOM. Speaking at the sidelines of an accreditation ceremony at State House, the President said GECOM is independent and has never received any direction from the Executive.

“GECOM is autonomous and the Executive branch of the Government has nothing to do with how it is run…

So I am not a party to this process for the selection of persons for GECOM and no member of my Government is party to that process,” he

told media operatives on Wednesday.

The President also maintained his belief that the persons being employed at GECOM are the best to do the respective jobs, but added that, “I expect they (GECOM) will be following normal practice and they will get fit and proper persons who are qualified…

I am not aware of the procedures, but I expect the procedures would be above board and they would want to get the best person to do the job.”

Walkout

On Tuesday, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) GECOM Commissioners Sase Gunraj, Robeson Benn, and Bibi Shaddick walked out of a meeting over complaints of Chairman James Patterson using his post to muzzle them. These Commissioners had indicated that complaints would be filed with the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) over biases in employment practices at the GECOM secretariat.

They said the incident stemmed from GECOM Chairman, Justice James Patterson raising the issue of a public statement made

by Commissioner Robeson Benn regarding the ethnic composition of the workforce of the Secretariat of the Commission.

Benn pointed out that the perception was that the vast majority of the staff of the Commission were persons of one ethnic descent.

However, the Chairman dis-

President David Granger

puted the Commissioner’s claim without offering any evidence to substantiate his position.

The PPP Commissioners claimed that the Chairman prevented Benn from further defending his position and when challenged, adjourned the meeting for over half an hour.

Their allegations were followed by an earlier statement made by executive member of the PPP, Dr Roger Luncheon who made allegations against the GECOM, regarding the same issue. He said that the issue was brought to his attention that the People’s National Congress (PNC) Commissioners at GECOM are allegedly engaged in a process to eliminate candidates for advertised positions at the GECOM Secretariat.

In addition to that, he said it would seem that these Commissioners were aiming at such an objective by resorting to “giving low to zero scores to candidates of Indian origin who

are shortlisted during the interview process while providing high to 100 per cent scores to their preferred candidates”.

Further, the former Head of the Presidential Secretariat also alleged that the Commissioners were finding extraneous reasons for eliminating top candidates of Indian origin from appointment to positions at the GECOM Secretariat.

He said if these disclosures are confirmed, it would reveal that the practice continued of excluding some ethnicities from GECOM’s Secretariat.

Meanwhile, following Tuesday’s incident, PNCnominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander told the media that the disruption arose from the “unsubstantiated” claim of ethnic imbalance of GECOM staff.

He also claimed that GECOM does not keep information based on ethnicity and questioned on what basis can persons account for ethnicity.

But the PPP in a statement said Wednesday that it finds Alexander’s comments confusing, especially given that media reports have defined, in detail, the ethnic composition of staffers hired by the Commission.

Those reports indicate that Afro-Guyanese account for 46 per cent of the staff at GECOM, while Indo-Guyanese is 21 per cent, mixed 20 per cent, Amerindians 12 per cent and others one per cent.

“Did PNC's Alexander

PNC GECOM Commissioner Vincent Alexander

GECOM Chairman, Justice James Patterson

lie? Or is the GECOM Chairman being dishonest? Or were the numbers reported…false? If, as Mr. Alexander said ‘no information based on ethnicity’ is kept by GECOM, how were these numbers generated?” the party questioned.

Further to that, the PPP

said that these types of actions, and contradictions that lead to a lack of confidence in the hiring practices of GECOM. According to them, such a state of affairs makes the representations proffered by the PPP-nominated GECOM Commissioners necessary.

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RPA calls on Govt to lower fuel taxes

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s many producers in the agricultural sector continue to face challenges in sustaining their means of livelihood, the coalition Government is once again being urged to review its tax policies on fuel with a view to easing the “burden” on the productive sector.

This was the call on Wednesday by the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), which reiterated its stance that rising production costs were lowering the earning power of producers.

“We are calling on this Government to re-implement the sliding rate on taxes to cushion the impact of international price increases. To do nothing, but collect exorbitant taxes will stifle production and affect thousands of lives,” the Association observed via a statement.

The RPA posits that farmers, who are currently harvesting, have been experiencing an increase in transportation costs from an average of $200 to $800 per bag, because access to their farmlands is poor.

“Many have been forced to use a combination of poor dams and weed-infested waterways and this increase in fuel prices might very well be the proverbial last straw.

Additionally, most farmers are currently involved in land preparation exercise and sowing of their fields and in the latter case, [the] most fuel is being used compared to the crop duration, so the increase

is coming at a really bad time for the farmers,” the RPA noted.

As reported, the fuel woes are compounded by challenges of readily accessing fertilisers owing to financial challenges.

Guyana Times recently reported that many farmers who accessed fertiliser on a credit system with the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) were defaulting on their loan repayments which were due in part to millers not paying off the producers. Before the cancellation of PetroCaribe (the ricefor-oil) deal by Venezuela in 2015, farmers were obtaining premium rates for their paddy.

The RPA has since said that the “good life” that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government promised was wanting, adding that the Administration’s inaction on the matter was not an option.

“We are insisting on an immediate reduction in percentage taxes being collected, and we know that the Government knows that they can still realise the amount budgeted for with a reduction.

We will accept no less,” the RPA stressed.

In April 2017, Mahaica farmers, whose main source of income is rice, along with cash crops, said that the taxation measures were “harsh” to them. The farmers said then that the Government

has removed the list of exempted and zero-rated Value Added Tax (VAT) items, causing them to have to increase their cash crop prices, much to the dissatisfaction of their

customers. The cost of production, they noted, extended to an increase in payment for fertiliser, insecticide and weedicide. Given that spare parts and machinery all now

attract VAT, that “makes it more difficult for us to make ends meet as a farmer”, this newspaper reported them as saying. The Opposition – the People’s Progressive Party –

had made several calls for the removal of taxes and duties on fuel for the industry, and the removal of all taxes and duties on machinery, equipment, and spares.

M&CC to meet with Cabinet over parking meter by-laws

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he Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is expected to make a presentation to Cabinet next week in relation to the controversial amended parking meter Bylaws.

This was revealed by Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan on Wednesday, who said following that presentation, Government will make a final determination about the project going forward.

Bulkan said he has always been on record as supporting the initiative of having parking meters, which is intended to help to restore order to the current chaos faced in the city when it comes to parking. “…the contract that is engaged in, has to be one that is not burdensome to the population. The benefits have to be equitably shared between the concessionaire and the Council,” he added.

Bulkan noted that a lot of those features were not present in the initial contract, and acknowledged that is precisely why the Bylaws had to be rescinded by

A parking meter in downtown Georgetown

Government.

“It is our hope that the amended contract satisfies the concerns that were expressed by the Ministry of Finance and by the Attorney General’s Chambers… this review and assessment will be done by Cabinet at its next meeting following a presentation by the Georgetown municipality,” he added.

Based on a unanimous decision taken on April 4, 2018, the M&CC approved the amended parking meter By-laws. However, only two Councillors opposed the By-laws at the time.

Khame Prakash Sharma and Bishram Kuppen argued that the By-laws were in support of a contract that still remains unfair to citizens.

The amended By-laws were then presented to the Minister in May 2018 for

consideration.

The amendments proposed that persons pay $150 per hour and $800 for eight hours of parking in Georgetown.

Meanwhile, residents of the city would be issued with a restricted residential pass for free parking from 17:00-19:00h Monday to Friday, while parking will be free on Saturdays.

Under the modified contract, both parties had agreed to have an oversight committee set up to monitor, review, and manage the project. The committee is expected to have three representatives from M&CC, three from Smart City Solutions (SCS), and one third party also involved in the process.

During renegotiations between M&CC and SCS, the subject of shared profit and contractual obligations were discussed, and it was agreed to have it remain the same being the 20/80 for a period of 20 years. It was also disclosed that in the event of arbitration, the proceedings would be held in Miami, instead of here.

Rejecting parking meters

Despite these new proposals, the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc (GCCI) and the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) have both rejected the project’s return.

From the onset, MAPM and the business community have been opposed to the installation of parking metres in the city.

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has also maintained its non-support for this initiative.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo still believes that the metering system is not the best arrangement to assist with the reduction or organisation of traffic within the country’s capital city.

Jagdeo said the PPP will continue to oppose the initiative for several reasons, chief of them, the fact that the initial contract was flawed. He had also raised concerns about the persistence and continuous interest to have this project re-implemented even when the company is faced with several known controversies.

Jagdeo had pitched a proposal where the M&CC could gain more income and treated the parking of vehicles in a much different way as they did before.

“The City Council… all they need is maybe 1000 gallons of paint and go around and mark every area in the city and once per month, sell a sticker for $1000 or $2000 and people pay you and they park anywhere in the city once they have the sticker on the vehicle itself,” he explained.

That plan, he claimed, is more affordable and takes away the huge administrative cost that the M&CC would have to incur were they to go ahead with reintroducing the parking meters.

11 Mae’s offers public apology to humiliated Indigenous child news

thursDAY, june 7, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…apology issued to child, parents

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mid public outrage after the Mae’s Schools child was told his Indigenous cultural outfit was “inappropriate”, the school’s administration has issued an apology to the child and his parents to resolve the issue.

The two parties were involved in a third discussion on Wednesday, and the Director of the institution, Stacey French, issued her apology to the parents of Joshua Chacon – Karen Small and Jason Chacon, among a gathering of officials from the Education Ministry and the Social Cohesion Department.

In making her apology, French stated that ultimately what was important was protecting children. Both parents accepted the apology given, while Chacon went on to further state that he would like to see more programmes to bring awareness of culture in Guyana.

Also present at Wednesday’s engagement were Education

Minister Nicolette Henry; Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson; Deputy Chief Education Officer Ingrid Trotman; Education Ministry’s Legal Officer, Kelly-Ann Payne-Hercules and Private School Programme Coordinator of the Department of Social Cohesion, Sharon Patterson.

Hutson stated that to begin resolving the issue, an apology was necessary as well as psycho-social support for the child.

Further, Patterson supported the need for psycho-social support and stated her department’s willingness to also work with the teachers and staff of the school to ensure they have a better understanding of diversity and to enhance their capabilities to deal with such.

Additionally, Minister Henry said that it was the responsibility of all stakeholders that some positive outcome was gained from the unfortunate situation.

Minister Henry said that had better judgment

prevailed, the entire episode could have been avoided. She said that the issue must be dealt with in such a way that when persons look back in retrospect, they must recall that it was resolved amicably and be reminded that there must be tolerance and respect for diversity.

Meanwhile, at the National Toshaos Council (NTC) press conference, which was also held on Wednesday, it was revealed by NTC Vice Chairman Lenox Shuman that the Council was waiting on an invitation to visit the school so as to educate the administrative body and students about the culture of the Indigenous people. This, he said, is to ensure that such an incident is not repeated in the future.

On May 25, the nineyear-old boy was stopped at his school gate since his Culture Day outfit was referred to by the institution as “inappropriate”.

His mother, Karen Small, then posted a pic-

From right: Parents of nine-year-old Joshua Chacon, Jason Chacon and Karen Small with Director of Mae’s Schools Stacey French and Administrator Lucinda Mc Curdy

ture on social media, which caught the attention of many, who condemned the actions of the school. She related that her child was

brought to tears and then expressed loathing for the costume which he once admired. She explained that if the school was sceptical

about the type of costume, then a guideline should’ve been disseminated to provide information on what is acceptable.

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Judge orders fresh trial for murder-robbery accused M

a h i n d r a Bishundial, who is accused of the November 6, 2012 murder of 57-year-old poultry farm employee, Aga Khan at Busby Dam, Craig, East Bank Demerara, will have to face a fresh trial before another jury.

This was announced by presiding Judge, Justice James Bovell-Drakes on Wednesday after the jury forewoman announced just after two hours of deliberation that the verdict was not unanimous.

The proportion of 10-2 was noted but its breakdown of guilty to not-guilty was not announced in court.

counsels Seeta Bishundial and Mandel Moore prosecuted the case.

The accused man, also called “Tyrone”, was a resident of Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD). He was on trial for over a month after he denied that he murdered Khan during the furtherance of a robbery. The deceased was an employee attached to Edun Poultry

Murder accused, Mahindra Bishundial

Bishundial did not have much reaction when he was told that he will be remand-

Deceased: Aga Khan

ed to prison until another trial comes to the court. He was represented by Attorney Nigel Hughes while State

Farms and Hatchery.

According to reports, Khan was confronted by several bandits and he handed over a bag. He was subsequently shot and rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

It had also been reported that a porter was shot during the ordeal. Police had

said that Khan was driving motor lorry GJJ 2806, which was owned by his employer. It was observed that the men walked into the vehicle’s path and approached the now deceased man, ordering that he hand over cash. The Preliminary Inquiry was conducted by former Magistrate Leslie Sobers at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.

Logging trucks to use alternative roads in Linden

A section of the officials at the meeting on Wednesday

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s of June 15, 2018, logging trucks passing through the mining town of Linden will be restricted from utilising the Winifred Gaskin Highway at Wismar, but instead will be required to utilise the alternative Block 22 “back road”, with a stop at the Wisroc junction.

Additionally, logging trucks travelling from the ‘Mines’ area will also be restricted from traversing along Casaurina Drive, Mackenzie but instead will be required to utlilise and park along the Noitgedacht back road.

The decision was made on Wednesday when re-

gional officials met once again at the Office of the Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Regional Democratic Council (RDC).

On Wednesday, the discourse centred around additional recommendations and measures of enforcement for heavy-duty trucks in an effort to curb road fatalities and the destruction of roads within mining town.

Among those who were part of the decision-making process were Minister with the Communities Ministry, Valerie Adams-Yearwood; Minister within the Natural Resources Ministry, Simona Broomes; Regional Chairman Renis Morian; the Police; Councillors; representatives of the Region 10 Loggers Association; the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC); the Region 10 Road Safety Council; the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC); and the Linden Chamber of Industry Commerce and Development. The decisions received support from the majority of the stakeholders present.

Though it was revealed that the Block 22 bypass road is presently in a deplorable state, the Regional Chairman promised that remedial works with be done and completed by June 15. He also asked that the decisions be enforced by the Police.

Present on behalf of the Guyana Police Force were Traffic Chief Ramesh Ashram and E Division (Linden-Kwakwani) Commander Anthony Vanderhyden.

According to Morian, both bypass and “back roads” are slated to be repaired to accommodate the trucks with the expectation that owners contribute to the maintenance.

He added that the Public Infrastructure Ministry will also be undertaking repairs to the roads. Concerns were also raised over the state of the Blueberry Hill “back road” which is also expected to undergo repairs.

During the meeting, Minister Broomes called on representatives of the Loggers Association to collaborate in lending support for the final decisions.

Additionally, Minister Yearwood also called on various agencies to get organised in supporting the decisions which were made. “The bottom line is, we’re not here to waste time. And if we make a decision here as a group that from the 15th [June] all the trucks will use the back road, whichever agency got to do whatever got to get themselves in order,” she emphasised.

Meanwhile, the Regional Chairman added that the objective of the decisions is to save lives and restore order in the town.

Numerous officials who expressed concerns over the dangers posed by defaulting logging trucks which traverse the Linden community and the LindenSoesdyke Highway met last month to discuss recommendations. Wednesday’s follow-up meeting also sought to include members of the Loggers Association. (Utamu Belle)

news

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Border controversy case

ICJ President calls for meeting with Guyana, Venezuela

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he President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Justice Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf has invited the legal teams representing Guyana and Venezuela in the border controversy case, to attend a meeting with him later this month in The Hague, Netherlands.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Wednesday, the meeting has been set for June 18, 2018. It was explained that the purpose of the meeting is to fix the schedule for the filing of the writ-

President David Granger

ten pleadings in the border controversy case between the two South American neighbours.

Such a meeting is part of the Court’s normal procedure following the filing of a case, the Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting with the President of the Court will be limited to the matter of the schedule.

Guyana’s legal team is being led by former Commonwealth Secretary General, Sir Shridath Ramphal.

The team is a holdover from the Foley Hoag

President Nicolás Maduro

Amerindian hostel to be rehabilitated

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he Amerindian hostel, which houses Indigenous persons who are in the city seeking medical attention and other services, will be rehabilitated in coming months.

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock, during the contract signing ceremony on Wednesday, noted that the expansion of the current building, which is located on Princes Street, Georgetown, was necessary to facilitate the large influx of individuals who would stay there throughout the year.

According to the Minister, the expansion works are expected to be completed in four months.

“The residence is in heavy demand and it is really choked without these facilities. It is expected that within four months from now we will have more space, as we would have already begun to see in this facility,” he stated.

Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock presenting the contract to a representative of Sattaur Mohammed and Sons Construction

In the 2015-2016 period, the Indigenous residence hosted a Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Social Services whereby several recommendations were made which prompted the Ministry to focus on the issues that were affecting the

residents.

Upgrades were made to the main dining area; among the other works were repairs to washrooms and external works, rehabilitation of the male and female dormitories, maintenance of fence, and landfilling, all of which

were completed in 2017.

Last year, the facility received a much-needed boost in the area of transportation when it acquired a minibus, which is being used to transport patients to and from the hospital.

law firm delegation that successfully petitioned the United Nations in Guyana’s maritime controversy with Suriname.

Other members of the team are Paul Reichler and Payam Akvan.

Guyana had initially earmarked US$15 million, monies collected as part of a signing bonus from US oil giant ExxonMobil, for legal fees. However that amount was deemed inadequate and as such, Government secured a supplementary provision of $788 million from the National Assembly last month.

On March 29, Guyana filed an application, requesting the World Court to confirm the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Arbitral Award regarding its boundary with Venezuela.

The 1899 Award establishes the border between the two countries, but Venezuela is claiming that it is null and void. The two countries, under the 1966 Geneva Agreement, turned to the UN Secretary General to resolve what became a controversy under the Charter of the UN. Earlier this year, the UN Secretary General António Guterres announced he was referring the decades-old controversy to the ICJ. This move followed unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter through the various mechanisms outlined in the Geneva Agreement signed between Guyana and Venezuela.

However, Venezuela had come out rejecting the decision to have the border controversy settled by the

ICJ President Justice Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf

World Court. Nevertheless, Venezuela seems to have backtracked on its position, saying on Tuesday that it will be attending the meeting with the World Court that is aimed “…at listening to the different points of view of the parties related to procedural issues.”

The invitation was sent on Monday.

Correct move

Meanwhile, President David Granger on Wednesday morning told reporters at the State House that the decision of the UN Secretary General to send the matter to the World Court was the correct move at this point.

“We want to move forward and we want future generations to be able to live in a country that is not under the shadow of Venezuelan threat. We feel that this is the correct decision and we want to move ahead as quickly as possible,” the Guyanese Head of State said.

Bulkan denies interference with Local Govt Commission

C

o m m u n i t i e s Minister Ronald Bulkan has stoutly denied allegations made by several Local Government Commission members that there continues to be an unprecedented level of interference by Central Government in the affairs of local municipalities and democratic organs.

But most recently, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) members on the Commission had much to say about the workings of the Commission. Chief among their many concerns is what they term the usurpation of their powers and the direct interference of Central Government in the affairs of the Commission.

Commissioners Norman Whittaker, Clinton Collymore and Carol Sooba were sworn in since October 2017.

However, these Commissioners claimed that the body is being propped up as just a front, while Central Government essentially runs the show.

They also complained that

Government has been stymieing them at every level, whereas Government is actually supposed to ensure the Commission’s autonomy.

Former Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker had related that the Government has been written to on numerous occasions about the situation. However, the situation remains very much the same, and when contacted by those desirous of making complaints, they cannot refer the complainant to an office.

But Bulkan told Guyana Times on Wednesday at the sidelines of a signing ceremony that the allegations are far from truth.

The Minister also went as far to say that there is neither any interference in the Local Government Organs which includes Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs). He noted that his Ministry is committed to a partner-

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan

ship with all parties, and looks forward to the restoration and rehabilitation of what he described as a damaged system of local Government.

“Finances to fund the work of our NDCs and municipalities have to be internally generated. They do not come from the centre but the Central Government does provide subventions and financial resources. But the major

obligation and responsibility to our organs is for their funding to be internally generated.”

The Commission was sworn in October last year, after a lengthy delay. The parliamentary Opposition had named its nominees to the Commission since 2016. However, since the Government did not submit its nominations, this resulted in a deadlock.

One of the first public deadlines that Minister Bulkan gave for the body to become functional was at a press conference during the time of the March 2016 Local Government Elections. Asked for an explanation during the latter part of the month, the Minister had moved the deadline to the end of June 2016.

In the Budget estimates for 2016, some $30 million were allocated by the Government to the non-functioning commission. When asked, Bulkan had stated that this was to allow the Commission to

operate independently of Central Government.

The Commission is charged with, among other things, control over who gets appointed as officials in the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and other local authorities. In addition, it would have to approve budgets for the NDCs. By law, the Commission is to be made up of eight members.

The members of the Commission include four nominated from the Government, one from the unions, and three nominees from the Leader of the Opposition.

The Commission’s mem-

bers also include, Mortimer Mingo, Clement Corlette, Marlon Williams, Jo Ann Romascindo, and Andrew Garnett.

As the issues over the Commission continues to fester, elected PPP Opposition officials are highlighting, through the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that Government appointed Regional Executive Officers (REOs) of operating contrary to finance laws in Regional Democratic Councils.

However, Government has described it as “little aberrations,” noting that Government has been training its REOs.

thursDAY, june 7, 2018

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15

Humble. Driven. Focused. Dennon Lewis A

ffable with a ready smile, Dennon Lewis is living the dream of many millennials: making the world a better place at a fulltime job he loves with an internationally renowned company and working on his dream of creating and growing multiple start-up companies while pursuing studies at the University of Guyana.

Asked how he tackles it all, the founder of online casual wear company Privileged Clothing, who lists Warren Buffet as his dream mentor, declared, “It all comes back to passion and drive….Every day I start my day by “beginning with the end in mind” (Habit 2 of FranklinCovey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).

I ask myself, what’s my life purpose and what am I hoping to achieve? Asking this gives me immediate clarity, focus and drive for life, work and my business.”

Lewis, the General Manager of FranklinCovey Guyana and Masterclass Institute, says he has long been “fascinated with business and the concept of generating your income”, and has long explored entrepreneurial waters and helped other to do the same.

“So, whether it was something to supplement my income like selling phone cards, or getting into partnerships with my work colleagues which all led to me understanding how to systematically identify business opportunities and possibilities and thus launch more independent businesses,” the former Brickdam Secondary student explained.

However, as Lewis reflected, in terms of his business and entrepreneurship genesis, a turning point came when he saw the story of Jordan Belfort in the movie “Wolf of Wall Street”. “Though it highlighted immoral practices, it also showed me the power of ethical persuasion and influence and of course, the power of selling,” the 27-year-old mused.

So back in April 2016, he launched Privileged Clothing a few weeks after attending entrepreneurship training. “I saw that there was a huge glut in the market and decided to explore ways to fill that through business.”

“Like all things new the business was first met with scepticism due to unfamiliarity, but like we teach in the Masterclass Institute, creating opportunities for people to Know your business will help in getting them to Like your business and that will ultimately lead to them developing Trust in your business. Basically the KLT model.”

The Diamond resident pointed out that “clothing, branding and novelties

are near necessities of an economy; my main aim in this industry to create a platform to capture consumer’s needs further. Guyana’s economy continues and will continue to develop; this will see the future desire for various consumer goods, clothing, particularly high-end products. This will aid in further margins and scalability for businesses like mine.”

Questioned on what can be done for start-ups such as his company, Lewis stressed: “In my opinion, there is a space for business incubators to assist startups with business fundamentals, management and organising.

The failure rate for startups can be reduced if this measure is in place. Not to mention a collaborative approach by Government and the Private Sector to nourish and encourage entrepreneurship.”

Lewis, nevertheless, stated that the single most important trait for entrepreneurs was grit, which he defined as “the ability to fall down nine times and get up 10”.

“My primary goal in business is to become a serial entrepreneur creating businesses that are entirely self-sustainable and eventually requires less and less of my direct intervention to survive and thrive. Second and as equally important to the first would be to help as many individuals as possible, especially young people to create their businesses and earn income that can be used to better their lives and the lives of those around them.”

Contact: 602-6349; Facebook: Privileged Clothing brand.

Trump to stick with hard line on Caribbean hoteliers advised trade as G7 showdown looms Business News

to become GDPR compliant

C

aribbean hoteliers are being advised to ensure European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance.

During a recent webinar hosted by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Brian Kent, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Flip.to, explained that the GDPR imposes a strict set of requirements on how and why companies collect and use personal data.

The CHTA emphasises that sound data privacy protection practices are essential for every business regardless of GDPR. “Companies now have to provide the right to individuals to know what data a company has about you,” he disclosed. “It also is requiring … that a company that’s handling your data is doing it in a really secure way as well as being really good stewards of it.”

Kent said the regulation did not restrict companies

from using data, but ensured that personal information was protected and that individuals had rights related to their personal information.

GDPR protects the privacy not only of EU citizens worldwide but also of anyone who is party to a transaction while in the EU. Failure to comply with the new regulation can result in financial penalties ranging from €10 million, or two per cent of annual revenue, up to €20 million, or four per cent of annual revenue. (Caribbean360)

Market statistics Cambio Rates

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Bank of Guyana Cur

Buying

Calculated at 94% purity, June 1, 2018

Selling

USD

$1294.60

GBP

$279.02

$282.56

Gross

$254,495

CAN

$161.13

$162.99

Net

$234,136

USD

$207.98

$210.45

EURO

$ 244.75

$247.87

Indicators as on June 6, 2018 Indicators Crude Oil

US$ per barrel

Change %

+0.12

$75.38

Price

USD

Change %

Rough Rice

$244.86/ton

-0.18

London Sugar

$343.70/ton

+1.87

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1297.40

$1298.40

Low/High

$1293.10

$1302.30

Change

+1.50

+0.12%

Business Concept – Seasonal Industry Sector of the economy with its high and low cycles dependent on recurring weather phenomenon or holiday or vacation periods. (Business Dictionary)

U

S President Donald Trump is not backing down from the tough line he has taken on trade, the White House’s top economic adviser said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown with top allies at this week’s G7 summit in Canada.

The meeting on Friday and Saturday in Charlevoix, Quebec, will be the first

chance G7 leaders will have to confront Trump in person since US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union were imposed last week.

That move unleashed fury in the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations and prompted quick retaliation from Canada and Mexico and a promise from

the EU to do so as well, unnerving investors who fear a trade war that could derail the global economy.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the summit host, and British Prime Minister Theresa May, who will also attend, are among those to sharply criticise the US tariffs as unjustified and punitive. (Reuters)

Investor’s Guide

Wall Street rises on economic data, easing trade worries

W

all Street indexes rallied on Wednesday with help from financial stocks as investors eyed strong economic data and trade war fears took a back seat while the Nasdaq registered its third straight record closing high.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said late in the trading day that US President Donald Trump will meet French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a G7 summit this week.

While he said Trump is not backing down from the tough line he has taken on trade, the comments appeared to calm investors.

Earlier reports citing sources said US officials were weighing an offer by China to import an extra US$70 billion of American goods over a year as Beijing tries to defuse a potential trade war.

“The trade rhetoric has once again dialled back,” said Mona Mahajan, US Investment Strategist, Allianz Global Investors, New York. “It’s the on-again off-again threat of protectionism. It’s off again.”

Trump last week pushed on with imposing tariffs – 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium – on Canada, the European Union and Mexico, with Mexico retaliating by putting tariffs on American products such as steel, pork, and bourbon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 346.41 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 25,146.39; the S&P 500 gained 23.55 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 2772.35 and the Nasdaq Composite added 51.38 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 7689.24.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield rose to a near two-week high after data showed that the US trade deficit unexpectedly fell to a sevenmonth low in April, supporting

the view of an acceleration of domestic economic growth in the second quarter.

The S&P financial sector, which rose 1.8 per cent, was the S&P’s biggest boost as bank stocks rose along with Treasury yields. Higher interest rates tend to help bank profits. The bank index rose 2.3 per cent as the sector was also helped by a rise in mortgage applications for the first time in seven weeks.

Janna Sampson, co-Chief Investment Officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois cited economic data and trade news as reasons for the broader market’s advance.

Nasdaq’s biggest boost was from Comcast Corp, whose shares rose 3.8 per cent. Tesla shares jumped 9.7 per cent after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk reassured shareholders that building 5000 of its massmarket Model 3 cars per week by the end of June was “quite likely”. (Reuters)

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018

Regional

Guatemala volcano: Almost 200 missing and 75 dead A

t least 192 people are missing and 75 are dead as a result of the explosion of the Fuego volcano in Guatemala on Sunday, officials say. Villages on the slopes were buried in volcanic ash and mud.

Rescue work on Tuesday was disrupted when a new eruption sent hot gas and molten rock streaming down the volcano’s south side. More than 1.7 million people have been affected by Sunday’s eruption, with more than 3000 evacuated.

Tuesday’s explosion took many by surprise after vol-

canologists said the eruption, which had sent ash up to 10km (33,000 feet) into the sky on Sunday, was over for the near future.

Eddy Sanchez, the head of Guatemala’s National Institute of Seismology, had predicted “no imminent eruption over the next few days”.

Sunday’s blast generated pyroclastic flows – fast-moving mixtures of very hot gas and volcanic matter – which descended down the slopes, engulfing communities including El Rodeo and San Miguel Los Lotes.

Volcanologist, Dr Janine

Thousands have left their homes since the eruption

Krippner told the BBC that people should not underestimate the risk from pyroclastic flows and volcanic mudflows, known as lahars.

“Fuego is a very active volcano. It has deposited quite a bit of loose volcanic material and it is also in a rain-heavy area, so when heavy rains hit

Caricom countries divided in OAS vote on suspending Venezuela

C

aribbean Community (Caricom) countries were split on Tuesday, when the Organisation of American States (OAS) voted to pass a resolution that can initiate the process of Venezuela’s suspension from the organisation.

The General Assembly voted with 19 member states in favour – including The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica; four against – including Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines; and Belize, Grenada, Haiti, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago among 11 abstaining.

The resolution vote called for an extraordi-

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, seen here at the OAS General Assembly, says the resolution will enable the US to continue its economic war on Venezuela

nary assembly to decide on whether or not to suspend Venezuela. Venezuela rejected the OAS Assembly’s decision, with Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza

saying it would enable the United States to continue its economic war against the socialist country.

The vote comes on the heels of President

Nicolás Maduro’s widely condemned re-election last month. Maduro won a May 20 vote that the Venezuelan Opposition, along with the United States and other Latin American nations, have decried as a sham cementing a dictatorship which has devastated a once-prosperous economy.

The resolution declares that the electoral process “lacks legitimacy, for not complying with international standards, for not having met the participation of all Venezuelan political actors, and for being carried out without the necessary guarantees for a free, fair, transparent and democratic process”. (Excerpt

from Caribbean360)

US Govt to use facial recognition technology at Mexico border crossing

T

he US Government is deploying a new facial recognition system at the southern border that would record images of people inside vehicles entering and leaving the country.

The pilot programme, scheduled to begin in August, will build on secretive tests conducted in Arizona and Texas during which authorities collected a “massive amount of data”, including images captured “as people were leaving

work, picking up children from school, and carrying out other daily routines”, according to Government records. The project, which US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed to the Guardian on Tuesday, sparked immediate criticisms from civil liberties advocates who said there were a host of privacy and constitutional concerns with an overly broad surveillance system relying on questionable technology.

The so-called Vehicle Face System, first reported by the Verge, will run for one year at the Anzalduas port of entry in Texas, tracking cars traveling to and from Mexico with the goal of testing the camera’s “ability to capture a quality facial image for each occupant position in the vehicle” and the “biometric matching accuracy” of the images, CBP said.

Authorities will “compare” those images with ones stored in “government hold-

ings”, which include passports, visas and other CBP documents, said a spokeswoman, Jennifer Gabris.

The US has been aggressively expanding its monitoring and targeting of people at the southern border and surrounding regions, and there have been increasing concerns about border agents and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) searching electronic devices.

(Excerpt from The Guardian)

the volcano that is going to be washing the deposits away into these mudflows which

carry a lot of debris and rock.

“They are extremely dangerous and deadly as well.” (Excerpt from BBC News)

Venezuela frees Chevron executives held since April – sources

V

enezuela has released two local executives of Chevron Corp jailed two months ago during a corruption probe in the oil sector, a local consultancy and a source close to the US oil major said on Wednesday.

“The two Chevron managers, Carlos Algarra and Rene Vasquez, detained in April this year in the Puerto La Cruz offices were freed,” financial consultants Ecoanalitica tweeted, saying it was unclear if conditions were put on the pair’s release.

Ecoanalitica gave no more details, and there was no immediate confirmation from Chevron. But a source close to Chevron confirmed the release to Reuters, saying the executives had to report into authori-

ties every 15 days. The two are Venezuelan citizens.

The arrests, in a raid by national intelligence officers, were the first at a foreign oil firm since Venezuela’s Government launched a purge last year that has resulted in detentions of more than 80 executives at state oil company PDVSA and partners.

It spooked other foreign companies working in the OPEC member nation, and Chevron had evacuated other executives. But the government of President Nicolás Maduro, condemned by the West and major Latin American nations over a May 20 re-election critics said was a farce cementing dictatorship, has been trying to project a more benign image in recent days. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Chief Justice rules gay couples can again marry in Bermuda

C

hief Justice Ian Kawaley on Wednesday ruled that gay couples can once again marry in Bermuda, after he upheld a constitutional challenge against the Domestic Partnership Act 2018 (DPA).

Delivering his judgment before a packed courtroom, Justice Kawaley, who steps down as Chief Justice later this year, said the sections of the act that revoked the right to same-sex marriage were invalid because they were inconsistent with provisions in Bermuda’s Constitution, which give the right to freedom of conscience and creed.

His ruling came five days after the DPA came into effect, banning same-sex marriage in Bermuda but giving gay and

straight couples the chance to enter into civil unions. The latest civil proceedings in Supreme Court were brought against Attorney-General Kathy Lynn Simmons by gay Bermudians Rod Ferguson and Maryellen Jackson and the charity OutBermuda. The plaintiffs claimed the part of the DPA that reaffirmed that a marriage is void unless the parties are male and female was unconstitutional.

The DPA was approved by this British Overseas Territory’s Parliament last December, sparking criticism from human rights activists and UK MPs, including Prime Minister Theresa May, who said she was “seriously disappointed”. (Jamaica Observer)

Referendum on decriminalising marijuana

Consultation on parliamentary reform on the cards for Barbados

B

arbadians will be consulted on the issue decriminalising marijuana and implementing fixed election dates and term limits for Prime Ministers under the new Government.

That was one of the disclosures made by Governor General Dame Sandra Mason as she delivered the Throne Speech on Tuesday, at the start of the new parliamentary term.

Outlining the priorities of the new Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Government which was swept into power on May 24 with a 30-nil victory – since reduced to 29-1 with Reverend Joseph Atherley crossing the floor and becoming Opposition Leader – Dame Sandra said there would be consultation on major issues to give citizens a greater say in what is going on in their country.

“My Government will

Governor General Dame Sandra Mason delivering the Throne Speech at the State Opening of Parliament in the Senate Chamber

pursue every avenue to ensure that all Barbadians and residents are informed and active partners in the process of transformational nation building,” she said.

While the previous Democratic Labour Party Administration was adamant there would be no decriminalisation of marijuana, the incoming Government has indicated it will let the people decide on that.

She also announced Government will offer a sixmonth gun amnesty and buyback programme for legal and illegal firearms to reduce their numbers in the hands of civilians and in communities.

The Governor General added that there will be an extensive programme to immediately confront and resolve some of the urgent national challenges. (Excerpt from

Caribbean360)

thursDAY, june 7, 2018

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

Iraq orders recount of all 11 million votes from May 12 election

I

raq’s Parliament has ordered a full recount of the country’s recent parliamentary election that resulted in a shock victory for Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

The country’s outgoing 328-seat Parliament voted in favour of a manual recount of all 11 million ballots from the May 12 poll in response to charges of electoral fraud.

Members of Parliament also sacked a nine-member independent electoral commission that oversaw the process and replaced the body with judges.

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Baghdad, said several districts had complained about the result when preliminary numbers first be-

17

gan trickling in on May 12 and May 13.

“Complaints had been raised by a number of parties from across the country in the day after the vote.

We heard dissatisfaction from areas in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), and the predominantly Sunni provinces of Anbar, Salah al-Din and Diyala,” he said.

“But everything really seemed to kick in yesterday when Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi endorsed the findings and the recommendation of a ministerial committee and alleged that there were ‘dangerous violations’ in the election.

Al-Abadi blamed electronic vote counting devices used by the IHEC, which he said had not been

Giuliani: Kim Jong-un ‘begged’ for summit to take place

P

Less than 45 per cent of all eligible Iraqis voted in the May 12 election, the first poll since the defeat of ISIL [Khalid al Mousily/Reuters]

used without prior inspection for errors.

According to intelligence services, tests of electronic voting machines – used for the first time in Iraqi elections – produced varied results, appearing to give credence to the fraud claims.

The May 12 vote saw Muqtada al-Sadr’s electoral alliance emerge victorious, coming ahead of Iranaligned Shia parties that took the lead in the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

resident Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani has said North Korea’s leader “begged” for their summit to be rescheduled after the US President cancelled it.

Speaking at a conference in Israel, Giuliani said Trump’s tough stance had forced Pyongyang’s hand.

Trump called off the summit in May, accusing North Korea of “tremendous anger and open hostility”.

But plans for the June 12 bilateral summit in Singapore were revived after a conciliatory response

from Pyongyang.

Giuliani was speaking at an investment conference in Israel when he made the remark.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Giuliani said: “Well, Kim Jong-un got back on his hands and knees and begged for it, which is exactly the position you want to put him in.”

Giuliani is an attorney for the President tackling the Russia collusion inquiry.

There was no immediate response from the North Koreans to his comments.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Alice Johnson: Trump grants Thousands protest in northern Kardashian’s clemency plea Greece over Macedonia name issue

Alice Marie Johnson was jailed nearly 22 years ago

P

resident Donald Trump has granted clemency to 63-yearold great grandmother Alice Johnson, who has been serving life in prison for a non-violent drug offence.

The case was highlighted last week when Kim Kardashian West met Trump to lobby for her release.

The White House said she had been a model pris-

oner and worked hard to rehabilitate herself.

Johnson was jailed in 1996, with 15 others, for taking part in a cocaine distribution ring.

She was convicted on charges of attempted possession of drugs and money-laundering in Tennessee and is expected to be released soon.

Johnson met the criteria for former President Barack Obama’s Clemency Project 2014, but was turned down for release just days before the end of his term.

After four years and two presidential administrations, Alice Marie Johnson is finally going home. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

Women outnumber men in Spain PM Sánchez’s new Cabinet

S

pain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has given 11 of his 17 Cabinet posts to women, a higher proportion than anywhere else in Europe.

A self-styled feminist, Sánchez’s choice was in marked contrast to the male-dominated executives of ex-PM Mariano Rajoy, ousted last week.

Women are given some of the biggest jobs including the

defence, economy, finance and education portfolios.

An ex-astronaut, Pedro Duque, has been given the role of Science Minister.

Sánchez’s mix of party colleagues and experienced figures from outside politics is being described in Spain as a “feminist cabinet”. In a televised statement, he said his new government was made up of people who “shared the same vision of a progressive society that

was both modernising and pro-European”.

He spoke of Europe as “our new homeland” and said he saw his Cabinet as a faithful reflection of a change in Spain that had emerged on March 8 through a feminist movement.

An estimated five million women across the country staged a “feminist strike” on that day against wage inequality and gender violence.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Demonstrators urge the Greek Government not to compromise in the festering name row with Macedonia (AFP)

T

ens of thousands rallied in northern Greece on Wednesday to protest against a possible compromise solution to a long-running row between Athens and Skopje over the ex-Yugoslav republic’s name.

Protesters staged separate rallies in about 23 northern Greek cities. They held banners reading “Macedonia is Greek”, “Respect our history” and waved Greek flags.

“Macedonia is our soul!

There is only one Macedonia and it is in Greece, where King Phillip and Alexander the Great were born,” said one of the rally speakers in Pella city, adding Greeks would never accept another country was called Macedonia.

The decades-old row has blocked Macedonia’s hopes

UN says 46 Ethiopians drown en route to Yemen; 16 missing

F

orty-six Ethiopians drowned early on Wednesday and 16 were missing after a smuggler’s boat carrying at least 100 migrants capsized as it approached Yemen, the United Nations migration agency said in a statement.

The boat left the port of Bossasso in Somalia on Tuesday, with 83 men and

17 women on board who were hoping to find work in Yemen and the Arabian Gulf, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said, citing information from survivors.

IOM’s Director of Operations and Emergencies, Mohammad Abdiker, said the Gulf of Aden’s migration tragedy

was shameful.

“Over 7000 poor migrants take this perilous journey every month; some 100,000 took it just last year. They are treated appallingly and go through horrendous conditions.

This has to end,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

The drownings hap-

pened just days after IOM helped 101 Ethiopians, including 51 women and 33 children, to leave Yemen for Djibouti, as fighting closed in around Yemen’s key port of Hodeidah.

They were stranded in Yemen and among the most vulnerable of about 300 migrants stuck in detention, IOM said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

of joining NATO and the European Union.

Greece objects to the former Yugoslav republic’s use of the name Macedonia, arguing that it, along with contentious articles in Skopje’s constitution, could imply territorial claims over its own northern region of the same

name. Macedonians do not want to change the name of their country.

The two countries resumed negotiations last year and are scrambling to reach a deal in the coming weeks, before an EU summit in late June and a NATO summit in mid-July. (Excerpt from Reuters)

India central bank raises policy rate, maintains ‘neutral’ stance

An Indian Policeman stands guard at the entrance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) head office in Mumbai on October 4, 2017

I

ndia’s central bank on Wednesday raised its policy rate for the first time in more than four years, due to inflation concerns, but kept its policy stance as “neutral”.

The monetary policy committee lifted the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent, the first increase since January 2014, as predicted

by 46 per cent of respondents in a Reuters poll this week.

All six members on the rate panel voted for an increase.

The reverse repo rate was also raised by 25 basis points, to 6.00 per cent.

Before Wednesday, the last policy rate change was a 25 bps cut in August 2017.

(Reuters)

18

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018

ARCHIE

Don’t make personal changes just yet. Give your(March 21- self time to figure out a plan April 19) that will ensure your success.

Acting in haste will set you back.

ARIES

Don’t trust anyone to hanTAURUS dle your responsibilities for (April 20- you. If you make a change to May 20) the way you do things, you’ll find it easier to finish what you start.

dilbert

Avoid persuasive individGEMINI (May 21- uals asking you for too much June 20) or trying to guilt you into something you don’t want to do. Sign up for something that offers a mental stimulus.

If you take part in events that broaden your horizons, (June 21- you will expand your interJuly 22) ests and circle of friends.

Explore new avenues and consider a makeover or an update to your image.

CANCER

Peanuts

You’ll be tempted to make LEO a change without giving (July 23- enough thought to the outAug. 22) come. Before you make a mistake, consider getting sound advice from someone you trust.

Calvin and Hobbes

You’ll be drawn into someVIRGO thing that isn’t a good fit.

(Aug. 23Listen to people’s opinions, Sept. 22) ask questions and consider what’s best for you before you agree to get involved.

Live and learn. By getLIBRA (Sept. 23- ting involved in a course or Oct. 23) taking on a motivational challenge, you will discover someone or something you want to pursue.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

TODAY’S WORD — PHONICS (PHONICS: FON-iks: A method of teaching elementary reading and spelling.)

You are smart, energetSAGITTARIUS ic and capable of fending for (Nov. 23yourself, so don’t let someDec. 21) one take advantage of you by passing on an exaggerated offer that isn’t likely to pan out.

Average mark 16 words Time limit 25 minutes Can you find 21 or more words in PHONICS? The list will be published tomorrow.

YESTERDAY’S WORD — SCALPEL sale scale scalp scape seal sell slap space spall spec

spell call calla cape case cell clap clasp apse lace

lapel lapse lase leap pace pale pall peal place plea

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

You will need lots of inSCORPIO formation to make the right (Oct. 24decision, so find it! Know Nov. 22) your limitations and don’t fold under pressure. Walk away from anyone looking for a fight.

solution

You’ve got the willpower, CAPRICORN discipline and wherewithal to (Dec. 22- bring about change that will Jan. 19) improve your life. Don’t let someone from your past lead you astray or cause you any distress.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Make changes at home that will expand your interests. A space you can set aside for something you enjoy doing will motivate you to turn a hobby into a home business.

Let your emotions lead the way, even if someone is difficult to deal with. If you dig into a pending problem, someone will disclose the information you need to move forward.

thursDAY, june 7, 2018

19

Argentina cancels Israel World Cup friendly after Gaza violence

A

rgentina has cancelled a football World Cup warmup match with Israel, apparently under pressure over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.

Striker Gonzalo Higuain said they had “finally done the right thing”.

But Israel’s defence minister said it was “too bad” Argentina’s footballers did not “withstand the pressure of the Israeli-hating inciters”.

“We will not yield before a pack of anti-Semitic terrorist supporters,” Avigdor Lieberman tweeted.

The Israeli embassy in Argentina tweeted to confirm that the friendly, which was due to take place in Jerusalem on Saturday, had been “suspended”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Argentina’s president in an attempt to salvage the tie, but was told by Mauricio Macri that “there was nothing that I could do”, Israel’s Army Radio reported.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie had said he believed

Lionel Messi on a poster in the West Bank protesting against the planned fixture

his country’s footballers “were not willing to play the game”.

“In the end, they’ve done right thing, and this is behind us,” Higuain told ESPN. “Health and common sense come first. We felt that it wasn’t right to go.”

The news was met with cheers in Gaza, where at least 120 Palestinians were killed and thousands more injured by Israeli forces during recent protests.

In Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Football Association issued a statement thanking Argentina striker Lionel Messi and his teammates.

“What happened... is a red card from the rest of the world to Israelis,” the association’s president, Jibril Rajoub, told a news conference on Wednesday.

At a news conference, Jibril Rajoub sat next to a sign saying:

“From Palestine thank you Messi.”

Before the match was cancelled, Mr Rajoub had accused Israel of using it as a “political tool” and called on Palestinians to burn replica shirts bearing Messi’s name and pictures of him if he played.

The Israel Football Association said it viewed “with severity the physical and brutal threats, which crossed every red line, made by” Mr Rajoub.

It vowed to “do everything in its power in the world football institutions to make Rajoub and the Palestinian FA accountable”.

The campaign group Avaaz, which had called for the game to be cancelled, praised Argentina’s football team for what it called a “brave ethical decision”.

“This proves Argentina understands there is nothing friendly about playing in Jerusalem, when just miles away Israeli snipers are shooting unarmed protesters,” spokeswoman Alice Jay said.

Israel said its snipers had only opened fire in self-defence or on people trying to infiltrate its terri-

tory under cover of the protests orchestrated by the Hamas militant group, which runs Gaza.

Saturday’s friendly, which was to be Argentina’s final game before the start of their World Cup campaign in Russia later this month, was to be played at the Teddy Kollek Stadium in West Jerusalem.

The status of Jerusalem is highly sensitive. Israel regards the city as its “eternal and undivided” capital. Palestinians see the eastern part of Jerusalem - occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war - as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Palestinians were angered by a decision by promoters to relocate the Argentina football game to Jerusalem from Haifa, reportedly after the Israeli government contributed funding.

In December, US President Donald Trump infuriated Palestinians by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The US embassy was moved there from Tel Aviv last month. (BBC Sport)

Embattled Halep wins gruelling duel to Cricket Australia reach French Open semis W CEO James Sutherland quits orld number one Simona Halep won a bruising quarter-final battle against Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2 to book a place against Garbine Muguruza in the French Open

C

ricket Australia chief James Sutherland during a press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday, where he announced he will stand down in the wake of a ball-tampering scandal that rattled the game.

Sutherland, who confirmed his departure at a news conference Wednesday, has given 12 months’ notice and will continue in his position until a replacement is found.

A former first-class cricketer with Victoria state, Sutherland was appointed in 2001 to replace Malcolm Speed. Participation in the sport grew under his leadership but his tenure was punctuated by some controversies.

In March, captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opening batsman Cameron Bancroft were caught up in a plot to tamper with the match ball during the third test

against South Africa in Cape Town.

Smith and Warner were subsequently banned by Cricket Australia from international and domestic first-class cricket for 12 months, and Bancroft for nine months. The sanctions were significantly harsher than any imposed by the International Cricket Council for similar offenses.

Lehmann quit as national coach less than a week later, after being cleared of any involvement in the ball-tampering incident.

Smith has been replaced as captain by Tim Paine. Justin Langer has since taken over for Lehmann as national coach.

There were five Australian coaches during Sutherland’s tenure. John Buchanan took over in 1999 before Sutherland began as chief executive, was replaced by

Tim Nielsen (2007-2011), Mickey Arthur (2011-13) and Lehmann (2013) before Langer was appointed last month.

Sutherland also presided over a contentious period in the past year while Cricket Australia negotiated a new pay deal with the players’ union.

The sport’s national governing body also announced in April a new six-year television deal in which domestic coverage move from Australia’s longtime cricket telecaster, the Nine Network, to Seven and Fox Sports.

On Wednesday, Sutherland said “after nearly 20 years at Cricket Australia, the time is right ... I feel very comfortable that this is the right time for me and a good time for the game.”

semis.

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 6, 2018 Romania’s Simona Halep in action during her quarter final match against Germany’s Angelique Kerber REUTERS/Benoit Tessier Halep started slowly, spraying shots wide as she lost the first four games of the match against the number 12 seed who hit her early groundstrokes with lethal accuracy.

But the Romanian clawed her way back into the contest, winning three straight games as both players struggled to hold on to their serves in a monster opening set that swung one way and then the next.

Kerber eventually prevailed in a tiebreak, but Halep came out all guns blazing in the second, firing baseline bullets at her opponent, who tried to cling on against the onslaught.

But by the third set Halep had broken down the German’s defenses — and her resolve.

“It’s always a tough match when I play against her. After the first set I just stayed strong and didn’t give up,” Halep told the court Suzanne Lenglen crowd in a post-match interview.

“I missed a lot in the beginning.

I tried to do too much. I changed the tactics a bit and it worked.”

(Reuters)

Simona Halep

20

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

thursDAY, june 7, 2018

UEFA plans video access to aid concussion diagnosis

M

e d i c a l staff will be able to review potential concussions on laptops, under new plans discussed by UEFA. Officials and medics did not see a collision between Loris Karius and Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos in the Champions League final, which may have led to the Liverpool keeper’s concussion.

But under new proposals medical staff on the sidelines or in the stands would be able to review incidents.

It would follow a similar Head Injury Assessment process in rugby union.

In 2016, the English

Premiership became the first league in the world to allow access to tablets in order for staff to rewind potentially c o n -

doctor can decide whether a player should continue or not.

Head injury experts have been critical of football’s approach to head injuries after Karius was found to have suffered concussion during the final, which Liverpool lost 3-1 to Real Madrid.

During the game, the 24-yearold German goalkeeper made one of two costly mistakes minutes after the collision with Real defender Ramos.

A medical team who assessed Karius at Massachusetts General Hospital, which included leading NFL head injury expert Dr. Ross Zafonte, concluded it was “possible” the injury “would affect performance”.

Dr. Willie Stewart, a lead-

cerning incidents.

European football’s governing body UEFA is reviewing its guidelines, which were updated in 2014 and state a match can be stopped for up to three minutes for a head injury assessment and that only a

Loris Karius lets in Gareth Bale’s second goal in the Champions League final

ing British neurosurgeon who has been at the forefront of improving assessment of head injuries in football and rugby union, said medical teams told BBC Sport they were “handcuffed” by a lack of adequate help.

The Scot said: “Football doesn’t allow an interchange for a player to be assessed to see if he has a brain injury; doesn’t allow significant time for the medics to assess the player; doesn’t have a video review of events to be able to say if there was a glancing blow on my goalkeeper’s head which I didn’t notice.

“It’s unacceptable in 2018 that it should be this way.”

Premier League rules were also updated in 2014 after Tottenham received criticism for allowing goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to continue playing after losing consciousness.

In 2015, the Football Association issued guidelines about how concussion should be dealt with. (BBCSport)

Eniola Aluko

England have “plan in place” if players are racially abused signs for Italian E champions Juventus ngland manager Gareth Southgate says the “idealistic” response from players who are racially abused at the World Cup would be to walk off the pitch - but he does not think they would.

Three Lions defender Danny Rose has said he is “numb” to racial abuse and has “no faith” in the football authorities’ “justice system”.

The 27-year-old has told his family not to travel to Russia this summer.

“Players, like everyone, don’t really know what to expect,” said Southgate.

Asked what his reaction would be if his players are subjected to racism, the former England international added: “In an idealistic world, people would say to walk off the pitch but that means we would be thrown out of the tournament, which many people would agree with.

“I don’t think the players would want that because they have worked all their lives to play at a World Cup. It is important to get the balance right but it will be tough to please everybody.”

‘Nothing is going to change’ The Russian Football Union was recently fined £22,000 for racist chanting by fans during a friendly against France in March.

“If I’m racially abused out there, nothing is going to change,” Rose told the Evening Standard. “It shouldn’t be like that but it is.”

The Tottenham full-back said he was racially abused and hit with stones during an England Under-21 game in Serbia in October 2012.

England have held a team meeting to discuss what would happen if players were subjected to racism during this summer’s tournament, which starts on 14 June.

Rose said: “I said: ‘What are we trying to do here? Are we trying to play football or are we trying to change the world?’ Whatever we do here isn’t going to change what is happening all around the world.

“I’m just numb to it now.”

Southgate added: “We are all hopeful that it will go well, but we are having conversations in case it happens. We have a plan in place. We have personal

E

Gareth Southgate and Danny Rose

support, team support and official protocol in place.

“The players are clear on where I stand and the support they have from me. We don’t want to have to talk about it, but it is important that we do.

“The biggest impact we can have is as one of the most diverse squads to have left England and the way that they all get on, and hopefully that message will come through.”

Rose, who is preparing for his first World Cup, says he does not want to “worry” about his family’s safety in Russia.

“I’ve told my family I don’t want them going out there because of racism and anything else that may ­happen,” he said.

“My dad’s really upset. I could hear it in his voice. He said he may never get a chance again to come and watch me in a World Cup. “That was emotional, hearing that.

It’s really sad. It’s just how it is. Somehow Russia got the World Cup and we have to get on with it.”

Southgate said he “wasn’t aware” of the conversation Rose had had with his father.

“Everything else he has said he talked to us about because we had a meeting with the players a few nights ago,” he added.

“For the benefit of the other players,

I asked him to share his experiences in Serbia. What was clear was he felt let down by the authorities and that was sad to hear.

“He is part of our team and part of our family for the next few months so we intend to protect our players.

“No-one knows what is going to happen in Russia but he felt there could something his family experiences and he thought that might distract from his football.”

France players Paul Pogba, Ousmane Dembele and N’Golo Kante were said to be among those subjected to abuse during their side’s 3-1 win over the World Cup hosts in March.

The game was played at Krestovsky Stadium in St Petersburg, one of the host venues for this summer’s tournament.

Rose described the fine given to Russia as “disgusting” and “laughable”.

He said he was subjected to monkey chants throughout the Serbia match in 2012, and was sent off following the final whistle after kicking a ball into the crowd. Serbia were fined £65,000.

“I have no faith in the justice system, so I don’t let anything affect me,” he said.

“I didn’t get any support after Serbia.

“I never had a conversation with anybody outside of England. I still ended up getting suspended and missing the first game of the competition. It’s just the way it is. What can you do?” (BBCSport)

niola Aluko spent six years with Chelsea but said it was time to “do something different” Former Chelsea forward Eniola Aluko has signed for Italian champions Juventus.

The 31-year-old England international signed off from the London club with a second Women’s Super League title, where she also won two FA Cups.

Aluko had the option to stay with Chelsea after six years at the club, but told BBC Sport last month that she wanted to “do something different”.

“Delighted and honoured to join a club with an overwhelming history, ambition and success,” she said.

“So proud to hold the shirt worn by an endless list of legends.

I can’t wait to get started!!”

Juventus won their first Serie A title in the 2017-18 season, and Aluko will join fellow English player Katie Zelem in the squad.

The former Liverpool midfielder signed for the Turin-based club in 2017.

Aluko has scored 33 goals in 102 England appearances but has not played for her country since 2016.

She was involved in a discrimination case against former England manager Mark Sampson last year, with the Football Association apologising in October for racially discriminatory remarks made by the Welshman to Aluko in 2014.

Sampson was sacked in September for “inappropriate and unacceptable” behaviour with female players in a previous role, with former Manchester United and Everton defender Phil Neville taking over i n January.

Aluko told the BBC: “I’m very happy with my England career to date both on and off the pitch and if I get a recall, amazing, if I don’t then I’ll continue to support his project and the England team.”

Eniola Aluko displays her Juventus gear

sports

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system. The head mistress admitted that she too was interested in trying her hand at the sport and couldn’t wait to have a feel what it is like to be an archer.

“The Regional Education Officer Mr Nigel Richards and the District Education Officer Mr Marti DeSouza were both part of this introductory session and they were so happy that this discipline will soon come into the school system and we know many of the students are very anxious to learn about archery. It was a great experience,” the head mistress stated at the conclusion of the introductory session.

The level one coaching course was administered by level four international archer Phil Graves. When the course was

visited by Social Cohesion Minister with responsibility for sport, Dr George Norton; and Director of Sport Christopher Jones, the announcement was made that not only will the coaches be allowed to share their knowledge with students but the sport will also be introduced to the National Schools Track and Field competition later this year.

The shools’ introductory programme is expected to visit several other schools across Regions One, Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) in order to prepare those students, should they wish to participate in the national competition.

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Archery Coach Ainsworth Pritchard demonstrates the draw as students and his fellow coach look on

s mandated by their level one coaching course which concluded just a few weeks ago, local archers have set out to spread their knowledge and skills with students across the country.

Two of the recently certified coaches took to the North West Secondary School in Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini) to introduce the students to the sport which is quickly growing in popularity. The introductory session was conducted by Ainsworth Pritchard and Carl Albert.

Head Mistress of the school, Roeady Martinez-Pritchard welcomed the initiative with open arms, as she spoke on the importance of using sport as a tool for encouraging students in the school

21

n 1993, the Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) inaugurated the first ever cricket academy in the West Indies with the Malteenoes Cricket Academy which spanned the duration of July/August school vacation with accommodation provided for out-of-town players.

This year’s Academy is scheduled for two weeks, commencing from July 23, and MSC President Winston Semple acknowledged the importance of the Academy.

“It’s going to be a lot of hard work with short period for planning but this is important for developing young boys and girls both on and off the field. Funding the programme is the most challenging aspect and we (MSC) are presently seeking sponsorship to fund different areas of the Academy,” Semple said.

In 1992, Michael Welch who was at that time the General Manager of then

Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Company, negotiated and secured a grant from Northern Telecom and this enabled the Club to construct the accommodation on the ground floor of the building for housing the proposed Academy.

With the blessings and support of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), the Malteenoes Cricket Academy was launched in July 1993 in recognition of the Club’s motto “Our Youth, Our Future”.

It was inspired by the fact that cricket in Guyana and the West Indies seemed to be a game where the basic skills, knowledge of the game, confidence and pride were being taken for granted in all quarters with no apparent prescriptions nor blueprints for remedial action.

MSC’s principal intention was to add to the National grid at least 150 young proud confident individuals on an annual basis.

The plan was for the GCB to take it over

after the first three years but this did not happen, resulting in the Academy being run by the Thomas Lands club up to 2003.

The Academy produced Test players Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ryan Ramdass and Narsingh Deonarine, along with former USA Captain Steve Massiah who played two ODIs for the US, while Azeemul Hannif and Ricardo Mohamed played First-Class Cricket.

Karran Ganesh, Sauid Drepaul, Ravi Sarwan, Bachan Balram, Colin Murray, Karran Ganesh and Vishal Arjune all played National Youth Cricket.

After a break the Academy was reintroduced in 2016 on a much smaller scale but was again interrupted last year due to the unavailability of coaches who were occupied with CPL duties.

Registration forms can be had from the Malteenoes Club or call 225-6509 for more information.

18-year-old to lead national basketball team

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T

he Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) has called up 13 of their best players to represent the nation this weekend in Barbados. The formal announcement of the team was made on Tuesday evening at a GABF press conference.

Initially, the federation had shortlisted 22 players and had them go through rigorous training exercises which began on May 27. Eventually, the list was cut down to the lucky 13 who will test their skill and knowledge against the Bajan team.

In announcing the team, head coach Junior Hercules noted that the players are in fine form for the competition.

“The preparation has been tremendous thus far,” he said. The team is comprised of Stanton Rose, Anthony Moe, Shane Webster, Timothy Thompson, Harold Adams, Earlan Glasgow, Kevin Wiggins, Domonique Vincent, Nicholai Smith, Travis Burnett, Chris Williams, Domair Gladstone and Travis Belgrave.

The squad along with Manager and President of the GABF, Nigel Hinds, and Assistant Manager Dennis Clarke will travel to Barbados for three friendly

matches scheduled for June 8, 9 and 10 at the Wildey Gymnasium.

Remarkably, the team is being led by its youngest captain ever. Eighteen-yearold Stanton Rose was selected to step up to the plate, owing to his maturity and impressive style of play.

“Across all sports disciplines, I don’t think that Guyana has ever had a captain as young as 18 years of age and I’m saying that he deserves the captaincy based on merit. I spoke to the person who I’ve considered to be the best basketball player Guyana has ever produced locally, Lugard Mohan, and he said age should not be a factor in selecting a captain and I wholly agree with this,” President Nigel Hinds stated regarding Rose’s selection.

Upon return to Guyana, the team will be reviewed and recalls will be made for the upcoming Caribbean Championship that is being hosted in Suriname. Added to that team, the James brothers, Delroy and Gordon, have already confirmed their participation.

The female team will compete first from June 15 to 22 and that will set the momentum for the men who are grouped

with Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and Suriname.

Their competition will run from June 22 to July 1.

Stanton Rose

22

GUYANATIMESgy.COM

thursDAY, june 7, 2018

C

CWI renews with Kyazoonga as official ticketing partner

ricket West Indies (CWI) has renewed its relationship with Kyazoonga as its official ticketing partner for all international home and domestic series and host tournaments in all formats in the region.

Speaking on the agreement, Commercial Director, Dominic Warne, said, “one of our key strategic objectives is to increase the number of people who watch and follow WINDIES cricket, both in the Caribbean and around the world. By renewing our relation-

ship with Kyazoonga, we believe we can harness new opportunities to drive attendances for all WINDIES games as well as making the ticket purchasing experience easier for fans. Kyazoonga’s global platform utilises the latest technology to make buying tickets as easy as possible and allows us to reach a wider range of fans for our games.”

Neetu Bhatia, Co-Founder & CEO, Kyazoonga, said: “We are honored to further deepen our on-going association with crick-

CWI Commercial Director Dominic Warne

et in the Caribbean and with CWI. The partnership with CWI is part of our constant endeavour to provide state-of-the-art, easy and convenient access to exciting sporting action to fans globally.

Ticketing is not just about selling a ticket to the customer, it’s about providing an entire user experience.”

Kyazoonga is a global leader in ticketing systems and services to the sports, entertainment and leisure industries with operations in 7 countries.

Tickets for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka which includes Test matches in Trinidad, St. Lucia and Barbados (Day/Night) are available online and at all three locations 3-4 days prior to their respective first match days.

Daily ticket prices range from US$15 to US$25. Season tickets are also available.

Patrons seeking tickets can go to www.windiescricket.com/tickets or https://www.kyazoonga. com/westindies

GCF announces dates for National Cycling C/ship

T

he Guyana Cycling Federation has announced that the National Cycling Championship will be held over three days in late June, early July.

On June 23, there will be the Individual Time Trial, while on

the following day, the Masters, Juniors, Juveniles and Ladies will compete in the Road Race.

On July 1, the senior riders will wrap up the 2018 championship with the Senior Men’s Road Race, which will cover 110 miles/177.03km.

The Individual Time Trial on the opening day will pedal off at 09:00h from the Police Outpost at Yarrowkabra on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, proceed to a 10km point and return to the point of origin for the finish.

The Road Race for the Masters, Juniors, Juveniles and Ladies the following day, will commence at 07:30h in front of the National Sports Commission’s Office on Homestretch Avenue. While the Masters and Juniors will journey to Long Creek on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, the Juveniles and Ladies will turn at the Soesdyke Junction.

All the riders will then journey back to Homestretch Avenue for the finish. Of point to note, the Federation said Junior and Juvenile riders will not be allowed to compete if they fail to wear junior gear.

The Men’s Road Race on July 1 will start on Homestretch Avenue at 07:30h, proceed to Moblissa on the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway before

returning to the start point for the finish.

The riders will cover approximately 260 miles of the country’s roadways during the three days.

Due to financial constraints, the Federation is requesting that clubs provide transportation for their respective riders at the event, as well as escorts.

GFSCA/Back to Eden, Khan’s Trading, Permaul’s Trading & Trophy Stall Tournament

Floodlights meet Parika Defenders in curtain raiser

T

he Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground in Queenstown, Georgetown, is the venue for the opening match in the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) organised Back to Eden, Khan’s Trading, Permaul’s Trading and Trophy Stall Tournament.

Parika Defenders have been pitted against Floodlights to get the ball rolling in the masters over-40 years old category from 19:30h.

Meanwhile, the intensity will continue at the Malteenoes Sports Club ground on Thomas Lands, on Sunday, in the same category when Wellman take on Amazon Masters on pitch one and Fishermen Masters and Savage do battle

simultaneously on pith two from 10:00h.

The afternoon fixtures will bring together Albion Masters and Parika Defenders on pitch one and Success Masters and Enterprise Legends on pitch two from 13:00h.

The tournament will be played in four categories; Masters Over-40 years old, Masters Over-50 years old, Male Open and Female Open.

Teams still interested in being part of the action are asked to make contact with Wayne Jones on telephone numbers 650-1790 or 685-6908, Anil Beharry on 623-6875 or Jailall Deodass on 615-8644 or 672-3994.

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thursDAY, june 7, 2018

23

Sri Lanka Tour of West Indies…

Dowrich's resistance keeps Windies alive

A

rearguard action from Jason Holder and Shane Dowrich helped Windies fight back in the final session on Day 1 of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Port of Spain on Wednesday (June 6).

Reduced to 147 for 5, Holder and Dowrich put on 90 runs a record sixth wicket stand for Windies against Sri Lanka - to resurrect the innings, although the skipper departed late in the last hour before the second new ball was taken. The hosts ended the day at 246 for 6.

Windies, though, would rue that none of their settled batsmen could come up with a substantial score. Only Dowrich (unbeaten on 46) has an opportunity to get to a half-century while four others batsmen could not capitalise on their promising starts. Lahiru Kumara was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, finishing with three for 57 - this despite a couple of dropped catches. Sri Lanka, however, were guilty of not finishing the quota of 90 overs, with a poor over-rate leaving them six short of the mark.

Windies scored close to 100 runs at nearly four an over in the morning session but Sri Lanka had the edge on the hosts who kept losing wickets at regular intervals. With the conditions offering the pacers early help, Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage bowled testing

lines at the start of the innings after Windies opted to bat.

Having gone past the outside edge three times in as many deliveries, Lakmal reaped the reward for his persistence as he eventually got Kraigg Brathwaite to nick one while playing away from his body.

Kieran Powell looked impressive during his outing, showcasing strong defence and also the willingness to put away the loose ones, along with his text-book straight drives that served him well. Devon Thomas, playing his first Test in three years, was looking to support his fellow left-hander only for poor running between wickets to end his comeback innings at 7. With the ball getting older as the session progressed, strokemaking became easier for the batsmen.

Powell and Shai Hope capitalised and they were also helped with the bowlers erring i n their lengths. But Windies lost another wicket against the run of play with Powell defeated by a quick inswinger from Kumara.

Hope rode his luck at the start of the second session, edging a Gamage delivery to be saved by a no ball and later using the DRS to overturn a legbefore decision off the

same bowler. The reprieves seemed to have toughened his resolve as he played with better application and seemed eager to play a big innings.

He received good support from Roston Chase as the pair batted in a patient m a n n e r,

minimising the risks and waiting for the bowlers to commit errors. This meant that runs did not come as quickly as they came in the opening session but the watchful partnership also meant that Windies did not lose a wicket in the first hour after Lunch.

Having done all the hard work, Hope was distraught when he had to walk back for 44, with a short delivery from Kumara putting him in an awkward position from which he ended up gloving the ball to the wicketkeeper. The trend of set batsmen departing continued when Chase, trying to play a back-foot drive off Rangana H e r a t h , edged the ball to Angelo Mathews at first slip to leave the hosts in more trouble.

While Sri Lanka would have looked to make further inroads during the final session and bring the Lahiru Kumara pumps his fist after dismissing Kieran Powell

Windies innings to an early end, they had to endure a frustrating period of play. Skipper Holder led the fightback and was supported by a watchful Dowrich as they kept the Sri Lankan bowlers at bay. DRS came to Windies rescue again when Holder was adjudged legbefore off Lakmal. Holder had a lucky break when he appeared to have missed an innocuous delivery down the leg side from Kumara, only for replays to reveal that there was an edge but Sri Lanka had not appealed.

Meanwhile, the partnership grew from strength to strength as the session progressed. With the Sri Lankan bowlers tiring, the line and lengths were off the mark on occasions, allowing

the sixth wicket pair to collect a few boundaries. Sri Lanka’s frustrations mounted with both Dowrich and Holder being put down in the slip cordon - Kumara being the unlucky bowler on both occasions. But Kumara finally got his reward when Holder edged the ball to the ‘keeper, with Sri Lanka’s use of DRS confirming the same.

Dowrich had Devendra Bishoo’s company - who faced 32 deliveries without opening his account - as they saw Windies through to stumps without any further damage to round off a session that Windies could claim was theirs after being under the pump in the earlier ones. (cricbuzz)

SCOREBOARD West Indies 1st Innings KC Brathwaite c †Dickwella b Lakmal 3 DS Smith run out (Kumara/†Dickwella) 7 KOA Powell b Kumara 38 SD Hope c †Dickwella b Kumara 44 RL Chase c Mathews b Herath 38 SO Dowrich † not out 46 JO Holder (c) c †Dickwella b Kumara 40 D Bishoo not out 0 Extras 30 (b 10, lb 14, nb 4, w 2) TOTAL 246-6 (84

Overs, RR: 2.92) Did not bat: KAJ Roach, ML Cummins, ST Gabriel Fall of wickets: 1-4 (KC Brathwaite, 2.4 ov), 2-40 (DS Smith, 11.5 ov), 3-80 (KOA Powell, 22.1 ov), 4-134 (SD Hope, 38.1 ov), 5-147 (RL Chase, 44.3 ov), 6-237 (JO Holder, 74.2 ov) SL BOWLING: RAS Lakmal (164-38-1), PLS Gamage (18-544-0), MDK Perera (16-1-420), CBRLS Kumara (18-1-57-3), HMRKB Herath (16-4-41-1)

New Golden Jags Head Coach Annandale, Diamond to Inter-Secondary School Cricket Competition

visits Guyana today M

ichael Johnson, the new head coach of the Senior Men’s National Football Team, will visit Guyana today to meet the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and football stakeholders, and to visit the new FIFA-funded GFF National Training Centre currently under construction at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Forty-four-year-old British Johnson, a former Jamaica international and English Premier League and Championship veteran, is the highest qualified national coach in the history of the Golden Jaguars, with a UEFA Pro Licence and the League Managers Association Diploma in Football Management. His references for the role included former England Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Premier League and the English Football Association.

“We look forward to hosting Michael this week as we introduce him to the local football fraternity and immediately get to work on taking the performances of our national team to the next level,” said GFF President

Golden Jags Head Coach Michael Johnson

Wayne Forde.

“Michael’s appointment is a big statement of intent and sends a strong signal to our players and to our regional opponents. It also speaks volumes about the visible progress we are making in rebuilding the image of football in Guyana, and in developing the game.”

Johnson’s first competitive game in charge will be a home fixture against Barbados in the CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers on September 8, as Guyana seeks to reach its first ever CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament in 2019. The all-weather National Training Centre pitch at Providence – part of Guyana’s first dedicated, national facility for football, funded by the FIFA Forward programme – is on schedule to be completed in time to host national squad preparations for that match.

Johnson will also visit the Leonora Track and Field Centre, West Coast Demerara today, which has staged recent CONCACAF international matches.

GFF President Wayne Forde

battle for top honours

T

he best of the best secondary school cricket teams are scheduled to clash on Friday, as the Region Four REO office concludes its Inaugural Inter Secondary School Cricket Competition, with Annandale Secondary and Diamond Secondary coming up against each other at the Everest Cricket Club Ground in Georgetown.

With both teams showcasing superb form and talent throughout the competition, the final is expected to be a thriller with Regional Executive Officer (REO) Pauline Lucas, Regional Education Officer (REDO) (ag) Tiffany Favourite-Harvey, Regional Chairman Genevieve Allen and excited schoolmates in attendance.

In an exchange of competitive words, Annandale’s Captain Daniel Prashad stated, “We’re a school that focuses a lot on sport and sport development and therefore we are very confident of winning this title, as we started the competition with a mission to claim the title one match at a time, and we are almost there, just one more match.” Highlighting that his team is not fazed by the fact that Diamond has a secret weapon in the form of West Indies Under-15 player Mavindra Dindyal, Prashad boasted about his team’s West Indies Under-15 player in Chanmdrapaul Ramraj and national player Romel Datterdean. We are not putting all of our hope on one individual player but rather on the entire team as this is a team sport and

we will play it that way,” the youngster said.

In reply, Diamond Secondary’s captain, Philip Mc Turk noted that his team members are upbeat about winning the competition, the school’s confidence was boosted recently when they won the East Bank’s finals of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) organised National School’s Cricket competition for a fourth consecutive year thus ruling the East Bank. “We have been winning several matches and competitions over the years and this will be treated like just another match as we remain confident of winning it,” he said.

Aside from the highly anticipated finals, the third place playoff is also expected to bring some excitement to the Everest Cricket Club Ground today. Starting at 10:00h, tournament favourites Hope Secondary will clash with the underdogs Friendship Secondary. The school which is popularly known for being the alma mater of West Indian Cricketer Shivnarine Chnadrapaul, missed their opportunity to advance to the finals when they made a number of critical blunders in their semi-final match against Annandale. Nevertheless, the Hope boys will do their best to ‘save face’ when they meet Friendship today.

The winning trophies and 10 special prizes are expected to be distributed at the conclusion of the finals on Friday.

thursDAY, june 7, 2018

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

guyanatimesgy.com

Sri Lanka Tour of West Indies…

Pg 23

Dowrich's resistance keeps Windies alive

Shai Hope

Inter-Secondary School Cricket Competition

Shane Dowrich

Pg 23

Annandale, Diamond to battle for top honours From left: REDO Tiffany FavouriteHarvey, Diamond Captain Philip Mc Turk, REO Pauline Lucas and Annandale Captain Daniel Prashad pose with the REO/DEVCON trophy that their teams are vying for

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