Guyanatimes

Roraima Airways honours “heroes” of aircraft fire P 10

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 2902

Friday, July 1, 2016

ExxonMobil confirms 2nd “significant” oil find offshore Guyana guyana-times.com

PRICE

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Molested 3-year-old recovering slowly P

Page 3

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– between 800M and 1.4B oil-equivalent barrels discovered

Govt seeks India's position on Specialty Hospital

MOTP PS sent on leave pending SOCU investigation Page 11

$80 vat included

‘ISIS’ bomb threatener gets 3 years in P8 prison

... outcome will determine if it will be scrapped Page 11 or continued – Norton

Unidentified man burns to death in Wales fire Page 9

The ruins of the house located at Wales where the unidentified charred body was found

Probe launched into missing planes from Eugene F Correia Airport – Harmon Page 2

PM says Guyana Page 7 Chronicle workers were at risk of losing jobs …as Opposition MPs question additional spending of $11M for GINA

2014 Christmas Eve vehicular death

Driver P jailed for 2 years

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Diamond P2 Hospital under investigation after dog escapes with dead body

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friDAY, july 1, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Diamond Hospital under investigation Probe launched into missing planes from Eugene after dog escapes with dead body F Correia Airport – Harmon ... guilty party will be heavily sanctioned – Norton

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he Government has launched a probe into the unauthorised departure of two light aircraft from the Eugene F Correia (Ogle) International Airport in Guyana last Saturday.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon on Thursday announced during a post-Cabinet press briefing that the probe would unearth those who were involved and recommendations would be made to ensure that there was no repeat of such an incident.

He stated that Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson had advised the Cabinet that an inquiry has been launched as part of the Administration’s move to guarantee that there was no recurrence of the incident in the future.

“They are very serious matters in relation to security and the fact that the Eugene F Correia Airport is an international airport, that makes it even more important to ensure that our security procedures are tightened,” he said.

On Saturday last, the aircraft, bearing registration numbers 8R-GTP and 8R-GMP, departed Guyana even though they were not supposed to do so.

Acting Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Chitranie Heeralall had confirmed that the aircraft left Guyana without the necessary authorisation.

The aircraft, worth US$110,000 each, are owned

by Oxford Aviation and were subjected to a court injunction by Phoenix Airways. The planes were, however, detained in Anguilla after flying through Trinidad’s airspace and landing in Grenada to refuel.

This newspaper understands that one of the pilots was identified as the Guyanese who owns Oxford Aviation and

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon a flight school and charter service in the United States, and the other is not licensed to fly in Guyana’s airspace.

However, speaking on behalf of the Eugene F Correia International Airport, Kit Nascimento related that all security protocols were followed on the morning when the aircraft departed.

He explained that at approximately 04:00h on Saturday, two staff attached to Oxford Airways presented their air flight passes at the airport security scanner and entered the airport. “The men told the security staff at the scanner that they were going to their aircraft to put some stuff on board”, Nascimento explained.

In fact, he noted that the pilots took off without filing a flight plan and without notifying airport security and immigration.

He stressed that all the airport security staff were on duty and allowed the men onto the airstrip because they had air flight passes. The pilots, the official reiterated, did not notify the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The air traffic control tower was only aware of what was happening as the aircraft were taxing down the runway to take off.

onsequent to the discovery of the remains of a foetus just outside the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, East Bank Demerara, an investigation has been launched by the Public Health Ministry to ascertain who was responsible for the careless disposal.

This is according to Public Health Minister Dr George Norton who revealed that either the doctor or nurses who delivered the baby are suspected to be responsible for the poorly disposed foetus.

The foetus which was dragged out of the Hospital Dump and dismembered by a stray dog was discovered

on Tuesday, and a photo of the remains went viral on social media.

According to Dr Norton, officials are unsure of what transpired between the time the foetus died, and it was found in the compound.

“The Chief Medical Officer is saying that he came in the country on Monday and the director of the Hospital called him and asked ‘what do we do with the foetus?’. He said he advised him to contact the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The Georgetown CMO said to send the foetus to the hospital and we’ll pay the bill.

Between then and when it appeared in the Garbage heap, we don’t know what

happened. That baby died since Sunday,” Dr Norton revealed.

Norton pointed out that the foetus had not reached the developmental stage to be considered a baby. He explained that according to investigations thus far, the 26-year-old woman who delivered the 23-week-old foetus, which would have been her fifth child, wanted nothing to do with its disposal and left it as the Hospital’s responsibility.

He stated that in scenarios like this, the foetus should have been placed in the correct colour-coded disposal bin and transported to the disposal facility, however this procedure was not ad-

hered to: “Somebody, whether it is the doctor or nurse put the baby in the waste bucket, and then somebody who takes the garbage to the dump outside, left it there with the baby. It has to be either the doctor or the nurse, both are denying but we will get that while we are doing the investigation.”

He stated that the guilty party would be heavily sanctioned.

Guyana Times had reported that a stray dog had brusquely dragged the body of an already dead premature baby out into the compound of the public hospital and dismembered it, making a meal of the dead infant.

2014 Christmas Eve vehicular death

Driver jailed for 2 years ...can’t pay compensation and get off – presiding Magistrate

BY SHEMUEL FANFAIR

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West Bank Demerara man has been sentenced to jail for causing the 2014 Christmas Eve death of Khemawattie Mohabir.

In a packed Wales Magistrate’s Court courtroom on Thursday, Magistrate Clive Nurse sentenced Kalim Mohamed to two years imprisonment for causing the death of Khemawattie Mohabir on December 24, 2014 by dangerous driving.

Magistrate Nurse in reading out the sentence to the defendant noted that

the court “pondered the scenario” of the $600,000 compensation that Mohamed gave the woman’s family.

However, it was noted that the court was not satisfied as a life was lost. Nurse reasoned that the court cannot allow an impression to prevail that drivers can operate dangerously on the roadways, pay compensation and get off “scotch free”.

“The wrong message is sent to society [if] you can drive dangerously on the road; pay a couple hundred thousand dollars and get of off free,” the Magistrate noted.

Dead: Khemawattie Mohabir

The defendant’s lawyer requested that a jail term be suspended on the grounds that the $600,000 compensation had been paid. The Magistrate however maintained that once people are killed on the roadway, the perpetrators must “spend some time” behind bars, adding that sentencing will serve as a “deterrent” to future occur-

rences. Nevertheless, the compensation Mohamed paid was taken into consideration in relation to the amount of time the defendant would spend behind bars.

Magistrate Nurse then outlined that the offence carries three to five years in jail but the defendant’s term was reduced. In the midst of light murmuring and mild gasps from those present in the courtroom, Mohamed was taken away into Police custody and will serve two years in prison.

Khemawattie Mohabir, a 27-year-old mother of two, resided Lot 70 Vriesland, West Bank Demerara, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) at the time of her death. She died after she was struck while walking along a roadway near her home. Reports indicate that Mohabir suffered injuries to her neck and skull.

It was also reported that Mohamed’s vehicle dragged the mother of two some 60 feet before it stopped.

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friDAY, july 1, 2016 | guyana-times.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, July 1 – 14:30h-16:00h and Saturday, July 2 - 14:30h-16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, July 1 – 14:05h-15:35h and Saturday, July 2 – 15:05h-16:35h.

ExxonMobil confirms 2nd "significant" oil find offshore Guyana – between 800M and 1.4B oil-equivalent barrels discovered

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Heavy rain showers interrupted by intervals of sunny weather can be expected in the morning and early afternoon hours, while heavy to light rainfall is expected in the afternoon. Clear skies are expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East-North-easterly between 0.89 metre and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 01:30h and 14:06h reaching maximum heights of 2.55 metres and 2.47 metres respectively..

Low Tide: 07:35h and 19:56h reaching minimum heights of 0.65 metre and 0.73 metre respectively.

ExxonMobil President Steve Greenlee

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

il and gas exploration giant, ExxonMobil Corporation on Thursday announced that drilling results from the Liza-2 well, the second exploration well in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana, confirmed a worldclass discovery of oil with a recoverable resource of between 800 million and 1.4 billion oil-equivalent barrels.

“We are excited by the results of a production test of the Liza-2 well, which confirms the presence of highquality oil from the same high-porosity sandstone reservoirs that we saw in the Liza-1 well completed in 2015… We, along with our co-venturers, look forward to continuing a strong partnership with the Government of Guyana to further evaluate the commercial potential for this exciting prospect,” said ExxonMobil President Steve

Greenlee, in a statement.

The Liza wells are located in the Stabroek Block approximately 120 miles offshore Guyana. Data from the successful Liza-2 well test is being assessed, the company said.

The Liza-2 well was drilled by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd, approximately 2 miles from the first well, Liza-1. They encountered more than 190 feet of oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs in upper cretaceous formations.

“This exploration success demonstrates the strength of our long-term investment approach, as well as our technology leadership in ultra, deepwater environments,” said Greenlee.

This is the second major announcement of oil find coming from the US-based company that has been conducting explorations off the shores of Guyana.

On May 20, 2015, ExxonMobil announced that there was a significant oil discovery on the Stabroek Block after its well Liza-1 encountered more than 295 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs.

While the Guyana Government is still to make an official comment on the new find, Minister of State Joseph Harmon on Thursday morning at a news conference said that the companies were excited about the future of drilling in Guyana.

The Government of Guyana is said to be renegotiating the 1999 contract with ExxonMobil.

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guyana-times.com

fridAY, july 1, 2016

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707

Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Caricom: 43 years later

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he founding fathers of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) came together some 43 years ago and signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which established the Caribbean Community. On Monday - a day set aside to celebrate all things Caricom - we celebrate Caricom Day. In setting up the community, the objectives in its most recent formulation were described as to improve standards of living and work; the full employment of labour and other factors of production; accelerated, coordinated, and sustained economic development and convergence; expansion of trade and economic relations with third states; enhanced levels of international competitiveness; organisation for increased production and productivity; achievement of a greater measure of economic leverage; effectiveness of member states in dealing with third states, groups of states, and entities of any description; and the enhanced coordination of member states’ foreign economic policies and enhanced functional cooperation.

However, 43 years later where are we as a community?

Economic Professor Paul Clement in his article, “The Politics of Regional Integration in the Developing World: The Case of the Caribbean Community (Caricom),” argued that Caricom is at a crossroad. He pointed of that the decision in 2011 to “pause” the Single Economy project brought to the forefront the longstanding frustration with deepening regional integration.

Impressive goals and grand meetings cannot after 43 years be the yardstick of real success but rather member states in Caricom are ready or have made genuine commitments to the rules embodied in the institution to deliver the stated objectives.

It is these laudable and striking meetings, which have resulted in very motivated policy proposals but lack of implementation in territories that have led to much criticism of Caricom. To a greater extent, the inability to implement policies in individual territories is one of the contributing factors that have led to the negative criticism that Caricom is a “talk shop”.

The recent impasse between Jamaica and Trinidad, to a greater extent gave weight to this criticism. This arose out of the latest round of Jamaicans being denied entry to Trinidad. Guyanese have also suffered the same fate at the hands of Barbados’ immigration. These instances have once again raised the question of the purpose of the CSME and more so Caricom.

Is it a case that this latest in a long line of events is demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the integration bloc? If so then it reflects a serious lack of leadership in the region. It now begs the question as to why are we still at this point 43 years later?

The reality is that too many of our decision-makers in this integration bloc seem to have lost the vision that inspired the inauguration of Caricom.

Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat, Erwin La Rocque, as far as 2013, in delivering an address on “The status of the Regional Integration Process and Vision for the Future of Caricom” conceded, the hopes raised in the bosoms of Caribbean peoples by the launch of Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) in 1968 and its successor Caricom in 1973 had been dashed in the opinions of most ordinary citizens. At that presentation he noted that the thrust for integration had long preceded these two initiatives.

As the veracity of the world changes - to which globalisation is leading through technology - institutions such as Caricom needs to keep up with these drastic and fast-paced realities.

The Caricom Heads of Governments will be meeting in Guyana next week. It is hoped that this meeting bear real fruits of practicality and not just a recommitment or renewal of commitments in the issuance of communiqués.

Our nations have been integrated by agreements, memorandum of understandings, and declarations, however the time has come for us to strive towards achieving actionable integration that emphasises the importance of all nations in this integration bloc.

Cloud mountain A natural arch in Tianmen Mountain, China, is surrounded by fog (Telegraph)

Who controls the purse strings controls everything Dear Editor, Sunday papers (June 26, 2016) carried a notice issued by the Registrar of the Supreme Court requesting that all Attorneys attend an orientation session on the new High Court Rules at the Georgetown Club. The notice states that the session will be conducted by one Anthony Ross QC, and Katrina Marciniak, both of the Canadian Bar and consultants to the Supreme Court of Guyana on the High Court Rules Revision.

We certainly have many brilliant legal minds right here in Guyana capable of carrying out such a revision, so why bring in foreign legal consultants? My guess is that the funding for this review of our High Court Rules came from a foreign Government or funding agency such as the World Bank, and here lies the root of the problem. This type of funding comes with conditions, one condition is that we use foreign consultants appointed by the funding agen-

cy. The same thing is going to happen when the World Bank funds a review of our education curriculum. This is all designed to keep us in check – to make sure we toe the line - it is how neo-colonialism works.

It is no wonder that recently a youngster told me all about Christopher Columbus and “what a patient man he was”, but had never heard of the outstanding Guyanese scholars Ivan Van Sertima, who wrote the seminal work, “They Came Before Columbus: the African Presence in Ancient America”, or George GM James, who wrote the groundbreaking book “Stolen Legacy”, now considered to be a classic.

This state of affairs will persist as long as successive governments continue to pursue the neo-liberal capitalist agenda. This economic model prevents the State from intervening meaningfully in the economy in order to generate the wealth necessary to fund the kind of reconstruction and nation building Guyana so des-

perately needs. Instead, government is reduced to raising revenue from taxes, parking meter schemes and relying on the private sector as the socalled engine of growth. After decades of neo-liberal ideology it should be clear to everyone that the private sector is not in the business of nation building and that we cannot raise sufficient revenue from taxation alone to carry out the kind of radical transformation required by our society, including the eradication of poverty.

There are numerous examples worldwide which show that despite stringent measures put in place to force the wealthy (the 1%) to pay their taxes, they inevitably find loopholes, leaving the tax burden to be carried predominantly by the middle and working classes, who are already struggling to make ends meet.

Under these circumstances the government remains short of revenue, and in order to fund social programmes is forced to seek grants with conditions de-

signed to keep us right where we are: in a state of dependency.

That is why Forbes Burnham said that if such conditions are tied to the funding Guyana is offered let the foreign donors keep their money. Many moons ago he quite rightly knew that the only way for Guyana to emerge from the dependency syndrome and what respected Caribbean economist, George Beckford referred to as our “persistent poverty”, was to pursue a path of economic independence and self-reliance. Who controls the purse strings controls everything.

Arch-Imperialist Benjamin Disraeli knew what he was saying when he stated: “Colonies do not cease to be colonies because they’re independent”.

Sincerely, Gerald A Perreira Chairperson Organisation for the Victory of the People (OVP)

Constitutional reform needs a decisive, deliberate President as its champion

Dear Editor, President David Granger said that if constitutional reform means that the Executive powers have to be reduced, so be it. That is what they call in English, a ‘passive’ statement. As a Historian, Granger knows the atrocities which came with the Executive Presidency and its accompanying powers. He, therefore, should have made an ‘active’ statement on the subject. He should come out and say that he thinks that the powers of the Presidency should be reduced. If there is one thing I have observed about the current President is his flexibility and pliability in allowing Guyana to be taken to another level. I do not see him as a generally decisive person. He comes across

as more reactive than deliberate. Two recent examples of this are when he addressed the matter of the audits and now this issue.

I do not know much about President Burnham personally, however, what I have read and heard about him give me the impression that he was very deliberate. I know more about President Jagdeo, he too is deliberate. President Hinds and Ramotar, were both passive in their behaviours. I do not know enough about the other Presidents to compare them in this regard.

This country was shaped largely by the Presidents who were deliberate; Burnham and Jagdeo. They used both the blatant and nuanced innards of the constitution to justify their deliberations.

They milked the edges of the constitution for all that its worth. I wish I could say that the country is the better for it.

What I could say – and I have said it before – is that history will not be kind to President Granger if he leaves office and there is no substantive constitutional reform, which includes the weakening of the Presidential powers. He will forever be blamed.

I remember that Burnham used to say, “Shooting me is a waste, another Rasta will take my place”. It is because of this that I agree with Nigel Hughes when he says, “My position does not depend on who is the President; my position depends on the powers, not who is occupying the position of the President. You don’t wait till you have a good

candidate to decide whether or not you are going to change the powers of the President.

You try to protect yourself in the event that you have a bad candidate.”

Granger, therefore, will have to do more than just acquiesce to a “taming” of the Executive powers. For this reform to be speedy and significant, the President will have to be out there representing it, akin to how he represents the pardoning of those young offenders. After all, this issue of constitutional reform is older, with much more ramifications than those judicial pardons. Constitutional reform needs a decisive, deliberate, President as its champion.

Pastor Wendell P Jeffrey

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friDAY, july 1, 2016 | guyana-times.com

15-year-old shot in face Opposition MPs irritated over unpreparedness of Govt members 4 arrested in

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pposition Members of Parliament (MPs) grew infuriated over the unpreparedness of Government parliamentarians in the National Assembly.

During the sitting of the National Assembly on Thursday, the Opposition MPs raised concerns over the answers provided by the Government members to pertinent questions being asked on public affairs.

The Government MPs would respond by promising to deliver the requested

information at a later date, claiming that the data is not available at hand.

PPP/C MP Juan Edghill questioned whether the Government MPs are diverting from parliamentary practice to bring along technical personnel in order to provide information to the National Assembly.

He contended that if they continue in this vain, then no information would be disclosed for the public.

Subsequently weighing in on the situation, PPP/C Chief Whip Gail Teixeira

contended that such occurrences never prevailed in the House before.

“Your inability to answer questions is not fair…

These are simple questions being asked and the Ministers are totally unprepared,” she expressed.

She reminded that the Government Ministers are accountable to the taxpayers of this country and therefore they have a reasonability to answer the questions posed by Opposition MPs who represent the rights of a signifi-

cant portion of the population.

Teixeira asserted that the Government MPs’ approach in the National Assembly sends the wrong message. “(It is) a level of arrogance… it’s like you’re saying we don’t have to answer you, we don’t have to account to nobody,” she said.

Teixeira added, “When the Ministers answered this way, we have to be irritated, we aren’t fools sitting in this House.”

Significant strides made in TIP

But more work needs to be done on Govt level – US report

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hile the Guyana Government continues to make “significant” efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, there is much more to be done especially in the area of specialising officers to detect Trafficking In Persons (TIP) victims.

This is according to the US Department of State Trafficking in Person 2016 Report, which was published on Thursday and which placed Guyana at Teir 2 on their Watch List.

According to the report, “The Government did not provide anti-trafficking training for its diplomatic personnel.”

Moreover, it was noted that while the Government significantly increased its number of labour inspections, the number of labour trafficking investigations did not significantly increase. The report disclosed that some 15 trafficking cases involving 56 victims, including 16 children, were investigated and resulted in seven prosecutions and one sex trafficking conviction. This is compared to seven investigations, four prosecutions and one conviction for the previous reporting period.

In the one conviction case, the defendant was sentenced in 2015 to three years’ imprisonment and unlike defendants convicted in previous years, was denied post-conviction bail. Also for the first time, she was required to pay

restitution to the victim.

At least one of the defendants in an ongoing prosecution was released on bail pending the outcome of her trial. In response to calls received by the trafficking hotline, Government officials conducted raids on mining and logging areas outside of the capital. It is unclear if authorities removed any victims from exploitative situations or initiated any trafficking investigations as a result of these raids.

Moreover, it outlined that Government further increased collaboration with anti-trafficking NonGovernmenal Organisations (NGO) by instituting procedures to refer victims to the shelter and including a leading anti-trafficking NGO on its inter-ministerial antitrafficking taskforce.

However, the US State Department report pointed out that Government maintained efforts to prevent trafficking. Guyana’s newly elected Government reformed the anti-trafficking inter-ministerial taskforce in January 2016, before the reformation; however, the taskforce was inactive for eight months and did not make efforts to implement the 2014-2015 national action plan.

“The Government did not allocate additional personnel to the severely understaffed anti-trafficking unit to facilitate trafficking investigations, nor did it increase protection and services for

victims outside the capital or participating in investigations against their traffickers,” the report mentioned.

It was further observed that while Government drafted, it did not finalise an action plan to combat trafficking. It conducted a variety of awareness-raising activities, including campaigns to sensitise civilians and law enforcement in the mining and logging sectors outside the capital. The Government operated a trafficking hotline but did not report how many calls it received. The Government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or forced labour the report noted.

Meanwhile, Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence, in commenting on the improved status on the TIP Watch List, told the

Government Information Agency (GINA) that TIP is “slavery as part of economic ventures and this Government, through its various arms, will fight vigorously such attempts and will join forces with like-minded persons, organisations and governments to stop vulnerable persons from falling into the hands of such perpetrators.

On the other hand, Coordinator of the CounterTrafficking Department at the Ministry, Tanisha Williams-Corbin, also remarked to GINA that “the improved status is encouraging. Being off the Watch List is a vindication of our efforts to counter Trafficking in Persons, especially those efforts to bring greater awareness about TIP and to have increased prosecution of TIP cases.”

connection – Commander Hicken

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our men are now in Police custody as investigations continued on Thursday into the South Ruimveldt robbery and shooting which resulted in a 15-year-old being shot in the face.

According to A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) Commander, Clifton Hicken, the Police have arrested four more men following new leads into the matter.

Additionally, a second vehicle has been impounded after it is suspected that it was used as the getaway vehicle due to its striking resemblance to the car caught on camera.

Last week, two suspects were detained and assisted the Police in their investigations but they were released on bail following the end of the lawful 72-hour detention period. A car was also impounded.

The incident occurred

two Sundays ago at approximately 14:30h. Reported indicated that three gunmen stormed into the mechanic shop on the corner of Wren and Aubrey Barker Roads, holding the occupants at gun point. As a result of a confrontation between one of the bandits and an occupant of the shop, 15-year-old North Ruimveldt Multilateral student Jahmaul Lewis was shot in his face while the criminals escaped with a small quantity of cash and cellphones.

Lewis was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he received treatment. The entire incident was caught on CCTV cameras which were handed over to the Police to assist in the investigations. It was revealed in the video footage that the white Toyota car circled the block three times before the thieves decided to pounce on the mechanic shop.

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How what you say and how you say it may affect your child’s temperament he results of a recent experimental study published in the March 2016 issue of Developmental Psychology found that not only what we say but how we say it may affect the development of emotional traits of a child

the demonstration. Later they let the children play with the toys. The babies who heard an angry reaction were less likely to play with the toys than those who heard the neutral reaction.

So what does this mean for parents? First it shows that what we say and how we say it effects not only a

they are exposed to in their environment.

Parents can use this information in a positive way.

By using a positive tone and positive statements while a baby or young child observes and experiences various situations we help them to react positively. One major fear children often have is a fear of the dark. When

starting at a very young age. We once thought that how a person was wired (temperament) was genetically determined but this study indicates that environment plays a big role as well.

The experiment consisted of a researcher teaching children (15 months of age) how to play with toys while the child sat on their parent’s lap. Another researcher sat nearby (the “Emoter”) and would either would either with either anger (“That’s aggravating” in a stern voice) or neutral affect (“That’s interesting”) while the infants watched

child’s behavior at the moment but how they react to future situations that are similar. From what we know about brain development, it is quite possible that continued exposure to this type of stimuli, especially if it occurs in different types of circumstances will gradually generalise to a more permanent reaction style to new and novel things they encounter.

When a pattern of response is generalised like this it most likely indicates that the child’s brain has now been wired so that the child becomes more hesitant and fearful of various things

my children were babies, I would carry them through a dark room singing about how cool it was to be in the dark. Neither had a fear of the dark. Now, I would use a stern voice and say “not safe” if I saw them doing something that could be harmful and if needed remove them.

I encourage you to become aware of what you say and how you say it so you will be better at encouraging your child to explore and interact with their environment especially to new things so they feel safe to explore and interact. When you see them doing things

BY ROBERT MYERS, PHD

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guyana-times.com

that are appropriate you can positive and motivating statements in a tone that it is encouraging as well. Use this to encourage children to try new things and to learn new skills.

Parent/child communication is key to carrying out the basic tasks of a parent which include forming a close bond, understanding your child’s point of view, providing appropriate limits and guidance and teaching them skills, knowledge and values.

Start being aware (mindful) of how you communicate with your child and how it effects them. Modify your communication style based on what you learn and begin to filter and actually formulate what you say and how to say it before you start. These modifications will “rewire” your parenting style and you will find that you will begin to respond to your child spontaneously in a very positive and effective style.

One of my two favourite books for parents provides more details how to use this knowledge to encourage children to try new things, to learn to regulate their emotions and how to accept limits when necessary.

The second helps you to better understand your child and teach important skills including emotional regulation, the development of curiosity and a positive selfconcept. If you don’t already have them, I suggest you get a copy of How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk along with The Whole Brain Child. (child-

developmentinfo.com)

Parents affect their children’s view of intelligence

By Art Markman, PhD

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ver the years, I have written several blog entries about the work of Carol Dweck and her colleagues on mindsets.

One of the most important elements of this work is that when students think that intelligence is fixed, they have a harder time dealing with failure than when they think intelligence can be improved with hard work. This work suggests that helping students to think of intelligence as a capacity that can be enhanced makes them better able to overcome challenges they face when confronting difficult topics in school.

A central question that comes out of this work is where children’s beliefs about intelligence come from. Eventually, of course, children can be taught about intelligence in school. But children’s beliefs about intelligence are shaped even before they start learning about it explicitly.

An interesting paper by Kyla Haimovitz and Carol Dweck in the June 2016 issue of Psychological Science suggests that parents have some influence on the way their children think about intelligence. However, this influence does not come from parent’s beliefs about intelligence, it comes from their beliefs about failure.

Haimovitz and Dweck point out that some parents think that failure is a terrible thing and that it can be devastating for children. These parents want to protect their children from failure.

Other parents think failure is an important part of learning.

These parents want to help their children to recover from failure by helping them to learn from it.

In one study, parents of fourth and fifth grade children were asked about their mindset about intelligence (fixed vs malleable) and their orientation toward failure (debilitating vs valuable).

Their children were asked about their mindset about intelligence.

Children’s mindset about intelligence was much better predicted by their parents’ beliefs about failure than their beliefs about intelligence.

Why does parents’ orientation toward failure affect their children’s beliefs about intelligence?

The researchers speculate that parents who believe that failure is crucial for learning are more likely than parents who believe failure is debilitating to work with their children to overcome failure and to enhance their skills. As a result, parents’ beliefs about failure are more visible to children than their beliefs about intelligence.

To test this possibility, one group of parents was asked about the behaviours they would engage in when their children experienced a failure. Some responses were focused on worrying about their children and comforting them. Other responses were focused on enhancing learning, like encouraging the student to ask a teacher for help or to use the failure as motivation to learn the material better. Parents who saw failure as debilitating said they would engage in more worry and comfort than parents who saw failure as important for learning. Parents who saw failure as important for learning said they would engage in more activities to promote future learning than parents who saw failure as debilitating.

Another study demonstrated that children are more sensitive to their parents’ attitudes toward failure than to their parents’ mindset about intelligence. In this study, parents filled out surveys to assess their mindset toward intelligence and their beliefs about failure. Children assessed their parents’ beliefs about failure and their parents’ beliefs about intelligence. Children were more accurate at predicting their parents’ beliefs about failure than their parents’ mindset about intelligence.

A follow-up study using a similar methodology demonstrated that children’s mindset about intelligence were actually well predicted by their perception of their parents’ beliefs about failure.

That is, children seem to be internalising their parents’ orientation to failure and using it to establish their own mindset about intelligence.

One final study demonstrated that the reactions a parent anticipates having to a child’s failure can be influenced by inducing a particular mindset about failure. In a final study, parents were encouraged to think of failure either as debilitating or as enhancing learning. Then, they predicted their reaction to a child’s failure as in the study described earlier. Parents who were encouraged to think of failure as important for learning engaged in less comforting and more behaviours related to learning than parents encouraged to think of failure as debilitating.

Putting all of this work together, parents do influence the way their children think about intelligence. Interestingly, this influence comes from the parents’ orientation to failure. Parents react to failure either by comforting their children or by encouraging learning. Parents who encourage learning lead their children to adopt a mindset that intelligence is a skill to be acquired rather than an inborn talent. Finally, the results of the last study suggest that if parents are encouraged to think about failure as an important part of learning, it will have a positive influence on children’s beliefs about intelligence. (psychologytoday.com)

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friday, july 1, 2016 | guyana-times.com

PM says Guyana Chronicle workers UK will recover – British High were at risk of losing jobs Commissioner on state of economy …as Opposition MPs question additional spending of $11M for GINA

P

rime Minister Moses Nagamootoo came under fire from Opposition parliamentarians who demanded an explanation for the sudden spending of an additional $11 million for the Government Information Agency (GINA) even after some $181 million was approved in Budget 2015 for that entity.

More than one month after the previous sitting of the National Assembly, Thursday’s session was suspended just minutes after getting underway for a private debate on the constitutionality of the consideration of a financial paper on advances made from the Contingency Fund totalling some $799.9 million.

Just under one billion dollars had been spent by the Administration outside of what was provided for in the Budget for the period of September 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali challenged the motion brought by the Government, arguing that the spending of these monies flew in the face of the Constitution and the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act. He contended that the Minister shall not in the fiscal year, introduce more than five supplementary bills except in circumstances of grave national emergency.

Further, he asserted that the financial paper should have been brought to the House as soon as practicable, before the passage of Budget 2016 in light of the date the monies were spent.

When the sitting resumed, House Speaker, Dr Barton Scotland allowed a review of the extra budgetary spending.

Finance Minister

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

Winston Jordan was asked to respond to the challenge and posited that the financial paper were in his opinion brought to the Parliament “as soon as practicable”.

In response to a subsequent concern raised by PPP/C MP Anil Nandlall, Jordan argued that the monies were indeed spent on situations that were urgent, unavoidable and unforeseen and of grave national emergency.

As the consideration commenced, the House Speaker had disclosed that an additional $11 million was provided to GINA to offset partial liabilities owed to the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) – Guyana Chronicle.

When prompted by MP Ali, the Prime Minister revealed that the payment was made as part of an effort to keep the Guyana Chronicle viable in the face of monies owed by GINA. According to Nagamootoo, some $74 million was owed by GINA to GNNL.

Jumping at this bit of information, MP Ali asserted that given that the debts were in existence before May 2015, then the monies spent did not meet the criteria to come from the Contingency Fund.

But the Prime Minister explained that the exact figure owed was not made available until after the forensic audit was conducted into the operations of GINA. “It was only when we discovered that GINA was draining the life blood of the Chronicle that we decided that it was in fact an expenditure that could not be avoided, and (we) attempt[ed] to rescue the Guyana Chronicle,” he said.

PPP/C MP Juan Edghill then questioned why the $11 million was accessed from the Contingency Fund and not by a supplementary paper that could have been brought, since the expenditure was not unforeseen and urgent.

“If this expenditure was known as of May 2015, it might not have been known by the PM, it would have been known by GINA provisions for Budget 2015, this expenditure should have satisfied,” he posited.

In response, the Prime Minister said the expenditure was incurred between September and December.

He argued that the Guyana Chronicle could not have found money to meet its salaries and urgent demands were made, which produced a situation where workers at the news agency would have been thrown out of jobs.

The PM and the Opposition MPs continued to trade barbs over the justification of the spending of the $11 million until it was finally approved by the Government with its slim parliamentary majority.

I

n light of mounting uncertainty over the future of the United Kingdom following last week’s majority vote on a referendum to exit the European Union, British High Commissioner to Guyana Greg Quinn is resolute that his home country will overcome the challenges it is currently facing.

Analysts and researchers have predicted that the UK’s decision to leave the EU might be just about enough to push the country’s economy into a recession.

However, speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, High Commissioner Quinn is optimistic that the UK will emerge from this in a better state than it was before the vote. He further pointed out that those countries hoping that the UK’s global influence and impact will diminish following Brexit, are deluded and will be in for some major disappointments.

Quinn explained that the UK remains the third largest economy in the World and still a member of the Commonwealth and one of only five countries on the United Nations Security Council that is a permanent member. He noted too that the British country is the only one that spends two per cent of its Gross Domestic Products (GDP) on defence and a mere 0.7 per cent on development.

“So if people think that the UK is going anywhere, then I’m quite happy to say

they are off on the wrong track. We are here to stay and we certainly intend to stay,” he declared optimistically.

According to the British High Commissioner, the UK had indeed experienced some economic turbulence over the past few days following the Brexit vote but the country’s economy has since stabilised and may even get to a better state.

“I will note that the UK stock exchange is now back at about the same level as it was before the results was known. Yes, Sterling dropped and if you want to buy anything from the UK, things are now significantly cheaper than they were this time last week,” he stated.

Quinn went on to say that this was expected, noting: “There will be a period of correction in which the markets get used to this but historically, the markets always end up above where they started from. I am sure the course of whatever period of time it might take, we will end up back where we started or above.”

On Thursday 23 June, 51.9 per cent of UK voted on a referendum to leave the economic bloc. This was despite a 48.1 per cent vote from London, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which were backing the stay within the EU. Since then, there have been many uncertainties about the future relation among the UK, Guyana and the EU. However, both UK and EU officials here

have assured that this will not affect relations with Guyana or the Caribbean region.

In fact, earlier this week, EU’s Ambassador to Guyana, Jernej Videti?, had recommitted the EU’s support to Guyana even after the exit of the UK, which was a major link between Guyana and EU. Meanwhile, the UK Diplomat in an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday guaranteed that whatever consequences will follow, the relationship between Guyana and Great Britain will remain undefiled.

“Looking to the longer term, I don’t see any change in the UK’s approach to Guyana. I don’t see any less a commitment and I don’t see any less support coming here,” he said.

He explained that the United Kingdom is awaiting a new prime minister to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty since David Cameron has resigned and refused to lead this process.

Until Article 50 is invoked, the process of leaving the EU will not commence.

“The rights and responsibilities and obligations that the UK has as a member of the EU and that the EU has to the UK remain exactly the same. And even when that process is launched, it is going to take at least probably two years.

We are talking about a long and complicated process,” he outlined.

8 news

friDAY, july 1, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Linden attempted murder ‘ISIS’ bomb threatener accused granted bail gets 3 years

A

Lindener who appeared before magistrate Clive Nurse at the Linden Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder, was granted bail.

The defendant, Calwyn “Alex” Croal, 47, also known as “Brother” of Lot 178 Blueberry Hill, Wismar, is accused of attempted murder of his estranged wife Simone Belle-Croal, 41, of 604 Half Mile, Wismar and her cousin Sherwin Hughes of Blueberry Hill. He was granted bail in the sum of $150,000.

It is alleged that on

Sunday, April 3, with intent to commit murder, he discharged a loaded firearm at Belle-Croal and Hughes, at Canvas City, Wismar. The defendant who was represented by Attorney Gordon Gilhuys is scheduled to re-appear in court at a later date.

Calwyn Croal, who eluded Police for almost two months, was arrested at Lethem last month in connection with the incident.

Reports had indicated that the defendant, who allegedly staked out the yard of his estranged wife’s home, opened fire on the duo, hit-

ting them multiple times across their bodies as Hughes who was said to be driving at the time approached BelleCroal’s home.

Hughes’s wife Annie who was in the vehicle at the time did not sustain any injuries, while Hughes was shot in his arm and back and Belle-Croal six times to her arm, leg and chest.

Both were treated at the Linden Hospital Complex and later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where they underwent successful surgeries to have the bullets removed.

Molested 3-year-old recovering slowly

T

he three-year-old child who was sexually molested almost two weeks ago is recovering slowly and is now in the care of her aunt.

Meanwhile her mother who was charged recently with ‘wilful neglect’ and appeared at the Sprinlands Magistrate’s Court is on bail.

Commander of B Division Ian Amsterdam told INews Thursday that investigations into the matter are ongoing and it is yet to be determined

who sexually molested the young child.

He stated that the child was immediately taken out of the endangered environment, and with the intervention of the Child Protection Agency she is now in the care of her aunt.

Reports are that between June 18 and 19, the little girl’s mother, who is reportedly an alcoholic, had gone on a drinking spree and when she returned home the night she retired to bed with her five

children.

Hours later mother awoke and discovered her threeyear-old missing from their bed and upon checking she found the child on the floor of the house bleeding profusely from the vagina.

The matter was immediately reported and the child rushed to the hospital where she was admitted.

The mother and her ‘boyfriend’ had been taken into police custody when investigations commenced.

in prison

Eyew tness Crisis...

W

Terrence Mclean

T

errence Mclean, 34, who claimed he is attached to ISIS after attempting to rob the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), was today sentenced to three years imprisonment by Magistrate Judy Latchman after pleading guilty to the charge of demanding $10 million from the officer in charge of the card centre, Dahana Ramjist, with the intent to steal.

The prosecution’s facts stated that on Tuesday, June 28, Mclean entered the GBTI, Regent Street, Georgetown branch at 09:20h and requested to speak with the Manager and handed over a note stating, “ISIS, there is a bomb in the bag, give us $10 million or you will all die.” The accused then demanded $10 million.

An alarm was raised which summoned Police ranks. Upon the arrival of the Police, Mclean dropped the haversack he was carrying and shouted “Allah Akbar.”

The accused was subsequently arrested and the bag was searched, revealing documents and a knife. No evidence of a bomb was found.

Magistrate Latchman sentenced Mclean to the maximum imprisonment for the charge given the seriousness of the crime and the effect it can have on the commercial bank.

Mclean was unrepresented in court and prior to his sentencing,he told the court, “They should have given me the money because they will all die the next time.” He further added that procedures that were taken to arrest him “were all flawed.”

McLean is said to be of unsound mind and underwent psychiatric evaluation at Dr Bhiro Harry’s clinic. It was confirmed by Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum that McLean is a deportee who was also charged in 2007 for the possession of a gun and ammunition.

...at UG?

ith a new broom in the office of the Vice Chancellor of UG, there's the usual flurry of activities and announcements that accompany these contingencies. There will be a re-looking at the entrance requirements for entering the tertiary institution - so as to re-instill "standards" in the graduates. The VC was most likely referring to the majority of graduates who can barely string together ten words to make a coherent sentence. Don't ask about essays.

So what are the present criteria? Basically five subjects at CSEC including Maths and English. But that's only the top of the iceberg that had sunk all previous well-meaning efforts at raising "standards". UG is really two universities being run concurrently with the same teachers and students. One of these universities would be called a "Community College" in the US and awards an "Associate Degree".

The latter institution is seen as substandard because it IS substandard. UG lowers its basic entrance criteria lower than the belly of a snake - you can gain your five subjects in five sittings, graduate from Critchlow that has no entrance requirements, Burrowes School of Art, registered nurses, etc - to enter this Diploma Programme. But you take the same classes with others fulfilling the requirements for the five-year Bachelors Degree - and even for the professional courses like Medicine and Law, which demand at least two CAPE passes!

So how'd you expect a lecturer - most likely the possessor of a Bachelors - to deliver a quality lecture to this motley crew - numbering over a hundred bodies?

Mightn't it be better to break UG into two Colleges? Maybe the Speciality CAPE school the previous administration had floated might form the nucleus of this institution?

Maybe also remedial classes?

There's also the perennial crisis for funds. Well, the new VC's one of the new-wave breed spawned by the neoliberal market fundamentalism mindset that is specialised to deal with that issue. It certainly was part of his job description at his last gig in the States. Didn't do so well with the money-raising bit - but hey! - you never know, do you?

But this Eyewitness thinks the "standards" question will have to be answered before the second challenge can be tackled. What's the point of spending all this money, donors will ask, not only to produce mediocre graduates, but also specialists in subjects for which there's hardly any interests. Just how many International Relations graduates can Guyana absorb? Or Sociology? Or Communications Studies?

We just want to assure the VC the moment UG can fill the need for petroleum engineers his troubles - and ours - are over!

...over in the City?

Just when our Eyewitness thought better judgement might prevail on this Parking Meter monstrosity, up pops the report that the meters - well at least the first one have landed! Since we don't have the Star Trek "beam me up, Scottie" apparatus, the meter must've been shipped even before the City Hall Gang of Four went to Mexico.

Playing fast and loose with the truth on the contract is obviously only the tip of an iceberg that's still waiting to be plumbed!

What the demonstration of the meter confirms is "boat gone a watah" on this issue. The review suggested

by Central Government will get nowhere under the excuse that there shouldn't be "interference" between the different layers of government. That 90% of the Councillors are APNU, and can be morally "suaded", isn't even going to be floated.

So the only issue left is whether the $500/hour parking fee will stand. Of course not! The "concession" to bring it down to say, $400/hour.

And we'll be instructed to be appropriately grateful for being screwed!

...in oil

So Guyana with a GDP of US$3B is gonna RENEGOTIATE its Profit Sharing Agreement with ExxonMobil with revenues of US$269B? They'll take on Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Haynes and Boone? Who've tied a dozen US Attorney Generals into knots?

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

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friday, july 1, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Unidentified man burns 14-year-old missing for the 5th time to death in Wales fire A

The Wales, WBD home destroyed by fire early Thursday morning

A

n early morning fire of unknown origin has claimed the life of an unidentified male at Lot 1 Area A Goedverwagting, Wales, West Bank Demerara.

According to reports, the fire started at about 01:30h on Thursday in the upper flat of the two-storied wooden and concrete building.

Reports also state that the charred remains which were found in a bathroom were unidentified because the body was burnt beyond recognition.

Guyana Times understands that the man who died might have broken into the house since the owner resides at Timehri, East Bank Demerara.

However, persons in the neighbourhood are of the belief that it might have been the caretaker who was burnt to death.

When this newspaper visited the scene Thursday morning, relatives of the owner were tightlipped re-

garding the details of the fire while officials of the Guyana Fire Service conducted their investigations into the fatal blaze.

An eyewitness who rushed to the scene after an alarm was raised explained how the events unfolded.

“Around bout 1:30, 2, one ah dem boys see and shout fire and everybody run. When I come I see the Estate Fire reel went here trying to calm down de fire,” he noted.

The witness further explained that as the gate was padlocked, police ranks scaled the fence to allow fire officers better access to the premises. It was explained that the hearse retrieved the body in daylight hours.

“De body bun so badly, yo cant know is who,” the man expressed.

The burnt West Bank Demerara property once housed the Prince of Wales Cinema but was sold to the now deceased Abdool Khan and his daughter Elisabeth

Sattaur, who has been a businesswoman for a number of years. This newspaper was told Sattaur would sometimes visit her house at Wales.

This latest fire comes just a few days after the charred remains Satesh Jagmoham, 19, of Area G Squatting Area, De Willem Village, West Coast Demerara was found among the debris following a fire there.

It was reported that the young man along with another teenager would normally stay at an uncle’s house but on the evening of the fire, the other young man had been collected and was taken home.

That fire reportedly started at about 23:00h and quickly engulfed the two-bedroom structure thus leaving him no room to escape. Jagmoham’s relatives have since suspected foul play, claiming that kerosene was found scattered around the yard. (Shemuel Fanfair & Bisham Mohamed)

fter running away on four previous occasions, Chandrawattie Dindial, 14, of West Minster, West Bank Demerara, has gone missing again, according to her father Ramlakhan Dindial on Thursday.

Reports are that on Friday last, the girl’s parents left her home alone as they went to work. However, when they returned, she was nowhere to be found. Father Dindial told Guyana Times when he queried with neighbours; he was informed that she was last seen on the veranda of the home at 12:00h.

He relayed that when she did not return home after 24 hours, a report was lodged at the Brickdam Police Station. He was then referred to the Criminal Investigation Department of the La Grange Police Station, where the girl’s alleged boyfriend known

Missing: Chandrawattie Dindial

as Leon Archer of Grove, East Bank Demerara, was brought into custody. This was done because she was with him on the previous missing occasions.

While initially denying having contact with the teen, Archer eventually informed the Police that he had spent some time with

her on Friday last, after which he gave her $200 and placed her in a route 42 bus.

He refuted claims that he is aware of her location after putting her in the route 42 bus.

“When we go by the boy she run away with Saturday, the boy say he never see she at all. Then we go by one of she friend, not too far from the boy, a street away and she said that me daughter and Leon went by she house.

When the police cyar he at La Grange deh now, then he admit seh well he put she inside the 42 bus,” the father stated.

Dindial is asking that if any member of the public has any information on the whereabouts of Chandrawattie Dindial, they report it to the nearest police station or contact him on numbers 592-691-5622 or 592-680-6747.

Leguan resident remanded for trafficking of narcotics

M

unalica Moore of Lot 13 Phoenix, Leguan Island, Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), on Thursday made her first court appearance before Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the Leguan Magistrate’s Court to answer possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking charge.

She pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that ranks from the Leguan Police Station conducted a search on her premises.

During that search a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis and a quantity of ‘creamish hard, rock light substance’ suspected to be cocaine were found on a table. The

cannabis was weighed and amounted to 22 grams while the cocaine amounted to 10 grams. She was subsequently arrested, where she denied the police allegations.

Magistrate Scarce remanded her to prison until July, 28, 2016. Moore was represented by attorney Kimberly Hairwood.

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guyana-times.com

FRIDAY, july 1, 2016

News

Roraima Airways honours ‘heroes’ of aircraft fire I

n light of the recent incident last week Tuesday where a Dynamic Aircraft had caught fire at the Ogle Airport, the Roraima Airways on Wednesday recognised and awarded the seven engineers and technicians who had gone beyond the call of duty to avert the fire.

During a ceremony, these persons were each awarded with a Roraima Airways Medal of Honour, a certificate of Valour for their display of bravery at the accident site and an overnight trip for themselves and four other members of their family to the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana Resort, Arrowpoint Nature Resort.

After perusing the airport footage, it was ascertained by the management of the airways that the fire was put out in under a minute as a result of the quick response by the seven staff.

Addressing the gather-

The awardees, executives and some of the guests who were present

ing of staff and other officials, Captain Gerry Gouveia, managing director of the Roraima Group of Companies, extended his gratitude to the staff

for ensuring that the incident did not escalate.

While pointing out what the devastating outcome might have been, Gouveia

noted that the prompt response from the engineers and technicians at the scene accounted for the issue not spiralling out of control. He vowed to continue working along with his team to ensure that there is no recurrence of the incident in future.

Even though an inquiry has been launched into the circumstances surround-

ing the incident, it was announced that this is still in progress, and it would be a matter of time before a final statement can be drawn.

“An investigation would not be in days or in weeks, it takes time to be completed.

The inquiry is still in progress,” Edward Boyle, chairman of the Private Sector Commission outlined during

his remarks.

He said that the team is actively involved in assessing the scene to ascertain what the cause was and what can be done to avert possible recurrences.

Meanwhile, Minister of Labour, Keith Scott, additionally lauded the persons for their courageousness in fighting the fire. He mentioned that without their response, the entire airport might have been put at risk of being destroyed.

As the country recently observed its Occupational Health and Safety month, the Roraima Airways was challenged to maintain good health and safety practices at all times so there would be no incidents or accidents at working sites. Scott also reminded that the ministry will be swooping down on employees to ensure that their working standards are within the perimeter as set out to maximise safety at the workplace.

Those awarded were Mark Matheson, Jason Farley, Michael Husbands, Darcy Chambers, Dwain Lewis, Avishkar Ramlochan and Rajendra Danraj.

Baby Heart visits GPHC for the 5th time

S

urgeons from the International Children’s Heart Foundation (ICHF), Baby Heart visited Guyana for the fifth time to perform heart surgeries on children at the Georgetown Public Hospital, in addition to providing training to medical officials.

The ICHF strives to deliver the skills, technology and knowledge to cure and care for children with congenital heart disease in developing nations. The ICHF says it does this regardless of country of origin, race, religion or gender. Their goal is to make the need for ICHF obsolete and work towards this goal through their medical mission trips, where they operate on children and educate local healthcare professionals.

Since their first visit to Guyana in 2014, the trained

surgeons of Baby Heart have conducted more than 57 operations on children living within the country.

According to one of the several Paediatric Cardiac Surgeons on Thursday, a total of 27 Guyanese between the ages of three months to 20 years old have benefited from their visit this time around, while training with the local medical team is ongoing.

He highlighted that though there are significant signs of inexperience within the medical facility, he noted that a lot of visible progress has been made due to previous training sessions.

“We are moving forward with all the training we’ve been doing with the medical team here. We have seen some progress, but there’s certainly a long way to go,” he said.

The surgeon explained that the types of surgery

conducted included atrioventricular canals among many others.

Elaborating of the types of training sessions provided for the medical staff, the surgeon voiced that it includes bedside training with nurses and physicians.

He also noted that they are presently organising lectures in an effort to maintain medical training online for GPHC nurses with Baby Heart nurses in the United States.

The Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon pointed out that it was proposed to the Public Health Minister that Baby Heart increases its trip to the Georgetown Public Hospital to four times a year. This, they said, was agreed to and through this agreement, Baby Heart has scheduled their next visit to the GPHC in September of this year.

friDAY, july 1, 2016

guyana-times.com

Govt seeks India's position on Specialty Hospital ... outcome will determine if it will be scrapped or continued – Norton

S

ome two weeks after the Specialty Hospital Project was put on hold once again, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government is yet to contact its Indian counterparts for further clarification on the way forward.

Earlier this month, Minister of State Joseph Harmon disclosed that the Government of India, which is funding the Project via a Line of Credit, had indicated that a decision was taken to cease doing business with India-based Fedders Lloyd Corporation Limited, after the company was blacklisted by the World Bank until 2020 over fraud and corruption practices.

The donor country had also expressed preference for a fresh tendering process to be conducted to select a new Indian-base contractor to execute the project.

However, at the time, the Guyana Government said that it wanted to make certain enquiries of the Indian Government before a definitive course of action is adopted on the Specialty Hospital Project.

This task was given to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Public Health.

However, according to Minister Harmon, steps to make these enquires on India’s position are yet to be taken.

“We will await the interaction between our Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton

in India so that we can get a clear and definitive position on the Indian Government’s position. Once we get that cleared, then we will take the next steps which we need to take,” Harmon told reporters at the post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday.

On the other hand, in an interview with Guyana Times later Thursday, Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton explained that the discussions with the Indian Government will determine whether they will go ahead with the project using a new contractor or have it scrapped entirely, given all the troubles the project has faced.

“There is a chance it might come off the table because that Hospital Project is not doing well with how it started and what’s supposed to be… The next step will now be for us to

have direct contact with the Indian Government and decide whether it will continue with the loan or not,” he told this newspaper.

Last November, the coalition government came under fire following the announcement that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fedders Lloyd to complete the controversial project that was left on hold after the Donald Ramotar Administration sacked and sued the first contractor, Surendra Engineering Inc, for failing to honour its obligations. Guyana is yet to recover close to $1 billion from that company.

The APNU/AFC had justified the handpicking of Fedders Lloyd to complete the project, saying that the company was one of the original bidders in the 2012 tendering process. It noted too that in the interest of time, it approached Fedders Lloyd without any tendering process and the company accepted to complete and fully equip what is expected to be a state-of-the-art facility.

However, this caused much uproar and controversy after it was revealed that the Indian company was never the second best bidder in the tendering process back in 2012, as claimed by the coalition Government.

In fact, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Opposition had stated that the company was disqualified because of certain in-

consistencies in its submission to the local Tender Board; a report which Government contented was a lie.

But while in Opposition, the APNU/AFC had strongly opposed the US$18 million Specialty Hospital Project and upon its assumption to office last year, decided to scrap the project. It said that the remaining $13.8 million would be better served, if it is used to improve the country’s primary healthcare service by upgrading three hospitals across the country.

However, the Indian Government had indicated that Guyana should go ahead with the construction of the Specialty Hospital and it will provide a separate loan for the primary healthcare project.

To this end, Harmon disclosed on Thursday that this second loan will be made available soon. “We are advised that (the funding for the primary healthcare upgrading project) is awaiting the completion of certain governmental processes in India,” he stated.

The three hospitals being considered for upgrade under the primary healthcare service are the Bartica Hospital, the West Demerara Regional Hospital and the Suddie Public Hospital.

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News

MOTP PS sent on leave pending SOCU investigation

Permanent Secretary within the MOTP, Omar Shariff

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he Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP), Omar Shariff, has been sent on leave by Minister of State Joseph Harmon, pending ongoing investigations by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).

Guyana Times understands that Shariff, who is a former senior member of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and a former head of that Party’s youth arm, the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO), was detained by members of the Unit for questioning in relation to a multimillion-dollar financial irregularity.

The Minister, therefore, informed Shariff in a letter that he should proceed on his Annual Leave from July 1, 2016 to enable him to fully co-

operate with the investigation.

Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Communities Ministry Abena Moore will take up the role of acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of The Presidency. Attorney Sanjeev Datadin, who is representing the public official, in a telephone interview with Guyana Times explained that his client was not involved in any corruption, as it is perceived, following the statement issued by the MOTP. In fact, the lawyer explained that the issue is more or less personal and has to do with his client not filing his income tax returns for a number of years. He further explained that his client and the relevant authorities have been in discussion about resolving the matter. The lawyer went on to say that Shariff would have been earning more than what he is being paid by his present employer due to revenues collected from his business. He however failed to submit his returns, hence, the involvement of SOCU – the organisation that deals primarily with money laundering and more so corruption.

“I just want to reiterate that my client was not involved in any form of corruption, involving money with the present Government… it is a personal matter and will be dealt with expeditiously,” Datadin posited.

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friDay, july 1, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Oil for development, not stagnation

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midst growing excitement that the ExxonMobil oil find will catapult us into the "developed country" category, a decade ago we cited a study showing that countries that depended heavily on resource extraction in 1970 grew at a measly average of one per cent between 1970–1989 and wrote as follows: A strong correlation has also been demonstrated Ravi Dev between the growth of the resource component of the GDP and conflicts within the countries. While the causation for this effect is complex and contextual, it challenges the widespread hope that with increased revenue, our present squabbles will disappear. This effect of increased conflict is especially noticeable in divided societies and should be of major concern to our policymakers.

Not surprisingly, most conflicts have at their base a nexus with economics and as the stakes rise with the flow of oil revenues into the national coffers, it is natural that competition for those revenues would increase. In divided societies it is not perverse for groups outside the administration to suspect that “in-groups” are being favoured.

If the increased revenues are not equitably distributed, the growth frontier of the country as a whole is inevitably constrained since the creative potential of significant segments of the population are not allowed to flower – and become lost to the society. All modern growth theories show that sustained high growth rates are only possible when the widest possible cross section of the society are involved.

Social capital and all that. Increased conflicts – whether hot or cold – inevitably hinder economic activity and growth and in so many instances precipitate a spiral of increasing poverty and death in the midst of “plenty”.

The most significant factor in ensuring that countries remain locked in low growth rates and mired in poverty -= while the dollars keep pouring in – is what the economists like to call “rapacious rent-seeking” – but we laypersons recognise by the catch-all expression, “corruption”. Corruption, from all studies, appears to be the major by-product of resource extraction from even the developed countries – much less the poor ones like Guyana.

To avert such conflicts, we have to devise a model of development that will involve the greatest number of our citizens as the oil revenues begin to flow in the next decade.

We propose that the Government initiate "a national consultation on development" – along the lines of the Constitutional Reform Process in 1999 – to create a more focused growth strategy, with the understanding that the oil revenues will be utilised to fund the projects proposed by the strategy.

A national consensus on development projects should go a long way towards ameliorating the conditions that precipitate conflict over “marginalisation” of any group. We suggest that “Ethnic Impact Statements”, which we have long advocated, accompany every project to address concerns over ethnic favouritism that have bedeviled us for so long.

To ensure that the oil revenues do not flow into the pockets of corrupt officials, it would be best to constitute an independent “Oil Fund for National Development” (OFND) that operates on transparent accounting rules to ensure that all oil revenues are accounted for. The rules of such transparency have now been fully endorsed by the international community so it would not present any problems to so called “privacy” needs of corporations.

Apart from denying pork-barrel schemes funded from the Consolidated Fund, the OFND will have to ensure that the oil industry does not flourish at the expense of other previously important production sectors, such as agriculture and fishing and ensure that the economy diversifies into manufacturing and higher technologies – and involve all sections of the society.

We have long advocated the need for us to have a development bank to kick start the needed investment we all know are necessary to lift us out of poverty. The OFND would provide our own revenue stream and the IFI’s do not have to grant or withhold permission. We do not believe that Government itself should necessarily get into the ownership of new productive facilities but should identify private entities which can be partnered and eventually assume total ownership. We commend the Entrepreneurial Catalytic State al la the Eastern Tigers.

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friday, july 1, 2016 | guyana-times.com

Parking meter project

AG office reviewing contract – as company pushes ahead

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aving announced last week that Cabinet has ordered the review of the contract between the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and Smart City Solutions Inc on the controversial Parking Meter Project, Minister of State Joseph Harmon disclosed on Thursday that this process has commenced.

Speaking at this week’s post-Cabinet briefing, Harmon said that the contract is currently at the Attorney General, Basil William’s, Office. Williams along with Finance Minister Winston Jordan were asked to review the document.

“The contract, I’m told, has now being given to the Attorney General so he will have to review it and in the fullness of time give his determination of what is in it,” Harmon said.

Moreover, Harmon went on to explain that based on the AG’s advice following his review, Cabinet will take appropriate actions.

Nevertheless, even as Government is conducting its review, City Hall has gone ahead with the project. In fact on Wednesday the owner of the company contracted to carry out the project, Kamau Cush, brought a demo parking meter, showing members of the public how to operate the equipment.

On the other hand, there continues to be mounting concerns over the lack of transparency in the deal, which persons say appears to be a shady one

Attorney General Basil Williams

aimed at exploiting the local populace.

However, Cush, who owns both National Parking Systems (NPS) and Smart City Solutions (SCS), maintained that the project is a legitimate one. He told reporters on Wednesday that he is not bothered by the review being conducted by Government since it is intended to detect any illegality and assured Guyanese that nothing of the sort will be found: “There is no fleecing going on…we have everything to lose, we will be responsible for all the overhead, for the software, for the hardware— everything. The City of Georgetown and Central Government will have no financial responsibility in the installation or the operation of the project.”

Furthermore, the United States-based Guyanese businessman disclosed that the contract was actually signed between the Town Council

and Smart City Solutions, and not NPS as previously stated. He added too that when the joint venture between the two companies was formed, NPS was absorbed into SCS, which is owned by Mexican Company – Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario, S.A. de C.V. “Smart City Solutions is a subsidiary of Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario, this is the parent company that is headquartered in Mexico City… NPS is no longer an entity that’s operating this parking system.

The City of Georgetown signed a contract with Smart City Solutions.

NPS is a shareholder in Smart City Solutions; Smart City Solutions is a subsidiary of Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario, which is based in Mexico,” Cush told reporters two days ago.

This information comes in light of mounting concerns over the authenticity of the two initial companies - NPS and SCS. Since the signing of the contract for the Parking Meters Project, several City Councillors have expressed scepticism about the project.

In fact, Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan had stated that he could not find proper information about NPS, which was believed to be the substantive company handling the project. Duncan had stated that the address given by Cush for NPS led to an address in New York City

Kamau Cush with a demo meter, flanked by two company reps

which housed the Atlanta City Bank. However, the director explained on Wednesday that no information could be found about the company in the United States because its operation is based in Mexico City.

In light of the brewing tension within the M&CC, President David Granger on Monday visited City Hall and during his address he reminded the

Councillors that they have a duty to represent and serve the people who elected them into Office, noting that if they do not perform satisfactorily they may not get the opportunity to return to the Council.

The Head of State clearly pointed out that he was not there to pass any instructions to City Hall on how they should manage their affairs.

“I ask this council today

to consider, please note my language because I don’t want to be misreported, I haven’t come here to give instructions,” he stated.

Moreover, the President told the City Councillors that his Administration will continue to support the Council in their drive to push the urban development agenda, however it will have to be transparent and accountable in its operation.

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friday, july 1, 2016

News

Citizens calling on GPL to “Impressive” proposals received check for unsafe utility poles for CRG plates – Harmon

The fallen poles at Diamond, EBD

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n light of two recent incidents of utility poles falling and causing substantial damage to private property and a vehicle, citizens are calling on the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc to examine utility poles that have been in place for a number of years to identify those that are rotting and have them replaced so as to prevent a repetition of those incidents.

On Monday, three utility poles collapsed, with one causing extensive damage to a Honda CRV that was parked outside the Bonny’s Supermarket on Church Street, Georgetown. Earlier last month, a similar incident occurred in Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD). On

Monday, June 13, heavy winds uprooted five utility poles along the Diamond Housing Scheme access road, causing them to collapse on the surrounding houses.

A resident of Pike Street, Kitty, explained that the poles in her community have been there for over a decade, and some have started to lean. She related that it was her view that GPL should deploy its personnel to check on these poles, and replace those that seemed to be hazards to residents.

“Some of the posts in Kitty been there for over ten years. If you go around and check, you gon see quite a few of them leaning slightly,” she explained, adding “they [GPL] should send out

people to check and see if these posts rotten or weak, so that they could replace them. It gon avoid having one of these things falling and damaging people property, or worse hurting somebody,” she stated.

Kevin Gowlall, a resident of Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD), also shared similar sentiments, positing that these poles should be erected using a safer method.

“They does just come and jook these posts down into the ground, forgetting that moisture does weaken these posts and rot them.

I think that they need to use another measure to secure these posts, possibly cement or maybe steel base,” he stated.

Hemwattie Lowchand, who also resides in Diamond, EBD, opined that the poles should be installed a safer distance from houses. She stated that the fact that some poles were erected extremely close to houses and other buildings showed that GPL personnel failed to take the safety of residents into consideration.

“We have some posts placed less than 10 feet away from houses. This is unsafe. Didn’t they take the hazards into consideration?

They need to cater for the event that a freak storm or accident occurs, and leave enough space between these buildings and poles,” she stated.

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lmost one year after Government announced that it would be registering all State-owned vehicles with Co-operative Republic of Guyana (CRG) number plates, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon has stated that Government was still in the process of appointing a contractor.

Harmon told media operatives at the post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has had about four or five consultations and was expected to have another in the coming weeks. He noted that when that was completed, a decision would be taken on who would be selected to carry out the project.

“We are at that stage now, where we are at the point of selecting a contractor for the job,” he stated, adding that his Administration is keeping an open mind since it did not want to shut anyone out.

On this note, the Minister of State disclosed that the proposals Government has been receiving were quite impressive.

“Companies are coming forward and some of them are making some impressive reports on the number plates and the linkage with our smart city programme and things of that nature… So apart from the plates, there is a security dimension which we want to ensure that it all ties in,” he stated.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon

While the Minister did not give much information about these contractors, it was previously reported that both local and overseas companies have expressed interest in producing the number plates.

In July last year, Cabinet had approved the use of the CRG registration plates for State-owned vehicles. It also gave its no-objection for the issuance of these registration plates to be a centralised system.

The plates will carry special security features to stymie the use of falsely registered plates and enable easier tracking and identification. It is intended that all vehicles to be purchased for use by the State and State agencies will be fitted with the CRG registration plates.

Harmon had previous-

ly explained that the CRG plates would come into effect after some minor adjustments to the Motor Vehicle Regulations were completed.

“You will not have the situation where private number plates are on vehicles, and, therefore, they can be abused by persons and it is not clear to the public that these are Government vehicles,” he noted.

According to the Minister of State, this decision was taken in light of the challenges the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government had faced upon its assumption to office last year in recovering some of the assets, including vehicles, misappropriated by officials linked to the previous Administration.

“So, as soon as you see a CRG number plate, you will know that it is a State vehicle. So it is going to be easing and aiding in the identification of Stateowned vehicles,” Harmon pointed out.

He added that the new system would also address those vehicles which belong to the State but persons were holding under private number plates.

“We will assign CRG numbers to those vehicles… Once you have a CRG registered vehicle, but you have a private number plate on it, then the Police can actually go and seize that vehicle from you, because it belongs to the State.”

friday, july 1, 2016

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around the world

Dozens of Afghan Police recruits dead in Taliban attack

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he Taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Police academy near the capital, Kabul, that killed dozens of recruits.

At least 27 people were killed and another 40 wounded in the suicide blasts, a Government official told the Reuters news agency.

Mousa Rahmati, the District Governor of Paghman, told the Associated Press that Thursday’s attack took place around 20 kilometres west of Kabul.

He said the trainee Police Officers were returning from a training centre in Wardak province and were heading to the capital on leave.

The Taliban said it was behind the attack in an email sent to The Associated Press by spokesman Zabihullah

Afghan troops secure the site of Thursday’s attack [Omar Sobhani/Reuters]

Mujahid.

Former Afghan parliamentarian Daoud Sultanzoy said the death toll in the “very well-coordinated and pre-planned” attack was expected to go up.

“This attacker and the group had enough information to conduct this atrocity in a well-planned manner,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that the recent increase in attacks was a sign of Taliban desperation.

“The Taliban, we should

UK PM race splits Brexit leaders

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ichael Gove has said he chose to run for the Conservative Party leadership after deciding “reluctantly but firmly” that Boris Johnson was not capable of uniting the party or the country.

“It had to fall to someone else... I felt it had to fall to me,” he said.

The Justice Secretary was set to back his fellow Leave campaigner.

Johnson pulled out after Mr Gove’s switch.

Home Secretary Theresa May, who backed staying in the EU, is favourite to win the contest and become Prime Minister.

The other contenders are Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb, who backed Remain, former defence secretary Liam Fox, who backed leaving the EU, and Energy Minister and Leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom.

Nominations for the Conservative Party lead-

ership closed at midday on Thursday.

The winner of the contest – sparked by David Cameron’s decision to resign after the UK voted to leave the EU – is set to be announced on September 9.

Gove’s decision to run for the leadership and Johnson’s subsequent decision to bow out of the contest sent shockwaves through the political world in a day of high drama.

In an interview with the BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Gove, explaining his reasons for standing, said following last week’s Brexit result he felt the country needed a leader “who believed heart and soul in leaving the European Union”.

“I also believed we needed someone who would be able to build a team, lead and unite. I hoped that person would be Boris Johnson,” he said. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

Zika-damaged babies could appear normal, says study

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abies with brains damaged by the Zika Virus might still appear normal, a large study of Brazilian babies shows.

Babies born with tiny heads – or microcephaly – is the main concern in the Zika outbreak.

But the findings, published in the Lancet, show a fifth of babies that would be classed as normal actually had brain abnormalities.

And the Brazilian researchers warned Zika infection in newborns could also lead to brain damage.

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Zika infection is largely mild, with most people having no symptoms.

But the World Health Organisation has declared the Zika Virus a global public health emergency because of the risk to newborn children.

In severe cases children can die and those that survive face intellectual disability and development delays.

The researchers’ analysis of every reported case – 1501 – in Brazil up to February shows the risk might be greater than thought. (Excerpt from BBC News)

expect that they will increase their attacks because they’re suffering in the war front, their commanders are being killed, their activities are being hampered in a very major way by our security forces.”

The attack is the latest major assault by the group and comes just nine days after 14 Nepali security guards were killed in a suicide bomb attack on their minibus, also in the city.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Iran sacks bank chiefs amid uproar over high salaries

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he chief executives of four public banks in Iran have been sacked amid widespread criticism of their salaries, the State-run Irna news agency reports.

An official was quoted as saying the Economy Minister had replaced the heads of Mehr Iran, Mellat, Refah and Saderat at President Hassan Rouhani’s request.

The scandal erupted two months ago when the payslips of top officials at State-owned companies surfaced online.

It emerged many were earning dozens of times more than the average Iranian.

They were also being given large bonuses, interest-free loans and, in some cases, tax breaks.

Iran’s struggling econo-

Iran’s supreme leader criticised the high salaries of executives at State-owned firms

my is yet to show any clear benefit from the nuclear deal agreed with world power last year that saw crippling sanctions lifted.

President Rouhani’s decision to sack the four bank executives came a week after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the Cabinet: “The is-

sue of astronomical salaries is in fact an attack on [our national] values, but everyone should know that they are among exceptions.”

“This issue must not be delayed. It should be seriously followed up and the people must be informed of the results.” (Excerpt from BBC News)

guyana-times.com

FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

Y

T

he big guns in the theatrical business will take to the stage on Saturday e ve ning at the Theatre Guild Michael P l a y Ignatius House, Kingston for another benefit concert in aid of popular actor and comedian Henry Rodney.

Already an event was hosted at the National Cultural Centre to raise Jumbie Jones

Kwasi Ace

funds to offset the medical expenses of the actor who is seriously ill.

At that event, $1 million was raised.

Come Saturday evening, several artistes as

well as comedians will perform with one common goal, that is raise funds for a colleague and a friend.

Those slated to perform are Juke Ross, Kwasi “Ace�

Edmondson, Lyndon Jumbie J o n e s , Michael Ignatius, Jumo The Reactors, S i e s t a , Roschelle

Christie, Sweet Sax, Kerese Harinandan, Michael Smith, Chow Pow, T a m a r a H e n r y , J u m o , Alabama, Kreative Arts and Chow Pow

many o t h -

ers.

T i c k e t s for the event cost $1500 and are available at NCC, National School of Theatre Arts and Drama and from any cast members, or contact 6813008. The concert is promoted by the National Drama Company and Theatre Guild.

oung people from the Reliance Vidya Daan Mandir came in secMandir, Essequibo Coast me- ond with "Unse Milay Nazar" lodiously sang their way to the title of the inaugural Meethee Aavaaz competition that was held on June 25 in the auditorium of the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School.

Reliance Mandir participating in the Kirtan segment The competition was organised by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha and Reliance first with "Na Tanu Essequibo Praant and attracted Samjha". hundreds who were mesmerised In the duet segment, Richmond by the melodious voices of the con- Mandir grabbed the third spot testants. The youngest contestant was a five-year-old from the Richmond Mandir.

Reliance Mandir participated in all three categories: Kirtan, Individual and Duet and emerged the overall winners.

In the Kirtan singing, Perseverance Vidya Daan Mandir copped the third position with the song "Tu Kitini Achi Hai", while Perseverance Vidhya Daan Mandir Richmond Mandir came in secaccepting their trophy from past President ond with "Hai Raam" and Reliance of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha Mandir in first spot with "Hai Essequibo Praant, Doodnauth Singh Raam".

For the Individual segment, with "Aadmi Musea Phir", while Affiance came in third with Perseverance came in second "Chanchal Man" while Perseverance with "Tuhai PIta Satcha Hai" and Reliance Mandir First with "Sarse Jo Sarse".

The singers were backed by the Merritone band and were judged according to voice control, emotion, pronunciation, posture/ presentation, timing, pitch and synchrony\harmony.

The winners in the competition will be representing Region Two in Kala Uvtas in Georgetown.

The competition was first of its Reliance Mandir accepting the first place kind on the Essequibo Coast. prize for the Duet category

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friDAY, july 1, 2016

U-17 trials to CPL secures broadcasting first CFU recommence on Saturday for cricket with Facebook Live F

– all 34 CPL matches Live in 40 countries, including Pakistan & South Africa

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he Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) are delighted to announce that all 34 matches in this year’s CPL will be broadcast live on Facebook around the world, via Facebook’s official live streaming partner Grabyo.

CPL will become the first sports league to supplement its existing broadcast deals and use the Facebook Live platform to ensure that 40 countries around the world, including the likes of Pakistan, South Africa and The Philippines can now view the biggest party in sport live. It will also be the first time ever an international cricket match has been broadcast using Facebook Live.

A host of international stars will be competing from across the cricketing world at this year’s CPL including the likes of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Shakib Al Hasan, Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Shoaib Malik, Kumar Sangakkara, Dale Steyn, Mike Hussey and Shane Watson.

In addition, the six CPL sides – Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, St. Lucia Zouks and Trinbago Knight Riders will include a host of ICC World T20

champions including the likes of Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell who took the world by storm in India earlier this year.

Cricket fans from Argentina to Hungary will now be able to the world’s biggest T20 stars in action starting with Trinbago Knight Riders clash with St. Lucia Zouks from the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Wednesday, 29 June (9pm Caribbean / 2am GMT / 6.30am India) and running through to the final in St. Kitts & Nevis on 7 August.

Commenting on using Facebook Live, CPL Chief Operations Officer Pete Russell said: “We are delighted to announce how we’re using Facebook Live, which we believe has the potential to change the face of cricket broadcasting and enhance the CPL’s ever-increasing international audience.

“In 2015 the CPL’s global viewership exceeded 93 million and we now have the platform to boost our viewership even further for the forthcoming tournament. Caroline Smith, CPL’s Head of Digital, and her team have done a fantastic job with our social media activity and this deal proves that they have put us ahead of the curve

Pete Russell

in understanding how best to reach our global fans with live games.

“On Wednesday night the CPL will make television history and in doing so extend our reach to both traditional and nontraditional cricket followers across the world. We are hugely excited about this development and look forward to engaging more followers internationally. I want to thank Grabyo and CPL’s production partner, IMG for their combined efforts, hard work and creativity in making this broadcasting first a reality.”

Asha Thacker, Sports

Partnerships – Facebook India - “Facebook Live allows fans to connect to cricket and their favourite stars and we are delighted to be working with the Hero Caribbean Premier League and Grabyo for this cricketing first and to help bring fans around the world closer to the game. As the world’s largest sports stadium, more cricket fans engage with content on Facebook than anywhere else and it is unique experiences such as this that allow fans to engage in a more meaningful way.”

Gareth Capon, CEO of Grabyo said, “On the pitch, T20 cricket is helping to globalize and expand the sport of cricket, bringing a new generation of fans into the game. The use of social video, particularly live streaming, presents an opportunity to reach an unparalleled audience far beyond the traditional broadcast ecosystem.

“Facebook offers an user base of 1.6 billion and to be able to bring live action from the best cricketing talent direct to mobile devices around the world, right as the action happens, is incredibly exciting. We look forward to working with the CPL throughout the tournament and helping them use social video to engage new audiences across the globe.”

Countries to which CPL will be broadcast live on Facebook: Argentina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, PNG (Papua New Guinea), Romania, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Vanuatu About Grabyo: Grabyo is the leading social video production and publishing platforms, allowing rights holders to share content instantly, and live, to multiple social media platforms. As the leader in real-time social video, Grabyo accelerates video engagement and viral distribution through a unique set of tools hosted on via a cloud-based platform. In addition to helping rights owners grow their digital audience, Grabyo offers significant commercial opportunities for monetising video on social media.

orty Under-17 players were shortlisted by the Guyana Football Federation’s technical squad following trails last Saturday as they commence preparation for this year’s Caribbean Football Union’s Men’s Under-17 Tournament in mid July 2016.

According to Lyndon France, GFF’s Technical Development Officer, last Saturday saw 72 players participating in the trials but due to the inclement weather, it was abandoned.

A final session is scheduled for the Guyana Defence Force Ground, Camp Ayanganna on Saturday July 2 at 13:00hrs with the alternate venue being the National Track and Field Facility, Leonora.

Following the session, the squad which also includes the six players from the Bartica Football Association (BFA), whom were unavoidably absent in the last session will further be trimmed to select the national squad

which will consist of twenty six (26) players and encampment of the players will begin on the very day.

The team is scheduled to depart Guyana for US Virgin Islands (USVI) on the July 13, 2016. Guyana has been placed in Group Four with USVI, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda and will play their first game against Jamaica on July 15, 2016 at the Lionel Roberts Stadium, USVI at 14:30hrs. The second and third matches in the Round will be played on July 17 against USVI commencing at 17:00hrs and the July 19 against Antigua and Barbuda commencing at 14:30hrs.

The tournament is scheduled to conclude on September 25, 2016 in Trinidad and Tobago. Other members of the technical squad include Carlos Bernard (Manager), Vurlon Mills (Assistant Coach), Andrew Hazel (Goal Keeper Coach) and Pablino Cupideo (Physiotherapist).

CSV to provide assistance to volleyball in Guyana

Left to right: Robert Millington, General Secretary, GVF, Imran Baksh, President, EVA; Andrew Carter, Vice President, EVA; Trevor Williams, President, DVA and Coach Marcos Miranda

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he President of the South American Confederation of volleyball (CSV), Rafael Lloreda, has embarked on a developmental assistance program for member countries.

The Coach responsible for executing this program, Marcos Miranda paid a short planned visit to Guyana from Tuesday June 28 to Thursday June 30. His visit was done to hold consultations with representatives of the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) and its volleyball associations and provide develop-

mental assistance.

Miranda held discussions with the GVF, the Essequibo Volleyball Association (EVA) and the Demerara Volleyball Association (DVA) and plans were put forward as to the best ways to utilize his expertise.

Coach Miranda has coached beach and indoor volleyball at the Olympic level and is a highly sought after expert.

He is scheduled to return to Guyana in mid September of this year to conduct training for coaches in Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo.

August swimming programme to dive off on July 11

T

he Ministry of Education – Department of Culture, Youth and Sport Commission will conduct its annual August Vacation Swimming Programme during July 11 to August 10 at the Colgrain Swimming Pool and National Aquatic Centre.

Interested persons are request to make contact with Desiree Cummings at the Colgrain Pool, Camp Street, Georgetown or Onieka Johnson at the National

Aquatic Centre for registration between 08:30 – 16:00h.

Organisers have explained that an entrance fee of $1,000 per child will be charge for the duration and that it is important for parents to walk with their children’s birth certificates during registration Persons wishing to register can contact Desiree Cummings (Colgrain Pool 226-0387) and Onieka Johnson (National Aquatic Centre 222-1306).

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lpha’s United Youth Coach, Gibert Sampson firmly believes that the ongoing partnership between the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) to run of the country’s most prolonged national youth league, GFF/NAMILCO National Under-17 Thunderbolt Flour Power, will auger well for the overall development of the sport in Guyana.

Sampson’s key contention is that having football being played on a consistent basis is vital in allowing the young footballers to mature into well-rounded players.

“Youth tournaments in any football environment are always a welcoming thing; they could be no holistic development of football in a country without youth tournaments, youths need to play a lot” the coach explained.

He further stated, “there is no greater teacher of the game than the game itself, so with all the different pillars of development, technical, social, tactical, they need to play, because in order for them to exercise what they learn and implement it, they got to be out on the field and

Gilbert Sampson

an under-17 tournament in our football development is welcomed since it would enhance the level of Guyana’s football going forward”.

The experienced youth coach is of the view that the tournament has perfect timing since in mid July; there is the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-17 Tournament which Guyana competes.

With 30 years of coaching under his belt, Samson explained that it all started back in school.

“I attended St. John’s College and the youngsters in the school team that were playing in clubs were the

coaches and help the others and that is where it began for me”, he said.

Sampson has a passion to gear those who come under his stewardship to aspire to be disciplined players in the near future. “ I’m working assiduously to develop the players from, a social perspective; who you are in life is what you would bring to football, if you are astute in life and got that capacity and potential, you will bring the same astuteness to football , so I’m working through the football to develop the capacity as a coach” the former player revealed.

The Milling Company has been in existence since 1969 and produces several heath oriented products such as Maid Marian Harvest High Fibre Whole Wheat Flour, Maid Marian Wheat-Up Breakfast Porridge, and Maid Marian Multigrain Flour among many other products.

The Thunderbolt Tournament spans throughout the football associations of Guyana and has the majority of its match days slated for weekends at the various community grounds.

LUCOZADE’s Hockey Tournament

Wins for Old Fort ‘A’ and Bounty’s GCC

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L

Lucozade hockey action at the National Gymnasium

UCOZADE’s Hockey Tournament continued Tuesday with thrilling inter-club bouts at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue. Old Fort ‘A’ defeated Old Fort ‘B’ in what some spectators called a clash of sheer skill.

Two minutes into play Jael Gaskin of the B-team scored a stunning field Goal (FG) which seemed to rile up the A-team. Jason De Santos of Old Fort ‘A’ scored a Penalty Corner (PC) in the 7th minute of play and his teammate Dwight Sullivan scored two more FG’s in the 18th and 20th minute respectively to end the half with a 3-1 lead.

The second half would prove to be more exciting as both teams made many attempts to add to their account. Old Fort ‘B’ team’s Dehron Wilkinson scored a FG in the 22nd minute but that was quickly answered

by Askofu Simon of Old Fort ‘A’ with a FG of his own one minute later. John Abrams of the ‘B’ team made a successful PC in the 27th minute and it was then that Old Fort ‘A’ unleashed their relentless skill. Dwight Sullivan (2 FG’s), Aderemi Simon (1 FG) and Jason Clarke (1 FG) all sealed their team’s victory bringing the final score to 8-3.

The second inter-club match featured Bounty’s GCC against the GCC Pitbulls. A fast-paced first half saw a goal apiece as Kevin Spencer of Bounty’s GCC scored a 14th minute PC and Mark Sergeant of the Pitbulls scored a 16th minute FG. The last half was much more productive as Spencer again opened the scoring 26th minute for Bounty’s GCC courtesy of a PC. Meshach Sergeant would join his brother Mark on the

score sheet to level the match 2–2 with the swiftest of response with a FG of his own a minute later. Kareem Mc Kenzie and Michael Craig of the Bounty squad added two more FG’s before Keon Mc Kenzie of the Pitbulls edged in a FG for his team bring the score to 4-3 in favour of Bounty’s GCC. At this point a win seemed likely for either side but Steven Xavier of Bounty’s GCC stole that hope for the Pitbulls with a FG and a PC just three minutes before the buzzer sounded. Meshach Sergeant tried valiantly to even the odds but only managed to squeeze in one FG in the 39th minute for a final score of 4 goals to 6 in favour of Bounty’s GCC. Lucozade hockey action continues today at the National Gymnasium at 17:00hrs.

22

GUYANA-TIMES.COM

friDAY, july 1, 2016

Hero Caribbean League 2016...

Heroics of Mohammed, Smith lead Amazon Warriors to dramatic, thrilling win

Dwayne Smith pulls during his attacking innings of 62

By Akeem Greene

A

steely 29-ball 42 by Jason Mohammed and a blazing halfcentury by Dwayne Smith led the Guyana Amazon Warriors to a thrilling fourwicket win over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Thursday at Warner Park, in match two of the 2016 Hero Caribbean

Premier League (CPL).

Set 165 to win from their allotted overs, the Warriors fell into some deep trouble but Mohammed shepherded the innings after recovereing from a slow start, hitting six fours to take his team to victory in the cliff-hanger with one ball to spare.

Needing 20 from 12 balls, Mohammed and Sohail

Tanvir took 13 runs off the 19th over which left them seven to get from six; Tanvir fell and it was now six from 3 balls, but Mohammed slapped Krishmar Santokie over backward point for four which inevitably sealed the match for the two-time runners-up. .

The Warriors’ innings got off to a blazing start with

openers Dwayne Smith and Martin Guptill seizing on any opportunity to score. Smith muscled the ball to the ropes, while Skipper Guptill looked the more elegant, playing some attractive drives and flicks to put the team in hot pursuit of the target.

The Warriors raced to 62 without loss inside the first six overs, but the captain fell just as he was beginning to look threatening. Smith’s rampage continued, reaching the half-century mark by clobbering Samuel Badree for six over mid-wicket.

The carnage came to an end when the right-hander lofted a shot to cover, falling for a splendid 62 (3x4s; 5x6s) from 36 balls, but the team suffered a collapse as Chris Lynn (06), via the run out route, and Christopher Barnwell (05) went in quick succession to put the Warriors in serious trouble at 100 for 4, requiring 65 from 44 balls.

Wicketkeeper Antony Bramble added some impetus to the innings with a flashy 14 to turn the tide in the Warriors' favour and laid the platform for Mohammed’s valiant fight ack.

Earlier, the Warriors won the toss and elected to bowl first which brought immediate success, as Tanvir got the vital wicket of Lendl Simmons without scoring.

SCOREBOARD

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots innings (20 overs maximum) L Simmons c Smith b Tanvir 0 E Lewis b Emrit 8 F du Plessis * c Guptill b Zampa 30 J Carter run out (Barnwell) 1 B Hodge c Mohammed b Zampa 38 D Thomas † b Tanvir 38 N Perera c Lynn b Tanvir 20 C Brathwaite c Mohammed b Tanvir 5 K Santokie lbw b Zampa S Badree not out 7 T Shamsi not out 5 Extras: ( lb 4, wd 8) 12 Total: (9 wickets, 20 overs) 164 Fall of wickets : 1-0 (Lendl Simmons, 0.5 ov), 2-34 (Evin Lewis, 5.1 ov), 3-35 (Jonathan Carter, 5.2 ov), 4-54 (Faf Du Plessis, 9.3 ov), 5-114 (Brad Hodge, 14.5 ov), 6-130 (Devon Thomas, 16.2 ov), 7-136 (Carlos Brathwaite, 17.0 ov), 8-143 (Krishmar Santokie, 17.3 ov), 9-153 (Thisara Perera, 18.3 ov) Bowling: Tanvir 4-1-20-4 (wd 3), Smith 2-0-180(wd 1), Permaul 3-0-230 (wd 1), Emrit 4-0-37-1

Rayad Emirt in action during his spell

A short rain-delay occurred, but upon resumption, the medium pace of Smith leaked runs and the momentum began to flow with the Patriots.

Seamer Rayad Emrit came into the attack and disturbed the stumps of the dangerous Evin Lewis, and it became two wickets in two balls when Barnwell produced a superb piece of fielding in the deep to run out Jonathan Carter.

Captain Faf du Plessis was beginning to look extremely threatening with some thumping pull shots and crisp drives, before he smashed the ball straight to Guptill at extra-cover and the Patriots slipped to 54-4 inside 10 overs.

The Australian Brad Hodge and Devon Thomas stemmed the flow of wickets with a counter-attacking partnership of 60 from 32 balls to put the pres-

(wd 3), Zampa 4-0-34-3, Bishoo 3-0-28-0 Guyana Amazon Warriors innings (target: 165 runs from 20 overs) D Smith c du Plessis b Santokie 62 M Guptill* c Hodge b Brathwaite 22 C Lynn run out (du Plessis) 6 J Mohammed not out 42 C Barnwell c †Thomas b Brathwaite 5 A Bramble† c †Thomas b Shamsi

14 S Tanvir run out (Santokie) 8 V Permaul not out 0 Extras: (lb 1, w 5) 6 Total: (6 wickets; 19.5 overs) 165 Did not bat: R Emrit, A Zampa, D Bishoo Fall of wickets 1-62 (Guptill, 5.6 ov), 2-91 (Smith, 10.1 ov), 3-91 (Lynn, 10.3 ov), 4-100 (Barnwell, 13.4 ov), 5-134 (Bramble, 16.4 ov), 6-159 (Sohail Tanvir, 19.3 ov) Bowling: Santokie 3.5 -0 -25-1(1w), Badree 4-037-0, Perera 4-0-51 -0 (3w), Brathwaite 4-0-352 8.75 (1w), Shamsi 4-0 -16 -1 sure back on the Warriors.

Thomas was extremely aggressive, hitting some sweetly timed sixes straight down the ground.

The skiddy leg-spin of Adam Zampa brought the end of the partnership when he dismissed the experienced Hodge for 32 (4x4s; 1x6), but Thomas continued his merry way with his pugnacious batting display, eking out runs off some loose bowling by the Warriors.

Tanvir seemed to be the man with the golden arm, as he uprooted the stumps of Thomas after he attempted some innovation at the crease, falling for 38 (1x4; 6x4s) off just 17 balls.

The runs kept flowing for the home team, but the wickets kept tumbling at the same time, as World T20 Champion Carlos Braithwaite came and hammered his first ball to the boundary, but that proved to be the only theatrics from him for the night since he soon departed for five. Allrounder Thisara Perera made a rally with a quick fire 20 which allowed the Patriots to post a respectable total.

The Amazon Warriors' next match is against the defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders on July 2 at the Queen’s Park Oval from 21:00h. (akeemg@guyanatimesgy.com)

guyana-times.com

fridAY, july 1, 2016

23

Hero Caribbean Premier League 2016

TKR, Tridents ready for heavyweight clash

T

onight a carnival atmosphere is expected at the Queens Park Oval as Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) clash between Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) and Barbados Tridents promises to be a very competitive encounter.

The two giants are set to meet time since 2015 finals which was won by Trinbago Knight Riders it is billed to be one of the biggest match since the season opened on Wednesday.

With the inclusion of AB de Villiers and the likes of Shoaib Malik and Kieron Pollard, the Tridents are expected to open their campaign on a positive note.

Meanwhile TKR who lost the opening game against the St. Lucia Zouks, will be looking to register their first win.

The host’s batting is strong with the likes of Hashim Amla, Brendon McCullum, Darren Bravo

AB de Villiers

and Colin Munro expected to play important roles while the Tridents will look to the exploits of their allrounders Shoaib Malik, Keron Pollard, Jason Holder and others along with batting from AB de Villiers.

The previous meetings put the teams evenly matched, with each team winning three games from six matches. So the big ques-

tion is who will go ahead tonight?

According to a CPL blog, yesterday the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) Chief Mentor Jacques Kallis and Barbados Tridents Captain Kieron Pollard faced the media to look ahead to what is set to be an enthralling affair between the 2014 and 2015 champions.

Pollard, who led the Tridents to the 2014 title in St. Kitts & Nevis, spoke about the developments in his squad in the close season, the recruitment of AB de Villiers and the influence of Shoaib Malik as they gear up for their opening clash of the 2016 campaign. The 29-year-old West Indies international also expressed his excitement about coming back to play once more in his homeland.

Ex South African allrounder Kallis talked about the lessons learned from Thursday night’s six-wicket defeat to St. Lucia Zouks and discussed the influence of his countrymen on Friday night’s proceedings, most notably the prolific de Villiers who is primed to make his CPL debut.

The match is scheduled to get underway at 21:00 hrs.

TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS: Dwayne

Brendon McCullum

Bravo (captain), Brendon McCullum, Darren Bravo, Sunil Narine, Hashim Amla, Umar Akmal, Kevon Cooper, Sulieman Benn, Colin Munro, Anton Devcich, Ronsford Beaton, Nikita Miller, Javon Searles, William Perkins, Yannick Cariah, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Hamza Tariq, Anderson Phillip B A R B A D O S

TRIDENTS: Kieron Pollard (captain), AB de Villiers, Shoaib Malik, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder, Ravi Rampaul, David Wiese, Robin Peterson, Raymon Reifer, Ashley Nurse, Wayne Parnell, Akeal Hosein, Imran Khan, Kyle Hope, Navin Stewart, Kyle Corbin, Steven Taylor, Shamar Springer.

Increased venues, franchises in pipeline as league seeks expansion

C

aribbean Premier League organisers say they will explore pushing the increasingly popular Twenty20 tournament into Asia, as well as expanding the number of franchises involved and hosting them in North American cities.

Damien O’Donohoe

The CPL has been focused on the Caribbean region for the first three season but organisers have scheduled games for Florida, United States for the first time this year.

Chief executive, Damien O’Donohoe, said though no time frame had been identified, there was a possibility of further expanding the venues for CPL matches.

“The great thing about this franchise model is that you can take it places. We’re taking it to America this year. We’ve had guys from Hong Kong, from Singapore, reach out to us about taking some games there, and also even Dubai,” he told leading cricket website, ESPN Cricinfo.

“That would obviously open us up to the Asian market. We’ll get through

this year, regroup, and have a look at the tournament, have a look at some of those opportunities, hopefully outside of the region as well, so we can help grow and develop the CPL like we planned.”

The tournament, which bowled off yesterday and runs until August 7, will see 34 games played across seven venues. During the first three seasons, matches were hosted in the Caribbean but organisers this year have slated six for the Central Broward Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

In keeping with this expansion, O’Donohoe said an increase in franchises could definitely be a possibility by next year, with the cities of Toronto and New York emerging as good prospects.

“I think ideally, when you look at it – New York and Toronto – you’ve got to look where the big diaspora markets are,” he explained.

“That’s why we look at the sales. Over 50 per cent of our sales for Fort Lauderdale this year are from New Yorkers who are flying down. So I think New York and Toronto – if we had a choice, and there were stadia – would be our number one and two choices.”

He added: “Everything goes through the ICC so we’ll be sitting down with them in September and discussing what the future is with the CPL in the US. “I think six teams in the Caribbean is optimal. If we had the chance to take a couple of teams into the US or Canada, that would be brilliant. But I think eight, really maximum ten, would be where we get in time.” (CMC)

fridAY, july 1, 2016

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

Hero Caribbean League 2016...

Heroics of Mohammed, Smith lead Amazon Warriors to dramatic, thrilling win

Dwayne Smith got the Amazon Warriors off to a brisk start which his usual flamboyant batting

Pg 22

Out! Johnathan Carter is run-out via a direct hit from Christopher Barnwell in the outfield

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