Guyanatimes & sunday magazine 9 july 2017

LOOK INSIDE !

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

Issue No. 3266

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Sunday, July 9, 2017

PRICE

ExxonMobil commits to full disclosure of all payments to Govt …“that’s what people want to know, where the money going”— Country Manager

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Fire guts P7 Diamond house, arson suspected

Page 3

Essequibians Former Minister fume as constant warns of further power outages tax losses for plague region Govt

Page 16

Page 2

$120 vat included

Foiled bank robbery

.... predicts deep austerity cuts in 2018 as G$ depreciates further

178th anniversary

307 junior Police ranks promoted

Cops' P9 involvement “disappointing”, “undesirable” – Minister

Edghill’s P11 parliamentary fate on trial this week

Page 12

6 nabbed with 7.5kg ganja in Berbice

P7

…another nabbed at ECD with 7KG

As the Guyana Police Force celebrates its 178th anniversary, ranks from the various departments took to the streets of Georgetown on Saturday morning in a celebratory parade. In photo, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud takes the salute from members of the Tactical Services Unit

Ophthalmic Conference

Vision-care practitioners discuss industry standards …as ophthalmology enterprises display new technology, equipment Page 12

Local P10 journalists urged to “report locally, think globally”

Ammo found in abandoned camp P16

2 news Former Minister warns of further tax losses for Govt SUnDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

.... predicts deep austerity cuts in 2018 as G$ depreciates further

F

inance Minister Winston Jordan recently confirmed Government was in fact collecting less revenue and the economy was essentially being held together using the collection of debts.

This situation is predicted to get even worse and Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Irfaan Ali, in a recent interview with this publication following the Minister’s damning revelation, said “Guyana should expect a further decline in revenue, especially from VAT and Income Tax.” According to the economist, and former Government Minister with responsibility for the commerce sector, “as businesses continue to down size, and consumers spending decrease, not only will per capita employment recede but concurrently, overall labour force participation rate will drop substantially as firms continue to experience downward nominal wage rigidity.”

Ali told Guyana Times

that the relatively slow growth in inflation of 0.6 per cent registered during the first quarter of 2017 will likely increase to double digits, as price rigidity becomes common.

“Out of fear of overheating the economy, the Government will be forced to implement austerity measures in 2018,” Ali said.

The David Granger Administration has already begun signalling minimal austerity cuts meant to stem wastage from the Government’s coffers but according to Ali, by next year the cuts will deepen further.

“Key social sectors will experience a shortfall in budget allocation, which will further fray the social and economic fabric,” he told this publication.

According to the former Minister with responsibility for industry and commerce, “Another area of great challenge will be to maintain foreign exchange stable.”

He told Guyana Times that given the current external debt of US$1.160 million as of 2016, “a depreciation

Former Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali

of exchange rate relatively to the US dollar by a paltry G$10, will cost taxpayers, in present value, an additional G$11.6 billion in foreign debt.”

He posits “the possibility of this outcome is highly probable given the imminent shortage of foreign exchange.”

According to the former Minister, “when the sugar industry is obliterated, on average Guyana will lose over US$114 million in foreign ex-

change annually.”

According to Ali, in the long run, to stabilise the exchange rate, Government will turn to import substitution, hence, “further stoking inflation for goods and services. In the economic pantomime, the villains would be hyperinflation, depreciation of exchange rates, high debtto-GDP ratio, and burgeoning non-performance loans.”

Ali’s arguments have since been supported by former Alliance For Change Executive, Business Consultant Sasenarine Singh.

He recently surmised that one of the most important indicators of the state of an economy is the overall fiscal balance since this indicator assesses a Government’s

financing requirements and fiscal vulnerability.

The recently concluded IMF report had found that the 12 is expected to remain low at around 2.6 per cent by year-end but the fiscal deficit or the national debt is projected to widen up to 7.2 per cent of GDP in 2017, due in part to delay capital spending from 2016.

It had found that the macroeconomic outlook is positive for 2017 and the medium-term, according to the IMDF which projects growth for the next year as upping a few marginal points up to 3.5 per cent in 2017, supported by an increase in public investment.

According to the findings of the review team, the total expenditure by the David Granger-led coalition, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC), increased by 2.8 percentage points of nation’s GDP, however that increase was lower than budgeted due to delays in capital expenditure by the Administration.

Such a distressing situation it was that the world decided to turn to turmoil.

Real economic activity locally expanded by 3.3 per cent in 2016. This was as a result of subdued agricultural commodity prices, adverse weather and delays in public investment.

“Despite slower-than-expected economic growth, fiscal revenue increased owing to improvements in tax administration and higher mining royalties.”

Growth is projected at 3.5 per cent in 2017, supported by an increase in public investment, continued expansion in the extractive sector, and a recovery in rice production. Again the IMF has pegged its responses on the public investment programme. Such a problem it is that the Government recently intervened.

Minister of State Joseph Harmon recently reminded that “assessments, adjustments and achievements in relation to the Public Sector’s work programme was the main focus at this month’s ministerial conference as the Government commences preparations for the new budget cycle.”

He was at the time speaking at a conference convened at State House, for the heads of Government agencies including Permanent Secretaries, Heads of various agencies and high-level technical and financial officers in a bid to assess and review, Ministry by Ministry, the status of Public Sector Investments Projects (PSIPs).

According to the IMF, Government is woefully behind in its spending.

NEWS

ExxonMobil commits to making all payments to Govt public information

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Sunday, July 9 – 05:00h-06:30h and Monday, July 10 – 05:00h-06:30h.

…“that’s what people want to know, where the money going” – Country Manager

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday, July 9 – 16:40h-18:10h and Monday, July 10 – 17:00h-18:30h.

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

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Thundery to heavy rain showers with sunny intervals can be expected throughout most of the day, while clear skies can be expected in the evening, with temperatures ranging between 24 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Ranging between East South-easterly to Easterly between 2.23 metres and 2.68 metres.

The head table during the Guyana EITI outreach workshop held in Corriverton, Berbice on Saturday

High Tide: 04:25h and 16:51h reaching maximum heights of 2.58 metres and 2.48 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 10:25h and 22:37h reaching minimum heights of 0.62 metre and 0.73 metre.

SATURDAY, July 8, 2017

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DAILY MILLIONS 02 08 13 14 15 LUCKY 3 1 7 5 Afternoon Draw

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

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ountry Manager of ExxonMobil, Rod Henson, has committed the company – gearing for commercial oil production in 2020 – to the principles of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) with its headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

Henson was at the time addressing participants at first ever Guyana EITI outreach workshop held in Corriverton, Berbice, on Saturday at the City Inn Hotel.

According to the ExxonMobil Country Representative, Guyana’s participation as an EITI member will promulgate greater transparency and accountability in the oil sector, since the full payments made to Government by ExxonMobil will have to be made public.

Government under the EITI mechanism will also be responsible for making its revenue received from ExxonMobil public in order to be verified by international third party auditors.

According to the ExxonMobil Country representative, Guyana being an EITI member will hold oil companies operating in Guyana accountable and in fact encourages a level playing field among the competitors.

Henson was at the time addressing members the Berbice Community including its Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Members of the Upper Corentyne Chambers of

Commerce, Orealla/Siparuta Toshao and other members of the business community.

According to the ExxonMobil Country Manager, the core of the EITI mechanism is the reporting of revenues paid and received coupled with reconciliation by international third party assessors.

He conceded “that’s what most people want to know, where the money going.”

According to Henson, the EITI initiative is good since it encourages transparency and facilitates a better dialogue with civil society, since the public would be in possession of information in relation to payments by the oil companies and monies received

by Government – information that can be trusted.

Speaking to the benefits of such an initiative, the Country Manager told participants all countries rich and poor requires investments and being a member an EITI country bodes well since it sends a signal to investors that the country is committed to the principles of transparency and accountability.

He said too the EITI initiative in fact “lowers our industry risk in this area.”

Henson used the occasion to remind that the extractive industry is in fact very capital intensive, with large sums of money being invested hence companies engaged in such activities would require longterm stability.

“EITI improves Government accountability and revenues to State…

it can be an anti-corruption tool… in general it raises the standard of business.”

The ExxonMobil Country Representative was quick to point out that the EITI forum is not where the dialogue between civil society begins since it only supplies factual information that can be trusted, “so that society can use the information to have a dialogue.”

Henson also used the occasion during an interactive session to concede the heightened interest in the oil and gas sector but declined to dictate in anyway how the money will be managed by the country since Guyana is a sovereign country.

“What will be done with

the money, as a company I can’t tell the Government what to do,” according to the ExxonMobil Country Manager.

He was quick to point out that ExxonMobil is interested in what obtains since “our reputation depend on it… We know that the oil curse, Dutch disease is a real thing… we don’t want it, we don’t want to look back 20 years on and say Guyana is another example.”

Government representative on the GY-EITI Multistakeholder Group, Gillian Pollard, in her contribution to the outreach sought to impress on the participants the level of contribution of the extractive industry to Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product.

According to Pollard, mining currently contributes some 30 per cent of Guyana’s national earnings and this figure is slated in exponentially balloon as a result of the imminent commercial production of oil in 2020.

“Why not start now to get a handle on this… we need to take our self to a place where we are comfortable with the increases,” she said. turn to page 9

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sunDAY, july 9, 2017

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

The people, Parliament and their Constitution

N

ow that the case of Cedric Richardson vs the Attorney General of Guyana and the Speaker of the National Assembly, has been referred to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), we repeat the issues that are at stake.

The Plaintiff, Richardson, essentially sought to determine the extent and nature of the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution of Guyana. While he conceded the Guyana Constitution, like all modern Constitutions, made provisions for amendments (here by Art 164 (2)), if the change sought alters the fundamental structure of the Constitution, this must be approved by the people through a referendum rather than the 2/3 vote of their representatives as stipulated by the Constitution.

While Guyana acknowledges the Constitution as the “Supreme Law” of the land, ultimate sovereignty still resides with the people, and even the Constitution cannot abridge this. Richardson contended that Acticle 17 of 2001, placed restrictions on their [the people’s] right to choose specific candidates and such a restriction on their freedom to choose, could only be approved by the people themselves.

What must be made clear from the onset is, contrary to what the media insists on labelling the “Third Term” appeal, the judgement includes three other restraints that the objected-to constitutional change of 2001 placed on the republican rights of Guyanese citizens to vote for a candidate of their choice. These were succinctly spelled out as follows by Justice Chang: “The purported alteration of Article 90 by Act No 17 of 2001, in substance and effect, undoubtedly diminishes the democratic rights of the electorate in electing a person of their own choice as President, by excluding from presidential candidature (1) Citizens of Guyana not resident in Guyana on Nomination Day; (2) Citizens of Guyana resident in Guyana on Nomination Day but who have not been continuously resident in Guyana for seven years prior to that date; (3) Citizens of Guyana by registration and 4) Citizens of Guyana who have served for two terms as President.

As such, the alteration by Act No 17 of 2001 purports to curtail the people’s electoral democratic choices and to offend the declaration in Article 1 that Guyana is a democratic State – in which the sovereignty resides in the people Article 9). This is precisely why, for the purpose of any alteration of Articles 1 and 9, the voice of 2/3 of the elected members of the National Assembly is not the voice of the people.”

Justice Chang’s interpretation of the constitutional provision, later affirmed by the Court of Appeal, rested on a “normative” substantive “basic structure” values rather than the older, procedurally-driven Liberal view of Constitutions as merely “descriptive”. While he cited two cases – the Belize case Bowen vs The Attorney General BZ 2001 SC 2, and the Indian case Kesavananda Bharati vs the State of Kerala (1974) 1 SCC (Jour) 3 to support his ruling, it appears there was a refusal by his critics to deconstruct the difference between the two approaches and to accept as the Indian Supreme Court did, “while there was no implied limit to constitutional amendment, the very nature of the word “amend” meant that Parliament could not abrogate or destroy the foundation or the basic structure of the Constitution.”

In the Liberal procedurally driven perspective on Constitutions, the protection of the negative freedom of the citizens, adumbrated as “fundamental rights”, against the Leviathan state, is paramount, But as stated by the theorist Jurgen Habermas, in the substantive republican view, “…the state’s raison d’etre does not lie primarily in the protection of equal private rights but in the guarantee of an inclusive opinion- and will-formation in which free and equal citizens reach an understanding on which goals and norms lie in the equal interest of all.”

It is this insistence that it is the will of the people must be untrammelled in the exercise of their positive freedom, that Justice Chang’s ruling rests. Only the people can alter the basic structure of the Constitution. Ultimately the ruling asserts: “Power to the people.”

President David Granger inspecting the budding tomato crop at the Paramakatoi Tomato Project Facility, Region Eight with Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Dr Oudho Homenauth

At City Hall, anything goes!

Dear Editor, There is urgent need for an independent and external investigation to be conducted into the workings, or lack thereof, at the Human Resource Department of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown.

The performance of this department leaves much to be desired; and what makes it even more frustrating is that Councillors, and even the subject minister for this entity, seem to be completely unaware of, or unconcerned with, the torpor of this department.

In fact, they have unwittingly upgraded what was a crappy Personnel Section, a sub-department, into an elaborate Human Resource Department, which is a fullfledged department, costing the citizens millions of dollars more each month.

This means that they have now significantly increased their staff strength within that department by hiring friends, family members and church colleagues

once again to a number of new highly paid jobs, whilst upgrading their existing staff members to new positions with fancy titles and super salaries, most of whom hardly do anything productive during the work day.

This has certainly placed enormous and unnecessary pressure on their finances, which is supposed to be in dire straits.

Without wishing to burden this letter with too much tedium, I shall highlight just a few of the scores of blunders continually committed by this department, much to the detriment of the workers.

There is a situation whereby staffers, many of whom have served the Council above and beyond the call of duty for more than thirty years, have to wait for several years more to receive their pensions and gratuities. This is just heartless, as these persons then have to scrounge or depend on their families to sur-

vive whilst they await what is due to them. For those persons who functioned on what is termed the unfixed establishment, they, too, have to wait; after which the Personnel Section simply comes up with a figure which they seem to pull out from under their hats, and force these retired workers to accept as pension scheme payments; but which they are never able to show the recipients the mathematics they used to arrive at these figures.

This is just cruel as well, as they are simply taking advantage of employees who may not have the capability to calculate their benefits themselves. And of course they are demanding a fee from these soon-to-be retirees.

Another illustration of the ineptitude of this department, which has the responsibility of deducting statutory payments such as pay-as-you-earn taxes for the Guyana Revenue Authority, insurance con-

tributions for the National Insurance Scheme, credit union dues etc, they unfailingly make these deductions from the Council’s employees, but then take several months to remit these deductions to the relevant agencies, and in some instances, they either do not remit these deductions at all, or do so without the correct identifying number, causing these payments to be placed in escrow, as the agency is unable to identify which is the correct Tom Jones.

The end result of this is that Council employees lose all of their benefits when they become ill. This, I might add, is a criminal offence.

So why is no one being sanctioned by the NIS, or GRA? Had it been a private entity, it would have been hauled before the courts.

But, at City Hall, anything goes!

Sincerely, Debra Gibson

Where else in the world?

Dear Editor, American economist, entrepreneur, and university professor Carl J. Schramm defines a failing city as one that can never expect to return to its former prosperity.

He must have been referring to Georgetown, the capital of Guyana.

Where else in the world could a municipality owe two contractors more than $300 million for garbage collection services provided over the last two years, and refuse to pay them but expect them to continue working nonethe-

less?

And worse, when they decide to make a payment to these contractors, they do so with rubber cheques that could not be processed because the Council had non-sufficient funds (NSF).

To add insult to injury, they then hire an additional contractor, who lacks the tools, equipment and human resource capacity to do the job, in order to create more debt.

Where else in the world would a bankrupt municipality rent scores of plastic

portable toilets at more than eighty-two thousand dollars, and subsequently more than ninety thousand dollars per month each, rather than buying their own, or building permanent public conveniences?

Where else in the world would the only abattoir in the capital city -- supposed to ensure that best practices in food hygiene and meat production are maintained -- be in such an unclean, decrepit state, and where the animals are bludgeoned to death in such a barbaric manner?

Where else in the world would a group of engineers and administrators just sit idly by and watch and dwell in the historic edifice of a City Hall that is crumbling without their doing the slightest of remedial work to save it from falling apart?

Georgetown is a failed city that is doing its best to take the country down the toilet -- and I don’t mean the $82,000 per month portable toilets -- with it.

Sincerely, Jermain Johnson

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SunDAY, july 9, 2017

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

The audacity of Remembering Wismar Mayor Patricia and Son Chapman Chase Green

Dear Editor, The audacity of the Mayor of Georgetown -- who is once again saying that the municipality is in crisis and needs all the help it can get -- is nauseating and aggravating!

This is in respect to the garbage disposal contractors again suspending the services they provide City Hall as a result of the M&CC’s inability to pay them more than $300M owed.

Her brilliant solution is to have the Treasurer’s Department intensify its revenue collection drive, to recover money owed to the city.

How about if she just simply pursues the option of having that department instead practise a programme of fiscal restraint and cutbacks as an alternative? They just simply cannot continue spending as lavishly as they do currently.

First, why don’t they stop going on all of these expensive overseas trips that

bear no benefits to the citizens of Georgetown?

Some of the “Fantastic Four” are about to embark on another luxury trip to North America whilst they owe the contractors, and the action taken by the contractors could lead to a health crisis.

Why don’t they stop renting portable toilets and pay the contractors instead?

Why don’t they send home half of the staff, who comprise friends and relatives who are paid super salaries and who have nothing to do anyway, as there are no tools to work with, and most of the services are contracted out?

Why doesn’t the Mayor and Town Clerk, as a gesture of recognition of the crisis she claims they face, get rid of all of the chauffeurs, bodyguards, security at their residences, and large secretarial and administrative staff that serve them?

Why don’t they get rid of the fancy multi-million-dollar sports utility vehicles that they ride around in all

day, burning hundreds of gallons of gas?

In fact, why don’t they stop contracting out all of their services -- which they cannot afford anyway -and provide services such as garbage collection, road and bridge building, security services, advertising etc themselves, as they used to do in the past when the city was properly run?

There is a critical need for the President to set up a Commission of Inquiry into the corruption at City Hall.

And finally, why doesn’t the Mayor dissolve, or at least reduce, the Public Relations Department, which does absolutely nothing to enhance the city’s image, but whose employees could be seen sleeping and at other times taking selfies all day long?

But then again, Editor, a simple visit at City Hall would tell who really are employed there and who they are connected to!!

Best regards, Deodarie Putulall

Kudos to GWI Inc

Dear Editor, In response to a letter penned some three weeks ago from me to GWI Inc on the matter of low water pressure to the Enmore/ Logwood/Foulis area, GWI Engineer Mr Barran visited my home to verify my claims.

Mr Barran took photographs of the water flow and also took samplings from various sections of the community, and was actively on the ground try-

ing to identify the fault. I found this very comforting, as I did of Mr Barran's assurance that he would get to the bottom of the matter.

I also had the opportunity to talk on the phone with Dr Van West Charles, CEO of GWI, who promised that normal pressure would be restored within two weeks.

Both these gentlemen kept their word, and normal water-flow to the affected area was restored about five days ago.

Thanks all.

Regards, Taaj Jadunauth

Dear Editor, I refer to the letter “Remembering the ‘Son Chapman”, written by Sharma Solomon and published in the state newspaper of July 7th. Mr Sharma noted, “TODAY (6th of July), 53 years have passed since that fateful day when more than 40 of Linden’s own were massacred on the Demerara River as they travelled home on the Son Chapman launch at 16:00 hours on Monday, July 6, 1964…. We must take the lessons taught by tragedies such as these to guide our actions in the here and now.”

But the “lessons” will be incomplete if parts of the story of Linden are silenced.

The PNC, since 2004, have been annually commemorating the Sun Chapman tragedy, but not once have they mentioned its precursor - the pogrom at Wismar on May 25-26. Yet, on those two days, 220 Indian homes were razed, three Indians were murdered, several women and girls raped, almost the entire Indian population of 3000 was forced to flee. The July killing of five more Indians who had returned or stayed behind at Wismar after the destruction of the Sun Chapman was almost an anti-climactic. This is also Linden’s history.

In 2013, the PNC moved the commemoration from Hurudaia upriver to the centre of Linden. Dr Alissa Trotz and Red Thread have

interrogated the purpose of this commemoration and queried the silencing of the preceding tragedy of the violence and ethnic cleansing of Wismar. They interviewed many of the refugees from Wismar but living on the East Coast of Demerara.

Like the survivors of the Sun Chapman, their loss is also palpable.

As I have written, when we “look back at history” we can only do so from our present, in which questions are posed for answers sought.

For me, one question has been ‘how and why the history of the Indians of Wismar, with its denouement of May 26, 1964, has been so completely “silenced” in the sense of the word used by Rolph Trouillot: “…the presences and absences embodied in sources (artifacts and bodies that turn an event into fact) or archives (facts collected, thematized, and processed as documents and monuments) are neither neutral nor natural. They are created. As such, they are not

mere presences and absences, but mentions or silences of various kinds and degrees. By silence I mean an active and transitive process: one “silences” a fact, or an individual as a silencer silences a gun. One engages in the practice of silencing.

Mentions and silences are thus active dialectical counterparts of which history is the synthesis.”

But we simultaneously, from our present, have our eye on our future -- a future we hope to create with the knowledge gleaned from the past. For me, it is a future in which all Guyanese can live in peace, to create their progress and not be manipulated to a return of that past. We cannot create such a future based on selective silencings.

I have recommended at least the erection of a monument to all the 176 victims that perished during the “disturbances” of 1964. I do so once again today.

Sincerely, Ravi Dev

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SunDAY, july 9, 2017

Page

Foundation

When to take

Paediatrics: Take 2 N

Anu Dev

ow that I’m in Year 5, I’m having my second go at Paediatrics. One would think that, this time around, we’d be more prepared and comfortable in the rotation. Well, the senior doctors certainly assume we are; they keep saying things like, “Well, you should’ve read that book from cover to cover back in Year 4.” To that I usually shift guiltily in my shoes and try to avoid making eye contact, because I never did get around to finishing that textbook!

Another new development, since we're now in our final year, is that we keep getting the same speech from everyone: “When are you graduating? In a few months, right?

This time next year, you will be the new interns.”

But apart from having my heart stop beating every time someone mentions “exams” and “graduation”, things actually are a bit better this time around. Slowly but surely, it’s dawning we might be becoming real doctors. The other day

guyanatimesgy.com

“There are only two things a child will share willingly; communicable diseases and its mother’s age.”-Benjamin Spock my friends and I saw a patient in the Paediatric Emergency Department, and we did the whole 9 yards: took the patient’s history, did a full exam, reviewed the case with a senior doctor, and sent the patient off with a stamped prescription.

Sure, it was a simple case that didn’t require the patient to be hospitalized; and yeah, the 5 of us collectively made up 1 doctor, but we still did feel quite pleased with ourselves.

And it really does feel like the things we’re learning now we’re learning for life. I’ve been grilled so many times about the management of an “acute exacerbation of asthma” that I'm having dreams about being chased by oxygen masks and nebulizer equipment. But, on a serious note, asthma is one of those things you’re guaranteed to see at least a couple of kids come in with every day, so it makes sense that we should really know about the management of asthma.

And before patients are discharged from the hospital,

they usually have to be counselled about how they’re going to manage their asthma when they’re home. They’re advised about avoiding triggers, to prevent setting off another asthma attack -- things like cigarette smoke, pets, dust, and mould. The parents are advised to avoid having carpets and heavy drapes around the home, because those might trap dust. When taking a paediatric patient’s history, we usually ask if anyone smokes around the child. And fairly frequently, I get the response, “Well their _____ smokes, but he/she doesn’t smoke inside the house or around the child.” But that still counts as exposing the child to cigarette smoke.

Because cigarette smoke clings to smokers: it clings to their hair, to their clothes, to their breath, to their skin. So there’s a chance your cigarette smoking could still act as a trigger for an asthmatic child.

For a lot of kids, their first symptom of asthma is a cough that just won’t go away. Many

parents go to their local pharmacist and they’re recommended an expectorant for the cough. Some doctors may also prescribe an expectorant for the cough. But if the child actually does have asthma, an expectorant won’t be a good longterm solution. Expectorants are “mucolytics”-- they ‘break up’ mucus that builds up in the airways. They don’t treat the underlying problems of asthma that cause that mucus build-up in the first place. For the long-term management of asthma, drugs like inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators have been shown to be very effective. For each child with asthma, an asthma action plan should be agreed upon, with options that work best for that child. And I don’t think paediatrics is as bad as George Clooney says it is: “After doing “One Fine Day” and playing a paediatrician on ER, I'll never have kids. I'm going to have a vasectomy.”

He was just acting…the real thing is more satisfying!

a child to a dentist for the first time

By Rebecca Desfosse

P

arents are often unsure about when to take a child to a dentist. Should you wait until all of his teeth have come in, or perhaps until there is a real problem? The experts say no. The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry recommend that a child's first visit should be when the first tooth erupts in the mouth, no later than age one to two.

According to Dr Anna Guarna, a Connecticut dentist with over 20 years of experience, this first visit isn't for doing any real work. It's really about introducing your child

to the dentist's office, allowing him to explore various instruments and even take a ride in the chair. Only after your child is comfortable is it time for the dentist to take a quick peek at his mouth.

This first visit accomplishes three things. First, it familiarises your child with the staff and the office environment in a non-threatening way, thus building trust. Second, it introduces him (and you) to the specific language that the office uses. For example, Guarna's office refers to a probe as a "tooth counter," gauze as a "tooth pillow," and the drill/hand piece as a "tooth sweeper" to take away the fear often associated with these items. Third, it allows the dentist to do a quick examination, looking for decay. He will also check your child's gums, jaw, and bite, keeping an eye out for bottle caries, frenum issues, or other problems that may affect teeth or speech patterns. The dentist will also probably talk to you about good oral hygiene and allow you to ask any questions you may have. You may even want to bring a list of questions to the appointment.

From the first visit onward, Guarna recommends that children come in every six months, unless an issue comes up that needs correction, such as a lisp, teeth grinding or mouth breathing. Expect the dentist to build on first visit and add a step at each subsequent visit. For example, at the second visit, the dentist may count your child's teeth and brush them with polishing paste, then possibly add in fluoride at the visit after that.

Depending on your dentist and your child's comfort level, you may be asked to hold your child while the dentist takes a look in his mouth. After the first visit, you may be asked to step outside so your toddler can gain a sense of independence and confidence and have the opportunity to get to know the dentist and staff on his own.

By the time the child is about three years old, he will be having full dental appointments. X-rays will be taken at five years of age if the child can handle it and it has been a good experience in the past. (www.colgate.com)

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sunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Fire guts Diamond house, arson suspected per flat of the house. She struggled for quite some time, and after she was unsuccessful in opening the lock, she walked across to her neighbour’s; but while doing so, she heard sounds emanating from the house.

“It sound like things burning, but I didn’t take it for anything… By the time I reach and called the neighbours, we see the whole upper flat of the house in flames…,” she explained.

She noted that although public-spirited citizens rushed to assist in putting

The aftermath of the fire

A

t least five persons are contemplating their next move after a fire, suspected to be purposely set, completely destroyed a dwelling house at Lot 522 Little Diamond Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara on Friday evening.

During a visit to the area on Saturday, the owner of the house and her teenage daughter were seeking refuge at a neighbour’s house, while the tenants were nowhere in sight.

Guyana Times was told the fire started in the upper flat of the wooden-and-concrete home at about 23:00h, and the entire house was engulfed in flames within minutes.

At the time of the fire, the house was occupied by the owner, her daughter,

out the blaze, the heat was too intense, and everyone had to retreat.

The Guyana Fire Service was contacted, and even though there is a station located in Diamond, GFS personnel took nearly 30 minutes to arrive on the scene, according to the distraught woman. She said that by the time the tender and fire fighters arrived, the house was well ablaze.

She claimed that her house was fully furnished, and she suspects it was deliberately set on fire by pre-

vious tenants with whom she had an issue.

“People in the area told me dogs were barking but no one was in sight… These people lead me a dance.

They threatened to burn down the house on several occasions… They cuss me stinking… They tell me that one day they will get me, and I think it is them who burn down the place,” she explained.

The woman claimed she has indicated this to the Police, who advised her to make contact with the al-

leged perpetrators and have them visit the station.

In tears, Nesha told Guyana Times that nothing was saved from the burning house. “Not even a clothes for me and my daughter… not even a comb to comb my hair,” she elaborated.

While she is seeking refuge at a neighbour’s house, she is till to determine how she would rebuild.

Officials of the Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Police Force are continuing their investigations.

6 nabbed with 7.5kg ganja in Berbice … another nabbed at ECD with 7kg

S

A section of the lower flat of the house after the fire

and three tenants who occupied the lower flat, but no one was at home.

Nesha (only name given), the owner, explained

that she and her daughter left home on Friday afternoon and returned at about 22:30h, but had difficulty opening the lock to the up-

ix persons were arrested in New Amsterdam, Berbice, on Saturday morning with a large amount of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking. Based on reports received, an intelligence-led operation swooped down on a house and at the time, a man, his wife and daughter along with three other females were in the process of packaging the illegal substance.

The cannabis was confiscated and taken to the New Amsterdam Police Station where it was weighed and amounted to 7.5 kilograms.

The six persons are being processed for court where

they are expected to be arraigned with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

Meanwhile, Police ranks in C Division (East Coast Demerara) have arrested a 30-year-old man of First Street Paradise, East Coast Demerara, with a bag containing seven kilogram of cannabis. He too is being processed for court.

Only Friday last, two men were separately charged after they were found to be in possession of cannabis in Moblissa, Linden/Soesdyke Highway and Kara Kara, Linden respectively.

Police stated that on

Thursday last, ranks of a mobile patrol on the Moblissa Linden Highway arrested Kayle Roberts, 23, a handyman of Moblissa with eight parcels of compressed cannabis, amounting to 5.5 kilograms.

In addition, on the same day, ranks on an ATV Patrol in Lower Kara Kara, Linden, arrested 44-yearold Michael Torres, a logger, at his home with one kilogram of cannabis. They were arraigned and remanded to prison by Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Wales Magistrate’s Court.

They will make their next appearance on August 21.

8 news No arrests in security guard’s murder A SunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

s investigations continue into the gruesome murder of Sammy Prowell, whose throat was slit in front of his place of employment at Robb Street, Georgetown, the Police are yet to make an arrest.

In an invited comment on the issue, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told media operatives on Saturday that Police have questioned several persons in connection with the murder but no useful information was collected.

He noted that investigations are continuing but no arrest was made. However, Guyana Times understands that the Police are trying to ascertain if there are any CCTV recordings of the murder.

The 56-year-old man of Lot 21 Pepper Hill, Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara, suffered an eightinch incision to the throat as well as a stab wound to his neck. He was found in an upright position.

It is believed that he was stabbed in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Prowell was attached to the Transportation and Protection Agency and was schedule to work the ‘9-5’ [21:00h-05:00h] shift.

His body was found at about 06:00h by passersby. At the scene, the man’s supervisor Mark Samuels, who was in a state of shock

Dead: Sammy Prowell

after learning of the man’s demise, told reporters that Prowell was a dedicated worker.

He explained that the man was seconded at the Hai Matadi Ishant Variety Store on Robb Street for quite some time and it was only a few days ago, he spoke to Prowell about the vagrants that would traverse the area.

Since there were no signs of a struggle and no signs of any breakage on the building the man was protecting, investigators are of the belief that he might have been killed by one of the vagrants. The murder weapon was not recovered.

Police are continuing their investigations.

Abusive language, disorderliness land man in court

J

umal Blair, a man seemingly in the habit of being verbally abusive, was on Friday arraigned before Georgetown Magistrate Leron Daly to answer for this bad habit.

The first charge he faced alleged that he threatened Keiron Bourne on June 28 at Lot 292 Independence Boulevard, Georgetown, thereby causing a breach of the peace The second charge alleged that on the same day he also used abusive language towards Sharifa Peters.

He pleaded not guilty to both charges, and told the court that he had indeed acted in a disorderly manner and had been verbally abusive, but not towards the

Y

Jumal Blair

virtual complainants, (VCs) but to other persons.

Magistrate Daly placed Blair on $20,000 bail and set the case for continuation on July 19.

Teen charged for damaging hotel fan, toilet seat

A

n 18-year-old girl accompanied by her mother was made to stand before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to a charge of damage to property.

Candacy Darius, of Sophia, Greater Georgetown, denied that on July 8, 2017, at

The best laid plans…

K&VC Hotel, South Road, Georgetown, she maliciously damaged one fan valued at $9000 and one toilet seat valued $9000; property of the hotel.

The young woman, who works in the arcade, Stabroek, Georgetown was granted bail in the sum of $30,000. She is scheduled to return to court on July 21.

…on sugar

our Eyewitness was hopeful GuySuCo had learnt a lesson after the government dropped their atomic bombshell on the people of Wales -- that their estate was going to be closed -- without uttering a word of warning to them. The company’s reps recently concluded two meetings with the people of Wales and Uitvlugt. But after listening to them, your Eyewitness isn’t so sure.

Over at Wales, things got rambunctious; and why not? Losing your job with nothing in sight to pick up the income slack doesn’t exactly calm the mind. But at Uitvlugt, the media reported things were positively staid. And again, why not? The GuySuCo hirelings promised that rather than shuttering Uitvlugt, production would be ramped up from last year’s 16,000 tonnes to an amazing 40,000 tonnes by 2020!!

The only thing that could stymie those plans were the 400 cane cutters from Wales who’re refusing to schlep the 20+ miles back and forth from their homes -in addition to whatever miles within Uitvlugt they have to traverse to cut cane.

So what if they’d probably have to leave home at 3am in the morning? Cane-cutters are beasts of burden, aren’t they? So what if the labour agreement of ALL sugar workers states that they can’t be transported more than 10 miles to work?

But stating the situation like that, GuySuCo’s being too clever by half, and the workers know this. They may fetch tons of cane on their heads daily, but they aren’t soft in the head. This is the old divide-and-conquer routine perfected by the British. First it was indentured servants against freed slaves. Then it was waves of new indentured labourers against expired-contract indentureds. Now it is Wales vs Uitvlugt!!

Fact of the matter is Uitvlugt can’t -- from its present 16,000 tonnes -- get to 40,000 tonnes by 2020, even if the manager of Uitvlugt stood on his head on the theoretical numbers he threw out. First of all, at the depressed price of sugar, which farmer will be willing to get into cane farming?? Even if by some miracle they achieve milling 105 tonnes of cane per hour (which ain’t going to happen from the present claimed 85 tonnes), and work 24 hours a day seven days a week for the average 30 weeks of both crops, this will amount to 529,200 tonnes of cane. At the ratio of 13.23 tonnes of cane to produce 1 tonne of sugar which obtained last year, this amounts to 40,000. What a coincidence!!

Fact is: if all those variables were true, at 85 tonnes cane per hour, 32,000 tonnes of sugar should’ve been produced last year, rather than 16,000 tonnes!!

Something’s rotten at the estate of Uitvlugt!!

…of the City Council

So the garbage contractors haven’t been paid for months, and they’ve withdrawn their service. What else is new? And what else did anyone expect? What happened to all the garbage trucks the City owned, plus their drivers? Any self-respecting municipality, noting that its expenditures were out of whack with its income, would’ve tried to cut expenditures even as it sought to increase its income, no? Not THIS Municipality, led by its ‘gang of four’, thank you! They been spending on themselves, their friends and families to such levels that they’ve made Simona Broomes look like Cinderella!!

Why does each of them need all those bodyguards even for retired Mayor Hamilton Greene? Do they fear citizens would attack them for not performing their duties?

The Town Clerk now has a Deputy Town Clerk and two Assistant Town Clerks!! Do they really need a PR Department larger than OP’s? What about all those chauffeurs, gardeners, cooks etc?

But style trumps substance with the PNC, doesn’t it?

…of the Speaker

The Speaker lamented that the decorum exhibited by the MPs in the hallowed halls of Parliament has fallen to new lows.

How does he describe his own “decorum” in treating Opposition MPs so despicably?

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

NEWS

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SunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Foiled bank robbery

Cops’ involvement “disappointing”, “undesirable” – Minister

T

he Guyana Police Force (GPF) will be moving to clamp down on unprofessional behaviour by its ranks, following the discovery that two junior ranks were involved in the recent foiled robbery at Republic Bank Limited.

The two officers, a Police Constable and a Rural Constable, were seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage talking to the three young men, who attempted to rob the bank’s Water Street branch last Tuesday. Guyana Times understands the two ranks confessed that they helped plan the robbery.

This act, however, has been condemned by the top brass of the security sector.

On Saturday, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan told reporters it is disappointing to know that ranks from the country’s premier law enforcement agency got themselves involved in criminal activities.

“It comes as disappointing news, very disappointing news,” the Minister stressed.

He pointed out that despite the many efforts of the Police Force to eradicate rogue elements, there are still some who remain.

“It’s always gonna be a difficult thing to know that your Police Force still has an element or two that are doing the very rotten things of associating with masterminds for

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan

bank robberies. But we have to work on it, it’s always gonna be a work in progress,” he stated.

Nevertheless, the Public Security Minister noted that this disappointing news has reinforced the need for enhance efforts in tackling such behaviour and attitudes among officers. To this end, he posited that such efforts will have to begin at the level of the community.

“It will begin at the recruiting stage, it will begin at the community stage too because it’s from the community that we get Policemen to come into the Force. And the value system has to be changed also – parenting. It’s a huge complex social thing that will have to be done… because the Police Force is but a microcosm of the society and that is what we will

have to do – better the society and better your recruits; the better your society the better your Police Force,” Ramjattan remarked.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud noted that the Force has been treated with unprofessional behaviour from the top to the bottom of the organisation and this recent case of Police involvement in such a crime, which he described as undesirable, is a major concern.

On this note, he outlined that the programmes such as residential training for recruits are geared at changing their attitude and behaviour.

The Top Cop continued that the Force’s disciplinary system runs right down to first line supervision to manage-

ment, as well serves to refresh professional rules and behaviour among ranks.

However, Commissioner Persaud recognises that in spite of the steps undertaken by the Force, there is only so much they can do.

“What is the reason that a man who has every foundation for a big, bright future going and take those risks that they took there.

Similarly with these ranks, they are both junior ranks – one of them, I think from the regular force has three years or less than three year service. It’s a scenario presented to them that looks good, and therefore they take the chance. Certainly there was no experience in that,” the Top Cop said.

He added that the GPF

Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud

does a lot of training to resist those temptations.

Furthermore, Persaud rubbished comments that the low salary grade of Police officers pushed them into crim-

inal activities and corruption.

“If poor people, because of the little that they get, resort to crime we won’t have been surviving here ‘cause we live in a country with a lot of poor people; check what percentage of them are criminals,” the Top Cop stated.

Of recent, there has been a heightened involvement of ranks from the various law enforcement agencies in illegal activities and/or corrupt practices.

This is despite regular training programmes to reinforce the commitment of the ranks within the Joint Services, which is made up of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Prison Service.

ExxonMobil commits to making...

The outreach was sponsored in part by the US-based Carter Center, whose country representative, Jason Calder also told participants of the importance of the joining the EITI initiative.

He was quick to point out however that EITI does not replace any local laws and further is in fact a voluntary arrangement that is none enforceable since countries cannot be sanctioned but rather delisted from the EITI global initiative.

EITI, he said, “is part of a

good governance framework.”

The Carter Center representative was quick to point out however that making information on revenues and receipts available to citizen is only useful if citizens use that information properly and use their views to bring to bear on the Government.”

According to Calder, the EITI process only works if citizens analyse reports adding that this “is the critical role civil society plays in the process.”

He point out too that the

MSG does not in any way replaces any Government entity or department.

“They don’t take over any responsibility but can make advice on how things can be improved.” Under the EITI initiative, the MSG consists of 12 members, with four each selected from Government, civil society and industry.

Providing an update on Guyana’s application status to the EITI mechanism, MSG National Coordinator, Dr Rudy Jadoopat who indicated that Guyana is looking to sub-

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mit its formal application by next month and it is expected that after the Oslo board meets in October, approval will be granted to Guyana.

Following presentations

by MSG members including civil society representatives, an interactive question and answer segment was occasioned which saw participants engaging panellists on a range of issues including Government plans for the use and management of its oil revenue.

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sunDAY, July 9, 2017| guyanatimesgy.com

Local journalists urged to “report locally, think globally” School and bank robbers

S Members of the media pose with representatives of the Guyana Police Force and the Judiciary. Seated centre are Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and Chief Justice Roxanne George

I

n an effort to bridge the communication gap between the media and the justice system of Guyana, the International Justice Education Society in collaboration with the Guyana Press Association, facilitated a seminar on Saturday aimed towards “effective reporting for the public good” by engaging members of the media, judicial arm and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in discussions directed towards efficient reporting on criminal investigations and court cases.

Local journalists from various media houses across Guyana benefited from a detailed and comprehensive presentation from Canadian journalist Kim Bolan, who highlighted the challenges and opportunities in working with the Police, building mutual trust and developing sources while engaging reporters in group discussions and question and answer segments.

The Canadian journalist encouraged journalist not to isolate their reporting to Guyana but rather link same with international issues, as to have a broader understanding as to what is happening on the outside.

The workshop, which was hosted at the Guyana Police Force Training Centre, Camp Street, Georgetown, served as a reminder that the media has an important role to play in a democratic society by exposing injustices, making public institutions accountable by covering events fairly and thoroughly while it is important to bridge the gap between media and Police in the collaborative efforts to decrease crime and violence in society.

It was established that the media plays a vital role in reporting on crime and the court system by raising the awareness of criminal activities in society thereby enabling persons to exer-

cise caution while enabling the Government of the day to put in place policies for future planning and to arrive with alternatives to reduce the level of crime in the event that is prevalent.

The media was also reminded of its important role in educating the public about the justice system by keeping the audience up to date with court proceedings by publicising certain penalties attached to specific crimes in the effort to prevent prevalent occurrences.

Daily reports of dispensing sentences to heinous crimes may help persons to feel secure thereby developing confidence and trust in the judiciary.

At the workshop reporters raised instances where Police evade media personnel and in the event that they are gotten a hold of, they are often reluctant to comment on or disclose information in a timely manner. One of the issues raised

by the media personnel is that if this disparity exists, how can the media be able to effectively report on cases, thereby building public trust in the Police Force?

This was aired in light of other events which saw the viral circulation of videos of intoxicated Police Officers harassing citizens and even fellow officers which may serve as a means of undermining Police authority.

Attending the seminar was Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, Magistrate Clive Nurse and Chief Justice Roxanne George along with officials of the Guyana Police Force who interacted with media, sensitising them on practices that can compromise court cases and criminal investigations or harm the public good, particularly in relation to certain types of offences while discussing systems that the Police have in place for engagement with the media. turn to page 12

atiricus was shocked when he read of the attempted heist at Republic Bank. He was shaken to his core by this expansion of the criminal fraternity into the bosom of respectable families - like his! All his life, he’d been taught that if you go to school, study hard, pass your exams and get a job, you were well on your way to climbing the ladder of social success. Jeez! He’d have to look at his kids a little closer now, wouldn’t he?

“But wha’ mek yuh suh shack, Sato?” asked Bungi at the Back Street Bar, where they were ensconced as usual.

“Well, look how they were all educated,” said Satiricus, sounding a little surprised at the question.

“Suh yuh t’ink only people like me who na gat educa-shan, ah rab bank?” Bungi asked carefully, as Hari watched on with interest.

“Well, up to now that’s been the case, right?” said Satiricus firmly.

“Not exactly,” interjected Hari before Bungi could respond. “That guy Blackie, whose gang robbed that Essequibo bank, was a GDF soldier who had a good education, you know. Special Forces!”

“And dem fifteen chap who rab dem two bank in Berbice, when dem shoot up de PPCEE people, na bin gat educa-shan?” asked Bungi more pointedly.

“OK…OK. Fellas. I see what you’re getting at!” said Satiricus. “But those bandits had education with guns.

These young men didn’t. They just had book education.”

“Suh yuh t’ink me guh rab bank?” asked Bungi pointedly. “Me na gat jab, yuh know. An me nah gat book educa-shan.”

“Well, I don’t think you’re bank robber material,” admitted Satiricus.

“And that’s the point, right Sato?” said Hari. “There are some people who are “bank robber” material whether they have education or not.”

“An’ dat “material’ a mek a house!” said Bungi emphatically. “Na school!!”

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SunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

Edghill’s parliamentary fate on trial this week

A synopsis of the performance of the economy – 2016/2017

G

uyana’s economy recorded real economic growth of 3.3 percent for 2016, while projected growth for 2017 is set at 3.5 percent, according to the IMF Country Report on Guyana, which was recently concluded.

A point of interest to note is that the projected growth set by the IMF cited that macroeconomic outlook for 2017 is positive in the medium term. In essence, this validates the arguments I presented last week, wherein I alluded to the short-sighted policies pursued by the current administration and said they will inevitably cost the economy long-term economic development deprivation.

While the IMF set a decent projection of 3.5 growth for 2017, the Economic Policy Analysis Unit of the Ministry of Finance set an ambitious target growth of 3.8 percent, which is expected to be driven by growth in the mining, quarrying and services sectors.

What is economic growth?

Economic growth is defined as the rate of increase in economic output. It must also be noted that when we speak of economic growth, this is further broken down into two dimensions – potential growth and actual growth. Potential growth is simply the percentage annual increase in the economy’s capacity to produce, or the rate at which the economy could grow. Actual growth refers to the percentage annual increase in national output, or GDP (Gross Domestic Product). An efficient, skilled and competent government therefore, against this premise, needs to configure macroeconomic policies to articulately achieve maximum output, or growth potentials within the framework of the national economy’s capacity to grow. Capacity in Guyana’s context means, the resources at our disposal; for example, natural resources such as gold, bauxite, arable land (agriculture), institutional capacity, human capital and so on.

With this in mind, Guyana’s economy constitutes several productive sectors; namely, Agriculture (rice & sugar); forestry; Mining and Quarrying (bauxite & gold); Manufacturing, and the Services Sector which includes the financial sector. As at the first quarter of 2017, the economy registered uneven growth in sectorial output relative to the corresponding period last year (BoG quarterly report, 2017). The Agriculture sector recorded 51.5 percent increased production in rice, while sugar contracted by 33.8 percent on account of operational constraints, closure of Wales estate, and lower market prices.

Making sense of the economy’s overall performance, it must be noted that while the economy grew on average by some 3 percent, by the end of the third quarter, projected growth will have to be revised downwards, especially if the Government proceed with their touted plans to close more estates. This is in light of the recent IMF report on Guyana’s economy, which was recently released in the press. And I therefore need not regurgitate the findings and concerns highlighted therein.

Instead, I shall examine the efficacy of Government’s fiscal policies – that should be developed to influence national economic growth. In this respect, it is imperative that I briefly revert to a recently concluded topic this column dealt with extensively – i.e. the sugar industry and GuySuCo. I recently read the Agriculture Minister stating that there is no need to advance further debate on sugar, wherein he posited that the Government expended $80 billion annually to keep GuySuCo afloat, and also boldly stated that the money could have gone to increase public servants’ salaries.

(Permit me to divert a bit here, this article featured in Guyana Times dated July 7, 2017 the figure of $80 billion quoted by the Minister, might I mention respectfully, is incorrect. It would appear that ministers of Government have adopted a new habit of misleading the nation by quoting, on key economic matters, exorbitantly high figures manufactured out of the sky. The realistic figure of Government’s injection into GuyuCo is estimated at about $15 billion annually, and not $80 billion).

Against the backdrop of the extensive work I just concluded in this column, and critiquing the White Paper (akin to a high school pupil’s essay), I find this position ridiculously hilarious. The $180M spent annually on unnecessary presidential advisors could be used for increases in public servants’ salaries.

Now, a government’s responsibility should not be based on a business model – meaning the approach taken on the GuySuCo fiasco, basing it on profit and loss. How do you define profit and loss in this context is what is important. The cost on the economy – social and economic impacts -- should be the focus for governments. Governments need to understand that their fundamental role is to manage the economy; and in doing so, they need to create policies that would enable the environment and fuel economic growth. Heavy taxation and taking away thousands of jobs are the reverse of such an objective. When we look at our neighbour Trinidad & Tobago, for example, the Trinidad/ Tobago Government have injected billions of dollars into Caribbean Airlines -- an estimated TT$3 billion -- between the periods 2011-2015 (equivalent to Gy$70 billion, or US$348M). This is a state-owned entity, but Government injected the funds just to keep it going. LIAT is another airline that benefits form government subsidies for the same reasons.

Why did they find this necessary? Because they have recognised its role as having national importance to their countries. Hence every effort needs to be undertaken to keep it going. Likewise, GuySuCo and sugar is of national importance to Guyana, and a similar approach is imperative.

Further, if Government wishes to increase public servants’ salaries, here are some decent suggestions: Government officials have accorded to themselves increases in benefits and allowances that will cost the nation in excess of $200M annually, the Durban Park Project came up close to $1B dollars, and the subsidies given for the supply of electricity to Linden amount to hundreds of millions also. These are classic examples of expenditure that are truly bleeding the nation.

(For comments, questions and responses on articles featured in this column, readers can reach the author at jbinsights@outlook.com).

O

pposition Member of Parliament Juan Edghill will this week appear before the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges (PCP) to determine whether he would be sanctioned in regard to purportedly misleading the House over the true cost of the raise of salary for Ministers and Members of Parliament.

Edghill is slated to appear before the PCP on Wednesday, when its members would begin “consideration of whether the Hon. Juan Edghill, MP, has violated any of the Standing Orders, Customs, Practices and/or Conventions of the National Assembly.”

Edghill’s summons to appear before the PCP was issued on the heels of his damaging expose, made in recent weeks, of massive corruption and deliberate avoidance of the Procurement Act and its accompanying processes -involving billions of taxpayers’ dollars spent by the Administration unlawfully in the health sector, as well as blatant violations of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act in respect to spending by the Ministry of the Presidency and the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic has already publicly lamented what it calls the

continuation of the coalition Government’s witch hunting and political vindictive campaign.

Edghill was summoned to appear before the PCP this past month, but the encounter was called off without explanation. The outspoken Opposition Parliamentarian had at the time lamented: “This matter only seems to be arising at special times, with a view of intimidating and harassing...I feel harassed, I feel like I am not being given an adequate opportunity to clear my name as it relates to this matter.”

He was hauled before the Committee after suggesting that the increases in salaries for members of the Executive would take a toll on the treasury to the tune of $1B annually.

The Committee met on November 25 last, and Edghill presented his arguments in defence of his position.

According to the PPP, the summons was issued on the heels of Edghill’s damaging expose in recent months of massive corruption and deliberate avoidance of the Procurement Act and its accompanying processes, involving billions of taxpayers’ dollars spent by the Administration unlawfully in the health sector, as well as blatant violations

Former Minister Juan Edghill

of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act in respect to spending by the Ministry of the Presidency and the Office of the Prime Minister.

“We consider the political persecution of Bishop Edghill not only to be an assault on democracy, but an attempt to muzzle him in the discharge of his democratic and constitutional duty as a Member of Parliament, to scrutinise and expose unlawful actions, abuse of power, and lack of transparency on the part of the Government,” the Party said.

The PPP is of the opinion that the nation is aware that muzzling, harassment, intimidation, arrest and charging of parliamentarians, critics and political opponents are all known and well used methods of the People’s National Congress in the past, and are now being continued by the APNU/ AFC coalition.

12 news

SunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Police Force’s 178th anniversary

307 junior Police ranks promoted A s the Guyana Police Force celebrates its 178th anniversary, a total of 307 ranks were promoted by Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud. These promotions took effect from Saturday.

In a release issued by the Guyana Police Force, it stated that 66 ranks who were once Corporals were pro-

moted to Sergeants, while 124 who held the position of Lance Corporals will now serve as Corporals and 76 Constables were promoted to Lance Corporals.

In addition, five Corporals in the Special Constabulary (regular ranks) were promoted to Sergeant while seven Lance Corporals were bumped up to the post of

Corporal. A lone Constable was ascended to the post of Corporal due to diligent work in the department.

However, 12 Constables also moved up to the rank of Lance Corporal. With respect to the Special Constabulary (GUYSTAC) – two Corporals were promoted to the post of Sergeant; a Lance Corporal and a Constable were pro-

Police ranks on their horses at the parade

moted to Corporal. Further, two Constables were elevated to the post of Lance Corporal in the GUYSTAC department.

Finally, the Rural Constables were not left out of the promotion list as three Corporals were given Sergeant portfolios, while six

Constables were promoted to Lance Corporals.

Meanwhile, as the Force celebrates this milestone, ranks from all departments took to the streets of Georgetown on Saturday morning in a celebratory parade.

Taking the salutes were

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan along with Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud.

Also in attendance were the Commanders of the various divisions.

It was indeed a spectacle as the lawmen and women displayed their drill skills.

Local journalists urged...

The importance of reliable information sourcing and correct reporting was highlighted, the defiance of which can cause damage to reputation of both the defendant and the plaintiff (complainant).

Representative is from the GPF encouraged media operatives to be mindful of where their information is sourced by paying keen attention and verifying information before it is pub-

lished.

As journalists once again raised the difficulties in securing information from Police, they were reminded of the heavy responsibility of investigating and analysing information lies on the Police as they were asked not to put “too much pressure on the Police”. One journalist shared a scenario where they were provided an invalid email address and timely attempts to contact

from page 10

Police proved futile, while highlighting that Police lags in sending out official releases to the media thereby causing persons to publicise information without official confirmation in the case of the recent Republic Bank robbery.

As the media and Police seek to find common grounds to bridge the communication gap in journalism the workshop will continue today.

(Paula Gomes)

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SunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Ophthalmic conference

Vision-care practitioners discuss industry standards Legitimacy vs legality of Parliament’s amendment power

… as ophthalmology enterprises display new technology, equipment

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ith our Court of Appeal granting the application of the Government to refer its previous decision on the Richardson case to the CCJ, I resubmit an intervention I made when former Chancellor and AG, Keith Massiah, wrote “in respectful concurrence with Justice Duke Pollard’s crystalline analysis of the issues bearing on the question of the presidential term limit.”

In doing so, however, Justice Massiah reveals, unfortunately, his concern that Justice Pollard was solely about “presidential term limit”, and not even the three other categories of citizens that were removed from consideration as presidential candidates to the citizenry

by Act 17 of 2001. Most significantly, they give short shrift to the real issue of the limits of the amendment power in reference to Ravi Dev the basic structure of the constitution in general, and of the “democratic sovereignty” of the Guyanese people in particular.

But in supporting Justice Pollard’s focus on an exegesis of “associated words on statutory terms…that articles 1 and 9 of the Constitution refer to “a unified political entity” and not to “constitutional entitlements of the people”, Chancellor Massiah reveals their common source of confusion.

Our Constitution emphasises at its very beginning: “We the people do adopt (the constitution)”. It then declared the Guyanese people possessing the “constituting power” created by “THE STATE AND THE CONSTITUTION”, including Art 1: “Guyana is an indivisible, secular, democratic sovereign state…and Art 8: “The constitution is the supreme law of Guyana”. The Constitution therefore possesses “constituted power” that is superior to the state, but subordinate to the “constituent power” of the people.

Under the next heading, “PRINCIPLES AND BASES OF THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SYSTEM”, Art 9 reaffirms one aspect of the “constituting power” of the people by affirming, “Sovereignty belongs to the people”. And they “exercise it through their representatives and the democratic organs established by or under this Constitution.” The latter have constitutive power.

Chancellor Massiah ignores the distinction between “constituent power”, which resides in the people, and “constituted power”, which is delegated to the Constitution and the people’s representatives. The constituent power is exercised by the people to create their constitution, and not vice versa for the constitution to specify “entitlements” of the people, as the Court of Appeal claims.

In Guyana, while the people have delegated the power of amending the constitution to their representatives (Art 164), this is inevitably a substantively and procedurally limited power.

Procedurally because it is to be exercised according to specified increasing levels of difficulty, which end with the ultimate possibility of a referendum of the people. The latter is a simulation of the exercise of their constituent power by acclamation, and is absent in the Indian and Belizean constitutions, which Justice Pollard and (by implication) Chancellor Massiah ignored.

The other use of the distinction between “constituent” and “constituted” power is to delineate the limits of the substantive amendment power by the representatives of the people: the latter, we emphasise, being constitutive and limited, cannot alter what was dubbed the “basic structure” by the Indian Supreme Court and encapsulated in our Arts 1 and 9. This delineation created the distinction between the “legality” of an amendment and its “legitimacy”. It raises the possibility -- as has occurred by Art 17 of 2001 -- that an amendment may be legal (according to the constituted delegated rules of Art 164) but illegitimate, based on its constricting the foundational principles emanating from the constituent power of the people.

The latter imposes “implied limitations” on the delegated amendment power, and illustrates the distinction made by Carl Schmitt between the “Constitution” (substantive) as stressed by CJ (ag) Chang (rtd) and the Appellate Court and “Constitutional law” (procedural”) relied on by Justice Pollard and Chancellor Massiah.

In sum, CJ (ag) Chang and the Appellate Court hold that the Constitution specifies the ontological, unalterable basic structure produced by the constituting power (“dubbed “eternity laws” by some), which cannot be restricted in Guyana unless approved by a referendum of the people in a simulation of their constituent power. Art 17 of 2001 sought to create an “unconstitutional constitutional amendment”.

With constitutional reform possibly on the horizon, determining the necessary basic structure of a constitution for Guyana might hopefully be informed by the debate.

Dr Yaspaul Sharma and other opthalmologists out of Vary Medical, Trinidad at the Conference on Saturday

V

ision-care practitioners and other stakeholders have gathered for the 28th annual Ophthalmological Society of the West Indies (OSWI) forum where policies and standards in the administering of vision care were discussed. The Public Health Ministry facilitated the Ophthalmological Society forum for the first time this year, after being awarded the honour of hosting the regional conference in Guyana.

The conference attracted stakeholders including eye surgeons, ophthalmic nurses and technicians, ophthalmic pharmaceutical and equipment distributors and affiliate partners within the Caribbean region annually.

Distinguished ophthalmologists from the United States and the United Kingdom presented and shared information on the latest advancements in their various fields of ophthalmology at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown.

On Saturday when Guyana Times visited the forum, a number of ophthalmologists and stakeholders from across the Region displayed equipment and new technologies to enhance ophthalmology care.

Dr Yaspaul Sharma of Vary Medical, based in Trinidad and Tobago, was among those who were at the 2017 event and offers consumables for eye surgery across the Caribbean. According to Sharma, his company’s main focus is to offer products at an affordable price.

“The focus is to bring high-quality consumables at affordable prices, so that the cost for eye surgeries could be lowered and in that way, eye care and better vision could be achieved for most population,” Dr Sharma told this newspaper in an interview.

Dr Sharma added that the company offers products for various eye surgeries including cataract and retina surgery. “We offer products like the implant lenses for cataract surgery and pharmaceutical products to be used after these surgeries that will help the patients as their eye heals after the operation”, Dr Sharma revealed.

Godfrey Phillip of Steede

Medical, another participant of the conference, also spoke to Guyana Times about the products offered by his company.

Steede Medical is the Caribbean distributors for Nideck, one of the leading manufacturers for surgical equipment.

According to Phillip, Steede Medical has recently introduced a line of surgical instruments along with pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical items to help further eye care and to assist doctors in their various practices.

Eye See You Ophthalmic with Managing Director, Dr Sunil Munisar is a one stop shop for all the necessary equipment needed for eye surgeries.

Munisar disclosed that the company was formed six years ago for “one of the better reasons…. when the doctors need products, they needed a company that had what

and standards for vision care and enabling continuing professional development opportunities for physicians, surgeons and other professionals in the field.

The four-day event also serves as an opportunity for the 10 local nurses, General Medical Officers (GMOs) and other allied health workers selected to attend to upgrade and sharpen their skills.

Some of the ophthalmologists are expected to perform clinical work at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, the sole referral institution in Guyana. Issues to be addressed at the confer-

they needed. So we carry everything, from surgical instruments, cataract consumables equipment, optical equipment and also what we do is that we service what we sell”.

The yearly conference serves an advocacy role while helping to promote policies

ence will include basic eyelid repairs; how diabetes affects our eyesight; glaucoma and cataract surgeries and managing refractive errors in children. Refractive errors include near-sightedness, far-sightedness and distorted vision.

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SunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Guyana in full support of Caricom position on Venezuela – welcomes region's continued support on border controversy

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ven as Guyana welcomes the region’s continued support in regard to the Venezuelan border controversy, the country is in full support of the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom’s) position on the political instability in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

President David Granger, during the just concluded 38th Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government of Caricom in Grenada, said the events in Venezuela are a reason for concern in terms of overall regional security, and added that Guyana would like to see Venezuela returned to full democratic rule.

Referring to Caricom’s position as outlined in a statement by the Heads at the close of the Meeting on July 7, wherein “Caricom Heads of Government… reaffirmed their guiding principles of adherence to the rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy, as well as for the fundamental principles of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of states”, President Granger, in an invited comment, said he supports a return to order in Venezuela without external interference.

“We do not want the Caribbean to become a zone of instability… We do not want to see the perpetuation of disorder, and we hope that the Venezuelan people would return to full democratic rule and full public order as quickly as possible

of the Community, and as I pointed out before, it’s like a house: if you knock down the pillars the house would fall. So I attach every importance to foreign policy coordination. It’s very difficult, because we’re not only a

Community, but we’re independent nation states which have to pursue what they call the national interest, and sometimes it collides with the Community’s interests. So it’s a work in progress,” President Granger said.

President Granger be-

lieves that the work Caricom has done to come to collective positions on these matters has served to test and strengthen foreign policy coordination. He reiterated the importance of such coordination during his address at the opening ceremony of the Meeting.

Ramjattan to drivers...

Stop behaving like animals on the roadways President David Granger speaking at the closing press conference of the 38th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. Also in photo is Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica

without the interference of third states. That is our ambition. We don’t want to intervene. Venezuela, I think, is one of the most mature democracies in the Region.

It has a tradition of elections. Right now they are undergoing some instability and we want to make sure that, at the end of the day, the Venezuelan people are satisfied with the outcome; it’s peaceful and they return to full democratic rule,” he said.

Guyana, as a neighbouring state to Venezuela, has particular interest in the current situation, and President Granger has kept Guyana’s interests on the front burner of the regional body.

Meanwhile, in the Communique issued at the close of the Heads of Government Meeting,

Caricom “reiterated the firm and unequivocal support of the Caribbean Community for the maintenance and preservation of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

President Granger noted, at the closing press conference, that Guyana has always been able to rely on the regional body on this issue. The Caricom Heads also joined Guyana, according to the Communiqué, in recognising the strong commitment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) to the process of coming to a final resolution to the border controversy.

President Granger noted that Caricom leaders have worked hard to, as far as possible, speak with one voice on foreign policy matters. “Foreign policy coordination is one of the pillars

- as cattle farmers given leniency due to flooded backlands

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ublic Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Saturday urged motorists to exercise caution on the roadways as the Stray Catching Unit (SCU) of the Ministry has been asked to relax its efforts in light of the impact weather conditions are having on cattle farmers.

This call by the Minister came in light of the Corentyne, Berbice accident on Friday which left six persons injured after the taxi in which they were travelling swerved from hitting a donkey and ended up toppling several times before coming to a halt.

The Public Security Minister explained that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo recently visited Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) and met with farmers who are suffering major losses, as dozens of their cattle are dieing as a result of floodwater in the backlands. To this end, there was an exhortation for the SCU to relax efforts in affected areas.

“A lot of the cattle in the backlands in Black Bush

Polder have to be brought out because of the floods and we’ve asked the Stray Catching Department here at the Ministry to go easy on the farmers because they have to bring out their cattle because they’re dying… so they have to bring them out to high lands where they can get food and that means coming out into the front lands and some will get stray on the road and so on,” the Public Security Minister stated.

With this level of leniency being extended to farmers, Minister Ramjattan is pleading with drivers to be more careful on the roadways to avoid accidents involving animals.

“You know if a driver be careful, there’s not gonna be accidents with an animal.

Sometime you want to know who is the real animal, if is the driver or the cow. So it is important that drivers behave like humans and the cow will always behave like a cow,” the Minister chided.

Nevertheless, he went on to note that the farmers too must take care of their cattle and try to prevent them from getting onto the

roadways.

“I could understand in this wet weather (taking care of animals) is a little difficult and so we all have to give a little, we all have to take a little because that’s how society is gonna run. Let’s be reasonable and behave like civilised people. So yes we’re gonna ask farmers and animal owners to make sure that their animals do not stay on the road and get them off the road as quickly as possible; and even drivers, when you see animals on the road take your time, be careful, be cautious, be caring,” Ramjattan pleaded.

Friday’s accident resulted in the injury of Dossier Farantazcia, 15; Dia Doxine, 19; Helas Naima, five; Dossier James, 15; and Jean Pierra, 15; all of Haiti.

They are currently admitted patients at the Skeldon and New Amsterdam hospitals in East Berbice.

The only Guyanese in the vehicle was Marvin Watts, a member of the Guyana Fire Service. He was the driver of the car involved in the accident. turn to page 16

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sunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

UG launches School of Entrepreneurship, Indian High Commissioner Business Innovation donates books to mandir

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T

The banner being unveiled

he University of Guyana on Friday launched its School of Entrepreneur and Business Innovation (SEBI) which seeks to educate and develop entrepreneurial, innovative leaders and managers with the needed skill.

SEBI will contribute to the development of an entrepreneurial and innovative culture in Guyana, through its training, lecture series, research and outreach efforts.

The school’s programmes will facilitate significant cross-discipline collaboration, allowing students in other areas to participate in studies and projects on agro-processing, healthcare management, creative arts management, and environmental management, just to name a few.

SEBI’s student philosophy is built around devel-

oping students with high standards of professionalism, academics, character, engagement and services.

Speaking at the launch, Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Ivelaw Griffith said the launch of SEBI is a historic event not only for the University but for the nation.

“This is not only historic for the University but for the nation and the world at large. What we are doing here with the community, with the policymakers, with people in the region and beyond is creating opportunity for not only entrepreneurship in thinking, not only entrepreneurship in dreaming but entrepreneurship in doing,” Griffith said.

The new programme sought to embrace a wider community by providing

a place for students of the Caribbean to also study at the facility.

However, the school has gone beyond the Caribbean Community and even met the ears of the Ambassador of Mexico to Guyana, Ivan Medel who delivered congratulatory remarks.

“From its inception, it was a step in the right direction in the moving efforts to jump start Guyana’s economic development and as it brings together academia and the Private Sector, Georgetown and the hinterland, overseas-based Guyanese and the many friends that Guyana has in the Region and indeed around the world,” Medel congratulated.

Following other congratulatory remarks, the banner of SEBI was unveiled declaring the school officially open.

he High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Venkatachalam Mahalingam, has on Friday donated 50 religious books to the library of the Groenveldt Shiva Mandir, located on the Demerara West Coast (WCD).

The books were handed over at a short ceremony organised by the High Commission in Georgetown.

The High Commissioner has urged members to ensure that devotees of the mandir utilise the books to enhance and enrich their knowledge of the Hindu Religion.

The High Commissioner

Indian High Commissioner, Venkatachalam Mahalingam, presenting the donated books to the President of the Groenveldt Shiva Mandir, Krishna Singh

had, in April, donated 222 books to the University of Guyana’s Tain Campus in East Berbice. That donation comprised 141 titles, and there were multiple copies

on various subjects such as Philosophy, History, Information Technology, Business, Religion, Politics, Science, etc.

Stop behaving like...

According to reports, motor car HC 5547 was proceeding North along the western side of the Number 53 Village Public Road, Corentyne, when a donkey walked into the path of the vehicle. The driver was reportedly speeding.

A breathalyser test was conducted on the driver, but it showed that he did not consume alcohol. However, he was taken into Police custody as investigations continue.

Meanwhile in May, 21-year-old Riaz Khan of Lot 38, Block A Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was allegedly driving a motor car with four others inside and while at the village of Philadelphia, EBE, he slammed the vehicle into three cows that were lying on the roadway.

The car, which was speeding, reportedly toppled several times before coming to a

FROM PAGE 14

halt, and the impact of this collision caused residents to rush out of their homes to lend assistance to the crash victims. They were rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where Khan, a teacher at the Guyana Islamic Institute, succumbed to his injures. The other three occupants of the vehicle were treated for injuries. The three cows involved in the accident were also killed.

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SunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

Essequibians fume as constant New SILWFC Board of Directors appointed power outages plague region

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esidents on the Essequibo Coast (Region Two) from Charity to Zorg en Vlygt are up in arms against the treatment being meted out to them by the Guyana Power & Light Inc. Guyana Times understands that the Wartsila generator plants at Anna Regina are currently down as a result of mechanical problems.

President of the Essequibo Chambers of Commerce, Deleep Singh, expressing dissatisfaction at the Guyana Power and Light Inc, has revealed that businesses are counting thousands of dollars in losses, since a number of items have been spoilt as a result of the prolonged power outages.

Even more frustrating for residents is the fact that the Guyana Power and Light has not informed residents of what has led to the outages. According to Singh, this has served as a huge inconvenience for those who are in the poultry business, and they have complained of having to purchase extra ice to preserve their plucked chicken. He said other residents in the region have suffered major blows to their livelihood, and the region's economy is suffering due to the

President of the Essequibo Chambers of Commerce, Deleep Singh

constant power outage.

Residents, particularly from Queenstown, Affiance, Anna Regina, Walton Hall and Charity to the extreme south, are significantly affected, and complain that power outages have been a prevalent occurrence for over a month.

"Every other day we experiencing hours of power outages, no one in authority saying anything" a resident said.

Businesses such as salons, small shop owners, radio lovers, tailors, restaurant owners, and fishermen living in those areas are complaining bitterly, since their trade is affected. In 2016, the

power plant located in Anna Regina burst into flames and resulted in several pieces of machinery being damaged. Officers from the Anna Regina Fire Station had to

render their services to assist in saving some of the plant's machinery.

Many businessmen and gas station owners have spo-

ken out against the constant episodes of blackout being experienced in the region, and have said they are of the view that the GPL should at least run a schedule or inform them when electricity will be supplied.

This newspaper previously reported the region’s Independence flag-raising ceremony was disrupted twice by power outages in May this year.

Region Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam) Chairman Daveanand Ramdatt has since bemoaned the unacceptable service of the company that Essequibians are forced to live with. Ramdatt deemed GPL’s shortcomings unacceptable, and said he cannot understand why, even as Guyana celebrates

51 years of Independence, there is an unreliable power supply, despite the country’s vast natural resources.

The Chairman alluded to the fact that Region Two has been experiencing severe power outages, and several complaints made to the company have fallen on deaf ears.

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inister of State, Joseph Harmon, has announced that Cabinet has approved the appointment of the new Board of Directors for the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo’s) Labour Welfare Fund Committee (SILWFC).

According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), the Minister of State said the new members of the board are Lincoln Lewis, James Sukhu and Dorchan Nagasar, who will replace Carvil Duncan, Jairam Petam, and Kenneth Joseph who passed away earlier this year.

The SILWFC was, in 1947, established by law to provide for the improvement of social and public health conditions among workers in the sugar industry, with special reference to hous-

ing, sanitation, potable water supply, and recreational facilities.

The principal activities of the organisation are today focused on the improvement of housing, roads, and the social and public health conditions of sugar workers.

SILWFC provides sugar workers with interest-free house and house-repair loans within stipulated ceilings, and assists in the maintenance of proper internal roads and sanitation in communities where sugar workers reside.

The organisation has also been significantly involved in house lot allocation, conveyance of titles, issuing of interest-free loans, and giving water subsides to sugar workers who have met the qualifying requirements.

Ammo found in abandoned camp

The ammunition that was found

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anks of the Guyana Police Force swooped down on a camp at Seamang 's Backdam,Issano, Lower Mazaruni , and found 18 twelve gauge cartridges

and seventeen 9mm rounds.

Reports are the camp was abandoned at the time when the raid was conducted.

Investigations are continuing.

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SunDAY, juLY 9, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Training for RHO to improve health-care delivery in regions A posse of tearful caimans T Anna's

“

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overnment gotta find a place fuh put me in, right.

Government brought me from my home, not a house, I don’t live in a house, right. (…) I am a humble

servant”.

This is how Junior Minister Simona Broomes justified the squandering of tax dollars to fund her G$6 million annual rent allowance. Almost G$1 million in monthly salary and other ministerial benefits, plus the usual $25,000 monthly rent allowance, wasn’t enough for the Minister’s seemingly insatiable appetite for luxury.

The Government residences at Echilibar Villas on Stone Anna Correia Avenue, Campbellville, Georgetown, must not have been up to her standards. Based on information received from some in the Minister’s previous neighbourhood, Broomes had allegedly taken up residence in Queenstown, Georgetown, at a monthly rent of less than G$100,000, before requesting to be relocated to the mansion which placed her at the heart of her most recent scandal. But what does she know of humility when her annual rent is worth five times a cane cutter’s annual salary?

The justification she gave during her last press conference was a tedious expression of mediocrity during which she would have us almost believe that she was taken by force from her family to serve as Minister. A tearful caiman might have been more convincing than Broomes. The powers that be and all aspiring to take up leadership roles in Government, should be reminded that the choice to serve the people of Guyana is a personal one, requiring self-sacrifice whenever needed and throughout one’s political career.

Therefore, the Guyanese people owe those in the public service nothing more than their salaries. Yet, we’re forced to look at highfalutin Ministers pretend to be victims, to justify avarice and the wasteful expenses of our already limited resources. One should think that the Republic Bank robbers were scarcely anything much in comparison to the Government of Guyana when it comes to robbing the poor.

Upon simple examination, shifting the ministerial housing allowances from G$25,000 to G$500,000/month (a 1900 per cent increase), equates to approximately G$150 million/year for one Prime Minister, 13 Ministers, eight Junior Ministers and three Vice Presidents.

Similarly, with the salary increases accommodating the extravagant tastes of the regime, these 25 senior officials rake up an estimated G$256,476,936 yearly (non-inclusive of presidential expenses, health insurance, travel expenses, per diem and other perks and benefits).

But the weight of the coalition’s rapacious penchants is ironically borne by the small woman and man who perform the back-breaking task or keeping the staggering economy alive.

Our rural people, sugar workers included, make up the bulk of this population. Nevertheless, the hard work of those toiling the traditional income earning sectors is now being compensated by what can be described as deliberate State neglect and marginalisation. Sugar workers are the best representation of this inhumane, backward thinking.

After tens of millions were injected into the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Commission of Inquiry, the recommendations produced were literally ignored and the coalition pursued its malign quest to gut sugar workers.

As if this wasn’t enough, the APNU/AFC has decided to inject more tax dollars to further chastise sugar workers and force them into poverty. Finance Minister Winston Jordan during the last parliamentary sitting, requested G$130 million to set up a “Special Purpose Unit” which will be tasked with selling off GuySuCo’s assets. He barefacedly informed the House that more funds will eventually be needed during the course of the year.

And to top it off, the Minister confirmed that 60 to 70 per cent of the funds are just for salaries of the Unit’s head, deputy head and legal advisers. It is yet to be revealed who these presumed professionals will be.

Do those who voted for change feel a pang of guilt nipping at them every now and again, when they come to terms with the fact that their votes and tax dollars are just as responsible as the Government of Guyana, in the horrendous persecution of sugar workers. Have we forgotten that the heart of Guyana lies beyond Georgetown, and that thousands of our rural people are on the verge of being jobless overnight?

Does no one ask why it is that when the world needs a steady supply of sugar, the Government prefers to invest our finances in the industry’s demise rather than its mechanisation?

When will we understand that Guyana is a primarily rural country and that if our rural people suffer, the nation cannot progress? Contact sundayarrow@gmail.com

o ensure the effective management of the health sector at the regional level, it is imperative that relevant personnel oversee the functions and duties of health-care providers in regions across Guyana. This realisation came at the conclusion of the Regional Health Officers (RHO’s) two-day capacity building exercise hosted at Mainstay Resort, Essequibo.

RHOs were equipped in the preparation of detailed financial budgets to cater for the provision of the region’s specific needs; the RHOs will now be able to prioritise needs in the health sector.

Arising from the meeting was the need to train regional staff on health financing and budgeting, financial management, medi-

cal supplies and equipment procurement and understanding laws governing the health sector.

Regional Health Officer, Region Five, Dr Steven Chefoon noted that it is important to educate staff as it was observed that during preparations for this year’s budget, persons were submitting lists without any justification.

“Having all these health workers trained in the consumption and distribution process it takes the timeline of about a year. Bartica is not only the central area. There should be a hub in Bartica and in Kamarang so when we talk about training we talking about two or three different areas of training,” Administrator for the Bartica Regional Hospital,

Region Five Regional Health Officer, Dr Steve Chefoon

Merlene Ferrier stressed, as she echoed Steven’s position.

Over the years, critical materials requested by the

Regional Health Officers have not been given priority owing to no indications of its utilisation in the region, which sees the omission of these items in the region’s general budget.

As such, Dr Chefoon indicated his plans to engage the Health Ministry to have a training session done with the regional Councillors of the RDC. “They don’t understand budget and they tend to take things out from the budget that are actually needed in the region,” he stated.

In addition other areas identified for capacity building are the Integrated Health Systems Delivery and Health Governance and Policy to improve effective health care delivery in mostly remote regions.

Japan floods: Deaths after Kyushu rain rise to 15 T

he death toll from flooding caused by recent heavy rain in southern Japan has risen to at least 15, officials say. Emergency teams are searching for another 15 people who are missing.

Rivers burst their banks, destroying buildings and roads after more than 50cm (20in) of rain fell over a 12hour period on parts of the south-western island of Kyushu on Wednesday.

Rescuers are working

through thick mud to try to reach stranded survivors.

Hundreds have already been evacuated. The worsthit areas are in Fukuoka prefecture.

Announcing the revised death toll, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the region was expected to see further heavy rain on Saturday.About 12,000 Police, military, firefighters and coast guard personnel have taking part in the rescue operation. (BBC News)

More rain is expected on Kyushu island at the weekend

Antiguan Govt 7 killed in disputed welcomes release Kashmir in crossof Venezuelan border shelling Opposition Leader

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he Antigua and Barbuda Government Saturday welcomed the release of jailed Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lopez, saying it should be regarded as “a confidence building measure between the Government and Opposition political parties” in the South American country.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne also indicated that the release should serve,” to reinvigorate a dialogue between them that leads to a Venezuelan solution to the political impasse and economic and social difficulties facing the country.

“I urge all parties to seize this good faith measure to engage in the dialogue that is required in the interest of the people of their country,”

Browne said in a statement.

Lopez has been put under house arrest after more than three years in jail. His lawyer, Javier Cremades said that his client “is at his home in Caracas with (his wife) Lilian and his children.

Lopez had been sentenced to 14 years for inciting violence during anti-government protests in 2014.

The Supreme Court said he was released on health grounds.

He was being held in a jail near Caracas and has always protested his innocence. His wife had complained that she had not been allowed to see Lopez for more than a month, but on Friday she tweeted she had been allowed an hourlong meeting. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

S

even people were killed in Kashmir in cross-border shelling by both Pakistan and India on Saturday, officials on both sides of the frontier said, as the anniversary of a militant's killing raised tensions in the disputed region.

The violence occurred as hundreds of militants and political activists took to the streets in Pakistancontrolled Kashmir to commemorate the death of Burhan Wani, a militant killed by the army after urging the region's mainly Muslim population to rise up against Indian forces.

A Reuters witness saw protesters holding Pakistani flags and banners and shouting slogans lauding the sacrifice of Wani and others, while pledging to carry on the holy war in Indianadministered Kashmir.

"Jihad is our path, free-

dom is our destination," they shouted while holding up portraits of the slain militant.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, another Reuters witness saw demonstrators wearing face masks throwing stones at police in downtown Srinagar, the region's summer capital. Police retaliated with teargas and stones thrown using slingshots.

Indian authorities blocked internet access in Kashmir on Friday and sealed off his home town after Wani's supporters said they would stage demonstrations to mark the anniversary.

Five people died on Pakistan's side of the disputed border and 10 were wounded in cross-border shelling, local police officials told Reuters. (Excerpt from Reuters)

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sunDAY, july 9, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the World

US isolated on climate at Egyptian Police kill 16 gunmen summit of world leaders in raids targeting militants

Many of the protesters in Hamburg were demonstrating against Donald Trump’s position on climate change (BBC photo)

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eaders from the world’s leading economies broke with US President Donald Trump on climate policy at a G20 summit on Saturday, in a rare public admission of disagreement and blow to multilateral cooperation.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, keen to show off her skills as a mediator two months before a German election, achieved her primary goal at the meeting in

Hamburg, convincing her fellow leaders to support a single communique with pledges on trade, finance, energy and Africa.

But the divide between Trump, elected on a pledge to put “America First”, and the 19 other members of the club, including countries as diverse as Japan, Saudi Arabia and Argentina, was stark.

Last month Trump announced he was pulling the United States out of a land-

mark international climate accord clinched two years ago in Paris.

“In the end, the negotiations on climate reflect dissent – all against the United States of America,” Merkel told reporters at the end of the meeting.

“And the fact that negotiations on trade were extraordinarily difficult is due to specific positions that the United States has taken.”

The summit, marred by violent protests that left the streets of Hamburg littered with burning cars and broken shop windows, brought together a volatile mix of leaders at a time of major change in the global geo-political landscape.

Trump’s shift to a more unilateral, transactional diplomacy has left a void in global leadership, unsettling traditional allies in Europe and opening the door to rising powers like China to assume a bigger role. (Reuters)

E

gyptian Police officers have shot dead 16 gunmen in two shootouts, the country's Interior Ministry said on Saturday, adding that most of those killed were fugitive militants linked to recent attacks on security forces in Northern Sinai.

Egypt faces an Islamist insurgency led by the Islamic State group in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013.

At least two policemen were killed and nine wounded when their armored vehicle was hit by an explosion in the Sinai on Saturday, Egypt's state news agency MENA said.

Saturday's attack came a day after at least 23 soldiers were killed when suicide car bombs tore through two military checkpoints in the region in an attack claimed by Islamic State. It was one of the bloodiest assaults on se-

Venezuela Opposition Leader vows to fight on

V

enezuela’s bestknown jailed Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lopez celebrated a surprise return to his family after being granted house arrest on Saturday with a promise to fight on following three years’ imprisonment for leading anti-government protests.

Hours after his predawn transfer from the Ramo Verde military jail, Lopez appeared on top of a wall in front of his Caracas house, waving the Venezuelan flag and punching the air before a crowd of supporters who cheered and cried upon seeing him.

In a message released by his party, the 46-year-

Leopoldo Lopez

old hardliner urged opposition supporters to continue street protests against President Nicolas Maduro, which are in their fourth

month and have led to at least 90 deaths.

“If maintaining my fight for freedom means running the risk of returning to a

cell in Ramo Verde, I am more than happy to take it,” he said in the message read by Freddy Guevara, the No. 2 in Lopez’s Popular Will party.

“Today, I am a prisoner in my house, but so are the Venezuelan people. What kept me going in the toughest days was knowing that whatever suffering I endured was nothing compared to our people.”

Lopez’s release, aided by foreign pressure, gave some rare cheer to Venezuela’s opposition who have otherwise seen Maduro give few concessions in their demands for freedom of activists, general elections and fixes for an economic crisis. (Reuters)

Egyptian relatives and friends carry the coffin of the officer Khaled al-Maghrabi, who was killed during a suicide bomb attack on an army checkpoint

curity forces in years.

The Interior Ministry said that gunmen had opened fire on police as they approached a desert training camp for militants in Ismailia. The officers returned fire, killing 14 militants, five of whom have been identified so far.

The camp was used to "subject (recruits) to military training programs on the use of various types of firearms and manufacture explosive

devices...," the ministry said in a statement.

In a separate statement the ministry also said its forces killed two men described as fugitive terrorists in an exchange of gunfire in the city of Giza.

The men, who were inside an apartment, opened fire on security forces as soon as the officers approached to arrest them, it said. (Reuters)

Jamaica wants crime, violence debated at regional level

J

amaica says Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders will have to address and grapple with, in a serious way, the issue of crime and violence and has asked that the matter be an agenda item at the next Caricom summit to be held in that Caribbean country in July next year.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, speaking at a news conference following the closure of the 38th meeting of Heads of Governments here on Thursday night, told reporters that while crime and violence had not been a matter on the agenda for this summit, he had taken the opportunity to raise the matter here.

Holness said that regional governments have to take a “proactive role in addressing this issue, so I have asked Caricom to place this on the agenda for our next meeting and heads have agreed.

“So this will become an agenda item and I believe that this will start a process within Caricom to address the issue of violence and in particular violence that ends up in crime”.

Holness also disclosed that the report of a recent study done on the regional integration movement by a Caricom Review Commission headed by former Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding, is now being reviewed by his Cabinet. (CMC)

Battle for Mosul: IS Rowley: Govt cannot make Clico payments defeat imminent, W says state TV

S

o-called Islamic State (IS) defences in the Iraqi city of Mosul are collapsing fast and troops expect to take full control in the next few hours, state television has announced.

Only a few metres remain to be taken, a correspondent said.

Some Iraqi security forces have been seen dancing in the streets even though commanders have not confirmed the news.

The Government announced the full "liberation" of eastern Mosul in January, but the west of the city has presented a more difficult challenge, with its narrow, winding streets.

The UN has warned that IS may be holding more than

100,000 people in the city as human shields.

Last October, the Iraqi army said there were 6,000 militants in the city. Fewer than 300 were thought to be holding out.

Some 900,000 people have been displaced from the city since 2014 - about half the the pre-war population- aid organisations say.

Last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the destruction of the ancient mosque in the city of Mosul was "an official declaration of defeat" by IS. Iraqi forces say IS blew up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri and its famous leaning minaret as jihadists battled to stop advancing pro-government troops. (BBC)

ith some Caricom Member States making claims on Government to complete payments for CL Financial’s liabilities to policy holders, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says Government just cannot make these payments at this time. He said, Government was not prepared to entertain any further discussion by claimants at the level of Caricom but will do so at bilateral levels, and has asked for addition time to look at the claims.

At the just-concluded Caricom Heads of Government meeting in Grenada, Rowley said that the countries involved have said that Trinidad and Tobago took steps through legislative processes to financially bail out its citizens who were affected by the CL Financial collapse.

They have said that TT has not sufficiently done the same for citizens in other Caricom countries who were CL Financial clients.

The basis of the argument,

Rowley said, was interpreted from the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to mean that no Caricom country should favour its own citizens in a regional entity over citizens of other member states.

“These arguments are on the table. They were bolstered by some agreements that dated back to the Manning era which were further supported by the Persad-Bissessar era where certain commitments were made to pay certain mon-

ies.” Those agreements, he said, “were cemented by a payment of US$50 million in a promise of US$100 million. We are now being called upon to conclude those transactions.” He has asked for time to look at the requests “a little closer,” he said, not in the context of the promises that were made, because TT will not renege on its commitment to its Caricom colleagues, but to look at the current situation with CL Financial. (T&T

Newsday)

Too much stress as judge resigns from Legal Service Commission

R

etired Judge Humphrey Stollmeyer says he resigned as a member of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) since he could no longer continue to inflict the distress of criticisms and unjustifiable condemnation, associated with holding

public office, on his loved ones.

Details of the reasons for Stollmeyer and his colleague Justice Roger Hamel-Smith’s resignations were contained in a statement from the Office of the President yesterday.

On Thursday, that office announced the resignations. The

resignation letters were delivered and accepted by the President on June 22 and became effective June 30.

Following Thursday’s announcement, there were calls for the two to make public, reasons for their resignations. Former attorney gen-

eral Anand Ramlogan, SC, who in a lawsuit challenged Stollmeyer and Hamel Smith’s appointments as JLSC members, said on Thursday that full and frank disclosure was a necessary part of the principles of transparency and public accountability. (T&T Newsday)

sunDAY, july 9, 2017

19

ICC Women’s World Cup

Van Niekerk, Lee blow India away D

ane van Niekerk returned to the venue of her history-making spell against West Indies to produce a performance par excellence, with bat and ball, to demolish India in Leicester.

The South Africa captain used flight, drift and, for large parts, lack of turn, to finish with 4-22 off her 10 overs. In the end, they lost their first match of this World Cup, falling short of the target of 274 by 115 runs, and might well rue their decision to bowl at the toss.

Mithali Raj, who had made that call, came into the match needing 34 runs to become the highest run-scorer in Women's ODIs. She arrived at the crease with India on 47-2 but, after misjudging a straighter one, was bowled for her first ever golden duck. So it was that Van Niekerk won the battle of the captains. Her legspin sparked a collapse as India slipped to 65-7 and best of all, she had ensured South Africa stayed in the running for a semi-final spot.

Lizelle Lee's innings was instrumental; she smacked a brutal 92 off 65 balls with seven sixes - the third time she has struck as many - to lead South Africa to an imposing total.

There were ominous signs right from the start, when Marizanne Kapp, the No. 1-ranked ODI bowler,

struck with her second ball.

Smiriti Mandhana, having flayed her first ball for four through point, was caught at deep square leg.

Poonam Raut and Deepti

care of Veda Krishnamurthy and her stumps. Shikha Pandey ran past a legbreak from van Niekerk and three overs later, Sushma Verma ran herself out as India

and finished with figures of 9-0-68-2. Lee's knock was extremely well constructed.

Her first fifty runs came off 44 balls, the next 42 came off only 21. India seemed like they had gained respite when Harmanpreet had Lee lbw in her first over, and with it being the 21st of the innings, there was still time for a salvage operation. But

van Niekerk wouldn't allow for it. Having come in during the 28th over, she held steady until the 44th, when she survived a runout as Goswami couldn't collect the throw at the bowler's end. That reprieve got her going as she went from 31 off 49 balls to 57 off 66, pushing her tally to seven fours and a six. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

Dane van Niekerk has nine wickets from 18.2 overs at Grace Road

Sharma went about rebuilding the innings with a 43run second-wicket stand but that period of stability - the only one for India - ended when Ayabonga Khaka produced a slower ball to deceive the advancing Raut and bowl her. Mithali was handed her first duck in five years by van Niekerk, who then trapped Harmanpreet Kaur lbw in the same over.

A ripper from Khaka - pitching on a good length and nipping away off the seam - took

went into freefall at 65 for 7.

If not for Deepti's composed 60 off 111 balls which exemplified how good the pitch was to bat on India might have struggled to even cross 100.

Mithali later explained that she was persuaded to bowl at Grace Road by people informing her that it was a chasing ground, and she also wanted to follow the template from the Women's World Cup qualifier final when India beat South

Jamaica sprinter Livermore returns positive test J

Africa by hunting down a target of 245.

But those plans did not account Lee's belligerence. She was separated from her opening partner

amaican sprinter Jason Livermore has tested positive for a banned substance, the chairman of the country’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel, Kent Gammon, has revealed.

According to reports, Livermore, a 2014 200m bronze medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, tested positive for the unspecified substance in December of last year during out of competition testing. The findings were announced at a preliminary hearing convened by the independent three-member panel on Friday, at the Jamaica Conference Centre, but a full hearing has been set for September 11. Livermore is said to have violated Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) Article 2.1 of anti-doping rules, which refers to “Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in an Athlete's Sample”.

The 29-year-old sprinter, also a gold medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in a 4x100m team that included Usain Bolt, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade, did not compete at the country’s National Trials last month and as a result is not a part of the team selected for the London World Championships. Livermore, who trains at the Jamaica-based Akan Track club, boasts a personal best of 10.03 seconds. (Sportsmax)

Laura Wolvaardt in the second over but that seemed to only spur her on. She took the wicket-taker Pandey for two fours and a six to double South Africa's score - 16 at the time - in a single over.

The biggest way in which Lee upset India's bowling was by taking on Ekta Bisht.

The left-arm spinner has been a vital source of wickets during the middle overs, but here, she was smashed for 25 runs in 11 balls by the South African opener,

South Africa Women innings (50 overs maximum) L Wolvaardt b Pandey 1 L Lee lbw b Kaur 92 T Chetty† c Goswami b Bisht 24 M du Preez st †Verma b Poonam Yadav 22 19 M Kapp b Kaur D van Niekerk* c Mandhana b Pandey 57 S Luus c Krishnamurthy b Goswami 16 CL Tryon c Goswami b Pandey 24 S Ismail st †Verma b Bisht 5 A Khaka not out 7 M Daniels not out 1 Extras (lb 2, w 2, nb 1) 5 Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 273 Fall of wickets 1-1 (Wolvaardt, 1.2 ov), 2-92 (Chetty, 15.5 ov), 3-134 (Lee, 20.4 ov), 4-160 (du Preez, 27.3 ov), 5-162 (Kapp, 28.6 ov), 6-203 (Luus, 39.6 ov), 7-252 (Tryon, 46.4 ov), 8-265 (van Niekerk, 48.4 ov), 9-265 (Ismail, 49.2 ov) Bowling-J Goswami 10-0-531 (1w), S Pandey 9-0-40-3 (1nb, 1w), E Bisht 9-1-68-2, Poonam Yadav 10-1-31-1, DB Sharma 8-0-61-0, H Kaur 4-0-18-2

India Women innings (target: 274 runs from 50 overs) PG Raut b Khaka 22 S Mandhana c Ismail b Kapp 4 DB Sharma c Daniels b van Nieke rk 60 M Raj* b van Niekerk 0 H Kaur lbw b van Niekerk 0 V Krishnamurthy b Khaka 3 S Pandey st †Chetty b van Nieke rk 0 S Verma† run out (Lee/†Chetty) 1 J Goswami not out 43 E Bisht c van Niekerk b Luus 13 Poonam Yadav c †Chetty b Ismail 0 Extras (lb 6, w 3, nb 3) 12 Total (all out; 46 overs) 158 Fall of wickets 1-4 (Mandhana, 1.2 ov), 2-47 (Raut, 11.6 ov), 3-48 (Raj, 12.2 ov), 4-48 (Kaur, 12.4 ov), 5-53 (Krishnamurthy, 15.5 ov), 6-56 (Pandey, 16.3 ov), 7-65 (Verma, 19.5 ov), 8-118 (Sharma, 38.1 ov), 9-155 (Bisht, 44.1 ov), 10-158 (Poonam Yadav, 45.6 ov) Bowling- S Ismail 9-1-18-1 (3nb), M Kapp 8-1-31-1 (1w), A Khaka 10-1-33-2 (1w), M Daniels 3-0-21-0(1w), D van Niekerk 10-0-22-4, S Luus 6-1-27-1

‘Crisis Man’ Chase the toast of WIPA/CWI awards

W

est Indies all-rounder Roston Chase was the toast of the region after picking up four awards at the WIPA/CWI annual awards ceremony held on Friday night at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica.

Chase, who has enjoyed a splendid run of form in recent months, captured the Cricketer of the Year Award, and the Test Cricketer of the Year Award. In addition, the offspin-bowling allrounder from Barbados was also named Emerging Cricketer of the Year and Regional Four-Day Cricketer of the Year.

The 25 year-old Chase has put up impressive stats since his debut in July 2016, amassing three hundreds and three fifties in ten Tests with an average of 48.53.

However, the self-labeled ‘crisis man’ has really shone in recent outings, with four of his six fifty-plus scores coming after the team were four down for less than 70. Stafanie Taylor, who is currently leading West Indies' women's team at the World Cup in England, was the Women's Cricketer of the Year.

The regional team’s Test and ODI captain Jason Holder captured the Best ODI Cricket Award, while T20 star Andre

Roston Chase was the top awardee at the WIPA/ CWI annual awards ceremony

Russell, who is currently serving a one-year doping whereabouts violation, was named the T20 Cricketer of the Year. (Sportsmax)

20 SPORTS

SunDAY, july 9, 2017 | guyanatimesGY.com

Digicel Schools Football Championships

Annai, St. Ignatius to vie for Region 9 title

By Akeem Greene

A

nnai Secondary will today come up against St. Ignatius Secondary to determine the champions of Region Nine in the seventh annual Digicel Schools Football Championships.

High-octane action is always expected whenever these teams collide, and today’s competition, to be held at the St. Ignatius Community Centre Ground, is certainly no different.

Annai’s path to the final was orchestrated by a Naidison Daniels hat-trick when Aishalton was obliterated 8-0 in the presence of a partisan and very vocal crowd at the aforementioned venue on Saturday. Support came from Owen Scipio, Sherral Daniels, Clinton Philips, Vasco Cabral and Mattias Milton.

Playing in intermittent showers against the backdrop of the picturesque Rupununi mountains, Scipio was the first to score, blasting in a right-footer that beat the diving keeper to his left in the 4th minute. Naidison then produced a solo effort,

slipping past two defenders to unleash a powerful shot to the low left, leaving the opposition rattled in the 15th minute.

Seconds before the blow of the half-time whistle, Sherral then increased the Annai lead in the 35th min-

continued when Cabral added another goal with a classic leaping header three minutes later.

Aishlaton’s Ben Realine had a few chances to help

Sand Creek’s Hilton Pablo (all white) played his heart out to keep his team in the match

It was a fight to the end put on Ignatius Secondary

ute, to end a one-sided first half game 3-nil.

When play resumed, the pendulum continued to swing in favour of Annai, with Philips placing his name on the score sheet in the 38th minute, followed

by Naidison repeating this act in the 45th. The carnage

“The odds are even”- Beaton

between the home side and Sand Creek Secondary, the former edged ahead 3-2 in an

by Sand Creek Secondary (all white) and Stevenly contested affair which had the fans on the edge of his team make a mark, but their seats by the see-saw acthose efforts were thwarted tion. by steely defending by leftThe unrelated duo of back Nestan Newton.

Jared and Cleon George In the 67 minute, Milton made the difference in the hammered the final nail in engrossing affair, Jared the Aishalton coffin, much to causing eruption of monthe delight of the Annai supstrous cheer in the 25th porters. minute with a remarkable Meanwhile, in the clash

GCB Female InterCounty U-19 T20

Berbice gain easy win over Essequibo – set to clash with Demerara for title today

Ronsford Beaton is anticipating some of the action on the quick Sabina Park track

By Delvon McEwan

A

s West Indies prepare to take on India in a one-off T20 clash at Sabina Park on Sunday, local fast bowler Ronsford Beaton is staring at a possible debut on the international arena, especially since he was selected at the request of Head Coach Stuart Law, who wanted in the side a seamer who could bowl with sustainable pace.

However, Beaton’s opportunity is in the balance because of the presence of senior statesman Jerome Taylor and the in-form Kesrick Williams, but he must be ready to prove his worth if given a chance in today’s match, which will also see the return of talismanic batsman Chris Gayle, who was absent from the T20 format internationally for more than a year.

Speaking to this publication on Wednesday evening, the fast bowler said the odds are even, but he is prepared to deliver with sustainable pace whenever called upon.

The 24-year-old declared himself very elated to be retained, and said he believes he would be given the opportunity at the right time. He has posited that maybe he would then be the ‘the right horse for the course’.

The right-arm quickie maintains he is as fit as a fiddle, and is ready to provide thrills in his usual aggressive approach as he employs his artistry as a fast bowler. If he does, he would be living up to the expectation of Head Coach of the West Indies, Stuart Law, who has requested someone to add firepower to the attack.

Beaton left Guyana on Thursday at 06:00h on his way to Jamaica.

right-foot shot from wide on the left that dipped under the cross-bar. Eight minutes later, Cleon took it upon himself to increase the lead with an unaccompanied effort, stretching his long legs to glide pass the opposition’s backline.

The second half began in erratic fashion as Sand Creek’s Bronson Andrew had his goal disallowed due to his being off-side. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Jared scored his second goal in the 45th min-

ute, and the result seemed ominous.

However, Sand Creek found enough enthusiasm to score two goals in the space of four minutes and change the complexity of the match.

Andrew was the first to score, in the 63rd; but it was Hilton Pabalo’s effort that raised the goose bumps. He physically battled his way down the left flank, then released a bullet-like shot that rattled the standstill keeper.

The late surge was, however, far too late, as the home side compacted their defence to remain ahead at the final whistle.

Today’s final will commence at 16:00 hrs, and the winners are set to receive $100,000 and a match against the Region 5 finalist.

The school that wins the entire championship will collect $1,000,000, to go towards a project of their choice, along with the championship trophy. Second, third and fourth-placed finishers will receive $700,000, $400,000 and $350,000 respectively; and these sums of money are for a project of the school’s choice. The final is slated for July 30 at Leonora.

B

erbice defeated Essequibo in a five-over affair as rain hampered second round action of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Female Inter-County Under-19 T20 tournament.

Played yesterday at the Everest Cricket Club Ground, the team from the Ancient County triumphed by 10 wickets over its Cinderella County opponents.

Essequibo scored 17-4 from their allotted five overs, while Berbice replied with 18 without loss from five legal deliveries.

Due to the win Berbice moved to five points, after picking up one point from an abandoned first round clash against the President’s XI. They are joint leaders with Demerara, who also defeated Essequibo, while the President’s XI has one point and Essequibo is yet to get off the mark.

Demerara’s clash with the President’s XI was abandoned because of the wet outfield caused by heavy morning rain on Saturday.

In the final round today, Essequibo will take on the President’s XI from 9:00h, while the champions will be decided after the Berbice and Demerara clash, which is expected to get underway at 13:30h.

The venue is the Everest Cricket Club Ground.

Floodlights dethrone Regal Masters in NY F ormer champions Floodlights regained their position as the supreme team when the New York Softball Cricket League annual Independence/ Legends Cup Softball Cricket Tournament concluded on July 2.

Floodlights dethroned 2016 champions Regal Masters in an exciting game in the final of the tournament played at Roy Wilkinson Park in New York. It was the third successive clash between the two teams, and Floodlights now hold the advantage at 2-1.

Floodlights opted to bat first, and made 217-4 off their allotted 20 overs, with Ravi Lutchman leading the way with an undefeated 112.

He was well supported by Unnis Yusuf on 34 and Lloyd Ruplall on 38.

Ravi and Unnis had a whirlwind opening start of 66 in 6 overs, before Lloyd Ruplall joined Ravi Lutchman and together they put on 105 for the second-wicket partnership.

Ramesh Narine Deonarine chipped in with 15, and Wayne Jones was not out on

8.

Regal Master’s bowlers were put under pressure by Floodlights, who mixed aggression with sound defence and good running between the wickets to eventually reach 217.

When Regal Masters replied, only Rudolph Baker with 38 showed some resistance, as his team was restricted to 167-7 off 20 overs.

Wayne Jones took 4-32 to break the backbone of the opposition. Ramo Malone, Ramesh Narine Deonarine and Lutchman took one wicket each.

Floodlights walked away with all prizes that were presented in the Legends Tournament. Lutchman was voted man of the match in the final, and was also MVP of the Tournament.

In the Open Category of the Tournament, called the Independence Cup, New York Softball Cricket League defeated Regal All Stars in the Final. Floodlights and Floodlights Legend will now turn their attention to Canada, where “Toronto Cup 2” will play on August 4th, 5th & 6th later this year.

sports

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21

Barbados beat Guyana to capture Junior CASA title after 12 years G

uyana, having won the Junior Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) championships for 12 straight years, conceded the title to Barbados yesterday when action came to a close at the Georgetown Club courts.

The Guyanese girls were the first to be defeated, in the morning session, as the Barbadian females won 5-0 in their encounter.

Guyana’s Taylor Fernandes lost 5-11, 4-11, and 1-11 to Bajan Meagan Best, while Rebecca Low went down to Amanda Heywood in sets of 3-11, 7-11 and 5-11.

In the third matchup between the two countries,

the Barbadian Jodi SmithPadmore downed Guyana’s Makeda Harding 11-9, 11-6 and 11-5. Harding’s teammate Abosaide Cadogan then went down to Chelsie Samuel by 11-6, 11-9 and 12-10.

In the fifth and final match, Kirsten Gomes barely offered any resistance to Suimairaa Suleman, who condemned Guyana to defeat with straight sets of 112, 11-4 and 11-1.

Guyana’s Male team took on their Bajan counterparts in the second session of the day in what was anticipated to be a mouthwatering clash. However, it was a disappointing encounter, as the Guyanese lost 4-1.

King upsets field to capture 17th Annual P&P Insurance Brokers Cycling title

By Michelangelo Jacobus

P

oliceman Mario King upset a field of Guyana’s top cyclists on Saturday as he sprinted his way to victory in the National Park to capture the 17th Annual P&P Insurance Brokers Cycling title in the 35-lap feature race.

King, who finished his race in a time of 1 hour 18 minutes 21.22 seconds, fended off Alonzo Ambrose in the final lap to take top honours. Ambrose, a member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), finished in second, while Warren McKay came in third.

Team Coco’s Jamaul John finished fourth, while Raul Leal from Team Evolution was fifth, with his fellow club member Paul DeNobrega coming in sixth.

In the Juveniles 10-lap race, Briton John had a commanding ride to take top spot and dethrone Nigel Duiguid in a time of 21m, 13.38s.

Duiguid, who won the event last year, came in second, while Christopher Cornelius was third.

In the 5-lap mountain bike event, Ryan Canterbury was first, while Akram Singh came in a close second.

The Veterans Under-45 years five-lap event was an entertaining race, as defending champion Jaikarran Sookhai retained his title ahead of second placed Ian Jackson and third placed Steve Ramsuchit in a time of 11m24.31s.

Guyana’s Benjamin Mekdeci offered brief resistance before losing out to Josiah Griffith in sets of 14-12, 11-8 and 11-6, while Alexander Cheeks forced a fifth set with Reginald Brewster, who eventually won by scores of 11-5, 11-7, 11-13, 6-11 and 11-6.

Khamal Cumberbatch handed Guyana their third loss when he beat Daniel Islam in straight sets of 112, 11-5 and 11-4.

Shomari Wiltshire was the lone ranger for Guyana, claiming their only win when he defeated Darien Benn in sets of 11-2, 11-2 and 11-1.

Michael Alphonso’s loss confirmed Barbados’s first title win in over 12 years,

Overall winners Barbados pose with their trophy

when Alex Stewart won in sets of 11-13, 11-7, 11-8 and 11-5.

Guyana had previously won the title consecutively from 2005 to 2016.

UDFA Inter-Association GT Beer “Sunday Night Super Cup” to kick-off in Linden tonight

T

he Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA), under the new leadership of President Terrence Mitchell, have set an ambitious nationwide football championship to mark their 2017 season opener.

It involves the eight associations affiliated to the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), who will battle for a $2M first prize in a $6M championship package dubbed the GT Beer ‘Sunday Night Super Cup’ tournament, which is set to kick-off at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) tonight.

In the opening fixture of the two-group competition, East Bank Demerara (EBD) will take on East Coast Demerara (ECD) at 18:00hrs, while Upper Demerara's Linden side will face Essequibo/ Pomeroon in the second game, at 21.00hrs.

According to Mitchell, the UDFA has already been given the green-light by the governing body of football in Guyana, the GFF, to allow the eight teams that represent the Upper Demerara, Georgetown, Bartica, East Bank Demerara, West Demerara, Essequibo, East Coast Demerara and Berbice associations to compete.

UDFA President Terry Mitchell

160 youths to benefit from RHTY&SC school break initiative

T

he Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS, are catering for 160 youths as the sport entity team up with two business entities to host the TCL Annual Cricket Academy and Republic Bank Summer Camp, starting Monday.

The Area ‘H’ Ground in Rose Hall Town would be abuzz with activities when the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS, bowls off its 27th Annual Cricket Academy and the 11th Annual Educational Camp on Monday, 10th July, 2017 from 09.00 hours (9.00 am). The Cricket Academy is being sponsored by Trinidad Cement Ltd, while the Educational Camp is sponsored by Republic Bank.

Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster stated that both programmes are major projects in the Club’s calendar of 500 activities for 2017. The cricket academy would be held at the Area ‘H’ Ground from Monday10th to Friday 21st July,

2017. It would be supervised by Coach Delbert Hicks, starting at 09.00 hours each day, and caters for 100 youths between the ages of 8 and 18 years.

Members of the Academy would be involved in batting, bowling and fielding, while special emphasis would be placed on physical fitness.

The youths would also be exposed to lectures on a wide range of topics, including History of Cricket, Structure of Cricket, Laws of Cricket, Suicide, Drug Abuse, Personal Hygiene, Depression, and Importance of Education.

RHTY&SC would provide all the gear needed, while a daily snack would be provided for each academy member. Foster disclosed that the main objectives of the 2017 Cricket Academy would be to assist youths to develop as cricketers, to educate them on their role model status, and to prepare them for future careers as professional cricketers.

Over the last 27 years, the academy has produced a total of 2019 yung cricketers, including Assad Fudadin, Esuan Crandon, Royston Crandon, Clinton Pestano, Eon Hooper, Shemaine Campbelle, Erva Giddings, Plaffiana Millington, Dominique Rikhi, Loyydel Lewis, Shawn Pereira, Neil Williams, Shawn Grant, Renwick Batson, Khemaraj Mahadeo and Ashkay Homraj. The Republic Bank Summer Camp would cater for 60 Grade Six students who would be entering secondary school in September. The Camp would be conducted by senior educator Rohan Etwaru.

Students would be taught Maths, English, History, Social Studies and Spanish, and would also be learning the game of cricket. Lectures would be held on a wide range of topics, including Peer Pressure, Discipline in Classroom, Importance of Education, and Personal Hygiene.

The classes would last until the second week in August.

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guyanatimesgy.com

sundAY, July 9, 2017

Big names give West Indies much-needed heft C

hris Gayle. Sunil Narine.

Kieron Pollard. Samuel Badree.

With all due respect to the players who managed to win one ODI and also the circumstances of West Indies cricket, now we are talking. With all due respect to the earnestness of Jason Holder and his boys in the longer formats, this is West Indies' best format.

There's only of these games, and that too at 10.30am on a Sunday for the obvious reasons of meeting India's television prime time, but this promises to be the most evenly matched contest of India's tour of the West Indies.

Anything close to what these sides dished out the last time they met 245 v 244 - in Florida last year will be blockbuster. West Indies will be missing Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell from that line-up, but will welcome back Gayle, in his hometown. For India, it's as if nothing changes. West Indies retain only four members of their ODI squad for this T20I; India usually don't name a different squad.

The look of their T20 side is pretty much the same since the last year.

The look of the contest will be similar too: West Indies' power, with one hitter following another, against India's touch batsmen and an attack that will rely on spin to take wickets in the middle.

The last time Evin Lewis played a

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alented Guyana Jaguars all-rounder, Keemo Paul was on Friday endorsed as brand ambassador for V-Net Communications.

Chief Executive Officer of V-Net, Safraz Sheriffudeen made the announcement at a simple ceremony held at his company’s head office in Delph Street Campbellville, Georgetown in the presence of other members of staff, Keemo and David Paul, team mates of Keemo and the media.

In his remarks, Sheriffuden said his company had made a commitment to Paul many years now to always assist him to develop his game both on and off the field. “It’s an honour to have Keemo as brand ambassador of V-Net. After he [Paul] recently made his First Class debut, we thought it best to add some more exposure to him by making him the brand ambassador of V-Net where he will be responsible with promoting the image

T20 against India he smacked a 49ball 100. In the whole ODI series, he has scored 67 runs, at a strike rate of 54.91. The difference of 60 points between his T20I and ODI strike rates - 137 and 77 - has to be one of the biggest. Back in his preferred format, he will look for some redemption.

The ODI batsmen found Kuldeep Yadav hard to pick, scoring only four an over against him. India will look to control the game in the middle through him or perhaps pull the shutters down if West Indies get off to a quick start.

Now that Gayle i s back, he has to open.

That pushes down Chadwick Walton to the slot vacated by Lendl Simmons.

If Virat Kohli keeps opening for India, that might mean an exit for Ajinkya Rahane, but if Yuvraj Singh is not fit, India might stick with Rahane. This could be the time Rishabh Pant finally gets a game too. R Ashwin has been in better bowling form than Ravindra Jadeja, but the latter's fielding will make the second

of the company in a positive way, which will help him to develop his character off the field,” a happy Sheriffudeen said.

V-Net provides satellite internet to remote communities in Guyana and offers a satellite phone service as well and their new brand ambassador will among oth-

Petra/Corona Football tournament…

All set for kick-off today at GFC

spinner's slot an interesting debate.

Head to head, West Indies lead India 4-2 after seven matches.(Cricinfo) Pele FC and Santos FC will renew their rivalry tonight at GFC

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Chris Gayle

he highly anticipated opening of the Petra Organised Corona Football Tournament takes place today at the Georgetown Football Club, Bourda.

The inaugural tournament which was slated to kick-off last Friday will begin with an exciting triple header.

When the opening whistle goes at 17:00h, it will be Riddim Squad and Flamingo matching skills followed by Northern Rangers against Eastveldt at 19:00h. The old rivalry between Pele and Santos will be renewed from 21:00h.

Tournament organiser, Troy Mendonca posited that the aim of the tournament is to put football back on the field and also bring out the various communities to witness exciting action.

The former footballer also stated that the tournament will offer many youths something positive to do given that many are training but not engaged in competitive field-goal football.

The organiser further explained that on the first day of the tournament admission will be free for all patrons and will continue to be same for women only throughout the duration of the tournament.

The tournament will be played on a round-robin knockout phase where there will be two groups of six teams. The top four from the respective group will advance to the knockout phase.

The teams are playing for first place prize of one million dollars and championship trophy while second to fourth will pocket $400,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively and the corresponding accolade.

The other teams participating are: Guyana Police Force FC, Campton FC, Georgetown Football Club, Beacons FC Western Tigers, Flamingo FC and Black Pearl.

er duties proudly promote and market the company’s products and services.

In response, the 19 year old Essequibo cricketer said he was overwhelmed to be chosen as brand ambassador of V-Net Communications.

He thanked the company for the support over the years and said “the bond we

Keemo Paul (left) accepting the responsibilities of V-New Communications Brand Ambassador from Safraz Sheriffudeen

share makes us like family.” He said through work and dedication anything is possible since he never dreamed while growing up in Saxacalli that he will be a brand amKeemo Paul (left) and Safraz Sheriffudeen unveil the banner which depicts Paul asbassador. Paul the Brand Ambassador of V-Net Communications went on to

thank his parents, residents of Saxacalli and Wakenaam and Sheriffudeen and staff of V-Net for the support over the years and pledged to represent the company to the best of his ability and to be a good role model for the youngsters through continued hard work.

V-Net Communications have also assisted other sporting bodies and recently became the title sponsor of

a tapeball team now known as the V-Net Vipers. Vipers’ captain, Siddiq Mohamed was also on hand and spoke of the early years of seeing Paul grow up in front of his eyes in Wakenaam. He congratulated the very talented cricketer for becoming brand ambassador for V-net and wished Paul and V-Net well for the future citing that they must both keep on climbing the ladder of success. Paul was part of the Guyana under-19 team that won three consecutive regional titles from 2014 and was also part of the West Indies under-19 team that won the youth world cup in 2016. In 2017, he made his First Class debut in Trinidad playing for the eventual winners, Guyana Jaguars. Many legends of the game have publicly spoken of his talent and potential to become a great player including former West Indies fast bowler now a leading international commentator, Ian Bishop.

guyanatimesgy.com

sundAY, july 9, 2017

Get to know your Guyana Amazon Warriors Sohail Tanveer Full name: Sohail Tanveer Born: December 12, 1984, Rawalpindi, Punjab Current age: 32 years Playing role: Bowler Batting style: Left-hand bat Bowling style: Left-arm medium-fast

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akistan left arm seamer Sohail Tanveer delivers in an unorthodox fashion, creating problems for right and left handed batsmen. He could provide consistency, pace and immaculate variation at any stage of the game. He is genuine hard worker, who has proven his worth on numerous occasions.

Because of his ability he is demand in most of the T20 leagues around the world, including Australia and England and has so far played for three T20 teams in the CPL. However, his most productive stint came with the Warriors when he was on spot with the ball and provided invaluable knocks with the bat especially in the lower order or when they needed a pinch hitter up front. At 32 Tanveer is not slowing down, he is getting better with every ball he bowls and stroke he plays. The marquee pick last year, Tanveer is eager to suit up for last year’s runner-up where he is looking to better his 2016 performance when he picked up 20 wickets, the second best bowler overall. “Due to my per-

formances in 2016 there are huge expectations from team management, Guyana Amazon Warriors fans and everybody so I am looking to better the already good performances from 2016,” Tanveer said.

When asked what it means to play for the Amazon Warriors, In 2015 when he played for the St. Lucia Zouks he blasted 50 runs from 18 balls against the Barbados Tridents which remains the Pakistani’s fondest memory of the league.

In 2017, fan everywhere can expect many more breath taking performances and are urged to not miss any of the matches. “Last year’s performances were enough to encourage fans to come out. It is amazing to play in three out of four finals and always have the fans behind us. We are thankful for the support and are looking forward to the appreciation again in all of the matches,” the left-arm seamer told Guyana Times Sport.

“Playing for Guyana [Amazon Warriors] in CPL is amazing.

People in Guyana love cricket so I try my level best to live up to their expectations.”

. Veerasammy Permaul Full name: Veerasammy Permaul . Born: August 11, 1989, Guyana Current age: 27 years . Playing role: Bowler Batting style: Right-hand bat . Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox .V .

“I know it has been disappointing not to win a CPL title . as yet after reaching three finals but keep supporting us . because this year we are going one step further and win.” . . . . eerasammy Permaul is an attacking left arm orthodox spinner who hails from Berbice. The 27 year old has featured at all level of cricket for Guyana and has played in Caribbean Premiere League since the inception in 2013 for the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The talented bowler, whose element of consistency is the driving force behind his success has delivered for the national team ever since he was granted his first opportunity back in 2006/2007 regional season.

In August the spinner will start his fifth campaign with the Amazon Warriors in the highly ranked CPL tournament where he would once again look to bamboozle batsmen on pitches that are suitable

23

for his quality of bowling.

He has been the backbone for the Warriors to date and with an economy rate of 7.01 and 44 victims from 61 matches, including best figures of 3-20 he should provide the tenacity alongside his new, exciting and emerging partner Rashid Khan as his side seek its first title.

When asked about his preparation for the upcoming season the Albion player said that he is making hay while the sunshine by batting and bowling indoors and fielding outdoors when possible. Permaul spoke to Guyana Times Sport and urged the fans to keep supporting the Warriors for their maiden title.

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

SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

King upsets field to capture 17th Annual P&P Insurance Brokers Cycling title

Get To Know Your Guyana Amazon Warriors

Pg 21

A jubilant Mario King crosses the finish line ahead of Alonzo Ambrose

Pg 23

Digicel 2017 Junior CASA

Barbados beat Guyana to capture Junior CASA title after 12 years

Pg 21

Sohail Tanvir

Veerasammy Permaul

Runners up: Guyana’s Male and Female teams pose with their trophies and team officials

GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, News Hotliine: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Sport: sport@guyanatimesgy.com Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 SALES AND MARKETING - lezas@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.

July 9, 2017

Star Times Bollywood:

SRK reportedly gifts Salman Khan a brand new Mercedes See story on page 14

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The ‘Tree of Heaven’ Page 3

Page 4

The Legend of the Victoria Regia Page 6

Explore Maringma Tepui

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2 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

JULY 9, 2017

Feature

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares a light moment with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) after the latter arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv on July 4, 2017. (Haim Zach/GPO/Flash90)

ccording to CNN, only a select few world leaders receive Israel's grand reception. Leaders such as the President of the United States, the Pope, and more recently, India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Modi’s recent three-day visit to Israel was considered "monumental" as he is said to be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country.

The Indian PM vis-

it was aimed at furthering the two countries’ embrace in terms of economic, cultural and security ties.

The trip marked the first visit to Israel by an Indian Prime Minister after 25 years of diplomatic relations.

The trip covered the breadth of Israeli industry from agricultural and water management to tech startups and commerce.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ush-

ered Modi to meetings with business leaders and students from the two countries, and established an India-Israel CEO forum to create a hub for trade and commerce.

Seven major agreements were signed, dealing with water, agriculture and space technology. The two countries have also created a US$40 million dollar research and development fund for joint innovation.

Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Narendra Modi visit the water desalination plant at Olga Beach in Haifa, Israel, July 6, 2017. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

"Israel is among the leading nations in the fields of innovation, water, and agriculture technologies - these are also among the priority areas in India's development," Modi told reporters during his visit, as he stood next to Netanyahu.

"We are making history together," Netanyahu said.

"I have a feeling that India and Israel are changing our world."

One of the crucial meetings for Modi and Netanyahu was with members of India's Jewish diaspora, a community of more than 80 thousand Jews

now living in Israel who can trace their roots back to the subcontinent.

Jews in India

India has always been a place of respite for the Jews who have emigrated from Israel. The Jewish community in India is one among a large number of groups who had come from outside the country’s modern territorial borders and made India their home.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Ezekiel I Malekar, the Rabbi (head priest) of the Synagogue Judah Hyam Hall in Delhi, India, who has been the head sec-

retary and caretaker of the synagogue since 1980 without any form of remuneration, claims that for the Jews in India, they are Indians first and Jews second.

Looking back at the long history of association between Jews and Indians, he said India is the most tolerant country in the world and one of the only places where Jews did not have to experience antiSemitism (hostility, prejudice, or discrimination directed against Jews as a group). (Information on Modi’s visit to Israel excerpted from CNN)

PM Modi (left) speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (The New Indian Express)

Note to Readers As you peruse this week’s Sunday Times Magazine, you will notice that the publication is now 16 pages, with additional changes in content. These pertinent adjustments were made in an effort to produce a comprehensive publication focused on promoting more local content. Your feedback is valuable to us, hence we invite your comments and suggestions, which you can send to guyanatimes@gmail.com or call us on 2237230/31. We thank you for your continued support.

guyanatimesgy.com

JULY 9, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine

Feature

The ‘Tree of Heaven’

Picking coconuts in Guyana (Photo from Rusty Travel Trunk)

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he coconut is described as the 'Tree of Heaven' because almost every part of the crop, from the roots, to the bark, to the fruit, has been of some economic value to the locals long before the Europeans ever knew

about the tree.

Also called "the tree which provides all the necessities of life" in India, and "the tree of a thousand uses" in Malay, the coconut’s flowers, husk, shell, water, milk, leaves, sap, bud, and the white, fleshy

part of the seed- the coconut ‘meat’, are all used up by the inhabitants of the tropics.

Almost everywhere you look in Guyana and the Caribbean you must see a coconut tree. Once there is a yard or an open field, there will be at least one coconut tree standing.

But very few, if any, consider where the coconut came from, taking it for granted that it is ‘native’ to the Caribbean and Guyana.

The actual origin of the coconut is still uncertain, with the term “Botanical Romance” being used derisively in 1910 to describe some claims of the origin of this ordinary fruit.

Some authorities suggest South Asia while others claim that it originated in the part of Gondwanaland that is now South America. Some insist it was carried while others insist on the possibility of dispersal by ocean currents.

Fossil records suggest that New Zealand and parts of India bore similar ‘coconut-like’ but smaller plants more than 10 million years ago.

According to some sci-

The versatile breadfruit Breadfruit chips are a tasty snack enjoyed locally

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readfruit is a wellknown edible vegetable in Guyana that provides a variety of uses. The breadfruit tree is an almost ubiquitous sight in Guyana.

It originated in the South Pacific and spread throughout Oceania as humans settled the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a member of the Moraceae (fig) family. Its wild ancestor Artocarpus camansi (breadnut) naturally occurs in New Guinea, the Moluccas (Indonesia), and, it is believed, the Philippines.

Breadfruit is also known by a variety of names around the world, including árbol de pan, fruta de pan, pan or panapen in Spanish; arbre à pain, fruit à pain in French; broodvrucht, broodboom in Dutch; cow, panbwa, pain bois, frutapan and fruta de pan in the Caribbean; fruta pao, pao de massa in Portuguese, and kapiak in Papua New Guinea A few seedless varieties from Polynesia were introduced to the Caribbean in the late 1700s by British and

French explorers. These seedless varieties were introduced to Jamaica and St. Vincent from Tahiti, and a Tongan variety was introduced to Martinique and Cayenne via Mauritius, which took to the region easily.

These varieties were then spread throughout the Caribbean and to Central and South America, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, northern Australia, and south Florida.

During slavery, Caribbean plantation owners often fed their slaves with

breadfruit, since it was abundant, cheap and nutritious.

Requiring little attention or care, many small home and farm gardens in Guyana grew one or more breadfruit trees as a subsistence crop. Others homes may no longer depend on the tree but still keep it in their yards for the occasional breadfruit recipe, shade or for its pleasing appearance.

Breadfruit has a high starch content and is used as a vegetable when mature.

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy, with low levels of protein and fat and a moderate glycaemic index. It is a good source of dietary fibre, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, with small amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and iron. Some varieties contain small amounts of folic acid.

Breadfruit can be used to create many dishes as a main dish, appetizer, dessert, soup or salad. Its milky sap is also used as boat caulking, glue or in other construction materials; breadfruit can also be used in animal feed, insect repellent, fabric and medicine to name a few of its uses.

Breadfruit on the tree

3

Coconut water is said to have numerous health benefits

entists, when Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World he did not find coconuts, and the Portuguese travelled the length of Africa to the Cape of Storms (Cape of Good Hope) without finding any. Vasco da Gama had to reach the Indian Ocean in 1498 before "coquos" were recognised.

It was during the age of exploration, or the “Nautical period” that the coconut gained popularity for its numerous beneficial uses to the European seafaring explorers -from providing uncontaminated drinking water to caulking leaks (ensuring its worldwide distribution and confusing those who ask the "did it float or was it carried?"question).

A letter written in 1836 noted that the coconut was seen as an invaluable for extensive cultivation in the African and West Indian colonies especially for the coconut oil, which burned “smoke-free.”

In 1853, A.R. Wallace, British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, and biologist, would write about the coconut palm in the Amazon region, "It is in a foreign land. It flourishes . . . but no part of it is applied to any useful purpose, the fruit only being consumed as an occasional luxury. In the towns and larger villages where the Portuguese have settled it has been planted, but among the Indians of the interior it is still quite unknown.”

According to one historical account, in 1869 “The King coconut was introduced to Jamaica from Ceylon (via Kew Gardens).

It cannot now be traced.”

But it is reported that in 1962 “Brazil had ten million dwarf King Coconut palms, all of which were the offspring since 1942 of two palms that had survived importation from Ceylon in 1925.” Another account claims that foreign coconut varieties were introduced to the British West Indies in 1921 and 1923.

The next time you stop at the coconut vendor and ask for coconut water, remember the history of the common coconut.

4

Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

JULY 9, 2017

Feature

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s the only British colonial territory in South America, British Guiana was probably better known to the outside world than it appears today. Every effort was made by the-then Colonial Office and government to promote British Guiana abroad.

the London exhibition was the Giant Water Lily or the Victoria amazonica, which was discovered in Guiana by Robert Schomburgk in 1837.

The year 1851 coincided with the first year of Queen Victoria’s reign and the newly discovered water lily was aptly named the Victoria

oceans - the ‘Flower of the Empire’.

The successor to the 1851 Hyde Park exhibition was the International Exhibition in London in 1862, where once again British Guiana made an appearance. This was followed by the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867.

“Kaieteur Rapids & Gorge, British Guiana”. On the reverse reads: “A scene on the Potaro River. The Gorge approaching the Kaieteur Fall, which is seen in the distance.”

Guiana’s industries as they were - timber, mining, forest products and, of course, sugar - added to the rich diversity of exotic flora and rare species of fauna and the anthropology and artefacts of the colony’s aboriginal peoples, made a worthy showcase of the colony’s resources.

The Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society (RACS) was founded in 1844 by planters and men of influence in British Guiana. The Society was instrumental in procuring and facilitating these world events through the RACS Committee of Correspondence. It prepared the official descriptive catalogues for the British Guiana exhibits and even sent representatives abroad to manage the exposition stands.

In 1851, London hosted the Great Exhibition of Arts and Industries of All Nations, the brainchild of Prince Albert opened in Hyde Park, Kensington. The event drew in nearly six million visitors.

One of the star exhibits at

Regia. The water lily was described in the catalogue as “Queen of the Aquatics” and

“Exposition universelle [d'art et d'industrie], for which a British Guiana

of the Eiffel Tower, where 5,000 sq. ft. were designated for the British Guiana stand.”

Eastward to India, British Guiana was represented by Mr. Henry Kirke, the then Commissioner for British Guiana, at the International

“TIMEHRI” journals and the “Scientific Journal of Guiana” appeared as one of the prize winning exhibits from British Guiana. The exhibit won a diploma and medal awarded by the Board of International Judges.

The British Empire

- in domestic industries, as yet almost nonexistent, and in the task of improving its means of communication.

There is room for millions of new population. When the people come in their numbers, as they must come sooner or later as the other

Postcard cover reads: “Botanic Gardens, Georgetown, British Guiana”. On its reverse states: “Botanical Gardens, Georgetown, British Guiana. Central Drive and Gate from the Botanical Gardens, which are large and beautiful.”

Exhibition held at Calcutta in December 1883. The Governor and Court of Policy of British Guiana were keen for the representation and placed an item of $2,000 on the supplementary estimates to defray the expenses connected with the exhibition.

The RACS Committee did everything in its power to forward exhibits to Calcutta, so as to bring the colony of British Guiana and its mode of tilling the land, vividly before the people of Calcutta.

British Guiana also made its mark in the United States, first at the International Exhibition in Nashville Tennessee in May 1887 and then at the World’s Columbian Commission Exposition in Chicago in 1893. John Quelch, the curator at the British Guiana

Reverse of postcard describes the scene on its cover: “Kaieteur Fall, British Guiana, a beautiful view from the foot. Vertical drop of fall 740 ft.”

“War Memorial & Georgetown Club, British Guiana”. Reverse states: “The War Memorial stands at the head of Main Street. At the back of it is seen the chief Club of the City, and also the General Post Office.”

it became the perfect emblem for the Monarch whose domain extended over the

Catalogue of contributions was published, and again in Paris 1900, in the shadow

Cover and reverse of one of the postcards

Museum, went to Chicago as the British Guiana Commissioner. A set of

Exhibition, which was held in Wembley, London in 1924, was one of the last shop windows to show off British Guiana at its best. The British Guiana fully illustrated descriptive catalogue and guide to the exhibition, a tome of 126 pages, encapsulates the essence of the colony, its history, geography, places of interest, people and natural resources.

The concluding paragraph of 1924 Wembley catalogue sums up what British Guiana had to offer the nations of the world, and it is still relevant to Guyana today: “Altogether British Guiana presents a rich field of possibilities and probabilities, and not a few certainties to the enterprising capitalist. Unlike most of the West Indian Islands, it is as yet undeveloped save on the coastal belt, the source of the famous Demerara Sugar.

There is vast scope in its mineral wealth, in tropical agriculture of various kinds - Sugar, coffee, coconut, rubber and other plantations

empty spaces of the world fill up, British Guiana will quickly establish a just claim to the title that is at present little more than a pious aspiration – the ‘Magnificent Province’.”

Featured today are some of the postcards said to be “specially taken for the British Empire Exhibition 1924”. They are artistic work done by Alfred De Breanski Jr., a British artist, and published by Raphael Tuck & Sons of England, who were referred to as the “world’s largest postcard publisher” and as “art publishers to their Majesties the King and Queen”. The postcards are called “oilettes”, a term used by Raphael Tuck & Sons to refer to a particular style of postcard production. The oilettes often looked like oil painting, with noticeable brush strokes.

(Text by Wayne McWatt.

Photos from https://tuckdb.org) (Cover photo: “Water Street, Georgetown, British Guiana”. Reverse states: “The principal business Street, view looking South.”)

guyanatimesgy.com

JULY 9, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine

Feature

Anaya (far left) on The Tonight Show

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Anaya Lee Willabus

t the tender age of eight, Anaya Lee Willabus penned her first book. Now at 10 years old, she is an award-winning author, poet and visionary.

Notably, she was recently featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – an American latenight talk show.

Anaya was born and raised in Brooklyn, US, where she resides with her Guyanese parents and two siblings.

Her first book, “The Day Mohan Found His Confidence”, was written after her inaugural trip to her parents’ homeland, Guyana, in April 2014. Anaya's second book, “A Bully's Disguise”, was launched on June 24, 2016 at the Brooklyn Borough Hall, US. In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Anaya said she has completed her third book, but because of the editing process and other stages of publishing, it is not out as yet. She hopes to launch it by the “end of the summer in time for the new school year”.

In explaining how she ended up being on The Tonight Show, Anaya said she was featured on Hollywood actress and comedian Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls social media site. Amy heard about Anaya after Anaya published her first book two years ago.

“Amy’s initiative was to highlight young girls who are following their dreams and not allowing age or any other factors to stop them!

Additionally, Amy started up a non-profit to further promote her idea. She was appearing on The Tonight Show to promote Smart Girls and her new movie, so it all worked out perfect knowing she mentioned me

as an inspiration,” Anaya recalled.

Many other celebrities, such as singer Debra Cox; singer Kelly Rowland from Destiny’s Child; actress Zoe Saldana and others, have featured Anaya’s books on their websites. The young author also had the opportunity to meet singer/actress Zendaya, from The Disney Channel, who also appeared on The Tonight Show - the same night with Anaya.

The Tonight Show segment, “Are You Smarter Than A Smart Girl?” featured Anaya, Amy, Jimmy, his other host, Steve Higgins, and another ‘Smart Girl’, Maya.

Relating her experience on the show, Anaya said: “It was a surreal experience! I had my own dressing room with my name on the door.

Also, the dressing room was filled with snacks, drinks and gifts from the host, Jimmy Fallon, and The Tonight Show’s band drummer, Quest Love. My mom, sister and I all received tshirts, as well. Being on The Tonight Show is an experience of which I will treasure forever. I do know it is one of countless great things to come! I have a few other upcoming shows and campaigns.”

Anaya added that she had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy Fallon. She said he is as “funny as he appears on his show”. She met him on set of the show before it was aired. They chatted and shook hands.

Talking about meeting Amy Poehler, Anaya mentioned that she is honoured that Amy chose her as one of the ‘Smart Girls’.

“There are so many children who are doing great things to make our world better and she selected me.

I do not take these opportunities lightly. It is my belief

that we all have a purpose and this is another experience to confirm what I do as an author is contagious and not limited to anyone, including celebrities to use as inspiration,” she declared.

Anaya said before the show Amy and her chatted, which was when she told Amy about her parents being Guyanese and about Guyana. Upon watching the show, you will hear Amy mentioning that Anaya is from “South America”.

Apart from writing, Anaya enjoys creating duct tape craft. She said there was a club at her school that offered as a “fun concept” to showcase how creative one can be with something as simple as duct tape. Anaya stated that she wanted to challenge herself “to find out what I can possibly make out of it”. The duct tape bag Anaya made for her mother was featured on The Tonight Show.

Anaya would like to advise fellow youths in Guyana to “stay focused in school and participate in the betterment of their communities”. She said she understands that “it may not be an easy path, but it is so important to the future”.

Additionally, Anaya encouraged youths to participate in local clean-up campaigns and other initiatives that will improve their communities. She pointed out that “when your neighbourhood is clean and safe, it makes for an overall better way of life for everyone”.

“During my two trips to Guyana, I had the opportunity to visit Berbice, Linden and Georgetown. Each gathering of children was special in different ways, but two things I observed that were similar: the desire to be better and eyes filled with hope,” she remembered.

The young author said that her father would always say to her: “There is no substitute for an educa-

tion.” Hence, she is “determined to continue to work hard in school and otherwise”.

Anaya’s future plans are to continue to do excel-

lent in school, contribute to her community (volunteering, author readings, writing more books/poems, etc.) and improve in her favourite sport, soccer. She also

works on “being a better Christian”.

For more information, visit Anaya The Author on Facebook.

6 Sunday Times Magazine

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JULY 9, 2017

Literary Corner

The Legend of the Victoria Regia

By Odeen Ishmael

M

any years ago, there was a little forest village on the bank of a wide river in southern Guyana. All of the inhabitants were very happy as they always reaped good crops from their gardens, and wild animals they hunted for meat were abundant in the forests on both sides of the river.

In this forest village lived twelve teenage girls who always gathered in the evenings under a tall mora tree on the riverside to sing songs their mothers had taught them.

After their singing, as the moon rose from beneath the horizon and the stars twinkled in the dark sky, the girls would stare in awe at these beautiful heavenly bodies.

They became particularly interested in these attractive objects since there was a general belief in those days of long ago that anyone who touched a beautiful object would acquire some of its beauty.

“The moon and the stars are so lovely,” said Neca, one of the girls in the group.

“I wish we could touch them so we can acquire some of their beauty, but they are so far away.”

“We must find a way to touch them,” replied another girl in the group. “Maybe, we should climb to the top of the mountain, and from there we will be able to touch them.”

So every evening after their singing session, they stared at the moon and the stars and contemplated various ways they could attempt to touch them.

Of all the girls, Neca was more interested in touching the Moon, and in the evening she spent long hours just staring at it as it moved slowly across the night sky.

Victoria Regia (Photo by Nicholas Laughlin)

“I know what I will do,” she declared to her friends one evening. “I will climb to the top of this tall mora tree and try to touch the moon.”

“Well, you may climb to the top of the tree, but I think we can touch the moon and the stars if we go to the top of the mountain,” one of her friends explained. This view seemed to be more popular, and all except Neca decided that they would do exactly that.

One night when the full moon was ris-

ing in the sky, Neca climbed to the top of the mora tree and stretched out her hands towards the shining orb. But, clearly, the moon was too far away for her to accomplish this feat. In great disappointment, she descended and tearfully went home to sleep.

Meanwhile, that same night her friends walked through the forest to the high mountain some distance away from the village.

After reaching the peak, they stretched out their hands towards the moon and the stars,

but they, too, failed to attain their objective.

With long, sad faces, they wearily walked back home realising that they could never acquire the beauty of those distant objects.

But Neca never gave up. The following night, when her friends had all gone to sleep, she walked along the river bank once again and stared at the big golden moon as it rose above the trees. Then she looked into the calm water of the river and there she observed the moon’s glowing reflection.

“Now, this is how I can touch the moon,” she reasoned. And with that, she plunged into the river and reached out to the reflection. But she soon disappeared beneath the deep still water and was never seen again.

But the moon goddess did see Neca as she made that fateful plunge.

“I truly pity her,” she sighed. “Neca always wanted to become more beautiful than ever, so I’ll ensure that people will admire that beauty for all times.”

So, the moon goddess, from the depths of the river, brought up Neca’s body which she transformed into a large majestic pink water lily in the water near the river bank. From that day, people everywhere became fascinated with this most gorgeous flower growing beside its large circular lily pad. Today, that stately and attractive water lily is widely known as the Victoria Regia.

Story, published with permission from author, is taken from “Guyana Legends – Folktales of the Indigenous Amerindians”

by Odeen Ishmael, published 2012. Ishmael is a veteran retired Guyanese diplomat. He retired from the diplomatic service in June 2014. He last served as Guyana's ambassador to Kuwait, taking up that post in January 2011.

A review by Petamber Persaud

“T

he long and short of it” is a well-used expression meaning to get/give the gist of something. However, this new book “The Indentured Servants from Bengal to Bush Lot to Belize” has a long and short, a long, and a very long of it.

The long and short of this historical novel is a family saga covering three generations originating in India moving to Guyana and then Belize, recording the “struggles and resilience in a desperate effort to stay afloat and, for some, to soar”.

The ‘short of it’ is the inspiring story of Mattai, born in Bengal, kidnapped in and transported across the Kala Pani from Calcutta to Bush Lot village on the Essequibo Coast of Guyana as an indentured labourer.

He served there for three periods of indentureship lasting 14 years, during which time he attempted to escape the harshness of plantation life. Having failed in his bid to escape, he served out his contract, struggling as a free labourer and doing slightly better than when he was bonded. During that time, he started a family, which later became an extended one.

Family members dispersed

to various parts of the world, to “greener pastures”, some making good in life. One of Mattai’s descendants called Chines/Karan moved to Belize to continue the family odyssey.

The ‘long of it’ is the strength of the book where the reader becomes a firsthand witness to each setting in the narrative: the lay of the land, the smell and taste of it, feel the heat and dust, squelching of mud in the rice field at the time of sowing, attitude of people in various disciplines and occupations, household matters, diversions and hobbies, conveyances and travel, architecture, food, clothing, beliefs, morality, politics, class divisions, religious norms, laws and disorder, disease, death and funeral rites.

For instance, this is the recreation of Calcutta in 1893: “[t]he humid tropical climate was unbearably hot with temperatures over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

Even so, the narrow streets were jam-packed with people going about their daily activities. Most of them were walking, while many were pushing handcarts or riding larger carts pulled by pairs of yoked oxen. The wealthier ones were under the can-

opies of rickshaws pulled by sinewy, barefooted, half-naked men who, despite the appearance of being frail, jogged on tirelessly. Amid them, cyclists were skillfully negotiating their way, carrying huge bundles of belongings precariously on their handlebars and heads. As they proceeded, they carefully avoided squatting cows which sat nonchalantly, pensively chewing their cud with their heads raised in a seemingly defiant demeanor as if aware of their sacred position of prominence”.

This quality of descriptive movement in the narrative is seen again in reference to Bush Lot (Essequibo, Guyana) and Belize (Central America).

The ‘very long of it’ lies in the slowing down the pace of the narrative with sometimes incongruous insertions of illustrations and lengthy explanations of items that have become extinct or rarely used today (a glossary would have served the purpose better). Although the illustrations/explanations are of interest to archaeologist and likeminded people, bringing nostalgia to others, such would have been more suited to an essay or dissertation; it did not work

well for a book of this nature touted as “historical fiction” – the author did not leave much to the imagination.

Take away some of those distractions and the book would be a very good read. As it is, the writer falls prey to the pitfalls of writing a first novel. However, there are redeeming qualities found for instance in chapters dealing with ‘wedding’, ‘schooling’, rice, funeral etc. These chapters are integral to the story, moving the narrative/ plot forward with colour and flavour and verve.

Another redeeming factor is humour which acts as a touchstone to serious issues like in the use of language where the stage is set for misinterpretation and misunderstanding as portrayed in the use of Standard English versus Creolese.

A big plus for the book is that the author succeeds in bringing the past to life, helping the reader to reevaluate the past. And very important, the author tells his story with authority; this is what defines the book (and will market it and make it sell well).

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@ yahoo.com

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JULY 9, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 7

Feature

dure the frigid waters of the North Sea, despite desperate attempts by her brother to keep her alive.

Her body was declared lost at sea.

Not long after, the Canadian Mission asked her mother for permission to dedicate a church they planned to build within the school’s compound, in Clara’s memory. It would come to be in memory of both Clara and her father, Robert Ramdeholl.

The tragedy of the Ramdeholl family sadly did not end there. Clara had apparently planned her return as a surprise for her mother, Mary Ramdeholl.

Discovering that Clara was aboard the “S.S. Simon Bolivar” and did not survive led to illness from which she

The renovated Ramdeholl Memorial Church

Clara Ramdeholl (1909-1939)

I

n 1915, the Canadian Mission established the Berbice High School in New Amsterdam, British Guiana as a school for boys.

Five years later, in 1920 a separate building was erected on the site of the current Berbice High School, as a school for girls.

In its first year, Clara Ramdeholl was one of the 10 girls to first attend the “girls’ school”. She graduated in 1925 at age 16 and began teaching there until 1932 when, at 23-years-old, she left the colony for England to study law.

Admitted to the Inn at Middle Temple in England on Oct. 12, 1932, Clara was called to the Bar Nov. 17, 1939. At the time, she would be only the third qualified female barrister from British Guiana after Gladys Sarran (1930) and Iris DeFreitas (1897).

Her call to the Bar would be in absentia however, as Clara and her brother Cecil, who had become a doctor, had already left England Nov. 14, 1939 to embark on the steam ship “S.S. Simon Bolivar”, to travel to Amsterdam, Holland en route to British Guiana.

Clara had not seen her

The church before its restoration

Restored interior of the church

parents since she had left, and her father had not long earlier passed away. With her brother Cecil on six months leave, she took the opportunity to return with him to British Guiana.

However, on Nov. 18, 1939, the “S.S. Simon Bolivar” was sunk by German magnetic mines.

Despite surviving the sinking ship, Clara lost her life after the lifeboat they had managed to reach capsized and she was forced to en-

Upon learning that Clara was with her brother when the ship sank, and not knowing if either one or both were killed, Mary Ramdeholl sent a cablegram to her son with the four words: “Be Brave - Trust God”. The phrase became the title for the re-dedication and 75th anniversary celebration plaque on a wall inside the church

never recovered. Mary died within months of Clara’s death, and indeed her husband’s.

The newly built church was formally named the Ramdeholl Memorial Guyana Presbyterian Church, and was dedicated at a service on April 15, 1940.

The church building remained in the school’s compound until Guyana became independent and there was a mandatory separation of church and state. It was then moved across the street to its current Lot 22 Princess Elizabeth Road, New Amsterdam location.

With the building showing signs of its age, the Ramdeholl family abroad began a fundraising effort for its restoration. On Dec 28, 2014, rehabilitation works were completed and a re-dedication ceremony was conducted at the church.

The Ramdeholl Memorial Church is featured in the New Amsterdam Heritage Trail, a 2015 publication by the National Trust of Guyana that hopes to enrich future generations with knowledge of their Guyanese heritage. (Photos: ramdehollmemorialchurch.wordpress. com)

8 Sunday Times Magazine

JULY 9, 2017

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Travel & Tourism

T

here are many least explored regions of Guyana and Maringma Tepui along the Pakarima Mountain range in Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Region Seven is one such place.

Also known as Mount Maringma or Mount Marima, with the indigenous community of Wayalayeng at its base, it lies just inside Guyana territory, close to the Guyana-

At the Maringma Tepui summit

Mount Maringma south side

Brazil border.

The flat-topped Maringma Tepui, rising to approximately just over 3,000 feet, harbours several varieties of plant life and small fauna among swamplike pools and pockets of dwarf forest.

To date it has seen mainly scientific explorers, though its isolation makes it the ideal place for the intrepid explorer. (Photos by Erin Tripp)

The village of Wayalayeng from Mount Maringma

A view of Brazil from Maringma tepui

Mount Maringma

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JULY 9, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 9

Healthy Living

T

he human diet contains thousands of antioxidants—nutrients that may help do everything from preventing wrinkles to killing off cancerous cells. But while many foods from chocolate to popcorn promise these health benefits, your best bet for a long, vibrant future begins with produce.

Kale

This popular leafy green is a major source of vitamin K (one cup cooked contains almost 12 times your recommended daily value), which may help ward off heart disease and osteoporosis.

Tomatoes

Lycopene, an antioxidant that can combat free radicals (molecules or ions that can damage healthy cells and suppress your immune system), gets the credit for tomatoes' ability to help protect against some cancers, including lung cancer.

Eggplant

The deep-purple skin gets its rich colour and anti-ageing power from nasunin, a nutrient that helps fight the spread of cancerous cells by cutting off the blood supply they need to multiply. Research also suggests that nasunin may slow the development of Alzheimer's disease by preventing free radicals from damaging neurons.

Brussels Sprouts

Blackberries

Rutin, a potentially lifesaving flavonoid (a class of antioxidants) found in high levels in this flavourful fruit, may block an enzyme linked to the formation of blood clots, lowering the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a 2012 study from Harvard Medical School.

Our cells are naturally equipped with tumour-suppressing genes, and the sulphur compounds found in Brussels sprouts may help those genes by blocking enzymes that promote tumour growth. A 2012 study also found that these sulphur compounds could play a key role in treating rheumatoid arthritis by reducing inflammation and activating Basil One of the herb's medicinal properties comes from the an- cartilage-protecting proteins. tioxidant eugenol. Recent lab studies found that this compound sparks anticarcinogenic activity in cervical cancer All of the vegetables and fruits mentioned above can be bought at your local supermarket. cells, causing them to self-destruct.

Coping with Menopause M

ost women do not need treatment of menopausal symptoms. Some women find that their symptoms go away by themselves, and some women just don't find the symptoms very uncomfortable. But if you are bothered by symptoms, there are many ways to deal with them, including medications and lifestyle changes.

Menopause is the point in time when a woman's menstrual periods stop. Menopause happens because the ovaries stop producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Once you have gone through menopause, you can't get pregnant anymore. Some people call the years leading up to a woman's last period menopause, but that time actually is the menopausal transition, or perimenopause. The average age of menopause is 51, but for some women it happens as early as 40 or as late as 55.

Dealing with specific menopause symptoms

Below are some symptoms that women may have around the time of menopause and tips for dealing with them.

Hot flashes

Try to notice what triggers your hot flashes and avoid those things. Possible triggers to consider include spicy foods, alcohol, caffeine, stress, or being in a hot place.

Dress in layers and remove some when you feel a flash starting.

Use a fan in your home or workplace.

If you still have menstrual periods, ask your doctor if you might take low-dose oral contraceptives (birth control pills). These may help symptoms and prevent pregnancy.

Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is the most effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats. Ask your doctor if the benefits of MHT outweigh the risks for you.

If MHT is not an option for you, ask your doctor about

prescription medicines that are usually used for other conditions. These include antidepressants, epilepsy medicine, and blood pressure medicine.

Try taking slow, deep breaths when a flash starts.

If you're overweight, losing weight might help with hot flashes, according to one recent study.

Vaginal dryness

A water-based, over-the-counter vaginal lubricant can help make sex more comfortable.

An over-the-counter vaginal moisturizer can help keep needed moisture in your vagina if used every few days and can make sex more comfortable.

Problems sleeping

One of the best ways to get a good night's sleep is to be physically active. You might want to avoid exercise close to bedtime, though, since it might make you more awake.

Avoid large meals, smoking, and working right before bedtime. Avoid caffeine after noon, and avoid alcohol close to bedtime.

Try drinking something warm before bedtime, such as caffeine-free tea or warm milk.

Keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex.

Avoid napping during the day, and try to go to bed and get up at the same times every day.

If you wake during the night and can't get back to sleep, get up and do something relaxing until you're sleepy.

Talk to your doctor about your sleep problems.

If hot flashes are the cause of sleep problems, treating the hot flashes will usually improve sleep.

Mood swings

Getting enough sleep and staying physically active will

help you feel your best.

Avoid taking on too many duties. Look for positive ways to ease your stress.

Talk to your doctor. He or she can look for signs of depression, which is a serious illness that needs treatment.

You also could consider seeing a therapist to talk about your problems.

Try a support group for women who are going through the same things as you.

If you are using MHT for hot flashes or another menopause symptom, your mood swings may get better too.

Memory problems

Some women complain of memory problems or trouble focusing in midlife. But studies suggest that natural menopause has little effect on these functions. Women should not use MHT to protect against memory loss or brain diseases, including dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Getting enough sleep and keeping physically active might help improve symptoms. Mental exercises may help too, so ask your doctor about them.

If forgetfulness or other mental problems are affecting your daily life, see your doctor. (www.womenshealth.gov)

10 Sunday Times Magazine

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JULY 9, 2017

Fashion

G

iven the rise of literal animal patterns splashed all across swimsuits, blouses, and skirts, it is no surprise to find plenty of bags shaped like our favourite critters. After all, handbags are the most playful accessories we own. Here are a few if you need some motivation to purchase one.

A superfeminine look

Elephant minibag

Men’s Fashion Ladybird shoulder bag

M Peacock wicker bag

Stylish pouch with long shoulder straps

Cute 'bear' bag

any stylists call it a “scourge”. What we’re talking about? Well, guys forgetting a cardinal rule of dressing themselves: Don't button the

bottom button of your suit jacket.

This is the quickest possible way to make yourself look like you don't know what you're doing and like you just gained ten pounds!

Look at Hollywood’s superstar Leonardo DiCaprio with his bottom button done up:

And then look at him here, wearing his jacket properly, with only the top button fastened. Leonardo looks slimmer, more stylish, and altogether better.

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JULY 9, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 11

Times Home & Cooking

Recipe of the Week

Aloo Pie and Tamarind Sauce Filling:

2 ½ cups mashed potatoes 1 tsp geera (cumin) 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 pepper, seed removed and finely chopped ¾ tsp salt ½ grated onion Dough: 2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt ¾ cup water Oil to fry

A

collection of like-minded containers makes a superpretty display. Get inspired by these groupings.

Method:

To make the filling, mix all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Next place the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Add water and mix to form soft dough. Cover and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes. Separate dough into 9 pieces then roll each piece into circle about 1/8 of an inch in thickness.

Place a heaping spoonful of the potato mixture in the middle. Dampen the edges of the dough with water and press to seal to form a half moon shape, then deep fry over medium heat until golden brown. To serve: Cut a split length wise and fill top with tamarind sauce or any type of meat curry.

A cluster of tiny vases — some matte, some glossy — in the softest hues is about as sweet as it gets. Pair a few with buds in equally pale shades.

Sweet Tamarind Sauce Ingredients: ½ cup tamarind pulp, seeds removed 1 ¼ cup water

¼ cup sugar 1 clove garlic, finely minced ½ tsp salt Pepper to taste

Method:

To make the tamarind sauce, add tamarind pulp and water to a pot and bring to a boil; make sure to break up the pulp with the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and strain then discard pulp. Add sugar, garlic, salt and pepper and return to the heat. Cook until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat and allow to cool before serving. (Photo and recipes from www.jehancancook.com)

Greatest Cooking Tips When potatoes cook, the starch granules swell and absorb water and — if you've added it — salt. You won't need to add as much at the end, and your final product will be well-seasoned, not bland.

Refrigerate apples, broccoli, plums, cucumbers, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and lettuce. Leave out on the counter: Peaches, avocados, bananas, watermelon (whole), tomatoes. Keep in a cool, dark place: Potatoes, onions, and garlic. Stash separately in the kitchen cabinet or pantry so they don't absorb one another's odours.

Seal banana stems in plastic wrap to help keep them fresh longer.

If they get too ripe, use them in breads, muffins, or smoothies.

Home Help

Tinted glass in different shapes and heights creates a serene scene. For an eye-catching contrast, try a bright red orange bouquet.

An assortment of gold, silver, and copper containers feels wellcurated.

Vary the textures, too, for more visual oomph.

Toothpaste will erase marker stains from wood — a handy trick to have in your back pocket if you've got creative kids.

Freshen up after gym by sprinkling some baking soda inside your shoes (and your gym bag while you're at it). Just tap it out before you wear them again.

To make surface gleam (especially kitchen counters, appliances, and inside the refrigerator), combine 4 tablespoons baking soda and 1 quart warm water, and use it with a sponge to wipe messes away.

(Continued next week)

12 Sunday Times Magazine Puzzles

ACROSS: 1 Geneva's river 6 Extent 11 Races by, as clouds 16 Mounded up 21 Willing, plus 22 Artificial waterway 23 Asian capital 24 Spry 25 Cabbie's fare 26 Makes level 27 Writer — Jong 28 Look of disdain 29 Luau strings 30 Brown-tinted photo 32 Snowy-white bird 34 Pondering 36 Now, to Caesar 38 In the least (2 wds.)

40 Toes the line 42 Fall guy 43 Late summer flower 45 Gene Autry movie 47 Flowerpot spot 49 Songbird 52 Cruise in style 53 Black tea 54 Montana and Flutie 57 "Venus" singer 58 Twig junctures 59 Agrees with 60 Grass-skirt dance 61 Cote dwellers 62 Elbowed 63 Chess pieces 64 Swains 65 Woolly one 66 Reduced by 50 percent 68 Blender setting 69 Snow crystals 70 Tax-form IDs 72 Real bargain 73 Came to the rescue 74 Heroism 75 Early camera 77 Spy mission 78 Auto option 79 Harpooned

Crossword 82 Lies in wait 83 Grow wheat 84 Religious subdivision 88 Tallest hoopster 89 Grounds 90 Pulled down 92 Henri's island 93 Pampas backdrop 94 Ms. Zellweger 95 Rudely sarcastic 96 Tracking system 98 AAA suggestions 99 Intuitions 100 Omens 101 Sweethearts 102 Craze 103 Acapulco cash 104 Coffee go-with 105 Many and different 106 Censor 107 Price tag 108 Hard to corner 109 "— — You Knocking" 111 Grab 113 Inlet, to Angus 115 Fish-eating flier 119 Neglectful 121 Nonreactive, chemically 123 Partner of desist 125 Fleming or Woosnam 126 Hawk's gripper 127 Leafed through 129 Rap sheet info 131 Do chestnuts 133 Swipe 134 Without a flaw 135 — Carlo 136 Petal extract 137 Rogers of "Coward of the County" 138 Dillydally 139 Seattle's Sound 140 Banal DOWN: 1 Sitcom afterlife 2 Zen master's verse 3 Utah city

4 Once named 5 Hits the wrong key 6 Royal regalia 7 Classy hors d'oeuvre 8 Ryan or Tatum 9 Kitchen utensil 10 If not 11 Frozen dessert 12 More than a job 13 Party leader's goal 14 MD, familiarly 15 Yul's film realm 16 Aisle 17 Catch fire 18 Claims against property 19 Melancholy poem 20 "— Rosenkavalier" 31 Down the hatch 33 Ancient Teutons 35 Elegant coiffures 37 Dish alternative 39 — for bear 41 Heavy hammer 44 Walk through puddles 46 Made top honors 48 Really skimps 49 Crosses the creek 50 Says frankly 51 Poe's night visitor 52 Rustic 53 Yearned 54 Movement along a fault 55 More downcast 56 Disrespectful 58 Kim of "Picnic" 59 Dangerous sea nymph 60 Lifts with effort 62 Answer a charge 63 Praise 64 Lesage hero Gil — 67 Abacus user 68 Gathers flowers 69 Falsely incriminate 71 Chases the puck 73 Craggy abode 74 Swiss capital 76 Mine yields 77 Sly tactics 78 Animal fats

WORD GAME TODAY'S WORD -- CRANNIES

(CRANNIES: KRAN-eez: Small openings, as in a wall; crevasses.)

Average mark 45 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 59 or more words in CRANNIES? casern cire crane cries race rain raise rani rase rein

renin resin rice rinse rise risen acne acre anise arise

arisen arsenic nacre naris near nice nicer nine inane inner

insane earn sane saner sari scan scanner scar scare sear

79 Winter wear 80 Five, in combos 81 Broke off 82 Jet routes 83 Pass out 85 Comforter stuffing 86 Sticky soils 87 Concise 89 Dances to jazz 90 Swallow up 91 Took the wheel 94 Swell, as a river 95 Trig function

97 In the blink of — — 99 Goes off course 100 Like a judge 101 Euphoric moments 103 Obviously 104 As if in a trance 105 Computer file (2 wds.)

106 Lament 107 Straight 108 Originate 109 Burnt up 110 Trojan War cause 112 Eastwood's

"The — Sanction" 114 Cake topper 116 Dogie catcher 117 Schnoz-related 118 — nous 120 Kebab holder 122 Pack firmly 124 Distinct periods 126 "For shame!"

128 Oklahoma town 130 "Skip to My —" 132 Homer-hitter Mel

Dot to Dot

KATHLEEN SAXE

cairn cane caner canine canner cannier care caries case casein

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JULY 9, 2017

senna serac sienna since sine sinner sire siren snare

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of "s," such as "bats" or "dies," are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a "d" or an "s" may not be used. For example, if "bake" is used, "baked" or "bakes" are not allowed, but "bake" and "baking" are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

Solution on Pg 13

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JULY 9, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 13

Tech

Things you didn't know your iPhone could do

Y

ou may be gazing at it constantly, but your iPhone still has a few surprises up its sleeve. We’re all aware of the camera, the clock and the calculator, but did you know your iPhone can also be a level?

Here are five surprising things you didn't know your iPhone could do:

Amazon launches own wine brand

1. Send self-destructing messages

You can set your audio and video messages to self-destruct after two minutes, or you can select for them to be permanent. Just go to Settings > Messages and pick your preference.

2. Your iPhone has a level function Just go to the Compass and swipe left.

4. Mute annoying group threads

Not into the group barrage but don't have the heart to leave? Just head to the thread's "Details" section, then put the convo on "Do Not Disturb."

A

mazon is making a very clear play for the grocery market. There are AmazonFresh, Prime Pantry, the Dash Wand, Dash Buttons, and the acquisition of Whole Foods. Now we're getting Amazon's very own brand of wine.

It's called Next, and it's the first wine that's been developed "from conception to release" with Amazon Wine. But while it may be an Amazon wine, it's actually produced by King Vinters, a new division of King Estate Winery. According to Recode, the setup seems to be Amazon contracting out the development of these new wines to King Vinters.

Amazon Wine has been around since 2012 offering bottles of wine for under US$10 right up past US$50. For Next,

there will be three bottles to choose between. A bottle of 2016 Next Willamette Valley Pinot Gris costs US$20, the 2014 Next Columbia Valley Red Blend is US$30, and the 2015 Next Oregon Pinot Noir is US$40. Amazon is also offering a three bottle collection so you can sample them all for US$90.

Next wine will initially be available only through Amazon, but King Vinters' website will also sell it in the future.

Only 1,500 cases of each wine are being produced for now and demand will likely dictate future production. King Vinters is also planning to add four more brands to its lineup, but there's no mention of Amazon's involvement for those yet. (PC)

Giant, Panda-shaped solar panels activated in China

3. Check which apps are using the most battery

Go to Settings, then scroll down to Battery to see which of your apps is sucking up the most battery life.

A

Crossword Solution 5. Take a creepy look at everywhere you've ever been

To see an unnerving list of everywhere you've travelled in the past few months, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services.

There is also an extremely specific map function, but we'd rather you not see that.

250-acre solar farm shaped like a panda bear went online in China last week, generating 50 megawatts of power to the grid, not to mention a significant buzz that the project's backers hope will inspire future renewable energy projects in the developing world.

The solar farm, near the northern city of Datong, is the brainchild of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Hong-Kong based Panda Green Energy. Construction began last fall and the first phase was connected to the power grid of Panda Green's parent company, China Merchants New Energy, on June 29.

Once it reaches full capacity, the Datong panda power station will deliver 100 megawatts of power, according to Panda Green. After 25 years of operation, the company says it will have produced 3.2 billion kWh of electricity, equivalent to saving 1.056 million tons of coal or reducing 2.74 million tons of carbon dioxide.

The UNDP's mission is the eradication of poverty, but it has in recent years become one of the UN's principal fronts for environmentally friendly initiatives. It intends to use the giant panda as an educational tool; it will host summer camps for

Chinese children, who will "gain a deeper understanding of green energies and first-hand experience of environmental protection," according to a UNDP statement.

The UNDP will also partner with Panda Green and China Merchants New Energy to host a design challenge for renewable energy technologies open to Chinese youth, as part of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. (PC)

14 Sunday Times Magazine

JULY 9, 2017

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Bollywood/Hollywood

SRK reportedly gifts Salman Khan a brand new Mercedes

G

one are the days when Bollywood rivals Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan avoided each other at parties. Apparently, they have become best buddies now.

There are reports that Shah Rukh Khan has gifted Salman Khan a brand new Mercedes. Remember how Shah Rukh Khan made a cameo in Salman’s last release “Tubelight”?

Apparently, his gesture left a big impression in Salman’s heart. Now Salman is now doing a cameo in Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film with director Aanand L Rai in which he is playing a dwarf.

Reportedly, Shah Rukh became so happy about adding Salman’s name in the cast list that he has gifted him a new Mercedes as a sign of respect.

There are several news reports of Salman Khan being spotted in his new car with rumoured girlfriend Iulia Vantur and actor Sonakshi Sinha.

Priyanka Chopra wants to see more foreign film representation at Oscars

I

ndian actress Priyanka Chopra, who is among those invited to be part of the Oscar Academy's “Class of 2017”, said "a progress" towards embracing diversity has been made by the Academy of Motion

Picture of Arts & Sciences (AMPAS), but she'd like to see more foreign representation at the ceremony.

"While the numbers have their own story to tell, I think it's important to recognise that progress is being made. It's going to take some time to correct, but continuous efforts always help," Priyanka said.

The actress and former beauty queen has made her own space in the US after featuring as the lead in TV show “Quantico” and as the antagonist in Hollywood film “Baywatch”.

She is among a string of Indians invited by the Oscar Academy to vote this time.

"It's interesting that though (past) winners were Indian, it was for their work in international films -- largely about India, but not made by India," Priyanka said.

"I'd like to see more opportunities for foreign films to be represented at the Oscars. If the Oscars are trying to diversify and touch the globe, which the Academy seems to be doing with this new class, I hope to help change the way foreign language films are received and considered," Priyanka added. (Times of India)

L

orde has revealed that she is not a part of Taylor Swift’s famous ‘squad’. In an interview, the New-Zealand singer claims, "I never hang out with those people".

This is not the first time that Lorde has spoken out publicly about her relationship with the pop princess.

Only last month, Lorde compared her friendship with Tay Tay as “having a friend with an autoimmune disease”. To The Guardian, Lorde said, "It’s like having a friend with very specific allergies. There are certain places you can’t go together. Certain things you can’t do. There are these different sets of considerations within the friendship." After backlash from Swifties, the 20year old singer quickly backtracked with an apologetic tweet.

Lorde and Taylor have been friends since 2013 and have shared their tight-knit friendship on Instagram as well as on the red carpet.

(Glamour)

Blue Ivy raps on dad's new album

J

ay-Z's new album 4:44 is a family affair. Not only did Beyoncé approve every track (yes, including the ones about her hubby's infidelity), but Blue Ivy gets a starring role in a bonus track called “Blue’s Freestyle / We Family”.

Although it isn’t known what exactly Blue is freestyling about, what is sure is that she's bringing back the phrase "boom shakalaka" with a vengeance.

“We Family” is one of three bonus songs on the physical release of Jay-Z's thirteenth studio.

Ryan Reynolds helped a fan get revenge on her ex on Twitter

Anupam Kher: ‘Sridevi R is queen of acting’ V

eteran actor Anupam Kher has lauded the latest release “Mom”, starring Sridevi, and has called her the “queen of acting”. Anupam on Friday took to Twitter to praise the film and the performance. " W a t c h e d 'Mom' produced

by Boney Kapoor.

Outstanding.

Everybody is excellent. Sridevi once again shows why she is the queen of acting," he tweeted.

Anupam and Sridevi have together worked in several films like “ChaalBaaz”, “Lamhe”, “Chandni” and

“Laadla”.

The story of “Mom” talks about how far a mother can go for the sake of her chil-

dren. “Mom” happens to be Sridevi's 300th film, and 2017 marks her 50th year in films. (Times of India)

yan Reynolds is definitely up there on the list of adorable celebrity boyfriends/ husbands. And now he's proven he's an equally great guy when it comes to his fans.

When teenager Gabi Dunn broke up with her boyfriend just days after her school prom, she did what every self-respecting internet-age teen would do: she Photoshopped her favourite celebrity right over her exes face.

In this case it was the “Deadpool” star and she tweeted at him.

But what she probably didn't expect is that he replied.

Getting on side to conspire against her ex, the 40-year-old wrote: "We should photoshop me over his yearbook picture next. #DontMessWithGabi" Though, not missing a beat Gabi's ex got in on the tweeting action. Replying to Ryan he decided to hit him where it hurts - his new movie's box office sales.

"Jokes on you now I'm not going to see Deadpool 2, my $11 is going to Kevin Hart," he wrote.

Ryan's response now has over 304K retweets, so Gabi definitely has the upper hand. (Glamour)

guyanatimesgy.com

JULY 9, 2017

Sunday Times Magazine 15

16 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

JULY 9, 2017

Fun Times

Archie

Emotions will be difficult to control if you are faced (March 21with an unpredictable situaApril 19) tion or individual. Keep your distance and focus on personal gains and improvements.

Avoid joint endeavors.

ARIES

Don’t go anywhere without

TAURUS proper documentation. Choose (April 20- charm over anger when dealMay 20) ing with people who have the

potential to influence your progress. Get together with friends and relatives.

Settle into a project that GEMINI interests you. Getting in(MAY 28- volved in something that will June 20) make a difference to your neighborhood will result in greater popularity and new opportunities.

A short trip will be enlightening. Sign up for a retreat or (June 21- discuss lifestyle options with July 22) someone who has had unusual experiences. Be open to different philosophies, beliefs and activities.

CANCER

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Dilbert

Keep your secrets hidden from anyone who may interfere with your plans. When you are fully prepared to move forward, it will be too late for anyone to meddle in your affairs.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Attending a gathering, participating in events that interest you or taking on a physical challenge will help build strength, courage and new friendships that will enhance your life.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Changes occurring at home may not be to your liking, but unless you can come up with a better alternative, you are best off seeing how things unfold. Avoid joint ventures.

SCORPIO Walk away from any situa(Oct. 24- tion that makes you feel uncomNov. 22) fortable. Don’t let anyone pull

Peanuts

you into an affair that doesn’t concern you. If you meddle, you will end up being blamed.

Don’t go into debt due to SAGITTARIUS frivolous spending or because (Nov. 23you helped cover someone Dec. 21) else’s expenses. A loss is likely if you get involved in joint money ventures or a bet.

Calvin and Hobbes

Listen, observe and conCAPRICORN sider all the angles before (Dec. 22- you decide to take part in Jan. 19) something that can alter your life or important relationships. Don’t feel obligated to make a snap decision.

An unpredictable situa-

AQUARIUS tion involving someone from (Jan. 20- your past or a money matter Feb. 19) will unfold quickly. Protect

your reputation, possessions and rights. Don’t reveal personal information or your next move.

Take part in an event that PISCES (Feb. 20- will broaden your awareness Mar. 20) regarding your community and different cultures. Look at what’s out there and see how you can contribute and benefit.