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INTERNATIONAL THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Linden’s Mayor forges twinning with US city

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ISSUE NO. 331

WEEK ENDING February 5, 2017

See story on page 3

Hon. Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey

Hon. Carwyn Holland, Mayor of Linden, Guyana

Govt’s Cultural Advisor dodges cops Page 5

Guyanese immigrants join protests against President Trump’s immigration ban Page 7

…wanted for questioning on “torching” threat to Guyana Times/TVG/RGI 89.5

Congresswoman concerned Trump’s immigration ban may extend to the Caribbean Page 33

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

NEWS 3

Linden’s Mayor forges twinning with US city

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he Mayor of Guyana’s second most populous municipality, the town of Linden, will on Saturday February 4, apprise Lindeners in New York City of plans to twin Newark City, New Jersey with his town, as well as on his agenda to create jobs and redevelop the industrial town.

According to a statement issued by the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), Mayor Carwyn Holland is expected to be joined by his Newark counterpart, Guyana’s Consul General to New York, Mrs. Barbara Atherly and Brooklyn elected officials, at a town hall meeting on Saturday, February 4, 2017, in Brooklyn.

He will also meet with Newark City officials on Monday, February 6, to finalize twinning arrangements. Mayor Holland will be accompanied by Ms. Tandika Miller, CEO of the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN), a development fund which provides capital for business creation and expansion in Linden.

In a statement Wednesday, Mayor Holland said “Twinning Newark with Linden is consequential for Linden’s economic renaissance and development. This City to City partnership will foster new cultural and economic cooperation; create new prospects for business investments to sustain Linden’s economic viability, help create much

Hon. Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey

needed jobs for young people and engender social transformation and prosperity for Lindeners. I’m excited about this historic prospect.”

During the 2016 celebration of Guyana’s 50th Anniversary of Independence, Newark Mayor, Ras Baraka, embraced a vision for twinning Newark with Linden, following representations from Mr. Bernard Rollins, Chairman of Newark’s

Caribbean Commission, and other Guyanese Leaders in New Jersey.

Mayor Baraka’s assent, harbingered negotiations for a City to City partnership to foster the mutual development interests of Newark and Linden. The ceremonial twinning is envisioned for February or March 2017.

Guyana’s second town other than its capital, Georgetown City, Linden is also the capital of Guyana’s Upper Demerara-Berbice Administrative region. The industrial, bauxite based town, which hugs the Demerara River, became a municipality in 1970, the same year Guyana became a Republic.

Newark, New Jersey’s largest population center, with a population of 278,000, is the 70th largest city in the US and the second largest in the New York metropolitan area. Newark is 8 miles from central Manhattan, New York City, and houses the seat of the Essex county government. Newark is also a main air, shipping and railway hub in the US. The City and its surrounding towns have a significant Caribbean population. Neighboring East Orange is home to the second largest Guyanese population in the US. Linden, which has the highest unemployment rate in Guyana, experienced a painful economic recession when precipitous reductions in world market prices for bauxite triggered a

Hon. Carwyn Holland, Mayor of Linden, Guyana

significant contraction of the bauxite industry in the 1990s.

Holland, 32, who was elected in 2015 by pushing a pro-growth agenda, unveiled a plan to attract largescale new business and manufacturing companies to generate employment for thousands of unemployed Lindeners. A highway from Brazil to Linden is under construction.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

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EDITORIAL

America’s relations with Guyana

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n one of the closest votes ever for the position – 56 to 43 with one Democratic abstention, former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson was ratified as the 69th Secretary of State of the USA. With Donald Trump, the President, who nominated him, clearly determined to effect a quantum leap in the conduct of American foreign policy, both procedurally and substantively, Tillerson will definitely be one of the key members in the US Cabinet over the next four years.

As such, it ought to be a matter of satisfaction that Guyana, normally one of the countries that have to figuratively flail its arms in the air to catch the attention of such officials, has already achieved that goal. It was during Tillerson’s stint at the head of ExxonMobil that oil was struck off our shores in the Stabroek field and he personally announced it as the most significant one for his company last year. While, as is required

by American law, Tillerson has quit as head of the oil giant – the largest in the world – it would be foolish to think that he would have forgotten Guyana, a country he is said to have quietly visited.

Tillerson’s confirmation was unusually tense – and only garnered four Democrats who switched – in the vote that split along partisan lines. But this tight vote merely mirrors the dichotomy in the two parties’ views of the President’s new course. Not so incidentally, Tillerson’s choice as Secretary of State exemplifies one of the major planks in Trump’s new world vision. Trump played the role of the boy who announced “the king had no clothes”, when he questioned the bases for the US not normalising relations with Russia. He is evidently of the view that the American posture is one that merely continues an orientation and course of action that were honed during the Cold War, which ended with the US’s victory in 1989.

The Russians no longer follow the Marxist-Leninist line in any sphere – including most significantly, economics. In fact, of all the countries that emerged from the fall of the “Iron Curtain”, Russia has arguably adopted the capitalist path of development more fervently than most. Tillerson’s ExxonMobil was one of the US companies that took advantage of Russia’s ideological volte-face and personally crafted a mega US$500 million energy deal with that country. He was subsequently awarded the Order of Friendship by President Vladmir Putin for his efforts, the highest honour a foreign national can receive in that country.

Unfortunately, the US imposed sanctions on Russia following the latter’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and ExxonMobil was forced to place its investment on hold. The company did commit to returning and continuing to develop the fields, however, once sanctions are lifted. During the campaign, Trump signalled he would lift those sanctions.

For Guyana, Tillerson’s experience with a post-Soviet leader in a post-ideologically fixated world that has abandoned the East-West and left-right binaries is going to prove crucial in our own efforts to normalise relations with the USA. Tillerson knows from personal experience with leaders such as Putin and a host of officials and business leaders he would have encountered and interacted with in Russia, that leaders in the West must go past the old communist bogeyman and deal frontally with real-life challenges in a globalised world such as Marx could not have conceived of.

Now that Guyana has gotten a free pass in having the attention of one of the key figures in the Trump Administration, it is our hope that they do not muddy the waters by invoking rhetoric and stances from a bygone era. With Trump also deciding to make radical changes in his dealings with what he had defined as “radical Islam”, Tillerson will have his hands full. Guyanese leaders should focus on dealing with the development of Guyana in so that its citizens do not have to be seduced to the “dark side” of whatever concoction.

The Guyana National Stadium at Providence, Greater Georgetown: The venue which is considered as Guyana’s premier sports facility has an overall seating capacity of around 15, 000.

HOW TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION ORDER MAY AFFECT US

By RakeshRampertab, Esq.

B

y now everyone is aware of an executive order (“order”) signed

by President Donald Trump, to suspend, for 90 days,the entry of refugeesinto the United States (US) from certain countries.Also, the order barred indefinitely, the settlement of refugees from Syria. While the countriessingled out areIran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the Trump administration made it clear that the order can be amended to include persons coming from other countries.

The order, however, has sparked tremendous protest across the US and elsewhere in the world because it is being interpreted as discriminatory and likely to fuel more terrorism against the US. Moreover, it has been dubbed as a “Muslim ban” because it targets persons from the previously mentioned countries which are primarily populated by Muslims.

The order was signed without the president mentioning it to numerous key members of Congress, some of whom have since objected to it as being inflammatory. And, interestingly, more than 1,000 federal employees attached to the US State Department including foreign officers and

diplomats have signed a letter opposing the order, with the acting attorney general of the US being fired by Mr. Trump after she ordered government lawyers not to defend the controversial order.

In the immediate aftermath and confusion brought about as a result of the order, immigration officials across the US began to detain persons, and in the process refugees, holders of green cards, and others with immigrant visas were detained and barred from entry into the US. Attorneys representing persons detained appeared in various federal courts in different parts of the country, including here in Brooklyn, New York, seeking court orders to stop the detention and the government's refusal of refugees. So far, federal judges have issued temporary restraining orders against the execution of President Trump's order, until the courts decide whether that order is legal. It must be noted that regarding immigration matters, a president of the US has tremendous flexibility regarding what may be ordered.

Meanwhile, significant damage has already been done creating tremendous concerns for permanent residents or holders of green cards, as well as those who were issued im-

migrant visas to travel to the US but were barred from entry. Until the courts rule on the matter, it is clear that holders of green cards will feel vulnerable, and those granted immigrant visa to travel to reside in the US may not feel so secured. It seems as if what one US president gave is now about to be taken away by another US president.

How does this apply to immigrants and non-immigrants already in the US? Well, we should recognize that the Trump administration intends to go after undocumented persons and deport them. The ascendency of this new administration will make some immigration officials who are supporters of Mr. Trump less lenient with petitions submitted. Immigration work itself now becomes tougher. Precautions must be taken by all, especially undocumented persons.Legal advice should be sought for options to obtain permanent residency.

Holders of green cards who are eligible to become naturalized citizens should file for US citizenship immediately.

Laws, attitudes, and even fees are being changed drastically.

Those who have a provisional or “temporary” green card (valid for two years), needing to file a petition to remove any “condition”from that green card, may wish to do so if they are eligible to do so.

Finally, while it may be perfectly lawful to travel overseas with a green card to countries not singled out to be affected by Mr. Trump's controversial order, holders of green card may wish to avoid unnecessary travels until the courts clear up the current clouds hanging over this order, or Mr. Trump amends his current order. This article is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice.

For immigration-related questions, you may contact this attorney at (917) 943-1336 or rrampertabesq@gmail.com.

NEWS 5

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Govt’s Cultural Advisor dodges cops …wanted for questioning on “torching” threat to Guyana Times/TVG/RGI 89.5

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o v e r n m e n t Advisor on Culture, Ruel Johnson, is wanted by the Police for questioning in relation to threats he made to “torch” the Sanata Complex, which houses most prominently, the Guyana Times newspaper, Television Guyana (TVG) and Radio Guyana Inc 89.5.

Commander of A Division (GeorgetownEast Bank Demerara) Clifton Hicken told Guyana Times Internationalthat Police ranks visited Johnson’s office at the Education Ministry on Wednesday afternoon to haul him in for questioning, but he was not there. However, Johnson claimed to be in his office and on his Facebook page mocked “a senior Police Commander whose detectives apparently can’t find a fairly large man in a relatively small office.”

Also Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told this newspaper on Wednesday that an investigation has been launched into the matter following a report filed with the Police by the Head of Security of the media group.

Blanhum explained that the security personnel will provide a statement on the incident after which other persons including Johnson will be questioned.

Johnson, who is also a Director of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL), which publishes the Chronicle, on Monday called for the torching of the Sanata Complex as a “united Guyanese protest”.

Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine has already pledged to seek an explanation from his advisor about his threats as they are “not reflective of the Government or its views”.

Asked to comment on the matter on Wednesday, President David Granger posited that the Education Minister already dealt with the Government advisor.

However, Johnson took to social media boasting that DrRoopnaraine did not engage him on the issue.

“I saw my boss last night after he came into office after a Cabinet meeting. He asked for his flash and I wished him happy birthday…,” he

Government Advisor on Culture, Ruel Johnson

commented.

On Monday, the Cultural Policy Advisor posted the comments on his social media page – which also included a call for the destruction of the recently implemented but controversial parking meters. He stated: “Here’s my idea for a united Guyanese protest against impunity and tenderpreneurship – go break down all the parking meters and then proceed to torch the Sanata complex.”

Johnson explicitly made the connection between the Sanata Complex, QAII, its owner and the media group consisting of the Guyana Times newspaper, Television Guyana (TVG) and Radio Guyana Inc (89.5) which would all be torched.

The Guyana Press Association (GPA) also weighed in on the matter. GPA President Neil Marks said such a serious allegation should be reported, adding that the organisation will wait for the outcome of any probe stemming from the report.

In Chapter 8:01 of Guyana’s Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Title four, Section 35, the charge of ‘Attempt, incitement and threat’ applies to “Everyone who, in any case where no express provision is made by this Act, or by any other written law for the time being in force, for the punishment thereof, attempts to commit, or incites or attempts to incite any other person to commit any felony not punishable with imprisonment for sev-

en years or more, or any misdemeanour, under this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and liable to imprisonment for one year.”

In Section 36, the Act goes on to cite that in cases where the felony cited incurs imprisonment of seven years or more, the act of incitement carries imprisonment for two years.

According to the laws of Guyana, arson is an indictable offence usually carrying a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of five years.

This is not the first time that Johnson has made discriminatory and inciting comments on social media about provoking violence. In 2016, Johnson was lambasted by Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira for a similar outburst, and she called on Education Minister Roopnaraine to terminate Johnson’s contract.

According to Teixeira, Johnson does not have an understanding of the role his position has in shaping society and is reckless in his statements. She had pointed out that the Constitution of Guyana speaks to the issue of

anti-discrimination and noted that a person who holds the responsibilities of culture must be sensitive to Guyana’s multicultural nature.

Meanwhile, only last year, East Bank Essequibo resident BibiSaforaSalim, who used social media to issue threatening and derogatory statements against President David Granger, was charged, placed on bail and then tried by the courts.

Unlike that case, which was dismissed because there was no specific offence committed, according to the Magistrate, in this instance, incendiary threats to 5520 followers to “torch” specific premises presented a clear and present threat.

S i m i l a r l y , TameshwarBeekham, a self-professed A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change supporter, was charged and fined after he issued death threats on social media against the life of former President and Leader of the Opposition, BharratJagdeo and other parliamentarians of the People’s Progressive Party.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

PPP/C Govt raised salaries for ministers after fourteen years in office Dear Editor, “He that bringeth his case first seemeth just until it is carefully examined”, Proverbs 18:17. The above proverb is applicable to the press release purportedly coming from the Office of the Prime Minister (PM) which was published in three of the daily newspapers on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, concerning relative increases in salaries of the Presidents, Ministers and public servants over the years 1998 to 2014. Please allow me to make some simple observations: Firstly, if it is true that the salary increases given by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) were according to the Prime Minister “unconscionable and disgraceful” then the Prime Minister who has now positioned himself as an arbiter of fairness and holds himself out as the epitome of decency, should have refused the increase on an already high salary in 2015, granted by the Granger Government to the newly elected Ministers on the Prime Minister’s words, “unconscionable and disgraceful”.

The question then needs to be asked, what adjectives will best describe the huge salary increases that the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government gave themselves one month after being in office: indecent, reckless, hypocritical and even deceptive; especially when this was disclosed by the media, denied by the

Government spokespersons and subsequently discovered to be secretly done and gazetted.

This matter was debated in the Parliament with the Opposition calling for an annulment of the order granting the increases to the President, Prime Minister, Vice Presidents, Ministers and Junior Ministers, some 28 in number. This unpalatable situation continues to fester and haunt the David Granger-led Administration with even their members and supporters crying out against this betrayal of trust. Obviously this unpopular decision has resulted in the APNU/AFC Government resorting to propaganda and in an act of desperation stage-managed the question by Jermaine Ferrigura and the answer by Winston Jordan, Finance Minister, was opportunistically used by the Prime Minister with speedy orchestrated response.

At this stage, I will not digress into a realm outside of what was said in this carefully choreographed question and answer segment of the National Assembly, but will use the Minister’s answer to debunk what is being misconstrued to deceive a population at its boiling point of anger against this unpopular administration because of the several inhumane, anti-poor decisions by the Coalition government.

In 1999 and 2000, the Armstrong tribunal recommendations were adopted and public servants received increases of 31.06 per cent and 26.66 per

cent respectively. Minister Jordan’s answer in Parliament disclosed that the Jagdeo Government did not bureaucratically grab the opportunity to increase their salary similar to that given to public servants. In essence neither the President nor the Ministers in the Jagdeo Government were provided with similar increases enjoyed by public servants for that year. In the same answer Minister Jordan revealed that in no less than three occasions the President and or Ministers were not given any salary increases whatsoever.

The Minister of Finance in his answer said that the President’s salary was indexed in 2006 to that of the Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Attorney General. The Ministers salary was indexed to that of Permanent Secretaries, although the records would show that the salary of some Permanent Secretaries (OP & MOF) remains far in excess of the remuneration received by Cabinet Ministers.

The clear case in point, is that the PPP/C took office in 1992 and it was not until 14 years later after we would have developed Guyana, repaired infrastructure, achieved debt relief, stabilised the economy, fixed health and education services, improved disposable income of the ordinary man, expanded the middle class, made significant investments in the development of the rural and hinterland communities, implemented policies for the revitalisation of the Private Sector; making

Guyana attractive for investment and the overall improvement in the standard of living of all Guyanese before correcting what can be considered an anomaly. By this time our budget recurrent expenditure reflected a commitment to pro-poor expenditure to almost 60 per cent.

It is important to note there was no public outcry, there was no public rebuke, and there was no secrecy in relation to the PPP/C salary increases.

This was gazetted, publically known and not handled in an underhand and devious manner. The people saw a Government prioritising taking care of the interests of the masses.

In the interest of not occupying too much space in your publication, I just dealt with the justice of the situation and not the actual figures which can be dealt with more adequately in another instalment. I conclude by saying this, APNU/AFC Government in its misconstrued beliefs of its messianic stature or more aptly described as manifest destiny will continue to operate as if they are “anointed” to do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want and no one dares question them. To do so, is to incur the wrath of the divine. I will not, by my silence, be a sponsor peddling untruths, misinformation and distortions. Not intimidated!

Yours faithfully, Bishop Juan Edghill, MP People’s ProgressiveParty/Civic

The Republic Day Parade in India Betraying the legacy of Cheddi Jagan is a must-see event

Dear Editor, While the Indian High Commissioner hosted a terrific dinner reception at the Pegasus Hotel to mark India’s 68th Republic Anniversary on January 26, the Indian government hosted a spectacular celebration in New Delhi, the morning of the same day and a banquet later in honour of the Chief Guest, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (one of the kingdoms of the UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. On January 26, 1950, the Republican Constitution of India came into force through a democratic act, unlike in Guyana when Republican status was declared after a rigged election that gave the PNC a magic two-thirds majority; the PNC used its fraudulent majority to break from Britain without the popular approval of the population. India became independent on August 15, 1947.

On January 26, 1950, the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, took the oath replacing the British Viceroy (Raj), or the equivalent of Governor General in Guyana.

At the Pegasus Hotel, High Commissioner Mahalingam extolled the virtue of close relations with Guyana. Acting President Moses Nagamootoo responded in kind, thanking India for the enormous amount of financial assistance given to Guyana every year.

Indeed, Guyana is one of the highest recipients of aid per capita from India. Guyana is perhaps the largest recipient of aid from any country.

It is the tradition in India to hold a parade on Republic Day

at the famous Rajpath in Delhi.

India’s military prowess is usually on display at the parade along with cultural presentations representing the ethnic diversity of the country. I attended the parade last year and what a brilliant memorable show it was that attracted over a million people on the streets. Loud cheers followed each float. I also attended Independence Day celebrations and was invited for a reception at the President’s home two years ago. The late President Abdul Kalam invited foreign guests to the Presidential palace, including several Guyanese every year where the PBD was held in Delhi. As in earlier years, like myself, other Guyanese also went to Rajpath to watch the parade. This year, a group of Guyanese Americans visited Delhi for republic day celebrations.

The celebrations are spread over four days and ends with the Beating Retreat ceremony on January 29. The parade was carried live on Indian TV and beamed around the world for the diaspora.

Pranab Mukherjee, who in his last year of his Presidency, started the ceremony by hoisting the Indian tri-coloured flag on Republic Day, following which the parade began.

He took the salute of the Beating retreat on Sunday.

Every year, there is a Chief Guest. Obama was Chief Guest last year. This year’s guest of honour was the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to reward the UAE for its friendly relations with India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who personally received the Prince at the airport, said that United Arab Emirates is India’s valued

partner and close ties between the two countries are important for the entire region.

This year in Delhi, India showed off its latest military hardware, including missiles that can carry nuclear weapons for more than 2500 miles. Hardware from the army, navy and air force were on full display and soldiers marched in unison. Also on display were the country’s new counter terror force, anti-hijack team, anti-sabotage team, CBRNE team (an advanced terror fighting force of commandos wearing radiation protective suit for protection from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terror threats or attack), and deep divers (who are trained to kill enemies underwater) – all these in light of recent terror attacks against Indian military bases over the last year.

India wanted to send a clear message to terrorist who are sent from a neighbouring country to create havoc in India. A female contingent of soldiers also marched and there were all kinds of pyrotechnics and air somersaults of fighter jets and helicopters, as well as incredible displays of movements of motorcycles by paratroopers stacked atop each other on five to seven levels up.

The Indian parade is a show to behold and if one is in Delhi around this time of the year, it is worth an appearance to catch a glimpse of it.

Separately, Indian’s 29 states and its union territories also hosted individual celebrations to mark the day. Congrats to the Indian HC in Guyana for a magnificent event last Thursday evening.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

Dear Editor, The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (CJRC) is appalled, indeed disgusted, by utterances made by leading functionaries of the APNU/AFC administration which insinuated that the manner in which the lease to the land and building which housed the centre was obtained illegally.

The inference to be drawn from those statements is that the lease was not only improperly obtained, but that there were hidden and ulterior motives on the part of those who were involved.

What the Centre found particularly distasteful was the fact that such statements were made by some of the very persons who claim to embrace the legacy of Cheddi Jagan, but having betrayed the legacy and now in bed with those who conspired to deny Dr Jagan his rightful place in history, they are now seeking to justify their betrayal by making wild and unsubstantiated statements.

It must be emphasised that the CJRC was established not as a profit-making organisation, but to promote the legacy of one of the finest and most outstanding sons of the Guyanese nation, someone who dedicated his entire life for freedom

and democracy and for the building of a united and prosperous country. As such, Dr Jagan is deserving of a special place in the history of this country.

The granting of a building and a piece of land in his honour and memory pales into insignificance when compared to the monumental contribution and sacrifices Dr Jagan made for the overall good of this nation.

It is bad enough to use disparaging statements regarding this great legacy and contributions by the uninformed and from those who historically stood on the opposite side of the political divide, but such unsavoury comments emanating from those who professed allegiance to the ideals and vision of Dr Jagan speaks to a level of hypocrisy and opportunism that literally stinks into the high heavens.

The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre has lived up to, and will continue to be a centre of reading and research into the large body of writings and speeches made by Dr Jagan and in the preservation and promotion of his great legacy at its current location in accordance with our 99 years lease.

Sincerely, Management of Cheddi Jagan Research Centre

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Govt, Opposition reps to meet next week on appointment of GECOM chair

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resident David Granger said he was anxiously awaiting dialogue between the Government and the Opposition, which has been scheduled for next week, before determining the next step forward in appointing a new chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

The Opposition’s legal adviser, Anil Nandlall and the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Senior Counsel Basil Williams are expected to meet shortly to discuss the interpretation of the laws governing the appointment of a new GECOM chairman.

Minister Williams, who is currently in Trinidad, told the Ministry of the Presidency on Wednesday in an invited comment that former Attorney General Nandlall had written to him in January asking that the meeting be organised any time after January 25. However, given that he was in Jamaica at this time, AG Williams said he had undertaken to set a date next week for the meeting to happen.

Meanwhile, President

Granger told reporters on Wednesday at State House that having realised that the issue arose out of two different interpretation of the Constitution, he did not see the rationale to have further dialogue with Opposition Leader BharratJagdeo and as such, has left the matter in the hands of the legal experts from the two sides.

“I think (Jagdeo) has nominated the previous Attorney General and I’ve nominated the current Attorney General and I have asked them to meet and see in what ways we can have a common interpretation of the Constitution. In the final analysis, it’s a constitutional matter and I felt that the Constitution was quite clear so if there was any opaqueness or obscurity, I hope that the meeting between the twoAttorneys would clarify that,” he noted.

Nevertheless, the Head of State maintained that he was correct in his interpretation of the Constitution that the nominees for GECOM chairmanship must be a judge or have qualifications equivalent

to that of a judge.

“I’m anxious to move ahead, it’s a constitutional office, but as I said my interpretation of the Constitution was quite clear. I’m not saying that the person has to be a judge, but if you read the whole article of that Constitution, it intends that the person must possess certain qualities and we are looking for those qualities,” the President asserted.

The controversy on the matter revolves around the different interpretations of the Opposition Leader and the Government on Article 161 (2) on the appointment of a new GECOM Chairman.

The Opposition’s understanding conforms to the updated Constitution which incorporates the Carter formula to have a democratic process for the appointment of a chairman.

Granger’s interpretation, on the other hand, seems to reflect the old 1980 Constitution which limits the pool of persons to be appointed to GECOM’s helm to only judges or those eligible to be a judge.

news 7

Guyanese immigrants join protests against President Trump’s immigration ban

By Vishnu Bisram

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uyanese were among the thousands who joined the protests against President Donald Trump’s latest Executive Order barring immigrants from specified Islamic countries from entering the United States. The Order also allows for the detention of immigrants (including refugees) or refusal of entry (regardless of status) into the US even if they have valid visas or green cards.

There were protests all over the US on Saturday and Sunday against the entrance ban and detention of Muslim immigrants from selected countries. The action has been condemned by prominent global figures and it is considered illegal in some quarters.

A judge in Brooklyn Federal High Court issued a temporary restraining order staying the ban till a hearing. Apparently, the President’s Executive Order canceled the visas of many who were already on flights en route to the US, and as such they could not have gotten clearance to enter the country. Thus, they were detained.

Protests erupted spontaneously on Saturday at JFK where immigrants were kept in detention and being sent back on flights to their countries of origin. If those being held in detention are incorrectly returned to their flights of origin or denied due process, the US government will have to pay their costs of return to the US as per past precedents.

The rally at JFK Terminal 4 started at noon with a handful of protesters and by evening it had hit thousands overcrowding the airport’s train and terminal. Hundreds, if not thousands, of

protesters had to be turned away. Train service was halted at one time. But NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the restoration of train service saying the protesters must have their voices heard.

Security was very tight inside the airport as the terminals became overcrowded.

Several Indo-Caribbeans joined the protests with one Guyana flag being waved high in the huge crowd; Dr. Dhanpaul Narine waved the flag. A large banner with a logo of SADHANA, a NGO comprising of Indo-Guyanese and South Asians, was held up by two Indo-Caribbean females at the rally condemning the targeting of Muslims by the Trump administration.

Immigration lawyers have been volunteering their service to represent those in detention. A Hispanic member of the New York City Council promised the council will join the fight until every detained immigrant is released.

8 news

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Bar Association weighs in on controversy at AG Chambers …says questions on entity’s credibility being raised

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he Guyana Bar Association has weighed in on the controversy between Attorney General Basil Williams and Deputy Solicitor General Prithima Kissoon, pointing out that someone should take the proverbial high road as the issue is one affecting the credibility of the office seen as the legal representation of the State.

This is according to former President and current Executive Member of the Bar Association, TeniHousty.

He noted that this did not necessarily mean that there should be no retaliation, when warranted. What it does mean, he said, is that there are rules and regulations to deal with such infractions.

“If there is a procedure to be followed, follow the procedure and let the procedure decide it.

Do not try to proceed in the court of public opinion. Not because one party steps outside the rules means the other one has to step outside the rules.”

Former Bar Association President, Teni Housty

Housty noted the importance of the Attorney General’s Chambers, as the legal representation of Guyana’s state apparatus. The Attorney-at-Law pointed out that the expectation, therefore, was that as its status befits, it should not be exhibiting disunity.

“A public service is governed by rules and issues with discipline, insubordination, conduct of staff should be dealt with within. Now, when you step outside the rules and attempt to have issues canvassed outside the rules, what kind of example do you set to others following the observance of rules.”

“The concern is when you start to disregard one set of rules, what happens to the wider rules of society? To be representing a part of society which upholds the rule of law, and then (infighting occurs), what type of example would you be setting for the wider society?”

Housty went on to say that the entity’s reputation was now in question.

“When these things come out, it doesn’t fit (the entity’s repute). It weakens the confidence in the State machinery when it comes to the administration of justice.

When these things happen, it is the administration of justice that suffers.”

This latest scandal originated from the dismissal of a Statesponsored appeal which led to the quashing of a case against former President BharratJagdeo.

Williams had blamed the Deputy Solicitor General for this outcome by publicly ridiculing her, in addition to criticis-

Deputy Solicitor General, Prithima Kissoon

ing the Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Carl Singh. His statements prompted rebukes across the political divide, with Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo distancing himself from Williams’ comments.

However, Kissoon has since filed a detailed complaint to the Public Service Commission (PSC). In the complaint, Kissoon spoke about the AG failing to give instructions or examining documents prepared by her prior to being filed orpresented to the court.

She also claimed that Williams, who was recently made a Senior Counsel by President

David Granger, instructed his assistants to refuse to accept any documents or correspondence from her.

Meanwhile, in another section of the media, Solicitor General Sita Ramlal, in a letter to the editor, pointed out that Williams had insisted to Kissoon and herself, that he be named as the plaintiff in the appeal when he was not a party.

“I did not prepare nor approve the Appeal in this matter. The Deputy Solicitor General, Ms Prithima Kissoon at all material times and at all stages had conduct of the matter and she was aware that an Appeal was being prepared.

When the Appeal was to be filed, Ms Kissoon could not be found to affix her signature to same. The pleadings were brought to me for signature, whereupon I declined to sign same. I then went to the Honourable Attorney General and advised that he could not be a party to the action for the very same reasons…but the Honourable Attorney

Attorney General, Basil Williams

General was adamant and instructed me to sign and file the Appeal. This was done,” Ramlall stated.

Defence

In his defence, the AG claimed that he could no longer sustain Kissoon’s undermining of his Chamber’s cases.

He claimed that in cases where President David Granger, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and the Attorney General were sued, Kissoon deliberately disobeyed the instructions of the Attorney General and the Solicitor General with regard to challenging the applications on lack of jurisdiction, thereby causing the matters to be protracted.

UK multibillion-dollar infrastructure grant to fund Linden-Lethem Road

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he Public Infrastructure Ministry is gearing up to commence construction on the first phase of the Linden-Lethem Road Project, which will be funded by the Government of the United Kingdom through its UK Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) programme.

In September 2015, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced a £300 million investment in vital new

infrastructure such as roads, bridges and ports tohelp drive economic growth and development across the Caribbean region. Guyana was named among nine Caribbean states to benefit from the grant.

According to the Public Infrastructure Ministry on Tuesday, construction for the first phase of the Linden-Lethem Road Project, which spans from Linden to Mabura, is expected to commence without a hitch as the Ministry

will be working closely with the UK Government towards the success of the project.

The first phase of the project covers approximately 122.5 kilometres of road from Linden and the construction of a bridge across the Essequibo River at Kurupukari River. This phase is currently in the design stage.

As part of the collaboration with the UK Government, the Public Infrastructure Ministry said Government is seek-

Construction works are to commence this year on the LindenLethem Road

ing to engage a multi-discipline and transport sector-experienced consulting firm to assist in the preparation of a two-component capital project.

The components for this capital project include the upgrade of approximately 122.5 km of road between Linden and Mabura Hill (including drainage) and construction of a new single or dual lane fixed bridge across the Essequibo River at the Kurupukari ferry crossing, which is approximately 600 metres long.

While the proposed road upgrade applies only to one section of the Linden-Lethem road, the capital works on the remaining 331.5km of the laterite road will be undertaken through funding from other sources.

The remaining capital works would fall under additional phases and the Public Infrastructure Ministry disclosed that it has already engaged

the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) on possible funding for the stretch of road between Mabura Hill and Lethem.

Earlier last week, Junior Public Infrastructure Minister Annette Ferguson met with officials from IsDB on the project and another team is slated to return to Guyana for further discussions.

The final cost of Phase One of the project is not yet known but will be determined by the detailed design study being funded by the UKCIF. Meanwhile, the Infrastructure Ministry is optimistic about the success of the project. According to Chief Planning and Transport Officer, Patrick Thompson, the Ministry and the UK Government are working closely together to ensure that the project progresses smoothly.

“We’ve received very favourable responses so far and we are feeling

very optimistic about the progression of the first phase of this project,” Thompson noted, while adding that construction can commence in as soon as 18 months.

Last month, during the 2017 Budget presentation, Finance Minister Winston Jordan speaking about “infrastructure for integration”, noted that an infrastructure network that can support rapid economic development requires huge capital investments.”This is especially true of Guyana with its sparsely populated town and village centres scattered over its 214,970 square kilometres,” he posited.

To this end, Jordan noted that Government budgeted some G$37.2 billion to narrow the infrastructure deficit in the country, while at the same time pursuing other financing options, including Public-Private Partnerships (P3s), for the large-scale transformative projects.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Green’s contract with CH&PA will “It’s VAT not be renewed due to age – Harmon everywhere” M …Teixeira calls on Govt to repeal VAT changes, restore zero-rated items

inister of State Joseph Harmon told a post-cabinet press briefing on Thursday that the life of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA)board had been brought to end a new board will be appointed shortly and as part of Government’s plan to establish an age requirement for persons who sit on state boards, agencies and commissions, Hamilton Green will not be returned to the Board of Directors.

Hamilton Green

Green, the former Mayor of Georgetown who is over the age of 80was appointed as

CH&PA Chairman last year.

“Government at the end of 2016 did a review

of all boards and commission in this country which affect the life and livelihood of Guyanese people and considering age and the need for efficiency [as well as} the fact that there are younger competent persons. We believe that they ought to be given a chance. It is no disrespect and disregard to the work of these individuals [who held the posts] but we have to provide upward mobility within the system,’ Harmon explained.

Body of missing T&T woman found in shallow grave “I

Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira

t’s VAT and facingstudents, to enVAT and VAT courage youth from turne v e r y w h e r e ! ” ing to crime and to foster Opposition Chief Whip a healthy nation.

Gail Teixeira exclaimed She explained if baas she moved a motion in sic items such as erasers the National Assembly and geometry sets now calling on Government attracted VAT, then it to repeal the new Value becomes increasingly difAdded Tax (VAT) re- ficult for struggling famgime, which comes into ilies to keep their chileffect today (February 1). dren in school.

The motion, which On the other challenges Government’s hand, Junior Finance decision to eliminate ze- Minister Jaipaul ro-rated VAT items and Sharma explained that extend the list of VAT Government’s new tax exempt items, had the regime was to facilifull support of otherOp- tate equal wealth distriposition parliamentari- bution and the Private ans, some of whom contributed to the lengthy debate on the issue.

Teixeira highlighted how almost everything, even down to the dead, would be subjected to VAT, as she called on the Government to put an end to this unnecessary burden on the people of Guyana.

“Not even the dead can live in Junior Finance Minister, peace!” she reJaipaul Sharma marked, noting that funeral services, which Sector was to be blamed were previously zero-rat- for the increases passed ed, would now attract on to the poor.

VAT. Sharma argued that Teixeira outlined that the switch from zeservices in the health ro-rated items to exempt sector, the cost for over- should not come at a cost the-counter drugs, edu- to consumers, but it was cational materials, reli- the businesses who were gious books, sports gear, taking advantage of the as well as local products, change to exploit the are now attracting 14 spending public. per cent VAT – making “In both cases, where it even more challenging it is zero-rated and exfor the average man to empted, there is no VAT rid himself and his fami- to be put on that bill. You ly of poverty. will not be seeing any Teixeira also argued VAT on that receipt…so that VAT on basic items this issue of persons paysuch as educational ma- ing VAT is a misnomer,” terials, health purchas- he explained. es and sports gear went He argued that busiagainst promises made nesses should not be by the Government to re- charging consumers duce school drop-outs, to VAT if the items are exsolve the Maths problem empt.

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olice now believe that Nadia Simms was lured to a man’s home with the promise of a job, but instead assaulted, killed and buried in a shallow grave in the bushes near his home at Quarry Village Siparia.

The decaying body that is almost certainly Simms, 25, was found yesterday, five days after she went missing. Police used garden forks to unearth her remains, before calling relatives to make the identification.

The body was found off Syncline Road, at around 11.04 a.m. by four men hunting iguana. The clothing on the body matches the items that Simms was last seen wearing, a maroon coloured long sleeved blouse, black pair of pants, and black pair of flat shoes.

It was a devastating end to the search

Nadia Simms

first mounted by Simms’ family when police failed to immediately respond to their appeal last Saturday night when she did not return to the family’s Rampersad Trace,

Clarke Road, home.

The woman had left earlier that day to meet with a man who said he could get her a job.

Simms’ aunt Farziah Ali told the Express that the family was heart-

broken by the news and that Simms would have turned 26-years-old on February 7.

Simms’ mother Nafessa Simms, 57, had led the search for her daughter and was confident she would see her child safely returned.

Contacted yesterday afternoon, she said: “I just got some bad news.

I can’t talk right now”.

The suspect in Simms’ disappearance remains in police custody. He told police Simms spent two hours at his home last Saturday, before he accompanied her to a taxi that she left in. He has denied committing any crimes.

The body was taken from the scene at around 3.30 pm after her mother and aunt arrived. They will attend Thursday’s autopsy to confirm cause of death.

(Trinidad Express)

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5 , 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Govt, PPP clash over salary increases for ministers

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he “utterly disgraceful” salary increases given to Presidents and Ministers under the past Administration were not enough to satisfy the appetite of the coalition Government, which clandestinely awarded its Ministers an exorbitant 50 per cent salary just after several months in office.

That was the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) response to the outcry by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo over the salary increases given to the Ministers andPresidents between the periods 1998 to 2014.

A publicity gimmick was executed by the coalition Government in the National Assembly

on Monday when an A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) backbencher Jermaine Figueira was asked prepared questions to Finance Minister Winston Jordan in relation to salary increases under the PPP Administration.

In a subsequent statement, Nagamootoo said the increases which amounted to a total of 220.5 per cent for Ministers and 386.5 per cent for Presidents over 17 years were “unconscionable and utterly disgraceful”.

But the PPP pointed out that those accumulated increases were never done in any veiled or clandestine manner

unlike what was done in the case of the coalition Government which tried to cover up their lavish and unjustifiable increases.

The Party noted that its increases over the years were always announced prior to their implementation and when they were implemented, the public was duly informed as soon as possible thereafter. The PPP recalled too there was never any public hue and cry about these increases.

“We note the Prime Minister seizing this opportunity for cheap publicity, as is his wont, and characteristically, without thinking, describing these increases as continued on page 15

Foreign exchange earnings unaffected

by GuySuCo scale-down – Jordan

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inance Minister Winston Jordan does not believe the country’s foreign exchange earnings will be affected by the ongoing scale-back in the operations of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

Speaking to media operatives on Friday, Jordan pointed out that GuySuCo’s operations have been scaled-back for some 18 months now, yet the foreign exchange earnings remain intact.

The Finance Minister was at the time being questioned on the uncertainties in the market regarding reports of a shortage of foreign currency in the country.

“GuySuCo operations has been scaled back now for the last 18 months or so and the market still functions properly, we maintain a healthy reserves and so on,” he stated.

Jordan explained that over the last 50 years, Guyana has had one leading commodity or the other that has “bailed it out”.

“It was bauxite at one time; for a short time it

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan

was sugar, and right now it’s gold. So something will step in essentially.

And even with the lower earnings from sugar, rice and timber, we still have reserves that are higher today than at the end of 2015,” the Finance Minister stated.

He went on to say, however, that the foreign earnings from sugar could only be affected if one looked at sugar alone. He pointed out that Government’s plan was not to stop sugar production completely, but rather to diversify the industry. In this regard, he contended that the foreign revenue earnings will not be affected.

Hinds slams Govt for removing Justice Kennard based on age

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olitical commentator Dr David Hinds said that if Government has a policy on age, then it needs to make it known, while explaining the reasoning behind it.

Hinds was responding to the issue involving Chairman of the Police ComplaintsAuthority (PCA) Justice Cecil Kennard, who was recently asked

by Government to step down from his post because of his age. President David Granger had reportedly asked his Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan to write Kennard, asking him to resign.

But Hinds, on Monday, told Guyana Times Internationalthat in a country that is “woefully short of competent people to staff its expanding bureaucracy, we should not be in the business of firing people simply because they are getting old.”

He said if an official is competent to do his or her job and is in good health, then that is all that should matter. “I am afraid that we are setting an unhealthy precedence,” Hinds said.

The political analyst said if the Government really does have a policy where persons who are past a certain age should not occupy some posts, then it should formally announce it and explain to the public the reasoning behind it. Failure to

Political commentator, Dr David Hinds

do so, he said, would open Government to the charge of selective targeting of officials, as appears to be the case with Justice Kennard.

“But even if there is a policy to remove people from some positions because they are too old, I would have a serious problem with it.

Since when age determines competence? When I read the news story about Justice Kennard’s removal because of old age, I thought he was 100 years old and physically and mentally challenged.

But, from all indications, despite his so-called old age, the man has been quite competent at what he does,” Hinds said, noting that if indeed he is being removed because of his age, then it is a clear case of age discrimination.

He said if Government is removing Kennard for some other reason, as could well be the case, then it should be honest enough and say so,

rather than hiding behind age.

“I know of many people in Government service who are nearing 80 and doing good work. There are also some Ministers who are not too far away from 80 years old—should they be removed from Cabinet because of their age? I think not,” he stated.

When asked to confirm whether the Government had indeed asked the former Chancellor of the Judiciary to resign, Ramjattan last week said yes and further explained that age was the primary factor in the decision.

“It’s age,” said Ramjattan. “He is almost over eighty and the President indicated to me that he sent him a letter and he would be removing (him), at this stage, by the end of February.”

Alluding to a possible replacement, Ramjattan explained that any search for a replacement would come under the purview of the Ministry of the Presidency.

However, the Minister lauded Kennard’s performance in his role as PCA Chairman.

Ramjattan was also asked about whether he felt side-lined by the PCA, for years under the Home Affairs Ministry, being moved to the Ministry of the Presidency. He denied this. “I don’t feel so at all. We (are) united. The head of se-

curity is also the President, the Chief Executive Officer of the country, and so I don’t feel so. If there is any advice that I have to give, I can extend it with a phone call across there. I don’t have space in my Ministry.”

When contacted by this newspaper yesterday, Kennard declined to comment.

The PCA, established under the Police Complaints Authority Act of 1989, is in place to receive complaints made against serving members of the Guyana Police Force.

The former Chancellor, who is a recipient of the Order of Roraima (OR), studied Law in the United Kingdom’s prestigious Lincoln’s inn. He returned in 1962 to open a private practice in Berbice, from where he hails. In 1965 he was appointed State Counsel (prosecutor) in the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers, before being elevated to senior State Counsel in 1968. He also served as the Guyana Police Force’s legal advisor.

Kennard served in the Court of Appeal before becoming Chief Justice, serving from 1995 to 1996. He then served as Chancellor of the Judiciary from 1996 to 2002, when he left the Judiciary to take up his position at the PCA. He has been chairman of the PCA ever since.

“Only if you look from sugar itself, but the changes we are looking at are a comprehensive package with diversification…” he explained.

There have been reports that there is a shortage of foreign currency in Guyana. The report had cited complaints from those in the business sector. This, however, has consistently been denied by Jordan and Central Bank Governor, Dr Gobind Ganga.

But at a recent public forum, the Finance Minister called on those involved in the practice of hoarding foreign currency – exporters, importers and cambios – to be responsible and heed the entreaties of the Government. He also had issued an ominous warning: failure to do so would result in the Government taking decisive action.

In fact, the Finance Minister disclosed that he has already begun engagements with the various financial institutions on the matter.“We have a number of actions being taken behind the scenes,” he stated.

Man freed of 2010 rum shop murder 2010, Jaisingh murdered Joseph.

However, D a m o n Ramgulan, who had said that he had seen the murder accused shove the deceased, recanted his statement on the witness stand, where he admitted that he did not actually see the stabbing.

Guyana Times Freed: Antonio Jaisingh International understands that ntonio Jaisingh Ramgulan is bewas on Monday ing investigatafternoon freed ed by the Criminal of the 2010 Sarah Investigation Johanna rum shop Department (CID) on murder; however, the perjury charges. key witness is now The former murunder investigation der accused fled the for lying. court after he was Jaisingh was on freed into the arms of trial before Justice waiting relatives.

Navindra Singh, ac“I feel good. I was cused of fatally stabin jail seven years for bing Randy Joseph something I didn’t do, after an argument at [but] God is great!”

Brian’s Liquor Bar, the freed man exSarah Johanna, East claimed.

Bank Demerara in The State’s November 2010. case was presentThe decision came ed by Prosecutors after two hours of Siand Dhurjon and deliberations, as Tuanna Hardy, while the 12-member jury Attorney-at-Law unanimously found Latchmie Rahamat Jaisingh not guilty of represented Jaisingh. murder and the lesser Justice Singh told count of manslaughthe freed man that he ter. The State had conhoped that he did not tended that some time get into trouble again. between November 26 and November 27,

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5 , 2016| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Guyana’s ‘outdated’ building Bandits snatch G$6M after trailing codes being reviewed businesswoman from bank

Executive Director of GNBS, Candelle Walcott-Bostwick

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he Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has begun the process of reviewing Guyana’s current building codes, which had been implemented since 1999.

According to the Executive Director of GNBS, Candelle Walcott-Bostwick, there are a number of building codes in Guyana and all these versions are being reviewed by the GNBS. Speaking at a GNBS’s press conference on Monday, the Director said that theexisting specifications of those codes need to be reviewed, as they are outdated.

“We have a set of building codes and they are currently being reviewed, the one for septic tank is just a review of the existing specifications and that committee is currently working on it, so for example, they may be looking at certain areas like the size, the type of materials that are being used and so forth, so it’s just updating what currently exists.”

Further Walcott-Bostwick said that building codes in use in Guyana at this time were all implemented a long time ago, and as such would need to confirm to modern specifics.

“We have not designed as yet the enforcement of building codes and that is something that

we have to communicate with the Business Minster because we would’ve had these codes in existence since 1999 and we have never had the enforcement aspect of it streamline,” Bostwick said.

Some regulatory authorities are available that enforce aspects of the building codes – for example the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), which use the codes to enforce the parts which are applicable to them – when persons are constructing buildings, as well as the Government electrical department who implemented the electrical codes.

“At this moment, those regulators will carry out their enforcement, but the thing is, there is not an enforcement body to oversee all of the building codes,” the Director highlighted.

The codes have been up for review for the past two years, however, because of ongoing development, the requirements are ever changing.

“When you look at the codes now for example, persons are thinking of codes with requirements for energy efficiency, some of the type of materials that are available then, we have newer materials available now, newer technologies and so are available now so as it is, there is no formal enforcement arm as is required by the building code, as is specified in that standard.”

However, although there are currently no enforcement arms of these codes, there are penalties for those who refused to follow the codes that are currently available.

“Under these various regulatory bodies, that we would’ve mentioned, there are penalties because, of course, they have to approve these buildings so if you are not meeting those requirements, then it’s most likely that your plan will not be approved, so there would be penalties that would be applied if you don’t meet those requirements.”

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n East Coast Demerara (ECD) couple were on Tuesday morning robbed of some G$6 million after bandits reportedly trailed the wife home from a city bank.

The incident occurred around 11:45h at the couple’s Lot 31 Chimney Road, Chateau Margot, ECD home where they operate a vehicle upholstery shop. It wasreported that the armed men confronted the couple moments after the woman arrived home from the bank and escaped with the cash, along with other belongings that were in her handbag.

According to information reaching Guyana Times International, Indranie Boodhoo went to a city bank on Tuesday morning and withdrew the money. She then took a taxi home and upon arriving there, she went into the yard, but soon after, a silver Toyota Allion motor car bearing registration number HB 8059 pulled up in front of the house.

A male exited the front passenger seat and rushed into the yard, before confronting Boodhoo at gunpoint and demanding the bag. He was then joined by an armed accomplice, who came out of the driver seat.

Upon realising what was

The Boodhoos’ home where bandits carted off $6 million after trailing the wife from a city bank

happening, the woman quickly threw her handbag, which contained the money, to her husband who was also standing in the yard at the time. However, the bandits managed to get to the man before he could have escaped and pointed the gun to his head. They took the bag away from the husband, Mulchand Boodhoo, and subsequently escaped in the motor car.

At the time of the robbery, one of the couple’s employees was in the yard, but was unable to aid the couple since the ordeal lasted less than five minutes.

Luckily, no one was injured.

Meanwhile, the taxi driver has since been taken into Police custody and is assisting with investigations. It is unclear whether the taxi the woman used was

known to her or not.

Nevertheless, when contacted about the robbery, C (East Coast Demerara) Division Commander Marlon Chapman told this newspaper that neither of the two bandits has been arrested.

However, the Commander reiterated the need for citizens to be cautious and take the necessary steps to protect themselves.

In this case, the Commander posited that the woman should not have gone on her own to the bank, especially when it involved that large sum of cash.

“People need to be security conscious; we keep sounding the same alarm. You can’t trust people, because you don’t know what is really going on in their minds,” he pointed out.

Man freed of 2012 rape charge

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wart Hodge was on Monday freed of a 2012 rape charge after a jury returned with an 11-1 verdict of not guilty on a charge of raping an underage female.

The State’s case, led

by Prosecutors Tamica Clarke and Shawnette Austin, contended that the man raped a child under the age of 16. It was alleged

Ewart Hodge was found not guilty of rape on Monday afternoon

that the rape occurred on October 31, 2012 in the West Demerara district.

After he was freed by Justice Jo Ann Barlow, Hodge calmly walked out of the court. Hodge was represented by Attorney Jochebed Pollard. He was first charged in April 2013, while the deposition was filed last year.

G$800,000 bail for taxi driver Man gets 3 years jail for on causing death charge causing death of motorcyclist

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taxi driver who resides in Kitty, Georgetown, was on Friday released on G$800,000 bail when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

It is alleged that Noel Defreitas, on January 24, 2017, was driving at a fast rate, dangerous to the public, along Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, and subsequently collided with pedestrian Maurice Nurse.

Nurse later succumbed to his injuries. The accused denied the charge.

According to the prosecution’s case, Nurse was walking along the public road when he was struck by the speeding driver.

The prosecution objected to bail on the grounds of the seriousness of the of-

fence and the fact that a life was lost as a result of the accused’s negligent actions.

Defence Attorney Patrice Henry stated that his client is a 54-year-old father of two who has diabetes. He requested bail for his client on the grounds that Defrietas is not a flight risk and had cooperated with the Police investigation from the inception.

The Attorney further re-

quested a post-mortem of the deceased to determine whether the accused’s action was the sole cause of Nurse’s demise.

Despite the prosecution’s objection, bail was granted and Defreitas’ driver’s licence was suspended until the conclusion of the trial. The matter will continue on February 13 at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

three-year prison sentence was handed down to 58-year-old Andrew Arthur on Friday by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, for causing the death of a motorcyclist due to dangerous driving.

Arthur appeared before the Magistrate earlier this month and pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stated that on March 6, 2016, the elderly driver was speeding along the Houston Access Road, East Bank Demerara, when he collided with the motorcyclist.

The injured man was rushed to a city hospital where he was treated and discharged, but later collapsed and died.

The accused explained to the court at the last hearing that on the day in question, he was on his way to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport to pick up his familywhen the motorcycle collided with his vehicle. He was then arrested and later released on G$40,000 bail. Sometime thereafter, he was asked to report to the Ruimveldt Police Station where he was informed of the motorcyclist’s death.

The Magistrate stated that the

Andrew Arthur

court is satisfied to the extent, based on the testimony of the eyewitness and the prosecution’s evidence, the manner in which the accused drove fell way below that of a competent driver.

Additionally, the post-mortem results revealed that the victim’s death was a direct result of the injuries and a novusactusinterveniens (a new intervening act which breaks the causal link) case could not be established.

The court was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that Arthur was responsible for the death of the cyclist and the Chief Magistrate found him guilty.

12 news

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

State Audits ignored critical VAT-related issues, says Ram

Europcar launches operations in Guyana

Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-Law Christopher Ram takes a moment to discuss the 2nd Edition of the Ram & McRae accounting firm’s 180-page handbook on taxes in Guyana at the Georgetown Club on Monday evening.

Also in photo is Attorney-at-Law Hessaun Yasin (Marceano Narine photo)

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harted Account and Attorney-atLaw Christopher Ram has stated that the State Audits which have been conducted over the last several months did not address some of the issues related to the Value Added Tax (VAT). He made these comments at the launch of the Second Edition of the Ram and McRae Accountingfirm 180 page handbook, at the Georgetown Club on Monday evening.

The book contains 12 chapters and cites 84 different tax cases, it also has detailed information on the local VAT Act, Excise Tax Act, and other tax regulations.

One of the concerns Ram highlighted, relates to the implantation of the VAT to mobile data plans. Another issue Ram stressed, that was not reportedly sought after in the audits, was that some companies charge consumers VAT without the requisite legal authority.

“We know of people who have charged Value Added Tax and are not even registered and that is criminal and the State needs to be more careful… the State Audit might be interested in this because the State Audits have largely ignored Value Added Tax,” Ram told the gathering.

Meanwhile, he also noted that

based on an analysis, a nexus can be drawn that VAT, upon its introduction a decade ago, contributed to a spike in inflation.

“When VAT was introduced in the year of introduction, inflation doubled from 7.2 per cent to 14 per cent, so the chances of inflation which would affect interest rates, exchange rates, profitability. You can see the spike in 2007, when VAT was introduced,” the accountant noted. He indicated the importance of placing emphasis on VAT as it is one of the “major sources” of tax revenue in Guyana. He also pointed out that Budget 2017 has “understated” the revenue from VAT. Highlighting some of the features of the G$30,000 handbook, Ram has explained that the book will show the differences between zero-rated, standard-rated and exempt supplies; VAT calculations for registered businesses and for inclusive pricing. Ram’s book will further explain how to establish and maintain a VAT account; in addition to a ‘Civil and Criminal Offences and Penalties’ Table.

Ram also told the gathering that his Anti-Money Laundering handbook will be available from March at a cost of G$25,000.

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Business Minister Dominic Gaskin inspecting one of the vehicles at the launch on Friday

ilderness Explorers has partnered with Europcar Suriname to offer visitors and Guyanese a new car rental service, which was launched on Friday night at the Cara Lodge in Georgetown.

The entrance of this company to the local market brings a new level of service to the industry with its fleet of brand new vehicles and guaranteed delivery to international standards.

Speaking at the launch, Business

Minister Dominic Gaskin said that the operation would bring a new standard to the sector. In commending the two companies for the initiative, he reiterated that the Government of Guyana was committed to prioritising the development of the tourism sector.

Europcar was founded in Paris, France in 1949. It presently operates in 140 countries around the world.

Europcar Suriname has been in operation for the past 11 years.

President calls for deepening of bonds between Chinese, Guyanese

Special needs school to benefit all Caricom members

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uban Ambassador to Guyana Julio César González Marchante, along with members of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat and Government officials, on Friday visited the construction site of the special needs facility for persons with disabilities located within the compound of the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

The Regional Centre for Stimulating the Development of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs Associated with Disabilities is aimed at training persons to manage individuals with disabilities.

The training to be provided includes evaluation and diagnosis, language therapy, occupational therapy, psychological treatment, prevention, rehabilitation and social integration services, with a psycho-pedagogical and socially inclusive approach.

Ambassador Marchante said he was pleased with the progress of the building. The Centre is the fruit of deepening relations between the Caricom Region and the Government of Cuba.

“We will continue developing that; this is one of the proofs, it is something that we can share and we will continue collaborating with Caricom through our relations,” Ambassador Marchante said.

In early December, Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque,

along with Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and Ambassador Marchante signed a Tripartite Cooperation and Technical Assistance Agreement at a ceremony held at the Caricom Secretariat.

Guyana will host the Regional Centre which will use Cuba’s extensive experience to assist Caricom Member States to meet the special educational needs associated with disabilities.

Two years ago in Havana at the fifth Caricom-Cuba Summit, it was proposed that Cuba would cooperate with Caricom in nine specific areas, including “the creation of a training centre for the treatment of physical disabilities to assist physically challenged children and youths.”

That Caricom-Cuba Summit came a year after a high-level ministerial meeting in Haiti in 2013 where the Petionville Declaration recommended specific national and regional actions to address the needs of people with disabilities.

The Caricom Secretary General, in his remarks at the signing ceremony, said the project emphasised the interest of all parties to address a very important social and humanitarian challenge facing the Region, and aimed to use Cuba’s extensive experience in this area to assist Caricom Member States in improving the lives of a vulnerable sector of the population.

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The welcoming committee in the soon-to-be-opened New Thriving restaurant

he Chinese New Year was celebrated in fine style at the soonto-be-opened New Thriving Restaurant at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Ushering in the Year of the Rooster was President David Granger.

The President, while addressing the gathering of Chinese nationals and other invited guests, called for a deepening of the bonds of friendship betweenGuyanese and Chinese. Granger noted the proficiency of Chinese nationals in Guyana and lauded their contribution to the country.

“You are welcome today, as you were welcomed in 1853. Guyana will continue to observe

the 12th of January as Chinese Arrival Day to commemorate the contribution of our Chinese community to the enrichment of our culture and the development of our nation.”

On January 6 of this year, Granger had issued an executive order designating January 12 as Chinese Arrival Day in Guyana (as it was January 12, 1853 that the Chinese first arrived). The notice had pointed out the significant contributions made by the Chinese to the growth and development of Guyana.

“Their imprint could readily be seen in Guyanese cuisine and in their involvement in commerce as shopkeepers and businessmen. It is hoped that Chinese

Arrival Day will foster a greater appreciation for their history and contributions and further enrich the cosmopolitan nature of Guyana’s citizenry,” the notice stated.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Cui Jianchun, called on Chinese nationals living in Guyana to do their best to live up to the expectations of the people of Guyana and the Guyanese Government.

The 2017 New Year is the Year of the Rooster.

Coming after the Year of the Monkey, this New Year is called a Fire Rooster Year, as it is also associated with the element fire. The Chinese believe that both the Zodiac sign and the element play key roles in someone’s personality and destiny.

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Region 10 Children’s Costume Competition a flamboyant display

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he true spirit of the Mashramani celebrations was reflected in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) during the hosting of the annual Children’s Costume Competition, under this year’s theme: “Celebrate with Dignity, Liberty and GreaterUnity”.

As is customary,

there was intense competition from schools across the Region in various categories. The Calypso and Dramatic Poetry competitions were staged on Wednesday, followed by the nursery and primary competition on Thursday, and secondary competition on Friday. Schools were

also given the opportunity to participate in costume, dance, masquerade, Skip be Fit Jump Rope competition and Physical display.

Pine Street Nursery School was dubbed the overall winner in the nursery category of the Calypso competition, while West Watooka Nursery placed second.

Students performing during the Children’s Costume Competition in Region 10

Meanwhile, One Mile Primary was dubbed the overall winner in the five to seven years category. Copping the first position in the eight-10 category was One Mile Primary School, followed by Wismar Hill Primary in second place, while Regma Primary secured third place.

The 11-13 years category saw New Silvercity Secondary copping first place, with One Mile Primary placing second. New Silvercity Secondary also copped first place in the 14-17 years category.

The Dramatic Poetry segment saw Pine Street Nursery copping the first place position, while the Retrieve Nursery came in second, followed by Republic Avenue Nursery, which secured third place. The five to seven category was won by Watooka Day Primary, with Amelia’s Ward Primary placing second. Amelia’s Ward Primary was dubbed the winner of the eight-10 years category, while Watooka Day Primary copped second place. The 1113 category was won by Wismar Hill Primary, while New Silvercity Secondary placed second. Meanwhile, in the 14-17 years category, the Mackenzie High School was dubbed overall winner, while New Silvercity Secondary placed second.

The costume competition reflected the true image of the Mashramani celebrations with the flamboyant costumes on display.

The individual category in the nursery segment was won by Wismar

Hill Nursery, followed by South Amelia’s Ward Nursery in second place. Meanwhile, Wisroc Nursery School was dubbed winner in the group category, with Blueberry Hill Nursery in second place.

The nursery dance competition was won by South Amelia’s Ward Nursery, while Canvas City Nursery placed second.

Meanwhile, One Mile Primary copped first place in the five to seven and eight-10 years dance categories, respectively, while Watooka Primary placed second in both categories. The 14-17 years category was won by the New Silvercity Secondary, while the Mackenzie High School placed second. A true crowd pleaser, the New Silvercity Secondary was dubbed winner of the hip-hop segment.

The Primary Segment of the jump rope competition was won by Saint Aidan’s Primary, while Regma Primary secured second place. The winners in this competition were awarded Double Dutch jump ropes, compliments of the organisers. Meanwhile, the freestyle and last man standing Primary jump rope competitions were won by Christiansburg Primary and Regma Primary respectively.

Mackenzie High School was dubbed overall winner in the Skip be Fit (last man standing) jump rope competition.

Successful schools who won various competitions were presented with trophies upon completion of the exercises on Friday.

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3 busted with ganja

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The marijuana that was found in the cabin on a vessel at Port Kaituma

hree persons, including a man and his reputed wife, were arrested late Friday evening and Saturday with large quantities of marijuana.

In the first instance, a West Ruimveldt, Georgetown man, who was under Police radar for quite some time, was nabbed in Port Kaituma, North West District on Saturday with almost 1.4 kilograms of marijuana stashed in the cabin of a vessel he was operating.

The 23-year-old man, who is an employee of a public transportation agency, had the illegal substance wrapped and taped in three parcels.

The discovery was made at about 13:30h when the Police swooped down on the vessel.

Meanwhile, a 29-year-old man and his 18-year-old reputed wife were on Friday evening arrested after Police conducted a search on their home at Mocomoco village, Lethem and unearthed three kilograms of cannabis.

Based on reports received, Police ranks acting on information went to the home at about 18:30h and requested to conduct a search, during which the illegal substance was found in a salt bag. The trio is expected to be charged in the new week.

Govt, PPP clash over salary increases ... from page 10

“disgraceful”. There is a saying that fools normally rush in where wise men dare not go.

Had the Prime Minister thought the matter through, he would have remained quiet. But he has illustrated that notwithstanding, how “disgraceful” these salary increases were, they were still inadequate to satisfy the leisure, lifestyle and greed of his coalition Government. As a result, he led a campaign at Cabinet which resulted in an increase of these “disgraceful” salaries by over 50 per cent,” the PPP highlighted.

The Party also pointed out that the revelation of these increases comes after vehement denials from Minister Raphael Trotman to the nation that there will ever be any such increases.

“The “disgrace” was compounded by the fact that there was no public announcement of this over 50 per cent increase but the nation learnt about it through an obscure order hidden in the Official Gazette.

The “disgrace” was also aggravated by the increase being made retroactive to take effect from the beginning of the first working month that the Government took office,” the PPP argued.

The Party added that “as if there is no limit to the shame”, the hefty

increases in salaries were followed by a fleet of brand new SUVs for Ministers.

Furthermore, the Party disclosed that “several houses are being rented for Ministers to the tune of several thousand of US dollars per month, per house and the fleet on bodyguards and personal assistants who accompany Ministers, even to the washrooms in Parliament.”

Notably as well, some Government Ministers are benefiting from fully-funded Government scholarships which are typically awarded to Guyanese citizens who otherwise cannot afford to finance their university education.

The PPP noted that, in the face of these vulgarities, the coalition Government imposes VAT on baby food, medical supplies, educational materials, domestic travels; even on the dead.

“At the same time, (they are) refusing to pay promised increases to the public servants, teachers and sugar workers; while at the same time, authorising the President and Prime Minister to personally import, tax, VAT and duty ‘luxury vehicles’. This Government should be the last grouping of persons in the world to speak about ‘disgraceful,’” the PPP asserted.

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Probe launched into rape allegations against soldiers

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he Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has launched an investigation into the allegation that a number of its soldiers raped a teenage girl at one of the country’s military bases.

The GDF in a statement late Monday evening, said it is in receipt of an allegation of rape against three of its ranks.

A Board of Inquiry has since been convened to ascertain the facts and to

determine whether the crime was committed.

The statement added that the soldiers are assisting the Police with their investigations.

The army used the opportunity to reaffirm that it “remains committed to the preservation of law and order, and will deal condignly with all transgressors.”

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Minister Cummings calls on Guyanese Trotman to reduce stigma attached to leprosy defends record G …says stats speak for themselves

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atural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has responded to critics on the performance of the country’s natural resources sector, emphasising that his statistics speak for themselves.

He defended his record when asked about the criticisms on Saturday, at the Alliance For Change (AFC) National Executive Conference (NEC).

Trotman pointed to the level of gold production as an indication of a good job.

“There’re lies and then there’re statistics. We have never had the level of gold production that we’ve had before. Despite the removal of both Barama and BaiShanLin from the forests, we only dropped 15 per cent below where we were in 2015 and 2016,” he said.

“In the area of oil and gas, we are making monumental progressive steps.

So I believe that I’m being singled out simply because I’m doing such a good job. It could not be that the natural resources sector is in any peril. In fact, it has been (exceeding) all the expectations of the international financial institutions.”

According to the Natural Resources Minister, if there is a criticism that his performance as Minister was not up to par, “it tells me that I’m doing very well and I will continue to let the statistics speak for themselves”.

The 2017 Budget had included several new taxes, but relative to the gold industry, there was an increase in contributors’ tax from 10 to 20 per cent.

This announcement was accompanied by a two per cent tax on gross earnings.

In addition, certain goods and services will now attract Value Added Tax (VAT), while miners would also have to file for income tax returns every year-end.

The new tax measures are scheduled to take effect after they are assented to by the President and then gazetted. From the outset, however, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has resolutely stood against them.

Concerns

The GGDMA had a meeting at its headquarters on North Road and according to reports, the miners agreed that a letter would be published and also posted to President David Granger, informing him of their concerns.

It is reported that

Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman

slowing down production as a form of protest was also suggested, though this was nixed in favour of their request for a meeting with President Granger.

According to reports, the miners plan to peacefully protest if a meeting is not granted.

Gold production has been solid, with some 690,000 ounces of gold being declared in 2016.

An agreement was also reached between the Finance Ministry, the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and the GGDMA for concessions.

The Government had announced that the concessions, which include duty-free concessions on imported equipment for small and medium-scale miners, had been renewed last year.

But when Budget 2017 was read, both the GGDMA and the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) were vocal in their criticism of the G$250 billion Budget.

The Association had said that the measures could only lead to lower declarations and a decline in the sector. With regard to tax compliance, the GGDMA is of the view that miners will experience difficulty when filing tax returns owing to their locality.

Pertaining to fuel concessions, the Association had complained that benefiting from these concessions was unrealistic as the GEA complicated the matter. In fact, the miners revealed that they no longer had the fuel concession option.

According to the miners, in 2015, VAT was not paid on heavy-duty equipment, matting, spares and other materials. However, the Association lamented, in 2016 VAT was required on these items and a phased reduction was implemented on their concessions.

uyana on Sunday joined the rest of the world in observing World Leprosy Day. To raise awareness, a talk to formally launch a month of activities was held at the Palms Geriatric Home on Brickdam.

Delivering the feature address at the launch was Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings. Dr Cummings noted that the stigma attached to the disease forced infected persons to isolate themselves and not seek the available medical treatment, which was free of cost in Guyana.

“We must be responsible citizens and do whatever we can to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with leprosy,” Minister Cummings stated.

Several trainees were coached in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of patients with leprosy.

Also, the Minister noted that the Public Health Ministry was for the first time able to visit Regions One (Barima-Waini); Seven (CuyuniMazaruni); Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) to follow up, monitor and evaluate the competence of the trainees who were dealing with leprosy, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

Minister Cummings stated that “the Ministry of Public Health, through its infectious disease programme, will continue to work tirelessly to improve and ensure the reduction of the prevalence of leprosy in Guyana through coordinated efforts of health promotions, surveillance and prompt access to treatment.”

Minister Cummings also stressed that there was great need

Minister within the Public Health Ministry, Dr Karen Cummings, addressing stakeholders at the launching ceremony of World Leprosy Day at the Palms Geriatric Home

for peer counsellors within the leprosy programme at the Ministry.

She pointed out that currently measures were being put in place to recruit peer counsellors. This is being done through a collaborative effort with the Social Protection Ministry.

“Peer counsellors we believe will provide essential assistance in the area of patient follow-up to ensure patient remain on treatment and do not become defaulters,” the Minister explained.

Country Representative from the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), Dr William Adu-Krow said that his organisation was pleased to have supported the Public Health Ministry last year on its Leprosy Control Programme.

He said, “This year 2017, we are committed to continue our support to the Ministry of Public Health in its efforts towards achieving the ultimate goal of leprosy elimination

at the national level in Guyana.”

Leprosy control has improved significantly throughout the world owing to national and sub-national campaigns in endemic countries.

Integration of basic leprosy services and inter-general health services has made diagnosis and treatment of the disease more accessible.

In 2002, leprosy was thought to have been eliminated. This was due to the disease detection being fewer than 1 case per 10,000 persons.

In 2014, none of the endemic 122 countries had recorded more than 1 case per 10,000 persons. However, in 2016, Guyana diagnosed 52 new cases, with Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) being deemed the most affected region.

The Public Health Ministry throughout the month of February will be conducting a number of awareness exercises across the country. The exercises include visits and educational talks at both primary and secondary schools, with 10 schools on the East Bank targeted. There will also be an awareness booth set up at the Giftland Mall on February 18 and 19, followed by a health walk on Brickdam on February 25.

Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms and legs. The disease has been around since ancient times, often surrounded by terrifying, negative stigmas and tales of leprosy patients being shunned as outcasts.

However, the disease is completely curable. Persons with the disease are urged to seek early treatment as this can prevent disfiguring disability related to the advanced stages of leprosy.

Cummingsburg Accord has not been very effective at the lower levels – Patterson

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ts signing was instrumental in getting the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) into Central Government.

But 23 months later, the agreement has been deemed “much less than desirable”.

This is according to former AFC General Secretary and Public Infrastructure Minster David Patterson, who said that the day-to-day administration of the Accord has been problematic, especially at the local level.

David Patterson

“The day-to-day administration of the Accord is much less than desirable. The interface between the coalition partners at all levels has not been the best.

Although at the Cabinet and ministerial level, the working relations have been excellent, at the lower levels, it has not been so.”

Patterson noted that in order to contest the 2015 General and Regional elections, when the party leadership entered into discussions with APNU, some

Former AFC General Secretary and Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson

“tough patches” were experienced.

“But after long and hard negotiations, the Cummingsburg Accord was agreed and signed.

The details of the Accord have been the subject of wide discourse, both in the party and the wider society,” he said.

Patterson lauded the performance of the AFC Ministers in Government, noting that they performed well in their respective portfolios. In fact, Patterson referred to his party as “the outstanding party within the coalition Government up to this point”.

“However, not ev-

ery element of the Cummingsburg Accord has functioned as the framers intended and a number of issues have arisen that need to be addressed in an effort to enhance its effectiveness. The Accord has an initial lifespan of 36 months, ending in February 2018.”

“One of the main weaknesses of the Accord is the silence on the way in which the coalition would treat with the Local Government Elections. The coalition partners, despite some effort, were not able to reach an equitable political arrangement, which led to a less than satisfactory outcome for those elections.”

“Going forward, as of this conference, a better and sustainable mandatory set of inter-communication methods must be developed and executed to harmonise the work of the AFC, particularly at the party and community levels.”

That being said, Patterson went on to say that the AFC was committed to the coalition and where there are issues, they would be ad-

dressed. According to Patterson, these issues should be ventilated within the party, rather than in public because “it becomes fuel for our enemies”.

“This coalition is good for the country. Let us resolve any issues we have in a consultative manner, rather than in a publicly adversarial manner.”

There have been various criticisms of the Accord. The Accord had designated responsibilities, such as domestic affairs and chairing of the Cabinet to AFC executive, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.

When this did not materialise, the Opposition had noted that Nagamootoo’s role was largely ceremonial.

The PM has always insisted otherwise.

After the results of the AFC NEC were declared on Saturday, President David Granger had issued a congratulatory message to new AFC Leader Raphael Trotman. In the message, the Head of State recommitted to the Cummingsburg Accord.

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Linden Trade and Investment Fair launched

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he Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) and the Linden Chamber of Commerce have collaborated to launch the Linden Trade and Investment Fair 2017, under the theme, “Linden – The gateway for investment and opportunities, a window to future development.”

This year’s event, slated for March 24-26, was officially launched on Tuesday outside the LEN building, Republic Avenue, Mackenzie, Linden, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice). Some of the sectors being targeted for the event include tourism, mining, construction and agro-processing, among others. During the course of the event, river tours to a heritage trail will also be conducted.

According to coordinator, Staydon Payne, this year’s event, which will beshowcased at the Egbert Benjamin Centre, has been formulated to be more investment oriented, while exhibiting the potentials of local manufacturers and business people.

Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, President of the Linden Chamber of Commerce Kevin De Jonge said the trade and investment fair promises to provide opportunities for local businesses in the region, in

Duo to stand trial in High Court for Robb St. triple murder

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Regional Chairman Renis Morian addressing the gathering at the launch

an effort to enhance their trade and investment opportunities.

He said while the event is a signature one, the Chamber thought it necessary to collaborate this year as a means of proving to citizens that the best way to get things done is by pooling resources together. He further shared his vision of bringing stakeholders of the Region together in order to achieve economic development.

Region 10 Regional Chairman Renis Morian while addressing stakeholders at the launch, com-

mended the organisers of the event. “I’m saying to the organisers, let’s fine-tune what we’re doing. This must not be another exercise in futility. This must be an exercise that at the end of it, we can measure our successes,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LEN, Tandika Miller, stressed the importance of core entities uniting in order to achieve success. She noted that it is only through the support of leaders, stakeholders and the general public that the event will be made a success.

She added that the event promises to cater to entertainment needs as well as investment opportunities.

Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland, while delivering his address to mark the official launch, said Linden plays a pivotal role in driving development, while he urged all to work collaboratively in the process.

Other entities on board with the initiative include Go-Invest, the Natural Resources Ministry, the Guyana Marketing Corporation and the Small Business Bureau, among others.

prima facie case was established on Tuesday against Ganga Krishna and accomplice Avishkar Kissoon, who are currently on remand for the Robb Street, Georgetown fire which claimed the lives of three persons.

Thereza Rozario and Feresa Rozario in November 2014, died when an early morning fire razed the Robb Street building in which they resided. Randolph Thomas, father of the two deceased, managed to escape through a window on the second floor but subsequently succumbed to second and third degree burns at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).

After two years of investigation, Police got a major break in the case when Kissoon reportedly confessed that he was paid to set fire to the building by the businessman, motivated by an ongoing dispute between the Thomas’ and Krishna regarding ownership of the premises.

The two men claimed their innocence when given a chance to speak by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Tuesday.

After several minutes, the Chief Magistrate then pronounced that a prima facie case was made out by the prosecution against Ganga and Kissoon.

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GAWU says Govt still to send requested documents …one month after consultations

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Sugar operations ended at the Wales Sugar Estate in December last year

ne month after Government’s high-level consultations with several stakeholders in the sugar industry, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has not received several requested documents.

These include an outline of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) plan on the new ventures for the Wales Sugar Estate, in addition to the relevant studies that were considered before the diversification plans were determined.

In an interview with Guyana Times International on Sunday, GAWU President Komal Chand related that the Union was still awaiting GuySuCo’s release of the documents pertaining to the studies that were conducted.

“They had stated that if we want any documents and any information, we could request. We (GAWU) have done so, but we haven’t gotten any documents from them,” he explained.

The GAWU President

further highlighted that the Union intended to ascertain the exact crops, in addition to rice, that were being proposed for cultivation under the diversification plans. It was disclosed that stakeholders were informed that the Rose Hall Factory would be closed, Enmore Estate would be closed and the Skeldon plant would be sold. The public later became aware that a Trinidadian firm had expressed interest in the heavily automated Skeldon factory.

Chand later disclosed that no rice was yet planted.

This follows his statements in December that only 35 out of 480 acres were levelled off.

Chand also told this newspaper on Sunday that only “five workers” would be drafted into the rice venture.

“In one of the documents, they said that they will need about five workers because rice is highly mechanised,” the GAWU President pointed out.

Meanwhile, several former GuySuCo workers have

told this publication that they were coping at present, one month after Government ended sugar operations at the Wales Sugar Estate. The workers, however, stressed that they were unsure how they would survive in the coming months.

It was after months of reiterated calls for engagement that several Government Ministers met with the parliamentary Opposition, GuySuCo, GAWU and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), to discuss the way forward for the sugar industry.

The Ministry of the Presidency had noted late last year that after the documents were perused, a suitable date and time for the next meeting would have been determined. However, the GAWU President explained on Sunday that this date was yet to be determined.

The long-awaited consultations were held on the very day that sugar operations at Wales ceased (December 31).

The Wales Sugar Estate is the oldest of the country’s estates and the shutting down of sugar operations were only confirmed after the story broke in a Guyana Times report in January 2016. The closure has affected over 1000 workers directly and thousands more in Wales and surrounding communities.

Over the last several weeks, tractors have been seen transporting punts and other materials from the Wales Estate, reportedly to Uitvlugt and other Estates across the country.

Donald Ramotar’s vehicle clamped by parking meter agents

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The clamped SUV belonging to former Head of State, Donald Ramotar

BMW SUV, which is assigned to former President Donald Ramotar, had a clamp placed on its wheel by personnel employed by Smart City Solutions on Saturday afternoon.

The vehicle was at the time parked opposite the People’s Progressive Party’s Headquarters, Freedom

House, on Robb Street, Georgetown where the former President was attending a meeting with other Party officials.

Although being told that the vehicle belongs to the former President, the personnel went ahead and installed the clamp. After the intervention of the former President, the clamp was removed.

It is believed that Ramotar parked his vehicle in a no parking zone, but there were no signs of parking meters in sight.

Public Relations Consultant for Smart City Solutions, Kit Nascimento later confirmed that the former President’s vehicle was parked in a no parking zone, but the decision to remove the clamp was as a form of courtesy to Ramotar, while noting that he had no right to be parking in a no parking zone in any case.

Nascimento, however, told media operatives that Ramotar, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, former Prime Ministers Samuel Hinds and Hamilton Green, among others, should provide a list of registration numbers of vehicles they intend to use so that some form of courtesy would be extended.

PPP grounded in struggle for the working class - Irfan Ali

PPP Executive Committee member Irfaan Ali

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t the opening of the PPP’s 31st Congress, last December, Opposition Leader Bharat Jagdeo disavowed the party being shackled to any “isms”. However, in a letter to the press last week, Central Committee Member Hydar Ali, asserted there “was no confusion in the PPP’s ideology” and cited a 1993 quote from Cheddi Jagan that claimed the PPP was “guided by the principles of MarxismLeninism”. In comments solicited by this newspaper, Executive Committee member, Irfaan Ali, cleared up the evident contradiction between the two statements.

“Hydar Ali, has quoted Dr Jagan’s position from 1993, 24 years, ago. If he had quoted Dr Jagan from 24 years before that – 1969, he would have heard something different. That year Dr Jagan declared the PPP had “decided to transform itself from a loose, mass party into a disciplined Leninist-type party.” A “Leninist” party is totally different entity than “a party guided by the principles of Marxism-Leninism”. A Leninist party would never have countenanced the conclusion of Dr Jagan’s quote: “and with the aim of building a democratic and humane society with a multi-party parliamentary system.”

“Wasn’t it Lenin who dissolved the elected Constituent Assembly in 1918 because it was “too bourgeois” and prevented the evolution of a western style democracy?” asked Irfaan Ali rhetorically. “The point I am making is that Dr Jagan, had become very pragmatic by the 1990’s and we see this exemplified in the policies and programmes he followed,” Irfaan Ali concluded. “Pragmatic in a very principled sense.”

Asked by this newspaper to offer some examples of Jagan;s “pragmatism”, the Central Committee Finance Secretary pointed to DrJagan accepting the neo-Liberal premises of the IMF Stabilisation Programme to which President Desmond Hoyte had signed onto in 1989.

“This was anathema to even a mild cooperative socialist like Forbes Burnham, who had rejected the IMF programme before he died. Dr Jagan had come a long way from arguing with Burnham who was a “Bolshevik”

and who was a “Menshevik” Questioned as to what Dr Jagan might have espoused in 2017, Mr Ali replied, “This is obviously speculation, but with a man like Dr Jagan, who was focused on his goals of improving the standard of living of the ordinary citizens by whatever means necessary, I can project from his own actions he would have followed closely the collapse of ideology across the socialist world. He might have followed Deng Xio Ping’s philosophy that “It doesn’t matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice.” Dr Jagan was serious about improving lives!”

Prodded to say if there is any conflict between the views expressed by Hydar Ali and himself, Irfaan Ali took some time to respond. “You have to understand that change is always difficult and the PPP must be constantly aware and ready to respond to changes internally and externally as it confronts both domestic and international challenges. It’s a new world. The new General Secretary made it quite clear at the opening at the 31st congress where the party stand. We are a party grounded in the struggle for the working class. Hydar’s letter highlighted a particular thinking and what Dr Jagan’s reaction might have been at one point in the past.

But the present is radically different and not to change our responses will be to court inevitable death. He and others in the party will accept that Dr Jagan was willing to listen and change his thinking when the “objective conditions”, as he put it, had changed.”

But asked whether in fact, Mr Hydar Ali, as Education Secretary, had not pronounced definitively on the PPP’s ideology in the present, Irfaan Ali was firm. “As we go forward as a party, comrade Hydar knows that our party will encourage debate and discussion and try to arrive at a consensus, knowing that is not easy. After all, comrade Hydar would remember Dr Jagan has said there can’t be “all unity and no struggle” within the party”.

With this new “openness” Irfaan Ali was asked whether this was part of what GS Jagdeo had espoused to have many ex-PPPites return to the fold.

“Definitely! I see the approach to be as broad as possible with room for healthy debate on every issue. Both young and old have an equal stake in building a party that is resilient, proactive and flexible without changing its fundamental principles.

At the end of the day leaders must be able to learn and unlearn if we are to remain relevant to a drastically changing environment. What I know for sure is that in Government the PPP followed a pro-poor approach to growth and development. Wealth creation is critical for economic transformation but must simultaneously improve the stock of the poor and working class whilst reducing the gap of inequality.”

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

UG/Caricom explore collaborative opportunities

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he University of Guyana (UG) has reached out to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) for support, as it continues on its quest to improve the capacity of Guyana’s premier tertiary institution.

Vice Chancellor of UG, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, along with members of the university’s administration recently met with Caricom’s Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and Senior Secretariat staff, where there was an exchange of views on programmes and areas of work that the secretariat and the university are pursuing.

At the meeting, Griffith shared his vision for the university and sought advice on how Caricom could facilitate the pursuit of aspects of that vision. In that re-

UG Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith and Secretary General of Caricom at a recent meeting

gard, the two sides were able to identify activi-

ties on which the opportunities for collaboration

could be explored.

The meeting was seen

as the occasion to renew the relationship between the Caricom Secretariat and the University of Guyana.

As testimony to the strength of that relationship going forward, the Secretary General and the Vice Chancellor exchanged gifts.

The vision of the Vice Chancellor is to make the institution a dynamic and nationally relevant world-class university. During his inaugural address last year, Griffith vowed to transform the aesthetic of the University, moving it from the place it is now to a place that would benefit every student and staff member. According to the Professor, the University of Guyana will be moving head-on, tackling the issues that have been holding the institution down for far too long.

Meanwhile, the UG Vice Chancellor has earned a Caricom report card, reflecting his work and commitment to the university since his time in office. According to Caricom, Professor Griffith had given up lucrative offers in North America to return to Guyana to serve as the Vice Chancellor of the local university. He knew that the task would not be easy and upon inspec-

tion, was confronted with a system that needed to be fixed with urgency.

Under his leadership, the first Education Resource Ambassadors (ERA) Conference was held in Georgetown. The purpose of that conference was to invite professionals in the fields of academia, media, medicine, business and other related fields, to see the state of the university and to suggest possible solutions.

The ERA Conference turned out to be highly successful. There were over 100 participants, drawn from Guyana and the Diaspora that examined the state of the university, and suggested proposals to help rebuild it.

In July 2016, the Vice Chancellor and his team launched “Turkeyen and Tain Talks”, the aim of which is to ‘discuss national, regional, and international issues and events of importance to Guyana.

These forums have to date discussed Brexit and its impact on Guyana and the Caribbean. Other topics included suicide in Guyana, Agriculture and Food Security in Berbice, and the implication of the 2016 US elections for Guyana and the Western Hemisphere.

12-year-old drowns while swimming with cousins

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he Pomeroon River, one of the deepest rivers in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) has claimed yet another life. Dead is 12-year-old Geramey Benjamin, of Dredge Creek, Upper Pomeroon River.

The Charity Secondary School student lost his life while swimming with his cousins. Reports are Benjamin, who suffers from epilepsy, was swimming with two cousins when he reportedly suffered an attack and disappeared in the murky waters of the Pomeroon River.

Guyana Times International was told that the incident occurred at about 17:00h on Thursday afternoon.

After realising what had transpired, the two cousins alerted his mother, Jacqueline Benjamin, and residents immediately conducted a search.

The search however proved futile and the Police were summoned.

On Friday at about 16:30h, the boy’s body

surfaced and was seen floating in the Dredge Creek area by a resident who raised an alarm.

The Police were summoned and the body was removed and taken to the Charity Wharf. It was later transported to the Suddie mortuary.

Statements from the two cousins; ages 7 and 18, were taken by Police. An investigation has been launched into the incident.

On January 25, a fisherman from Buxton, East Coast Demerara, was also recovered from the Pomeroon River. He went missing for several days after he toppled into the river. His body was discovered and retrieved by residents in Charity, on the Essequibo Coast.

Sixty-four-year-old Collin Nickleson had journeyed to Charity to conduct fishing as a way of earning a livelihood when he lost his life.

The post-mortem examination conducted on his remains revealed he died as a result of drowning. (Indrawattie Natram)

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Verdict looms for Bartica massacre accused A

fter three months of gruelling testimonies from witnesses presented by both the prosecution and the defence, the Bartica massacre case will be summed up by the presiding Judge later this week. This means that a verdict looms for the three accused in the High Court case, which started in November 2016 after severalpre-trial delays.

The State contended that Mark Royden Williams, called “Smallie”; Dennis “Anaconda” Williams; and Roger Simon, known as “Goat Man”; were part of the Rondel “Fineman” Rawlins gang that killed 12 persons at Bartica, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) on February 17, 2008.

At the Demerara High Court on Tuesday, the 12-member jury heard closing arguments

by Defence Attorney Peter Hugh who is representing Roger Simon and lead Prosecutor Diana Kaulesar. Both sides made passionate appeals to the jury but it is the group of 12 which will decide on innocence or guilt.

Mark Williams, Dennis “Anaconda” Williams and Roger Simon are the three accused standing trial for the Bartica Massacre

In his closing argument to the jury, Attorney Hugh reminded the jury of his client’s contention that he was at a mining camp at Pataro, Essequibo at the time the attack took place.

“You can’t be in two places at the same time,” Hugh told the jury.

He further recalled that several witnesses, including self-confessed gang members called by the State, had also said that his client was not seen in Bartica at the time the deadly attack was executed. This was the account of gang

members Clebert Reece and Dwane Williams, called by the prosecution and that of Michael Caesar, called by the defence. Hugh further explained that he does not believe that Police Constable Chester Benjamin was an honest witness. Benjamin testified that he saw Simon some 20-30 feet away from a window, just moments after he was shot about the body at the Bartica Police Station.

Prosecutor Diana Kaulesar who led the State’s case addressed the court immediately af-

ter the defence concluded its arguments. She outlined to the jury, the prosecution’s justifications for contending that the three co-defendants are guilty. Kaulesar explained that there is enough evidence to show that the men standing trial are liable by their conduct as being part of the crime.

The prosecutor noted the “convenient” testimonies of witnesses called by the defence, who never disclosed their alibies to Police in nine years, whether through statements

to Police or during preliminary proceedings at the Magistrate’s Court.

Chief among the testimonies that the Prosecutor called upon the jury to disregard, was that of Sheldon Williams who claimed that his cousin, co-accused Mark Williams was with him during the Bartica attack.

Sheldon had hyperventilated and seemed to cry several times on the stand recalling that two of the murdered Policemen were his “squaddies”.

However, Kaulesar termed his display of emotion as “an award winning performance” in the witness box, especially since Sheldon could not recall the regulation numbers of his “squaddies”. She also discredited the account of Dennis Williams’ father, Grantley Williams, who while claiming that his son was with him during the attack, had several timeline difficulties.

Kaulesar also challenged the testimony of mining camp owner, Bryan Chase, who could not account for Roger Simon’s whereabouts on the night of February

17, 2008. Chase had only accounted for Simon on February 18 when the message of the massacre was sent. In keeping with the three defence attorneys who preceded her, Kaulesar thanked the jury for their attentiveness throughout the trial and urged them to “do their civic duty” and be fair when considering all of the evidence.

Presiding judge, Justice Roxane George, SC will sum up the entire case on Thursday morning before the jury can deliberate. Meanwhile, co-accused Dennis Williams has again refused to attend his trial but co-defendants, Mark Williams and Roger Simon were present at Tuesday’s proceedings.

Apart from the three men standing trial, Clebert Reece and Michael Caesar who were both accused for the Bartica crime, pled guilty to manslaughter late last year and were sentenced to 420 and 1080 years respectively.

Caesar’s sentence carried more years as he admitted involvement in the January 2008 massacre at Lusignan.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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Foundation's members, children and parents giving thanks for the supplies to be distributed in the Rupununi

ids Joy Foundation works assiduously to change the life of every child by giving them a hope and a future that they so rightly deserve.

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, founder of the organisation Diane Shaw said Kids Joy Foundation was started in 2010 with the objectives of providing

rice, beans, youth and adult clothing, household items, personal care items for womenand much more, so everyone benefits,” Shaw outlined.

Shaw, a Trinidadian, disclosed that she grew up “very poor”. She recalled how her parents laboured to send her to school. Shaw revealed that she did not have any school bags, books or even shoes to attend

Making children happy is the aim of Kids Joy Foundation

tangible benefits (food, clothing and other necessities) to vulnerable children across Guyana; providing godly teachings to children (distributing children's bible); assisting in the advancement of children's education by providing school bags, exercise books and all stationery, among others; assisting in any other way that is beneficial to the community.

“Although we mainly work with children across Guyana, we were fortunate enough to be given items from Food for the Poor (Kids Joy is a registered member with them). We receive items like farming tools,

secondary school. But she was resilient, which paid off as she graduated and went on to earnher degree in Trinidad.

Currently, she is pursuing her Masters.

“This hardship in my own life inspired me to help children pursue their education. I married a Guyanese. When I moved here in 2010, I saw many children who didnot have much to go to school and I remembered my days, so I asked God to help me to help them. I am not rich, but God answered my prayer and many people started to donate so I can give back to others,” the humanitarian

expressed.

Thus far, the Foundation held “Back to School” drives for children in Haslington, East Coast Demerara; assisted two orphans from Berbice; distributed clothing and school supplies to children in Mabura; supplied school supplies for 71 children in Moshabo; donated food, bedsheets, blankets, baby clothes, towels, clothes, shampoo and much more to the Haslington community; distributed food, personal care products, household products, children school shoes and clothes to a church in Brickdam; donated a sewing machine to the LBI Secondary School, two sewing machines to a church in Haslington and another to a single mother of four children in Georgetown. These are just a few donations by the Foundation over the years.

Kids Joy Foundation

will be making its next donation in February 2017 to children in the Pomeroon district. Shaw said they were able to secure food items, but still need children clothing. She is urging kindhearted individuals and companies to donate to this worthy cause.

Shaw and her team will also be venturing into other far-flung areas of Guyana to help less fortunate children. She said she was invited to visit six schools in South Rupununi in August 2017. Additionally, the Foundation will be doing another school drive for over 400 children.

“I would like to express heartfelt thanks to our contributors: Food for the Poor, Massy, Silvie’s Variety Store, GBTI, Caribbean Container Inc., Seebarran & Co, Scott’s Jewellery, Giftland OfficeMax, Banks DIH, Gizmos & Gadgets, GT&T, California Stucco Guyana Inc., and Shaw’s Investment. The pub-

Members of the organisation having fun with children at one of its past events

lic can help by donating children clothes, toys and school supplies. They can also donate cash. We post out receipts to contributors. Persons can drop off items at 96 Bonasika and Sheriff Street, Campbellville,

Georgetown. Please call 645-3933 or 225-5253 or feel free to come and visit me. Kids Joy Foundation is a registered organisation,” Shawstated.

For more information, visit Kids Joy Foundation on Facebook.

School supplies for less fortunate children

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Selling crabs at a local market

Catch of the day in Berbice - buck and sherriger crabs (Photo from http://itsalwayssunnyinguyana.blogspot.com)

By Peter Halder

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atching crabs required a certain expertise.

The job was mostly done at nights when the crab was supposed to be in its hole and not roaming around in the darkness searching for food. A few catchers just pushed their hands in the hole and grabbed the back of the crab. Others put a bright light near the hole, which caused the crab to leave and is caught. Of course the job is easy during the “crab march or mating season” when they are out in numbers. Crabs are also caught in the nets of fishermen.

Crabs in Guyana are known by the following names: hermit or soldier crab, buck crab, bunduri crab, sherriger, jumbie crab, scissors crab, square-back crab, mud crab, spider crab, flat or porcelain crab, rock crab,

Sherriger (or sheriga) crab

shield-back crab, and the white land crab.

The popular crabs are the bunduri, buck and sherriger.

The bunduri is the largest crab. Its habitat is in the North West District and the Essequibo Coast. They go on a march during the “mating season” between late August and early September, when with spring tide, they would literally cover the entire beach along the Atlantic Ocean. On the march, they are an army of closely packed creatures walking in their own peculiar gait, pincers (claws) and bodies knocking against each other and making a racket. They were once found only on the seaside or along river banks, but with their increase in numbers, they began climbing up hills, sandlots and even go into people’s backyards.

The bunduri is caught

and shipped in barrels or straw baskets to Georgetown for sale in the main markets – Stabroek, Bourda, La Penitence and Kitty.

They were sold by the strings: six on a string.

Crabs are not bought or sold dead. The claw of each was tied with a straw string and the string was then tied to nails on top the circular edge of the wooden barrel. The customer inspected the various strings and made his or her selection. An unusual sight was the crabs trying to crawl over each other’s back to reach the top of the barrel and escape. The bunduri was a specialty for curry crab, sometimes for crab soup with eddo, callaloo, cassava and plantain, for making “crab backs” and for boiled crab.

The second popular crab was the buck crab.

It is the one whose flesh

is most used for making crab backs a popular cafe delicacy. The crab was boiled, the flesh removed from the body, two claws and legs, cooked with onions, spring onions and bread crumbs and topped with a small, de-seeded red wiri wiri pepper. The back (top) was thoroughly cleaned and the cooked and sea-

soned flesh placed in it.

Sometimes a thin slice of lemon was served to squeeze its juice over the cooked meat before eating. Crab cakes were a specialty in the good old days at Tang’s Bakery and Cafe on Robb Street near Camp Street and before that at the Salvation Army cafes on Camp Street, between Charlotte and Regent Streets, and on America Street.

and fringed legs as paddles. The claws and shell (back) have sharp points at the ends. Its colours range from green, black, grey, reddish brown and scarlet. Children in Albouystown, where I grew up, caught them in the then Sussex Street trench by using a saltfish tail or the innards of a chicken as bait tied to a string. The string with the bait was let down into the trench and its

Tasty bowl of crab curry

The buck crab came in different colours – blue, grey, purple legs.

They are also called blue crabs. The underside was white. It is a land crab but spends its time on the sea beaches only during the mating season and out of the water. It digs a large hole in the sand, using its claws. It rushes into the hole when it senses danger. The hole contains a certain amount of water so its shell could remain damp. The buck or blue crab is also used in soups, curry, to make crab backs or boiled and the flesh eaten with butter.

The other popular crab is the sherriger.

It is a water crab and lives mostly in inland lakes, trenches, and rivers. It is a great swimmer, using its flattened

movement indicated the sherriger had grabbed the bait and was trying to eat it. The string was pulled up slowly and as soon as the crab appeared clinging to the bait. A mokra basket cover or small seine was pushed under it and the sherriger was flipped to the roadside.

Then there is the hermit or soldier crab, which is found along the coastline. It has a soft, edible back. For safety, it seeks out hard, unoccupied shell molluscs and burrow into them. As it grows larger, it finds a larger empty shell.

The pastime culture of children growing up in Guyana is unique, quaint and fun-filled.

For more interesting stories, visit https://peterhalder.wordpress.com

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

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edicated to developing the art and practice of puppetry in Guyana, FaithAnn Chester-Inniss started 592 Puppets+.

Her mission is to educate, stimulate and inspire using puppetry in the fields of education, therapy, performance, and entertainment.

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Faith-Ann stated that puppetry aids in teaching concepts, engages the imagination, stimulates creativity and acts as a form of therapy.

“My desire to bring inanimate objects to life

late. This compelling interest eventually gave birth to Talking Handz in 2006 in Canada where I was exposed to puppetry books and resources. My first performance with the use of sock puppets was well received and I was hooked on this craft,” she recalled.

Faith-Ann noted that because puppetry in its infancy stage in Guyana, 592 Puppets+ covers the whole range of puppetry development from training and mentoring persons to design and construction of puppets.

“Being a trained teacher, I have a com-

Faith-Ann Chester-Inniss

church volunteers in the use of puppetry as an educational tool in the

the world I am in while performing – a world in which I am allowed to bring life to an inanimate object. I am mostly lost in my performances, where I am no longer seen on stage, since my puppets have taken over, literally. Therefore, feedback is of utmost importance from persons who have witnessed the performances. Many have confessed to be spellbound by the performances, as they watched with dropped jaws and utter silence. At a recent performance, a patron excitedly exclaimed,‘It was so real, it's scary!’

Having fun with puppets

A theatrical performance with puppets

started at a very young age. I sat on the floor and drew cartoons. I flipped the pages and they moved. By the age of 16, I earned my Diploma in Cartooning from the U.S.A. However, I needed something more, something tangible, something I can touch, move around, and manipu-

pelling desire for out-ofthe-box creativity and unconventional teaching methods. Consequently, I founded a puppetry club at my place of employment. My puppets are fully part of my lessons on a regular basis,” she explained.

Faith-Ann has facilitated workshops for

classroom. Additionally, her puppets have been assisting in a bible teaching project for children ages 4 through 15 at Brazo's workshop in the Tiger Bay area.

“Being the sole performer to an audience, my puppets take me to a realm of imagination, fantasy and exploration.

It is essential that I enjoy

Using puppets as a teaching tool

she revealed.

Faith-Ann said that many adults recounted that watching a pup-

petry performance takes them back to childhood of playing with toys and the use of their “childlike imagination”. She added that for children, “itis like watching Sesame Street on television”.

“I even witnessed children cry out for more of the performance.My puppets (whether sock, hand or finger) have caught the attention of persons, during my live performances in Guyana, Canada, Jamaica, and most recently, Christmas performances in New York,” she disclosed.

Apart from working with her beloved puppets, Faith-Ann’s “hobby business” is called Blaque Majick, where shedesigns and marketsreversible clutch purses, skirts, accesso-

ries and other items for women.

In 2016, she completed formal training in animation theatre in Morro Reuter, Brazil. Now she is poised to put her training in creating a space for an animation theatre in Guyana, one which would allow her to formally train and mentor adults and children to use puppetry to educate, stimulate, and inspire.

If you are you interested in purchasing puppets, booking a performance for your institution (school, church, workplace), learning the art of puppetry, making and manipulating puppets, volunteering and mentoring in puppetry, contact 592 Puppets+ on Facebook or call 592656-5271

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T

he “ugly American” is a term often used to refer to American citizens, most often abroad, who are loud, brash, arrogant, ignorant and egocentric. For a whole body of Americans, President Donald Trump embodies these traits and they feel that he is exporting this portrait of themselves and their country to the world.

The term comes from the novel “The Ugly American” written

by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick, which was made into a movie in 1963 starring Marlon Brando.

The plot exposed the behaviour of Americans in Southeast Asia who were corrupt, blundering, boastful and incompetent, and who backed impractical projects that would serve the interests of American contractors, rather than the local population.

In Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal”, he personalises these very traits as a businessman and the book’s ghost writer

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Tony Schwartz did not support Trump’s campaign because from his up-close vantage point, he had concluded that Trump cared about nobody but himself. In an interview with The New York Times, Schwartz said that Trump lied strategically and that since most people are constrained by the truth, this indifference to the truth “gave him a strange advantage”.

Trump’s preference for communicating via Twitter is explained by his short attention span which has left him with “a stunning level of superficial knowledge and plain ignorance,” Schwartz stated.

These character traits were exposed during the election campaign when Trump’s narcissism, racism and sexism became regular talking points. But he won, has been inaugurated and on the first day in office took to Twitter to complain about the news media misrepresenting the crowd size at his inauguration. He claimed it was the

biggest ever of any inauguration.

That was a lie but his obsession with claiming everything of his as the biggest appears an over compensation for areas in which he feels he falls short; or else, it exposes an authoritarian mindset where crowd appeal matters more in domination and power than constitutional legitimacy.

He now wants an investigation into electoral fraud.

Electoral rigging, and authoritarianism and its sickening sycophancy – the US sounds like a Third World country like, say, Guyana.

The US news media and political elite are most concerned about Trump undermining their democracy and questioning the legitimacy of the US government, and they expect their concerns to be taken seriously.

Yet, they can hardly be unaware about the “ugly American” policies undertaken abroad by their government and what this means for countries

Ryhaan Shah like Guyana. However, it is unlikely that the US will be prompted because of this firsthand experience to rethink their policies of enabling election rigging, authoritarianism and dishonest government in other countries in order to secure their national interests.

It is unlikely because they are the world’s superpower and it is, as Trump believes, all about furthering their selfish agenda.

While Americans are protective about their democracy, the authoritarianism that threatens Guyana again – and their suspected role in creating this situation – will hardly register

as a concern for them.

Guyana is nothing, if not a dispensable pawn in a high-stakes game for valuable oil reserves. However, the US media’s watchdog role in protecting the freedoms and principles of their democracy might have incidental fallouts and discoveries that could favour our country’s interests.

Greenpeace USA has joined the US media that have published reports on the possible conflicts of interest that incoming US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will face over the ExxonMobil oil find here.

Greenpeace USA has stated that Tillerson will most likely hire staff who will represent his position while negotiating in Guyana.

“The unavoidable outcome of this is friendlier rules for Exxon, rules that prioritise production over the environment and corporate comfort over social justice,” Jesse Coleman of Greenpeace USA writes.

The “friendlier

rules for Exxon” uncovered might well include the trampling on democracy and democratic processes in order to keep a government deemed “friendlier” to ExxonMobil in a “frontier” location, as Guyana is called.

This might be seen as intolerable in the current climate of widespread opposition to Trump, which already includes demonstrations from women and environmentalists.

Trump begins his presidency with the lowest popularity rating of 40 per cent of any newly elected US President, and America and the world are in for a roller coaster ride dictated by Trump’s Twitter messages, his conspiracy theories and, mostly, by his disdain for truth.

Ever the showman, he probably believes he is the star of the biggest reality media show ever. While many Americans are appalled by his show, just as many more think the “ugly American” is just what they ordered.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Congresswoman concerned Trump's immigration ban may extend to the Caribbean

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a r i b b e an American Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke has warned that US President Donald Trump’s executive order barring entry to the US for the predominantly Muslim nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen may extend to the Caribbean.

“I am concerned that he could expand that if we don’t organize and push back now,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told an emergency meeting of the Muslim community in her Brooklyn district on Sunday night.

“We know that in the Caribbean region there is a very healthy Muslim population from Guyana, to Trinidad, to Jamaica across the board; and so, we have to make sure we come together,” added the representative for the predominantly Caribbean 9thCongressional District in Brooklyn.

On Saturday, Clarke denounced Trump’s executive order, signed the day before, which halts

most refugee admissions to the US for at least four months, except for people who are religious minorities in their nation of origin, effectively preventing many refugees from the Syrian Civil War – the majority of whom are Muslim – from entering the US. “In the best of our traditions, the United States has welcomed people from around the world who wanted to come here to pursue the American dream. Such people include many of the families I am honoured to represent in Brooklyn, where my parents settled in 1955 from the nation of Jamaica to continue their education.”

Clarke said her father, Leslie Clarke, became an engineer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; and her mother, Una Clarke, became an early childhood education administrator and was ultimately elected to the New York City Council. The trail-blazing Una Clarke was the first Caribbean-born woman to be elected to

Yvette D Clarke

the City Council.

“There are unfortunately periods in our history when the United States has departed from that proud tradition, as when Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps during the Second World War and when strict limits were placed on immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe in 1924 based on irrational fears about Catholic and Jewish influence on American culture,” the Congresswoman said.

“We cannot as a nation allow xenophobia to undermine our principles or racism to determine our policies,” she added, stating that there are more than three mil-

Children’s Mash costume display kicks off in Region 2

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Cotton Field Primary performing for the Judges

undreds of children from various primary and secondary schools from across the Essequibo Coast gathered at the Anna Regina Centre Ground on Friday to witness the costume and physical display, as well as the jump rope competition.

The event was organised by the Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) Department of Education, however, it was noted there were fewer participating schools than in previous years.

Abram Zuil and Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary Schools did not participate in this year’s cos-

tume competition.

The activity is part of Mashramani celebrations in Region Two and featured children displaying appropriate costumes under the theme “Celebrate with Dignity, Liberty and Greater Unity”.

Taking the stage first in the eight-10-year-old individual tropical category was Better Hope Primary. Teachers from that school were very creative and portrayed turtles in Guyana’s forest. They advocated for unity and liberation of Guyana’s turtles. Friendship Primary was next and portrayed the forested regions of Guyana and its majestic

rainfall. In the same category, Hampton Court Primary beautifully crafted a representation of the national bird, the Canje Pheasant. Their float was made of natural materials, such as feathers, straws and nibi. The CV Nunes Primary also created a beautiful display. Friendship Primary copped first place, followed by Hampton Court Primary and Better Hope Primary.

There were also depictions of waterfalls, rose petals and ethnic displays, while the secondary category featured costumes depicting Mashramani messages, in keeping with the theme.

Cotton Field Secondary’s costumes portrayed unity, while Charity Secondary featured a boat, dubbed “Liberty”, which also highlighted the theme of Mashramani.

The students were colourfully dressed with glittering faces, and many costumes caught the eye, including those from Hampton Court Primary, Cotton Field Secondary and Charity Secondary. These costumes were beautifully designed and expertly presented.

lion Muslim Americans living in the US. “These are the same individuals who have volunteered for service in the Armed Forces. These same individuals are our neighbours and friends.

“I will never accept this attack on Muslim families as the policy of the United States,” said Clarke, a member of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce.

“I will resist, and I call on my colleagues in Congress and people of good faith across the United States to join me in resistance to this act of hate.”

Trump said the executive order was part of his vetting plan to keep “radical Islamic terrorists” out of the US.

“We don’t want them here,” he said during a signing ceremony at the Pentagon.

“We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people.”

Last Wednesday, Trump, signed, among other things, an executive order threatening to withhold federal funding from cities that protect law-abiding immigrants from deportation.

“This vicious attack on families across the United States cannot stand,” Clarke told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), adding “there are more than ten million people here, in our communities, who want to obtain legal status and become full members of our civil society.

“Their numbers include several hundred thousand young women and men who are enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme and are now attending college, working, and serving in the armed forces,” she added.

Clarke said people of good faith – both Democrats and Republicans – have worked for years to enact comprehensive immigration reform, and that she has joined in that work.

“But, with Donald Trump’s executive orders, our immigration laws are under the control of individuals whose dislike of the ‘other’ now dictates policy,” said Clarke, who said that she is totally committed to fight for all immigrants.

New York City Council Member Jumaane Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, who was arrested outside Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan protesting Trump’s inauguration two Fridays, also said “as we listen daily, we see a playbook of fear that is used in every authoritarian and fascist regime in the past.

“The use of a hyperbolic threat is the first step before horrible acts occur,” said Williams, who represents the45th City Council District in Brooklyn. “Donald Trump is unravelling all that our country claims to stand for.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Many benefits of reading R eading voluntarily is not something that you often find encouraged: yet it is extremely helpful to a child’s success. There are many reasons why parents should kindle the love of leisure reading within their children, some of which I hope to discuss here.

Growing up, reading has always been an integral part of my life.

It was alien for me to discover that persons didn’t read often. It was almost as though they were missing a whole section of their lives.

For me, one thing that reading did was stimulate my creativity. Through fictional books, I was able to picture mythical worlds, and I became more imaginative. This then led me to my love for writing, as I wanted to be able to create my own stories. And because of reading, I was also able to excel in English, as I

was familiar with syntax and my vocabulary had expanded. This love for reading continued to aid me in life, even in my higher studies, as I didn’t find reading notes or textbooks as burdensome as some of my colleagues did.

Such little things have added up to what I believe is an easier and more enjoyable school experience.

Something else too that reading gifts to children is a wider cultural experience.

You are able to live situations (secondhandedly) that you might not come across in real life, and analyse how the characters respond to them. These simple analyses can be applied to your own life, and can help you make better decisions as to how to interact sensitively with others.

Furthermore, reading can help you connect with others. If

Self-referentiality…

Ashley Anthony

two people have read the same book, there’s almost an instant rapport created between them.

Just like how persons supporting the same football team act as a family, so do readers who support a particular author. Readers form a community, and reading can even become a constructive hobby. It can be used to distract from stress, while simultaneously stimulating your mind.

Plus, it’s relatively low budget. You can buy used books, or even borrow books from schools, libraries and friends.

You can also get a few online if you’re up for the modern experience of e-books. So really, it seems like a win-win.

Obviously, not everyone will find the same joy and benefit the same ways as I did from reading, but there’s nothing to lose from trying.

…or Chronic buffoonery? riters will sometimes make reference to themselves or their exploits when ostensibly writing about another subject – the technique is called, not too surprisingly, “self-referentiality”.

Sometimes a movie will do the same – like the latest Star Wars movie – with a wink to the audience. It’s a pretty effective device to show irony – which always demands self-awareness.

This thought came to your Eyewitness who just read the Chronic’s hatchet job… ooops! …editorial, on the new General Secretary of the PPP and Opposition Leader Bharat Jagdeo. It was quite selfreferential, but quite tone deaf. Alluding to the previous PPP administration, the Chronic’s editorial complained: “The Guyana Chronicle became a political mouth-piece attacking political rivals, those the government disagreed with, and justifying whatever actions his government took.” Yep!! Your Eyewitness couldn’t believe his eyes either!! Talk about rubbing your do-doo on someone else’s bamsie!

No irony intended there by these jokers! They really do believe Guyanese people are so stupid to believe whatever bilge is thrown at them. But it just illustrates their own stupidity – which made them overplay their hand. Some may’ve believed all the other shade their editorial threw at Jagdeo… but not even their most fervent supporter would claim the present Chronicle isn’t slavishly grinding the axes of the PNCled coalition Government.

In fact, just last week, Moses Nagamootoo, who’s responsible for the Chronicle at the Ministerial level, was forced to denounce the “scurrilous attacks in the Chronicle newspapers against the acting Chancellor of the Judiciary”. Can’t get worse than that, can it? And the acting Chancellor isn’t even a “political rival” – he’s the highest judicial officer in the land!! Just as the President represents the power of the Executive, so does the Chancellor represents the Judiciary – equal in its sphere as the Executive and the Legislature!

But we don’t have to go very far to identify the Chronic’s attacks on the Opposition that it considers its “political rivals”, rather than performing its constitutional role of Opposition. We

W

can be “self-referential” and look right in the Chronic’s editorial we cited. To pick just one example, it claimed, Jagdeo “beat contender Dr Frank Anthony by a mere 13 votes”. Now if this isn’t slanted language, what is? Reading that, you’d think there were hundreds of votes cast, and Jagdeo got just 13 more than Anthony, wouldn’t you?

The truth, of course, is they’re 35 members of the Central Committee and the vote was 24 to 11!! Jagdeo actually garnered more than twice the votes of Anthony’s!!

Eschewing self-referentiality, the Chronic ended: “there is need to begin frank and honest national discussions about Jagdeo’s politics.”

We agree. When will the Chronic begin? …in oil invitation Your Eyewitness is a bit puzzled.

Newly-elected leader of the AFC, Raphael Trotman – chief beneficiary of the Nassau Accord that sealed the deal on return of the prodigal son – claimed he invited Opposition Leader to an “oil briefing”. More specifically, his Ministry wrote, “Leader of the Opposition… has been written to by Minister of Natural Resources… informing him that a briefing has been organised for him on Guyana’s preparation for the Oil and Gas industry.” Jagdeo, however, has claimed he’s supposed be briefed by ExxonMobil at his Office, and he doesn’t know if Trotman’s bringing over the Oil Executives.

But there’s a great bit of ambiguity in Trotman’s statement. If Jagdeo’s correct and ExxonMobil will be doing the briefing, how can they talk about “Guyana’s preparation for the Oil and Gas industry”? This is most clearly Guyana’s business!!

But Trotman’s phraseology lends one to believe the report in the Huffington Post which declared ExxonMobil was writing the rules of the oil game for Guyana!

Ahhh…what a tangled web… …and self-interest?

What’s this with Basil Williams declaring two years for the new Private Public Law School he conjured up, is already paid for?

We know the newly silked-one can expropriate private property… but public funds?

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

The Shaping of Guyanese Literature

A glimpse at cinema in Guyana

By Petamber Persaud

The Strand de Luxe cinema before it became a church hall

(The following article was first published in the 2004-2005 issue of The Guyana Annual magazine that was started in 1915 and published under the title The Chronicle Christmas Annual. I have the presented the article as it was published way back then. A follow-up is warranted.)

T

he birth of the cinematographic art at the turn of the 19th century was another indication of man’s quest to express himself using both art and science. The development of the cinema industry in Guyana did not lag far behind the growth of the film industry worldwide.

However, the decline of cinema in Guyana was due to complacency, lack of foresight and an unstable socio-political climate.

In 1920s, the Gaiety Cinema opened in the heart of the city of Georgetown, heralding the cinematographic art that was to fascinate hundreds of thousands of viewers; entertaining and educating – creating a platform for dialogue, thereby building social cohesion.

That landmark, which went up in flames in 1926, was situated in the compound of the Catholic Presbytery on Brickdam,

Georgetown.

Those were the days of the silent movies: the CharlieChaplin-pantomime.

Although the first cinema was short-lived, the show went on at about seven other cinemas throughout the country, inflaming the imagination of more and more Guyanese.

By 1931 there were 10 such ‘magic’ houses spread over the three counties of Guyana: Camp Street, Georgetown; Buxton, on the East Coast of Demerara; New Amsterdam, Berbice; Adelphi, Rose Hall and Number 79 Village, Corentyne, Berbice; Diamond, on the East Bank of Demerara; Mackenzie, Upper Demerara River; Uitvlugt, on the West Coast of Demerara and Henrietta, on the Essequibo Coast.

In 1932, three more cinemas were erected: two in Georgetown and one, the Rajmahal, at Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara.

By 1934, there were 16 cinemas in Guyana.

So in less than fifteen years, there was a rapid expansion of the cinema industry in Guyana.

And why not? The cinema is a mass media.

A medium with the particular function of build-

ing social cohesion because it provided that platform for dialogue – re-enacting the story, doing an autopsy on the whole production; all of which lent itself to freedom of expression and the ventilation of ideas, and so helped to decrease friction in society.

Apart from the main purpose of entertainment and escapism, it offered intellectual stimulation, equipping you with tools of engagement. It also offered solutions to existing social ills. The cinematographic art was larger than life, greater than pettiness, bigger than the barriers that divided the building into sections.

And always portrayed that good will overcome evil.

Now for a flashback: The beginning of the film industry, though clouded in controversy, was silent, starting with silent motion pictures.

Sound effects were developed in 1926, and soon afterwards travelled to Guyana.

In March 1930, the London, Georgetown only cinema, installed sound equipment. On Sunday April 6, 1930, the first ‘talkies’ was exhibited.

That film was “Broadway Scandals” from Columbia Studio and it was the talk of the town, like a scan-

At a time the lone opened cinema in the country, Astor today

dal.

This was definitely responsible for the expansion of the cinema industry in the city.

Soon Metro in Middle Street, Cummingsburg, opened. The Metro later became Empire, which unfortunately/fortunately is now a shopping centre, selling televisions, VCRs and DVDs. The Astor, opened in the 1940s, is functioning; trying to stay alive by featuring such recent box-office hits like Spiderman 2...

The centre of the city, with a denser concentration of the population, seemed to be the best location for the erection of cinemas. Metropole sprung up two blocks from Astor, and Strand de Luxe, two blocks further down the road.

Strand de Luxe opened in the 1950s

timate trysts with the house through its many phases.

Then there was Hollywood in Kitty, where my father related how one could gain admission with an egg in his days. Back then, Hollywoodbore the distinction of being the first exhibition house to offer cinemascope. But, alas, this cinema is now a church – a fair exchange perhaps; both filling a social need.

This expansion of the cinema industry in Guyana was due to a number of factors and additional novelties.

In 1952, Cinemascope (wide screen) was introduced to replace the small screen. Threedimensional shows added excitement. Then English subtitles were added to Indian films, which encouraged a greater fol-

ma was used as a concert hall and cultural centre, with Astor and Metropole labelled the hottest spots. Persons still talk about the live performances of the Platters, Sparrow, Ben E King, Cat Calloway, Mohamed Rafi, Mukesh, Mana Dey, Hari O Sharon, Shankuntala Devi, the Brazilian Trio Irakitan and our own Sam Chase.

Those were the days of uniformed ushers treating patrons with great respect. Those were the days when special music was played on Fridays.

Another major factor was the Censorship Board along with cinema managers ensuring good, wholesome films were available for the demanding and knowledgeable consumers.

At one time there were about 13 distribution companies with the

Gaiety cinema in its heyday

with “Sayonara”, starring Marlon Brando. This cinema lived up to the de Luxe in its name; always a luxury showpiece, and is presently equipped with sense-surround and Dolby sounds...

But the local industry was expanding, moving again out of the city.

The Olympic, where admission was cheaper than other exhibition sites, was located in Lombard Street and bore the unenviable distinction of having no roof. The Capital, just out of the capital of the country, was found in La Penitence Street, Albouystown. The Rialto, later to be called Doreen, was on Vlissengen Road, Newtown.

Doreen was burnt in 1963 and replaced by Liberty which was recently demolished after the building proved to be unsuited for a Chinese food and entertainment enterprise.

This for me was a sad time because I lived in the area and had in-

lowing, catering for a people who had already lost its language. Colour came on the scene, and was definitely a crowd pleaser.

Added to these improvements was the fact that movies were marketed with a passion. There were advanced billings, posters, flyers and billboards everywhere.

There were film pamphlets, and loudspeakers enticing all and sundry, especially persons in rural areas where the cinema was the only healthy form of entertainment.

Radio programmes like the “Strand Bandstand”, presented

by Vic Insanally, whetted the appetite of movie fans. Film magazines like the “Filmfare” of Bollywood, which provided information on the film making industry and the rise and fall of actors, highlighted the importance of producers and directors, fostering a craving fan club and massive crowd support.

Significantly, the cine-

big studio names in the film industry having local offices here. Names like MGM, United Artists, Paramount, Universal, Rank, Ginata…

Local organisations like the Film Distributors Association and Berbice Cinema Owners Association were formed to safeguard the industry, but too soon the decline set in.

As the 1990s approached, the industry diminished, dropping from 50 to 20 cinemas.

Another 10 went. It was ludicrous and sad to see the newspaper guide shouting for help. NO SHOW week in, week out until that particular cinema was no more…

Gone were names like Atlantis, Novelty, Apollo, Monarch, Rajmahal, Vijay, Regal, Gem, Melanie, Palm Tree, Kaydonna, Regaland Radio City…

Responses to this author telephone (592) 2260065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

This week's Crossword

This week's Puzzle

Picking sense…

M

…from BS

oses Nagamootoo, who couldn’t even match the votes his shill picked up at the AFC popularity sweepstakes, was in fine form at the National Assembly the other night. Meaning he couldn’t help putting his foot into his mouth! Compensation for weaknesses can be a bitch!! In what had to be a carefully hatched plan by him, one obscure MP had asked for the salaries and percentage increases of Ministers and the President between 1998 and 2014 to be declared.

And – surprise! surprise! – Finance Minister Winston Jordan JUST HAPPENED to have them available to be rattled off. Yes Virginia – there is a Santa Claus!! And right on cue, up jumps PM Nagamootoo, performing the last role left to him, and announces the raises authorised by the PPP – in which he then was an MP and a member of the PPP Central Committee, mind you! — were “unconscionable and utterly disgraceful”!! The raises for the PPP President and Ministers amounted to over 386 per cent and 220 per cent respectively.

Imagine that! What Nagamootoo didn’t realise was he was setting himself up because he’s constitutionally incapable of doing otherwise! – speaking without following all the ramifications. Now if the PPP raises were so “unconscionable and utterly disgraceful” over the 17-year-period, you’d think those massive salaries would be enough for PM Moses Nagamootoo, his President and his new and expanded Cabinet, wouldn’t you??

But you see, Dear Reader, you’re not Moses Nagamootoo and his band of merry men! So, what did they do?? Why! Immediately grant themselves a 50 per cent raise on top of the “unconscionable and utterly disgraceful” salaries!! So, what do you call these new salaries? Disgusting and shameless? And how were the “disgusting and shameless” salaries explained? There were several; but the one that struck a chord was that these new Ministers had to get mega salaries so they wouldn’t be tempted to steal!!

Now, but that obviously means the original PPP salaries inherited by the coalition Government weren’t so “unconscionable and utterly disgraceful” after all! If they were, there’d be no need to inflate them so massively!

Or, then could it be, the new lot were so avaricious, right off the bat, the handlers knew they had to build a bigger moat against corruption.

But from what we subsequently saw, it’s clear while the assumptions on the weakness of the flesh of the new Ministers-on-the-block were spot on – the inducement to fortify their flesh still wasn’t enough! Rotten to the core??

The question arises: if the average ministerial salary increase of the PPP over their 17 years was 13 per cent, what’s it gonna be for the PNC-led coalition that started off in YEAR ONE with 50 per cent!!??

Lord, have mercy!! …from ideological cluelessness Hydar Ally raised a hornet’s nest when he attempted to pronounce authoritatively on the ‘ideology’ of the PPP – which, as he fully well knows, is in a state of transition that is accelerated ever faster after their Essequibo Congress. It was not surprising that almost immediately he provoked reactions from both within and without the party.

The problem with fellas like Hydar Ally – is they’re very well-meaning but almost a century and a half after Darwin explained that even living organisms have to adapt to their ever-changing environment – or face extinction – he doesn’t appreciate the same is true of institutions. Including the PPP. Irfaan Ali, one of the new generation, explained the situation rather pithily, your Eyewitness thought, by showing that even Hydar Ally’s exemplar of “Marxism Leninist” – Dr Cheddi Jagan – was constantly changing with the times.

But didn’t even Marx explain that “dialectics” itself imply change? Including that of the “old guard”?

see solution on page 47

…from evasive analyses In the attempts to explain what went down at the AFC elections, there’s a studied refusal to face the facts. If the AFC vote was a search for new leaders, how can Trotman – who was AWOL since the elections – be explained?

How about the elephant named “race”?

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Guyana’s ecclesiastical stained glass windows

O

ver the centuries, stained glass windows were used predominantly in churches throughout the world, but were also found in wealthy domestic settings and public buildings such as town halls. The purpose of stained glass windows in a church was both to enhance the beauty of their setting and to inform the viewer through narrative or symbolism.

In Guyana, this valuable aspect of our religious heritage remains intact, but not many know, or want to know, of its history. Some of these ecclesiastical stained glass windows

cal structure located in the city of Georgetown.

It was officially opened for public worship on September 27, 1818.

Gracing the centre of the eastern wall, over the altar area, is a magnificent stained-glass window depicting the Ascension (the bodily rising of Jesus into heaven). It was unveiled in 1912 in memory of one of St Andrew’s great ruling elders, Patrick Playfair Fairbain, who died in 1910.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana was founded on October 15, 1743. Even though the church, located in New Amsterdam,

ter the Last Supper before his conviction. This popular scene identifies this as the place of prayer as Gethsemane.

Established in the 19th century, the Roman Catholic Church of Ascension, located in New Amsterdam, came from humble beginnings in the year 1836.

Although it faced many challenges, the church established a permanent structure that is still enjoyed today. This Roman-styled structure is 84ft by 28ft and supports a beautifully crafted ceiling. The church boasts 50 exquisite stained glass windows.

The most notable stained

Ebenezer Lutheran Church, New Amsterdam, stained glass window depicting Jesus Christ praying in the garden of Gethsemane

date back to the early 1800s.

The 19th century Gothic Revival-style St Andrew’s Kirk Church, with the standard features such as a central nave flanked on either side by an aisle and tower with spire over the sanctuary, is reputedly the oldest ecclesiasti-

was established in 1743, it was not until around 1752 that the first sanctuary was built. John Mittelholzer served the church from 1878-1913.

His legacy is memorialised by the famous stained glass window with a depiction of Jesus Christ praying in the garden immediately af-

A section of the stained window in St Andrew's Kirk Church, Georgetown

signing the St George’s Cathedral, reputedly the world’s tallest wooden building of its time.

Of the most outstanding features of the building, the stained glass windows are ranked among those which function as an energy saving mechanism that allows light into the building and also an admirable piece of art. In the sunlight, myriad colours are reflected through stories of Jesus’ crucifixion and ascension, among others.

Consisting of two rows of six windows, the east window was donated by the McConnell family.

The plan for the St Peter’s Church, located in Leguan, Essequibo,

was done by colonial civil engineer John Frederick Bourne. The foundation stone for the present brick structure was laid in 1855. At the left of the north-western entrance stands a detached bell tower. The windows are pointed and are filled with handsome stained glass. Imported from London, the seven windows on the apse depict the life of St Peter. Those in the nave contain flowered quarrels and roses with rich borders. This church, with its lower tiled sanctuary, massive brick work and stained windows, testify to the artistry and craftsmanship of Guyanese builders.

The All Saints Anglican Church was founded in 1839. The main section of the building is constructed of wood with gothic arched windows topped with a tower. Queen Victoria donated $750 for the purchase of a painted glass window for the east end of the church. This stainedglass panel to the left depicts St George and the central panel represents Jesus in his ascended glory. The right side panel shows St Patrick.

Reverend George Spencer described these windows as being one-ofa-kind in Guyana, and even the Caribbean. (Text and photos by National Trust of Guyana)

glass window, which was donated and unveiled by the Mendonca family on Christmas Eve in 1925, had replaced a painting done by Carrie Gomes depicting the ‘Ascension’ and was subsequently moved to the back of the altar.

Sir Arthur Blomfield is credited with de-

Stained glass window at All Saints Anglican Church, New Amsterdam

In sunlight, a kaleidoscope of colours are reflected through stories of the Crucifixion and the Ascension, among others, at St George's Cathedral

38 travel & tourism

M

o n k e y Mountain is known for its pristine beauty and lush green, mountainous landscape. It is one of the villages in Region Eight in the vicinity of the magnificent Pakaraima Mountain that borders Guyana and Brazil.

It can be accessed by road or air, and is also home to scenic interior savannah.

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Panoramic view of Monkey Mountain

The village is inhabited by the Patamona and the Macushi indigenous groups, and is equipped with a police outpost, schools and other modern-day facilities while rich in its indigenous culture.

Residents live in traditional houses and still practice their invaluable Amerindian way of life. (Photos by Marco

Aerial view of Monkey Mountain

Basir)

Thatched-roof homes

The police outpost

The welcome sign upon entering the village

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

R

yan Berkley is resourceful in finding contemporary ways of incorporating everyday life in his fashionable collections.

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Berkley, born October 28, 1988, recalled growing up in a home where he always heard the sound of a sewing machine working.

“When I was nine years old I took on art as a form of expression, always drawing and colouring at school where I would usually outshine the other students at sewing and designing. It was not an overnight transformation, but a uniqueness of my skills that flows from deep within my being, coupled with creativity, which at times seems to rushout like water from a fountain. It took time, hard work and perseverance to make this happen. The myriad of shows which I involved myself in helped to develop my skills and widen my vision. Thanks to God that every time there is a new show I am stronger and much more confident,” the designer expressed.

In 2010, Berkley

made his debut in the local fashion industry as a contestant on a local television show where he amazed his audience with his unique sense of style.

With just a year’s experience in fashion, the designer was able to create his own clothing line for the prestigious fashion event Designer/ Stylist Portfolio, founded by veteran designer Sonia Noel.

Berkley attended E. R. Burrowes School of Art where he graduated at the top of his class. His major textile design and textile construction. He then went onto study fashion designing (part one and two).

“As a young fashion designer, I intend to broaden the mind-set of Guyanese so that fashion may become a lifestyle in Guyana. I would also like to encourage my people, young or old, to open their minds to the uprising of new, refreshing fashion and to support the local fashion designers,” he declared.

For more information on the designs, visit Ryan Berkeley Designs on Facebook.

fashion 39

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Top ExxonMobil officials brief Guyana’s MPs on production preparations

G

overnment, along with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, on Wednesday met with officials of U.S. oil and gas giant ExxonMobil for updates on the promising oil discovery.

The gathering at the Marriott Hotel was described as what Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman said was a high-level meeting between the oil company and members of Guyana’s Parliament.

According to Trotman, there is undoubtedly good news coming from the development of the Liza reports.

“What is different about this briefing, there seems to be good news about the actual development of the Liza reports and how we intend to take it to production in 2020 and give updates on new techniques that will be deployed,” he said to Exxon officials and Cabinet members present.

According to Trotman, the presentation is more of a technical one and is the beginning of a series of engagement which will begin with policymakers, but will extend to Guyanese, both at home and in the diaspora.

Opposition Leader Jagdeo, in comments following the meeting, said while he did not want to divulge the content of the meeting, he did seek some clarification from the U.S. team about several issues discussed in the meeting. Those concerns were raised when the team visited his office, after the official meeting at the Marriott Hotel.

Following the first discovery of oil by the U.S. company back in 2015, Government has been upbeat about the prospects and economic future of Guyana.

The most recent offshore discovery of oil in early January sparked further hope.

The well was drilled

by ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, and encountered more than 95 feet of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs.

It was safely drilled to 18,080 feet in 6660 feet of water. The Payara field discovery is about 10 miles north west of the 2015 Liza discovery.

In addition to the Payara discovery, appraisal drilling at Liza3 has identified an additional high-quality, deeper reservoir directly below the Liza field, which is estimated to contain between 100 and 150 million oil equivalent barrels. This additional resource is currently being evaluated for development in conjunction with the worldclass Liza discovery.

Drilling on Payara began on November 12, 2016, with initial total depth reached on December 2, 2016. Two sidetracks have been drilled to rapidly evaluate the discovery, and a well test is underway to further evaluate the successful well results.

The well data will be analysed in the coming months to better determine the full resource potential.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 per cent interest.

news 41

42 news

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

President cites age as reason Police still to arrest Warlock for Kennard’s removal murder suspects

C

…apologises for giving ‘short notice’

S

peaking for the first time since the matter became public last week, President David Granger has apologised for the initial short notice of 36 hours given to retired Justice Cecil Kennard to vacate office as Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).

When asked by Guyana Times International about the rationale behind the short notice, the Head of State told reporters on Wednesday that he regretted “very much the short notice, he does deserve a longer notice…I apologise for the short notice given to Justice Kennard, it’s a matter that was under consideration in the last quarter last year and I regret the notice was so short.”

This newspaper was told that Justice Kennard was initially informed about his December 31 termination 36 hours prior.

However, that time was later extended to the end of February.

Meanwhile, the President further explained that the decision to sack Justice Kennard was not based on his performance, but was a result

Justice Cecil Kennard

of a general review being conducted on the length of service and age of persons holding offices at State entities.

“There is no negative report; in fact, a decision was taken to review all the boards, including Central Housing and Planning Authority…

So it is not a criticism of Justice Kennard, I worked with him. He came before the Disciplined Forces Commission and he has got a lot of bright ideas. But at this time, we look forward to filling all of the constitutional appointments.”

The President added, “We also have the Public Service Appellate Tribunal; well he is Police

Complaints Authority, we want to fill the Ombudsman position so it is the result of a general review of all the agencies, boards and commissions so there will be further information on those, but nobody is being purged.”

He went on to say that there would be a general order explaining Government’s policy on age and retirement for those agencies, boards and commissions.

According to the Head of State, his Administration is trying to build a pool of expertise among the younger generation. “We are simply trying to give other persons the opportunity to serve,” he pointed out.

rime Chief Wendell Blanhum on Wednesday confirmed to Guyana Times Internationalthat the Police are still hunting the three suspects wanted for the shooting death of Andrew Fraser in Warlock, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, on Thursday evening last.

He iterated that checks were made at several locations in which the men would frequent but to no avail.

He nevertheless stated that the Police will continue to pursue the men and have them placed before the courts.

It was reported that the three men are known criminals to the Police.

They were implicated in several highprofile matters including the recent Police operation at John Street Campbellville, Georgetown, which unearthed an AK-47 assault rifle, 80 rounds of ammunition along with a .9mm pistol and several mobile phones.

Andrew Fraser,

30, of Lot 565 East La Penitence, Georgetown, was gunned down after two men pulled up in a dark-coloured Carina 212 motorcar and opened fire. Fraser who was due to leave the country the following Saturday left home with the intention of collecting two suitcases but stopped at the shop to buy porridge.

From all indications, his cousin, Timothy St Hill was the target but he was caught in the crossfire. Based on reports, the young man was minding his own business, paying attention to his cellphone when the men suddenly appeared at the scene and opened fire.

He was shot at least five times by the two men who fled the scene in the motorcar. Dawn Sampson, mother of the man who was allegedly targeted, confirmed that her son was the target while accusing the Police of having a hand in her nephew’s execution.

Her son, St Hill, was only recently charged for

Dead: Andrew Fraser

entering Guyana illegally from Suriname. St Hill was also fingered in the Rio Night Club shooting incident sometime back.

His mother however, claimed that the Police had recently accused her son for the guns and ammunition that were found during a raid at a Campbellville, Georgetown house. He was arrested but after the 72-hour detention period elapsed, he was released.

The Police have questioned St Hill in connection with the murder.

Venezuelan woman fined, deported for overstaying

T

wenty-one-year-old Vildalva Boniella, who on Wednesday reappeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, was fined and deported after she pleaded guilty to an immigration charge brought against her.

The Spanish-speaking woman previously appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on January 28, to answer to a charge which alleged that between January 1 and January 28, 2017, at Iteringbang, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), she entered the country by sea and disembarked without presenting herself to immigration officials.

She was subsequently picked up

by Police officials on patrol at Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and thereafter arrested and charged with the offence.

Defence Council for the woman on Wednesday in plea of mitigation told the court that his client, who has two small children, came to Guyana in hopes of securing employment to support her family due to the ongoing Venezuelan crisis.

The Chief Magistrate fined BoniellaG$15,000 and she will be escorted as soon as possible to the nearest port of exit.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Calls for Govt to hold talks with US as Trinis quizzed, visas cancelled

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fter some T&T Muslim families encountered problems with US immigration authorities in recent weeks—including visa cancellation—attorney Nafeesa Mohammed is calling for T&T and US authorities to find mechanisms to ensure people are fairly treated. “… Before this situation reaches paranoia level—which is already building —T&T and US authorities should try to deal with the situation via diplomacy and dialogue to prevent unfair targeting,” Mohammed told the T&T Guardian yesterday.

Her call comes three weeks after some of her relatives encountered issues with US Immigration on landing in America. One family member was questioned about their relationship to her nephew, Tariq Mohammed.

Tariq, son of her brother Shamoon Mohammed, was an Islamic studies student in Saudi Arabia for several years. He and his family returned home for a visit last August 15, when he was interviewed by Special Branch. When the family returned to Saudi Arabia via Turkey as

they usually did, he was detained in Saudi Arabia on suspicion of terrorism.

After the Mohammed family lobbied for his release—stating he was innocent—Tariq was released and sent home just before Christmas.

Yesterday, Mrs Mohammed said, “Because my name has been heard in connection with persons who were detained, I’d like to ensure the process is fair and my names—and others’—isn’t red-flagged for the wrong reason.

“I’d like to know what mechanism exists through our Government officials to ensure innocent people aren’t treated unfairly. The current situation has created uncertainty in our family.”

She added, “I’m sure Government can help get mechanisms in place with US collaboration to help TT nationals travelling to the US to verify if they’ve been red-flagged in any way and give us the opportunity to go before any authority and help clear our names.

“A lot of stereotyping is occurring, presenting awkward, arbitrary and sometime discriminatory situations which are harsh and oppressive.

We live in a democracy

Antiguan teacher charged with attempted murder of student

A

secondary school teacher in Antigua is facing an attempted murder charge after allegedly striking a student in the head with a rock.

But the Antigua & Barbuda Union of Teachers (A&BUT) is asking police to review the charge, contending that it is too severe given the circumstances of the incident.

Vendiz Charles, a 26-year-old Physics teacher at the Clare Hall Secondary School, was granted EC$10,000 (US$3,703) bail by the High Court yesterday after appearing in the St. John’s Magistrates’ Court for the attempted murder of 14-year-old Akeem Scotland.

Scotland had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Mount St John’s Medical Centre on January 24 with a fractured skull. Reports indicate that the teen was riding his bicycle on the school compound, after hours, when he was

Teacher charged with attempted murder

struck in the head with a stone. He was discharged from hospital last weekend.

The A&BUT acknowledged that Charles’ alleged action was irresponsible, but in a statement said: “While we respect and support the work and professionalism of the police, we strongly beg to disagree that there was any malice in the teacher’s action that would support the conclusion that there was intent to murder that student or any other, by the teacher in question”.

(Caribbean360.com)

and always had good US relations.”

T&T Guardian checks in other Muslim quarters revealed that other Trinis encountered similar issues, but these pre-dated last week’s US visa ban on seven countries.

Sources, who requested anonymity for the people involved, confirmed that another Muslim family—related to Tariq Mohammed— also encountered difficulties on a trip to Miami in January. The family was kept in a room overnight and questioned and their visas were eventually cancelled. They were told their visas had an error and they returned to T&T after release.

A young South engineer, who travelled to Fort Lauderdale last

November, was also questioned on arrival, his visa was cancelled and he was sent back to T&T, the T&T Guardian confirmed.

A Port-of-Spain businessman who has longstanding business ties with the US, was also called recently and his visa was cancelled, it was confirmed.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses—unavailable yesterday to comment on Mohammed’s concerns— had said on Tuesday that T&T recognises the sovereign rights of the United States, or any other country, to grant or deny entry of nationals of other countries into the US. Moses said so regarding concerns by T&T green card holders about issues they could en-

counter on seeking to reenter the US if they visit T&T for Carnival 2017.

The concern comes following last weekend’s US executive order stipulating a 90-day visa ban on seven countries—Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan—to secure the US from terrorism.

Contacted on the Mohammed family case yesterday, US Embassy officials said issues concerning people landing in the US were handled

by Homeland Security.

Clarifying concerns

by T&T nationals about the executive order, Embassy officials said the visa ban doesn’t affect T&T nationals who are permanent legal residents of the US and who hold TT passports. It also does not affect T&T citizens holding dual cit-

izenship of other countries, who use T&T passports.

The Embassy stated: “TT citizens who are legal permanent residents of the US—and are not dual nationals of one of the seven countries affected by the US executive order—are not affected by the (executive) order.”

They said clarifications are still incoming.

On whether T&T nationals may be red-flagged by the US because of the 130 T&T nationals which Government confirmed have been involved in terrorist activities overseas, Embassy officials said there was no visa ban on several other countries where foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) have originated.

(Trinidad Guardian)

44 art & culture

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Inspired by the belief that “this world is but a canvas to our imagination”, Charles del Valenzuela demonstrates an extraordinary aptitude for art

opularly known as Charlie, artist Charles del Valenzuela hails from Wauna, Region One, where he attended the North West Secondary School.However, in order to further develop his artistic talent, Valenzuela left Wauna about four years ago to attend the E. R. Burrowes School of Art, where he majored in painting and pursued a

said he credits his father, who would design signboards by hand for communities in Region One, for his innate artistic ability.

“Since childhood, I developed a passion for it. I was always drawing and painting. I had my first experience with paint on the day I wrote visual art at CXC. I have such a profound love for art. The beauty of art in-

paintings can stir emotions, creatively inspire, and add a greater level of depth to an entire room simply through the use of colour, shape, and texture. Besides music, Valenzuela noted that abstract art is among the purest forms of expression, as it allows him the freedom to communicate feelings and emotions.

Working tediously "Untitled II"

minor in manual graphic design. His studies at the art institutionalso included learning about sculpting, leather craft, textile design and construction, among others.

In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Valenzuela

spires me mostly. Art is a part of me. Also, music contributes a lot to my inspired when painting,” he added.

Although Valenzuela appreciates all aspects of art, his preference is abstract painting. The artist believes that abstract

to improve his artistic flair, the 21-year-old artist mentioned his aim is to make “every artwork better than the last one”.

“Usually, I would not have a concept in mind when I start to paint, but during the process ideas flow, and I am al-

Charles del Valenzuela

ways amazed at the end results.I paint the images I may have seen in a dream or look at nature for inspiration,” he pointed out.

Known for his colourful paintings, Valenzuela explained that his aim in using a kaleidoscope of colours is to “stir up happiness in people” when they meditate on his work.

Valenzuela pointed out that “drawing is what all artists must know and do”, which he does artistically on t-shirts. Also, he enjoys doing figure and portrait drawings.

“Art keeps me on the right path.

For me, art is life.

It is at every corner you turn. That is why my advice to young artists is if your desire is to become an artist, by all means, satisfy your desire. Give that urge of wanting to be an artist a fighting chance,”

the artist encouraged.

Valenzuela, who works as a bartender, plans on building a career in art. At the moment, he does commissioned artwork, which serves as a part time job for him. He disclosed that it is tough to become a fulltime artist in

Guyana as there is hardly any market for local artists. Valenzuela noted that there is a need for the promotion of all artists and not just a selected few.

For more information on the artist, call 6594792 or visit Charlie's art on Facebook.

Artwork inspired by nature

''Unbroken bond"

"Stairway to Glory"

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

45

46 NEWS

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Thieves raid Berbice Pensioners Association office T he elderly citizens of the Berbice P e n s i o n e r s Association (BPA) were left traumatised after bandits on Sunday night invaded the premises carting off a number of valuable items.

Reports are the caretaker of the Association’s building was not on site on Sunday and thieves used the opportunity to raid the entity. This publication was told that the thieves made their way into the building via a window situated aback the one-storey building.

BPA President Alfred Paul said that the caretaker left the premises around 21:00h and returned the following day.

Upon her return, it was discovered that the window had been forced open.

Making choices… …on leadership ecently, your Eyewitness offered some background to the AFC Biennial Meet where the assembled rank and file – and there were some real “rank” ones present!! – purported to elect “office bearers”. With the AFC effectively being “dead meat”, these worthies can also be called “pall bearers”!

Probably trying to show they were “grounding” with the rural masses, the conclave was moved to Vreed-en-Hoop – one mile west of Georgetown!!

But if they really wanted to find out how “the other half lives”, they could’ve visited the squatting area of Plastic City – literally right next door to the school, where all the speechifying and voting took place.

But did they? Not THIS lot. The press revealed the vehicles bringing the leaders and delegates stretched one mile in either direction. It was a sight to behold – especially to the pi55ed commuters of West Dem, who were slowed to a crawl at the Vreed-en-Hoop junction.

But why would the PM, VP and senior and junior Ministers want to get their SUV’s dirty? Let the lumpen element of Plastic City eat cake!! But oh yes… there was an election. Or was it “selection”. The standing indictment of these bourgeois political games is the rank and file are simply given the choice of voting for persons who’re already defined as “leadership material”. If one keeps rotating and shuffling the same pack of four cards – how the heck will there ever be new blood with new ideas at the head? Where, as we know, dead carcasses start stinking!

Anyhow, this being Guyana, even the choice between Tweedledee and Tweedldum turned on the question of race – in this “multi-racial party”. AFC’s one claim to fame was to accept there had to be a “rotation” between the African and Indian Guyanese in the top tier. But this, of course, further restricts the choice available to the hoi polloi! No Indigenous person need apply!!

With newbie Moses Nagamootoo dropping out, the “Leader’s tag” became a toss-up between Founding Leaders Raphael Trotman (as a “Mixed” he goes both ways!) and Khemraj Ramjattan. The vote was 127 to 125 in favour of Trotman and the congratulatory hug of Ramjattan left more space between them than the notoriously fake Hollywood “air kisses”!! No love lost there!!

There were mutters of who bussed in who, and who credentialised who. But the optics in the papers showed a clear, even racial breakdown – with Indigenous Peoples in the swing seat. As minorities are wont to do – they threw their support to the fella with more access to the real power holders!

Prezzie’s congratulatory call to Trotman re-sealed the Nassau Accord!! A homecoming? …on judicial independence Whatever one may say of Moses Nagamootoo (and this Eyewitness has said plenty!) he must be saluted for defending the Chancellor of the Judiciary against – as he put it – “scurrilous attacks in the Chronicle newspapers against the acting Chancellor of the Judiciary.”

As an attorney – and therefore an officer of the court – Nagamootoo was duty-bound to take this position. But we know to our cost, the seductiveness of pelf and power. Khemraj Ramjattan, a far more senior lawyer, sat next to Nagamootoo and was mute!

What made Nagamootoo’s act more courageous was as PM, his powers have been severely whittled away – yet was now conceding his last bastion of “Information” was slipping away.

For the editor of the Chronic to carry the attack, he had to know Nagamootoo didn’t count anymore in the scheme of things?! Another question was what made Nagamootoo come out now?

The staunch condemnation from his old bete noir from his PPP days, Ramkarran, about the “Chronicle’s calumny” had to have done the trick.

Can’t have the bourgeoisie seize the high ground!! …on humiliations The problem with bullies, they don’t know when to stop. How can these people clamp Ramotar’s car?

The man was PRESIDENT OF GUYANA! The entire edifice is being eaten away by these termites!

R

Further inspections revealed a number of items, including a gas stove, were missing.

Paul is appalled that persons would commit such an act against the elderly.

It is not the first time that the building which was constructed in 2011 was burglarised.

Back then, louver panes were stolen which

forced the Association to use vent blocks on the building. Last year, an attempt was made to enter the building through the window, which was used in this break-in, but the caretaker who was on hand then thwarted all efforts. The association is a non-profit one and caters for pensioners, mainly those who are unemployed.

It has provided computer training to both pensioners and others, as well as cookery and fabric design programmes for the community.

Despite the inability of many of its members to earn, a part of the focus of the organisation is to impart knowledge to the community. Police are investigating the recent break-in.

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

S

Moustachioed Local Trump

atiricus was bemused. Not amused, he informed his friends, but “bemused”, as is perplexed. He was hanging out with the fellas at their usual joint: performing their usual ritual of quaffing lager and periodically downing portions of the “cutters” de jour. Which today happened to be fried Banga Mary doused with the house’s secret-recipe pepper sauce.

“How much longer are you fellas going to carry on about Trump and his carryingons over in the US?” he demanded.

“Well, Boy, we just can’t understand what the man’s doing with all these tweetings and bannings!” protested Hari.

“Yeah! An’ if ‘e sen’ back all dem Guyanese fram ‘merica, whe’ abee guh put dem?” asked Bungi with some heat – and not from the peppered Banga Mary.

“Not to mention, all of our freck will be cut,” chipped in Hari.

“But while you fellas bellyaching about Trump in America,” asked Satiricus. “What about our local Trump?”

“Who yuh mean?” demanded Bungi.

“Who else but Moustache Man,” said Satiricus with some exasperation. “Trump only doing stupidness two weeks now, but Moustache Man been behaving even stranger for over a year and a half!!”

“You know, Sato,” confessed Bungi, “Me nevah t’ink ‘bout Trump and Moustache Man dat way!”

“Both of them just say whatever comes to their mouth!” exclaimed Hari. “And because both of them in Government, they just embarrass ordinary people.”

“Fellas! I know both of you just gloating!” said Satiricus. “But he embarrassing my leader Nagga Man, when he attacking Judges and all that.”

“But a whe’ ‘e get all dem spunks fram?”

Bungi wanted to know. “Like he get mo’ seed dan baigan!”

“Is payback time, fellas,” said Satiricus shaking his head sadly. “Remember he was the man what was talking to the Bannuh on the Agricola Massacre?”

“Wow!” exclaimed Hari. “The Americans may be able to impeach Trump. But even “Number One” can’t touch Moustache.” “’E know whe’ all dem Pee-an-See skeletan bury!” grinned Bungi. “Tell Nagga Man ‘e bettah mek fr’en wid Mustache Man!!”

CROSSWORD SOLUTION

Anu Dev

“P

eople talk about physical fitness, but mental health is equally important. I see people suffering and their families feel a sense of shame about it, which doesn’t help. One needs support and understanding.” – Deepika Padukone Well, I’ve just survived my Internal Medicine rotation more or less unscathed and now I’ve moved onto my psychiatry rotation. Psychiatry is that branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental, emotional and behavioural disorders. In high school, I had done a survey into the incidence of suicide in my village at both the Fifth and Sixth Forms.

While I investigated this scourge that had pushed us up to the top of the dubious world rankings, I discovered, of course,

New Year, New Vista: Psychiatry

that suicide is quite highly correlated with depression and did what was inevitably a preliminary inquiry into the causative factors and treatment. I, in fact, did interview a psychiatrist and I have looked forward to being exposed to this area of medicine.

For our first psych class, we were tasked with drawing a circle, meant to represent our heads. We had to think about the factors that influenced our ethics and then fill in the circle with those factors, with the amount of space we allocated to each factor corresponding to the importance we placed on that factor. We then had to exchange charts to see our classmates’ take on the assignment.

It ended up being a pretty interesting assignment. There was a lot of overlap in the factors that people chose things like the law, religion, family and education. But what I found most interesting was the varying levels of importance different people gave to each factor.

For some, the law was

the biggest factor that played into their ethical decisions and for others, religion was the most important factor.

We also realised that there was no way to jot down all of the factors that influence our ethics – they’re simply too many.

But I think it’s something we should all think about.

What guides your ethical compass?

We then discussed several scenarios where an ethical dilemma might arise. There were some areas where the decisions were pretty cut and dry – like having a relationship with your patient, that’s pretty much a no-no.

Other scenarios seemed greyer – there was a scenario discussing the appropriateness of a doctor posting pictures on social media of him “clowning around”. There was some debate in the group as to what exactly “clowning around” entailed and it led us to a discussion about the amount doctors can and should share on social media, while still maintaining a professional

47

demeanour.

It’s been one week into the psychiatry rotation and this first week has been an orientation to the clerkship.

It’s been interesting so far, and it’s refreshing after five rotations of studying physical ailments, to learn about mental ailments.

It’s definitely a rotation that forces more introspection and discussion than the other rotations. Like one of the doctors explained to us, there are lab tests to diagnose disease like diabetes, but to make a diagnosis of mental illness isn’t as clear-cut. There was also a lot of discussion about the stigma against mental illness, even within the medical profession.

Tomorrow will be my first day on the wards for psychiatry and I’m really looking forward to exploring this other facet of medicine. This is my final rotation for year four, and it’s shaping up to be an interesting one. We are, after all, creatures whose minds are as important as our bodies.

Granger lauds Guyana’s religious diversity …at launching of Interfaith Harmony Week

President David Granger, First Lady Sandra Granger and UN Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka flocked by members of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) at the Umana Yana following the World Interfaith Harmony Week. Also in photo is Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton (Carl Croker Photo)

H

ead of State David Granger on Wednesday described the religious diversity which Guyana enjoys as a “model of interfaith Harmony”.

President Granger was delivering the keynote address at the launch of World Interfaith Harmony Week at the Umana Yana – a United Nations event. He said that at a time when hostile relationships and religious conflicts continue to envelop in other parts of the world, Guyana has policies that promote peaceful coexistence by fostering interfaith harmony.

He explained that in-

terfaith harmony is advanced through dialogue which in turn promotes understanding of each other’s culture and beliefs, and which, in turn, generates cooperation which leads to development and facilitates the dismantling of the barriers of domination and distrust.

United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Mikiko Tanaka, who spoke on behalf of all UN organisations in Guyana, said that anti-Muslim hate crimes, xenophobia, racism, anti-semitism and other forms of bigotry are on the rise in the world today and as such, the stability, which comes with interfaith

harmony, is becoming increasingly important for countries.

“We all have to resist cynical efforts that try to divide communities and portray neighbours as the ‘other’. People everywhere need to feel that their cultural identities are valued and at the same time to have a strong sense of belonging to their community as a whole. As societies become more multiethnic and multireligious, cultural and economic investments and cohesion are required so that diversity is rightly seen as richness; not a threat,” she said.

The activities to commemorate World

Interfaith Harmony Week are being spearheaded by the InterReligious Organisation of Guyana (IRO) under the theme, “Fostering Social Cohesion in Guyana”.

World Interfaith Harmony Week was first proposed at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2010,

by His Majesty, King Abdullah II of Jordan.

It was unanimously adopted in October of that same year. It started as an initiative to bring together leaders of the Christian and Muslim faiths in dialogue, but was later expanded to include all faiths.

48 Bollywood

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Chopra supports I want to make films Priyanka UNICEF’s initiative, posts everyone can enjoy, heartwarming message says Varun Dhawan P

B

ollywood actor Varun Dhawan, who has been loved for his roles in several commercial films like Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Dishoom, on Wednesday said he attempts to make films that everyone can watch and enjoy.

The actor, who made his acting debut in 2012 with Student Of The Year and has mostly been seen in commercial Hindi films, also said that signing them is a “conscious decision”.

“It’s (doing commercial films) a conscious decision for me because you need the film to do well also and masala commercial films actually mean films everyone within the country can watch,” Varun said at a press conference here.

The actor, who was seen walking as a showstopper for designer Kunal Rawal’s latest range “The Race of Separates” presented by Lamborghini at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2017 here, lauded the three Khans — Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir — for making films which appeal to everyone.

“I am just trying to make that attempt,

which the Khans do wonderfully… They make films for the entire country or Akshay Kumar or HrithikRoshan, they make it for everyone.

“My attempt is only that I can make films which everyone in the country can watch and enjoy,” Varun said.

But would he like to explore the genre of the film “Badlapur” again?

“100 per cent I will also. End of the year there will be a surprise coming up,” he told reporters.

The actor, who was last seen onscreen in the 2016 actioner “Dishoom” written and directed by RohitDhawan, currently has two films in his kitty — Judwaa 2 and Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

Judwaa 2 is the second instalment of the 1997 Salman Khan starrer blockbuster Judwaa.

The movie is set to hit the silver screens on September 29.

Varun finds it daunting to step into Salman’s shoes for Judwaa.

“It is a daunting thing. I just want to put my head down and work on that film. I don’t think I can talk much about.

Anything I say is going to be less… I am just playing two characters that people can love,” he added.

Badrinath Ki Dulhania, which also stars his Student of the Year co-star Alia Bhatt, is directed by ShashankKhaitan.

Produced by HirooYash Johar, Karan Johar and presented by Fox Star Studios, Badrinath Ki Dulhania is set to hit the screens on March 10. (Indian Express)

Ashutosh Gowariker to team up with Hrithik Roshan in his next project

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i l m m a k er Ashutosh Gowariker is soon to announce his next project. “I have not decided what I want to do next, but soon in four weeks, I will be able to make an announcement about my next project,” Gowariker said on the sidelines of the Lokmat Stylish awards here on Tuesday night.

According to the buzz, Ashutosh will be teaming up with Hrithik Roshan for his next film.

His last directorial,

the Hrithik and Pooja Hegde starrer Mohenjo Daro, tanked at the box office and was dismissed by critics too.

Asked about his style statement, Gowariker said: “For me, it’s 50 per cent what you are and 50 per cent what you project.”

Who is the most stylish actor or actress in Bollywood?

“I can’t single out anyone’s name. All are very stylish. They are stylish, that’s why they are the stars,” he said.

Gowariker was recently one of the first Bollywood names to come out and support filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali around the Padmavati controversy. “Shocking!

Appalling!!

Despairing!!!

And still, we shall not stop making what we want to!!

Sanjay stay strong! I am with you! #Padmavati,” he had tweeted.

Gowariker’s 2008 film Jodhaa Akbar had also faced the wrath of Rajput Karni Sena, the same group which had attacked the sets of Padmavati when Bhansali was shooting there in Jaipur’s Jaigarh Fort few days back. (Indian Express)

riyanka Chopra knows how to live up to her global image. And it is not just about walking the red carpets or making appearances on international chat shows. The Bollywood actor is taking her brand name towards doing serious stuff too.

In a new video she posted on Instagram, PeeCee has urged the global community to come forward and help the children affected in the war and conflict zones of the word. The clip is in support of UNICEF’s campaign to end malnutrition in children.

Priyanka is currently in the US, shooting for her American series Quantico and her Hollywood debut Baywatch. The 34-yearold has been working for UNICEF for over a decade now. She was appointed the national and global UNICEF Goodwill

Ambassador for Child Rights in 2010 and 2016 respectively. All through, Priyanka has promoted various causes related to environment, health and education and women’s rights.

Living up with her social task, Priyanka shared a video calling for support from her fans and followers. Instead of writing long captions and heavy words, she just wrote three words with the video – “I need you.”

Priyanka has also linked her Instagram page to UNICEF’s campaign.

According to

UNICEF, “An estimated 7.5 million children face severe acute malnutrition across the majority of appeal countries.

In 48 countries, from the Syrian Arab Republic to Yemen and Iraq, from South Sudan to Nigeria, children are under direct attack, their homes, schools and communities in ruins, their hopes and futures in the balance.”

Apart from UNICEF, Priyanka is also a part of several initiatives back home. She has been actively campaigning for cleanliness. She has also lent support to PETA. (Indian Express)

I’ve been victim of eve-teasing, harassment: Ileana D’cruz

I

leana D’Cruz admits of being eveteased and harassed, and described the experience as “traumatic”.

Sharing a link of an article that reads “I’m Leaking My Ex’s Dirty Messages And Voice Notes Because He’s Left Me No Choice”, she tweeted: “Absolutely despicable piece of crap! So proud of this girl who exposed this swine! Whoever you are lady mad respect.”

Ileana then used the micro-blogging site to talk about her experience. “I’ve been a victim of eve-teasing and harassment and it’s traumatic. I’m lucky I have beautiful parents who gave me strength when I needed it,” she wrote.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap had also shared the same article which is about an anonymous girl troubled by her

former boyfriend.

On the work front, Ileana is prepping up for her next film, Mubarakan.

The film stars Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor.

According to reports, the film is supposedly a family entertainer with the elements of comedy, drama, and romance.

Ileana had recently denied reports of being approached for Judwaa 2.

Recently, there were reports that Ileana and Parineeti Chopra were roped in for the sequel of Salman Khan starrer.

She squashed the rumours and said she is instead looking forward to her upcoming projects, Baadshaho and Mubarakan. Her straightforwardness has always impressed her fans.

Recently, the actor made headlines for her hot picture she shared on her Instagram, clicked by her photographer boyfriend. Ileana, who has been quite open about her personal life, in a recent interview said, “I am not the sort of person, who sweeps things under the rug, but I just don’t like talking about it (her relationship) because I just feel that in a personal life, there is also another person and it’s not fair to the other person.”

(Indian Express)

Amitabh Bachchan roots for river Narmada’s cleanliness campaign

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egastar Amitabh Bachchan has hailed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s initiative “Namami Devi Narmade” Narmada Seva Yatra, which aims at making the Narmada river free of pollution.

Amitabh took to his Twitter and Facebook accounts on Wednesday and wrote, “FB 1620 -#NamamiDeviNarmade #NarmadaSewaYatra is a legendary campaign initiated by MP’s CM @ChouhanShivraj to make river Narmada free from pollution. #NarmadaSewaYatra will surely help

in spreading awareness among people across India to wake up & start conserving their life-giving rivers.

Initiatives like #NarmadaSewaYatra will not only purify our rivers but we will also be able to hand over clean rivers to upcoming generations. Instead of just speaking, we will have to make our surroundings open defecation-free, plant more & more trees at rivers & avoid intoxication. With these minimal efforts, we will be able to revive our beloved Maa Narmada, the giver of pleasure. HarHarNarmade!! (Indian Express)

WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017| guyanatimeSinternational.com

Natalie Portman pays tribute to John Hurt

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ctress Natalie Portman has praised John Hurt for his “incredible” performance in “Jackie” saying she was impressed by his willingness to learn. The 35-yearold actress was left devastated by the passing of the veteran actor, who died of pancreatic cancer last week, as she adored working with him and his presence made a huge impact on the film, reported Female First.

“John was such an incredible human being, very, very kind, very easy to work with. We were shooting in really cold weather, doing difficult, very long takes, where he had a lot of dialogue. He was doing an Irish accent. He was just so good-natured and funny.

“The things he would come up

with on his own between takes, Pablo (Larrain a, director) would say, ‘That’s better than what we have, just say that.’We didn’t rehearse, so really all that energy from him was apparent when we were filming,” Portman said.

Veteran British actor Sir John Hurt, Oscar-nominated for his star turn in The Elephant Man and his supporting role in Midnight Express, has died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, the BBC reported on Saturday.

He was 77.

Hurt, who had starred in more than 200 films and television series over a career spanning six decades, revealed in 2015 that he was suffering from the early stages of pancreatic cancer and that he was receiving treatment.

The actor who is known for his role as Mr. Ollivander in the Harry Potter films, and has also starred in Hellboy and Doctor Who, told Radio Times in August 2015, “I’m can’t say I worry about mortality, but it’s impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it.”

Hurt essayed the role of a priest in the Jackie Kennedy biopic. (Indian Express)

Lion celeb movie review: Dev Patelstarrer garners praise at Indian premiere

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ustralian drama Lion, starring Dev Patel, received thunderous applause at its Indian premiere here. Except for Dev, the screening, arranged

by Jio MAMI Film Club with Star last night, was attended by its cast and crew including director Garth Davis, Priyanka Bose, Deepti Naval, Tannishtha Chatterjee and child actor Sunny Pawar.

Based on the non-fiction book “A Long Way

Home” by Saroo Brierley, “Lion” has received six Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards.

“Nothing excites me more to be back in India.

This is the heart and home of the story. This is not just the home of Saroo but it’s also the home to some very special cast and crew who made this film. I wouldn’t have done this without you. The Oscar nominations are your nominations,” Garth said at the premiere.

The film is based on the true story of a fiveyear-old Indian boy who gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home.

He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.

At the Oscars, the film has bagged nominations for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Dev Patel), Best Supporting Actress (Nicole Kidman) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Lion will release in India on February 24.

The screening saw a host of Bollywood celebrities in attendance including Radhika Apte, Arshad Warsi, Anupam Kher, filmmaker Ayan Mukherjee, Vikramaditya Motwane among others. (Indian Express)

Chrissy Teigen has an answer for people wondering about her pregnancy

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nnoyed with the constant scrutiny, model Chrissy Teigen took the trolls down by telling them off that she was not expecting another child.

Earlier, the 31-year-old fashionista had weighed in on having a second baby with husband, musician John Legend in future on the 2017 SAG Awards red carpet, reported E! News.

Chrissy, however, took to Twitter to put an end to speculations.

She wrote, “Since this is coming up again, I said our next baby would be a boy because that is the embryo we have left. A boy. So. Yeah. And no, I

am not pregnant.” Chrissy gave birth to the couple’s nine-month-old daughter, Luna Simone Stephens, in April 2016 through IVF treatment. (Indian Express)

Hollywood 49

American cinema guilds, SAG-AFTRA denounce Donald Trump’s executive order

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he Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guilds have denounced President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, calling it “unAmerican” and against the idea of “equality of opportunity.”

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, whose movie The Salesman is nominated in the best foreign film category, has already announced that he will boycott the Academy Awards due to the order as it would have prevented him and his team from entering the US. The 16, 000 member strong DGA said “open exchange of art” is at the core of what cinema and television are about and the January 27 or-

der prevents this. “The DGA strongly believes that artists — regardless of their national origin, faith, or gender — should be able to come to the United States to showcase their work. Policies that prevent this, without due consideration, should be of concern to all who care about art and cinema.

“The open exchange of art is core to who we are, it’s what motion pictures and television are increasingly about — drawing humanity together, transcending borders and cultures.

The DGA will continue to support the ability of artists to work and share their art in the United States,” the DGA said in its statement.

SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 160,000 performers said their membership “includes creative profes-

sionals from all over the world” and the new “immigration policy” is misguided. “This union values equality of opportunity regardless of race, gender, creed, disability, sexual orientation or country of birth.

Any public policy that enacts discrimination based on religious or national background runs absolutely counter to those values and will be vigorously resisted.

This immigration policy is misguided and we will support our fellow artists every step of the way.” The presidents of the Writers Guild of America blasted the order, said they were troubled by the order. “It is both unconstitutional and deeply wrong to say that you cannot enter our country because of where you were born or what religion you were born into,” said WGA West president Howard Rodman and WGA East president Michael Winship.

The move has already been slammed by prominent Hollywood names such as Ashton Kutcher, John Legend and Jennifer Lawrence and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

(Indian Express)

Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Mark Rylance and Alicia Vikander to present at Oscars

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c a d e m y Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Mark Rylance and Alicia Vikander will return to the Oscars stage as presenters. The actors won the top four acting honours last year. DiCaprio won last year for in the best actor category for his role in “The Revenant”. He was previously nominated for his performances in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013), “Blood Diamond” (2006), “The Aviator” (2004) and “What’s Eating Gilbert

Grape” (1993).

Larson’s performance in “Room” earned her an Oscar for Actress in a Leading Role. She has also appeared in “Trainwreck” (2015) and “Short Term 12” (2013).

Her upcoming films include “Captain Marvel,” “Kong: Skull Island,” “The Glass Castle” and “Unicorn Store.”

Rylance, a noted British performer, won in the best supporting actor category for his role of a Russian spy in “Bridge of Spies.” His other film credits include “The BFG” (2016)

and the upcoming features “Dunkirk” and “Ready Player One.” A prolific stage actor, he earned Tony Awards for his performances in “Twelfth Night,” “Jerusalem” and “Boeing-Boeing.”

Vikander won a supporting role gong for her performance in “The Danish Girl.” The Oscars, produced by Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be telecast on February 26. (Indian Express)

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Andre Russell banned for one Conquerors get year for doping-code violation highest intake

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est Indies allrounder Andre Russell has been banned for one year from cricket for a whereabouts clause violation by an independent anti-doping panel in Kingston. The ban is effective from January 31, 2017 and will last until January 30, 2018.

A three-member tribunal comprising Hugh Faulkner, Dr Marjorie Vassell and Dixeth Palmer, a former Jamaica cricketer, found Russell guilty of being negligent in filing his whereabouts on three separate occasions within a 12-month period in 2015. That - under the World Anti-Doping Agency rules - amounted to a failed dope test.

Patrick Foster, Russell's lawyer, confirmed the verdict and said he would discuss all options with his client including appealing the ban.

In March 2016, the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission pressed

Andre Russell

charges of negligence against Russell for not filing his whereabouts on January 1, July 1 and July 25 in 2015 despite several reminders through calls, e-mails and written letters.

In his defense, Russell had told the tribunal that he had not been negligent.

Considering his cricketing commitments around the world, and his own lack of training in filing the required paperwork, he said he had authorised his agent Will Quinn and Tajae Smith, one of the

JADCO officials, to take care of the process.

However, JADCO legal counsel Lackston Robinson disagreed saying the players had been offered education programmes on anti-doping which also involved filing procedure. Robinson accused Russell of "gross negligence" during the hearings.

On November 17 last year, while summing up his arguments during the final hearing before the tribunal retired to decide on the verdict, Foster told the tribunal that if firm evidence of negligence was indeed established and Russell was found guilty then, keeping in mind his history of complying with testing protocols in the past, he ought to be banned for not more than one year.

At the moment, it is unclear whether Russell will appeal against the verdict, but even if he were to do so, a quick solution to his problem does not seem possible.

Depending on where he files his claim and how long it takes to examine the evidence, he might have to deal with another long and difficult legal battle.

That means it is highly likely that Russell will miss his next assignment, the Pakistan Super League which starts on February 9.

In any case, his team, Islamabad United, have already named England fast bowler Steven Finn as a replacement.

Kolkata Knight Riders, the franchise Russell plays for in the IPL, might also think of investing in a replacement at the player auction in February.

Later in 2017, if the ban stays, Russell will miss out on playing for Nottinghamshire in the NatWest T20 Blast and for defending champions Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League. (ESPNCricinfo) Nagraj Gollapudi is a senior assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

of players

‌as GFF January transfer window closes

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he January midseason transfer period which ended on mid-night of the January 31st, was facilitated by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and saw Elite league club Fruta Conquerors raking in the highest number of the 82 players that requested transfers.

The Tucville-based club which saw a mass exodus of players leaving during the June 2016 transfer period has managed to acquire 14 players, some of which are high quality footballers to strengthen their roster for the next phase of matches in the second edition of the GFF Elite League season which will resume later this month.

Those making the leaps to Conquerors are Ryan Hackett (Santos FC), Solomon Austin (Alpha United) Pernell

Defender Devon Millington will now ply his skills for Western Tigers

Schultz (on loan from Caledonia AIA), Kareem Knights ( on loan from Caledonia AIA), Anthony Abrams (Alpha United), Travis Martin (Pele FC), Adrian Adonis (Alpha United), Joshua Browne (Alpha United), Raphael Edwards (Alpha United), continued on page 51

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Everest undergoing self-help upgrade

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Everest Cricket Club executives repainting the scoreboard last Sunday

he leading cricket club in Georgetown, the Everest Cricket Club is currently undergoing a physical transformation that is spearheaded by the executive body.

The move follows a decision taken at the club’s monthly meeting in midJanuary after examining the need for the upgrade and the club’s financial position.

The vibrant body’s first project was the repainting of the scoreboard and the tins which was done last Sunday at the club located at Camp road and Carifesta Avenue.

President of the club, Rajesh Singh noted that “help is given to those who help themselves, that is why as a club we are fixing up our home away from home by ourselves.” Singh further stated that the club remains committed to serving the business community by offering advertising in and around the club. “We have space for billboards, space along the outer and inner fence and pavilion that our business partners can utilize,” Singh told Guyana Times International Sport.

Other projects include; the repaint-

ing of the outer walls of the club’s main pavilion, fixing light fixtures, leveling of the outfield and with lots of external help, building the northern mound.

Last Sunday was deemed a success and special mention was made of club coach, Saheed Mohamed and Vice President Dwayne Adams for taking the lead roles in the execution of the stepping stone project to enhance the club’s overall aesthetics.

In terms of finances, the club will be hosting a curry-que this Friday and will have other fund raising events periodically to improve their financial position. Tickets for the curry-que are available at the club or from any executive member. The upper level of the club is also available for rental for special events at affordable rates.

The ground is one of the better ones in the Georgetown zone and is used for many Guyana Cricket Board and Georgetown Cricket Association organized competitions while it is considered “the Mecca of softball cricket” with numerous competitions running off almost every weekend with some night matches as well.

Conquerors get highest intake...

Jahall Greaves ( Alpha United), Dennis Edwards (Georgetown Football Club), Konata Mannings (Pele FC), Marriheo Eastman (Eastveldt FC) and Shomol Smith (Santos FC).

Another city side which managed to gain some star attraction is Western Tigers, which sees the likes of Devon Millington (Slingerz FC), Adrew Murray ( Alpha United), Stellon David (Alpha United), Devon Charles (Pele FC), Jumane Somerset (Alpha United), Linden Picket (GFC), Hubert Pedro (GFC), Leroy Pedro (GFC) and Collin Nelson (Alpha United).

The nucleus of transfers came from the four elite league club (GFC, Slingerz, Alpha and Pele) which opted not to participate in the season two of the league.

In addition, to the international transfer of Shultz and Knights,

Alpha United’s Anthony Abrams will suit up for Fruta Conquerors

Domini Garnett is also being loaned from Caledonia AIA (Trinidad) to Grove Hi-Tech Football Club and Vurlon Mills being loaned from Slingerz Football Club to San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad).

The other clubs which saw high movement of players were: Victoria

from page 50

Kings FC – eight players; Top XX – seven players; Guyana Defence Force FC and Eagles United FC – six players each; Northern Rangers FC and Den Amstel FC – five players each; Ann’s Grove United FC – four players; Buxton United FC, Uitvlugt Warriors FC and Grove Hi-Tech FC – three (3) players each; Riddim Squad FC and Botofago FC with two players each.

Netrockers FC, Guyana Police Force FC (GPF), Order and Discipline FC, Milerock FC, and San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad) – one player each.

The GFF’s Competition Director, Ian Alves, said the transfer period started off slowly but was hectic during the last week of the transfer window.

The next transfer period is scheduled to commence in June 1, 2017.

GCC complete hockey clean sweep at Providence

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he GCC club could not ask for a better start to the 2017 hockey season as they completed the double of winning the male and female divisions of the Bounty Farm/Antonio’s Grille One day outdoor tournament on Sunday at the National Stadium, Providence.

In a day dedicated to good sportsmanship and the introduction of new blood into the sport, it was only fitting that the athletes kicked off the season with an outdoor tournament, a version of the game that was far and few in 2016.

Bounty GCC men fought favourably to steal a narrow victory from Pepsi Hikers in a game that went down to the wire in a penalty shootout. Both teams, as they have been for the immediate past, the two better teams in the country, having faced each other in numerous finals finished the match 3-3 in full time, forcing the game into a penalty shootout which was won by GCC 3-2. Tournament Most Valuable Player for men, Dwayne Scott, was particularly outstanding in defence for the Bourda side in thwarting several Hikers raids on goal where Scott found himself outnumbered.

In the penalty shootout to determine the

Female MVP Aliyah Gordon (left) works her way through the Hikers’ defence at Providence

winner, Aroydy Branford and JamarjAssanah for the Hikers and Kevin Spencer and Kareem McKenzie for GCC all scored their penalties.

Hikers Andrew Stewart would see his effort go just wide of the post after a fine save by goalkeeper Medroy Scotland.

Fittingly Scott would have the final say in the match and would succeed by the narrowest of margins as his initial shot hit the left upright post before he pounced on the rebound to put in into the net for the win.

Bounty GCC lost a close duel to the defending champs, Pepsi Hikers by 3-2 in the early rounds. With the Hikers playing unbeaten right up to the final, they entered as heavy favourites in their rematch against GCC who had brushed aside Old Fort

5-0 in their semi-final.

In the female division, the Pizza Hut GCC ladies took advantage of the stage by defeating all challengers and completing their dominant showing with a 5–0 victory over the Woodpecker Hikers in the final.

Pizza Hut GCC stormed through the women’s competition scoring 33 goals in five matches and only conceding one.

Tournament’s Most Valuable Player,Aliyah Gordon of Pizza Hut amassed 11 goals for her team which was by far the most on the day.

After a spirited first half in the women’s final that saw the Woodpecker Hikers containing GCC to just one goal, the Pizza Hut ladies rattled in 4 more unanswered goals in the second half for the easy victory.

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WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5, 2017 | guyanatimeSinternational.com

Guyana’s Alanzo Greaves banned for 3 more years

Alanzo Greaves leads in one of his previous races

By RomarioSamaroo

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resh off winning the opening race of the 2017 cycling season, Roriama rider, 28-year-old Alanzo Greaves was slapped with a further three-year ban as a result of an appeal to extend his prohibition from the sport.

This was revealed to the media at a special press briefing at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Headquarters, High Street on Monday which was addressed by a panel comprising of GOA President K.A. JumanYassin, sitting member of the Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) Dr. Karen Pilgrim and Doping Control Officer, Charles Corbin.

According to the GOA President, while there are several other factors that should be discussed, the pertinent issue was the issue was that which relates to the ban of Alanzo Greaves.

Yassin recalled that “sometime in November, 2015 there was a cycling race and as a result of a doping test, Alanzo failed. That went to the RADO and after the hearing he was found guilty and he was suspended for one year.”

However, Yassin explained that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) “felt that the one year suspension was not enough, so as a result, appealed to the court of arbitration.”

Subsequently, the court of Arbitration appointed an English lawyer to look at the matter.

The GOA boss further stated that “The matter was dealt with and he found the penalty that was inflicted should have been higher, as a result he has now been suspended for the full period of four years but three

years more to serve because he served one year already and that will now be deducted, that will be effected from the 5th of January 2017 until the 4th of January 2020,” Yassin stated.

However, the information only got into circulation at this meeting; a time after Greaves won the first race of the season and when Yassin “felt it was right and proper to bring it to the attention of the fraternity.”

Adding to the debacle, Yassin made it clear that he was not in any position to say whether Greaves had indeed received notice of this ban or not but was “informed that communication was sent to Greaves.”

Dr. Piligrim explained that the test was a random test conducted where the Anti Doping body selected the cyclists based on their performances in the first four stages of the five stage race with a total of 10 riders being tested.

According to Pilgrim, “We were notified on November 23 that Greaves was found with an adverse Anti -Doping violation on adverse analytical findings and received a written notice on November 28, 2015. He was not informed of the decision of the Results Management Committee until April 2016.”

She added that the “Results Management Committee is one of the important sections of the Anti-Doping effort and the GOA, as the local Anti-Doping organization chosen to delegate that among other things to RADO.” Consequently, the RADO had made their decision for the one year ban and was not accepted and therefore appealed and now extended to four years.

Corbin informed the

room that “the process allowed Greaves to intervene at each stage when he was informed where he did admit where he ingested the substance in his indication that he got this information on day before the actual cycle race on the evening in terms of the written representation by his lawyer.”

However, according to Corbin, Greaves did not challenge the appeal.

“During the state of appeal he did not enter an appearance or challenge the appeal even though he was aware that WADA was going to attempt to make an appeal in respect to an appeal that was meted out by the panel,” Corbin highlighted.

But surprisingly, Corbin added that “he[Greaves] was in accordance with the rules, given 21 days since this award was handed down by the Arbitrator to appeal, he was given 21 days’ notice, this was supposed to be officially handed down to him on January 5 and at no stage during the appeal did he challenge.”

When this publication sought a comment from the father of three, Greaves indicated that he will be seeking advice from his lawyers prior to giving a response.

The Roraima rider made a successful return to competitive cycling in November, just in time to compete in the National Three-Stage, immediately making an impact upon arrival.

Greaves snatched the 20-lap race from team CocosHamza Eastman and came second behind Continental rider Geron Williams in stage one eventually finishing fourth overall in the Three-Stage event in a time of four hour 40 minutes and 30 seconds.

2017 IPL auction delayed until late February

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David Warner and the Hyderabad Sunrisers will be looking to defend their IPL 2016 title (AFP photo)

he IPL 2017 player auction is likely to take place in the third week of February following a delay from the originally proposed date of February 4. Although the BCCI has not issued a final date yet, franchises understand it would be anywhere between February 20 and 25. Last November the IPL Governing Council decided to schedule the IPL 2017 tournament between April 5 and May 21.

At that time, the player auction was slotted in tentatively for February 4 but that was ruled out as soon as the Supreme Court of India dismantled the BCCI house at the start of the year by removing its president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke and imposing various restrictions on the remaining eligible office bearers at the board.

Although the BCCI management under its chief executive officer Rahul Johri was ready to stick to the timelines drawn last November, the court's delay in appointing the committee of administrators put the IPL decisions on the backburner.

However, with a four-member committee of administrators taking charge on Monday, the IPL is back on the priority list. The committee of administrators met with the BCCI management team to discuss the immediate decisions that need to be taken concerning IPL. "The Committee of Administrators (COA) met the concerned BCCI officials today to take stock of the urgent and important matters mainly concerning the successful conduct of IPL 2017," a BCCI media release said. "The committee of administrators assured the franchises that it was overseeing the preparations for IPL and the 'operational timelines' will be sent out shortly."

On their part, the franchises have remained patient throughout the delay. Officials at several franchises said the main reason behind their confi-

dence was the court had always made sure that cricket was never affected, both domestic and international. Also, the delay in the auction, one franchise chief executive officer said, would be an advantage because teams could scout for domestic talent in the ongoing Inter-State T20 tournament which finishes on February 18.

If there is one thing the franchises are keen to get their hands on is the player roster - the final pool of players that will enter the auction. Normally the franchises get the roster two weeks ahead of the auction.

"If we get the roster we can start making a shortlist of players we are after as then we come to know their availability which is always a big determining factor on which players teams pick," one franchise CEO told ESPNcricinfo.

This will be the last year of IPL before teams overhaul their rosters for the 2018 season. All existing player contracts will expire after IPL 2017 and it is expected most players will go under the hammer at the mega auction ahead of the 2018 season. There has been no decision yet on the player retention rules though.

The current cycle of broadcasting rights, currently held by Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI), will expire after IPL 2017. Last September, the BCCI had announced that the next cycle of IPL rights would be sold via an open tender process. Eighteen companies including Facebook and Twitter bought the invitation to tender document for television and digital rights. The bids were meant to be opened on October 24, but the Lodha Committee deferred the process until the BCCI complied with the court order of July 18 last year. (ESPNCricinfo) David Warner and the Hyderabad Sunrisers will be looking to defend their IPL 2016 title (AFP photo)

Barbados thrash CCC by 200 runs for fourth straight win

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amaica jumped from fourth to second place on the Group B table with a 67-run win (DuckworthLewis method) in a rain-affected match against ICC Americas on Wednesday. With the game reduced to 46 overs a side, Jamaica recovered from a shaky 53 for 3 to post 251 for 5, after fifties from Andre McCarthy (63 off 87 balls), John Campbell

(66 not out off 42 balls) and Rovman Powell (52 not out off 38 balls).

Campbell and Powell put together an unbroken 101-run partnership for the sixth wicket, which came at a scoring rate of 9.04. This was Powell's second successive fifty in the tournament.

Set a revised target of 254, ICC Americas were anchored by opener Kamau Leverock, who struck 75 off 83

balls. The rest of the batting, however, failed.

ICC Americas lost seven wickets for 57 runs, folding for 187 in the 45th over. Legspinner Damion Jacobs took 5 for 24, his second five-for in List A cricket, to aid his side's bonus-point victory.

Barbados steamrolled Combined Campuses and Colleges by 200 runs for their fourth consecutive win in the tournacontinued on page 53

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Harper reelected West Indies lose President of GCA opening matches W 2nd T20 World Cup Cricket Tournament for the Blind

est Indies have lost their second straight match in the second T20 World Cup for the Blind in India. After going down to world champions and hosts, India by 142 runs in the first match on Tuesday, the Caribbean side lost by 130 to Sri Lanka onWednesday.

In the opening fixture, India were sent in and got to a mammoth 305-5 from their allotment of 20 overs with Deepak Malik (80) and Anis Beig (25) putting on 57 in 5.4 overs to set up the explosive finish. Sunil then took 49 balls to compile 113 with 21 fours.

Sunil, a B3 player added 115 for the third wicket with Malik. Guyanese B3 player, Kevin Douglas had a good performance with the ball picking up one for 27 from three overs to be the most economical West Indian bowler.

The West Indians gave away 53 extras of which 35 were wides. In reply, the Caribbean unit got 40 from Captain Dennal Shim and an unbeaten 27 from Douglas but were restricted to 163-5 to lose by 142 runs. Guyanese B1 player, Leroy Phillips made 18.

Malik came back to pick up 1-12 (2 overs) and was supported by B2 players Ajay Reddy and Dunna Venkatesh with 1-14 each.

On Wednesday, the West Indians woes continued with another heavy defeat this time to Sri Lanka who put on 281-2 from their 20 overs. B3 players, Chandana Deshapriya (108 not out) and Suranga Sampath (116 not out) put on an unbroken 247-run partnership for the third wicket after Sri Lanka were reduced to 34-2 in the fourth over.

B1 player, Ganesh Singh and Douglas bowled four overs each but failed to get among the wickets and stop the runflow with only Gregory Stewart (1-31) tasting success.

The run chase never really got going and West Indies eventually got to 1518 falling short by 130 runs. Phillips top scored with 44 batting at number three while Kevin Douglas made 20. The pick of the Sri Lankans bowlers was Dinesh Sekage with 2-20 from his four overs.

A section of the delegates and stakeholders of cricket who were present at the GCA AGM and election

By Delvon Mc Ewan

S

Leroy Phillips

Pakistan lead the 10-team tournament with nine points from three wins while Sri Lanka, India, Australia and Bangladesh have six points and England three. Nepal, West Indies and New Zealand are yet to register any points.

West Indies will play Bangladesh today (Thursday) in Delhi in search for their first points to keep their hopes of advancing further in the tournament alive.

Barbados thrash CCC by...

from page 52

Roston Chase hit eight fours and a six in his knock of 76 (Photo: WICB Media/Kerrie Eversley)

ment. Having compiled 294 after opting to bat, Barbados bowled CCC out for a mere 94 runs in an innings that lasted 36.2 overs. CCC gave up their last seven wickets for 50 runs, with the only notable contributions coming from Vikash

Mohan (29) and Amir Jangoo (23). Sulieman Benn was the best bowler for Barbados with 3 for 25, while Jason Holder and Ashley Nurse took two wickets each.

Earlier, strong performances from the batsmen took Barbados to

a strong total, despite a late slump that saw them lose six for 36 in three overs. Of the top six batsmen, only one failed to score more than 30, with the top score coming from Roston Chase, who struck a 55ball 76.(ESPNCricinfo)

cores of persons were present on Tuesday evening at the Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) Pavilion to witness the first ‘legal and official’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) in three years.

Those who attended representative clubs, some of whom were delegates seekingelected positions while others were stakeholders of cricket anticipating the outcome of what could be deemed as the most important AGM in the local cricket arena.

It was a transparent AGM which included detailed information on how the administration functioned for the past three years financially, administratively and otherwise.

It was a relief for the association to host election for the first time since the AGM that was scheduled for February 19, 2014 was prevented from taking place because of a court injunction that was granted to the applicant Nazimul Drepaul, a life member of the Everest Cricket Club. Pursuant to the order of the Honourable Chief Justice (AG), Ian Chang, dated February 27, 2014 which resulted from the hearing of the injunction filed by Drepaul, the Georgetown Cricket Association Executive Committee held a Special General Meeting on Thursday March 20, 2014 at 18:00h at the Malteenoes Sports Club pavilion. Based on the ordered agenda set by the Honourable Chief Justice (AG), Chang, the members of the GCA set the date for the AGM to be held on November 20, 2014 and authorized the current executive to continue to function until that date.

Following that, Drepaul of Everest Cricket Club and Shalim Baksh of Third Class Cricket Association, which is based at Lot 22 Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, brought another court action seeking to have YMCA, Diplomats Cricket Club and Ace Warriors declared ineligible to vote.

They were asking the court to declare that those clubs should not have been allowed to vote at the Special General Meeting held on March 20, 2014 that was ordered by the Honourable Chief Justice and that the decisions made by the members at that Special General Meeting be declared null and void.

They were also asking that those clubs be declared ineligible to vote at the AGM set for November 20, 2014 or any other general meeting. This matter was due to be heard on September 29, 2014.

Following a series of court hearings, postponements of hearings, mediation meetings and more court hear-

ings, the matters were withdrawn by Drepaul and Baksh in December 2016.

The business of the GCA can therefore return to a state of normalcy and the Association can now focus on executing its mandate.

Subsequent to the AGM, returning officer Ronald Williams conducted the election and former West Indian player and coach, Roger Harper, returned to his post as President of the GCA unopposed.

Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO) was the only member of the GCA who was ineligible to vote due to failure to update its financial status for the year 2016 and 2017.

In his first interview after being reelected, Harper said the GCA is focus on serving its members and will build on work that would have been done over the years. “We look forward to serving our members and we’ll be aiming to build on the work we’ve done over the years. Continuing to implement our development programmes, ensure that our members have competition for all levels.”

The former Guyana skipper added that the GCA’s aim is to give the players, especially the youths the opportunity to showcase their talent and develop their skills with an aim of moving on to higher heights in the game and if the association can complete that task of getting the players to develop their skills and enhance their ability then they would be contributing to the goodwill of cricket locally and regionally.

Filling the GCA’s other executive positions are; First Vice President Neil Barry, Second Vice President Azad Ibrahim, Secretary Debra McNichol, Assistant Secretary Paul Castello, Treasurer Dennis Wilson, Assistant Treasurer Imran Ali, Marketing Manager Graham Alli, PRO Colin Alfred, Chairman of Competition Committee Shawn Massiah. PKF…… was elected for the auditing work.

IN: Marketing Manager Graham Alli, Assistant Treasurer Imran Ali, Assistant Secretary Captain Paul Castello.

OUT: Harry Parmesar, Captain Ron Daniels and Mohammed Qualander.

Out of the elected 11 personnel only three were opposed-Barry defeated Lavern Fraser 30-6 for the first Vice President position, Ibrahim won against Fraser 29-8 in the race for second vice president while Massiah trumped Kenroy Joseph in the battle for Chairman of Competition Committee.

The GCA is expected to commence their calendar of on field activities from as early as next weekend.

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