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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 1879 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Monday, September 2, 2013

Several ECD schools not fully prepared – RDC, NDCs for reopening trade blame See story on page 7

Govt seeks revival of Amerindian culture See story on page 17

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Giftland P9 donates school supplies to Tiger Bay children

Six in custody after drug busts in Berbice

Managing resources a careful P9 balancing act – IMF Brazilian miner killed in Buckhall accident P10

A group of young vibrant Amerindian youths during a dance performance on Sunday evening at the Sophia Exhibition Centre during the opening ceremony for Amerindian Heritage Month 2013

Guyana, Venezuela urge restraint on military strike against Syria See story on page 8

Muslims condemn P10 global bloodshed during peace march

Fire ravages Da Silva's Police move House of to make Angoy’s Avenue safer Optics See story on page 3

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monday, september 2, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

News

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Monday, September 2 from 14:30h to 16:00h The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Monday, September 2 from 14:50h to 16:20h.

WEATHER TODAY Weather: Heavy rain showers are expected to prevail during the day, with clear skies in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius. Wind: East south-easterly at 1.79 metres per second.

High Tide: 14:45h reaching a maximum height of 2.32 metres. Low Tide: 08:16h and 20:36h reaching a minimum height of 0.88 metre.

monday, september 2, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Fire ravages Da Silva's House of Optics BY BHISHAM MOHAMED

ne of the oldest colonial buildings, which housed the Da Silva's House of Optics at 316 Middle Street, Georgetown, was severely damaged by fire on Sunday afternoon, leaving the owners counting their losses estimated to be in the millions. The fire reportedly started about 13:00h in the upper flat of the two-storey wooden structure and quickly spread to the other parts of the building. It was reported that the cause of the fire might have been an air conditioning unit that exploded in one of the rooms occupied by the owner’s wife. She was reportedly in one of the rooms while her oneyear-old daughter and her sister-in-law were asleep in two other rooms. After the explosion, she raised an alarm and managed to get the two other persons to

Relatives in tears as they watch the business go up in flames

response to the reports, two tenders and a tanker from the Alberttown Fire Station and the Central Fire Station were dispatched to the scene. Gentle further stated that upon arrival, firefighters alerted the operator that the entire building was engulfed in smoke and huge flames were seen at the centre of the building; thus, another tanker and fire engine

saw smoke emanating from the upper flat of the building, but did not see anyone and thought that the house was empty. He rode to the Alberttown Fire Station and alerted officials there, but by the time they reached the scene, the property was on fire. The fire engines arrived almost immediately. Former Georgetown Mayor and City Council en-

in the house at the time for a brief moment, but she was too traumatised to say anything. The family also contacted another close friend and their attorney who was present at the scene. Meanwhile, a relative of the owner, Brandon Milner explained that he was at home a few yards away when he received a call from the owner’s wife, informed him about the fire. He said from all reports gathered thus far, the fire started in one of the bedrooms after an air conditioning unit exploded. Milner also confirmed that the woman and two others, including her one-year-old daughter were asleep when the explosion was heard. He said that luckily no one got hurt, though noting that millions have gone up in flames. In addition, he stated that after the fire was extinguished, they managed to remove some articles from the bottom flat of the building,

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The building after the fire was extinguished (Photos by Treiston Joseph)

safety. The family did not get to salvage anything from the upper flat of the building but were able to save a few items from the lower flat after the fire was extinguished.

gineer Lloyd Alleyne, a close friend of the Da Silvas, explained that he received the call from a family member and rushed to the scene where he saw the entire upper flat of the building on fire.

Well-coordinated

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A section of the burning building on Sunday

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When Guyana Times arrived on the scene, some of the firefighters were seen soaking the buildings in close proximity of the burning house, while others were busy trying to contain the fire. Sections of the next-door Georgetown Public Hospital were also threatened by the blaze, but the well-coordinated firefighters prevented the fire spreading . Tearful members of the Da Silva’s family stood in anguish as they witnessed the business being engulfed in flames. Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told media operatives that about 13:15h, the Guyana Fire Service received several reports that smoke was emanating from the building. In

from the Campbellville Fire Station were deployed. Within minutes, he explained that the entire upper flat of the building was on fire and their primary focus was to curtail the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings, which was successfully done. He noted that the upper flat of the building was severely damaged by the inferno and the bottom flat suffered water damage. Up to late Sunday afternoon, there were still small fires in the ceiling and other parts of the upper flat, but these were eventually extinguished. This, according to the fire chief was due to the fact that the building was built with the old-time pine wood. The fire chief also disclosed that they have not been able to determine the origin of the fire, but from reports, “something happened internally”. One eyewitness told Guyana Times that he was riding near the area when he

Pine wood

He explained that the building is made of pine wood which does not take too long to burn. He said that within five minutes of his arrival at the scene, the fire tenders arrived and quickly kicked their fire operation techniques into gear. After another five minutes, a team from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) arrived and disconnected all power to the building by switching off the transformers. The former engineer added that he spoke with Da Silva’s daughter who was

but most of the valuables were in the upper flat. In the height of the confusion, one man attempted to steal from the aggrieved family, but was taken into custody. Upon his arrest, a quantity of foreign currency was found in his pocket. He reportedly removed the money from one of the drawers of a cabinet. (bhisham@guyanatimesgy.com)

guyanatimesgy.com

monday, september 2, 2013

Views “Honouring our culture, advancing our future” Editor: Nigel Williams Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134 Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Youth gangs T

he problem of youth gangs has burst on the Guyanese scene and quite rightfully is a source of great concern to both the public and the law enforcement authorities. Gangs are a problem, not only to a particular region in the world, but to society in general. While this does not necessarily give us much comfort, at least we have the opportunity to consider what other societies with longer experience might have to say about the origins of these gangs. This should offer some insight in grappling with the problem at its source. Young people have always been perceived as rebelling against mainstream society and taking alternative routes that involve delinquent behaviour, leading to gang involvement. Some researchers claim that attitudes and behaviours of nondelinquent youth who follow the norms of society tend to have less social isolation, commitment and tolerance to gang members. But we have to answer the more specific question of why do youths become involved in gangs? While there are many theories, the major ones hark to the sense of identity, the role of neighbourhoods and socio-economic status. In the U.S., law enforcement agencies portray gang members as those of a minority group who have insufficient socio-economical support due to single parenting and/or are from inner-cities. Others, more positively, see youth gangs as groups of individuals who have interests in developing leadership skills, achieving a purpose in life and being a part of illegitimate activity or taking control over particular areas for monetary gain. As young adults, they abandon friends and hang out with delinquents occasionally after extra-curricular activities and end up committing criminal acts. Identity is seen as a construction of both the individual and the collective by which the basis of important social norms become favoured over one's internal self-fulfilling values over time. Identity tends to construct the personal sphere of the individual which in return reflects modern society’s image of a law-abiding citizen. As far as gangs are concerned, it proposes that a life that entails unfulfilled desires becomes very problematic for young individuals, some of whom may lack psychological or social support. Gang involvement becomes an alternative that could create a sense of identity. From a criminological perspective, it may be evident that those who are ignored because of their ethnic/ racial backgrounds find joining a gang a form of symbolic identification. Below the group level, if the behaviour within the household is largely negative, it can lead youth to desire a dominant identity. For instance, if the father figure is seen as a powerful individual who is violent and uses intimidation to gain attention, the child might then feel rejected. In order to fulfil both the emotional and psychological gaps, the individual could be easily recruited by gangs. Safer and productive neighbourhoods are the basis of any social and political institution which in return could bring about stability and security to law-abiding citizens. In neighbourhoods, it is youthful experience in street socialisation that strengthens bonds among gang members and which aids them in embracing challenges together and strengthens their belief systems. However, some neighbourhoods are degraded to the extent that their inner fundamental institutions, such as family and schools, are dysfunctional due to social and economic disadvantage which could cause youths to be involved in gangs. These typically underclass gangs have no access to the social and cultural norms that are held by the mainstream of a community. They then oppose the value system imposed by the upper class, which are considered beyond their reach, and which provides the means to obtain cultural goals like material wealth. Those who cannot or would not adjust to the norms of society would then resort to illegitimate means to attain their goals. The bottom line in Guyana is that we need to address the problem of youth gangs before it overwhelms us as it has done in so many other societies.

Under the theme “Honouring our culture, advancing our future”, Amerindian Heritage Month 2013 opened with a cultural extravaganza at the Amerindian Village in the Sophia Exhibition Complex on Sunday. Here, members of a cultural group perform a traditional dance. The exhibition at the Amerindian Village continues every night until September 5 (Carl Croker photo)

Landowners must be held accountable Dear Editor, The police recently destroyed a six-acre ganja farm at Hauraruni, Upper Demerara River. The sad part is that no one was arrested. Someone has to own this land, or maybe someone is leasing it. Who is this person? If this person then claims that he/

she does not know what is happening on the land, then why not confiscate or simply shut down the farm? I also think that the police could have restrained themselves some more and waited for the farm hands to be in sight before invading and destroying. Marijuana sale on our

streets is ever increasing. The top dogs make a lot of money from marijuana farming. These plants, when they are ready, are actually sold on the street. A marijuana farm does profitable business. I have heard of people, right here in Guyana, raising these plants in houses, and getting really rich from the

whole venture. I think that the police must continue to make more farm raids and also inspect houses where they suspect plants are being raised. Too many lives are being destroyed by marijuana smoking. Yours truly, Jason Jackson

An anaconda as a pet is quite troubling Dear Editor, I think it is eerie to have a 17-foot anaconda as a pet. Is it legal in Guyana? How about the word pet? Can snakes be made into pets? Other than that, whatever animal is owned by a person is not really a pet, but a caged animal, just for the show. I quickly recall what happened in Canada recently. Police officers were called to an apartment, where two boys were found dead. The

boys had been sleeping over at the apartment of a friend, which is located above a reptile store. The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a large exotic snake escaped its enclosure, at the store, got into the ventilation system, then into the upstairs apartment, where the two boys were. This story about the 17foot anaconda is proudly displayed in the press. This

snake could be a threat. I call on the authorities to do something. We need to remember that constrictor type snakes must be well fed and fluctuations of heat and cold cause them to seek proper resting places. If they get too cold or too hot, or they are not being well fed, they will try to leave their enclosure – it is just natural. The anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake and

one of the largest snakes in the world. They are not to be eroticised. This is not a movie. They are powerful and their wrap can crush victims. In residential places, they should be forbidden. Please, will the authorities do what is right? Respectfully, Resident of Cummings Lodge Name withheld by request

My dream for UG Dear Editor, On August 27, I dropped off a student colleague at the University of Guyana (UG), and I was shocked at what I saw. The very first building on the road, leading to the back (where that left turn takes you to the Bursary) had a gutter that was spouting water and flooding the general area. I witnessed the discomfort of students who attempted to traverse that

area. What is so bothersome is the fact that this kind of problem is so preventable and also very easy to fix. Many little things like this contributed to what is now happening with this institution. I have read complaints of all nature – stray animals on campus, littering, noise nuisance, random travelling of cars – these things ought not to be. At the very minimum, UG should not be suf-

fering from these human and mechanical problems. My dream is that UG will get a good parking lot for the shuttle car drivers. My dream is that UG will control the noise factor. My dream is that UG will care for the buildings. My dream is that UG will do something about the many strays. My dream is that UG will have good staff. My dream is that UG will deal with noise from vehicles.

Rehabilitation works on a number of buildings at UG are slated to commence during the course of this new academic year, funded by the World Bank. My dream is that UG will thoroughly appreciate these improvements and be better stewards. Yours truly, UG student Name withheld by request

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Diabetic patients can avoid many health problems Dear Editor, Guyana is not unique when it comes to the issue of diabetes. I was following a visiting U.S. medical lecturer, who wants local social and health issues to be addressed, referring specifically to diabetes and suicide. What has come out of repeated visits and interactions is an assessment that identified diabetes and suicide as

being Guyana’s major health and social concerns. We need to grasp that one of the worst and most obvious mistakes being made in conventional medicine today is the aggressive treatment of diabetes with oral drugs. In recent years, many studies have validated this. Oral medications for diabetes actually do more harm than good overall. While rais-

ing insulin levels and lowering blood sugar, they can have adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and, in some cases, increase the risk of heart attack and death. In fact, the disease, once termed a mere deficiency, lends itself to so many other diseases and illnesses, including blindness, loss of limbs and kidney problems. While these complications are dead-

ly, they are preventable with education and proper care. Even though a lot is being done by the government for diabetic people, they need to play a bigger part. They need to improve on their lifestyle. I need to add that people do not need a gymnasium to keep fit. Sincerely, Fiona Ramphal

Dealing severely with cellphone thieves Dear Editor, It is very sad that a woman was jailed for 18 months, after pleading guilty to stealing her friend’s BlackBerry cellular phone. The phone carries a value of $70,000. The story gets a bit sad-

der as the defendant and the virtual complainant have been friends for about three years. In Nigeria, a court sentenced a 19-year-old student to two years imprisonment for stealing a BlackBerry

phone. The convict entered the room of the owner of the phone, took the gadget, and left. However, he was seen as he was rushing out of the house and an alarm was raised, and he was caught. As I think of these two

cases, I feel that many people want fanciful and expensive gadgets but they just cannot afford them. I myself am a victim of cellphone theft. Yours truly, Shelly Cipriani

Abused women need our intervention Dear Editor, The Foulis woman who ended her life after a brutal beating at the hands of her husband reportedly endured abuse all of her adult life by the men she chose as spouses. Recently, advice came from the Human Services and Social Security Ministry to get out of abusive relationships right away. I believe it is still bet-

ter to be alive than being trapped in an abusive relationship. It does not matter where victims are – and there are quite a few places for them to go – they must be out of arms' length of abusers. Many abused women cannot even think for themselves. Most abusers are cowards. They enjoy the culture of male brutality and I

am glad that this is changing. Soon, if Guyana keeps up going after these abusers, they will fear the very mention of calling the police. Even though we have systems in place and laws to be enforced, women still feel fear about reporting their abusive spouses. If and when we see this, as good citizens, we must act on their behalf.

These women have genuine fears and concerns and, by intervening, we can help. I have never met up with any case, where a goodwill group or the ministry backed off after being informed. If reporting is all that we can do, then let us do it. Sincerely, Rose Dorsette

Another accident – trend in the making? Dear Editor, Many young and fortunate Guyanese live young, restless and dangerous lives. Recently, one 18-year-old was speeding in the family pick-up truck with two siblings and there was a near fatal accident. Speeding? Only he might be able to tell. Eyewitnesses said that he was speeding, lost control, and ended up in a trench. This is so common and yet nothing is being done. I hope that this young man will be restored physically very quickly. Also, where were the police? Is it that Guyanese are now coming to hate young and

fast drivers? This guy likes racing and is actually considered a race car driver. The public seemingly did not come to assist. This is a new low in Guyana, and I guess we have become, or are becoming, insensitive to accidents. I appeal to all to make a concerted effort to curb speedy driving. I also caution parents to guard against unbridled freedom for their children. They need to give them an education instead of selfdestructive tools, such as a loaded wallet and high-end vehicles. Yours faithfully, Hemant Pertab

Noise from vehicles is a nuisance

Dear Editor, Far and few in between are the stories of noise nuisance charges where vehicles are concerned. Since the noise factor is illegal, then having the technical capacity to commit the crime should also be looked at. This will eliminate many problems. I suggest that the traffic department make serious and consistent checks on all vehicles for their noise-making capabilities. It is not only minibuses, but taxis and private

ones as well. I see public transportation as something that should be characterised by safety and comfort. Entertainment for drivers and commuters should be ruled out. I think that people should start reporting on vehicles that have all kinds of noise-making gadgets. The whole noise culture in Guyana needs a good dressing down. There is no place for it. Yours truly, Zaman Mohamed

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

Page

guyanatimesgy.com

Foundation

Helping your child adjust to preschool

Children often have a tough time making the back-to-school transition

s with any new or potentially unsettling situation — like starting school for the first time or entering a new grade or new school — allow children time to adjust. Remind them that everyone feels a little nervous about the first day of school and that it will all become an everyday routine in no time. Emphasise the positive things about going back to school, such as hanging out with old friends, meeting new classmates, buying cool school supplies, and getting involved in sports and other activities. It’s also important to talk to children about what worries them and offer reassurance: Are they afraid they won’t make new friends or get along with their teachers? Is the thought of schoolwork stressing them out? Are they worried about the bully from last year? Consider adjusting your own schedule to make the transition smoother. Try to arrange your evenings so you can give children as much time as they need, especially during those first few days. Make sure that they: get enough sleep (establish a reasonable bedtime so that they’ll be well-rested and ready to learn in the

morning) eat a healthy breakfast (they’re more alert and do better in school if they eat a good breakfast every day) use a wall calendar or personal planner to record when assignments are due, tests will be given, extracurricular practices and rehearsals will be held, etc. have them organise and set out what they need the night before (homework and books should be put in their backpacks by the door and clothes should be laid out in their bedrooms) Although it’s normal to be anxious in any new situation, some children develop real physical symptoms, such as headaches or stomachaches, associated with the start of school. If you’re concerned that your child’s worries go beyond the normal back-to-school jitters, speak with your child’s doctor, teacher, or school counsellor. Parents themselves can be a little nervous about the first day of school, especially if they’re seeing their little one off for the first time or if their child will be attending a new school.

What about after school?

Figuring out where children will go after school can be a challenge, espe-

cially if both parents work. Depending on a child’s age and maturity, you may need to arrange for after-school transportation and care. It’s important for younger children and preteens to have some sort of supervision from a responsible adult. If you can’t be there as soon as school’s out, ask a reliable, responsible relative, friend, or neighbour to help out. If they’re to be picked up after school, make sure your children know where to meet you or another caregiver. Although it might seem like children who are approaching adolescence are becoming mature enough to start watching themselves after school, even children as old as 11 or 12 may not be ready to be left alone. If your children or teens are home alone in the afternoons, it’s important to establish clear rules: Set a time when they’re expected to arrive home from school Have them check in with you or a neighbour as soon as they get home Specify who, if anyone at all, is allowed in your home when you’re not there Make sure they know to never open the door for strangers Make sure they know

what to do in an emergency To ensure that children are safe and entertained after school, look into afterschool programmes. Getting involved in afterschool activities: offers children a productive alternative to watching TV or playing video games provides some adult supervision when parents can’t be around after school helps develop children’s interests and talents introduces children to new people and helps them develop their social skills gives children a feeling of involvement keeps children out of trouble Be sure to look into the child-staff ratio at any afterschool programme (in other words, make sure that there are enough adults per child) and that the facilities are safe, indoors and out. And children should know when and who will pick them up when school lets out and when the after-school programme ends. Also, make sure afterschool commitments allow children enough time to complete school assignments. Keep an eye on their schedules to make sure there’s enough time for both schoolwork and home life. (Excerpt from kidshealth.org)

r e school offers many benefits — it can be a great place for children to interact with peers and learn valuable life lessons such as how to share, take turns, and follow rules. It also can prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. But going to preschool does come with its fair share of emotions, for both the parent and the child. For a child, entering a new preschool environment filled with unfamiliar teachers and children can cause both anxiety and anticipation. Parents might have mixed emotions about whether their child is ready for preschool. The more comfortable you are about your decision and the more familiar the setting can be made for your child, the fewer problems you — and your little one — will encounter.

Easing your child’s fears

While acknowledging this important step your child is taking and providing support, too much emphasis on the change could make any anxiety worse. Young children can pick up on their parents’ nonverbal cues. When parents feel guilty or worried about leaving their child at school, the children will probably sense that. The more calm and assured you are about your choice to send your child to preschool, the more confident your child will be.

The first day

When you enter the classroom on the first day, calmly reintroduce the teacher to your child, then step back to allow the teacher to begin forming a relationship with your child. Your endorsement of the teacher will show your child that he or she will be happy and safe in the teacher’s care. If your child clings to you or refuses to participate in the class, don’t get upset — this may only upset your child more. Suggestions for leaving children at preschool are simple but can be hard on a parent. Always say a loving goodbye to your child, but once you do, you should leave promptly. Never sneak out. As tempting as it may be, leaving without saying goodbye may make children feel abandoned, whereas a long farewell scene might only serve to reinforce a child’s sense that preschool is a bad place. Whether your child is eager or reluctant to go to preschool, make sure that a school staff member is ready to help with the transfer from your care to the classroom when you arrive in the morning. Some children may jump right in with their classmates, whereas others might want a private cuddle and a story from a caregiver before joining the group. Many preschools begin with a daily ritual, such as circle time (when teachers and children talk about what they did the day before and the activities that are ahead for the day). Preschoolers tend to respond to this kind of predictability, and following a routine will help ease the move from home to school. (kidshealth.org)

NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Several ECD schools APNU wants govt to tackle not fully prepared youth unemployment for reopening O – RDC, NDCs trade blame By Vahnu Manikchand

Education Minister Priya Manickchand said NDCs acted deliberately

everal East Coast Demerara schools were getting the finishing touches on Sunday as they were being prepared for the reopening of school today. The last minute touchups were as a result of misunderstandings between some of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and the Region Four Regional Democratic Council (RDC) about who is responsible for weeding and maintaining the schools. Guyana Times contacted Region Four Executive Officer (REO) Deolall Rooplall, who disclosed that the NDCs would traditionally assist with the weeding of school compounds in their respective districts; however, this year some refused to help.

Assistance

Rooplall pointed out that up to last year, the NDCs assisted with weeding the school compounds. He said the NDCs also neglected to bring this to the RDC’s attention at an early date so that arrangements could have been made. The REO noted that this was brought to his attention only last Wednesday, which caused him to be in a predicament on how to get some 27 schools weeded within four days in time for the reopening of school. Rooplall said they eventually acquired the help of the Education Ministry, which is covering the cost of two contractors retained to weed the schools. He also pointed out that the Buxton/Foulis NDC sent its weeders on leave last week, which is when they are supposed

to be available to clean the school compounds. When contacted by this newspaper, several NDC chairmen pointed out that it is the RDC’s responsibility to get the schools in shape before school reopens and not the NDCs. The chairman of the Beterverwagting/ Triumph NDC, Bruce Adams, said in the past, the NDC used to take the responsibility and were given budgetary allocations to do so. However, he explained for the past three years they were not given any money and so the problem then began with the RDC.

Responsibility

Adams noted that his NDC last took the responsibility in 2010, but assisted with weeding some schools in 2012 despite not having any money. Buxton/Foulis NDC Chairman Randolph Blair related to this publication that it is the responsibility of the RDC to clean the schools and not the NDCs; however, they would assist from time to time. “But it is not our job, because we

don’t have the resources and we are not responsible for that, but as the NDC, we tried to give assistance,” Blair said. He noted that he is currently on leave and does not know whether, as of Sunday, what arrangements were in place to weed the schools; however, he was told by his overseer that schools in Buxton and Enterprise were cleaned by his NDC, but he did not get a chance to check it out for himself. Haslington/Golden Grove NDC Chairman William Frank explained that his NDC is strapped for cash and could not have sustained the cost of weeding the schools in his district, while noting that that responsibility lies under the RDC. Frank noted that while his NDC does not have the funds to undertake that responsibility, they do assist with cleaning the schools. He also noted that his NDC cleaned three schools: Victoria, Clonbrook and Nabaclis. However, the REO refuted this, noting that the RDC has retained a contractor to work on those schools.

pposition Leader David Granger is urging government to deal with the issue of youth unemployment. Granger issued this call at the party’s weekly press conference last Friday, stating that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration is adamant on dealing with the issue of youth unemployment in Guyana. “The government’s delay in dealing with the job crisis and its disregard for measures to defuse the jobs crisis could cause a social explosion, which could have dangerous consequences,” he said. He pointed to a Caribbean community (Caricom) report, which disclosed that the dropout rate at the primary education level was at a staggering height and joblessness among young people in the

Caribbean was at 23 per cent, which is higher than developed and developing countries.

Remedies

Granger highlighted that despite being aware of these and more facts, the government continues to be negligible about the issue and provide a series of analgesic remedies that do not cure the chronic disease. “Unemployed young people feel that they are in a cul-de-sac. They find themselves ensnared in a position from which they cannot move forward into jobs or backward into school,” Granger said. He continued that when Dr Frank Anthony took office in 2006 as Youth Minister, he promised the establishment of a National Youth Parliament.

GAWU awards bursaries to members’ children

Deliberate

When contacted for a comment, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said those three NDCs purposely withheld the fact that they were unable to weed the schools and waited to do so last minute. “They didn’t say anything all the time, because they wanted when the people turned up for school on Monday (today) to give the Ministry of Education a bad name, because of the conditions of the schools,” the minister said. (vahnum@guyanatimesgy.com)

The opposition leader further explained that five of the government ministries compete against each other by offering a variety of glamorous, ad hoc, training courses for young people. However, he said these are short-term remedies, which do not provide the long-term careers that the youths desperately need. Granger said too many Guyanese youths still to this date leave school unskilled and enter the workforce; as such, they are obliged to resort to the low-paying occupations. “A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) calls for the construction of permanent institutes for agricultural and technical education in every region. The partnership calls for the promotion of an integrated programme for job creation,” Granger stated.

Bursary awardees with members of GAWU

leven students who recently wrote the National Grade Six Assessment examination were last week awarded with bursaries from the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU). The awardees are the children of GAWU members who performed well at the assessment. “This isn’t the first time GAWU has issued bursaries to the students,” GAWU President Komal Chand

stated, adding that it is the union’s way of encouraging the students to continue their studies. He went on to say that parents should support their children with their decision of what they would like to become. He stated that education is very important and the union pays a lot of attention to it. According to Chand, GAWU is the only union in Guyana that has built a college on its own strength and has been

maintaining it without the help of a foreign institution. He noted that their inspiration for educating the people comes from Dr Cheddi Jagan, who was so determined to have a University of Guyana, he used Queen’s College’s building for classes. The students awarded were Sushmita Bisnaught and Yashoda Samaroo, Noel Timothy Persaud; Dev Seepersaud, Suman Deonarine and Devi Trishana, Sarah Ally, Mauricia Morrissa McKenzie, Bishnoo Khison, Tosjhika Smith, and Travis Antonio Gordon. Dev Seepersaud and Mauricia McKenzie both received double awards, since their parents are both members of GAWU and the credit union. Chand also told the parents to monitor their children’s activities and to keep them focused on their studies.

8 news

monday, september 2, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

Guyana, Venezuela urge restraint on military strike against Syria

resident Barack Obama’s announcement that the U.S. will launch a military attack on Syria was rebuffed by Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro during a joint news conference on Saturday. According to President Obama, evidence has surfaced indicating that sarin gas was used in chemical attacks outside of Damascus on August 21, killing approximately 1429 people, including 426 children. Hence, his administration would launch military strikes against Syria with, or without the support of the U.S. Congress. President Maduro said his country in keeping with the Union of South American Nations’ (UNASUR) resolution, will respect the ruling of the United Nations (UN), and therefore rejects any military attack against Syria. The UN’s decision will be

based on the findings of its chemical weapons inspectors who spent approximately two weeks investigating the attack in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, which result in the death of hundreds of civilians. The Venezuelan president said “in any case, any attack will be a criminal attack”, noting that the solution to the problem is not to bombard and to kill more people in Syria. “The cruel logic because a government supposedly killed the citizens of its country, the logic is to launch an attack to kill more people and more citizens of that country,” Maduro said.

Out of line

He said the decision of President Obama will not bring peace, but would create further harm and widespread disaster if any attack is launched against Syria. According to President

Maduro, the Obama administration's decision is out of line. “It is not possible that President Obama considers himself the sole power replacing the UN and is able to judge, to condemn Syria and decide to launch an invasion and an attack, transforming the U.S. Congress to the Supreme Court of the world, the one deciding for the rest of the world, disregarding the rule of law,” he said.

Widespread disaster

According to the Venezuelan president, if the U.S launches military strikes against Syria, it will destroy the multilateral system, causing widespread disaster. “No one in this world can take up the role of being at the same time the court, the judge and the one punishing any crimes because that will be spreading

disaster for the world... if all the governments in the world would start judging other governments because of the difference they have, this will mean that we will be going backwards and a world without laws, without government, war will be the only weapon,” he explained. President Ramotar echoed similar sentiments, noting the UN experts should be allowed to complete their scientific analysis. “No action should be taken without the ratification of the United Nations Security Council. That’s our position.” The UN’s team of chemical weapons inspectors has returned from the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria, to the UN headquarters at Hague in the Netherlands. According to reports, the team is now racing against the clock to complete the analysis which is being executed at two unidentified laboratories in Europe.

New draft regulation for fisheries, marine plan completed – mid-year report

he recently-released Mid-Year Report for 2013 states that a new draft regulation for fisheries, traceability of crops and

livestock, and animal welfare, and a draft marine management plan are among the highlights of the agriculture sector’s achievements for the

first half of the year. This first draft regulation for fisheries, traceability of both crops and livestock, and animal welfare is in keep-

ing with efforts to enhance the sector’s regulatory framework. The final draft of this document will be completed in the second half of the year, according to the report. The draft Marine Management Plan completed outlines sustainable marine fishing practices, and forms part of Guyana’s effort to obtain international certification for sustainable marine fishing. A total of $443.1 million of the $1.9 billion allocation to the agriculture sector was expended during the period. Other achievements in the agriculture sector during the period includes commencement of production for export at the newly-established tilapia farms, a project aimed at increasing tilapia production for export, and progression on the construction of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. In drainage and irrigation, work progressed on the Northern Relief Channel and associated drainage structures, and on outfall channels throughout the regions. Construction and rehabilitation works commenced on pumps and pumps stations in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six. In the first half of 2013, $1.7 billion of the $6.5 billion allocated to drainage and irrigation was expended. The second half of the year should realise a hatchery to increase the production of ducklings, and 250 persons are set to benefit from training courses in aquaculture production, seed technology, and germplasm development. The safety and feasibility analysis of the East Demerara Water Conservancy Dam is to be completed at the end of the third quarter, as well as the plan for the operation of the conservancy and detailed list of works for improving conservancy flows and discharge.

Eyew tness Heritage...

...to build on n Sunday, the month-long celebration of our Amerindian heritage kicked off. We’re darn lucky we can even do this. In the rest of the Caribbean, to which we’re linked by colonial history, that heritage was cruelly wiped out by the Europeans in one fell swoop when they “discovered” us. Today, the region’s rightfully trying to obtain “reparations” from the Europeans for what they did to us, dragging in millions of Africans to work as slaves. Why not reparations for completely wiping out the millions of Amerindians, who were living here to begin with? In Guyana, we’re fortunate we had the jungles into which the Amerindian people could beat a tactical retreat from the marauding Europeans. In Amerindian Heritage Month, the rest of the Caribbean really ought to be exposed to the living history of the peoples on whose lands they’re living. We’re very happy to see the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs launching a programme to revive the original languages of our Amerindian peoples – starting with Arawak. How the heck can we talk about “Amerindian” heritage when we’re talking about it in the language of the conquerors of the Amerindians? A language contains the history and heritage of a people. The English language is filled with words and concepts that deride Amerindian peoples. Take the word “native” – as in “the Amerindian peoples are the “native” people of the Americas”. Without saying another word the image that pops into our minds is one of “primitive” and “inferior” peoples. “Native” Amerindians are always assumed to be backward and not “modern”. Worse is when the Amerindians themselves are forced to think only in this language. Reclaiming their original languages will help them to regain their dignity. In addition to language, we have to work towards moving from “celebrating” Amerindian heritage to reviving and spreading it amongst the other peoples in Guyana. And we’re not talking about eating more pepperpot or cassava bread. For one, we’re talking about a more holistic way of relating with our forests. Now that we’re on the verge of finally building that highway to Lethem, we can’t continue with the European heritage of seeing those forests only as “resources” for us to plunder. We’ve got to reorient our thinking towards making the Amerindian heritage of living in harmony with those forests our own. The point we’re making is that we can’t just continue to just look back when we’re commemorating “Amerindian Heritage Month”. After looking back, we must pick up the threads of that heritage and weave them into our present tapestry of nation building.

...to reject We were very happy to see both President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and our own President Donald Ramotar reject the colonial heritage that bequeathed us the “border dispute”. Let’s face it. There was no “dispute” before the U.S. looked around for options in the 1960s to overthrow Dr Cheddi Jagan’s People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government. Option one was to back the People’s National Congress (PNC) demand to change the electoral system from the constituency system to proportional representation. If the British weren’t going to go along with this, the Americans wanted a fall-back option. The Venezuelan border issue was raised from the dead as one of those options. With sabre rattling from the West, any independent Guyana under Jagan would’ve faced invasion and occupation of Essequibo by Venezuela. Problem was, to the Venezuelans, the Essequibo border became more than just an American gambit. And when the latter got through with option one and Forbes Burnham was in power, the British had a tiger by the tail. The proper anti-colonial act for Maduro and Venezuela to do now would be to drop the entire U.S.-British manufactured “border dispute”. ...of Haiti With Haiti now slated to host the next Caribbean Festival of Arts (Carifesta) celebrations, we should start brushing up on the heritage of Toussaint L’Overture, the first nonEuropean to defeat a European army in this hemisphere.

NEWS

monday, september 2, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Giftland donates school supplies to Tiger Bay children

Six in custody after drug busts in Berbice

Parents about to collect school supplies for their children

iftland OfficeMax on Sunday donated a range of school supplies to children of Tiger Bay, Georgetown. Among the supplies donated were modeling dough, crayons, paint sets and exercise books for nursery pupils; studmark pencils, pencil sharpeners, exercise books and backpacks for primary school students; and five-star trapper keepers, exercise books, Studmark ball point pens, Studmark HB pencils and Studmark erasers for secondary school

students. The initiative was part of the store’s charitable drive. Giftland's Public Relations Manager Compton Babb told the media that more than 150 backpacks containing school supplies were handed out to school children. “It was decided that all the funds from Giftland’s third Annual Talent Show will be donated to charity to better meet the needs of the community in which Giftland is located (Tiger Bay),” Babb said.

Giftland’s Human Resources Director Jade Beepat said the show aims to create a harmonious relationship among co-workers, and she came up with the idea of a talent night to be a fund raising activity and charity event. Performances were done by Kross Kolors’ – Ossie O; the “Nothing to laugh about” crew – Radica, Maria Benschop and Lyndon Jumbie Jones; the Crystallite and Classique dance groups; Michelle “Big Red” King; Randolph

Critchlow; Gialiani; Leon Cummings; and Giftland’s staff. There were also special performances from children within Tiger Bay. The talent night was held on April 13 at the Theater Guild. Present during the donation was local recording artiste Michelle King, alongside two of Giftland’s ambassadors Devon Davis (Mr Giftland Man of Steel) and Alisha Fortune (track and field champion/bodybuilding champion).

Managing resources a careful balancing act – IMF

atural resources are a mainstay of many economies, and the revenue derived from their export can help countries improve the lives of their citizens. But it is usually more complicated than that, said the IMF’s Finance and Development (F&D) magazine. Sometimes revenue riches are squandered, or the wrong groups benefit, harming the economy as a whole. The September 2013 issue of F&D explores the challenges of natural resource management and proposes new ideas for sustaining resource revenues over the long haul to support steady economic growth and reduce poverty.

Challenges

In “Too Much of a Good Thing?”, IMF economists examine the challenges facing resource-rich countries. A new discovery of a precious natural resource –oil, coal, or a rare mineral, for example – always generates high hopes. Some resource-rich countries do fare well, but many others struggle to convert their resource wealth into growth engines that will benefit future generations. An abundance of precious natural resources is no guarantee of sustained growth over the long

haul, caution the authors. Economists have explored many explanations for this. Some blame corruption, exposure to volatile commodity prices, or “Dutch disease”, whereby a booming resource sector chokes off growth in other parts of the economy. Yet another reason is the exhaustible nature of certain resources – an oil well runs dry, a coal mine stops producing.

Development needs

Developing countries face particular problems managing their resource revenues. Their development needs call for more spending up front on immediate needs such as school supplies, malaria nets, and vaccination campaigns. But they also have huge unmet investments. The authors say balanced management is the answer: use revenues to boost domestic savings and investment and smooth spending. They advocate the use of a sustainable investing tool developed by the IMF to help policymakers decide how best to allocate resource revenue between saving and investment. In another article, “Extracting Resource Revenue”, Philip Daniel, Sanjeev Gupta, Todd Mattina, and Alex Segura-

Ubiergo of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department tackle the challenges of formulating tax and spending policies in revenue-rich countries. Among other things, they recommend that countries set up a resource fund – also known as a sovereign wealth fund – to save excess revenues.

Oil and water

In “A Drop in the Bucket”, Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute looks at the economics of the one natural resource we cannot live without: water. He said water policy must balance development needs and economic considerations. Only if water is managed in an integrated fashion – taking into account access to safe water and sanitation, agricultural needs, political constraints, and climate-related risks – can the global community meet the complex demands on this essential resource. F&D’s oil expert Thomas Helbling, division chief in the IMF’s Research Department, offers a peek into the future of oil markets. He said the “high prices we’ve seen in the past decade would normally signal an end to a boom”, as happened in the early 1980s. But today, many factors militate against a cut in oil

consumption and demand is holding firm. And even longterm responses to technological improvements promise to be more gradual than in the past. Barring a dramatic change in the global economy, Helbling writes, “We should not expect a significant change in either the supply or the price of oil”.

Resource booms

Other articles in the magazine’s cover package by IMF economists address the elusiveness of economic recovery in response to natural resource booms, the promise of resource wealth to boost the frontier economies of central Asia, and capital flight associated with the natural resource sector. Also in the September 2013 issue of F&D, Prakash Loungani profiles Stanley Fischer, whose achievements in the public, private, and academic spheres place him at the forefront of modern economics. Other articles examine whether Latin American growth can be sustained, why regional ties are trumping global factors in business cycles, how remittances affect economies more broadly, the special vulnerabilities of small states, and how strong balance sheets help banks sustain credit during crises.

ix persons are expected to be charged for trafficking in narcotics following two separate raids in Berbice over the weekend which led to the discovery of a quantity of marijuana and cocaine. In the first incident, police acting upon information went to the home of Kembleton Dorway, 36, of Lot 185 Victoria Street, Cumberland, East Canje with the intention of conducting a search for arms, ammo, narcotic drugs and stolen articles. The search was conducted about 11:30h on Saturday. According to information received, on arrival, the police ranks entered the yard and while at the front door, Dorway reportedly jumped through a window with a black bulky plastic bag in his hands while four other men jumped through another window and ran into a clump of bushes. Upon seeing this, and being alert, police ranks apprehended Dorway and upon opening the bag in his presence, a quantity of leaves, seeds and stem suspected to be cannabis was discovered. During interrogation, the suspect admitted to the police that the cannabis was his and that he would normally smoke it with his friends. He also told ranks that they were taking a “draw” when the police pounced on them. The other four per-

sons were also apprehended. Their names were given as Steve Jason, 27; Joshua Tanner, 20, of Lot 2 Alness Village, Corentyne, Berbice; Christopher Gafoor, 23, of Sheet Anchor; and Bryon Lewis, 17, of Fort Ordinance. The suspected cannabis was weighed in their presence and amounted to 152 grams. The suspects remain in custody and are expected to be charged today. Meanwhile, also on Saturday about 17:30h, police ranks were on mobile patrol duties in Rose Hall Town, and while in the vicinity of Ganpat Street, a man was seen riding and acting in a suspicious manner. The police mobile unit intercepted the suspect and with his permission, a search was carried out on his person and a brown grease proof paper was found in his right hand. Further checks were conducted on the paper and upon opening it, pieces of rock-like whitish substance suspected to be cocaine were found. The suspect whose name was given as Mahesh Paris, 32, a fisherman of Port Mourant compound was told of the offence, cautioned and arrested. He was taken to the Rose Hall Police Station where the illegal substance was weighed in his presence and amounted to 2.25 grams of cocaine. He will make his first court appearance today at the Whim Magistrate’s Court.

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monday, september 2, 2013

News

Muslims condemn global bloodshed during peace march Green Jah gotta go back to school to learn fuh count

A section of the gathering at the Queenstown Masjid on Saturday evening as the rally concluded with speeches and prayers

he local Muslim community on Saturday strongly condemned the bloodshed, destruction, violence and human rights atrocities that are taking place in several countries, such as Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Nigeria, Burma and Iraq, and issued a call for the international community, led by the United Nations and other powerful world bodies, to take definite and decisive action to put a quick end to this human suffering. This appeal was made at the “Peace and Solidarity Walk and Rally” held on August 31, at the Queenstown Jama Masjid in Georgetown. The rally, which was attended by hundreds of Muslims from

different parts of the country, was addressed by several prominent Muslim leaders and scholars, who called on Muslims to unite and strengthen the bonds of brotherhood; to be patient and steadfast in practice of their faith during these times of crises; and to remain firm on the side of justice, respect for human rights and world-wide peace and equality for all mankind regardless of race, creed, status and nationality. Additionally, participants were made aware of the worsening crisis facing Muslims in certain hotspots, such as Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine and Burma. They were told of the ongoing war and bloodshed in these countries which have resulted in

tens of thousands of persons being killed; hundreds of thousands more being injured; over one million children refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria; the illegal use of chemical weapons in Syria which have killed hundreds of innocent civilians, mostly women and children; the massacre of hundreds of pro-democracy protestors in Egypt by that country’s military government; and the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma, who are subjected to systematic genocide in their ancestral homeland, and who Amnesty International described as the people facing the worst predicament in the world. The rally concluded with special prayers for global

peace, unity and human dignity for Muslims in these countries and the world over, as well for all humanity. The gathering also condemned the atrocities committed against innocent people, the blatant violations of human rights and crimes against humanity and called upon the government, the international community led by the United Nations, the United States government, the European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Countries, human right organisations and all freedom loving people to take a strong stand against these atrocities and to use their power and influence to bring an end to these human tragedies.

Body of Springlands boy found on foreshore

he body of a sevenyear-old boy was on Saturday discovered lying on the Springlands foreshore about 17:30h by a passerby who immediately contacted the police. The child is suspected to have drowned. The lad who was later identified as Joshua Anthony Persaud of Springlands Squatting area, Corentyne, Berbice did not have any marks of violence about his body, but investigators have not ruled out foul play. He was taken to the Skeldon Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Reports reaching Guyana Times stated that about 17:30h on Saturday, an anonymous caller contacted the Springlands Police Station and report-

ed that a body was seen lying on the Springlands foreshore. Upon receiving the report, ranks rushed to the scene where they recognised that the lad was lying on his back, clad in black pants. It appears as though he was frothing at the mouth. Police ranks immediately launched an investigation and based on information received, the mother of the child whose name was given as Radika Babulall, also called “Tora”, was contacted. Babulall, who is a domestic worker, reportedly told investigators that about 11:00h on Saturday, the former pupil of Corriverton Primary School left to go to a nearby shop to purchase sweets while she left at the same time for Crabwood Creek to

perform her duties. This publication understands that the woman returned home, but did not see her son and thought the he was with his friends. She said after time elapsed and she did not see him, she went to enquire at the shop and was told that the lad was there earlier in the day, but had left.

She reportedly searched around the neighbourhood, but no one reportedly saw the child. A few minutes later, she reportedly received the dreaded news and rushed to the Skeldon Hospital where she identified her son. The child had bruises about his body, suggesting that foul play was involved. The woman is hold-

ing out that her son would never go to the foreshore to swim alone and suggested that he might have been with persons he knew. The mother confirmed that he would go swimming with his friends while she is not at home. Police are now working on the theory that the lad might have been in the company of his friends, but after he went down into the water, they panicked and left. A police source stated that from the position of the child, it looks as if he was crying out for help and was hoping that someone would see him. His body is presently at the Skeldon Hospital mortuary awaiting post-mortem, while police are questioning several of his friends.

reen Jah was a high-rankin army man. He used to know good how fuh count how much soldiers he used to get in de army. He know good how fuh count how much votes he does get at election time, how much people he get in he party, how much more he need to get, and how much more he can’t get no matter how much lie he tell de people. De only ting is that every time Green Jah count de votes he does want fuh claim more than he get. He does want tek other people votes and mek dem he own. But when was Burnt Ham time, he already had de count before de people vote. Was de same ting wide de Height Man. In dem days, de votes used to always be more high than de number of voters. Even de dead people used to vote. Jesus raise Lazarus from de dead in de Bible and some people tink that kinda ting can never happen again. But Green Jah and de PEE-HEN-CEE does raise dead people fuh vote right hey in Guyana. Green Jah can’t count votes no more though. That is why he was wukkin hard to find a stooge fuh do de dutty wuk fuh he. He finally find de animal man Stooge Bally. Is no wonder Stooge Bally don’t want Go Cool around. But Green Jah gon gotta go back to school to learn fuh count. Green Jah tell de Stabber paper that de guvament must listen to de majority. And de Stabber believe and write back every ting. Green Jah so accustom to count wrong that he fuhget that is de PPP-CEE which get de most votes. That means dem is de majority. Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! So Green Jah gon soon be joinin some of dem same pickney who he tell fuh do better in maths in school!

Brazilian miner killed in Buckhall accident

onths after a truck toppled and claimed the lives of four people, a Brazilian national was in the wee hours of Friday morning killed after he lost control of his All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and crashed at Buckhall, Essequibo Coast. Jose Alves Da Silva, 43, formerly of Boa Vista, Brazil, received injuries and was rushed to the Suddie Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Information reaching Guyana Times revealed that the man was travelling along the Buckhall trail in the North West District on his ATV and while negotiating a turn, he came into contact with a four runner. In an attempt to avoid a collision, he swerved and ended up crashing into a ditch along the roadway. He reportedly toppled several times before coming to a halt. De Silva suffered severe injuries and his vehicle was severely damaged. This publication understands that Da Silva was known to many in the areas

since he works in a nearby mining camp. In April, four persons were killed after the truck in which they were travelling turned turtle after it rolled down a hill at Buckhall, North West District. Those who lost their lives were Aubrey Evans of Supenaam, Essequibo Coast; Richard Doobay, 33, of Riverstown; Pamela Solomon, 41, of Sophia; and George Persaud of Berbice. They were reportedly pinned by the heavy-duty truck and were severely burnt by the fuel which poured out of the tanks. It was reported that the Bedford truck bearing registration number GNN 8941 was climbing a hill at 113 Miles on the Barama Road when it started to experience mechanical problems. As a result, the truck toppled, landing on its roof. The truck was completely mangled after it plunged some 65 feet downhill. It was further reported that the truck was heading to the Aranka Backdam with 22 passengers when the accident occurred.

monday, september 2, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mining pioneers important to sector’s vibrancy – Persaud

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud visits one of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission’s booths at the annual Pork-Knocker’s Day at Bartica, Region Seven

Some of the participants at Pork-knocker’s Day

s Mining Week 2013 culminated with the annual PorkKnocker’s Day in Bartica, Region Seven on Saturday, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud highlighted the need for mining pioneers to continue to serve as an inspiration to raise the level of the sector’s vibrancy. The day concluded seven days of activities host-

ers, allowing government to boost the sector. He reiterated the need for those pioneers to continue to serve even as the ministry endeavours to improve the sector, one which plays a major role in the development of not only Bartica, but other mining communities, and Guyana as a whole. “It is our intention to ensure the sector contributes to national development and support the de-

ed by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) under the auspices of the Natural Resources Ministry, and under the theme “Green, Clean and Responsible; Securing the Future of Mining”. During brief remarks, Minister Persaud acknowledged the role that porkknockers play, not only in developing the small industry but the mining sector as a whole, making it the larg-

est contributor to the economy. “This event has become an institution,” Minister Persaud said, as he urged those gathered to remember the pioneers who would have played a major role in the development of the sector, and the early forms of extraction. Persaud added that the ministry and the GGMC are committed to recognising the pioneers who led oth-

velopment of the mining community… it is also the ministry’s intention to ensure mining and all those activities associated with mining are done in a way that can make us proud,” Minister Persaud pointed out. He charged all operators and stakeholders to ensure that the sector continues to grow and make record achievements. Pork-knocker's Day par-

ticipants had the opportunity to take part in several competitions such as batelling and shovelling, warishi race, storytelling and tacouba crossing. There were also booths set up by the GGMC. As part of Mining Week, several activities were held, such as a walk, a national mining and quarrying conference, and an exhibition, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

Police move to make Angoy’s Avenue safer C ommander of B Division, Senior Super-intendent Clifton Hicken is introducing an unorthodox approach to make the community of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, safer. Many distribution companies do not permit their trucks to take goods into that community for fear of being robbed. Hicken said residents of that community have been suffering, and as such, the police have been partnering with them to turn around the outlook of that area of New Amsterdam. The project will first focus on the youths who are most vulnerable. The commander recently met with members of the community and noted that

among the plans is a joint project between the police and the community to develop the community ground, so that youths will be able to channel their energies in the right direction. Hicken said members of the community also took the opportunity to highlight some of the issues that affect them as it relates to security. “As from now on, I will have the community police in the area all the time. We will also have police on motorbikes to come in and check on them and I will ensure that the patrol make more checks in this area.” Among some of the plans that the police have outlined is a village expo, which will allow residents to showcase some of their skills. The

Commander Clifton Hicken interacting with Angoy’s Avenue residents

community ground, the commander said, will become one of the main recreational centres in the town. The commander promised residents that the po-

lice will play an active role in all the developments in the community. Hicken is also part of the committee that has been selected to assist in the

transformation of Angoy’s Avenue. “Change can take place, but it is all about cohesion.” The police will provide whatever resources it can to

the project. According to the senior superintendent, the business community is also onboard. Banks DIH said the initiative is a good one and has pledged its full support to the project. Several residents who were at the meeting, which was held in front of the community ground, expressed satisfaction with the plans. One community leader, Phillip Rose said the commander seems to be taking a hands-on approach to dealing with crime. The commander told residents not to panic because of the increased police presence in the area. “I know that those who sell drugs in the area will be uncomfortable,” he said.

Caribbean sex workers want recognition, retirement benefits

he Caribbean Sex Worker Coalition is calling on regional governments to give recognition to their work so that they can be on par with other professions where labour conditions are just. In a statement following their August 28-30 annual meeting held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the coalition, a collective of sex worker-led civil society organisations and sex worker advocates, said sex work is serious work and must be given due recognition. The group said selling sex should not be a crime and practices and policies should not harm sex work-

ers. “We have the same human rights and duties as all other people, and these should be respected at all times; we value ourselves like everyone else in society, with equal rights and justice; our civil rights are being undermined, we are being victimised and living with abuse from the people who are supposed to help us,” the group said in a statement. According to the coalition, sex workers have a right to equal opportunity to work, healthcare, education, food and shelter, and retirement benefits. “We respect sexual orientation, gender identity

and expression, and gender equality as human rights; we value our family and children; we should be able to access effective social services without any fear, favour or compromise,” the coalition said. According to them, violence, extortion and discrimination are meted out to sex workers regularly and many are subjected to arbitrary law, detention, police raiding and various kinds of injustices. “We have a voice to be heard; all programmes, documentation, and representation on behalf of regional sex workers should not be done without representation from

the Caribbean Sex Worker Coalition or member groups; gender, age, social disparities and inequalities affect sub-populations of sex work in more severe ways than others.” The group said economic empowerment is important for sex workers’ stability, and as such, it is calling for an end to all discriminatory legal, social and religious practices that target sex workers, their families, partners, colleagues, clients and associates. The coalition also urged regional governments to respect and protect human and constitutional rights and create legislation, policies and practices which ef-

fectively protect these human rights. “Respect our right to livelihood and freedom to work; respect our right to freedom of movement and migration; provide non-discriminatory health and social services and ensure the Ministry of Health, the National AIDS Programme, and other agencies recognise the different sub-populations of sex workers and design programmes that respond to their needs.” The coalition also want health ministries to partner with and train health-care workers to effectively provide services for sex workers, including unconvention-

al health services, such as mobile clinics; ensure that sex workers are not subjected to compulsory HIV testing by employers; guarantee sex worker access to justice, including access to law enforcement officers and police services that are free of stigma and discrimination; recognise transgender people and create laws which protect them from stigma and discrimination, violence and hate crimes; and ensure transgender people can choose to have identity cards and other documentation which reflect their gender identity and expression, and stop linking trafficking in persons with sex work.

NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Times Notebook We dare to dream of a better Guyana L

ast week, August 28 marked the 50th anniversary of the famous Dr Martin Luther King speech entitled, “I have a dream”. It is one of the most famous speeches of all time and it is a speech that Times Notebook has been reflecting on. Those were words of hope, not bitterness. Those were forward-looking words of opportunities and hope to make ourselves better, not be captives and hostages of the mistakes of the past. The world has changed since those famous words of Dr King and our dreams of a better world have seen positive changes in the last 50 years. There is less poverty in the world. People live longer. Indeed, today about seven million children die each year compared to about 20 million children under five years of age who died each year some 50 years ago. There is less under-nutrition today. More children have access to schools and fewer girls are deprived of an education. There is greater freedom and democracy and there is also less racial marginalisation around the world. Milestone Fifty years ago, the march in Washington represented a milestone fight against racial marginalisation. Today, what few people know is that the march which fought against racial discrimination in the U.S.A. also victimised a human being in its own practice of stigma and discrimination. One of the main organisers of the march

was a man named Byran Rysten. He was a fierce fighter for human rights and he stood against racial discrimination. But it became known that he was a practising gay. At that time it was a fatal mistake for gays to be public. Gays then had to practise their lifestyle and sexual orientation in the “closet”. The very people whom he fought for got to know of Rysten’s sexual orientation. He was threatened. Dr King himself advised him to leave Washington for his safety. Rysten then hid in the trunk of a car and was driven away from the site of the march he helped organise. Gays are still stigmatised and discriminated against today. But many gays now live openly in every country. Some countries protect the rights of gays. Same sex marriage is recognised by a only handful of countries. Stigma While stigma and discrimination are still rampant because of one’s race, religion and sexual orientation, there have been dramatic changes and vast improvements since Dr King’s March in Washington. There is a black U.S. president, there was a black secretary general of the United Nations, there are black chief executives of large global companies, gay religious leaders and ministers of government. The world has changed and Dr King played a significant role in creating a better world. Guyana, too, is better off than we were 50 years ago. Yet, most Guyanese still

Dr Martin Luther King dream of a better Guyana today. While acknowledging that Guyana is better off today than we were 50 years ago, we also dream of a Guyana that is far better than we are today, sooner rather than later. We acknowledge the tremendous progress Guyana has made in the last two decades. We are no longer a least developing, lowincome, highly indebted country. We are a middleincome country. Our infrastructure has developed, we cross the Demerara and Berbice rivers by bridge, rather than depending on ferries which took many hours. Access to electricity and water has improved. There is universal access to primary and secondary education. Health care is better. We have our own university, law and medical schools. Our children are our doctors and lawyers, engineers, accountants and managers. Guyana is a free and better country than 50 years ago. Times Notebook believes that we can be even better

Chain snatcher caught moments after robbing teen

uick reaction by a police rank has led to the arrest of a man who allegedly snatched a gold chain from a teenager’s neck as she was walking on the Number 78 Village, Corentyne on Saturday afternoon. Information reaching this newspaper revealed that on the day in question, about 14:00h, Shaliza Haniff, 16, of Lot 47 Race Course Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice was walking on the Number 78 Public Road when the suspect rode up to her and grabbed the chain worth about $42,000. The suspect, Mark Peters, 37, of Rose Hall Town reportedly rode away, but after an alarm was raised, the suspect was ar-

rested by a police constable who was passing at the time. Upon his arrest, a search was conducted on his person where the piece of jewellery was found in his pants pocket. The chain was lodged as evidence and a statement was taken from the victim. He is expected to be charged with larceny from a person as soon as today. Meanwhile, the police are also investigating an alleged break and enter and larceny committed on the house of Jasmattie Lall of Lot 2, Section A, Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice between August 25-31. The burglars reportedly carted off a quantity of household articles, including a 100 lbs gas cylinder. The cylinder is worth

an estimate $15,000, but with respect to the other articles, a cost was not attached. Police investigations revealed that during the date mentioned, the victim secured her home by means provided and went out to spend some time at her relatives in another village. Upon her return on Saturday, the elderly woman discovered that one of the doors to the house was prised open. She subsequently made checks and found the articles missing. The police were summoned and based on information they received, Nardeo Deodat called “Cole”, 39, of Rosignol Village was arrested and placed in custody pending investigation.

than we are today. Some or parts of our dreams have become reality. But there are vital things we dream of, that should they become reality, Guyana will be so much better off and our people will live better lives. These are the dreams we must make realities. We join our sisters and brothers in dreaming of hydroelectricity. We, like so many Guyanese, dream of the day when Guyana’s airport will compete with airports in the region in terms of modernisation and in terms of capacity. We dream furthermore of the first five-star hotel in our country. Every country where tourism plays a measurable role in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

and economic development has a five-star hotel. With the impending Marriott Hotel, this dream is well underway. No national development plan can exclude the dream of every family owning their own home. We have ensured another 70,000 families own their own homes in the last 20 years. Additionally, more than 30,000 families are trying to build homes on house lots they have been given by government. We are happy to see government continuing its efforts to ensure everyone lives in their own homes. Dream What is wrong with dreaming that every Guyanese family has a computer as the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) is trying to accomplish? We dream too of a highway from Georgetown to Lethem. We dream of the opening up of the Canje Basin and the intermediate savannahs for vast agricultural projects with biomass for the production of bio-fuel. We dream of oil as part of our economy. We dream of a deep water harbour. We dream of a life expectancy of 80 before 2030.

We dream of the end of poverty. We dream of being the bread basket of the Caribbean. These are some of our dreams. We dare to say these are collective Guyanese dreams. We ask our people why can’t these dreams be attained sooner rather than later? We dream that our politicians could learn to work together for the people, in the national interest and not pursue narrow political interests. Better Guyana Dr Cheddi Jagan dreamt of a free country and a better Guyana. He and others positioned us on the road to making our dreams come through/true. We can accelerate the dream fully being realised. There are those among us who have shamelessly stood in the way of a better Guyana and making Guyana’s dreams come through/true. Times Notebook says the time has come for true patriots to stand tall, like Dr King did 50 years ago. We have a dream of Guyana, our Eldorado. Readers are invited to comment on this article via email (times. notebook@gmail.com) and on Facebook.

monday, september 2, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Police in pain, says TT Cubans allege sex abuse by President Anthony Carmona Bahamian detention guards

resident Anthony Carmona has expressed concern about police officers who are on the front lines of TT’s battle against crime. He said the wear and tear on police officers engaged in fighting crime is not fully appreciated and is sometimes unforgiving. Speaking at a cocktail reception hosted by the TT Police Service (TTPS) at the Police Administration Building, Port of Spain, where a toast was made to mark the country’s 51st Independence anniversary, he said: “The daily rituals of picking up bodies takes a toll from us all, more so, from police officers and it may well be impacting on the quality

President Anthony Carmona

of police investigations and morale in the service.” Carmona opted not to give the traditional anniversary speech, but spoke about the role of police officers, the public’s expectations of them and the need for the govern-

ment and opposition to work together to fight crime. He cited the case of Sergeant Hayden Manwarren who died after being shot by bandits a few months ago. Although the slain officer was the recipient of a posthumous independence award, Carmona asked what had happened to his wife and children. He noted that when someone loses their life, not only the victim’s family suffer, but police officers as well. “It is my humble view that we need in the service clinical psychologists to deal with that mental, emotional pain and frustration officers suffer,” he said. (Excerpt from Trinidad

Guardian)

Cuban family who arrived in the U.S. from a migrant detention centre in The Bahamas has alleged that guards regularly beat some of the male inmates and sexually abused some of the women. The Democracy Movement, a Miami group that has been helping undocumented migrants detained in Nassau, said one of the women repatriated from the centre to Cuba earlier this month was impregnated by a guard. Ramón Saúl Sánchez,

bers not to be killed. He was in his mother’s arms when they shot him. The two men found dead in jail were named by the officials as Paulo Ricardo and Felipe Martins dos Santos Lima. They had been awaiting trial and two other suspects are still reported to be on the run. All four men were said to be from an area close to the San Carlos shantytown in the east of Sao Paulo where the boy’s family was living. His parents have since returned to Bolivia.

Colombia seizes 226 kilos of cocaine from FARC

Soldiers of the Colombian Army’s Third Brigade monitor cocaine packages that were seized from the FARC

our vehicles, 226 kilos of cocaine, four motorcycles, and a pistol with ammunition that belonged to the FARC’s 6th Front, were seized in a joint inter-institutional operation by troops of the Colombian Army’s Third Brigade, members of the Attorney General’s Research Technical Corps, and the Colombian Air Force’s 7th Air Combat Command in northern Cauca. In addition, five people were captured at the scene, which took place at a ranch located north of Cauca department. Individuals opened fire against military members and judicial agents, and then escaped when the severity of the operation became evident. When the troops and agents entered the building,

an inspection was carried out, and 226 packs weighing a kilo each were found in the double bottom of a pickup truck parked near three other vehicles and four motorcycles abandoned by the narco-terrorists. Furthermore, two hideouts under the floor were found in one of the rooms of the buildings. One of the hideouts was at least 15 centimetres wide and made of concrete, and it was used for the installation of a floodgate with a complex electronic security system. Another small shelter approximately three metres long and 1.5 metres wide was found near the room. These hideouts were not only used to hide drug cargos, but could also have been used to hold hostages. (Excerpt from Dialogo)

Brayan Capcha’s murder shocked people in Sao Paulo – a city familiar with high levels of violence. It also triggered protests by Bolivian migrants. Tens of thousands of Bolivian immigrants live in Sao Paulo. Most of them live and work in very basic conditions. Many, like the Yanarico family, speak very little Portuguese and Spanish. Their native tongue is either Aymara or Quechua, Bolivia’s main indigenous languages. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

to the Miami Herald. Randy Rodriguez, 31, his wife Misleidy Olivera, 30, and their two children were the first detainees to speak in person to reporters about conditions at the centre after they arrived in Miami on a flight from Nassau. “I wish to say that no one from the Bahamas government has admitted that there was any abuse of detainees by the Bahamas government,” Bahamian Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell said in a statement. (Excerpt from Jamaica

Observer)

Haiti drafts law to protect whistleblowers, sets up anti-corruption hotline

Bolivian boy’s ‘killers’ found dead in Brazilian prison wo Brazilian men accused of murdering a young Bolivian boy in June have been found dead in prison in Sao Paulo, local officials have said. The men were believed poisoned by other inmates at the Santo Andre jail. Brayan Yanarico Capcha, five, was shot in the head by masked robbers who complained he was crying too much during a robbery at his family’s house. The boy’s family said he had begged the rob-

Democracy Movement head, who greeted the family on their arrival, said a 24-yearold woman repatriated from Nassau to Havana last week reported that she was six months pregnant. The movement led a string of protests against the Bahamian government this summer after detainees at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre smuggled out cell phone images of inmates sewing their lips together in protest and an alleged guard kicking prisoners, according

Colonel Antoine Atouriste

aiti’s anti-corruption unit chief said his office has drafted a law to protect whistleblowers and has set up the Caribbean country’s first an-

ti-corruption hotline which has already allowed relevant authorities to collect several hundred denunciations of suspected acts of misconduct. Former Army Colonel Antoine Atouriste said his office is planning to submit to Parliament for approval the draft law that will protect individuals denouncing acts of corruption in the public administration, from being forced to appear before courts as witnesses or being prosecuted for libel or similar infringements. “We want to make it easy for employees and other individuals, who know about acts of corruption, to feel free and comfortable to de-

nounce them,” Atouriste told HCNN in an interview on Thursday. “The law we are proposing also prohibits that the name of whistleblowers be mentioned in any report or revealed to any authority or other entities,” said Atouriste, who believes that with such measures, more people will want to denounce corrupt practices. The anti-corruption unit has also established the country’s first anti-corruption hotline (56 56), free of charge, to incite the general population to engage in the fight against corrupt practices, uphold transparency, good governance and accountability. (Excerpt from Caribbean New

Now)

UWI Cave Hill's budget, Peru: Snow state of expenditure subject to emergency extended intimate discussion, to more regions assures Professor Beckles

ll operational budgets at the Cave Hill Campus, all significant expenditures and all strategic plans are discussed and approved by the government of Barbados, says Professor Sir Hilary Beckles. “No one should therefore express the view that Cave Hill’s budgetary expenditures, strategic plans and projected financial needs are somehow akin to a runaway train not travelling on tracks firmly laid down and approved by the government of Barbados. This is simply not true.” The pro-vice chancellor and principal of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus made this clear during the matriculation cere-

mony 2013, held on campus on Friday night. He assured those gathered that the Cave Hill campus is the joint product of intimate financial discussions and annual budget expenditure of campus and government. “Likewise, the challenges that Cave Hill will encounter in the years can only be overcome by the continued intimacy of this financial dialogue, within which expenditures are proposed, discussed and approved,” he pointed out. “Cave Hill, then, is not a stand-alone institution; it has always and will continue to benefit from the keen financial eye and parental voice of the government of Barbados.” (Excerpt from Barbados Advocate)

An unusual cold spell has hit Peru and its neighbour Bolivia as well as Paraguay

he Peruvian government has extended to nine more regions a state of emergency called to cope with unusually cold weather and heavy snowfall. At least two people have died and 33,000 others have been affected by the cold spell, local officials say. Tens of thousands of animals have frozen to death over the past week. President Ollanta Humala has travelled to Apurimac, one of the worst-hit areas, to oversee the distribution of emergency aid. The state of emergency would be in place for 20 days, an official statement said. The heaviest snow fall to hit Peru in a decade has

killed tens of thousands of llamas, alpacas, cattle and sheep, and left farmers destitute. A man died when the roof of his hut caved in under the weight of the snow in southern Carabaya province but the circumstances of the second death were unclear. Three people were rescued on Saturday from the same region after their home was cut off by snow. Rescue workers said the three, two girls and an elderly woman, were suffering from frostbite and snow blindness. The cold front has also hit Peru’s southeastern neighbour, Bolivia, and Paraguay, where a combined total of five people have died. (BBC News)

15 Around the World

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

South Africa’s Mandela back home after long hospital stay

Iranian dissidents killed in Iraq camp, UN demands inquiry

nti-apartheid leader and former South African President Nelson Mandela returned to his home on Sunday where he will continue to receive intensive care after three months in hospital with a lung ailment. Mandela, 95, had spent 87 days in a Pretoria hospital after he was rushed there in early June suffering from a recurring infection of the lungs, a legacy of the nearly three decades he spent in jail under apartheid. “Madiba’s condition remains critical and is at times unstable. Nevertheless, his team of doctors are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in

t least 47 people were reported killed at an Iranian dissident camp in Iraq on Sunday, the United Nations said, urging Baghdad to investigate the “tragic events” at a site north of the capital. The violence took place hours after a mortar bomb attack on the camp which the dissent group Mujahadin-eKhalq (MEK) blamed on the Iraqi army. Two Iraqi security sources said that army and special forces had opened fire on residents who had stormed a post at the entrance to Camp Ashraf, a site that Iraq’s government wants closed down. They said at least 19 were killed, 52 wounded and 38 arrested and that they believed residents were not

Former South African President Nelson Mandela looks on as he celebrates his birthday at his house in Qunu, Eastern Cape, July 18, 2012

Pretoria,” South Africa’s presidency said in a statement. It referred to Mandela

by the traditional clan name by which he is affectionately known.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s latest hospitalisation in June had attracted a wave of attention and sympathy at home and across the world. His home in Johannesburg’s Houghton suburb had been “reconfigured” to allow him to receive special care there, the presidency added. Police blocked off a section of the street in the upscale neighbourhood, where a crowd of reporters and camera crews had gathered. “The health care personnel providing care at his home are the very same who provided care to him in hospital. If there are health conditions that warrant another admission to hospital in future, this will be done,” the presidency added. (Excerpt from Reuters)

armed. However, the UN statement had a figure closer to the toll given by MEK, which said 52 of its roughly 100 members at the camp had been killed. An advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said reports that security forces had opened fire on the residents were baseless and said that Maliki had ordered an investigation into what had happened. “We want to know the truth,” advisor Ali al-Moussawi said. He said it was unclear what had caused the blast in the morning. Residents could have been killed in the explosion or through infighting at the camp, he said. He gave no casualty figures. (Excerpt from Reuters)

India Himalayas 1968 Arab League urges UN-backed action in Syria plane crash yields body

he body of an Indian soldier killed in an air crash in the Himalayas 45 years ago has been recovered, the army says. The remains of Non commissioned officer Jagmail Singh were found on the Dhakka glacier in northern Himachal Pradesh state. The soldier’s identity was established by an identity disk, an insurance policy and a letter found in his pocket, the spokesman said. The army transport plane crashed in February 1968, killing all 98 soldiers on

board. Nothing more was heard from the aircraft after it made radio contact near the Rohtang pass, which links Himachal Pradesh with Indianadministered Kashmir. The debris of the Antonov An-12 was discovered by accident by a team on the Dhakka glacier in 2003, the BBC’s Baldev S Chauhan reports. Four other bodies were recovered in subsequent search missions. The latest search operation started on August 13. (BBC News)

Syria capable of confronting attack, says Assad

yrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that his country is capable of confronting any external attack, a day after his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama called for military action against him. “Syria... is capable of confronting any external aggression,” state television quoted Assad as saying on Sunday at a meeting with Iranian officials. “The American threats of launching an attack against Syria will not discourage Syria away from its principles... or its fight against terrorism supported by some regional and Western countries, first and foremost the United States of America.” Syria generally refers to rebels fighting to topple Assad as “terrorists”. The comments came as John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, said his government had obtained evidence that sarin gas was used in an attack in Syria last month that the U.S. claims killed 1400 people. Hair and blood samples provided to the U.S. from first responders on the scene

rab League foreign ministers have urged the international community and the United Nations to take “deterrent” action against the Syrian regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons. “The United Nations and the international community are called upon to assume their responsibilities in line with the UN Charter and international law by taking the necessary deterrent measures,” the ministers said in a statement on Sunday following a meeting in Cairo. It said that the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad was “responsible” for the August 21 attack. The foreign ministers also said those responsible for the attack should face trial, as other “war criminals” have done.

Foreign ministers of Arab League nations are meeting in Cairo

Earlier, Saudi Arabia and the Syrian opposition pleaded with league members to back a U.S. military strike on the regime. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud alFaisal told the meeting that

“opposition to international action only encourages the regime to pursue its crimes”. “It is time to ask the international community to assume its responsibilities and to take deterrent meas-

ures” against the Syrian regime,” al-Faisal said. The head of the Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed al-Jarba, told the meeting that the “war machine” of Assad must be stopped. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Putin sees chance to turn Morsi to stand trial for tables on Obama at G20 incitement to murder

L Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

of last month’s attack in Damascus “have tested positive for signatures of sarin”, Kerry told NBC and CNN television on Sunday. Kerry said the “case is building’’ for a military attack against the regime of Assad. However, the evidence has yet to be presented to the public. The Assad regime is known to have stockpiles of sarin, a deadly nerve agent, although the regime has claimed that rebels have used the substance in attacks. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

ess than three months after Vladimir Putin was cast as a pariah over Syria at the last big meeting of world leaders, the Russian president has glimpsed a chance to turn the tables on Barack Obama. The U.S. president’s dilemma over a military response to an alleged poison gas attack in Syria means Obama is the one who is under more pressure going into a G20 summit in St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday. Obama stepped back from the brink on Saturday, delaying any imminent strike to seek approval from the U.S. Congress. Yet at a G8 summit in Northern Ireland in June, Putin was isolated over his backing for Syrian President Bashar alAssad and scowled his way through talks with Obama,

who later likened him to a “bored kid in the back of the classroom”. Putin has ignored the jibe and stood his ground over Assad, dismissing Obama’s allegations that Syrian government forces carried out a chemical weapons attack on August 21. Buoyed by growing pressure on the U.S., French and British leaders over Syria, the former KGB spy has also now hit back in comments referring ironically to Obama as a Nobel Peace laureate and portraying U.S. global policy as a failure. “We need to remember what’s happened in the last decade, the number of times the United States has initiated armed conflicts in various parts of the world. Has it solved a single problem?” Putin asked reporters on Saturday in the city of Vladivostok. (Excerpt from Reuters)

usted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi is to stand trial for “incitement to murder”, state media reported without giving a date for the proceedings. The prosecutor, Hesham Barakat, referred Morsi and 14 other Brotherhood members to a Cairo criminal court on charges of “committing acts of violence, and inciting killing and thuggery”, the state news agency reported on Sunday. The charges relate to violence outside the presidential palace last December, after Morsi had ignited protesters’ rage by expanding his powers. At least seven people were killed in the ensuing clashes. Morsi is also being investigated over his escape from

jail during the 2011 uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak. Morsi was overthrown by the army on July 3, just a year into his four-year term, following mass protests against his rule. Since then, the authorities have mounted a fierce crackdown against his Muslim Brotherhood, rounding up most of its top leaders. The security forces have also killed hundreds of Morsi supporters during protests since his downfall. In turn, the government accuses the Brotherhood of committing acts of violence. Around 100 members of the security forces have also been killed since August 14, when the police used force to break up pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Africa

Caribbean

Digicel gets Cisco gold star Plans to ease investing in Uganda for excellence

igicel Business has achieved a Customer Satisfaction Excellence Gold Star from Cisco. This designation recognises the telecommunications giant for delivering outstanding customer service to its customers across the Caribbean, Panama and El Salvador. CEO of Digicel Business, Tom Carson, said: “Corporate customers across the world demand the highest level of customer service – and exceeding their expectations is something

we pride ourselves on. As such, we are delighted to be recognised by Cisco for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction – the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Programme. This is a testament to the quality of our staff and the focus on excellence in training and customer experience. “We are seeing strong demand across all our markets for innovative and cost reducing communications solutions and, by bringing real value in

cost reductions, we are also delivering improved levels of customer experience and helping them do the same for their end customers – a real ‘win-win’,” concluded Carson. Cisco measures the customer satisfaction levels achieved by its Gold, Silver, and Premier Certified partners based on regional target goals, providing a weighted average of a partner’s preand post-sales support over a rolling 12-month period. (Trinidad Guardian)

North America

ganda’s State Minister for Economic Monitoring, Henry Banyenzaki has announced government initiatives to reduce trade and investment licensing processes from 40 to four and will soon launch online applications for investments in Uganda. “The cabinet is discussing these initiatives to ensure such procedures are implemented in the shortest time possible,” he said. Addressing the Trade and

Investment Forum at the 25th anniversary of the annual Ugandan North American Association (UNAA) convention in Dallas, Banyenzaki called for joint efforts by government and Ugandans in the diaspora to get organised and work together so that Ugandans abroad become the country’s trade missions to attract investments. The minister is part of a government delegation to UNAA’s silver jubilee celebrations under the theme

“Harnessing the power of the diaspora”. Vice president Edward Ssekandi is leading the delegation. Others are Health Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, John Nasasira for ICT, State ministers of state for higher education Dr JC Muyingo, in vice president’s office Vincent Nyanzi, works and transport John Byabagambi, of northern Uganda Rebecca Otengo, foreign affairs Asuman Kiyingi and media centre boss Ofwono Opondo. (allAfrica)

Asia

China’s manufacturing activity Caterpillar plan illustrates risk at 16-month high of variable pay plans

aterpillar Inc has put workers on notice that its short-term incentive plan, the centerpiece of a performance-based, profit-sharing programme, will make its smallest payout since the recession when the payments go out next March. Like a lot of companies, the world’s largest maker of mining and construction equipment has adopted what

is known as a “pay-at-risk” compensation system, which ties a percentage of nearly every non-union employee’s income to Caterpillar’s financial performance. In updates to the plan’s roughly 60,000 participants, and in quarterly disclosures to investors, Caterpillar said it expects outlays related to the programme to be down as much as 40 per cent from last

year, reflecting sharply reduced payments to employees. As U.S. workers pause this weekend to mark Labour Day, more of them than ever before are being required to participate in these alternative pay systems. The plans enable companies to have their labour costs more closely track the ups and downs of business cycles – but they also expose employees to those fluctuations. (Reuters)

Europe

hina’s manufacturing activity picked up speed in August, hitting a 16-month high, allaying some fears of a sharp slowdown in its economy. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51 from 50.3 in July. The PMI is a key gauge of the sector’s health and a reading above 50 indicates an expansion. China, the world’s second-largest economy, has taken various steps to boost

its economy after its growth rate slowed for two quarters in a row. “We are seeing clearer signs of economic conditions improving,” said Haibin Zhu, chief China economist at JP Morgan in Hong Kong. China’s economy expanded 7.5 per cent in the April to June quarter, from a year earlier – down from 7.7 per cent in the previous three months. There have been concerns that its growth rate may slow further in the coming months,

not least because of a slowdown in demand for Chinese exports from key markets such as the U.S. and Europe. That has hurt China’s manufacturing and export sectors, which are key drivers of its economic growth. Prompted by the slowdown in external demand, Beijing has been trying to boost domestic consumption in an attempt to rebalance the economy and sustain high levels of growth. (BBC News)

Middle East

World’s central banks face slog GM sees auto industry slowing to sway markets in turbulent Middle East

entral bank bosses in Europe and the United States have had a tough time trying to budge market expectations for monetary policy back into line with their own plans, as this week will again show. Forward guidance – making plans for monetary policy in the months and years ahead explicit – was adopted in July by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England in August, following

the U.S. Federal Reserve’s example. But it has already caused a problem of communication for policymakers, just as major Western economies are showing more signs of life. As in the past, they must acknowledge the improvement to foster growing confidence among the public and investors. But the addition of forward guidance has coincided with – and some economists say helped cause – an un-

Market statistics

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Cambio Rates Bank of Guyana

Cur GBP CAN USD

wanted increase in market expectations that point to interest rises before central banks currently intend. So while talking up the economy to the public, policymakers have at the same time been reminding markets the recovery is still too fragile to warrant these rate hike expectations. That delicate balancing act falls to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at this Thursday’s policy meeting. (Reuters)

Fixed as at July 24, 2013 Calculated at 94% purity

U.S.

$1335.00

Buying

Selling

$ 317.65 $194.73 $204.99

$321.64

Cambio

$196.98 $207.43

Gross

$254,331

Net

$236,527

Selling

$262,426

$202.67

Indicators as on August 30, 2013 Live Spot Gold $1396.50

$1397.50

Low/High

$1391.40

$1406.20

Change

-10.70

-0.76

USD GBP EUR

1392.75 899.19 1051.85

Aug 29

Price Silver

US$ per barrel

$115.16 USD per Ounce

23.53 $1521.00

Change %

-1.26 Change %

-0.34 +8.00

1394.75 901.29 1055.75 PM

Last: 15010.51

1407.75 908.05 1063.26 Changes: +46.77

% Change: +0.31

Open: 14986.78

High: 15025.56

Low: 14931.24

% YTD: +14.55

52Wk Hi: 15658.43

52 Wk Lo: 12035.09

USD GBP EUR

1406.25 906.79 1059.96

Crude Oil

Platinum

London Gold Fix

Aug 30

Indicators

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

eneral Motors said it expected the automobile industry in the Middle East to show growth that is sustainable, but at a slower rate than in the last few years, hurt by uncertainty and political crisis in markets such as Egypt and Syria. The U.S. automaker temporarily closed its Egyptian assembly plant outside of Cairo last month, and shut its local office, after deadly clashes between security forces and sup-

porters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. It later reopened them but was still monitoring the situation closely. “For the entire Middle East market we see growth continuing... maybe not at the rates at which we been growing over the past few years of seven to nine per cent but still a sustainable growth at four to five per cent”, John Stadwick, president and managing director of GM in the Middle East told reporters at a media gathering.

A growing youth population with rising incomes, and high oil prices mean growth would continue despite deteriorating conditions, he added. Syria may face military action by the United States and France while street fights continue to rage in Egypt after the military ousted a Muslim Brotherhood government in a violent coup in July. Stadwick said GM’s Egyptian business would still exceed the sales forecasts. (Reuters)

support even as the economy remains fragile. Recent data has failed to provide evidence of the convincing growth the Fed says it wants to see. Until then, stocks will benefit from the cheap money resulting from the Fed’s bond purchases. This week’s “data should make or break the September expectations,” said Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut. A strong jobs report will likely reinforce the view the Fed will opt to decrease its bond purchases at its September 17-18 meeting, while a weak one would do the opposite, analysts said.

“From a real economy perspective, QE3 has done very little. From a financial markets perspective, it has had a major influence. If it is really not helping the real economy beyond pushing financial assets higher, there is no point in continuing the risk of increasing the balance sheet,” said O’Rourke. For the month of August, the Standard and Poor’s 500 index fell 3.1 per cent; the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 4.4 per cent, and the Nasdaq slipped one per cent. Speculation on the timing of Fed action has triggered a bond market sell-off that sent mortgage rates to two-year highs. (Reuters)

Investors' guide Wall Street Week Ahead: Payrolls could spur Fed action; Syria fears may dip

all Street is bracing for a wave of economic reports this week, including the August jobs report, which might prove decisive in determining whether the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to dial back its bond purchases in mid-September. Anxiety about the Fed’s possibly reducing its US$85 billion monthly stimulus, also known as QE3, has hurt the stock market, which recorded its steepest monthly fall since May 2012. But the stock market’s greater anxiety, which has developed in recent weeks, is that the Fed will press ahead with a reduction in

Business concept – Entrepreneurship The capacity and willingness to develop, organise and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit. The most obvious example of entrepreneurship is the starting of new businesses. In economics, entrepreneurship combined with land, labour, natural resources and capital can produce profit. Entrepreneurial spirit is characterised by innovation and risk-taking, and is an essential part of a nation’s ability to succeed in an ever changing and increasingly competitive global marketplace.

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news

monday, september 2, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Govt seeks revival of Amerindian culture that the benefits are invaluable, however, she said the work is far from over. “I urge the National Toshao Council at the village level to lead the required discourse on the opt-in mechanism which sets forth the menu of measures if a village consents to pledge village forest.”

BY: SVETLANA MARSHALL

resident Donald Ramotar and Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai on Sunday declared Amerindian Heritage Month 2013 opened, amid much fanfare and a cultural extravaganza at the Amerindian Village, Sophia Exhibition Complex. Addressing hundreds of persons, some of whom were decked out in their traditional Amerindian outfits, Minister Sukhai recommitted the government of Guyana to supporting Amerindians in revitalising their cultural heritage.

Side by side

The Amerindians Affairs Ministry will continue to work side by side with Amerindian leaders to avert any future loss of the rich culture of the indigenous society. “I take this opportunity to record credit to the late Dr Cheddi Jagan whose vision for Guyana’s first people was

Improvement in education

The National Toshao Council presenting a handcrafted table to President Donald Ramotar

strategies to be adopted. Through education, traditional knowledge, customs and cultural heritage will be sustained by wide-ranging initiatives, but Sukhai said the preservation of the indigenous cultures depends on the people.

Guyana, Minister Sukhai said as she alluded to the Amerindian Act of 2006. “I appeal to the Amerindian leaders, the youths and the elders to ensure that our cultural heritage is formally placed on the village council’s agenda.

mer education minister, the late Desrey Fox, who made sterling contributions to the development of Amerindians and to the country by extension. The minister also urged Amerindians to guard against persons who seek

Meanwhile, President Ramotar said the quality of education offered to Amerindian communities has significantly improved since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was voted into power in 1992. Today, he said, Guyana boasts of achieving universal primary education, in keeping with the Millennium Development Goals. “Now we can report proudly that in our country as a whole, in our Amerindian communities, in our hinterland communities, we have achieved universal primary education and the facilities there have

700 students studying at secondary schools because people are recognising the important role that education plays in their development.”

New secondary school

As a result, he said, another secondary school will be built in the community to meet the growing demand. He said the situation is no different in Region Eight. The president said too that Amerindians are benefiting from improved health services, noting that critical patients are now air-dashed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, a provision that was not available in the past. Meanwhile, the hundreds of persons who travelled from all parts of the country to participate in the 19th Amerindian Heritage Celebration were treated to rich cultural activities in the form of dances and songs. The Kiskadee Band, the Sand Creek Dance Group, the Kraudarnau Dance Group, the Yurukatan Dance

Two Afro-Guyanese embracing the culture of their Amerindian brothers and sisters as they examine the neatly crafted bags and clothing

An Amerindian man demonstrates his artistic skill through face painting, as he prepares his clients for a month of celebration

to assist them to regain their identity, which was deflated following years of pressure, neglect and marginalisation, which ultimately resulted in dependence by a once proud people and the development of a tendency to disassociate themselves from their culture.” Following the footsteps of the late president, Minister Sukhai said the government will continue to consult with Amerindians on matters of mutual interest before tabling recommendations and instituting measures and

to cause havoc and division within the indigenous community. “It has become necessary to combat the elements among the Amerindian population who seek to divide, whose agenda is that of survival for a future and whose activities are based on misinforming on the various concerns affecting Amerindians.” Sukhai advocated for Amerindian communities to take up their critical role in the implementation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), noting

“I applaud the very few villages of Region Nine, who continue to lead the way in sustaining their rich culture.” The attempts by other villages scattered across the hinterland and coastal regions cannot go unnoticed, the minister said, but greater effort is required. “You will agree with me that much more work is required by all the villages and the people.” Preserving the cultural heritage of Amerindians is enshrined in the laws of

The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs remains supportive of your efforts to recapture what you believe is culturally important.”

No complacency

Sukhai said the indigenous community must not become complacent, but should push to make a contribution to national development. In painting a vivid picture, she said Amerindians must reflect on the life of Guyana’s first Amerindian parliamentarian, the late Stephen Campbell and for-

One of the booths selling Amerindian traditional foods is flocked by patrons

improved greatly.” He said Guyana will soon achieve universal secondary education. According to President Ramotar, a quiet revolution has taken place in Amerindian communities, as they are now demanding more from the education system as they come to grips with the importance of education in the transformation of their lives and communities by extension. “When you go in Region Seven, Waramadong, in the Upper Mazaruni District, you find

Group and the Surama Cultural Group were featured throughout the opening ceremony as they danced to the rhythm of the drums. Shortly after the opening ceremony, persons were seen viewing the wide range of Amerindian accessories, garments, craft and tools on exhibition. The Amerindian exhibition at the Village, Sophia, will continue until September 5 every night under the theme “Honouring our culture, advancing our future”. (svetlanam@guyanatimesgy.com)

An Amerindian woman displaying her collection of straw hats, baskets and other accessories

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

ARCHIE

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) Put your time and money into your own ideas and abilities. Don’t let a last-minute change of plans disrupt your day. Follow through, even if you’re the only one to do so.

DILBERT

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19) A change in the way you handle your money or health will make a difference in the opportunities that come your way. Lady Luck will favor straightforward action.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Expand your friendships by getting involved in activities or events that attract people who share your interests. A partnership will change your life for the better.

CANCER (June 21July 22) You’ll have fabulous ideas that should be shared today. Checking out different cultures or philosophies will lead to some good ideas for living. Be open-minded yet firm at all times.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22) Don’t let a friend or lover from your past cause problems. Protect your home and family from the temptation that someone offers. Change can be good, but the motives involved have to be genuine.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) Go the distance. Take a journey that will help you assess up close a situation that you’ve been viewing from afar. Firsthand information will help you find a solution.

PEANUTS ARIES (March 21-April 19)

SUDOKU

Get physical and test your strength, courage and ability to win. Activity that challenges you will also attract positive interest and prospects. Prepare for change.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Don’t let emotional matters get you down or cause arguments with someone you need to deal with regularly. Use your intellect and intuition to lead you in the best direction.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23) Your position may be endangered if you aren’t careful about whom you share personal information with. Being too nice will cost you. Size up your situation and play to win.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) Stick close to home and you may avoid a runin with authority figures. Keeping the peace will ultimately help you advance. Practice love, not war.

Saturday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20)

SAGITTARIUS

You’ll be quick to size up a situation, but don’t be eager to share your thoughts. Give others a chance to explain, but their words with a grain of salt.

Being mis- or underinformed will be a danger today. Do your homework and make sure that you have all the facts before you get involved in a risky venture.

(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

NEWS 19

YELLOW PAGES

New U.S. DCM calls on Minister Persaud

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

ACCOMMODATION

TO LET

Tourist villa apartments 1, 2 & 3 bedroom, long & short term, and car rental service. Phone: 227-2199, 227-2186

7-bedroom family/students/ individuals. Bungalow for long & short term rental (local & overseas guests), facilities included, vegetarian meals available. Contact BG Real Estate Agency on: 622-7079, 220-2130.

CAR RENTAL Journey Inn Apartments & car rental. Rooms & car to rent from $3000 Premio, Vitz. Phone: 679-7109, 6896668, 639-4452.

One office space for rent at 195A Camp St, Georgetown. Phone: 6173673, 677-0073 2 bonds with 30,000 and 15,000sq ft space, with offices and residence; 15 minutes from Georgetown, ample parking. Call 647-8077/613-0567

DENTISTRY Dentures provided in 72 hours from as low as $4500. Contact Dr B Stuart, 209B Charlotte Street, Lacytown. Tel: 225-5034

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FLOWERS Available: Fresh long-stemmed roses, fresh dried and silk floral arrangements, gift items, bridal boutiques and wreaths. Nesha’s Flowerland. 78 Church Street (opposite St George’s Cathedral). Tel: 227-3553/225-3315

FOR SALE Mixed breed pups. Phone: 2533114, 692-0126

HEALTH Healthworld Holistic Centre: Psychotherapy available for all types of abnormal behaviors – addictions, emotional, suicidal, anger, relationship and sexual problems. Treatment of stress disorders, depression, fear, low self-esteem, insomnia, trauma, psychosomatic sicknesses, and children's disorders. We also conduct IQ evaluations and behavioral assessments. By appointments only. Clinic hours: 11:00 – 17:00h. Tel: 592-6210552. Email:healthworldhc@gmail. com Ayurvedic herbal treatment for all chronic genetical /none genetical and diseases, including, HIV, Cancer, diabetic, pregnancy, sexual (weakness) etc. Phone: 685- 3220. Are you pouring on pounds? Then call Raul /Carol Wilson: 660-6818, 641-5923, 216-3016, 216-3601 for your healthy eating package.

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2 modern apartments located in Campbellville, Georgetown, hot and cold water, self-contained rooms etc. Phone: 219-4535

KEY CUTTING Professional Key Shop, 125 Carmichael Street, Georgetown. Phone: 2253923, mobile: 621-3249. We cut any type of key, service and repair all types of locks. Get your extra key today.

PENPAL Retired Engineer aged 66 would like to know a single female over the age of 50. Phone: 604-7022

any of the poorest, unserved people in developing countries, for whom public water and sanitation services are out of reach, could increasingly rely on service provision through the domestic private sector. A new report released by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) finds that this will not only improve their livelihoods, but is also an enormous market potential which waits to be tapped. Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to sanitation and at least 780 million people lack access to safe drinking water. Global estimates of economic losses from the lack of access to water and sanitation are estimated at US$260 billion every year.

PROPERTY FOR SALE One business property, Lamaha Street. Phone: 669-3313, 231-4586, 695-4382. Properties for sale. Phone: 642-2116 1 large 5-bedroom house with business. Diamond. Phone: 627-3902 2-storey concrete house 32’x 55’, 4 bedrooms, block 8 Mon Repos, ECD, $35 million. Phone: 642-2116

SERVICES Dutch healing and upliftment, for clearing of land, dredging and ground work (strictly interior operation). Phone: 6621247. Repairs to LCD, LED, plasma, projection, CRT TV’s, microwave ovens, etc, ordering of circuit boards and hard to get spares, Abdul Electronics. Phone: 2250391 Greenes Electrical Contracting Services For all electrical services contact Greene Electrical Contracting Services, we specialize in phoneS & data, CATV, CCTV, intercoms, fiber optics, fire alarms, security systemS, SVC equipments, all other residential, industrial & commercial installation. Phone 223-0973, 618-3075 for safe & reliable services.

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U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Bryan Hunt is greeted by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud

Govts alone cannot meet water needs of developing countries – World Bank report

IMMIGRATION Immigration & Visa Services We handle all Canadian, USA and UK, Immigration and Visa matters. Self Sponsorships, Holiday/ Visitor’s Visas, Work Permits, Students Visas, Family, Class, Immigration Forms, Embassy Enquiries, Appeals for Refused Cases, U.S Green Card Lottery, Business Class Waivers, Pardons etc. Get your Visa approved. High Success Rate. Balwant Persaud & Associates. Certified Immigration Consultants 68 Sixth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown (Between Cummings & Lights Sts.) Tel: 225-1540, 622-8308, 655-3105. Email: balwantpersaud@yahoo.ca

ewly-appointed U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Bryan D Hunt last week paid a courtesy call on Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud to discuss ongoing collaboration in the natural resources and environment sectors. Minister Persaud highlighted current cooperation programmes including support for the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), climate change efforts, forest management, and capacity building for the expected oil and gas sector in Guyana. Additionally, Minister Persaud explained government’s policies and identified areas for expanded cooperation between Guyana and the U.S. Parks Service to support the Protected Areas Commission to manage urban parks and protected areas across the country.

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“The public sector alone cannot meet this massive challenge; if we want to end extreme poverty by 2030 and boost shared prosperity for the bottom 40 per cent, we will have to scale up water and sanitation access,” said WSP Manager Jae So. “And to do that, both the public and private sectors will need to work together.” One of the most striking findings of “Tapping the Markets: Opportunities for Domestic Investments in Water and Sanitation for the Poor”, is the enormous market potential. Focusing only on Bangladesh, Benin, and Cambodia, about 20 million people are projected to obtain their water from rural piped water schemes by 2025. That is 10 times the current number, a market worth at least US$90 million a year. On the sanitation side, there is a potential US$700 million bottom of the pyramid market in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Peru, and Tanzania. The current total market for improved on-site sanitation services in these four countries is estimated to be worth US$2.6 billion.

IFC Public-Private Partnerships Transaction Advisory Services Director Laurence Carter “How to meet the growing demand for these services from poor communities through the domestic private sector is not straight forward,” said IFC Public-Private Partnerships Transaction Advisory Services Director Laurence Carter. “But private firms have an incredible market opportunity to serve the base of the pyramid, which makes up the largest percentage of the population in these countries. This can not only yield significant development impacts, but also potential profits and sustainable businesses.”

New solutions

The results of the study offer new solutions to prevent the thousands of daily child deaths and hundreds of billions of dollars in annual economic losses caused by lack of access to water and toilets. It takes a hard look at the challenges faced in tapping the business opportunities in developing countries by private firms willing to make the commitment to reaching the poorest people. Three areas of focus that will strengthen the market for sanitation solutions and small-scale, rural and peri-urban water systems include: delivering value to customers at affordable prices; building mutual

confidence between the private sector and this market segment; and developing a favourable investment climate While there is no silver bullet to overcome investment barriers, a number of options are available to address these constraints and build market opportunities. The report outlines a number of possible solutions, ranging from better understanding of consumer preferences to policy reforms to capacity building for smaller firms that can then invest in poor, rural and peri-urban areas. As one example, consumers prefer a turn-key sanitation solution, but individual companies typically work on only one part of the puzzle: latrine components, construction, or pit-emptying. If consumers were offered a “onestop” shop by firms that also had the financial, business and marketing knowledge to grow their business, the use of these services would expand significantly.

Market opportunity

Referring to the proposition that the base of the economic pyramid represents both a market and development opportunity, So said, “This idea that businesses can be part of the solution is an attractive one. The study takes a hard look at this proposition and asks sobering questions so that we can find answers that could work at scale.” WSP is a multi-donor partnership created in 1978 and administered by the World Bank to support poor people in obtaining affordable, safe, and sustainable access to water and sanitation services. WSP’s donors include Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the United States, and the World Bank. For more information, please visit www.wsp.org.

guyanatimesGY.com

monday, September 2, 2013

beats Mayer to Bale joins Real Madrid in Murray move into last 16 £85m world record deal D

eal Madrid have broken the world transfer record to sign Tottenham forward Gareth Bale. The Wales star has agreed a £300,000 per week, six-year deal after sealing an £85.3m (100m euros) move which eclipses the £80m Real paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. “I have had six very happy years at Tottenham but it’s the right time to say goodbye,” said 24-year-old Bale. “We’ve had some special times together and I’ve loved every minute of it.” Bale will have a medical and then be presented to the Real Madrid fans at the Bernabeu at 12:00 BST on Monday before speaking at a media conference. He added: “I am not sure there is ever a good time to leave a club where I felt settled and was playing the best football of my career to date. “I know many players talk of their desire to join the club of their boyhood dreams, but I can honestly say, this is my dream come true. “Tottenham will always be in my heart and I’m sure this season will be a successful one for them. “I am now looking forward to the next exciting chapter in my life, playing football for Real Madrid.” Bale joined Spurs as

a left-back for £10m from Southampton in 2007 and scored 26 goals last season as he was named both the Professional Footballers’ Association’s and Football Writers’ player of the year. His representatives told Spurs at the end of July that he wanted to speak to the Spanish giants. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti’s claim at the start of August that they were “in talks to find a solution” to the transfer angered Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas, but the clubs have now reached a settlement. After his side’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal, Villas-Boas said: “Bale is a wonderful player. He is going to join Real Madrid so we wish him all the best. “He left us with some great memories from last season.” Bale, who becomes Real Madrid’s fifth signing of the summer, paid tribute to both Southampton and Tottenham for developing his career. He said: “I am well aware I would not be at the level I am today were it not for firstly Southampton and then Spurs standing by me during some of the tougher times and affording me the environment and support they have. “I would like to thank everyone at the club; the chairman, board, staff, coaches and players, and,

Messi scores hat-trick as Barcelona beat Valencia in thriller

Lionel Messi

ionel Messi struck a first-half hat-trick as Barcelona claimed an entertaining 3-2 win at Valencia. He opened the scoring into an open goal after a Cesc Fabregas pass before claiming his second with a low finish. In a stunning end to the first half, Messi struck his third from close-range before Valencia fought back with an impressive brace

from Helder Postiga. No further goals followed after the break, as Barcelona held on to go top of La Liga table on goal difference. The Catalans’ victory saw them respond to Real Madrid’s 3-1 earlier triumph against Athletic Bilbao. Elsewhere, Koke struck the winning goal as Atletico Madrid claimed a valuable 2-1 win at fellow Champions League qualifiers Real Sociedad. (BBC Sport)

most of all, the fantastic fans who I hope will understand this amazing career opportunity.” Spurs have been busy in this transfer window, signing seven players for a total outlay approaching £105m. Brazil midfielder Paulinho has arrived from Corinthians for around £17m; forward Roberto Soldado has signed from Valencia for £26m, and Roma playmaker Erik Lamela has joined for a reported £25.7m. Their other summer arrivals are Nacer Chadli from FC Twente for £7m, Etienne Capoue for £9m from Toulouse, Romania centre-back Vlad Chiriches from Steaua Bucharest for £8.5m, and Ajax’s 21-yearold Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen for £11.5m. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy admitted he did not expect to have to plan for the season without Bale. “Gareth was a player we had absolutely no intention of selling as we look to build for the future,” said Levy. “He is a player whose career we have fostered and developed and he was only a year into his new four-year contract.” Bale’s sale could now trigger a series of deals involving other Premier League clubs before the transfer window closes at 23:00 BST on Monday. (BBC Sport)

efending champion Andy Murray saw off Germany’s Florian Mayer in straight sets on a steamy New York afternoon to reach the last 16 of the US Open. The third seed, 26, looked out of sorts in the opening stages but found his form to win 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 6-2. He moves into the fourth round for the sixth time and will face Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin on Tuesday. “It was very, very humid. I was struggling breathing for most of the match,” said Murray. “With the way that he plays, it was a tough match, especially the beginning. “But I started the second set well, started hitting the ball a little bit cleaner, was more aggressive after that and finished it well.” If the match time of one hour and 59 minutes was not unusually punishing, the conditions on Arthur Ashe Stadium certainly were, and the Briton was soon drenched in sweat. The uncomfortable tone was set in the opening game as three break points went begging for Murray amid a flurry of challenges and overrules. With his own first-serve percentage hovering around the 30% mark and an average speed of little over 110mph, the Scot was unable to stamp his authority on the contest. There were several unhappy glances at coach Ivan Lendl in the stands but the unorthodox Mayer, with an

Andy Murray

exaggerated forehand preparation and leaping backhand style, could not take advantage of his misfiring opponent. The world number 47 was made to pay in the tiebreak when Murray broke on the first point and hit an ace on the second, providing him with the springboard to take a grip at 4-0. A blistering forehand winner at 5-1 put the Wimbledon champion in position to claim the set after 54 minutes, and the hard work of establishing control was seemingly done. Murray opened his shoulders and unloaded on a couple of terrific backhand return winners on his way to breaking at the start of the second as his game began to come together. The Labor Day weekend crowd was steadily building but remained some way short of the 23,000 capac-

ity as Murray eased away from Mayer, breaking once again to take the second set and hammering a forehand return to go 3-1 up in the third. There was a break point to fend off at 4-2 but little sense of alarm, and the champion wrapped things up with his seventh break of the day to keep his title defence firmly on track. Murray does much of his training in the Florida heat but said that had not helped a great deal on Sunday. “You can get used to something, and then if you aren’t in those conditions for five weeks or four weeks - it’s been four-and-a-half weeks since I’ve been in Miami that doesn’t always just stay with you,” he said. “Suddenly it’s extremely humid and you’re playing right in the heat of the day. That takes time to get used to.” (BBC Sport)

Warner dropped from ODI squad

avid Warner has been dropped from Austalia’s squad for the ODIs against Scotland and England, while Mitchell Starc will return to Australia after complaining of lower back soreness. Steven Smith, who was part of the original 18-member limitedovers squad, has already flown back after a thigh injury. “David has been left out of the Australian ODI squad for this tour purely due to his recent lack of form in this format,” Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, said. “By his own admission, David would acknowledge that unfortunately he hasn’t scored the weight of runs that he would like recently in one-day cricket for his country.” Warner was part of Australia’s Champions Trophy squad in England, but featured in just one match, scoring 9 against England, but was suspended from the team after a bar incident in Birmingham. He has only played three more ODIs this year, in January against Sri Lanka, and scored 10, 60 and 4.

Darren Lehmann on David Warner: “By his own admission, David would acknowledge that unfortunately he hasn’t scored the weight of runs”

Warner scored a 42-ball 53 on Saturday in the second T20 against England, but that wasn’t enough to sway the selectors. “Like all selection matters, it was a tough decision, but like all players he understands the situation and knows he needs to get back to playing Ryobi Cup and making a heap of runs that we can’t ignore,” Lehmann said. “I spoke with David at length about what he needs to do and I’ve been impressed with his attitude since I’ve come into the Australian setup.” Australia kickstart the ODI leg of the tour with a one-off match against Scotland in Edinburgh on September 3 before taking on England for a fivematch series that starts on September 6 in Leeds. Squad: Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey, Fawad Ahmed, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade (wk), Shane Watson. (Cricinfo)

monday, September 2, 2013

guyanatimesGY.com

James returns to Williams eases past Kirani Grenada for birthday Stephens in US Open O lympic 400 metres champion Kirani James of Grenada is celebrating his 21st birthday with family and friends on the island. James, who won global titles in 2011 at the World Championships in Daegu and then followed up with an Olympic medal in London last summer, flew into the island on Friday night for a weekend visit with his family. He attended Church in his hometown on Sunday and will spend the day with his parents and siblings before departing the island early Monday. Only last week James competed in his final race of the 2013 season where

Serena Williams (right) defeated Sloane Stephens 6-4 6-1

orld number one Serena Williams won her much-anticipated all-American clash with Sloane Stephens to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open. The four-time and defending champion came through 6-4 6-1 on Arthur Ashe Stadium and goes on to face Spanish 18th seed Carla Suarez Navarro. “She’s number one in the world for a reason,” said American number two Stephens. “She played really well.” “It didn’t go how I wanted. The second set got away from me a little bit.” She added: “All in all I thought I competed well and played well. That’s all you can do really.” Stephens, 11 years younger than Williams at 20, won their previous match at the Australian Open in January before a brief falling-out after she claimed Williams had snubbed her.

An apology quickly followed from Stephens and the pair have been at pains to point out how well they now get on in the build-up to Sunday’s rematch, but it lent an extra edge to the encounter. Williams was certainly fired up from the outset as she piled huge pressure on the early Stephens service games, crunching a return to make the breakthrough at the third attempt. Despite a superb year that has included a record winning streak and a second French Open title, there have been occasional signs of nerves - and they returned once again. Williams handed back the advantage with her third double fault of the match in game seven and failed to convert another break point as she was pegged back to 4-4. The 16-time Grand Slam champion was under pressure and she came out fighting, holding serve confident-

ly and then launching into another Stephens service game. Two set points came and went before the 15th seed cracked, sending a forehand flying out to give up the set with her 21st unforced error of the afternoon. Williams escaped an early break point against her in the second set with a forehand, and a Stephens double fault at 2-1 opened the door to allow the top seed a decisive lead. A fourth break of serve followed as Williams powered towards the quarter-finals, sealing her place after one hour and 27 minutes. Asked about her position as the heir apparent to Williams, Stephens said: “I embrace it. I think it’s tough because there’s a lot of us. “I think it’s just because I’m top 20 now. I mean, next year there could be three other American girls in the top 20; it just depends. Right now, I’m carrying the little torch.” (BBC Sport)

Lorenzo edges Marquez in British GP

orld champion Jorge Lorenzo ended Marc Marquez’s winning streak to take victory after a classic last lap at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Yamaha rider Lorenzo swapped the lead three times with Marquez, 20, through the last few corners. But Lorenzo managed to make the crucial pass and win for the first time in six races. Marquez’s Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa finished third, while Britain’s Cal Crutchlow was seventh. Marquez - showing no signs of discomfort despite dislocating his shoulder in a crash in practice just three hours before the race - still increased his lead in the championship to 30 points

Kirani James

he unsuccessfully defended his Diamond League title against LaShawn Merritt. The American also regained the world title from James in Moscow in early August. In 2012, the Grenada

Government unveiled a reward package for James including the designation of September 1 as Kirani James Day. James received more than EC$700,000 in cash, treasury bonds and other incentives for his Olympic achievement. At a national rally, then Prime Minister Tillman Thomas announced the government’s reward of EC$500,000 in bonds to be matured in five years. Republic Bank (Grenada) also made a donation of EC$100,000 along with jewellery and other gifts from Corporate Grenada. He was also appointed a Sports/Tourism Ambassador and given a Grenada diplomatic passport.

England trio to miss qualifiers

njured trio Wayne Rooney, Phil Jones and Glen Johnson have withdrawn from the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine. Manchester United striker Rooney suffered a head injury during training and missed the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool, while team-mate Jones came off with an ankle problem during the match. Liverpool full-back Johnson also left the field with the same problem. Cardiff defender Steven Caulker, 21, has been called up to the senior squad. England play Moldova at Wembley on Friday before a tough assignment in Ukraine the following Tuesday. United manager David Moyes had stated before Sunday’s Premier League match against Liverpool that 27-year-old Rooney would not be available for England duty “[The injury will] probably keep him out for a few weeks,” said the Old Trafford manager.

Wayne Rooney

“He’s got a cut down the middle of his forehead. I would think he’s got no chance [of playing for England].” England coach Roy Hodgson was at the game at Anfield and witnessed Jones come off in the 37th minute before Johnson left the field late in the second half. Meanwhile, Reds striker Daniel Sturridge, who scored the winner, said he

had been “hindered” by a thigh injury but was hopeful he would be available for the forthcoming qualifiers. “He has struggled in the last couple of games and we need to think of Liverpool first,” said his manager Brendan Rodgers. England currently trail Montenegro by two points in Group H with a game in hand and are only one point ahead of Ukraine. (BBC Sport)

Johnson to lead antidoping campaign

Jorge Lorenzo leads Marc Marquez during the last lap

over Pedrosa. Lorenzo is nine points further back in the standings as he bids to retain his title. Valentino Rossi finished fourth, with Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl fifth and sixth respectively. British rider Bradley Smith was ninth.

It was a lonely race for Smith’s compatriot Crutchlow, who crashed heavily three times in practice. After wrecking two bikes in big crashes on Saturday, Crutchlow was able to walk away from a scary crash in warm-up on Sunday morning. (BBC Sport)

ormer Jamaican born Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson is to lead a new anti-drugs campaign set to launch this month. The disgraced sprinter will be promoting an anti-doping campaign called Pure Sport. “Winning a gold medal and being the best in the world it cost me my reputation, my life,” Johnson said. “I’m here to try and change that. I’m trying to clear the air and clear my part of life, trying to help future generations and future

Ben Johnson

athletes, athletes of my calibre, who have tested positive, been in the same boat

as me, trying to help them and say, ‘You’re not alone.’” Johnson, who was stripped of his 1988 Olympic Games gold medal and world record in the 100 metres after testing positive for steroids, is hoping to convince young athletes to stay away from drugs in sports. The highlight of the campaign will be the unfolding a giant signed petition in the Olympic Stadium in Seoul on September 24, the 25th anniversary of the race where Johnson beat American Carl Lewis.

monday, september 2, 2013

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Young Motie looking forward to spin clinic By Avenash Ramzan

he Saqlain Mushtaq spin bowling clinic organised by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will commence this week with current and emerging West Indies players set to pick the brain of the former Pakistan off-spinner during the three-week camp. One of those players looking to maximise the benefits of the clinic is 18-year-old leftarm spinner Gudakesh Motie of the Albion Cricket Club. Motie will join fellow clubmates, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo and leftarm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, as the Guyanese selected for the stint with the 36-year-old Mushtaq in Barbados. Speaking to this publication on Sunday afternoon, Motie said his expectations of the clinic are high, as his aim is to use it to take his game to the next level. “I’m really looking forward to it, because this will

help me to improve on my game and move to the next level,” the teenager said. Motie said he will use the opportunity to gain some valuable tips from not only Mushtaq, but the other spinners who have been selected to participate in the sessions. “This will certainly be a learning experience and I’m hoping to make maximum use of the time in Barbados rubbing shoulders with some of the best spinners in the region,” he pointed out. Motie has represented Guyana at the youth level for several years now, dating back to 2007 when he made his debut as a pintsized 11-year in the regional Under-15 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago. He has played for Guyana four years at the Under-15 level, two years at the Under-17 level and another three at the Under-19 level. Motie has been in tremendous form Guyana in the regional Under-19 tour-

Gudakesh Motie

Saqlain Mushtaq

nament over the past two years, finishing as the joint highest wicket-taker in 2012 with 27 victims in the threeday competition. He continued with the fine form this year, copping a tournament-high 30 wickets in the three-day competition and another 10 in the 50-over version, ending

as the third highest wickettaker.

Improving skills level

Twelve (12) male spin bowlers from various age groups along with three West Indies Women’s players will participate in the three week clinic, which will

commence on Tuesday. The clinic has been organised at the request of West Indies Head Coach Ottis Gibson as part of the general upskilling of both active international players and players who are likely to come into contention for West Indies selection at various levels. Those selected for the clinic are Devendra Bishoo, Jesse Bootan, Yannic Cariah, Bryan Charles, Akeem Dewar, Larry Edwards, Ramaal Lewis, Anisa Mohammed, Gudakesh Motie, Ashley Nurse, Veerasammy Permaul, Shaquana Quintyne, Shane Shillingford, Stafanie Taylor and Jomel Warrican. Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree (participation in the Champions League T20) and Nikita Miller (pre-arranged personal engagement) were considered for participation in the clinic but are not available. Miller will depart with the West Indies A Limited Overs squad to

India as scheduled. Permaul and Nurse will leave the clinic on September 10 for departure to India with the West Indies A Limited Overs squad. Shillingford will depart the clinic on September 20 to join the West Indies A Team in India for the ‘Test’ series. The participants were selected by the WICB Selection Panel, chaired by Clyde Butts. The clinic will conclude on September 21. Mushtaq, widely regarded as the pioneer of the now famous ‘doosra’, played 49 Tests and 169 One Day Internationals, taking a total of 496 wickets over a nine-year international career. He also serves as spin bowling consultant to Bangladesh. The WICB had attempted to engage legendary former West Indies spinner Lance Gibbs to co-facilitate the clinic, but he was unfortunately not available for personal reasons.

Ramlakhan, Ali guide Enmore Sturridge strikes as Liverpool to victory over Enterprise beat Man Utd

atsman Vishwanauth Ramlakhan made a solid contribution with the bat and Sharaz Ali backed up his effort with a fine bowling display as Enmore defeated Enterprise by 86 runs in an Under-17 cricket match recently. Sent in to bat first, Enmore mustered 168 all out from 39 overs the allotted 40 overs. The right-handed Ramlakhan stroked a fine 89 not out, inclusive of seven fours and a six. He received solid support from

Vishwanauth Ramlakhan

Ali, who made 28, and Elijah Vancooten (16). Bowling for Enterprise, Z. Rasheed was the pick of the bowlers with 5-22 from seven overs, while b. Khemraj snared 3-22 from eight overs. Ali then proceeded to rip through Enterprise batting, bagging 4-24 from his stipulation of eight overs, as they tumbled to 82 all out in 25.2 overs. S. Gobin (23*), A. Dowlatram (15) and S. Gangaram (15) were the leading batsmen for Enterprise.

iverpool secured their best start to a Premier League season since 1994-95 with a 1-0 victory over champions Manchester United at Anfield. Daniel Sturridge celebrated his 24th birthday with his third successive winner of the season by steering in a closerange header in the third minute. Liverpool deserved their latest single-goal victory, a result that also maintained new United manager David

Moyes’ miserable record at Anfield. Moyes hoped for better luck with United after 12 games without victory as Everton manager - but his team came up short despite enjoying plenty of possession in the second half after being outplayed before the break. The visitors were without Wayne Rooney after he suffered a head wound in training, which also keeps him out of England’s World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine.

How they missed his creativity. Robin van Persie squandered United’s best chance late on but otherwise it was a relatively comfortable afternoon for Liverpool’s new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who has yet to concede a Premier League goal since his £9m summer move from Sunderland. And it was a fitting victory for Liverpool as Anfield celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of their legendary Scottish manager Bill Shankly. (BBC Sport)

Hafeez, Hales top ICC rankings Berdych, Hewitt

ohammad Hafeez reclaimed the number one ranking for ODI all-rounders after his efforts set up a 2-1 series victory for Pakistan over Zimbabwe, while Alex Hales is at the top of the T20I batting rankings following his 94 against Australia on Saturday. Hafeez struck 232 runs and took two wickets in three ODIs, earning 26 points which helped him leapfrog to the top. He had reached the summit once before, following Pakistan’s tour of India in January. Along with 14 wickets so far this year, Hafeez has accumulated 732 runs at an average of 40.66, which includes two centuries. Hales fell six runs short of becoming the first England batsman to make a T20 century, but the innings helped him receive 65 rating points to displace former incumbent, New Zealand wicket-

Mohammad Hafeez made 232 runs and picked up six wickets in three matches against Zimbabwe

keeper batsman Brendon McCullum and record his first stint at the No. 1 spot.

Hales made his T20I debut against India in August 2011 and was out for a

golden duck, but followed up with an unbeaten 62 against West Indies. He has twice been dismissed in the 90s in his short career, with 99 against West Indies in 2011. Pakistan dropped one point despite winning the ODI series, while Zimbabwe’s victory in the first match, their first against Pakistan in 15 years, helped them earn three rating points. Both teams remain at their previous rankings of six, with 101 points and ten, with 55 points respectively. After a 1-1 scoreline, there has not been any disturbance to England and Australia’s places on the T20 rankings either. Though Australia, by virtue of gaining one point, went clear of New Zealand and took sole possession of the No. 7 slot with 103 points. England are nine points ahead of Australia and are ranked No. 6.

(Cricinfo)

advance in US Open

Tomas Berdych

ifth seed Tomas Berdych stayed on course for a quarter-final match with Andy Murray after a ruthless 6-0 6-3 6-2 win over France’s Julien Benneteau. The Czech crushed 31st seed Benneteau in an hour and 54 minutes and will play Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka next. Former champion Lleyton Hewitt made the

fourth round for the first time since 2006 courtesy of a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-1 win over Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy. Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro upset Angelique Kerber 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3). Suarez Navarro, seeded 18th, will face world number Serena Williams in the last 16 after the defending champion beat fellow American Sloane Stephens in straight sets. (BBC Sport)

monday, september 2, 2013

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Three weeks of total enjoyment By Tony Becca

he inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 has come and gone and congratulations to the Jamaica Tallawahs for becoming the first-time winners of the popular attraction, the cricket carnival, the spectacular billed as the “biggest party in sports.” The party, even more than the winners, will be serenaded in these parts, maybe elsewhere around the world, for a long time to come - at least until next year this time, God’s willing. The semi-finals and the final of the Limacol CPL was played at Queen’s Park Oval, and as it was in the preliminary round at Kensington Oval, at Providence, at QPO, at Beausejour, at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium, and at Sabina Park, it was something to remember.

Crowds

The crowds were enormous, the atmosphere was electric, and the cricket, T20 style, with names at the start like Muttiah Muralitharan, Ricky Ponting, and Chis Gayle, was exciting throughout. For many years, for many moons, the stadiums around the West Indies, especially in Jamaica, were like white elephants. They were abandoned by the people and there were empty seats and empty stands to be everywhere. The coming of the Limacol CPLT20, however, promised many things, and although many of the world’s best players, especially in T20 cricket, were absent, at least at the start, as far

Spectators were out in their numbers cheering on their favourite teams

as entertainment was concerned, as far as the carnival spirit went, it really and truly packed in the people match after match until, in the final matches of the penultimate round at Sabina Park, it was, so to speak, bursting at the seams. It was, as they used to say in the old days, in the days when the ground capacity was smaller and the people used to attend cricket matches, “it was cork, cork to the brim”. Grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters were present to listen to the drums and the music, to see the dancing girls, to wave their flags, and to blow their horns each time a run was scored, a diving stop was made, a four was hit, a batsman was dismissed, or the ball was sent sailing high and

way beyond the boundary. It also was good to see, for a change, people with their flags walking and talking as they made their way from Sabina Park up South Camp Road going into Cross Roads after the matches. And it was no different at Queen’s Park Oval in the semi-finals and final where, apart from the skill of Gayle, Kerron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons. Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Muralitheran, Shakib Al Hasan, and Vernon Philander in the preliminary rounds, the fans turned out to see a few more international ambassadors of the short game, the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Tilakaratne Dilshan, and Lasith Malinga, among many others. Many people turned out to the games because of the carnival atmosphere, but if

that was so, they got more than they bargained for much more.

Imagination

The things which tickled their imagination were the fast pace of the T20 game, the swift running towards the ball, the acrobatic fielding and the brilliant catches, the fours, streaky or not, and the big hits for towering sixes, whether off the back foot over long on, over midwicket, or over to square leg, or the front foot drive, or swing, which deposited the ball way beyond the boundary. Apart from the dancing girls, the music, and the social side of things, the fact that people, because of curiosity, attracts more people, also were part of what pulled in the people. Gayle, who has always been a fan of the T20 game,

did his skill, and his power, justice two Sunday afternoons ago when he put his fingerprints on the success of the tournament with a superlative innings when, once again, he entertained his fans to a feast of power hitting. The big left-hander turned up the thrills for the fans with 51 runs off 24 deliveries with five sixes and four fours, including three sixes and one four off one over from Dwayne Bravo. Sabina Park was rocking when Gayle got out and strolled towards the pavilion. With so many catches, so many sixes, and so many exciting finishes to cheer earlier on in the tournament, the final two matches, with the Guyana Amazon Warriors clipping the Antigua Hawksbills off the last ball of the match in Antigua, and the Tallawahs doing likewise to the Red Steel in Kingston, were fitting climaxes to the preliminary round. It was good for the fans. And semi-finals and the final were no exceptions. The question today is, why was the Limacol CPLT20 so successful? The answer to that must be planning, giving the people what the people wanted, and marketing. With the absence of some big names earlier on, and only Gayle, Pollard, Marlon Samuels, Narine, and Darren Sammy, possibly only Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah Ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Ross Taylor, Martin Guptil, and Philander, along with the retired pair of Mulitharan and Ponting on show - and lat-

er on Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Malinga joining up - it is certainly not because of the presence of international stars. On top of that, apart from two innings by Misbah and Shoaib, one by Hafeez, one by Kevin O’Brien, and one marvellous spell of bowling by Shakib, mostly all the performances were by local players. The music, the dancing girls, and the price of admission were big reason for the success of the tournament.

God-sent

The Limacol CPLT20 has been a god-sent to the West Indies, and West Indies cricket should say thanks once again to the owners, to Ajmal Khan, for coming up with the idea, for investing the cash into West Indies cricket, for encouraging companies like Limacol, Digicel, El Dorado, Courts, Scotiabank, Foska Oats, and Appleton to come on board, and for having the foresight and the faith in the West Indian people to do so. The Limacol CPLT20 promised to show the world how the West Indies play the game, and although it may have done so, even if it did not need to have done so, it really and truly showed the world the way of life of the people, and how the people enjoy themselves. The fun of Limacol CLT20, in contrast to World Cup 2007, was encouraged, it was unrestricted, and therefore the Limacol CPLT20 was enjoyed by the fans. Cricket, in many ways, was secondary to the carnival atmosphere. (Jamican Gleaner)

FIFA World Cup Trophy Edghill exits at quarter-final Tour for Bahamas to end Guyana’s campaign T Senior Caribbean Table-Tennis Championships…

fter Chelsea Edghill’s exit in the Women’s Single competition of the Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Championships on Saturday in St Lucia, Guyana ended their campaign at the championships with a total of three medals. Edghill, Natalie Cummings and overseasbased Trenace Lowe, who were Guyana top prospects, made it past the group stages before moving past the final 32 to reach the last 16 of the tournament. However, Edghill was the only female to make it past the final 16 to the quarter-final round, which was a best-of-seven series. The talented racquet wielder faced off against and old rival Eva Brito of the Dominican Republic, who won the encounter 4-2. Brito was phenome-

Chelsea Edghill

nal coming out aggressive against Edghill who couldn’t find her stroke as he went down 3-0 at 12-10, 11-8, 1311. Edghill then stormed back to add some drama in the encounter winning two

straight set points at 12-10 and 11-8. The final set between the two lasted over 15 minutes as Edghill finally fell to Brito at 13-11. On the Men’s side of thing, Nigel Bryan and Edhino Lewis made it past the group stages to the final 32 where both made early exits from the Singles competition. Meanwhile, Guyana will end their medal count with a total of three medals all coming from the Women’s division. Guyana captured gold in the Women’s Doubles (Lowe and Edghill), silver in the Women’s category (Lowe, Edghill, Cummings and Akeisha Nedd), while Edghill took Guyana’s lone individual medal as she won silver in the Under-21 category.

he Bahamas is included on the itinerary for the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour which will precede the 2014 World Cup Tournament in Brazil. The trophy will arrive in Nassau, on the morning of October 8, at Odyssey Aviation which will be followed by a courtesy call on the governor general of The Bahamas. In the afternoon, the trophy will be on exhibit for junior male and female football teams at Atlantis, Paradise Island. Following that event, a gala reception will be held where government officials and other local dignitaries will be in attendance. The tour continues through Central America and the Caribbean through November 7 and from there will travel to Africa, the Middle East, Asia, South America, North America and Europe, to return to Brazil in late April 2014, in time for the start of the World Cup. The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola is an exhibition of the real, oneof-a-kind, solid-gold FIFA World Cup trophy. The tour officially starts in Brazil on September 9, its first international stop. It will then travel to Fiji, Vanuatu and Tahiti in the South Pacific with an arrival in Costa Rica on September 24. It will be the largest and longest global tour of the FIFA World Cup Trophy. Visiting more countries than ever during its ninemonth journey, the FIFA World Cup Trophy

Tour by Coca-Cola will be the first ever panLatin America tour, with events in 39 countries across the region that is home to the host nation, Brazil. (Jamaican Gleander)

monday, september 2, 2013

TOP SCORES

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

TENNIS (US OPEN): ANDY MURRAY 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 6-2 VS FLORIAN MAYER; SERENA WILLIAMS 6-4 6-1VS SLOANE STEPHENS

India-WI Tests planned for November

Young Motie looking forward to spin clinic

See story on page

Gudakesh Motie has enjoyed tremendous success for Guyana at the Under-19 level over the past two years

INSIDE TODAY’S SPORT

Edghill exits at quarterfinal to end Guyana’s P23 campaign

Bale joins Real Madrid in £85m world record deal See story on page

Gareth Bale

he Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has planned a Test series at home in November against West Indies, ahead of the scheduled South Africa tour, thus giving Sachin Tendulkar the opportunity to play his landmark 200th Test at home; he will perhaps bid farewell to the game at the end of the Test series. Tendulkar, who is two Tests short of becoming the first cricketer to feature in 200 Tests, was expected to put an end to his 24-year sojourn at the highest level at the end of the South Africa Test series. The Tests series against West Indies, which will comprise at least two Tests likely to be played in Kolkata and Mumbai in November, offers him a perfect stage to sign off in his hometown. Following the injury to his left hand while playing for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad in a league match during IPL 2013, which effectively advanced his IPL retirement, doubts had arisen over the 40-year-old’s participation in the South Africa tour. However, after undergoing a surgery on his injured hand, Tendulkar has been included in the Mumbai Indians’ squad for the Champions League Twenty20. Besides achieving the 200-Test landmark, Tendulkar would also be keen to sign off on a high. The veteran batsman has not been able to score a century in his last 38 Test in-

Will Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test be at the Wankhede?

nings, since his memorable knock of 146 in Cape Town in January 2011. The closest he came to a three figures in Tests since then was against West Indies in November 2011, when he edged one to slips six runs short of what would have been his 100th international hundred at the Wankhede Stadium, his home ground. The BCCI claimed to have received an email from the West Indies Cricket Board confirming its interest in the series, and accordingly placed the proposal before the working committee. The plan for the West Indies series was announced after the BCCI’s working committee meeting on Sunday. Though the BCCI did not specify the number of matches that will be played, ESPNcricinfo understands that the WICB have been offered two options. “The tour could see either two Tests and three ODIs, or three Tests,” a BCCI official said. As important as the series is from the Tendulkar angle, the BCCI was also concerned about a possible dip in its revenues for the current financial year since, after the limited-overs series against Australia in October, India weren’t scheduled to play at home for the rest of the financial year. “That would have meant lesser gross revenue, and profits as a result, than the last year’s,” an insider said. “And it is something that none of the stakeholders in Indian cricket would want.” (Cricinfo)

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