Guyana Times Daily

Cassava’s huge potential as 21st century P12 crop Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 1783

THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Caricom, U.S. ink trade and

PRICE

$60 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

See story on page 3

ACP grouping urges EU P11 to honour Contonou accord

investment pact CIOG honours top Islamic official

Elderly man killed in Vergenoegen P12 house P12 New GT&T CEO calls on Granger

West Dem businessman shot during attempted robbery P17

See story on page 12

President of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), Haji Fazeel Ferouz presents an award to the visiting General Secretary of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at a dinner hosted in his honour at the CIOG headquarters on Tuesday. Also present were former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Ministers Irfaan Ali and Dr Frank Anthony, Member of Parliament Manzoor Nadir, and senior CIOG and OIC officials

GPL’s “right sizing” giving NAACIE headache See story on page 2

Bribe website gets reports of $6.4M thus far See story on page 9

P19 U.S. sponsored journalism workshop opens

Man found with throat P19 slit at lumber yard

2NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GPL’s “right sizing” push giving NAACIE headache

– Dindyal says calls for his dismissal self-serving

G

uyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) Chief Executive Officer Bharat Dindyal said the repeated calls for his resignation by the head of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) is because of the impending restructuring of the workforce, which could see a big dip in dues remitted to the union on a monthly basis.

Dindyal also said that his strong anti-corruption stance against employees and his aggressive push to make the entity viable were annoying to NAACIE General Secretary Kenneth Joseph.

Dindyal’s comments were made against recent calls

by Joseph for him to be sacked, owing to the handling of the recent industrial problems at the company and the non-payment of the retroactive wages increase stemming from the recent arbitration award.

“It was brought to my attention late last year that Kenneth Joseph of NAACIE has been attacking me for months during his media engagements.

I refrained from any response as I thought it could

GPL CEO Bharat Dindyal

complicate GPL’s industrial relations climate… as the attacks continued, increasing in viciousness, various media houses requested that I respond. I indicated that Kenneth Joseph could be reacting to the massive infrastructure work that GPL is executing and possible implications for a reduction in staff and hence amounts paid to his union,” Dindyal said.

According to him, Joseph continued attacks, calling for his dismissal while proffering no reason in an attempt to win political support. Dindyal had said that GPL was supposed to make the retro

NAACIE General Secretary Kenneth Joseph

payout last week, but after this was not done, Joseph criticised his leadership.

In response, Dindyal said he had been out of office for nine days and was not briefed as to when GPL would make the payout.

He said considering that GPL would have been paying salaries during last week, if the preparation of the back pay was complete, it would have been paid with the salary.

He noted too that at the arbitration hearing, Joseph said he stopped dealing with “me after I refused to sign an agreement for an all inclusive offer for 2009”.

However, Dindyal said

he doubts that is the sole reason for the attacks on him, noting that it is expected that as GPL develops, it would have to concomitantly “right size” its staff structure which were largely based on 1970s thinking, equipment and techniques. He said in 2007, GPL engaged NAACIE on a restructuring of its Transmission and Distribution Department.

“We engaged the union over seven months on the reasons for the restructuring and the methodology to be employed. When the process was completed in 2008, almost 180 positions were made redundant (about 45 per cent of the original complement).”

Again, he said in 2009, considering that the company was expecting its new 20.7MW plant at Kingston to achieve commercial operation, the union was engaged again in a restructuring of the Generation Department. This exercise was completed in 2010 and resulted in 78 positions being made redundant and 43 positions being reclassified.

“Now that GPL expects major transmission and distribution, control and

generation projects to be completed within the next nine months, it has already written NAACIE to advise on restructuring.

These transformative projects will result in significant changes to our staff structure. New skill will be required while some existing positions will be made redundant. As expected, Joseph sees his membership under threat, and he knows only one response, attack,” the power company CEO asserted.

He said it would normally be hard to believe that his removal from GPL would result in the major infrastructure works coming to a halt or that having completed them, no adjustments would be made to the company’s staff structure.

Corruption

On the issue of corruption, Dindyal acknowledged that it is common knowledge that GPL has a problem with corruption and other acts inimical to the best interest of the company, including unauthorised removal of company property. “The company has taken a consistently strong stance against ev-

eryone involved in these activities.” Dindyal said Joseph has, however, taken the opposite position of management and has consistently used all sorts of shenanigan to frustrate action against members of NAACIE. “He says he is not recognising our Loss Reduction Division that is tasked with investigating illegal acts. Members who are caught committing illegal acts are asked to refuse to cooperate with our loss reduction investigators.

Threats of industrial action are routine, intended to derail investigations.

Where the company has completed its disciplinary process, it’s promptly taken to conciliation and in some cases arbitration.

In a number of cases after dragging out the conciliation process for well over a year, the union would abruptly abandon the matter,” Dindyal alleged. He said management continues to maintain its strong stance and more NAACIE members have been dismissed for illegal acts from 2006 to present than any previous period in GPL or the former Guyana Electricity Corporation.

3 Caricom, U.S. ink trade and investment pact News

wednesday, may 29, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

bridge openings

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Wednesday, May 29, from 08:30h to 10:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Wednesday, May 29, from 07:25h to 08:55h.

Weather

Countrywide: Thundery showers are expected during the day, with clear skies in the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 and 27 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East north-easterly at 4.91 to 3.57 metres per second.

High Tide: 07:30h and 20:07h reaching maximum heights of 2.63 metres and 2.46 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 01:02h and 13:35h reaching minimum heights of 0.70 metre and 0.60 metre respectively.

The above-normal high tide warning is in effect. It will continue until Thursday, May 30. Over this period, waves and sea conditions are expected to be extremely rough reaching heights of 2.7 to 3.3 metres in open waters. Hence, the public is urged to exercise the necessary caution.

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U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden with Caricom heads of states

T

he Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the U.S. signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on Tuesday in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Caricom Chairman Michel Martelly, president of Haiti and U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden signed on behalf of the two sides. The signing ceremony took place following a meeting between Caricom heads of government and the U.S. vice president at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain.

The agreement is expected to strengthen trade and investment ties between Caricom and the U.S. as it would serve as a mechanism for the two sides to develop practical strategies on a wide range of trade, investment and economic cooperation issues, a Caricom Secretariat release stated.

This is seen as essential to spurring economic development and diversification of the region, and to contributing to improvement in the well-being of citizens.

The implementation of the agreement will be executed under the mechanism of the Caricom-U.S. Trade and Investment Council, which will be led by a nominee of the Caricom chair and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The TIFA, which is

the result of a revision of an agreement signed in 1991, takes account of the multilateral trading environment created by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as changes in the regional environment brought on by the implementation of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).

An initial action agenda, which is annexed to the agreement, sets out areas for attention which include matters relating to the WTO; bilateral trade and investment arrangements; cooperation in regional and multilateral areas; support for regional integration; cooperation to promote and respect fundamental labour rights, social protection, and workforce development; and the facilitation of trade and investment opportunities.

In addition, the agreement establishes the framework for the discussion of issues to address the digital divide through the promotion

of innovation and the dissemination of technology for increasing competitiveness, job creation, economic development and trade, as well as for discussing U.S. trade and investment-related legislation which have extraterritorial impact. Specific examples of legislation in this regard are the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and the new U.S. Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA).

There are also other issues of critical importance to Caricom, particularly with respect to export development, which through engagement with representatives and officials of the U.S. administration and the Congress, mutually acceptable outcomes would be achieved. Among the issues of critical and urgent importance to Caricom are the threat faced by Caricom exports of rum in the U.S. market and the U.S./Antigua and Barbuda cross-border

gambling services dispute.

In addition, the agreement will allow for monitoring of developments in the context of the U.S. president’s 2013 Trade Policy Agenda.

Signing of the revised TIFA also signalled the formal launch of the revitalised Trade and Investment Council (TIC) which would be essential for Caricom and the U.S. to engage in the areas mentioned. A first meeting of the U.S.-Caricom Trade and Investment Council under the revised TIFA is envisioned before the end of 2013.

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wednesday, may 29, 2013

Views 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

Much to celebrate E

very Guyanese citizen should be proud of the fact that our country is celebrating 47 years as an independent nation. It is not surprising that over the past few days many interest groups and even ordinary citizens have been engaged in debates and discussions about the level of progress made since independence. No doubt most of us would agree that our development could have been further accelerated.

However, citizens should not lose sight of the many important achievements made over the years despite challenges of every kind. The fact is Guyana is still a relatively young nation that has come a far way.

In terms of the country’s economic performance; over the past seven years, the economy has enjoyed an unprecedented run of sustained economic growth with an average growth rate of 4.5 to five per cent per annum. We should also mention that the latest IMF’s World Economic Outlook reports that Guyana is predicted to see the second highest economic growth for South America in 2014. As pointed out by the president during his independence address to the nation, this is no mean achievement for our country since we have emerged from the country listed second from the bottom list of countries in the region in 1992 to second highest in 2013.

In terms of development in the social sectors, there is much to celebrate. The government recently disclosed that Guyana is working with another of its neighbours, Brazil on infrastructural integration. Projects in the pipeline include; a deep water port and a fully paved Linden-Lethem road which would allow for Guyanese products to be traded into additional and much larger markets, benefitting many industries through higher export volumes.

Additionally, thousands of Guyanese now own their own homes and many more will become proud home owners in the near future. It should be mentioned that Guyana is the only country in the Caricom that has embarked on such an ambitious housing programme focused on housing the poor and low income families.

Further, the education system has been improved at many levels. Over the last eight years Guyanese students have distinguished themselves at the CXC and CAPE examinations.

In seven of those eight years, our students have topped the Caribbean at those examinations. Also, there are more and better schools for children to attend across the country including in the hinterland communities.

A similar situation exists in the health sector. Guyana has greatly expanded the services offered at state institutions and are partnering with others to improve the delivery of a wider range of services to citizens. The health ministry has completed a major part of the drafting of a new 2013-2020 health strategy entitled “Health Vision 2020”. The new plan envisions Guyanese as the healthiest people in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Also, this country has been lauded by key stakeholders for its remarkable progress in fighting HIV/AIDS. We are on track to achieve goal six of the MDGs, which seeks to combat HIV/AIDS by 2015.

Further, while there are justifiable reasons to argue that wages and salaries need to be better in both the public and private sectors, there were significant increases offered over the years to cater for the rise in prices for commodities and services.

And the list goes on.

That being said, the authorities must now take the necessary action to ensure this level of progress is sustained and that in the process, all communities continue to experience the benefits of a buoyant economy through quality social services and improved physical infrastructure.

One cannot dispute the fact that we still face many challenges, both at the individual and the national levels. For example, we believe that there should be renewed efforts in generating wealth and creating more job opportunities for every citizen, especially those that are skilled and qualified. In doing so, more investments and productive activities should be encouraged which will result in more opportunities being available.

And finally, at the national political level; leaders must always strive to put country first and not serve self or party interests as we have seen in the recent debates on the anti-money laundering bill and 2013 national budget. They must accept that the dreams of the nation’s children and their future cannot be realised if they walk in different directions. Our leaders, especially those serving in the Parliament, must see this new political framework as an opportunity to work together to take the country forward in achieving national unity, security and social and economic prosperity.

Greater adjutant storks look on as a young Indian boy trawls through a garbage landfill at Boragoan in Guwahati, north-eastern India.

(BBC Future)

Stellar performance Dear Editor, In which part of the world, as far as the media is concerned, has there been “stellar performance” by law enforcement agencies or the head of the department that formulates policy for these agencies? The answer is an unequivocal none!

Because of the inextricable link between the policy makers and the law enforcement agencies, especially the police, it is not unusual to cast blame on both for failures and non “stellar performances”. And when the occasional situation for congratulations presents itself, it is the police and not the politicians who get the plaudits.

Opposition politicians, members of parliament, sections of the media and some stakeholders contribute to the “big lie” and the confusion about the role of the minister vis-a-vis the police and the law enforcement agencies According to the Police Act, the minister gives “general orders and directions” to the commissioner of police who for his part (not the minister) “has command and control over the force”.

The “general orders and direction” from the minister are based on policy while “command and control” exercised by the commissioner are of an operational na-

ture.

Therefore, when it comes to matters of policy the buck stops with the minister.

When it comes to operations the buck stops with the commissioner.

But do the populace make these fine distinctions? The answer is clearly no! Why? Because over the decades the perception has been created and nurtured that the two are one.

Just as the minister of health cannot tell a medical doctor what to prescribe or not to prescribe for a specific medical condition for any patient he examines nor should he barge into an operating theatre and direct the surgeon what, when and where he should cut or not cut, in the same way, the minister of home affairs cannot tell the commissioner of police when and how he is to carry out a police operation. He may give “general orders and direction” about the need to prevent and reduce crime in a specific police division but the modus operandi of doing so is left exclusively to the police.

When they succeed then thanks and praise are in order for the ranks who executed the operation but if it turns out to be a botched operation criticisms and attacks are levelled at both the ministry and the police.

Did the ministry carry out

the operation? No. Did the police fail in their efforts to execute the policy? Maybe.

Did the minister of home affairs fail to “give general orders and direction”? No! Generally, there ought not to be any forked divergence between the policy and the operational directions but life is not predictable. That is why we must always prepare for the unpredictable.

On the one hand the predictable future problems are simply extensions of past problems that won’t go away ie numerous calls for service, many conventional crimes, occasional public mistakes, not enough resources, internal recruiting and promotion issues.

On the other hand, there are the predictable unpredictable issues.

Such as occasional public order problems, public safety measures such as floods, periodic national security and terrorism threats of a local and foreign nature, as well as new local-global crimes including cyber crimes and money laundering.

What is needed in response to these challenges is intelligent management and by necessity, intelligence or evidence-based policing.

The ministry of home affairs is supportive of this approach and has consistent-

ly encouraged the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to adopt this approach.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has and continues to provide the necessary tools and training necessary to assist the force to equip itself to proceed in this direction.

Moreover, the new forensic laboratory, with the force as one of its clients, will make a tremendous boost to the capacity of the GPF in support of this approach.

While the ball is now in the court of the GPF, the Ministry of Home Affairs will not stand idly by to witness the rolling out of the reforms currently underway at the force.

The activities of the Strategic Management Department (SMD) at force headquarters and the recruitment of the British Capita Symonds Consultancy to complement the efforts of the SMD will be monitored and evaluated on a continuous basis by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

No amount of rubbishing nor denigrating of these efforts at reform will divert the ministry’s attention from the strategic transformative objectives.

Yours sincerely, Clement J Rohee Home Affairs Minister

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

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

What about pollution from The CCTV cameras Bulkan Timber Works? need to be working Dear Editor, Dust pollution must never be taken lightly. A resident who says she is being affected by dust and noise pollution from Bulkan Timber Works on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway must be listened to. She wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out tests to see whether or not the impact she experiences are above what are permissible.

I had a similar experience in my home village about two years ago. I used to live near a furniture making factory that puffed dust incessantly in to the air. My house, inside and out, was the daily depository of a film of dust and the noise rendered communication quite

difficult. It took me a journey through hell to get some kind of appeasement.

I believe that prevention is better than cure and therefore there must be some kind of action plan. The most successful tool of prevention of respiratory diseases from industrial dust is to minimise exposure. However, this is not a practical approach from the perspective of industries such as mining, construction, demolition, refining, manufacturing and processing where industrial dust is an unavoidable byproduct.

In such cases, government and industries must implement a stringent safety protocol that effectively curtails exposure to potentially hazardous dust sources.

In the days before the proliferation of large cities and industries, nature’s own systems kept the air very clean and safe.

There seems to be two sides to this issue on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

The resident in question said she will be grateful for an investigation to verify that the noise and dust pollutions are within the recommended level as set by the EPA. Bulkan Timber Works, however, is not only contesting the complaint, but is claiming that no one is living in the precincts of the operation.

Let there be an immediate inspection or investigation.

Yours faithfully, Colin Moore

Could it be time to call snap elections?

Dear Editor, Guyana is being held at ransom and this is how the opposition parties want it – they even promise more of the same too, that is, holding everyone at their beck and call by virtue of their one-seat majority.

The statement that members will vote down any and all government bills must be taken very seriously. It means that the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) are both hell-bent on being

vindictive and irrational.

Their politics is all about vendetta and mayhem.

They have very little national concern, if any at all.

There are so many things in progress and yet in a most arbitrary manner, APNU and AFC are voting down bills, promising to continue this, and all this even after slashing major components of the budget. Some members are even staying away from important discussions, all in an effort to destabilise and block the progress of the

country.

The way things are, most Guyanese are in utter frustration. The country may soon be sanctioned because of the way Parliament handled the anti money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism bill.

Maybe, it is time to start preparations for a snap poll – after all APNU and AFC are not making decisions based on reasoning and common sense.

Yours respectfully, Michelle Duncan

Dear Editor, Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras should have been strategically placed in Georgetown with the aim of capturing criminal activity. However, while it appears that there are many cameras in place around the city, some of them may not be working.

I don’t think that this is good enough at all, and the persons tasked herein must be willing to take open criticism. Now that this is public knowledge, criminal elements will continue their criminal ways uninhibited.

In my view, it shows a lot of dissemblance, ineptitude and a big waste of time and money. We are talking fighting crime in Guyana, but this is like pulling a gun that is empty. There must be an immediate response to remedy this situation.

The case of the man who was shot in his head near a Bourda Market drinking spot just this week is one example where the cameras appear to have done the

trick. The result could have been the same as regards the recent killing of a police officer if the footage had been secured.

This would have gone a long way toward finding the killer(s).

Crime fighting is a universal problem. So Guyana’s challenges are not unique and there is no reason to be flustered or embarrassed. Take Trinidad and Tobago as an example – the country has a high crime rate – and Trinidadians are harping on the government for CCTV cameras as an anti-crime measure.

Cameras go a long way in helping to not only to nab criminals, but in actually curbing criminal activity.

The government should mandate that all businesses across Guyana use some form of surveillance. If businesses can help protect their respective areas, then this will allow the government to really spend more time, energy and money in the more vulnerable areas.

Yours truly, Sean Forde

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Foundation

By Frances E (Beth) Bowling

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guyanatimesgy.com

have been a foster parent for four years. I have had children from the age of one to the age of 14 in my home. I adopted a little boy that came to us at the age of four; he is now six and a half years. Regardless of the age of the child in my home, all suffered from very low self esteem. All have had the belief that they were not smart, gifted, or talented. They often felt they should not try anything new or different for they would surely fail.

Children come into foster care for many different reasons but almost all, if they have any age to them, will at some point feel it’s their fault that they are not with their family. Should the child continue to have random visits with their parents and then the parent’s rights be terminated and the child adopted? Those feelings of guilt manifest themselves in many different ways.

My six year old is a good example of this. At the age of four when he came to live with us his speech and emotional level was that of a two and a half year old. He was close to his biological mother and continues to show emotional scars from this separation.

I believe that I must continue to research, read and learn as much as I can from as many experts as I can to learn how to deal with the traumatised children that pass through my home; and that may ultimately become part of my family as my six-year-old has.

One of the resources that I have found to be most beneficial is a book called Active Parenting Now. This book is chalked full of helpful information. One helpful tip for me in this book was the chapter explaining the importance of building on strengths verses focusing on mistakes.

Special needs children often have many behavioural issues. For this very reason it becomes very important to focus on the strengths of the children instead of constantly focusing on the mistakes.

Active parenting suggests something called the “bank” method of encouragement to help in motivating children. It’s a simple ap-

Motivating an emotionally damaged child to succeed in all they do

proach that I have found works well in helping motivate my children; especially the six year old.

The B stands for baby steps. We all know that we learned to walk one small step at a time. This same approach works well when trying to change difficult behaviours, or teaching a child learn how to spell their name. My six-year-old has several behaviour issues that must be addressed, but attempting to do them all at one time would be setting him up for failure.

Instead I started by identifying all behaviours that needed the be addressed, identified the one that I thought would be the easiest to change, developed some simple task that he could do to help him learn to change that behaviour , then developed a reward system that works best for him. Rewards could be stickers, gum, candy, or in my case computer time. It was important to start with the easiest behaviour issues; this allowed the child to meet the goal and earn the rewards helping him to build confidence that he could succeed.

The A stands for acknowledgement. While a child with emotional issues may have many difficult behaviour issues; they are talented in many other areas. You need to find those talents and praise the child for those talents daily. Any person, especially a child, loves to receive praise and the hope will be for the child to want to receive the praise for everything they do. My six year old used to have a very difficult time going to bed at night; it was always a constant battle. He also loves to help in the kitchen. His reward for helping me in the kitchen is hugs and kisses. When asked would he like to get lots of hugs and kisses

when he goes to bed without an argument the answer was a resounding yes. Bed times are much easier now.

N is for nudging. An emotionally damaged child more often than not thinks that they cannot do anything, therefore they will not try to do anything new at all. The first words out of their mouth are “I cannot do it!” Constant encouragement is needed to for these children. Reminding them of the things they can do well often helps in getting them to try new things. It may take you helping in the challenge the first time or two, and then encouraging the child to try to do it all alone. Learning to write his name was a big issue for our son. While most children in pre-K can spell and write their name without a lot of help, he could not get past the first few letters. He could, however, colour a picture without getting out of the lines and could learn songs fast.

We used his love of music to help him learn how to spell his name by creating a song for him to learn. We used his gift of colouring to help him learn to form the letters when writing his name. We continue to try to find things he does well to use to help him learn new things.

K is for keep encouraging. It is important for the emotionally damaged child to be encouraged every day even if most of the day was pretty rotten. Praise the child for trying to do their best even on the bad days. Just hearing the words that you are proud of them and that you believe in them helps build confidence in these children. On our worst days, we talk about how the day went, and always end the discussion with tomorrow is a different day, what happened today is over. Tomorrow we can try again.

It may take years for an emotionally damaged child, if ever, to handle new and different challenges. It is our job as parents to remember baby steps when attempting changes with our children, acknowledge all the great things our children do, nudge them to try new things and encourage them every day in all they do. With our help and guidance hopefully our children will develop the skills needed to be productive members of society. (www.voices. yahoo.com)

Secrets to raising a happy child

By Marguerite Lamb

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What makes a child happy?

e all want the same things for our children. We want them to grow up to love and be loved, to follow their dreams, to find success. Mostly, though, we want them to be happy. But just how much control do we have over our children’s happiness?

My son, Jake, now seven, has been a rather sombre child since birth, while my five-yearold, Sophie, is perennially sunny. Jake wakes up grumpy. Always has. Sophie, on the other hand, greets every day with a smile. Evident from infancy, their temperaments come, at least in part, from their genes. But that doesn’t mean their ultimate happiness is predetermined, assures Bob Murray, PhD, author of Raising an Optimistic Child: A Proven Plan for Depression-Proofing Young Children – for Life (McGraw-Hill). “There may be a genetic propensity for depression, but our genes are malleable and can be switched on or off depending on the environment,” he says. “The research clearly shows that happy, optimistic children are the product of happy, optimistic homes, regardless of genetic makeup.” What can you do to create a home where your child’s happiness will flourish? Read on for seven strategies that will strengthen your child’s capacity to experience joy.

Foster connections

The surest way to promote your child’s lifelong emotional well-being is to help him feel connected – to you, other family members, friends, neighbours, day care providers, even to pets. “A connected childhood is the key to happiness,” says Edward Hallowell, MD, child psychiatrist and author of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness (Ballantine Books).

Dr Hallowell points to evidence to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, involving some 90,000 teens, in which “connectedness” – a feeling of being loved, understood, wanted, acknowledged – emerged as by far the biggest protector against emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, and risky behaviours including smoking, drinking, and using drugs.

Fortunately, we can cement our child’s primary and most crucial connection – to us – simply by offering what Dr Hallowell calls the crazy love that never quits. “It sounds hokey, and it’s often dismissed as a given,” he says, “but if a child has just one person who loves him unconditionally, that’s the closest thing he’ll ever get to an inoculation against misery.” It’s not enough, however, simply to possess that deep love; your child must feel it, too, Dr Hallowell says. Hold your baby as much as possible; respond with empathy to his cries; read aloud to him; eat, snuggle, and laugh together.

Meanwhile, provide chances for him to form loving connections with others as well, advises sociologist Christine Carter, PhD, executive director of the University of California at Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Centre, an organisation devoted to the scientific understanding of happiness. “We know from 50 years of research that social connections are an incredibly important, if not the most important, contributor to happiness,” Carter says. “And it’s not just the quality, but also the quantity of the bonds: the more connections your child makes, the better.” (www.parents.com) TO BE CONTINUED

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Trio freed of 2008 Demico House murder T hree young men were freed on Tuesday by Justice Navindra Singh after the prosecution failed to present any substantial evidence against them.

The three accused were Selassie McFarlane, 23, of Lot 933 Sophia, Georgetown; Ceretse Rogers, 24, of Lot 676 B Field Sophia, and Marcus Roberts,19, who was 14 years old at the time of the incident.

The trio was indicted with the April 24, 2008 murder of Jermain Ziage Anderson, 20, of Lot 57 Bent Street, Werken-Rust, on the pavement of the Demico House.

On May 21, a 12-member mixed jury was empanelled and the trial began the following day with the prosecution, led by state counsels Rhondell Weaver and Renita Singh, presenting some six witnesses during the trial. Initially, the prosecution had some 15 witnesses.

On Tuesday, the prosecution called their last witness to the stand after which Prosecutor Singh informed the court that she had made arrangements to have the remaining witnesses summoned

and called an officer to attest to that, however no one turned up.

She also indicated that radio messages were sent to alert the witnesses to report to the court, but no one came, and as such, to save the court’s time, she closed her case against the three accused. Justice Singh then directed the forewoman of the jury panel to return formal verdicts of not guilty for all three young men.

Relatives of the accused broken down in tears in the court and were consoling each other while praising God. Before setting the men free, the judge said that he is appalled that the young men were committed and more so indicted. He then told them that they are young and were imprisoned for five years during an important time of their lives. He advised them that even though they might be angry, they should put this behind them and turn their lives around.

The three young men were represented by Attorneys Basil Williams, Nigel Hughes and Hukumchand Parag re-

spectively. According to reports, Anderson was with some relatives drinking at the Demico House Roof Garden and had left for a while, but returned shortly after. While he was gone, his cousin was drinking with two other friends and they were dancing when a group of young men started to hurl insulting comments at them and a confrontation ensued.

Upon his return, Anderson was briefed on what transpired and went to enquire from the young men, what the problem was but was told everything was fine.

Anderson then bought beers for the young men and then stepped out on the pavement for a while and was followed by one of the young men. After observing the two men heading outside, Anderson’s cousin also followed them and when he got to the pavement, he saw the young man pulled out a scissors and stabbed Anderson.

The injured man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.

Eyew tness

The killers of...

...language ome people don’t know when to quit.

Generally if you’re talking and the eyes of the people around you start to glaze over, that’s a clue. If you’re writing and no one wants to publish or read your stuff, that’s another dead giveaway. But Ruel Johnson seems to have the skin of a rhino...an old and weathered rhino.

No one picked up his “Fictions” which he’s been trying to hock since 2009 but...

So he’s taken to flogging the government to provide him with a sinecure in the fledgling Caribbean Press as “a consulting editor or executive editor” (no less!!!), as he declares in his latest (prolix) letter-to-the-press. On this editor business, to paraphrase the scuttlebutt on teachers, we guess those who can, write, and those who can’t, edit.

Now we have nothing against providing for the needy (after all we are a welfare state, no?) but there’s a major problem with this fellow Johnson. It’s signalled by his insistence in using the word “interrogate” to suggest he went beyond high school (he didn’t). After we warned him about the obnoxious affectation.

He threatened Minister Dr Frank Anthony: “Whether engaged or not, I will continue to monitor and interrogate the management of cultural policy in this place.”

Now why the hell couldn’t he just say “question”? Sadly, just this Sunday, the man who gave him his break early on, Ian Mc Donald warned about the point we’d made earlier to the journeyman “writer”. That the use of such words that are not “clear and understandable...hides, manipulates, or cosmetises the truth...”

Why couldn’t Johnson make the following random samples simpler? “Let me clarify some not exhaustive issues with regard to the press...”, “there continues to be obscurity on...”. This is a fellow who dubbed as “sublime” his description of “fatherhood”: “Fatherhood is this strange gift, an ecstasy comingled with something subtly darker, this inextricable grief existing at the very core of it, the spectre of the sadness of Laocoön, a nebulous, miasmal fear seeping ever outward

S

in some blind, unconscious quest to poison and corrupt the heart.” Good grief!!!

Compare this with a couple of fellas who also didn’t finish high school but are considered “writers”. Shakespeare: “Noble fathers have noble children.” And Euripides: “It is a wise father that knows his own child.”

We hope that Guyana is spared the infliction of one such as Johnson and his Orwellian language. ...progress Presidential adviser Gail Teixeira promised that by June we’ll receive the proposals from the intergovernmental team from Brazil and Guyana for the road between Lethem and Georgetown.

The plans will be submitted to the presidents of the two countries and then, hopefully, for final approval by their respective legislatures.

And this is where we will have the roadblock (literally and figuratively). Never mind that we’ve been waiting on this highway, which will open up our country for development, for over 30 years. Never mind we’ll then be connected seamlessly to the fifth largest economy in the world. Naah...The opposition will throw their usual spanner into the works with their one-seat majority – like they’ve done with every single infrastructural project the government has laid before Parliament.

The president also indicated that the government will also be proceeding with the old Del Conte road project connecting Parika with Makouria on the East Bank of the Essequibo River and then onto Bartica. The Alliance For Change (AFC) had already said they support such an initiative, but now that the president has taken up the baton...expect them to find some excuse to reject it. Wankers!!! ...snails The head of the Rice Producers Association (RPA) has warned Essequibo rice farmers about an invasion of snails in their fields. Is he kidding?

Does he know the price of snails in France versus the price of rice? We could afford to bring back the Concorde to fly them over!

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Bribe website gets reports of $6.4M thus far – police, GRA, Public Works Ministry implicated

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total of $6.4 million was reportedly paid in bribes since the launch of the Home Affairs Ministry’s ipaidabribe website – an online forum that gives citizens a chance to report anonymously on corruption in the public sector.

According to an analytical update on the website, since the May 16 launch of ipaidabribe.gy, thus far, three agencies and seven departments have been bribed. The most bribes were collected by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), followed by the Guyana revenue Authority (GRA) and the Public Works Ministry.

The price for corruption as of Tuesday midday was $6,426,708 from some 48 bribe reports.

The GPF has thus far collected 10 bribes, rating an 80 per cent over the other three top agencies.

According to the most recent report, a Samaritan noted paying $5000 for jumping the traffic light. This was reported on the ipaidabribe. gy website on May 19 at 15:37h. The bribe was paid on April 24. The site also implicated the Providence Police Station, Police Traffic Headquarters, and the East La Penitence Police Station as some of the places bribe incidents occurred.

Meanwhile, another report was made on the GRA on

May 21 at 17:39h, where a bribe was allegedly not paid to the Customs and Trade Administration and the individual stated, “I have a vehicle on the wharf for over two weeks awaiting the papers to pay duty. I have now started to pay wharf storage fees; it looks now like I am being pushed into paying a bride to get the papers to facilitate me paying duty.

What more, GRA, why the sloth, last time I find out the official said that there is no problems, so what is the problem!”

In a bid to reduce public corruption, the Home Affairs Ministry earlier in May launched the website ipaidabribe.gy, which will give citizens a chance to document cases of them being required to bribe public officials. The website will encourage the accountability of government officials, political leaders and every Guyanese citizen serving in private or public organisations.

This gives Guyanese an open invitation to use the Internet to report graft and bribery.

According to officials at the recent launch, demand for bribes is widespread in Guyana – police officers are chronically accused of shaking down motorists while customs officers are also regularly accused of

Health Ministry’s eye care mission begins today

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he Health Ministry will be collaborating with the University of Guyana; the University of West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad; the University of California, USA; and the Guyana Association of Optometrists (GAO) to host a joint eye care mission.

The mission will be held on Wednesday, May 29, at the Wales Community Centre, West

Bank Demerara; Thursday, May 30 at Cane Grove Health Centre, East Coast Demerara and Friday, May 31, at the One Mile Health Centre, Wismar, Linden.

Persons will be able to benefit from free eye test and acquire spectacles free of cost, should the need arise.

The outreach will commence at 09:00h and conclude at 15:00h on the dates mentioned.

demanding cash for allowing imported goods to be released.

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee stated during the launching of ipaidabribe.gy, authorities will try to stamp out that culture of bribery. It is modelled after similar web sites launched in India, Pakistan and Nigeria in recent years. The site asks citizens to write about their experiences with corrupt officials and it will cover every ministry and state agency.

Rohee mentioned officials will “investigate any reports made on the site”.

It was agreed by top officials of the ministry that modern thinking allows for innovation in fighting crime and corruption in order for the country to move forward.

WWF launches “Wetlands of Guyana” publication

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n an effort to spread awareness about biodiversity conservation, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Guianas on Tuesday launched a publication titled, “Wetlands of Guyana: An insight into the ecology of selected wetlands with recommendation from WWF-Guianas”.

WWF Country Manager Dr Patrick Williams said the project began about three years ago in collaboration with a number of partners, including researchers from the University of Guyana, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and regional chairmen for areas in which the project was undertaken.

Dr Williams stated that among the areas surveyed for the book was the Mahaica/ Mahaicony/Abary District and the wetlands behind the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) in the Region Six area.

The country manager disclosed that although there are many wetlands in Guyana, the ones surveyed were mainly from the coastal region. The

WWF has collaborated with Conservation International (CI) on a previous publication

by Dr Graham Watkins; a biodiversity expert.

According to Dr Williams, in spite of the progress and achievements made, there were many difficulties along the way and still much more work to be done.

Biodiversity officer Aiesha Williams in providing an overview of the Wetlands of Guyana, revealed that the publication was based on a broader project to have an understanding of the wetlands and an appreciation for the importance of the ecosystem.

Among the other objectives was to fill the gaps for information, emphasise protection and conservation, stimulate interest for wetlands and its values and education and increase awareness.

According to Williams, several benefits of the wetlands were highlighted during the project, including supporting a high level of biological diversity, influencing hydrological functions, absorbing

and storing water, contributing to flood control and mitigation, preventing erosion, stabilising river banks and purifying water.

The data was gathered through field surveys at several sample points, desktops research, interviews with residents and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) mapping.

Providing a profile of the site, she noted that the human-made and semi-natural wetlands included the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC), the Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary (MMA), lakes on the Essequibo Coast such as Mashabo and Capoey and the Lower East Canje Basin.

Williams explained that the human-made and seminatural wetlands have been in existence for so many years that they begin to resemble the natural wetlands while others were formed from the building of dams.

Among the sites surveyed in the natural wetlands are the North West and the Rupununi wetlands.

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

News

Red Thread wants sex crimes task force to act

By Danielle Campbell-lowe

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ith the recent spate of sexual attacks on women and children, a local human rights organisation is calling on the National Action Task Force responsible for the Sexual Offences Act to do all in its power to ensure the necessary measures are in place to protect society’s most vulnerable population.

Red Thread Executive Joy Marcus stated that since the passage of the sexual offences legislation in 2010, the task force was established to ensure that the requisite facilities and standards are in place at support organisations. Marcus noted that Red Thread has still been receiving complaints from members of the general public on the lack of proper care, treatment and handling of their case by police, social workers and even the judiciary.

Requirements

“There are specific requirements about what is supposed to be happening. Specific things were supposed to be done in order for the Sexual Offences Act to be enforced,” the Red Thread Officials stated.

She related that the national task force is responsible for ensuring that organisations critical to the implementation of the Sexual Offences Act are up and running, including policies at childcare homes, police stations and law courts.

Some of these stipulations include that the police must not hold confrontations between victims and perpetrators under any circumstances as was previously practised as a means of verification of the victim’s claims. There was also expected to be continuous training for members of the justice system, including the prosecutors, health workers, magistracy and administrative staff.

Marcus stressed that the issues relating to the

Zenita Nicholson

Omattie Madray

backlog of cases in the judicial system must also be addressed as a means to the speedy implementation of the Sexual Offences Act. Marcus remarked that when a court matter relating to the exploitation of a woman or child is prolonged, it contributes to the pain and emotional turmoil of the victim. “The victim has to relive that chapter of her life over and over and so that would cause a lot of people to withdraw from the case and even refuse to offer evidence after a number of years.”

She added that many victims are also very wary of even reporting the matter as an indictment on the way police are perceived to handle sexual offences. The National Action Task Force comprises key stakeholders and members of relevant organisations including Help and Shelter, the Guyana Police Force, welfare services, health services the judicial services and government.

Shelter, Red Thread and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD).

The representatives of these groups, which included Omattie Madray, Norma Adrian, Leon Walcott, Pamela Nauth, Josephine Whitehead, Karen de Souza and Zenita Nicholson, contended that the lack of an integrated and comprehensive service and protocols approach for the treatment and care of victims of sexual violence needs to be urgently addressed.

Implementation

“These people must come together and discuss the issues with a view to having the matter properly ventilated for the speedy implementation of the law,” Marcus said. Just recently, several combined rights groups spoke out on the issues including ChildLink, Grassroots Women across Race, Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities, Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association, Help and

Backlog

Close to 1000 sexual offence cases referred to the High Court of Guyana were unable to go forward until the amendments to the act passed by the National Assembly were signed into effect by the president of Guyana. “What this means is that there already exists a large backlog of cases on top of which are the many other more recent sexual offences cases still awaiting investigation and charges,” the representatives stated.

They are of the opinion that there needs to be ongoing specialised training for all sectors of the justice system, health and social services and law enforcement on the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act. The group said that while they are aware that it takes years for such cases to be heard, there requires urgent attention to the way the act is addressed. They reiterated that while the practice of confrontations

between the accused and victim was specifically repealed in the act, it still continues today.

According to the group, the responsibility is on the state to educate Guyanese about the act which has failed to materialise for the past three years. They seemed particularly concerned that the task force, an inter-agency body, with responsibility for developing a national plan for the prevention of sexual offences and the eradication of sexual violence, has stalled and no meetings have been convened.

“This denial of the legal rights of victims and survivors of sexual violence to justice in the courts of Guyana reflects a callous disregard for the physical and psychological health and safety of thousands of girls, boys, women, particularly persons with disabilities and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community who are the most vulnerable to sexual crimes.”

UN Report

A recent Report to the United Nations Rights of the Child Committee stated that the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) recorded 224 cases of sexual abuse of children between January and March 2012. A recent school-based study on sexual violence against girls and females in the Caribbean found that 20 per cent of the first sexual encounters among sexually active adolescents were “forced” or “somewhat forced”.

It is reasonable to assume that these figures hold good for Guyana, and that at least 20 per cent of the 3000 Guyanese girls who leave school annually due to pregnancy are also survivors of “forced” sex which constitute rape.

The rights activists are demanding justice for the survivors and victims of sexual offences and for the Sexual Offences Act to be fully implemented without delay.

Poetry and Philistines

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atiricus wasn’t too thrilled with all the attention being given to poetry all of a sudden. Here the government was flying in all these people from England and other foreign locales. For what? To torture another generation of youths who might be between off frolicking on the cricket fields? Or better yet, catching fish in the back trench, like he used to do?

If the truth be told, Satiricus was a dunderhead when it came to poetry. Back in school, his literature teacher told him he was a “Philistine”. They were not as poetic back then – they called it “literature” which the boys pronounced “lich-ri-chur”. Today they called it “English B”. Must be poetic, Satiricus thought doubtfully, but what did he know?

From the sneer in Miss Janoba’s voice, young Satiricus had pretty much figured out she was calling him a lout. But just to make sure, he asked the kindly old Mr Bubble, who was the grounds man at the cricket ground where young Satiricus often skipped school to hang out.

Mr Bubble, who was also the local pastor, was surprised.

He sheepishly confessed that Philistines were a set of people who still had their foreskins on during biblical times. Seems that before David became king, he had to bring back 100 Philistines’ foreskins before he could marry King Saul’s daughter. Sounded like a funny kind of dowry to Satiricus but since he still had his foreskin and his dad had paid a dowry (not of foreskins, though) for his mom, Satiricus figured he must be a “Philistine”.

So when he went home that afternoon he told his father the teacher called him a Philistine because he didn’t like poetry. To his delight, his father smiled and slapped him on his back. “Damned right, we are!!! My father was a Philistine, my grandfather was a Philistine and all the Satiricuses were proud Philistines!” he grinned in delight.

“So people will want our foreskin to buy wives?” Young Satiricus asked his dad with some trepidation. He’s gotten attached to his foreskin.

“Nah!!!! That’s not what the ‘Philistine’ thing is about nowadays.” His dad sat him down.

“The teacher girl want to tell you, we ain’t got culture.

But don’t worry ‘bout that namby-pamby stuff...we got we own culture and we own poetry. You ever hear them canecutter cuss?

That is poetry.”

“So you does use some poetry pon we dad?” asked Satiricus.

“Damned right I do! When you work as hard as me poetry can’t be that softy – softy stuffy about daffodils and raindrops.

It got to say what we feel, boy,” Satiricus waited for his dad to finish.

“We drink rum, fight when we’re done, knock table and sing poetry about how rice and flour dear a shop and price na pay at all.”

Satiricus smiled as he remembered the old man. He was happy to still be a Philistine.

11 News

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesday, may 29, 2013

ACP grouping urges EU to honour Contonou accord – restates impact of quota scrapping

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uyana among other sugar producing countries of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group, are calling on the European Union (EU) to honour its commitments under the ACP-EU Cotonou Accord and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA).

The ACP countries are arguing that abolishing sugar quotas before 2020 could cripple their developing economies. Chairman of the of the ACP Subcommittee on Sugar, Ambassador Patrick Ignatius Gomes of Guyana, in a letter to the current chair of the EU Council of Agriculture S Coveney, reiterated the ACP group’s strong concerns about the upcoming CAP reform and its effects on small and vulnerable sugar exporting ACP countries.

A December 2012 report by the European Commission Services entitled “Prospects for Agricultural Markets and Income in the EU 20122022” confirmed the results of earlier studies that the expiry of sugar quotas in 2015 would lead to a reduction of the domestic sugar price in the EU. The ACP sugar group said this would make imports, including preferential access, less attractive. The group said imports would fall from 3.5 million tonnes in 2012 to

1.5 million tonnes in 2022.

“Moreover, the report states that the EU would move to self-sufficiency and may even become a net exporter from time to time,” the ACP group added.

Gomes noted that the damage to ACP sugar industries and, more widely, to ACP economies will be immense. He said with current ACP exports to the EU in the region of 2.3 million tonnes, and considering competition from other countries and increasing imports under free trade agreements, the inescapable conclusion is that ACP sugar exports will drop to a negligible fraction of what they are today, or be wiped out altogether of the EU market.

The Guyanese diplomat said the conclusions of the commission’s own report “represented a serious disregard, on the part of the commission, of the commitments made in the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and EPAs in terms of maintenance of preferential market access for the ACP. Back in January, the European parliament’s Agriculture Committee voted to maintain the bloc’s system of strict national sugar production quotas and minimum prices for beet sugar until 2020, rather than scrapping them from 2015 as

Ambassador Patrick Ignatius Gomes

proposed by the commission that would delay the lifting of an annual limit on EU sugar exports fixed under a World Trade Organisation agreement, currently set at 1.35 million tonnes.

This means that quotas for sugar from Guyana and other African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries will continue up to that period

instead of ending in 2015 as originally envisaged.

Committee members also weakened planned new environmental measures that farmers must take in order to qualify for a portion of their direct subsidies. The committee was voting on more than 8000 amendments to the draft legislation on CAP reform proposed by the commission in October, the highest number in the parliament’s history. The current reform is the first time the parliament has a joint say on EU agriculture policy along with EU governments.

Support Back then Gomes had welcomed the vote in the European parliament committee which supported the extension of the current quota provisions until September 30, 2020. He said then that the extension of sugar quotas will help to ensure fair, stable and reasonable remu-

nerative EU sugar market prices to ACP and less developed countries (LDC) exporters under the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) and the Everything But Arms Initiative.“This is indeed a positive development but we have a long way to go. I seek the support of the European parliament and the European Council as the final decision is taken on this critical issue,” said the Guyana diplomat. “It is worth mentioning that coherence between various EU policies, namely trade, development and agriculture, is a core condition of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and the EPA’s. The achievement so far supports the essential coherence of the EU relationship with ACP and LDC countries, and in furtherance of these objectives, it is crucial that EU institutions work to sustain the beet sugar quota arrangements within the Single Common

Market Organisation for sugar until 2020.”

Late last year during a ministerial meeting of the ACP, Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn RodriguesBirkett had posited that studies conducted so far have found that the abolition of the EU quotas will result in market instability.

She pointed out that the EU’s impact study predicts a 45 per cent fall in prices compared to the market prices reported in September 2012.

According to her, it is a fact that ACP countries stand to lose 850 million euros over the period 2019/2020.

Rodrigues-Birkett said then that such a situation would jeopardise the efforts and investments of these countries to render their industries more competitive.

She said it will call into question the coherence of the EU policies in the fields of the agriculture, trade and development.

12 news

wednesday, may 29, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

CIOG honours top Islamic official New GT&T CEO calls on Granger

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entral Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) President Fazeel Ferouz on Tuesday honoured Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) General Secretary Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who is currently on a two-day visit here.

Ferouz presented Dr Ihsanoglu with an award following his arrival in Guyana.

The award was presented at the CIOG’s headquarters in Woolford Avenue, Georgetown. Dr Ihsanoglu is accompanied by a five-member delegation, which includes his wife, Fusun Ihsanoglu.

Meanwhile, a release from the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that, as part of his visit, Dr Ihsanoglu will pay courtesy calls on President Donald Ramotar, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.

Following a meeting with the president, the secretary general will be presented with a plaque in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the OIC during his tenure.

The secretary general will also meet with CIOG repre-

sentatives and will have an interactive session with representatives of the Inter-faith Community in Guyana.

Dr Ihsanoglu, of Turkey, is the first democraticallyelected secretary general of the OIC. He was re-elected for a second term of office in 2008. Since he took the office as the ninth secretary general in January 2005, he has taken serious steps to make the 57-member organisation a more effective body.

Dr Ihsanoglu is known for his contributions to scholarly debates on inter-cultural dialogues and, with his institutional and personal initiatives, he has earned recognition at intellectual circles as a leading contributor to rapprochement among various cultures, particularly between the Muslim and Western worlds.

Guyana was first granted observer status within the OIC on September 27, 1995 and became a member on October 1, 1998. Guyana and Suriname are the only two countries in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) which are members of the OIC. Dr Ihsanoglu recently concluded a historic first visit to

Suriname to bring that country into the fold of cooperation under the OIC projects, particularly in the field of economic development. The CIOG said it hopes that the visit here would help strengthen the bilateral relationship between the OIC and Guyana.

The OIC is one of the world’s largest inter-governmental bodies involved in the promotion of global peace and harmony.

It is a multilateral organisation of 57 countries from mainly Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The OIC includes many rich nations such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Brunei Darussalam, Gabon, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is an organ of the OIC of which Suriname is also a member.

Guyana’s ambassador to the OIC, Dr Odeen Ishmael said the visit of the OIC secretary general to Guyana is of great significance since it will place the Guyana in the spotlight in all the member states of the organisation.

APNU leader David Granger accompanied by Joseph Harmon and Amna Ally in discussion with GT&T Chief Executive Officer RK Sharma

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ecently appointed Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Radha K Sharma last Wednesday paid a courtesy call on Opposition Leader Brigadier David Granger at his office on Hadfield Street, Georgetown.

Granger was accompanied by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) shadow public infrastructure and communications minister Joseph Harmon, shadow education minister Amna Ally and Policy

Advisor Lance Carberry.

The leader of the opposition welcomed the CEO and indicated that the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and now the APNU had historically enjoyed a very cordial relationship with his predecessors at GT&T. The CEO took the opportunity to brief Granger on some of the major projects that are being undertaken by GT&T, including the US$50 million fibre-optic cable, and the installing of “hot spots” at the University of Guyana and other selected institu-

tions.

Granger and the APNU shadow ministers shared with the CEO some of the challenges facing the communications sector and their hopes and aspiration for the future of Internet technology and telecommunications in Guyana. There was agreement that, to enhance the delivery of education in Guyana, there is the need to install the necessary infrastructure to facilitate distance learning and making the information super highway a reality for all Guyanese.

Cassava’s huge potential as Elderly man killed in Vergenoegen house – woman, two children held 21st century crop

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ave and Grow, an environmentally-friendly farming model promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) can sustainably increase cassava yields by up to 400 per cent and help turn this staple from a poor people’s food into a 21st century crop.

In a newly-published field guide detailing Save and Grow’s applications to cassava smallholder production, the FAO noted that global cassava output has increased by 60 per cent since 2000 and is set to accelerate further over the current decade as policymakers recognise its huge potential.

But using the inputs-in-

tensive approach pioneered during last century’s green revolution to boost cassava production risks causing further damage to the natural resource base and increasing the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change. The solution, says the FAO, lies in the Save and Grow approach which achieves higher yields with improved soil health rather than with the heavy use of chemical inputs. Save and Grow minimises soil disturbance caused by conventional tillage such as ploughing, and recommends maintaining a protective cover of vegetation over soil.

Instead of the monocropping normally seen in inten-

sive farming systems, Save and Grow encourages mixed cropping and crops rotation, and predicates integrated pest management, which uses disease-free planting material and pests’ natural enemies to keep harmful insects down, instead of chemical pesticides.

Spectacular results

The approach has yielded spectacular results in trials organised in Vietnam, where farmers using the improved technologies and practices boosted cassava yields from 8.5 tonnes to 36 tonnes – an increase of more than 400 per cent, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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64-year-old man was discovered stabbed to death in his Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo home Tuesday night and police have arrested a woman and her two children as an investigation continues.

According to the Guyana Police Force, the man Azaad Ganie was discovered around 20:30h on Monday with injuries to his head. A woman and her two children have been arrested and are currently assisting with investigations.

It is alleged that the woman who resides in the lower flat of the two-storey building may have beaten the elderly man to death.

When Guyana Times arrived at the scene, the deceased’s son S Azaad was being consoled by relatives and friends. They had already cleaned the blood off the floor of the upper flat where Ganie

was found. S Azaad told this publication that he received the shocking news late Monday night. One of Ganie’s neighbours who asked not to be named told Guyana Times that approximately 14:30h on Monday, she heard the man screaming for help from within the walls of his home. “I want fuh know if he tek sick, so I seh man he tek in sick and them musi giving he thing fuh look he after... but den again sometimes he does deh sleeping up deh and he does be hollering like that too, getting nightmare and he does holler hard, so I seh high daytime this man catching nightmare,” she recalled.

Realising that something was terribly wrong, the woman alerted the other neighbours with the aim of offering assistance to Ganie. However, shortly after the loud screams, a padlock was seen on the

front door of the house. This, the woman described as very strange since Ganie always kept his front door opened until he was ready to sleep late at nights.

The police were subsequently called in. Upon arrival at the scene around 20:30h, the ranks were forced to break the padlock in an effort to gain access to the house. The 64-year-old man was found lying on his back in his sitting room in a pool of blood. The three persons, who were at home at the time of the discovery, appeared equally surprised as the other neighbours. They were immediately taken into custody to assist with the investigation. Reports indicate that the woman confessed to the killing, alleging that the elderly man was in the habit of sexually abusing her.

news

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wednesday, may 29, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Don’t listen to negative vibes School of the Nations to host arts festival in July – Rohee tells Essequibians

H

ome Affairs Minister Clement Rohee has called on all Guyanese to unite as one people and help in the development of the country.

Rohee made the call during his address to Essequibians at the 47th independence and flag-raising ceremony held Sunday on the tarmac of the Anna Regina Fire Station.

Speaking to members of the disciplined forces, government officers, students of various schools and residents, Rohee said there is need for all Guyanese to work as one people, and with togetherness, in moving the country forward.

He admonished local residents not to listen to negative influences, and said although Guyana has achieved political independence, there are still challenges on the economic front, outlining that the prices of many of Guyana’s commodities are determined by the international market price.

He said in celebrating Guyana’s 47th independence anniversary, all Guyanese should reflect, understand and appreciate the achievements thus far since 1966.

“Gaining independence from the British made Guyana a better prosperous place, we Guyanese are a thinking people, we know best and while we may listen to the experiences from other countries, Guyana still has to make its own decision for the people.”

Rohee said that if one should reflect from 1966 to date, one would see tremendous strides in the various sectors across the country. “Guyana is developing at a rapid pace since independence, the country has managed to make huge in-

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee

vestments in the public sector; look at the Amaila Falls Project and the oil exploration project, Guyana remains a shining example,” the minister said.

Rohee said despite the challenges, Guyana has managed to survive all difficulties with the many investments.

He said Guyana’s independence is very auspicious, mentioning in some countries leaders lost their lives during the struggle for political freedom. “The struggle was a national one, one that involved all races, a struggle for all Guyanese, it was a bitter struggle, many lost their lives in the battle for Guyana’s independence, the country is no longer being ruled by the British, we can make decision off our own” Rohee highlighted.

Meanwhile, Region Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud highlighted the many developments in Essequibo since 1966. He listed former president of Guyana and leader of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Dr Cheddi Jagan, as one of the

COTED to discuss single Caricom airspace

E

nhanced cooperation among regional airlines and the feasibility of providing a fast ferry service in the community to boost transportation will be among the main topics Caribbean Community (Caricom) transport ministers will consider today in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

According to a release from the Caricom Secretariat, discussions will be held during a special meeting of the Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on transportation which was mandated by the conference of heads of government at the 24th inter-sessional meeting held in Haiti in February.

The ministerial session, which was preceded by a preparatory one-day meeting of

officials, will include discussions on a strategic transportation plan, as well as transportation for agriculture produce.

The ministers will also deliberate on the feasibility of a single airspace in Caricom, and seek agreement on a new Caricom Multilateral Air Services Agreement. The Advanced Air Passenger System (APIS) will also be discussed. In addition, the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS) will report to the day-long meeting on several matters.

The recommendations of the special COTED meeting will be presented to the Caricom heads of government when they meet in Trinidad and Tobago at which a session would be devoted to transportation.

many leaders who fought for Guyana’s independence. The chairman said many changes occurred after Guyana gained its independence from Great Britain. He described “change” in the sense of rapid developments in all sectors.

Speaking on developments specifically on the Essequibo Coast, Persaud noted that the region’s drainage and irrigation system has improved, eight secondary schools were built in some of the most remote areas, a state-of-the-art medical facility was constructed, better roads and treated water were some of the improvements. He said prior to 1966, the various sectors had deteriorated. He said independence for Guyana meant the building of a prosperous and progressive country.

Also in attendance at the flag-raising ceremony were Member of Parliament Cornel Damon, Regional Vice Chairman Vishnu Samaroo, G Division Commander Dale Alves and other regional officials.

S

chool of the Nations has organised for a team of four theatre professionals from the U.S. to offer a three weeks theatre arts workshop in July.

This will be the first of a series of such workshops and training that the school will offer over the next four years, the institution said in a release. The U.S. team will collaborate with a local team to develop the workshops. An integral element of the plan is the exchange of skills between the American professionals and their Guyanese counterparts.

According to the school, the arts workshop will be broken into two groups: one for children aged six to 11 years and the other for children aged 12 to18 years. For the six to11 year age group, the focus will be on exploring expression through voice and body in creative play as well as rehearsals for an original theatre piece. For the students aged 12 to 18 years, the programme extends to exploration of theatre as a tool for individual expression, em-

powerment and social change.

The resource persons will share examples of group theatre for change from around the globe. Students will gain confidence and tools to describe the world around them and articulate change they want to see.

Eva Laporte, one of the organisers of the workshop said, “Through theatre, people learn about how the world works and about themselves, which allows them to dream about how the world could work.” She went on to say, “the workshop will teach invaluable skills like collaboration and communication, diplomacy, critical thinking and analytical skills, along with building discipline and selfesteem.”

This arts workshop aims to inspire youth to be involved in a positive and productive way in the community. The goal is to help the community appreciate the potential of the young people and recognise the impact their voices can have. The cost of the workshop is $25,000 for the

three-week course. Persons wishing to attend can visit the Nations University office at 41 New Market Street to book their place, or call 226-5781 or 227-4623.

14

wednesday, may 29, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Argentina, Chile order evacuation of Copahue volcano

C

hile and Argentina have ordered the evacuation of some 3000 people living near the Copahue volcano in the south of their shared border.

The authorities in both countries issued a red alert – the highest possible – saying the Chilean volcano could erupt imminently.

The 2965metres (nearly 10,000feet) volcano – which sits in the Andes cordillera – has so far only spewed gas.

Thousands of minor

earth tremors have been registered in the area.

“This red alert has been issued after monitoring the activity of the volcano and seeing that it has increased seismic activity,” Chilean Interior Minister Andres Chadwick said in a news conference.

“There is a risk that it can start erupting.”

According to Chile’s Emergency Office, the evacuation will affect some 460 families living within a 25

kilometres (15 miles) radius of Copahue.

It said it could last about 48 hours, but could be delayed because of heavy rains in the region.

In Argentina, the authorities had first declared a “yellow alert”, but later revised it to the highest level.

They have now ordered the evacuation of about 600 people from the town of Caviahue to the neighbouring city of Loncopue. (BBC News)

Weather satellite fails week before start of hurricane season

J

ust as what is predicted to be a very active hurricane season is about to start, a key satellite positioned to track severe weather in the eastern United States and off the U.S. Atlantic coast has failed.

The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said it had activated a spare satellite, which will provide coverage of the East Coast, while it tries to fix the faulty satellite.

NOAA’s three current Boeing-built Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) were de-

signed to last 10 years. The satellites are outfitted with imagers to watch for clouds and developing storms, atmospheric sounders to measure temperatures and humidity, and other instruments.

The activated spare remains in its storage orbit at 105 degrees west. Data received from that spare and a European satellite will give weather forecasters a full view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Should a second GOES fail, NOAA would operate its remaining satellite in a different mode to get a full view of the United States every halfhour. In this scenario, the

agency would also depend more on supplemental information relayed by polar orbiting weather satellites.

The agency also has an older GOES-12 satellite, launched in 2001, located at 60 degrees west that provides coverage of South America.

The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1, continuing through the end of November, and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Centre has warned that this year's season is likely to be "extremely active," with 13 to 20 tropical storms and seven to 11 of those strengthening into hurricanes. (Excerpt from

Grenada amends laws outlawing terrorist organisations U.S. vice president in Trinidad

T

he Grenada parliament has approved an amendment to existing terrorism legislation so to confiscate the assets of anyone once the attorney general is of the belief the asset was gained through terrorist activities.

Previously, law enforcement authorities had to prove that the asset was directly linked to a terrorist group or gained through the group.

“This amendment to the law is broader in scope to ensure that persons who, especially in the area of financial transactions, also have their assets be frozen,” said Gregory Bowen, Leader of Government Business, as

Grenada's PM Dr Keith Mitchell

legislators approved of the amendment on Tuesday.

Bowen said that the Dr

Keith Mitchell government will also be outlawing a number of known terrorist organisations, including AlQaeda, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Armed Islamic Group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Abu Nidal Organisation, and Islamic Army of Aden.

Under the legislation, a terrorist act is defined as the use or threat designed to influence a government or an international organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public.

It also notes the use or threat made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.

(Excerpt from Caribbean 360)

Caribbean360)

for trade and energy talks

U

.S. Vice President Joe Biden and heads of government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) are meeting in Trinidad this week to discuss a host of developmental issues that will be mutually beneficial to the U.S. and the region.

The U.S. vice president and his wife Dr Jill Biden are visiting Trinidad and Tobago at the invitation of the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Persad-Bissessar also invited heads of government of Caricom and the Dominican Republic to participate in the developmental talks, which will include discussions about regional security, energy matters, trade, human and social develop-

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden

ment and other developmental issues among the nation states.

A media release from the Office of the Prime Minister said the meeting with Biden is expected to “lay the

groundwork for robust cooperation” during the U.S. administration’s second term in office.

Persad-Bissessar and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran were due to receive the vice president and his delegation at the Piarco International Airport on Monday evening, after which Biden will be invited to inspect the guard of honour and will be introduced to cabinet ministers and other officials.

The prime minister and the vice president will meet privately on Tuesday for bilateral discussions.

This will be followed by a multilateral meeting between the vice president and the heads of Caricom and the Dominican Republic.

(Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

TT: Speaker moves on Rowley

S

peaker Wade Mark has called for a sitting of Parliament’s Committee of Privileges on the issue of the conduct of Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley during last week’s no-confidence motion debate.

A date of the meeting is yet to be finalised but Newsday understands the Speaker began calling upon members of the committee to indicate a date for the meeting.

The members of the Privileges Committee are Mark (chairman);

Laventille East/Morvant Member of Parliament (MP) Donna Cox (PNM); Point Fortin MP Paula GopeeScoon (PNM); Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh (UNC); Diego Martin North/ East MP Colm Imbert (PNM); Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal (UNC); St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar (COP); Arima MP Rodger Samuel (COP); and Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma (UNC).

Mark referred Rowley to the Committee of Privileges last Wednesday after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-

Bissessar raised a matter of contempt against Rowley alleging he had – in presenting a purported email trail involving her – had, “deliberately and wilfully misled this House; and recklessly abused the privilege of freedom of speech in this House thereby bringing this House into public ridicule and odium”.

The Speaker ruled that a first instance case was made out and referred the matter to the Privileges Committee, a committee which has powers to discipline MPs. (Excerpt

from Trinidad and Tobago Today)

No prison for children, Jamaica govt says

A

government group says it intends to push for a change to the law that gives judges power to commit children with behavioural problems to correctional centres.

“The recommendation is that the state should end the institutionalisation of children in correctional facilities for so-called “uncontrollable behaviour” and put the systems and facilities in place for therapeutic treatment of the underlying causes,”

Youth and Culture Minister Lisa Hanna told journalists on Monday during a press conference at Jamaica House in St Andrew attended by National Security Minister Peter Bunting and Justice Minister Senator Mark Golding. “It is our intention to place this recommendation before cabinet as soon as workable alternatives, including sufficient psychological and psychiatric support, physical facilities and suitably trained staff, are in

place,” she said.

Last Monday, cabinet considered and approved several recommendations it received in a Joint Cabinet Submission from the youth and culture, national security, justice, and education ministers. The submission was the work of the InterMinisterial Working Group on Children in Detention, which comprised representatives from several ministries and agencies. (Excerpt from Jamaica

Observer)

15 Around the World

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

Chinese hackers compromise Russian arms to deter foreign U.S. weapons systems designs intervention in Syria

Black Hawk helicopters were cited as one of the weapons systems compromised by hackers

C

hinese hackers have accessed designs for more than two dozen U.S. weapons systems, a U.S. newspaper has reported.

Designs for combat aircraft, ships and missile defences were among those compromised, a Pentagon paper found, the Washington Post reported.

A public version of the same Defence Science Board report said in January that the U.S. was unprepared for a full-scale cyber attack.

The board did not return requests for comment from the BBC. The Washington Post report comes as Australia discloses Chinese hackers stole floor plans for the new

headquarters of its domestic intelligence agency.

The compromised U.S. designs include those for advanced Patriot missile systems called PAC-3, an army anti-missile system known as Thaad, and the Navy’s Aegis ballistic-missile defence system, according to the Washington Post.

The F/A-18 fighter jet, V-22 Osprey aircraft, Black Hawk helicopter and the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship were also compromised.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the most expensive weapons system ever built, was also cited on the list.

The reports do not describe the extent of the theft, but correspondents say the hack could give China information that may be used against the U.S. in the event of a potential future conflict. (Excerpt from BBC News)

North Korea builds giant ski resort

N

orth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the country’s military to speed up construction of a worldclass ski resort near the eastern town of Wonsan, so that it will be ready for the upcoming winter, according to state media.

Observers said the ambitious project was likely prompted by the intense rivalry between North Korea and South Korea, which is preparing to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in the city of Pyeongchang.

Kim toured the new construction site on

Monday, giving his approval of progress made on the beginners, intermediate and advanced sky slopes, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The site, which will extend over hundreds of thousands of square metres in the Massik Pass, will also include a hotel, a helicopter pad and cableway.

The leader, who spent his formative years in the Alpine country of Switzerland, gave advice about future construction plans, such as the installa-

tion of appropriate draining systems and location of first aid stations, KCNA reported.

He warned that the construction should not pollute the natural surroundings.

Kim also said it would be necessary to take steps to produce skiing equipment and attire domestically.

A UN-imposed ban on luxury goods is supposed to make it difficult for Pyongyang’s elite to import things like yachts, racing cars, luxury automobiles – and, likely, skiing equipment. (Excerpt from France24)

Iran’s presidential candidates clash over nuclear approach

A

former Iranian nuclear negotiator running for president used his first television appearance of the campaign to reject accusations he had been too soft in talks with world powers.

The most prominent moderate candidate in an election dominated by hardliners, cleric Hassan Rohani, nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005, oversaw an agreement to suspend Iran’s fledgling uranium enrichment-related activities.

Iran has since stepped

up its nuclear programme which many countries, particularly in the West, fear is aimed at acquiring a weapons capability, something Tehran strongly denies.

Hardliners see the nuclear programme as a matter of national pride and any concession to outside pressure an affront to Iran’s sovereign rights. The current nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, is campaigning for president on his record of giving no ground in talks.

Western powers are watching the June 14

election to see whether President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s successor will set a new tone in talks -- several rounds of which in the last year have failed to defuse tensions over the nuclear programme which Israel has said it could use military force to stop.

In a spirited exchange on state television on Monday, Rohani said allegations he had halted nuclear development were “a lie” and suggested his interviewer was “illiterate”.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

U.S. pilot rescued after ejecting over Pacific Ocean

A

Japanese helicopter plucked the pilot of a U.S. fighter jet from the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday after an unspecified problem forced him to eject in midflight.

The F-15 jet, from the U.S. Air Force’s Kadena base on the island of Okinawa, devel-

oped the problem on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Air Force said.

The pilot, whose name has not been disclosed, is reported to have ejected safely about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Okinawa around 21:00h, according to the Air Force.

A Japan Self Defence

Force helicopter rescued the pilot, who was floating in the ocean with the aid of a life raft, the Japanese Coast Guard said. It did not provide any details on the pilot’s condition.

The Air Force said the cause of the crash will be investigated. (CNN)

R

ussia said it will go ahead with deliveries of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria, and that the arms will help deter foreign intervention.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the missiles were a “stabilising factor” that could dissuade “some hotheads” from entering the conflict.

Russia also criticised an European Union (EU) decision not to renew an arms embargo on Syria.

The decision came as the

BBC heard evidence that 200 people were killed in a massacre in western Syria this month.

More than 80,000 people have been killed and 1.5 million have fled Syria since the uprising against Assad began in 2011, according to UN estimates.

On Monday, the EU said member states would be able to decide their own policy on sending arms to Syria, after foreign ministers were unable to reach the unanimous decision re-

quired to extend the current arms embargo past Saturday.

However, in a declaration announced after 12 hours of talks, it agreed not to “proceed at this stage with the delivery” of equipment.

The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council is to review this position before August 1, in light of fresh developments to end the conflict including the ongoing U.S.-Russia peace initiative. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Baby rescued from sewage pipe in China

T

he dramatic rescue began after cries were heard from a fourth-floor apartment toilet.

Alarmed neighbours heard the sounds and saw a tiny foot inside a ceramic bowl. There was a baby inside.

They called the fire department in the Chinese city of Jinhua, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Unable to pull the infant out, rescuers went to the floor below and sawed away an entire section of sewer pipe.

But still, the baby was stuck, so both the section of pipe and the infant were taken to a local hospital.

Working together, rescuers and doctors began removing the pipe, piece by piece, as shown in video from CCTV. It shows

A newborn baby was found inside a sewer pipe

the exact moment hands in white gloves gingerly pulled away a part of the pipe, revealing the tiny face of a newborn.

The afterbirth was still attached.

CCTV reported the infant, a baby boy, was rescued Saturday. He is in stable condition.

No one has come for-

ward yet to claim the child, and police say they are looking for his parents.

Jinhua police issued an appeal on the social media website Weibo.

“Mom, come back! The baby is resilient and alive.

Please show up, mom. This is your own baby and he should return to your warm embrace soon.” (Excerpt from CNN)

16

wednesday, may 29, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Caribbean

Delta adds Kingston-Atlanta flight

D

elta Air Lines has added a Kingston to Atlanta route. In fact, this may come as a relief to travellers who have to contend with a three-and-a half hour ride from Kingston to Montego Bay to catch the airline’s flights. But for the airline, it means getting into a segment that has volumes.

“It’s (Kingston to Atlanta) a really big addition for us, it’s one of those markets that we need to be in,”

Nicolas Ferri, Delta’s vice president, Latin America and the Caribbean. “It’s important and we want to be a part of it.”

Ferri told the Jamaica Observer last week at the Delta Air Lines Media Summit in New York that the service complements the one in Montego Bay and reinforces Delta’s commitment to Jamaica. Already the schedule is in Delta’s system and customers will have dai-

ly flights starting December 19.

It will operate most of the year with an MD-88 aircraft, which has 149 seats.

During the peak seasons such as Christmas and Summer, it will use much bigger aircraft, to accommodate additional passengers and baggage. What’s more, Delta has an oil refinery which it acquired last year to help cut fuel costs. (Jamaica Observer)

Africa

Brainstorming in Kampala for future tourism status

I

t is not widely known how Kampala city started. But what is known is that the city spread over seven hills and wetlands, derived its name from a species of an antelope – the impala – that used to breed on present day Old Kampala Hill.

The native Baganda (tribe in Central Uganda) used this reference in their local dialect (Luganda) ‘Akasozi K’empala. So even-

tually K’empala formally became ‘Kampala’ with repeated usage.

When the British colonial rulers needed a name for the city they adopted Kampala.

This is a city that has grown over the years from a hunting ground for local Kings to cover over five square kilometres. It has an estimated day population of four million people but there are plans to widen Kampala

boundaries to touch 20 square kilometres.

Kampala, now a metropolitan city (touching different towns), has a big potential to be transformed into a tourism hub. Just like its neighbour Nairobi that receives over two million visitors every year, Kampala can emulate Nairobi, Cape Town, Johannesburg or even Cairo to be known as a home for tourists. (allAfrica)

Asia North America Tiffany’s high-end jewellery BoJ’s Miyao says JGB stability vital, sells briskly; lower end lags offers no new steps

T

iffany & Co’s firstquarter sales topped expectations, boosted by improved demand for upscale jewellery especially in the United States and Japan.

Comparable-store sales, which exclude stores opened in the last year, rose eight per cent, a marked improvement over the holiday-season quarter, when results were flat, it said on Tuesday.

Tiffany executives, however, warned investors not

to read too much into the good start to the year, pointing to lingering weakness in the Americas, a drop in the yen, which is hurting its profit, and ongoing poor results with less expensive jewellery, including silver.

Tiffany gets more than 30 per cent of sales from jewellery costing less than US$500, such as sterling silver heart pendants. In the first quarter, Tiffany sold fewer silver items.

In the Americas, sales advanced six per cent, helped in part by much brisker business at its flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, where sales fell last year.

The store generates about one-twelfth of companywide revenue.

In China, where Tiffany is opening four new stores this year and will have 26 by year end, sales growth contributed to a 14 per cent gain for the Asia business. (Reuters)

Europe

Half of EU members oppose China solar tariffs

T

he UK and Germany are among at least 14 European Union members opposed to punitive tariffs on Chinese solar panel imports, according to diplomats.

The revelation, made on Monday, shows a split among the EU bloc’s 27 members.

The European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – argues that Chinese firms are unfairly undercutting rivals.

It claimed China was

pressuring members to oppose the duties, a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted in favour of a negotiated agreement. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said such pressure was a “waste of time” on the part of the Chinese authorities.

“They [the Chinese] are not going to impress me by putting pressure on member states,” he told the European Parliament’s trade committee. France and Italy are among those in favour of

Market statistics

the duties, while Germany, the UK and the Netherlands are in the opposite camp, according to Reuters, citing diplomats.

One source, who asked not to be named, told the AFP agency that 17 member states “have come out in opposition”.

“In view of this considerable opposition, it is clear that the European Commission must step up efforts to find a negotiated solution,” the person said.

(BBC News)

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Bank of Guyana

Fixed as at January 7, 2013 Calculated at 94% purity

Buying

Selling

U.S.

GBP

$310.58

$344.58

Cambio

CAN

$161.50

$181.42

Gross

$312,663

USD

$198.42

$205.58

Net

$290,776

Selling

$322,632

$1645.25 $202.17

Indicators as on May 28, 2013 Live Spot Gold

Indicators

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

$1369.70

$1370.70

Low/High

$1354.00

$1416.00

Change

-6.30

-0.46

May 28 USD GBP EUR May 27 USD GBP EUR

London Gold Fix AM 1385.25 917.75 1071.43 AM 1376.75 903.62 1069.15

rise in Japanese bond yields.

“What matters is to ensure that long – and short-term interest rates as a whole will follow a stable path,” Miyao told a news conference in Tokyo. But in terms of what the BOJ can do, Miyao reiterated the central bank’s stance that it will fine-tune market operations and enhance communication with market participants. He also voiced confidence that the central bank’s aggressive monetary

stimulus will help offset any rises in long-term rates that reflect expectations of an economic recovery in Japan.

“Even when there is upward pressure on long-term interest rates due to expectations for economic recovery, monetary policy will continue to put downward pressure on interest rates and therefore strongly support economic recovery,” said Miyao, the longest serving member of the board. (Reuters)

Middle East Foreign workers queue to quit Saudi Arabia after amnesty on fines

T

ens of thousands of foreign workers are trying to leave Saudi Arabia after the government of the world’s number one oil exporter said they would be forgiven any fees or fines for visa violations such as overstaying or switching jobs.

Riyadh is pursuing sweeping labour reform that would tackle domestic unemployment by pushing firms to hire Saudi nationals – who now hold only

about one in 10 private sector jobs – instead of some of its roughly nine million foreign residents.

The disproportion of foreigners in jobs arises, some firms say, from the fact Saudis demand higher wages and are harder to sack than expatriates. Other firms, particularly those in fields involving manual labour, say they cannot attract Saudi workers.

Earlier this year the

kingdom began to crack down on the many foreign workers who violated their visa terms with surprise inspections on streets and in company offices, followed in some cases by the deportation of offenders.

Saudi Arabia, whose total population is 28 million, has long turned a blind eye to the impact of its rigid foreign worker laws, resulting in a huge black market for expatriate labour. (Arabianbusiness)

Investors' guide

Cambio Rates

Cur

B

ank of Japan board member Ryuzo Miyao said on Tuesday it was vital to keep long- and short-term interest rates stable but offered no new prescriptions to contain the recent bond market turmoil that has threatened to undercut the central bank’s massive easing campaign.

The former academic said rises in Japanese stocks and U.S. long-term interest rates have contributed to the recent

Crude Oil Price Silver Platinum

US$ per barrel

Change %

$102.60

+0.12

USD per Ounce

Change %

$22.27

-0.16

$1465.00

+4.00

PM 1408.50 930.44 1084.88 PM 1368.75 901.50 1068.00

Be your own boss with no money down (Part two)

Make sure you understand everything on your contract before signing it.

An accountant will charge a small fee to set you up with the necessary tax identification numbers you will need to operate legally. The rental company may require you to have business liability insurance. Get all of the necessary requirements before contacting an insurance company.

It is possible for small neighbourhood car rental locations to function with one person, but it can be very stressful. Many times family members will help in the beginning. If your location

is in a large city, you may consider hiring at least one person to assist you.

Advantages

National Recognition.

Choosing from the top three auto rental companies will give you the creditability of a reputable company.

Established location. Most likely you will be placed in a location that has been servicing rental car customers for a while. This gives you a customer base to start your business. You will have a phone listing in the book and online. That is a great advantage over

starting your own business from scratch. No rent expense to you.

Vehicles. No inventory to purchase. The company provides you with the latest models of cars, vans and sport utility vehicles. They also license, insure and maintain them.

Training. Before the first vehicle is rented under your name, you will undergo complete training from the company. No experience is needed to start your own agency. The company will teach you their procedures for customer issues, computer applications and sales training. (Business Dictionary)

Business concept – Consumer price index (CPI)

Last: 15307.17

Changes: -80.41

% Change: -0.52

Open: 15388.04

High: 15542.40

Low: 15265.96

% YTD: +16.81

52Wk Hi: 14887.51

52 Wk Lo: 12035.09

A measure of changes in the purchasing-power of a currency and the rate of inflation. The consumer price index expresses the current prices of a basket of goods and services in terms of the prices during the same period in a previous year, to show effect of inflation on purchasing power. It is one of the best known lagging indicators.

news

17

wednesday, may 29, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

West Dem businessman shot Rains, overtopping of Berbice River flood sections of New Amsterdam during attempted robbery

H

By Vahnu Manikchand

A

West Demerara businessman has been hospitalised after he was shot to his shoulder on Tuesday morning when bandits invaded his shop.

Pritipaul Dhanpaul, 54, of Lot 24 Pourderoyen Public Road, West Bank Demerara, was shot once to his right shoulder after five men attacked him at P Dhanpaul Variety Store.

The criminals did not manage to get away with anything.

Guyana Times understands that the bandits were young men. Reports received revealed that around 11:20h, the five young men entered the shop and two of them purchased cigarettes.

While tending to those two, the other men looked in the door of the shop and one of the men grabbed Dhanpaul and pulled him onto the counter.

Further reports indicated that the businessman was fighting back with the perpetrators, and as such, one of them pulled out a gun and shot him to his shoulder before they all escaped. The man’s wife heard the sound and went in the shop where she saw her injured husband.

Dhanpaul was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he spent some two hours before he was transported to a private hospital in the city.

According to relatives, the bullet hit the businessman in his shoulder and moved downwards through his lung and is lodged under that organ. Relatives say doctors have drained the blood from his lung; however, the bullet

The injured Pritipaul Dhanpaul in the hospital

was not removed. Dhanpaul is in stable condition at the medical facility.

However, in an interview with this newspaper on his hospital bed, Dhanpaul said that the five men went into the shop when suddenly one of them jumped on to the shop counter and began choking him. “After he lacking me off, he tell me don’t move and don’t scream or shout or they gon kill me and I say to myself I can’t take that so I put up a fight.

It had a knife next to the counter from inside and I was reaching for it and then I pick up a stool from inside the shop and pelt them,” he said.

The man recalled that while he was being choked, the other men closed the shop door and so he began screaming, and three or four of them ran outside and one of them turned back and said, “don’t want to give we anything, ah gon shoot you”. He said the

gunman fired three times at him and he dodged the first two shots, but the third one hit him.

Dhanpaul noted that while he saw all five men, he cannot remember their faces, but knew that they were not his regular customers.

The injured man said “they couldn’t handle me and they lucky that I had to use my left hand to pick up the knife cause I couldn’t hold it good with that hand.”

The man’s wife, Patsy Dhanpaul told this publication that she was upstairs when she heard a loud sound and came downstairs to enquire from her husband about what it was. “When I reach in the shop, I see my husband holding his shoulder and screaming.” The woman went on to say that she quickly summoned the police and then alerted a neighbour who took them to the hospital.

eavy rains coupled with overtopping of the Berbice River have left a section of New Amsterdam inundated.

Flood waters continue to rise with every tide affecting residents of a section of Stanleytown. Residents along and close to Strand Public Road and between 40 and 46 streets are calling on authorities to act swiftly and help reduce the flooding.

When Guyana Times visited the area on Monday, water was seen flowing across the road. This, residents said was coming from the Berbice River. They say when there is a spring tide, the road floods. The river is situated on the west of the road and the dwelling area on the east. The road is significantly higher than the yards, which leads to flooding.

One resident who asked to remain anonymous said her yard has been under water for the past five months.

According to the woman, the water just flows into her yard.

“You see the river is over there where this water coming from. You see it just running like a pipe all the time.”

Another resident, Jane DeSa told this publication whenever it rains, her yard floods. She said it will take days to drain. The process is slow because of the overtopping of the river. “Ah watching it yesterday (Monday) an ah telling me daughter-inlaw that it look like it ain’t going nowhere.” She said sometimes the water reaches up to six inches. DeSa said she has lost some of her fowls and does not know if they were

Floodwaters under a resident’s home

stolen or died in the water which remains on the land.

It is almost impossible for her to walk around her yard because of the overgrowth and water. The woman said the family has had to resort to washing clothing indoors.

Concerns have also been raised over the fact that the pipelines remain under water. “Sometimes we get water with sand inside. We don’t know what part of the pipe leaking because is the whole pipe under water.” DeSa also expressed concerns about an outdoor toiled used by a family dwelling on the other side of the road and close to the river. She said it floods and it is the same water that comes into her yard.

“We have to fetch the children out and is only one long booths we have, so we have to take turns. Sometimes we put them on the fence to jump over.” The woman also spoke of the destruction of the Strand Public Road where the water runs.

Meanwhile, another resident Carol Flemming said it is difficult to get out to go to work with several inches of water

in her yard.

“It looks like I am rearing fishes in my yard.” Flemming said the drains need to be cleaned. “If this is done properly, she says there will be no prolonged flooding whenever there is rain. We are not living far from the koker.” A functioning sluice is situated about 300 metres away.

Lance La Flour said the main access drains are blocked, resulting in the flooding. He explained 40 years ago, he used to run in the main drains which are about five feet deep.

“We use to play in the concrete drains and every Sunday people use to come and sweep the drains.”

Flemming said the lack of a proper garbage disposal programme has contributed to the clogging of the drain.

“They don’t come and pick up garbage regularly. Sometimes, you have to wait for two months before they come. Most people from around here would come and throw their garbage over there because it is the river side and then dogs will go through the garbage and soon after it ends up in the drain.”

18

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

ARCHIE

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) The possibilities for making some good purchases look better than usual, especially regarding a large item that can be used by your entire household. Look around a little.

DILBERT

(June 21July 22) Your thinking will be unusually sharp in a work-related matter. Your colleagues are likely to be impressed by some of your ingenious tactics.

AQUARIUS

LEO

(Jan. 20Feb. 19)

(July 23Aug. 22)

As it often does, the race will go to the swift today, so it behooves you to be both a self-starter and a go-getter. Take the lead when you’re not pleased with the pace.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

CANCER

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) The chances of some financial gain are much better than you may realise.

However, you must be able to recognise opportunity and work hard to capitalise on it.

If you have a good idea regarding a way to improve a sluggish relationship, put it in action.

Anything is worth a try to reinvigorate this valuable connection.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) Substantial progress in the workplace can be made through innovative thinking on your part. Don’t be reluctant to take a chance.

PEANUTS ARIES

LIBRA

(March 21-April 19)

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Even though it might be a workday for you, if you can take some time off to participate in an activity with friends, try to do so.

If you take the time to talk to a casual acquaintance, you’ll discover that you share many interests.

This could be the start of a close friendship.

SUDOKU TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Finally, accelerated progress is likely to occur in an endeavour that has been slow to move.

You might even be able to make up for lost time.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) There is a strong chance that unusual circumstances will lead to a peculiar opportunity.

There’s something to gain, but you’ll have to act with all due haste.

Tuesday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20) Go out of your way to associate with friends who always stimulate your thinking. An active conversation with such types might stir up several useful ideas.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21) You won’t find a better day to get involved in a social activity that has caught your interest. It could prove to be worthwhile and exciting.

news 19

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wednesday, may 29, 2013

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U.S.-sponsored journalism workshop opens

T

he University of Guyana (UG), the United States embassy and the Ohio University, USA have teamed up to host a four-day journalism workshop for media operatives here. Several local media operatives are slated to attend the four-day journalism training which was officially launched on Tuesday at the Moray House Trust.

The workshop is being hosted in partnership with the Scripps College of Journalism of the Ohio University and the U.S. embassy.

Head of the Centre of Communication Studies (CCS) at the University of Guyana Carolyn Walcott said the idea of hosting a workshop came about after visits were made by the members of the centre and the U.S. embassy to various media outlets. Walcott said the collaboration between the CCS and the Ohio University is not the first and certainly would not be the last. She also took time out to remind participants of their importance and the role they play in society. Walcott encouraged the participants to make the most out of the opportunity, especially since they will be

in contact with two professionals.

UG Deputy Vice Chancellor Phillip Da Silva also made remarks at the opening, calling on the participants to make good use of the training and to remember their civic duty and responsibility as journalists. Da Silva urged the journalists to take the opportunity and make sure that they continue to serve the public. He said being a journalist is a huge responsibility that requires dedication and commitment.

On that not, he saluted the work of journalists who stands for the truth and development.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador D Brent Hardt said he welcomes the collaboration between the two universities and reminded the gathering of the important role the media play in the development of society.

The U.S. diplomat said the workshop focuses on the development and professionalisation of the press corps.

“Professionalisation contributes to building a more effective and more independent media, while improving standards in collecting, reporting, editing and disseminating objective and

balanced information,” the diplomat said.

Ambassador Hardt said such professional training encourages reporting that encompasses the many different facets of issues, and improves standards for reporters and editors to make the information they present more objective and balanced. He added that while the press has an important role in society, unfortunately the press is often a target of retaliation or restrictions by those who feel threatened by freedom of expressions and transparency in democratic processes.

The workshop has attracted two international award-winning former foreign correspondents and teachers to facilitate the training sessions. Among the topics that will be covered during the workshop sessions are advocacy journalism and social responsibility, political communication and democratisation, including professionalising television news in emerging democracies and investigative reporting. The workshop will be hosted under the theme “Democracy, reporting and responsibility: Fundamentals for an informed society.”

France places Dominica, TT on foreign aid blacklist

D

ominica and Trinidad and Tobago have been placed on a blacklist of 17 countries judged by France to be uncooperative in investigating foreign aid fraud.

French officials said on Monday that Dominican banks and those from other countries on the list will be banned from distributing development funds from France, according to a report in Agence France Press (AFP).

They say the move is justified because there is a lack

of transparency in Dominica and the other nations on the list. They also pointed out that poor and developing nations are the main victims of fraud. The blacklist expands on an already-established register of eight “non-cooperative states and territories” that already includes Botswana, Brunei, Nauru, Guatemala and the Philippines.

Switzerland, Lebanon, Panama, Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates, Dominica, Liberia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu

were added to the list on Monday. French officials say they hope pressure will be placed on the countries on the list to be more transparent.

“The aim is primarily preventative, to put pressure on these countries by publicising this list to progress towards more transparency,” they said. Aides to development minister, Pascal Canfin, did not say how much French foreign aid currently transits via banks in Dominica or any of the countries featured on the new blacklist.

Man found with throat slit at lumber yard

A

young man was on Tuesday afternoon found with his throat slit in a cottage aback a lumber yard at Land of Canaan Public Road, East Bank Demerara.

The discovery was made about 14:50h by his boss who went to check on him after a telephone contact proved futile. The dead man has been identified as Thandu Singh, 22, also called Khemraj Singh and Tony. Singh formerly of the Essequibo Coast has been staying at the business place as the caretaker.

According to information received, the man might have been killed since Monday night, as persons in the area could not recall seeing him prior to the discovery. At the time of the discovery, there was no evidence of forced entry or any sign that would suggest a rob-

bery. Police confirmed that from all indications, he was dead for more than 12 hours.

Police have ruled out robbery and suicide since the murder weapon was not found. Investigators are working with the theory that person who committed the act is known to the now dead man and might have been in his cottage with permission.

Singh was described as a quiet person and would not get into harm’s way. He only moved in the neighbourhood earlier in the year and managed a business that exports logs. Further information revealed that on Tuesday morning, the proprietor of the business attempted to telephone the young man, but his mobile phone was turned off.

After several attempts, the boss left his Georgetown home and travelled up to the lumber

yard at Land of Canaan where he recognised that the cottage where Singh was staying was locked up tightly. He called several times, but there were no answers, thus prompting him to enter the house where he found the young man on the floor with a gash to his neck.

The owner of the business alerted neighbours and informed the police at the Timehri Police Station, who arrived on the scene within minutes. The place was dusted for finger prints and blood samples were taken.

The man’s body was taken to the Lyken’s Funeral Home, awaiting post-mortem. The man leaves to mourn his parents and at least two siblings who are on the Essequibo Coast.

No one has been arrested as yet and police are investigating.

20

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

sees off England beat New Zealand Djokovic Goffin in Paris to take Test series 2-0 W

A

relieved England just found time between the rain showers to wrap up a 247-run victory over New Zealand in the second Test and with it a 2-0 series sweep on Tuesday.

On a tense final day at Headingley, England needed 86 minutes in two separate passages of play to take the final four New Zealand wickets they required for victory.

Stuart Broad caught and bowled captain Brendon McCullum in the third full over of the day and Graeme Swann broke an entertaining 56-run partnership when he had Tim Southee caught at slip for 38.

After an anxious twoand-a-half-hour rain stoppage, Swann removed Doug Bracewell to claim a 10-wicket match haul and James Anderson had last man Trent Boult caught behind as New Zealand were finally bowled out for 220.

Swann, controversially left out for last year’s Test here against South Africa, became the first spinner to take a 10-wicket Test haul at Headingley since Derek Underwood in 1972.

England’s failure to bowl out New Zealand on Monday night, coupled with Tuesday’s forecast of heavy rain, had threatened to deny the hosts victory.

But after an early morning downpour the rain eased off, allowing play to start at 11:45h BST, with New Zealand – chasing an improbable 468 to win – resuming on 158-6.

England soon broke through, Broad stooping to claim a fine return

Steve Davis gives a decision in favour of Graeme Swann

catch when Kiwi skipper McCullum pushed a full toss back towards the bowler.

Southee threw the bat in his characteristic manner to reach 38 before he nicked Swann to slip where Jonathan Trott – who had dropped a similar chance moments earlier – held on.

However, with England two wickets away from victory, the players were taken off for rain.

With the tension mounting and light rain still falling from dark grey clouds, Cook finally crowded men round the bat.

And the tactic worked as Bracewell was taken low for 19 by Ian Bell at silly point to give Swann his 10th wick-

et of the match.

New Zealand’s numbers 10 and 11 then battled through eight runless overs to increase England’s frustrations.

But the decision to replace Swann with Anderson paid immediate dividends as the Lancashire paceman found the edge of Boult’s bat to spark overdue celebrations among the England players.

It was Anderson’s 307th Test wicket, moving him level with Fred Trueman in third place on England’s alltime list.

The hosts will be delighted to have won the series so convincingly, but questions remain over a safety-

first approach that left the outcome of the match at the mercy of the weather.

Cook declined to enforce the follow-on on day three despite a 180-run first innings lead over a side they had skittled out for 68 and 174 in their two previous innings, and then chose to delay a declaration until New Zealand required 468 – 50 runs more than the highest successful run chase in Test history.

Despite such a healthy cushion, Cook eschewed the option of all-out attack on Monday afternoon and frequently fielded men on the boundary to contain the flow of runs.

Cook will no doubt argue that the ends justify the means but greater aggression may be called for when England begin their quest for a third straight Ashes win at Trent Bridge on July 10. (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD New Zealand 2nd innings P Fulton c Bell b Broad 5 H Rutherford c Root b Swann 42 K Williamson lbw b Swann 3 R Taylor b Swann 70 D Brownlie c Bell b Finn 25 M Guptill c Trott b Swann 3 B McCullum*† c & b Broad 1 T Southee c Trott b Swann 38 D Bracewell c Bell b Swann 19 N Wagner not out 0 T Boult c †Prior b Anderson 0 Extras: (b2, lb11, w1) 14 Total: (all out, 76.3 overs) 220 Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-40, 3-65, 4-144, 5-153, 6-154, 7-162, 8-218, 9-220, 10-220 Bowling: J Anderson 11.34-28-1, S Broad 11-3-26-2, G Swann 32-12-90-6, S Finn 19-5-62-1, J Root 3-2-1-0

orld number one Novak Djokovic saw off the spirited challenge of David Goffin with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 7-5 win in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old was taken to 5-5 in a first-set tiebreak and broken in the second set before securing his last-64 place in two hours and 13 minutes.

“It was not easy. David is a good player with a lot of talent and a lot of aggressiveness,” said the Serb.

Djokovic, who was runner-up last year, will face Argentina’s Guido Pella next.

“I love this Grand Slam,” Djokovic added. “I really want to do well here.”

Elsewhere, former U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur and Marion Bartoli progressed on a rain-affected day of action.

Ninth seed Stosur thrashed Kimiko DateKrumm, breaking her 42-year-old opponent five times to win 6-0 6-2 in 64 minutes.

The Australian was runner-up in 2010 and has reached the semi-finals twice.

French 13th seed Bartoli also has an impressive track record on the Paris clay after reaching the semi-finals in 2011, but took three hours and 12 minutes to get the better of Belarus’s Olga Govortsova, eventually prevailing 7-6 (10-8) 4-6 7-5.

In the men’s draw Grigor Dimitrov, seeded 26th, was leading Alejandro Falla 6-4 1-0 when the Colombian retired, while Germany’s Tommy Haas, who has climbed from 21st in the world at the start of the

season to 14th, overcame France’s Guillaume Ruffin 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-3.

Australian Bernard Tomic retired with an apparent knee injury while trailing Romania’s Victor Hanescu 7-5 7-6 (10-8) 2-1 and later confirmed that his father John, currently being investigated for an alleged assault of his son’s training partner, is still his coach.

Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka beat the Netherlands’ Thiemo de Bakker in four sets, but 28th seed Florian Mayer fell victim to Denis Istomin, retiring when losing 6-4 3-6 5-7.

A two-and-a-half hour rain delay in the morning, followed by a further break for the weather in the afternoon, left the Paris organisers well behind schedule in their plans to stage 40 firstround matches on the third day of action.

Women’s third seed Victoria Azarenka had her match against Elena Vesnina postponed until Wednesday, as was British number two Heather Watson’s encounter with Stefanie Voegele.

Petra Kvitova and Aravane Rezai’s clash was also cancelled for the day.

Watson is the only remaining British interest in the singles draws after Elena Baltacha was overwhelmed 6-3 6-0 by New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic.

Tournament officials intend to move ahead with plans to build a retractable roof over Court Philippe Chatrier, despite a judicial ruling last month that put the project on hold.

The roof is set to be completed in 2018 as part of a £290 million renovation project at Roland Garros. (BBC Sport)

New ODI rules a challenge – Dhoni

I

ndia captain MS Dhoni has said one of the challenges facing the side in England during the Champions Trophy will be adjusting to the new ODI rules.

He said the team had enough time to acclimatise, with two warm-up games scheduled before the opening match against South Africa on June 6.

Since the new rules were implemented in January, India have played ODIs at home but this will be their first experience of them in foreign conditions, where the seamers will have a bigger role. Captains have said the rules haven’t been fair on the bowlers, especially the spinners, with not more than four fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle at any stage of the innings. Bowlers can bowl two bouncers an over and the Powerplays will have to be completed by the 40th over.

“There are a few chal-

lenges like the new ODI rules and we will be playing outside the subcontinent for the first time under the new rules,” Dhoni said in Mumbai ahead of the team’s departure for England. “We will have to adjust to the new rule of five fielders being inside (the circle), the length they need to bowl, how quickly they adapt to the wicket, which areas to bowl.

“The good thing is we have two practice matches leading up to the tournament. We also have enough time before the first game, so there is enough time to adjust.”

In the past, India have fared poorly in tournaments staged immediately after the IPL. The team failed to make the semi-finals in the 2009 and 2010 World T20 tournaments, but Dhoni said the players’ form during the IPL was encouraging.

“With the kind of fitness

MS Dhoni

level that is going around right now, each and every member is looking fit,” Dhoni said. “All of them have played good cricket in the IPL or before the IPL. So most of them are in very good touch. As far as the fit-

ness is concerned we have not received any official reports about any player being unfit, so that is a good sign.”

Though the seamers are expected to play a major role, the squad has

three spinners in R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja.

India’s coach Duncan Fletcher felt the spinners will have an important role to play at certain venues.

“As MS mentioned earlier it is generally going to be seamer-friendly, you never know, like Cardiff for example, it is known there to be a turning wicket, very slow and not very different to what you might get in India,” Fletcher said. “You’ve got to be prepared to play two spinners. If one is injured, there is a back-up. We have a balanced side.”

India will be without their regular opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, both dropped on form. Dhoni was confident that the new pair of Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay would carry forward their form from the Test series against Australia.

“Our two openers had done well at the Test level re-

cently,” Dhoni said. “I know it is a different challenge in the ODIs, you have to accelerate but at the same time it is important that we have a good start from which we can capitalise on, and as Duncan rightly said this is an opportunity for the youngsters.

Shikhar and Vijay have been very consistent.”

Dhoni was reminded of India’s last ODI series in England, in 2011, where the side lost the five-match series 3-0 after losing all four Tests. Dhoni said the team had fared better than the results suggested.

“Rain was a big factor, we lost all the tosses. It didn’t even reach the stage where it could have decided by Duckworth/Lewis,” Dhoni said. “The spinners had to literally deal with the wet ball and it was not possible for them to use their skills. The performance of the ODI squad was good, if you don’t see just the results.” (Cricinfo)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

21

Guyana-born cricketer Samlall Singh dies on C field in Toronto

Sarwan believes Windies can repeat great 2004 show

From Ravendra Madholall in Toronto

“H

e was considered a great gentleman and his profound passion for cricket will always be remembered.”

These were some of the words expressed by a representative of the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket League following the sudden death of over-40 player Samlall Singh.

On Sunday many of his colleagues were shocked to hear of his demise when he collapsed on the field when his team Miracle Cricket Club was opposing Pegasus Cricket Club in the continuation of the major league over-40 25-over round robin tournament in Toronto. He was 54.

Singh, a right-handed batsman scored an aggressive half-century before he died and his teammates stated it was a sad and unforgettable day for them.

Born on the East Coast of Demerara in Guyana, Singh

Samlall Singh

came to Canada over two decades ago and immediately took up the sport, representing Miracle Cricket Club over the years and his performances were also impressive.

“He will definitely be missed for his wonderful personality and friendliness; I know he was a great ‘lover’ of the game but seeing him died on a cricket field certainly [is] devastating,” Krisho Singh Ramnarayan told this publication via telephone on Sunday afternoon after his team won by

22 runs.

President of the Ontario Masters League, Azeem Khan, was also saddened by the player’s passing and expressed sincere condolences to his relatives and friends and revealed that the league has lost a true player.

“Over the years we have played against Singh, and always enjoyed the friendly competition he offered; indeed without his effort – he top scored with 52 Miracles would probably not have won the game yesterday (Sunday),” he expressed.

He continued, “The League’s most enthusiastic cricketer, Samlall, brother of Henry and Ron Singh, has gone to a more peaceful, restful world and on behalf of the Masters League, we offer our sincere sympathies and condolences to his family and friends; words alone cannot express the hurt and shock being experienced by his fellow cricketers, family and friends.”

Singh worked for parking arrangements with the

Enforcement Officers where he lived while he coordinated placement of tents for Paul Party Rentals at his backyard in Scarborough.

His wife Indira Singh was saddened by the news while their three daughters Ashley, Brittany and Chattel were in a state of shock following his death.

They declared he was a great father and always supported cricket since their migration to Canada in 1983.

“He was always willing to participate in any cricketing activity; he was a dedicated cricketer in the softball fraternity and learning of his death on Sunday was very painful but I know he will rest in peace; his daughters were shock and felt their father died too quickly, but we have to move on,” Indira related.

The funeral is set to be held on Friday in Scarborough while the viewing will be done at Ogden Funeral Home on Thursday, also in Scarborough from 17:00h to 21:00h.

GASP stages successful tournament at Enterprise

T

ble round robin in the A level category and each player beat the other once in one of their two encounters.

As a result, they ended with three wins, but former national and Caribbean champion Collins was declared winner with the largest spread. McDonald finished second; Belony was third and Gafoor, fourth.

In the B level, Orlando Michael held off keen competition from Devraj Deonarine to take top honours with Ruby Cummings placing third. It was a close affair with the final result being decided in the last round of play.

Michael finished with

five wins and a spread of 323, while Deonarine had five wins and a spread of 213 and Ruby Cummings four victories and a spread of 71.

In the Beginners category, 14-year-old Romario Gonsalves destroyed the opposition with an unblemished performance to take first prize, while second and third went to Chetnauth Persaud and Ricardo Purnwasy respectively.

Gonsalves ended with four wins a spread of 527, while Persaud, Purnwasy and Wazeer Dilipchand copped three wins each, but with spreads of 295, 168 and 95 respectively.

In a release, GASP said,

Ramaresh Sarwan

Media.

“It would be a great achievement to win this tournament. We want to repeat that. When we won back in 2004 we came in as underdogs. We did really well in the T20 format to win in Sri Lanka last year and I believe we have a very sound squad for this tournament. The conditions will play a part as well with the ball swinging and we will have to make the necessary adjustment with the bat. For the younger guys it will be vital that they get used to the conditions and be ready when the matches get started,” the Windies Number 53 added.

“It is important that you start off trying to play the ball as ‘late’ as possible.

The good thing about it is that the outfields are pretty quick here, so even if you have sweepers out and you time the ball well enough it will probably go for four.

You will get value for your strokes,” Sarwan said.

“The key is to give yourself a chance and try to ‘get in’ and just like everything else it gets easier. That will be the key...to keep wickets in hand at the top and we all know we have a lot of power at the end to capitalise, as we are able to clear the boundaries.”

(WICB Media)

Richards, Moore win Precision shoot

Top players from the Beginners and B level strike a pose after the championship on Monday

he Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) on Monday staged a successful tournament at Playland Italiano Restaurant at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara, with a record number of entrants starting the three-category competition.

Twenty-five starters, the most in a competition played in the village, competed in the A level, B level and Beginners’ category in what was dubbed the Independence Open.

Four of the top ranked players – Abigail Mcdonald, Leon Belony, Moen Gafoor and Fred Collins – played in dou-

ARDIFF, Wales – Ramaresh Sarwan played a key role when the West Indies won their only ICC Champions Trophy back in 2004.

The stylish right-hander was Player of the Series with some outstanding batting performances at the top of the order when the Windies stunned the world to win the trophy.

Sarwan joined the Windies camp on Monday, after spending a month with Leicestershire in the English County circuit, and he is focused and full of confidence as he prepares for the upcoming eight-team ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which will be played from June 6-23.

The 32-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the West Indies team. He made his international debut 13 years ago and has appeared in 179 One-Day Internationals. He has an impressive record of 5802 runs at an average of over 43 runs per innings, including five centuries with a top score of 120 not out which came against Zimbabwe in Grenada four months ago.

“I was fortunate to be here a little early (playing County Cricket) so I’m basically already acclimatised. It’s a great opportunity for us to do well as a team. I have been striking the ball well. I have spent a lot of time batting at the crease, which is a good sign for me, even though I don’t have the big scores to show for it. I was pleased with the way I was striking the ball in the nets and I will look to perform and contribute to the team’s success,” Sarwan told WICB

“The turnout for the tournament was especially pleasing with the national championships just four weeks away. The Enterprise Club players, under the watchful eyes of Kampta Ramnarine, came out in their numbers and the association is keen to see others follow suit and develop a vibrant scrabbleplaying community across the regions.”

GASP also expressed gratitude Shankar Dyal, the proprietor of the Playland Italiano Restaurant, for his support in hosting the tournament, and looks forward to continued cooperation from the private sector for other events.

G

ordon Richards and Alex Moore won their respective divisions at last weekend’s Precision Pistol Shooting competition at the TSU range, Eve Leary.

Richards with a score of 181 points and one V-bull out of a possible 200 points came out the winner in the senior category after he recorded 95 points at 10 metres and 86 at the 15 metres range.

Second position went to John Ferrera with 171 points with scores of 79 points at the 10 metres range and 92 with two V-bulls at 15 metres.

Duane Duncan was third

with 150 points with scores of 85 at 10 metres and 65 at 15 yards with one V-bull.

Moore continued is excellent showing in the Junior category with a convincing victory over his opponents.

He shot 188 points out of a possible 200 points scoring 95 at five metres and 93 with six V-bulls at 10 metres.

Philip Zaman was second with 151 points and one V-bull followed by Randy Sarjoo in third place with 149 points.

The competition was organised by the Guyana National Rifle Association (GNRA) Handgun Section.

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Second Independence T20 Cup deemed a success – Bermine and Albion CC earmarked for allocations

By Rajiv Bisnauth

T

he second annual Independence T20 Cup was deemed another huge success, with home team Universal DVD Berbice Titians winning the title for the second time.

T o u r n a m e n t Coordinator, Anil Beharry in an invited comment at the conclusion of the event on Sunday at the Albion Sport Complex ground said “it was a great success”, adding that the tournament has set a new benchmark for cricket across the country, and at the same time paved the way for the development of the county’s young cricketers.

“Despite the current in-

Anil Beharry

clement weather, the days’ activity was great, the tournament gave the young players the opportunity to learn, play and compete against the best players around the country” Beharry said.

The tournament was first played last year and forms part of celebrations to mark Guyana’s independence anniversary. It is a joint fundraising venture by the Berbice Cricket Board and the Berbice Chambers of Commerce and Development Association.

The proceeds from the event will go towards assisting with the development of sports in the region as two first division clubs were earmarked for allocations.

However, according to Beharry this year the Bermine and Albion Cricket Club are the teams to benefit from that initiative.

In addition, he said contributions will be made to

two orphanages and two schools in Berbice and the rehabilitation of the pavillion at Albion Sports Complex will be undertaken, while the remainder will go towards the social obligations and community work plans for the two organisations under the “Power to Change” programme.

The four teams that battled for supremacy were Universal DVD Berbice Titans, Karibee Rice Tigers, BK International East Coast Jaguars and Georgetown Lions.

Universal DVD Berbice Titans proved they are the best T20 team in Guyana with a four-wicket win over the Georgetown Lions.

Back Circle crowned Guinness Streets football champs

Troy Mendonca

By Avenash Ramzan

G

eorgetown side Back Circle earned the right to represent Guyana at next month’s Guinness Caribbean Street Challenge following a convincing victory over Plaisance in the national final on Monday evening at Demerara Park.

Following their 4-1 win over East Coast zone champion Plaisance, the boys from Back Circle have booked their flight to St Vincent and the Grenadines where they will face top national teams from the various Caribbean territories from June 21-23.

Back Circle was also Guyana’s representative at last year’s inaugural Caribbean Street Challenge, which was hosted at the National Park where they finished as runner-up to St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Despite heavy rainfall during the course of Monday night, a large crowd came out to witness the final night

Plaisance skipper Warren Gilkes looks to control possession in the presence of two advancing Back Circle players

of action in the inaugural national championship to decide Guyana’s representative to the Caribbean championship.

Andy Duke put Back Circle ahead with a goal as early as the fourth minute, before Vincent Thomas doubled the advantage in the 19th minute.

Devon Harris made it 3-0 in the 20th minute, before Kester Green pulled one back for Plaisance two minutes later.

Harris then completed his double in the 25th minute to seal the victory for Back Circle, who walked away $400,000 richer. Plaisance had to settle for the second prize of $250,000.

In the third place playoff, Silver Bullets of Linden defeated East Coast runnerup Victoria Church Yard United 3-2 on penalties after they played to a 1-1

draw after regulation time.

Nigel Bennette scored for Silver Bullets and Andrew Holder was on target for Victoria Church Yard United. Silver Bullets collected $150,000 for finishing third, while Victoria Church Yard United pocketed $75,000.

Earlier in the night, Back Circle defeated Victoria Church Yard United 3-0 on penalties after they played to a one-all draw in the first semi-final, while Plaisance, through goals from Warren Gilkes, Teyon Esmond and Prince Johnson, outplayed Silver Bullets 3-0 in the second semi-final.

Two exhibition games were also held with the Media team needling Oasis Taxi Service and Guinness Bar edging Banks DIH 2-1 on penalties after a one-all draw.

In an invited comment on Tuesday, Troy Mendonca,

a director of the Petra Organisation which had collaborated with Banks DIH to stage the tournament, said the national competition was a tremendous success.

Mendonca pointed out that the tournament achieved its intended goal, which was to bring together the best teams from the various zones in a competitive national playoff.

He reflected that the tournament was of a high standard, as there was little to separate the eight teams, which comprised the winners and runners-up of the Georgetown, Linden, East Coast and Bartica zones.

Mendonca also used the opportunity to thank the fans for supporting the event, while lauding the players for their discipline and the media for braving the elements to offer coverage of the games.

Marian Academy outhustled in first loss – Plaisance run over GTI

By Treiston Joseph

G

uyana School of Agriculture (GSA) reaped the benefits of a physical game to down Marian Academy 20-15 when the Youth Basketball Guyana held a cross conference match-up at the Marian court on Monday.

Pounding the ball into the post in the early going, GSA outmuscled Marian Academy with their physical play as they opened the first half with a 12-4 run.

However, it was GSA’s star guard Emmanuel Archibald, who has been leading his team in points since the start of the tournament, that made the lasting impression among the crop of players on the court.

After the well designed tactic of post play which put Marian’s forward Selvaughn Mosley in early foul trouble, Archibald took advantage of the space created by driving against Marian’s 2-3 zone and drawing fouls or quickly pulling up for jump shot which were highlighted by a one dribble pull dagger from beyond the arc during the 12-4 run.

The second half was no different for Marian as they upped their defensive effort but were simply miserable on the offence end, missing everything from wide open jump shots to routine fast break lay-ups.

Archibald finished with a game high 13 points out of GSA’s 20 while Mosley despite his foul trouble was Marian’s leading scorer with six points.

Plaisance Secondary in another cross conference encounter against the Government Technical Institute (GTI) relied heavily on their ability to run the fast breaks to defeat the tertiary institution 30-23.

Nikkoloi Smith (7) and Kelvin Bowen (8) combined for 15 of Plaisance 30 points.

The game was fast paced as Plaisance ran the ball on 80 per cent of their possessions, scoring at a high percentage. This was highlighted by Smith crossing one defender with a behind the back dribble before driving down the lane and drawing the foul on a floater. He completed

the three-point play from the line.

Darrol Williams scored a game high 10 points for GTI while collecting four rebounds.

University of Guyana (UG) also defeated Charlestown Secondary after they lost their final East Coast conference match 24-32 against Plaisance one day prior at the Mon Repos Primary court.

Jonathan Pooran had a game high nine points, leading UG to 20-11 victory against Charlestown that failed to gather any offensive momentum during the course of the game.

Carlos Edwards had five points and eight rebounds for Charlestown in the losing effort.

Meanwhile, in the East Coast Conference played on Sunday, President’s College (PC) routed GSA 42-25.

Nyambikeire Bacchus played beastly, notching a double-double to lead PC with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Shakeel Garnett also played well, putting up 11 points while adding to the boards with five as PC out rebounded GSA. Archibald was GSA’s top score with 14 points, along with four steals and four rebounds.

PC also reigned in the under-17 category as they defeated Plaisance 3617, mirroring the senior counterparts as they were adept at rebounding the basketball.

Flexton Campbell had 10 points and seven rebounds while Eli Innis also had 10 points with nine rebounds in the win.

In the Berbice conference which took place on Friday JC Chandersingh pulled out a nail biter against Port Mourant Training School with a 2028 win.

Kevin Doolall, Simon Fraser and Michael King had nine points apiece to lead JC Chandersingh to the close victory.

Port Mourant’s Trevor McGuire had a game high 14 points while pulling down eight rebounds.

The tournament is being sponsored by Digicel, Beharry Group of Companies and Banks DIH.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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Digicel hosts referees' workshop ahead of school football tourney

By T reiston J oseph

T

elecommunication giant Digicel on Monday hosted a referees’ workshop in conjunction with the Guyana Football Referees Council in an effort to enhance the skill level of the controllers of the game before the company’s upcoming schools’ football tournament scheduled to start on June 21.

The workshop which was held at the main office of Digicel, Barrack Street, Kingston, saw coordinator of the tournament Lavern Fraser-Thomas explaining the purpose of the workshop through the eyes of the bigger, better network.

“Digicel has recognised that they are involved in youth football and the conducting of youth football is generally a little different because it’s not only about the children playing football, it’s about them also being able to learn the laws and the right things

Referees paying attention to their instructor during the workshop at Digicel’s head office

that is expected of them in football.”

Fraser added, “Digicel is also of the impression that sport skills learnt are world skills learnt and which can take persons all through their life and so it’s one of the reasons why Digicel was very willing to sponsor this workshop for

GFA nominates Fraser-Thomas as general secretary

Lavern Fraser-Thomas

Odinga Lumumba

xecutive members of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) nominated Lavern Fraser-Thomas to serve in the capacity of general secretary (GS) of the body.

President of the Alpha United Football Club, Odinga Lumumba, who took over the GS position earlier this month after Christopher Matthias had resigned to take up the Guyana Football Federation presidential position, said he would vacate the seat should a suitable replacement be identified for the position.

Lumumba issued the ultimatum after citing differences between himself and GFA executive member, Mark Phillips.

The GFA executives have identified Fraser-Thomas, the University of Guyana’s sport coordinator, as the

person to fill the position of general secretary for the period 2013-2015.

“Mr Vernon Burnett, president of the Georgetown Football Association, had knowledge of the agreement of the executive members, as regards the above and the confirmation by Ms Fraser-Thomas to serve in the capacity of general secretary, prior to the GFA general council meeting held on Saturday May 18, 2013, at the Sleepin International Hotel Boardroom,” a press release stated.

It added, “Since at that meeting you [Lumumba] did indicate that you would resign, should there be a suitable replacement, we the undersigned executive members bring this information for your knowledge and action.”

E

the referees.

“It is to allow them the opportunities not only to make sure that they are up to scratch with whatev-

er new updates they might have but also for them to get a general understanding of what is expected from them seeing that

they will be working with the youths that will be our senior national footballers to come.”

Meanwhile Lawrence “Sparrow” Griffith stressed on the technical importance of the workshop and the leniency the referees will have to show with the young players.

“This (workshop) is to bring the referees up to scratch with the recent or the game in general to make it uniform because everybody in every profession has to keep upgrading and we got referees from different locations so we bring them together so we can get one level of understanding, so what happens in Berbice, will happen in Linden or happen in Mabaruma,” Griffith told Guyana Times Sport.

With the tournament

reaching the 10 regions across Guyana, Griffith believes that the quality of refereeing, coupled with some amount of leniency, on field play will impact the tournament in a positive way while bringing the players to a new standard.

“We already give the referees other directives for the school tournament because a lot of the players don’t know a lot of laws of the game, they don’t know a lot of things so the referees will be refereeing and teaching too.

“So by showing some leniency and dropping to their level we hope that in the future they will come up to our level so that we will have better players in years to come,” Griffith stated.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013

TOP SCORES

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

England 354 (Root 104, Bairstow 64, Boult 5-57) and 287 for 5 dec (Cook 130, Trott 76) beat New Zealand 174 (Swann 4-42) and 220 (Swann 6-90) by 247 runs

Back Circle crowned Guinness Streets football champs See story on page

22

Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste presents the cash and trophy to members of the Back Circle team. Sharing the moment is Banks DIH Outdoor Events Manager Mortimer Stewart at extreme right

INSIDE TODAY'S SPORTS

Marian Academy outhustled in first loss

Sarwan P21 believes Windies can repeat great – Plaisance run over GTI 2004 show See story on page

22

One of GSA’s players goes up for yet another shot in the post against Marian Academy (Treiston Joseph photo)

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