Guyana Times Daily - October 15, 2015

Berbice Bridge Toll reductions...

Negotiations still deadlocked between Govt, BBCI

Small companies benefit from Govt contracts

Second suspect in Kitty shootout arrested in Berbice 10 floodprone communities benefiting from disaster response training RK

thursday, october 15, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, October 15 – 05:15h-06:45h and Friday, October 16 – 05:45h-07:15h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Low

50% Executive salary increases…

“Trust us” on unanimous Cabinet decision ..increases could have been higher – Trotman

fter saying some two months back that Government would not be increasing any salaries for Ministers and other officials any time soon, Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman has now confirmed that Cabinet went ahead and unanimously approved the pay hikes.

Back in August, Trotman had told reporters that Professor Harold Lutchman, who was the Representative of the List of Candidates for the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition, was heading a team tasked with reviewing the pay structure for all public servants including the pay rate differentiation Government intended to establish among the high-level officials. He had stated at the time that this process would conclude in a few months.

However, last week, the Guyana Times published that the APNU/AFC Administration went ahead and approved the salary changes for Government Ministers and Vice Presidents. The increases were gazetted the week before.

Responding to questions posed by media operatives during this week’s post-Cabinet briefing, the Governance Minister said that there were no objections by any Cabinet member on the increases, which he said were fair and not astronomical. “It was a unanimous decision,” he told reporters at the Ministry of the Presidency.

According to Trotman, when he was addressing the media back in August, the comments made by him were as directed by Cabinet at the time. “Cabinet then was of the mode that time will be taken to study and examine them, perhaps, I ventured a little too far by saying not this year… but I did say that the differentiation (of salaries) will come and has to come and that Cabinet was studying two proposals,” he stated.

The Minister went on to explain that Cabinet recently took the decision to proceed with the pay hikes for Ministers and Vice Presidents, notwithstanding the review process still ongoing. He added that the increases were done taking into consideration that both the Budget and Treasury could sustain them.

“…therefore in September, Cabinet formed the opinion, unanimously, that it should go ahead and I don’t believe that it was hidden anywhere because once you gazette these, you are making it open (to the public),” he informed reporters.

Why so soon?

Against the backdrop of criticism that Government may have moved a little too soon to give themselves a raise, the Minister was asked whether Cabinet could not have waited a little longer. Trotman, however, said that the increase was “inevitable”. He pointed out that no pay hike, particularly for politicians followed by judges, has ever been accepted in any other country without much criticism.

Nevertheless, Trotman went on to say that the salary increase was “necessary”, noting that the timing may or may not have been right,

but in a matter such as this, there was no such thing as “the right time” since circumstances change. “There is no such time, perhaps, as the present,” he added.

Furthermore, the Governance Minister also spoke of the need for parity among the three arms of Government – Legislature, Executive and Judiciary –as he disclosed that a junior Judge at the High Court received a salary of in excess of $1 million.

“I think if you are to do a comparative study of the salaries of Government and

Judicial Officers; throughout the Region, you will find that these are no way above or far from what is the norm. I believe the Ministers of Finance actually gave the reasons for the differentials,” he said.

Moreover, Trotman pointed out that there were two proposals done by independent sources for the salary increases and both have indicated much higher raises than what was agreed on.

“So Cabinet found a compromise position between the two proposals and settled on what we have now,” he noted, adding that he could not give any further details on the criteria used to decide the increases.

Additionally, he highlighted that the Leader of the Opposition also got a “sizeable” increase along with every Member of Parliament. He also stated that there was another proposal before Cabinet for considerations to give all former MPs a raise in their pension.

Meanwhile, he was asked why the salaries of the Government Ministers were changed first as oppose to that of public servants who received a meagre five per cent pay hike in the 2015 Budget.

turn to page 13

Editor(ag): Michael Younge

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

Sugar as scapegoat

With the Commission of Inquiry into the travails of sugar, a former Chairman of GuySuCo, Vic Oudit has been the most recent of many to take pot shots at the modernising of the sugar industry. And he will not be the last: there has been a plethora of criticism ranging from why was the particular contractor selected – as Mr Oudit complained – to why modernisation was considered necessary in the first place.

But what they will not say, especially those from the then Opposition benches, is when the Strategic Plan was released in 1998 and proposed the modernisation beginning with Skeldon and continuing with Albion and Blairmont, no one in the Opposition said a word. And Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan who were in the PPP at the time were fulsome in their praise: Berbice, the centre of the sugar expansion that would include co-generation, a sugar refinery and a distillery, was their backyard.

While it has been said hindsight is always 20/20, the questions generally ignore the situation as it was in 1998. We must not only take this plan into consideration as a matter of historical clarification, but as a practical exercise that might shed some light on a path for the industry going forward.

The goal of the plan was to increase production of sugar from the 350,000+ tonnes that the industry would achieve the following year, to a new plateau approaching 500,000 tonnes annually. The major justification for this decision was that the European Union had signed the Lome Protocol which guaranteed Guyana a market for at least 167,000 tonnes at a price far above the world market levels. And this agreement was promised to exist “in perpetuity”.

With hindsight, one can assert that “nothing lasts forever”, but at the time, no one could believe that the Europeans would unilaterally walk away from a contract signed when the price was very attractive to them and secondly, which benefited their very powerful beet sugar producers. Also, at that time, sugar markets were dominated by agreements exemplified by Lome and the world market’s very low price was actually a residual price that bore very little relation to fundamental supply and demand for the commodity.

But even with the attractive European price, it was conceded that Guyana was a high-cost sugar producer and needed to lower those costs to generate even higher profits. Efficiencies of scale were one way to bring down production costs while focusing the expansion in Berbice, which historically had always been the lowest-cost production region because of more optimum soils and shorter periods of rainfall. Albion at that time was the most efficient and modern factory, while the 1998 Strategic Plan considered its expansion, there were insufficient available new lands to provide canes for any expansion.

Skeldon, on the other hand, had the oldest factory that in any event would soon need to be replaced and additionally, was surrounded by large swathes of suitable land. More to the point, the land was going to be in private hands which satisfied the World Bank’s demand that at least 30 per cent of the canes for the expanded production come from this source and that monies were not to be spent on the other factories. And this, in a nutshell, was the reason for the Skeldon Modernisation Project. The present critics completely ignore the fact that the World Bank signed off on the Project.

While the Opposition has been very vocal in its criticisms of the Project, it was completely mute even after implementation kicked off in 2004. By that time, the Economic Services Committee, in which the Opposition alternated the chair with the Government, grilled executives of GuySuCo on several occasions. It was also mute on the concessional financing by China Ex-Im Bank which led to the selection of CNTIC as the Skeldon Contractor.

The fundamentals of the Project were sound and we should not scapegoat sugar because of cheap politics.

Asquith Rose’s report on Jagdeo meet biased

Dear Editor,

My reply to correct a biased, inaccurate commentary by one Asquith Rose (Oct11) on Jagdeo’s meeting in Richmond Hill was not published in another paper – that is the new free press under the new Government. Rose made claims and formed conclusions without supporting evidence or causal logic. He assumes facts not in evidence. As someone who has been touting his personal academics, telling the globe he has a PhD, he ought to know better than to make generalised statements without supporting information. Unless, of course if he wishes to be Kissoonian in logic!

I was at the Jagdeo meeting for his address and left to attend the wake held for Professor Jainarine (Paul) Erriah who passed away a few days earlier. Peers I spoke with gave me an account they claimed to be accurate of what transpired. Rose penned that Jagdeo was “ranting and raving” … -- those words describe Rose’s commentary of the meeting.

Rose stated: “PPP (Indian) supporters (sic) boycotted the visit because of Jagdeo’s leadership, which lacks credibility”. There was no evidence to support such conclusions. No one made any claim they were boycotting the meeting; there were no protests or picketing exercise and no one (publicly or even privately) discouraged others from attending the meeting. People freely asked questions. No one objected to Jagdeo’s presence at the meeting. No one ever stated he or she was boycotting the meeting because of Jagdeo’s leadership. An example of evidence to support a contention of a boycott would be the announced boycott and picketing exercise of an AFC/APNU meet at the same venue last April.

Rose stated Jagdeo answered questions “indirect-

ly”. However, colleagues contended that Jagdeo answered questions directly. Jagdeo did not evade questions. Contrary to what Rose penned, colleagues claimed Jagdeo did address questions pertaining to his wealth, alleged corruption, and purchase of land at the so-called Pradoville II. At two subsequent sessions I attended, Jagdeo did address these topics and claimed he (and others) paid more than the going assessed price for the land.

Rose described Jagdeo’s insistence on the rehiring of 1900 Amerindian workers (fired by the new government to national unity) as “scoring cheap political points”. What is wrong with rehiring workers who were fired on account of ethnic and political affiliation or proposing a quid pro quo to achieve a political goal? That is what politics is about. Jagdeo also made reference to racial and political victimisation being suffered by Indians which Rose ignored in his report. No one should be persecuted on account of race or politics. Rose is right that Jagdeo did suggest GECOM facilitated the alleged rigging of the election. Jagdeo offered evidence among which were: erasable ink used in PNC strongholds and permanently stained ink in PPP strongholds; recycling PNC supporters, some of whom were caught red-handed voting multiple times and the Police closed their eyes; hiring of PNC activists as Returning Officers; fake Statements of Poll; refusal to carry out a vote recount even when the difference was just one vote. Rose is also right that Jagdeo did hint that America, Britain and Canada conspired to remove the PPP from office. Jagdeo did say that the ABC countries did not want a recount fearing it would show fraud and make them look like fools having declared ear-

lier that the election was fair. Rose rambled: “Jagdeo’s callousness and racist rants did not galvanise any sympathy ….” But Rose did not present any evidence to support these conclusions on “callousness” and “racism”. Jagdeo did not show any callousness (indifference towards anyone) in his remarks and he never uttered any comments that would even remotely be considered as “racist”. He did not attack any race or anyone on account of race. He did say Indians and Amerindians have been victims of racial discrimination and some Africans as well as Mixed supporters of PPP being politically victimised. How did Rose know the audience had no sympathy for Jagdeo? Did he go around and ask them and they all told him “no”? Really!

Rose penned that there was a group in the audience who believed Jagdeo “had perfected the practice of insanity”. Did Rose go around and asked the audience if they believe Jagdeo practises insanity and he came to that conclusion? Really! It would seem Rose is practising insanity or is hallucinating.

Rose stated that Jagdeo was unpatriotic in his remarks on Venezuela. On the contrary, Jagdeo spoke in support of Guyana’s position on Venezuela’s claim to two thirds of Guyana’s territory; that is an example of patriotism contrary to what Rose thinks. Rose stated that Jagdeo engaged in “tirades” in his address. No examples were offered and truth be told he did not. People felt Jagdeo was very calm and gave a convincing case in support of allegations of “election rigging” and was respectful to everyone, including to Rose who went into a tirade rambling on and on in his endless questioning. Jagdeo spoke authoritatively and presented evidence to support his claims

and contentions. Rose, on the other hand, failed to offer evidence to support his various theses that he conjured up as arising out of the meeting. Clearly, Rose is biased in his report and commentary. It is incumbent upon all writers, regardless of their political affiliation, to be fair and objective in their writings; that is the minimum knowledge imparted in any university setting and Rose claims he went to college. Rose engaged in an unfair, distasteful and prejudicial attack on Jagdeo. This attack came four days after Rose’s friend, Freddie Kissoon, claimed Rose communicated information on the meeting that turned out to be non-factual especially with regard to the racial makeup of the audience and the alleged censoring and near expulsion of Rose from the meeting. Rose had a moral and ethical responsibility to correct Freddie’s rantings and ravings since Rose was the source of misinformation. Rose did not correct Freddie exposing a sinister motif of lies, half truths and deception. Jagdeo should and must be held accountable for his actions and any flawed comments at his public meeting. But a fair and balanced account is missing in Rose’s attack on the former President. Jagdeo, himself, stated that critique and criticism (not personality attacks) are welcomed. Rose failed to mention that Jagdeo agreed with those who felt the PPP needed to undergo transformation. Jagdeo describes his movement around the country as a humbling experience. He agrees that the Party must rebuild house to house. Rose and other commentators should stick to facts and not form conclusions that are not supported with evidence.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

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

Chenapou’s land demarcation problem is of its own making

Dear Editor, Kindly publish this letter for me in the Guyana Times

The article in the Stabroek News (Sat Oct 10) titled “Chenapou protests over land titled to neighbouring village –says half of population affected, urges halt of demarcation”, seems to be very interesting.

Chenapou’s village problem regarding its land demarcation is one of its own creation and not the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MOIPA). As the saying goes “you cannot eat your cake and have it”.

On August 7, 2015, a technical meeting was held at the then Ministry of Amerindian Affairs (MOAA) with representatives of eight villages eligible for land demarcation. Chenapou and Paramakatoi were among the villages and their representatives raised objections to the land demarcation process. These objections were based on the fol-

lowing; (1) demarcation means “fencing in the village; (2) extensions should be addressed before demarcation so that the entire area requested could be demarcated at once; (3) all villages should merge to obtain ownership of the entire Region Eight; (4) demarcation will cause gaps of State land to remain between villages thus attracting “coast landers” who will have negative impacts on the land and (5) Paramakatoi feels trapped by other bordering communities that would restrain its eventual request for extension. As was promised at the meeting held at the MOAA, feedback was received from six of the villages with the exception of Chenapou and Paramakatoi.

The Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) Project Management Unit (PMU), however, was informed that Paramakatoi held a meeting on August 18, 2015 to advise titled villages and communi-

ties awaiting title in Region Eight to desist from demarcating boundaries. These villages and communities were encouraged to reject demarcation before extension so that all villages may merge into one administrative block comprising of the entire Region Eight.

But the small Karisparu community seems to have outsmarted the Chenapou village now causing Toshao Edward McGarell lots of pain because of his silly mistake of not accepting demarcation before land extension. Toshao McGarell is a student of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA).

What Toshao McGarell should now do is apologise to his village members for being misled and explain to the MOIPA the mistakes he made and desist from wrongfully accusing the Ministry.

Yours faithfully, Peter Persaud

Where is the good life as propagated in the Budget?

Dear Editor, Guyanese living abroad and the world should be happy to know that this Government has got no real economic plans to bring Guyana back on good governance.

Public Sector employees – only five per cent increases and not from January 2015. The schoolchildren grant and laptop project gone. Where is this good life as propagated in the Budget? Private Sector crying; all across Guyana business dying. I witnessed this in GT. The Guyanese masses must take the fight to Parliament Building, no time for sitting down.

Guyana is spiralling into a recession similar to Canada owing to the inability to have any coordinated, well-structured democratic plan to help the masses suffering daily economic hardships. Their election campaign promises were all hollow and deceptive to just seize power. They com-

plained the PPP/C was stealing, as Harmon constantly peddled the lies of “thieving” almost daily yet their Police, COI/Clive the Economist, Ram/Goolsarran and Sharma the Finance Minister mouthpiece using taxpayers money without any public accountability. These Commissions were illegally put in place not following the Constitution of Guyana, stacked with political hacks with axes to grind wasting needed funds. The regime’s 50 per cent plus increases to themselves without any oversight – money for the boys and girls, saying the treasury is broke – more lies. Where is the money coming from to pay the “new fat cats” (Nagga man’s pet phrase)? There are no concrete economic policies for the two major industries – sugar and rice; some incentives for mining. You do not have to be an old, aged economist to conclude that the policies are to force the Indo-Guyanese out

of Guyana similar to the 28 years of PNC repressive rule. PPP/C championed the needs of all Guyanese, took a 180-degree turn and transformed this nation into the envy of some Caribbean countries. Never in its history were so many AfroGuyanese are so wealthy and it was under 23 years of PPP/C stewardship. Those who voted for APNU/AFC’s hollow promises can redeem themselves by mounting a petition calling on the regime to resign NOW. Your constitutional rights must be upheld or else all that was achieved in the last 23 years will be lost. Your children and grandchildren will be the losers. It’s ok to make mistakes because God The Almighty gave us the chance to repent honestly, have remorse in our hearts and do not return to the same mistakes. Take heed and act now before it’s too late.

Yours, Sheik Ally

Freddie Kissoon is out of place

Dear Editor, I am currently conducting research on Berbice and my Google search took me to many interesting hits and findings, which I am using for my upcoming book. But I also came across some bizarre writings on Berbice spearheaded by Frederick Kissoon chastising the former Head of State Donald Ramotar about a month ago for the wrong usage of the word intuition and that Ramotar should have used instead the word intention. What a curious mind I must say which intended to embarrass Ramotar. Interestingly

enough, I did another search and came across another piece by Kissoon “Berbicians: Mad, racist or just plain naïve”. In that piece, Kissoon wrote: “Today the sourpuss cry from the entire PPP leadership including dirty-minded politicians who wielded power for twenty-three years over a hapless and helpless nation is being transported to Berbice in special caravans of proselytisation.” The usage of the word “transportation” is in question. The word transport or transportation means to move people and things. Certainly, he is speaking of intangible things,

like thoughts and actions, “sourpuss cry” and the right word in this context should have been “transferred” not “transportation.” This is a man who claims that he has been writing for over 25 years. Of course, we all make mistakes and the more one writes, the more one is likely to make mistakes. But to chastise and embarrass someone who was the former Head of State because he made a human error is not within the realm of decent journalism.

Thank you, Lomarsh Roopnarine

Let’s focus on issues to return GuySuCo to profitability

Dear Editor, Mr Charles Sohan’s letter in Guyana Times of October 13 is noted. Unfortunately, Mr Sohan seemed more focused on attacking the messenger, rather than dealing with many of the substantive issues in my letter. Sadly, his letter is riddled with inaccuracies. British owned Booker Tate was the management team in 1993, not “senior management staff, politically loyal were appointed to his team”. I was relieved of my position because of a political decision by the PPP Ex-Co, not for poor performance. Additionally, Mr Sohan can check with GuySuCo’s management, unions and workers as to my stewardship during 1993-2003. He will be surprised to learn of the high level of respect I enjoyed.

Re: his claim of “large annual losses” during my tenure, GuySuCo made profits every year under my tenure, except for one year for foreign exchange reasons, when the newly established Euro currency in which we were paid, depreciated to 1 Euro to US$0.82. In

subsequent years, the exchange rate has been in the US$1.14 to €1.47 range, to GuySuCo’s advantage.

The issue of political interference must be distinct from political support. The Government of Guyana is the sole shareholder of GuySuCo and as such, appoints a Board of Directors that it has confidence in to perform the mandate given to it. Those Directors have a fiduciary responsibility to perform, or they should be replaced. The shareholder supports its company, whether financially, as in recent years or politically, as at COTED meetings. Political interference, however, such as the seizure of prime lands without compensation, the choice of a Chinese company to build the new Skeldon factory, despite my advice to the contrary and the appointment of an unsuitable person to be the CEO, as were done by the previous Administration, was detrimental to the company and should not be condoned.

For the record, proposals were in train with the

Government of India for cogeneration units for the Demerara factories in 2003, but the then Administration chose funding for the stadium instead. The much admired Demerara Gold was my “baby” as it was our first venture into the value-added sugar field.

Another false statement in Mr Sohan’s letter is that Mauritius has given up on sugar production. Mauritius currently grows sugar cane on 72,000 hectares, which is 85 per cent of its arable land, while producing 600,000 tonnes sugar annually.

For myself, I welcome the ongoing discussions on the future of the sugar industry, even by sugar neophytes like Mr Sohan. I do have a problem, however, when he chooses to engage in character assassination, rather than dealing with the issues to be debated, so necessary to arrive at the best way forward.

V Oditt Former Chairman of GuySuCo 1993-2003

The 2015 Election invoked memories of the 1973 Election

Dear Editor, Vishnu Bisram’s letters are certainly informative, interesting, relevant and credible and I look forward to reading his GT postings. His letter of October 12, titled “Freddie illinformed on Jagdeo’s NY visit”, certainly brought back memories of Guyana’s 1973 National Election.

The day after that Election, Janet Jagan was on the radio talking about mass electoral wrongdoings at the expense of the PPP by the PNC, Police Force and Guyana Defence Force. I remember clearly how two of my Afro-Guyanese coworkers complained about what they witnessed on Election Day in Georgetown. One said that as he was going home from work, he was called into a house

by someone he knew and, upon entering, was surprised to see many PNC operatives washing out the voting ink from their fingers and then leaving to go and vote again. While he was taken aback in witnessing the rigging gang at work, he said what really resonated with him was the derogatory and profane language they used when they were referring to Indo-Guyanese.

The other co-worker, who lived with his parents at the GDF compound, near the seawall at Camp Street, said that what he saw on Election Night he will never forget for the rest of his life! He saw many ballot boxes, presumably loaded with cast ballots, being transported into the GDF Compound. It is worthy to note that this individual later became a distinguished le-

gal operative in the Caribbean. While former President Bharrat Jagdeo may be correct in his description of the 2015 electoral improprieties, I am wondering why the PPP/C – in Government for 23 continuous years and given their bitter electoral experiences from Independence to 1992 when the PNC ruled Guyana through paramountcy, racism and terrorism – did not implement rigorous measures to safeguard the integrity of the electoral system? The PPP/C leadership needs to purge itself of whatever makes it powerless to champion for a clean electoral system and to vigorously protect and defend its supporters’ rights.

Thank you, FR Bacchus

Flexible retirement age needed

Dear Editor, Mr Claudius Prince must be congratulated for his excellent letter in the media on Monday (12/10/2015), titled “Developed USA uses elderly experienced workers; backward Guyana discards them” which makes the case for flexible retirement. This letter came on the heels of similar recommendations offered to the CoI into Guyana’s Public Service by Mr Hydar Ally who recently retired as a Permanent Secretary in the Public Service.

Both gentlemen echo similar views and recommendations which I have personally and professionally been expressing at various fora for many years, not only in Guyana but elsewhere during my work as a con-

sultant in Human Resources Management.

Particularly in countries like Guyana, with limited competencies in practically all spheres of employment, it is short-sighted and self-defeating to allow the calendar and birth certificate to make managerial decisions about when employees, especially highly competent and productive ones, must stop working, because an inflexible pension scheme provides for retirement at a certain age.

Recruitment and retention of employees are functions of supply and demand for certain competencies; once the demand is established why should the establishment be denied the supply already present and proven?

Bureaucratic justifications about rules, regulations, provisions of pension schemes or obscure references to ‘stifling of promotional opportunities’ are all unimaginative humbugs in what should be a more dynamic regime anchored on realistic, pragmatic and obviously more progressive Human Resources Management policies and programmes which, sadly, are conspicuously absent in our dear land of Guyana from the new political hierarchy to the old established Public Service, the sugar industry and I dare say most of Guyana.

Sincerely, Nowrang Persaud

Page Foundation

Parents have endless opportunities to help their children integrate their brain, both laterally and vertically. Of course, unavoidably, we will miss some of these. Sometimes we will make the mistake of responding to our children by brushing off their emotion and charging in with our best logic and reasoning. This is much like trying to open a door with a key that doesn’t fit, and for both parent and child this approach often leads to frustration. This is not to say that parents should completely toss out logic and reasoning. But opening the door to a child’s logical side requires connecting with their emotional side first – creating the interpersonal attunement that is needed to gain access to the logical side of the child’s brain. A parent might acknowledge, for instance, her son’s fear of thunderstorms and offer understanding –perhaps even relating a similar experience from her own childhood. The child is then better able to put his fearful feelings into words, give meaning to his experience, or redirect his attention to reasoning through it.

At other times we may miss opportunities to let children exercise their prefrontal cortex, the upstairs brain. Practice in decision making can (and should) be offered to children as often as possible, but it should be age-appropriate and framed so as not to be overwhelming. For instance, a two-year-old should be able to choose between two or three

flavours of ice cream, but allowing him to choose from among 31 might simply turn a trip to the ice-cream parlour into a frustrating situation for both parent and child.

As children grow older, parents who are engaged and aware of their children’s developmental changes are likely to pick up readiness cues that tell them when it may be time to give children practice in more complex decision making.

Although it may be tempting to prevent them from making even the most minor mistakes, parents don’t do children any favours by controlling the outcome of every decision.

Unquestionably there are potentially lifechanging decisions that parents will need to have more of a hand in. But in a matter with relatively limited consequences such as how an allowance is spent, older children can gain valuable experience from struggling with a decision and finding they must live with the outcome, and even toddlers can learn such lessons from the choices they are allowed to make. Children of all ages also learn from the choices parents make. As parents verbally rehearse their plans and goals, and the actions they take to achieve them, they are modelling their decisionmaking skills while also giving

children the sense that they are involved – another form of guided practice.

It is never too early for this. Children as young as 18 months are already capable of understanding concepts such as fairness, reciprocity, correct versus incorrect behaviour, and punishment. Even at this age, children understand when a violation is intentional or accidental, and they judge responsibility accordingly.

But as parents play with their children, read to them, and talk over the events of the day with them, they can point out connections between cause and effect while also teaching empathy, moral values and logical thinking.

As they move out of the toddler years, between the ages of about three and six, children possess “theory of mind,” which enables them to understand that others

They are also capable of a somewhat imperfect understanding of cause and effect, another important aspect of decision making. Of course, a very young child may associate two unrelated events simply because they occurred at the same time.

may have thoughts, feelings and beliefs that are different from their own. This allows them to take a more objective view of their own experiences as they practice imagining the perspective of another person. This ability is not fully developed in preschoolers,

however; at five or six years of age a child who is accidentally hurt by a playmate may assume the event was intentional. But parents can hone children’s logic in these areas by helping them question their assumptions and biases. Preschool children are beginning to internalise the family’s expectations and values, forming the basis of conscience, and by the time they are about eight these foundations will be developed to the point that they should be able to consider both intentions and consequences when making moral judgments, and to distinguish between actions that violate moral rules versus those that violate social conventions.

Beyond childhood

Until recently, most of the research on the childhood development of decision making has focused on adolescents, and on risk-taking in particular. Adolescents are seen as risky decision makers in general, though even children as young as four will often opt to take a risk if it means gaining a higher reward. But adolescents have far more sophisticated reasoning skills than do younger children. They can think reflectively, envisioning

hypothetical situations while applying deductive reasoning and anticipating potential regret. And they do not make decisions simply by calculating the risk. Rather, family, peer, cultural and many other influences affect their choices. In fact, adolescents are capable of taking surprisingly adult-like approaches to risk. Most adults would not, for instance, mathematically calculate the risk of catching a bullet in Russian roulette before deciding whether to play; they would simply summarize the risk as a lifeor-death choice and reject taking it at all. Adolescents are perfectly capable of thinking about risk this way, especially if they are taught to do so by parents who have set the stage, providing regular practice in decision making while also collaborating in those decisions and setting appropriate standards and values on which to base them. There is no reason for parents to fear giving adolescents practice in autonomous decision making. If the family environment is supportive and teens feel connected, they will not hesitate to consult with parents about important decisions.

Indeed, say researchers, even though adolescents do take advice from peers into consideration when they face important decisions, most place the highest value on advice that comes from parents. Whether or not such confidence is well placed would depend on the parents’ own decision-making skills. Unfortunately there’s no magical age at which people suddenly achieve a “mature” level of judgment. As Moshman puts it, “development beyond childhood, it appears, is not a matter of universal progress toward some endpoint routinely achieved at some specifiable age. Rather, developmental progress beyond childhood is more subtle and multifaceted.” In other words, there is no guarantee that adults will make perfect choices.

Still, if parents are to help their children become good decision makers, they themselves must be well past the eeny-meeny-minymo stage. If we are to get there, then the “tiger” that must be caught by the toe is the ability to think about how we think. Without selfexamination, none of us can be sure whether the fundamental values, beliefs and techniques we use in making decisions are sound, and if ours are not, those of our children are not likely to be sound either.

Perhaps questioning what we think, then, is secondary to questioning how we think. If our thoughts and emotions rest on faulty foundations, we may as well be making our decisions using a playground counting rhyme and teaching our children to do the same. (www.vision.org)

Government pays off $40M Guyana Stores’ taxes

…City Hall writes off $M in past due interest – as public servants struggle for salaries

The Government-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) has paid over some $40 million in taxes to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, on behalf of the Guyana Stores Limited owned primarily by Glenn Lall, publisher of the Kaieteur News and his best friend Tony Yassin of New York. This is against the background of Government claiming there are no monies to raise salaries of public servants, teachers, police and nurses.

Officials within the Georgetown Mayor and City Council’s Treasury department and at the NICIL headquarters confirmed on Thursday that indeed NICIL paid up millions in past due taxes settling part of the huge amount owed to the city for the several properties it owns.

Those officials denied only acknowledged $168M paid, without conceding that an additional $40M was paid on behalf of Guyana Stores.

“Included in that amount were payments for Guyana Stores Limited”, another source at City Hall explained. It was not immediately clear why the government would direct NICIL to make the multimillion dollar payment to the city council on behalf of the private company which it cur-

rently has several court actions against for hundreds of millions outstanding monies owed to the government.

Glenn Lall and Tony Yassin, now Directors of Guyana Stores, owes US$2 million of the US$6 million the property was sold for back in 2000 by the Government via NICIL. Past due interest on the outstanding balance would amount al-

most to another US$2 million. The matter is sub judice as the Government owned corporation move to the courts to recover its monies. In the meantime, the profits of the company are collected by the two owners.

The present Government had criticised the past PPP Administration of using NICIL as a “slush fund” and it appears that this is what the new Ministry of Finance, under which NICIL falls, has now utilised the monies deposited in the putatively autonomous body.

Calls by this newspaper to the mobile phone of the newly appointed NICIL Chairman Maurice Odle went unanswered over the last two days, after he had promised to return a call. Minister of Finance Winston Jordan had originally been appointed to this position, but after protests stepped

down.

Mayor Hamilton Green confirmed to the Guyana Times on Tuesday that the payment by NICIL was received but he could not divulge the particulars. Both the wife of the Mayor and Glenn Lall had been hauled before the courts for unpaid taxes to the City.

Town Clerk Royston King could not be reached at his office nor via his mobile to clarify details of the payments either despite the fact that this news-

paper made several checks at his office.

However, when contacted on Tuesday, Deputy Mayor and Member of the Amnesty Committee Patricia ChaseGreen confirmed that the Council was in receipt of the said payments, explaining that it was not unusual for a lump sum payment to be made by

NICIL as it occurred several times over the years.

She said that NICIL still has outstanding amounts to be cleared but could not give any specific numbers at the moment.

Chase-Green also confirmed that the NICIL would also have benefited from a write off the total accumulated interest on the properties concerned which could amount of several million over any given period.

She could not say immediately when questioned by Guyana Times, what was the amount written off as interest – which would be monies the city is foregoing as part of the amnesty arrangement.

Asked what properties were covered in what she claimed to be a $168 million payment from NICIL and for a possible break-down, ChaseGreen would not provide the details. She however denied that payments were made by NICIL on behalf of Guyana Stores Limited and were part and parcel of the $168 million payments made when ques-

tioned by this newspaper.

At the time the Government has paid off the $40 million of taxes owned by a private company, it has been enmeshed in a controversy where public servants, the police, nurses and teachers have complained bitterly that while the government claims they have no money to give them their promised salary increases, they were able to find money to give themselves 50% pay increases. Government had also vowed to return the millions in NICIL’s accounts to the Consolidated Funds, from where they could have been used to pay the increase salaries for Government servants. With NICIL funds depleted through the paying off of debts of private companies such as Guyana Stores these increased look increasingly uncertain in the future.

Analysts have questioned the reason why the government would open itself to further criticisms of ignoring its support base by favours bestowing such huge benefits to the controversial Glenn Lall.

thursday, october 15, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Sanjay’s Jewellery owner released on $500,000 bail

– High Court appeal likely to be successful – Defence Attorney

Despite the fact that he was convicted on Friday last of causing death by dangerous driving and sentenced to serve a term of 58 months in prison by Magistrate Judy Latchman, the owner of Sanjay’s Jewellery, Bishnarine Persaud, has been released on $500,000 bail by the High Court, pending an appeal of the decision taken on the charge by Magistrate Latchman.

This information was confirmed by Persaud’s Attorney Glen Hanoman who revealed that he made a successful bail application for his client to be released for the duration of the appeal. Hanoman related that bail was granted due to the Magistrate’s inability to support her verdict of guilt, explaining the process undertaken in the application being granted.

“Once an appeal is filed, the Magistrate is called upon to prepare what you call a Memorandum of Reasons.

The Memorandum of Reasons is the Magistrate’s explanation as to why she found the person guilty,

Bishnarine Persaud, also called “Sanjay”, was released on $500,000 High Court bail despite a 58-month sentence

and why she came up with the sentence that she handed down. Now, normally what happens is that when you file an appeal, the Magistrate goes and writes her reasons but this particular Magistrate was very efficient and delivered her reasons to the Court within minutes”. The Attorney further revealed that it is highly likely that Persaud

would be successful in his appeal, saying “When we looked at those reasons, and I will quote the Judge here, “There is a high likelihood of success at his appeal” because according to the evidence that he has seen in the Memorandum of Reasons, he cannot understand how she has come to the conclusion of guilt. In other words, the evidence did not support the finding of guilt. Basically, it looked as if he was wrongfully convicted.”

Persaud, called “Sanjay”, of Lot 26 Sheriff Street, Georgetown, was found guilty by Magistrate Latchman of the charge which stated that on September 10, 2014, he drove motorcar PKK 5501 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Leon Hunte, a handyman, attached to the Georgetown Mayor and City

Council. Hanoman, in making his submissions to the court during the ruling stated that the prosecution did not provide any direct evidence to prove that the defendant was driving dangerously on the night of the accident. He had also posited that the Prosecution has fallen short in proving the case of drunk driving or that the death of the deceased was as a result of the defendant’s action. As such, based on his case, he had requested that the case against his client be dismissed. However, Magistrate Latchman said despite the defence’s argument, that it was clear that Leon Hunte, a pedal cyclist, lost his life as a result of the accident.

She reprimanded the defendant, stating that he did not exercise the five C’s proving that he was inattentive, adding that the defendant was an incompetent and inexperienced driver. She also declared that as a result of his incompetence, the deceased suffered a fractured spine, a fractured neural line and a fractured thorax. As such, based on the evidence she found him guilty as charged.

Magistrate Latchman in handing down her sentence referred to the fact that a life was lost, reminding the defendant of the number of road fatalities for the year 2015. She stated that it was his responsibility and duty as a road user to promote road safety, and to preserve and value the human life.

In accordance to her ruling, she sentenced him to 58 months in prison.

23-year-old

remanded for robbery under arms

Aman was on Wednesday remanded to prison by Magistrate Alex Moore in Court 10 of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he appeared before him charged with robbery under arms and possession of a gun and ammunition.

Oliver Ridley, 23, was not required to plead to the indictable charge which read that on Sunday, October 11 at Meadow Brook, Georgetown, he attempted to commit a felony; that is while being armed

with a gun, he attempted to rob Yonnet Nurse.

He also denied the allegations which read that on the same occasion he was found in possession of a .32 pistol and one live matching round of ammunition without being the holder of a firearm licence.

The particulars of the charges were not revealed in court. Bail was denied and the accused was remanded to prison and will make his second appearance on November 12.

Eyew tness

Ain’t

no turning back…

…on salaries

Well now we have it from the horse’s mouth – at least the horse that’s been assigned to fetch this “goadie-sized” load: there will be “no retreat; no surrender” on the increased Executive salaries. Seems like on this issue, his disciples have adopted one of the Kabaka’s trademark sayings: “Back to back; belly to belly; ah doan give a damn; ah done dead already!”

Finance Minister Winston Jordan dug his heels in and told the Muckraker (he doesn’t answer calls from the GTimes) that the Administration will keep their swollen pay checks, thank you. But you’ve got to give the man credit: he made a manful effort to defend the indefensible. Said there were three reasons for the eye popping raises – the PPP’d abolished Vice Presidencies, and there needed to be a pay scale for them, then there was the salary scale rectification offered by Pressie, and….drum roll please!....the increased work load!

You’d notice the goodly economist dropped the reason proffered by the Minister of the Presidency – the need to pay “quality” people who’d given up a life of luxury for “public service” so they wouldn’t steal... Guess the brain trust saw if the said luxuries were “given up” why now threaten to steal public funds enjoy the same luxuries? Doesn’t say much for their altruism, does it?

But back to the “official” response to the tsunami of criticisms threatening to drown the Administration. OK, it’s true the PPP didn’t continue with the PNC’s four Vice Presidencies – they said it was an unnecessary layer of featherbedding. So why exactly were the positions brought back? How exactly does it make the work of Government more efficient – when the incumbents have Ministerial positions to begin with – and in the case of the Prime Minister…well…he’s the Prime Minister!! So what exactly have they made “more efficient” to deserve the 60 per cent over the old Senior Minister’s salary of $579,000? This Eyewitness feels there should be no VP’s so there’s no need for a new pay scale here. Then there’s the “salary rationalisation” bit. While this may be valid, why does the “rationalisation” have to be upwards? Couldn’t they’ve rationalised it downwards –since their predecessors were so trenchantly criticised as “living a Cadillac lifestyle”???

And we’ve saved the best for last: the increased work load!! Your Eyewitnes just snorted so vigorously, he nearly had a seizure!! The VP Senior Security Minister and his 2am curfew? The VP Prime Minister in Charge of the Kronic, where he doesn’t interfere with the Reporters? The VP Amerindian Affairs Minister with an additional Minister within the Ministry – plus four advisors and assistance from the Communities Ministry?

Pleeeeease!! And we’ve only just begun!

…from the Green Jacket

Folks are all agog over the suit donned by VP Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on his visit to Canada. Some thought since the trip was all about encouraging investments to rake in the GREENbacks, the fella was sending subliminal signals to the Canadians in the audience? NOT the expat Guyanese – the ones showing up were the old hangers on, looking for a squeeze. No way they’re sending their money “back home” where “serious crimes” have swooped upwards by over 10 per cent every single month since the new Government took over.

But Ramjattan’s Green Jacket reminded your Eyewitness of one of the superheroes from his callow youth – the green-jacketed “Green Lantern”. Since he and Ramjattan were contemporaries he figured the fella was simply taking his new security job seriously and evoking the Green Lantern’ s oath:

In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight.

Let those who worship evil’s might Beware my power – Green Lantern’s light!”

Take that!!... you 2:am evil doers!!

…on Gun Amnesty

Your Eyewitness thinks the Police (and the PPP) are men of little faith. Seems that only Ramjattan has faith in the intense desire of our criminal class to “do the right thing” and turn in their guns.

Extend the amnesty!!! Again!!!

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

APNU/AFC Councillor forced to apologise for outburst at RDC meeting

– Region 2 Chairman says meeting ethics must be respected

APartnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change Councillor Naithram on Tuesday at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) meeting for October was forced to apologise for his outburst and disrespectful behaviour during the meeting after being threatened with disciplinary action by the Chairman.

Naithram, who is a representative on the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), was asked by People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Councillor

Ranjeev Singh to explain to the forum what was going on in the rice industry. At the previous RDC meeting in September he promised the Council to make contact with the Agriculture Minister Noel Holder on the issue of palm mite affecting coconut farmers and the carambola flies. As such, he was also asked to comment on the same.

In a rage during the session of the RDC, Naithram stood up and shouted at the Chair of the meeting, Ramdatt accusing him of not seeing his hand was up

Serial “airport robber” remanded to prison on birthday

The alleged serial “airport robber” who was on Wednesday, October 7 shot during an attempted robbery – after he trailed an off-duty Police Officer and his family from the airport – was on Wednesday remanded to prison.

Shawn Thom, 37, a taxi driver of 138 Third Street, Alberttown, denied the charges that were read to him by Magistrate Ann McLennan in Court Two of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The first charge read that on Wednesday, October 7, at Kitty he discharged a loaded firearm at the Virtual Complainan (VC) Prim Narine with the intent to maim, disable or cause him grievous bodily harm.

The accused also pleaded not guilty to a charge which read that on the same occasion, he was found in possession of three live rounds of .38 ammunition without being the holder of a firearm licence. Finally, the accused denied the charge which read that on the said occasion, he was found in possession of a .38 revolver without being the holder of a firearm licence. Thom denied all the charges stating that he was only released from the hospital last Saturday and was placed into Police custody. When asked if he had anything to say, the accused used the opportunity to inform the Magistrate that it is his birthday. Bail was denied and the accused was remanded to prison until October 28.

According to reports, the VC, who is a Police Officer, sought help from his counterparts at about 23:00h on the day in question after he suspected he was being trailed after leaving the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). The Policeman and his brother had travelled to the airport to receive some relatives and on their way back to Barr Street, Kitty, they observed that they were being trailed. As such, the rank contacted some of his colleagues and arranged for them to meet him at a strategic point. While at the

Suspected serial “airport robber”, Shawn Thom

corners of Barr Street and Stanley Place, the rank being trailed along with his colleagues who were waiting there, confronted the men. The three male occupants of the trailing car exited and opened fire on the officers. The law men returned fire, wounding the suspect in his right foot and managed to disarm him. The injured man was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital and was subsequently arrested and charged.

Thom and his two accomplices are suspected to be serial “airport robbers” as they

have been fingered in several cases where persons were trailed from the airport to their homes and robbed. This newspaper was told the vehicle was positively identified by Rowena Bowen, who along with her 13-year-old son was robbed at gunpoint in front of their Lot 2 Shell Road, Kitty, home. They had just returned home on September 14, from vacationing in the United States. Additionally, the men are believed to be behind a similar robbery against a Diamond, East Bank Demerara, resident who was also followed from CJIA and robbed by armed men. They are also fingered in another recent robbery of a Queenstown resident, who had travelled from CJIA.

Thom was indicted with the 2010 murder of an East Coast Demerara (ECD) man but was acquitted during the trial at High Court after the judge upheld a nocase submission presented on his behalf. Thom along with another were accused of fatally shooting Lakhram Bishundial during a robbery bid at Hope, ECD, on August 20, 2010.

Naithram to take his seat after which he asked Councillor Singh to repeat the question to Naithram. Singh then repeated the question, but Naithram refused to answer anything about the rice industry or the coconut palm mite.

He was then told by the Regional Chairman that if he did not apologise for his behaviour, he would be muzzled. After 10 minutes of contemplation, Naithram then stood up and apologised after which he vented on other issues affecting him, not answering the questions that were asked.

to speak. Ramdatt then cautioned him about his tone and the unprofessional manner in which he was behaving at the RDC meeting. Naithram got angrier and started to rant to Ramdatt, asking “If I speak like this, what can you do???”.

The Regional Chairman then asked Councillor

On that note, Ramdatt informed all councillors that meeting ethics should be followed at all times. He said that as the people’s representatives, they should behave as servant and not be aggressive while trying to make a point. Supporting Ramdatt was another

PPP/C Councillor, Bryan Basil who told his fellow Councillors that even in Parliament there was a code of conduct and as such, the same should be observed in the RDC.

Basil said he was shocked at the way Naithram behaved and the tone of voice he used when asked to reply to something he promised to follow up on.

Naithram’s colleague on the Government side, Hardat Narine had also stood and asked Naithram to apologise. He, however, defended Naithram saying that indeed his hand was raised and the Chairman did not give him a chance to speak.

PPP/C Councillors denied such claims pointing out that everyone was given a fair chance to speak and the accusation by the coalition councillors was a mere fragment of their imaginations.

BoG launches 50th anniversary commemorative stamps

As part of its events to celebrate 50 years of service in Guyana, the Bank of Guyana (BoG) launched a collection of commemorative stamps in collaboration with the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) on Wednesday.

Governor of the financial institution, Dr Gobind Ganga, told the media that these stamps are in the denominations of G$80 and G$150 and that their designs showcase the front and reverse of the 50th anniversary commemorative coin.

He explained that to mark the opening of the BoG, a commemorative stamp (the second Guyanese commemorative stamp) was designed to show the building and was issued in October 1966.

“However, for the 50th anniversary commemorative stamps, we chose the design of the commemorative coin with the theme ‘Promoting Financial Development for Guyana’s Prosperity’, capturing the past, present and future role of the Bank in fostering monetary and financial stability for sustainable growth and development.

The first day cover shows the commemorative stamps and the Bank’s building which is an iconic landmark

in Georgetown, since it was opened in 1966. The stamps and first day cover serve not only as a treasured piece of the Bank’s history in its contribution to Guyana’s development but as a testimony of an institution that reflects the tenacity of an independent people,” said Dr Ganga.

Guyana Times understands that it is the Bank’s hope that these stamps and first day cover will raise

awareness of the history of the BoG to the public; both nationally and internationally, along with the commemorative coin that was launched earlier this year.

“I have no doubt that these will lead to a better understanding of this apex financial institution’s role to the public,” noted the Bank’s Governor.

Meanwhile, acting Post Master General of the

GPOC, Abdul Hassan, at the launching ceremony posited that the attainment of 50 years is a significant milestone for the Bank and that the commemorative stamps are the ‘perfect souvenirs’ to mark the BoG’s jubilee celebrations in Guyana.

He stated that it has been a privilege thus far working along with the Bank of Guyana and the relationship over the years has been very prosperous with commendable outcomes.

“The new Bank of Guyana 50th anniversary commemo-

rative stamps will be circulated in $80 and $150 denominations both locally and internationally through postage. Stamps will be on sale at selected post offices country-wide, commencing today (Wednesday) October 14, 2015. It is important to mention that commemorative stamps also attract the interest of philatelists who purchase, sell or keep them as collectibles,” said Hassan.

Junior Public Infrastructure Minister, Annette Ferguson, who was also present at the launching ceremony, declared that such an achievement of 50 years of service in Guyana is laudable because of the extensive work that the Bank has to do in regulating fiscal and monetary policy in Guyana.

“We are here to celebrate the partnerships that continue to exist between the Bank and other institutions in the public space especially the GPOC. This history started from the housing of the British Caribbean currency board’s office to current inter-party services such as banking, bulk postage and granting of several licences such as our money order licence… As most persons are aware, the GPOC is expanding its range of services to include ecommerce and integrated financial services especially for the rural and riverain areas and no doubt

the BoG will be a key partner in realising these aspirations,” she stated.

Minister Ferguson emphasised that the “key in this economy” is service and as service providers effective and lasting partnerships must be forged and built on trust, integrity and reciprocity.

“The service sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in most economies and we must all ensure that we provide services of quality. No longer are we isolated operators but must connect our people through goods and services to cost effective delivery and the GPOC stands ready, willing and able to lead this charge. No doubt, the bank of Guyana will create the enabling framework for the delivery of such services, ensuring the right oversight as we lay the pillars of economic resilience in Guyana,” the Junior Public Infrastructure Minister said. She added that this is a task to which all must be committed both as providers and consumers of services. “There must be of necessity a level playing field and the GPOC is willing to leverage its vast network of branches to support the BoG in providing the leadership to ensure financial stability in Guyana.” (kristenm@guyanatimesgy.com)

Construction worker fined $75,000 for larceny

Aconstruction worker was on Wednesday shown mercy by Magistrate Ann McLennan in Court Two of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he pleaded guilty to a larceny charge.

Junior Sears, 19, of Farm, East Bank Demerara, pleaded guilty to the charge which read that on August 13 at East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, he stole one Samsung Galaxy smartphone valued $90,000 and US$300 cash, all to a total value of $150,000; property

of the Virtual Complainant (VC) Shawn George.

According to Police Prosecutor, Corporal Deniro Jones, on the day in question, the VC was hosting a wake for his deceased brother. During the course of the evening, he placed his phone with the money within the casing, to charge in the bottom flat of the house. He subsequently returned to find the phone missing. He received information that the defendant was the perpetrator and made a report.

The defendant was arrest-

ed and gave a statement to the Police admitting that he took the phone. In court, the defendant denied the allegation that he stole the money, claiming that the phone did not have a casing. He revealed that he was not working, and due to financial constraints, he stole the phone. The Magistrate thereby sentenced him to pay a fine of $75,000 or a default of six months in prison, telling him that she gave him a second chance in the hope that he would be a better person.

Labourer gets bail for narcotics possession, claims drugs were planted

Aman was on Wednesday released on $25,000 bail by Magistrate Alex Moore in Court 10 of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he appeared before him charged with possession of narcotics.

Glen Moses, 25, a labourer of 346 Dazzel Housing Scheme, Paradise, East Coast Demerara, pleaded not guilty to the charge which read that on

Wednesday, October 14, at Bourda, in Georgetown, he was found in possession of 5.5 grams of cannabis.

According to the accused, on the day in question he was riding along the street when he saw a car pull over in front of him so he crossed the street and proceeded to continue on his journey. He stated that a Police rank then came out of the car and approached him. He related that the rank conducted a search of his person

but found nothing; however, he then went to his bicycle and punctured the wheel. He said that when the rank returned, he was in possession of a small bag of what he suspected to be drugs and claimed that he found it on his bicycle. He opined that it had been planted on the bicycle. The Magistrate placed the man on $25,000 bail and adjourned the matter until November 13.

Minister Jordan defends Executive salary hike ...comparison

inance Minister

FWinston Jordan has sought to justify Government’s decision to increase the salaries of the Executive, explaining that the salary system inherited from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government did not cater for the composition of the new A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Government.

Jordan had spoken exclusively to another section of the media, explaining that Government needed to move in that direction to accommodate a number of things. These included making provision for the salaries for the new portfolio of Vice Presidents, of which Guyana has four; to complement the heavy work that the Ministers have to undertake and fix the irregularities which exist in the payment structure. He said Government had reached a system where the President was receiving a salary of about $2 million non-taxable, the Prime Minister a salary of about $1.5 million, the Attorney General (AG), Chancellor and the Chief Justice a salary of some $1.6 million monthly.

“There was no allocation for Vice Presidents; this position did not exist under the PPP. But the senior and junior Ministers were receiving the same pay of about $579,000. What do you notice?”

According to the report,

with Public Servants’

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

Jordan said “It is clear that there are huge anomalies there. The President, Prime Minister and AG are receiving massive salaries and your seniors and juniors are at the same level. Nowhere in the Caribbean does such a system exist.”

He explained that for junior Ministers, the $579,000 was increased by 12 ½ per cent, while for senior Ministers it was increased by 50 per cent. As for the Vice Presidents, he said, they received a 60 per cent increase on the $579,000. According to the report, Jordan said the $1.6 million salary for the Attorney General was increased by five per cent, while the Prime Minister’s salary was increased by 10.7 per cent.

He also confirmed that President David Granger will also benefit from the increase, as his salary will be

5% “nauseating”

increased by five per cent.

The salary increases were published in the Official Gazette of September 25.

Jordan said, “I am not sure why people were saying that it was 50 per cent increase across the board because it was not done in that way. The increases were calculated based on fixing the anomalies which do not exist in the public service system…. The percentages were also used to widen the gap between the payments so that you can be able to have a scale which differentiates between the various positions. There are also some super ministries which we have now and the workload has increased immensely.”

Several agencies and letter writers have criticised the Government for increasing the salaries at this time, stating that no evaluation was done to show that it was deserved.

There have also been criticisms that the salary increases was done at the wrong time, especially when the Government had said that the country’s revenue earners were not performing and the Consolidated Fund was in heavy overdraft.

The Government had also stated that major increases for workers in certain public sector areas would not be economically feasible at this time yet increases were somehow feasible for the Ministers.

The Finance Minister insisted that the salary increases were necessary and

Second suspect in Kitty shoot-out arrested

Members of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Guyana Police Force on Wednesday acted on intelligence and went to a home in Tucber, New Amsterdam, where they arrested the second suspect in the recent shoot-out between bandits and Police in Barr Street, Kitty Georgetown.

The suspect along with a female companion was transported to Georgetown where they will be further interrogated. According to information received, upon the arrest of the 23-year-old man of Victoria Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, a gunshot injury was observed on his left upper hand.

Guyana Times understands that the female companion admitted that the suspect turned up at her home with the bullet wound and upon enquiring, she was told that he was shot by the Police in Georgetown. He allegedly told the young woman that after escaping, he fled to Berbice to seek refuge.

The woman is expected to be charged for harbouring a criminal since she was aware that he was involved

justifiable.

He said, “There are about 13 senior Ministers who got the 50 per cent increases. Not 500 or 5000 Ministers, just 13.”

He then referred to the increases for public servants, reminding that the minimum basic salary of each public servant was bumped up to $50,000, which translates to a 26.4 per cent increase for those who earned the old minimum wage of $39,540 and 17.1 per cent for more than 4000 public servants earning the current minimum wage of $42,703.

He said that this was complemented by the fact that all other public servants receive an additional $5000 monthly.

“So it is nauseating when you read persons saying that the “five” per cent increase is measly when this is not the case.”

As for the argument that now was not the opportune time for ministerial salary increases, Jordan retorted, “So when is the opportune time? And who is doing the evaluation of the Ministers? The reality is that the people either vote you in or they vote you out based on your performance. We are saying that these increases are necessary. We are here to do the work of the people and make the systems work. I maintain that these changes were necessary as the President had pointed out before. We are not going to change our decision.”

in Berbice

in a shoot-out with the Police during an attempted robbery. When contacted, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times that the suspect is known to the Police and was previously charged for robbery under arms.

The suspect is expected to participate in an identification parade today. However, also on Wednesday, his accomplice, Shawn Thom, age 37, a taxi driver of 138 Third Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, who was also shot, was charged and placed before the court. He was remanded to prison.

On October 7, Thom was shot after he along with two others were engaged in a confrontation with Police Officers at Barr Street, Kitty, Georgetown.

It was reported that an offduty Policeman and his brother had travelled to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport to receive relatives and on their way back to Barr Street, they observed they were being trailed. As such, the rank contacted some of his colleagues and arranged for them to meet him at a strategic location.

While at the corners of Barr Street and Stanley Place,

Kitty, the rank being trailed along with his colleagues who were waiting there, confronted the men. The three male occupants of the trailing car exited and opened fire on the officers.

In retaliation, the Police returned fire wounding one of the men, who has subsequently been identified as Shawn Thom. He was shot in his left foot.

It was reported that after the shoot-out, the Police recovered an unlicensed .38 revolver along with three live rounds and two spent shells from the scene. The vehicle used by the suspect, a yellow Toyota IST bearing registration number HC 2303, has been seized by Police.

Now that the Police have arrested the second suspect, they are on the lookout for the third, who they suspect may have sustained gunshot injuries as well. The Crime Chief also stated that ranks of A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) have embarked on a campaign with the aim of getting criminal elements off the streets. They have had several raids in certain sections of the city and this will continue on a regular basis.

Islamic New Year begins today

The Islamic New Year will commence with the month of Muharram 1437 AH, on Thursday, October 15, 2015.

The Hijri New Year symbolises the historic journey of Prophet Muhammad (SAS) from Mecca to Madinah. The Prophet’s migration teaches us the virtues of unity, solidarity, sacrifice and fraternity. This event has been celebrated over the centuries as a great victory for Islam and it provided unparalleled examples of brotherhood in our religion.

“The Holy Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him established Islam more than 1436 years ago on the principles of peace, justice, tolerance and respect for every human being irrespective of race or religion. Muslims must live in peace with the creator as well as the creation,” Ahmad said.

He noted that the population of Muslims in the world today is approximately 1.57 billion and can be

found in every country. The Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, taught us that the power of peace is stronger than violence. Let us show mercy on the creation so that mercy will be shown to us by the Creator.

The CIOG wishes to extend New Year’s greetings to you and your family and pray that 1437 would be a year of progress and prosperity for our country and its people, and peace to prevail in our country and the world.

In a statement from the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), President of the organisation, Shahabudeen Ahmad urged the brothers and sisters of the Islamic community to include increasing the knowledge of Islam and implementation of this knowledge in their public and private lives in their New Year’s resolution.

thursday, october 15, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Negotiations still deadlocked between Govt, BBCI

Berbice Bridge toll reductions… 10 flood-prone communities benefiting from disaster response training

There is still no development between the Government of Guyana and the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) with respect to the Government’s proposed reduction of bridge tolls although this is a pressing matter to commuters.

Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry Annette Ferguson, told reporters on Wednesday that as far as she is aware, the situation of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration and the BBCI authorities remains the same.

cifically from Regions Five and Six had had bemoaned what in their view was an exorbitant fees structure. They introduced a motion in 2014 to slash the tolls in the National Assembly which the Opposition then controlled.

The Chairman of the Berbice Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCCI) Rajnauth Ramroop when asked about his take on the proposed idea of a reduction on the bridge toll after the Government unilaterally moved to reduce the tolls to fulfil a campaign promise, said “It will affect the Berbice region in a positive way. We have been call-

tity of contracts in Public Private Partnership financing for projects. Williams’ contention was

“I can’t comment further on that because the last that I know is that the bridge authority had asked the Government for some extension, so that they can have a discussion with their stakeholders. So as far as I am aware they haven’t gotten back to the Government to say what their position will be,” she stated.

On this note, the Minister posited that the number of river taxis that presently ply the Rosignol to New Amsterdam route (Berbice areas) has not yet been increased.

She explained that the Administration at this point in time still has two river taxis servicing the area. However, due to the large number of persons utilising these taxis, the Government will have to take into consideration increasing the amount of river taxis it has in the areas.

“As far as I am aware we have a great increase in numbers of commuters using the river taxis. So I guess Government would have to increase the number of taxis. I think that is currently engaging the attention of the Cabinet,” she noted.

Guyana Times was also told that the Minister is unaware as to whether or not the BBCI has had the opportunity to meet with its stakeholders to have the necessary discussions as it relates to the bridge tolls.

She said the bridge authority is “yet to get back to us.”

In the year before the last election, the Alliance for Change ( AFC) purporting to speak for commuters spe-

ing for a reduction in the tolls for a long time and we welcome the move. It is not safe for us in the region to be paying so much when the Demerara [Harbour] Bridge is not even so much.”

However, sections of the Private Sector were against this move. Earlier in the year, President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association Clinton Williams said he was against the move to reduce the toll because of its implications for the sanc-

that this move can affect the Public Private Partnership in the future, as the profits the Private Sector expects to make would be less and therefore, would think twice before investing.

In the 10th Parliament, Joseph Harmon, now the Minister of State, had advanced a motion that proposed a reduction in rates for large trucks from $13,600 to $10,000; 50-seater buses from $12,800 to $9000; 30-seater buses from $7200 to $6000; four-wheel drive/

SUVs/Pick-Ups from $4000 to $3000; SUVs and pickups pulling a boat for recreational activities from $4000 to $3000; four-wheel drives SUVs and pick-ups pulling horse buggies from $4000 to $3000; four-wheel drive/ SUVs/pick-ups transporting BBQ Grills and coolers from $4000 to $3000; motor cars from $2200 to $1000; minibuses from $2200 to $1000; and motor cycles to be free.

The motion was rejected by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) but it was eventually passed by the House during the first half of 2014. The PPP/C had argued in Parliament that this move would be deemed as mismanagement of the economy. Former Public Works Minister Robeson Benn had declared “I will not reduce the toll for any person in Guyana until we have determined economically that it will be a benefit… it’s easy to shout reduce the tolls to get some votes; it’s just like saying reduce the VAT… We will not go back to the days of irresponsible management of the economy.” (kristenm@ guyanatimesgy.com)

Residents of Imbotero and Smith’s Creek in the Barima River, Region One (Barima-Waini); Kaiburi and Friendship in the Pomeroon River, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Crane and the Met-enmeer-zorg on the West Coast Demerara (WCD), Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Albouystown, Lodge and Ruimveldt in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); and Moraikobai in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) will at the end of October be better prepared to respond to future local or national disasters.

Since August 1, most of the communities have been benefiting from community-based disaster response training. The exercise is being conducted by the Guyana Red Cross Society (GRSC) in partnership with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), the Regional Democratic Councils, the Ministry of the Presidency, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown.

First Aid and Occupational Health Safety (OHS) Coordinator, of the GRSC, De Vaughn Lewis told the Government Information Agency (GINA), that the exercise is in response to the severity of the damage sustained and the level of vulnerability observed in these communities following the July 2015 flooding.

Heavy rains during that month caused severe flooding in the first five administrative regions in Guyana.

The flood affected various parts of the regions and resulted in varying degrees of damage to housing and buildings, livestock and farms, cash crops and water and sanitation facilities.

Lewis said that following the flood, the GRCS observed that though several communities were affected, focus was not placed on many of them. He explained that the GRCS decided to send out teams, to meet with the local authorities, coordinate with the communities to provide assistance and conduct field visits and assessments.

“Coming back from that assessment and also reports, we decided that those communities were vulnerable and needed the help,” he said.

Using the sum of 148,142 Swiss francs obtained from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF), Lewis explained that from August 1, the GRSC began supporting the delivery of disaster risk management assistance to 2500 people (500 families) in these 10 communities.

He explained that this support, which is expected to conclude by October 31, includes first aid training, CPR, as well as water and sanitation, hygiene and road safety (in some communities boat safety) promotion.

He also explained that the exercise is expected to wrap-up with the distribution of 1000 mosquito nets, 500 water filters and 500 jerry cans to these communities.

GuySuCo CoI report completed

Within a few days, the future of the sugar industry in Guyana will be made known and determined by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government when the final report prepared by the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) will be handed over to Agriculture Minister Noel Holder.

The report, which is in its completion stage, is expected to be presented to Minister Holder on Saturday.

After this, the CoI’s recommendations and findings will then be sent to the Cabinet for its perusal and deliberation as to the way forward for the sugar industry and more so the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

Currently, the sugar in-

CoI Chairman Vibert Parvatan

dustry is long past its “majestic and glorious days” as the Corporation continues to encounter major financial difficulties and remains mired in seemingly insurmountable debt.

Reports are that GuySuCo is effectively ‘bankrupt’ with its total

debt amounting to billions of dollars to date. For a number of years, the Sugar Corporation has been operating at a loss and has only survived because of the previous Administration’s massive subventions.

Only recently, GuySuCo Chairman, Dr Clive Thomas had proposed to the Administration that the interim management should remain in place until sometime in 2017.

This proposal was as a result of the Chairman’s view that the management should be in place until the end of the sugar agreement between Guyana and the European Union and Tate and Lyle.

When the CoI is concluded, its recommendations and findings as it relates to the future of the sugar industry in the country would

result in the industry being ‘extremely different’ than it is presently.

Guyana Times understands that at present the Sugar Corporation is being smothered under its current debt and the current cost of production is over 40 US cents per pound while world market prices are a third of that.

This means that the revenue that GuySuCo receives is not enough to cover its operating costs thus resulting in the Corporation suffering huge losses annually.

It was also recently disclosed that the company is running on debt financing.

In this regard, there are also overdrafts from institutions which GuySuCo borrows, but has not been able to repay; hence, it is not considered a ‘sustainable’ situation and the com-

pany can be declared “technically” bankrupt.

The APNU/AFC coalition Government in July had established the Inquiry into the operations of the Sugar Corporation.

Some of the issues that were raised thus far include the impact of the industry over the next few years, particularly with the current world price of 11.3 US cents per pound of sugar and the current European Union price in the region of 15 US cents.

This publication was told that thus far there has been no decision or recommendation in the report signalling that there will be any closure of estates/ factories contrary to speculation being voiced in the media as of recent. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy. com)

15,

Guyana’s economy negatively affected by elections

...downturn may be seasonal – BoG Governor

The country has been experiencing a notable economic downturn during this year so far, and more so, this problem has escalated in the past few months, resulting in many persons in both the Private and Public Sectors having to suffer tremendously.

In some cases, persons have been laid off from their jobs while others are contemplating their next move in light of their financial woes.

However, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Dr Gobind Ganga, on Wednesday told reporters that it expected that the economic state in the country will see some positivity by the end of this year.

He noted that during any general election in the country, the performance of the economy is affected as he referred to the recent General and Regional Election held in Guyana on May 11.

Guyana Times understands that the country’s economy has been adversely affected because the agricultural, mining and retailing sectors are facing major difficulties at present – these sectors make up the backbone of the economy. This negative impact, however, is not unexpected.

According to Dr Ganga, there are periods when an economy is “booming” and then there are times when the economy experiences a slowdown.

“There is always seasonality in terms of performance of the economy whenever we have

elections and we did indeed have a slowdown.

Hopefully, by the end of the year, we have a bumper rice crop, increase in sugar production, some positive with respect to the mining sector and also the services sector. So we should have an outcome towards the end of the year which is acceptable,” he explained.

This publication also understands that while the banking sector has been affected by the economic downturn in Guyana it was not unexpected.

“We had a decline in commodity prices and for commodity exporting countries obviously where people are reacting, that is economic agencies are reacting to prices, then you have some situation with respect to some downward movement in production. We are hoping to have an upward climb, we have three more months to go… We have seen currency in

“Trust us”...

Trotman stated that there was a “differential” that was causing legal and other problems; hence, the Finance Minister felt that the raise for Ministers should be done.

We are not numb

On this note, Trotman pointed out that the Administration was not unmindful or numb to the concerns of the citizenry in general or public servants in particular. “We hear the concerns and we are not numb to the concerns of the people, but we ask that the people continue to trust us so that we can bring that better life to them,” he implored.

The Minister further outlined that Government gave public servants more than five per cent increases in its 2015 Budget, as some

From page 3

got 20 per cent and there was also concessions to benefit from. He added too that the current inquiry ongoing in the Public Sector would see anomalies such as inadequate salaries being addressed.

Of recent, Government has come in for much criticism over its decision to raise the salaries even by some of its own members and supporters.

In the Official Gazette published on September 25, it was revealed a Cabinet Minister would be given a hefty sum of $10,439,124 annually. It is further detailed that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo would be benefiting from in excess of $20 million per annum, while the other Vice Presidents would each receive $11,135,064.

circulation to be at the level that it was towards the end of June,” the Bank of

Guyana official said.

He also noted that during special occasions and holidays in the country it more often than not results in more spending by the public.

Regardless, if during other periods there is low spending, it is during these times that persons would ensure that monies are spent for various purposes.

“You always have seasonality whenever you have a major event for example Christmas or Easter. You will find that there will be upwards swing and then it will come back down. So we have seen those situations playing out in terms of the cycle,” Dr Ganga posited. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy.com)

Small companies benefit from Govt contracts

During a Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday at the Ministry of the Presidency, Minister of Governance

Raphael Trotman told members of the media that the Government’s ‘no objection’ to contract policy has allowed for small companies to benefit from several contracts.

This initiative is meant to create a level playing field when awarding contracts. Minister Trotman said the contract in the sum of $40,132,130 was approved for GUYNAZ Enterprise to supply and deliver dietary supplements for Dora and Kuru Kuru schools.

Federal Management System was awarded a contract valued $55,319,750 for the provision of security services at the Ministry of Communities. Minister Trotman noted that all the contracts awarded are expected to be fulfilled by the end of December 2015.

Other companies were cleared for the procurement of medical consumables for standard and technical services. These are Global Health Services Limited –a contract for $8,072,547; Caribbean Medical Supplies –two contracts for $70,483,202 and $20,258,074; New GPC INC received two contracts in the sum of $11,122,105 and $34,028,622; and International Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) received a contract to the value of $33,892,095. Provision of operational services at the Lusignan landfill facility on the East Coast of Demerara was awarded to Puran Brothers Disposal Services for the sum of $18,739,000.

Jamaican author wins prestigious Man Booker Prize for novel on Marley assassination attempt

AJamaican novelist who wrote a fictional historic account of the attempted murder of reggae legend Bob Marley has won the prestigious 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

Marlon James’ win with A Brief History of Seven Killings, was announced last night at a black-tie dinner at London’s Guildhall, where he was presented with a trophy from Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall and a £50,000 cheque.

The 44-year-old’s book – his third following John Crow’s Devil and The Book of Night Women – emerged best among the six shortlisted from a total 156.

James, who currently resides in Minneapolis, United States, is the first Jamaican author to win the prize in its 47-year history. The win is also the first Man Booker Prize for the independent publisher of the book Oneworld Publications.

Speaking at a press conference after the event that was attended by the other shortlisted authors Tom McCarthy, Chigozie Obioma, Sunjeev Sahota, Anne Tyler and Hanya Yanagihara, well-known figures from the literary

world and VIPs, James said plans were already in the works for a film adaptation.

In addition to his £50,000 prize and trophy, James also receives a designer bound edition of his book and a further

£2500 for being shortlisted.

Britain’s Royal Mail is also issuing a congratulatory postmark featuring the winner’s name, which will be applied to stamped mail from Wednesday until Saturday. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Cuban band to play at White House for first time in over 50 years

For the first time in more than half a century, a Cuba-based band will perform at the White House.

The world-renowned Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club will perform for guests today at a reception at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, according to a White House official.

The event will mark the end of Hispanic Heritage Month as well as the 25th anniversary of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

President Obama is expected to speak at the reception, which will also be attended by Cuba’s ambassador to the US, CNN reported. The White House’s invitation to the Grammywinning band is the latest overture between the two Cold War foes, who have steadily sought to improve relations during Obama’s Administration after five decades of animosity.

According to NBC News, the band derives its name from the original

Family

of missing El Faro crew member filing US$100M lawsuit

Arelative of one of the missing crew members of the cargo ship that disappeared during Hurricane Joaquin, is suing the boat’s owner.

The family of missing 33-year-old Jacksonville, Florida resident Lonnie Jordan is filing a US$100 million lawsuit against Tote Maritime, contending that the company should be held accountable for sending El Faro into the path of the Category Four hurricane.

Jordan worked on the ship for 13 years. The ship disappeared with 33 crewmembers off the Bahamas

in late August. United States Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air National Guard and tugboat crews searched more than 183,000 square nautical miles off the Bahamian coast in an effort to locate the 28 American and five Polish crew members who were on the vessel which was travelling from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico.

But after a full week of looking, they only turned up debris and one dead body and the search for the ship, which is believed to have sunk, and the crew was called off. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Chile's new Constitution: Bachelet launches process

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced the launch of a process to draw up a new Constitution for the country. A new Constitution to replace the one drawn up under military rule had been one of President Bachelet’s main campaign pledges.

The process is expected to take several years. The final draft will be put to the Chilean people in a referendum, Ms Bachelet said in a televised speech.

Ms Bachelet said the current Constitution “had its origins in the dictatorship and does not reflect the needs of our times or promote our democracy”.

It came into force under

Gen August Pinochet in 1980 and gave the executive wideranging powers such as dissolving the lower house of Congress.

It has since been amended. But many people, including the President, have argued the document is illegitimate because it was drawn up by a small group of handpicked supporters of military rule.

President Bachelet said a campaign of “civic education” would start straight away.

It would be followed in March 2016 by “a process of dialogue with citizens in which everyone can take part”. The President said she expected to be handed the results of that dialogue in October 2016. (Excerpt from BBC News)

World’s largest hotel company expanding with new 450-room resort in Barbados

Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company, has announced plans for further global expansion with the development of a 450-room resort in Barbados.

Sam Lord’s Castle Barbados, A Wyndham Grand Resort will be located in the eastern parish of St Philip on the former site of Sam Lord’s Castle – a spot renowned for pirates in the 19th century and one that carries great historical significance in the Caribbean today.

The 58-acre beachfront property is being developed with the Barbados Tourism Investment (BTI) and will be managed by Wyndham Hotel Group. It will be the first Wyndham branded resort in Barbados. The resort will feature three onsite restaurants, 20,000

square-feet of state-of-theart meeting space as well as an expansive luxury spa and fitness centre.

“The famous buccaneer Sam Lord settled in this area for its beauty and mystique. Today, we believe he selected the perfect location for our continued growth in the Caribbean,” said Paulo Pena, president and managing director, Latin America and the Caribbean for Wyndham Hotel Group on Tuesday as the announcement was made.

Sam Lord’s Castle Barbados was once a beautiful Georgian mansion built in 1820 by Samuel Hall Lord, a notorious buccaneer who, it is said, used to hang lanterns on palm trees to attract merchant ships whose captains mistakenly thought the place was a safe harbour. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

St Lucia citizenship by investment programme to start in January

In an opening address to the Global Citizens Forum in Monaco last Thursday, Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony announced that Saint Lucia will be accepting applications for citizenship by investment as of January 1, 2016.

While Anthony described himself as a jealous guardian of Saint Lucian citizenship, he noted that the time had come to think beyond traditional approaches in order to deal with the challenges that small states face. Citizenship through investment, he said, has become a viable alternative.

The prime minister informed the gathering of citizenship lawyers, wealth managers, marketing

agents, investors and VIPs that Saint Lucia, by accepting new citizens, would not just be offering citizenship but would be offering an identity, a people, and Saint Lucia’s place in the world. He stressed that new citizens must enhance Saint Lucia’s global standing and ensure that the country’s proud heritage endures. In his address, the prime minister outlined the principles and characteristics of the programme to be implemented. He noted that the legislation establishing the programme was supported without political rancor, with the blessing of both the ruling government and opposition parties. (Caribbean News Now)

Israeli Police set up East Jerusalem checkpoints

Israeli forces have begun a major security operation in Arab areas of occupied East Jerusalem, after a surge in attacks by Palestinians.

Police blocked on Wednesday morning entrances to Jabal Mukaber, a district where three men accused of killing three Israelis on Tuesday came from.

The Israeli military also deployed hundreds of soldiers to assist.

Later, Police said they shot dead a Palestinian who stabbed an Israeli woman at Jerusalem’s main bus station.

A Palestinian also attempted to stab a policeman

at the Damascus Gate of the walled Old City, but was shot dead by Police, they added.

Since the beginning of October, seven Israelis have been killed and dozens wounded in shooting and stabbing attacks, the Israeli authorities say.

At least 30 Palestinians have also been killed, including assailants, and hundreds have been injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

On Tuesday night, Israel’s Security Cabinet authorised Police to close or surround “centres of friction and incitement” in Jerusalem.

It also announced that the homes of Palestinians who attacked Israelis would be demolished within days and never rebuilt, and that their families’ right to live in Jerusalem would be taken away.

On Wednesday morning, a Police Spokeswoman told the AFP news agency that checkpoints were being set up at “the exits of Palestinian villages and neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem”.

Israeli newspapers later reported that several entrances to Jabal Mukaber had been blocked by Police, with neither people nor vehicles allowed in or out. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Turkey sacks Ankara Police Chief after suicide bombings

The Turkish Interior Ministry fired Ankara’s top Police Chief and two other officials as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted security shortcomings may have led to a double suicide bombing in the capital that killed 97 people.

Announcing the first dismissals in the wake of the disaster, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday Ankara Police Chief Kadri Kartal as well as the head of the city’s Police intelligence and security departments had been sacked.

The Ministry said they had been removed on the

suggestion of investigators “to allow for a healthy investigation” into the atrocity.

There has been growing anger against Erdogan and the Government for alleged security lapses over the worst attack in modern Turkey’s history in which two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of peace activists on Saturday.

In his first public remarks over the bombings, Erdogan admitted there were security shortcomings but said their magnitude would be made clear only later.

“There must undoubtedly be a mistake, a shortcom-

ing in some place. Of what dimension? This will emerge after examinations,” he told reporters late Tuesday.

He said he ordered the State Supervisory Council (DDK), an inspection body attached to the presidency, to undertake a special investigation “to handle (the attack) from a different perspective”.

Erdogan on Wednesday made his first visit to the site of the bombings outside Ankara’s main railway station, laying flowers for the victims alongside visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Around the world

Pope Francis apologises for Vatican ‘scandals’

Pope Francis has made a surprise public apology for recent scandals “either in Rome or in the Vatican”.

He made the apology at his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square, but did not specify which scandals.

He is thought to be referring to a senior Polish priest who was dismissed from his Vatican post after announcing he was in a gay relationship.

The Pope’s Spokesman said the pontiff had not been referring to the recent resignation of Rome’s mayor.

Federico Lombardi admitted to reporters that the Pope’s apology had been “broad and generic”, but said it did not refer to “political” situations involving Mayor Ignazio Marino, who resigned earlier this week over an expenses scandal.

Father Lombardi said the Pope was referring to

scandals in which there is a “responsibility of men of the Church”.

To thousands of people who had gathered for his weekly address, Pope Francis said: “Before I begin the Catechism, in the name of the Church, I want to ask you for forgiveness for the scandals that have occurred recently either in Rome or in the Vatican. I ask you for forgiveness.” (Excerpt from

China hits back at US in row over South China Sea

Foreign Ministry

Spokeswoman Hua Chunying alluded to the United States when she blamed “some countries” for flexing “their military muscles again and again” in the South China Sea.

Last week, US officials said they were considering sailing warships in an area around the Spratly island chain which China claims as territory.

It has sparked tit-for-tat warnings between the two

powers.

China has been worrying its neighbours – and the US – by enlarging the series of tiny islands, reports the BBC’s China analyst Michael Bristow.

Washington believes Beijing is constructing military facilities, designed to reinforce its disputed claim to most of the region – a major shipping zone.

China says its work is legal and needed to safeguard its sovereignty.

The row began when US officials said they were considering sending warships inside the 12-nautical-mile zones that China claims as territory around the Spratlys.

That sparked strong words from China, with Hua warning: “We will never allow any country to violate China’s territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly Islands, in the name of protecting freedom of navigation and overflight.”

On Tuesday, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter expressed “strong concerns” over island-building, and defended Washington’s plans.

“Make no mistake, the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as we do around the world, and the South China Sea will not be an exception,” he said at a news conference with the Australian Foreign and Defence Ministers. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Apple facing huge chip patent bill after losing case

Apple faces a bill of US$862 million (£565 million) after losing a patent lawsuit.

The University of Wisconsin successfully claimed that Apple used its microchip technology without permission in some iPhones and iPads.

The patent, filed in 1998, is said to improve the power efficiency of microchips.

Mumbai man found alive in mortuary dies two days later

An Indian man who surprised mortuary staff by waking up just before a post-mortem examination died two days later in the same hospital.

The homeless man made headlines after he was declared dead by a senior doctor in Mumbai and sent immediately to the mortuary – against hospital rules.

Patients pronounced dead are supposed to be kept on the ward for two hours in case the doctor has made an error.

His cause of death is unclear. A post-mortem was scheduled to be held later on Wednesday.

Dr Suleman Merchant, the dean of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, told the BBC that the 50-year-

old man, named as Prashant, died on Tuesday night.

“He was treated for having maggots in his right ear and was unconscious. We treated him for electrolyte imbalance and transfused blood because he was anaemic,” he added.

Earlier, doctors said the man had a metabolic disorder and was delirious when Police

brought him in on Sunday. He was brought to the hospital after he was found unconscious at a bus stop, local media reported.

Dr Merchant said the hospital had launched an inquiry into the breach of protocol that led Prashant to be taken immediately to the mortuary.

(BBC News)

The case relates to use of the technology in the iPhone 5s, 6 and 6 Plus – but an additional lawsuit making the same claim against Apple’s newest models, the 6S and 6S Plus, has also been filed.

The University of Wisconsin sued Intel over the same patent in 2008. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

In court papers, the University claimed Apple ignored its offers to licence the patent, which would mean paying a fee for its contin-

ued use. Therefore, the University said Apple was wilfully infringing the patent, something which, if the court agrees, could carry a heavier fine. The precise amount Apple may have to pay will be decided at a later stage in the court proceedings. Despite recent well-publicised truces between some big tech firms, fierce patent battles are still being fought in courts globally. (Excerpt from BBC News)

thursday, october 15, 2015| guyanatimesgy.com

Investigation underway after prisoner allegedly escapes from Blairmont Police Station –

The Police Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has been called in to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged escape of a prisoner from the Blairmont Police Station, West Bank Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) on Monday.

B (Berbice) Division Commander Assistant Commissioner Christopher Griffith told this publication that the matter was being treated with great urgency. According to Griffith, the prisoner who was waiting to be placed before the court on an attempted murder charge reportedly escaped from the Police Station. Sources say that the area where it is alleged that the prisoner escaped via is too small for someone to pass through. Griffith said based on the initial reports which reached his office, he ordered that a thorough investigation be launched immediately. “We know that some Police Officers are not honest and so we have to investigate.”

Reports are that on October 5 at Blairmont, a female was wounded by a male resulting in her being hospitalised at the New Amsterdam Hospital for several days. Griffith told Guyana Times that the suspect in the matter had fled the jurisdiction and on Sunday was apprehended in Corriverton. “It was as a result of good Police work and we brought him to Blairmont to conduct the necessary investigations. We were going to charge him for attempted murder.”

Reports are that the mother of the now escaped prisoner who lives in Suriname was seen in the compound of the Blairmont

B (Berbice) Division Commander Assistant Commissioner, Christopher Griffith

Police Station on Monday and had a conversation with some Police Officers.

“We intend to get to the bottom of it to find out what transpired,” the Assistant Commissioner said, adding that he would not tolerate corrupt officers. He noted that recently other officers in the Division were involved in a corrupt transaction. “For just a little money, some Police Officers will spoil their reputation.”

Meanwhile, according to the Commander, the OPR was pulled off of another case to investigate the alleged escape. The OPR had earlier been called in to investigate the alleged sloppy work by one rank attached to the Fort Wellington Police Station on October 4.

On that day, persons telephoned the Fort Wellington Police Station and reported the death of an elderly relative. The officer at the station told them to take the body to the hospital and let a doctor pronounce the person dead.

Griffith explained

that it was later found as a result of a post-mortem examination performed on the body of 78-year-old Vaulda Britton of Hopetown Village, West Coast Berbice, by Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh that Britton died from asphyxiation due to natural strangulation and was sexually assaulted.

“.... the OPR will soon put up a report and if we find that the Officer acted in an unprofessional way, he or she will be disciplined.”

Griffith explained that under normal circumstances when a report reaches the Police of a person dying in a home, law enforcement would normally treat it as death by unnatural causes and visit the scene.

“They would check the body for any marks of violence and if they are satisfied, there seems to be no foul play, then they will advise the relatives to take the body to a funeral parlour. They might or might not have a Post Mortem but the Police must visit the scene.”

Wash bay attendant remanded for robbery under arms

Awash bay attendant was on Wednesday remanded to prison by Magistrate Ann McLennan in Court

Two of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he appeared before her charged with robbery under arms.

Marcus Clarke, 20, of 459 East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, pleaded not guilty to the charge which read that on Monday, October 12 at Tucville,

Georgetown while in the company of others and being armed with a gun, he robbed the Virtual Complainant (VC) Rolda Stanford of a quantity of keys valued at $35,000.

According to the facts as presented by Police Prosecutor, Corporal Deniro Jones, on the day in question the VC was in her truck from where she usually operates a business. She reportedly heard a noise and went outside to

RK offers $1M reward for information on bandits

wants Govt to enhance firearm laws

Ron Wednesday announced a $1 million reward for any information that can lead to the arrest of the bandits that shot security guard Garvin Trotman, 29, during a daring robbery moments after leaving the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital on Sunday afternoon. Trotman is attached to the RK Security firm.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Khan told media operatives that he believes the daring and vicious attack on his company’s personnel and vehicle seemed to be the work of an inside job, as the bandits seemed prepared and ready in their manoeuvres, as if they knew the time and place, spraying bullets at the ranks, causing life threatening injuries.

Khan mentioned that he does not believe that members of his staff were involved, but added that the call to transfer the cash was spontaneous, which is how the hospital usually operates with the security organisation. Khan also stated that he believes that some staff of companies, businesses, banks and even in security forces could be compromised to betray their employers and to

aid murderers and robbers.

“These disrespectors of law and order must know they have no place to hide and must be targeted and brought to answer,” he stated.

The owner of the company “thanked God” that the rank was not fatally wounded and commended the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital staff for their professional cooperation, which kept the officer out of danger.

He noted that the first priority of the security company after the attack was to secure the life of the officer who, Khan added, was also a management staff. The cash that the bandits carted off amounted to about $4 million, but Khan added that the money was insured and is to be reimbursed by the insurance company.

“This was the kind of attack where little could have been done with bullets firing from various directions, with the aim in mind to disable the driver” Khan noted. He added that as a security service provider with personnel, the priority is always the well being of workers, and they have since ensured that he was well cared for at a prestigious hospital and his benefits are secured while he recuperates

so his family can rest in comfort.

In his own opinion, Khan mentioned that crime has reached a historical level in Guyana and urged the relevant authorities to operate with more swiftness and cohesion of forces when handling these matters. He said if not, the situation will indeed become worse. He also recommended that the Government of Guyana enhance the laws on the use of fire arms by implementing measures that may force such perpetrators to cease their attacks. Some of his recommendations included the death penalty for murderers and the life sentence for three-time offenders.

On Sunday, Trotman along with his armed colleagues had just uplifted the sum of $4 million in cash from the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital and was enroute to the bank when three bandits pounced on them.

Reports stated that the three armed bandits rode up alongside the RK Security car on motorcycles and opened fire on the guards, while demanding the cash.

Police investigations continue. (jpinder@guyanatimesgy.com)

Region 10 Vice Chairman dissatisfied with absence of workers union at RUSAL

Tinvestigate when she was confronted by the defendant who told her to hand over her keys. She complied and Clarke and his accomplices made good their escape.

The defendant was positively identified by the VC who revealed that he had washed her truck two days prior to the incident. Bail was denied and the man was remanded to prison. The matter will return to Court on October 20.

he Vice Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Alroy Adolph believes that the time has come for an intervention into issues at the Russian Aluminum Company (RUSAL), with regards to the absence of a workers union. According to him, there are presently some pending issues involving employees at the Aroaima based company; however, the relevant representation is lacking. Adolph said it is almost unbelievable since according to the Constitution of Guyana, the rights of workers must be represented.

“Now that we have a new Government, I think it should have been one of the first issues to be addressed. The workers are really begging for a union,

it has been so many years and they remain unrepresented. At one time, they even went around signing petitions. It has been too long and I think any company coming into Guyana must obey the laws of the land. We are happy for investment, but at the same time you have to obey the laws of Guyana. As a resident of Region 10 and a citizen of Guyana, I think it is important that there are unions to represent employees. Workers must be free to choose which union they want because at the end of the day, they are the ones that suffer. Without anyone representing you, you have no case”, he said.

Adolph added that employees from RUSAL have been lodging complaints with the RDC over the absence of a union. He add-

ed that based on reports, many feel the brunt of victimisation and are calling for proper representation. He noted that within every company there are issues, however, it is only fair for employees to have somewhere to turn to. As such, he said the time is now for Government’s intervention. The Vice Chairman also indicated that he believes the issue should be addressed at the level of Parliament.

“… Because how could a big company like RUSAL with over 300 employees not have a workers’ union? It is wrong and it’s a shame. We need to have systems in place as early as possible… because it’s against the law”, Adolph reiterated. He also called for an end to the present 12-hour shift system at RUSAL, speaking on behalf of some affected workers.

Pradoville probe….

Govt attempting to divert attention from mega salary increases – Opposition

– dismisses reports of recommended charges against former PPP/C Ministers

By Michael younge

everal Executive Members

Sof the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) on Thursday dismissed reports that the State Asset Recovery Unit had recommended that several former Government Ministers be charged for misconduct in public office as it continues to probe their acquisition of land via the Central Housing and Planning Authority at Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara.

On Wednesday, a report of an online news agency went viral after it claimed that it saw a report from the Agency requesting the current Attorney General Basil Williams to act and do all that is legally possible under the law to recoup the lands and commence a process to charge the former PPP/C Ministers.

The online news agency claimed that the Asset Recovery Agency recommended charges against former PPP/C Ministers Priya Manickchand, Robert Persaud, Dr Nanda Kishore Gopaul, Clement Rohee and Dr Jenifer Westford for the acquisition, sale and transfer of lands that they got from the State. Surprisingly, the news agency also said that former President and current Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo was also one of the persons against whom charges were recommended by the Agency.

Attempts by Guyana Times to contact the Agency Head Dr Clive Thomas proved futile. This newspaper was told that he was unavailable to clarify the issue despite us informing the person who answered his telephone of the substance of the matter on which we were seeking clarity.

Calls to the mobile phones of Attorney General Basil Williams,

State Minister Joseph Harmon, Finance Minister Carl Greenidge, President David Granger, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and other Government officials went unanswered.

However, Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma, when contacted, declined to comment saying that he could not deny nor confirm the reports as he was totally in the dark about the entire incident. He said that he was not aware of any reports and pointed this newspaper in the direction of Professor Thomas who was unavailable.

But former Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali dismissed the allegations of misconduct in office forthrightly.

He said that the news article was “vexatious” and “lacking potency” as well as the underlying facts and was aimed at “creating a manufactured controversy which did not exist with the aim of diverting attention from the public outrage over the Government criminal and shameful decision to increase the pay of its Ministers by 50 per cent in a clandestine manner”.

Ali said that the entire thrust of the article was not new and appeared to be the work of a spin doctor who was resurrecting old allegations made by the Government while in Opposition to shift public and regional attention from its spate of excesses.

Similarly, PPP/C Member of Parliament and Attorney-at-Law Charles Ramson Junior said that the AG could not charge or institute charges against any former Government Minister and surely the Asset Recovery Unit must know this.

“This Unit must also know that the AG cannot direct the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] on any matter especially where it has to do with criminal or civil charges. The fact that such a recommendation could have been reportedly made according to this report brings into question the competency, capacity and scope of the Agency,” he told Guyana Times He said that the report could have been deliberately leaked to create hysteria in the public for those who are unfamiliar with the law and the issue.

Ramson Jr maintained that the report lacked creditability and was aimed at diverting attention from the Government’s decision to enrich its Ministers by increasing their pay.

It appeared too that the public was now awaiting a response from the current Administration before taking a position on the recent disclosure by the news agency.

Attempts by this newspaper to obtain a copy of the alleged report were stymied after the online news agency related that it was not allowed to save copies of the secret document which held the recommendations made to the AG office.

thursday, october 15, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Antiguan boy of Guyanese parentage gets 22 CSEC subjects

An Antiguan lad of Guyanese parentage has copped a whopping 22 subjects at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) with 21 Grade Ones.

Brandon Shane Judnarine of Cassada Gardens, St John’s, Antigua, was 15 years old when he wrote 22 subjects at the examination back in May/June. In his initial results, the young man acquired 19 Grade Ones and three Grade Twos; however, his parents appealed the Grades, a service which the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) offers at a cost.

According to the teenager’s father, Subhash Judnarine, they knew he was a brilliant child so they decided to query his grades in English A, Caribbean History and Technical Drawing. Following his appeal, the former St Joseph’s Academy student’s grades in English A and Caribbean History were revised and changed to Grade Ones, while the grade in Technical Drawing remained the same.

With this change, Judnarine ’s end results were 21 Grade Ones and one Grade Two, beating Guyana’s top student, Victoria Najab, who wrote 20 subjects and secured all Grade Ones. Judnarine, who celebrated his 16th birthday on August 10, is well on the way to becoming this year’s top performer in the Caribbean Region.

The teenager was born to Guyanese parents, who had moved to the island some 20 years ago, but would frequently vacation in Guyana. Being the second of four children, Judnarine was always smart and a fast learner. He was reading newspapers at the tender age of five, his father told Guyana Times during a telephone interview.

Judnarine attended the TOR Memorial School, a private institution, and was an excellent performer at the then Common Entrance Examination, which landed him a full scholarship to the St Joseph’s Academy, another private school. Throughout his secondary years, the

young man evidently maintained his performance.

Before his results were changed, with the 19 Grade Ones Judnarine was awarded a full scholarship by the Antiguan Government in collaboration with the American University of Antigua – a medical school. Judnarine has already begun studying at the facility. Though he is studying General Medicine, Judnarine is an aspiring neurosurgeon.

Apart from being an excellent student, the youngster had a blue belt in karate, which he was forced to drop after getting into Fourth Form. The 6 feet 2 inches teenager also played basketball and was a prefect in school.

Judnarine’s father said that he and his family were all proud of his school and his accomplishments but noted that his performance did not come as a surprise to them, because he is a brilliant child. “We are extremely elated because we know he worked hard for it and we are happy we were able to be part of his success,” he said.

The man noted that he and his wife played a very active role in their children’s education. Success seems to run in the family since Brandon’s eldest brother was the country’s top performer at the Common Entrance exam back in 2006. The now 21-yearold is also a student at the American University of Antigua, studying medicine as well.

Overseas investors interested in infrastructure, natural resources sectors

The Diaspora in Canada has expressed an interest in taking up the opportunities offered by the infrastructure and natural resources sectors.

Governance Minister Raphael Trotman made this disclosure during the post-Cabinet briefing on Wednesday after a meeting between the Diaspora and a high-level Government delegation over the past weekend. The ministerial delegation on the trip was led by first Vice President and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. He was joined by second Vice President and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and Business Minister Dominic Gaskin.

Minister Trotman disclosed that upon the delegation’s return, Cabinet was briefed on Tuesday about the business trip. He said that investors there were greatly interested in investing in developmental projects especially infrastruc-

tural development as well as the natural resources sector.

According to the Minister, several proposals were received from investors and were currently being examined by Government. Trotman noted that a full and detailed report on the

trip will be presented to Cabinet soon.

The Minister added Government observed the high level of patriotic fervour that was evident during the visit and the fact that persons who were engaged were primarily inter-

ested in national issues.

“They (delegation) were overwhelmed by high enthusiasm by Guyanese in the Diaspora because persons travelled from US as well to attend the meeting. So there is a high expectation of involvement and they are ready

to come and invest,” he stated.

Back in September, President David Granger visited Toronto, Canada, where he was bombarded with requests for investments from businessmen; hence this recent State trip was arranged.

Additionally, the Government delegation appointed four members of the Diaspora in New York and Toronto as “Ministerial Advisers on Diaspora Affairs”. They are: Dr Rohan Somar of New Jersey, US; Accountant Tameshwar Lilmohan of Toronto; Earth Marshall and Ron Alert of the US.

Former Tourism Minister Irfaan Ally has opined that the trip was a carefully planned manoeuvre to combine just enough “official business” with personal and party affairs, as he pointed out that the four appointees are veteran members of the Alliance For Change (AFC) overseas chapters.

However, Minister Trotman explained on Wednesday, it escaped him

that the delegation comprised only AFC affiliated Ministers. He went on to say the coalition Government comprised six parties, from which any Minister or group of Ministers can represent Government at a meeting.

“If we are to take it to its logical or illogical conclusion, when His Excellency (President Granger) visited Canada in September, I don’t believe there was any AFC members in that delegation but no one said then it was an APNU delegation the President led to Canada. Therefore, we don’t see things in party colour, we see things in terms of a Government,” the Minister noted.

Trotman further pointed out that as a Minister, he does not wear a party hat but a Government one.

Meanwhile, during the visit, overseas-based Guyanese Rabindranath Sharma presented the Ministers with copies of his novel Countenance of a Killer – a psychological thriller

SUDOKU

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

(May 21June 20)

Fun and entertainment will highlight your day. A close friend or relative will entice you to try something adventurous. Have a great time, but avoid taking unnecessary risks.

You must be clear about how much you are willing to do for others. Embarrassment or hurt feelings could result if those around you expect more than you can give.

Holding a grudge is pointless and stressful. You will cause more harm internally if you harbour ill will toward others. Treat the issue as a painful lesson and move on.

Timely information will accompany a chance for a new beginning. Hesitation will lead to a missed opportunity. Be prepared to act quickly when the occasion calls for it.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Your competitive spirit will give you an advantage over your rivals. Others will be impressed by your skills, enabling you to gain support and gather good advice.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

You may feel generous, but overindulgence will cause serious problems when your bills arrive. Offer your time or suggestions, not money, when someone comes to you for assistance.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Love is on the rise. Participation in a philanthropic or charitable event will bring you recognition and respect from an influential individual. Highlight your innovative ideas and express your desire to join forces.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Change is highlighted. Unanticipated alterations to your home or property will be beneficial in the long run. A former friend or flame will want to reconnect. Consider the pros and cons before agreeing.

CAPRICORN (June 21July 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Travel and communication delays can be expected. Resist the urge to make hasty decisions or unreasonable promises, or you will find yourself in a vulnerable position.

(Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

PISCES

(Feb. 20March 20)

Finish projects, conclude contracts or finalise deals. Completing your current plans will show everyone that you mean business, and leave you free to take advantage of new opportunities.

Advance preparation will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed by your responsibilities. Helping others through community assistance programmes or fundraising will introduce you to a diverse group of people. Romance is highlighted.

Your reputation will grow if you make personal changes. Expand your profile and touch up your resume in order to give your confidence a boost. Patience will be needed regarding family matters.

Sri Lanka v West Indies, 1st Test, Galle…

An unbeaten cen-

tury from Dimuth Karunaratne ensured Sri Lanka negotiated the opening day of the series with a sense of calm and lost only two wickets on a slow Galle pitch. Sri Lanka grew increasingly dominant as the day progressed. The final session produced over 43% of the runs they scored on the day, and ended with a punchy Karunaratne straight drive that took the score from 246 to 250.

West Indies did themselves no good by dropping two catches in the mid-

picking up most of his runs with checked drives through cover - he rarely went hard at the ball while playing this stroke, mindful of the slowness of the pitch - and glides and cuts behind point. Against the leg-spinner Bishoo, he used his feet well, coming down the track to either whip him with the turn or to get close enough to the pitch of the ball to smother any potential misbehaviour out of the rough.

In the first two sessions, accurate bowling and a slow pitch ensured Sri Lanka never ran too far ahead of

wasn’t until West Indies took the second new ball that Chandimal faced Roach or Taylor - West Indies’ two most experienced bowlers, and their biggest threats on the day. By that time, he had moved to 54 off 120 balls.

The new ball did a bit, but not so much as to trouble a two well-set batsmen, and Sri Lanka saw out the last 10 overs of the day without too much discomfort. The one dicey moment they endured was a result of uncertain calling when Karunaratne tucked Taylor into the leg side. Jermaine

dle session. The first spill didn’t cost them - Lahiru Thirimanne, the reprieved batsman, was disimissed soon after - but the other - a backtracking Jerome Taylor failing to grasp Dinesh Chandimal at mid-on when he miscued an attempted pull off Devendra Bishoocertainly did. Chandimal, who was on 11 at that point, went on to end the day unbeaten on 72, having added 149 with Karunaratne.

Karunaratne’s innings was a triumph of restraint and adherence to a simple plan. In the morning session, he left resolutely when the ball was angled across him, and didn’t get lured into indiscretion outside off even when the quicks went around the wicket.

He read the lengths well,

their opponents. But they took control in the period immediately after tea, when West Indies began proceedings with Bishoo and Marlon Samuels and kept them going in tandem for 16 overs.

It was a strange tactic, given that West Indies’ attack contained four frontline quicks - it was, perhaps, an admission that they had got the selection wrong - and those 16 overs went for 53 runs - the run rate of 3.31 comfortably above the rate of 2.56 that Sri Lanka had scored at until tea.

Both batsmen milked the spinners, using their feet comfortably to get down the track, hit a six each over cow corner - Karunaratne reached his hundred in that manner - and grew increasingly entrenched. It

Blackwood reacted quickly to the mix-up at short midwicket, but his underarm flick missed the stumps at the bowler’s end with Karunaratne a long way short of the crease.

In the morning session, Taylor and Roach asked questions of the openers, but they survived their new-ball spells without too much alarm. Both bowlers beat Silva’s edge, but he played close to his body and didn’t follow Taylor’s swing or Roach’s seam movement with his hands.

The runs came slowly, but the initial nerves seemed to calm against Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel, who didn’t move the ball as much as the newball pair. Gabriel offered a few loose balls - including a

Karunaratne ton steers Sri Lanka on dominant day

full-toss that Silva squaredrove for his first boundary, off his 44th ball - but bowled with pace and pinged Silva on the helmet when a bouncer didn’t rise as much as expected.

The 50 partnership - the first for a Sri Lanka opening pair since Karunaratne and Silva put on 85 in Christchurch back in December 2014 - came up in the 16th over, and West Indies were looking just a touch short on inspiration and just a touch flustered by the number of quick singles they were conceding. But they didn’t have to wait too long for the wicket, which came when Roach came back on for his second spell.

All through his first, he had troubled Silva by go-

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka 1st innings

FDM Karunaratne not out 135

JK Silva c †Ramdin b Roach 17

HDRL Thirimanne c sub (R Chandrika) b Bishoo 16 LD Chandimal not out 72

Extras: (lb-5, nb-5) 10

Total: (2 wickets; 90 overs) 250 Fall of wickets: 1-56 (Silva, 17.6 ov), 2-101 (Thirimanne, 40.6 ov)

Bowling: JE Taylor 12-2-35-0 (4nb), KAJ Roach 13-3-33-1, JO Holder 13-4-20-0, ST Gabriel 11-2-36-0 (1-nb), MN Samuels 18-4-42-0, D Bishoo 22-1-781, KC Brathwaite 1-0-1-0

ing wide of the crease and straightening the ball past his outside edge. Now he re-

peated the same line of attack, and Silva, now well set, was good enough to nick him.

Thirimanne’s 62-ball stay was a struggle all through, characterised by an utter inability to find the gaps. He survived a couple of close shaves too. First, soon after lunch, he shouldered arms to a ball from Holder that snaked in sharply from around the wicket and narrowly missed his off stump.

Then he aimed an ill-advised drive at a good-length ball from Taylor and nicked to slip, where Darren Bravo got both hands to the ball

but failed to hold on.

But having got past those alarms, and having experienced a small release of pressure following Bishoo’s introduction - he picked up two doubles, a single and a boundary off the first five balls he faced from the legspinner as he searched for rhythm - Thirimanne threw his wicket away.

Looking to boss Bishoo, he ran down the track and went hard at the ball, looking perhaps to hit over midon. Extra turn, though, caused him to hit the ball to short midwicket off the inside half of his bat. (Cricinfo)

International cricket for Guyana next year

Starved of international cricket for more than two years, Guyanese can breathe a sigh of relief as three One Day International (ODI) matches are slated for June 2016.

According to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Future Tours Programme, the West Indies are set to host Australia and South Africa for a tri-series in the middle of next year, and Guyana is reported to have secured three of those

games.

A usually reliable source close to the administration of the game in the Guyana made the revelation to this publication on Wednesday afternoon. The matches have been tentatively set for June 6, 8 and 10, the source revealed.

Matches in the domestic Caribbean Premier League T20 competition have been played at the Guyana National Stadium during the past three years, but the last

international match in the country was played on July 16, 2013 when West Indies defeated Pakistan by 37 runs in an ODI.

Prior to that, there were 12 ODIs at the venue, which was built to host matches in the Cricket World Cup in 2007. The National Stadium has also hosted two Test matches (March 2008 and May 2011) and seven T20 Internationals, the last of which was in May 2010.

India v South Africa, 2nd ODI, Indore… Petama

Dhoni, spinners lift India to 22-run win

Spurred by skipper

Mahendra Singh

Dhoni’s masterful 92, Indian bowlers responded well in a low-scoring encounter at Indore on Wednesday.

South Africa were bundled out for 225 while chasing a target of 247.

Dhoni was forced to bring on Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh early on in the innings due to the wayward bowling of pacers

Bhuvneshvar Kumar and Umesh Yadav at the start of

the Proteas innings Operating in tandem, not only did the spinners put a brake on the run flow, they even kept picking wickets at regular intervals.

South Africa chose to play conventional cricket: less enterprising, more accumulating. Du Plessis and JP Duminy took the score past 134, the inevitability of a South African come back was just about to repeat itself. Duminy and du Plessis didn’t sweat much

SCOREBOARD

India innings (50 overs maximum)

RG Sharma b Rabada 3

S Dhawan c Duminy

b Morkel 23

AM Rahane b Imran Tahir 51

V Kohli run out (Behardien/ Steyn/†de Kock) 12

MS Dhoni*† not out 92

SK Raina c †de Kock b Morkel 0

AR Patel lbw b Steyn 13

B Kumar b Imran Tahir 14 Harbhajan Singh c †de Kock

b Steyn 22

UT Yadav c †de Kock b Steyn 4

MM Sharma not out 0

Extras: (lb-2, w-10, nb-1) 13

Total:(9 wickets; 50 overs) 247

Fall of wickets: 1-3 (RG Sharma, 1.4 ov), 2-59 (Dhawan, 12.3 ov), 3-82 (Kohli, 17.6 ov), 4-102 (Rahane, 22.4 ov), 5-104 (Raina, 23.4 ov), 6-124 (Patel, 29.3 ov), 7-165 (Kumar, 39.3 ov), 8-221 (Harbhajan Singh, 46.3 ov), 9-225 (Yadav, 46.6 ov)

Bowling: DW Steyn 10-0-493 (2-w), K Rabada 10-1-49-1 (1-nb, 3-w), M Morkel 10-042-2 (3-w), JP Duminy 9-0-590 (1-w), Imran Tahir 10-1-422 (1-w), F Behardien 1-0-4-0

South Africa innings (target: 248 runs from 50 overs)

HM Amla st †Dhoni b Patel 17

Q de Kock† c MM Sharma

b Harbhajan Singh 34

F du Plessis c Kohli b Patel 51

JP Duminy lbw b Patel 36

AB de Villiers* c Kohli b MM Sharma 19

DA Miller c †Dhoni b Kumar 0

F Behardien c †Dhoni b Harbhajan Singh 18

DW Steyn c Kohli b Yadav 13

K Rabada not out 19

Imran Tahir c †Dhoni b Kumar 9

M Morkel c Raina b Kumar 4

Extras: (lb-3, w-2) 5

Total: (all out; 43.4 overs) 225

Fall of wickets: 1-40 (Amla, 6.4 ov), 2-52 (de Kock, 9.3 ov), 3-134 (Duminy, 23.6 ov), 4-141 (du Plessis, 25.6 ov), 5-142 (Miller, 26.2 ov), 6-167 (de Villiers, 32.1 ov), 7-186 (Steyn, 36.1 ov), 8-200 (Behardien, 39.3 ov), 9-221 (Imran Tahir, 43.2 ov), 10-225 (Morkel, 43.4 ov) Bowling: B Kumar 8.4-0-41-3, UT Yadav 8-0-52-1, Harbhajan Singh 10-0-51-2 (1-w), AR Patel 10-0-39-3, MM Sharma 5-021-1 (1-w), SK Raina 2-0-18-0

since Umesh Yadav was generously spending runs on them. South Africa seemed to be heading towards the victory line.

Patel proved why Dhoni is insisting spin is India’s strength. Within seven runs Patel sent both ominous looking Duminy and du Plessis duo back to the pavilion. Spurred on by the twist in the plot, Bhuvneshawar Kumar exploited David Miller’s poor form. Soon Virat Kohli made for his disappointment in the run out mix-up earlier in the day by pulling off a spectacular catch to send dangerous de Villiers back.

In spite of a late resistance by the South African tailenders, Indian bowlers held their nerves to pull off a much needed victory to stay afloat in the series.

Earlier, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck a fighting 92 not out as India came back from a precarious 104-5 to post a challenging 247. Dhoni struck four sixes and seven

fours, giving a fine display of batting with the lower order.

The nudges, quick singles, shot-arm jabs, pulls, cuts, lofted shots over the bowler’s head all were on full display as Dhoni answered back his critics with his knock that came off 86 balls. India scored 82 runs off the last 10 overs.

Up the order, Ajinkya Rahane yet again batted well, scoring 63-ball 51, his second consecutive fifty.

For South Africa, Dale Steyn (3-49) picked up three wickets while Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir scalped two apiece.

The hosts suffered a big setback in the form of Rohit Sharma, who was cleaned up by young paceman Kagiso Rabada the second over of the day.

With this win, India have levelled the series 1-1 and both teams will look to gain an upper hand in the next ODI scheduled to be played at Rajkot on Sunday. (Hindustan Times)

Uitvlugt, Saraswat, Belladrum and Bath

Primary schools registered wins in the WICB/ GCB/Scotiabank Kiddy Progression One Cricket matches played recently in West Demerara and Berbice. In the West Bank Demerara zone at the Zeeburg ground,

Stewartville Primary went up against Uitvlugt Primary in the first match and lost. Stewartville won the toss and elected to bat first; they were bowled out for 93 in the 14th over.

C. McIntosh topscored with 34, while Anthony Albert took 2-9. Uitvlugt reached the target, losing two wickets in the pro-

cess. Anthony Albert hit 43 not out to complete a fine all-round performance. Uitvlugt has advanced to the final of the zone.

In the second match, Saraswat Primary defeated Meten-Meer-Zorg Primary to advance to the second round of the preliminary matches. Saraswat took first strike and posted a compet-

itive 135-1. Vishal Persaud and Wazem Khan were both unbeaten on 32. In reply, Meter-Meer-Zorg was 30 runs short at 105-9 when their allotted overs expired.

At the Paradise ground, in the West Berbice District, Belladrum Primary defeated Seafield Primary by 28 runs. Belladrum batted first and totaled 126-6; Samuel

The latest round of the Petama Enterprise/ Motor Trend softball cricket competition was highlighted by several outstanding individual performances.

Haseena Mohamed stroked 69 and took two wickets for Wellwoman against Blue Divas, and her teammate Latoya Smith smashed 79 not out, while West Indies player June Ogle struck 66 in Trophy Stall Angels’ win over 4R Lioness. Mantana Cambridge batted her way to 75 for 4R Lioness.

Lloyd Rooplall scored a hundred in a losing cause for Floodlight Legends against

Regal Masters, while R. Persaud (78), Rudy Rodrigues (66), Eric Thomas (67), Chien Gittens (55) and Navin Singh (50) all scored half-centuries.

Below are the summarised scores from the games played.

Wellwoman defeated Blue Divas by 66 runs. Wellwoman 194-4 off 10 overs (Latoya Smith 79*, Haseena Mohamed 69, Z. Telford 28, S. Caesar 2-22) Blue Divas 128-3 off 10 overs (Shameka Caesar 42*, Orlina Roberts 39, Haseena Mohamed 2-16).

Trophy Stall Angels defeated 4R Lioness by eight wickets. 4R Lioness 142-3 off 10 overs (Mantana Cambridge 75, A. Scott 20) Trophy Stall

144-2 off 8.4 overs (June Ogle 66*, Roxanne DeMonick 47). Park Rangers defeated Fishermen Masters by one wicket. Fishermen 198 off 19.4 overs (R. Persaud 78, D. Harper 35, B. Heralall 29, I. Persaud 24, Ricky Persaud 3-17, Talesh Ramoutar 2-24, J. Bourne 2-30) Park Rangers 200-2 off 15 overs (Rudy Rodrigues 66, Danny Mohanram 49*, Dennis Mangru 36*).

Regal Masters defeated Floodlight Legends by eight wickets. Floodlight Legends 176-8 off 20 overs (Lloyd Rooplall 106, Raymond Harper 3-28, MahendraArjune 2-32) Regal Masters 179-3 off 16.2 overs (Eric Thomas 67, M. Chunilall 31, E. Abel 30). Regal defeated Brickery Super Stars by 199 runs. Regal 267-8 off 20 overs (Chien Gittens 55, Navin Singh 50) Brickery 68 all out (Richard Latif 4-12, Fazal Rafeek 4-14). In other results, Regal defeated Princess Hotel, Wolf’s Warriors defeated United Brothers and Parika Defenders defeated Savage Masters. The competition will continue on Sunday with another set of matches at the Carifesta Sports Complex and GNIC grounds in Georgetown.

Chichester led the way with 43. He got support from Harold Booker and Rushelle Wilson, who scored 20 and 19 respectively. Bowling for Seafield Primary, Jamie Fraser took 2-4. Seafield only managed 98 from their 14 overs. George Solomon made a valiant 37 not out, while Treon Granville took 2-6. At the Bath ground, Bath Primary thrashed Woodley Park Primary. Woodley Park took first strike and managed 58 of their 14 overs. Anandeo Seckaran grabbed 3-0. Bath reached the target in the fourth over without losing a wicket with Shyan Ramsaroop making 28 not out.

thursday, october 15, 2015

visit the Baby Store in the City Mall on Camp St. Tel: 227-6015

Da Silva’s Optical. For Your Eyes Only, Look Better See Better. Phillip A Da Silva OD, Shannon L Da Silva OD, Natalie Da Silva OD. 248 South Road, Bourda. Phone: 227-3529, Linden: 444-6376, Corriverton: 3393536, Meten-Meer-Zorg: 275-0322, Grand Cayman Islands: (345) 9431515 for the perfect trendy touch.

SHALOM

or 223-1506. Register early and save$$$

2273553/225-3315

Clean Garden earth. Also excavating, grading and leveling done. Call 6279977 For sale by lot: Lot (1): 2 bath tubs, bathroom fittings and fixtures & toilet set; shower fittings - $150,000 and Lot (2): 1 Dell desktop computer & HP scanner -

One newly built 2-bedroom house at Double J Supermarket Street, La Parfait Harmony, West Bank Demerara. Price: 11 Million. Contact Singh at 592-6420402 for further details.

Mining Blocks with high potential for rent In The Puruni, Evergreen & Siparuni Area. For More Info Call: 615-8810 Or 6683100.

One 3 storey building in Plaisance Village Telephone: Attorney Bristol at 628-0668/231-7128 or 612-6417 (owner)

Properties for sale in West Minister Robb Street, Alberttown, New Annglet and Rental Call: 660-9478/672-0865

House plans & estimates, weeding of grass and spraying done within 48hrs. Call: 216-0671; 622-0267; 692-8464

Khemraj & Son -landscaping & plant nursery. Lot 77 Independence Street, La Grange, West Bank Demerara. Landscaping, planting grass, weeding, killing wood ants, killing roaches, rats & mealy bug, treat plants, coconut trees and flowers, cleaning ceiling, grafting coconut plants: 18 months bearing period, treating land, grass & spraying grass, grafted papaya plants: 6 months bearing, grafted cherry plant, sour sop & sapodilla, cutting big trees & removing, treated mould for sale & flower plants for sale. Tel 627-5969/ 603-1134. License Custom Broker/Tax Consultant, assistance with Tax Compliance Certificate, Customs Documentation, and Tax Returns etc Call: 660-9478

Surinamese spiritualist. Resolving all problems. Money, love, blockage etc. Call 223-6834/600-7719

Suriname’s Astrology, Palmist and Hindustani Spiritual Healer, solve all purpose problems, 100% confidential guaranteed. Phone: 602-8997 FOR PERSON WITH STROKE AND PHYSICAL DISABILITIES WE HAVE HERBAL BATHS AND SPIRITUAL MASSAGE MEDICINE. CALL: 2200708/687-5653/612-6417

HEPHZIBAH MINISTRIES 24 hrs Prayer Line 322-5081,337-4510,3374259,337-4583,337-3070,337-5103. For healing, deliverance, financial difficulties, marriage issues call now. Jesus Cares.

Dutch spiritual healing in removing evil spirits, bad luck, evil sickness, spells, reuniting lovers and prosperity to business Call 612-6417, 6875653, 220-0708

Three Storey 75ft’x 30ft’ bldg, open floors, 2 offices, 2 washrooms, driveway. 25B Princess St, Charlestown. Tel: 223-0654, 225-0605

Two Self-contained single bedroom furnished apartments for rental. Self-contained 7 bedroom bungalow idea for family/ guests/ students local or overseas long/ short term rental. Contact: 622-7097 / 624-7111

Two bedroom upstairs apartment. $60,000 monthly with parking. Couples preferable. Tel 233-2607 / 644-7089

65 Fifth Street, Albertown: 6 Apartments, 2 Bedroom each (all self contained). 2 with front large verandah, 2 additional back step entrance. Simple clean up required. Gate required at entrance. No A/C. Interested person kindly contact Rosann Tel # 219-4535, between 08:am-04:30pm

198 Lamaha Gardens, 4 Bedroom (2 Self contained and semi-furnished with bed); Dining table with China cabinet in China room. Upstairs roof required work (Leaking), Fully Air conditioned. Interested person kindly contact Rosann Tel # 219-4535, between 08:am-04:30pm

31 First Street, Section L, Campbelville Georgetown, 3 Bedrooms (2 self contained). Simple clean up required, Lights at step required. Interested person kindly contact Rosann tel # 219-4535, between 08:am-04:30pm

693 Section A Diamond , EBD Upstairs, 2 Bedrooms (both self contained). Required extensive work outside (weed, paint, etc). Gate key to be requested by Wayne. Fully Air Conditioned. May require new door. Interested person kindly contact Rosann tel # 219-4535, between 08:am-04:30pm

GR Taxi, 24 hours. Phone: 2257878, 219-5000 or 227-2100

Sunshine Cabs, 24hours. Phone: 227-1720, 227-1721, 660-6102

JUST ARRIVED: TOP QUALITY RECONDITIONED VEHICLES;

TOYOTA NOAH; TOYOTA VOXY; TOYOTA IST (NEW SHAPE); SUZUKI SWIFT; DAIHATSU MOVE (660CC); MERCEDES BENZ C200 KOMPRESSOR; COROLLA AE100 WAGON; TOYOTA HIACE MINIBUS RZ; PITBULL-STYLE FREEZER VAN; LAND CRUISER (FULLY LOADED); MAZDA PROCEED 4WD EXTRACAB PICK-UP; TOYOTA HILUX 4WD EXTRA CAB PICKUPS - 3RZ, 5L, 3L SOLID DEFFERNTIAL; MITSUBISHI CANTER TRUCKS 4 TONS FREEZER; 3 TONS OPEN TRAY; 2 TONS 4WD; NISSAN ATLAS 2 TONS OPEN TRAY TRUCK. PRE-ORDER YOUR UNITS EARLY AND GET THE BEST PRICES. FULL AFTER SALES SERVICES AND FINANCING AVAILABLE. DEO MARAJ AUTO SALES, 2 CHIMNEY ROAD, CHATEAU MARGOT, ECD. 624-0762, 220-5177. A NAME AND SERVICE YOU CAN TRUST

Wanted: To

& cook (general house keeping) lady; ages 25 to 35; fit and

to

from 6 AM to 2 PM. House is located at Herstelling E.B.D Please Call: 2318529 or 231-8344

PART TIME SECURITY GUARDS WITH KNOWLEDGE IN HANDLING WEAPONS, FLEXIBLE HOURS AND ABLE TO OBTAIN POLICE CLEARANCE PAPER IF REQUIRED. REFERENCES FROM THE LAST JOBS A MUST. PLEASE CALL : 231-8529 OR 2318344

Pak

v Eng,

1st Test,

Abu Dhabi, 2nd day… Malik and Shafiq grind England down

Shoaib Malik registered his maiden Test double century to put Pakistan in a commanding position on the second day of the first Test against England.

Malik, playing his first Test in five years, hit 245 and shared in a record fifth-wicket partnership of 248 with fellow centurion Asad Shafiq (107).

England toiled in the Abu Dhabi heat, failing to take a wicket until the final session of the day.

However, Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali saw the tourists to 56-0 at the close.

Cook, in particular, looked fluent as he reached 39 not out while Moeen (15 not out) was more watchful against a combination of intimidating pace from Wahab Riaz and wily spin from slow left-armer Zulfiqar Babar.

Captain Cook, who has now shared in half-century partnerships with Moeen in each of their four innings batting together, did have one momentary scare when he almost chopped on.

In the same motion, the left-hander appeared as though he might try and handle the ball but, luckily for England, he resisted and saw England to the close 467 runs in arrears.

While England close the

day with all of their wickets intact, they are still a long way behind Pakistan who patiently laid the foundations for a match-winning position.

Right-hander Malik continued where he left off overnight. However, unlike on the opening day when he was ‘dismissed’ by a Stuart Broad noball, he gave no chances to the exasperated England bowlers while slowly accumulating runs.

When he did open his shoulders, he smeared Adil Rashid for two straight sixes while Ben Stokes was also hit back over his head.

It seemed tiredness was the right-hander’s only enemy - and so it proved when he pulled an off-cutter from Stokes into the hands of Ian Bell at short mid-wicket.

SCOREBOARD

Pakistan 1st innings

Mohammad Hafeez lbw

b Stokes 98 Shan Masood b Anderson 2 Shoaib Malik c Bell

b Stokes 245

Younis Khan c Cook b Broad 38 Misbah-ul-Haq* c †Buttler

b Anderson 3

Asad Shafiq lbw b Wood 107 Sarfraz Ahmed† c Bell b Stokes 2 Wahab Riaz not out 2 Zulfiqar Babar c Anderson

b Stokes 0

Extras: (b 4, lb 21, nb 1) 26

Total: (8 wickets dec; 151.1 overs) 523

Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Shan Masood, 2.5 ov), 2-173 (Mohammad Hafeez, 54.2 ov), 3-247 (Younis Khan, 70.2

Despite turning up at the Guyana Defence Force ground on Tuesday evening, Slingerz FC did not take the field against host GDF, while Alpha United defeated a hapless Buxton United in the Stag Elite League.

In the opening game of the night, Alpha United ensured Buxton United remain at the base of the points table by winning the contest 2-0.

The consistent Delon Lanferman scored in both halves to single-handedly guide the Georgetown team to full points. Lanferman netted in the 21st and 89th minutes.

While the victory guaranteed Alpha United maximum points, coach Wayne

ov), 4-251 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 74.3 ov), 5-499 (Asad Shafiq, 144.3 ov), 6-514 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 147.6 ov), 7-521 (Shoaib Malik, 149.3 ov), 8-523 (Zulfiqar Babar, 151.1 ov)

Bowling: JM Anderson 227-42-2, SCJ Broad 21-8-44-1 (1-nb), BA Stokes 17.1-3-574, MA Wood 22-5-58-1, AU Rashid 34-0-163-0, MM Ali 30-2-121-0, JE Root 5-1-13-0 England 1st innings AN Cook* not out 39 MM Ali not out 15

Extras: (w-1, nb-1) 2

Total: (0 wickets; 21 overs) 56

Bowling: Rahat Ali 4-012-0, Imran Khan 5-0-160, Zulfiqar Babar 7-1-16-0, Wahab Riaz 4-1-10-0 (1-nb, 1-w), Asad Shafiq 1-0-2-0

He was ably assisted by the more wristy Shafiq who compiled 107 before being dismissed after tea, lbw to Mark Wood, as the tourists looked to increase the tempo.

In particular, England will be concerned at the lack of control and potency given by their two spinners, Moeen and Rashid.

The pair recorded combined bowling figures of 64-2284-0, with neither having an impact on a wicket which offered very little assistance to any of the bowlers.

Yorkshire leg-spinner Rashid’s figures of 0-163 were the worst by any Test debutant, and only fast bowler Devon Malcolm has conceded more runs on debut for England. He went for 1-166 against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1989.

Former England spinner Graeme Swann says the England seamers, who resorted to off-cutters and a mixture of more skilful deliveries, bowled better than the slow bowlers but did defend Moeen and Rashid.

“I think Moeen bowled well,” Swann said on BBC Test Match Special. “It’s easy to jump to conclusions and look at mere stats on the board.

“I think the seamers have bowled better than the spinners, and I think Wood and Stokes were under-used, but Moeen did a good job and he kept things tight enough that the Pakistan batsmen were forced to go after him.

“Rashid is not a first-innings bowler, we know that. He is there to win games in the second innings.” (BBC Sport)

“Wiggy” Dover was not too pleased with the performance of his players. He noted that his players did not execute some of the

plans they worked on in training.

The feature contest between Slingerz FC and GDF never materialised, despite both teams being decked out in their uniforms prior to the start of the game.

The issue surrounded the eligibility of foreign players on Slingerz FC’s roster. It is understood that the foreign players on the list submitted by Slingerz FC to match officials did not get the requisite permission to compete in the League.

This publication understands that Slingerz FC officials were intent on having those players as part of the starting line-up, and when that was denied the team opted against playing the game.

Preparation moving apace for Guyana’s premier golf tournament

By Rajiv Bisnauth

President of the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC), Oncar Ramroop, has revealed that preparation for the Guyana’s Open golf tournament is moving apace.

The tournament is billed for October 31 and November 1 at the country’s lone golf course at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara.

“Preparation is going pretty well in order; most of the logistics are already in place,” Ramroop said.

He added, “The ground is almost ready; we have executed major works including the clearing of bushes, cutting of the fairway, all the equipment is in order, and presently we are in progress of getting the stand bunkers in order. We have cleared a lot of the drains as well as the greens are been watered at least three times weekly, and we are about to commence some works to the club house.”

Ramroop further pointed out that registration will be on a first come first, serve basis, since the first 80 golfers to register will be eligible to participate.

“As we speak, registration is moving apace. We expect a full tournament with 80 golfers, so I want to encourage golfers to register

early since registration will be on a first come, first serve basis,” the LGC President said.

Interested golfers can confirm their participation by registering via the LGC email address, lusignangolfclub@hotmail.com, or can make contact with the LGC on telephone number 2205660.

Described as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the local golf calendar, the two-day event is expected to attract golfers from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Suriname, French Guiana and North America. Meanwhile, apart from the usual categories: First Flight (0-9 handicap),

Second Flight (10-18), Third Flight (19-28) and Ladies Flight, the club has decided for the first time in its history to introduce a Senior Flight.

Like the previous years, the overall champion in the Men’s division will be judged by the player with the Best Gross, while on the distaff side, the winner will come from the person with the Best Net.

In 2014, Avinash Persaud was easily the top golfer, winning the event for a fifth time.

Persaud led from start to finish, relegating his sibling Avinda Kishore, who was the 2013 winner, into second place, after finishing with a superior overall Gross of 144.

Kishore occupied the second spot with an overall Gross of 153, while Rishi Suknanan finished third with an overall Gross of 160.

On the distaff side, Joann Deo created one of the biggest upsets when she defeated Christine Sukhram as the top female golfer. Deo made an array of focused shots to register a Net of 141 for the big win.

Shanella Webster finished second with Net 146, as 2013 champion Sukhram fell all the way to third with Net 149. (rajivb@guyanatimesgy.com)

Parsun Inter-county softball…

Innovative Mining, Tony’s Auto Spares onboard

TGCB officials meet with Sport Minister

– National Secondary School Cricket competition among other initiatives discussed

Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) officials recently met with Sport Minister, Nicolette Henry, to discuss the Board’s initiatives and ventures, at the Minister’s office on Main Street.

The Board’s President Drubahadur; Secretary Anand Sanasie; Competitions Chairman Colin Europe; and Territorial Developmental Officer Colin Stuart, explained to the Minister the structure of the upcoming National Secondary School League.

Stuart outlined the aims, expectations and benefits of the League. Minister Henry noted that it is an interesting and favourable mission and she is in support of it.

The League will be officially launched later this month where over 150 secondary schools across the country will be participating within their zones. The zones will then compete against each other, followed by the Intermediate Districts contest, and finally the Country Districts will clash to determine an overall winner.

The competition also has a champion school pathway that would see the national champion fully sponsored by the GCB to compete in the annual Sir Garfield Sobers Secondary Schools Cricket Competition in Barbados.

The gathering discussed the benefits to both the government and the GCB by hosting the matches. Sanasie also presented to the Minister a copy of the Economic Impact Assessment from the England Tour of West Indies earlier this year.

President Drubahadur thanked Minister Henry for meeting with GCB, adding that the Board has compact and well structured programmes to be rolled out. And with the support of her Ministry and other relevant authorities, these undertakings would be successful, he said.

Secretary Sanasie, who is also a Director of the West Indies Cricket Board, informed the Minister about the matches slated for Guyana next year during the West Indies tri-nation series with Australia and South Africa.

DCB assists Upper Demerara with balls

The highly anticipated Parsun Inter-county softball cricket championship, which is billed for October 24, has received corporate support from two companies, namely Innovative Mining and Tony’s Auto Spares. This was announced by the organisers on Wednesday, with Parmanand Persaud being on hand at both locations to accept the entities’ donation. Persaud said the organising body is extremely appreciative of the support put forward by the businesses, noting that Innovative Mining of Garnett Street, Campbellville, has agreed to become the team and title sponsor of Essequibo A. Tony’s Auto Spares is onboard as a partner in the initiative. The tournament will involve eight teams- two from each of the three counties (Demerara, Berbice and

Essequibo) and one each from Linden and Bartica.

The winner will receive $500,000 and a trophy, compliments of the Trophy Stall of Bourda Market. The runner-up will take home a trophy and $300,000 and the losing semi-finalists $100,000 each.

The other participating teams will receive $25,000. The teams will play each other twice with the top four going through to the semi-finals.

The last day of action will be October 25, and patrons are asked to come out in their numbers, as entry to the venue is free and there would be lots of giveaways.

he Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) has assisted Upper Demerara with cricket balls to compete in the East Bank Demerara Cricket Association (EBDCA) T20 round-robin competition, which commenced earlier this month.

The first round in the Upper Demerara zone was played last Sunday where Bayroc won both matches against Police and Uprising respectively.

The teams competing in this zone are Arima, Waruni, Police, Uprising, Central Stars and St Cuthbert Mission. Matches are slated for every weekend. Police and St Cuthbert Mission will clash on Saturday, and Arima will take on Uprising on Sunday.

At a meeting with representatives of Upper Demerara, Assistant Secretary of DCB, Sudesh Persaud, said that he is pleased to see the increased interest shown in cricket in

Upper Demerara. He commended the organisers for their efforts, adding that they have to identify talents and keep pushing for cricket to develop and spread in the area.

Persaud assured the representatives that the DCB will continue to help them as the need arises.

President of Upper Demerara, Lancelot Easton, thanked the DCB for its assistance and its continued support. He stated that more and more cricket is being played in the Upper Demerara area and he has high hopes that soon this area will produce national players.

Dave and Celena’s softball competition starts Saturday

The second annual Dave and Celena’s 10/10 softball cricket is back in Linden, with over a million dollars in cash and prizes to be won. The tournament, which is set for a grand launch on Saturday at the Mackenzie

Sports Club (MSC) ground, will feature male and female cricketers from around the country. An exciting re-match of last year’s finalists, Two Sisters versus Linden’s number one team South Stars, is slated for opening day on Saturday.

The action is set to continue on October 24, 31, November 7, followed by the grand final on November 14. Registration for teams is currently ongoing at an entrance fee of $20,000. The tournament is sponsored by Dave and Celena’s Furniture World.

Guyana Franchise Four-day practice game…

Boodie nudges selectors with century

By Rajiv Bisnauth

Kevon Boodie stole the limelight on the third day’s play of the Guyana Franchise four-day practice match with a brilliant century, and by doing so has put his name in the minds of the national selectors before the final squad is selected for next month’s start of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Fourday Professional Cricket

League.

The right-hander cracked 130; a responsible innings to engineer a strong recovery after his team was tottering at a precarious 106-6 at one stage on day two.

Boodie’s knock, laced with 13 boundaries and three sixes, came off 197 balls, and spanned 292 minutes. His innings guided Hetmyer’s XI to 272, in reply to Leon Johnson’s XI first innings total of 344.

When bails were lifted, Johnson’s XI, batting a second time, were 125-3, an overall lead of 197.

Assad Fudadin, who survived a dropped chance on 24, struck a solid 82. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Vishaul Singh will resume today on 14 and four respectively for Johnson’s XI.

Hetmyer’s XI started at the overnight 140-6, and Boodie and Barbadian Javon Searles guided their team to 205, by staging a remarkable recovery with a seventh-wicket partnership of 99.

The Essequibian started the day on 41, and didn’t waste much in getting to his fifty. He got there off 104 balls, inclusive of five fours. The pair continued to

Trophy Stall cricket tournament bowls

off in Soesdyke

The inaugural Trophy Stall cricket tournament bowled off at the Deokie’s Cricket Club with 16 teams competing for supremacy.

The teams were drawn from the East Bank of Demerara, as far as Herstelling and Yarrowkabra on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

The tournament is a 10over format and is being held on a round-robin basis with the semi-finals and

final billed for December 2 and 12 respectively under floodlights.

The winner of the tournament will walk away with $100,000 and a trophy, while the runner-up will cart off $50,000 and a trophy.

During the competition, keen attention will be placed on the individual performances since at the end of the tournament, the person adjudged the Most Valuable Player will walk

away with $20,000 and a trophy.

In addition, there will be a $10,000 reward for both the best batsman and best bowler in the tournament.

It gets better as the organisers have also decided to offer trophies and cash incentives for the Manof-the-Match in the final. Matches will be held every Sunday at the Deokie’s Cricket Ground, Latchman Sand Road, Soesdyke East Bank Demerara.

frustrate the fielding side, showing the perfect temperament to grind it out on the slow pitch.

However, the breakthrough finally came when left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul was re-introduced into the attack. Searles edged to Johnson at first slip for 28, and by the lunch interval, Boodie was unbeaten on 80, while Raj Nanan was on four.

Boodie held himself in check, before smashing Permaul to the square-leg boundary to move into the nineties, his first boundary after 26 minutes after the interval. Just when it looked like the two batsmen were getting into the thick of things, Nanan was taken at the wicket off Permaul for seven.

Boodie then slug sweep Permaul for four and lofted him for a straight six to bring up his century from 182 balls. Boodie’s innings was laced with both aggression and maturity. He was never hesitant to step out and hit the spinners straight down the ground, and also quickly stepped back and concentrated on finding the gaps.

Seamer Ronsford Beaton returned for another spell and trapped Gudakesh Motie without scoring, before Boodie switched gears and went on the attack, especially against Beaton, smashing his Essequibo teammate for a series of

boundaries, including a huge six.

Boodie was eventually run out on 130. Permaul (3-81), Steven Jacobs (360) Reifer (1-20) Anthony Adams (1-12) Beaton (1-62) were the successful bowlers for Johnson’s XI.

With a first innings lead of 72, Johnson’s Xi reached the team interval at 180. Soon after, Tagnarine Chanderpaul was dismissed for two, caught at square-leg off Paul Wintz.

Skipper Johnson then joined Fudadin, and started in a positive fashion, hitting consecutive boundaries off Wintz. The pair added 50 for the sec -

ond wicket before Johnson was dismissed by Nanan for 21. The left-hander Fudadin soon after reached his halfcentury in the company of Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Fudadin, who clobbered 24 runs off leg-spinner Steven Sankar’s first over was dismissed just before the close. He was caught at the long-off boundary off the same bowler.

Fudadin’s innings lasted 115 balls, and he struck 10 fours and three sixes. The left-handed duo of Chanderpaul and Singh batted safely to the close. Play on today’s final day will commence at 09:00h.