Guyana Times Daily

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

December 6 – 13:20h-14:50h and Monday, December 7 – 14:00h-15:30h.

Weather: Thundery to heavy rain showers can be expected during the morning hours, while light rainfall is expected in the afternoon. Thundery showers are expected to return in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly between 3.12 metres and 5.81 metres per second.

High Tide: 00:32h and 13:00h reaching maximum heights of 2.19 metres and 2.29 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 06:28h and 23:00h reaching minimum heights of 0.98 metre and 0.93 metre respectively.

2016 LGE polls…

“Logistical nightmare” looms, GECOM not ready – Shaddick

By Devina Samaroo

ven though the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) declared itself ready for Local Government Elections (LGE) on March 18, 2016, GECOM Commissioner Bibi Shaddick believes that the Commission is not fully prepared due to several irregularities which the elections body is reluctant to address or take into consideration.

“In my opinion, they are not ready… These elections are very different from the elections we’ve been having since 1994… I am not convinced that the secretariat understands fully what is happening here,” the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Commissioner expressed.

She was at the time updating media operatives at a press conference on December 5 about several matters of concern at GECOM.

Flanked by two other PPP Commissioners – Sase Gunraj and Robeson Benn – Shaddick highlighted several matters of concern that GECOM refuses to take into consideration and which also justify her contention that the Commission is not ready to host LGE.

Firstly, there is the issue

with the mechanisms in place for the Disciplined Services to vote. Shaddick contended that the current system could result in a “logistical nightmare”.

“(For General and Regional Elections) we had 10 administrative regions and the ballot papers might have been different for the 10 administrative regions because of which parities contesting but that’s not what these LGE are because half of the ballot paper will have names of individuals and groups that are different that will be specific to a constituency within a local authority area… you have 580 different constituencies and you gonna have the Disciplined Services voting happening in places… and a man who is listed in Constituency Three in Good Hope [Neighbourhood Democratic Council] NDC is somewhere in lower Berbice and he got an envelope and then somebody got to find the right one to give him to vote, then they have to separate them… how do we know that the envelope that they take to this constituency is really the vote of the person that is listed to vote,” Shaddick posited.

The second issue is with regards to the date for LGE, which is a Friday, in the middle of a school term when chil-

dren are preparing to write their Easter Term examinations.

“You should have had it on Monday so you will have the weekend to prepare the schools for the elections,” she stated, noting that only one school day would be interrupted.

There is also the issue of certain outstanding laws that need to be repealed; for example, while there is an order listing three new towns, there is still a law in existence which identifies these new towns as NDCs.

Shaddick pointed out that certain boundaries still need to be defined. According to her, in one constituency, there are only 55 registered voters. She argued a contesting group needs 40 supporters in that constituency, therefore, if the constituency only has 55 voters, then the possibly exists that they cannot have any contest in that area.

She noted too that there needs to be a more robust educational campaign regarding LGE, given that this process is fairly new to many.

Motion

Meanwhile, the three PPP Commissioners had advanced a motion at GECOM’s

Statutory Meeting on December 1 to instruct the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield to withdraw the application to the courts to strike out the election petition filed by Ganga Persaud with respect to the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections.

However, this motion was blocked by GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, who used his casting vote to rule in favour of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Commissioners. Commissioner Benn, during the press conference, pointed out that this move by Dr Surujbally only “serves to confirm that GECOM is unwilling to open up itself to public scrutiny by way of a court process and is, therefore, unable, as it continues to operate, to deliver free, fair, transparent elections to the people of Guyana, as it mandated by law.”

Benn posited that this also does not augur well for the conduct of GECOM and the fairness of the upcoming LGE.

Moreover, Benn disclosed that the application filed by Lowenfield is already costing GECOM and the taxpayers nearly $7 million.

Sunday Editor: 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

Understanding Climate Talks

Some felt that former President Bharrat Jagdeo was being somewhat inelegant to suggest that Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman might not have been Guyana’s best representative to the Climate Change Conference – COP21 – in Paris. President David Granger admonished that Guyana needed a “united” front, but simultaneously declared that his administration had a conceptual difference from what preceded and would focus on “managing and mitigating the harmful effects of climate change”.

Labelling his approach “holistic”, President Granger criticised the PPP’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) as compared with the “green economy” his coalition was going to create and which term, he said, Jagdeo never used. The “green economy” would address our coastal zone management, rising sea levels, water management, energy generation, and the LCDS would be a component.

Most pertinently the President criticised the LCDS as a money-making venture unlike his “green economy”. “It is not a device to get money from one country and simply transfer it. It is a means of transforming the economy. It is not a transfer of funds. It is a whole conceptual difference we are talking about.”

If this is what Trotman was charged with as his mission in Paris, we are afraid that Jagdeo has good reason to be worried about our representation. Firstly the LCDS was all about the creation of a “green economy” and in fact was a global pioneering initiative. By focusing on “development” which goes beyond the economy – green or otherwise - Jagdeo can accuse President Granger’s of not being “holistic” enough in his approach.

Secondly, the raisôn dêtre for the COP’s were to deal with initiatives to reduce carbon emissions that are pushing global warming beyond its two degrees tipping point of no return. This COP21 expects to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement to achieve that goal. Guyana is a net carbon sink - we sequester more carbon than we emit on an annual basis. Compared to the violators, Guyana already has a “green economy”.

Additionally, President Granger’s pronouncement on COP21 seems to suggest that the LCDS’s concern about “the money” to fund green development is somehow not quite proper. He would be surprised that all COP’s were just about paying for reducing carbon emissions. At Kyoto in 1997, the rich countries that had contributed almost all of the excess carbon in the atmosphere after the industrial revolution in the 19th century agreed to “man up”. But as usual balked as soon as they returned home.

The subsequent COP’s have attempted to share costs equitably but not a single country has ever proposed that addressing climate change is “not about the money”. In fact it has been proposed that in the next 15 years US$30 trillion will have to be spent on “renewable” energy sources at the expense of fossil fuels.

In addition since the rich countries are starting to take responsibility for effects like rising sea levels that threaten low lying coastal areas – such as our coastlands which President Granger has identified – will he be refusing the funds to mitigate such effects? With his perspective it is no wonder that the representative of St Lucia was asked for his opinion by the BBC on rising sea levels rather than Guyana’s.

Then there is the Reducing Emission by Deforestation and Forest Degradation+ (REDD+) where countries will be paid for not cutting their forests as Guyana was by Norway because they will be providing a service to the polluting countries by absorbing their excess carbon produced. Will this administration refuse this money?

But President Granger was obviously not briefed about the Intended Nationally Determined Commitments ( INDCs) that his representatives had submitted to COP21. Guyana stated that it can provide up to 52 million tonnes of Carbon dioxide equivalent of mitigation and increase its share of renewable energy to 20 per cent of total energy usage by 2025 – this however is conditional upon the provision of “adequate” resources - an estimated US$4.495 billion.

Will Guyana provide our own “adequate” resource?

Concerns about the Guyana Prize for Literature

Dear Editor,

I was delighted to read about the Guyana Prize for Literature which I found very interesting. I also learned that the Guyana Prize is extended to the Caribbean Awards for Literature.

The Guyana Prize for Literature is the most prestigious literary award in the English-speaking Caribbean that was inaugurated in 1987 by President Desmond Hoyte. The objective of the Guyana Prize is to: “Recognise and reward outstanding work in literature by Guyanese authors at home and abroad.”

As a concerned author/poet, I observed some flaws in the Guyana Prize Management Committee since I was an entrant in the Guyana Prize for Literature from 1996-2006. My thesis is that the Guyana Prize judges are becoming entrants, and entrants are becoming judges.

I discovered that the recent Guyana Prize Awards Chairman of the Jury was Prof Mark Mcwatt who was a former winner of the Guyana Prize and Judge. In 1994, Prof McWatt won the Guyana Prize in the Poetry category with his collection, The Language of El Dorado. Then in 1992 he was the Chairman of the Judges for the Guyana Prize just two years before he entered for the prize in 1994. In 2006 Prof McWatt won the Best Book of Fiction for his novel, Suspended Sentences. He is now chairman of the judging panel 2015 and will be an entrant next if I am not mistaken.

Professor Dennis Craig was the Vice-Chancellor at UG when the Guyana Prize was in progress, and he became an entrant in 1998 and won in the Best First Book of Poetry category for his collection Near the Seashore during that period, and worked with the Guyana Prize Committee. It is my opinion, like any other literary award in the world all these former judges who became entrants for the Guyana Prize should have been disqualified.

The Guyana Prize for Literature has now become a society of friends, or an incestuous elite group, winning

the Prize all the time most of whom are established professors in literature at universities abroad.

In the case of the Booker Prize, the Cohen Prize, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, etc, the entries of these former Guyana Prize judges would have been disqualified since they were former judges for the award and are well aware of the criteria this award is judged by; but the Guyana Prize has no such rule.

I have read the brochure for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and its rules state: “A book shall not be eligible for entry for the Award if the author or translator thereof is any of the following:

1. a member of the Board of Management

2. a member of the staff of Dublin City Council

3. an officer or employee of IMPAC Ltd

4. a member of the judging panel

5. a parent, spouse or child of any of the foregoing.”

It is very unfortunate that the Guyana Prize for Literature Awards brochure has no such rule listed. Al Creighton who happens to be the secretary and administrator of the Guyana Prize since 1987 and a judge in many awards abroad does nothing to have these rules included in the Guyana Prize brochure. Why is that so?

In my opinion, a judge for a literary award is a scholar and distinguished writer in the field of literature and should not compete with lesser writers than himself in a contest. It’s not surprising that all these overseasbased Guyanese writers who were judges and entrants for the Guyana Prize are winning the Prize all the time. It’s because they are professors and well recognised authors entering the contest with published books that already won several literary awards abroad. So how can Guyanese-based writers with an ordinary CXC level education compete with these experts with their unpublished manuscripts?

In most cases the judges will never read the unpublished manuscripts but they

will focus on books that already have a reputation and where there are high academic degrees behind the author’s name.

In 1998 Roopnandan Singh’s novel Roll Play was short-listed in the fiction category but did not win the award because he was competing against The Ventriloquist’s Tale by Pauline Melville that had already won the Whitbread Award and had been short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction in England in 1997.

This book that already won a major literary award one year before entering for the Guyana Prize should have been disqualified, and Singh’s book Roll Play should have won, but did not because many of the judges and entrants are friends of the elite group.

One of the Guyana Prize Rule States: ‘’No selected poems or collected poems or stories, the bulk of which has been previously published in book from outside the prescribed time will be accepted.’’

After reading through many of the Guyana Prize winning entries I discovered that this rule has been violated. For example: Ruel Johnson Won the Guyana Prize in 2002 with his collection of short stories Ariadne and Other Stories. He won again with another collection of Stories Fictions in 2012.

I note with a great deal of interest that Johnson included two stories from his first winning collection, those are: Killing the Kitten and April. He used back the same two stories from Ariadne and other stories in his next winning book Fictions that makes up 30 per cent of his book.

In my opinion the entry should have been disqualified or this Prize should have been taken back from Johnson but it never happened.

It’s unfortunate the erudite literary critic, administrator and secretary of the Guyana Prize Al Creighton and distinguished judges didn’t see this flaw or they saw it and allowed it to pass because of favouritism and friendship. There are many more poetry books that has

lots of old published poems that makes up most of the collections but they still winning all because our chair of judges are too busy or too naive and incompetent to see these flaws.

This is the only flawed literary award in the world that allows judges to become entrants and entrants to become judges most of whom won this award four and five times and have lived most of their lives abroad. So our local based Guyanese writers are still struggling for a voice or their dying literary voices to be heard.

If the Guyana Prize for Literature is ever to progress in Guyana then the entire committee will have to be changed completely. The Ministry of Education will have to administer the prize and not UG, because the prize has been compromised by literary hypocrites. The prize must be in different categories and age groups. The works of writers living abroad should be judged separately from manuscripts of writers living here.

A children’s category should be established. The prize should be called ‘The Guyana-Caribbean Prize for Literature’ and should include works from the wider Caribbean. More than one prize should be given in the various categories and shortlisted writers should be given at least US$1000.

It is my sincere hope that the integrity of the prize not be compromised and the religious committee should play a significant role in the judging and giving of the awards. If a new ethical standard cannot be integrated by our new administration then it would be wise for the prize to be erased from our literary history. The literature submitted should be free from curse words, sexual overtures, racist remarks, etc. Many books that were given US dollars for the Guyana Prize awards are books of a very vulgar and vile nature and has no literary merit.

Yours truly, Rev Gideon Cecil

Increasing car park fees would be ill-advised

Dear Editor,

The recent discussion that took place pertaining to fees to be charged for the use of the Anna Regina Car Park; of course they were very interesting, and deserve the space and time in the printed and electronic media it was given.

First, I must say that the Town Council is deserving of praise and commendation, for a car park that is well constructed and is serving the people well, but in the same breath I will say any new fees or increase of fees for any services provided by any agency or Ministry or association or company, particularly in Region Two will be ill advised.

During my seven consecutive years as Regional Democratic Councillor, from the Alliance for Change (AFC) list, I also served as a member of the Local Government Committee, the Agriculture and Works Committee and the Land Selection Committee, and the issue of appraisal and reappraisal of building and properties were discussed extensively. The subject of non-payment for cultivated areas did not escape our attention; it was always kept as an agenda item at all meetings.

We have to acknowledge that the municipality and RDC have the responsibility of building and maintaining structures, streets, playgrounds, car parks, cemeteries, the collection of garbage, and ensure that a healthy environment is created, and to do so must have a solid or strong revenue base.

And while I subscribe to the view that anything that is worth having is worth paying for, I strongly believe that there are times when subsidies must be considered, and my comments are not only directed to the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and the municipality in Region Two but across the country.

There are many areas where the NDC’s in Region Two and the Anna Regina

Town Council can look to or target as to significantly increase its revenue base in order to provide the required services the people deserve, those very people who would have elected them.

Many people would be surprised especially those who are not rice farmers, that the NDCs and Town Council would have allowed by commission or omission to be owed more than $150 million from which they would have retained 17 per cent, when they were the collecting agency for the Drainage and Irrigation Board.

My understanding is that the Anna Regina Town Council is owed more than $100 million by rice farmers for cultivated areas.

It is also beyond the comprehension of any reasonable thinking person as to why, more than fifteen years, no appraisal of more than a thousand new and renovated buildings, including banks, supermarket and other business places was done, they the NDC and the Town Council would have collected millions of dollars more.

The non-payment of cultivated areas (farmland) and Rates and Taxes are only two areas where the local government bodies, should be pursuing aggressively, and not the drivers using the car park, be it Anna Regina, Charity or elsewhere, when they all should know that any additional fees would be passed onto the commuters.

Region Two economy is agriculture driven, by mainly the rice industry where more than 80 per cent of its residents depend heavily, directly or indirectly, on that industry which is currently taking a battering. Don’t ask we why or who is the person or persons responsible for this sad state of affairs, but while we are seeing that bright light at the end of the tunnel, it is some distance away. The timing of the proposal is misguided and if implemented must be vigorously rejected by the people, not only the hire car and minibus owners and drivers.

The RDC: the Works and Agriculture, the Local Government and also the Land Selection Committee, but because of the composition of the RDC the highest decision making body of the Region, it was 12 for the ruling party, the PPP and five from the then opposition benches.

The five PPP Councillors with the exception of one councillor from the then ruling party would vote against any motion for strong action to be taken against delinquent rate payers, and to have a reappraisal and appraisal done in Region Two.

I knew that it was because of political consideration, because the majority of people that would have been made to face the consequence of their action of not paying were supporters of the then ruling party the PPP.

I was born and grew up in a rice cultivating area and I am still living there, my father was a rice farmer, so I have appreciation for the hard work and risks the farmers are doing and taking, but farmers must pay their dues like any other citizen, I am convinced that 90 per cent of the rice farmers who are delinquent by years, even when the industry was doing excellent did not pay, but by their life style indicated they could have afforded to pay.

So now for any NDC and the Town Council to implement any new fee for car park or any other facility, knowing that commuters, consumers and spectators or patrons will bear the brunt of these fees they can ill afford at this time. They the members of the NDCs and municipality will fit the description of being uncaring, and not worthy of being members of that body. It’s an idea that should never have been conceived more or less discussed and implemented.

Archie Cordis Former AFC Councillor RDC, Region 2

Suicide: A silent epidemic

Dear Editor, A lack of public awareness and too few explanatory frameworks and preventive efforts specifically targeting suicide have made a major public health problem largely invisible.

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death and is often carried out as a result of many reasons such as but not limited to despair, it may be attributed to a mental disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, alcoholism, or drug abuse and as well as stress factors. According to a recent report from Geneva/Washington, DC, (PAHO/WHO) – More than 800,000 people around the world die from suicide every year – around one person every 40 seconds – according to WHO’s first global report on suicide prevention. It was said some 75 per cent of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries.

In the Americas, the average estimated suicide rate is 7.3 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is lower than in other WHO regions and lower than the global average of 11.4 per 100,000. However, Guyana has the highest estimated suicide rate for 2012 in the world, and Suriname has the sixth-highest. Data from the Americas show that suicide rates first peak among young people, remain at the same level for other age groups, and rise again among older men. Rates of suicide have increased by 60 per cent from the 1960s to 2012,with these

increases seen primarily in the developing world.

Globally, as of 2008/2009, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death. For every suicide that results in death there are between 10 and 40 attempted suicides. About 40 per cent of people who commit suicide in Guyana poison themselves by consuming agricultural pesticides.

Guyana’s has trended high for suicide on several international surveys and though the Government has at various times said the problem was being seriously addressed, it doesn’t seem to have had any impact.

The new WHO report identifies a series of measures that can help prevent suicide. These include creating national strategies for suicide prevention, restricting access to the most common means of suicide, including pesticides, firearms and certain medicines, and providing medical follow-up for people who have attempted suicide.

Risk factors are often confused with warning signs of suicide, and frequently suicide prevention materials mix the two lists of “what to watch out for.” It is important to note, however, that factors identified as increasing risks are not factors that cause or predict a suicide attempt. Risk factors are characteristics that make it more likely that an individual will consider, attempt, or die by suicide. Protective factors are characteristics that make it less likely that individuals will consider, attempt, or die

by suicide. It should be noted that we do not fully understand the complexity of suicide. This makes it particularly challenging to develop effective prevention programmes that can address the high rates of suicide within the population.

In our attempt to eradicate suicide we would like to recommend building public awareness, refining explanatory frameworks, implementing preventive strategies and undertaking research, through ongoing medical and mental health care relationships, improving skills in problem solving, conflict resolution and handling problems in a non-violent way, cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation.

On Thursday, August 6, 2013, the Guyana Police Force launched its InterAgency Suicide Prevention Help Line, in which it helps persons who suffer from depression or any concerned person can call to get help for the affected person. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Protection, the Private Sector, and other social partners are all working together to fight this terrible endemic. If you know someone who has attempted suicide or show signs of depression over a long period of time, Please be that one to make a difference, call and save a life today. We can all work together to help prevent suicide.

Dr Osafo Savory

Page Foundation

Anu Dev

I’ve been thinking about leaders and leadership. I’m not sure exactly why but maybe it has to do with all the news circulating about our 50th Independence Anniversary approaching. Have our leaders really done what’s best for the citizens of Guyana over those 50 years?

What Shakespeare said about “greatness”, can be paraphrased for leaders: “Some are born leaders, some achieve leadership and some have leadership thrust upon them.”

We are all leaders

“You don’t lead by hitting people over the head - that’s assault, not leadership.” – Dwight D Eisenhower

Prefects chosen. I was awed by these students who were all-rounded and carried themselves with decorum. These prefects welcomed us to speak to them freely, but by mutual understanding, there was a boundary we never crossed. And that in itself brings out another fundamental trait of leadersa true leader inspires others to achieve. And

Good leaders must show integrity since a leader can’t lead if he doesn’t have the trust of followers. Leaders must show honesty, wellcontrolled emotions (that’s right, no screaming your head off at your charges!).

Leaders must also have high self-re -

Over the years, I’ve encountered a fair number of leaders from all three backgrounds. Interestingly, they exemplify quite distinct leadership styles, approaches and qualities.

A good leader is assertive yet approachable.

During my early years at Queens College, I was always impressed with the

the best leaders do this not by telling - but by doing. The line from Portia in the Merchant of Venice has stuck with me: “I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.” It can be hard, but to be good leader, that’s absolutely necessary. A good leader can inspire dedication and great feats from followers, through leadership by example.

spect and self-esteem. After all, if a leader doesn’t respect himself/herself, how on Earth could they earn the respect of others? Yes, respect is earned, not demanded. Good leaders should have the respect of their subordinates and also give due respect to their subordinates.

My tradition emphasises the need to delegate tasks

and to groom new leaders for the future. In my estimation, this is a defining quality that all leaders should possess. That leader who tries to singlehandedly tackle all of the objectives and challenges of the group usually risks biting off more than they can chew and simultaneously demotivates the rest of the members.

Leaders should also always be conscious that they can’t be the leader forever - there comes a time to step down and pass on the torch. New times demand new skills and new visions.

One of the more overlooked qualities a leader should possess is a sense of humour! Humour can be an effective tool to energise persons and ease tension. More often than not, leaders choose the too-serious approach - a balance should be struck.

In conclusion, don’t believe that I’m only talking about leaders of countries and corporations. In every endeavour that we embark on in groups, there is the need for leaders. We never know when leadership may be thrust upon us: be prepared.

Ming’s to establish “modern community”

Proprietor of Ming’s Products and Services Ltd (MPS), Stanley Ming has announced that his company will be undertaking a new venture into the world of real estate when he establishes a “green and modern society” located in Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).

Ming made the announcement on Friday evening at the Pegasus Hotel where the company celebrated its 25th anniversary with a lavish cocktail reception.

Speaking at the event, Ming stated that he is always looking for ways to improve the services offered, adding “Over the years, we’ve partnered with many businesses and entities including Fix-it Hardware, German’s Restaurant, New Thriving restaurant, School of the Nations, etc, in several projects throughout Guyana and beyond. For the future, it is the intention of our company to diversify our business activities with the acquisition of land South-West of Parika on the East Bank of the Essequibo River. We have to date, a plot of land of 325 acres. We intend to expand our operations to build a green and modern branded ‘Isika’, an Amerindian word meaning “to give”.

Ming explained that residents of Isika and surrounding communities would be benefiting from a wide range of facilities. “Residents of Isika and surrounding communities will be provided with opportunities to be em-

ployed, to have ready access to medical services, education and recreational facilities within the same space. We’re going to build a sustainable and green community,” Ming revealed.

During his delivery to the audience, Ming reminisced of his early days as an entrepreneur. Ming related that his company is the only distributor in Guyana for the entire range of products manufactured by Yamaha Motor Co Ltd of Japan.

The products include outboard engines, motorcycles, generators, water pumps and water vehicles. Ming’s Products & Services Ltd (MPS), was established in 1990, in a section of a rented building in Tiger Bay, with a staff of four. “MPS was incorporated on the 24th of October, 1989, with my wife Michelle as the Secretary Director and myself as the Director, each with one share valued a dollar ($1).

The company was started on the 2nd of February with the support of June Mendez who provided the upper floor of Farfan and Mendez for the monthly cost of $8500,” he related. Ming shared that in February of 1991, he would have purchased the building – property of the Guyana Transport Services – where he relocated his company, and continued to expand.

The entrepreneur is a sports fanatic who supports numerous sporting activities. He is also a major contributor to a number of charities throughout Guyana.

Private pump stations short on diesel

Scores of consumers are being turned away at private pump stations across the country, owing to an apparent diesel shortage at Sol and Rubis distributors.

Guyana Times understands that several miners and other consumers who would normally purchase diesel in bulk are being turned away because there is simply not enough fuel to meet their demands.

The mining sector, especially, is expected to suffer a major setback since businessmen can no longer purchase the high level octane fuel that is being offered at the private fuel stations.

Sources close to a Rubis Gas Station confirmed that the company is running low on its supply and it may very well be completely out of diesel by Monday.

“Rubis is low and is about to run out soon… some sta-

ICON LNG’s hosts road show in Guyana

– aims to become Caribbean’s largest liquefied natural gas supplier

BY AHREEFA BACCHUS

ICON LNG which is set to become the Caribbean’s largest and leading supplier of liquefied natural gas, on Friday morning hosted a road show at the National Park, Georgetown, where they explained the benefits of converting to their product in the long run.

Suppliers not supplying Sol and Rubis purchase fuel supplies from the Trinidadian-owned oil company Petrotrin. However, due to several internal complications within the oil-producing company, the shipments of fuel to Guyana are

tions are already out,” the source stated, noting that the company already halted all bulk purchasing of diesel.

being delayed.

“The suppliers are not supplying because of their own problems,” the source explained.

The Trinidadian media

“We are only selling drive-ins at the pumps,” the source explained. According to the source, the same problem is occurring at the Shell Gas Stations across the country.

has reported that the stateowned company is financially strapped and it continues to suffers massive blows with the falling prices for oil, high cost of production and only recently, the energy company was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) from BB+ (Stable) to BB (Weak).

Like oil companies everywhere in this time of depressed prices, Petrotrin is earning much less than before. But unlike many of them, the company is constrained against cutting its costs, most of which are for labour and for debt repayments.

According to the source, those problems at Petrotrin are not only affecting Guyana but the other Caribbean countries that rely on the Trinidadianbased company for diesel.

Meanwhile, the source noted that the shipment of fuel is expected to arrive in Guyana by December 11. Therefore, by December 12, all private pump stations should be stocked with diesel for bulk purchasing once again.

ICON is building an energy logistics business throughout the Caribbean region and on Friday, it made Guyana its first port of call. There was a display of the system which would make LNG available to the Guyana business community within one year and save the Government of Guyana close to US$100 million in capital expenditure to develop large industrial complexes.

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Eric Schubert, in addition to the reduction of energy costs, the supply of LNG to Guyana has the potential to reduce poverty through LNG industry job creation and increased revenues for Government, while at the same time improving our carbon footprint through the use of clean energy.

“ICON LNG’s mission in Guyana is to provide a complete natural gas solution for our customers, with a goal of lowering their dependence on diesel as the feedstock for power generation and replacing that with much less expensive and more environmentally friendly natural gas,” the CEO explained. He further highlighted the fact that there are

many negatives associated with the use of diesel, especially the daily swings in the price of the commodity and the long-term environmental impact. “Natural gas has always been a possible solution for this reliance on diesel; the problem has always been how we get natural gas into the region in an economic way. Lack of infrastructure at the ports for receiving large or small volumes of natural gas and the lack of infrastructure to move the gas from the port to the final customers has been the hardest roadblock to overcome,” he explained. Schubert revealed that ICON has eliminated these issues by removing the need for any new infrastructure in the country and taking the equipment cost off of the customer’s hands. He further related that the shipment to Guyana that was unveiled at the launch was the first to the Caribbean. “Over the next few months we will be installing the first conversion kits on power generating units and converting small and large vehicles.

We will continue to increase the supply of gas to Guyana as we expand our presence in Guyana,” he reiterated, adding “… we look forward to working closely with companies, individuals and the Guyanese Government as we make history by quickly transitioning Guyana away from diesel and into natural gas.”

Head of the Petroleum Division of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Noel Dennison shared the CEO’s hopes for the product’s future, adding that the concept is not a new one. “The concept of using gas for heavy machinery and generating plants is something that I personally applied for when we think of our challenges in the interior in particular. The challenge has always been about convenience,” he stated. He added that with the use of natural gas, the mining sector would benefit significantly from a reduction of cost, as well as the ability to move their operations closer to the raw materials.

SunDAY, December 6, 2015 | guYAnAtimeSgY.com

Man fined for inflicting grievous bodily harm

– says VC sexually assaulted him

Asanitation officer was on Friday fined $20,000 after telling the court that he chopped a man in self-defence, claiming that he was sexually assaulted by the said individual.

Shameer Khan, 49, of 111 Miles, Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) was brought before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Court One of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm. His charge read that on Tuesday, December 1 at 111 Miles, Mahdia, he unlaw-

fully and maliciously inflicted grievous bodily harm on Anthony Osbourne. He accepted this charge saying that it was in self-defence.

According to the Prosecution’s facts which were presented by Prosecutor Deniro Jones, the two individuals are known to each other. He stated that both parties were washing vehicles at the Mahdia Landing on the day of the incident when the incident occurred.

He related that a misunderstanding occurred during which the defendant pulled out a cutlass and dealt the

Virtual Complainant chops to his arm. The Complainant was rushed to the hospital and subsequently airlifted to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further treatment. The defendant was arrested and charged, and under caution he admitted to the charge.

According to the defendant, in his explanation to the Magistrate, the Complainant is a homosexual who usually makes sexual advances to him.

He claimed that he usually reports the advances to the Police but they ignore him and laugh at him.

He added that on the day in question, they were both cleaning minibuses when the Complainant shoved him into a bus and sexually assaulted him.

He said the man said, “You is me girlfriend now, I gon mind yuh”, and proceeded to kiss him about his neck while trying to remove his trousers. He said at that point he felt the cutlass at hand reach and used it to fight his assailant off.

After considering the facts presented, the Magistrate fined the defendant $20,000 or a default of four weeks in prison.

Meadow Bank man gets bail for $17M theft

AMeadow Bank, Greater Georgetown man was on Friday placed on $250,000 bail after he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan charged with a $17 million theft.

Fayad Hamid of Lot 5 Meadow Bank, denied the allegations which read that between July 2 and July 4, at Relief, East Bank Demerara (EBD), he broke and entered the dwelling house of James Samuels and stole therein articles including several guns and varying rounds of live ammunition, a quantity of gold and diamonds, two metal safes, a flat screen television, several bottles of foreign liquor and US$40,000; amounting

to a total of $17,280,000.

Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones stated that Hamid is the alleged mastermind of the heist and some of the firearms were found in his possession. Jones further objected to bail citing the gravity and prevalence of the crime.

His Attorney told the court that Police arrested

his client while he was making an appearance for another court matter. He added that they did not conduct an identification parade to link Hamid to the crime.

Hamid was remanded to jail and will make his next court appearance on January 4, 2016 at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.

Sharks and sardines…

…in a pond

Back in the heady heydays of the Cold War between the US and USSR, a “The Shark and the Sardines” was required reading among large swathes of young Guyanese. It was a retelling of the old cautionary tale that “big fishes will eat little fishes” – with the US playing the role of the “Big Fish” and the rest of “Latin America” – especially Guatemala - cast as the “Sardines”.

It was told by a former president of Guatemala – a philosopher who dubbed himself a “spiritual socialist” and whose successor Guzman, who attempted to complete his reforms, was overthrown by the US in 1954. Guatemala’s democratic politics was asphyxiated for the next three decades.

Today there are still “sharks and sardines” doing their thing – witness the Middle East – but what became clear during and after the Cold War, was the “shark and sardine” saga played out in the domestic even more starkly than in the international arena. Nicaragua would have its Samoza dynasty for four decades, Dominican Republic their Trujillo, and us our Burnham and his PNC for 28 years. All of these dictators ran their countries like their personal fiefdoms and treated citizens like serfs or worse.

Even after these dictatorships were ended, the authoritarian imperative remained immanent in those emerging from the womb of the dictatorships. In Guyana we have witnessed the return of the PNC leading the APNU +AFC coalition into office. To its credit it got back into power vial the ballot box – even though the PPP claims that is arguable…but then we know to our cost that the original PNC in coalition with the UF had also snucked in via the ballot box.

The question now on the table is whether the present government will use “any means necessary” to remain in power. And we arrive via this (admittedly) circuitous route, at the Case of the General Registrar Office (GRO) head who was summarily sent on leave by Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix. Why? Well, she dared to not follow a direct order from him.

But no one’s questioning whether the Minister can be the judge and jury to discipline a worker who “disobey so” him. Is this the way the Public Service works? The worker must obey an improper order? Where’s Patrick Yarde?

But more to the point… why was “citizenship” hived off from Ramjattan? Did he know about it or was he cuckolded like D’Aguiar who woke up one day to discover his cojones’d been excised!? The General Registrar Office is the source of all names that go into the Voters’ List eventually.

So many dead voted through the years, no wonder we’ve been called a “Zombie Nation”!!

…and

Anacondas in City Hall

In the ongoing Georgetown clean up exercise, several anacondas were found in our overgrown canals. This Eyewitness wondered how many of these creatures will be found in City Hall if a search is conducted. Not that this search will be conducted by the present cleaning crew since the billion or so dollars expended on the effort will ensure those mouths are muzzled and hands tied!

You’d know that anacondas swallow prey many times larger than the size of their heads because they’ve evolved some unique jaws that slip out conveniently to permit this feat. The prey is then slowly digested as the anaconda rests up and let the digestive juices do their thing. A similar evolutionary process has evidently evolved at City Hall since 1994.

In that time, dozens and dozens of businesses were allowed to not pay taxes; violate building codes, etc - by providing large wads of cash, which are swallowed by denizens of the Gothic Structure.

The wads should be digested before May 11, 2016 when they’ll be thrown out.

…and terrorists

So there’s been another mass killing in the States. But this one’s being investigated as a “terrorist” action. No connection to any terrorist group... gripes with workplace… just like other mass killers. One wonders what caused this change in nomenclature.

Couldn’t be they’re Muslim? Naaaah.

Government outreach in Region 2… Mexico screening quality of Guyana’s rice for purchase – Nagamootoo – says

Anegotiations with banks began on rice farmers loan

high profile team headed by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and consisting of various government ministers embarked on an outreach campaign in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), where they showered rice farmers with promises of market security, cheaper prices for fertilisers, better drainage systems, among others.

This is in spite of the fact that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government is yet to fulfil the promises of better prices for rice paddy, and complete neglect of rice farmers during their suffering following the loss of the Venezuelan market.

Nagamootoo addressed residents at the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School auditorium where he set their hopes high as he pledged to secure the Mexican rice market for farmers. The PM spoke about his meeting with the Mexican President and noted that only recently, the Mexican Ambassador was given a directive to launch a screening process into the quality and standard of Guyana’s rice. Based on the evaluation and quality of the rice, Mexico will decide if it wants to purchase from Guyana.

Nagamootoo was keen to point out that the Mexican market is not as lucrative as Venezuelan’s but he assured that this addition would be worthwhile for the rice industry.

He acknowledged that the cancellation of the Venezuelan market really affected the rice industry and as such, urged farmers to be strong; positing that Guyana still exports its rice to 38 nations.

Relief

Nagamootoo noted that he already met with the various banks and negotiations have started for a

ICON

Junior Public Infrastructure

Minister

Annette Ferguson commended the move by the company to invest in Guyana’s energy sector. “Energy infrastructure is the backbone of a country’s development. It complements the enabling governance system and personnel that makes the country productive. It undertakes the ability of the manufacturing sector to convert raw materials into finished products. It helps communities to create the environment for closer interaction,” she posited. She related that Guyana’s development is at a crossroad and there is a need for a bal-

compromise regarding the loans farmers owe.

He also promised grants for cheaper fertilisers:

“But you can only get this if the boards (GRDB) (RPA) agitate for these things, they are your representatives, they have to put things and we approve, rice farmers you need to send pressure on the RDC, NDC for proper representation, they are the people who represents you,” Nagamootoo emphasised.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, part of the delegation, told residents that millions of dollars are being allocated to improve the drainage and irrigation system throughout Guyana. He said that while rice is important; farmers should look a diversifying. He explained that statistics have shown that the number of rice farmers planting rice is declining but the production keeps increasing as such markets are needed.

Speaking on the issue of markets, Holder said the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is solely responsible for rice farmers and the industry is a private one. Holder described the board as a very powerful one to assist rice farmers and urged officials of the board to make necessary recommendations on farmers’ behalf.

Moreover, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan spoke at length about the upcoming Local Government Elections

anced energy infrastructure. As such, she stated that it is imperative that Guyana lowers its energy bill and at the same time reduce our carbon footprint. She said the mining sector as well as the agriculture sector would benefit from reduced gas prices and as such will be able to expand production.

Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin in his address to the gathering explained that the introduction of liquefied natural gas would tackle the issue of Guyana’s economic progress being stymied by an unreliable and expensive energy supply which is incapable of meeting the country’s demand.

(LGE), as he urged residents to come out and vote.

Concerns

At the outreach, residents called for a total revamp of the drainage and irrigation system. Concerns were raised over the nonfunctioning of sluices and machinery within the region. Spokesperson for the com -

munity of Queenstown Mentis Cromwell called for compensation for residents who suffered tremendously due to recent flooding. He called on the PM to provide some relief to persons who lost crops, livestock, and featherstock.

The residents also pressed government to address the issue of the devastatingly low prices for paddy, maintenance of roads, among others.

Attending the outreach also were Region Two Chairman Davanand Ramdatt, Vice Chairman Nandranie Coonjah and Executive Officer Rupert Hopkinson.

The government’s delegation consisted Nagamootoo, Holder, Bulkan, Junior Indigenous People’s Affairs Minister Varido Lowe and other government officials.

GDF Lance Corporal, 3 others arrested for illegal weapons

ALance Corporal attached to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) was arrested along with three other persons after two illegal guns and several round of ammunition were found in the vehicle they were travelling in.

The quartet was intercepted sometime around 10:30h on Saturday morning at the intersection of Avenue of the Republic and Regent Street, Georgetown. According to reports, Police ranks on “Operation Dragnet” observed a motor vehicle with obscure number plates and stopped the vehicle.

The vehicle was being driven by GDF Lance Corporal Eastman, who was dressed in uniform and a hood. The Police ranks conducted a search during which an unlicensed sawn-off pump action shotgun and an unlicensed .38 revolver along with six matching rounds were found.

The four men were arrested and taken into Police custody, where they are assisting with the investigations.

Meanwhile, Guyana Times understands that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has launched an internal in-

vestigation into Eastman. Speaking with this publication, Chief-of-Staff of the GDF, Brigadier Mark Phillips, confirmed the involvement of one of his soldiers in the incident. He said that this situation is an embarrassment to the Army and assured that the Lance Corporal will be dealt with in the same manner as his accomplices.

“The GDF and the Joint Service will be condignly dealing with the matter and I assure that there will be no special treatment for anyone,” the Chief-of-Staff said.

“Operation Dragnet” is an initiative of the Joint Services, comprising the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Prison Service and the Guyana Fire Service, that will be conducted throughout Guyana with the aim of enhancing national security.

The operation was launched on December 1 and will run until June 1, 2016. During this period, there will be increased movement of Joint Services personnel and the conduct of intensified security operations, both by individual services and jointly.

“The economy will rebound” – Gaskin promises businesses

– shares more ‘plans’

Acknowledging that this year has been a challenging one for businesses, Business Minister Dominic Gaskin hinted at several initiatives government plans to implement in order to help recover the ailing economy.

During his presentation at the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Dinner and Awards ceremony on Thursday evening, Gaskin noted that all sectors of Guyana’s economy experienced major setbacks; some owing to the crisis on the international markets.

“Many retailers have re-

ported a slowdown in sales. The country’s exports are also taking a hit as a result of falling prices internationally for its major export commodities. Gold, which started the year at around US$1200 per ounce is now trading at around US$1070 per ounce; a 10 per cent price drop. Gold declarations for the first half of this year were down to 165,000 ounces compared to 198,000 ounces for the corresponding period last year; a 16 per cent reduction. The rice industry despite its record production figures for the first half of this year - 359,000 tonnes compared with 312,000 tonnes for

the same period last year – had to face the sudden loss of a major preferential market which will significantly reduce earnings by the sector this year.

Our Bauxite Industry has also had to cope with lower prices internationally this year and exports for the first half of this year declined by 18.6 per cent over last year’s first half. Our fisheries sector continued its decline in the first half of 2015 with overfishing, under-declaration and piracy being blamed for the sector’s performance. The forestry sector also showed a decline in the first half compared to last year due to the weather and to a 10 per cent

decrease in the average price for Wamara logs from 2014 to 2015,” Gaskin disclosed.

Public and private investment

Nonetheless, Gaskin is certain that with greater public and private sector cooperation, the economy will rebound.

“It is clear as day that in order for Private Sector investors to make sound decisions on their investments there needs to be a certain level of predictability about our country and our economy. This requires an ongoing engagement between the public and private sectors,” he stated.

Gaskin noted too that Government will be investing in major projects including the Linden/Lethem road, the Parika/Goshen road; investments in the energy sector, particularly the alternative energy sector, as well as harbour development.

Small economies

Gaskin noted that he often hears people talking about Guyana’s inability to achieve economic greatness because of its tiny population. However, Gaskin believes there is nothing inherently wrong with Guyana that is preventing it from becoming an economic tiger.

Drawing his audience’s attention to small economies, like the Gabonese Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Mauritius, and Iceland; Gaskin showed how those economies drastically transformed despite the size of their populations.

““The Republic of Estonia, a former Soviet Republic, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 has actively promoted economic and political ties with the West.

turn to page 13

Guyana High

Satiricus was on a high. He wasn’t one for marching up and down in the streets – but on this cause he’d made an exception. Ganja Power!! That was it! There was nothing he could do about nuclear proliferation and such like. And if it was the age to “hug a tree” what better to hug a ganja plant? Over the years Sariricus had done his share of hugging such plants, even as he’d lovingly pruned and cleaned many of them!

And now, after all the fussing and fighting, it looked like the powers-that-be might just see the light and allow Satiricus to light up his spliff without worrying whether he’ll be a guest at 12 Camp Street. Frankly Satiricus couldn’t ever understand why ganja wasn’t legal. He rejected his friend Cappo’s explanation: “Budday!! When dem ‘Mericans can grow ganja, den dem guh mek am legal!!”

Satiricus wasn’t sure the Americans were growing the stuff… but they sure were spending a ton of money to keep it out of their country. In Guyana, the big man Rodee had said, “No way Jose!” when asked if he would make ganja legal. Satiricus had been disappointed. If anyone would’ve bought Cappo’s argument why ganja was still banned, it was Rodee. No lover of America, there!

But here it was… it was a new day and a new Sheriff was in town! Rum Jhaat! In the beginning, Satiricus wasn’t too sure about the new Sheriff. He’d moseyed into town with his eyes looking all over everything and suddenly decided to close all the saloons by 2am. “What a bummer,” thought Satiricus at the time, “that’s when they show the best movies and they refill the bowls with free peanuts!”

Anyhow, Satiricus was even more impressed by Rum Jhaat pushing ganja’s line. And he didn’t even smoke the stuff! Rum Jhaat was a Berbice Bush rum man. But Rum Jhaat was like that… even though he had spent millions in law school, he just loved to push other people’s causes.

Why! Just a couple of years ago, there was this mega Indian company that wanted a piece of the action in Guyana. And just because Rum Jhaat liked the look of the fellas that came to negotiate, he represented them FOR FREE! Imagine that!

And it was because of the Rum Jhaat’s backing that Satiricus just knew that bong also known as water pipe, billy, bing, or moof would soon be selling all over the land. He was a force of power in the new government. Imagine what an economic boost it would be, thought Satiricus. This might just be the crop to replace sugar.

As Satiricus thought about 150,000 acres of well irrigated and drains land under cultivation with ganja, he had a high without even taking a took!!

Is there oil in our future?

By Ryhaan Shah

We were told. We cannot pretend that the Coalition never warned us. Its campaign message was very clear that we were to forget the PNC’s past, and that old adage that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it is taking on a menacing note as the Granger administration sets about to re-enact the mistakes of the PNC’s previous time in Government.

Ryhaan Shah

The Burnham era should have been an unforgettable lesson about power, especially unfettered power, and it is clear the successors to that legacy care not one jot about any criticism. In fact, their breathtaking boldness and bravado about their policies and actions seem to be hinged on a great deal of certainty about their future in government being absolute and unassailable.

Where most governments set out to please most of the people most of the time, and would change tack when under fire because they are always aware of the next elections cycle, the Granger Administration is oblivious to all criticisms even those coming from critics who once supported them.

This means they are either very sure about the deal they have struck to win office and are therefore very sure of being “re-elected” or else their boldness stems from the recklessness that comes from not caring whether they survive beyond one term.

The reported move to get an advance from ExxonMobil might point more to the latter scenario since it appears government cannot wait the four years or more that it will take for the oil revenues to start flowing. The unpredictability about oil’s future might also be spurring the haste for there is no bigger uncertainty right now than the future of fossil fuels.

World leaders met in Paris this past week and painted a doomsday picture for the future of our planet unless there is an agreed cap on the emission of greenhouse gases. US President Barack Obama said a turning point may have been reached.

“What should give us hope,” he said, “is the fact that our nations share a sense of urgency about this challenge and a growing realisation that it is within our power to do something about it.” Doing something about it means using less oil and more green technology.

The negotiations have always been stymied by the need to find the money to help nations shift to more environmentally friendly energy sources. India and France announced plans to mobilise $1 trillion for solar power for some of the world’s poorest people and Bill Gates of Microsoft said he intends to put billions of dollars into new energy research and development.

The point is that oil is not going to be the energy source of the future world. Guyana has been party to the worldwide green movement in recent years and while we can surely count on some oil revenues for future development, falling oil prices and the renewed momentum of the green movement might well translate into lesser earnings than were expected.

It is not as if Guyana has no other economic eggs in its basket that cannot be developed further but Government seems decidedly lazy or unwilling to inject new ideas and strategies into those areas while placing all future hope for development on oil profits.

One arrow in the bow is always in danger of missing its mark and given that Guyana has timber, mineral deposits and an agricultural sector that is very willing to work, our risk should be spread over several areas. That makes better economic sense.

Power in the right hands can be a force for good. A country such as ours which has had the ill fate of having its development potential wasted away by divisive politics for decades can surely do with a strong hand at the wheel. However, the Granger Administration is not displaying any of the prudence, transparency, inclusivity and tact that go with good governance. Their every move of arrogance and partisanship is a reminder of the Burnham era.

The fall of the Berlin Wall did end that era by creating seismic shifts in international relations that helped return our country to more democratic norms. The end of oil as a primary energy source could have a similar effect on global alliances and Guyana could well lose its attractiveness as a strategic pawn for international players bidding to control future energy sources.

With our potential for hydropower development and our ideal geographical location for harnessing solar energy, that would be no loss but a gain for everyone, including Planet Earth.

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

Exmouth accident…

Essequibo man died from multiple injuries – autopsy

– driver in Police custody

The autopsy conducted on 20-year-old Khemraj Singh, of Hampton Court, Essequibo, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) revealed that he died as a result of multiple injuries due to the vehicle collision he was involved in on December 3, at the Exmouth Public Road.

The autopsy was conducted on Saturday morning by Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh.

The female who was held in connection with the accident was released from Police custody and her husband is presently in custody. Initially, he had fled the scene.

According to a Police release, Singh was riding motorcycle CG 7210 when a collision occurred with the driver of HB 9832. The driver of HB 9832 allegedly lost control of the vehicle and col-

lided with the motor cyclist. Khemraj Singh was thrown several feet away from the point of impact. No one else was injured in the accident. He was the eldest son of his parents. The driver of the vehicle is expected to be charge shortly. Police are continuing their investigations.

“The economy will...

It joined both NATO and the EU in 2004, and adopted the Euro as its official currency in 2011. It now has a modern market-based economy and with a nominal GDP per capita of around US$17,000 (about five times Guyana’s) and an unemployment rate of 7.3 Per cent. Estonia is about the size of Region 9 and has a population of approximately 1.3 million

“Iceland’s economy depends heavily on its fishing industry, which provides 40 per cent of export earnings, accounts for more than 12 per cent of GDP, and employs nearly 5 per cent of the work force. Its economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, particularly within the fields of software production, biotechnology, and tourism. Iceland has created one of the most modern and competitive seafood industries in the world, based on sustainable harvest and protection of the marine ecosystem. Many of the country’s leading manufacturers and service providers cater to the fishing industry and enjoy global recognition in the industry. The country’s nominal GDP per capita is just

over US$50,000 and its rate of unemployment is 3.6 per cent. Iceland is about half the size of Guyana with a population of approximately 350 000,” Gaskin highlighted.

He noted that a country as small as Iceland managed to make itself relevant in the global fishing industry while Guyana which has been logging and producing gold and bauxite for over a hundred years and have extensive resources but is yet to become internationally relevant in those industries.

Nine years of economic growth

It can be noted that under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) regime, Guyana’s economy experienced nine years of uninterrupted economic growth despite the challenges on the international scene.

Additionally, former Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had reported that the consecutive years of economic growth were achieved despite non-support in Parliament from the Opposition which can only be deemed as a concerted effort to stymie development.

No GGMC vehicles being retrofitted – Commissioner

The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has denied that any of its Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are being retrofitted or customised for use by Government Ministers, as alleged by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Opposition.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Saturday, GGMC Commissioner Rickford Vieira said that none of the vehicle’s from the GGMC’s fleet is being retrofitted. “We don’t know anything about that, the vehicles we buy belong to the GGMC and are not being retrofitted… that would be totally false,” he noted.

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall told a news conference on Wednesday last, he was in receipt of credible information that Government had handpicked the contractor to retrofit a number of State-owned vehicles at premium prices.

“There is a close friend of the Administration and a financier of the election campaign who owns an auto accessory body shop and this person, this business, has been given a number of contracts, none of which seem to have been advertised to retrofit a number of SUVs of the Forestry Commission and the Geology and Mines Commission.”

However, Vieira pointed out that the GGMC only buys vehicle for its own use and these vehicles are supervised by the Board. He went on to explain that whenever the vehicles are depreciated or become inoperable for whatever reason, there is a process that needs to be followed when disposing of such vehicles.

“The Standard Operating Procedure

is for it to go to the Board of Directors, they approve it and we publish it in the papers for people to tender (to buy),” he noted.

Nandlall had told reporters, “One vehicle has thus far been retrofitted I am told to be used by a Minister at a cost of $11 million”. He opined that this may be to avoid purchasing new vehicles, following a public outcry over the purchase of a $22 million SUV for Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.

While Nandlall did not name the businessman, investigations by Guyana Times revealed that the only authorised company in Guyana to distribute and install the off-road accessories is Auto Fashion Guyana. Speaking with this newspaper, Managing Director Rupie Shewjattan confirmed his company has been retrofitting vehicles for the GGMC and the Guyana Forestry Commission, but denied this was ever done at the cost of $11 million.

“We never did a vehicle for $11 million… the most is $4 million, so that’s a lie,” Shewjattan clarified. He further explained that the customising of vehicles for these departments and many other State agencies is not something new, as he has been doing this for many years now.

Younge’s Take

Inauguration spending conundrum

On Friday, a document purporting to bear the signature and corporate stamp of Certified Public Accountant Nigel Hinds surfaced in the media with a financial statement in relation to the income and expenses for President David Granger’s Inauguration ceremony and the restoration of the Brickdam Independence Arch.

The entire financial statement covered the period May 20 to June 5, 2015.

According to the document, a total of $19.2 million was received as ‘donations’ from corporate and private citizens for the events following Mr Granger’s swearing in, held on May 16 this year. The six-page document claims that a total of $18.7 million was spent on the two projects, leaving a surplus of $467,671.

Interestingly, Hinds’ report states from the outset that information in the Sources and Application Funds Statement “represents documentation and information provided” by the Restoration and Inauguration Committee representative. The statement was signed by one Fitzroy Corlette as a Coordinator of the event on June 30, 2015 and was approved by Hinds on July 5, 2015.

Also, he stated that “in accordance with our instructions, we were not required, to nor did we carry out, any enquiry or other test of the information in order to express an audit opinion”.

Firstly, there is no mention of the client that retained the services of Mr Hinds nor was there any clear indication of his Terms of Reference in the report.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Accountant entered a few sentences in the report to cover his company in event the information provided by the client is the subject of public and political ridicule or legal challenge. He also made it clear that he was not allowed to verify and audit the information and documents (if any were provided).

The financial statement in itself is raising more questions than it provides answers, to the concerns of Guyanese, over whose money was really spent to give the Ministers and President David Granger a lavish “Big Bash” on Independence Day at his Inauguration ceremony.

It lacks receipts and appears to lack professionalism, as no additional appendices with documentation is provided, the names of the committee members were not released nor were any of the donors revealed.

It fails to give any clarity on quantum of the donors and what form the donations took (cash or cheques). Surely, the client which I assume is the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) would want to ensure that the donations received for these activities was clean money and that persons did not use the occasion to launder dirty money which would be in breach of this country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act.

If this accounting report was completed since July, what was the hesitation in release the findings. Why did the client (APNU) wait till December after the main Opposition party, the People’s Progressive Party already attacked the Government and gained so much political ground in Parliament by submitting questions and exposing the incompetence and unfamiliarity of some senior Government functionaries with the finances surrounding the event.

After all, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said back in June “most” of the money were from donations; Trotman said in November about $1 million was expended from the State and Jordan said he was unaware whether State or private funds were used.

Why did the report separate the expenditure for the two events based upon the magnitude, size and importance. It appears that the APNU again failed in its attempt to pull a major publicity stunt and appear as transparent and accountable.

The release of this report has exposed three things. One being that the junior coalition partner made no financial contributions to those events. If it did, then the public awaits it account of what was spent and the source of the funding.

Secondly, the Government cannot come during the 2016 round of budgets with statement of expenditure for sums spent for independence celebrations, clean-up activities in relation the Arch and national flag raising nor similar independence related events. This would expose all that they are trying to hide.

Finally, if those who funded such important national events are not revealed, how will the public know when the Government is involved in racketeering, corruption and giving pay backs to their friends and financiers?

Something stinks here and it’s not in the city of Denmark!

More emphasis being placed on teenage pregnancy – Dr Cummings

In light of the rising number of maternal and neonatal deaths within the public health sector and the prevalence of teenage pregnancy, the Public Health Ministry is placing a lot of emphasis on the treatment for pregnant teenagers, in an attempt to avoid having them face the same fate.

Speaking with Guyana Times, Junior Public Health Minister, Dr Karen Cummings explained that teenagers are at a high risk for complications during pregnancy, hence, special care is required. She noted that there is a special clinic set up where pregnant teens are being treated.

“We haven’t been shunning them, we’ve been encouraging them to come to clinic early but of course, the overlying cause in some cases is poverty, so we have to look at the social determinants of health,” she stated.

In addition, Dr Cummings outlined that these clinics

have special programmes, such as lectures and guidance sessions to assist the young teenagers.

According to the Minister, while they recognise that teenage pregnancy has become worrisome for the country, the Ministry is doing whatever it can to ensure that both the young mother and her child receive the best health care.

However, Dr Cummings noted that the Public Health Ministry is working along with the Education Ministry to encourage and motivate teenagers to remain in school in order to establish a life for themselves.

cy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In its mid-year report, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) reported that during the period January 1 to July 31 this year, the Hospital delivered a total of 3125 healthy babies, of which some 657 babies were born to teenage mothers ranging from under 14 to 19 years old.

On this note, she highlighted that her Ministry has an Adolescence Health Department that looks into pregnancy prevention exercises among teenagers. “They are very active and run a lot of programmes. Only recently they had one such event,” she said. The Junior Health Minister added that these programmes are ongoing countrywide.

In 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said globally, 16 million girls between the ages of 15 to 19 and one million girls under age 15 give birth every year. Most of these victims of teen-

age pregnancy came from low- income and middle-income countries.

The WHO also underscored that complications during pregnancy and childbirth constitute the second most frequent cause of death for girls within the age group of 15 to 19 globally.

Of recent, Guyana has come under the international limelight for its high cases of teenage pregnancy. A 2013 report from the State of the World Population revealed that with 97 out of every 1000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 giving birth, Guyana has the second highest rate of teenage pregnan-

Only last week, Guyana Times reported two teenage pregnancy cases – the first case was a 15-year-old girl from Wakapao Village, Lower Pomeroon River, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) who gave birth to twins at the Suddie Public Hospital. This newspaper understands that the teenager is in a common-law relationship with a 17-year-old.

Earlier this year, a 13-year-old student from the same community also gave birth to twins. Meanwhile, on Sunday, a 14-year-old from the Pomeroon River was hospitalised after she tried to terminate her pregnancy and injured herself.

About a month ago, a 17-year-old mother of three, Nikacia Allen, passed away at the Georgetown Public Hospital, a few weeks after giving birth to her third child at the medical institution. All three of her children were delivered via Caesarean Sections. She reportedly gave birth to her first child at the age of 13.

While this incident had sent shockwaves across the country, it also brought to light the possibility of complications among pregnant teenagers. In an interview with Guyana Times, Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton explained that teenage pregnancy, as prevalent as the incidents may be across the globe, is an extremely risky situation, especially when it is unplanned or unexpected.

“It endangers your baby and it endangers you,” Minister Norton stated. Dr Norton highlighted that Guyana is not equipped with the latest technology to effectively monitor and control the risks involved in adolescents’ childbirths and very often, both mother and child are impaired with long-term complications. In some cases, situations are fatal.

According to information reaching this newspaper, the teenager, who was two months pregnant, reportedly attempted to abort the foetus at home. She was unsuccessful in her efforts and developed complications in the process, causing profuse bleeding. She was immediately rushed to the Suddie Hospital where she underwent surgery.

Poor administration affecting NA Hospital

– political appointees not performing

Chairman of the Regional Health Committee in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Haseef Yusuf has expressed alarm at the state of health service delivery in the region.

In a report, Yusuf highlighted some of the issues affecting the New Amsterdam Hospital and pointed an accusing finger at the administrating of the regional health system.

Recently, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the New Amsterdam Hospital Colin Bynoe noted that maintenance work was being done at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) which he claimed was responsible for the recent upsurge in neo-natal deaths at the medical facility.

According to Bynoe, the

air conditioning (AC) unit was out of order and the windows were being opened which may have led to contamination of the neo-natal department.

Yusuf in his report said the incinerator was nor functioning at the New Amsterdam Hospital while Bynoe pointed out that students from a nearby school would normally rummage through the garbage near to the incinerator.

Yusuf also noted that the mortuary is plagued with low voltage and there is a drug storage within the medical facility which often times results in the supplies being stored in unsuitable locations.

“It has been observed that most of the washrooms have an unbearable stench and odour while the tile work is

Director of Health Services

Jevaughn

closed.

stained and discoloured. The male ward has patients’ records strewn at the back. The ward also has broken beds piled up in one section.

Yusuf, who submitted a detailed report to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Thursday called for an investigation into the poor supple of drugs to the institution.

in the NICU is proof of negligence. “This has contributed to recent neo-natal deaths through infection when the windows were opened in an effort to ventilate the facility.”

Commenting on the report which was presented to the Regional Democratic Council, People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Councillor Zamal Hussain pointed out that many of the items being purchased to be used in Government buildings is of a very low quality. He says a monitoring system needs to be put in place. “We need to look at this very carefully because some of the bleach that they use in schools, makes the toilet bowls red instead of white.”

Female escapes from NA Prison after jumping fence

Stephens – recaptured near Suriname

P olice in Berbice were made to clean up the incompetence and lapses by female prison officers of the New Amsterdam Prison.

On Saturday morning alert Police in Corriverton arrested an escaped prisoner who was about to board a speedboat on to neighbouring Suriname.

Reports are that Gwendolyn Pompey escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison by jumping over the 12-foot prison fence on Friday morning and hiding in nearby bushes before making her way to Corriverton in an attempt to get to her native land.

After her recapture the prisoner was taken into Police custody for questioning before being taken back to prison.

Divisional Detective Officer-in-Charge of Crime B Division, Pierce Paul told this publication that Pompey had been monitoring the prison officers ever since September and on Friday morning when she went to the bathroom area, recognising the lapse in attention, she made her escape. According to the

Assistant Superintendent who interviewed Pompey after her recapture, the woman jumped the fence and made her way to the prison farm where she hid among the plants and stayed until night fell. She then went to a vacant house located adjacent to the farm and spent most of the night focusing on getting back to Suriname.

Early in the morning the escaping prisoner took a taxi to Corriverton.

According to Paul the taxi driver had requested $7500 but Pompey offered him $10,000. Following the escape police on the Corentyne were alerted and were on the lookout. It was as she was about to board a boat that police recaptured her.

Pompey was arrested on September 19, 2015 allegedly with more than a kilo of cocaine at the Ogle International Airport (OIA). She has since been attending the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. Earlier in the week Pompey had made one of her court appearances.

Pompey told investigators that she had been planning the escape since

September: “The sentence is too long, if they find me guilty, I can’t do that long sentence.”

The woman related that at her last court appearance she collected $10,000 from a friend and concealed the money when she went back to prison. The getaway was a collaborative effort of persons in Guyana and Suriname.

Pompey is likely to face escape charges shortly.

The woman also had more than US$4000 as her property at the New Amsterdam Prison.

It was reported that on September 19, ranks of the Police Narcotics Branch were conducting routine checks at the OIA on female Surinamese nationals when they made the discovery. A total of 902 grams of cocaine were found on her body.

The ranks suspected the woman had also ingested pellets containing the illicit substance, so she was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where two days she later excreted 15 pellets that amounted to 154 grams.

The trial is continuing.

“It is unacceptable that items as basic as syringes should be in shortage. The incinerator plays a vital role in sanitation and hygiene at the hospital and it is highly unacceptable that it is out of order. It also puts the school children at the risk of being infected; the fact that students from a nearby school are rummaging through the hospital’s garbage also speaks volume for the poor security system which is in place,” Yusuf highlighted, while added that the non-functioning AC unit

Hussain further pointed out that since the new Administration took office, sections of the New Amsterdam Hospital were

“This is what happens when you put incompetent persons in sophisticated positions. This is another indication of ‘jobs for the boys.’ Bynoe was a political candidate for the APNU [A Partnership for National Unity] and now is CEO of the New Amsterdam Hospital; Jevaughn Stephens the same thing…” Hussain iterated. The A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition Councillor Samuel T Fraser rebutted Hussain’s point, explaining that no section of the New Amsterdam Hospital has been closed but there are some that are nonfunctional.

“The whole hospital needs closing because of the state which it is in. What we have there is not a hospital, it is a clinic.”

Business still in slump despite Christmas season

Chad says suicide blasts kill at least 15 in Lake Chad

Tension is high among business people as the economic activity of the country is still at a standstill despite the Christmas season, which usually signals the start of increased business activity into the New Year.

A number of investors were left in a state of uncertainty after the May 11 General and Regional Elections, as the economy experienced a stump.

A Mid-Year Report which was released by the Finance Ministry revealed that the country’s economy declined some 2.5 per cent in the first half of this year, when compared to the same period in 2014. The report outlined that initially,

es, many were optimistic that business would improve and economic activity would increase with the Christmas season, which is usually characterised with hectic

Guyana’s half-year growth was estimated to be at 0.9 per cent. However, with the passage of time and the benefit of actual first half performance in a number of sectors, the country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded a growth of 0.7 per cent in the first half of 2015, with non-sugar GDP recording a growth rate of 0.8 per cent.

Despite the circumstanc-

shopping and spending. The spike in commercial activity usually commences midNovember, however, when Guyana Times spoke to a number of business owners and vendors, they were in a state of despair, as they related that unlike previous years, business remained at a standstill.

Supervisor of a fashion enterprise stated that there has been a minor increase in sales as the Christmas

season approaches; however, she expressed disappointment as she related that unlike last year, there has not been a boom in sales. She is optimistic that as the holiday draws closer, customers will begin to flock the stores.

Along Regent Street, which is usually bustling with business toward the end of the year, a number of stores were seen closing shop early in the afternoon due to a lack of patron visits.

The owner of another variety store who spoke under anonymity stated, “Compared to last year, business is totally down. We’re hoping that coming into the Christmas holiday, things will get better”. He divulged that around this period in the previous years, they would usually open the store on Sundays for “late shopping”; however, he related that this would not be the case this year as they have experienced a steep decline in sale.

Another boutique and toy store owner related that she is unsure of her next move as the future of her business seems bleak. She related that, like many others, she is hoping that the business activity will increase and that her income will once again be stable.

Colombia says treasure-laden San Jose galleon found

The wreck of a Spanish ship laden with treasure that was sunk by the British more than 300 years ago has been found off the Colombian coast, says President Juan Manuel Santos.

“Great news! We have found the San Jose galleon,” the president tweeted. The wreck was discovered near the port city of Cartagena. It has been described as the holy grail of shipwrecks, as the ship was carrying one of the largest amounts of valuables ever to have been lost at sea.

President Santos said

the cargo was worth at least US$1 billion (£662 million). The San Jose was carrying gold, silver, gems and jewellery collected in the South American colonies to be shipped to Spain’s king to help finance his war of succession against the British when it was sunk in June 1708.

The vessel was attacked by a British warship just outside Cartagena.

Colombian officials would not reveal the precise location of the wreck, but Santos said the find “constitutes one of the greatest – if not the biggest, as some say

– discoveries of submerged patrimony in the history of mankind”.

He said that a museum would be built in Cartagena to house the ship’s treasures. Ownership of the wreck has been the subject of a long-running legal row. The Colombian Government did not mention its long-running quarrel with US-based salvage company Sea Search Armada (SSA) over claims to the treasure.

A group now owned by SSA said in 1981 that it had located the area in which the ship sank. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Four female suicide bombers attacked the Chadian island of Koulfoua on Lake Chad on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 130 in an attack blamed by security sources on militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

The swampy maze of islands in the border areas between Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria has become one of the main targets of Boko Haram fighters who can find easy cover in the waterways. The militants are based mostly in Nigeria but have become a wider security threat for the region.

“The provisional death toll is 19 dead, including the four kamikazes, and 130 injured,” said state TV. A UN official said that there was an unspecified number of people displaced by Boko Haram-related violence on the island when the attack-

ers struck around midday on a busy market day.

Two of the blasts rang out from the center of the market and a third in the street as people fled. All of the bombers were female, the security sources added. Chad extended a state of emergency in the region last month after a double suicide attack that killed 12 people.

Dozens of people were killed in multiple bombings in the border town of Baga Sola in October. But new restrictions, such as bans on motorized canoes aimed at stopping attacks, makes it harder for aid agencies to access the roughly 60,000 displaced people living there. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Dozens of workers missing after Caspian Sea oil rig fire

Thirty oil workers are missing after the rig they were working on in the Caspian Sea was engulfed by fire, Azerbaijan’s state energy firm Socar has said. Another 32 people were rescued, the company said on its website on Saturday, listing the names of all 62 workers caught up in the disaster.

The office of Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijan President, said earlier that one person had died in the blaze that broke out on Friday, with the rescue operation to retrieve

the other staff hampered by a violent storm. The storm damaged a gas line on the platform in the deep water Guneshli section of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore oilfield, causing the fire, Socar said. “Despite bad weather conditions, 32 people could be saved,” Aliyev said. “According to preliminary information, one person died. At this time, rescue operations continue.”

Azerbaijan’s State Prosecutor’s Office said the person had died on Friday night when the lifeboat he

was in with three others was hit by heavy winds. Staff had taken refuge in lifeboats that had been lowered to 10 metres (35 feet) above the water, prosecutors added. The oil rig’s stricken gas line had been damaged on Friday by winds of up to 144km/h (90 mph), the prosecution service said. Situated between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan is a key partner in projects to deliver Caspian Sea energy reserves to the west through pipelines to Turkey, bypassing Russia.

(The Guardian)

One seriously injured, another critical after Hope crash-up

An early morning accident has left a young man battling for his life at a private hospital after the vehicle he was driving crashed into the road bars at a turn in Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

The incident occurred sometime around 05:10h on Saturday. Guyana Times was made to understand that there were two young men, appeared to be in their late teen early 20s, in the car when it crashed. This newspaper was unable to confirm the identity of the two but was told that they are friends from Marakabai, Mahaicony Creek, ECD. Both of them are reportedly called “Dave”.

An eyewitness, Govind Singh, related to this newspaper that he was on the

road at the time when he observed the car speeding up the Coast. He noted that as they were approaching the turn, the driver apparent lost control of the vehicle.

“First he swerve and hit a sign that was on the road (showing the turn) then he run into road bar,” the man recalled.

Singh noted that it seems as though the young men were intoxicated and were heading home from a night of partying. The young man in the passenger side sustained minor injuries however the driver was unconscious when he was dragged out of the wreaked car.

“When we take him out of the car, he was grasping for breath and it look like he get hard hit,” Singh said while adding that

there was no physical injuries. “Apparently the road bar hit him on his head or chest cause it bore through the windshield but I didn’t see anything physical other than him bleeding from his mouth and nose,” the man related.

The eyewitness further stated that a passerby a assisted with transporting the men to the Woodlands Hospital where they driver remained in a critical condition. Meanwhile, this newspaper was told that the other young man that was in the passenger side of the car, called someone from Mahaica to remove the vehicle from the scene and the police had to go retrieve the wrecked car from the persons.

Upper Corentyne, Essequibo, West

Dem and NA/Canje record wins

The Cricket Guyana Inc. (CGI) Local Franchise League 50-over competition started on Saturday with Upper Corentyne, Essequibo, West Demerara and New Amsterdam/Canje recording wins.

Upper Corentyne defeated East Coast Demerara by two wickets; Essequibo got the better of West Berbice by 43 runs; West Demerara prevailed by four wickets over East Bank Demerara; and New Amsterdam Canje beat Georgetown by five wickets.

Below are the summarised scores from the games played.

At Enmore: Upper Corentyne defeated East

Coast Demerara by two wickets. East Coast Demerara 78 all out in 34 overs (Paul Wintz 20, Bhaskar Yadram 16, Ramnarine Chatura 14, Shawn Perreira 3-17, Eon Hooper 2-25, Jonathon Foo 2-18, Bachand Baldeo 2-22). Upper Corentyne 81-8 in 39.2 overs (Eon Hooper 19*, Sharaz Ramcharran 18, Joshua Ramsammy 17, Gavin Moriah 3-23, Rajindra Naikbaran 2-13, Wintz 2-16).

At Bourda: Essequibo defeated West Berbice by 43 runs. Essequibo 1909 in 50 overs (Anthony Adams 53, Ricardo Adams 35, Kevon Boodie 31, Ricardo Peters 23, Steffan Adams 3-21, Kevin Jawahir 2-23) West Berbice

‘Tennis Frenzy’ at Racquet Centre today

The Guyana Tennis Association (GTA), in its bid to introduce more players to play tennis in Guyana, will host ‘Tennis Frenzy’ today at the National Racquet Centre for persons of all ages. The event features a bar-b-que, the Euphoria fun park for adults and children, with free tennis lessons and fitness drills by qualified coaches.

The GTA also hopes to foster similar promotional activities countrywide to further in-

crease participation outside of Georgetown. A similar event was conducted in July this year under the name ‘Tennis Olympiad’, which was inspired and funded by the Guyana Olympic Association. The event was deemed successful with the introduction of cardio tennis, which is a form of tennis geared to provide maximum exercise by including other fun exercises that are coordinated between tennis drills. The GTA hopes

that this time with the introduction of the fun park that more adults will come out to play because their little ones can be occupied. The fun park involves bouncy castles, sumo wrestling, Zorg ball rolling among other fascinating fun activities and competitions that provide free racquets. Tennis action will start at 10:00h, bar-b-que will be served at noon and the fun park will be open 15:00h to 20:00h.

Petra/Smalta Girls U-11 football tournament…

Stella Maris, St Stephen’s book spots in final

Defending champions Stella Maris and St Stephen’s have booked their places in the final of the Petra Organisation’s Smalta/ Ministry of Public Health Girls Under-11 football competition.

Playing in the semi-finals on Saturday at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue, Stella Maris remained on course for a successful defence of the title they won last year when they needled North Georgetown 1-0.

St Stephen’s had to work harder for their win against South Ruimveldt, as they prevailed 2-0 on pen-

alty kicks after a 1-1 draw. Scoring for Stella Maris was Ludesha Reynolds in the 15th minute.

St Stephen’s and South Ruimveldt got their goals from Kizieya Phillips and Angel Davis respectively.

Earlier in the day, the four semi-finalists had won their quarter-final games. Stella Maris won 4-3 on penalties against West Ruimveldt after a goalless draw; St Stephen’s edged Tucville 2-1; South Ruimveldt defeated St Pius 2-0; and North Georgetown won 2-0 on penalty kicks against Enterprise after both teams failed to score in regulation time.

In the other games to decide positions 5-16, West Ruimveldt defeated Enterprise 1-0; St Pius defeated Tucville 4-0; St Margaret’s defeated St Ambrose 3-0; St Angela’s won via walkover from Sophia; St Agnes defeated Winfer Garden 2-0; F.E Pollard won by walkover from Smith’s Memorial; St Angela’s won 3-2 on penalties against St Margaret’s; F.E Pollard won 2-1 on penalties against St Agnes; St Ambrose won by walkover from Sophia; and Winfer Garden won by walkover from Smith’s Memorial.

The final is billed for next weekend.

145 all out in 45.3 overs (Avishkar Seewkarran 37, Raffael Estraido 30, Royan Fredericks and Ricardo Adams picked up three wickets each, and Anthony Adams 2-19).

At Wales: West Demerara defeated East Bank Demerara by four wickets. East Bank Demerara 178 all out in

41.3 overs (Ershad Ali 38, Bhojnarine Singh 28, Shawn Pooran 25, Stephan Browne 21. Akshaya Persaud 4-35, Mahendra Danraj 2-39) West Demerara 179-6 in 38.3 overs (Akshaya Persaud 74*, Thburaj Ramdass 22, Keemo Paul 22).

At Albion: New Amsterdam Canje beat

Georgetown by five wickets. Georgetown 94 all out in 41.2 overs (Kwame Crosse 39, Kemol Savory 14, Travis Blyden 12, Royston Crandon 3-9, Romario Shepherd 3-12, Joemal LaFleur 2-17) New Amsterdam/Canje 95-5 in 17.5 overs (Joemal LaFleur 40, Devon Clements 25, Kellon Carmichael 4-31).

Up close and personal with Narayan Ramdhani

Guyana’s rising badminton star, Narayan Ramdhani, has been making the headlines for the most part of 2015, racking up some major achievements in the racquet sport.

Although not the most popular of sport in Guyana, Ramdhani’s exploits have triggered attention in the direction of badminton, as the 17-year-old has been continuously marching his way up the world junior ranking.

The extremely talented student/athlete, who copped a bronze medal at the CAREBACO Under-19 Championship in the Dominican Republic, has rose to number 102 in the world ranking, making giant leaps during 2015.

Narayan started the year ranked 491, but with

dedication, commitment, hardwork and some outstanding performances to his credit, the national junior and senior champion has been among the biggest movers on the world stage during the past 12 months.

In terms of rating points, Narayan, the offspring of national coach and president of the Guyana Badminton Association, Gokarn Ramdhani, has ended 2015 with 3,358 after starting the season with a meager 510.

Those valuable points were gained from his participation in several tournaments, among them the CAREBACO Under-19 Championship, XXIV Pan Am Under-19 competition, BWF World Junior Championships, World Junior Mixed Team Championships, IX Suriname International, VI Colombia International and XVII Pan Am Games. He also attended a high-level training camp in Mexico, and the Pan Am talent training camp in Colombia.

Guyana Times Sport’s Avenash Ramzan sat down with the young athlete last week. Below is the full text of the interview.

Avenash Ramzan (AR): Thank you Narayan for speaking to us, and congratulations on your upward movement in the world ranking. Firstly, how significant is this achievement for you personally?

Narayan Ramdhani (NR): Thank you. For me, I think this achievement is a great honour, not only for badminton in Guyana, but for me, knowing that I am a world ranked player.

AR: Explain the magnitude of work you had to put in over the years to reach this level.

NR: Over the years, I train three times a week and sometimes more heading into a competition. Even on rest days I play basketball for my school to keep and build my fitness.

Also, most athletes have off-seasons; I never had an off-season to just rest and relax because to stay on top you must always be training.

AR: When you started to play the game several years ago, did you ever envisage attaining such heights that you have now?

NR: At a young age I have always wanted to be the best player and the achievements I have obtained now is only a stepping stone for greater things.

AR: What is a typical day in the life of a badminton player?

NR: A typical day for me is making sure I eat properly and make sure I do my daily routine and off court exercises.

AR: How difficult or easy is it to manage an active sporting life with academics?

NR: I wouldn’t say it’s difficult to manage school and sports because when you are not playing sports, reading and keeping your mind active is a good form of relaxing your mind and body. Also, when you are finished training for the day you should go home and do your homework and study your books.

AR: At 102 in the world, you’re now on the cusp of great things in badminton. How do you see yourself five years from now?

NR: Five years from now I see myself still playing badminton, but at a higher level and my world rankings in the top 50. I am also hoping to be part of the 2020 Olympics.

AR: At the end of your career in the sport what legacy do you wish to leave in the game?

NR: I would like to leave a short quote: Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. I tried to be the best in the badminton.

AR: More on a personal note now, what is your favorite food?

NR: My favorite food is lasagna that my mom cooks

AR: Your favourite movie?

NR: I don’t have a favourite movie, but I can tell you I like to watch anything that deals with sport.

AR: Your biggest inspiration?

NR: The biggest inspiration for me would be my father/coach. Also, myself to achieve greatness.

AR: Your best moment in the sport?

NR: My best moment in badminton right now is achieving 102 in the world. Also winning bronze at South American Games and being part of the World Juniors Championships.

AR: Your worse moment in the sport?

NR: My worse moment in the sport was injuring a ligament in my knee, which kept me out of the game for at four weeks.

AR: What is your advice to youths looking to pursue a career in sport?

NR: I would like to advice that once you want a career in sport you have to make up your mind to obey the laws and disciplines that come with it; you can achieve your goals easily. I did it and I am now a world ranked champion. I had to sacrifice hanging out and other stuff I would have liked to do because I had to go through my routine.

AR: If you were to become a spokesperson for the sport of badminton, how would you go about convincing other persons to play the sport?

NR: If I was as a spokesperson for badminton, I would tell other people that badminton is the fastest racquet sport in the world, and badminton is one of the best sports to play, both at the recreational and competitive level. Also, it’s a great excerise. Playing badminton competitively also gives you the opportunity to travel the world and meet new people.

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Captain Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 83 as India extended their lead over South Africa to 403 after three days of the

final Test in Delhi. India, who held a first innings lead of 213, lost Murali Vijay in the fifth over and Rohit Sharma first ball.

But Kohli, reprieved by TV replay after being given out on five, put on 133 with Ajinkya Rahane (52) as India reached 190-4 in their second innings. India lead the top-ranked Test team 2-0 in the fourmatch series.

In his first match on his home ground as captain, Kohli revived his team after they had been 57-4, with South Africa seamer Morne Morkel claiming three of the wickets.

Opener Murali (three) looked displeased to be given out to a rising ball from Morkel that appeared to flick his armguard before flying through to leaping wicketkeeper Dane Vilas, shaking his head as he departed.

Morkel struck again in his next over to dismiss Sharma for a golden duck, the ball zipping past the bat and flattening the off-stump for his third single figure score of the series.

India could have been 58-5 when Kohli was given out after Vilas claimed a catch at the wicket, but replays showed leg-spinner Imran Tahir had overstepped and a no-ball was called.

The skipper went on to his 12th half century in his 37th Test and shared in the first century stand of a low-scoring series in which South Africa’s highest total is currently 214.

A 3-0 series victory for India would take them to second in the world rankings behind South Africa, who will lose top spot if they are beaten in their next Test series at home to England, which begins on 26 December.

Woeful Windies lose tour match by 10 wickets

Jason Holder scored a half-century and the West Indians avoided an innings defeat, but those were about the only positives for the tourists on the final day of their tour game in Brisbane. A Cricket Australia XI featuring six players making their first-class debuts proved too strong for the West Indians, winning by 10 wickets after being set a meagre target of 10 for victory.

West Indies had resumed on 125-7 and an innings win for the CA XI seemed likely, but Holder and Kemar Roach were able to put off the defeat with a 79-run, eight-wicket partnership that was the biggest

of the innings. However, leg-spinner Cameron Boyce broke the stand when he had Roach caught for 36.

Boyce picked up 4-64, also getting rid of Devendra Bishoo for 16, before Holder was the final man dismissed, off the bowling of Matt Short for 65. Holder’s innings featured four fours and three sixes and ensured that his team at least avoided the ignominy of an innings loss, but the CA XI openers had no trouble reaching their target without loss.

The West Indies squad travels to Hobart today ahead of the first Test against Australia, which starts on Thursday. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

Back Circle among semi-finalists of Georgetown leg

Back Circle emerged with the biggest margin of victory on Friday evening when quarter-final action in the Georgetown leg of the Guinness Greatest in the Streets football took place at the National Cultural Centre Tarmac. Also advancing to the

semi-finals were North Ruimveldt, debutants Channel Nine Warriors and Sparta Boss. Playing in the second game of the night, Back Circle outplayed East Front Road 3-0. Andy Duke was the outstanding performer for Back Circle, scoring the first two goals

The wrong Lovell

In our Saturday, December 5, 2015, edition under a report titled, “Major sponsors pleased ahead of Sunday’s final” on page 20, the photograph of Dwayne Lovell was incorrectly captioned as Bruce Lovell. We sincerely apologise to both parties for the inconvience this mix up may have caused.

in the third and seventh minutes.

Vincent Thomas made it 3-0 with a goal in the 23rd minute. Sparta Boss emerged with a 2-0 success over North East La Penitence with Sheldon Shepherd and Devon Millington netting in the 29th and 40th minutes respectively.

Channel Nine Warriors continued their impressive run in the tournament with a 1-0 win over West Front Road. Scoring the all-important goal was Kevin Barrow in the 37th minute.

The opening game of

the evening finished in a 1-1 stalemate between Bent Street and North Ruimveldt, forcing the winner to be decided by penalty kicks. North Ruimveldt prevailed 2-1.

GTT/Limacol round-robin/knockout tournament...

All systems in place for grand finale tonight

By TreisTon Joseph

The final of the GTT/ Limacol football competition, set for tonight in the Mining Town of Linden, is shaping up to be a thrilling encounter at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground. According to Co-Director of the Petra Organisation, Troy Mendonca, at a press briefing on Saturday, “all systems are in place.”

“In Linden right now the talk is that there hasn’t been a final of this magnitude in a while where a Linden based team is fac-

ing an out-of-town squad in a final... I know that there is great weather in Linden right now and a great final is expected tomorrow (today),” Mendonca stated.

Victoria Kings and Milerock will meet in the final of the tournament, and captain of the Milerock squad Joel McKinnon assured the Linden fans that Milerock will be hoisting the trophy in front of the home crowd.

“I think Linden is depending on us and our preparation has been good these last couple of days so I just want to say to come out and

enjoy the final that Petra has organised,” McKinnon stated.

Manager of Victoria Kings Everal Mundy was also confident, and stressed that Victoria will be coming strong.

“We’re going to bring out all our fans so I want to tell Linden and Milerock we are coming strong and we expect a clean and fun final and I hope that we come out on top,” Mundy mentioned.

Meanwhile, the third place playoff will be between Topp XX and Winners Connection, as action is set to start at 18:30h.

South Georgetown/District 13 honours athletes

By TreisTon Joseph

Following their fifth place finish at the recently concluded National Schools Championship, South Georgetown/District 13 with 46 points chose to honour the athletes as well as persons associated with the success of the 2015 squad.

This was South Georgetown’s highest placing in over six years, and according to manager of the squad, Leon Bishop, the ceremony was held both as a thank you and as motivation for the athletes.

Manager of the National Track and Field Centre, Trevor Williams, who represented the Director of Sport Christopher Jones stressed that the athletes must remain focus during his address.

“It is noteworthy and commendable that you are receiving awards today for your work you put in and therefore you were a success…however, you must dream further to achieve greatness,” Williams said.

He added, “Track and field is a disciplined sport and you must remain that way… dedicated athletes must be aware of the challenges to success and must be aware various social ills. Talent alone will not win you the gold medal talent must be nurtured, trained and developed.”

Williams also challenged the athletes to journey to the synthetic track in order to utilise it, while noting that the government is aiming to start construction on other stands at the facility next year.

Commander of the Guyana Police Force ‘A’ Division, and President of

the Georgetown Football Association (GFA), Clifton Hicken, delivered the charge to the athletes.

“Your attitude determines your altitude… my first advice is to stay your course as you progress in age so you will develop. Education is one of the key elements in life; when you participate in sport you are an advocate of your environment. And you are the leaders of tomorrow,” Hicken pointed out.

He added, “I urge you to be more focus than you are… unity among schools, youths and children is critical to enhancing our leaders of tomorrow…sports don’t build characters; individual characters are realised through sports.”

Outstanding athletes along with officials and key stakeholders were recognised for their role in helping the district perform at its best.

Trophy Stall Doubles Tennis Championship…

Dey/Lopes are Mixed Doubles champions

The Trophy Stall Doubles Tennis Championship closed off recently with nail-biting matches featuring the best of the best squaring off for the title of Mixed Doubles champion.

Daniel Lopes and Aretta Dey, who have become a formidable force in the category after their recent decision to become partners, had a battle in the first set of the final. Nicolas Glasgow and Nicola Ramdyhan outplayed them in the set and proved to be better in almost every department of their game and closed an easy set 6-3.

However, the momentum shifted in the second set as Lopes/Dey took an early break of serve to move ahead 2-0. It appeared that break was all they needed as the quickly settled and secured the second set 6-2.

Both teams held to open the pivotal set however breaks were traded. The willpower and determination of Lopes and Dey gave them an extra edge in the game, as the etched another break to close the set at 6-4, crowning them this year’s Trophy Stall Mix Doubles champions.

In the Men’s Doubles, the race to the semi-finals by Jason Andrews and Daniel

Flex Night set to sizzle tonight

Top local and foreign bodybuilders will hit the National Cultural Centre stage this evening for the annual Flex Night International event, starting at 18:00h.

Among the locals, the Corentyne region, which has a long established tradition in the sports of bodybuilding and powerlifting, is expected to create some spark at the event.

In recent years, some new personalities have been making their appearance in the competitive arena in both disciplines, and the new Tej Mohall Gym at Skeldon has been one of the gyms at the forefront of this ‘iron’ revival.

With the establishment of gyms like the House Of Pain at Port Mourant and other gyms, under the instruction of managers Raheem Alli, powerlifter Murray of Skeldon and ‘Chicken Boy’, lots of new bodies have been introduced to the bodybuilding scene. These gentlemen have all helped to take the sport to new heights in Berbice.

Flex Night 2015 will see a number of bodybuilders

from the Tej Mohall Fitness Centre. Prominent among those are Zallim Bacchus, winner of the recent Mr. Corriverton contest, Alex Hamilton, a past winner of Mr. Berbice Flex Night, and Chaitram Nagessar, a veteran of numerous Mr. Berbice and Mr. Corentyne events.

On the distaff side, Flex Night International will be a straight clash involving five of the best female physiques in Suriname and a determined seven-member team from Guyana. The ladies from the two countries will be clashing in the Miss Flex Night Bikini and Miss Flex

Night Best Legs events.

With the 2014 Miss Bikini winner Shawnell Warner out of contention this year, the field is wide open for the likes of Fiano Spencer, Kavita Ganpat, Kenita Wilkinson, Makila Goodluck, Tekisha Taylor, Nadina Taharally and Jennica Pluck of Guyana to take the top honours from an inspired Suriname team that includes Suelle Shepherd, Joelle Issa, Vanity Boue, Pauli Militia and Shirley Parta.

All five of the Suriname ladies possess stage experience, having competed in their local Miss Bikini competitions within the last two months.

In the case of Guyana, Flex Night will be the baptism for Taylor who, although possessing considerable experience as a stage dancer, will be making her debut on the competitive Miss Flex Night Bikini stage.

Ganpat and Wilkinson, although competing and placing at the Fitness Paradise Gym Expo, will also be testing the Flex Night stage for the first time.

Lopes in their inaugural partnership came to end as they were dispelled from the competition by the defending champions Nicholas Fenty and Leyland Leacock 6-4, 6-4. Fenty/Leacock had an early break of serve and took a 5-2 lead.

While the game appeared to be quickly slipping from the grasp of Andrews/Lopes, they held and immediately broke to go back on serve 5-4. Serving to stay in the set proved to be a tougher challenge for the pair, which Fenty/Leacock took great advantage over by holding their nerves, breaking again to secure the set.

Once again, Fenty/ Leacock took an early break in the second set and was broken later in the set to go back on 4-3. Fenty, who held serve comfortably throughout the match, found himself 15-40 down on his serve, but he wasted no time in erasing break opportunities by securing the set at 6-4.

Fenty/Leacock then advanced the final to face Harry Pandy and Anthony Downes. Unfortunately, one of their opponents had an emergency travel, which gave the pair a walkover, crowning Fenty/Leacock as 2016 Men’s Doubles champions.

All systems in place for grand finale tonight

Fudadin eyeing hundred; Johnson misses out

Opener Assad Fudadin was eyeing a well-deserved hundred and skipper Leon Johnson narrowly missed out on one of his own as Guyana Jaguars took first innings honours against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force on day two of the fourth round Professional Cricket League Four-day game at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Resuming on nine without loss, Guyana Jaguars closed the day on a comfortable 233-3 in response to the host’s first innings total of 210, claiming a lead of 23. The highlight of the day

was a brilliant second wicket partnership of 138 between the left-handed pair of Fudadin and Johnson.

After opener Shimron Hetmyer was trapped leg before by Marlon Richards without addition to his overnight seven at 10-1, Fudadin and Johnson took the T&T bowlers to task in a momentum-shifting partnership.

Johnson was the aggressor during the partnership, which lasted 42.1 overs, and just when it seemed the out-of-favour Test batsmen was heading to his third First-Class hundred, he was undone by off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine.

Johnson fell for 92 from 132 balls, an innings that included seven fours and five sixes, at 148-2. Fudadin, who was destined to throw anchor, was joined by another left-hander, the in-form Vishaul Singh, and the proceeded to add 35 for third wicket. Singh was run out for 16 at 183-3.

Veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul

and Fudadin, eyeing his fifth First-Class century, then joined forces, taking Guyana Jaguars to the close with

an unbroken fourth wicket stand of exactly 50. Fudadin, who batted all day, ended on 94 from 234

balls and 324 minutes at the crease. His innings has so far included six fours and two sixes, and he has played out a staggering 177 dot balls. Chanderpaul ended the day on 22 not out. In the other games, Leeward Islands Hurricanes have made 164 and 112-3 versus Jamaica Scorpions’ 243; while Barbados Pride have made 296 and 30-2 against Windward Islands Volcanoes’ 179.