Guyana Times Daily

Private Sector upbeat about housing development

GRO not to be blamed for “deadstacked” PLE – Rohee Police called in to probe major housing scam

Prisoner gets 1 year for

GPHC probes death of young mother during childbirth

Suspect in Haslington triangular love affair murder charged

Ebola crisis: Liberia faces huge surge, says WHO

Police called in to probe major housing scam

... “big money” being paid for house lots

Housing Minister Irfaan Ali

Police have been called in to investigate a major housing scam where persons have been collecting money to expedite delivery of house lots to citizens, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) said in a statement.

According to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), information was received that the various players in the scam could not deliver on their promise and moreover, various persons who have been defrauded, have since responded to the Ministry’s recent public notice.

The scam saw persons alleging that they are relatives and associates of Housing Ministry personnel, including Minister Irfaan Ali.

Some even operated as staff of the Ministry, taking people to various housing areas and identifying plots of land that are vacant.

The CH&PA said de-

spite numerous warnings by the Ministry against entering into these transactions, persons continue to fall prey to this disease.

“The Ministry is adopting a no-nonsense approach in dealing with these fraudsters and impersonators. Nevertheless, the public has a responsibility of safeguarding themselves.”

The Ministry noted that some of the parties to this scam are recent applicants who are lured to the promise of expediting the processing of their land application.

“The Ministry is once again encouraging persons to come into us and report any instance, whereby any individual or group, would have collected monies from them in an effort to ‘expedite’ or ‘deliver’ any service provided by the Ministry.”

Last week, the Housing and Water Ministry had warned against the illegal sale of land. According to the Housing Ministry, several scams have been

unearthed in recent days, positing that investigations are currently being conducted. It warned that persons who are involved in scams of this nature are equally culpable, since they have willingly participated in these illegal activities and must have known that the transactions could not have been authentic.

“We would like to urge the members of the public to report any case in which they would have paid or were requested to pay or enter into any transaction in relation to any business of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).”

Persons are being reminded that the Housing Authority is the only authorised agency responsible for the allocation and receipt of payments with respect to house lots purchased from the Authority, for which official receipts are issued.

“No one is authorised to collect money for house lots on behalf of the Central Housing and Planning Authority. All transactions related to house lots are conducted at the Central Housing and Planning Authority’s offices. No official business with the Authority is conducted in the field or at private premises,” the Ministry emphasised.

There, the transfer of any lot bought from the Housing Authority must be approved in keeping with the terms and conditions of the Agreement of Sale. Unauthorised or illegal transactions would not be recognised by the Housing Authority.

Caricom holds talks on draft legislation for CSME

The Caribbean Community (Caricom) continues its drive to establish a single economic space through the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).

According to a release from the Caricom Secretariat, a regional consultation to consider draft model legislation to address legislative gaps common to all member states will open on Monday in Barbados.

The two-day consultation will aim to ensure that there is harmonised legislation across member states, compliant with Caricom Single Market regimes.

The initiative is funded with assistance from the

Canadian Government under the Caricom Trade and Competitiveness Project (CTCP).

Leading up to this regional consultation, national consultations on the draft legislation were conducted from April to July in Caricom member states.

Consultancy support provided by ACE International Consultants in collaboration with UWI Consulting and Nex resulted in draft model legislation, to correct the gaps found in member states.

Some of the legislative areas being reviewed are the Caricom Skilled Nationals Act, the Movement of Factors Act and the Immigration Acts of Member States.

GRO not to be blamed for “dead-stacked” PLE – Rohee

Home Affairs

Minister Clement Rohee, who has responsibility for the General Registrar’s Office, said the department should not be blamed for the untimely removal of dead persons from the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE).

Amid the constant complaints by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) about the many dead persons whose names are still on the PLE, Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Dr Steve Surujbally told a recent press conference that the GRO had not been up to date with its submission of the name of persons to be struck off the PLE.

Dr Surujbally had said that only after the GRO would have provided to them the necessary documentation, then they could move to strike off dead persons on the PLE.

Asked to comment on this at a PPP/C press conference on Monday, Rohee said the GRO has been effectively executing its duties, in this regard, proving monthly reports to GECOM on those who have passed away.

Manipulation

Seven drafts will be tabled for discussion. The revised drafts will be considered by the Community’s Ministerial Organs before being adopted as model Caricom legislation by the Legal Affairs Committee.

Senior legal officers and other relevant personnel from Caricom member states will participate in the regional consultation which ends on today.

The Community Strategic Plan identifies the implementation and use of the Caricom Single Market and Economy as fundamental to the achievement of sustained economic development for the Caribbean Community.

“The PPP/C will not be intimidated by anyone…. So let it be known that the PPP/C will oppose any and every attempt to manipulate the Voters List from any quarter,” he posited. According to him, “those who forget the past are bound to repeat it”.

Addressing the revision of the laws governing the removal of names of the deceased from the PLE and OLE, Dr Surujbally said GECOM has recently begun to review its internal system with regards to the flagging of names and subsequent elimination from the PLE.

Its proposals in the future will be presented to the National Assembly.

Currently, the system is not so rigid, that if a lot number is missing or varies for an individual when the report of the deceased is submitted by GRO, the name is not flagged, but Dr Surujbally said Commissioners are now calling for more leniencies.

“Perhaps we can estab-

lish margins even of acceptable errors, we can proactively work along with the Police, with the hospitals, funeral parlors to ascertain whether some persons are actually dead,” he suggested.

Until the system is reformed, the Chairman made clear that GECOM has a rigid system in place to prevent imposters from voting on behalf of the dead whenever elections are called.

In recent days, GECOM has come in for major criticisms over the names of more than 2958 dead persons found on the PLE, including that of former President Arthur Chung who died in 2008.

Though admitting that alternative systems should be instituted for the removal of the names of the de-

ceased from the PLE and the Original List of Electors (OLE), Dr Surujbally said there will always such names on the lists.

But Rohee said GECOM is mandated to “clean up” the PLE. According to him, failure to do so could result in “people voting on behalf of the dead”.

“It has happened before in this country and Mr Surujbally must be aware of that. I think it is wrong and in fact disrespectful if Mr Surujbally is telling the PPP that we must accept a list that has hundreds if not thousands of dead people on it, we cannot accept that,” Rohee told reporters during his weekly press conference at Freedom House on Monday.

Laws

However, when reminded of the stringent laws governing GECOM with regards to the removal of names from the PLE, Rohee opined that the laws be amended. The laws governing GECOM stipulate that authentic documents must be provided before the names of the deceased can be struck from the PLE.

Constitutionally, the General Register Office (GRO) is required to submit monthly reports on those who have died, before their names can be flagged on the National Register of Registrants (NRR) and subsequently removed when the PLE is extracted. If the death certificates have not been issued by GRO and the relevant information, including names and addresses are not handed down to GECOM, names of persons who are publicly known to be dead cannot be flagged or removed from the PLE.

“It means that GECOM would have to think seriously about changing the laws,” he emphasised.

BRIDGE OPENINGS

WEATHER TODAY

Mother of five killed by alleged drunken driver

mother of five is dead after she was struck down and killed by an alleged drunken driver along the Canal Number Two Polder Access Road on Sunday evening. The accident occurred about 20:30h.

The dead woman was identified as Kumarie Tikaram, 38, of North Section, Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara, but formerly of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo.

“Mamalo” as she was commonly called was reportedly stuck from behind by the speeding car, moments after leaving a friend’s home, a short distance away from where she lived.

The driver of the car fled the scene, but was subsequently arrested at his home.

Police later found out that he was above the legal alcohol consumption limit. He is presently in Police custody assisting with investigations.

When Guyana Times visited the area where the accident occurred, Sunita, a friend explained that the woman came to her house to collect a few school items for her children so that they can start school on Monday.

The woman recalled

Tikaram leaving the yard with two of her daughters, Melissa, 16, and Terissa, two, but soon after she heard the teen calling out to them, relating that her mother was struck down by a car which drove away.

As she ran out, she saw the woman lying on the roadway in a stilled state.

“We call the Police, reported the matter and ask them if we can pick her up and take her to the hospital, but they advised that we wait until them come, arrive at the scene… when they come, they pronounced her dead,” the woman posited.

The woman explained that the now dead woman’s husband is a labourer and

does not work regularly; hence, she would ask around for help.

The husband and his children were not at home, but information received suggested they travelled to Tuschen with his in-laws.

Rookmin Ramnauth, the mother of the now dead woman, told Guyana Times in a telephone interview that she was at home when her granddaughter contacted her via telephone, telling her that her mother was involved in an accident.

At that point in time, Ramnauth was not under the impression that her daughter had died, and when she rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, she was greeted with the devastating news.

“When meh reach there, meh see meh granddaughter and son-in-law and thought that meh daughter de getting treatment, but when meh see the hearse with she body inside, meh faint,” the mother said.

She recalled talking to her daughter sometime last week when she called to enquire about a carpenter. Ramnauth also noted that she visited her daughter’s home a while back.

The mother confirmed

that her daughter moved to the area about 16 years ago after she got married to her husband, Mohan Dasinand. Their union, she noted has brought fourth five children.

The eldest daughter had recently collected her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results and is working as a Sales Clerk at a store in Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara.

Meanwhile, Guyana Times caught up with an uncle of the bereaved husband, who stated that the woman’s funeral will be kept in Tuschen and not Canal Number Two Polder where she lived.

He explained that family members are staying at his home, but due to religious beliefs, the funeral cannot be held there.

“She bin a wan Hindu and we ah Muslim, so we can’t allow any Hindu rituals to perform in the yard… that is how we understand it and we got to continue living that way,” he said.

Tikaram leaves to mourn her husband, five children, mother and siblings. Her body is at the Ezekiel Funeral Home and is awaiting post-mortem examination.

Prisoner gets 1 year for setting fire to mattress

Aman who is on trial for murder has confessed to setting fire to a mattress in the New Amsterdam Prison, on April 15.

Marlon Fordyce made the confession on Friday when he appeared at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus on the said charge.

Fordyce, of D’Andrade Street, Newtown, Kitty, who had previously pleaded not guilty to the offence, told the court that the fire stemmed from an unattended lighted cigarette.

“I am sorry. I was smoking a cigarette and I fell asleep,” he told the court.

However, Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Godfrey Playter informed the court that the defendant is a remanded prisoner

and was at the time housed in a cell which has various accommodations, such as a mattress, and other items approved by the prison authorities.

“During the day in question while the defendant was in his cell, other in-

mates drew to the attention of the prison authorities that fire was emanating from the said cell in which Fordyce was accommodated.”

Playter noted that Prison officials responded, and observed that a single sized mattress measuring four inches in thickness was on fire. They formed a bucket brigade and extinguish the blaze.

After listening to the evidence, Magistrate Marcus sentenced Fordyce to oneyear imprisonment for committing the act.

Editor: Nigel Williams

Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Literacy

Yesterday was “International Literacy Day 2014” and was observed worldwide under the theme, “Literacy and Sustainable Development”. This day also falls in our Education month, the theme of which this year is, “Literate by Grade Four through Consistent Home, School, and Community Involvement”.

From the two themes we can gather than in our country the authorities are convinced that literacy is integrally connected to “sustainable development” and that it has to be imparted at a very early age. This newspaper cannot agree more. There is no development – sustainable or otherwise – that can occur without our ability to communicate with others in our society.

This statement, of course, acknowledges that “no man is an island” and as Aristotle emphasised, to be human we need the social. We can always communicate verbally, of course, but the pace of human knowledge and the need to communicate the same has grown so exponentially that any society or individual stuck at the oral stage of communication is doomed to a subsistence existence.

We need to become literate – and we have to begin early. It has been shown that we will learn half of what we will ever know by the time we are five years old. Everything that comes afterwards is simply filling gaps in that scaffolding constructed so early. But we need to explain exactly what we mean by “literacy”. Are we asking that we should simply string together the letters of an alphabet and be able to utter certain sounds consistently? That’s what some people mean when they boast of 98 per cent literacy and so on.

But we believe that to be “literate” one must go beyond that which was taught to some dolphins. There was a time when “literate” was connected firmer to its etymological derivative “literary”, in which the words being read were valued for their import on the lives of the reader.

While we are not sure that this can be fully grasped by Grade Four, when children are around 10, we know that their eyes can be opened to the deeper possibilities contained in books. And it does not matter that the books are on parchment paper or in an electronic device. In his “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, Paulo Freire offered advice that is pertinent if we substitute the world “literacy” for “education”:

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”

One of our challenges in imparting literacy to our young, who will eventually inherit our world, is to make it exciting and relevant as we know it can be. If the truth be told, in Guyana literacy is taught in such a pedestrian fashion that even if our pass rate in English language is approaching 50 per cent, are our students really literate?

With the ubiquity of the electronic media in transmitting the written word, and making it come alive with pictures and sounds at the click of a button, the “Rampat Family” does not have to be the form of torture it is to our young.

In the developed world, the new forms available for the transmission of narratives have expanded the very meaning of “literacy” and created a new category of learning – Digital Humanities.

Since we are being exhorted to “leapfrog” economic development by adopting technology generations removed from what presently prevails – as in moving to broadband directly from land lines in communications – it should not be too much to ask that we do the same in promoting literacy. Finally, we endorse the Education Ministry’s reformulation of the old folk wisdom: in life as in literacy, “it takes a village to raise a child”.

Nagamootoo-Hughes ticket surprising

Dear Editor,

The proposed Moses Nagamootoo-Nigel Hughes ticket for the Alliance For Change (AFC) in the General Elections seems to be baffling not only to the general public, but even to supporters of the AFC.

I spoke to several of them in Berbice on Sunday and they were surprised at the statement made by the party’s Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, who hails from Number 47 Village on the Corenytyne.

I note with concern that the movement was formed by former executive member of the PNC, Raphael Trotman and Ramjattan, who was a top brass and central executive member of the PPP/C. What is

the reason why these two founders are no longer at the helm?

Nagamootoo who grew up with the PPP said time and time again that the party Founder Leader, Dr Cheddi Jagan, had identified him to take over the party after his demise, but Jagan’s widow, Janet thought otherwise and handpicked Bharrat Jagdeo, a young man who was not in the trenches like Moses, Navin Chandarpaul, and others.

From reports, the top brass of the AFC is considering whether to merge with APNU to oppose the PPP/C at the next general elections. They have to make a decision as soon as possible because this has

to be done before elections.

A large number of their supporters prefer them to join ranks with the governing PPP/C party, and a few intend to make representation to the party leadership in this regard.

A large number of persons in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) are dissatisfied with the AFC and there is an indication that the party will not secure as many votes as they did at the last general elections.

The PPP/C will have to work hard to get the support of these voters because some of them have expressed the view that they will not exercise their franchise.

Some AFC support-

ers referred to Raphael Trotman, the first leader, who refused to make way for Ramjattan as agreed, and asked why should they follow a party where the leaders who not stick to principles. They also make comment about Nagamootoo who they said is a very hard worker, but feel he has “an axe to grind” against the PPP/C leadership.

The NagamootooHughes ticket has raised serious discussions in Berbice and no doubt the entire country and one wonders what is the next move of the third party.

Sincerely, Oscar Ramjeet

Guyanese Americans should vote today

Dear Editor,

There is much talk among Guyanese about today’s voting, about whether Guyanese would come out to vote and who they should vote for, given that few politicians pay attention to the Guyanese community.

Today, Tuesday, is Voting Day in New York and several other states –Primary Election Day to choose a party’s candidate for November’s General Elections. Primary Election is when members (or supporters) of a party get to decide who should be their party’s candidate for an office.

It is not like in Guyana where a handful of party of-

ficials get together and make back room deals on who will be their party’s candidate for office. In America, party members choose the candidate in an open process where all members get to vote to choose a nominee (the person who will run for office as the representative of the people).

The nominee is the party’s standard bearer for the General Election. In most seats, the Republicans have no primaries because in some areas the Republican party has few members (or supporters) and few wish to be the party’s nominee. The Democrat Party has primary in virtually every seat. Most

Guyanese are registered as Democratic supporters.

Today’s primary will choose a candidate from each party who will face off in November to determine who will be the elected official. New Yorkers will choose their candidate for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Senator, State Assembly person, among others

Polls open at 18:00h and close at 20:00h.

Community leaders urge everyone to come out and vote – to be part of the democratic process to choose who will be your representative. If not, others will choose the representative for them.

In the greater Richmond

Hill, James Saunders is seeking re-election as Senator. He won in 2012 primarily because Guyanese and South Asians came out for him and he has delivered a lot to the community. Mike Miller is seeking re-election to the Assembly. In nearby Jamaica Estates, John Liu is challenging Tony Avella for his Senate seat. Many Guyanese, Asian and Caribbean people reside in the area. John Liu has been a good friend of the Guyanese and Caribbean communities throughout the city. He sponsored Diwali, Phagwah and Guyana Day celebrations at City Hall.

continued on page 5

I am emancipated... freedom! I must not work

Dear Editor,

I walked into my staff room and proudly proclaimed, “I am emancipated, I must not work.” Everyone looked at me with a puzzled gaze, possibly thinking what in the world has gone wrong with this man?

In fact, the question was asked by one of my associates, “Mr Adams, are you alright? My reply was, “I am alright, but I maintain that I must not work”. This is the crucial point of my discourse today.

Once a certain group of persons were freed, it was their erroneous view that work as we know it should be a thing of the past. The new found philosophy was that they were not required to direct their energies at anything strenuous to earn a living, but to focus on the attainments of others and get it “by any means necessary”.

This is the philosophy of many young people in Guyana today. So when we visit the scene of another gruesome robbery,

it is that the perpetrators of such heinous crimes are operating under the notion that it is their right to take what the rich has. They should not be “workers”, but as they put it, “takers” of what others possess.

Now, this is not an overnight thought of theirs but rather, it was one that was fostered by some in the socalled “educated community.” This group of persons preach the doctrine of emancipation whereby some young people should be a bunch of “not working kings and queens” walking around aimlessly in an empire that their ancestors built.

And whenever things go wrong – which it sure will – in that community then, blame it on another group, because it is their fault that this has befallen them. This is the new emancipation story written and directed by Hinds and company.

I cry shame on all those who foster such ideas of laziness among the people or peddle the idea that one

group ought to look grudgingly on the wealth of others. I say shame on you for mentally enslaving our youths. These dwarf and decrepit ideas will only lead to more hatred and murder as we so often see.

In fact, what these people are not telling you is that the strides made by the freed men soon after slavery is phenomenal, whole villagers were bought with the proceeds of hard labour and frugal savings.

We were the forerunners of the cooperative movement, pooling our monies together in “box hand”, each one helping the other to achieve their goal. This is what epitomised some communities all across Guyana, not the modern day gun toting, non ambitious bandit that is often perpetuated.

We were and still are a proud black race. However, somewhere, somehow a sizable group of us lost our way in the new found gun culture. Their minds became enveloped in an eddying whirlpool of foolish-

ness that did bring shame and disgrace to the race. I do hope with the reading of this letter that those trapped in that mode get out of it before it is too late.

Some of the lyrics of Brother Marley speaks to this fact; “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery none, but ourselves can free our minds”. People of the ilk of Hinds and company probably sing and dance to this popular ballad without paying one iota to its educated lyrics. The song is calling for an “emancipation of our mind” something up until now Hinds’ company cannot fathom.

So the next time this song is played, I wish some folks gain the inspiration that is required and lift themselves to a higher level of existence.

Emancipation is freedom from forced labour, not freedom from labour, as is erroneously taught by some.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Road traffic sign painting in Bartica

traffic

Dear Editor, The Bartica Lions Club Chapter on September 7 collaborated with the F One Division (Bartica) Community Policing Group and the Bartica Police Station Traffic Department in a traffic road sign painting exercise.

Around 06:00h, par-

ticipants assembled at the Cenotaph area just in front of the Bartica Police Station on First Avenue and promptly set about brightening up the road traffic signs there – an integral area within Bartica’s traffic network, owing to the fact that the Bartica Transport and Harbours

Department Stelling is in close proximity. The exercise then encompassed the areas of Second and Third Avenues from First to Third Streets. This activity will continue each and every Sunday until all of the integral areas within Bartica’s road network have been brightened

Photograph on Kaieteur News’ front page misleading

Dear Editor

The photograph of a collapsed bridge splashed on the front page of the September 8 edition of the Kaieteur News is another malicious attempt to mislead the public and create unfounded anxiety amongst commuters along the Linden/Lethem road.

The photograph referenced is one dated more than six months when severe difficulties were being experienced due to overloaded trucks crossing the bridge.

The bridge, located 33 miles from Kurupukari, was fixed some six months ago.

Contractors working on the road’s critical sections, as well as, road users have also confirmed that no such bridge currently exists along the road.

Meanwhile, mainte-

nance to critical sections of the Linden/Lethem road continues to move ahead, and is scheduled to be completed by mid-September. The sections are being resurfaced with lateritic material and compacted.

The contractors employed for this project, which is being executed in phases, are: Troy Resources; Omai Gold Mines (OGM); Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL); Mekdeci Machinery and Construction (MMC); and Vevakanand Dalip Enterprise (DALIP).

Currently, travel time on the road is down from 16 hours to 12 hours.

The Ministry is calling on Kaieteur News to clarify its photograph and offer an apology.

Submitted by Public Works Ministry

GECOM’s new electoral list

Dear Editor, GECOM’s new electoral list, where they boldly did the impossible by having 78,000 new electors added in the present four-year registration cycle, must be reviewed.

The political parties must write GECOM officially requesting the publication of the detailed breakdown of the data in those administrative regions where these massive increases are located.

Except they officially

write GECOM, in bureaucratic style, they would claim they had no knowledge of the issue. At the same time, the political parties should immediately invoke the aid of reputable foreign agencies as well, to analyse the GECOM list. Local or Central Government elections cannot be held with flawed lists.

Yours sincerely, F Mason

Guyanese Americans...

up. Central Bartica covers a one-mile square area with seven avenues running from North to South that criss-cross nine streets running from East to West.

Submitted by, Edward Persaud

He is in a tough primary against Avella; both of them ran unsuccessfully for Mayor. Liu has courted Guyanese and Caribbean voters and reached out to them. Many prominent community and labour leaders have endorsed him and held fundraisers to help his campaign. He has promised to address the issue of immigration which is of paramount to immigrant groups in New York.

There are several other important races across the city especially in communities where Guyanese reside in Queens and Brooklyn and their vote

could help make the difference in who wins. Guyanese American John Sampson is also seeking re-election from Brooklyn to the Senate. I urge my fellow Guyanese and other Caribbean Americans to come out in your numbers and vote in the primary to nominate a candidate for their party. They are also urged to join a campaign as I have been doing to develop relations with candidates who could better service their communities.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

Page Foundation

How to keep your cool

Mike works all day... long, hard hours. He has a successful business and works hard to keep a good relationship with his clients and employees. But 10 minutes with Annie; his fouryear-old, and he becomes a rage-a-holic.

Every night when he comes home, he just wants to relax and read the newspaper, but Annie wants to play. He tells her nicely to watch TV, and she refuses.

Suddenly lightening hits, and he’s screaming at her and stomping around the house. He’s in a rage… slamming doors, you name it… He can’t control himself.”

Anyone can be angry, even the most able and mildmannered parent. Parents like Mike worry about the frequency and intensity of anger they feel toward their children. A lot of this anger comes from utter frustration – not knowing how to manage children’s behaviour. Anger also occurs when a child falls short of a parent’s expectations, when kids embarrass their parents in public, and when they show disrespect.

Unresolved frustration leads to distress, and frequent anger outbursts ensue.

Anger doesn’t work

Parents’ uncontrollable outbursts rarely improve children’s behaviour. Don’t you secretly wish they

would? Wouldn’t parenting be easier if you could yell at your child, “Get dressed right now, young lady! Stop playing around and wasting time! You’re going to make me late for work and I’ll lose my job,” and your daughter would jump into her clothes and then climb into the car, waiting patiently while you put on your makeup and make one quick phone call? You might think a child

nore it, while for others, anger has a contagious effect; children fight back with an angry defensive response of their own.

Parents need to find effective, realistic ways to deal with anger. Children are gifts… treasures... jewels. As angry as you may be, remember how much you love them. Never let yourself forget that – first and foremost.

If you were treated with anger when you were a child, remember it and feel it. Remember how bad it felt? So why would you want to inflict the same hurt on your children?

Find the balance

Even though anger is not the emotion you want pervading your household, it’s unrealistic to think that you will al -

would comply with angry demands to avoid the unpleasantness of these scenes, but that usually isn’t the case. Some children become immune to your anger; they ig-

ways be a calm “Brady Bunch” kind of mom or dad. If you suppress your anger so much that you’re like a smouldering volcano, eventually you’ll blow

, but on the other hand you can’t allow your fury to run unchecked.

How do you strike a balance?

Understand that you’ll always respond more effectively if you notice when those feelings of anger are starting to well up, while they’re still at a low level of intensity.

- When your anger starts to build, stop, count to 10, and take some deep breaths.

- Move slowly toward your child and get on his or her level; sit on the floor near your toddler or preschooler; sit on the sofa next to your older child.

- If you are truly ready to explode, call a neighbour and ask them to stay with the children while you go out for a walk.

- Leave the house as soon as you can find someone to stay with the children.

Now, what do you say?

Tell your child that you are starting to get angry. Describe the exact situation that’s provoking your anger: “Your toys are scattered all over the floor.”

Explain what you want done about it, and put a time limit on it: “Dinner will be in 10 minutes. I expect them to be cleaned up and put away before we eat. I’ll set the timer.”

Progress, not perfection

It’s a given that children’s naughty behaviour provokes anger in their

(Part one)

parents. Learning new responses takes a lot of effort, and change comes slowly. If you succeed once a week in using your anger productively to improve children’s behaviour, give yourself credit for small successes. It takes time and it takes patience.

Know when to get help

If you feel that your children have taken away your freedom, are depleting your finances and are draining your energy, and you’re unleashing anger at them because of that – it’s not fair! Now is the time to seek professional assistance to manage your own internal struggles.

Working through the problem

In the case of Mike and his daughter Annie, Mike had to decide what he wanted to occur every night and then find a constructive way to make it happen.

With the help of a counsellor, he worked through the problem. He identified his need for some peace and quiet when he arrived home from work, but realised that Annie needed him, too.

He was determined to give Annie his first 30 minutes once he got home, watching TV with her. He couldn’t believe how this little bit of attention worked, and it freed Mike to read the newspaper in quiet.

Anger shrinks intimacy and keeps children at an emotional distance. It can take over your home and destroy the parentchild relationship. If you learn how to manage anger, your children will learn to express anger as you do.

Establish your equilibrium

When your anger gets the best of you, do something to bring yourself back to your emotional equilibrium – turn on some music, take a nap, go for a walk, call a friend. After, try to secure your relationship with your child, spend some time together in a mutually enjoyable activity.

Love, nurturing and joy should be the overriding feelings expressed in your home. And when those overwhelming feelings of anger do well up, if you can’t think of anything else to do or say, take a deep breath, shift into low gear and focus away from your child. You’ll like yourself better in the morning. (loveourchildrenusa.org)

Guyana’s location makes it hotbed for narco trafficking – Rohee

By Vahnu Manikchand

Home

Affairs Minister

Clement Rohee said that while local law enforcement agencies continue to make progress in intercepting drug traffickers, the geographical location of the country is making it difficult for them to curb narcotics trafficking.

The Minister was at the time speaking at the Guyana Defence Force’s Wharf,

vessels to increase their capacity.

According to the Minister, there is no way to determine what activities are happening within the country’s territory; as such, the various forces need to constantly be on the alert. He noted that of recent, there have been many exchanges within the task forces that focus on narcotics and illegal firearms, headed by Major General

out.

Rohee said that the collaboration among the local law enforcement agencies has yielded good results, given the fact that the country has limited resources.

The Minister noted that Government is looking at acquiring aerial resources and radar facilities in order to boost capacity of the security forces. He went on to express his appreciation to the United States

Ruimveldt, Georgetown, where the media was invited to view the self-propel semi-submersible vessel that was found at a creek in the Waini River, Region One (Barima-Waini) last month.

Rohee pointed out that Guyana’s main challenge is the fact that it is a “transit country”; hence, making it easier for vessels, people and even aircraft transporting drugs to use the country to conduct their illegal trade given its geographical location.“That is our major challenge. We didn’t make it that way; that is because of how we’re located geostrategically when you look at Africa, the United States and so forth…our challenge also is to ensure we beef up law enforcement agencies in order to give them the necessary tools to fight this global problem,” he stated.

The Home Affairs Minister said the fight against drug trafficking is ongoing as it is prevalent in not only Guyana but the world over. He noted that the semi-submersible vessel is not one that is peculiar to Guyana nor is it peculiar to major drug traffickers, since many such vessels have been found in Latin America.

Rohee went on to talk about all the steps that have been taken to boost capacity in the various security agencies. He referred to the three metal shark tank vessels given to the GDF’s Coast Guard by the US Government, and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has also procured

Retired Michael Atherly. Additionally, he said, the Guyana Police Force is increasing its capacity as it relates to its marine wing, which includes training of its ranks to patrol the waterways and territorial sea.

Rohee added that all the law enforcement agencies meet on a monthly basis to assess the work that they are doing in the fight against narcotics and illegal firearms.

“This is a good example on the part of Government to show how it is important for law enforcement agencies to work together with each other, to cooperate and consolidate the way. Of the fact that we have limited resources, we don’t have all the resources we need, particularly aerial resources and radar facilities which the Government is playing close attention to having in the future,” he mentioned.

The Home Affairs Minister commended the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and the Special Forces for the discovery of the semi-submersible vessel, which, he said, is a major blow to the operations there. He said that the discovery will enhance and send a strong message to those who are involved in the illicit trade, both locally and internationally, that law enforcement agencies are on the alert and very active. “This is a major discovery and rather than saying negative comments to it about penetration, I believe we should be more positive about it and the fact that it has been found,” he pointed

PPP/C threatens to unmask Nagamootoo

As the country braces for a possible snap election, the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) on Monday said the possible Presidential Candidate of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Moses Nagamootoo, has some serious skeletons in his closet.

The leadership of the AFC has already signalled support for Nagamootoo, AFC’s Vice Chairman, as the party’s Presidential Candidate for any upcoming election. AFC Leader and former Presidential Candidate Khemraj Ramjattan had said he believes that Nagamootoo is the man to run against the Donald Ramotar Administration. Party Vice Chairman Nigel Hughes has also thrown his support behind his party comrade.

Skeletons in cupboard Nagamootoo, a former executive member of the PPP/C, resigned from that Party in October 2011 and proceeded to join forces with the AFC.

Drug Enforcement Agency for their cooperation on the investigations. “(The DEA) has been very cooperative and has placed many of their facilities and their personnel at the disposal of law enforcement agencies in the fight against narcotics to intercept vessels like this and even movement of drugs wherever it might be taking place,” he said. (vahnum@guyanatimes.gy)

Nagamootoo said the decision to move further away from the Party was officially taken when he realised that he was continuously being sidelined by the PPP/C executive for major promotions, roles and portfolios within the political party.

But, PPP/C General Secretary Clement Rohee on Monday said that the skeletons in Nagamootoo’s closet will soon be revealed. Rohee said “we have so much on Mr Nagamootoo… Mr Nagamootoo has so much skeletons in his cupboard”, noting that some of the very

skeletons have already been “disclosed”.

When asked whether those skeletons would have amassed when Nagamootoo was a sitting member of the PPP/C or when he left the party to join AFC, Rohee responded: “Let’s see when they come out and we can judge that. More has accumulated after he left, but some were there.”

However, Rohee refused to point directly to the supposed “skeletons”, saying that all will be revealed in due time. Meanwhile, Rohee also denied reports that the PPP/C had identified its Presidential and Prime Ministerial Candidates ahead of possible elections.

Recently, there were unconfirmed reports that Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett was selected to be the Party’s Prime Ministerial candidate for the next General Election, with President Donald Ramotar returning as the Party’s Presidential

Candidate. Rodrigues-Birkett being named PM candidate would see Samuel Hinds, who has been the Prime Minister and Prime Ministerial Candidate since the PPP/C took office in 1992, being replaced. Hinds would have served four consecutive terms and is in his fifth term as Prime Minister, making him Guyana’s longest running PM.

But, according to the Party’s General Secretary, the PPP/C is yet to name a possible candidate that may lead the Party to victory in the event of any general election. Rohee said “we haven’t decided on that as yet”, noting that the issue is one that would be settled at a “leadership level”. When asked whether he was interested in either the Presidential or Prime Ministerial Candidate post, Rohee again staved off the questions, saying “when we come to that bridge, we will cross it”.

tuesDAY, september 9, 2014 | guYAnAtimesgY.com

Eyew tness

“Dog

made”...

...law by Ramjattan

Khemraj Ramjattan claims to be a lawyer. He very well might be one. After all, he did represent Fedders Lloyd in their objection to the award of the contract for the Specialty Hospital. But then again, he represented them more in Parliament than in the courts. Apart from the blatant conflict of interest, he might just see himself more of a politician than a lawyer. But still a “lawyer”.

Yet he just can’t seem to separate the two roles – and the Bar Association might have to step in –wielding its Code of Ethics manual. Ramjattan once again has brought up his ridiculous “complaint” to the Police against Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh for authorising the spending of monies that the Legislature hasn’t “authorised”. Ramjattan claims this is a “criminal violation” and is upset the Police haven’t charged the Minister as yet.

We have said this once and will say it again. Ramjattan’s stance is making a mockery of the WI legal training system. One of the fundamental tenets of criminal law is that criminal offences must be clearly defined in law, and represents the operation of ‘the principle of legal certainty’.

“Clarity and certainty” must be the watchwords. There have been reams of paper used to warn against “vague laws” or arbitrary extensions of them even by judges – all of which can be abused by the forces of law and order. Jeremy Bentham famously called the latter “dog law”:

“When your dog does anything you want to break him out of, you wait till he does it, and then beat him for it. This is the way you make laws for your dog: and this is the way the judges make law for you and me. They won’t tell a man beforehand what it is he should not do – they won’t so much as allow of his being told: they lie by till he has done something which they say he should not have done, and then they hang him for it.”

And here we have Ramjattan, supposedly an officer of the court, demand that a man be charged for an offence that’s not even on the books!!! This is not even “dog law” – it’s more like “crab dog law”!!! Ramjattan and his Opposition cohorts have been whining about the Government taking disputes with them to the courts for interpretation. Well...at least the Constitution is clear that’s the role of the courts.

But where in law school did Ramjattan learn that you can go to the Police and ask them to discern a crime when a Minister performs his job??? It is clear that Ramjattan went to school in August!

....Constitutional change

The Opposition parties – PNC/APNU and AFC –are running all over the place shouting “constitutional change”!!!. They want to change the Constitution to bring about “power sharing”. This is so beyond ironic. After all, how could this bunch of losers complain that the President isn’t including them in governance when they’re not even including the PPP/C (which forms the Government) in the discussions about the constitutional changes they’re talking about??!!!

So what’re they going to do?? Change the Constitution all by themselves?? This will be worse than crab-dog law which at least only affects individuals. Changing the Constitution means changing the entire power relations in the country. And it was for this reason that in our and every other Constitution, those kinds of changes need a two-thirds majority.

That’s right, wankers of the Opposition!!! You can talk about “constitutional change” until you’re blue in the face – but ain’t nothing gonna happen unless the PPP comes aboard. So just keep on cussing them out AFC!!

...agreement

Nigel Hughes says he agrees with Ramjattan that Nagamootoo should be the AFC’s Presidential Candidate. What happened to the African-Guyanese’s turn?? But what else can you expect from the fatally flawed ex-Company Secretary??

Duo charged for murder of Lusignan teen

In a courtroom filled with relatives of slain teenager Ashmini Harriram of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, two men were arraigned for her murder when they appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.

Lennox Wayne, 32, of Lot 1308 Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara and Melroy Doris, 26, of Lot N Bent Street, Worthmanville, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Zamilla Ally and were not required to plead to the indictable charge.

The charges, which were read separately, stated that on July 10 at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, they murdered Harriram. None of the men were legally represented.

The men were taken to the courtroom under heavy Police guard. Dressed in a pair of dark coloured jeans and a white long sleeve figured shirt, Doris was the first to be escorted followed by Wayne, who was attired in a jersey and a pair of jeans.

As the matter was called, both men stood but the Magistrate ruled that the matter was indictable; hence, they were not re-

quired to plea. They were asked to remain silent as she read the charges, one after the other.

Wayne, upon interrogation by the Magistrate, claimed the he had severed 10 years in prison after he was convicted for an offence of robbery under arms.

Guyana Times also understands that the suspect whose nickname is “Two Colours” was also charged for discharging a loaded fire arm, being in possession of an illegal firearm and other related offences. He once resided at Leopold Street and was a music instructor.

Doris on the other hand had no previous convictions or brushes with the law and claimed that he is a taxi driver by profession. He has

no children. In an attempt to solicit the services of an Attorney, he was advised that he can do so after the court proceeding.

Prosecutor, Lance Corporal King asked for a date for statements and reports, which was subsequently given as October 3 at the same court.

As the men left the courtroom, Wayne was heard threatening Doris whom he claimed implicated him

wrongfully. He said that he was “no killer” and did not have any knowledge of the shooting, which is contrary to his confession in the form of a cautionary statement to the Police, bearing his signature.

He had reportedly confessed to collecting $2.5 million to execute the young woman on July 10, along the Lusignan Railway Embankment. Doris kept his hands to his face and was pretty much silent. He had confessed tobeing contracted to drive Wayne to the location and leave immediately after the job was completed.

False report

However, moments before the matters were called by the Court Orderly Khemwattie Somwaru, the mother of the teen was seen making her way into the court yard. As she was about to pass, she stopped before several media operatives and vented her dissatisfaction about the manner of reporting, pointing out Kaieteur News as the main perpetrator.

She refuted claims that she ever spoke with Kaieteur News and that the report that was carried was false.

She noted that she was indeed shocked to have leant that her son-in-law Omesh Singh was involved in her daughter’s murder.

On the day of the teen’s death, she recalled giving her daughter $3000 to purchase the items she needed to continue her cosmetology work.

“Meh wuk hard to raise meh four children… and see she get she dead so, it really hard… Meh nah know what to believe, but of meh sonin-law involve, then let the Police do they wuk,” she said in tears.

She praised the investi-

gators for the excellent work done in bringing the perpetrators to justice. “I must say thanks to them… within two months they able to find who kill meh daughter,” she added.

The teenager was shot once to her neck moments after she disembarked a minibus along the Lusignan Railway Embankment.

On the day of the incident, the shooter reportedly exited a burgundy motor car, whipped out a gun and shot the teen after which he took away her mobile phone and left the scene.

The phone had numbers of interest to the shooter and the person who had contracted him to shoot the teen since they thought she had leaked information about a drug-related activity.

The lawmen subsequently linked the murder to two major drug busts connected to some of the suspects in custody.

The first bust had occurred in February 2013 when some $1.5 billion in cocaine was found in lumber at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara. Then on July 8 this year, a large quantity of marijuana was intercepted at Diamond worth $216 million.

Commonwealth set to host inaugural youth congress

The Commonwealth Students’ Association (CSA) is delighted at the announcement from the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, of ‘A Young Commonwealth’ as the annual theme for Commonwealth Day 2015.

“As we launch our “Save The Date” for the Inaugural CSA Congress, the largest gathering of students across the world to date, we are pleased to see that the Commonwealth sees the value of putting young people at the heart, empowering them to be real partners in driving development and change,” said CSA Chair Stanley Njoroge.

The CSA Congress to be held alongside the 19th Commonwealth Education Ministers Meeting (CCEM), will be the first time the CSA

gathers with its membership of student leaders from across the Commonwealth.

Since its inception in Mauritius at the last CCEM, the CSA has gone from strength to strength, organising students on the ground, and building a movement to put students at the heart of education decision-making, something which is vital for the development of education systems throughout the world.

“The CSA wishes to make a call again for new members from student bodies across the Commonwealth.

Members can apply online at http://commonwealthstudents.org/getting-involved/membership-form.

The inaugural CSA Congress will be held at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Nassau, The Bahamas from June 22-26, 2015.

GPHC probes death of young mother during childbirth

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has launched an investigation into the death of Evita Singh, 34, of Lot 13 Lathan Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, who died during childbirth on Saturday last.

After the woman’s passing, her relatives blamed an immature staff at the medical facility for her demise.

GPHC Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan, when contacted on Monday afternoon, told Guyana Times that he was meeting with a team about the incident and the hospital will release a statement shortly.

According to reports, the mother of two was taken to the hospital two Mondays ago after she experienced high fever. Upon her admittance to the medical facility, she was placed in the maternity ward where she was treated for the high temperature which was brought under control by Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the nurses reportedly induced labour by inserting a tablet called ‘Cytotec’ into Singh. Guyana Times was told that the nurses reportedly inserted

about six of the pills between Wednesday and Thursday, since they claimed Singh was not responding to the tablets and there was no movement from the foetus.

On Wednesday evening, the dead woman’s mother, Chandra Ramjit, said her daughter started to bleed and by Thursday, the pain had become intense. Also on Thursday, the young mother related that she was having strong contractions, but at this time, it was understood that they had to perform a Caesarean Section. Singh was taken to the la-

bour room where the nurses attempted to deliver the child, but in the process, the bleeding became excessive. Eventually, a decision was taken to perform the C-Section, but, by the time it was done, the baby was already dead.

Ordeal

In the meantime, Singh lost a significant amount of blood and her heart rate started to decline. She never regained consciousness.

During the ordeal, the now dead woman’s father was at the medical institution enquiring about his daughter’s and the baby’s health, but was told to “wait and when we get word, we will let you know”.

The grieving mother stated that after some time, the doctors told her husband that her daughter had lost a lot of blood and that the baby was dead. She recalled being at home and receiving a call from the hospital asking for her son-in-law to visit the hospital.

Her son-in-law, Anand Singh, who was ill at the time, managed to visit the hospital only to be told that

his wife’s condition had worsened. The doctors reportedly told the family that Singh’s body was rejecting the blood transfusion she had been given. In tears, the woman’s mother said, her husband contacted them relating the news.

Ramjit hurried to the hospital on Saturday only to find her daughter in an unconscious state. “They told me that she can hear but she cannot respond… I stay a few hours with her… her feet and hands were already cold… I know something was wrong… I told her that this will be the last time I will come visit her at the hospital and I left,” she cried.

On the same evening about 19:30h, the family received the dreaded news. Ramjit believes that if the doctors had performed a Caesarean Section in the first instance, her daughter and granddaughter would be alive. The young mother leaves to mourn her two children aged 13 and six. The relatives are calling for a thorough investigation into the matter with the hope of getting justice.

Rigid systems needed to beat back pirates – Dr Ramsammy

Rigid systems are needed to guard the fishing industry from piracy, Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy said.

Though not limited to Guyana, the plague remains a major problem with many fishermen dying at the hands of pirates.

In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times, Dr Ramsammy said greater collaboration between the Agriculture Ministry and fishermen is needed to effect systems that would discourage piracy.

While artisanal fishermen often evade the licensing system, he said licensing is a key requirement. It was explained that though a crew of fishermen could be legitimately fishing at sea, they can be mistaken for pirates when in contact with the Coast Guards.

Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy

out to sea. It is something we should determine.”

It was explained that such a system would allow the Agriculture Ministry to have first-hand information on the fishermen at sea and their location in the case of an emergency.

Additionally, to enhance security, Dr Ramsammy said artisanal fishermen should be encouraged to use tracking devices such as GPS.

Earlier in the year, Chairman of the Number 66 Fishing Complex

are scaring away yachters from coming to Guyana.

Sea bandits have been on a rampage for some time now, beating and robbing their victims in vicious attacks. Only recently, a number of fishermen were killed during attacks on the Corentyne Coast.

Rum Jhaat high in spirits these days

De Hope Canal Project just get another deadline. Just when every body thought de last deadline was de last deadline, de Guvament announce another deadline as de last deadline. That is why de people at Hope get hopeless all over again.

And talkin bout hopeless, Rum Jhaat is a man who look like he gettin hopeless just like de Hope(less) Canal Project. And people who hopeless does get desperate. And desperate people does do desperate tings.

That is why Rum Jhaat always got to seh some ting even when he ain’t got nutten to seh. And whah ever he seh does got to be in de paper man paper, especially wid elections fever heatin up. Somebody seh Rum Jhaat elections campaign office gon be at 7-owe-4, because he does be deh from 7 till 4. PM to AM.

So from 7 till 4, Rum Jhaat mouth does get a lot more freedom, and de talk does get a lot more dumb. Was right deh Rum Jhaat get drunk de other day and he start to feel like he had power. So he stand up pun a table and seh de P-P-Pee-See gettin drunk wid power.

Well, that is de only time in de last 20 years that Rum Jhaat was able to stand up. After all, if a man can’t stand up in one way, he might as well choose another way how he can stand up.

In fact, de only reason Rum Jhaat play some kinda cricket match de other day is because he hear de match had some ting to do wid de spirit of unity. And once Rum Jhaat hear bout spirit, he does get in de spirit.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! Some body at de match seh Rum Jhaat was definitely in high spirits de other night when de match done play. And it was only when he couldn’t get any higher that he end up right back flat pun de ground lookin up at how high he was all de time.

He further stated that the licensing system would be revised, allowing for the establishment of a manifest system.

“Through that system we will be able to determine who are the fishermen going

“If you still have piracy after everybody is licensed, then the pirates must be among ourselves,” the Agriculture Minister said.

Parvinchandra Deodat, who heads the Berbice AntiPiracy Unit, said about 30 per cent of the fisherfolk who operate in the locale are involved in piracy.

Recently, Tourism Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) President Kit Nascimento said the constant attacks on fishing vessels by armed sea pirates

“An ongoing and persistent concern for our industry is the security and safety of Guyana for our visitors. If Guyana is perceived as a dangerous place to visit, no amount of promotional marketing will cause visitors to come,” Nascimento said.

He said THAG has maintained a cordial and collaborative relationship with the Home Affairs Ministry, but the escalating reports of crime and banditry and offshore piracy, “of our fishing boats do nothing to make us comfortable and less to improve our international image”.

US-based man accused of renting house he never owned

An overseas-based Guyanese has been granted bail in the sum of $75,000 when he appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus on Friday on a charge of obtaining credit by false pretense. Chandra Paul is accused of obtaining $180,000 from Ashok Kumar, an astrolo-

ger. The court was told that Paul indicated to Kumar that he had an upper flat for rent at the cost of $90,000 per month. However, the tenant was expected to pay two months’ rent in advance. According to Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Godfrey Platter, after agree-

ing to the conditions, Kumar paid $180,000, but no receipt was issued. Subsequently, after Kumar was unable to make contact with Paul, he reported the matter to the Police. At the time, Paul had returned to the US and was subsequently informed that the Police were looking for him.

He sent US$200, equivalent to $40,000 via a money transfer, which was handed over to the Police.

According to the defendant, he did not receive $180,000, but $40,000.

The accused is set to return to court on September 15 when the Police are expected to provide statements on the matter.

Man charged with possession of counterfeit US dollars

A21-year-old labourer accused of possessing counterfeit US dollars was arraigned before the Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday morning.

The first charge alleged that on Friday, September 5 at South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, without lawful authority, Joshua Adams had in his possession one forged US$100 bill, number HB18068205D.The second charge alleged that on the aforementioned date

and location, he uttered to Mariska Adams the forged US$100 bill, knowing same to be false. Adams, of Lot 63 North Sophia, Georgetown, has no antecedents or previous convictions. When the Chief Magistrate enquired from the defendant whence he got the money, he said he got it from his uncle (name stated).

There were no objections to bail from the prosecution. Hence, Adams was granted bail in the sum of $25,000 per charge. He will return to court on September 26.

Troy Resources executives brief Ramotar on operations

The top executives of Troy Resources Guyana Inc on Monday met with President Donald Ramotar, briefing him of the progress of the company’s multimillion US dollar gold mining operations in Karouni, Region Seven.

Speaking to the Government Information Agency (GINA), company Chairman David Dix said the meeting went very well, with President Ramotar giving his commitment to help the Australian company with the necessary means to expedite its local operations.

The Chairman stated that he and the executives were pleased to do business in Guyana and with the confidence displayed by Government towards investors, such as themselves. The Chairman was accompanied by Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Martin Purvis, and Director for Guyana Operations Ken Nilsson.

Purvis said: “It was really to introduce ourselves, we had our first board meeting in Guyana, we talked through the development plans that we have, the timeframe in which we want to develop our mine, and the benefits that he could help to assist us, to be able to do it in a timely manner, and enable us to be generating income for us and wealth for the country.”

The Chairman stated that he was very happy with the investment opportunity provided by Guyana.

“We are happy with the structures in place, with the way we can do business here, and the confidence the investment community is getting in us and the way that we are operating here.”

Troy Resources Guyana Inc in August received $1.1 billion of mining equipment purchased from manufacturer Doosan for development of its mine site at Karouni and eventual com-

mencement of operations by mid-next year.

Around 600 Guyanese will be employed with the company during its initial construction stage. The Australian exploration and mining company will be developing an area west of Omai with the anticipation of raking in an annual production of 90,000 ounces of gold over a seven-year period. Production, however, in the first 12 months is projected at 102,000 ounces with production commencing between December 2014 and February 2015. The company, dual-listed on the Australian and Toronto Stock Exchanges is a junior gold producer with operations at Andorinhas in Para State, Brazil and Casposo in San Juan Province, Argentina and now, its project in Guyana. The company has forged a proven record of fast-track mine development, low cost operations, strategic acquisitions and exploration discoveries.

Suspect in Haslington “triangular love affair” murder charged

Errol Khan, 37, of Lot 72 Blossom Scheme, East Coast Demerara, was on Monday remanded to prison charged for the murder of Chetram Bharat and malicious wounding of Lomattie Ramdat.

Khan, also called Venood Maraj, was not required to plead to the two indictable charges which stated on May 2, he maliciously wounded Ramdat, 36, with intend to maim, disfigure or cause

actual bodily harm and on the same day, he murdered Bharat, 41.

After committing the act, he fled the scene and was on the run until he was caught on Friday evening while walking at the Stabroek Market Square. He later confessed to the Police.

The court also heard that Khan was previously arrested for the possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. He was unrepresented and will make his next court ap-

pearance on October 1.

Moments after his arrest, he allegedly confessed to the murder of Bharat, recalling that on the night of the incident, he went to the home of his lover and asked her to go out with him.

She reportedly refused, and he got angry, reportedly stormed into the couple’s house, and hacked the man to death with a cutlass while he was asleep on the bed. After committing the heinous act, he walked out of the house and again requested that the woman go out with him.

The woman raised an alarm, claiming that she and her husband were being robbed. Khan subsequently rode away from the scene.

Bharat, a fisherman of Lot 418 Haslington New Housing Scheme, was chopped several times to his head, upper body, and one of his hands was almost severed.

His wife was also injured, receiving chops to the head, face, and hand. Parts of her nostrils and lips were severed, as well as a portion of her elbow. She is currently a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

OAS, IFES ink MOU to strengthen electoral observation systems

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, and the President and CEO of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), William Sweeney, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday through which both institutions will strengthen their already established cooperation on electoral observation systems.

During the ceremony, Secretary General Insulza highlighted the collaboration between the OAS and IFES, and the interests shared by the two organizations to strengthen democracy. He recalled that the promotion and defense of democracy is— along with human rights, development, and security—one of the pillars that guide the work of the OAS, thus, making the electoral processes a top priority for the institution. “We have observed elections in the region for over 50

years, and we are proud of our observation system,” he said.

In that vein, Secretary General mentioned that electoral observation is a mandate not only explicitly enshrined in the founding Charter of the OAS, but also in the Inter-American Democratic Charter. “This is a task that the OAS will continue to carry out, and to do so with IFES is probably ensuring the best capabilities and the highest quality of electoral observation,” he said. With signing the agreement, he concluded, “a good job on electoral matters” will be ensured.

For his part, the President of IFES, William Sweeney, welcomed the signing of the agreement and said “IFES is pleased to partner with the Organization of American States to consider how we can jointly improve the methodologies used to evaluate credible elections. Strong, evidencebased indicators are much needed to assess election quality, as well as to track the

impact of reforms and changes to the process over successive election cycles,” he added.

President Sweeney announced that “this partnership will become a model for other partnerships around the world,” and that the union with the OAS through the Memorandum of Understanding “seals a partnership with the OAS so as to continue to define and develop best practices and evaluation standards in the Hemisphere.”

During the signing ceremony held at the OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, the Chair of the Permanent Council of the OAS and Representative of Saint Lucia, Ambassador Sonia Johnny; the Interim Representative of the United States to the Organization, Michael Fitzpatrick; and the Director of the OAS Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation, Gerardo Hernández de Icaza, among other guest, were present.

68% of students can’t read at early levels – Manickchand

… but insists education system is at best level ever

AGuyana joined the rest of the world in observance of International Literacy Day 2014, themed “Literacy and Sustainable Development”, Education Minister Priya Manickchand revealed that only 32 per cent of Guyana’s student populace can read at the early grade levels.

This means that 68 per cent are practically illiterate.

The Minister was at the time speaking at a “Give A Book Tent” event as part of the events to mark Literacy Day in Guyana.

Minister Manickchand said the figures were drawn from a study carried out by the Ministry last year.

“Only 32 per cent of our children were reading at grade level… that does not mean the other children could not read. It doesn’t mean that the rest were illiterate, they were perhaps not reading at grade level…. I’m saying 32 per cent were reading at grade level, and

that is too low for us,” she said.

Despite the damning admission, the Minister insisted that Guyana’s education level today has been the best it has ever been, and there is no place for complacency in the education sector.

Further, the Minister pleaded that the way forward is not one that is solely left to the Ministry, but also the general public, which she noted has a major role to play in the advancement of literacy in Guyana.

“While we are at the best place we have ever been, we are not comfortable; as a Government, as a Ministry, we should not be comfortable and as a people, we are at the best place we can be and that means that more effort is required from every one of us.”

She said too that the Ministry will be working with everyone to increase the literacy rate even if it has to “drag people… kicking and screaming. We will

not fail our children”.

At the said time, Minister Manickchand revealed that the National Revised Literacy Five-Year Action Plan has a string of measures to improve literacy rates.

The plan aims to garner stakeholders’ support while schools will be mandated to ensure that every effort is made to ensure children can read by Grade Four.

In addition, the Ministry will be taking steps to intensify reading and other literacy outreaches in schools across the country.

This will see the establishment of in-house libraries at every school countrywide.

In addition, support materials such as textbooks and graphs will be more widely available.

The Minister also noted that there will be greater monitoring of teachers to ensure that they comply with the curriculum and are delivering satisfactory results.

All have a role to play She also asked A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Leader David Granger and Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan as to what their contributions will be towards eliminating illiteracy in Guyana.

“We have a role to play and we have a verse to speak… what your verse will be at the end of this? Are you going to ensure that everyone plays their part? Mr Granger, what is your verse going to be? Mr Ramjattan, what is your verse going to be? Parent, teacher, Priya, what will your verse be?”

Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer Olato Sam also noted that there is need for a more comprehensive approach to catapult Guyana forward.

Sam reminded that the

Region Three

cooperation of the schools, with parents and communities, is one important factor to reduce illiteracy in children.

“Our efforts to ensure a more literate population

can no longer be regarded as solely a schoolhouse or classroom issue. It must be seen as a national development concern, demanding a comprehensive multi-sectoral approach.”

gets new fogging

machine

With the number of Chikungunya cases consistently on the rise, the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry has donated a fogging machine to Region Three.

The Ministry acquired the machine from Faran and Mendes at a cost of $399,000. It was handed over to head of Vector Disease Control Unit, Dr Reyaud Rahaman, on Friday in the boardroom of the Ministry.

Local Government Ministry Permanent Secretary Collin Croal noted that as part of the regional outline of the “Cleanup Guyana Programme”, the Ministry had procured a number of fogging machines.

These will be given to the Health Ministry for fogging

exercises at the regional level.

He noted that since the fogging exercises begon, the Health Ministry has not had enough machines; hence, the Local Goverment Ministry has opted to lend assistance.

Dr Rahaman pledged to help train regional officers to operate the machine and provide technical guidance. Similar training sessions are being done in Regions Six and One, he disclosed.

He noted that fogging is ongoing countrywide, and exercises are currently being conducted in Georgetown and Region Four.

Meanwhile, Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker said the Ministry intends to procure 10 machines that will be distributed to the various regions.

“I will just want to emphasise that for us to not only use but care (the machine). I note with interest about training others, that’s very important and the public awareness aspect of the programme,” he mentioned. The Minister added that they need to work on ensuring that the public is aware of the importance of the fogging exercise. He said that his Ministry remains committed in collaborating with the health sector as they work together to keep the population safe and healthy.

After receiving the fogging machine, Dr Rahaman handed it over to the Regional Health Officer (REO) of Region Three, Donald Gajraj, who expressed gratitude to the Ministry.

Private Sector upbeat about housing development

… top officials get guided tour of EBD schemes

By Alexis Rodney

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) said that it is committed to the development of the lives of all Guyanese, signalling its intention to work in close collaboration with the Government to achieve this objective.

The Housing and Water Ministry on Monday carried out a tour of the Eccles Housing Schemes, East Bank Demerara (EBD), where a number of homes have been constructed for Guyanese, especially young professionals.

It was while there that both the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the PSC, Ramesh Persaud and Eddie Boyer, taken aback by the development in the area, made the public commitment.

“I think we are all very impressed by what we are seeing here and we still have a lot to see. I must say that the Private Sector will bring in another team with a lot more persons to look at a wider scale at our participation with the various communities and how the organisations could benefit for the private sector here,” said PSC Vice Chairman Boyer who was invited by Minister Irfaan Ali to give his thoughts on the project.

him, said he did not know “that so much was happening behind here”. “This is really a major development; we are looking forward to bringing a larger team of businesses and business people for them to understand the opportunities that this can do for business.”

at the same time is the way to go. “It is much easier for them, they do not have to think about issues with contractors, but it’s just to acquire and pay and uplift their keys… definitely this have been one of the projects that we will continue to do.”

Minister Ali reported that all issues relating to the adequate supply of water for the community are being addressed.

The Ministry is currently constructing a well a few kilometres away from the housing community which is already supplying potable water for residents occupying the community.

“The story in relation to the type of development is very important to the members of the Private Sector

He described the growing community as a massive economic development, where a great number of opportunities are available for micro, small, and medium businesses. Persaud was speaking directly to the construction of huge bonds in the community by major city businesses. The presence of

tion of the Eccles Housing Scheme cost some $13 million, with a $25 million bank value. Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali said the new scheme is an example of the effectiveness of PublicPrivate Partnerships. “It brings the Private Sector together, professionals and the Government,” he said

The project was convened in 2012. However, actual construction began in February 2013. Over 60 homes have been constructed. The bungalow-like houses sport three bedrooms, two baths and kitchen and cost some $13.2 million. Allottees are required to pay an ad-

Boyer, a well-known businessman, said that the Commission, which pays a special interest to the welfare of private businesses in Guyana, will be collaborating with the Housing Ministry to aid in development in the community, “in terms of commercial, manufacturing and the employment sector in this area, because, as Minister Ali said, a lot of persons are going to be living in this area.”

PSC Chairman Persaud, delighted by the sight before

those bonds in the community has already created jobs for residents in and around the community.

“I believe that it is very visionary development. I am sure that the young professionals will indeed benefit from this and we do encourage them to contribute to the further development of this community,” Persaud told the small tour group. The properties in one sec-

vance of $1.3 million, at a rate of nine per cent. This move of the Government and the banks has increased the banks’ portfolio to close to $500 million, and has seen over 300 skilled and unskilled persons being employed.

Minister Ali said that because of the high demand for these homes, the Ministry projects to build another 200 similar houses for young

professionals. The 60 homes, Ali reported, have a 90 per cent occupancy rate. The houses are also designed in such a way that would allow homeowners to make further improvement if they so desire.

Director of Operation of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Denise King Tudor, said the Ministry has

seen a steady increase in the demand for houses and land by persons.

She noted that the Ministry has in excess of 600 applications for the acquisition of turnkey houses.

With this in mind, she related that the CH&PA has been taking a tremendous interest in this since many persons have found that acquiring the house and land

and the opportunity it creates.” Ali pointed to neighbouring communities of lowand middle-income allottees where persons have committed to building their own homes.

He related that the structures, built on the low income lots, could have fit comfortably within a highincome housing scheme.

Trinidad Government denies spyware in school computers

Following a report last Monday by Caribbean News Now that that laptop computers supplied by the Trinidad and Tobago Government to lo-

cal school children have been found to contain “spyware”, Education Minister, Dr Tim Gopeesingh said the Government has not installed any spyware devices

on the 75,000 laptops it has issued to Form One students over the past four years.

“There has never been any time that we have ever installed any area close to anything like spyware or malware,” Gopeesingh said last week at a post-Cabinet news conference, apparently missing the point that the computers in question probably came from China with such software already installed without the Government’s knowledge.

However, he also dismissed suggestions something may be wrong with the computers, claiming it is only one reported case. He also expressed surprise the report was made to the media and not to the Ministry as was required with any irregularity and that unauthorised installation of software to the state’s property was undertaken.

Gopeesingh said they intended to retrieve the laptop and conduct their own investigation as each unit was equipped with firewall, antivirus and anti-theft devices. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

Jamaica to handover plane crash probe to America

Jamaican authorities are to handover the investigation into Friday’s plane crash off the Portland coast to the United States. The Director General of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, Leroy Lindsay, confirmed the developments last night.

Bomb blast next to Chile subway station injures eight

Abomb blast at a fastfood restaurant next to an underground train station in the Chilean capital of Santiago injured eight people on Monday, police said.

“At 1400 (1700 GMT) an explosive artifact was detonated in the centre (minimall) by the metro station, and at the moment investigations are being carried out to determine the origin,” said Mario Rozas, head of police communications.

The blast occurred at lunchtime in a small shopping and eating area next to the Escuela Militar metro station in the residential and shopping neighbourhood of Las Condes.

The metro was operating normally after the explosion although the Escuela Militar station was closed, Police said. This week Chile commemorates the 41st anniversary of the 1973 military coup that removed socialist President Salvador Allende from power. Traditionally, the anniversary is a time of protests that often turn violent.

A number of explosive devices have been planted close to banks and police stations in Chile in recent years, with one member of an anarchist group killed and another injured trying to set off the devices. In July, an incendiary device exploded on an underground train without causing injuries. (Reuters)

Meteorite leaves crater in Nicaraguan capital Managua

Asmall meteorite landed near the international airport in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, on Saturday night, Government officials say. Residents reported hearing a loud bang and feeling the impact, which left a crater 12 metres (40 foot) wide and five metres deep.

This means that it would become the responsibility of Jamaican authorities to lead the investigation. However, Lindsay, says under international aviation rules, Jamaica can transfer this right to the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board.

Lindsay says allowing the Americans to lead investigation is logical given the events leading to the crash.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Defence Force on Sunday called off active search for the aircraft, with at least two people on board. The flight originated in Rochester, New York and was destined for Naples, Florida but apparently developed problems and travelled South crashing in Jamaican waters.

The local civil aviation head says talks will continue with the US authorities today before the formal probe is launched.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent US agency charged with investigating every civil aviation accident in the US. The US Federal Aviation Administration said before the The Socata TBM-900 turboprop plane went down, two fighter jets were dispatched to track the aircraft after it did not land.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Gleaner)

Extra security at Port of Spain prison

Security at the Port of Spain State Prison has been ramped up following reports of a planned mass prison break by inmates at the facility. Senior prison sources said on Sunday that the Prison Service’s executive began implementing the measures in early August, after receiving information that some of the inmates were planning a breakout as part of the ongoing protest against their lengthy detentions due to delays in the criminal justice system.

The TT Guardian under-

stands that the new measures include the posting of armed prison officers in marked vehicles in front the gates of the prison at nights to quickly apprehend prisoners in the event of an escape.

Frequent searches of cells for surplus clothing, which prisoners often use to tie together to create a makeshift ladder to scale the high prison walls, are also being carried out. Prison officers are also periodically testing the structural integrity of the outdated cell gates at the over 200-year-old facility, and looking for signs of dam-

age from hacksaw blades which are often smuggled into the prison.

The TT Guardian was also told that the over 500 inmates currently housed at the facility were recently taken to the open air area, where the prison’s supervisors informed them of their knowledge of the plan and warned them to forget about executing it. “People may not take this seriously but they should. Many of these prisoners are in there for violent crimes and if they succeed it will be mayhem out here,” the source said. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said the meteorite seemed to have broken off an asteroid which was passing close to Earth. She said international experts had been called in to investigate further. No one was hurt when it hit the wooded area near the international airport and an air force base.

An adviser to Nicaragua’s Institute of Earth Studies (Ineter), Wilfried Strauch, said he was “convinced it was a meteorite” which caused the impact. Experts

studying the crater said it was not clear whether the meteorite had disintegrated upon impact or had been blasted into soil.

Locals said they heard a large blast just before midnight local time and reported a burning smell. “We thought it was a bomb because we felt an expansive wave,” Jorge Santamaria told Associated Press news agency. Ineter scientist Jose Millan said that “we need to celebrate the fact that it fell in an area where, thank God, it didn’t cause any danger to the population”. Managua, which has more than a million inhabitants is densely populated. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Caribbean beaches disappearing due to rising sea levels, storms – World Bank

The World Bank says due to rising sea levels and recurring storms, the beaches in most Caribbean nations have started to disappear.

In a new report, the Washington-based financial institution said, in some areas of St Vincent and the Grenadines, for instance, an estimated 18-30 metres of beach have been lost over

the last nine years.

“The highly vulnerable coastal strand and adjacent towns are fighting against increased flood risk from rainfall and storm surge,” said the Bank, noting that the issue of challenges faced by small islands around the world was at the centre of the just-concluded Third Small Island Developing States (SIDS) conference in

Samoa.

The Bank said the theme of the conference was sustainable development in view of these states’ unique and particular vulnerabilities. The World Bank said beaches are not the only concern, stating that Caribbean ports are also at risk from rising sea levels.

“In island states, ports are the economic heart of the country, typically the capital and the island centre of commerce,” said the bank, adding that airports are also affected.

To improve the Caribbean’s ability to resist and adapt to the effects of climate change, the World Bank has made some recommendations. With the poor and vulnerable being most affected by a global sea level rise, the bank urged that land planning be incorporated more into social programs to tackle how exposed people are at risk. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Ebola crisis: Liberia faces huge surge, says WHO

Ebola is spreading exponentially in Liberia, with thousands of new cases expected in the next three weeks, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says Conventional methods to control the outbreak were “not having an adequate impact”, the UN’s health agency added.

At least 2100 people infected with Ebola have died so far in the West African states of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria this year. The WHO says 79 health workers have been killed by the virus.

Organisations combating the outbreak needed to scale-up efforts “three-to-

Israeli Police bust ‘messianic’ prostitution ring

Details have emerged from Israel about a prostitution ring in which Jewish women were allegedly forced into having sex with non-Jews by a messianic’ sect.

Two men and two women are being detained on suspicion of exploitation. Police say the victims were brainwashed into believing that having sex with non-Jews would “save the Jewish people and bring about redemption”.

They were also made to become dependant on alcohol and drugs, and have sex under their influence, Police say. The head of the Police investigation, Superintendent Arik Mordechai, told the Haaretz newspaper that some 15 women had been recruited, some of whom were believed to be minors.

Their “clients” – from whom money was received –included Palestinians from the West Bank and foreign workers from Tel Aviv, the newspaper reported.

The four suspects are a 60-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman from the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, a 47-yearold man from the town of Ashkelon and a 39-yearold woman from Jerusalem. They have so far not been named.

The arrests were the result of a four-month-long undercover investigation prompted by reports that the messianic sect was taking advantage of women members. Over the course of the investigation, Police discovered that it was active throughout Israel. (BBC News)

four fold”, the WHO said. It highlighted Liberia’s Montserrado county, where 1000 beds were needed for infected Ebola patients but only 240 were available, leading to people being turned away from treatment centres.

Transmission of the virus in Liberia was “already intense”, and taxis being used to transport infected patients appeared to be “a hot source of potential virus transmission”, the WHO said.

“As soon as a new Ebola treatment facility is opened, it immediately fills to overflowing with patients, pointing to a large but previously invisible caseload,” it added.

“When patients are turned away... they have no choice but to return to their communities and homes, where they inevitably infect others.” (Excerpt from BBC News)

Around the world

India, Pakistan leaders lower cudgels as floods ravage Kashmir

The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan have offered to help each other in efforts to alleviate flood havoc in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, lowering tension between the rival nations after weeks of army clashes and heated rhetoric.

Kashmir is divided by one of the world’s deadliest and most heavily militarised bor-

MH370: Chinese Police break up families’ prayers

Relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 gathered at a temple in Beijing to mark the sixmonth anniversary of its disappearance, as a small band of plainclothes Police pressured them to disperse.

While the family members ostensibly gathered on Monday morning to pray for their relatives, the meeting quickly turned into a demonstration. The family members, most of them elderly, stood in a cluster at the gates of the Lama Temple in central Beijing, wearing T-shirts that read “pray for MH370 to peacefully return home”. Many of them sobbed and one man recited poems he had written since the plane vanished. Only a few minutes into the demonstration,

plainclothes security officers broke through a ring of camera-wielding journalists and shouted for him to stop.

Eventually, they succeeded in subduing the crowd, shoving the journalists away and dragging women by the wrists. “Where are our children?” cried one woman. “Mum and dad are waiting for you!” cried another.

“I think Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian Government are cheating people – and while the whole world is watching, nobody will tell us anything,” Dai Shuqin, 61, whose sister was on the plane, said before the demonstration. “We don’t know if [China’s President] Xi Jinping knows anything or not, but if he does know something, we hope he’ll tell us.”

Three Italian nuns murdered in Burundi

Three Italian nuns were found killed, two of them raped and decapitated, over the weekend in the north of Burundi’s capital, officials and a Priest in the African state said on Monday.

Police said three suspects had been detained for questioning. A motive was not immediately clear. Father Mario

Pulicini, who is responsible for the parish in a northern suburb of Bujumbura, named two of the nuns as Lucia Pulici, who was 75 and due to celebrate her birthday on Monday, and Olga Raschietti, 82. He said they were found decapitated in their dormitory on Sunday. The third nun, 79-year-

old Bernadetta Boggian, was found dead early on Monday morning, he told Reuters. The killings appeared to have happened at two separate times, he said. “It is very difficult to know the reason behind the killing, but nothing can justify it,” Father Mario said. Evidence showed that two of the nuns had been raped

before they were killed, Police spokesman Hermenegilde Harimenshi said. They had been “partially decapitated,” Harimenshi said. Italy’s Foreign Ministry also reported the three murders. The Vatican said Pope Francis was “greatly saddened” by the killings. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ukraine crisis: Rebels ‘free 1200 captives’ – Poroshenko

Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine have released 1200 prisoners, President Petro Poroshenko has said. The releases followed Friday’s ceasefire deal, he said, which included an exchange of prisoners.

He was speaking during a visit to the strategic southeastern port city of Mariupol, which has come under shelling from pro-Russian rebels in re-

cent days.

Poroshenko announced his arrival in a tweet: “Mariupol is Ukraine. We will not surrender this land to anyone.” The ceasefire appears to be holding, although the head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which brokered the deal, described it on Monday as “shaky”. Before the truce came into

place, pro-Russian separatists made big gains in eastern Ukraine and seized territory a few miles outside Mariupol. Poroshenko said during his visit on Monday that the city’s defences would be reinforced and that rebels would suffer a “crushing defeat” if they advanced on the city. Mariupol is the last city in Donetsk region still held by the Ukrainian Government and is

a strategic port on the route to Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in March. Fighting in eastern Ukraine has left some 2600 people dead since April. Russia has repeatedly denied accusations by Ukraine and the West that it has been sending troops into Donetsk and Luhansk regions to help the rebels, who want to establish an independent state. (Excerpt from BBC News)

ders. Both the Indian and Pakistani sides have been ravaged by floods that have killed at least 239 people as rivers burst their banks after heavy rain.

The disaster, which left large parts of Srinagar, the capital of Indianadministered Kashmir, deep in water, comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled high-level peace talks and accused Pakistan of fighting a “proxy war”.

Modi’s tone was more conciliatory in a letter to his Pakistani counterpart on Sunday. “It is a matter of great distress that the re-

treating monsoon rains have played havoc in many parts of our two countries,” Modi wrote to Nawaz Sharif, according to excerpts released by his office.

“In this hour of need, I offer any assistance that you may need in the relief efforts that will be undertaken by the Government of Pakistan. Our resources are at your disposal.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry reciprocated, saying the Government was “ready to help in whatever way possible to mitigate the suffering of the people affected by the floods” in Indian-controlled Kashmir. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Afghanistan’s Abdullah rejects vote result

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has insisted that he won the country’s disputed election, dimming hopes that a UN-supervised audit of votes could soon end the prolonged political crisis.

Abdullah repeated claims on Monday that massive ballot-rigging had denied him victory over his rival Ashraf Ghani in the race to lead Afghanistan as USled NATO troops withdraw from their long war against the Taliban.

The bitter stalemate over alleged fraud in the June 14 vote has raised fears of renewed ethnic violence as the 13-year international military and civilian development effort winds down.

“We were the winner of the elections, we are the winner of elections based on

the real and clean votes of the people,” Abdullah said in a speech.

“We do not accept fraudulent election results, and we will not accept a fraudulent Government for a day.” In a deal brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry, the feuding candidates had agreed to the audit of all eight million votes, and to form a national unity government together whoever emerged as winner.

But Abdullah, who was far behind Ghani in preliminary results from the runoff vote, later pulled out of the audit and the unity government talks have also ground to a halt. “The election turned to a disaster because of election commission treason, which the government was also a part of,” he said.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

tuesDAY, september 9, 2014 | guYAnAtimesgY.com

No links yet between narco-sub and drug cartel

… CANU says vessel was headed for Europe or Africa

By Vahnu Manikchand

Some three weeks after the self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel was discovered in the Waini River, Region One, there have been no leads yet linking the ves-

James Singh. The vessel was transported to Georgetown and is at the Guyana Defence Force’s Coast Guard wharf in Ruimveldt, where the media was invited for a viewing on Monday.

In response to a question posed by Guyana Times dur-

groups.

He noted that the vessel was built for the sole purpose of transporting narcotics from Guyana across the Atlantic Ocean.

“We are currently speaking with our counterparts overseas, including the

sel to any groups or drug cartel.

This is according to Head of the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU),

ing a media briefing, Singh said CANU is working with its overseas counterparts to find the link between the vessel and drug trafficking

[US Drug Enforcement Authority] DEA and the Columbians, in terms of identifying the particular group, because there are

several groups that have used the semi-submersibles in the past to move narcotics. What is different in this case is that it is the first time a submarine has been found in the Atlantic region which clearly demonstrates that they are now capable or [are] in the process of taking drugs across the Atlantic Ocean,” he said.

The CANU Head emphasised that this is not just the discovery of a narcotic sub-

mersible vessel, but the discovery of one in Guyana, which is so close to the Atlantic Ocean.

“In the past, most of the submarines we have found are going to North America from the South American region or Andean region directly into Mexico or to the United States. This (vessel) is capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, so again when we talk about transshipment and we talk about

glass material, everything was imported from another country to here and constructed from scratch. So this now moves us beyond just transshipment, the fact is that persons would want to take advantage of the lack of resources and do this sort of construction,” he said, while pointing out that even countries with better resources than Guyana have found such vessels within their territory.

UG law students’ exam results trickling in

After weeks of anxiety and uncertainty, the final results for students at the University of Guyana Law Faculty began trickling in on Monday afternoon. The results of the last exams in May were sent to Barbados, where they are usually ‘second-marked’ by University of the West Indies (UWI) officials.

This comes just two days before the commencement of registration for Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago. The news of the results was confirmed by Acting President of the University of Guyana Students Society (UGSS), Joshua Griffith, who told Guyana Times that late Monday afternoon some students confirmed receiving emails with respect to their grades.

He explained that the whole delay with respect to the grades was worrisome to the student body. When Guyana Times contacted Vice Chancellor of the University, Jacob Opadeyi, he said the results were not yet in. When asked when the results would be in, he declined to offer a possible date. In fact, he asked that this newspaper call back to-

day, since he does not have the information on when the results were submitted.

Despite the unavailability of the confirmation, the University has reportedly been issuing prospective students of Hugh Wooding Law School.

This year, only 25 students will be selected to attend the Trinidad-based law school on a government scholarship. This reduction has caused some amount of anxiety and concern since some students are solely dependent on the scholarship.

Only recently, one student had told Guyana Times that they were not yet in re-

ceipt of final grades for the semester ending May 2014. The young man pointed out that while some persons are sure of their acceptance to Hugh Wooding and their name being on the list of the 25 students guaranteed acceptance, there are still some concerns that need to be addressed immediately.

Students were told by the Examination Division at UG that the outstanding grades, which are not on their academic profiles, are still in Barbados.

The young man pointed out that unless these grades are submitted, students have no sure way of know-

ing whether they are on the list of 25 students.

It was also explained that law students from UG and Nations University had received emails from the Council of Legal Education (CLE) on September 1, either confirming their admittance or non-admittance to the Trinidad-based law school.

However, shortly after they received those emails, another correspondence came which indicated that the successful students would be contacted at a later date and “in some instances, erroneous information was communicated”.

new markets, this is now going to Europe or Africa.”

Singh highlighted that the continent of Africa is also a transshipment point. He further disclosed that CANU has questioned about seven persons locally and is continuing its investigations.

According to the CANU boss, investigators believe that the vessel has been at the North West location for about five months given the condition of the camp and the construction works.

Suspicious

He explained that while no narcotics were found at the site, there were suspicious that the vessel was built to transport drugs, particularly cocaine. He revealed that based upon intelligence gathered in collaboration with overseas agencies, the capacity of such a semi-submersible vessel is approximately four to six tonnes of cocaine.

Singh went on to say that based upon previous seizures, the normal capacity in terms of crew on a submersible vessel is round four to five persons. He added that the intelligence is solid that the submersible vessel was constructed in Guyana, since there were materials gathered at the camp and information that suggested same.

“It was discovered, materials and other information, that everything was imported, just the food stuff was local but the fuel, the fibre-

Singh disclosed that the vessel’s engine was new since tests conducted revealed that it was used for only three hours. He continued that another test was done in the Waini River to determine the maximum speed of the vessel which was found to be 10 to 12 knots when empty, while the average speed was put to be approximately six to eight knots. He noted that this calculation is based on information shared by the experts who have seen and examined similar vessels.

He explained that the experts who came shared their expertise with local investigators so that they got a better understanding of what the vessel is capable of and its capacity. The Head of CANU added that the agency could not have carried out this operation without the help of the GDF Coast Guard, Special Forces Unit, and Air Corps.

The SPSS vessel weighs approximately 18 tonnes and has a normal range of 15 to 18 nautical miles; however, this may vary depending on the weight it carries.

The distance it travels also depends on the amount of fuel it holds. The vessel has about seven onboard fuel tanks.

The length of the vessel is 63 feet and at its widest point (the middle), it is 12 feet. Its height is about eight feet. (vahnum@guyanatimesgy.com)

President swears in 10 Public Notaries

Ten Public Notaries were on Monday sworn in by President Donald Ramotar in a ceremony held at the Office of the President, in the presence of Magistrate Ann Mc Clennan. President Ramotar offered the newly-sworn in officials his congratulations and called on them to serve the public, particularly the poor from rural areas, with “great rectitude”.

He implored them to avoid charging exorbitant fees and to be more accessible to those who seek to utilise their services. “If there is any abuse that can be proven, I will not hesitate to revoke any of these that I have done, because, fundamentally, this is to give service to the people of our country,” the President said.

The swearing-in will see the members of the legal fraternity filling several vacancies left by the passing of

several of those who served in the post. “I hope that this can help to fill that, and the business of our country and the people of our country can go in a smooth way.”

The Public Notaries are Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Rohan Chandan, Barton Scotland, Clarissa Riehl, Adrian Anamayah, Renata MorrisRamlall, Leslyn Charles, Rajendranauth Poonai, Ramesh Rajkumar and Jamela Ali.

A notary public (or notary or public notary) is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in noncontentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business.

A notary’s main functions are to administer oaths and affirmations; take affidavits and statutory declarations; witness and authenti-

cate the execution of certain classes of documents; take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances, protest notes and bills of exchange; provide notice of for-

Indian institutions award FAO

Director-General for efforts to promote food security

Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) José Graziano da Silva was on Monday named Doctor Honoris Causa by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and made a Fellow of India’s National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) during his first official mission to the country.

“This is truly a great honour,” said Graziano da Silva. “The NAAS and IARI have a rich history of contributing to agricultural development, responding to the challenges of yesterday and today, and bridging the academic world and concrete needs.

Graziano da Silva is only the 15th person to receive an IARI Doctor Honoris Causa in more than half a century, joining the ranks of Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug and MS Swaminathan, who were instrumental in launching the Green Revolution in India in the late 1960s. The awards were made in recognition of Graziano da Silva’s commitment and contribution to improving food security in Brazil through the Zero Hunger programme.

“Zero Hunger was Brazil´s first step towards a new development model centered on social inclusion,” explained Graziano da Silva. By implementing a comprehensive set of actions that included strengthening social protection, increasing support to family farming and promoting social participation, Zero Hunger was the starting point of an effort that has since helped some 36 million Brazilians to overcome extreme poverty and hunger.

In 2012, Graziano da Silva brought this experience to the global stage when he took up office as FAO’s DirectorGeneral. In his acceptance speech, he noted that while FAO´s vision has remained the same since its founding, the obstacles that must be overcome to ensure food security and freedom from want are different today. FAO is adapting to respond to today´s challenges, focusing its work, opening up to partnerships and adopting a cross-cutting and holistic approach to help countries achieve food security and sustainable development.

“Simply producing more food is not enough,” Graziano

da Silva said. “We need to increase production, sustainably, and ensure access for all. The solutions we need today might be different than those of decades ago, but to respond to these multiple and interconnected challenges we need to be as innovative as the Green Revolution was,” he added.

During the official visit the FAO head is scheduled to meet with senior government representatives, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Graziano da Silva pointed out that India has expertise, knowledge and capacity that can help advance global efforts against hunger. The country has already established stateof-the-art science and technology institutes and its agricultural research facilities attract researchers from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The FAO Director-General also cited the Green Revolution and India´s cooperative movement. “India can rightly claim to have the largest network of cooperatives in the world. For example, organizing poor farmers into cooperatives is a way to give them voice, power and improve their access to training, credit and markets,” he said.

eign drafts; prepare marine or ship’s protests in cases of damage; provide exemplifications; and perform certain other official acts depending on the jurisdiction.

Guyanese farmers benefit from J’can protected agri practices

Six farmers from Guyana recently toured farms and establishments in Manchester and other areas of Jamaica to increase their knowledge of protected agriculture, including greenhouse farming, as part of a Cdn$20 million six-year agriculture project being implemented by the non-profit Canadian Hunger Foundation.

The aim of the eight-country project, called Promotion of Regional Opportunities for Produce through Enterprises and Linkages (PROPEL), is to significantly reduce the Caribbean’s food imports and increase farmers and processors access to markets within the Region and externally, through measures including the provision of technical training of farmers, access to disease-free planting material and activities designed to improve and expand farm operations.

Khemraj Tulsie, Agriculture Coordinator for the PROPEL Project in Guyana, who accompanied the visiting farmers, said the trip to Jamaica was funded

by the Canadian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

He said Guyana was closer to the starting point where protected agriculture was concerned and there were a range of applications being used in Jamaica from which the farmers could learn.

“We didn’t want to take them to somewhere that was completely at the highend that was going to dissuade them from trying this because Guyana is a poor country,” he said.

Tulsie said many of the farmers had challenges to access finances to grow their business and the best approach was to introduce them to the protected method of farming incrementally and let them choose the point at which they want to expand. The knowledge would then be passed on to other farmers in Guyana.

The Jamaican experience for the Guyanese who were on the island from August 24-30, started with a classroom session at the Mandeville-based Canadian

Hunger Foundation Caribbean.

Former General Manager at the Christiana Potato Growers’ Cooperative Association Alvin Murray, who is Country Coordinator for PROPEL in Jamaica, said work had been ongoing for a seed programme for mainly Irish potato, ginger and selected greenhouse crops such as sweet pepper, lettuce and tomato. He said also that working in tandem with Bodles Research Station in St Catherine, efforts were also being made to provide farmers with relevant information.

The 52-year-old Canadian Hunger Foundation reportedly has a strong history of developing the capacity of producer groups and institutions in the Caribbean.

Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago are other participants in the PROPEL project slated to continue until 2018. (Jamaica

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Animal banned at Budhan’s Memorial horse race meet

Controversy marred the one-day horse race meet at the Budhan’s Memorial Sports Complex at the Number 66 Village on Sunday.

In the ‘K’ and lower class event of a distance of six furlongs and what was the most exciting race of the day, a horse which entered the race as Nikita, won the event after a stunning finish during which the animal ran past Wily Up Town to get its neck across the finish line first. However, it was later revealed that the animal which ran and won the race was in fact Wicked Revenge and not Nikita.

It was revealed that Nikita is five months pregnant. After much contro -

versy, organisers awarded the race to Wicked Revenge but banned the animal from participating at the facility in the future.

The third place was taken by Go Zapper. Wily

to win the race. The win was worth $70,000.

The feature event of the day was won by Lady Secret as she came out of the starting gates in an even break and was quickly ahead as Jockey Aji kept

Up Town, which was a late entry to the race was out in an even break and quickly led the field of four by six lengths but with the final two furlongs remaining, Jockey Motilall called on Wicked Revenge for a quick gallop and the animal responded and moved from third position and then challenged Wily Up Town in the final furlong

Showstoppers win Stag Beer football title

Behind an elegant performance from Marvin Josiah, the Showstoppers stopped the show to win the 2014 edition of the ANSA McAL/Stag Beer ‘West Side’ 5-A-Side football tournament the Vergenoegen Rice Mill Tarmac on Sunday. The final score; 6-3 over Stewartville Gunners to claim the top prize of $200,000 for their victory while Josiah earned $10,000 for his Most Valuable Player (MVP) performance.

Finishing in second the Gunners received $100,000 while New Road Eagles with a 9-1 win over De Kinderen Village received $75,000 for finishing third.

Josiah, who scored the game’s first goal in the fourth minute, was outplayed in the five minutes later by Owen McGarelle who equaliSed.

However, Josiah went on a scoring rampage to score the game's next three goals in the 24th, 25th, and 27th minutes to hand his team a commanding 41 lead.

Gideon Payne then added to the massive score line with a goal of his own in the 35th minute to give the Showstoppers a 5-1 lead while McGarelle scored his second goal of the evening in the 36th minute to make the score 5-2.

Anthony Sancho would put the nail in the coffin for the defending champion in the 40th minute to deliver the empathic win for the Showstoppers.

Meanwhile, New Road Eagles, who had only lost once in the tournament, rebounded to slaughter De Kinderen Village in the third place game.

Cartman off to a slow start in the six-furlong L1 and lower event with six other animals galloping around the track. Merrily along they went with Wily Up Town taking the first lead and was then challenged by Luck Star but Cartman worked its way on the outside to emerge winner and take the $30,000 first prize. Luck Star held on for third and Fit to Fight finished fourth.

Jockey Chandra was back in the next race but this time spurred Quincy to victory in a three horse contest with the second place going to Slim Shady. The first prize was worth $90,000. It was the race for J3 classed horses over a distance of six furlongs.

In the other event staged during the oneday horse race meet, Diamond in the Sky led a packed field to win the

pressing and increased the lead to win comfortably from Road Is Mine and grab the $120,000 purse.

The third place went to Speed Vision ahead of Quincy.

The five race meet was off to a successful start for Jockey Prem Chandra who chalked up wins in the first two races.

In the opening race of the day Chandra took

$25,000 first prize. Jockey R Drapaul rode the animal to register his only win of the day. The second place went to Journey of which Aji took charge. The other awarded places went to Fit to Fight and Girl Them Sugar in that order.

The champion Jockey award went to Jockey Chardra. The event was promoted by Neville Budhan. (Andrew Carmichael)

Hawks owner to sell team after racist-like comments

Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson will sell the franchise after the revelation of a 2012 email he wrote stereotyping African-American fans.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Levenson made the announcement Sunday morning with joint statements. Silver discussed the issue with some owners late last week, but many other owners and team officials did not know of it until Sunday’s announcement, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The announcement comes a little more than four months after the release of an audio tape in which former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling made racial comments to his reported girlfriend. Silver banished Sterling from the NBA and forced him to sell the team. Sterling’s wife Shelly closed the sale of the franchise to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion last month.

Levenson apologized for the August 2012 email, which was sent to Hawks general manager Danny Ferry and stereotyped the differences between black and white fans in Atlanta. The Hawks posted a copy of the email on their website on Sunday.

In the email, Levenson complains that too much of the Hawks’ fan base at games is made up of black fans, keeping white fans from attending games.

“My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a signficant [sic] season tick-

et base,” Levenson wrote in the email. “Please don’t get me wrong. There was nothing threatening going on in the arean [sic] back then. I never felt uncomfortable, but I think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority. On fan sites i would read comments about how dangerous it is around [Philips Arena] yet

picked out of crowd to shoot shots in some timeout contest is black. I have even bitched that the kiss cam is too black.”

Levenson apologized for his comments in his statement on Sunday.

“Over the past several years, I’ve spent a lot of time grappling with low attendance at our games and the need for the Hawks to attract more season ticket

in our 9 years, I don’t know of a mugging or even a pick pocket incident. This was just racist garbage. When I hear some people saying the arena is in the wrong place I think it is code for there are too many blacks at the games.”

Levenson also complained the team had too many black cheerleaders.

“I have told them I want some white cheerleaders and while I don’t care what the color of the artist is, i want the music to be music familiar to a 40 year old white guy if that’s our season tixs [sic] demo,” Levenson wrote in the email. “I have also balked when every fan

holders and corporate sponsors,” Levenson said in the statement. “Over that time, I’ve talked with team executives about the need for the Hawks to build a more diverse fan base that includes more suburban whites, and I shared my thoughts on why our efforts to bridge Atlanta’s racial sports divide seemed to be failing.

“In trying to address those issues, I wrote an email two years ago that was inappropriate and offensive. I trivialized our fans by making clichéd assumptions about their interests (i.e. hip hop vs. country, white vs. black cheerleaders, etc.) and by stereotyp-

ing their perceptions of one another (i.e. that white fans might be afraid of our black fans). By focusing on race, I also sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable than our black fans.

“If you’re angry about what I wrote, you should be. I’m angry at myself, too. It was inflammatory nonsense. We all may have subtle biases and preconceptions when it comes to race, but my role as a leader is to challenge them, not to validate or accommodate those who might hold them.”

Silver said Levenson notified the NBA of the email in July, and the league followed with its own investigation. Nevertheless, a high-ranking league official with direct knowledge of the probe disputed that Levenson simply selfreported the email to the NBA. NBA spokesman Mike Bass denied that claim, telling Yahoo: “Any claim that Mr. Levenson did not selfreport his email is categorically false.”

“Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Levenson notified me [Saturday] evening that he had decided to sell his controlling interest in the Atlanta Hawks,” Silver said. “As Mr. Levenson acknowledged, the views he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the core principles of the National Basketball Association.”

Hawks CEO Steve Koonin will oversee team operations while the franchise works through the sale process. (Yahoo)

West Indies v Bangladesh, 1st Test, St Vincent, 1st day…

Mushfiqur the lifeline of ....

Ramdin dived to his left to take an excellent catch after Mahmudullah insideedged an attempted drive off Roach with more than ten overs remaining. Mushfiqur soldiered on and ensured that the dangerous period, with Nasir new at the crease, was negotiated safely. Bangladesh’s progress till the lunch break was quite similar to how the first innings panned out. Their first wicket fell off the second ball of the third over, as it did in the first innings. There was a partnership thereafter but the next wicket fell in the eighties, as did the third wicket on the third day. They had been 105 for 4 at tea yesterday; today they were 110 for 4 at lunch.

Shamsur Rahman was the first wicket to fall in the morning session. Stuck at the crease, he edged Kemar Roach’s full delivery to Ramdin, who held it tidily, moving to his right.

Imrul Kayes, under pressure after falling cheaply on the third day, struck three boundaries off Roach soon after arriving at the crease. But Roach soon went around the wicket, forcing Tamim Iqbal and Imrul play and miss on several occasions, swinging the ball into the left-handers and straightening a few.

Tamim batted calmly, finding boundaries fairly easily. The pair added a halfcentury partnership, which used to be a fairly regular occurrence when they used to

open together. This though was their first 50-plus stand for the second wicket.

But Imrul had stalled by then, and struck one more boundary before he gave the cover fielder an easy catch off a Chris Gayle floater in the 26th over. Just prior to the delivery, Gayle had asked the batsman why he had defended the two previous balls, half-volleys both.

Tamim, having reached an enterprising half-century in 83 balls, fell when Benn got the ball to turn back at him and crash into his stumps as he looked to punch through cover.

Tamim struck four fours and three sixes, and looked fluent for most of his innings, which lasted two hours and 23 minutes.

Blatter proposes TV referral system

– plans on running for fifth term as FIFA head

ATV replay system allowing coaches to challenge a referee’s decision is being proposed by Sepp Blatter.

The Fifa president, speaking at Manchester’s Soccerex, also confirmed his intention to stand for re-election.

The 78-year-old wants coaches to be allowed at least one challenge against a decision per half.

“They have the right in the half, twice or once, to challenge a refereeing decision but only when the game is stopped,” he said.

“Then, there must be a television monitor but by the television company and not by another referee.

“And then the referee and the coach, they will go then to look, and then the referee may change his mind, as it is the case in tennis, for instance.”

The trial could happen

a Uefa congress in March 2011 that he would definitely stand down in 2015.

However, that plan has now been shelved, with Blatter completing a U-turn.

“You see a mission is never finished. And my mission is not finished,” said Blatter.

“I got through the last congress in Sao Paulo not only the impression but the support of the majority, a huge majority of national associations asking: ‘Please go on, be our president also in future.’”

Five of Fifa’s six continental bodies have already announced their support for Blatter, with only Europe publicly opposing him.

from back page

Mominul wasn’t as organised as during the first innings half-century. He had one close shave when a forward defensive against Benn trickled onto his pads and bounced away near the stumps.

He was dismissed soon after, when the same bowler got one to dip between his bat and pad. Mominul played away from his body, and Ramdin immediately appealed, convinced there was an inside edge. Umpire Marais Erasmus agreed, and Mominul reviewed. Once again, due to a lack of evidence, the umpire’s decision stood - just as it had when Mominul had been given out caught behind down the leg side in the first innings (Cricinfo)

as early as next year.

“It can only be done where there is television coverage of all the matches,” added Blatter.

“Or in one Fifa competition, we can try in a youth competition, an Under-20, like next year when we are in New Zealand.”

In a wide-ranging interview, Blatter also stated:

Blatter also announced his intention to seek a fifth term in charge of world football’s governing body and will make an official announcement at Fifa’s executive committee meeting between 25-26 September.

He had told delegates at

Uefa president Michel Platini stated earlier this year that he would not support Blatter, but the 59-year-old former France player will not be standing as a rival in order to concentrate on leading Uefa.

The deadline to register as a candidate is in January 2015 and the election will take place at the Fifa Congress next June.

“I was not surprised because in private conversations I have had with Michel Platini before, during and after the World Cup he has confirmed he would not be a candidate,” said Blatter, who has been Fifa president since 1998.

“But [he told me] there will be someone who will be your contender, who will be contesting you.” (BBC Sport)

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Marin Cilic wins 2014 US Open and first Grand Slam title

Croatia's Marin Cilic won his first Grand Slam title with a comprehensive straight-sets win over Kei Nishikori of Japan at the US Open.

Cilic won 6-3 6-3 6-3 to become the first Croat to win one of the four tennis majors since his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, at Wimbledon in 2001.

The 14th seed dominated throughout on a cool, breezy day in New York, hitting 17 aces and dropping serve just once in one hour and 54 minutes.

His victory completes a Grand Slam year that has seen eight different winners of the

thing he brought to me was enjoying tennis, and always having fun. I think I played the best tennis of my life."

Nishikori said: "He was playing really well today, I couldn't play my tennis. It's a really tough loss but I'm really happy for first coming to the final."

Cilic, 25, kept up the momentum he had gathered in brilliant wins over Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer to power though to the title with nine sets in a row.

Magic Marin

At 16 in the world, Cilic becomes the lowest-ranked US

singles titles across the men's and women's games, for the first time since 1998.

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash

"Who would have picked Cilic at the beginning of the tournament? But what a performance. The last three matches have been in straight sets: Berdych, Federer and the final. It's an unbelievable performance. It's been done with ice in his veins."

"I don't know how I did it. It was hard work over the last few years and especially this last year," said Cilic, who missed last year's US Open as he served a ban for taking a prohibited stimulant.

"My team has brought something to me, especially Goran.

"We're all working really hard but the most important

Open champion since Pete Sampras (17) in 2002

Cilic is the lowest-ranked Grand Slam winner since Gaston Gaudio (44) at the 2004 French Open

This was the first US Open final between two players making their Grand Slam final debut since 1997, when Pat Rafter defeated Greg Rusedski

The last Grand Slam title match with two first-time finalists was at Roland Garros in 2005, when Rafael Nadal defeated Argentine Mariano Puerta

Nishikori, coached by former French Open champion Michael Chang, had a much more punishing route to the final, taking more than 11 hours to get past fifth seed Milos Raonic, third seed Stan Wawrinka and world number one Novak Djokovic.

Japan's first Grand Slam finalist was not lacking for support, with huge numbers of his compatriots at Flushing Meadows for the final and a nationwide TV audience tuning in back home at 6am local time. It was not fatigue or backing that proved decisive in the final, however, as Cilic simply outplayed the 10th seed.

The Croat saw off a break point in game one, swatting it aside with a crunching forehand winner, before finding his range on serve. That allowed him to concentrate on attacking the Nishikori serve, and the pressure told in game six when the 10th seed drifted a sliced forehand wide to drop serve.

Cilic played a superb game to close out the set after 33 minutes and broke again in the third game of the second set, despite Nishikori saving a third break point with a stunning drop shot.

A less-than-full Arthur Ashe Stadium was well and truly behind the Japanese player as they craved a more compelling contest.

Cilic was on a roll though and earned a double break, meaning he could afford to drop serve for the first time before serving out at the second opportunity.

When a retreating Nishikori floated a backhand wide to fall 3-1 behind in the third, it appeared that Cilic would have the smoothest of paths to his first Grand Slam title.

He faced three break points when just two games from victory, but fired down an ace between tame Nishikori returns and punching the air after arrowing a backhand winner down the line to hold.

Moments later, two huge serves helped him to championship point and, after a double-fault on the first, he swung a backhand into the the open court and roared in celebration. (BBC sport)

England starts positively in European championship

England made the perfect start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign as two second-half strikes from Arsenal’s £16m new boy Danny Welbeck gave them victory in Switzerland.

Manager Roy Hodgson needed his side to produce an encouraging performance and positive result after the misery of going out of the World Cup in Brazil at the group stage in the summer - and this did the job on both counts.

mate Rickie Lambert laid on the striker’s second in stoppage time.

England’s defence - Phil Jones in particular - still had moments of vulnerability but this meeting with Switzerland was regarded as the toughest assignment in the group with San Marino, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia to come. From that point of view, this was mission accomplished.

strength, having a hand in both Welbeck goals, with England’s pace on the counter-attack too much for Switzerland to handle. Wayne Rooney also thrived surrounded by speed and willing runners and England’s new captain showed his usual willingness to take responsibility and do his share of the donkey work.

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England were indebted to two vital saves by goalkeeper Joe Hart from Haris Seferovic and a vital goal-line clearance from Gary Cahill, but this victory was fully deserved and showed promising signs for the future.

Switzerland - ninth in Fifa’s world rankings in August after reaching the last 16 of the World Cup, with England 20th - posed a threat but ended up being well beaten.

The merits of Hodgson using the diamond formation, which suits Raheem Sterling perfectly, was shown as Liverpool’s youngster set up former Manchester United star Welbeck’s first goal just before the hour and was also involved as Anfield team-

With the post-World Cup apathy reflected in an attendance of just over 40,000 for England’s friendly against Norway at Wembley last week, Hodgson could ill-afford a poor start to this Euro 2016 qualifying group.

Hodgson had shown signs of strain after the Norway win but cut a more relaxed figure hereand England delivered a result and performance that lifted his mood even more.

And as a signpost for the future, Hodgson has surely found a formation - with Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere at the base of the diamond and Sterling at its tip - that he should settle on as England negotiate a group which should be nothing more than a foundation for success in France.

Sterling provided pace and

Hodgson will also lean on those he has trusted in the past - and in Hart he found someone who excelled when called upon in Basel.

England gave a first start to Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph and he emerged with much credit, although he must also reflect on a lack of discipline that earned him an early yellow card and running the risk of even further punishment.

Cahill was England’s hero as Switzerland pressed, with a superb goal-line clearance from Josip Drmic - and the final word was left to Welbeck as he took Lambert’s pass in his stride in the dying seconds to beat Yann Sommer.

Hodgson punched the air in delight, and perhaps a measure of relief, as England made a start on their road to redemption after Brazil. (BBC sport)

Letter to the Sport Editor Fortune meets with Sport Minister

By TreisTon Joseph

After claiming three gold medals at the North, Central America World Championships in Costa Rica, Alisha Fortune made a courtesy call to the Minister of Sport, Dr Frank Anthony on Monday at the Ministry’s head office on Main Street.

Fortune won gold at the event in the women’s 100, 200 and 400 metres for a sprint triple sweep in the 3539 age category and was honoured to inform Anthony of her accomplishments.

“The thing for me is to put Guyana on the map and it brings a joy to us and it also encourages the youth to keep

going on, I have learnt a lot of things that I will be able to teach the youths.

“With the synthetic track, we are eager and awaiting anxiously to use it but I am grateful to be here,” Fortune stated.

Secretary of the Guyana Masters Athletics Association (GMAA), Silas Brummel, noted that it was only fitting that Fortune participated at the games.

“We knew the timings and we had confidence in her… we are now looking forward to sending four athletes to the South American Masters Championship and they are asking for her (Fortune) to be there to raise the quality of the meet,” Brummel men-

tioned.

Meanwhile, Anthony congratulated Fortune on her achievement for Guyana, “I would like to congratulate you for your achievement personally and for Guyana.

“You have demonstrated that you are never too old to dedicate your energy to your field and we know of your passion for athletics and we are entirely pleased,” Anthony stated.

Further, the Sport Minister commended the GMAA who have been dormant for two decades on their resuscitation, “I’m quite pleased you have resuscitated the Masters Association… we believe at the Ministry of Sport that you should have a

lifelong engagement in sport and I think that is very important.

“Many of the developed countries are promoting such and if we are to have a bigger impact regionally we have to adapt, because it not only helps our athletes to continue competing but also promotes good health,” Anthony highlighted.

Anthony, who noted that there is still more to be done, also revealed that the Ministry will be installing lights at the Synthetic Leonora track as well as purchasing all equipment needed for the facility in order for it to be of high international standard.

Rugby 10s action proving to be exciting

The University of Guyana dismantled the Guyana Defence Force 48-0 to start the weekend of action in the 10s rugby tournament being held at the National Park Rugby field.

Young Godfrey Gomes top scored with 16 points with three tries and two conversions while Fabien Joseph had two tries.

Oise McKenzie had one try in the game while Captain Rondell McAuthor delivered with two tries and Lance Adonis with two conversions.

Meanwhile the Pepsi Hornets and the Yamaha Caribs played to a stalemate, drawing the game at 24 points each.

Christopher Singh was the top goal scorer for Hornets with two tries while Delroy Gordon and Jason Terrill had one try each. Captain Rayon Gonzales also had two conversions in the stalemate.

Some of the action during the rugby 10s tournament over the weekend

The Caribs points came from Captain Theodore Henry who showed some agility with two tries and two conversions while Charles O’Neil and Grantley

try each. Next weekend will be a double header on Saturday and Sunday with the

UG will go against Caribs on Saturday. Sunday will see GDF versus Caribs and Hornet’s versus UG.

Ramdin should not have declared before Chanderpaul’s hundred

Dear Editor, I am of the firm view that West Indies skipper Denesh Ramdin should not have declared before Shivnarine Chanderpaul reaching his century. I think that the early declaration was not justified because there was ample time to bowl out Bangladesh twice.

Reports from Arnos Vale state that the 40-year-old seemed to be satisfied with recording his 47th not out at this level, but I do not agree that he was at all satisfied because he was aiming at yet another hundred.

The veteran has so far scored 29 test centuries amassing, 11,414 Test runs – the second highest, and he is now moving to surpass Brian Lara’s record of 11,953 with 34 centuries –five more than the “Tiger”.

The quiet middle order batsman is very humble and he would not try to show his disagreement with his skipper for the early declaration.

He has not been dismissed on 34 occasions in his 93 test innings where he has scored more than 50 runs. He is the most reliable batsman in the West Indies and maybe in the world.

An old lawyer friend of mine, Desmond Maynard, of St Kitts, who practices in St Thomas, said that Shiv is like “money in the bank” –you can always rely on him. Despite his excellent performance and his rather aggressive batting at times, the selectors have not seen it fit to play him in One Day Internationals.

Remember he scored the third fastest Test century. He had a problem with former head Coach Ottis Gibson who was trying to advise him from the pavilion how to bat.

Now that Gibson is out, I sincerely hope that Clive Lloyd will give him the nod.

Sincerely, Oscar Ramjeet

Callutter A wins ACDA futsul competition

Callutter A was able to come out the victors of the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) five-aside Futsul tournament at the Callutter Playfield in Mahaicony.

Callutter A topped Callutter B to win the event by three goals to one when the final concluded recently.

The games were played

in an exciting atmosphere as both teams played with the aggression to score which created a lot of chances.

However, Callutter A stood out with their impressive play that brought them the championship trophy that was sponsored by Zamman Ali Jonny Barnwell and family. Medals were donated by ACDA sports committee.

Knights go down to Warriors in Legend Classic basketball semi-final

New Amsterdam Warriors are through to the final of the Legend Classic Basketball Tournament for teams in Berbice after a 59-46 win over Canje Knights on Sunday at the New Amsterdam Basketball Court in the first semi-final of the competition.

Led by a game high of 16 points from Randy Caesar the Warriors led throughout the game in what turned out to be a one-sided semi-final.

At the end of the first quarter the home team led 13-4 and when the half time whistle came, they were leading 33-20.

Caesar received good support from Leroy Edwards who scored 11 points and Edmar Semple with 9. Carlos Crandon did not

do much but scored two 3-pointers while Kevin Thom scored 6 and Shemroy McKenzie 7 all for the Warriors.

In a losing effort, Dameon Hunte dunked 14 points, Kevon Emanuel 12 and Cledwin Cort 10.

The competition continues when Ithaca Hardliners will be at home to Fyrish Black Sharks at the Ithaca Court. The latter team replaces Smythfield Rockers in the semi-final after that team opted out of the competition.

The competition is being sponsored by Ponai’s Pharmacy, MPG Packaging, A Ally and Sons and Nand Persaud Rice Mills. The event is being organised by Vibert Garrett. (Andrew Carmichael)

Persaud, Prashad, Prince and Sukhram take top spots in exciting Courts 2014 tournament

Courts, celebrating their 21st birthday in Guyana, made quite a fuss about their annual sponsored golf tournament last Saturday, September 6, at the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC), and the golfers vindicated that fuss with exciting play, as more than 40 eager golfers teed off at 12 noon for the first tournament after three weeks of unplayable grounds. Beginning with a press conference since Thursday, Courts Country Manager, Clyde De Haas himself was on hand early at the LGC to do the ceremonial tee-off, and stayed for the day’s play and presentation ceremony. Also present from Courts were Public Relations and Promotions Officer, Roberta Ferguson, and Director of Credit, Kenneth Scrub.

Noting that the grounds were now up to quite good standard, President David Mohamad intimated that the LGC was “extremely grateful and delighted for the willing Courts sponsorship of Saturday’s flight-system medal play competition,” since it afforded local golfers a practice session for the upcoming November two-day Guyana Open tournament, which usually attracts players from Canada, the USA, Europe, the Caribbean and South America.

Winners in the Tournament were; for the 1st Flight (0 – 9 handicappers), veteran Patrick Prashad –handicap 8 net 74, and the phenomenal 19-year-old Avinda ‘Gangully’ Kishore – handicap 3 net 75; for the 2nd flight, (10 – 18 handicappers) seasoned players Rishi

Sukhram – handicap 10, net 68, and Ian Gouveia – handicap 16, net 69; and for the 3rd flight, rookies Pur Persaud – handicap 28, net 68, and MahendraBhagwandin –handicap 28, net 69. The female flight top spot was carted away by young player Juliet Prince – handicap 36, net 69, who outdistanced her female competitors by a clear five points.

The winners’ final scores give a clear indication of how exciting the play was. (A handicap is the number of points the player gets as an advantage, and is subtracted from the player's gross total to determine his net score,

Senior Inter-County cricket…

which is the value used to evaluate how winners are placed.)

In two male flights, the top scores were 68 and 69 and in the female flight, the top score was also 69. Female flight winner Juliet Prince said, “I was really excited at my good play, and I want to thank Archbishop London for the coaching and encouragement prior to the game!” Winner of the 3rd flight rookie Pur Persaud explained that, “Today’s tournament marked one year since I have been introduced to golf and held a golf club. I am really excited about the game and especially about winning today. I like

the feel, and want to maintain this winning streak. I hope to win tomorrow too!” 2nd flight winner Rishi Sukhram felt it was all in a day’s play. He noted he was not getting enough practice these days due to work, nonetheless, he beamed, “I had an eagle on hole 11, and some excellent single putts that gave me good pars today!” Veteran golfer Patrick Prashad, winner of the 1st flight, indicated, “I’m happy for my win on two counts; firstly I beat my buddies with whom we have our own private competition, secondly it helps my mind maintain my aspiration to par the course. Winning is great, but

my greatest competition is with the course – I want to par this course!” (To par the course a player would need to score a gross of 70. Patrick has scored a gross of 71 in his experience.)

The Nearest To the Pin prize was won by Mohanlall “Santo” Dinanauth, who Saturday became only the second player in the Club’s history to score a hole-in-one stroke,during a tournament. This he did at hole #4, the same hole that Joaan Deo was the first to score the hole-inone some five years ago.

Reviewing the day’s play at the presentation ceremony, Club President David

Mohamad made mention of the improved play of female player Juliet Prince, and congratulated her. He also extended LGC’s congratulations to Courts on their 21st birthday, and thanked the representatives there for the sterling support of Courts.

Courts Country Manager Clyde De Haas, in his brief closing remarks, in addition to congratulating the winners, commented “I thought today’s competition was an excellent game, on an excellent day. I moved around and saw some great swings. Thanks for having us here today, and we look forward to next time.”

from back page

Berbice steamroll Essequibo to reach final

The Berbice bowlers tied up the Essequibo batsmen and didn’t let anyone score freely or get away with the scoring rate.

Pacers Romario Shepherd (327) and Keon Joseph (3-39) along with skipper Narsingh Deonarine (3-36) and Veerasammy Permaul (1-13), combined to restrict Essequibo.

Joseph and Shepherd bowled incredible opening spells to rock the Essequibian top order and reduce them to a wretched 24-4, a position from which they never recovered.

The duo consistently attacked the off-stump and got enough seam movement to outwit the batsmen.

The result spelt disaster for Essequibo. Their top order was dismissed even before they could raise their hands to mark attendance.

Kevon Boodie (0) failed to negotiate a full delivery that shaped in from off stump from Shepherd and was trapped leg before wicket at 4-1. Shepherd then removed Norman Fredericks without scoring before Joseph, who had bowled an accurate first over, got into the act.

He first took the wicket of Royan Fredericks (2) before Ricrado Adams (9) was done in by a delivery that moved out and carried a faint edge to the keeper. By the eight overs, the batsmen had already pressed the panic button. However, Vijay Surujpaul and Anthony Ifill slowed down the collapse with a 23-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul then claimed the wicket of Surujpaul (12) to multiply Essequibo problems at 45-5.

Skipper Anthony Adams joined Ifill and added some fight by putting together 39 runs and posed the 100-run mark before the latter showing his frustration was removed by off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine for 29.

Deonarine then struck with consecutive balls in his sixth over when he removed Adams (40) and Brian Herbert without scoring.

Eknauth Persaud then played a major role in Essequibo getting past 150. The right-hander was innovative during his 66-ball 45, cracking three fours and three sixes to boost the scoring rate in the closing overs.

Joseph and Shepherd came back for their second spells and took the last two wickets. Joseph accounted for Persaud while Shepherd claimed the wicket of Mark Tyrell for eight.

In the run chase, openers Kandasammy Surujnarine and Anthony Bramble built on the good work of the bowlers and combined to add 58 for the first wicket.

The partnership was marked with a levelheaded approach: concentrating on hitting the gaps for singles and doubles and taking care of the run rate by occasional boundaries.

However, both had lapses of concentration and were dismissed for 31 and 38 respectively. Devon Clements (23) and Jonathan Foo (17) played supporting roles.

But Narsingh Deonarine (39 not out) and Rajiv Ivan (three not out) took Berbice to the finishing line without further trouble.

Left-arm spinner Anthony Adams (2-33) was the bowler on show for Essequibo. Meanwhile, in the other final round game played at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Demerara easily disposed of the National Under-19 team by seven wickets.

The National Under-19 team batting first were bowled out for 125 in 29 overs with Kemol Savory hitting 59 (5x4, 1x6), the only batsman to reached double figures. Raj Nanan (3-20), Christopehr Barnwell (3-20), Paul Wintz (221), Seon Daniels (1-21) and Steven Jacobs (1-21) were the successful bowlers for Demerara.

In reply, Demerara romped to 127-3 in 19.3 overs. The left-handed Trevon Griffith cracked seven fours and a six in his top score of 51 while skipper Christopher Barnwell hit an unbeaten 28. Robin Bacchus also contributed 28 to the total.

Keon Morris, Steven Sankar and Dimon Waldron were the successful bowlers for the youngsters.

West Indies v Bangladesh, 1st Test, St Vincent, 1st day…

Mushfiqur the lifeline of Bangladesh

Mushfiqur Rahim and the embattled Mahmudullah dragged Bangladesh out of wretchedness, putting together their best day on tour so far. The visitors ended the fourth day 46 runs short of West Indies after being asked to follow on.

From the precipice of 107 for 4, when Bangladesh were starting down a trail of collapse similar to the first innings, the fifth-wicket pair added 130 runs. More important than the runs, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah batted out time, 50.5 overs to be precise. It didn’t promise complete security but it brought Bangladesh back into the contest.

They didn’t lose a wicket in the middle session and even after Mahmdullah’s dismissal, Mushfiqur, unbeaten on 70, and Nasir Hossain ensured they went to the final day with five wickets in hand.

The home side had themselves to blame, at least with their catching. Mushfiqur was dropped on 10 and 25 by Chris Gayle at first slip and Darren Bravo at gully. Kirk

Edwards dropped a sitter at cover when Mahmudullah skied Gayle in the 80th over of the innings. At that moment, most of the West Indies players in the close-in cordon reacted strongly.

The fielding denied the good work of the fast bowlers who tested the Bangladesh batsmen quite regularly. Kemar Roach and Jerome Taylor, who suffered one drop each, used swing and the angles very well. Shannon Gabriel wasn’t just brawn as he pushed up the pace and used his height. But the trio ended the day without a wicket among them.

Left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn threatened with two early wickets but Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah dealt with him positively, not overattacking but keeping him at bay. They nullified the danger of the part-timer Jermaine Blackwood by attacking him, ensuring there were no more embarrassing

moments.

After the tea interval, Mahmudullah reached his first Test fifty in 21 months. He battled hard for most of his 151-ball stay, waiting for opportunities to tuck the ball into the leg-side, where he scored 41 out of his 66 runs. He reached fifty with his best shot of the innings, a back-foot punch through the covers, but his celebration was muted. The shot also brought up the hundred partnership.

In the next over, Mushfiqur reached his fifty too, carrying on his assurance from the first innings, when he had been left stranded on 48 as the rest crumbled. Mushfiqur was lucky with dropped catches on two occasions but he battled hard, with Gabriel getting one to lift and hit him on the elbow and Taylor hammering one into the middle finger of his bottom hand.

turn to page 20

Showstoppers win

Stag Beer football title

By Rajiv Bisnauth

Berbice played a good all round game to record a comfortable win over Essequibo in the third and final round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior Inter-County tournament on Monday at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

The Berbicians first limited the Essequibians to 163 all out in 46.3 overs and then made relatively light work of chasing down the meagre target to win by six wickets and 77 balls to spare.

The outcome meant that Berbice will face the defending champions, Demerara in the final on Saturday at Albion.

19