Guyana Times Daily - August 10, 2015

Carifesta contingent to showcase performances before heading out

Truncated numbers, Big Expectations

Pradoville Housing Development…

Govt intensifies probe

...they will find nothing unusual – Jagdeo

Chinese businessman shot in thigh in EC robbery

International artistes confirmed for Rupununi Festival

Soesdyke man succumbs days after receiving burns

PNC GS calls for reintroduction of National Service

Rastafarians call on Govt to legalise marijuana at “Plant it” Concert

monday, august 10, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Pradoville Housing Development...

Govt intensifies probe

...they will find nothing unusual – Jagdeo

By Kristen MacKlingaM

The allocation process of house lots distributed in the “Pradoville” areas is presently under investigation as the Minister Keith Scott claims residents of Sparendaam and Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD) are continuing to complain about the ‘unfair’ procedures Of The Housing Ministry under the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government.

Minister within the Ministry of Housing, Keith Scott, in an exclusive interview on Friday told Guyana Times that it seemed as if the previous Administration allowed its Ministers and persons affiliated with its party the privilege of accessing prime lands along the seaside area for ‘cheaper’ prices than citizens would have paid for their house lots in areas such as Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

He claimed that a number of residents from the ECD had complained about the allocation process for the “Pradoville” areas citing that the lands offered to those “fortunate” persons were being sold at a cheaper cost than house lots being allotted to “average” Guyanese.

The Opposition claimed that residents in the neighbouring villages began not-

ing their concerns.

“They asked questions about how persons could get lands for such cheap prices at that prime area when they had to pay more for house lots at other areas in Region Three and Region Four. In fact, we were told that the lands that some of these living in the Pradoville area received from the housing ministry were communal lands. The area around the community centre is communal lands and investigations are presently on-going to ascertain this,” Minister Scott said.

He explained that the present administration was told that by means of Cabinet meetings and decisions under the PPP/C

government, Cabinet processed and ensured that the lands were handed over to the National Industrial, Commercial and Investments Limited (NICIL) company.

“This should not have been so. These lands should have been handed over to the Central Housing and Planning Committee (CHPA) for them to decide about allocation processes. But from what we are told, NICIL was given the power over these lands and we are currently investigating this,” the Minister said.

“This is a major concern and as such we (CHPA) handed over the matter to the National Asset Recovery Unity for them to handle. If this is such then it is evident that there was no even playing field and these are grounds for criminal investigations. Although it is a legal issue we do not want to deprive people of the rights to their lands and it is up to the State to determine if these lands at Pradoville were criminally or illegally obtained,” the Communities Minister noted.

Jagdeo’s rebuttal

However, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, in an exclusive interview with Guyana Times on Friday stated that the accusations of the APNU/AFC Government with regards to the “Pradoville” situation are acts of desperation.

“I think they are becom-

ing a bit desperate. They are not focusing on the economy, not focusing on job creation, absolutely no initiative to create wealth...The reason Pradoville is thrown in to the Asset Recovery Unit is because they don’t have anything more,” said the former President.

He pointed out that the issue of “Pradoville” has been in the newspapers and media long before the 2015 General and Regional Elections and since its establishment he has already answered numerous questions publicly as to his home there.

The former President Jagdeo reiterated that this is the Government’s demonstration of a ‘witch hunt’ and that the land price for “Pradoville” was comparable to what Government had been selling to developers.

“They will now have to put the land sold to Burnham’s family, Burnham Estate, which is five acres of prime land in the gardens, in the city. The land was given at zero cost and they didn’t pay a cent. We will see whether it was a corrupt act of the PPP concerning this land, this has to go to the Asset Recovery Unit as well,” he added.

He said that he was unmoved by the probe as those carrying out the investigations will find nothing unusual or sinister about the project.

Carifesta contingent to showcase performances before heading out

Before Guyana’s contingent heads out to Haiti on August 20 to represent the country on the regional stage at the Caribbean Festival of Arts (Carifesta) XII, the group will first showcase their performances for the Guyanese public at a show held at the Theatre Guild.

Coordinator of Guyana’s contingent for Carifesta, Lennox Canterbury, explained that the group will perform for the general public under the theme “Rights and Rhythms of Guyana”. He stated “We owe it to the people of Guyana to showcase what we are taking to Haiti”.

Though the date of the event is still to be confirmed, persons can look out for the grand showcase of what will represent Guyana in Haiti.

Delegation official, Dr Seeta Roth, explained that the theme will express all aspects of Guyanese culture, from folklore, legends, myths, dance, drama and lit-

erature. “It would be carried through our music, dance, etc,” Dr Roth said.

Choreographer Roshni Boodhoo, stated that Guyana’s contribution is a 60-minute outline of dance theatre production, which will be performed by a skilful cast of dancers who were shortlisted from open auditions. The dances range from traditional Indian to contemporary. Through dance, the participants are seeking to explore Guyana’s rich cultural heritage, depicting Guyana’s myths, legends, rhythms and folklore.

The 80 participants representing Guyana will leave on a chartered flight on August 20, and will remain in Haiti until the August 30. Guyana will be participating under the theme “Rites and Rhythms of Guyana” and will be involved in Visual Arts, Literary Arts, Culinary Arts, Performing Arts, fashion, craft, body art, symposia, youth focus, film and music, among other disciplines.

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Monday, August 10 – 14:30h-16:00h and Tuesday, August 11 – 14:30h-16:00h

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

Monday, August 10 – 13:45h-15:15h and Tuesday, August 11 – 14:35h-16:05h

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Thundery rain showers can be expected throughout the morning with chances of sunny intervals. Thundery to heavy rain showers can expected in the afternoon, while partly cloudy skies with late thunderstorms can be expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East to South South-easterly between 1.34 metres and 4.47 metres per second.

High Tide: 00:43h and 13:27h reaching maximum heights of 2.28 metres and 2.21 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 06:53h and 19:17h reaching minimum heights of 0.92 metre and 1.01 metres respectively.

Budget Day 2015

Truncated numbers, Big Expectations

Almost two months after assuming office following the May 11 General and Regional Elections, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government is set to present its first National Budget today in the National Assembly.

The Budget will only cover expenditures for the last four months of the year, but there are great expectations based on promises made by the Government in its Manifesto for a slew of initiatives to be completed within the first 100 days.

This year’s budget will be presented under the theme “A fresh start for Guyana, to the good life in a green economy”.

The 2015 Budget is expected to focus also on the areas and wider promises made in the coalition’s manifesto. Because of the challenges in major sectors of the traditional economy, the Budget is also expected to include a stimulus package to help jumpstart stagnating areas.

While there are high expectations for an increase of pension and wages, provision of jobs, and reduction in the Berbice River Bridge tolls,

which were all promised, Finance Minister Winston Jordan on Friday disclosed that Government will not be implementing any tax regime changes.

This announcement comes on the heels of Jordan earlier this month dismissing reports by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Opposition that a tax reduction – a key promise –will be put on hold.

At a press conference three days ago, the Finance Minister admitted that the promise was farfetched and cannot be granted at this moment. “I already indicated, we cannot do a percentage point VAT reduction in this Budget … you cannot wake up one night and determine that you are going to fiddle with a tax that you heavily depend on without having the benefit of a substantial study,” he said.

In fact, Jordan indicated that if there should be a VAT reduction in the future, chances are the Government would have to introduce new taxes in order to cushion any shortfalls caused via a reduction in VAT.

“A study on that tax (would) tell you how much to

remove it, and how much you would lose and what new taxes, if any, you would need to put in place to recover what you are losing from the VAT,” the Minister noted.

In preparing the 2015 Budget, Minister Jordan met and consulted with several stakeholders including the Private Sector, trade unions and the PPP/C.

During the discussions with the Private Sector, it was also recommended that Government continued with the longer-term infrastructural initiatives that the previous

Administration had placed on the agenda such as Amaila Falls HydroElectric Project (AFHEP) and the paving of Lethem-Linden Highway. In terms of the discussions had with PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee and former Ministers Juan Edghill, Pauline Sukhai and Robeson Benn on the 2015 Budget, Minister Jordan had reported that the meeting provided an opportunity for the Opposition to give its input. “Their policies and programmes could be ventilated and programmes which the Government could consider in the shaping of the budget,” he had stated.

The PPP for its part through General Secretary Rohee reported, “In this respect, the Minister’s attention was drawn to the everyday violation of the rules and regulations pertaining to public expenditure management. Rohee advised the Minister of the Party’s rejection of the pervasive ethnic cleansing and the political and social discrimination as well as the continuing arbitrary dismissal of persons once employed by the PPP/C Administration”.

The Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) saga continues with staffers attached to the Utilities Company anxiously awaiting the establishment of a new Board of Directors in order to have a clear sense of direction as to the way forward.

The life of the previous Board ended in June 2015.

It was expected that the new Board would have been established since then, with members being appointed immediately, in order to continue securing the necessary financial and administrative arrangements to maintain the operations of GPL.

However, to date, no appointments have been made.

GPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bharat Dindyal told Guyana Times on Sunday that at this point in time the company was in limbo.

“There is great uncertainty as to where we are going. All we are doing is hearing suggestions, but this is not enough, not knowing where you’re going, that is bad for any company much less GPL. We are in serious trouble because the new Board is yet to be appointed and it is already August, so we don’t know

when this is happening,” said Dindyal.

He explained that according to GPL’s bylaws in cases where a new board has not been appointed after the stint of the old Board ends, it is the old Board which would have to function until the establishment of the new Board.

Unfortunately, this is not the case.

“The old Board should still be functioning presently until the new Board takes over. But the old Board was ordered not to. The minister says he has the powers, but he isn’t doing

anything really and I don’t know why,” the CEO stated.

According to GPL’s head, it is unclear as to what the future of GPL is at this point, since there is no sense of direction.

He emphasised the need for the new Board explaining that its absence was preventing the company from func-

tioning to the best of its ability.

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, when contacted by this publication on Sunday for a comment, said he would not speak with Guyana Times on any issue privately and would only do so at his press conferences.

Editor (Ag): Michael Younge

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

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

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

Editorial

Budget 2015

New Yorkers are fond of boasting that their city is “so nice, they had to name it twice”. Guyanese might now be able to counter that with “our budgets are so much troubles, they have to be presented in doubles”. For the past three years, annual budgets, which used to be quite mundane affairs, became the site of fierce battles between the PPPC, which controlled the Executive and the APNU and AFC Opposition controlling the National Assembly. The Opposition would chop the budgets; the Government would spend, retreat to the courts and then bring “supplementaries” to the Assembly.

This year, however, there will actually be a second Budget with the change in Government and a switch between Government and Opposition. The announced theme of the budget is “A fresh start to the good life in a green economy.” By the time this Budget is approvedand it will be approved since the present government has a majority of one in the Assembly - there will only be four months left in the year and the proposed expenditure will have to be adjusted accordingly.

Because of some rather ambitious campaign promises that were supposed to be accomplished within “100 days” of being elected, which is just about when the Budget will be debated, there is great interest on the redistributive function of the Budget. That is, those expenditures or policy initiatives, that are intended to move resources from one section of society to others, based on some principle of redistributive justice.

The first APNU/AFC promise, for instance, was to reduce the tolls on the Berbice Bridge because they felt the rates were too “onerous” on Berbicians. Very maturely, however, unlike what it insisted on before assuming office, the new Government has now conceded that since the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) is a private company, it can only keep its promise by offering the company a subsidy on the rate reduction from the Consolidated Funds.

That is, some of the funds taken from the entire population will be “redistributed” to benefit mostly the people of Berbice, for the greater good. There were also promises to increase the salaries of a wide swathe of Government salaried workers. After several equivocations on the issue, those workers would be anxiously awaiting the Minister of Finance’s Budget speech to glean an idea of the quantum of their increase. The same for a proposed “rationalisation of pay scales” for Vice Presidents and Ministers of Government, which would result in bumping their already generous salaries and benefits, upwards. All of these, presumably also for the “greater good”.

While most ordinary citizens are focused on the redistributive function of the budget, in a context where it is now universally conceded that the economy is now in a free fall, it is hoped that the government will not only continue to pander to populist measures and ignore the allocative and stabilisation aspects of the budget. In the former function the resources of the nation are directed through Government incentives or sanctions into areas that will benefit the country maximally and efficiently.

In an economy heading into, or already in a recession, the Government has a menu of measures in its toolkit for stimulating the economy in a sustainable fashion. Unfortunately, in one instance, the Government announced that it will be withdrawing some $30B of funds deposited by autonomous Governmental agencies in commercial banks and depositing them into the Consolidated Funds, to cover its projected “budgetary deficit”. It was suggested that the better allocative decision at this juncture would be to specify these funds be lent at low interest rates to new, identified manufacturing industries that would add value to Guyana’s primary products while creating wage-generating jobs.

Finally, the economic consensus developing in the wake of the 2008 crash is that the “stabilising function” of budgets must not become a straightjacket to kill buds of recovery.

Twilight at sea

Not one blade of grass

Dear Editor, I have read many articles and opinionated letters in the newspapers relating to the Guyana/Venezuela territorial integrity issue. In doing so, I would have observed that many writers are labelling the issue as a dispute. I believe it is more of a controversy rather than a dispute.

Editor, I was taught that the word “dispute” means a disagreement or an argument where one of the parties involved will strive to win or compete for something. In contrast, “controversy” means a prolonged public disagreement or a heated discussion on a specific issue from one party involved.

Guyana is not competing for Essequibo, hence she is not in an argument with

Venezuela where she will be judged as to which party should win Essequibo. Rather, Guyana is in a controversy with Venezuela because Essequibo belongs to Guyana as was cemented in the arbitral award in 1899. Venezuela is in a prolonged public disagreement with the arbitral award and we all know that its arguments are baseless, senseless and unfounded.

The international community must recognise that this controversy is hampering the development of a small country that has the ability to better the lives of its people. Every nation since creation wants a better life for its people and Venezuela should spend more time utilising the vast amount of resources pres-

ent within its borders to better the lives of their people and allow Guyana to do the same.

Guyanese may have different political views internally with racism being the primary reason for political alignment to a specific political party but make no mistake, we all see this issue with one eye. It is Venezuela that is trying to steal in broad day light with many eyes looking, a rich piece of land and water that belongs to Guyana.

Even though the international community knows that Essequibo belongs to Guyana and they have all the information to support this fact, I cannot seem to comprehend why they’re being slothful in telling Venezuela to back off and

stop being a bully.

Again, I call on all my Guyanese brothers and sisters, more specifically my fellow Essequibians to stand united alongside His Excellency President David Granger and his intelligent, astute team against Venezuela’s notorious behaviour. Remember together we stand, divided we fall. Let us join together and sing with one voice as Dave Martins beautifully puts it, “We ain’t givin up no mountain, we ain’t givin up no tree, we ain’t givin up no riva, Dat belongs to we. Not one Blue Sacki, not one rice grain, not one curass, NOT A BLADE AH GRASS!!”

Yours faithfully, Ganesh Mahipaul

GuySuCo can only recover through a motivated workforce

Dear Editor,

Very few corporations in the world can survive in a competitive market under Government control. State apparatus are not equipped or designed to compete in this arena and as such, they normally fail miserably. It is the reason why countries like Russia quickly privatised most or all of their industries to recover their economy and in China you see Alibaba becoming the first private holding to own a bank.

In the case of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), it is no different; anyone with a good pair of lens would see that the sugar industry will not survive on the world market at the high cost of production it is experiencing. And to make matters worse, it is a political football. Some can even say that the AFC was born out of the misery of GuySuCo, especially in

the Berbice region.

Apart from the other factors, such as diversification, there are two key factors that give companies a competitive edge,that is,constantly improving efficiency and investing in a highly motivated workforce, none of which GuySuCo seems to possess presently. The Guyanese mindset towards GuySuCo is that it is a “cash cow” for everyone to grab their share, with no concern for its long term survival.

All successful corporations today are focusing their resources and energy on human capital by reshaping the landscape of their leadership structure. This includes challenging their leaders to be servants that build partnership with their workers, instead of a top down approach. Companies understand that everyone in the workforce wants to have a say in the de-

cision making process and be able to provide ideas to their bosses who would listen.

Monetary incentives are no longer the standard for lean productivity as it is now equally important to create a sense of ownership among everyone.

Management will have to quickly learn to stop massaging their egos on the backs of the labourers and remove that negative of “master and servant” relationship. Instead,managers should be measured based on their ability to have a happy and productive workforce that respects management and wants to work for the interest of the company.

Efficiency in this context then means that there should be constant review of how to make every process move faster with less cost. From saving stationery to pulling punts through the

canals should be subject to new ideas and out of the box thinking.

Kaizans and other pilot projects should be done as much as possible with measurable cost savings and be implemented with speed. These ideas for process improvement should not only come from the top, but mainly generated from the bottom up. The cane cutter should be encouraged to work side by side with management to help implement and improve processes. These are concepts that are more effectively done through the Private Sector; however, the Government would still have to ensure that there is sufficient job security for workers. And stop making GuySuCo a political football.

Sincerely, Malcolm Watkins

GuySuCo – The new Chairman’s opinion

Dear Editor,

I refer to an article carried in the August 5 edition of the Kaieteur News captioned ‘”Sell out Skeldon Factory’ – New Chairman recommends” which states that “recently appointed Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is of the opinion that the $200 million estate should be sold or used for other purposes”.

Dr Thomas is now Presidential Advisor on Sustainable Development and Head of State Asset Recovery Unit, apart from being Chairman of GuySuCo and a member of an ongoing Commission of Inquiry (Col) into GuySuCo’s operations.

Though he must be complimented for these appointments and others to come, it is quite mystifying to learn of his opinion to sell Skeldon Estate despite being a member of a Col that is actively holding consultations.

Such revelation from a Col member who is the Chairman of the company being inquired into, leaves Guyanese to conclude that the Col is a national masquerade based at the Agriculture Ministry, with some members flouncing from Skeldon to Uitvlugt.

Dr Thomas’ comments suggest that “minds” have already been “made up” and there is no need to wait on a Col report. If that’s the case, the Col should cease its work immediately and stop wasting tax payers’ dollars.

Indeed GuySuCo is in deep financial crisis and Skeldon isn’t performing as planned. However, pronouncements made thus far through comparative

analysis of operating costs, is an attempt to convince the Guyanese public that Skeldon is GuySuCo’s biggest burden. Skeldon’s production in the first crop of 2015 was abysmal. It achieved only 48 per cent of its target and therefore its operating cost for that period will be astronomical. To conveniently select a period of high cost to support a position is a deliberate attempt to misinform the nation and that’s inexcusable.

I don’t share the view that Skeldon is most of GuySuCo’s problems and believe that the issues aren’t factory related only. The new Chairman of GuySuCo needs to visit Skeldon cane fields and factory during operations to appreciate the enormous agriculture and harvesting challenges before formulating opinions for public consumption.

One would expect that the gentlemen of the Col would examine causes of high operating costs at each estate and come up with practical recommendations to reduce it. Such approach would lead the industry on a path of recovery. Instead, it appears that once unit cost is high, the best option is to sell.

If this is the logic used, GuySuCo employees should brace for a flurry of announcements very soon as operating costs in the Demerara region aren’t far from Skeldon.

Dr Thomas has already provided his opinion on Skeldon but he needs to further explain to Guyanese how a private investor can change the fortunes of an estate and why the Government cannot implement a similar model to ar-

rive at the same end result.

GuySuCo’s management has already made claims through the media about remedial and modification works executed at Skeldon to improve performance. It is August 2015, and one expects that with those works, the factory would be at its closest point to realising potential and deliver returns on investments.

If this is not the case, the Chief Engineer at GuySuCo responsible for approving such works must be hauled before the Col since he’s responsible. Dr Yesu Persaud hinted at this in his submission to the Col recently.

It will be highly offensive to Guyanese to find out that the works approved by the Chief Engineer are now deemed a waste of resources. The Chief Engineer needs to offer a comment on whether Skeldon can deliver or not, based on changes made. Even more alarming, is the sale of the Cogeneration Plant to Skeldon Energy Inc which took place without consultations with technical personnel from GuySuCo.

The option to place Skeldon and other high cost units for sale seems to be gaining speed. The Chairman of the Col needs to convince Guyanese that he isn’t the head masquerader presiding over a ceremonial inquiry aimed at information collection to support a foregone conclusion. Interestingly, the composition of GuySuCo’s board suggests that the Chairman and at least two Directors will support a sale of Skeldon given their outpourings.

Yours truly, Fredrick Yuvraj

Guyana Prize for Literature rescheduled

Dear Editor,

The Guyana Prize for Literature has had cause to reschedule its time-table this year, and will not announce the shortlist until after Carifesta XII, mainly because of the scheduling of the Regional Festival itself.

This is as a result of the closeness of the dates for the Guyana Prize activities to those of Carifesta. Some members of the jury for both the Guyana Prize and the

Caribbean Awards who are from other countries outside of Guyana, advised that they are involved in Carifesta on behalf of their own countries, and their availability would be made easier by a shifting of the dates. Earlier in the year when the Guyana Prize rescheduled its time-table for 2015, there had been no confirmation that Haiti would host Carifesta this year as originally planned in 2013.

We are therefore avoiding the month of August for all Guyana Prize activities and are not in a position to announce the shortlist as previously planned. This will now be done in September. The date for the Awards Ceremony will then be advertised, along with a literary festival that is expected to accompany it.

Yours faithfully,

Al Creighton

Newly appointed State Boards do not reflect Guyana’s diversity

Dear Editor,

The appointees of the different State Boards in Guyana are not a true reflection of the gender, skilled and ethnic balance in Guyana. This move by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government brings exclusion, lack of recognition and inequality to Guyanese society.

First, exclusion of certain groups of citizens is as a way of bringing about social injustice and as such we must not ignore the conditions that brought about the injustices in the first place. These are tied to the social structures and institutional context that produce inequalities of power and resources. To overcome such injustices it is important to look behind existing social arrangements andfocus on the wider context through which social injustices are perpetrated

Social injustice is not only about the distribution of material goods but also the provision of the means to develop and exercise capacities allowing them to participate fully in society.

As such, it’s not just about who has access to resources and opportunities but also relates to whether people are recognised as being of equal worth, and so treated with dignity and respect. Such recognition depends not only on how individuals treat each other, but also on how groups are represented in decision making.

Lack of recognition and respect may create the conditions in which different forms of discrimination and abuse may flourish, and (re)create a range of social harms. For how long will we suffer this harassment? Lack of recognition or respect for certain people may engender discrimination against them,

thus preventing the wider society from benefiting from their capacities, talents and skills.

Exclusion may produce new categories of population issues that become the scapegoats for a range of social ills, and give rise to new lines of social division and potential conflict. Poverty, discrimination and inequality, then, produce potential harms for society as a whole as well as for the individuals directly affected. Our movement wants to encourage the Granger Government to review its criteria used to select persons appointed to the different State Boards. Guyana cannot move forward with half of its population. Both hands need to clap.

Sara Khan, Chairperson Feminist for Life Network (Guyana)

The sea can teach you many

lessons

Dear Editor, You may have vast knowledge, fame and fortune. But the bee can give you a lesson on how to be free from torment. The tree can teach you forbearance and tolerance. It offers shade to all, irrespective of age, religion or economic status. It helps with fruits and shade, even the foe who lays his axe on its trunk. The dog can teach you lessons in faith, selfless service and process of dedication. Man disgraces himself by his ingratitude, even to God who has provided him with all his wealth.

On full moon, the sea rolls and surges in great joy. It knows only the fullness of happy contentment. The sun may lift clouds of vapour from its stock of water; the sea does not whimper. The rain may fill its coffers with rich riverine tribute; it does not exult. It teaches you equanimity – no depression, no exaltation. Watch the waves rolling one behind the other towards the shore. You will notice the waves bringing with them bits of flotsam and jetsam, bottles and twigs, logs and pieces of wreckage to be deposited on land. There is constant

struggle to maintain a clean face – a laudable saadhana, which man can be inspired by. Again, consider the quietness of the depths, the prashaanthi (serenity) that reigns in the inner regions of its consciousness. On the surface, the sea appears restless, and full of fury. But down below, it is established in peace. Man too has to be like the sea accepting it as his Guru or teacher.

Shri Krishna Sanatan Dharma Saba Pandit Surendranauth P Tiwari

Page Foundation

BY SUZANNE PHILLIPS, PSYD

Astudy reported by

Janice Kiecolt-Glaser,

at the American Psychological Association’s Convention in San Diego indicated that research shows that childhood trauma and adversity can actually shorten a child’s lifespan by seven to 15 years. Such adverse events include losing a parent, being abused or witnessing parental marital strife.

Disaster experts tell us that the impact of most traumatic events on children can be reduced if parents remain calm, deal with their own feelings and reassure the child that they will keep them safe and protected. Marital Strife is an emotional crisis for a child because the very people needed to offer safety are the ones creating the danger.

What is marital strife?

Marital strife can span a range from ongoing contemptuous comments and bitter fighting to domestic violence that warrants a 911 call.

Domestic violence officially means any incident of threatening behaviour, violence, or abuse between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members. What is left out of the definition is the collateral damage to the children who are put in physical and psychological danger every time they witness such violence in their home.

Whereas there are many unforeseeable traumatic events that children face for which their parents have no control, marital strife is different. Parents can control and reduce the impact of fighting in front of their children.

Don’t all couples fight?

Yes, in fact if a child never sees any discord or disagreement, they are living in an unrealistic environment with no role models to regulate a broad range of emotions. The answer is regulation of anger that makes its’ expression compatible with a safe and loving environment.

• It is not about whether you fight it is about how you fight and how often.

• It is about making it safe to be angry and safe to make mistakes.

• It is about regulating anger so that it does not destroy love.

• It is about the capacity to agree to disagree.

• It is about the courage to apologize, forgive and recover.

• It is about knowing that anything you say or do to the parent of a child – good or bad – you do to that child.

How can you control and reduce the impact of marital strife?

Balance: It is not only a benefit to you and your partner, but a benefit to children to see parents hug and show affection as well as to hear them compliment, laugh and talk positively about each other. It is the balance to those times when parents may argue, disagree or criticise.

Make meaning: Whether you ended up fighting in front of the children at breakfast or started yelling in the “other room” – which unless you have cement walls is usually audible – the most effective thing you can do for yourself, your partner and the children in the aftermath of strife is “make

meaning” of what just happened. Think of “making meaning” like the oxygen masks that drop when a plane hits a rough spot – put on your mask, breathe and then put one on your child to allow him/her to breathe.

Making meaning for yourself:

• “Am I really tired, hungry or in pain?”

• “Is there another feeling that

• Whether you invite the children to bake, shoot hoops, walk the dog or play video games, you have changed the situation from anxiety and anger to safety and connection.

• While engaged, help them make sense of what just happened:

“You know Dad and I sometimes disagree over things – but we usually figure it out.”

“I just figured out that I am re-

I just can’t face (grief, embarrassment, financial fear) that I am covering with anger?”

• “Am I blaming my partner for something out of their control – so the dishwasher broke?

• “This is a major problem but it is not something to fight about now.”

Making meaning for the children:

• Find an activity with the children to move you away from the anger and bring down your hyper arousal. Particularly if they have heard the fighting, it gives you an opportunity to show them that it has ended and we can “go on.”

ally tired that’s why I was yelling so much – I’m sorry guys – I have to remember to catch up on some sleep.”

Prevent silence from getting too loud

The antidote to screaming in the bedroom is not becoming dead silent or giving your partner the silent treatment in front of the children. It carries with it tension and anger and precludes “moving on.”

The silent treatment is just another version of assault. It puts children in a very anxious state.

• Some children run in to rescue the parents and reduce the

tension by engaging either or both parents in something fun, interesting, or attention getting.

• Some children will draw the fire to themselves (consciously or unconsciously) by misbehaving or acting out – just to shift the emotional tone.

• Older children will learn to escape into their rooms, their phones or their computers (instead of drugs or alcohol) if you are lucky!

In all cases, angry silence puts a burden on children that they should never have to bear.

Avoid using children for your needs

Using your child as your confident, adversary or sounding board in the aftermath of marital strife is no gift to your child – it actually adds insult to injury.

• It ignores his/her privilege of being your child - no matter what the age.

• It puts the child or teen in a no win position – as siding with one parent equates to guilt, confusion and feared loss or abandonment by the other parent.

• It prevents what children need most – your consideration of the problem with your partner and/or seeking professional help to do so.

Protect their childhood memories

No matter how much stress you are feeling as a couple or how difficult things are going – don’t cancel the long awaited Disney vacation or make Christmas a nightmare.

As Viktor Frankl shares in his powerful book Man’s Search for Meaning, when there is a WHY you can tolerate any HOW. Children are the WHY. They are the priority. They trust that the adults who love them will provide some predictability and joy in their lives.

It is often a surprise to parents that when they put aside their fight to carry on with the plan for the children – they are transformed by the shared pleasure of seeing their children’s delight. It is often an unexpected point of reconnection.

Take care of yourself

There is no question that the joy that children bring comes with its share of pain and demands. The combination of sleep deprivation and anxiety alone, from infants that can’t sleep, school children who won’t sleep, and teens who don’t come home to sleep, is enough to ignite marital discord in even the most stable of parents. Such stress is but one example of the value and need for self-care by parents in the form of couple time with other adults, planned R&R, and predictable private time together. The more connected, the more time to know and be known by your partner – the more manageable the stress and disagreements in the context of a loving relationship.

Ultimately, your children will be happier and safer. (www.pbs.org)

monday,

Venezuelan border controversy

Remain firm in defence of territorial integrity

...but remain engaged in diplomatic dialogue – Jagdeo

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) said while it remained steadfast in its support to the A Partnership for National Unity /Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government against the claims being made by Venezuela over Guyana’s territorial boundary, the new Administration might be mishandling the situation particularly as it relates to the maintenance of economic diplomacy.

PPP/C leader and Former President Bharrat Jagdeo on

Friday said his concern now over the pursuit of Guyana’s foreign policy in the future was the “belligerent, pugnacious language used by our chief diplomat”. Statements such as “Go talk to Caricom, you are barking up the wrong tree, and they are like monkeys on our backs”. According to Jagdeo, such language does not lend itself to dialogue.

“You do not reject outright offers to talk and to meet... Never. You always have to keep talking and meeting. Venezuela will always be our neighbour, we cannot change that. That is a fact of life,” the former President said.

Since 1962, with varying levels of intensity and belligerence, the Bolivarian Republic continued to perpetuate the controversy it precipitated over our western border. Most recently it has begun seeking external support on its claims that it is the true owner of the Essequibo, after an ExxonMobil rig recently struck oil. The border had been demarcated and unanimously agreed to, some 116 years ago through international arbitration, which Venezuela had agreed to ac-

cept as a final settlement.

The Spanish-speaking nation has, for the last six years been exchanging its oil for Guyana’s rice through the PetroCaribe Initiative, and has had several other economic relationships with Guyana. It was against this backdrop that the former President, under whose purview the oil-for-rice pact was negotiated and signed, related that the situation was being mishandled by the David Granger led Administration.

Jagdeo said both the PPP/C and the APNU/AFC have always had strong support and similar views on the issue involving Venezuela. He said many countries have border problems, but also have a great deal of functional cooperation towards economic diplomacy.

“They need not allow their pursuit of their rights and national patrimony be at the expense of functional cooperation. There must be a tone in the diplomacy that lends itself to dialogue,” Jagdeo stated. He noted that the dominant issue in relations should not be the border conflict, but should be focused on other things that

will bring benefits to the Guyanese people.

He said Guyana should not put “all our faith in a single country that they will defend us, because of various points time, those countries’ interest has changed too”. He was alluding to the dominant maxim in international relations that propose, “There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies; just permanent interests”. According to Jagdeo, the country’s faith in the pursuit of its wholeness of territorial integri-

ty should be placed in more collective bodies such as Caricom, the United Nation and Commonwealth etc.

Venezuela has begun a series of diplomatic tours to several Caribbean nations seeking out their support over its claims on Guyana’s waters. However, in its most recent meeting with Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, the regional leader restated Caricom’s total support for the integrity of Guyana’s territory and maritime space, as well as that of all Caricom states. Stuart said Barbados stood by Guyana and was looking for the best means to address the issue. “We are committed to assisting Venezuela and Guyana in this dispute, preferring at all times a peaceful solution. But as of now, having regard to the fact that there was an arbitral award in 1899 and having regard to the fact that the Geneva Agreement of 1966 has not yielded the kind of results that either Venezuela or Guyana expected, Caricom’s formal position has to be a commitment to the territorial integrity of Guyana.”

Acknowledging that both

countries had been trying to pursue a peaceful settlement for many years, Stuart expressed the view that the time had come for the issue to be concluded. “We cannot contemplate such an end if we do not have a mechanism in place, for in the event the peaceful solution we prefer does not happen, an alternative mechanism can be sprung into action that can settle the matter by juridical means,” he remarked.

Recently, President David Granger said he was still prepared to have discussions with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, not on the border controversy, but on the “reduction of tension, the removal of aggressive actions on the part of Venezuela and I would like to discuss the restoration of cordial relations among all states of the Caribbean and the hemisphere, those are the things I want to discuss with Maduro. I want to discuss making the Caribbean a zone of peace; I want to discuss giving Guyana an opportunity to develop its resources without interference,” the Guyanese leader told reporters.

Venezuelan VP meets Castro on Essequibo controversy

As part of his tour of the Caribbean to gain support for his country’s claim to almost two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Arreaza paid a visit to Cuban President Raul Castro.

Arreaza said they had a “broad and fruitful” exchange of views on bilateral and regional issues including the ongoing border controversy between Venezuela and Guyana.

The meeting was held on Saturday last at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana. According to the release from the Venezuelan Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs, “At the meeting, both officials agreed on the importance of achieving through peaceful diplomacy and routes of international law, … [resolution of] differences between Venezuela and the Cooperative Republic of Guyana,”

It also mentioned that they underscored ending the controversy between the neighbouring countries through the pathways of international law.

Venezuela has been the main political and commercial ally of Cuba for the past 15 years. The two Latin American Governments has maintained good communication and make frequent pronouncements of mutual support.

The Venezuelan Vice President arrived in the Cuban capital Friday night, when he was received by the country’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and Ambassador Ali Rodriguez Araque.

This was the fifth meeting held as part of the planned agenda for the Caribbean countries to explain what Venezuela says are the historical reasons and legitimate activities in defence of the Essequibo.

Arreaza and Venezuelan

Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodríguez’s diplomatic tour included visits to Grenada, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Cuba and will conclude in St Lucia.

Prior to his stop in Cuba, Arreaza was in Barbados on Friday. The Venezuela Vice President met with Barbadian Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, who reiterated the position adopted by Caricom at the 36th Regular Meeting of Heads of Government, and extended total support for the integrity of Guyana’s territory and maritime space.

Arreaza also visited Dominica and Grenada, while Foreign Affairs Minister Rodríguez stopped in Trinidad and Tobago.

Caracas remains fixed in its claims that Essequibo belongs to it even after an international arbitration panel some 116 years ago unanimously determined

the current border. It has recently intensified its pressure on Guyana, particularly after the discovery of oil by US-based

monday, august 10, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

2 in custody for “Black Chiney” murder

– business community pledges $2M reward

As the investigation continues into the gruesome murder of Chinese restaurant owner Zhenjz Su, also called “Black Chiney”, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum on Sunday told Guyana Times that two persons are being interrogated in connection with the killing of the man during a robbery at his Mandela Avenue business on Friday morning.

Blanhum stated that the Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras that were set up on the now dead businessman’s premises were not working properly, but investigators were trying to tap into the DVR to determine if any recording was stored.

The business community, led by Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall, has put up a $2 million reward for persons who may have information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.

Only a few weeks ago, Lall had put up a $5 million reward for information on the murder of businessman Ganesh Ramlall, but

Dead, Zhenjz

the Police were able to arrest two persons who have since been charged.

The businessman, in an interview with Guyana Times, stated that the reward was decided upon to get persons who have information to come forward, so that the murder could be solved. Lall added that although persons may have information, they were afraid to come forward as was seen in the case of Ramlall.

He stated that while the Police continue to do their best, businessmen are being targeted on a daily basis. He stressed that the money

was put together by a group of businessmen who have an interest in ridding society of crime.

He called on those with information to come forward and assured them that all information would be treated with strict confidentiality.

Su, 35, the proprietor of the Jade Stone Chinese Restaurant, was beaten as well as chopped on Friday after bandits invaded his Mandela Avenue, Georgetown business place. His wife, Fei Su, was also beaten. She remains a patient at a city hospital.

It was reported that a group of bandits gained entry to the premises via a door that was left open in the lower flat of the building.

The men, upon entry, demanded money, but the couple refused to cooperate; hence, the woman was knocked unconscious and left in the upper flat of the building.

She reportedly told investigators that after she regained consciousness

some three hours later, she found her husband bound and gagged on the kitchen floor in the lower flat.

His hands and feet were tied with tape and a piece of cloth was stuffed in his mouth. He also sustained several chops wounds to his head. His body was covered with several empty rice bags and in a pool of blood.

The woman immediately telephoned the Police who responded promptly and cordoned off the area. It was unclear what the bandits took, but the entire upper flat was ransacked. At the time of the home invasion, the couple’s two children, ages three and five, were asleep but they were left unhurt.

In the last few months, violent armed robberies have escalated across the country and it would appear from the reward money being offered by private businessmen, that there is growing loss of confidence in the investigative abilities of the Police to gather intelligence on their own to solve these crimes.

NAACIE, GLU make presentation to GuySuCo CoI panel – GAWU

recalled for clarifications

As the probe continues into the operations of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), two more workers’ unions have extended their support to the panel.

The National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) and the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) both presented their respective memorandum to the 11-member Commission of Inquiry (CoI) which is headed by Vibert Parvatan. The presentation was made on

Saturday morning. In addition, the panel had recalled the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) to appear before them for the second time. According to President of the Union Komal Chand, he was recalled to offer clarifications on certain issues that were laid out in the memorandum.

On Monday, GAWU presented its 18-page memorandum to the Commission in the presence of its sister unions; NAACIE and

the GLU. Chand had told Guyana Times that after the presentation, GAWU covered a broad spectrum of areas, including what required special attention and focus in the fields and factories, the need for efficient and accountable management of personnel, climate change and its effects on production, ways through which the industry could return to sustainable standards, the need for an expanded market and benefits of value added sugar.

The first round of the Inquiry set up by

Government to probe the operations of GuySuCo was completed late last month, with several experts testifying and members of the Commission visiting the Uitvlugt Factory, West Coast Demerara.

Government said the objective was to develop a plan which would bring the stateowned enterprise, which has been operating since 1976, back to profitability, and assure its long-term environmental and economic sustainability.

continued on page 9

Eyew tness High Anxiety...

...on Budget

Even with all the panegyrics and hosannas to Burnham by the present government (Why are you surprised! Didn’t they signal all of this when they launched their campaign on the Founder Leader’s birthday?) your Eyewitness doesn’t think they wanted the high anxiety of the Burnhamite Budgets back in Guyana. During the PPP’s 23 years, older folks gradually forgot how they’d await budgets with bated breath. Hey!! If your lifesavings could be wiped out with one stroke as Hoyte did with his “10 to 1” devaluation budget you’d be waiting to exhale too!

Younger folks who never experienced the Burnham years will be weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth. “Some a demguhhalla; some a demguh bawl!” And what 207,200 people will discover is that “moutar” different from “guitar”. And why the high anxiety? Well, you don’t need a degree from the London School of Economics, to figure out if sugar’s on the ropes, rice just fell into a hole, and we can’t afford to dig gold out of its hole, things naregulah. And that it’ll get downright nasty since the Government’s so focused on seeking vengeance that they have no time to stimulate new jobs. Some high anxiety was also caused by APNU/AFC now saying they don’t have the money to increase the salaries of some 35,000 government workers. Now let’s pick sense from nonsense. If the PPP was creating “inflated budgets” which had to be chopped with massive axes by APNU/AFC because the monies would’ve been “siphoned” off by those cads, now that we have these paragons of virtue (not to mention frugality) in office, what can’t they pass on all these “un-siphoned” cash to the long suffering public servants? After all the Ministers and Vice Presidents will be doing pretty good for themselves, no?

Another load of anxiety centres on how much VAT will be lowered. It’s been 10 years since VAT’s been introduced here (no anniversary celebrations? ) and for every one of those 10 years, the folks now in Government - led by their bookeeper-lawyer-economist and general opposition pot salt, Lalloo Ram - have been mounting furious assaults on VAT. Will VAT be reduced to single digits as promised? High anxiety!

Then there’s the high price of gas, while oil price plumages everywhere else. Fellas in New York - earning three times our salaries - pay three times LESS for gas! The PPP had helped the small man get cars, now he can’t drive them! Will the Budget force the government’s oil company GuyOil to lower prices? And force others to follow suit?

The anxiety’s so high, the shoulders of the ordinary citizen’s touching his ears!

...on crime

Now, if the Budget anxieties weren’t enough, up comes this crime tsunami (it’s waaaaay past “crime wave”) that have folks huddled behind grilled windows. bSome are starting to build barricades -but even that’s not enough? What do you do when criminals cut holes through your wall with portable chainsaws? What do you do when an animal grabs a bite from your refrigerator as he casually bludgeons your aged grandmother to death? Or kills a restaurant owner whose only crime is to open late, to feed the hungry?

The anxiety becomes unbearable when the man placed in charge of “licking crime” can’t be seen because he’s obviously taken cover. And he issues platitudes like “greed is the source of crime”, bars should close up at 2 am and suicide must be decriminalised. All valid statements, to be sure, but what does it have to do with lowering the anxiety level of Mr and Mrs John Public?

If Ramjattan had any shame, he’d resign.

...over rice

Now that we know Venezuela ain’t taking that 200,000 tonnes of our rice, could we lower the anxieties of our rice stakeholders and create silos capable of holding at least that much as buffer stocks?

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

Chinese businessman shot in thigh in EC robbery

Police are reviewing video taken from surveillance cameras as they continue their investigation into the robbery of a supermarket at Better Hope, East Coast Demerara which left the owner nursing a gunshot wound to his thigh.

This was confirmed by Crime Chief Wendell

Blanhum on Sunday. The Crime Chief is certain that the Closed Circuit TV footage will assist them in identifying the bandits since they were not wearing masks. He also disclosed that the owner of the supermarket, 30-yearold Hua Kang Huang, a Chinese national, was in stable condition.

NAACIE, GLU make...

from page 8

The Commissioners, who are tasked with development planning for this purpose, are mandated to “investigate and inquire into the current state of cane cultivation, production, and marketing of sugar, molasses and other by-products, including power”.

Investigations will also be conducted into the human resources department, research and development, diversification of the industry, community obligations, weather events, marketing, financing, procurement and overall factory management and performance.

The consultants will work closely with the interim management team and other GuySuCo officials to realise the objective. They will also liaise with cane farmers as required. The CoI is expected to complete its work by September 30.

Commission Chairman Parvatan had told Guyana Times that among those who testified and made recommendation on the way forward for the crumbling industry were former Factory Manager Sydney Robinson, former GuySuCo Chairman Vickram Oditt, former Houston/Versailles Estates shareholder and Manager Anthony Vieira, former GuySuCo Human Resources Director Earl John, and GuySuCo Agriculture Services General Manager

Blanhum told Guyana Times that on Saturday evening about 20:30h, two men walked into the Wisdom Supermarket and held up the owner, demanding money, but the owner refused to cooperate.

In retaliation, one of the men shot the owner to his left thigh and took away about $100,000 in cash. As they were leaving, the two men collected a bottle of Skyy Vodka each and made good their escape.

The Police were summoned and several road blocks were erected along

the East Coast Highway, but no one was arrested.

This publication understands that the two men walked into the supermarket pretending to purchase something, but walked straight up to the owner’s wife and one of them pulled out a gun threatening to shoot if she did not hand over the cash from the cash register.

The other armed man then turned his attention to Hua Kang Huang and also threatened to beat him if he did not comply with their orders.

He was ordered to open the safe, but from all in-

dications he was buying time so that someone could contact the Police. The bandits realised what he was up to and discharged a round hitting him. As a result, the safe fell to the ground and a quantity of money fell out.

One of the bandits reportedly picked up a pile, while the other collected another set from the cash register and made good their escape.

By the time the Police arrived at the scene, the injured man had been taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was treated. The Police

have since taken statements from the employees and the owner’s wife. At the time of the robbery, customers were in the supermarket.

Based on reports received, two suspicious vehicles were seen in the area prior to the robbery. Hua Kang Huang has been operating the supermarket for close to two years.

Police are continuing their investigation. This comes a day after Zhenjz Su, 35, was murdered in the lower flat of his Jade Stone Chinese Restaurant on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.

Raymond Sangster.

Commissioners have also met with staff members of various levels.

Those responsible for field and factory operations and human resources held meetings with General Managers, departmental managers and several workers as they examined the preparatory work for the next crop in this, the out-of-crop season. Teams will be revisiting the estates at various periods to follow up.

Other interested parties have been invited by the Commission to participate in the investigation.

Persons who have signalled their intention to make submissions include former GuySuCo General Manager Vishnu Panday, former Factory Manager and Chief Electrical Engineer Lance Tyrell, and former employee George Alleyne.

The Commission, during its investigation, will develop a 15-year plan which will be aimed at bringing the sugar industry back to profitability.

The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration maintains that GuySuCo has been “sinking further into debt due to ineffective operations, both at the financial and production levels” – at the hands of the previous People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Administration.

East Bank Road Expansion Project...

“Amicable dissolution” offered to contractor of delayed lot

Heading into a twoyear delay on the completion of the East Bank Road Expansion Project, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson disclosed that he has offered the contracting firm responsible for expansion works on the first of three lots an “amicable dissolution”.

Addressing a media briefing on Saturday, Minister Patterson said that due to the continuous delays and the slow pace of the works on Lot One, which runs from Providence to Coven Gardens, he has made the offer to Dipcon Engineering to have the contract amicably dissolved. He explained that the company will be paid what is outstanding to them.

Moving forward, the Public Infrastructure Minister disclosed that he has discussed this matter with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) –which is funding the road expansion project – and will contract another firm to complete the works on that lot.

“We will go to tender to have the outstanding works be completed by a different contractor and this is included in the 2015 Budget,”

he noted.

Furthermore as it relates to the other lots, Patterson pointed out that they are “substantially” completed, with only finishing touches left to be done. “What is outstanding on both (Lots) is the traffic markings and traffic lights,” he stated. Lot Two covers road works extending from Prospect to Little Diamond and was contracted to Gaico Construction, while Lot Three runs from Little Diamond to Diamond Intersection and was contracted by BK International.

Dipcon and delays

Asked about the reasons behind the delays ex-

perienced by Dipcon, the Minister referred the question to the contracting firm.

“I think you should address those questions to Dipcon. The work was not moving at a pace which we wanted,” Patterson declared. Efforts made by this newspaper to contact the contracting firm proved futile.

However, Head of the Works Services Group (WSG) under the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Geoffrey Vaughn stated earlier this year that Dipcon was experiencing financial difficulties, and as such had sought assistance from the Ministry to acquire materials and transporting it to the site. Vaughn had relat-

ed that they were looking at a payment structure for the materials.

He had cited shortages of materials, delays due to the relocation of utilities, cash flow, downtime of equipment, lack of human resources and construction methodology, among others, as some of the challenges the project was facing. Vaughn had stated that the Ministry would have worked along with local contracting firms to improve areas such as project management to enhance their performance.

The East Bank Road Expansion Project kicked off in early 2012 and was expected to end late 2013 with a budget of US$17.2

million. At the 2014 yearin-review briefing, the WSG Head disclosed that a total of US$3.4 million was expended on 2.65 kilometres of road in Lot One; US$4.7 million on 1.55 kilometres of road in Lot Two, and works valued at US$2.2 million were executed in Lot Three, which has a total of 1.20 kilometres of road.

The 2014 Budget provided the sum of $13.7 billion to improve roads and bridges network, of which $12.9 billion will be spent on roads and $844.2 million on bridges.

In the meanwhile, an IDB funded feasibility study was conducted from Grove to Timehri, in a view of expanding and upgrading the two-lane highway. The intention is to widen the road to include parking and a sidewalk, creating more space and convenience.

In May 2011, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Cabinet had given its no-objection to the US$1.6 million contract to improve the access road leading to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Government had subsequently obtained US$20 million from the IDB for the East Bank

Road Extension Project.

The main objectives of the project are to enhance urban and suburban mobility and safety by lowering transport costs and reducing accident rates via the expansion of the East Bank Demerara Main Road between Providence and Diamond from two lanes to four lanes.

The roadway itself not only links West Demerara via the Demerara Harbour Bridge, but leads to the country’s main international airport at Timehri, and the community of Linden –a main gateway to the hinterland – on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway.

International artistes confirmed for Rupununi Festival

The second Rupununi Music and Arts Festival is roughly five weeks away from the opening night at Rock View, Annai, Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo) and the excitement is building, as plans move forward. This is according to the Festival’s Director Bob Ramdhanie.

The Festival Director mentioned that the festival site is taking shape as showers, benabs and other facilities are being tested. He mentioned that caterers are currently sorting out menus so that there will be a variety to choose from and promises that this year’s festival will be bigger and better than the last.

Ramdhanie has shared that many artistes have already been confirmed, such

as J J Kent from the United States America, who is known throughout the world as a player of the indigenous Northern Plains flute, and as a traditional storyteller, cultural educator, speaker, dancer and recording artiste.

From Brazil, there is RegioJazz, a group that reexamines music of composers of Roraima among others in the North, through a jazz regional reference and peppered with Latin influences. The band of young persons from different areas is a strong feature of the state of Roraima.

The festival, scheduled for September 18-20, is the second of its kind in Guyana and is fêted in Rock View Lodge, Annai, Rupununi.

At the launch of the event at the Tourism Ministry on

June 19, Tourism Minister Cathy Hughes had shared that the Tourism Ministry is “throwing its weight” behind the promotion of this festival and thinks that this time around, it will be bigger and better than it was last year. She stated this festival will highlight and strengthen a very important branch of Guyana’s tourism industry and that is the ‘Rupununi brand’. She mentioned that the Rupununi brand is complemented by events such as the Rupununi Rodeo, Wildlife Festival, the South Rupununi Safari, among others, and as Guyanese, we should strive to maintain and strengthen our own country and realise its potential and all it has to offer and not take it for granted.

Times Notebook

Double standards and hypocrisy

The Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) factory operation has not begun on four estates. Three others are not ready to begin operation. Operations of the factories were supposed to have started in early July, but bad weather deferred the start, according to management.

For most of Dr Leslie Ramsammy’s time as Agriculture Minister, the same management team, led by Paul Bhim, was in charge. Virtually every crop was started late and the reasons given were related to the weather. Ramsammy as Agriculture Minister

had no reason to doubt those explanations. Indeed, he engaged the Cabinet, Parliament, the public and the media with this weather-related explanation for the delays in the start of the grinding season. Often, too, the grinding seasons came to a premature halt and the reason was also weather related.

At that time, the Opposition in Parliament – the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) – and the media were brutal in rejecting management’s explanation and in rejecting my own explanation. There was a call made for the

Minister to fire Bhim and other senior management for the frequent delays and premature ending of the grinding seasons. Bhim was called incompetent by the Opposition and the media. At least two of the new members of the GuySuCo Board rejected the weatherrelated explanations.

When Dr Rajendra Singh assumed the position of CEO and the same situation arose, he too was deemed incompetent and the call to fire him was loud and vulgar. Bhim is back in management, brought back by the same Opposition that condemned him and that

called him incompetent and a puppet of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

The weather problem continues to be a major issue that GuySuCo must confront. Bhim has again explained, as he did during the PPP/C regime that the weather is the reason for the delay in the grinding season.

As before, Ramsammy had no reason to doubt Bhim. He continues to have confidence in Bhim, as he did when he was Agriculture Minister and is certain that he would have wanted an early start of the grinding season and to have

Region 9 residents up in arms over presence of mining company

– alleging Toshaos were “begged” to sign ‘no objection letter’

Residents of South and South Central Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo) are raising concerns over the actions taken by their acting Regional Executive Officer (REO) Carl Parker. The residents are speculating that the Toshaos were begged to sign a “no objection letter” to His Excellency David Granger. This letter was to ensure that Falcon Gold Mining Company out of Canada will be able to conduct mining activities in the Marudi Mountains.

According to a Letter to the Editor in Guyana Times written by Paul Thomas, he stated that “residents are of the view that Tony and Dorothy James of the

Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) are behind this move by trying to form South and South Central District Toshaos Councils to give the impression that Toshaos support this initiative. This is a contravention of Section 35 (1) of the Amerindian Act 0f 2006.”

However, the Vice Chairman of Region Nine Carl Singh told this publication that he believes that the APA is not trying to breech the laws, because they are not seeking to have an official Toshaos council. The APA is currently seeking to have informal gatherings of all the leaders to discuss the issues that are affecting their respective communities.

Though the Vice Chairman thinks that it is very disrespectful that the Mining Company is transacting its business through the REO, he believes that Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan will be the best person to address this issue but there are plans to sort things out at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) level at their next meeting on Friday, August 14.

He added, that in order for any company to operate, the “noobjection” letter must be signed by all Toshaos and this was allegedly obtained through the REO and it did not go through the RDC itself. Singh is confident that matters will be sorted out at the next meeting.

Guyana Socialist Party

Agroup calling itself the Guyana Socialist Party (GPS) has come out boldly against both of the nation’s main political parties as it calls itself the “left wing opposition.”

One individual, who calls himself David Will, explains that the Party is against all forms of inequality, whether it be social, mobile or through nepotism.

Will stated that the two major political parties represent such principles and are slowly failing Guyana. He pointed to the Private Sector in particular, which he indicates has too much say in how the State should be run. According to the GSP member, this just adds to the imbalance and unhappiness of the people as the Private Sector encourages capitalism.

The issue of race was highlighted and it is believed that this could have been handled

in a better manner by both parties. Though it was not stated how so, it is clear that the Party has grown tired of the rhetoric – “we must see that one thing is the speech and another thing is the concrete political practice. We are against bureaucratisation. We want the radicalisation of democracy. We are against privatisation. We want a public and free education and good quality. We want a socially referenced education plan. We advocate that politicians should receive the same salary of a teacher,” stated Will. Thus, by definition Will and his following have adopted the socialist view. This means that they advocate a socialist system where the social and economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy, as well as a political theory and

movement that aims at the establishment of such a system. Basically everything is shared.

However, the self proclaimed socialist then stated that “we want to industrialise our country,” the very opposite of socialism. When asked to provide some clarity he stated that “imperialism dictates economic plans” indicating that Guyana’s economy is controlled by foreign companies. Will said the GPS wants the nationalisation of all strategic sectors of the economy for the people to modernise.

“Without breaking with imperialism,” Will said there is no possibility of ending unemployment and ensuring better wages. Those who do not agree with this, he said, should be relieved of their goods and businesses. Surprisingly, the following shows hundreds in Guyana share such views.

a full grinding season.

The problem now is the double standard of APNU/ AFC and the media and some of the new Board members. Now that they are in charge and now that the people the media wanted to be in charge of the Government are there, everyone now finds the weather-related explanation justifiable.

When the PPP/C was in office, Bhim was an incompetent puppet. Now that APNU/AFC is in power, Bhim is managing prudently and we must be sympathetic to his plight. The APNU+AFC accepts that the weather is the enemy

and the reason why grinding is starting late. The media is aggressive in giving the public the weather-related explanation for the late start. When the same situation existed during the PPP/C time in Government, these same players found it all as mismanagement. Among the players who condemned then and now endorse were Dr Clive Thomas and Tony Viera, senior members of the GuySuCo Board. This is double standards and hypocrisy. Readers are invited to send their comments by email or Facebook to times. notebook@gmail.com.

Soesdyke man succumbs days after receiving burns

ASoesdyke, East Bank Demerara man succumbed to first-degree burns about his body which he sustained while attempting to save his home from a fire which erupted in the living room on Tuesday last.

Randolph Singh, 56, of Lot 84 Soesdyke, took his last breath at the Georgetown Public Hospital on Friday last. According to information received, Singh received the burns about 04:00h on Tuesday, but was taken to the hospital some three hours after.

Guyana Times was told that as a result of the burns he sustained, taxi drivers and persons who converged refused to assist the man to the hospital. He was subsequently taken to the hospital by an ambulance belonging to the Guyana Defence Force’s Camp Stephenson.

Based on reports gathered, the fire was caused by a candle that was left on a cardboard barrel in the living room. After the fire was detected, Singh who was on the couch reportedly woke up his reputed wife who was physically challenged and rushed her to safety.

Singh then rushed back into the house, grabbed the couch that was on fire and brought it out through the front door. It was at this time he received the life-threatening burns. The house received some internal damage as a result of the blaze.

A cousin of the dead man who asked to remain anonymous stated that she was at home when she received the call about the fire. Her house is two lots

away from where her now dead cousin lived.

She explained that as she arrived at the scene, she saw her cousin lying on the ground with no flesh on his back, arms and feet and knew that his condition was serious.

While on the ground, he was heard saying “Is the candle, is the candle”, she recounted. He also told the Police that the candle was lit on a barrel and the couch was close to it. After the candle burnt out, it is presumed that the barrel caught fire which spread to the chair that he was sleeping in.

This story was corroborated to a point by the woman who recalled Singh purchasing candles prior to the fire as he said that he had some electrical issues. Nevertheless, the family thought that something is amiss in the entire episode.

Hours prior to the fire, Singh and his reputed wife were reportedly heard arguing as usual during which she reportedly threatened to burn down the house while he was asleep. The woman who incurred injuries to her back a few years ago had accused the man of being unfaithful on the night of the fire.

After the fire, Singh’s spouse gave a statement to officers at the Timehri Police Station after which she returned home and removed all of the household items. The cousin of the dead man is claiming that the story told by Singh’s reputed wife have several loopholes.

“First, she claim that she run out de house and left de man and then another time she say that he wake she up and make sure she safe and again she tell people that she see somebody running out the house,” the woman stated.

The relative confirmed that the couple had been together for several years now but shared a rocky relationship. A few years ago, Singh was reportedly chopped by his reputed wife during a domestic dispute. She added that whenever the now dead man consumed alcohol, it was a problem. The relative admitted that Singh was at her house taking a few drinks hours prior to the incident.

The man leaves to mourn his reputed wife, stepdaughter and siblings. A post-mortem is expected to be performed on the man’s body today.

monday, august 10, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

GPL Dep CEO sends 2 Managers on leave

...CEO says "null and void"

Confusion and tension continues to build at the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) concerning the recent decision by Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) Colin Welch (Technical), to send home two senior managers; a decision which was immediately overturned by the company’s CEO Bharat Dindyal.

Reports indicate that Welch on Friday last, showed up at the company’s Loss Reduction offices located on Sheriff Street, Georgetown, moments before closing hours. He was accompanied by Police ranks when he served Senior Loss Reduction Manager Loaknauth Singh and Senior Investigator David Kaladin with letters.

These letters were instructions that the duo was being ordered to proceed on administrative leave, stating that there was an investigation ongoing involving wrongdoings.

It was disclosed that upon receiving the letters, the Managers subsequently telephoned the company’s Chief Executive Officer Bharat Dindyal, who arrived at the office shortly after.

GuyanaTimes understands that after Dindyal was given a report about what transpired before his arrival, he ordered the two seniors to remain on duty citing that the letters had “no value”.

In a telephone interview with GPL’s CEO on Sunday, this publication was told that in cases where staffers are accused of wrongdoings, according to office procedure, they need to be given the opportunity to defend themselves before a final pronouncement is made.

“What he does is show up at the office ordering them (the duo) on administrative leave in the company of Police Officers and basically tries to evict them out of

HeadStart! Stationery Drive 2015 to benefit 645 hinterland students

the office. None of this could stand any scrutiny. Welch’s actions appear to be prominent as of late but he is saying that he has the powers of the Minister behind him,” Dindyal stated.

Dindyal referred to a recent incident at the GPL Berbice office where Welch also sent home another Manager there Phyalyanjee Nandkumar, sometime last week.

Unauthorised actions

According to the CEO, Welch again overstepped his authority in doing so.

“Under the regulations of GPL, it is the Human Resources Director or the CEO who is authorised to send staffers off, once the necessary and proper procedures have been followed. I have to power to revoke, over-throw and nullify the letters sent to the two Managers at the Sheriff Street location which I did. When you accuse people of wrongdoings and take a decision to send them off, evidence needs to be produced to justify this,” the CEO explained.

He told Guyana Times that as of recent, because of the number of complaints made; a special committee was appointed to look into the reported allegations.

This team, which consists of three men, commenced work on Thursday and was mandated to submit a report to the Board of Directors within 21 days.

Dindyal posited that Welch was fully aware that he was required to submit all details he has to the Human Resources Department from where it will be pursued.

“He came into GPL in October 2013, supposedly as the DCEO but he was not recruited or engaged by GPL. We are presently checking into his background as he was put at GPL. So far, no background has been found as to justify his appointment to GPL,” Dindyal disclosed.

The most recent actions of the DCEO have sparked anger among staff in the entity, as unease and discomfort among staffers continue to escalate at the utility company.

“This is lawlessness going on at GPL with this situation. This should not be so. But Welch is claiming that he has the power of the Minister (Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson) to support him,” Dindyal added.

Some 645 students re-

siding in the hinterland regions across Guyana are slated to benefit from stationery packages which will be presented to them by the Global Shapers Georgetown Hub volunteer group when school reopens during the first week in September.

HeadStart! Stationery Drive is an annual activity which seeks to provide students living in remote areas with the necessary stationery to take them through an academic school year.

Last year, the volunteer group targeted 494 students but this year, they are taking things up a notch and reaching out to 645.

The schools targeted are Matthews Ridge Nursery and Primary Schools Region One (Barima-Waini), Fairview Village Nursery and Primary Schools Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Shulinab Nursery and Primary Schools Region

Nine (Upper Takatu Upper Essequibo).

According to the Project Coordinator Venus Persaud, these communities were chosen after initial research in 2013 revealed that access to school supplies proved to be limited and overlooked in these areas.

Global Shapers volunteers are currently collecting final donations from various entities, monetary or otherwise. Thereafter, the volunteers will package the supplies into stationery kits to be delivered to the students when school reopens.

Persaud said the support for the programme has been overwhelming with corporate entities such as GTM Insurance, Kojac Marketing, Metro, Fitness Express, 704 Sports Bar and Scotia Bank have already contributed towards the success of this initiative.

Nonetheless, the group is still encouraging more people to make donations.

“We still haven’t met our target so we are appealing to the general public to help us meet our target of providing stationery for 645 students,” Persaud said.

The stationery drive will be a bit different this year, as the group embarks on distributing oral hygienic items to the students as well.

“We would like to emphasis the importance of oral hygiene among the students. We are hoping that our donations received will allow us to purchase toothbrushes and toothpaste. We have a Dentist on our team as well, he will hold a short workshop on dental hygiene when we visit the schools,” Persaud related.

The Georgetown Hub launched its annual HeadStart! Stationery Drive in 2013 to benefit students in Guyana’s hinterland communities. In that inaugural year, through the kind contributions of individual and companies, both in and

out of Guyana, the group was able to provide 400 students in Matthews Ridge, Kurupukari and Monkey Mountain with stationery kits to begin the 2013/2014 academic year.

Through the 2014 HeadStart! Stationery Drive, a total of 494 students received stationery kits. This included 331 Primary and 163 Nursery students. The schools that were the targeted beneficiaries were Matthews Ridge Primary and Nursery Schools, Region One; Fairview Nursery and Primary Schools, Region Eight; and Shulinab Nursery School, Region Nine.

Over 20 companies and individuals made cash contributions and in-kind contributions in the form of supplies and logistical support. The project raised a total of G$819,340. A total of $802,747 was spent on project supplies, transportation and other administrative costs.

Persaud explained that the socioeconomic and geographic limitations make it difficult for parents to provide school supplies to fully prepare their children for the academic year and therefore, this significantly programme benefits them.

“By supporting this initiative, your organisation will be contributing to the overall academic preparedness of these students and alleviating the financial burden associated with providing these supplies,” she reasoned as she encouraged civil and corporate society to donate towards this cause.

PNC GS calls for reintroduction

of Guyana National Service

...UG grad compulsory requirement had made programme controversial

The General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform Oscar Clarke, during his address to special invitees at a Commemoration Service hosted in honour of the 30th anniversary of the death of Guyana’s first executive President, the late Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham called for the reinstatement of the Guyana National Service (GNS).

Clarke was at the time making a feature address on behalf of President Granger. He added that many persons above the age of 45 would remember how great the National Service experience was for them.

He added that the late President wanted persons to inhabit interior locations and as a result of this the “jungle” training aspect was added to the list of courses offered by the programme. In the decade and a half during which the programme was pushed by the state, there was no noticeable settlement of GNS graduates in the hinterland.

However, Clarke believes that the new Granger-led

Administration may be reinstating the programme soon.

The National Service was introduced in 1974 and its rationale was offered by Burnham in a speech to the National Assembly in 1973: “National Service, when introduced, will be used as a vehicle for the national orientation of large sections of our population; it will also give the opportunity to various sections of the communi-

ty, in terms of categories and ethnicity to meet on common ground and to share common experiences.

“It is an operation which so far as its concept is concerned carries in it the seed of bringing about a more cohesive nation.”

Burnham thus saw the GNS as a vehicle to bring Guyanese together. However, later in 1973, in a speech at the University of Guyana, he introduced one of the most objectionable features of the GNS – compulsorily service for UG graduates. “If I have my way, and subject to the approval of Parliament, aspirants for a degree at the local University would be required to enter into a period of National Service after leaving secondary school.” Many persons felt that when he saw the mix of graduating students, he insisted that they have to join the GNS.

Burnham did have his way and UG graduates had to serve between 12 and 18 months in the GNS in the interior. Of the 63 students compulsorily inducted into

the GNS in the first year, 53 were Indians and of those 25 were female (90 per cent of the women). Most of the Indian women dropped out of UG rather than serve in the interior camps. The GNS otherwise consisted mainly of out-of-school boys and later girls, between the ages of 15 and 20 years. After three months of military training by Guyana Defence Force instructors, the first batch of 68 young men was sent to a training centre at Tumatumari, Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni).

However, the National Service was eventually discontinued by the previous Administration, the main reason for this was because “the project lost its importance in the 1980s”. This explanation was given by then Government Chief Whip Gail Teixeira in a 2008 interview with sections of the media. There have been periodic calls since then for a revival of the GNS against the background of high youth unemployment.

Burnham’s Personality Cult

by Dr Walter Rodney

(Linden F S Burnham is being remembered by his partisans on his 30th death anniversary. The following is Dr Walter Rodney’s assessment of Burnham, from his 1979 speech, “The struggle goes on” .)

Whoever accumulated power to themselves in such a way that they want to make every single decision in the State a personal decision, is being taken over by insanity, and it is not surprising, because no one man or handful of men even in their own interests should conduct the affairs of State as their personal business.

When one is searching for words to describe what is going on, it is very difficult to find the appropriate terms. Personally, as the days go by, I find it difficult to describe the reality around us.

The other evening, speaking at another site, I had to draw the analogy, to say what if there ever was such a thing called ‘the Midas touch’, which was the touch that made everything turn into gold, then we will have a new creation in this society – the Burnham touch where everything he touches turns to sh**. One has to put it in these brutal terms because the situation in which we are is a brutal situation. One has to put it in even these crude terms because they have reduced us in such a way that even those terms do not fully capture reality.

This is the society in which we live and we are not talking about ‘long-time story’. We’re talking about what’s going on right now. And we have to expose this ruthlessly. One of the things that the regime does not like is to be exposed and uncovered. They have lived for these many years by putting on certain masks, by trying to fool the outside world – and even some Guyanese who live right here, with the mask of democratic Government because they have a joke institution called a Parliament. In this mask, they have something called a free press, free

judiciary etc, but we know that when we lost the right to choose our own Government in free elections, we lost all other rights. It is just a matter of time – they take when they want to take, they give when they want to give – until that time when the people intervene. Unmask them and show them that the power belongs to the people!

King Kong (Burnham) is supposed to be beyond criticism. They have seriously promoted him as the ultimate in wisdom, all-knowing, all powerful, next to God – a man whose face adorns the exercise books of our children, and who is probably responsible for their high failure rate in the schools. Do not believe it was a mere accident that it was necessary to promote the cult of the personality around him, to make it appear as though all intelligence in Guyana was concentrated in one man and no intelligence was outside.

All virtue, all political acumen, all commitment was concentrated in one man. It even reached the stage, (and you will check this out for yourself, you will check it out in terms of your experience and your memory of what has been going on) when it was popular in [People’s National Congrss] PNC circles when something went wrong for the person to say, “Well, maybe you’re right, it did go wrong, but the Comrade Leader didn’t know anything about it.”

You have to put the Comrade Leader above all wrong doing, although in another context he himself has said that nothing goes on that he doesn’t know about. But whenever something went wrong, it is claimed he didn’t know about it. It is a way of isolating him from the people, putting him way above the people, and therefore it is equally important that in the context of our present struggle we unmask that attempt to wrap this individual up, romanticise him and present him to the Guyanese people as the ‘ultimate.’

On the contrary, we will judge him on the basis of his performance, and on that basis we can we can say that he

has been the initiator of a period of a total lack of democracy in this society; that he has supervised over bringing the society to the lowest ebb it has

ever been in its history; that he has reduced Guyanese to a position where he can only say “we shame” wherever we go, “we shame”.

Patterson pleased with 2015 budgetary allocation for Public Infrastructure Ministry

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson is extremely pleased with the 2015 budgetary allocations earmarked for his Ministry, a press statement from the Ministry revealed, although a figure was not cited.

This year’s budget will be presented by Finance Minister Winston Jordan in the National Assembly, Parliament Building today under the theme “A fresh start to the good life in a green economy”.

“Having reviewed the submissions and being in extensive discussions with the Finance Minister and his team, I would like to say that the Ministry is extremely pleased with the allocations that have been assigned,” the Minister disclosed to reporters during a press conference Saturday morning at the Ministry’s Boardroom.

However, he acknowledged the biggest challenge faced will be the execution of projects/works within the provided timeframe, as Minister Jordan has requested that all major works be completed substantially by year-end.

Immediately after the budget is laid, Minister Patterson will engage the Bankers Association, contractors and all relevant stakeholders to be fully prepared to spring into action following the passage of the national budget.

“I will also be meeting my technical team on Tuesday morning to give them the goahead to prepare tender documents etc, so as soon as we have a successful passage of the budget we will out to tender and off and running,” he said.

In 2014, the Ministry received a budgetary allocation of $17.483 billion.

Regional

Haitians begin voting in long-delayed elections

After a campaign period pockmarked with violence, Haiti’s longdelayed elections are finally taking place amid a “climate of terror”, according to one human rights group.

Voting began at 06:00h (10:00 GMT) on Sunday, with elections held for the chamber of deputies and two-thirds of the senate that have been repeatedly delayed since 2011. Polling stations will close at 16:00h local time.

Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds, reporting from Port-au-Prince, said voters have been filtering into vot-

ing precincts in the capital.

While the conduct of the elections was generally peaceful, there were reports that two polling stations have been trashed, he said.

A presidential poll is set for October 25, in a nation where President Michel Martelly, who is barred from running again by the Constitution, has been ruling by decree.

Nearly six million eligible voters in this mountainous country of 10.3 million are choosing 119 deputies and 20 senators from 1855 candidates registered from 128 political parties.

According to Haiti’s electoral system, one-third of the senate is supposed to be renewed every two years, but following the cancellation of elections to the senate in 2012, two thirds of the seats are now up for grabs.

The fragile democratic system was further weakened in January, when the country’s Parliament dissolved after failed negotiations over a new electoral law and left Martelly ruling by decree.

Despite mass protests, the Government waited until March this year to set a new date for this year’s voting. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Brazilian radio host killed while on air

ABrazilian radio journalist was shot and killed in his studio according to Police, who said on Friday they suspected political motives for the murder.

According to the Associated Press, the Police say the journalist was shot as he hosted his programme.

Gleydson Carvalho, a journalist in the town of Camocim, in the north-eastern state of Ceara, was shot five times Thursday at point blank range, according to authorities, who said the gunman fled the scene on a motorbike driven by an accomplice.

“They arrived at the radio door. They said they wanted to announce something. Someone opened the door for them. They said it was an attack and asked who was in the studio,” Police Chief Hebert Silva told AFP.

“Immediately after that, the individual entered and executed Gleydson with three bullets to the head and two to the stomach,” he said.

A sound engineer present at the time of the shooting was unharmed.

Security forces have identified a suspect and were searching the town and surrounding area for

the gunman.

Police said they have arrested two people with ties to the main suspect in the case, and have recovered what they believe to be the murder weapon.

Several Brazilian media outlets have reported that Carvalho had received threats because of his work.

Brazil is the third most dangerous country in Latin America for journalists, following Mexico and Honduras, with 38 journalists killed between 2000 and 2014, according to the non-profit group Reporters Without Borders. (Jamaica Observer)

Rio water pollution protest ahead of Olympics trials

Aflotilla of more than 30 boats and water craft has cruised across Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay to protest against water pollution with a year to go before the 2016 Olympics.

The protesters made the 12-kilometre (seven-mile) journey to highlight high levels of bacteria in the bay.

They said they were concerned about the health of the athletes taking part in Olympic sailing competitions.

Trials for the events are due to start in Rio waters

Argentina

next Saturday.

The authorities in Rio initially promised that 80 per cent of the bay would be cleaned up in time for the Games, but they admitted more recently that they would not meet these targets.

Only one of eight water treatment plants has been built so far.

The Brazilian sailor and Olympic medallist Isabel Swan was one of the organisers of the protest.

She competed in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and says the area used for

sailing in China had problems with a large algae bloom, but this was dealt with two months ahead of the competition. She told the BBC that the failure by Rio de Janeiro city and state to meet their commitments made her feel “very bad”.

“It’s important that we can leave a legacy for our children and for Brazilian people,” she said.

“It was very important to bring the Olympic Games to Rio, but we weren’t able to clean the bay.”

to choose postFernandez path in primaries

Argentina is holding an open primary election that will gauge the country’s appetite for change after eight years under the rule of outgoing President Cristina Fernandez.

The election will reveal if the public supports the policies of Fernandez, who imposed heavy state control on the economy and spent generously on welfare during her time.

The frontrunner ahead of the October 25 general election is Daniel Scioli, Governor of Buenos Aires province and a member of Fernandez’s party.

Running second is

Mauricio Macri, the business-friendly mayor of the capital city who wants to do well enough in the October vote to force a November run-off.

Both are former businessmen with more orthodox policies than Fernandez, whose high public spending has drained fiscal accounts and fuelled inflation while currency and trade controls slowed investment.

Macri promises to quickly free up markets, while Scioli says “gradualism” is the best way to open the economy, while preserving the strong social safe-

ty net weaved together by Fernandez since she first took power in 2007.

The primary is set up for each party to choose its presidential candidate, but with voters free to cross party lines, Sunday’s vote will be a dry run ahead of the October election.

Argentine share and bond prices will likely fall if Scioli comes out of Sunday’s primary strong enough to win the presidency in October’s first round.

If Macri looks strong enough to force a run-off in November, markets are set to rise. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

TT Govt denies plot with Gumbs against Rowley

As the Opposition People’s National Movement accuses the governing United National Congress of a dirty tricks campaign involving former Express journalist Anika Gumbs directed at Opposition Leader Keith Rowley, the UNC on Saturday moved swiftly to distance itself from involvement in the affair.

UNC Campaign Manager Rodney Charles denied that Gumbs’ revelations were part of their

Negative outlook for Barbados – investment firm

ATrinidadian investment firm with operations there has given Barbados a “negative” outlook in light of concerns about “the trajectory of the fiscal accounts and pace of debt accumulation”.

First Citizens Investments Services, in a July report authored by Research Analyst Kris Sookdeo, said while Barbados’ inflation monetary policy was “stable”, other fundamentals including economic outlook, trade balance/balance of payments, fiscal accounts, and credit

ratings were all “negative”.

“While the present Administration is making an attempt to improve Barbados’ fiscal status, consolidation and weak competitiveness will continue to hamper Barbados’ economic recovery,” Sookdeo concluded.

“There have been signs that the ability to borrow in the domestic market at low rates is diminishing and access to external markets has been affected by successive downgrades. With the outlook still weak for the European economy, some

weakness is expected in the tourism sector of Barbados during 2015.

“That said, the surge in foreign capital during 2014 could indicate that the industry is set for a recovery in late 2015. Foreign currency reserves have declined substantially with import cover now at 14.6 weeks. As a result of this and based on the trajectory of the fiscal accounts and pace of debt accumulation, First Citizens Research & Analytics holds a negative view on Barbados,” he added. .(Excerpt from

“Say No to Rowley” campaign. Reporters Saturday cornered him at the construction site for the St Joseph Police Station on the Eastern Main Road.

“Let me emphatically say that has nothing to do with our campaign,” Charles said.

“I am a person of integrity. This campaign is about a choice between two leaders… one with a plan and one without a plan.”

“If he has problems with Ms Gumbs, let him take legal action or take it to the Police. We will not become involved in that, it is below us and that is not something which we will ever think of doing.” Responding to a claim from the Rowley legal team that it had proof that people were being approached by the UNC to make statements against Rowley, Charles said it was an unproven allegation, and asked whether that was another Email-gate where the PNM presented uncorroborated information to Parliament.

Meanwhile, Housing Minister, Dr Roodal Moonilal called on the Media Association of T&T (MATT) to launch a full-scale investigation into allegations raised by the investigative journalist. (Excerpt from TT Guardian)

Around the World

Iraq Cabinet backs PM Abbadi’s sweeping reform measures

Iraq’s Cabinet has approved Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi’s proposal to overhaul the Government bureaucracy, scrapping three vice presidential posts and the offices of three Deputy Prime Ministers.

The Cabinet backed the proposed reforms on Sunday which still needs parliamentary approval.

The six posts under threat represented various political and sectarian blocs in the Government.

The plan also effectively would push out of Government former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, widely criticised for inflaming sectarian tensions and appointing loyal, less-qualified senior officers to Iraq’s military ahead of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group’s advance last year.

However, al-Maliki issued a short statement backing the proposed plan.

The proposal followed

weeks of demonstrations, and a call for tougher reform measures from top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali alSistani, who is revered by millions of Iraqis.

On Sunday evening, Kurdistan’s regional Government welcomed the decision and vowed reforms, as long as the Central Government is “mindful of the participation of the

Typhoon Soudelor: Trail of damage in South-East China

Parts of south-eastern China have been badly affected, with homes being evacuated

At least 12 people have died in south-eastern China after a powerful typhoon caused floods and mudslides.

Thousands were evacuated and millions of homes left without power as Typhoon Soudelor barrelled through Fujian and Zhejiang provinces on Saturday.

One coastal area saw more than 50 centimetres (20 inches) of rain in 24 hours, the heaviest for a century. The typhoon earlier swept across Taiwan, leaving at least six people dead and several missing.

Half-a-million people were still without power on the island on Sunday, the Taiwan Power Co said.

Soudelor has now weakened to a tropical storm as it

heads inland.

Fujian raised its typhoon alert to the highest level in anticipation of the storm, with at least 163,000 people evacuated to higher ground. There are reports of more evacuations in neighbouring Zhejiang.

In Fujian’s main city Fuzhou, more than 10,000 trees were blown down and there was widespread flooding.

Rail services and flights were cancelled in the path of the storm, and schools and offices closed.

Twelve people were killed and five are missing as heavy downpours caused mudslides in rural areas of Wenzhou municipality, in the south of Zhejiang province, Xinhua news agency reported. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Kurdistan Region”.

In a statement issued earlier on Sunday, Abbadi also promised to investigate corruption, reappoint all senior officials based on professional rather than sectarian standards, and reduce the number of security personnel protecting senior officials in order to cut down on waste.

Abbadi held a meeting on

Friday evening with a number of experts and advisers to discuss the administrative and financial reforms in his new bid to tackle corruption in the country.

Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Bahaa al-Araji resigned shortly after Abbadi’s proposal on Sunday, Iraq’s state news reported. (Excerpt from

Ferguson silence on Michael Brown’s shooting anniversary

Several hundred people have paused in silence in the US town of Ferguson on the first anniversary of the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

The four-and-a-halfminute tribute was meant to reflect the approximate hours that Brown’s body lay in the street. A march

weekend in Ferguson, a suburb of St Louis, Missouri.

The Reverend Osagyefo Sekou from the Ferguson Action Council told the BBC that last year’s events had led to some positive change in the black community but not in society at large.

“We have not seen the

is also being held.

The shooting of the 18-year-old by white Police Officer Darren Wilson sparked demonstrations across America.

It fuelled a national protest movement against racial bias by the Police.

Activists and religious figures from across the country are among those who have gathered this

Pakistan stumbles upon its ‘biggest’ child sex scandal

Officials in the Pakistani state of Punjab have called for a federal inquiry into what it called the largest-ever child abuse scandal in the South Asian country’s history involving nearly 300 children.

The Government of Punjab State on Sunday ordered a judicial investigation into the scandal that came to light last week after discovery of about 400 video recordings of more than 280 children being forced to have sex.

“Those involved in the case will be severely punished. They will not be able to escape their fate. The affected families will be provided with justice at any cost,” Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif was

quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper website.

So far seven people have been reportedly arrested by the Police over the case that has shocked the nation of 180 million.

Most of the victims were under 14, including a sixyear-old boy, Rai Babar Saeed, district Police Chief of Kasur, where the incident happened, told reporters, adding that a 10-year-old schoolgirl filmed being molested by a 14-year-old boy.

Videos of these assaults were filmed and thousands of copies are believed to have been sold in Hussain Khanwala village in Kasur district, the police said.

One of the victims said he was injected in the spine with a drug before he was assaulted, they added. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Pakistan broke protocol on Kashmir speaker, Indian envoy says

Pakistan broke protocol by not inviting the Speaker of the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly for a Commonwealth meeting there, India’s envoy TCA Raghavan has said.

The Dawn newspaper on Sunday quoted Raghavan as saying at a book release function in Pakistan on Saturday night that Pakistan had invited delegations from Jammu & Kashmir in the past.

India has said it will not attend the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference if Pakistan does not invite Jammu & Kashmir Speaker Kavinder Gupta, the High Commissioner said.

The conference is to be held in Islamabad from September 30 to October 8. India has demanded that the venue be shifted to some other country.

Speaking at the venue, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said his country would never invite a Jammu & Kashmir Speaker as the legislature “does not enjoy legitimate status”.

“We cannot invite the Speaker of the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly as the Assembly does not enjoy legitimate status because it represents a disputed territory, which needs to be settled in the light of the UN resolutions,” he was quoted as saying by state-run Radio Pakistan.

Pakistan’s position on Jammu & Kashmir would be compromised if the Speaker of the “Kashmir’s legislature is invited to the conference”, Aziz said. (Excerpt from Times of India)

Gunmen kill 10 in attack on village in Mali: army spokesman

Gunmen killed 10 civilians in an attack on the village of Gaberi in northern Mali, Army Spokesman Souleymane Maiga said on Sunday, a day after a deadly siege by suspected Islamist gunmen at a hotel north-east of the capital.

kind of systematic change that is necessary, whereby every other day in America a mother is not writing the eulogy of her child which shall be the elegy of the nation,” he said.

Those who gathered at the spot in the St Louis suburb where Michael Brown was fatally shot on August 9, 2014 saw two white doves released. (BBC News)

The attacks are the latest sign of insecurity in the West African country where the United Nations has brokered a tenuous peace deal between Tuareg separatists and the Government.

At the same time, remnants of an Islamist insurgency linked to al Qaeda and new Islamist militant groups are apparently mounting a growing campaign against the United Nations mission (MINUSMA) and Malian military targets. The village attack began on Saturday evening when three men arrived on motorbikes and infiltrated Gaberi in Timbuktu region, but were repulsed by residents who opened fire, killing one attacker, said residents contacted by telephone.

“The attackers came back this morning firing everywhere. There are nine or ten dead. People have deserted the village and set up camp around four kilometres away,” said a resident reached by telephone. He said he doubted that the attackers were Islamist militants. (Excerpt from Reuters)

monday, august 10, 2015|

Rastafarians call on Govt to legalise marijuana at “Plant it” Concert

TAs the artiste performed, patrons used their lighters and mobile phones to illuminate the atmosphere.

One man was observed in the thick of things in his red, yellow, and green Rastafarian hat and scarf hopping from leg to leg as if he was standing on hot coals with a wooden staff

warded for his outstanding contribution to music and culture in Guyana. He was given a framed portrait of him elf when he was younger.

The show was incident free.

The concert was organised by the Rastafarian Advancement Creed Empowerment (RACE)

The international reggae artiste brought out what can be considered the largest congregation of Rastafarians in a long time.

The concert, which started around 23:00h on

he Rastafarian Community on Saturday evening renewed its call for the Government of Guyana to decriminalise marijuana at the massive “Plant It” concert featuring Jamaican superstar Chronixx at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Saturday and ended at about 4:00h the next morning, was dubbed a success.

The patrons decked out in their Rastafarian colours enjoyed every bit of the performances.

Several local artistes including Guyana’s own First Born, Ila Man, Benjie Diamond, Gad Kid, Empress Idama and Empress Igina, along with Sister Petra and others, set the stage on fire with their well-known hits and new lyrics.

The colours red, yellow, and green permeated the tarmac as did the smell of ganja which put patrons in the mood for a night of fun.

When Chronixx appeared on stage in a pair of jeans and a blue long sleeved African shirt, he definitely sent the crowd into a frenzy, with many waving the Rasta flag both on stage and in the crowd.

“Ain’t No Giving In” and “Here Comes Trouble”

along with other singles like “Mi Alright” , “Access Granted”, “World Under Siege”, “Alpha and Omega”, “Most I”, “Thanks and Praise” and “Selassie Souljahz” sent positive vibes to the thousands gathered.

in outstretched hands having a grand time.

In addition, Ras Jauwala A Selassie was re-

to encourage persons to plant organic food for the sustainability of people around the world.

One of two suspects in sex worker’s murder arrested in Linden

One of the two men wanted for the murder of Nephi Luthers, the male sex worker who was gunned down on Carmichael and Quamina Streets in late July, was on Sunday evening arrested by Police ranks in Linden.

A senior Police rank confirmed that 42-year-old Ron Forde called “Andel” of Lot 19 Meadow Bank, East Bank Demerara was arrested in the vicinity of the Linden/Georgetown minibus park.

He is expected to be transported to Georgetown to be further grilled in connection with the heinous crime.

A few days after the brutal murder, the Police had

issued a wanted bulletin for Ford and his accomplice 24-year-old Kanand Ojha of Lot 2 First Street, Meadow Bank, but they never

turned themselves in.

Now with Ford in custody, the Police will try to ascertain the whereabouts of Ojha.

The Police stated that following investigations, the file will have to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack for legal advice.

Nephi Luthers, 20, of ZZ Durban Street, Wortmanville, was shot once to his chest during a confrontation with Ojha and Forde.

It is believed that on the night of the shooting, Ojha left the Guyana National Stadium and went in the vicinity of the St George’s Cathedral, where he paid a sex worker $5000 to perform a sex act.

During the act, he was reportedly relieved of his personal belongings. After the act was completed, he left in his motor car, but subsequently realised that his phone and cash were

missing. Ojha, from reports received, got Forde and went back to the location where they confronted Luthers, but he denied doing business with the man, which resulted in an argument.

During the argument, Ojha reportedly told Luther, “You have to give back the thing”, but in response, the commercial sex worker said: “Me ain’t been with you”. At this time, Forde pulled out the gun and pulled the trigger, shooting Luthers to his chest.

The sex worker fell to the roadway and the two men fled the scene. Luthers’ colleagues picked him up and rushed him to the Georgetown Public

Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. From all indications, Luthers was mistaken for someone else.

250th anniversary of Berbice Slave Rebellion

...strong village economies will make a strong national economy – President

President David Granger on Sunday attended a ceremony organised by the Cuffy 250 Committee in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Slave Rebellion. The event, which saw the attendance of over 100 people, was held at the Critchlow Labour College, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

The President in his remarks spoke at length of the need for an economic change and the rebirth of village economies in Guyana. He said this change requires a cultural revolution which would allow citizens to think of the consequences of the economic decisions they make on a daily basis.

He said too many young people today are focused on seeking salaried employment rather than wanting to venture out into the world of manufacturing and exporting and maximising their productive potentials.

“If we are going to construct a new economy, we have to make economic decisions… If we are to revive those village economies, we have to make use of those lands which were bought 177 years ago and which are still available for production and development. If you are going to solve the employment , do not expect some magical Government to give you jobs in the Police Force and the Army, you are going to have to create jobs within your communities,” the Head of State said.

On the issue of national unity, the President said that Guyana was born broken and there are people with a vested interest to keep the country broken and divided. He noted that the country cannot move forward as a nation with sections of society preaching disunity.

“We need to reinforce the political party system in which all Guyanese can sit at the table and resolve their problems in an inclusionary manner. That is why have been advocating shared governance and inclusionary democracy,” he said.

He noted that while Guyana’s six peoples can

and must be proud of their respective ethnic origins, there is need for citizens to rediscover themselves as Guyanese. He said that a greater sense of national identity needed to be developed and stated that no group or individual should feel marginalised or discriminated against.

On the issue of national security, the President spoke of transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and gun running, which have permeated the society because of the country’s porous borders.

He explained that many of the dealers of the narcotrade have become very rich but that wealth came at the price of many innocent lives.

“Unless we make this country safe for our women and children, we will always have an unstable environment. Investors will not come if they feel that their fishing boats will be raided by pirates.

Investors will not come if they feel that their gold mining operations will be attacked by bandits... this is another matter that we have to put on the table in our discussions today as we go forward to our 50th Independence anniversary,”

President Granger said.

Many of the violent crimes, he said, are spon-

Communities Ministry condemns PPP/C for rejecting flag and emblem initiative

The Communities Ministry has lashed out at the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP) for its recent statement condemning the initiative to assign a flag and emblem to each administrative region.

The Ministry stated that the PPP/C did not fully understand the purpose of the initiative because the Party’s 12 Regional Members of Parliament were absent from the forum at which the emblem idea were introduced, although they were invited.

The Ministry shared that the flags and emblems were proposed at the Regional Democratic Councils’ Leadership Forum (RDCLF), on July 31, 2015, which was held under the theme “Unveiling a Vision of Regional Empowerment”. The proposal is part of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration’s vision and strategic direction to empower Local Democratic Organs to manage their own affairs, as stipulated in Article 74 of the Constitution. It claims that the new direction will result in each region having pride of identity.

The Communities Ministry stated that PPP/C’s objections “leaves one with no doubt that the PPP has lost its way, and is clutching at straws in a desperate attempt to remain relevant, as the rest of Guyana moves forward”. The Ministry further stated that the strategic vision of regional empowerment is not new and has always been at the core of the coalition’s philosophy.

“We recall that when His Excellency President Granger

sored by rich dealers who perpetrate violence in order to promote their illegal agenda.

The President spoke of the rising education apartheid, whereby a large number of students are dropping out of school at an alarming rate of 500 every month and said this is why the Administration is focusing on the Every Child In School (ECIS) initiative.

He called on citizens to make a resolution to ensure that no child in their community is denied an education because of their inability to afford the necessities such as food, uniforms, books and transportation.

“You will see the change when we have an educated nation… it is now the responsibility of Government and I am the head of that Government but it is also the responsibility of families,” the President said.

The Cuffy 250 Committee is made up of a group of Guyanese in the United States and Guyana who came together in 2013 to observe the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Revolt, led by Cuffy, against the slave system. It is dedicated to encouraging socio-economic and cultural revitalisation within the African Guyanese community and the fostering of ethnic and racial equality in Guyana.

addressed the Regional Chairmen following their swearing-in, he had urged that each council fashion a Plan of Action for Regional Development (PARD). As the acronym suggests, Central Government intends that decision-making power should be a two-way street, with the regions being more meaningfully engaged in crafting developmental plans while Central Government provides support to enable them to become selfsufficient and self-sustaining,” the release mentioned.

The Communities Ministry disputed the PPP/C’s claim that each region having an emblem, detracts from the importance of the National Flag. It added that linking the development with Venezuela’s territorial claims were either a red herring or further evidence of the PPP’s ignorance.

The Minister further stated that the national initiative was meant to be more than symbolic, but rather capture practically all of the activities of the RDCLF encapsulated in the theme. The Administration has, therefore, invited the Regional Democratic Councils to actively participate in the decision-making process, in line with the thrust of the Administration to devolve, decentralise, and deconcentrate political power. It is the view of the Administration that if each region is involved in the processes of government, better decisions will be made.

The PPP/C, in a press release, had stated that the regional forum “was a total fiasco”, and added that the presentations by Government officials were empty and rhetoric and left much to be desired. The Party had stated that the forum held by the Communities Ministry was more of a “political forum to bash the PPP/C and to rubbish its success hailed by the people of the hinterland communities”.

The PPP/C is also calling on the Granger Administration to bring an end to these circuses which are in effect political fora organised primarily to attack the Party and to provide a political profile for the APNU/AFC in those regions where the population have rejected them electorally.

The Ministry added that the PPP/C’s assertion that the Administration had imposed its decision on the people was a blatant untruth, and shares that Minister Ronald Bulkan, at the RDCLF, said, “Today, the Regional Chairmen will each be given a specimen of a flag and emblem for the region… Each RDC is being invited to contribute by way of suggestions towards the final products for what will become part of our official national makeup.”

Dying History programme at UG

UG’s History Society to launch History camp today

– says the past makes the future clearer

With the facts before historians that History is no longer a sought after programme at the University of Guyana (UG), the small society has launched into action to highlight the importance of what is thought to be too much ‘history’.

Through much collaboration with UG’s History Society and the Guyana History Alumni, a History Camp is tabled to start at Dartmouth-Westbury, Essequibo Coast today where students between the ages of seven and 16 years of age will be in attendance. At the camp, the students will be fortifying themselves with knowledge of the first peoples of Guyana, slavery, the struggle through colonialism and the country’s many triumphs.

The Dartmouth-Westbury community was chosen for this initial stage of breaking ground for the history Society by History Lecturer and Camp Coordinator Charlene Wilkinson.

Melisa Dow-Richardson,

one of the facilitators at the camp, explained to Guyana Times that history in today’s society is quite crucial as there are too many unknown anomalies when one is not sure where one stands and belongs. She stated that this is seen as a growing problem in today’s young people as they are not fully aware of where they came from, the people they have come from and what those people have endured in their many struggles.

“We need to know what happened,” Dow-Richardson said, stating that there should be no question regarding whether one should look back because the past makes the future clearer.

Overall, the facilitator said the task is ambitious but with baby steps, History can be raised to the standard it once was in Guyana. She gave an example of the athletes we produce who travel to other countries with no obvious national pride as they adopt speech patterns, dress styles and even thinking from foreign countries.

Dow-Richardson even went so far as to say this is what prevents them from winning, adding that they are unable to be themselves as “they do not value themselves, who they are and where they come from.”

The Historian, who is a graduate of the University, said that history does not only become necessary in culture and the arts but also in the technology as one Guyanese Author, Lennox Cornette was revolutionary in the first book on telecommunications. It dated the growth of the sector in Guyana from its inception to its present day. Thus, Dow-Richardson indicated that history is not limited to any department of sector. Guyana Times learnt that other activities such as arts and crafts, sport and music will be a part of the camp but it will be based in history. Over $80,000 in funds has been raised by the University’s History Society for the camp – they had initially planned for $70,000 but the group was quite enthusiastic about the initiative.

SUDOKU

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Focus on your passions. Don’t be upset if others don’t want to jump in and help you reach your goals. If you follow your gut, you won’t go wrong.

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

(May 21June 20)

CANCER

Being strong-willed is a positive trait, but being stubborn is not. Pursue whatever is most important to you without being concerned with what others think or do.

Something will not add up. Avoid group situations. Re-examine your personal paperwork, and question the motives of someone pressing you for information or a quick decision.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

CAPRICORN (June 21July 22)

AQUARIUS

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

PISCES

(Feb. 20March 20)

Be on the lookout for unanticipated expenses that could alter your financial situation. Look for new ways to save, bring in extra cash or cut corners. Your instincts will be spot-on.

Evaluate your position and make decisions to suit your needs, not to please others. If you have been too work-oriented, your personal relationships will suffer, and disputes will erupt

Helping others will be your strength. Your unique manner is appealing, and diplomacy will help you gain popularity and support. People will turn to you in order to get things done.

Even low-cost alterations to your home will have a positive impact. In the spirit of cooperation, let the people you live with help with both the planning and the work.

You risk disappointment if you ask others to handle or share your responsibilities. A no-nonsense approach will ensure that things get done the way you want them to be done.

Ask a family member for assistance with a problematic personal situation. Take a close look at real estate or a suitable investment as a means to grow your wealth. A chance to make a professional move is on the horizon. Consider the possibilities of working from home. A valuable tip will lead to an unexpected and unusual monetary gain.

You will have a change of heart due to an outside influence or an incident that left you feeling uncertain. In order to move forward, you have to let go of the past.

Don’t make the mistake of believing that everyone is as truthful as you are. Take a step back and re-evaluate what’s happened. A solution can be reached if you look at the facts.

Australia win Rugby Championship

Nic White’s late scoring burst gave Australia victory over New Zealand to claim the Rugby Championship in Sydney.

The scrum-half came off the bench, kicked a penalty and converted his own try as the Wallabies beat the All Blacks for the first time since 2011.

Prop Sekope Kepu and winger Adam AshleyCooper also crossed for the Australians with Nehe Milner-Skudder scoring twice on his New Zealand debut.

The All Blacks led 1917 with 11 minutes left before White took control.

Victory gives Michael Cheika’s side a boost before next weekend’s Bledisloe Cup decider at Eden Park, as well as the forthcoming World Cup.

10-man Chelsea draw with Swansea

Chelsea had Thibaut Courtois sent off as they started their Premier League title defence with a draw against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.

Oscar’s free-kick put the Blues ahead before Andre Ayew stabbed a closerange equaliser after keeper Courtois had kept out Bafetimbi Gomis’s header.

Federico Fernandez put Willian’s cross past his own keeper before Courtois was sent off after bringing down Gomis.

New signing Asmir Begovic came on but failed to stop Gomis’s spot-kick.

Swansea played with an extra man for more than

half an hour but could not make the most of the advantage.

The dangerous Gomis had the ball in the net but was ruled offside while Jefferson Montero, who was excellent throughout, forced a fine save from Begovic.

Same old Chelsea struggle to sparkle

Much has been made of Chelsea’s failure to attract a box-office name from outside the Premier League this summer.

Even Jose Mourinho, who signed a new fouryear contract on Friday, has warned of the danger of standing still yet neither of his two main close-season buys started the game.

Diego Costa did, despite his manager claiming in the build-up that the forward was a major doubt, but the Spain international rarely looked like scoring, let alone repeating his hattrick in the corresponding fixture last season.

The champions contributed to a high-tempo, entertaining game but did not look like a side that won the league by eight points last season.

Even before Courtois’s dismissal, Swansea had more shots than the hosts and were lively throughout, full of enterprise and in Montero had the best players on the pitch.

Will Mourinho sign anyone before the transfer deadline?

It does not get any easier for Chelsea, with last season’s nearest challengers Manchester City next up.

It is no secret that the champions have been trying to strengthen their defence, with Everton’s John Stones a target.

There are still another three weeks before the 1 September deadline but, if Chelsea’s current defence was trying to persuade Mourinho not to strengthen the back four, they failed.

Ayew, Swansea’s new signing from Marseille, took his goal well but the Chelsea players were slow to react after Courtois kept out Gomis’s powerful header. (BBC Sport)

started the second-half drama, and Australia cap -

as Kepu danced over for his first Test try - to make amends for his early yellow card.

Carter’s third kick of the game made it 10-9 and it saw the All Blacks flyhalf become the first person in Test rugby union history to reach 1,500 points.

With Nick Phipps in the bin, Milner-Skudder raced over to put the Kiwis ahead again but Ashley-Cooper restored Australia’s lead when he snuck in to score in the corner, and Giteau converted.

Winger Milner-Skudder scrambled over for his second to make it 19-17, but Carter missed his second conversion, and White stole the glory to win it late on for the Wallabies.

Juventus beat Lazio to win Italian Super Cup

Italian double winners Juventus claimed their third Super Cup title in four seasons as new signings Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala struck in the second half to secure their 2-0 win over Lazio in Shanghai on Saturday.

After a barren first half in the Serie A curtain raiser at the Shanghai Stadium, Juventus stepped up the attack after the break and were rewarded with Mandzukic and Dybala striking in the

space of five minutes.

Lazio were the better team in the first half but Juventus created the first opportunity when Paul Pogba headed wide.

Early in the second half Mandzukic missed a oneon-one opportunity while Pogba’s effort was narrowly off target.

Manduzkic, who joined Juventus from Atletico Madrid in June, could not be denied on the hour when he rose to meet a perfect cross from Stefano Sturaro.

The Croatia forward created the second goal too, darting down the right flank before clipping a cross which Pogba brought down and Argentine Dybala crashed into the roof of the net to secure the team’s seventh Super Cup title.

“It’s my first game with Juventus, scoring and winning has made it an unforgettable one,” said the 21-year-old striker, who joined Juventus in June from fellow Serie A side Palermo. (Reuters)

Worker debut fifty sets up crushing NZ win

George Worker made a half-century on international debut to set up a crushing win for New Zealand over Zimbabwe in the only T20. The left-hander formed two swift partnerships of 49 each with Martin Guptill and Luke Ronchi to boost New Zealand to 198 for 5 after the visitors were inserted on a flat pitch. Zimbabwe went down without any fight in the chase, managing 118 for 8 after being roughed up by Adam Milne and co.

The only time Zimbabwe seemed to compete was when their slow bowlers slowed down New Zealand’s charge briefly and picked up a couple of wickets in the middle overs. Barring that, the hosts were thoroughly outplayed with both bat and ball, with Sean Williams’ 3 for 28 from four overs of left-arm spin the only performance of note.

Kane Williamson had kickstarted the game with three successive fours off

Prosper Utseya in the opening over before he went to a sharp take in the deep from Craig Ervine. Even as the No. 3 Worker struggled to get his first international run, Guptill kept the score moving with powerful pulls and drives.

Worker needed eight balls to get off the mark, but slowly found enough rhythm to hurt Zimbabwe. He swung four sixes over his preferred leg side, reaching his half-century off 33 deliv-

eries with the fourth hit off Graeme Cremer.

Zimbabwe had got rid of Guptill and Grant Elliott but Worker pushed on till the 16th over, when he was bowled by Williams for 62 off 38.

Ronchi, Colin Munro and Nathan McCullum ensured New Zealand did not falter at the death, as they muscled boundaries to take 56 off the last four overs. Chris Mpofu had bowled a couple of tight overs, but had his

figures spoiled in the last over of the innings when McCullum hit him for three successive boundaries.

An asking-rate of ten an over for a side with a highest successful T20 chase of 141 was always going to be difficult. Plus they had the extreme pace of Milne to contend with. Playing his first international match since the World Cup quarter-final against West Indies in March, Milne sped in smoothly, generating sharp bounce and taking out Hamilton Masakadza and Regis Chakabva with shortish deliveries.

Chamu Chibhabha heaved and missed James Neesham’s first delivery and a Mitchell McClenaghan lifter took care of Sikandar Raza. When Elton Chigumbura lifted McCullum to long-on, Zimbabwe had been reduced to 34 for 4 from seven overs.

Ervine was put down first ball by Ronchi off Milne, who later pinged

Atkinson sets new national record after caputuring World Champs silver

Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson eclipsed her own national record by claiming a silver medal in the 50m breast stroke finals at the 2015 Kazan World Championships on Sunday. Atkinson’s time of 30.11 eclipsed her old mark of 30.17, which was set at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The swimmer finished in second place behind Sweden’s Jennie Johansson, who surprisingly won the race ahead of favourites Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania and Russia’s Yulia Efimova.

Atkinson’s readiness heading into the final had been a cause for concern as she clocked 30.78 in the semi-finals to qualify just 6th for the final. The swimmer had been very quick in prelims of the event, clocking 30.27 to finish second behind world record holder Meilutyte.

In addition to her silver today, she won bronze in the 100 breast behind Efimova and Meilutyte. She is the Jamaican record holder in eight different individual events. (Digicel Sportsmax)

United triumph, Bournemouth suffer opening-day loss

The Premier League kicked off in unique fashion on Saturday as an own goal by Tottenham Hotspur’s Kyle Walker gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory in an undistinguished season opener at Old Trafford.

Never before had the competition begun with a player putting the ball into his own net until full back Walker inadvertently prodded the ball past Michel Vorm in the 22nd minute when desperately trying to dispossess Wayne Rooney.

The victory for one of the title contenders was followed by a tough afternoon for the League’s unfancied newcomers with newly-promoted Watford pegged back to a 2-2 draw at Everton after twice leading and Norwich City losing 3-1 at home to Crystal Palace.

Bournemouth, the romantics’ favourites after their extraordinary six-year march from near-bankruptcy to the Premier League, had their fairytale rudely interrupted at a vibrant, emotional Dean Court as Aston Villa defeated them 1-0 in

their first-ever match in the top flight in 125 years.

The marquee match of the day had seen Tottenham dominate early on until the goal enabled United, with five expensive debutants in their ranks, to take the points even though they only had one shot on target.

A late attacking flurry from Spurs was repelled by the hosts’ new Argentine keeper Sergio Romero.

Even if the fare was mediocre, Walker’s present on a warm, muggy lunchtime was the ideal 64th birthday gift for manager Louis van Gaal after a huge close season investment took United’s spending to about 230 million pounds ($356.39 million) in his 12 months at the helm.

Romero, replacing David De Gea, dropped because Van Gaal felt his mind would not be on the job amid speculation over his possible transfer to Real Madrid, made three late saves.

Italian defender Matteo Darmian, French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin and Dutch striker Memphis Depay also made useful first

starts.

Germany’s World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger, United’s highest-profile summer recruit, also gave a robust half-hour cameo in which he received a booking for a foul. Spurs had been firmly in control until Nabil Bentaleb carelessly gave away possession in midfield allowing United to rampage down the right flank.

Ashley Young’s cross looked to have put Rooney in at point blank range only for Walker to dash back madly to rescue the situation before his attempt to rob the United captain saw him nudge the ball into the corner of his own net.

Watford, back in the top flight for the first time in eight years with another new manager, Quique Sanchez Flores, and a completely revamped line-up, enjoyed a thrilling return at Goodison with Mexican Miguel Layun scoring his first goal for the club in the 14th minute.

After Ross Barkley had equalised with a dazzling effort, Odion Ighalo put the

the hapless batsman on the back of the helmet. Ervine stuck around to make 42, but he also consumed 46 deliveries. No one else made more than 16. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

New Zealand innings

MJ Guptill c Sikandar Raza b Williams 33

KS Williamson* c Ervine

b Muzarabani 20

GH Worker b Williams 62

GD Elliott c Masakadza b Cremer 8

L Ronchi† c Ervine b Williams 29

C Munro not out 23

NL McCullum not out 18

Extras (lb 4, w 1) 5 Total (5 wickets; 20 overs; 85 mins) 198 Did not bat: JDS Neesham, AF Milne, IS Sodhi, MJ McClenaghan Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-75, 3-93, 4-142, 5-157

Bowling: P Utseya 2-0-300, T Muzarabani 3-0-34-1, CB Mpofu 3-0-24-0, CJ Chibhabha 2-0-18-0, SC Williams 4-028-3,

c †Ronchi b McClenaghan 8 E Chigumbura* c Neesham b McCullum 2 SC Williams c & b Sodhi 16 RW Chakabva† c †Ronchi b Milne 13 AG Cremer c Neesham b McClenaghan 5 P Utseya

visitors ahead with seven minutes remaining before Arouna Kone equalised two minutes later.

Bournemouth, playing in the smallest ground ever to stage Premier League football, saw their party pooped by Rudy Gestede, Villa’s new signing from Blackburn Rovers who headed home a 72nd minute winner.

Championship playoff winners Norwich felt aggrieved after Crystal Palace carried on where they left off last season under Alan Pardew with goals from Wilfried Zaha and Damien Delaney either side of half time.

Nathan Redmond pulled one back and Norwich appeared to have a perfectly good goal by Cameron Jerome disallowed and a strong penalty appeal turned down before Yohan Cabaye sealed the victory in the dying minutes.

Sunderland’s manager Dick Advocaat, persuaded to shelve his retirement plans, could have been forgiven for rethinking his decision as they were hammered 4-2 at Leicester City. (Reuters)

Windies top players pull out of WIPA

Senior West Indies players have confirmed they are no longer members of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) that is currently led by former Jamaica and West Indies opener Wavell Hinds.

During the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) semifinals and finals in Trinidad and Tobago, Newsday spoke to various high profile West Indies players from different territories to clarify their position, following long-standing rumours in the cricket fraternity since the India tour abandonment that many players are no longer part of the Players Association.

Newsday can confirm that players from Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have cancelled their membership with WIPA, believing the organisation has gotten too close to the WICB.

One player who has played well over 100 internationals in some of formats for the West Indies spoke under a condition of anonymity about why he is no longer part of the Association.

“Since the India tour I have not been a member. It’s a lot of stress with WIPA at the moment, I see no reason why to be part of or contribute to a body that suppose to represent you but not doing it properly,” he said.

The cricketer, with over a decade of regional experience under his belt, continued: “I can only speak for myself (regarding WIPA non-membership), but I’d be surprised if any of the other guys who were in India are still members. As far as I know, WIPA now just has new West Indies players who don’t have a choice but to join and domestic players.” A domestic player who also spoke under a condition of anonymity and is captain of one the regional first-class teams said for now

he is still a WIPA member.

“Basically to be honest, the senior guys pulled out of WIPA because of the India tour. While I’m close to many of them and understand their frustration, I wasn’t there so I have stayed with WIPA for now,” he explained.

Newsday tried to get a reaction from WIPA president Hinds, but a representative from WIPA stated he was currently not in the country. West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Muirhead was contacted and he was asked if the WICB is worried about the reality that so many senior players are no longer part of WIPA.

On June 15th, the WICB/ WIPA sent out a joint press release stating they had agreed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which had triggered the pull out from India as players and their representative body wrangled over the previous MOU and CBA which changed their pay structure.

However since then, players such as Dwayne Bravo and Lendl Simmons have stated publicly they do not want to play Test cricket as the MOU/ CBA does not reward players for the longer format.

“I don’t want to speak for Wavell or WIPA’s behalf, so all I can say is that it is unfortunate that there are signs of disgruntlement with those players and WIPA.

“Regarding the pay structure, maybe some players who are in Twenty20 mode do not see it as lucrative enough (to play Tests).

But if you look at the 10 Test playing nations, our pay structure ranks West Indies in the top five across the board, with Australia, England, India and South Africa ahead,” explained Muirhead. (Trinidad and Tobago Newsday)

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Phelps swims 2015 world best in 100m butterfly

Eighteen-time

Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps won the 100m butterfly at the USA National Championships in a worldbest time - a day after doing the same in the 200m butterfly.

Phelps, excluded from the World Championships by USA Swimming after a drink-drive conviction, clocked 50.45 seconds.

Hours earlier, South African rival Chad Le Clos swam 50.56 to win world gold.

“I haven’t been that fast in a really long time,” Phelps, 30, said.

On Friday Phelps won

Michael Phelps

the American 200m butterfly title in one minute 52.94 seconds at the meet in San Antonio, Texas - 0.54 seconds faster than Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh swam in winning the world title in

Kazan, Russia.

Phelps, who was convicted of drink-driving in December and served a sixmonth ban from competition, now has a record 55 national titles. (BBC Sport)

IAAF hits back at scientists

over doping allegations

The International Association of Athletics Federations has criticised doping claims made by two scientists.

Robin Parisotto and Michael Ashenden analysed blood tests from athletes which were accessed by the Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD/WDR.

Parisotto said he had never seen such an abnormal set of blood values.

The IAAF countered: “They do not have access to IAAF testing records and are therefore not able to know if proper testing follow-up was conducted.”

A total of 12,000 blood tests from 5,000 athletes were assessed and the report claims a third of medals (146, including 55 golds) in endurance events at the Olympics and World Championships between 2001 and 2012 were won by

athletes who had recorded suspicious tests.

Ten medals at London 2012 were allegedly won by athletes who had dubious test results and a top UK athlete was among seven Britons with suspicious blood scores.

Parisotto said: “So many athletes appear to have doped with impunity, and it is damning that the IAAF appears to have idly sat by and let this happen.”

According to Ashenden, the files show athletics is now in the same “diabolical position” as cycling during the Lance Armstrong era. He said it was “a shameful betrayal of [the IAAF’s] primary duty to police their sport and to protect clean athletes”.

The findings prompted the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to begin an “urgent” investigation.

Athletics’ world governing body the IAAF issued a statement saying the report by the two scientists “contains a number of seriously incorrect assertions.”

It added: “Of most concern to us is that the two scientists continue to defend their statements that the IAAF did nothing to act on ‘suspicious profiles.’

“If these scientists have evidence that the IAAF did not follow up suspicious samples, then they should immediately make this available to the Wada Commission.

“If they do not have evidence, then we urge that they refrain from making assertions of wrongdoing.

“The IAAF will also write directly to the two scientists in question and to Wada to further outline additional concerns we have with their statement.” (BBC Sport)

Leaked doping data casts doubt over major marathons: report

Thirty-two medal winners at the world’s six top city marathons were among the hundreds of long distance runners with suspicious blood test results revealed in a leak, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The leaked blood tests have jolted the world of international athletics since a German broadcaster and a British newspaper first published reports about them a week ago.

Britain’s Sunday Times and Germany’s ARD say the results from the database of the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), show evidence of widespread cheating among long distance runners.

Last week, the news organizations said the data showed that between 2001 and 2012 a third of Olympic and world championship endurance and middle distance running medals had

been won by athletes who, at some point in their careers, had given a suspicious blood test.

The Sunday Times said many of the suspect runners had also won medals in the six most prestigious city marathons: in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York and Tokyo.

Seven of the 24 men’s and women’s winners of the London marathon between 2001 and 2012 were athletes who at some point in their careers had produced a suspicious blood test result, the Sunday Times said. It has not named the athletes.

Last week, the IAAF stripped Russian runner Liliya Shobukhova of all her medals since 2009, including three victories in the Chicago marathon and one in London.

The London marathon said in a statement on Sunday: “We continue to be at the forefront of anti-

doping measures for marathon runners as we are determined to make marathon running a safe haven from doping but we cannot do it all on our own and rely heavily on the IAAF.

“We are therefore very concerned by the allegations made in the Sunday Times today and we will be discussing the implications of the allegations with the IAAF.”

The Sunday Times and ARD say their information comes from more than 12,000 blood tests of 5,000 athletes, 800 of whom have had at least one “abnormal” result at some point in their careers.

The IAAF, which has defended its drugs testing procedures strongly and refutes suggestions it has turned a blind eye to doping, says it is cooperating with the independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in an investigation into the allegations.

(Reuters)

Water Polo exhibition a success, says Nicholas Fraser

By TreisTon Joseph

Forte Sports Management (FSM) held a Water Polo exhibition on Saturday which was used as the reintroduction of Water Polo to Guyana.

FSM Director Nicholas Fraser, after the event on Saturday at the National Aquatic Centre, noted that the event went well.

“It went pretty well today; we got a bit of a late start, but I think we are getting into groove in terms of the logistics sorted: we are getting there in terms of having the pool set up on

time. We had a few potential sponsors here today and we got positive responses from them,” Fraser highlighted. Fraser also revealed that a Suriname team will be coming to Guyana to take part in another exhibition game as they aim to spread awareness as well as grow the sport.

“So far we are planning to forge ahead with the sport, later this month (August) we are having Suriname

come visit and we will do this as a trial run to see how we can put systems in place to run international tournaments. It’s really an eye catching sport but we had a good day today (Saturday),” Fraser mentioned.

In addition, Fraser revealed that the FSM will be targeting young teenagers to join the sport.

However, any individual interested will be able to join by contacting Fraser at

nicholasfraser@gmail.com as they aim to host “Learn to Swim” programmes as well as beginners’ Water Polo programmes.

The event on Saturday was played between the Sharks and the Water Dogs, with the latter topping the former 9-6.

Damien Pilgrim scored the most goals for the Water Dogs with three, while Fraser himself scored three for the Sharks.

Selectors got things wrong – Lehmann

Following Australia’s 3-1 Ashes defeat to England in 2010-11, then chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch unwittingly heaped further ridicule on his panel by stating he felt they had done a “very good job” that series.

There were no such prevarications from Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann this time around, as he weighed up the implications of an identical margin with one Test of this series to play. Asked how much responsibility he and the selection chairman Rod Marsh took for the team’s predicament, Lehmann was blunt.

“A lot,” he said. “As a coach and selectors we’ve got things wrong at certain times, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve got to own up like players have to and everyone else that our performances weren’t good enough, full stop. We’ve got to work on how we’re going to move forward.

“For us it’s about working out what our best lineup is in different conditions and making sure we’ve got players who can adapt between spinning wickets and seaming and swinging wickets and making sure they can cover both formats really well. We’ve got a bit of thinking to do and reviewing what went wrong.

So it’s about getting batsmen who can bat long periods of time and bowlers

who can put pressure on, day in and day out.”

Specifically, Lehmann admitted the selectors should not have abandoned their long-held policy of employing an allrounder in Test matches. Mitchell Marsh was dropped for his brother Shaun, unbalancing the bowling attackMitchell Starc was left to bowl an 11-over spell at one point - while the extra batsman made no difference at all to a ghastly first innings 60 and an ineffectual 253 in the second.

“I spoke to Rodney this morning and we wanted the extra batter and spoke to the captain about it in this particular game, but we’ve always wanted five bowlers, so we probably got that selection wrong,” he said. “Happy to admit when we’re wrong, you don’t get

everything right, and that’s a good learning curve for us.

“We’re really strong on having five bowlers and we didn’t do that this game. In the end it didn’t matter, we only bowled once and we didn’t bat well enough, so that’s a learning curve for us. We’ll look at all areas where we can improve. That’s just what you do after series like this and try and move forward. We’ve had some really good results, this obviously not being one of them.”

Lehmann also raised a query about the fact the selectors were left to choose a single squad for dual tours of the West Indies and England. The first trip provided a vastly different set of conditions and challenges to the other, even down to the fact the Caribbean

Lehmann safe as Australia coach despite Ashes defeat

Australia coach Darren Lehmann is not in danger of being sacked despite losing the Ashes to England, Cricket Australia’s chief executive has said.

James Sutherland was asked at a news conference if Lehmann’s job was safe and responded with an emphatic “yes”.

Lehmann, who took charge in 2013, led Australia to this year’s World Cup win, but the Test team have suffered three crushing defeats in this Ashes series.

Sutherland said a review would be held into the team’s overseas struggles.

“After every series we will sit down and review, and I think there is an opportunity for a reflection on [our] style of play,” he told reporters in Melbourne.

“It’s not easy playing away but it’s something we have to get better at.

“We want to be the best cricket team in the world

and to do that we have to be better at playing away.”

England’s innings-and78-run win at Trent Bridge gave them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series - meaning Australia have now lost three of their five away series under Lehmann.

Sutherland also backed batsman Steve Smith to take over the Test captaincy from Michael Clarke, who announced he would retire at the end of the series.

Smith captained the team in Clarke’s absence during Australia’s series against India in December and January.

“We have someone in waiting who has had experience as a captain,” Sutherland said.

“In recent months he has been rated as the best Test cricketer in the world. Steven is ready for this challenge but no-one is readymade to just walk into it.” (BBC Sport)

JCA president to face WICB’s ethics committee

matches were played with a different version of the Dukes ball. Lehmann and Marsh were left to drop Shane Watson and Brad Haddin after one Test in England, making their selections look near enough to redundant.

“We’ve had that discussion as a selection panel and that was a tough one for us,” Lehmann said. “End of the day we were guided a bit by above and how we wanted to move around from West Indies to England. But if we had our time again we’d probably prefer to pick different squads at different times.

“Logistics and other things come into it that are way above my head. But if we had our time again we’d probably like to pick separate squads and then see what comes from the West Indies tour leading into an England tour.”

The team’s capacity to learn, both from matches in the past and also mistakes earlier in this series, was highly questionable at times. Lehmann actually reckoned the Australian Test side of 2013 had performed better than this one, a poor reflection on his own work and that of his support staff including the assistant coach Craig McDermott, batting coach Michael Di Venuto and fielding coach Greg Blewett. (Cricinfo)

President of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) Wilford Heaven will appear before an ethics committee to answer charges of a code violation, according to President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Dave Cameron.

Despite media reports last month stating that Heaven was to be summoned to answer charges of leaking a confidential document pertaining to West Indies’ abandoned tour of India last year, the JCA boss denied any such matter is pending.

“I have been asked that question before. When it was first asked I had not

been given all the pivotal information. Just to say yes, there is a matter against Mr Heaven and the committee will meet shortly on the way forward,” Cameron told Television Jamaica.

The release of the information without the consent of the WICB is a breach of clause six of the WICB’s Code of Ethics for the Board of Directors.

Clause six of the WICB Code of Ethics for the Board of Directors refers to the way information should be treated by its members, including the dissemination of sensitive information and the only instances where it is permitted. (CMC)

GABA Knockout Tournament

Ravens, Colts through to final

The Dynas Ravens and the Colts won their respective semifinal encounters on Saturday evening when the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League Qualifying Knockout Tournament continued at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).

Ravens held off a fourthquarter push from the Plaisance Guardians to win their semifinal match 71-61.

With both teams having a back and forth first half, the Ravens and Guardians went into the halftime break tied at 35.

However, a big third quarter by the Ravens allowed them to pull away and end the third stanza with a 61-49 lead.

The Guardians went on a couple of runs in the fourth period, but Ravens always answered with a run of their own to stay ahead.

and Nicholas Cassius chipped in with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Meanwhile, in the other match-up, Colts eased past Trinity Grid Holding (TGH) Pacesetters 69-50.

Shelroy Thomas topscored in the rout with 20 points, while Steve McSween and Shane Webster netted 13 and 11 points respectively.

Pacesetters fell behind early in the second quarter only managing to score eight points, going into the halftime break down 37-23.

McIlroy at Whistling Straits to prepare for PGA

World number one Rory McIlroy arrived at Whistling Straits for a practice round on Saturday as he bids to return to competitive golf from an ankle injury and defend his PGA Championship title at the links-style venue next week.

Reuters exclusively reported on Monday that the four-times major champion had scheduled a practice round at the site for Saturday, a report that turned out to be accurate even though it was denied by the golfer’s publicist.

The Northern Irishman, out of action since he ruptured a ligament in his left ankle while playing soccer with friends on July 4, does not have to commit to the tournament, which starts on Thursday, until his official tee time for the opening round.

McIlroy has been grouped with Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth and British Open winner Zach Johnson for the first two rounds of the year’s final major at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.

Should he tee off as expected on Thursday, it would be just 40 days since he suffered an injury that some medical experts said might take about three months to heal.

It also would be sevenand-a-half weeks since he tied for ninth in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay and would give the PGA Championship a huge boost as he and Spieth share top billing.

The 26-year-old Northern Irishman withdrew from the July 9-12 Scottish Open after suffering the ankle injury and was unable to defend his British Open title the following week at St. Andrews.

Over the past week, McIlroy has posted a string of teasing videos and messages on Twitter and Instagram highlighting his recovery progress.

On Thursday, he posted on his Instagram account a video of himself pounding a driver on a practice range in Portugal, accompanied by the comment: “Feels good to hit the driver again!”

He also posted two pictures of his left foot, the first showing a very swollen ankle soon after he had suffered the injury and the second revealing a bruised but greatly improved ankle.

“4 and a half and 3 and a half weeks ago respectively... I’ve come a long way since,” McIlroy tweeted.

Accompanying the picture was a series of emojis (or picture characters) indicating a flight from Portugal to the United States followed by a thumbs-up, a victory sign and a golf course symbol.

After a strong start to the 2015 season highlighted by three wins, McIlroy showed signs of fatigue when, in the immediate aftermath of a runaway victory at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, he missed the cut at two successive European Tour events in May. Those missed cuts came at the end of a run of five successive tournaments.

He has played just 12 tournaments this year, nearly half of them in that one stint.

McIlroy won last year’s PGA Championship by one shot after a final-round shootout that finished in near darkness at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. (Reuters)

On Friday, McIlroy hinted strongly at his journey to Whistling Straits by posting a picture of the interior of a private jet with a British passport front and centre on a table.

Jermaine Slater was the high point man for Ravens with 19 points, while Ryan Gullen had 16 points. Marlon Rodrigues and Dominic Vincente each had 12 points as well in the win.

Colts never relinquished the lead as they cruised to the win; Travis Burnette led the offensive showing with 15 points, while Royston Siland and Joslyn Crawford supported with eight and seven points respectively.

Nikkoloi Smith scored a game-high 26 points in the loss, while Trenton Woolford

In the U-23 section of the tournament, Colts will oppose TGH Pacesetters in the final after getting past Ravens by a 51-46.

Australia captain Michael Clarke to retire after Ashes series

Australia captain Michael Clarke will retire from international cricket at the end of the current Ashes series.

The 34-year-old saw his team surrender the Ashes after losing to England by an innings and 78 runs at Trent Bridge.

He averages only 16 from eight innings and Australia are 3-1 behind with one match left at The Oval on 20 August.

“I certainly don’t want to jump ship and leave the boys now. I’ll play the last Test, give it one last crack, but the time is right now,” Clarke said.

Clarke made his Test debut in October 2004 and he has played 114 matches, scoring 8,628 runs at an average of 49.30.

This summer’s Ashes defeat is the fourth he has en-

dured playing in England.

He took over the Australia captaincy from Ricky Ponting in March 2011 and has presided over 46 matches, winning 23 and losing 16.

In January last year

Australia whitewashed England 5-0 when Clarke scored two centuries and averaged 40.33 in the series, but since March 2014 the captain’s last 18 innings have produced 388 runs.

Clarke, who stepped down from one-day internationals in March, revealed he had decided to retire from Test cricket on Friday evening.

“I felt my performances weren’t as good as I wanted them to be,” he said.

“The decision is never easy. I started playing this great game at six years of age. I’m 34. I wish I could play for another 30 years.”

Australia’s series defeat in their fourth successive Ashes loss away from home, was their worst sequence of results in England since 1896.

Though they recovered from losing the opening Test in Cardiff with a big victory at Lord’s, Clarke’s men suffered heavy defeats at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge.

“Alastair Cook and the England team deserve a lot of credit - they’ve shown us how to execute good swing and seam bowling,” said Clarke. “It’s not for want of trying but the boys have been beaten by a better side..

“England when they’ve had momentum have grabbed it with both hands and ran with it. Once you find the edge you need to hang on to those chances and England have done that really well.” (BBC Sport)

GMR&SC “National Race of Champions” Meet

Jeffrey continues magnificent form

– Vieira, Tjin Liep Shie also perform

Rising motor racing star and Caribbean Champion

Matthew Vieira executes a turn while leading during one of his impressive superbike showings

Kristian Jeffrey continued his superiority when the 2015 Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) “National Race of Champions” Meet was held at the South Dakota Circuit on Sunday. Jeffrey was changing gears like clockwork on numerous occasions to hold off his father Kevin and the experienced Mark Vieira for two impressive wins in the Group Four category races.

Evolution VIII, had to stave off early attacks in his first race before lengthening the lead over his dad who leapfrogged Vieira in hopes of catching his son but to no avail.

On both occasions, the elder Jeffrey finished second, while Vieira drove in third. Jeffrey, driving his Mitsubishi

The second race among the trio was even more frantic, but the Caribbean champion held his nerve in the 15-lap event to hoist the chequered flag.

In superbike action, the young Matthew Vieira was equally impressive, grabbing two wins over his elder cousin Stephen Vieira and Carlos Rodrigues.

Suriname’s Oliver Tjin Liep Shie was also in the winner’s row with three victories in the Group Three category. The likes of Danny Persaud and Trinidad and Tobago’s Ravi Singh who finished second and third respectively were unable to overcome the skill of the Surinamese.

More details of the event will be printed in a subsequent edition of the Guyana Times Sport

WICB to create commercial entity

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) wants to create a commercial entity to increase the board’s revenue intake.

President of the WICB Dave Cameron said the regional board must find other ways to improve its financial status. However, he credits the improved relations between the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) for the financial windfall.

“We believe that for West Indies cricket to go forward we need to find a way to separate the commercial from the socio-political issues and so while we’ll have West Indies Cricket Board, we’ll

have a separate commercial entity that will clearly distinguish our commercial rights and sell them according to commercial guidelines,” he said while addressing the latest in a series of regional town-hall meetings in Jamaica.

Cameron, accompanied by Vice President Emmanuel Nanthan, said that despite the board’s effort to improve the game in the region, some territorial boards and franchises have not been professional in their operations and could be penalised for their tardi-

ness.

“I’m particularly disturbed because the new season for 2015/16 started on August 1 and there are only two franchises that actually have programmes ready for the year,” he said.

“So while you put pressure on the WICB to account ensure that you’re putting pressure on the territorial boards and all the franchises to account because they are all being given a substantial amount of resources to ensure that our cricket goes forward.”

He said that the for-

mation of the Professional Cricket League (PCL) is part of the plan to improve the game in the region. However, he warns that some franchises could miss out on the monthly allocations of US$45,000, part of which comes from the PCL Fund for Development.

“We are saying that the PCL is a new business and franchises need to run a quality professional set up. Some of them haven’t done that and the board has taken a decision that if franchises do not comply with the standard etc. then there could be penalties. And the only penalty that we could exact is the withholding of funds.”

The PCL, which now captures up to 120 players plus officials in a pool, is hailed as one of the new programmes to re-establish the sport over the next few years.

This is PCL, the President says, “increases the number of first class games to 10 in a season, while leaving the window open for the IPL and the

CPL, offering players an additional opportunity to maximise earnings.”

Cameron also summarised a number of programmes the Board is currently involved in “aiming at being efficient and effective as we as a region seek to reinvest in the sport that we all love so much”.

Vice President, Nanthan pledged the Board’s continuous drive towards unity and the coordinated approach to re-engaging the general cricket community.

Nanthan referred to the work of the newly-formed West Indies Retired Players Foundation (WIRPF) and the impact that the townhall meetings should have. Nanthan continued to raise the issue of stakeholder in-

volvement and the role each Caribbean citizen has to play.

The meeting also discussed the absence of the senior team from the 2017 Champions trophy, the role of regional governments in ensuring that cricket is taught in schools, team bonding and building for on and off the field performance and how the WICB handle the overexposure of youngsters to the Twenty20 version of the game.

Other issues of governance, marketing and skills development were also discussed.

The next town-hall meeting is scheduled for Antigua at a date to be announced. (CMC)

The page 24 report “The best I’ve seen” – Shiv says of Lara” had “They have put together 909 fifties together.” Instead, it should have read, “They have put together nine hundreds and nine fifties together.” Guyana Times deeply regrets the error.