Berbice Bridge Company never increased tolls in 6 years
Region 2 Toshaos request assistance for Heritage Day celebrations
Housing sector in Guyana headed for collapse –former Housing Minister Thousands observe Krishna Janmashtami in Region 2
Albouystown murder suspect turns self in
3 arrested in foiled execution attempt Uitvlugt strike settled New rates set for “abnormal”
SunDAY, September 6, 2015 | guYAnAtimeSgY.com
ays after a mother of seven was brutally raped and beaten along the Vreed-en-Hoop Jetty Area, West Bank Demerara, she succumbed to her injuries while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
This event occurred even as Top Cop, Seelall Persaud, maintains that crime is under control and that it is being largely politically influenced by the Opposition. The Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, has responded criticising Police Commissioner Persaud, while urging him to remain professional and to do more to fight crime as opposed to entering into the realm of politics.
to the Police, she mentioned the names of two young men as the perpetrators.
When Guyana Times visited the home of the dead woman, a niece, Shellon (only name given) told this publication that her aunt, who is also referred to as Jean Shepherd, was a patient of the psychiatric clinic at the West Demerara Hospital.
Further, Shellon related that her aunt went missing on July 22 after she left for the West Demerara to collect medication. “After she didn’t come back, we started to search around in the neighbourhood but didn’t find her… we went to the hospital but she was not there…” she stated.
One day passed and the search continued, but there were no signs of the woman.
Megon Jones Cox, 68 of Lot 14 Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara, whose tongue was also severed from her mouth, was found on July 22 last in an unconscious state and was taken to West Demerara Regional Hospital. Due to the severity of the injuries she sustained, Jones Cox was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she subsequently succumbed on July 25.
Between July 22 and 25, relatives of the now murdered woman had frantically launched a search for her, but came up empty handed until two Saturdays ago when they visited the Georgetown Hospital Mortuary to make arrangements for her granddaughter’s funeral.
However upon identification, a post-mortem was performed by local pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh, who gave
the cause of death as multiple injuries about the body and blunt trauma to the head. The post-mortem was performed on Friday and the woman was laid to rest on Saturday in Stanleytown.
Guyana Times understands that while the woman was in hospital, she requested a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a detailed report of her ordeal. In the note that was handed over
“She is someone who would disappear from your eyesight in a flash… next thing you know she entertaining people somewhere… she either singing or cracking jokes… wherever you see a crowd, you see Jean”, Shellon stated.
The niece went on to say that the woman only celebrated her 68th Birthday on July 20. Prior to her birthday, the elderly woman stayed with one of her sons in Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazarni), but requested to return home so that she can celebrate her birthday with her loved ones.
“While searching for her, we were also making funeral arrangements for a cousin who had passed… It was when we went to the mortuary to make funeral arrangements; we saw our aunt’s body… the mortuary had a different name that the hospital had given them so that is how come we couldn’t find her”.
The niece, who was at the time preparing for the funeral, stated that based on the note that was written by the woman, relatives leant of the brutal attack and what would have led to her demise.
Sunday Editor: Michael Younge
Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134
Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown
Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com
As the wave of refugees from Syria engulfs Europe by sea, air and land, the world is gradually beginning to ask questions about "causes" of the tragedy. Evidently, because the situation is now defined as a "European Crisis" and the victims - some of them at least - are breaking out of the anonymity of faceless "refugees".
The image of Aylan Kurdi, the three year old toddler lying dead, face down on a beach in Turkey as he and his family tried to reach Canada via Germany, finally seemed to break a wall as it "trended" on social and mainstream media
What it did was not to just bring home that the "11 million Syrians fleeing their country" were human beings, but that they were so "normal" and "European" looking. Aylan was wearing a red T-shirt, long shorts that went below the knee and black, velcro-strapped sneakers with no socks. When hundreds of thousands of Syrians were being killed, with 10 million forced to flee into neighbouring countries during the last three years, they could be dismissed as "uncivilised Arabs" killing each other. The image of the burqa and the flowing, ankle length thobe made them the classic "other".
The differing reactions of the European and other western nations to the cries of the Syrian refugees has been illuminating on their claim to the moral high ground when it comes to social problems. At one end of the spectrum has been Germany which accepted some 800,000 Syrians and on the other lies Britain which took in a mere 200. Canada had refused the application of Aylan's family, who had relatives there, for refugee status. After the poignant image of Aylan, Prime Minister Cameron generously promised that his nation would accept another 4000. Inbetween would be Hungary that quickly erected a razorwire fence.
Some may ask why would the western nations have a responsibility for Syrian refugees, after from the homily that "we are our brother's keeper"? And the answer is that it was the Western nations that intervened to spur on the "Arab Spring of democratisation" starting with Libya under the doctrine of the "Right to Protect" (R2P). By the time the Arab Spring swept across North Africa and reached Syria in late 2011, the Syrian Government was fortified to resist.
While one may not fully buy into the theory that the West is interested in regime change in Syria not so much for the citizens of that ancient land (but young - a mere 67 years -nation State) but to remove an implacable foe of Israel, the former bloc did move with alacrity to buttress the Opposition. In a State that was ethnically splintered, that Opposition not surprisingly soon followed the same lines of cleavage and morphed into full-fledged armies that could now be described as fighting a "civil war".
One of those forces, supported by the U.S., captured large swathes of northern and eastern Syria in which the Sunni population predominated. Calling themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) they moved into Iraq and Turkey. The latter had a common interest in suppressing the Kurds of their country as ISIS had already brutally attacked the Kurds of Syria. For generations the Kurds of Syria, Iraq and Turkey had been fighting for a homeland. Aylan was a Kurd.
As the US found out in Afghanistan with the Taliban, the enemy of their enemy was not necessarily their friend and ISIS was soon declared an "enemy" of the U.S., the West and Turkey. As such the U.S. has recently opened up communications with the Syrian regime and are presently launching attacks on ISIS.
And as the African proverb observes, "When the elephants fight, it's the grass that gets trampled". The grass are the refugees that are fleeing to Europe to avoid further trampling.
life becomes too
is
Dear Editor, I have been asked about two paragraphs in the Freddie Kissoon column of Friday, August 28, entitled “The passing of the droit du seigneur”, in which he interprets wrongly the reported purchases of vehicles by and for the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).
Did I as Prime Minister “in one of the poorest countries of the globe”, expend over 2013 and 2014, US$250,000 in purchasing vehicles for myself and my retinue? Certainly not.
It is well known that I was also Minister Responsible for Energy and Electricity, particularly GEC/GPL, the Linden Electricity Company Inc (LECI) and the Hinterland Electrification Unit (HEU). Depending on the source and nature of the funding and what it might require, on precedence or just convenience, expenditures in these areas would be entered in the accounts of OPM or the Ministry of Finance (MOF) or other relevant Ministry, or parts in each. For example the G$ 3.1 Billion in
continued electricity subsidy for Linden/Region 10 in our 2015 Budget is being met by G$ 2.1 Billion from OPM and G$ 1.0 Billion from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. Mr. Kissoon might still see in GPL’s vehicle fleet some vehicles with the insignia, “Unserved Areas Electrification Programme – OPM”.
As I recall, the reported purchases of vehicles by/for OPM over 2013 and 2014 included vehicles for the Lethem Power Company Inc (LMPCI) and LECI, replacing vehicle(s) destroyed in the 2012 disturbances in Linden. Mr. Kissoon can console himself that the then PM was never travelling in luxurious extravagance: not all the vehicles purchased on the OPM’s accounts were intended for the PM. There is no truth, only aggravation, in Freddie’s conjecture, that, “This very mendicant (country) spends US$250,000 on transport resources for just one Minister and within a time frame of just two years”. It was just not so Mr. Kissoon. Perhaps it is to avoid mis-
understandings and conjectures such as Freddie’s that the Office of the President (OP) has been renamed The Ministry of the Presidency.
Perhaps Mr Kissoon should start reviewing how he sees us; the PPP/C. Life has much more grays than blacks and whites. Perhaps he should be satisfied in seeing “the menagerie of eight old, rickety, reconditioned cars in the PM’s direct jurisdiction”, as just being in line with where we have gotten to, so far. And those vehicles got the job done. Great was my pleasure in late 2012 in driving to the top of Kurupung mountain,(along the rebuilt and extended UMRP road) from Georgetown through Bartica, Itaballi, Puruni Landing, Oranapai Junction to Olive Creek and Pappyshow Landing on the left bank of the Middle Mazaruni where we spent the night , thanks to our correia Mining Group. Next morning, driving up the Kurupung mountain, crossing the Serong river on the new “Dream Hole” Mining Inc. (DHMI) bridge, beholding the Komarou Falls (said
by some to be the most beautiful in Guyana) and at the top, driving past Mahaica’s “top side” concrete airstrip, (the cement for which was brought up the mountain on the backs of “druggers”), to DHMI’s camp. We Guyanese can now drive to Kurupung and say “morning”, and greet some pioneering people and communities along the way.
I too am not happy that “almost fifty years after Independence Guyana still begs developed countries for aid grants”. But i would have preferred that there was not that hint of self deprecation about our nation’s condition in Mr. Kissoon remarks rather that he would see our PPP/ C’s “ international panhandling” as proudly doing what was necessary at this time for our people and country, bolstered with the knowledge that it is blessed to give and it is blessed to receive and our endeavoring to make a blessing of our receiving.
Samuel A Hinds Former Prime Minister
Dear Editor, The current Social Cohesion Roundtable is nothing more than a charade - an attempt at social engineering with the aim of peeling away Indian Guyanese support from the PPP. Informed readers and politically astute Guyanese know that the American and British Governments are not too comfortable dealing
with a PPP/C government. PPP/C governments have not been known to display a posture of submissive acquiescence to dictates and directives of the Americans and the British. Hence the need of these Governments for a compliant Government of Guyana. And the APNU/ AFC administration offers such a prospect.
It is significant that
one of the sponsors of this Roundtable is the British High Commission. The UNDP is there to create the illusion of neutrality and sincerity in the collective attempt to forge racial unity in Guyana. From the PPP’s formation, Dr Cheddi Jagan and the PPP made continuous attempts to promote racial unity in Guyana. And Dr. Jagan and the PPP were
continuously rebuffed by the PNC. Now - in 2015 - when their interests converge with those of America and Britain, the PNC led APNU/ AFC coalition is interested in “social cohesion”! I expect that the PPP/C and its supporters will respond appropriately to this new “game”.
Wilbert Stephenson
Let us be proud of our “Guyaneseness”
Dear Editor,
I read the rather thoughtprovoking piece about “Guyaneseness” by Ravi Dev. The question is “Why do we have to hear about Africans and Indians or Amerindians? Why can’t we all just be Guyanese?”. This brought back memories of our experience in the UK in the 1950s/1960s, when seeking accommodation. Landlords/ ladies, when they heard a non-British accent, would often enquire about one’s nationality. Guyanese would always say they were from South America, to dispel the negative image the British had of “Windrush”.
In Guyana, in the 1990s, I asked a Guyanese man why he described himself as “African”, when the accepted term was “black”. His answer was that it was a case of heritage. I smiled and made no comment, as I remembered a Nigerian in London saying that West Indians were not regarded by Africans as one of theirs, because we are descendants of slaves.
A Jamaican work colleague, married to a Nigerian, told me of her unpleasant experience, on meeting her inlaws for the first time, when they visited London. She was accompanied by a Nigerian friend, who spoke the language. Her sister-in-laws in their own language mockingly wondered aloud why their brother had to marry “a cane
field girl”. Guyanese may be proud of their African heritage and try to cling to it. The native African seems to have other ideas of superiority. Let us be proud of our Guyaneseness”.
Let us not overlook the fact that “......America, and Canada as well as Britain as all other stable democracies...........” are not on all fours with Guyana. Theirs is basically a case of black versus whites - a race/skin colour thing. So legislation could work there. In Guyana’s case it might prove ‘a problem for a solution’. Colour of skin and texture of hair matter.
I also read with sadness the lament of a letter signed by a “Concerned Pensioner”, describing them to be “now useless Pensioners, having served through the good and bad times. Now old and senile, useless”.
I would earnestly suggest that the elderly should never see themselves as ‘useless’. My husband and I are both in our mid-80s and, although we are not as agile as we were when young, we are still able to take part in community affairs and our advice is often sought out by others.
In my case, I am not 80 years old but a sweet 16 with 64 years of experience. Now that’s attitude.
Sincerely,
Geralda Dennison
Dear Editor,
The current state of affairs between the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. and the Government of Guyana reflects poorly on all sides and on Guyana as a nation. With the company seeing to negotiate on behalf of shareholders and the Government seeking the interest of the general pub-
lic, no common ground has been identified nor solutions proposed. Instead, the Government is proposing to go into competition with the BBCI with the introduction of a Water Taxi service, which is as short sighted and backward a solution as can be conceived.
I would suggest a far more convenient and safe
solution, one where the Government can work together with the BBCI to introduce a Bridge Shuttle service at a low cost. This would potentially increase the BBCI revenue and could lead to a reduction in tolls without the taxpayer having to provide a subsidy. Spin-off industry would see taxis and busses parked on
both banks of the Berbice River to collect the shuttle passengers and continue their journey. It is time we think of solutions for the benefit of the people instead of adversarial positions of Government and private enterprise.
Sincerely, Robin Singh
Dear Editor,
Over a dozen pollsters (including from Jamaica, Barbados, England, Canada and US) are conducting opinion polls to predict Monday’s general election in Trinidad. Virtually all the polls gave different outcomes. Generally speaking, polls conducted around the same time should produce similar results. But that has not been the case in Trinidad not dissimilar to what happened in the 2007 elections. It is being referred to as the battle of the polls not significantly different from the battle to form the Government in what is a closely contested election based on the findings of a NACTA poll conudtced by this writer.
There are 41 seats with the PP safe in 15 and PNM safe in 16 and ten seats very close that are called marginals. A poll commissioned
by the Guardian newspaper puts the Opposition PNM well ahead to win the election leading in virtually all of the marginal seats. A poll commissioned by Express Newspaper puts the race a dead heat with the ruling PP leading by 2% and not offering a projection in seats. Several polls commissioned by the PNM and done by polling organizations from US, Canada and UK put the PNM winning a landslide. Similar PP commissioned polls also conducted by different pollsters from US, UK and Canada give the PP a landslide victory. Local pollsters are divided with a few giving a PP and a few giving the PNM a comfortable victory. A UWI conducted poll gives the PP 23/24 seats. The independent NACTA poll finds the PP leading the PNM by 4% in popular support and 21-18 seats with 2
seats. The findings do not rule out a decisive victory (22 to 24 seats) for either party though the findings reveal a hotly contested election. The poll also finds competitive contests in fourteen seats (ten being defended by the PP and four currently held by the PNM) with the former likely to retain seven, neck and neck in two, and losing one to the PNM. The PNM is fending off stiff challenges in four seats and is projected to lose one to the PP. The Prime Ministerial contenders, Kamla Persad Bissessar and Dr. Keith Rowley, are safely ensconced in their respective (Indian and African) seats winning by larger majorities than in 2010. NACTA found PP has lost support in several seats making it more hotly contested than in the last general election. One PNM commissioned poll has the PP losing a safe Indian
seat. And one PP commissioned poll has the PNM losing two safe African seats. NACTA poll found all three seats remaining in traditional hands as the electorate is not breaking from the tribalized pattern of voting that has been institutionalized since 1956s. PNM is confident of wresting a dozen seats from PP and forming the Government. NACTA gives it up to ten of those 12 seats. In 2007, pollsters found Basdeo Panday’s party (UNC) losing all the Indian seats to Winston Dookeran’s COP. NACTA’s poll contradicted those findings awarding all 15 Indian seats to Panday and that was the outcome embarrassing the other pollsters. A similar outcome is possible in the battle of the pollsters.
Yours truly, Vishnu
Bisram
he first week back to school is always one of the toughest. Perhaps, it’s because most of us spent the previous two months lounging about and relaxing, so it’s quite a shock to the system to have to get up early and then sit in a classroom for the entire day. And with what the traffic situation’s like these days, everyone really does have to get up very early if they want to get anywhere on time.
For me, coming over from Guyana to Trinidad, there's that extra frisson of tension wondering whether if I've left something back at the old homestead! This particular first week was exciting, but at the same time very daunting. And that was for two reasons: firstly we’re at the beginning of a new stage in our
“When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor E. Frankl
medical training and secondly I made a decision to move out from my old dorms into an apartment.
The previous two years were the ‘pre-clinical years’ where we learnt about what was "normal" in the human body. This year, the ‘paraclinical stage’, we’re delving into "pathologies" - what can go wrong in the body. And as we all know, there's a whole host of things that can and do go wrong - and we become "ill".
And it’s been really interesting so far. The only problem though, is that Microbiology has now made me completely paranoid that every single thing is covered with millions of bacteria that will kill us in the most painful ways imaginable. A little knowledge really is a dangerous thing!
We’re also starting "clerkships" this year, as a way to prep us for the upcoming clinical years of our training. We were toured about some of the different labs and walked through the whole process from collecting a blood sample from a patient, to the labs that process the blood and then
finally to where results are collected. To find out what's going wrong with the body, of course.
And it was all a bit intimidating, because it was starting to sink in that soon we’ll be sent out into the actual hospitals to deal with actual patients. Up to now "medicine" was mostly in my head...but it's inexorably dawning that pretty soon the knowledge will have to be applied to real people.
As I intimated, it’s really been a period of transition these past couple of weeks both in school and out with the move from dorms to apartment. And it’s a whole new experience. Although I had to deal with sharing a floor with 5 other people on the dorm, each could literally retire to their own self-contained room. I've already discovered it’s very different sharing an apartment with another person. It’s really important for there to be clear communication so that things run as smooth as possible.
Whenever I have to pack my things away into boxes, I’m always astound -
ed by how much stuff I managed to accumulate during a year. “Where does all this stuff come from?”
And unpacking raises similar questions, “Why did I take the time to keep all of these receipts? Why did I keep all of these notes from 1st year? Am I a hoarder??..a pack rat?"
But now I’m well ensconced and recovering from a hectic first week. The apartment's already become to feel ‘home-like’. ‘Home-like’ because home will always be back home in Guyana.
Returning to Trinidad has been lovely so far. Well, except for the constant barrage of campaign ads for their elections on Monday. It’s messing with my ability to effectively procrastinate on YouTube when each video is preceded by an ad exhorting me to vote for this or that character. It’s so inconvenient: you know, having to wait three seconds to press the skip button.
But here’s to yet another year! Best of luck to all students for the new year! May the force be with us and may the odds be ever in our favor!
Heritage celebrations come at a time of uncertainty for
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, on Friday evening while attending the heritage celebrations at the Sophia Exhibition Site, Greater Georgetown, stated that while he was extremely pleased to see the tradition being up kept, there is still much to be done for the indigenous people.
In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times, Jagdeo explained that this tradition was started under the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Administration. Its purpose was to restore dignity and respect for an important aspect in Guyanese culture, mainly the indigenous people’s contribution to this culture.
However, due to the situations which the indigenous folk are presently facing, he explained that this has caused a number of persons to wonder about the future of the nation’s first peoples.
“It is very sad though that this is taking place at a time when so many things are happening in our country that are inimical to the interest of our indigenous people. Some 2000 of the young Community Support Officers (CSOs) were terminated by the Government and that is taking away some $720 million per annum out of their economies of their villages. This will have a devastating impact on the lives of the people living there,” he told Guyana Times
The former President elaborated that the most worrisome part of this action by the A Partnership for National Unity/AFC (APNU/ AFC) Administration is that almost three per cent of the population is directly affected with almost 15 per cent being indirectly affected.
He opined that this move by the Government is one which he deems the most horrific and the worst act of dis-
crimination in the post-independent period in Guyana. It was further stated that it was only when the PPP/C ‘put pressure’ on the Administration that the APNU/AFC ‘hurriedly put together’ a programme which they said would train indigenous people in certain areas.
“They said that those who have lost their jobs will be eligible to apply. This does not mean that they will actually get a job. It means that they will just be eligible to apply for this training,” Jagdeo noted. He also referred to the dismantling of the land titling unit where staffers, who were professionals, were hired through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“This was done purely for political reasons. We have seen tonnes of resources that we left for the funding of the indigenous people’s village development plans and land titling activities… The Government is putting all these resources at risk because we are not focusing on the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and our commitments to the international partners,” the Opposition Leader emphasised.
Guyana Times was reminded that the LCDS specifically the agreement with Norway is not just an agreement based on forestry. However, there is also an agreement about good governance and this is the key element which is lacking, he disclosed.
He also stated that Guyana should keep commemorating such celebrations especially the heritage month activities and aim to prevent a ‘backward slide’.
“We have to make sure we fight aggressively against any act to discriminate against our indigenous people and the PPP/C will lead that fight,” added the former President.
Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment, Aubrey Norton, believes that a complete reform in the system is needed in order for the New Opportunity Corp (NOC) to actually make a difference in the lives of the children who attend the institution.
During a stakeholders meeting to discuss ways to improve the NOC, Norton told the gathering that there needs to be a complete revamp in the mindset
On that note, he explained that programmes need to be implemented and administered to help the students there be reintegrated into society.
Moreover, he said the system needs to work along with families and communities in order to help the students feel confident to reenter society.
He reflected on an interaction he had with one of the students, where she preferred to stay at the Corp
of employees and the entire approach taken to train the students.
Firstly, he said a reformative justice approach is needed rather a penal approach, noting that the later will only make the students there feel isolated from society.
rather than return to her family due to her firm belief that her family will not accept that she has changed. This concept and mindset, Norton affirmed, needs to be changed. Norton reminded that the Corp’s objective is to transform juvenile delinquents into acceptable
members of society and, therefore, all approaches taken by the administrative level need to keep this target in mind.
“Work has to be done to transform the thinking of the family, the thinking of the community and the thinking of the wider society. If you reform somebody and put them in the same situation, then axiomatically, you’re in trouble,” he said.
“We must begin to see young people as assets, rather than as problems,” he reiterated. Therefore, he said the institution needs to employ persons with quality leadership to take charge of the operations there and motivate the students to
strive for betterment.
Additionally, he said the entire curriculum at the institution needs to be adjusted so as to allow the students to gain the requisite skills to re-enter into society.
“There is little or no sense having young people there and they are not trained to lead. So what is critical to the process to me, is training these young people to be leaders in their
own right,” he said. Norton pointed out that the illiterate students need to be taught how to read and write; those with anger control problems need to be taught anger management’ those who lack life skills need to be taught life skills; those with low self-esteem need to develop higher selfesteem. This way, he said, will make students upon graduation more attractive to employers.
More importantly, Norton admitted that these changes can only be done if the necessary resources are provided. On that note, Norton urged the Government to commit itself to reforming the NOC and provide the resources needed to help in that regard.
“If the Government is serious, it will have to give the resources to deal with the NOC as needed,” he said.
– calls for more
The Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) “Name and Shame” antidrunk driving campaign was recently applauded for its significant success by the Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud.
During a recent interview with the Guyana Times, the Commissioner acknowledged that there has been a huge reduction in the number of fatal accidents on the roadways, noting that the measures being implemented by the Force are definitely reaping successful changes.
Asked about the impact of the “Name and Shame” campaign in this regard, the Commissioner conceded that the initiative does contribute significantly in deterring persons from driving drunk however, he called for more media participation to ensure the programme is more effective. “It (the programme) brings additional pressures on them and it is changing behaviour, but I see the newspapers aren’t really supporting the programme,” Persaud stated. He acknowledged that the programme has a big im-
pact on drunk driving, but emphasised that it can only be effective with the support from the media.
On a regular basis, the GPF releases to the media a list of persons- photographs included- who were charged for drunk driving. The purpose is to get the media to publish the stories with the aim of “shaming” the drunk drivers with the hopes of deterring persons from driving under the influence of alcohol, so as to avoid their names and photos being plastered in the local newspapers.
“We want their family and friends to know to bring additional pressure and to have changes in the behaviour,” the Commissioner stated.
He added that the Police Force is better equipped with breathalysers and the ranks are making full use
of them to clamp down on the drunk driving. He noted too that the CCTV cameras are working effectively and Police are now able to get the feeds to enable their capacity to track down on traffic offenders.
According to reports, 146 road fatalities were recorded from 135 accidents from the period January 1 to December 31, 2014. This is in comparison to 112 fatalities from 103 accidents for the same period in 2013; an increase of 30 per cent.
The National Road Safety Week will be observed sometime in November, where the traffic statistics for the year 2015 is expected to be released.
Based on last year’s reports, speeding is the major contributing factor to fatal accidents and was the cause of 87 of the 135 accidents recorded.
Guyana was once defined as being “politically precocious” and “politically advanced”. That was when Jagan and Burnham pushed the envelope against the British with their interpretations of Marx and Machiavelli, respectively. While our 50th Independence Anniversary is nigh upon us and we’re not too “precocious” any longer, it would seem we’re still very “advanced”.
The government just announced the category of “quasipolitical” to the appointment of the bureaucratic position of Regional Executive Officer (REO). Meaning “almost but not quite”!! When in Opposition - and even in government - the APNU/AFC coalition had railed mightily against what they described as the PPP’s perfidious practice of appointing politicians to Bureaucratic positions. “Not cricket!” they screamed, “a politician is a politician and a bureaucrat is a bureaucrat and never shall the twain meet”, when making appoints in the bureaucracy.
They showed their seriousness on the politicalbureaucratic dichotomy, when they appointed a “Minister of the Presidency” - just to ensure that everybody knew this was a POLITICAL office. Unlike what some conspiracy-theorists say, this position wasn’t made to keep Moses Nagamootoo out of the “power-loop”. When the government went on a rampage and sacked most of the PPP-appointed REO’s, the Minister of Communities, specifically insisted they had to go because they were “political”!
The goodly Minister righteously placed advertisements in the papers for applicants to the now vacant REO positions. The public wasn’t advised as to who applied - but there was great shock and awe, even among their ranks - when Veerasammi Ramaya was appointed REO of region 6! It goes without saying that there was gnashing of teeth by the PPP at what they called the “hypocrisy,” of the government.
To his credit, it wasn’t Bulkan who announced the appointment of Ramaya.
Ramaya, after all, was one of those fellas who epitomised what “political” has come to men in Guyana. Fella who puffs up his credentials to play the “doctor politics” demanded in the Caribbean and who was clear that what he was hustling for was “position”. Offered a job in the PRIME Minister’s office paying $180,000 and a car with no driver, he huffily rejected the offer. Infra dig!! Had campaigned too hard and demanded his quid pro quo ! Especially they quid!! But folks wondered if he did apply for the REO job, what exactly did he put as his “qualifications”.
Fella had never administered a hamlet much less a Region.
And this is where Guyana’s “advanced political practice” came to the rescue. Ramaya, being “quasI political” -made the Weberian criteria for the Bureaucratic office of REO irrelevant.
Welcome to the new world of Newspeak!
If you can’t raise the bridge then lower the river!!
PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo insists he was “done wrong” by the members of the profession that had been his home for so long. He was referring to the long years he’d been under Janet Jagan. The lady who checkmated his move to succeed Jagan. Anyhow Nagamootoo still insists that media folks are on the wrong track about the “Affaire Blunder”. Avoiding the real change that he objected to the Chronicle reporter - under his Ministry - writing that the government had “blundered” on the Budget, the PRIME Minister now dragged in the red herring that HE never “accosted” the reporter!! But that that the reporter accosted HIM!
He also introduced a fallback position. As a “citizen” of the country - even though the Prime Minister - he has a right to his private opinion. The question of course, is whether the reporter ACCOSTED him as a “private citizen”. And even he has to admit, it wasn’t so!
Under the new “politically advanced” dispensation, he should announce that he’s a “quasi” PRIME Minister.
Everyone knows he’s not a “real” one in any case!
So the government’s introducing “water taxis”, which will compete with the Berbice Bridge. Now the only shareholder to collect dividends has been the NIS - the preferred shareholder.
So the Government will cut its NIS nose to spite retired Guyanese’ faces??!!
The obvious downturn in the construction sector and the suffering endured by the hardware stores in Guyana is as a result of the negativity and criticisms of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Government, says former Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali.
During an exclusive interview with this publication on Friday evening, Ali stated that after the examination of the 2015 National Budget, and listening to the government policy and programmes in the housing sector, he is very concerned about its future.
“I am very worried about the future of the National Housing Programme, but much more importantly its implication to the housing market itself. The PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/ Civic) Government understood that housing is not merely allocation of land, but that it has severe economic ramifications. Right now we have the hardware stores who are suffering because the demand is not there, because the construction sector is sliding and less people are constructing,” Ali stated.
He explained that although this is the existing situation, and it is quite evident in the country, it appears as if the coalition Administration is not interested in “making an aggressive housing programme”.
Guyana Times was told that the Government’s idea of distributing 5000 houses/ properties in five years is a “good idea”, but is totally inadequate to match the demand for housing in the country. This is also not enough to create the necessary “excitement” in the housing sector to push the economy forward.
Ali maintained that the present Administration is manipulating the process and situations surrounding the housing sector and this will lead to nothing but an inevitable downfall.
“Look at the East Bank of Demerara housing scheme which was a booming area, a heavily organised area, where persons were building every day. Trucks upon trucks of sand, stone, cement were going there. Check it out today, it has come to a halt because of the negative propaganda coming out of the Government in relation to
the future of this expansion,” the former Housing Minister emphasised.
This newspaper was told that the land on the East Bank of Demeraram, in the housing scheme, has a certain degree of equity held by the bank and also by the private developers and private investors.
According to Ali, as such, the private investors and developers are essential in stimulating growth and economic activity while stimulating the housing sector itself.
“When they pump liquidity into the system and the Government matches that liquidity, then the entire construction sector benefits. But look at what they are doing; they cut the 1000 home programme. The delays and the slothfulness in that programme has cost almost 350 jobs already and now they are saying persons had preferential rates on the East Bank,” he explained.
Ali told this newspaper that this process, where persons were being accused of receiving preferential rates, is a fact because it is as if one invests in a new area.
“Those who go first will have certain benefits. Those going after will have a lesser degree of benefits maybe the cost will be more because the asset value is driven up by those who went there first. And then this also depends on the type of activity there.”
Ali posited that the Housing Development Programme in the housing sector was “not by guess”. In fact, he stated that it was designed in a way to stimulate economic growth and stimulate the construction sector.
“But the negativity, the slothfulness and the lack of an aggressive housing pro-
68-year-old woman...
“They had no mercy on her… they raped her, and in a way to shut her up from talking they cut off her tongue. But little did they know, she was a darn good writer… When we saw her body, her head was swollen, you couldn’t recognise her face and she was naked as she was born… marks were all over her body”, the woman said in a solemn voice. Aunty Jean, as she is known in the area, did not get into anyone’s way relatives recollected.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, when contacted, told the Guyana Times that
the man in police custody has confessed to the murder. The suspect reportedly told investigators that he and the Jones Cox were having sexual intercourse, during which she cried out that she was in pain.
As a result, the main suspect got annoyed, picked up an object and dealt her several blows to the head, the Chief Stated. With a confession, the file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.
Jones Cox leaves to mourn her four children and two siblings.
Less than two weeks after a medical student and another woman were nabbed at the Ogle International Airport attempting to smuggle cocaine, a mother of one, who was trying to make ends meet, was arrested on Friday evening while attempting to do same.
Nichols reportedly told drug enforcement officers that she was desperate to make fast money since her only daughter has a heart complication and is in need of an urgent surgery.
while Smith was also found with six parcels of the illegal substance which weighed 976.
gramme is going to take us backwards. I am warning the policy makers not to play with the equity value. Do not play with the equity value of land or the equity value of the assets in these housing areas because it has implications not only for the developers or the property owner, but also has implications for the banking sector,” Ali added.
Shanda Nichols of Albouystown, Georgetown was about to board a LIAT Flight to Barbados when she was busted by members of the Custom Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU). According to information received, the passengers had a portion of the cocaine strapped to her girdle while another portion inserted in her private area.
The woman was taken custody and patted down after she was seen acting in a suspicious manner. During the pat down, the cocaine was found and she was immediately arrested and taken to the CANU headquarters where the illegal substance was weighed and amounted to 500 grams.
She claimed that she worked to make ends meet, but since her three-yearold daughter was diagnosed with the heart complication, she knew that she had to take drastic measures in making money so that her daughter can be treated.
She is expected to be charged on Monday.
On August 22, Lovern Hendricks, 39 of Lot 3592 Westminster Phase Two, West Bank Demerara and Angel Smith, 23 of Lot 945 Westminster Phase One, West Bank Demerara were outgoing passengers at the Ogle International Airport when they were intercepted with over 2 kilograms of cocaine strapped to their bodies. Hendricks was busted with six parcels of cocaine weighed 1.372 kilograms,
Both Fredericks and Smith were about to board a LIAT flight out of Ogle International Airport destined for Barbados. According to information received, ranks of the Police Narcotics Branch made the bust after the ladies were seen acting in a suspicious manner while at the checkin counter.
The ranks immediately went over to the young ladies to enquire if everything was okay, suspecting that something was amiss. The two ladies were taken into a room where they were patted down by female ranks who found the drugs concealed in their bras and crotches.
They were immediately taken into custody and the cocaine was weight in their presence. They were subsequently charged with the possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. They were remanded to prison.
Toshaos from the nine Amerindian communities in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), during the Regional Toshaos Conference held on Monday at the Regional State House, requested for monetary assistance from the Regional Administration for the hosting of their individual Heritage Day celebrations.
Asking for the request on behalf of others was Toshao of Kabakaburi, Cleveland Simon. He said that many village councils within the communities have financial difficulties; therefore such assistance is needed from the Region Two Administration.
Satiricus knew that there is only so much a man can bear. And though he had risen to High Office, Naga Man was still a man. In fact, nowadays he became high in his High Office even before noon. So when he complained that the media was "so unfair" to him, a tear rolled down Satiricus cheek.
Satiricus was reading the latest diary entry that Naga Man had made, courtesy of his wife's niece Leelawatee. When Naga Man had risen to High Office, he carried along her as his maid from the Opposition office. She had been the one who had found the two cockroaches in the oven that had made it impossible for Naga Man to step into his new house, until it was fixed up for $72M. The diary entry read:
Dear Diary,
Toshao of Mainstay\ Whyaka, Joel Fredericks, said that his community is looking at providing wild meat and cassava bread, as opposed to ‘English’ meals and said that the activity is an expensive one. Fredericks urged his fellow Toshaos to buy everything from within the community so that they can benefit from the “spin-off” effects of the spending.
Meanwhile, Akawini Toshao David Wilson said that persons from his community contribute towards
The other eight Toshaos were in agreement with his request as they expressed the view that the money would help them to offset expenses for hosting of their Village Day.
the hosting of the Village Day. He said hunters will come together and hunt for wild meat to be used for the day, suggesting that other Toshaos also do the same for their village day.
Mainstay/Whyaka Heritage Day will be held on September 29; Capoey and Mashabo on September 27; St Monica on September 25; Akwaini September 23; Betany on September 20; Karawab on September 18; Tapakuma September 30; and Wakapoa is still to decide a date. The activities will be held under the theme “Preserving our customs and tradition”.
All Toshaos were in favour for the continuation of the Regional Heritage
Celebrations. They requested the Region to host its own Regional Celebrations with contributions from the various communities.
Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt listened to the Toshaos request and said he would discuss it with relevant authorities. Ramdatt said that constant feedback would be given to the Toshaos.
In relation to the Regional Heritage Celebration, Ramdatt said a review will be made, but he does not have any problem with the activity. He urged Toshaos to preserve their culture during the activities by showcasing crafts and their languages.
You know dat me bin a wan reportah fuh most ah me life. Me use to carry round Janit handbag fuh she, but me does write one-two story too. But evah since me occupy High Office when me turn Prime Moocher, it look like dem reportah who leff down deh, jealous me. Me na know wha me do dem. Dem a tell lie pon me.
Fuss dem seh ME na gat power even though me ah de Prime Moocher. Power?? Ha! Dear Diary, me gat mo' power dan GrainJa. When he gone to foreign, is me does be President AND Prime Moocher at de same time!! Dat is power!! Me does get he siren and me siren when me moving around dem time! Dat is power! You should see all dem car pulling out ah de way fuh lemme pass!
But dem reportah unfair to me, Dear Diary. Dem seh de guvment build road to me house. But is only one time I mention de road to the contractah. Is not like me halla pan he or anything. De man build de road quick, quick because he like me. Wha wraang wid da?
Dem reportah unfair to me. Dem seh me "ah-cuss" wan reportah. Dear Diary, me swear pan me Mummah grave, me na cuss none reportah. De only bady me cuss is me grandson. Oh! And me does cuss Ram Jhaat stinkin' because he meek me cyan drink pass 2 a'clack in de maanin. Is de reportah "ahcuss" me.
Dem so unfair to me, Dear Diary. Ah gone fuh now. Ah gon get high befo 2 a'clack ketch me.
Amajority of the residents residing at Whim, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), on Saturday rejected Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s invitation to be part of a public meeting, organised by his office to discuss several issues affecting the community and the country.
Prime Minister Nagamootoo’s visit to the community was characterised by high levels of uneasiness among residents as they debated for days whether they would attend the meeting to listen to what the Prime Minister had to say or boycott it altogether.
When he arrived in the community, he was greeted by over 60 protesting persons who had gathered outside of the Whim Community Centre where he was slated to have the public meeting.
As Nagamootoo made his way into the venue, protesters hurled all sorts of insults as they chanted that he had betrayed the community and had failed to stand tall for the principles he once defended.
One protester at the scene told Guyana Times that she was upset that the Prime Minister had “the guts” to return to the area after he basically used residents to secure votes for the coalition which was now trampling on the rights of ordinary citizens and the working class.
Feeling betrayed
“Whim don’t want Moses. Whole week them going to all body house and trying to bribe people to come out to meeting… I not interested
in any fancy and sweet talk from Moses… I want hear about deh money for school voucher and I want hear why them a fire all dem Indian people from Government… all dem lil pickney that study hard for them wuk”, she related.
Another resident also told this newspaper that she had hoped that Nagamootoo, coming from Whim, would have been very different from the other politicians in the coalition Government.
“I vote for him and now I shame. Everybody does deh pressuring me in me village because of all dem bad things that he a do people… and now I see the man come back to Whim like a big boy and I didn’t vote for
that… We deh want change but not change like a dis”, she declared.
“Moses is a disgrace to Whim”; “Moses wants to control the media”; “Moses betrayed Whim”; and “Whim rejects Moses” were some of the synchronised chants that were heard emanating from the picket line.
Residents were quite upset over the decisions taken by the Government thus far and used this event as the perfect opportunity to vent their frustration. Mothers especially were displeased with the scrapping of the $10,000 “Because We Care” cash grant and the elimination of the water and electricity subsidies for pensioners. Others expressed their discontentment over
the arbitrarily firing of public servants and Government’s apparent dictatorial approach in making key decisions that affect the lives of all Guyanese.
“They want control the media. They want hush up people when they bad talk them,” one protester exclaimed. The residents continued their demonstration for approximately an hour before departing.
All the while, Nagamootoo appeared to be unbothered by the mob as he simply walked into the community centre groung, paying no heed to the cries of the residents of his home village.
He, along with Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Alliance for Change (AFC) Executive Member Verasammy Ramaya and other officials were delivering speeches to a gathering of about 100 people.
Bus-in support
But according to Regional Chairman David Armogan, who was present at the meeting said the majority of those gathered were brought in from other villages. “Just a handful of the people there are actually from Whim,” he told the Guyana Times
Since taking office, Prime Minister Nagamootoo has been at the centre of controversy. He has ignored President Granger’s downsizing of his portfolio and the fact that the tenants of the Cummingsburg Accord were not upheld by the A Partnership for National Unity.
The Prime Minister’s official
Braving heavy downpours, thousands of devotees across Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) observed Krishna Janmashtami. The auspicious day was celebrated by Hindus who flocked various temples to recite prayers and sing religious songs following the birth of Lord Krishna.
Services commenced as early as 08:00h at some temples, while homage was done in the night by other worshipers.
In 2015, according to philosophers, Rohini Nakshatra is there on Ashtami Tithi for the entire tithi. Such an occurrence is very rare and happens only once in 50 years.
There is also very rare muhurat of Sarvata Siddhi Yog and Amrita Siddhi Yog on the day.
Shri Krishna is one of the most widely revered and most popular of all Hindu Gods. He is worshipped as the eighth incarnation or avatar of
Lord Vishnu, who is one third of the Holy Trinity. Krishna is also worshipped as a supreme God in his own right by numerous sections around the world.
Shri Krishna Janmashtami is observed eight days after the full moon day in Hindi month Bhadrapada (August–September).
At Golden Fleece Vishwa Jhotir Mandir, President of the temple, Parmanand Singh, told
Hindus that attending the service where reading from the Bhagvad Gita is very important.
Singh said that God was birthed on earth every time there was a decline of righteousness in the world. He said when Lord Krishna came on earth, he came with all the powers as he ascended.
As a child Lord Krishna was said to be adorned by many. He urged followers of Hinduism to cultivate good deeds in their life so that they can reap good Karma.
Speaking on the significance, The President of the Mandir said Shri Krishna used his life to explain the great teachings in Upanishads.
Lord Krishna’s life was always filled with music. Just before being killed by the hunter’s bow, he was playing the bansuri, a tradition South-Asian flute. Music and that immortal smile were present in his death.
“Some worship and like the young Shri Krishna, some like the Krishna with Radha, some like the Krishna who is delivering the Bhagavad Gita,” Singh said. No matter which you prefer, it is the same God.
portfolio is limited to responsibilities related to the public information sector which was previously handled by an officer within the Office of the President under the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government.
Additionally, Nagamootoo found himself in hot water when he sought to place political pressure on the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper by seeking to upbraid a young reporter following his dissatisfaction with a headline that appeared to be antiGovernment in the media.
He was condemned by the entire media corps for his interference especially as Government is now touting a media policy to regulate media.
The Prime Minister also admitted to asking for a pay hike after being in office for just four months. That aside, he was also implicated in a scandal that saw the purchase of a luxury vehicle from the public purse for some $22 million.
Several other residents expressed their concern over the recent appointment of AFC Member Veersammy Ramaya as Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Six.
“We don’t want him,” the residents chanted. A local group called ‘Defenders for the Poor’, which also took part in the protests, used to opportunity to continue their calls for the removal of the Labour Officer Ronald Bissondial.
The group argued that the Labour Officer does nothing to defend the poor people in the region and as such, they want him gone.
Keron Taylor, 23, of 83 Adelaide Street, Charlestown, Georgetown one of the two suspects wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of Senassie Lewis, on Saturday evening turned himself in to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown.
According to information received, Taylor was in the company of his lawyer, Nigel Hughes at the time he presented himself to the Police.
Investigators will interrogate the young man since he was identified as one of the shooters during the incident at Ghetto Flex Bar, Albouystown on Friday morning. The other suspect is reportedly his brother.
Senassie Lewis, age 22, of Vlissengen Place, East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was shot and killed while three others were injuries during a shootout at the Bar. Lewis was reportedly shot at least nine times.
Those injured are 20-year-old Jonathan De Freitas, of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara; Kurt Francis, 16, of Lot 32 Princes Street, Georgetown and Jamal Bascom, 23, of Independence Boulevard, Georgetown.
De Freitas was reportedly shot once to the hip while Francis was shot to the leg and Bascom to the groin.
They are currently patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
According to information received, Lewis was among a group of people at the Albouystown Bar when the car drove in front of the night spot and two men exited.
The men then opened fire indiscriminately, hitting the four men. From all indications, Lewis was the target. His body was riddled with bullets. The two gunmen then calmly walked back to the car and left the scene. The injured men were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where they were admitted. The Police have launched an investigation into the shooting incident.
However, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum revealed that based on investigations, Lewis was in the company of another man when the two suspects, who are brothers, turned up at the bar resulting in an exchange of gunfire when he was fatally shot.
His friend, Blanhum disclosed, escaped while the two suspects reportedly collected the firearm that Lewis was carrying. The two suspects then fled the scene. Blanhum also confirmed that Lewis is a known character to the Police.
Taylor was charged in 2012 for the August 18, 2012 shooting of Kevin Singh on Waterloo Street.
By Vahnu Manikchand
Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud, has laid his support behind Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan’s decision to divert resources from the Community Policing Groups (CPG) to the Guyana Police Force, stating that the two entities are competing for resources.
During an interview with the Guyana Times , the Police Commissioner pointed out the Minister’s decision came at a time when the Police Force was starving of resources. Persaud referred to the case of West Demerara where the CPG had five vehicles, when the Police Force merely had two patrol vehicles. He also highlighted that the Corentyne also had no patrol vehicle at the time.
“That was the reality of the situation, we were competing for resources. I’m not saying that these groups don’t have value; they do have value,” he said, adding hence the decision was taken to divert the new vehicles that were acquired for the policing groups to the Force.
Furthermore, the Commissioner pointed out that the intention behind establishing these groups was for them to patrol their respective communities so that they are known by the residents, however some CPG members are abusing their privileges, venturing into other communities.
“When you give them vehicle, they venture out of their commu-
nity and go into areas. Now they are not uniformed, the people don’t know them and they are searching people on the road. This doesn’t go well with all the communities,” he pointed out.
Additionally, the Top Cop pointed out that the CPG members are voluntary and are not bound by any legal obligations to police the communities. “Why do put a whole lot of resources (into CPG) when they come out whenever they feel like, unlike us; we are 24/7 and we have the mandate,” he added.
However, Persaud acknowledged the impact that the CPG have in tackling crime. He outlined that while a number of factors contribute to the reduction of crimes,
one such thing is presence.
“So you have a lot of people around, a criminal is less likely to target there than if it’s just one persons alone walking the streets. So certainly I’m saying these groups have value. However how much resources you will put into it when it’s a case of people coming out only when they have time and feel like to as oppose to an organisation that has the mandate of the Government for law, that works 24/7, that gets a salary,” the Police Commissioner noted.
Asked what can be done to enhance the capacity and security of the policing groups given the fact that resources were diverted, Persaud is of the view that the CPG should operate in the areas that they live in and can very well do so on feet.
Nevertheless, the Top Cop noted that the Force will continue to support these groups by offering training to the members and integrate them into the stations so they have access to records of the community, such as wanted persons and those with warrants.
The Police have constantly come in for criticism over the lengthy time officers take to respond to criminal activities. Persons complain that sometimes, when they call Police Stations to get assistance, they are often told that there are no vehicles available and in cases where vehicles are available, there are no drivers. Furthermore, it was recently reported that the Force has a shortage of vehicles.
Against this background,
Minister Ramjattan announced plans to divert vehicles from the CPG and hand them over to the Police Force. He had told reporters that there needs to be a more efficient response system in place.
“I can’t even imagine a situation where, like in the La Jalousie (West Coast Demerara) situation, they took such a long time to come; even if they had to go there with bicycles or motorcycles. Why was it so long?” he questioned.
According to Ramjattan, in past budgetary allocations (2013 and 2014) was not allocated to the actual Police Force, but to the Community Policing Groups. However, this move was not welcomed by the former subject Minister, Clement Rohee.
Rohee has rubbished the idea, stating that the new Minister is “digging a hole to fill a hole”. He pointed out that both the Police Force and CPG have their own budget allocations to finance their needs.
“They have to resource both the Police Force and Community Policing Groups; they just can’t resource one and leave the other,” the former Minister posited. Rohee went on to say that there could not be any shortage of vehicles in the Force, because numerous vehicles were handed over to them.
“There was never any shortages so how come there is one now all of a sudden … the problem with the Police is that they just keep asking for more and more vehicles, but are not taking care of them for it to last longer,” he told this newspaper.
The Education Ministry on Saturday called on several prominent figures in the sport and entertainment fraternities to settle all outstanding accounts for the usage of the National Stadium, but the parties involved are quite disappointed by the move. In a notice published in a section of the media, People’s Progressive Party/Civic Member of Parliament, Odinga Lumumba, the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation and the Hits and Jams Entertainment have all been asked to settle the accounts with the Ministry’s Department of Culture, Youth and Sport or the General Manager’s office of
comment, Guyana Times would have Guyana National to host two of the Confederation North, Central and Caribbean Football Tournament, argued that he charged to use when compared sports that are there. He iterated he does not have lem paying the ing balance, Manager must that the organisers er sports, such
the National Stadium.
Lumumba, who is also the Director of McNeal Enterprises, in an invited comment, told the Guyana Times that he would have used the Guyana National Stadium to host two of matches of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Tournament, but argued that he was overcharged to use the facility when compared to other sports that are being held there.
He iterated that while he does not have a problem paying the outstanding balance, the General Manager must proved that the organisers of other sports, such as cricket,
are forced pay the same amount.
“We had to pay $300,000 whenever we have to host a football game at the stadium, but for those who organise cricket, they only pay $50,000 or $100,000,” he added. He argued that if he were to pay the outstanding monies, the General Manager of the National Stadium must prove that there is a level playing field.
The official also claimed that since he is hosting events at the National Stadium, he was never shown a rate sheet and more so, he claimed he never owned the stadium for any concerts that was kept at the facility under McNeal Enterprises.
When Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo
hurled that pejorative of “coolie bully” at his nemesis, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, he was exposing his own hate and scorn of himself, to paraphrase Martin Carter. But it’s a hate and scorn that makes him an acceptable Indian in the Caribbean context.
The phenomenon of the selfhating Indian extends beyond Guyana. It exists in Trinidad and Tobago and in the Caribbean diaspora and is easily recognized by the redemptive posture of part guilt, part shame, and pure self denial of the affected Indians. Their redemption lies in not only denying their essential selves but in embracing the beloved other which in the Caribbean is the dominant African group.
They do very well by it. Moses is now Prime Minister and his self hatred seems necessary to his ascendancy within the Coalition government driven by its mindless jingle of “love and unity”. This once proud Indian and even prouder Madrasi tribesman has reduced himself to being a onedimensional Guyanese citizen who is now without race, heritage or culture. Opportunism born of ambition, perhaps, but there it is.
As with all converts, the self denying Indian always needs to exhibit public demonstrations and proclamations in order to convince himself and others that his acquired status is on solid ground. Much of this is achieved by bullying Indians or, to use the
rhyming slur, by “bullying coolies” in order to win the plaudits of his favoured group, the Africans, and more especially the Europeanised middle class whose approbation he craves.
Most often, the self haters are already Christians and to shore up their conversion they too must shun Indian culture as backward and must denounce every proud Indian as racist.
In Guyana’s situation, where our politics is ruled by race, the coolie bullies are all-important as a useful tool in that ongoing conflict. Were self- hating Indians simply a social phenomenon, they would have appeared purely comical for being mimic men in the best Naipaulean sense. But they are used successfully to promote political positions in a racial conflict where Indians are always charged with being the racists.
Ravi Dev in a recent letter to the press on the subject of the African security dilemma concluded that speaking as an Indian Guyanese makes you parochial at best and racist at worst and, thus, unable to speak for the wider societal good. The Indian, he wrote, always needs to redeem himself.
Successive PPP governments bought in to the redemptive posturing and followed a policy of appeasing African Guyanese. They did not help their supporters gain any strong and respected standing especially when they pussyfooted around issues that needed a firm hand.
As Dr Baytoram Ramharack pointed out in a recent GT column,
this was most likely the reason why the PPP government did nothing about making the police and army ethnically balanced even when the ICJ and Disciplined Forces Commission recommended such reforms. They feared being seen as too ethnic and too Indian.
One PPP critic recently went through the painstaking task of listing all the many Indian Guyanese that the previous government placed in public service positions. This reform probably went some way to making the public service more ethnically balanced, and which President Granger’s ethnic cleansing policy has reversed making government offices predominantly African Guyanese once again.
Had the PPP government been as bold and unapologetic for its actions as the Granger administration, it would have been denounced as racist by the GHRA and the media houses that support the new administration. They, too, accept only redemptive postures from an Indian-led government while giving an African-led one every largesse.
The idea that Indians are only acceptable if they are selfhating and redemptive has much to do with colonial attitudes which viewed Indian indentured labourers as heathens who could only aspire to civilized society by becoming Christians and behaving in proper English ways, i.e., by becoming mimic men.
The freed slaves had already assimilated well into Guyanese colonial society by the time Indians
arrived. They were Christians, were educated, and had taken their English slave masters’ names. They also adopted their slave masters’ attitudes towards Indians.
While Indians did eventually assimilate into local society and become educated, they did so on their own terms, retaining their Indian names, religions and culture.
Colonial attitudes persist and are the bane of Guyana, and Moses’ racial slur can be viewed as both personal and political. It affirmed his self hate and his new position as the chief coolie bully for the PNC-led government.
Building social cohesion? Hardly.
Readers are invited to send their comments by email to shah@guyanatimesgy.com
In spite of suffering severe losses Trinidadowned Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) has endorsed its commitment to the Guyana market, assuring that its financial difficulties will not prevent it from offering quality services in the country.
This is according to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, who during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times on Friday night stated that Executives of the airline recently met with Government Officials to outline the company’s plans in the future.
Minister Patterson said that during this discussion the airline reaffirmed its pledge to serving the Guyanese people, despite the problems it has been encountering in the past.
“We are always appreciative of such commitments especially this, which comes from CAL. During our recent meeting, we discussed a wide range of topics and these discussions will have to be continued. Thus far, CAL has been a good corporate partner and we look forward to their continued services in Guyana,” he posited.
Meanwhile, the Public Infrastructure Minister also noted that his Government is also exploring options and actively seeking to have additional airlines operating in Guyana.
Guyana Times was told that this move is to ensure that the people of Guyana have more options and benefit from a wider range of services being provided.
“It is our hope to have more airlines operating in the country and we are working towards this goal, looking to get more airlines here and soon. The main idea is to have much more competition. We believe that with more competition it is the people who will have more to receive,” Minister Patterson emphasised.
When asked if he was
certain that CAL’s financial woes would not have a negative effect or direct impact on its services in Guyana, the Minister stated that the airline has indicated as such, hence the public and the Government will have to take their word on this.
Reports are that the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, who also met with the company’s Executives, disclosed that CAL had been providing invaluable service to the country and that it will make arrangements to accommodate and facilitate the demands of 2016.
This newspaper understands that changes have been made which allowed CAL to provide jobs for dozens of locals and the customer service focus and onboard services will change “for the better”.
It is expected that 2016 will be a “peak year” for travel to Guyana, especially since the country will be commemorating its 50th Independence anniversary.
It should also be noted that Guyana has been one of the biggest countries of service for Caribbean Airlines Limited.
David Granger, while in opposition, had promised Guyanese that should he be elected President after the May 11 General and Regional Elections, his Government would work assiduously to restore national pride and unity amongst the people.
Repeatedly in campaign speeches, Mr Granger outlined the need to create national unity by embracing all of the people through policies and programmes aimed at creating wealth, improving governance, removing inequalities, ending racism and promoting shared governance.
He campaigned heavily on the need to end racial and political discrimination by strengthening the levels of inclusivity and openness within our society.
After becoming President, having won this year’s election by a slim majority, there was, not surprisingly, great expectations by some that Granger would transform this country by reaching out to the political opposition in ways never explored or undertaken before.
There was an expectation by some that one of the first tasks of Granger’s tenure as President would be to engage the now opposition Peoples Progressive Party Civic in dialogue as to how to share power and unite the two major constituencies that voted at the last elections.
There was also a feeling that the new President would want some time to more fully understand the workings of Government before making sweeping political and administrative changes.
As history will record it, however, President Granger has failed miserably within the first 100 hundred days of his Government to pursue an agenda to increase the levels of unity in this country.
He has therefore not managed to convince those Guyanese who did not give him support at the last elections that he is committed, rhetoric aside, to finding an amicable solution to the endemic challenges of racism and racial divisiveness that exist today.
In fact, within the first 100 days of his tenure, the levels of racial division spiked. It is no secret that Indo-Guyanese and Amerindians felt discriminated against, marginalized and hapless as the new Government embarked on a campaign of evident witch-hunting by firing all of those whom they suspected were connected to, supportive of as members of the previous PPPGovernment. Not surprisingly, 90 percent of those who suffered within the first three months of Granger’s presidency were IndoGuyanese and Amerindians.
Immediately, the rice and Sugar sectors plunged into deeper crises with the new Government struggling to get on top of the affairs of these industries even though while it was in opposition they preached and lectured the PPP about what was needed to remedy the situation.
Mr Granger also allowed Ministers Joseph Harmon and Winston Jordan to embarrass his Government by making sweeping allegations about corruption and financial mismanagement against the previous Government without providing solid evidence to substantiate their claims aside from political hyperbole.
In the the desperate and hurried attempts to give credence to social cohesion, the President has failed to commence talks with the PPP about building national unity and shared governance. He has also failed to distance his Government from the unnecessary misuse of state funds in pursuit of Cadillac lifestyle under the guise of leading "comfortable" lives.
The stories of moves to massively increase ministers’ salaries, purchase multimillion dollar luxury vehicles, host big bash inauguration parties for the President, refurbish offices and flex ministerial muscles are shameful highlights of his presidency so far.
Additionally, Prime Minister Nagamootoo’sbehaviour in office so far has embarrassed the Government further as the media continues to expose his excesses as he seeks to manage the State media and its affiliates. His attempt to deceive public by conveying the impression that Government had accomplished all it set out to do in the 100 day plan is also infra dig.
Until and unless, President Granger ends the campaign of window dressing and facile façades as it relates to national unity and racial inclusivity, his tenure will never bring the change that all Guyanese desire.
He has to disassociate himself from the PNC style of politics and lead by taking tough and unpopular decisions to forge a covenant of unity with the PPP. President Granger, no doubt an honourable man, must see pass narrow partisan interests if he wants to become a visionary and a leader of all the people.
Another election awaits him and history will not absolve him if he allows his cabinet members to do what is expedient without understanding the implications of their personal decisions and bad blood created in an otherwise cohesive and tolerant multiethnic society.
The gun amnesty programme has been rendered useless and visionless by many sections of society but People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP) Harry Gill believes there is little hope for the initiative to work effectively and that is by granting monetary incentives as a part of the bargain.
The Public Security Ministry launched a monthlong gun amnesty programme on September 1, to rein in illegal firearms with the hopes of reducing the surge of gun-related crimes in the country.
However, Gill posited that hardcore criminals are not going to risk walking into a station and simply hand over their weapons, even though amnesty is provided.
Gill argued that the there is a big demand for illegal weapons in the underworld and there is simply not enough reasons for criminals to come forth and hand in their weapons.
“It is ludicrous for anyone to believe this will ever happen,” he stated.
Therefore, Gill recommends that the Ministry offer monetary incentives for persons to risk expo-
sure when they hand in the weaponry.
“An amount of $20,000 can be offered for every functional gun turned in, and $10,000 for every defective gun, because a defective weapon can be used very effectively in the act of committing a crime.
When a victim stares down the barrel of a gun, there is no way to determine whether or not the gun actually works,” he said. He also suggested that the Private Sector be brought onboard to assist in providing the monetary incentives.
“The Private Sector can be persuaded to get involved by sponsoring some of the money, because the more guns that are taken off the streets, the safer it will be for businesses to operate,” he posited.
While on the topic of tackling crime, Gill said the authorities need to adapt a more incentives-based approach to help getting criminals off the streets.
Gill is of the belief that many criminals, if given the opportunity, would chose to turn their lives around. Therefore, he suggested that programmes be developed to offer those individuals a chance of getting their lives back in exchange for a confession.
“We’re all aware that there are several unsolved murders in Guyana. While some may remain that way, I am confident that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has reasonable suspicions of who may have committed the majority of those crimes, and are working vigorously to get the evidence necessary to secure an arrest and conviction.
Many are wanted for questioning by the Police, and they are aware that their freedom will soon come to an end. But until then, they will continue their
Moments after receiving a tip that a known criminal gang had planned to execute the girlfriend of slain East Ruimveldt resident Sanassie Lewis, a Joint Services operation was immediately enforced resulting in the apprehension of three men in the vicinity of Roxanne Burnham Gardens. Georgetown.
The three men were arrested after an exchange of gunfire between them and Joint Services members.
According to information received, after the Joint Service would have received information about the planned execution on the East La Penitence shopkeeper, they trailed a taxi from Mandela Avenue and while in West Ruimveldt, the Police vehicles came under fire.
During the shootout, one of men was seen throwing a long gun (rifle) out of the car’s window and the driver accelerated in an attempt to escape; however, the men were eventually apprehended after the car crashed.
Upon their apprehension, one of the men told the Police ranks that he had disposed of the gun but after a
team of ranks searched the area for the weapon they came up empty handed.
Members of the Joint Services up to late Saturday afternoon went back to the area with ballistics dogs in an attempt to recover the rifle. A senior Police rank confirmed that based on reports, the gang which goes by the name “Lodge Head Gang” had planned to kill Lewis’ girlfriend but the motive has not yet been established.
The gang, the Police official added, has been under surveillance for a very long,
and he is sure there are other members out there.
Lewis was killed during a shootout at the Ghetto Flex Bar, Albouys and James Streets, Albouystown Georgetown in the wee hours of Friday morning. Three other men were injured during the shootout. Based on reports, Lewis and another friend who were both armed were confronted by two suspects resulting in an exchange of gunfire. Lewis was fatally shot while his friend managed to escape.
After the shooting incident, the two suspects collected the gun that Lewis was carrying and made good their escape in a waiting white motorcar. Police have since claimed that the shooting incident stemmed from a sour deal that went wrong between the two gangs.
Persons who were present at the scene reported that Lewis was shot nine times to his body and died almost instantly. The other three men who were injured were patrons at the Bar and were not necessarily with Lewis when the shooting occurred. They are said to be patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
criminal activities, robbing and killing their victims until they’re caught. While some career criminals will never change, I believe most would if given a chance to turn their lives around,” he reasoned. Therefore, his suggestion is to offer a onemonth conditional amnesty to criminals wanted by the Police for crimes committed such as murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery and rape. Conditions would allow for their names and photographs to be published in the press and for them to be offered leniency.
“After turning themselves in for trial, the police will follow through on their promise and offer a substantial reduction in sentence to those who surrender. But this must go along with mandatory counselling and training geared at rehabilitation, which will help to re-establish the prisoners back into society; giving them hope, a new skill, and the opportunity for a new life,” Gill said.
He then speculated that upon their release, the individuals would be placed on supervised probation with electronic monitoring for a several years. If probation is violated, they would be arrested to complete the full term of their sentence.
As part of the disaster response activities of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat, the Caricom Energy Programme has provided four hundred Emergency LED Solar Lanterns to the Government of Dominica.
According to a statement released by the secretariat, the lanterns are powered through a built-in solar cell and are designed with backup battery and “hand cranking” charging options. They provide light through energy efficient LED bulbs and include a built-in USB port, which makes them capable of charging mobile phones and other electronic devices.
The lanterns are an appropriate fit to the post disaster activities and, upon exposure to six hours of sunlight, provides lighting and power for communication devices, which can simultaneously improve the situation of residents and assist emergency field workers in the discharge of their tasks.
Dominica was the most severely impacted among the Caricom Member States on which Tropical Storm Erika unleashed torrential rains on August 27, with continuous rainfall measuring 10 inches over a 6-hour period.
This heavy, intense rainfall caused a cresting in of rivers and ravines, which
caused extensive flooding and resulted in loss of life, significant damage to infrastructure and displacement of hundreds of residents. The power infrastructure was heavily affected and many areas remain without access to electricity.
The Secretariat stated “the Caribbean Community, together with our international partners, stands in solidarity with the Government and people of Dominica during this period of difficulty”.
The Energy Programme has pledged to continue supporting Dominica and will assist with the integration of sustainable energy designs into the postdisaster rebuilding process.
The contributions are being supported by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (REETA) Project, which is being financed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale ZusammenarbeitGmbH (GIZ) and based in the Caricom Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana.
The Caricom Energy Programme was established in April 2008 within the Directorate of Trade and Economic Integration to provide greater focus on energy matters in Caricom towards development of the energy sector in the Region.
Over 400 children in vulnerable positions were treated at the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) 21st Annual Fun Day on Saturday, which allowed them to have fun and meet the men and women who made their education possible.
The annual event is held to bring cheer to orphans and vulnerable children and catered for attendees from all of the counties of Guyana, including non-Muslims. The Fun Day was held at the CIOG Headquarters on Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.
Meanwhile Head of State, President David
Granger, joined the children who attended the Fun Day.
In brief remarks, before declaring the day of fun open, President Granger applauded the efforts over the years of the CIOG, to support poverty alleviation, forge social cohesion and increase access to education.
He said the event reflects the true teachings of Islam, with regards to reaching out to vulnerable groups and children. These kinds of initiatives, the President added, will all aid the Government’s effort in alleviating extreme poverty, and their vision for a more cohesive society and country at
large.
Sheik Moen-ul- Hack, Director of Education for CIOG, spoke to Guyana Times about the advances of CIOG’s Orphan Programme.
He stated that CIOG supports over 350 children around Guyana in their academic pursuits, but stressed that the organisation is not only after the mental growth of the children but their emotional and moral growth as well.
Hack stated that this year the organisation sponsored several students to the University of Guyana. Only recently they initiated the scholarship programme, which
makes this possible for the students interested in continuing their education at a tertiary level to do so.
He said that students fortunate to have both parents have the where-
under the programme all their lives since losing their fathers at a young age. This left them with little or no choices but they have been attending secondary school free of
plauded CIOG for the humanitarian work being done throughout the country. Hunt said that over the years the organisation has stuck to the core principles of Islam, which is to
withal to succeed, but disadvantaged students can do just as good once given the chance. The Director was quite clear that nothing should be stumbling blocks to the children and, through CIOG and their numerous partners, it is not.
Guyana Times spoke to two such students, Zaphia Baksh and Fareena Khan from Region One (BarimaWaini). They have been
cost and now have dreams of becoming independent women in society, able to contribute and assist in their own ways.
CIOG also liaises with several public agencies in Guyana, giving the children the opportunity to access the resources of the Islamic Organisation.
Also present at the event, was the United States Chargé d’Affaires Bryan Hunt, who also ap-
promote peace and offer help to the vulnerable.
The Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana came into being in 1979 after the Jamaats, Masjids and Organisations supported in writing its formation. Since then CIOG has been working in cooperation with other Islamic bodies to provide necessary services to the Muslim community and Guyana as a whole.
When contacts were made with Kashif Mohammed of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation on Saturday evening, he disclosed that he will be visiting the National Stadium on Tuesday next to deal with the issue since he was not sure what are the outstanding payments.
He said that once he is fully apprised of his outstanding account, he will be in a better position to divulge any information
to the media. He is hoping that there can be an amiable solution.
In addition, Director of Hits and Jams Entertainment, Kerwin Bollers stated that his group does not owe the Guyana National Stadium any money and plans to pursue the matter in the new week.
The Entertainment Group did not have a concert of recent at the National Stadium. Events held under the Jamzone brand were held
at the Hits and Jams Water Park, Providence, East Bank Demerara for the past two years.
On the other hand, the Hits and Jams entertainment would normally collaborate with McNeal Enterprises to host concerts at the facilities with International Artistes performing.
This publication made several calls to the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Alfred King, but the calls went unanswered.
The first group of what are expected to be some 10,000 migrants has been greeted in Munich after an arduous journey through Hungary and Austria.
German members of the public applauded and offered sweets as some 450 migrants arrived on a special train service.
The plight of the migrants has highlighted the European Union’s (EU) struggle to deal with a surge of asylum seekers. Earlier this week there were chaotic scenes in Budapest as Hungary blocked them from travelling onwards.
Many migrants refused to be taken to camps in Hungary to register for asylum, insisting they wanted to travel on to Germany and Austria. Crowds broke through security lines and began walking 175 kilometres to the border, many with small children.
Under mounting pressure, Hungary opened its border with Austria, which expects to have received some 10,000 people
by the end of Saturday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany can cope with an influx of newcomers, without raising taxes or jeopardising its budget. And Austria has said it will not limit the number of migrants crossing its borders, with an Interior Ministry Spokesperson telling the BBC on Saturday
that that the nation was dealing with an influx of people from “crisis regions” who were “desperate”.
However, there is little sign of a co-ordinated EU response to the crisis, despite more than 350,000 migrants having crossed the EU’s borders in 2015 alone.
Europe’s migrant crisis is “here to stay” and nations
Amerindian land rights in Guyana go as far back as the 1902 Ordinance which declared the establishment of 10 Amerindian “reservations”. Four others were established in 1910 before the Aboriginal Indians Protection Ordinance placed the management of these lands under the Commissioner of Lands and Mines which governed indigenous rights until the establishment of the Amerindian Ordinance Cap. 58, enacted in 1953.
must act together to deal with it effectively, the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief said after “difficult” talks with Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg.
“In three months time, it will be other member states under the focus, and in six months, it could be again others,” Federica Mogherini said. (Excerpt from BBC
Nigeria’s Leader Muhammadu Buhari has declared he has US$150,000 in his personal account, in a move aimed at promoting transparency.
the assets are loose change for Nigerian politicians, but a fortune for most of the country. Buhari is the first opposition candidate to win a national election.
and last month, Buhari said that US$150 billion was missing from state coffers Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a successful lawyer and Pastor at one of
The amount showed the ex-military ruler and Minister of Petroleum had been living a “Spartan lifestyle”, his spokesman Garba Shehu said.
The BBC’s Will Ross says
The former military ruler was elected in March largely on a promise to tackle corruption and insecurity. Corruption is a major problem in Africa’s biggest economy
Nigeria’s biggest churches, is considerably wealthier. Shehu said in a statement Osinbajo had US$1.4 million in his bank accounts. In his declaration of assets,
Osinbajo also revealed that he owned a four-bedroom residence, a three-bedroom flat, a two-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom mortgaged property in Bedford, United Kingdom.
The statement did not give the value of all the assets held by the President and the Vice President, saying the documents submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau would be made public as soon as the verification process was completed.
The leaders are also required by law to declare their assets when they left office. Late President Umaru Yar’Adua was the first Nigerian leader to declare his assets publicly. He was reported to be worth US$5 million when the declaration was made in 2007. (BBC News)
Guatemala’s former President has appeared in court after spending his first night in prison.
Otto Perez Molina, 64, rejected allegations that he was the mastermind of a customs corruption scheme dubbed La Linea, or The Line. At least 100 people are being investigated over the scheme.
A judge in Guatemala City ordered his detention on Thursday while hearings over the corruption allegations took place.
After Friday’s second day of hearings, Perez Molina was again taken from court to a military prison in the capital. He addressed the court on Friday. “The first
thing I want to deny: I don’t belong to La Linea,” he said. He denied taking any bribes and promised to cooperate with the investigation.
“Your honour, I am not going to risk my dignity, my work, nor all the effort I have made
for Guatemala in return for $800,000,’’ he said, in reference to the amount prosecutors say he received illegally.
Investigators say the scheme involved businesses paying bribes to Government
Officials and customs officers in return for being allowed to evade import duties.
Guatemala’s Congress stripped Perez Molina of his immunity from prosecution on Tuesday. That opened the way for criminal charges to be brought against him.
The Vice President was sworn in as interim Head of State ahead of elections this Sunday after Perez Molina resigned on Thursday. Alejandro Maldonado is expected to govern until the new President is sworn in on 14 January.
Guatemalans go to the polls on today to take part in scheduled general elections. Perez Molina is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election.
However, as the country approached independence, nothing guaranteed that the new Government would protect the rights of Amerindians once free from colonial rule. The first significant step made to secure Amerindian land rights under the independent State was taken by Steven Campbell, an Arawak pioneer who originated from the village of Santa Rosa, Region One. Campbell who was a member of The United Force and the first Amerindian to become a Member of Parliament in 1957, foresaw the eminent independence of Guyana from the British Crown and in 1962, petitioned the British Secretary of State on behalf of the Amerindian peoples to guarantee their rights, including to land, once the country became independent. In October 1962, the Conference to settle the form of the Constitution and the date for the independence of Guyana was opened to political parties representing the British Guianese electorate and was attended by The United Force. The Conference continued in 1963 and then in November 1965. At each Conference Campbell raised the issue of Amerindian land rights in Guyana and his efforts culminated into the Lands Commission Act, Cap. 59:03 of May 20th, 1966, exactly 6 days before the country was declared independent. The Guyana Independence Act Cap. 14 Section 17 captures the rights guaranteed by the Lands Commission Act under the independent State of Guyana.
The Lands Commission Act provisioned for the establishment of the Amerindian Lands Commission tasked with investigating the situation of Amerindians so as to determine their needs, and subsequently submit recommendations on how the Government should proceed to issue land titles. In 1969 the Lands Commission Report was issued with findings and observations of its members who travelled across Guyana to assess the situation of 91 Amerindian settlements for which recommendations for different types of legal ownership were made. These figure in the report and were submitted to the Minister of Local Government for consideration. As a result, a first cluster of 62 villages were officially titled and 2 districts were established in 1976 under the Amerindian Act Cap 29:01 . An additional 10 villages were titled in 1991.
Under the PPP/C leadership, a further 24 villages were titled but also began the process of demarcation, a concept relatively new and extremely expensive. By 2013, 80 villages were demarcated at a cost which made the Government of the emerging country flinch, consequentially slowing the land titling process due to insufficient funds. Demarcating a titled village can cost up to $23 million (case of Karisparu, Region Eight).
In 2014, the PPP/C administration launched the Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) Project, which is probably the initiative that best translated its commitment to expediting indigenous land rights in Guyana. Land remains intrinsic to the expansion of a community’s asset base and enables to secure the livelihood of Amerindians for generations to come. It lays the foundation for villages to transact business with third parties while investing in their very own legally held lands. Even before international frameworks were invented to specifically defend and promote indigenous rights, Guyana’s Amerindians were already one step ahead of their fellow indigenous across the globe when it came to land rights.
However, the Amerindian Land Titling Project now under the responsibility of the Indigenous Affairs Ministry is at a standstill since June 2015, despite several empty promises by the Government to resume operations after “review”. Land titling and demarcation processes which were initiated were left hanging, while Amerindian villages patiently awaited their Absolute Grants and Certificate of Titles.
It appears that the Ministry is heavily engaged in witch hunting and political games while it bluntly disregards the efforts of previous Governments in securing Amerindian land rights, as well as the legacy of the very man who we honour on September 10, Steven Campbell.
SunDAY, September 6, 2015 | guYAnAtimeSgY.com
The Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) says it has never increased its toll despite being in operation since 2008, and has an agreement in place with Government that allows this to happen under certain circumstances.
The Company chose not to increase the tolls despite suffering accumulated losses of G$1.5 billion in 2014.
This position was adopted despite the fact that the Company is under threat of insolvency, unless it can restructure its financing. It has also never declared or paid any dividends to any of its ordinary shareholders.
Government and the BBCI recently began clashing about prices for the bridge tolls, with the Administration trying to fulfil its campaign promise of ensuring there are lower tolls for commuters utilising the Berbice River Bridge and the BBCI trying to ‘stay alive’.
To date, no agreement has been made between the two and although the Government had announced publicly that from September 1 lower tolls would take effect, this is yet to be realised.
The BCCI is maintaining that it has neither accepted nor rejected the subsidy proposed by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government to cover the loss to the company from lower tolls.
The company says it must either reduce its cost or increase its income to remain feasible. Presently, the income is its bridge tolls and its main cost is interest on debts.
Long-term solution
In the subsidy proposition by the APNU+AFC coalition to cover the loss the
Company would incur if it were to lower bridge tolls, the BBCI is contending that its financial dilemma requires a long-term arrangement that would enable a refinancing of its debt with creditors.
However, the country went to polls before this matter was resolved and when this initiative to extend the Concession Period failed, the BBCI, in order to maintain its viability had no other option by to apply for increased tolls as per the toll formula and Concession Agreement.
“BBCI did so reluctantly in March 2015, some 10 months after it notified the Government of Guyana of the issues facing the Company (May 2014).
Under the Concession Agreement, the Guyana Government has no authority to lower the tolls without the consent of the BBCI…”
The company’s release went on to say that it penned a letter to President David Granger on May 18, 2015, stating that it had taken note of his party’s
After five days on strike, cane harvesters attached to the Uitvlugt Estate, on the West Coast of Demerara, returned to work on Saturday morning as union representatives and management of the Estate agreed on new revised rates for the payment of the “abnormal” fees.
Abnormal or extra wages is an additional payment to workers usually made when they have to work in field conditions that are not normal. The amount payable varies depending on several
campaign promises to lower the tolls and that the BBCI was availing itself to have discussions with the Administration.
Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, on June 11 wrote the Company stating that his Government had retained the services of Ram and McRae, Chartered Accountants to examine the financial position of the BBCI and to propose modalities and mechanisms provided in the law and various agreements to reduce its tolls.
Ongoing negotiations
According to the BBCI, it responded affirming that it was willing to work with the Administration to achieve any goal which may be of benefit to Guyanese.
Subsequently, the BBCI furnished Ram and McRae with all of the information he requested, which it could legally provide.
Guyana Times understands that the Bridge Company did not hear
“abnormal”
factors including the length of time it takes to get the work done, inclusive of waiting time, and the quantity of work, among others.
While the workers returned to the field early Saturday morning, union representatives, management of the Estate and officials of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) visited the cane fields to assess the conditions on the ground before they could fix a revised payment sum.
General Secretary of the Guyana Agriculture and
from the Government until August when it was invited to a meeting with Finance Minister Winston Jordan. The meeting was to be held on August 12.
“By then, the Government had already made several public pronouncements and had unilaterally announced new tolls, inclusive of an implementation date of September 1, 2015. BBCI had prior to this meeting, only heard and read of these new tolls and their implementation date via the media. It was never officially informed of the proposed new tolls prior to the meeting with the Honourable Minister of Finance,” the BBCI release explained.
At the meeting between the BBCI and the Administration, Finance Minister Jordan then apprised the Company of the Government’s already announced public position.
This newspaper was told that the Company then reminded Minister Jordan of its financial predicament, the toll formula pro-
visions of the Concession Agreement, the application for increased tolls as a result of the aforementioned circumstances, and of the proposed alternative of increasing the Concession Period.
However, on August 13, Ram and McRae wrote BBCI proposing a simple subsidy applied to the existing tolls but this subsidy did not address, postpone or solve the problem of the threatening insolvency of the company.
“In the letter, the Government’s representative acknowledged BBCI’s request for discussions to take place on the proposed extension of the Concession Period… The proposal did not address the fact that the toll formula dictated an increase in the toll, to ensure the solvency of the bridge company… BBCI therefore counter-proposed to Government its earlier position that instead of paying subventions at taxpayers’ expense the concession period could be extended from 21 to 50 years,” the Berbice Bridge Company noted.
It was also pointed out to government that the unfortunate alternative would be to have the tolls raised at a minimum as per the Concession Agreement for the company to remain viable irrespective of the simple subsidy proposed by the APNU/AFC Administration.
The BBCI Board has also determined that in accordance with its fiduciary duty, the contractual arrangements with its creditors and investors, guided by the provisions of the Companies Act, and given the far-reaching consequences of any decision in this regard as it affects the BBCI stakeholder, the correct approach would be to raise the matter with all of
its stakeholders including its creditors.
Guyana Times was also told that the BBCI will pronounce on this matter after these consultations and that the government has also been advised of this.
NEW GPC INC/QAII's Board Directors resign
Meanwhile, NEW GPC INC and QAII announced on Friday that they have withdrawn the representation of their two Directors on the Board of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc which was tendered earlier this week.
The two Directors represented the equity investment by the two companies as common stock shareholders, on which they have never received any dividends over the past eight years.
“The virulent attacks against the two companies that sought to personalise and politicise what is ultimately a discussion on the adherence to the terms of a binding contract and agreement between the Government of Guyana (GoG) and BBCI cannot go unnoticed”, the Company explained.
The release said that the substance of the attacks questioned the integrity of the position defended by the Directors, who have a fiduciary responsibility to represent the best interests of BBCI, and which, in their estimation would not be served if the tolls are reduced without the contractual toll adjustments are not applied.
“NEW GPC INC and QAII hope that a resolution to the impasse would be arrived at soon between the remaining Directors, who constitute a quorum, and the GoG [Government of Guyana]”, the company explained.
General Workers Union (GAWU), Seepaul Narine, who was also a part of that negotiating team, told Guyana Times that during the visit, the obstacles, which are basically weeds and veins, were still very much visible. He noted that after assessing the field, discussions were subsequently held.
Taking into consideration the existing conditions of the field, Narine said various rates were agreed upon. Furthermore, the Union representative stated that
the workers seem to be “satisfied” with the revised rates as they turned out to work on Saturday.
Over 500 cane harvesters downed their tools on Monday after management refused to revise what the workers called “inadequate” abnormal wages. This newspaper was told that when the cane harvesters turned up for work, the field had vines and grass; as such, they meet with management to discuss the additional payment.
However, the offer put
forward by management was found to be “inadequate” by the workers who were demanding double the amount, this newspaper was told. After management’s refusal to increase the payments, the workers took the decision not to return to work until a reasonable agreement is made.
The following day the Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union (GAWU) got involved.
General Secretary of the Union, Seepaul Narine, met with the officials of the
Estate, however no compromise was met.
Then on Friday’s date, union and workers’ representatives and management of the Estate, West Coast Demerara, have agreed to put an end to the strike action while discussion are still ongoing to revised the “abnormal” payments. The workers’ representative was asked to get the workers to end the strike action. However, it is unclear whether the cane harvesters have agreed to this new arrangement.
Serena Williams and Marin Cilic both survived third round scares on Friday to keep their U.S. Open title defences on track but there was no escape for Rafa Nadal with the twice-winner going down in a late night thriller.
A day of riveting high drama began in the early afternoon heat with the ninth seeded Cilic needing over four hours to put away Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7(5) 7-6(1) 6-3 6-7(3) 6-1 and ended in the early morning hours with Italian Fabio Fognini winning a pulsating third round slugfest over Nadal 3-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4.
In between the two epic battles there was even more suspense as Williams came back to score a 3-6 7-5 6-0 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands to keep alive her quest to for a calendar grand slam.
Williams, who dropped just nine sets, including seven first-set losses, in her charge to the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles, was tested at Flushing Meadows by her fellow American, but roared back to victory to reach the fourth round.
“I’m not trying to live on the edge,” the 33-year-old Williams said. “I’m playing players that come out really strong. I just think Bethanie played really well.”
The 21-times grand slam singles winner, who is aiming to join Maureen Connolly (1953), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) as the only women to sweep the four grand slams in a single season, next faces another American Madison Keys.
The real fireworks, however, came in the evening as
Nadal and Fognini lit up the New York night with spectacular rallies and winners that had the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd on their feet well after 1:00 AM.
“If you want to play against him you want to do something different, you have to risk,” said Fognini. “That’s the only thing.
“Probably I made a lot of unforced errors, but it doesn’t matter.
Serena Williams
“You have to do that with a great player that runs a lot on the baseline. He’s one of the best players in the world.”
The defeat ended eighthseeded Nadal’s streak of 10 years in a row with at least one grand slam singles title after the Spaniard lost in the quarters at the Australian and French Opens, while going down in the second round at Wimbledon.
It was Nadal’s first grand slam defeat after winning the first two sets of a match. The only previous such defeat in his career came in the 2005 Miami finals to Roger Federer.
After a week of punish-
ing heat that saw a record 13 players retire, cooler temperatures returned to Flushing Meadows as top seed Novak Djokovic eased to a third round 6-3 7-5 7-5 victory over Italian Andreas Seppi.
It had been a troublefree visit to New York for Djokovic, the top seeded Serb not dropping a set while losing just 10 games going into his match against Seppi.
But the 25th-ranked Italian at least made Djokovic work for his spot in the round of 16, the world number one needing a tiring two and a half hours to secure his victory.
“Just hanging in there, trying to create my own pace and control the rallies,” Djokovic said. “It was a tough three sets.”
Frenchman Jeremy Chardy provided the upset of the day dispatching seventh seeded David Ferrer 7-6(6) 4-6 6-3 6-1 and the Spaniard was joined at the exit by Canadian 10th seed Milos Raonic who was beaten 6-2 7-6(4) 6-3 by Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.
Venus Williams, who won the second of her two U.S. Open titles 14 years ago, struck a blow for the older set by taming Swiss teen Belinda Bencic 6-3 6-4.
Venus, 35, produced a vintage power-game performance to beat the 18-yearold in a match-up between the oldest and youngest players left in the women’s draw.
Joining the seven-times grand slam singles winner in the fourth round was Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Makarova, who advanced with 6-3 7-5 victory over 17th seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. (Reuters)
Dominica has been ravaged by tropical storm Erika and World’s fastest man, Usain Bolt has taken note.
At least 31 people were killed with a further 20 still missing and now Bolt has called for international aid to get the country back on its feet.
The six-time Olympic champion used a brief Youtube message to make the call, saying all kinds of
aid were welcome. Bolt is not alone in the call, as several government, organisations and personalities have identified with the hurt the country is going through and have asked that solidarity be shown in getting the country to its pre Erika state. Next week Dominica will hold a national day of mourning for the victims of Erika. (Digicel Sportsmax)
England became the first team to join hosts France at Euro 2016 after crushing San Marino 6-0 on Saturday, with Wayne Rooney equalling Bobby Charlton’s all-time scoring record of 49 goals for his country.
The visitors outclassed San Marino’s part-timers as they chalked up a seventh successive Group E qualifying win to seal a place in France next year with three matches to spare.
Rooney, who scored his first goal for England 12 years ago this weekend, equalled Charlton’s 45-year-old record when he scored with a 13thminute penalty, sending goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini the wrong way.
Both players scored their 49 goals in 106 appearances.
The England skipper never had another clear-cut chance to break the record and manager Roy Hodgson replaced Rooney after 57 minutes with Harry Kane who also got among the scorers with a well-taken chip in the 75th.
“It’s a proud moment for me to equal Bobby’s record and my aim is to push on and help
the team beat Switzerland on Tuesday,” Rooney told ITV Sport.
“Since I joined Manchester United, Bobby gives me advice after games and I am sure if anyone will be happy for me to break his record it will be him.”
Hodgson said he had always planned to take Rooney off.
Wayne Rooney
Difficult pitch
“It was in our thoughts to keep Wayne on for 45 to 60 minutes because other players needed to play,” the manager explained.
“We played well today and players like Jonjo Shelvey had a good game on a very difficult pitch.”
San Marino, who have only avoided defeat in a competitive match once in 10 years, played some neat football but there was never any doubt about the outcome even before Cristian Brolli headed a cross into his own net after 30 minutes to double England’s lead. Ross Barkley made it 3-0 seconds after halftime when he nodded his first goal for his country and the second half turned into little more than a training match as Hodgson’s men retained possession for long periods.
Substitute Theo Walcott, who had just replaced Arsenal team mate Alex OxladeChamberlain, tapped in the fourth goal at the far post in the 68th minute.
Kane, without a goal for Tottenham Hotspur this season, ended his drought with a perfectly-flighted effort over Simoncini before Walcott slid in the sixth goal in the 76th minute. Switzerland and Slovenia, who are second and fourth in the group, meet later on Saturday. (Reuters)
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton saw off a strong Ferrari challenge at the Italian team’s home Grand Prix to seal his seventh pole position in a row and 11th in 12 races on Saturday.
The Mercedes driver, whose team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg will start fourth after engine problems forced him to revert to using one without the latest updates, now has 49 career poles.
The pole, in bright sunshine, was the Briton’s fourth at Monza and 23rd in succession for Mercedes, one short of the record set by the Williams team in 1992-93.
Kimi Raikkonen joined him on the front row with Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel qualifying third.
“These guys did a great job, they are very close,” said Hamilton, who leads Rosberg by 28 points in the championship, of his Ferrari rivals after taking pole with a lap of one minute 23.397 seconds and two tenths faster than Raikkonen.
“My Spa lap was better,” he added, referring to his Belgian pole of two weeks earlier.
Vettel, who could become the first driver since Stirling Moss in the 1950s to win at Monza with three different teams, hoped Ferrari would have a chance on Sunday but made clear Hamilton was the overwhelming favourite.
“I think it’s a fantastic result, second and third and very close to Lewis,” said the German, racing for the first time in Italy in Ferrari red.
“Sorry Lewis, but I wouldn’t mind if you are not on the podium,” he grinned.
“You can be, but if we are both ahead of you that would obviously be a dream come true.
“I think dreaming is allowed but you have to be realistic. It’s going to be a tough race tomorrow and these guys (Mercedes) have some serious pace.”
Raikkonen, the 2007 champion for Ferrari, said it was nice to be back on the front row in front of the tifosi after a long absence.
“We expected a strong
weekend, knew this place is not our strongest probably but in the end the car turned out to be pretty good in qualifying conditions,” said the Finn.
“It’s nice to be here, a home race for us. This was our best qualifying performance this year as a team so we will try and give another good go tomorrow and get a good result for ourselves and our fans.”
The Finn’s performance drew immediate praise from watching Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne: “We saw a different Kimi. I was expecting that Kimi would have relaxed after his contract renewal.”
The Williams pairing of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas qualified fifth and sixth with Mexican Sergio Perez seventh for Force India.
Toro Rosso’s Dutch teenager Max Verstappen failed to set a lap time after his car’s engine cover blew off in the first phase of qualifying -the first time he has failed to reach the second stage in his 12-race career. (Reuters)
Rafael Nadal ended a sub-par grand slam season on a heartbreaking note when he fell 3-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 in the third round of the U.S. Open to an inspired Fabio Fognini after winning the first two sets on Friday.
Clay court specialist Fognini, who was 0-7 on hard courts coming into the U.S. Open, played magnificently from the third set on, picking Nadal apart with groundstroke angles and deft play at the net, where the Italian won 39 of 54 advances.
The final set produced spectacular rallies and winners that had the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd on their feet up to the 1:26 AM finish as the combatants traded seven service breaks in a row from the third game of the fifth set before Fognini held to end the three hour 46-minute tilt.
“Something incredible that I did today,” said the 32nd-ranked Fognini,
who won two out of three clay court matches against
Nadal this year. “A very special win.”
The loss ended eighthseeded Nadal’s record streak of 10 years in a row with at least one grand slam singles title after the Spaniard fell in the quarters at the Australian and French Opens, and was ousted in the second round at Wimbledon.
It was Nadal’s first grand slam loss after winning the first two sets of a match. The only previous such defeat in his career came 10 years ago in the Miami finals to Roger Federer.
“He played great,” said 14-times grand slam winner Nadal. “I’m not happy he played better than me, but that’s what happened.”
Nadal, 29, played his best tennis of the tournament in the first two sets and looked poised to register a straight sets win after breaking the Italian in the third game and taking a 3-1 lead.
But Fognini, 28, broke back in the sixth game and
again in the 10th to extend the match.
Fognini, ripping outrageous winners from unexpected angles against the frustrated Spaniard, was down an early break again in the fourth set but broke Nadal in the fourth and eighth games to force a fifth set.
Like two fighters summoning all their energy for a late round knockout, they pounded away at each other, producing an electric finish that enthralled the crowd.
Fognini finished with 70 winners to 30 for Nadal, but the go-for-broke Italian also registered 57 unforced errors, more than triple of Nadal’s 18.
The titanic struggle ended with Fognini having won 154 points to 152 for Nadal.
Fognini advanced to a fourth-round match against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, a 6-2 7-6 6-3 upset winner against 10th seeded Milos Raonic of Canada. (Reuters)
akistan allrounder
PShoaib Malik has been given a category A contract by the PCB for the period between July 2015 and June 2016, while offspinner Saeed Ajmal and fast bowler Junaid Khan were demoted to category B.
The significant hike in the list is for ODI captain Azhar Ali, who has been promoted to category A from category C. Fast bowler Umar Gul is a notable omission from the 27-man list issued by the PCB on Saturday.
Malik, who had been denied a contact for many years, made a comeback to the national side in May after a gap of two years, scoring a hundred against Zimbabwe in Lahore.
Ajmal, on the other hand, has been struggling to cement his place in the side after remodeling his bowling action. He was included in category B alongside Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Junaid Khan and Asad Shafiq. Mohammad Irfan and Haris Sohail were upgraded from category D to C.
Middle-order batsman Umar Akmal, who has lately been restricted to playing T20s, was demoted from category B to category C by the three-man committee. Some of the notable players to completely miss out on a contract include Khurram Manzoor, Nasir Jamshed, Abdur Rehman, Adnan Akmal, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Talha, Bilawal Bhatti, Sharjeel Khan, Ehsan Adil and Raza Hasan.
The central contracts selection panel comprises of national chief selector Haroon Rasheed, head coach Waqar Younis and Zakir Khan, the director of international cricket operations.
“This bunch is a blend of seasoned players with proven credentials and emerging talent with potential to represent Pakistan across three formats,” the PCB said in a
statement. “The remunerations - both the monthly retainer as well as match fees - have been increased across the board along with restoring the win bonuses and performance incentives.”
The players and the PCB had been negotiating a rise in the monthly retainer with many options, such as ending the performance based contract. The players, however, objected to this. Instead, they agreed to
a contract which besides the monthly retainer, gave the players an opportunity to make extra money by scoring a hundred, taking four or more wickets, or having an exceptional series. The players also agreed to continue with the 10% raise offered earlier this year by the PCB.
Category A: Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan
Category B: Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah
Category C: Anwar Ali, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaan Masood, Umar Akmal
Category D: Babar Azam, Sami Aslam, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Amin, Zulfiqar Babar (Cricinfo)
martial inspires France win over portugal
Manchester United’s £36m signing Anthony Martial came off the bench to make his France debut in a 1-0 friendly win away to Portugal.
Martial, 19, has four goals in 12 France Under-21 games, but could not make an impact after replacing Karim Benzema in the 74th minute.
Euro 2016 hosts France won the game through a superb late free-kick from Lyon midfielder Mathieu Valbuena.
They play Serbia in another friendly in Bordeaux on Monday evening.
Portugal, who remain at the top of their five-team qualifying group despite not being in competitive action on Friday, fielded a
strong line-up with captain Cristiano
joined by former Manchester United team-mate Nani and current Real Madrid colleague Pepe. However it was Didier Deschamps’ visitors who created more of the chances in the first half with Blaise Matuidi twice going close before Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko wasted a good chance as he attempted to pick out Benzema rather than shoot. Ronaldo was replaced by Ricardo Quaresma in the 67th minute and the game appeared to be heading for a stalemate before Valbuena’s curling effort dipped over the wall and out of reach of goalkeeper Rui Patricio five minutes from time. (BBC Sport)
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Britain’s Johanna Konta continued to enjoy her time in the sun and the US Open spotlight as she stopped 18th seed Andrea Petkovic 7-6(2) 6-3 on Saturday to reach the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time.
It was the second upset in as many matches for the 24-year-old qualifier who toiled for three hours and 23 minutes in searing heat on Thursday to dispatch eighth seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in the longest US Open women’s match since the introduction of the tiebreak in 1970.
The sun returned to Flushing Meadows on Saturday but again it was Konta’s opponent feeling the heat, with Petkovic calling a medical timeout after going down a set and 3-0 in the second.
Trainers checked the German’s blood pressure and wrapped her in ice packs and ice towels and she was able to continue digging into her reserves to offer up a brief fight back.
Up 5-1 and serving for the match, Konta could not put away Petkovic at first
opportunity as the German broke and held serve.
But Konta would not let Petkovic off the hook a second time, serving out to clinch the upset.
“It was definitely tough. Even if she’s not at her best she is one of the toughest competitors on the Tour,” said Konta, 97 in the rankings. “I think you could tell she wasn’t going to give it to me those last three games.”
Next up for Konta will be fifth seeded Czech Petra Kvitova, who had no problem with the heat or her opponent, the twice Wimbledon champion needing just 66 minutes to breeze past
Slovakian
One of just two players to beat world number
this
arrived at
in good form having claimed her third title of the season at New
in the final tuneup for the U.S. Open Richard Gasquet also wasted little time in the sun, the 12th seeded Frenchman romping into the fourth round with a 6-4 6-3 6-1 win over a drained Australian Bernard Tomic, who was coming off a gruelling five set battle with countryman Lleyton Hewitt. (Reuters)
Digicel SportsMax and the National Basketball Association (NBA) will be hosting the Digicel Jumpstart Clinic this Saturday and Sunday at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
The clinic will be run by NBA International Basketball Operations staff and focus on player development, bringing together 40 players from the national U16 team along with 40 local coaches from the Jamaica Basketball Association (JABA).
During the two-day Clinic, players will be put through their paces by the NBA coaches, who will share their knowledge and expertise in a bid to take players to the next level. Through the Clinic, the players are not only taught about skill and technical ability, but also about the ethos of professionalism and a good attitude –critical attributes of successful people in all walks of life.
“Our partnership with the NBA brings immense opportunities for us, not just to broadcast the league which tips off on 27th October, but to ensure that our basketball fans and players benefit from our association throughout the Caribbean. The Digicel Jumpstart Clinics, led by the NBA coaches, will teach aspiring young players valuable lessons that are useful both on and off the court as well as core basketball values, necessary for a solid foundation in the sport,” said Tanya Lee, Digicel
programme from September 26-28 in Trinidad and Tobago where former NBA player Mugsy Bogues and former NBA coach PJ Carlesimo are scheduled to appear.
The top eight players from the Elite Camp, as determined by the NBA coaches and legends, will have the opportunity to travel to the United States to participate in training sessions with an NBA team. The top-eight, apart from sharing in an exclusive NBA experience with the team, will also attend an
SportsMax’s Caribbean Marketing Manager.
President of the Jamaica Basketball Association, Dr Mark Broomfield, said; “Under a rejuvenated JABA, our national mandate includes a keen focus on youth development. The Digicel Jumpstart Clinics programme instils a solid platform for 40 local coaches, and 40 talented national Under-16 basketballers, which will help them in upcoming regional tournaments. We are pleased that their skills will be showcased in Jamaica and in 25 other countries on Digicel SportsMax.”
The Jamaica leg of the Jumpstart Basketball Clinic is a part of the Digicel Jumpstart Clinics initiative being held across the Caribbean. Camps have already been held in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos and will culminate in Trinidad and Tobago.
The best athletes in each country will be selected for the intensive “Elite Camp”
official NBA game. Along with the NBA rights through 2019, Digicel SportsMax is the regional rights holder of premium content such as Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, La Liga, The Women’s Tennis Association premier events, IAAF Diamond League, IAAF Grand Prix Meets, The Ashes, Australia and England cricket, West Indies Away Tours and more. (Digicel Sportsmax)
With the Government of Guyana stating its financial and legislative commitment to the sport of horse racing in Guyana, the Rising Sun Turf
Club (RSTF) announced that it recently held Presidents Cup Horse Race Meeting was a huge success for fans, horse owners and the club alike.
All nine races on the card
were run off without any major incidents, delay, or interference; the last race was completed before sundown.
Track Principal, Fazal Habibulla, stated, “I am very
satisfied with the manner in which race fans conducted themselves on race day, with very little interference from fans on the track. In planning the Presidents Cup meeting, I was aware of the complaints from the last race meeting at Port Mourant from fans and stakeholders, so we set about to put some measures in place to prevent a recurrence,” Habibulla noted.
Habibulla also pointed to the new security fencing installed and the upgraded facilities in the grandstands,
event which was in honour of President David Granger.
The Club also thanked the Government of Guyana for its renewed commitment to the sport of horse racing, with Minister Harmon delivering the support to the fans on race day.
“We would like to express our gratitude to all of our sponsors who made this event possible, and look forward to working with them again in promoting this beautiful sport we all love,” a release from the club noted.
Habibulla also expressed
Raceday Highlights:
* No on-track incident between animal and race fan
* No injury to any animal
* Fans were obedient in clearing the track when prompted to
* Minister Harmon stated the Government of Guyana
which allowed fans to enjoy the event without having to leave the grandstands in search of bathroom facilities and better vantage points.
RSTC thanked the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, for attending the
is committed to financial and legislative support of horse racing
* All races completed before 18:00h
* Upgraded facilities for fans with clear view of the event.
his gratitude to Banks DIH, Powerline Automotive Products, Bonny’s Meat Centre, Tony’s Auto Sales & Spares, Potaro Mining Company, Choke Service Station, I&R Trucking Service, Ray Auto Sales & Spares, Steve Jewelry, RPH Agri & Mining Spares, Horse Owner Nankoo Shariff, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales, Francis Chichester, and Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall for the beautiful trophy given to the winner of the Presidents Cup.
Guyana moved up one spot to 15 in the latest Caribbean Football Union ranking when the standing was released on Thursday by FIFA.
While Guyana made a move up the CFU ranking, they dropped two places on FIFA’s world ranking to 154.
Guyana’s slight move up the CFU rankings was made possible by their undefeated streak for the year thus far.
However, their slide down the world ranking could have been because they have not won much either, while being unable to advance past round two of FIFA’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
With no official game scheduled for the Golden Jaguars in the next month, Guyana may possibly slide a bit more in both the CFU and world rankings.
Not even the presence of his sporting inspiration, Tiger Woods, at the U.S. Open could lift Rafael Nadal to his accustomed heights at Flushing Meadows, leaving the Spaniard to assess his recent shortcomings on the court.
Nadal was 151-0 in grand slams when winning the first two sets, but his perfect record ended when he could not stave off the comeback of inspired Fabio Fognini, who prevailed 3-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 in a match that ended in the wee hours on Saturday.
“If you hit the ball a bit shorter, the opponent has more space. If you hit the ball with a little bit of less confidence, then there is not as much topspin like used to be,” he said after his upset loss to the Italian.
seeded eighth at Flushing Meadows.
Nadal, who has been slowed in recent years by injuries, insisted he was healthy this season and retained his passion for the game.
On Friday night, he was cheered on by golfer Tiger Woods, who sat in his box.
Former world number one Woods has also dealt with injuries, most recently needing back surgery, and has been struggling to regain form.
“For me, (as) a sportsman he’s a big example. His attitude on the golf course for me always was a big inspiration,” Nadal said.
BY TREISTON JOSEPH
The GT Beer Futsal Tournament will continue tonight with four competitive games when the quarterfinal round kicks off at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall from 19:00h.
The first game of the evening will feature two high scoring teams in Sophia and Bent Street, in a game that will definitely set the pace for the rest of the evening.
Both teams have recorded victories by large margins with Sophia scoring 10 goals in their last outing, however once Bent Street can keep the pace with Sophia, they will have a chance to come out victorious.
The second game will feature an intriguing matchup between West Back Road and West Front Road as both sides are well rounded.
However, history will be on the side of West Front Road, who has clearly been one of the dominant teams in this format of the game.
The third game will feature one of the tournament’s favourite to win in Sparta Boss who will go up against Kitty Weavers.
While Kitty is a formidable side, they face an uphill task against an experienced Sparta Boss side that will be aiming for yet another futsal title. Both sides can attack but probably play even better defence; the side that makes the less mistakes as well as playing better defence will come out on top of this encounter.
In the final game of the evening, Festival City will play Albouystown in what is expected to be a physical encounter between the two sides. Nevertheless, this game can become one sided very fast, depending on which team plays their best futsal upfront.
“If you hit shorter ... the opponent takes the ball earlier, so it looks like you are slower.
“When I saw him play, when I saw his attitude, I see the eyes that he has when has the difficult shot, the decisive shot. Is very special.
“I don’t see a lot of sportsmen with that self-confi-
“Is easy to understand, easy to explain. Difficult to change. But I going to do it.”
The third-round defeat put a sour end to a sub-par season for Nadal, 29, whose record run of winning at least one grand slam title for 10 straight years was snapped.
He went as far as the quarters at the Australian and French Opens and was ousted in the second round at Wimbledon by an opponent ranked outside the top 100.
“I accept that was not my year and (will) keep fighting till the end of the season in a positive way for me. I know what I have to do and I’m going to work on it,” said the proud Spaniard,
dence, with that intensity on his face when he had to hit the important shot.
“So for me, he’s a great example, great inspiration. I always say the same. I don’t have idols. But that’s the closest thing that I have: Him.”
Nadal said he believed he could regain his superiority on the court. “It’s not a big story,” he said. “Is just improve small things that make a big difference.”
The Spaniard has been stuck on his total of 14 grand slams, the same number of golf majors that Woods has been stalled on since 2008.
Asked who he thought had the best chance to win number 15, Nadal said: “I hope we make that happen next year, both (of us).” (Reuters)
The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) vented their frustration with the omission of Albion, Berbice, Guyana and West Indies left arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul from the West Indies touring team to Sri Lanka.
A release from the board said that even though the board has no issue with young Jomel Warrican, it feels strongly that Permaul’s performance for the year so far, his experience and track record are enough for him to earn his selection.
He was the top bowl-
er in the regional four day competition, tied with Sunil Narine in the 50 Overs tournament and bowled beautifully in the just concluded Caribbean Premiere League. The board further stated that Permaul is no rabbit with the bat, and has done well as a developing all rounder over the years.
The board is of the firm opinion that the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB) Executives, Directors and selectors continue to blame the players for the failures of West Indies cricket, while the problem is with they
themselves.
“They have been talking of rebuilding and investing in new players for over two decades but the results continue to get worse,” the release continued. “So obviously, the fault lies with the Administrators,” the release added.
The BCB calls for wholesome changes to the West Indies Cricket Board and its selectors, “the members of the WICB are more interested in keeping their positions rather than work towards improving the game. As a result, everyone barters and
compromise. The board also calls on all Guyanese to condemn this injustice and stop the eye pass of our cricketers,” the release sated.
A call is also made on Heads of Governments of Caricom to act swiftly to avoid the total collapse of the only sport, arguably the only common thing that unites the Caribbean.
The Executives of the BCB encourage young Permaul not to lose faith and continue to stay focus and fit. “God will create an avenue for him the board added in closing.”
Outgoing West Indies skipper Denesh Ramdin hopes the selectors give new Test captain Jason Holder better resources during his captaincy tenure starting with next month’s two-Test series against host Sri Lanka. Ramdin becomes the second Trinidadian to be removed as captain in spurious circumstances and reasons by the Clive Lloyd, Courtney Walsh and Eldine
Baptiste selection panel,following Dwayne Bravo’s change as oneday international captain after last year’s abandoned India tour.
After the controversial three-year reign of Darren Sammy as Test team leader, which had the side arguably unbalanced in its playing XI, the 30-year-old Ramdin was chosen as captain for the 2014 home series versus New Zealand.
This was the last act by
former Guyanese chairman of selector Clyde Butts on the strength of Ramdin’s leadership qualities at the youth and senior level for TT and with the Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Fifteen months and 13 Tests later, he has been axed but Ramdin noted yesterday that Holder will have his full support.
“Firstly I would just want to congratulate Holder on getting the captaincy,” said Ramdin.
He continued: “Obviously it’s never easy to lead the West Indies especially in these troubling times but I will give my full support.
I am very happy with where I am in life personally, so I will continue working on improving my batting and ‘keeping going forward in order to make my best contribution to the team. I’m not stressing about losing the captaincy.” Ramdin explained that in conversations with selectors he was told the statistical fact of him scoring 472 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 22 in charge, was the main reason behind his removal and that they wanted him to concentrate more on scoring runs. Before attainting cap-
taincy, Ramdin was excellent with the bat from the 2012 England tour to the 2013 New Zealand tour, scoring 587 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 45.87, including three of his four Test hundreds.
Ramdin countered that argument, stating he could have had better resources at
ers were available due to various reasons and teams that selectors gave me.
So yeah, I think I could had gotten better resources.
Hopefully they give that to Jason,” Ramdin explained.
Notably in Ramdin 13 Tests in charge, due to a combination of inju-
to properly utilise the skills of Dwayne
was best highlighted when the selectors decided not to select Narine for the 2014 home Tests versus New Zealand
his disposal.
“From day one it was always pressure leading (the) team, not all (the) best play-
ries, clashes with IPL and Champions League as well as questionable selection choices, Ramdin never got
