Guyana Times Daily - October 8, 2015

for the boys and bones for the workers” – PPP

thursday, october 8, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Criminal Assizes

Berbice, Essequibo October sessions to open month-end

With the October Criminal Assizes in Demerara commencing on Tuesday last, the previous sessions are still ongoing in both Berbice and Essequibo.

According to a release from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers, the session in Berbice is likely to come to an end in two weeks’ time while Essequibo will close off the following week.

In Berbice, the June Criminal Assizes commenced on June 16, with Justice Franklyn Holder. Justice Navindra Singh then took over in July before he proceeded on annual leave in August. Justice William Ramlall continued the Assizes.

During this session, Justice Holder completed three matters: one for the offence of rape and caus-

ing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, one for causing grievous bodi ly harm with intent and one for murder.

In the rape matter, the defendant was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment after the State accepted his plea to the alternate offence of attempt to com mit rape. The trial Judge then directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty for the offence of rape.

The causing griev ous bodily harm with intent to murder case was withdrawn by the State after the accused pleaded to an al ternative count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The de fendant was then fined the sum of $120,000 after the VC indicated to the court

ing a no-case submission and directing the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

Additionally, Justice Ramlall completed one matter for the offence of murder. The accused in this matter pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.

Essequibo session

At the same time, over in Essequibo, Justice James BovellDrakes continued the Essequibo February Assizes early in the month of April and then opened the May Criminal Assizes on Tuesday, May 19. He completed two matters for the offence of rape of a child under 16

In the first matter, Government Psychiatrist Dr Bhiro Harry testified that the defendant was not mentally fit to stand trial. In accordance with the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act Section 177, the jury was directed to return a unanimous verdict of Insane And The Court Ordered that the accused be conveyed to the

Georgetown Prison then to the Georgetown Public Hospital Psychiatric Ward for treatment. Thereafter, he is to return to court to stand trial when his doctor certifies him as competent to stand trial, As it relates to the other rape of a child under 16 years matter, the accused was acquitted after the jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty. Justice Brassington Reynolds then continued the Essequibo Assizes in July during which he completed one matter before proceeding on leave.

The matter presented before Justice Reynolds was for the offence of attempt to commit murder and wounding with intent. The trial Judge upheld a no-case submission on both counts and directed the jury to return formal verdicts of not guilty against the accused.

The Berbice Criminal Assizes is expected to open on October 20, 2015, with 53 cases listed to be heard before Justice William Ramlall. Meanwhile, the Essequibo Criminal Assizes is scheduled to start on October 27, 2O15 before Justice Brassington Reynolds.

Land Titling and Demarcation Project recommences

– 113 communities targeted

About 113 Amerindian communities are targeted to be titled and demarcated under the Government’s Land Tiling and Demarcation Project, which recommenced in September. Forty-five communities will be titled and 68 demarcated.

Since the resumption of this programme, investigations have been conducted in Hotoquai and Red Hill, Region One (BarimaWaini) with regard to extension. Demarcation is currently ongoing at Karisparu, Taruka, Kato and Tuseneng, all areas in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

Adviser to the Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Mervyn Williams, has confirmed that these communities will receive their title document by year-end.

The Land Titling and Demarcation Project provides an opportunity for Amerindians to better manage, protect and improve their chances of expanding economic activities in their respective communities.

In 2013, Guyana received US$10.7 million for the implementation of the Land

Adviser to the Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs,

Titling and Demarcation Project, under the Guyana REDD + Investment Fund (GRIF). This new process will see the Ministry accomplishing the outstanding 80 per cent of deliverables in the remaining life of the project. It will also allow for the creation of jobs for indigenous youths, who have already been trained in Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and mapping, and have successfully surveyed and mapped their village lands.

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

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

Thursday, October 8 – 13:55h-15:25h and Friday, October 9 – 14:30h-16:00h

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Low

“Meat for the boys and bones for the workers” – PPP Govt’s mega salary increases scandal...

... calls for decision to be rescinded

The A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition came in for much criticism on Wednesday from the Opposition with respect to the massive pay hike they awarded themselves.

Earlier this year, when Guyana Times had reported that the new coalition was planning to give Cabinet Members a hefty salary increase, the new Government categorically denied this.

However, in the official

Gazette dated September 25, 2015, it was revealed that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and all Government Ministers have been awarded a salary increase, which is much larger than what the Administration had given to public servants in its 2015 Budget.

On Wednesday, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Clement Rohee called for the Government to rescind its decision to dole out such large increases in salaries for its Vice Presidents, Ministers and MPs.

During a media briefing at Freedom House, Rohee stated that this course of action taken by the APNU/ AFC was “ugly”, politically motivated, and is evidence of the Government’s self-interest.

“Only two months ago…spokespersons in the Government were loud in their denials….that whopping salary increases were in the offing…allowing them to line their pockets with tax dollars,” said Rohee.

The PPP General Secretary emphasised that sometime in June, when the coalition came into power, its officials were trumpeting statements declaring that the Treasury was without

funds and was, therefore, empty. This, he deems, was an act by the APNU/AFC to “dupe” the nation.

“The question now being asked is how with a bankrupt economy and an empty treasury can such whopping increases be afforded?” he questioned.

According to Rohee, the “big lie” has now been exposed for what it is and as such, this Administration will have to ‘take the blows’ from infuriated and offended Guyanese who will outwardly reject this “meat for the boys and bones for the workers’ salary increase(s)”.

On Tuesday, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon had defended the increases, stating that persons need to be paid well by the Government if the Government wanted them to perform.

“I am not going to say that I make any apologies whatsoever for Ministers getting increase in salaries, they deserve it,” Minister Harmon had told the media.

Rohee further noted that “Chief apologist for the APNU/AFC Coalition Administration, Joseph Harmon had declared in June 2015 that APNU/AFC had essentially found the cupboard bare meaning that the public treasury had no money and that the “country was bankrupt…The APNU/ AFC Coalition had promised to bring Guyanese ‘a lean and mean government’. Also, a “good life” was promised to all Guyanese and all of this has now ‘gone fuh channa’.”

In relation to Minister Harmon’s most recent statement on the matter, that is by increasing these salaries corruption will be prevented since Ministers will be motivated to work ‘harder’, Rohee said there is no evidence to support the Minister’s claim.

As such, the PPP General Secretary questioned the basis on which such a conclusion was formed by the State Minister.

“Where are the studies and data supported evidence showing that higher salaries will make a better politician or motivate elected Government officials to work harder?”

Guyana Times was further told by the PPP spokesman that the Party was not convinced that the “overgenerous” pay hikes are well-deserved.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo will be benefiting from a whopping $20,580,000 per an-

num, while the other Vice Presidents will each receive $11,135,064.

Under the APNU/AFC Government, a Cabinet Minister will be given a hefty

other Vice Presidents positions, which did not exist under the PPP/C Administration, Sydney Allicock, Carl Greenidge, and Khemraj Ramjattan

sum of $10,439,124 – annually – more than $300,000 over previous Ministers and a Junior Minister or a Minister within a Ministry will be paid $8,346,492 per annum.

The Attorney General will receive the same amount of money that the Chancellor does and the Speaker of the National Assembly is slated to benefit from $10,39,124 every year (the same salary which a Cabinet Minister will be paid).

In addition to the increased salary for Prime Minister Nagamootoo of $1.7 million monthly, an increase of over $200,000 each month, he will be drawing vacation benefits and perks totalling more than another $500,000.

Additionally, every other member of the National Assembly is to be paid $2,402,532 each year.

Guyana Times further understands that the three

will earn some $1.13 million, double the $579,000 which they would have earned as Ministers. In addition, the vacations and other benefits are also $500,000.

The Cabinet Ministers, who are the 15 senior Ministers in Government, will now benefit from $1 million – an increase of over $400,000 or 74 per cent each month.

It must be noted that the 12 Ministers within the Ministries (Junior Ministers) will each earn $700,000 monthly and like their senior Ministers will be entitled to the $500,000 in benefits.

In addition to their huge salaries, all 27 Ministers will each be receiving a duty allowance, an entertainment allowance, $45,000 housing allowance, chauffeur allowance of over $100,000 and annual vacation allowance of $420,000.

Editor(ag): Michael Younge

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

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

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

Editorial

“Agri” in schools

Guyana should be proud of the amount of money it spends on education. This year it was $33 billion – just above the $32 billion from last year by the previous Administration. What this demonstrates is that education is one area among our national priorities where there is unanimity of focus by our usually fractious political elite. But a closer look at some of the programmes this money is spent ion n terms of how it relates to our national goals is suggested. In this “Agriculture Month”, it might be useful to examine the resources spent on teaching Agricultural Science in our secondary schools.

“Agri” is one of the most popular subjects in our secondary schools and in some of them, becomes almost compulsory, because of the insistence that one subject from the “vocational stream” be taken at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). What this means is that there are several thousand students who have what is defined as a “basic proficiency” in this subject. When the subject was introduced into the CSEC curriculum – since it was not available at the General Certificate of Examination (GCE “O” Levels) which it replaced – the rationale was that agriculture was the backbone of Caribbean economies, and certainly in Guyana, and that the population ought to be educated to better gravitate to that profession.

However, in the more than two decades the subject has been taught in secondary schools and after which hundreds of thousands would have imbibed the curriculum, the question should be asked as to exactly how many of those graduates ended up in agriculture or in a profession related to agriculture. In Guyana, most of the farmers remain those to whom agriculture was the traditional occupation of the family and generally the ones in which the sons followed in their fathers’ footsteps. There is a minority of women farmers. The anecdotal evidence suggests that very few children who take Agriculture as a subject in school use the knowledge imparted to become farmers or improve their farming techniques.

Today, for instance, there are thousands of individuals who rear poultry in their backyards or in larger operations. While knowledge of poultry rearing is a part of the Agriculture curriculum, most of these poultry farmers have acquired their knowledge from independent sources. On the other hand, the Guyana School of Agriculture is much more vibrant in supplying the agricultural sector with the skill set that it demands. Interestingly, Agriculture Science is only one of the “science” subjects that are required for entry.

It is suggested that rather than simply offering Agriculture Science as only one more subject that students sit to add to their “portfolio” for scholarships, (but do not utilise directly as a vocation as was intended), the Ministry should relook at the resources expended and decide whether those resources can be better directed into areas that will produce more tangible benefits.

It is suggested that rather than use the secondary school as a “pre-vocational” institution, the focus be redirected towards the basic sciences from where the student may proceed into any of the several occupations that need a “science” background. Most of our secondary schools do not have properly equipped laboratories while poultry farms soak up budgets. The need of the hour is for more Engineers. For instance, with oil definitely confirmed in substantial deposits off the Essequibo Coast, Guyana will need petroleum Engineers in substantial numbers.

The Agricultural Science teachers can be utilised to create a smaller student/teacher ratio in the sciences and Maths since students need more grounding in this field which unfortunately becomes stigmatised as “hard”.

While it may appear anomalous to suggest moving away from teaching Agricultural Science during “Agriculture Month”, in the long run, the entire economy will benefit when we train our young people in fields where there is greater value added such as “Agro-processing”.

It will take Engineers to run those factories to add value to the agriculture products.

The reason Venezuela reopened the border controversy with Guyana

Dear Editor,

The territorial intrusions and harassment of Guyana by Venezuela is a blatant violation of international law, totally unjustified and illegal. While it is heartening to hear that the US supports the 1899 Award, I believe two points need to be reiterated or emphasised.

First, we must note that Venezuela has “bullied” the UN and its General Secretaries with sweet promises, deception, and disinformation for over 53 years – and with such a unique capability, this can continue perpetually – because her Constitution apparently encourages such behaviour as Great Britain (GB) had predicted.

With pressure from the US in 1884, GB explained that her reluctance to arbitration was because she feared that the “Venezuelan Constitution would be used as a pretext for disobedience to any award,” since its Constitution prevents the relinquishment of any part of territory by treaty which her people or Government claims to be indubitably Venezuelan – even if it runs counter of international law.

Secondly, voluminous records from the Spanish, British and Dutch official archives in combination with the verbatim records of every word spoken at the 18979 tribunal provide indisputable evidence that Venezuela has no claim to more territory, and in fact, “if the matter is treated as one of strict right”, those very records confirm that Venezuela was not entitled to the Orinoco River region but was gifted to her because of a “compromise really diplomatic in character” secured by probably the most prestigious, influential Tribunal legal team-led by the former US President General Harrison.

It also confirms the findings of the 1899 Tribunal research team led by Professor Burr, that “if British Guiana fails to get the boundary

placed close to or at the Orinoco it will not be for lack of evidence”. Though the Orinoco was a huge loss to British Guiana (BG), she did not protest it but went ahead with Venezuela to accept, ratify and jointly demarcate the boundary as ordered by the 1899 Award. In the end, President McKinley in his address to Congress, declared the tribunal’s “unanimous decision” on the border was “equally satisfactory to both parties”, thereby “ending a long lived controversy”. Thirdly, it is crucial to note that while the media and some academic experts attribute the reopening of the 1899 Award to the independence of BG, it accounts only for the time-frame but not for the reason. The precise reason is intertwined with the foreign interventions of the 1960s. While we are well past this painful, regrettable era, it is critical to revisit it briefly in order to identify specifically why the Venezuelan claim was reopened. Tim Weiner, New York Times, reports that “though many Presidents have ordered the CIA to undermine foreign leaders”, they say, “the Jagan papers are a rare smoking gun: a clear written record, without veiled words or plausible denials, of a President’s command to depose a Premier”. A massive amount of official documents from the now declassified CIA files, the US State Department, British Parliament, British Law Enforcement Files and Records; and books written by former CIA agents pinpoint micro details of the CIA covert operations: saboteur names, sabotage location and targeted individuals along with details of the date, time, place, weapons, group and persons used to carry out each operation. At the June 28, 1963 conference in Birch Grove, President Kennedy and the British Prime Minister MacMillan, met to approve and monitor the progress of the three

major components of the CIA covert operation, triangulating the removal of the Premier.

The first component of the covert operation was monetary assistance and intimidation training of the BG Trades Union Congress and affiliated unions’ utilised during their strikes. The second component was the X-13 plan that caused death, havoc and destruction across BG. After two sophisticated operations, at the Demerara River and Freedom House in July 1964, the “Police established the existence of an organised terrorist department within LFS party”, centrally directed by LFS and “HG” of the PNC; Ishmael of the TUC, and former top brass of the Police. The arrests of Emmanuel Fairbaum and the revelation of the X-13 plan would bring the violence to an end sometime at the end August 1964.

The third component of the covert operations was the application of external pressure: On March 15, 1962 the US State Department memo to the British Foreign Office, asked Britain to apply pressure on Guyana’s Premier, via a “thorough airing of Venezuelan claim,” and indeed, the New York Times headline read, “Britain would air Venezuelan claim”.

After the Soviet Group discovered a significant oilbearing area of about 40,000 square miles in Essequibo, Venezuela decided to act. Their Foreign Minister, Dr Bricano told the UN assembly in October 1962 that “Venezuela was despoiled by the 1899 arbitration award”. At the UN, foreign ambassadors in shock “expressed alarm at this revival of a claim settled by arbitration 65 years ago. It said that once such review of long-settled boundaries are allowed, there will be almost no frontier that cannot be challenged”. And indeed, to handle such Venezuelantype erroneous claims,

the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in 1960, had ruled that “a state was precluded from challenging previously established boundaries, even though defined irregularly and defective legally, if that State (ie Venezuela) had recognised or acquiesced in those lines or failed to protest against them particularly when the contiguous state (ie Guyana) had relied in good faith upon such acquiescence and had considered the matter finally settled”. Until 1962, not a single official protest by Venezuela can be found but an exceedingly large number of official celebrations flood the record. It is therefore not surprising that Venezuela is trying to avoid the ICJ insisting instead, on a one-to-one negotiation with Guyana or a UN solution that is easier to manipulate.

Nevertheless, an abundance of evidence shows the US pressure on Great Britain is the root cause of the territorial problems Guyana faces today. Hal Brands found that during the Cold War, the US “preoccupation with communism” drove the White House to remove “leaders in foreign countries not in a war with the US”, but “whose only crime consisted of being in the cross fire between the White House and the Kremlin”. But that is history! Now, the fact is that the Cold War is long over but Guyana is left to battle a monster all by itself. Collectively, it appears that Guyana has forgiven the US for the ills and havocs caused by its Cold War errors. It’s about time, however, that the US accepts some responsibility for its mistake.

It is only fair that the US and England come together, and lead the way back to the ICJ or onto a real solution – so Guyana can enjoy its titled lands in peace and harmony.

Yours respectfully, Paul Mohan

President must justify Hamilton Green’s selection for OR Award

Dear Editor,

Could the President of Guyana, acting in his capacity as the Chancellor of the Orders of Guyana, explain the rationale and give justification to the Guyanese public for selecting Hamilton Green to be the recipient of the second highest national award?

According to the details of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Guyana, the Order of Roraima of Guyana (OR) is limited to only 35 living Guyanese recipients and is awarded to any citizen of Guyana who has given outstanding service to the nation. Specifically, it is reserved for Guyanese who have gained distinction and eminence in any field of endeavour of national or international importance.

On bestowing the honour on Green on Tuesday, it was stated that it was for his long and outstanding involvement in the struggle for independence and for his role in providing public service for three generations.

Now this must be a joke. What about distinguished gentlemen, such as the likes of Fenton Ramsahoye and Balram Singh Rai, of the same era who contributed significantly more to the independence struggle than Hamilton Green without his controversial past?

What about the iconic political figure Eusi Kwayana? Is he not more deserving than Green for his indepen-

dence contributions? None of these gentlemen were considered and one wonders whether these awards are reserved for friends of politicians who are in power.

And on to the second part of providing public service for three generations? Is this award merely for political endurance and prolonged existence? Let us look at Hamilton Green’s prolonged and macabre political life. As Mayor of Georgetown, the only distinction he probably has is that of being the world’s longest serving Mayor, while Georgetown deteriorated to the filthiest and most lawless capital city in this hemisphere. Is this award for converting Georgetown from the Garden City of the Caribbean to the Garbage City of the Caribbean?

Is this award to recognise his role as the official enforcer as he headed several Ministries, eventually becoming Prime Minister. If he provided such sterling public service for three generations, why did Burnham remove him as First Vice President and replace him with Desmond Hoyte? Why did Desmond Hoyte kick him out of the party? What kind of message is the President sending to the young people of Guyana? That they should emulate Hamilton Green?

Respectfully, Mark Roopan

Redesigned waste disposal system needed for Uitvlugt

Dear Editor, On October 6, seven individuals, some in the uniform of The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), visited residents in Uitvlugt on the West Coast of Demerara. Their stated purpose was to issue warnings to residents who allegedly dump garbage illegally. It was made clear that the EPA will soon follow-up on these warnings by issuing fines.

The EPA’s visit was certainly surprising for residents as it is the first time we have heard of this new enforcement programme. We are calling on the EPA to provide the public with the following information with all possible expediency:

i. The roles of powers of the teams that will make community visits.

ii. Whether fines can be issued for alleged illegal dumping. If yes, how will

Questions for the new Govt on this salary increases fiasco

Dear Editor,

In an incontrovertible period of economic slowdown in Guyana, the new Granger-led A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government’s decision to increase their salaries by over 50 per cent while other public servants got less than five per cent has in one fell swoop converted itself from “the incompetent” to “the incompetent and heartless”.

In an effort to provide some clarity, I believe the more important question is: what is the cost of the new Granger led APNU-AFC Government to the treasury?With reference to the forgoing, I pose the following simple questions to President Granger and the APNU-AFC Government on behalf to ALL of the people of Guyana:

1. Will your increase mean higher productivity? (if the answer is ‘yes’ then it means

SALARIES

SALARIES

the fines be calculated and how will payments be made.

iii. The role of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC) and the Regional Democratic Councils in this campaign.

We urge the EPA to bear in mind that the NDCs make no provision for waste disposal in our community in spite of us having paying rates and taxes. We all incur additional expenses in paying a privately owned company to dispose of our garbage.

We encourage the EPA, the regional administration and by extension, the Government to consider these circumstances and design a waste disposal programme that would suit its purpose and benefit all involved.

Amy D Chins Concerned resident

that for the last six months you have not been working as hard as you could have been and if the answer is ‘no’ then you do not deserve an increase.

2. Are you saying that the only way a country can have Ministers who are not corrupt is by having a large salary or a salary that is MORE THAN 11 TIMES the average salary? If the answer is ‘yes’ please show me where this was post-

ed in your manifesto and contract with the electorate.

3. Can you account for your failure to deliver on your manifesto promise of 20 per cent increase to public servants, Police, Teachers, and Nurses while giving yourself a 50+ per cent increase?

4. Since “public service” is intended to be a “service” to the “public” can the President and ALL the Ministers publish their previous declared

5. How do you justify the President and the Attorney General’s salaries being tax free?

Sincerely,

Charles S. Ramson Attorney Member of Parliament

Gambling with salary increases

Dear Editor,

The audits are obviously proving a huge problem for the current Administration. There is proof that monies were misappropriated and siphoned off by Ministers of the previous Government but proving who is criminally culpable for such activities is proving the challenge.

And what is being noticed by the current leaders is the millions and billions of dollars that went into the pockets of the former Ministers. The contracts which were handed out without proper procurement oversight were awarded though with

grossly inflated price-tags. Then significant portions of those monies were kicked back to the awarders of those contracts.

Those Members of Parliament (MPs) were being rewarded for their efforts with funds coming in from multiple streams of incomes. They were raking in the dough!!! But while this is unethical, the question is, is it criminal? The new Administration wants this practice to cease. However, the fact that one could make the kinds of monies the former Ministers made – with impunity – is obviously not lost on the current administrators. So

the reasoning is simple; we will stop the shenanigans, substantially raise our salaries, and the country will roll on without such raises negatively affecting the national purse.

I honestly believe that the Government would like to proportionately raise all the public servants salaries. That would surely help to offset this current political fall-out. But if they substantially increase the salaries for all public servants, it would hurt the national purse. So for now, the governing MP’s will take a little larger bite out of the country’s financial apple and

as the tree grows, the apple will get bigger and there will be other opportunities for the rest of us to bite, later. And don’t think that there were no calculations of the political implications of this move. Come next time you vote, your choice will be between those who took the monies ethically and those who did it unethically (or criminally). The political gamble for this Administration is the hope that commonsense will prevail when that time comes.

Regards, Pastor WP Jeffrey

Guyanese Hindus perform ancestral puja in NY

Dear Editor,

The annual rite of Pitri Paksh (more popularly known as Peter Pak in Guyana and the Caribbean) is being observed by Guyanese and other Hindus in the greater New York area; it is a two week festival. They make offerings in the morning to appease the Gods and please their ancestors.

Some temples also hold services or discourses to pray for departed souls. Pandits adumbrate and expound on the meaning and purpose of Pitri Paksh and performing pitri puja or ancestral worship. Pitri Paksh ends on Sunday with auspicious Navratri festival beginning on Monday.

Pitri Paksh means a fortnight of prayers for the souls of the ancestors. People pray appealing to God to forgive the souls of their departed ancestors so they can rest in peace. It is also a time for paying tribute to the ancestors, glorifying their immense contributions and services rendered to humanity.

Without their sacrifices, there would have been no progress and the life we enjoy today. Pitri Paksh is observed during the dark fortnight of the month of Ashvin (September/October) in the

Hindu calendar. During this period of two weeks, the God of Death, Yamraj, is propitiated and offerings are made to him to be kind to the departed souls.

During this period, prayers are also offered for one’s own soul for God to be Merciful on them in the afterlife. Pitri Paksh is not praying to the dead but praying for the dead; it is also called “shraddhpuja” that is performed when someone passes away (9th, 10th, 12th or 13th day and a year later).

During Pitri Paksh, every effort is made to satisfy the wishes of the departed so that their souls rest in peace. Pitri Paksh is usually a solemn atmosphere to reflect on the life of the ancestors. It is the time of the year to express deepest gratitude to deceased elders. It is a memorial service in remembrance of departed ancestors by paying respect through prayers, fasting, performance of special rituals, chanting, fasting, and engaging in austerity acts. Devout Hindus make offering of water with black sesame seeds and flowers and many have been performing prayers during this period. On one day during the festival, the worshipper prepares an elabo-

rate meal that is offered to the soul(s) of the departed and God.

In Guyana, it was almost impossible for Hindus to perform these special pujas or prepare meals during the People’s National Congress (PNC) dictatorship (that restricted religious freedom) that banned the import of sesame seeds, ghee, flour, raisins, channa, dhal, spices, agarbatie, etc that were necessary for the prayers and the meal. According to Hindu beliefs, the Pitris look forward for these offerings and meals from relatives. If the Pitris are pleased with the offerings, then Bhagwan (the lord) showers his grace on the devotees and is merciful on the soul. Because the PNC banned the items necessary for the offerings, the pujas could not be completed.

When people perform pitripooja, God is pleased with their actions according to the scriptures. Offerings made at this time reached all departed souls, whether they were kins directly in the line of the person who offered or not. Even those who died without progeny received these oblations given on Pitri Paksh according to the Hindu scriptures.

In New York, Indo-

Caribbean people perform Pitri pooja with the offering of dhaar (water and black till seed) at sunrise. At their convenience, families get together and make these special offerings and sing bhajans for the souls of their foreparents and other relatives who passed away.

An elaborate meal is prepared. They are not praying for the dead but for the soul. It is not the body they are paying attention to but the soul.

In NY, family members make offerings in their backyard. Those renting make offerings in their apartments and dispose of same outside. Some Hindus invited Pandits to conduct satsangs or puja in their homes. I attended one such satsang on Sunday afternoon conducted by popular Pandit Chunelall; originally of Vergenoogen, East Bank Essequibo. Hindus from Trinidad, Suriname, India and Fiji perform the same rites for their ancestors. My ancestral relatives in India also performed pitri puja this week for the departed indentured ancestors who helped built Guyana.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

Page Foundation

BY PAT WILLIAMS

Humility is one of the rarest of all the character traits –and the most desperately needed. Here are some ways we can encourage this character trait in our children:

1. Teach your children to be servants. Jesus re-

last, and the servant of all’” (Mark 9:35). There’s no such thing as an arrogant servant; a servant is humble by definition. If children learn to see themselves as servants of God and others, they will naturally develop an attitude of humility.

After the publication of my book Coaching Your

peatedly taught this lesson to His disciples: “Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very

Children to Be Leaders (FaithWords, 2005), I received an email from Tom Walsh, a reader who is teaching his children char-

acter and humility at an early age. He told me, “Thanks for writing this boo

! As a father of two boys, ages two and four (with a third child on the way), I found a lot of ideas in your book about how to raise emotionally and spiritually healthy children. Your book inspired me to action.”

He went on to say that, one Saturday, he took his two boys out to a bagel store for breakfast then they went to a local nursing home to visit some of the residents. He had never done this before and wasn’t sure of the procedure, so he walked up to the desk and told the Receptionist that he and the boys would like to visit someone.

“Who have you come to visit?” the Receptionist asked.

“Anyone,” Tom replied. “We just want to visit someone who could use a little company.” The surprised Receptionist informed a staff member, and the staff was very accommodating. They let Tom and his boys wander around and talk to people wherever they went. Finally, they came to a lounge where a number of residents were gathered, eating doughnuts and sipping coffee.

George, Tom’s fouryear-old, walked right up to people, put out his hand, and said, “Hi! My name is George! It’s nice to meet you!” The boy gave each person a hearty handshake.

The people at the home were charmed by Tom’s two boys – and it was an uplifting experience for Tom. For his sons, it was the beginning of their training in becoming servants to others – an invaluable field trip in the school of humility.

Tom Walsh concluded with these words: “I don’t think you can ever start too early training children to consider other people and serve them. At the same time, you are teaching them to sharpen their social skills, overcome shyness, and build their confidence. Thanks again for providing that spark of inspiration in your book!”

I’m pleased that my book inspired Tom to take that action – but I feel his story has inspired and touched me even more! He showed me that it’s never too early to start teaching humble servanthood to our children.

children face criticism, they need to learn to consider the merits of that criticism instead of instantly defending themselves.

One way to encourage children to admit mistakes is by showing mercy when they confess their sins and errors. Tell them over and over again that, when they fail or sin, they can always be forgiven and accepted. A confession will always make life easier for them than a cover-

rors. Some parents feel they need to keep up a false front of perfection in front of their children. They feel that admitting mistakes would diminish them in their children’s eyes. In reality, when we as parents say to our children, “I was wrong, please forgive me,” we are actually magnified in their eyes. 3. Teach children to demonstrate empathy toward others. Because humility is essentially a matter of considering the needs and feelings of others, children need to learn sensitivity to the feelings of others.

2. Encourage children to admit mistakes. You can’t be a person of humility if you can’t admit it being wrong. Our children need to see that people think more of them, not less, when they admit mistakes. When our

up or a lie. Children who feel they can safely go to their parents with the awful truth are much less likely to be dishonest and defensive.

Another way to encourage children to admit mistakes is to set an example by admitting our own er-

Debbie Fahmie is the music specialist at Cypress Elementary School in Osceola County, Florida, and President of the Florida Elementary Music Educators Association. She uses music education to build character – and especially to encourage empathy in young people. She has a heart for students with problems and needs.

“The neediest of students,” she told me, “are the ones who made me really dig deep into my soul. It’s the students who are life’s ‘throw-aways,’ the ‘unlovable children,’ who inspire me and bring out my empathy for others. I don’t believe a person can have true character without empathy for all of humankind. The person of true character will do good to others – not to be recognised, but simply because it’s the right thing to do.

“I use cooperative learning to bring out my students’ empathy for each other. I teach my students how to help the child who is struggling, how to befriend the unlovable child, how to bring out the best in others around them. Again and again, my students discover it feels good to do good to others. Instead of bribing children with candy and tokens, we should motivate children to seek that inner incentive and warm feeling of doing good to others. That intrinsic reward is so much more valuable than a material incentive.

“Music is the perfect medium for allowing students to experience the harmony of working together and the pitfalls of focusing purely on self. Empathy and humility work together in the lives of these students to produce character and compassion. If we can influence young people to become caring and compassionate, we will give a wonderful gift to the world.” (www.crosswalk.com)

Missing assets at Opposition Leader’s Office…

Govt seeking to impose on functions of Parliament – PPP/C

Government is seeking to impose itself on the functions of the Parliamentary Office, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) said on Wednesday, in response to Minister of State Joseph Harmon’s answer to the issue of missing assets at the Office of the Opposition Leader.

Speaking to the media at Freedom House, General Secretary of the PPP/C, Clement Rohee said that the missing assets belongs to the Parliament Office and were loaned to the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) when the coalition was not yet in Government.

However, when the now Opposition party sought to utilise the office, it was discovered that these assets were unaccounted for.

Guyana Times understands that the missing equipment and furniture

were supposed to have been handed over to Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo by the APNU/AFC.

However, Chief Whip of the PPP/C Gail Teixeira on Monday told reporters that a reconciliation of Parliament Office’s asset register and the equipment and furniture at the Hadfield Street Office, which was used by President David Granger when he was Opposition Leader, revealed that laptops among other items were missing.

This publication was told by Minister Harmon on Tuesday that Teixeira had neither contacted him nor President Granger on this matter. As such, if there is any issue about computers, the PPP/C should contact the new Government.

“What is the big thing about a couple of computers?... I don’t know what it is that the PPP/C believes that is in there… is just

some furniture, a photocopier and a couple of laptops,” the Minister of State posited.

Harmon told reporters on Tuesday that, “I don’t know what noise he (Clement Rohee) is blowing. If he doesn’t have anything to say, why don’t he shut up and go and do something”…. “The furniture is in the building they have to come and move it. I am not moving any furniture for Rohee or for Jagdeo or anybody.”

Meanwhile, Rohee emphatically stated that his Party has not been, and is not required, to make contact with President Granger and/or Minister Harmon.

It was further clarified that these assets are the property of the Parliament Office and the individual who is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that they are handed over to Jagdeo is the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs.

In fact, the PPP/C General Secretary noted that the line of communication on this matter is between his Party and the Clerk of the National Assembly exclusive of the Executive of Guyana.

Guyana Times was also told that to have the involvement of members of the Executive in this matter would interfere with the functions that belong to the Parliament Office.

New US Ambassador, Govt to collaborate on renewable energy

New United States

to

on Wednesday paid a courtesy call on Governance Minister Raphael Trotman at his Brickdam Office.

The two officials spoke on a number of issues and reaffirmed their commitment to working together, particularly in the area of renewable energy.

Minister Trotman outlined the roles and responsibilities of his Ministry and the departments that fall under its purview. He informed the new Ambassador that the Government sees the announcement of the establishment of the longawaited Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Office

as a welcome and positive sign.

“We value your support and we will look to you for guidance and assistance, in the areas of governance, natural resources and the environment,” Minister Trotman said.

Ambassador Holloway said he has been closely following the news in Guyana over the past months and was aware of the push for the development of hydropower. In this regard, he informed Minister Trotman that he could count on the US for expertise and technical support as Guyana pursued its renewable energy development initiative.

“Most of the things that your Government wants to accomplish are the same

things we want to accomplish, so that is going to make working together very easy,” the Ambassador said. He also assured that he would be working closely with the Government to ensure that all US investors, particularly those in the extractive sector, operate in conformity with the laws of Guyana and adhere to ecologically sound and environmentally sustainable practices.

Ambassador Holloway presented his Letters of Credence to President David Granger last week at the Ministry of the President. He replaces former Ambassador Brent Hardt, whose term of Office ended in July last year.

thursday, october 8, 2015 | guyanatimesgy.com

Minister Ramjattan engages Camp St prisoners

– promises Govt will push for early trials

Inmates of the Camp Street Prison, in Georgetown, who have waited years to have their cases heard, were recently promised by Vice President and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan that efforts would be made to start the process of speedy trials. This disclosure was made when the Minister visited the penal facility.

Minister Ramjattan recently told the media that he visited the facility and had discussions with inmates after there were reports of gang fights in the penitentiary, resulting in the subsequent hospitalisation of an inmate.

It was during this visit that it was brought to the Minister’s attention that persons were being held there for many years and are still awaiting trial.

“I am confident, having spoken to them and knowing fully well that I will keep my promise to them to have the courts give some early trials to them or at least start the process, they are comforted by that and will not be so explosive… they promised to keep their part of the deal and wait for the early trial,” Minister Ramjattan explained.

Meanwhile, addressing the issue of overcrowding in the prison system, the Public Security Minister told media operatives that the A

Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government is working to address this issue since it is of major concern.

“The over crowdedness is a huge problem, we need another prison, but the capital works for another prison is going to be humongous, and at this time, we might not be in a position to afford that, and so we will have to make do with what we have.”

This issue was the subject of the United States State Department’s 2014 Report on Human Rights in Guyana and other countries. The Report stated that the Camp Street Prison was built to accommodate 775 inmates, but it now houses more than 900 inmates, according to data provided in 2011. However, it is believed that this figure gradually increased over the years, since the 2011 data

showed that in total, there were 1962 prisoners in five facilities with a combined design capacity of 1580.

To this end, Minister Ramjattan explained that efforts are being made to occupy the brick prison, which is located in the Camp Street Prison compound. “We are now trying to open that extension we had made at the brick prison that was a brand new structure that can accommodate 160 prisoners… the new brick prison needs

have to get Cabinet’s approval, and the Cabinet paper is now being prepared to get the approval for the reconstruction of that area that was very dilapidated.”

It is anticipated that this rehabilitation work will cost approximately $150 million as the intention is to build a better structure at the Camp Street Prison and in the long-term, plans would have to be made for the construction of a prison elsewhere.

Responding to a ques-

some renovations, some of the doors might not be of the best construction, we are working on that to get that done and then bring them over,” he said.

Minister Ramjattan reported that as the prisoners are transferred there, “we will then do some rehabilitation to that prison (Camp Street). Of course I would

tion as to whether the Government is seeking to introduce skills training for the prisoners as is done in other countries, the Minister advised that there are several projects, which are currently ongoing for prisoners, as they are engaged in carpentry, masonry, and electrical installation, among others.

Teen gets bail after denying he escaped from Police custody

Ateenager was on Wednesday placed on $150,000 bail by Magistrate Fabayo Azore when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with larceny and escaping Police custody.

Shakeel Wilburg pleaded not guilty to the first charged which alleged that July 24 at Durban and Smyth Street, Georgetown, he stole a gold chain valued $90,000; property of Virtual Complainant (VC) Niketa Damon. The accused also denied the second charge, which stated that on August 8 at the Brickdam Police Station, Georgetown while being in custody, he escaped.

Police Prosecutor, Corporal Simone Payne objected to bail, telling the court that while in custody at the Brickdam Police Station, Wilburg picked the handcuff on his hands and escaped. She told the court that it is the prosecution’s belief that the 18-year-old would not return for his trial once he is grant-

ed bail. She also informed the court that the teen has similar charges pending.

The prosecution’s objections were nonetheless overruled by the Magistrate who placed the teen on $100,000 bail for the larceny charge and $50,000 bail on the escape from custody charge. The case will continue on October 9.

Money, money, everywhere...

...but not a dollar to workers

W

ell, “mouth open and story jump out”. And what a story!! After cussing out the PPP for being “greedy and avaricious” (which description we’ll stick to since this is a family newspaper!) here we have the APNU/AFC Government behaving as if the Consolidated Fund is their private feeding trough.

After promising a “significant” salary increase for the wretched of the earth – that’s how the public servants, Police, Nurses, etc, were described during the campaign – they got wood. Hard wood. What else do you call a five per cent increase that’s cut by half because it only kicked in from July? An insult? Larwah? But the President did take the time to explain why his Government was so piddling: the coffers and the cupboards were bare –raped by the aforesaid “greedy and avaricious “ PPP.

Fair enough. A lot of their supporters – which included almost of all of the abovementioned workers who’d been hoping to get raises – put up a stoic face and took it in stride. They would gird up their loins and become real Public SERVANTS – to serve the public better than they had over the last 23 years. Then suddenly this newspaper broke the news – the Ministers and Vice Presidents and MP’s would all be getting massive salary increases!!

After some stout denials, the Finance Minister sheepishly allowed as to how there might be a salary “adjustment” – but not as large as what the Times was trumpeting. And then the President weighed in. The jump in salaries in the millions wasn’t an “increase” but an adjustment because it was just done to “rationalise” the pay scales in the Government. Ever since that Chancellor had demanded his old salary when Burnham wanted him to be Attorney General (Burnham made offers you couldn’t refuse) the salary scales had been screwed up.

It would appear the members of the Government, like Nagamootoo, protested vehemently at the “adjustment” but the President would have none of it. So here you had it now being made official – by sneaking it through the “Official Gazette, which about two or three persons normally read in Guyana. And the numbers are as astronomical as what the Times had revealed.

So your Eyewitness is waiting with bated breath to hear the reaction of those stoic Government workers who’d shown such admirable restraint when they learnt they’d been shafted. For instance, now that Lincoln Lewis, that fearless champion of all working stiffs, has a column in the state newspaper, will he be calling for a repetition of 1999?

Or will he grin and bear it?

...but none for pensioners

Now, if the big ones in the Government didn’t think squat about the public servants who are presumably able-bodied and can fend for themselves since they’re all under 55 (excepting their fearless leader Yarde, of course) couldn’t they at least worry that pensioners might “put their mouth on them”?

Here it is, they gave the old folks a $4000 increase (they said “increase” not “adjustment”) but took it back in spades when they removed the subsidies from their water and electricity bills. And now they can “adjust” their salaries by millions? If their adjustment was to remove the temptation to “thief”, did they even think that the removal of the electricity and water subsidies will ensure our old folks now turn to thiefing?

This Eyewitness asks the Government to rethink this cold act. Old folks should be thinking as to how to navigate their way through the Pearly Gates and not how to bypass meters.

Don’t corrupt our old people.

...but no award for the Mook

The Mook pumped millions into FUCOP (Funding a United Candidacy for an Opposition Presidency). But alas he didn’t even get an award for dog catcher! Was so mad his MuckrakerKN didn’t even cover the award ceremony. Sore loser!

Maduro accuses US of “meddling” in Guyana-Venezuela affairs

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday said the United States of America was too much involved in the border controversy between Guyana and the Spanish-speaking country, and its ongoing interference would only “damage brotherly relations” between the countries.

Maduro raised his country’s condemnation over what it said was the US’ meddling in affairs which concern the peoples of Guyana and Venezuela.

Meeting the Guyanese Press for the first time on Monday, new US Ambassador Perry Holloway said the controversy which continues to brew between the two countries still warrants a peaceful resolution through diplomatic means.

He said his country’s stance remained that the two countries must maintain peace and adhere to international law. The Ambassador reaffirmed the need to respect the 1899 ruling on the border.

Venezuela on Tuesday said the US needed to take its hands off the Essequibo (almost two thirds of Guyana) to which it lay claim, continuing that it would “not accept your interference any longer”.

Venezuela said it was further evidence of intrusion on the part of the US Government in the issues that concern only Venezuela and Guyana in its obsession

to “damage brotherly relations between the countries of the Caribbean”.

It urged the US not to get involved directly or indirectly in matters which exclusively belong to the parties involved in the territorial controversy. This is contrary to the stance of Venezuela in the late 1800s when it pleaded with the US to help it resolve the border controversy and America responded by almost going to war with Britain to force it to agree to arbitration to decide the border. Venezuela and Britain

then signed the Treaty of Arbitration to determine a “final” settlement of the border by an international arbitral panel. On that panel, Venezuela was represented by its powerful ally, as two Americans were part of the five-member panel that also comprised a Russian and two Britons. The panel unanimously determined the Guyana-Venezuela border which all parties agreed would be final.

Now Venezuela claims the US was “one of those responsible for the arbitral fraud” and was, therefore, responsible for the existence of the border controversy.

The criticism comes after Ambassador Holloway called on Venezuela to respect the 1899 Award. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry responded that the parties responsible for that decision were “senior US officials in collusion with

right-wing mercenaries of the old British Empire”. It was previously claimed by Venezuelans that Russia and Britain had struck a deal on the matter, although the British lost control of the hugely important Orinoco River Mouth in the Arbitral Award. Both parties accepted, ratified and demarcated the boundary. The US President at the time later told Congress the tribunal’s “unanimous decision” on the border was “equally satisfactory to both parties”, thereby “ending a long lived controversy”.

In its statement on Tuesday, the Venezuelan Government denounced the interference of the US, whom it had begged to intervene in the first place. It claimed the US was undertaking a “calculated strategy to try to validate, by way of intimidation, the null rights of ExxonMobil to carry out extractive activities in a disputed territory and regulated by the 1966 Geneva Agreement”. The Geneva Agreement was signed by Guyana and Venezuela to resolve Venezuela’s contention that the 1899 Arbitral Award was null and void. The Venezuelans have not provided any proof to support their claim.

Earlier this year, US Chargé d’Affaires Bryan Hunt said his country was ready to support the Government of Guyana on the position it had taken against the Venezuelan Government, which, in a move of provocation has warned the oil company ExxonMobil against drilling in Guyana’s waters.

Venezuela ratcheted up its rhetoric after the oil company announced a major oil find, issuing decrees that purported to claim Guyana’s maritime space off the Essequibo. The first decree was later withdrawn, but Venezuela has continued its aggression toward Guyana, deploying, among other measures, troops and military equipment to the border areas which were later withdrawn after a United Nations mediated meeting

between the countries. This new pronouncement by Venezuela comes almost two weeks after President David Granger and

President Maduro held consultations in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The UN has agreed to mediate the mat-

ter, with Guyana pushing for a judicial settlement of the controversy, “once and for all”.

Draft PUC, Telecoms Bills at Cabinet Sub-Committee

– no assurances on date for Parliament

The Public Utilities Commission

(PUC) and Telecommunications Bills may be tabled in Parliament sometime this year. This is according to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, who on Monday said that while the Bills have been completed, they were still with the Cabinet Sub-Committee awaiting approval. While the Minister has assured that the Bill will be ready for Parliament this year, he could not give a commitment as to when this will actually take place.

“I had said before this is something that will be done this year. I can’t say if it will be done next week, but it will be done this year,” Patterson said.

In August, the Government had announced that it was appointing two legal consultants to harmonise the amendments of the PUC Bill and complete the Telecommunications Bill in order for them to become law. Overseas-based Janice Brendman and Geeta Ragubir were appointed as consultants to complete the work on the Telecommunications Bill.

Patterson on Monday re-

ported that the consultants have returned the drafts, adding that the Cabinet Sub-Committee will study the two pieces of legislation before Cabinet gave its approval for them to be presented to Parliament.

“Obviously, now we will go through it to ensure it contains all the aspects with which we, as an Administration, would like included there… As long as it passes through that process, it goes to the CPC (Chief Parliamentary Counsel) and then to Cabinet. Immediately after, we will lay it in Parliament,” he stated.

Telecommunication licences

Furthermore, Patterson stated that the revised Telecommunications Bill would now see companies having to re-apply for telecommunication licences.

“From the draft Bills, obviously everybody were required to re-apply,” he pointed out.

The Bills, which was first introduced in 2011 and revised in 2013, was at the level of a Select Committee when the 10th Parliament ended. The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC)

Administration is now moving to have the Bill passed in the 11th Parliament.

The Telecommunications Bill seeks to create a competitive regime in the telecommunications sector. It provides for an open, liberalised and competitive sector that will be attractive to new market entrants and investors, while preserving the activities of the current participants.

By creating this competitive environment for telecommunications, the Bill is expected to result in greater choice, better quality of service and lower prices for

consumers. The Bill also specifically addresses the expansion of telecommunication networks and services into unserved and underserved areas, through the institution of a new universal access/universal service programme, in an effort to further national, regional, social and economic development.

Following the prorogation of Parliament in November 2014, former Digicel Guyana Inc Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Gregory Dean had lamented the state of affairs on the Telecommunications Bill, pointing out that it was another missed opportunity for the sector to be liberalised.

Meanwhile, former Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) CEO Radha Krishna Sharma had said that the company was prepared for Government’s plans to liberalise the sector, pointing out that the company – which began 20 years ago – was looking forward to contributing to the refine-

ment of the legislation. He had stated that there were tremendous opportunities within a “liberalised” sector. Upon assent, this Bill would in essence break the morethan-20-year-old monopoly enjoyed by the GT&T. The Telecommunications Bill is among 12 other Bills that will have to be recalled in the 11th Parliament. The others include the Customs (Amendment) Bill, the Broadcast (Amendment) and Education Bills.

Region 10 to pilot new programme for developing, managing sustainable communities

The Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) will be fashioning the first “Plan of Action for Regional Development (PARD)”.

According to Minister within the Communities Ministry, Dawn HastingWilliams, the Ministry has identified the Region to lead the development and implementation of what will essentially be the map for developing and managing sustainable communities and for attracting investment, which would lead to new economic activities and job creation.

The Minister told the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Wednesday that consultants from the Ministry are

"Nasty

at present in the Region, working with the RDC and other local leaders and stakeholders, in finalising the Region’s PARD, which would be the model for the other nine regions, as they in turn work to develop their plan.

The Communities Ministry, as part of its mandate for creating sustainable communities, along with empowering the local democratic organs, had endorsed the development of PARD by the RDCs, with support from Central Government.

Minister HastingWilliams explained that these plans must also capture education, health and disaster risk management developmental ideas and programmes of the Regions.

On this foundation, she added, Central Government will work hand in hand with each RDC for implementation.

Meanwhile, the RDCs’ capacity to develop these plans will be further built as the Ministry is set to engage the regional representatives and leaders in a round table discussion, on October 9, at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal.

PARD is expected over time to ensure that the 10 regions are not only administrative regions, but also productive ones. It will also guarantee that the regions develop the capacity to be self-sufficient and contribute significantly to economic growth and a good life for residents.

slapped with murder charge

Dellon Henry called “Nasty Man” was on Wednesday slapped with a murder charge and remanded to prison by Magistrate Fabayo Azore.

The 23-year-old, of 53 Houston Housing Scheme, Greater Georgetown, was charged for the murder of footballer Dexter Griffith who was gunned down on September 29 in East Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

He was also charged for unlawful possession of .38 revolver with six matching rounds of ammunition.

On the murder charge, Police Prosecutor, Corporal Simone Payne told the court that on September 29 at about 19:30h, Griffith was sitting in front of his house at Back Circle, East Ruimveldt, when the accused reportedly walked up to him with a gun and shot him.

According to the Prosecutor, the now deceased man attempted to escape but collapsed in a drain a short distance from the scene. She told the court that the accused reportedly escaped on a cycle while Griffith was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital

where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Payne also reported to the court that the accused was picked up by Police on October 4 for questioning in connection with the murder, but denied the allegations. He was subsequently placed in an identification parade where he was positively identified and later taken into custody. The investigations are still incomplete.

With respect to the second charge, it is alleged that on October 4 at Second Street, Agricola, Greater Georgetown, Henry had in his possession an unlicensed .38 revolver along with six matching rounds of ammunition and two.32 live rounds of ammunition without being the holder of a firearm licence. The case will be called again on September 9.

Miner kills reputed wife, turns gun on himself

Nagamootoo’s pension outstrips Jagdeo’s

– after allegedly finding man under

bed

Atriangular love affair turned deadly in the wee hours of Wednesday after a miner turned up at his reputed wife’s home at Pike Street, Kitty and discovered a male under her bed.

Dead are Mark Moses and his reputed wife Amanda Mohan.

According to reports reaching Guyana Times, 25-year-old Ross of One Mile, Wismar, Linden, went to visit Mohan at her Lot 248 Pike Street home about 21:30h on Tuesday and found a male under her bed. Reports stated that he left the home, but returned about 04:30h with a gun and shot Mohan twice to the chest before turning the gun on himself.

The two were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where 20-yearold Mohan was pronounced dead on arrival. Moses succumbed to his injuries some seven hours later.

According to information received, the young miner works in the interior and made a surprise visit to his reputed wife’s house, where he found an employee at-

tached to Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Company hiding under the bed.

However, relatives of the dead woman are holding out that the person under the bed was actually a family friend and Moses might have misunderstood what he saw. The gentleman was reportedly in the woman’s bedroom playing games on her laptop when Moses entered the house, this newspaper was told.

Ryan Mohan, brother of the now deceased woman, said that Moses turned up at the house unannounced and as he went into his reputed wife’s bedroom, he realised something was amiss since she was breathing heavily.

Guyana Times was told that Moses enquired why Mohan was breathing heavily but she did not respond, prompting him to search the room.

This newspaper was told that Moses allowed the man to leave the house after which he reportedly pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot Mohan. Mohan’s brother told this newspaper that his sister attempted to explain the situation to Moses, telling him that the young man was a family friend and her sister hid him under the bed so not to cause a misunderstanding.

The brother went on to say that Moses left the house although the mother of his child begged him to stay. He, however, returned at 04:30h and shot Mohan then himself.

Mohan’s brother said he heard the shots and ran to his sister’s bedroom where he saw her lying in a pool of blood, while Moses was lying on the bed. Moses, he noted, was panting for breath, but his sister, from all indica-

tions, was already dead.

He, along with a friend, picked up the couple and rushed them to the Georgetown Public Hospital where his sister was pronounced dead and the young man was taken into theatre for surgery but subsequently died at 11:00h.

At the home of the dead woman, relatives congregated to comfort the grieving family.

An uncle of the dead woman, who gave his name only as Farouk, said that he was in his apartment when he heard three gunshots and immediately rushed to the upper flat of the house where he saw his niece and Moses lying in a pool of blood. As he looked closer, he said, he saw a gun on the bed.

He added that the family was in shock at the manner in which Moses handled the situation.

Meanwhile, attempts to contact the relatives of the dead man proved futile. The Police have launched an investigation into the matter. An unlicensed .9mm pistol and three spent shells were recovered at the scene.

PNC to host conference to appoint officers in Region 10

The Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) arm of the People’s National Congress (PNC) is gearing up to host its Regional Party Conference, ahead of Local Government Elections (LGE). While the party groups in all 10 administrative regions throughout Guyana will be hosting similar conferences, Region 10 will host its leg in Linden on Saturday, October 10. Prominent PNC party member Maurice Butters confirmed that President David Granger is expected to travel to the township to attend the event, since he will be

the featured main speaker. During the country’s preelection period, President Granger, then Opposition Leader, had been at the forefront of the party’s decision to support the hosting of LGE which has not been held in almost two decades. Speaking with Guyana Times on Wednesday, Butters explained that all members and groups in Region 10 will meet to appoint PNC Regional Officers. “… of course, basic party matters would be discussed… chartering of the way forward for the party in the region, which is

going to have some effect on the Local Government Elections which is coming up. Remember under Local Government Elections, a new system (of governing) will be used. Instead of party, it will be individuals, organisations as well as party.”

Butters added that candidates for LGE will be selected in the near future based on support from members of a particular community. Matters affecting the party, its members and functions are also on the agenda to be featured.

– “If you think the salaries are bad, the pensions are worse” – Former AG

BY MICHAEL YOUNGE

Former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall says that Guyanese will have to carry the burden of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s multimilliondollar salary and intended pension package for decades to come because of the recent increased announced by the new Government, which it said it deserved after just four months in office.

While in Opposition, Prime Minister Nagamootoo had berated the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government for raping the treasury and placing an undue burden on the shoulders of Guyanese, given the alleged quantum of Jagdeo’s pension package and benefits.

Despite the fact that the Government and former President himself clarified on many occasions that there was nothing special about Jagdeo’s pension or benefits, the Prime Minister and his colleagues while in Opposition campaigned heavily on the issue.

As they accessed Government, they used their majority in Parliament to cap and reduce the benefits and conditions under which former Presidents could access their pensions and full benefits.

But Nandlall, speaking with Guyana Times on Wednesday, said that the Guyanese will also have to bare the burdens of paying the pensions of all of the other office holders who will take home super salaries retroactive to July 1, 2015.

“By virtue of the humongous increases in salary, the Prime Minister, and I am sure the President, when his increase is disclosed, will now enjoy a higher rate of pension than Former Presidents, Sam Hinds, Bharat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar, since pensions for these office holders and indeed, Ministers and Vice Presidents are pegged by statute to 7/8 of their highest paid salary”, he said during the interview.

He said that after four months in office and for doing almost nothing, the Prime Minister has “chalked up a 22 million dollar land cruiser, 20 million dollar renovations to the Office of the Prime Minister, about 15 million dollars in renovation to the Prime Minister’s residence, over 10 million dollars in furniture for the residence, salaries over 1.7 million dollars retrospective to July, 2015 and a pension, even

if he is to retire tomorrow, that will be higher than the pension enjoyed by former Presidents, Hinds, Jagdeo and Ramotar”.

The former Attorney General maintained that from all indications, this will not be the only salary increase over the next few years. “If in four months salaries were increased… it is frightening to project what it will be by the end of five years”, he related.

“In relation to each increase, there will be a corresponding increase in pension’s payable at a rate of 7/8 of the highest salary. So the nation is not only fetching the burden of these salary increases but these increases are attached to the pension of each of the recipients at a rate of 7/8 of the salary of each of them. The cumulative amount will run into billions as pensions are payable until death. This is a burden that our children and future generation will have to fetch at their backs”, the former AG who is now a front bencher for the PPP in the National Assembly contended.

He reminded that while in Opposition, the new Government and now the Prime Minister, ranted and rave about presidential pensions saying “that we cannot live a Cadillac lifestyle in a donkey cart economy”.

“This is the worst political fraud so far perpetrated against the Guyanese electorate. I know that even their staunchest supporter is absolutely embarrassed and aghast”, Nandlall posited.

thurSday, october 8, 2015 | guyanatimeSgy.com

Guyana seeks Canada’s support against Venezuela's aggression

Guyana is looking forward to Canada’s support against the territorial claims by Venezuela as it seeks to strengthen its ties with that country, through new Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Pierre Giroux.

This was communicated to the diplomat by Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, at a reception hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner on Wednesday evening.

In welcoming the High Commissioner to Guyana, Minister Greenidge said that Guyana has always had a long history of friendship and collaboration with Canada, both at the governmental level and through people to people interactions.

“Our two countries have worked closely in areas of common interest on a bilateral, regional and global agenda and this close friendship was facilitated on the positions we share on a variety of areas. Guyana values these relations and looks forward to the continuing growth of this partnership,” a Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted the Minister as saying.

He noted that some of the country’s largest investors, especially in the mining industry, were Canadians, while a number of projects and programmes for community and national development, were made

possible through this partnership.

Minister Greenidge committed the Administration’s efforts to fostering and building partnerships with all States.

“We wish to applaud you for the relationship we have shared. We hope to build on the areas of success that have characterised our relationship. This new Administration will seek to improve Guyana’s international standing. It is important that the country continues on an upward trajectory. We are committed to working with partners in the Region to enhance security, democracy, as well as prosperity,” the Foreign Affairs Minister said.

Meanwhile, High Commissioner Giroux said that Canada’s relation-

ship with Guyana was one that was long and friendly and it was his hope that it could be further strengthened with his presence here.

He noted that with the recent discovery of oil, Guyana was on the verge of changes that were most profound and Canada would like to ensure that a firm partnership was established so as to maximise the country’s potential.

“We want to build and move forward. The Canadian High Commission will work tirelessly to build and foster this relationship between Guyana and Canada,” Giroux said.

The event was attended by several Government Ministers, Members of the Opposition, Members of Parliament, and members of the Diplomatic Corps.

Govt seeking to appoint new CJ

– as Chang slated to retire Feb

With the acting Chief Justice (CJ) Ian Chang soon to retire, the search has commenced for a new Chief Justice. This could only happen, however, after meaningful consultations are done between the Government and the Opposition.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams on Wednesday disclosed that he was currently in discussion with President David Granger about recommendations for a new Chief Justice. Justice Chang, who has been acting in the position since 2000, is heading on pre-retirement leave.

Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang

“The question of a vacancy occurring in the Office of Chief Justice would arise

very shortly and when the Chief Justice goes on leave, obviously somebody has to act in his position,” Williams told a news conference.

The CJ will be proceeding on more than 10 weeks of leave.

The constitutional reform process of 2000 introduced mechanisms for meaningful consultations with the Leader of the Opposition for certain appointments. The reform process itself made the approval of the Leader of the Opposition necessary for some appointments, particularly those of the Chancellor and Chief Justice.

Govt should enforce laws to protect LGBTI community – SASOD

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is calling on the new Government to en-

No plans for local law school

– AG says coalition never made such undertaking

The establishment of a local law school in Guyana is not, at the moment, a priority of the new Administration, although Government would be willing to move ahead in this regard, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams said on Wednesday.

Williams was addressing journalists at his chambers during his first press conference since becoming Minister.

He debunked claims by former AG Anil Nandlall who said that the new Government had backpedalled on the promises it made in its 2015 manifesto, which included the establishment of a law school here.

“The APNU-AFC manifesto for the just concluded 2015 General and Regional Elections lays out on page 16, the “Legal Measures” we asserted in our campaign we would implement

during our five-year term,” Williams said. These legal measures, the new AG said, are to determine a protocol to break the deadlock over the appointment of a consensually agreed Chancellor and Chief Justice; the operationalisation of the Family Court, managing the succession and training arrangements with-

in the judiciary, to ensure that a sufficient pool of persons are available to be drawn on to appoint Judges and Magistrates.

Added to those, the AG informed, Government had committed to implementing measures to eliminate the back-log of cases, reduce the high incidence of persons on remand for extended periods, and ensure speedy trials, and implementing fast-track mechanism for submitting Appeals to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

“It should be noted that there is nothing listed there about establishing a law school in Guyana, as erroneously contended by former Attorney General Anil Nandlall,” the AG said.

Williams reminded that the new Administration has only been in office for just over four months now. Calls for the establishment of a local law school

here have been touted for some time now, and became more intense recently, when the Hugh Wooding Law School announced that it had increased its tuition fee for the new school year, which started in September.

Government was called upon for assistance in this regard, but the only thing it could have done was lobby for an extension to the payment period, as it could not financially assist the students.

But even as the AG admits that the new Government has only been in office for four months now, Ministers have already received a pay hike. In the official Gazette dated September 25, 2015, it was revealed that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and all Government Ministers have been awarded a salary increase.

force the laws for the protection of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) community.

The organisation has revealed that it has approached the Government to implement and enforce laws to ensure that the LGBTI community receives equal rights and protection. This was announced at a press briefing held at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston, Georgetown on Wednesday when there was a discussion on Guyana’s recent review under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) that was held in Geneva on September 28-29, 2015 during the 56th Session of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).

The discussion centred on a stakeholder report that SASOD submitted to CESCR on the Protection of Rights of LGBTI Persons in Guyana. Guyana’s LGBTI community was represented by Advocacy and Communications Officer Schemel Patrick on August 30. Patrick, in reflecting on her discussion at the forum, stated that the Guyana review took place on the afternoon of September 28 and

September 29 when it was revealed that there are significant areas of law, policy and practice where Guyana needed focus in order to meet its obligations under the ICESCR. Patrick stated that there were a large number of laws in Guyana that discriminate against LGBTI people. “These insidious laws and the everyday societal discrimination LGBTI people face have a profound impact on the economic, social and cultural life of the LGBTI people in Guyana,” she posited, adding that these legislation that manifest this discrimination must be repealed.

She revealed that SASOD documented a large number of cases of discrimination annually. “Stigma against homosexuality is so strong that complainants are reluctant to test existing legal redress mechanisms. The stigma is in the allegation itself and these discriminatory laws confer a status of unapprehended criminals on LGBTI people for simply being who they are,” she reported.

As such, they are imploring the Government to carefully examine such laws, revealing that they have already approached it on the issue.

Govt Ministers’ pay 11 times higher than average public servant’s

– PPP/C MP says President Granger has questions to answer

First-time parliamentarian for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP) and Attorney-at-Law Charles Ramson has joined the queue of disappointed Guyanese over the recent confirmation by the new David Granger-led A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government of the whopping 50 per cent salary increase for Ministers, an amount that will be 11 times higher than what is being offered to the average public servant.

Government on Tuesday confirmed and defended its decision to raise the salaries of all Government

got less than five per cent has in one fell swoop converted itself from “the incompetent” to “the incompetent and heartless”.

His calculations are as

last six months you have not been working as hard as you could have been and if the answer is ‘no’, then you do not deserve an increase.”

He further questioned “Are you saying that the only way a country can have Ministers who are not corrupt is by having a large salary or a salary that is MORE THAN ELEVEN TIMES the average salary? If the answer is yes, please show me where this was posted in your manifesto and contract with the electorate.

Can you account for your failure to deliver on your manifesto promise of 20 per cent increase to public servants, Police,

GTT launches “double your data” promotion

Guyana Telephone Telegraph company has launched a new promotion which offers customers twice the data volume on all prepaid mobile data plans sold in that period for the same low price. The promotion commences today and will conclude on October 22.

Customers can select and order their data plan from their mobile by simply dialing *100# (for free) and follow the menu structure. In addition, from Friday, the popular GTT promotion ‘After 2 Belongs to You’ will become a free opt-in service. Customers who want to use the service need to opt-in via *100#. The opt-in is valid for 24 hours.

*100# also allows customers to view various balances, recharge accounts, transfer credit, buy voice bundles and send Call Me messages.

“With the re-launched *100# service, we provide our customers with an easy and convenient way to select and order our services. To celebrate this, the telephone

company will give all customers who buy a data plan from now until October 22, 2015 twice the data and roll over the unused data.

Chief Commercial

stated that “So if you are not a GTT customer as yet, get your free SIM today since there is much more to come”.

Guyana in talks with US/European airlines for London route

FTOTALMonthlyPer Annum

PPP/C $15,242,223$182,906,686

APNU-AFC$24,450,487$293,405,844 SALARIES

SALARIES – MONTHLY BREAKDOWN

$1,626,858

$1,549,389

$1,626,858

$0

$579,951 (18 Ministers)

Minister

Ministers, including three Vice Presidents and Junior Ministers.

In a letter to the editor, Ramson, based on his mathematical calculations, revealed that these Ministers will soar on a salary more than 11 times the average salary.

He said in an “incontrovertible period of economic slowdown in Guyana, the new Granger-led APNU/ AFC Government’s decision to increase their salaries by over 50 per cent, while other public servants

follows:

According to Ramson, the question now being asked surrounds the cost of the Government to the treasury.

“With reference to the foregoing, I pose the following simple questions to President Granger and the APNU/AFC Government on behalf of ALL of the people of Guyana: Will your increase mean highest productivity? (if the answer is ‘yes’, then it means that for the

$1,800,750 (TAX FREE)

$1,715,000

$1,800,750 (TAX FREE)

$927,922 (3 VPs)

$869,927 (10 Ministers)

$695,541 (11 Junior Ministers)

teachers, nurses while giving yourself a 50 per cent+ increase?

Since “public service” is intended to be a “service” to the “public” can the President and ALL the Ministers publish their previous declared taxable income which will show how many of them ever earned more than their current salary?

How do you justify the President and the Attorney General’s salaries being tax free?”

ollowing the announcement by the management of Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) that the airline will be discontinuing its London route service from January 2016, Guyana is in advanced discussions with several United States (US) and European-based airlines to provide the service.

According to a statement from the Public Infrastructure Ministry, this decision by CAL was anticipated for some time now and as such the Public Infrastructure Ministry has since commenced groundwork to attract new airlines to fly this route.

“In recent months, we have ramped up our efforts to have a major European Carrier provide airlift to Guyana. This is to facilitate easy travel for the estimated 100,000 Guyanese living in the United Kingdom and the many European visitors that want to come and experience Destination Guyana,” Minister Patterson said in his statement.

Patterson outlined that a delegation from the of Public Infrastructure and Tourism Ministries will be meeting with executives of several airlines to actualise

negotiations at the upcoming World Travel Market (WTM), which will be held in London, United Kingdom (UK), from November 2-5.

“WTM is considered the leading global event for the travel industry, which will offer our delegation a unique opportunity to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business,” the Minister added.

Simultaneously, a team headed by Minister Patterson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation, Ramesh Ghir, will continue ongoing negotiations with several North American airlines at their respective Headquarters in the United States.

Furthermore, the Public Infrastructure Ministry will be working closely with CAL’s management to ensure that passengers who are displaced will be refunded or accommodated on other flights.

Only recently, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge met and was updated on Jet Blue’s plan to provide airlift services to Guyana.

It was reported that the State-owned CAL had already returned two Boeing 737-800s this year, with two more to be removed soon. This will reduced its fleet size to some 12 aircraft of the same model.

According to the airline, this move to cease servicing the London route would allow it to reduce operational costs and at the same time focus on its North American prime routes. Since 2013, CAL has been facing intense and increased competition from several low-budget airlines.

In August, the Trinidadian-owned Caribbean Airlines announced that it will be ending its three weekly flights to London early next year, citing its non-profitability. In addition to ceasing it service to the route, CAL disclosed in a statement that it would also be retiring the Boeing 767s from its fleet. The Boeing 767-300s aircraft would be returned to the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). The London service was launched in 2012 but performed below expectations. The airline had registered a loss of US$60 million in 2014. Management explained that it is taking measures to suspend loss-making routes and optimise its fleet.

Key hinterland buildings to get much needed rehabilitation

Regional administrative buildings, guest houses and teachers and doctors quarters are among buildings that are soon expected to benefit from major repairs, as Government moves to improve working and living conditions in the hinterland region.

Improvements to these facilities are set to begin as

early as next year, according to Minister within the Ministry of Communities Dawn Hastings-Williams. She explained that the Ministry has already tasked the regional administrations with earmarking in their 2016 Budget, allocations for the buildings’ upgrade.

Provisions for the upgrade and maintenance

to regional buildings are standard features of the annual budget, Minister Hastings-Williams explained. She, however noted that the 2016 allocation will ensure that the effort will go beyond the routine cosmetic repairs.

“Some of these buildings were allowed to dilapidate so much that we would have to put up new

buildings, but whatever is the cost, we will try to ensure that our workers, wherever they are, in whichever part of Guyana, that they must feel comfortable, and they are motivated and encouraged to serve,” the Minister stated. Over the years, the state of these buildings has been a cause of concern for many workers assigned to

the regions, and has served as a deterrent.

“We need to attract these trained teachers (and) doctors to these regions and we can only attract them when we have proper accommodation… and we are prepared to make that happen,” Minister Hastings-William said.

Cuba and United Arab Emirates forge closer ties

Cuba and the United Arab Emirates agreed to strengthen diplomatic ties and bilateral cooperation during an official visit to the Caribbean island nation by the UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

During his 24-hour stay, Al Nahyan met on Monday with Cuban authorities, signed two agreements, and inaugurated his country’s embassy in Havana, which he said was a clear sign of the consolidation of the ties established by the two countries in March 2002.

“I am sure that the next few years will witness the prosperity of our ties,” he added during his official meeting with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez, with whom he signed an agreement on air services “between and beyond our territories” which will facilitate the expansion of opportunities for international air transport. In the meeting, Rodríguez reaffirmed his Government’s support for Arab peoples in their struggle to maintain their independence and territorial integrity. According to official sources, the two

Brazil court to probe Dilma Rousseff’s election campaign

Brazil’s top electoral authority said on Tuesday that it would re-open an investigation into alleged misuse of funds during President Dilma Rousseff’s re-election campaign.

The Supreme Electoral Court will try to determine if Rousseff’s and Vice President Michel Temer’s campaign drew on donations from illegal sources.

The probe was requested by the Opposition PSDB party. It comes at a time when Rousseff’s approval rating is at a record low.

If it were to uncover irregularities, the court could invalidate Rousseff’s and Temer’s election and trigger fresh polls. But experts say in order for that to happen the irregularities would

have to be so serious that the judges deem them to have endangered the legitimacy of the election.

Moreover, the inquiry is likely to take many months, if not years, and a fresh election is therefore an unlikely scenario, electoral law experts said. The case was shelved in February when a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to proceed, but the PSDB appealed against the decision.

The opposition party alleges that there are indications that construction firms involved in a massive corruption scandal donated money to Ms Rousseff’s campaign. The construction firms allegedly bribed politicians and the state oil company, Petrobras, to secure contracts. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Foreign Ministers concurred that the opening of the UAE embassy is an important step forward in bilateral ties and will permit closer follow-up of questions of mutual interest.

Al Nahyan also met with the first Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz Canel. The two officials confirmed the good state of bilateral ties and the possibilities for cooperation on the economic, trade and financial fronts, Cuba’s primetime TV newscast reported. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Former Antigua-Barbuda UN official arrested in bribery scheme

The former permanent representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, John Ashe, was arrested in New York on Tuesday on charges of engaging in a widespread corruption scheme.

The current Government of Antigua and Barbuda moved quickly to distance itself from Ashe, noting in a statement that he was appointed by the former United Progressive Party Government and he was replaced by the present Antigua and Barbuda

Labour Party government when it was elected to office in 2014.

Senior officials of the former Spencer Government, including Spencer himself are also identified in the complaint. The complaint against Ashe, who is a resident of the United States, also includes fraudulent tax returns in the US.

The charges against Ashe relate to his former presidency of the UN General Assembly. Ashe was one of six people named in a criminal complaint out-

lining a bribery scheme that involved more than $1 million in payments from sources in China for assistance in real estate deals and other business interests. The complaint outlines a broad pattern of corruption on the part of Ashe, 61, who is accused of using the bribes to support a lavish lifestyle. Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, stressed that the investigation was still in its early stages. (Excerpt from

T&T Govt looks to woo Chinese bankers

Government is moving very aggressively to operationalise its International Financial Centre with the hope of major Chinese banks establishing its headquarters in Trinidad and Tobago, says Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

He was speaking at Tuesday’s annual post-Budget discussion hosted by the T&T Chamber of Commerce. “We will be making overtures to these Chinese banks to set up their regional headquarters here as there is tremendous opportunity,” Imbert said.

And in the mid of painting a gloomy picture of T&T’s economy during his 2015/2016 Budget presentation, Imbert said his Government would move full speed ahead with the rapid rail project, once the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) gave the nod.

He added: “We are going full speed ahead with this project but we want to make sure we are not accused of being reckless and getting involved in a vanity project.

“We are convinced that our studies and figures are accurate and we simply want an international agency to con-

firm and validate our numbers.

“Our target is to initiate commencement of this project by the end of September 2016. We are giving ourselves a year to make sure all the costings are correct, the approach is correct and to secure a contractor.”

He said there were two reasons why Government was approaching the IDB.

“They have offered to finance this project and the IDB does not finance projects of this nature unless they are satisfied that it makes sense. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

No plans to change use of voter ID system to aid criminal investigations – Bunting

The Ministry of National Security says it has no intention to change current arrangements governing the use of Jamaica’s voter ID system to aid in criminal investigations.

The response, according to a release from the Ministry, followed a suggestion at a meeting with the Hanover Lay Magistrates Association last week that a national identification card should be developed for all adults, which would carry biographic and biometric data.

As part of his response, the Ministry says National Security Minister Peter

Bunting commented that the elector identification cards issued by the Electoral Commission of

Jamaica was such a system, but that it could only be used for electoral purposes and not criminal in-

vestigation purposes because of commitments made at the time of its establishment.

Bunting also pointed out that this commitment could not be changed unilaterally by any Administration, notwithstanding that access to such a system would be helpful to criminal investigations.

The Minister said “to avoid any misunderstanding on this issue, let me make it absolutely clear that this Administration has no intention to change the current arrangements governing the use of the voter ID system.” (Jamaica Observer)

Tourist who gave birth prematurely in Dominican Republic faces US$280,000 bill for “time difference”

After enduring the trauma of a premature delivery in a foreign country and all the attendant concerns about her tiny newborn baby, a British tourist now faces a potential US$280,000 medical bill.

Sharon Halls, from Ipswich in Suffolk, was 28 weeks and six days pregnant when she unexpectedly went into labour and

gave birth to a daughter, Evie, in a private hospital in The Dominican Republic on September 28.

But after paying over US$13,000 for initial emergency care, 36-year-old Halls learned that her travel insurance provider may not come up with the money.

Infinity Insurance Solutions said it had not decided whether it would

cover the costs because the time difference between The Dominican Republic and the United Kingdom meant that when she gave birth she was over the 29-week mark, which was when the cover ceased to be valid.

Halls and her partner, 35-year-old Daniel Compton, have now been forced to set up a GoFundMe page in a desperate bid to raise enough money to move

Evie from a public hospital, which they say is dirty, according to a report in The Mirror.

Halls and Compton estimate that if they move Evie back to a private hospital, the cost of her care will be US$2500 a day. Doctors have advised she could be made to stay for 16 weeks, moreover, which would see the bill skyrocket to about US$280,000. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

Around the world

Russia backs Syrian forces in major assault on insurgents

Syrian troops and militia backed by Russian warplanes mounted what appeared to be their first major coordinated assault on Syrian insurgents on Wednesday and Moscow said its warships fired a barrage of missiles at them from the Caspian Sea, a sign of its new military reach.

The combined operation hit towns close to the main north-south highway that runs through major cities in the mainly governmentheld west of Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britishbased group which tracks the conflict via a network of sources within the country.

Ground attacks by Syrian Government forces and their militia allies us-

ing heavy surface-to-surface missile bombardments hit at least four insurgent positions and there were heavy clashes, the head

EU to step up deportations of economic migrants

European Union States will step up efforts to repatriate thousands of migrants fleeing poverty rather than war by speeding up deportations and exerting pressure on their home countries to take them back, an EU document says.

Faced with the biggest inflow of migrants in decades, EU countries have been discussing for months how to reduce numbers arriving from Africa, the Middle East and Asia, often via dangerous crossings of the Mediterranean Sea. States are committed to sheltering refugees escaping conflict and violence from countries like Syria and Eritrea, but they want to tackle the flow of migrants who are escaping poverty from countries not at war.

In a new attempt to clamp down on economic migrants, ministers responsible for migration policies

will meet on Thursday in Luxembourg to agree measures to discourage illegal migration.

“The EU and its member states must do more in terms of return. Increased return rates should act as a deterrent to irregular migration,” say the draft conclusions of the meeting.

To date, EU countries deport less than 40 per cent of the migrants staying illegally in their territories, EU Commission data shows. Hundreds of thousands whose asylum applications are rejected remain in Europe every year or do not return home when their regular visas expire.

The draft, seen by Reuters, recommends “detention as a legitimate measure of last resort” and urges States to reinforce their detention capacity to ensure illegal migrants do not disappear before being deported. (Excerpt from Reuters)

of the Observatory, Rami Abdulrahman, said.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia took part in the fighting, according to

a regional source who is familiar with the military situation in Syria.

Abdulrahman said later there was no sign that Syrian troops and their allies had made any tangible advances on the ground.

They briefly entered one town, but were forced to pull back, he said, and around 15 of their tanks or armoured vehicles had been either destroyed or disabled.

Islamic State militants have seized much of Syria since civil war grew out of anti-Government protests in 2011, but the areas targeted in Wednesday’s combined assault are held by other rebels, some USbacked, fuelling accusations by Russia’s critics that its real aim is to help the Government. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Nepal fuel shock triggers calls to rethink ties with India

Growing anger in Nepal’s capital over a crippling fuel shortage is prompting the nation’s leaders to reassess their energy strategy – and ties with southern neighbour India.

Taxis and buses are lining up for miles at empty petrol stations in Kathmandu, with passengers riding on the roofs of overcrowded buses to get around. Airlines have been forced to reroute flights to ensure they have adequate fuel, throwing Nepal’s tourism-dependent economy into turmoil just months after the country’s worst earthquake in eight decades.

“It really forces us to rethink our economic and strategic policies,” Madhukar SJB Rana, a former Nepalese Finance Minister

residing in Kathmandu, said by phone. “We are a landlocked country. This can happen to us anytime.”

The crisis began two weeks ago, when Nepal promulgated a new Constitution that caused disturbances in the southern plains among groups with close ethnic ties to India that feel under-represented. Nepalese newspapers have accused main trading partner India of conducting an unofficial blockade in response, while India says protesters in Nepal are blocking roads and preventing fuel from reaching the capital.

“If this blockage continues, there’ll be a humanitarian crisis very soon,” Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. (Excerpt from Bloomberg)

Triple suicide attacks hit North-eastern Nigeria

SObama apologises for Afghan hospital attack; MSF demands independent probe

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) on Wednesday demanded an independent international commission to investigate the deadly US bombing of its hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, and President Barack Obama apologised to the medical charity.

MSF, or Doctors Without Borders, which deems the attack a war crime, urged Obama to consent to a humanitarian commission established under the Geneva Conventions, even though neither the United States nor Afghanistan were signatories to the commission.

The group said that the inquiry would gather facts and evidence from the United States, NATO and Afghanistan, as well as testimony from MSF staff and patients who survived Saturday’s attack.

Only then would MSF consider whether to bring criminal charges for loss of

life and partial destruction of its trauma hospital, which has left tens of thousands of Afghans without access to health care, it said.

“If we let this go, as if was a non-event, we are basically giving a blank cheque to any countries who are at war,” MSF International President Joanne Liu told a news briefing in Geneva. “If we don’t safeguard that medical space for us to do our activities, then it is impossible to work in other contexts like Syria, South Sudan, like Yemen.” Obama telephoned Liu to apologise and express his condolences for the attack that killed 22 people, including 12 MSF staff, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Wednesday. Asked whether Obama offered some explanation to Liu, Earnest said no. “He merely offered his heartfelt apology” and a commitment to find out what went wrong, Earnest said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

DNA repair wins chemistry Nobel

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded for discoveries in DNA repair.

the recipients had “explained the processes at the molecular level that guard the integrity of our genomes”.

Goniri, said Army Spokesman Colonel Sani Usman.

Hours later, around 6:00h local time on Wednesday, when mosques were filled with worshippers performing early-morning prayers, two women suicide bombers struck in Damaturu, Yobe state’s commercial centre.

“One of the suicide bombers gained entry into the mosque and detonated explosives, and the other bomber was sighted roaming around the compound and [when] asked questions, she too detonated explosives,” said resident Ibrahim Musa.

He said he counted 15 bodies and 12 wounded people rushed to the hospital in Damaturu, which has suffered dozens of attacks during Nigeria’s sixyear-old Islamic uprising.

Police Assistant Superintendent Toyin Gbagedesin said seven people died in the Damaturu attacks. There was no immediate way to reconcile the conflicting tolls. (Excerpt from Al

Tomas Lindahl and Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar were named as the winners on Wednesday morning at a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

Their work uncovered the mechanisms used by cells to repair damaged DNA – a fundamental process in living cells and important in cancer.

Professor Lindahl is Swedish, but has worked in the UK for more than three decades.

The prize money of eight million Swedish kronor (£634,000) will be shared among the winners.

“It was a surprise. I know that over the years I’ve occasionally been considered for a prize, but so have hundreds of other people. I feel lucky and proud to be selected today,” Lindahl, from the UK’s Francis Crick Institute, told journalists.

Claes Gustafsson, from the Nobel Committee, said

DNA is open to an onslaught of different phenomena that can generate defects in our genomes.

UV radiation and molecules known as free radicals can cause damage. Furthermore, defects can arise when DNA is copied during cell division – a process that occurs millions of times each day in our bodies.

To address those defects, a host of molecular systems continuously monitor and de-bug our genetic information. The three new laureates mapped in detail how some of these mechanisms worked. In the 1970s, scientists had thought that DNA was a stable molecule, but Professor Lindahl demonstrated that it decays at a surprisingly fast rate.

The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded on Tuesday to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur McDonald for their work on neutrinos. (Excerpt from BBC News)

thursday, october 8, 2015| guyanatimesgy.com

What the people say I SAY...

Should the Ministers’ salaries be

Kishore – Coconut Vendor

“What happened to the nurses and teachers they said they would have taken care of when they were campaigning? They gave themselves 50 per cent and forget about the other people, but nobody not saying anything.”

Nicole Kingston –Social Worker

“My opinion is that this happened when the subsidies for the pensioners are taken away. If after five months in office, you give the Public service a miserly increase and then say you have no apologies for the increase in the Ministers salaries, it is wrong.”

Sean – Salesman

“It’s too much, they should work for less. That is a lot of money considering nothing is going on in the streets. Why not give their bodyguards a something extra.”

Adel Lilly – Student

“I believe in good governance and that is transparency and accountability and I believe that members of Government need the increase, just as public servants need a greater increase. I must say, however, how it has played out in the press is bad and the Government must find a way to make its position clear and/or direct to the public.”

“It’s

Courts rewards customers with trip to Arrowpoint Resort

The staff of Courts will be taking a trip down memory lane as the company hosts

“Throw Back Thursday –Back to School Edition!”

Last year, the staff turned out in their numbers for a throwback to the 1970s and this year the enthusiasm is even greater as the entire staff

population is going to be decked out in their school gear! Staff members will be teaming up to create their own schools and school uniforms to compete for the best school. It promises to be a day filled with fun and excitement as the company will also be rewarding Frederick Collins and

Kevon Barry with all-expenses-paid trips to Arrow Point Nature Resort for four persons. These customers would have shopped during Courts’ birthday celebrations in September and will be joining Dione Sharpe and Deodat Shivram, who were the first two winners.

Palms residents get tour of city

The Social Protection Ministry on Wednesday hosted a tour to some sites around Georgetown for residents of the Palms Geriatric Institution as the Month of the Elderly continues.

The senior citizens had their opportunity to sit in the chambers of the National Assembly before having lunch at the Botanical Gardens.

Mega salary increases... Berbice rice farmers protest Ministers' pay hike

Rice farmers in Berbice on Wednesday vetted their disapproval of huge salary increases for Government Ministers during a protest at the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) research station, Burma Road, Region Five (MahaicaBerbice).

During the protest, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder was attending the opening day activity at the GRDB research station. According to the farmers, they are disappointed that Government is “turning a blind eye” to the current plight facing farmers, but at the same time, can find money to give themselves increases after being in Government for only a short period of time.

The farmers are calling on the coalition Government to fulfil its campaign promises. During its campaign leading up to the May 11 General and Regional Elections, farmers were promised by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) $6000 and $9000 per bag of paddy produced.

“They do not have the working class people interest at heart. They took away all the subsidies from pensioners and school children and they are taking away the daily bread from rice farmers, they don’t care about rice farmers,” one of the protesting farmers said on Wednesday. He added, “We are demanding that Government subsidised fuel, fertiliser and pesticides, spare parts and other equipment that is

part of rice cultivation just like how they subsidising the miners and others.”

“It is not fair to take taxpayers money and increase their salary and we cannot have a proper livelihood. Who will help us to repay our loans? We are indebted to the banks. We fearful because what we had accomplished over the past years will go down the drain because there is no protection for rice farmers under the APNU/AFC,” another disappointed farmer told this newspaper.

On Friday, at his first press conference since being elected as Head of State, President David Granger backtracked on one of APNU/AFC’s campaign promises and distanced himself and his Government from the plight of rice farmers.

Granger, speaking to media operatives, emphasised that the problems of the rice industry are not to be blamed on the

EU recommits to infrastructural development

The European Union (EU) has renewed its commitment to supporting infrastructural development in Guyana.

This was done when the EU Ambassador to Guyana Jernej Videtič paid a courtesy call on Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and Minister within the Public Infrastructure Ministry Annette Ferguson, on Wednesday at their Wight’s Lane office in Kingston.

alia, the Bartica/Berbice ferry services, the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) rehabilitation and the Ogle International Airport (OIA) extension.

During the meeting, the two parties discussed several ongoing projects including the ‘Power Utility Upgrade Programme’ which is cofinanced by an EU grant of €19.3 million and a loan by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) of US$37.6 million.

nue loss while also improving GPL's management and administrative efficiency. It was agreed by the two parties that close monitoring of project implementation is necessary to make best use of available resources.

Government. While offering no form of relief to the industry except through the acquisition of markets for the millers, Granger insisted that the crisis of the rice industry is not Government’s problem.

Some rice farmers have already signalled their intention to ‘rest’ their lands come the next crop, given the low prices and lack of Government intervention.

In the official Gazette published on September 25, it is stated that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo will be benefiting from a over $20 million per annum, while the other Vice Presidents will each receive $11,135,064.

Under the APNU/AFC Government, a Cabinet Minister will be given a hefty sum of $10,439,124 – annually – more than $300,000 over previous Ministers and a Junior Minister or a Minister within a Ministry will be paid $8,346,492 per annum.

In addition to the increased salary for Prime Minister Nagamootoo of $1.7 million monthly, an increase of over $200,000 each month, he will be drawing vacation benefits and perks totalling more than another $500,000.

Meanwhile, the protesting farmers say they will continue their protest exercise in order to have their cries heard. They said that they are hoping that the international community can offer some assistance since the President has already made it public that the rice situation should be resolved between the farmers and millers.

Ambassador Videtič used the opportunity to reaffirm the EU's commitment to working with Guyana in its development process. Guyana-EU cooperation commenced over 40 years ago with priorities including sea defences and transport infrastructure, inter

The project, which is being administered via Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc, is geared at enhancing the operational efficiency and corporate performance of the utility company. It will cater to the upgrading of infrastructure to reduce energy and reve-

Ambassador Videtič along with Ministers Patterson and Ferguson also discussed ongoing cooperation programmes on sea defences, including capacity-building and training, strengthening the functionalities of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC), opportunities for studies in renewable energy, and the exploration of possible future EU/Guyana collaboration in the area of renewable energy, transport infrastructure, tourism and logistics.

Fisherman murdered at sea –

two crew members arrested

Amisunderstanding between several fishermen out at sea turned fatal, leaving one man dead and two others in Police custody.

The dead man has been identified as Ronald Emanuel Reid called “Manny”, of Lot 25 Castello Housing Scheme, Georgetown. According to reports, the 27-year-old man sustained a fatal stab wound to his back. The incident occurred around 14:00h on Tuesday.

Police investigations have revealed that the incident occurred onboard a fishing boat off the Lichfield Foreshore, West Coast Berbice.

“Investigations have revealed that Ronald Emanuel Reid was involved in an argument during which he was fatally stabbed to his back. Two men have been arrested and are in Police custody assisting with the investigations,” the Police disclosed in a release.

Guyana Times understands that Reid has been working at sea for some seven years now and left for this trip about two weeks ago. Speaking to this newspaper, the dead man’s cousin Sonia Persaud related that they received a phone call about Reid’s death around 19:00h

on Tuesday.

Persaud said that they were unsure what transpired, but were told that her cousin was killed since around 14:00h. She revealed that Reid spoke with his girl friend earlier in the day and told her that he had a misunderstanding with the Captain of the boat.

“He spoke to his girlfriend around 10:00h and told her he is trying to get a boat to come in from sea because he got in lil’ problems with some guy on the boat… He didn’t say what was the problem,” Persaud related.

This newspaper understands that Reid’s body was brought to shore sometime this morning. Persaud further detailed that when relatives went to identify and

claim the body at the shore on Wednesday morning, they observed a single stab wound in his back.

“It look like he was apparently sleeping when they kill he or something… but I can’t say for sure because we ain’t get the full report as yet,” she added.

She added that based on reports received, it was two brothers who reportedly killed her cousin.

“We were made to understand that this wasn’t the first time these two brothers murdered someone. It has occur a second time… they had worked in the Venezuela waters but came back to Guyana and started working Guyana waters,” she claimed.

The woman said she did not know the men nor could she say whether her cousin worked with them before this trip. Persaud, however, noted that Reid’s father knew them as he was also a fisherman. Persaud described her cousin as a cool and calm individual, noting that he was not confrontational.

Reid leaves to mourn his parents, younger brother along with several other foster-siblings and his girlfriend, who is currently two months pregnant with his first child. The police are continuing the investigations.

SUDOKU

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

(May 21June 20)

CANCER

Don’t be denied of simple pleasures. Reading a book, enjoying music, going to the spa or taking a shopping trip will help balance your personal and professional lives.

If you are constantly at odds with friends or family members, take a closer look at how you treat others. If you are being unreasonable, the problem will continue. Strive to be tolerant.

New acquaintances are apparent. Find out more about the people and events in your area. The more outgoing you are, the more you will learn, and your list of friends will grow accordingly.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

You know what you want to accomplish. If you don’t have the credentials, go out and get them. Stop dreaming and take whatever steps are necessary to achieve your goals.

It may be difficult, but you need to let others have their say. Whether you agree with others’ opinions is irrelevant. Everyone deserves a chance to have their voices heard.

Legal documents or contracts should be closely scrutinized. Failure to do so will result in a costly mistake. If you are unclear, seek professional advice before you make a commitment.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

In order to be considered a contender, you need to put yourself out there and throw your hat in the ring. You will discover valuable opportunities if you meet with peers and colleagues.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Unsettling issues will surface. Face facts and deal with events in a controlled, unemotional manner. Legal, financial, medical or insurance institutions will give you reason to do some research before making a decision.

CAPRICORN (June 21July 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Be receptive and attend any gathering that will introduce you to newcomers in your community or field. If you take a pass on an invitation, you will miss out on a golden opportunity.

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

Don’t squabble over what’s already happened when you should be looking for a way to rectify the problem. Your strength and assistance will be appreciated and reciprocated.

AQUARIUS

PISCES

(Feb. 20March 20)

Don’t give up on someone you care about because of a minor disagreement or insignificant event. Everyone makes mistakes, and forgiveness is a sign of maturity.

The better you feel, the more you will accomplish. Clear your mind of self-doubt or insecurity by putting your best foot forward. You will be surprised by the reaction you get.

FIFA president facing 90-day suspension

“unfavourable”

FIFA president Sepp

Blatter is facing a 90day provisional suspension.

Members of FIFA’s ethics committee have recommended the sanction after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against the 79-year-old.

He is accused of signing a contract “unfavourable” to football’s governing body and making a “disloyal payment” to Uefa president Michel Platini.

Blatter denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers said he had “not been notified of any action”.

European football’s chief Platini - who wants to succeed Blatter - has said the payment was “valid compensation” from his time working under the Swiss more than nine years ago.

The investigatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee has requested the ban and a final decision is likely to be made on Thursday by Hans Joachim Eckhert, the head of FIFA’s ethics adjudicatory chamber.

Blatter’s adviser Klauss Stohlker had said the FIFA president was “calm” after being told the news, but a statement from his legal representatives denied he had been made aware of any decision.

It said: “We would expect that the ethics committee would want to hear from the president and his counsel, and conduct a thorough review of the evidence, before making any recommendation to take disciplinary action.”

On Wednesday, Blatter

told a German magazine that he was being “condemned without there being any evidence for wrongdoing”.

The investigation is centred on allegations believed to be around a 2005 TV rights deal between FIFA and Jack Warner, the former president of CONCACAF, the governing body of football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The ethics committee had been meeting in Zurich since Monday and have yet to make a decision on Platini, 60.

It is also examining a payment of two million Swiss francs (£1.35m) that Platini received in 2011 for working for Blatter.

The Frenchman has provided information to the criminal investigation but said he has done so as a witness.

Swiss prosecutors said he is being treated as “in between a witness and an accused person” as they investigate corruption at world football’s governing body.

The latest development came hours after former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon, who is also under investigation by FIFA’s ethics committee, told BBC Sport that his campaign to succeed Blatter was being “smeared”.

Blatter won a fifth consecutive FIFA presidential election on May 29 but, following claims of corruption, announced his decision to step down on June 2. He is due to finish his term at a FIFA extraordinary congress on February 26. (BBC Sport)

Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket…

Veer Farhad slams unbeaten century for Blairmont Primary

Batsman Veer Farhad slammed an unbeaten century to propel Blairmont Primary to victory over Ithaca Primary by 114 runs in the WICB/ GCB/Scotiabank Kiddy Progression One Cricket at the Blairmont ground on Wednesday.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Blairmont Primary compiled a mammoth 199 without loss from their allotted 14 overs. Farhad’s 111 included seven sixes and 12 boundaries. His opening partner, Jaheim Elgin, supported well with an unbeaten 44, which included three sixes and three fours.

When Ithaca took to the crease, they never looked threatening. Determined attempts by the batsmen to keep the run rate favourable resulted in the steady fall of wickets. Only opening batsman Samuel Archibald managed to meet double figures with 14 runs in his team’s total of 85.

Veer Farhad and Jaheim

Hand-in-Hand cycling set

With the Kadir memorial ‘ounce of gold’ cycling race set for Sunday and the Tour of Guyana Five-Stage billed for month-end, the country’s top wheelsmen will use Saturday’s 11th annual Hand-in-Hand Insurance 11-race programme to fine tune their preparations for the mega events.

National coach and chief organiser Hassan Mohamed confirmed this week that preparations are coming along smoothly for Saturday’s showdown, which will start at 09:00h with the BMX age group races and conclude around 13:00h with the feature 35-lap School Boys and Invitational race.

“Everything is on stream and we can expect a competitive day of racing,” Mohamed said.

Last year’s main race was won by Team Gillette Evolution’s Orville Hinds, who, incidentally, is the country’s leading cyclist in 2015.

However, he will be hard-pressed to maintain a hold on the trophy, as several seasoned riders have already started returning to the local circuit to get in shape for the upcoming Tour of Guyana.

Among them is Alanzo Greaves of the USA-based Team Mengoni, while the likes of Geron Williams and Raynauth Jeffrey are ex-

pected to link up with local riders soon. Hinds had clocked one hour, 16 minutes, 35.93 seconds to win the race last year.

Other winners included Stephano Husbands in the Juveniles, Junior Niles in the Veterans Under-50, Damien Sookdeo in the Mountain Bikes, and Rakheem Blair in the 12-14 Boys and Girls.

Apart from exclusively sponsoring the race, Handin-Hand Insurance will continue with its tradition of distributing three brand new bicycles and helmets to three promising young riders. The day’s activities will take place on the inner circuit of the National Park. (aramzan@guyanatimesgy.com)

India v South Africa, 3rd T20I, Kolkata…

India look to salvage pride after series loss

Ashow whose credits have already rolled has come to the biggest theatre in town and Eden Gardens could be forgiven for thinking it has received a raw deal. This is the only match the venue will host on South Africa’s marathon tour, and its result will have no impact on the series.

The trophy is already in the visitors’ hands and the sting was taken out of the contest when crowd trouble in the form of a bottle-throwing incident interrupted the second match in Cuttack. By then, however, South Africa’s superiority was confirmed. They had skittled India out for their lowest T20 total at home and their second-lowest overall, and were well on their way to chasing down the target. At least, Kolkata can hope for a better performance from the home side.

India have a lot of work to do before the World T20, but MS Dhoni does not seem to be panicking. He understands his batsmen need to take more responsibility and his bowlers need to show more initiative. They should need no more motivation than salvaging pride, especially as South Africa will be eyeing a clean sweep. Although it would be easy for South Africa to switch off, in search of a few days break ahead of the ODIs, the appeal of a whitewash against India in India does

not only speak to a rise up the rankings but is also the perfect preparation ahead of the World T20. Expect them to come out fighting.

In the spotlight India’s middle-order has marshmallowed in both matches, first squandering a strong start in Dharamsala and then completely collapsing in Cuttack. In terms of reputation, they have names to produce better numbers and MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu are due a few more runs. The captain has looked uninspired so far and, given the impact he can have on his charges, if he ups his game, the rest may follow. They were supposed to be flummoxed by conditions but South Africa’s seamers have adapted well so far and will want to continue proving coach Russell Domingo - who said they would be

the difference for the sidecorrect. Kagiso Rabada has managed to mix aggression with change of pace, Kyle Abbott has been accurate at the death and Albie Morkel’s return to the highest level after 18 months in Cuttack was promising. Can they produce an encore in Kolkata?

Team news India have reasons to make changes and the most anticipated one could be Amit Mishra’s recall in place of either Axar Patel or Harbhajan Singh. Shikhar Dhawan’s dual failure at the top could result in a shuffling of the batting line-up or the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane.

India: (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Ambati Rayudu, 7 R

Ashwin, 8 & 9 Axar Patel/ Amit Mishra/Harbhajan Singh, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohit Sharma/S Aravind.

With the series already won, South Africa could consider giving an opportunity to legspinner Eddie Leie and perhaps uncapped batsman Khaya Zondo. They will also ponder reintroducing Quinton de Kock into international cricket perhaps to give Hashim Amla some time off on a long tour and think of bringing back Marchant de Lange to bowl at a venue he knows well.

South Africa: (probable) 1 AB de Villiers (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 Khaya Zondo, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Albie Morkel, 8 Marchant de Lange/Kagiso Rabada, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10, 11 Imran Tahir/Eddie Leie. (Cricinfo)

EBSC members protest against grass track event

By Rajiv Bisnauth

Scores of residents, cricketers and members of the Enterprise Busta Sport Club (EBSC) on Wednesday afternoon

staged a peaceful protest at the Enterprise Community Centre ground against the hosting of a grass track event planned for the venue on Sunday.

The protestors are of the opinion that the grass track event, organised by the Biker’s Boys Club, will set an extremely dangerous precedence for the club moving

forward.

The centre ground has been controlled by the Enterprise Centre Council (ECC) for the past 30 years, and for activities to be held there, interested persons/ organisations must get the necessary approval from the ECC.

Guyana Times Sport was informed by Secretary of the ECC, Jitlall Jowahirlall, that while the Council is strongly against the hosting of the event, the necessary paper works were not done in the first place in order to grant the approval for stag-

ing the event.

According to Jowahirlall, the ECC requested a rental fee and also a contractual agreement between the ECC and the Bikers Boys Club, but the club failed to honour both. The ECC has since refused to give the necessary approval to host the event.

According to Jowahirlall, the ECC is of the view that an event of such nature will destroy the outer perimeter of the venue.

“It happened in the past; we had two or three grass track [events] here, and after it was completed the

Banned drugs found in 3,800 samples in 2014

Banned substances were found in more than 3,800 samples out of 283,304 tests carried out worldwide last year, World Anti-Doping Agency figures reveal.

However, that represented a fall, across all sports, of more than 10%, despite an increase in the number of tests carried out.

Athletics has been the subject of allegations of widespread doping.

And Wada has told the BBC more than 10% of elite athletes could be using performance-enhancing drugs.

August’s athletics World Championships in Beijing included 66 competitors

es can be produced naturally by the body, for example.

Wada’s 2014 report reveals which national anti-doping authorities test their athletes most frequently - though it does not include figures on the number of active competitors by country.

The Chinese AntiDoping Agency, perhaps unsurprisingly given the country’s population, took the most samples of any, with 0.4% of the 13,180 samples taken detecting banned substances, while Russia’s also took more than 10,000 samples last year.

UK Anti-Doping, the

who had previously been subject to doping sanctions.

Athletics’ governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), carried out more than 1,400 tests on an estimated 600700 athletes - only a third of the total number of competitors - in China. Just two - Kenyan runners Joyce Zakary and Koki Manunga - failed them, although the IAAF said samples would be frozen and stored for future reanalysis as science and technology progressed.

As well as the reduction in samples containing banned substances - or ‘adverse analytical findings’in 2014, the number of tests requiring further investigation also fell. In contrast, the number of adverse findings had increased by more than 10% between 2012 and 2013.

ground was not good, so we don’t want any grass track here, none at all,” Jowahirlall stressed. Information gathered by this publication indicated that the Biker’s Boys Club has received permission from the Buxton/Foulis Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) to use the ground.

But the ECC members are strongly condemning the NDC’s action, saying that the body has no authority to control the affairs of the centre ground. (rajivb@guyanatimesgy.com)

Wada says the fall in these ‘atypical findings’ is partly due to the introduction of the athlete biological passport.

Wada’s results report the number of tests carried out by sport governing bodies and national antidoping organisations submitted to its 32 accredited laboratories worldwide.

A blood or urine sample showing a banned substance does not automatically mean the athlete in question has been doping. Some prohibited substanc-

body responsible for testing British sportsmen and sportswomen, analysed 5,160 samples with 0.7% recording adverse findings. In contrast, the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission, which was rebuked by Wada for its approach in 2013, conducted 347 tests - all coming back clean - while the National Anti?Doping Centre of Ukraine collected just two samples, one of which showed a banned substance.

Football was responsible for 31,242 tests, more than any other sport. Of those, 144 (0.5%) produced adverse findings.

Athletics provided more than 25,000 samples analysed in 2014 - 1% of those tests resulted in adverse findings.

Boxing recorded 1.3% adverse results from just over 4,000 tests.

There were also adverse findings in sports less commonly associated with banned substances.

Para-sailing had one of the highest rates of adverse results, with 13%, although that figure is skewed by the relatively small number of participants in the sport with just 24 samples taken and three adverse findings.

Of the non-Olympic or non-Paralympic sports, 13.7% of samples collected in body building contained banned substances.

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BCCI treasury office moved; constitution goes online

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hashank Manohar has in his first act as the BCCI president shifted the treasury office from Chennai to Mumbai, and made the BCCI constitution available online on the board’s official website, fulfilling one of the promises he made after taking charge.

Following the decision to move the treasury office to Mumbai, the BCCI has hired M/S Gokhale & Sathe, a Mumbai-based firm, as internal auditor, replacing PB Vijayaraghavan & Co. from Chennai, whose services have for long been engaged by the TNCA. The move, according to a BCCI press release, was “keeping in mind that all tax matters of the BCCI are with the Income Tax Office in Mumbai.”

“Basically, the president wants all the offices, all the documents of the BCCI to be available at one place,” a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. Manohar had said soon after his election that the records would be made available at the board headquarters, “so that any member association or a representative of an association can inspect the records at any time”.

The BCCI official said there would now be greater

logistical convenience. “For example, our IT offices are in Mumbai, but every time there was something, the accounts, we had to get it from Chennai. He wants it [Mumbai] to be a proper headquarters where all sections of the board are working from the BCCI office,” the official said.

The official, however, denied that the move was necessitated by the board’s reported dissatisfaction at treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry conducting business from more than one office. “I don’t think there is any point in debating on the fact. It’s a non issue now,” the official said. “In Delhi, he [Chaudhry] had opted for a room in a hotel for an office. That’s all. Nothing more than that. Every office bearer has an office of his own. The secre-

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tary is operating from Delhi, the joint-secretary has a small office, the president will have a small office here. That’s always the structure which was in the board.”

One of Manohar’s assurances after assuming office was to ensure transparency, and he had said that the problem could be resolved by “putting on the website of the board the constitution of the board, all the rules of the board, any expenditure made by the board over and above an amount of [Rs] 25 lakhs (approx. US$ 38,000), so that people are aware on what activities the board spends their money”.

Manohar had sought to address the perception that something was “wrong in the board”. “At the end of the year we can put the balance sheet of the board on the website, with the result it is available to the entire public at large so that there is transparency in the activities of the board,” he had said at the press conference after his election as president.

The BCCI has subsequently uploaded the 52-page constitution, titled Memorandum and Rules and Regulations, that was last revised on September 15, 2012. (Cricinfo)

Cairns believed he was ‘untouchable’ – prosecution

Chris Cairns, the former “golden boy” of New Zealand cricket who stands accused of lying under oath to win a £1.4million libel settlement, was described as believing he was “untouchable” as the prosecution laid out its case in his trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Cairns, whom prosecutor Sasha Wass QC described as a “legend” of the game, appeared in the dock to answer charges of perjury and, in conjunction with his co-defendant and former attorney Andrew Fitch-Holland, perverting the course of justice. Both men deny the charges, which relate to Cairns’ 2012 libel action against Lalit Modi, the former commissioner of the Indian Premier League.

Cairns successfully sued Modi at the High Court in London following a Twitter message in 2010 in which Modi had alleged that Cairns had been excluded from that year’s IPL auction list “due to his past record of match fixing” in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL).

“The prosecution case against Mr Cairns is that he manipulated the legal system in this country to his advantage,” said Wass. “Chris Cairns knew he had been guilty of match-fixing, he knew why he had been suspended and he knew what Mr Modi tweeted about him was true.

“But Mr Cairns was an arrogant individual and very sure of the power he held over the people around him. This is what he did: he lied in witness statements, he lied on oath and he arranged that

others should give false evidence on his behalf.

“After all, the only people who knew for certain that Mr Cairns was engaged in match fixing were those people who had been match fixing with him. Why would they want to give evidence to that effect in court?

“So Mr Cairns had a free rein: he could protest his good name and spotless reputation to the rooftops, knowing or believing that he was untouchable.”

The prosecution alleged that Lou Vincent, the former New Zealand batsman who was a team-mate of Cairns’ at Chandigarh Lions in the ICL, was persuaded by FitchHolland to provide a false witness statement to support Cairns’ libel case. Vincent was last year handed a life ban by the ECB after admitting to taking money to under-perform.

During a Skype call, played to the court, FitchHolland told Vincent: “If you can literally get a oneparagraph statement that

says ‘I played in the game, everything seemed okay, end of ... it makes it plain that things are a lot more straightforward than they look.”

In the recording, FitchHolland appeared to accept that both he and Vincent knew the cheating had happened, saying: “... between you and I, we all know some of what is being said is clearly true”. However, he tried to reassure Vincent that he would never have to swear his statement was true in court.

Vincent, however, expressed his concerns: “It’s a big ask from me to ... in a legal document say something that isn’t true”, he said, adding: “I am not proud of what has happened at all ... it’s hard for me to live with what’s gone on.”

Wass said the conversation was proof that all parties knew the libel case that Cairns was bringing was untrue. The case continues on Monday. (Cricinfo)

Holder hopes for swift Simmons resolution

West Indies captain Jason Holder said that the fate of suspended head coach Phil Simmons lay “with Phil and the board” but added that he had been a “wonderful inspiration” during his brief time in charge.

Holder hoped for a swift resolution that would allow Simmons to return to the squad in Sri Lanka after his position was put in limbo when he expressed discontent over West Indies’ ODI squad for the tour.

Simmons has since apologised for his remarks, but has been asked to answer for “breaches of confidentiality” by the WICB and is cur-

rently awaiting at HR hearing.

“The comments made by Phil were by Phil, and I can’t comment on those things,” Holder said in Colombo. “It’s down to him and the board. We can only control the cricket because that’s what we came here to do. Whatever his situation, his fate lies with him and the board. Hopefully he can deal with that and be back to us as soon as possible.”

The timing of Simmons’ suspension has posed a significant problem for West Indies, coming as it did only days before the squad was scheduled to assemble in Sri Lanka, and less than three

weeks before the first Test. Simmons was appointed West Indies coach in March and the Sri Lanka tour would have been his first international foray with the outfit. It is also Holder’s first assignment as Test captain.

“No doubt [Simmons’ suspension] is a bit of setback for us, but at this present stage, all we can do is focus on the cricket. I just hope that the situation with him is solved quickly because we would love to have him back.

He’s been a wonderful inspiration to our team thus far.”

West Indies are sched-

uled to begin their tour with a three-day warm-up match which now begins on Friday, having been pushed back 24 hours due to poor weather, before moving to Galle for the first Test, which begins on October 14.

SLC announced on Tuesday that the two-match Test series will be named the Sobers-Tissera trophy, after West Indies great Garry Sobers and Sri Lanka batsman Michael Tissera, who was among the island’s pre-eminent cricketers in the pre-Test era.

“Having the trophy named after Sir Garfield Sobers is something truly special,” Holder said. “He was one of the greatest to play the game and he still makes a major contribution to the game. Only recently he joined us in Barbados and wished everyone the very best for this tour of Sri Lanka.

“It is always good to see him and interact with him and it would be great for us to take home the trophy with his name on it. We got some pretty young faces in our squad and a lot of them look up to the past greats who played the game.” (Cricinfo)

North Georgetown Inter-schools championships…

Bishops ahead with a day to go

By Akeem Greene

At the completion of three categories of competition, the Bishops’ High School has emerged as the most dominant school in the North Georgetown Inter-School championships.

Placed in Zone Two, Bishops’ High School has excelled in the swimming, cycling and field events, finishing first in all three categories.

In the field events, which were held on Wednesday at the YMCA ground, Thomas Lands, Bishops High School romped to victory, attaining a mammoth 538 points. St John Secondary placed second with 334 points, while Christ Church was in third on 244 points.

For the field events, Queens College of Zone One topped with 476 points, while Richard Ishmael

Secondary gained 346 points. Chase Academy came in third with 222 points, with Government Technical Institute and Marian Academy finishing in fourth and fifth with 125 and 123 points respectively. Queens College also placed first in their Zone for swimming and third for cycling.

In the Boys Under-18 long jump, Nathan Saul of the Government Technical Institute soared to victory with a leap of 5.70 metres.

Saul, who needs to increase the speed of his runup and remains more upright upon lift-off, will be well aware that he needs to touch the six-metre mark if he intends to medal at ‘Nationals.’

In the Under-20 category, Euclid Nedd of Queens College secured first place with a jump of 5.47 metres.

In the Javelin Under-14, Andrew Henry from

Richard Ishmael Secondary threw 23.90 metres and it was enough to secure first place.

In the Boys Under-20 category, Queens College’s Amani Thomas came first with a throw of 24.50 metres.

In the Boys Discuss event, Kelvin Jones of Government Technical Institute swung his arms to first place with a throw of 24.45 metres to win. In the Shot Put, Queens College’s Brian Peters won with a distance of 10.82 metres. The events, which are being used as a yardstick to select the district’s best team for the upcoming National Schools Championships, will continue on next Tuesday at the Police ground where the track events of the interschool competition will take place. (akeemg@guyanatimesgy.com)

By AvenAsh rAmzAn

An ounce of gold would be up for grabs again on Sunday when the fourth annual Kadir memorial cycling meet is staged by the Flying Stars Cycling Club.

A highlight of the annual cycling calendar, the event usually attracts a large group of riders, who tussle to outdo each other with the ultimate aim of copping the ounce of gold first prize.

Sponsored by Kadir Enterprise of Bartica, the 80-mile event will pedal off on Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown, proceed to Dora on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway and return to the start point for the finish.

The Senior, Junior and Veteran Under-45 riders will complete that course, while the Veterans Over45, Juveniles and Ladies will start with the group, but turn at the hill after Splashmin’s Fun Park and

return to the point of origin.

Last year’s race was won by Linden’s Michael Anthony, who completed the event in a time of three hours, 19 minutes, 26 seconds.

Junior Niles was the top Veteran Under-45 rider, while Ian Jackson won the Over-45 and Raphael Leung was the winner of the Juveniles race.

This year new winners will be crowned in the Junior and Juvenile divisions, as Anthony and Leung no longer compete in these categories.

2014 at a glance In 2014, Linden’s Michael Anthony underlined his status as one of the country’s promising prospects with a remarkable

sprint to the finish line to win the third annual Kadir Mohamed memorial cycle road race, copping the coveted ounce of gold first prize. By virtue of being the first rider to cross the finish line, Anthony also emerged winner of the Junior division.

The race, which started at Homestretch Avenue and proceeded to Dora on the Linden/Soesdyke

Highway before returning to the point of origin for the finish, attracted 45 starters, and was organised by Flying Stars Cycle Club.

Turning from Mandela Avenue into Homestretch Avenue, Anthony was part of a six-man peloton that had created a sizeable lead over the chasing pack along the East Bank Demerara highway on the return journey.

With the chequered flag in sight, Anthony pulled away from his opponents with a calculated sprint to lay hands on the gold and the winner’s trophy in a time of three hours, 19 minutes, 26 seconds (03h: 19m: 26s).

Team Coco’s Ruben Companioni finished second best, leaving last year’s champion Paul DeNobrega, Robin Persaud, Alonzo Ambrose, Christopher Holder, Mark Harris and Mario King to occupy the six remaining podium spots. (aramzan@guyanatimesgy.com)

Flex Night International set for December 6

The annual Flex Night International 2015 will be held on Sunday December 6 at the National Cultural Centre, organisers have confirmed.

“Coming as it does after the November Darcy Beckles Classic hosted in Barbados, the event brings the curtain down on the 2015 slate

of male and female bodybuilding and fitness events,” Managing Director of Flex Night Inc. Donald Sinclair said via a release.

The December event is expected to attract male and female competitors from gyms in Georgetown, Berbice, Linden, East and West Demerara, as well as a contingent from neighbouring Suriname and at least one competitor based in New Jersey, United States of America.

Mr Flex Night 2014, Godfrey Stoby

Even at this early stage some key sponsors have already pledged their commitment to Flex Night International 2015. Prominent among those are Southland International, Fitness Express, International Pharmaceutical Agency,

Toucan Industries, Farfan and Mendes Limited, Axe Apparel and Modern Grafix. As the Flex Night date draws closer there will be further information about both new sponsors and international participants expected.

Joseph out to cement fast bowler spot

Fast bowler Keon Joseph is determined to cement his place in the national team once he gets an extended run in the side.

Joseph is among the 15 contracted players for the Guyana Jaguars franchise, and is currently in training with the squad for the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional Four-day tournament.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport on Wednesday, the 23-year-old said he aims to cement his spot in the Guyana side and play as much cricket for the country in all formats of the game.

“First, I want to thank Cricket Guyana Inc. to keep faith in me. My main goal once I make the final squad will be to be consistent. Once I am consistent, I will definitely cement my place,” the Berbician, who was also part of the Guyana Amazon Warriors line-up this year, pointed out.

Joseph has been in and out of the national squad in recent years. Since his senior First-class debut on February 26, 2010, he has only managed 11 FirstClass matches and three

List A games after making his debut in that format in 2009.

“I am not getting too far ahead of myself. I have been working hard on my game day in, day out, so on a personal note I am fit and ready to go,” he reckoned.

The former national Under-19 player said that preparation leading up to the tournament has been spot on, adding that he is looking to get the most out of the preparation period.

“Our preparations have been very good. I would say spot on,” Joseph said.

Further, the fast bowler believes that Guyana has a good chance of retaining the title, since the play-

ers have been exposed to top quality training for the past three months.

Meanwhile, the squad for the first round of the second edition of the League, which commences on November 6, will be selected after the two fourday practice games.

The first practice game is confirmed for October 12-15 at the Georgetown Cricket Club, while game two is scheduled for October 26-29 at a venue to be decided.

Under the new franchise system, each of the six franchises is allowed to have 15 contracted players.

However, apart from those contracted players, other players who have reached the selector’s criteria are also eligible for selection under the ‘Pay for Play’ criteria.

At the conclusion of the first edition of the PCL, the Guyana Jaguars, who won eight of the 10 matches, and lost and drew one each, accumulated a whopping 148 points, 31 more than second place Barbados Pride on 117.

The Windward Islands Volcanoes finished third on 109 points, followed by Jamaica (75), Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (65) and Leeward Islands Hurricanes (54). (rajivb@ guyanatimes.com)

Abrilliant 61 from Shawn Thompson led Green Acres to victory over St Angela’s in round one of the North Georgetown Zone of the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket on Tuesday at the Racquet Centre ground.

After winning the toss, Green Acres chose to bat first and compiled 119-6 off their allotted 14 overs.

Omesh Balgobin supported Thompson with 27. Bowling for St Angela’s Primary, L. Arthur and T. Thomas accounted for two wickets each.

In reply, St Angela’s reached 108-8 when their 14 overs expired. Ariana Laundry top scored with 23, while T. Thomas and J. Griffith chipped in with 12 and 11 respectively.

Jadyan Dowlin was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets. With the victory, the Green Acres youngsters have progressed to the second round of preliminary matches.