Guyana Times Daily

friday, april 4, 2014|

“Do not impede the progress of this nation” – Whittaker warns Opposition

“Something that works, don’t try to fix it, you’re not good at that,” Local Government and Regional Development Minister Norman Whittaker told the Opposition during his Budget 2014 debate presentation in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

“The Guyanese people will not forgive you… HISTORY will not absolve you.”

He urged the members of the Opposition to pass the 2014 National Budget as presented by Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh on Monday, March 24.

Local government elections

Further into his presentation, the Minister related that although the Government of Guyana wants local government elections “more than anyone else”, it cannot be done this year, explaining several pertinent aspects that must be completed before the polls are held cannot be done in the allotted timeframe.

He explained that boundaries across the country have to be demarcated, and personnel have to be trained to ensure the holding of local government polls in accordance with the Constitution.

On that note, the Minister went on to admonish the City Council on its management of resources, maintaining that the Council is not transparent in its stewardship of public funds. “Whether they get it by way of annual subvention, whether by way of

rates and taxes, market fees, etc, these are public funds… there must be accountability,” said Whittaker. The Minister maintained that at the level of the City Council, there seems to be no regard for accountability and transparency as it relates to the management of public funds, “and you want us to put the $1 billion in the hands of the City Councillors, sorry, sorry, sorry,” said Whittaker.

In a previous interview with Guyana Times, Whittaker had indicated that the $1 billion allocated to clean up the city would be utilised by a multi-Ministry effort.

In the same breath, Whittaker underscored the fact that the monies for the

project would not be given to the City Council. “This is not a handout… this is another attempt on the part of the Government to improve the environment,” he said, adding “we are not about to hand the City Council anything”.

Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had stated at a press conference that City Hall did not want monies from the Government but rather independence to acquire its own funds. “We don’t want handouts from the Government.

The Council wants its independence to be able to earn its own revenue. When we offered to do the lottery, they took it over; parking meters, they took it over,” said the Deputy Mayor, adding that the $500 million

allocated to the city was a “joke… just a tear drop in the ocean”.

Minister Whittaker, in his budget presentation, related that for the year 2013, some $65 million in subventions was distributed to the various municipalities around the country, with Georgetown receiving the most, some $20 million. The funds were principally used for the acquisition of two 10 tonnes DAF trucks and one Skid steer.

The other municipalities that received subventions included Rose Hall with $8 million, which the Minister related went into the construction of concrete drains, backfilling and placing tubes, and the maintenance of roads and other infrastructure in the municipality.

Upgrading infrastructure

Anna Regina with $9 million undertook works, constructing concrete culverts, desilting 1500 rods drains and upgrading infrastructure in the area.

The Corriverton municipality received $8 million which went into the acquisition of a tractor and infrastructural maintenance. Both New Amsterdam and Linden received $10 million each.

The Local Government Minister went on to explain that for the year 2014 the municipalities will be receiving $77 million in subventions. This, he noted, was the total figure fixed after all of the municipalities were told to submit their estimated budgets for the fiscal year.

Felix urges more training for police officers

APartnership for National Unity (APNU) Shadow Home Affairs Minister Winston Felix said he is convinced that lack of proper training in the security sector may be responsible for its current state.

On this point, he lashed out at Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee for failing to take security advice.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Wednesday, Felix said the security challenges date back to the late 1990s, when there was a sudden upsurge in criminal activities across the country.

Felix said the institution was heavily criticised for its ineffective work.

The former Police Commissioner explained that the force examined the situation, since it was casting a bad shadow on the force. At that time, Felix was serving in a senior position and it was observed that senior officials were retiring at a rapid rate.

The ranks that replaced the outgoing officers were without proper training, Felix lamented. “We told the Government, that we are in a bad state, we need some retraction in the organisation toward development. We even went to the British who decided that they were going to help.”

He said every effort was made by Senior Superintendent Paul Matthias to meet stakeholders to discuss ways to ease the strain of the country which at the time was affected by a number of criminal activities.

Plan

The APNU Member of Parliament (MP) said a plan was derived to reshape the country’s security force. “This plan saw between four to five of us going to the United Kingdom to be trained.”

Felix said the British Government injected close to 5 million pounds into the programme to help develop eight core areas, including communication, crime scene management, traffic administration,police-community relationship, and intelligence gathering.

This programme, Felix said, was stopped around 2007-2008. The discontinuing of the programme caused

a reduction in the quality of criminal investigations, the former top cop said. He lamented that valuable training was thrown out, which caused a “tipping in the performance of the force”. Up until now, Felix said several areas, including crime intelligence, are still not fully developed.

He said that it took a no-confidence motion against Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee in the National Assembly by APNU for him to make some changes.

“It was then that he ran and got his own training which dealt with things like administration, succession planning and some other areas, which disappointed many of us because it did not deal with the core issues of law enforcement needs. It did not deal effectively with that.”

Ineffective

While he commended the strategic management system that was established, he posited that the Minister was unable to manage it effectively. This had caused members of the team to leave the programme.

According to the Shadow Security Minister, Rohee was unable to encourage the law enforcement officers to openly accept the strategic management system.

“While all these are happening, there is drugs and crime running away, we don’t see an end in sight to the problems of the organisation in terms of getting changes implemented that would see the organisation functioning in a much more effective and efficient manner, and those are the things we are talking about. You have to develop leaders that would develop the core functions of the police. These include crime, traffic, intelligence gathering and confidence in the public.”

He bashed the move to implement coordinators within community policing groups as counterproductive, contending that the police and public must work together.

Felix said the allocation of money to the security sector this year is inadequate although money has been set aside for training for members of the newly- established SWAT team.

Sugar will recover –

Dr Ramsammy tells House

BY JOMO PAUL

Agriculture

Wind: East north easterly between zero to 4.02 metres per second.

High Tide: 07:08h and 19:35h reaching maximum heights of 2.60 metres and 2.43 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 00:43h and 13:09h reaching minimum heights of 0.70 metre and 0.64 metre respectively.

Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy during his debate presentation in the National Assembly on Thursday announced that the production targets for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) are being achieved despite the industry’s dismal showing last year.

Dr Ramsammy highlighted that the sugar company is set to reach its production targets for 2014, adding that thus far for the year, the company has been able to produce 45,000 tonnes of sugar with 9000 tonnes per week on average, which he maintained will surpass the first crop in 2013.

Distressed

However, this figure still represents a decrease in the production of sugar in the embattled industry. The first crop total for 2013 was 48,000 tonnes, which was the lowest ever recorded in the history of rice production for the first crop. “Sugar will recover and 2014 will mark the turning point in the performance of GuySuCo,” the Agriculture Minister said

“Sugar is Guyana’s past, sugar is Guyana’s today, our present, and sugar is Guyana’s future,” said Minister Ramsammy as he went on to explain some of the projects that will be undertaken with the $6 billion allocated to the ailing sugar company in this year’s national budget, among which includes the upgrade of boilers at the Skeldon Sugar factory.

While maintaining that for the previous years, there has been a slump in the production of sugar, Dr Ramsammy said “no one can be more disappointed and distressed by the performance of GuySuCo than I am”.

Earlier this year, Dr Ramsammy established

that GuySuCo’s 2014 sugar target would be over 50,000 tonnes below the projected production levels in the five-year strategic plan that was revealed in July 2013.

He also stated that the target could be revised depending on the first crop production. Last year’s total production for the two crops was 186,000, the lowest amount in 23 years of sugar production. GuySuCo’s first crop target for 2014 has been set at 75,000 tonnes. With less than 31,000 tonnes to go before the midMay cut-off, the state corporation is optimistic.

Dr Ramsammy in his budget presentation also defended the electricity output from the Skeldon Sugar Factory. “All of you are dead wrong when you say not one kilowatt of energy comes out of Skeldon,” he said as he related that the factory produces a substantial amount of electricity.

Rice deal

Meanwhile, in the area of rice, Dr Ramsammy related that April 18 will mark the arrival of the first shipment of rice from Guyana to Venezuela for this year’s crop.

Dr Ramsammy maintained that some 38 per cent of the crop for this year, which is expected to reach 600,000 tones, has already been harvested. That amount, he added, would equate to some 120,000 tonnes of the projected production goal, with 5.5 tonnes of paddy being harvested from every hectare of rice plants.

The Minister explained that the $500 million that was allocated to the rice industry should not been seen as a handout, but rather an investment in the rice sector.

He related that rice farmers saved $800 million in 2013 as a result of Government importing fertiliser; hence, forcing other investors to drop their expensive prices.

The Agriculture Minister also related that a portion of the $500 million allocated to the sector will go towards enhancements and expansions at the research station and to operationalise the Number 56 Seed Facility.

Optimism

In a previous interview with Guyana Times, the Minister said he is optimistic that by August, some 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes of rice from the first crop would be exported. There have been a lot of talks about the 120,000 tonnes of paddy which was left over from the last crop. However, the Minister made it translucent that it is normal for a quantity of rice to remain since all the rice that comes in November and December will become stocks at hand.

“Most of that has been shipped out of the country and I expect that this year we will export between 470,000 to 490,000 tonnes,” Dr Ramsammy said. He said too that more rice is being consumed locally, and citizens should not be fearful of eating too much of the staple. Guyana utilises about 100,000 tonnes of rice annually.

On a different note, the Minister disclosed that he will again meet with millers, and it will not be only on prices, but timely payments to farmers. “I will

continue to work with them,” he assured.

On a different note, the Minister related that rice is one of the largest export businesses in Guyana, and like all other exports, prices will fluctuate.

“Rice is a commodity people have to buy, we are not growing rice in Guyana for our own self, we grow rice mainly for export and this is a business and prices will fluctuate like another commodity and we have to manage our business in such a way that when the price goes up, we use that profit in a stabilising way so that when there is a decline, we are able to manage it,” he said, noting that Guyana must consider things like crop financing, insurance and stabilisation funds.

Editor: Nigel Williams

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

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

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Editorial

God as female

Starting from last Monday night, Hindus of Guyana have been quietly streaming into their Mandirs (Temples) to worship God as “female”. Dubbed “Nau Raat”, which simply means “nine nights” – the period during which the worship will last – it exposes once again the multi-religious nature of our country.

Easter, for instance, is just weeks away. But rather than dividing us, the various religious expressions should open our minds, if not our hearts, to the eternal quest of mankind to move closer to the immanent transcendental reality.

While within the dominant Western paradigm, God is most commonly designated as “male”, that same paradigm acknowledges that God is beyond human categories. For good, bad, or worse, we humans are limited by the finitude of our material envelopment. But the eternal soul within has consequently striven to transcend its limitations: hence the religious impulse in all societies from the earliest records dating back to the cave-dwelling days.

But inevitably, our conceptions can remain just that: conceptions. As to what the reality “out there” actually is –we can only project from our own reality. Western science has confirmed the infinitesimal slice of even the physical universe that we inhabit that we apprehend.

Our eyes? It processes a sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum we interpret as “colours”. What if we had evolved to glimpse even the borders of this spectrum and are able to seen infra-red and ultra-violet rays. Spiders and many insects can see the latter. Whose vision is more “real”.

Einstein postulated that we are actually living in a four dimensional world ‒ time being the fourth dimension that is integrally related to the three with which we are familiar. This point is not disputed any longer, since it has been subjected to verifiable tests that demonstrated that time is related to the speed of the observer.

Today, it is hypothesised that reality is even more hidden in as much as 10 dimensions. What are these dimensions? At this time, beyond the mathematical constructs, they are “mere” words.

The point of this digression into physical reality is to emphasise the larger point of the “unknowability” of God, which is a reality behind all realities. To Hindus, they call this ultimate ground of all existence and beyond – Brahman. They stipulate that based on our own limited conceptions we can only posit some qualities of that Brahman in this universe in which we have evolved via our own experience.

So from this perspective, God as “Mother” is just as feasible and acceptable as God as “Father”. Western feminists have, of course, questioned the latter presumption, but it is a moot point to Hindus.

In fact, by one account, one can group most Hindus in three macro categories via the conception in which they choose to worship God: Vaisnavites (worshippers of Vishnu, the creative aspect of the Supreme); Shaivites (worshippers of Shiva, that aspect into which the entire creation will dissolve, to be re-projected) and Shaktas (worshippers of God as Mother or Devi, in various forms).

The Shaktas worship three main forms – Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, in addition to countless other female manifestations. As recently as the 1960s, a new one was added: Santoshi Ma. During Nau Raat, all Hindus – Shaivites and Vaishnavites and, of course, Shaktas, become, so to speak, Shaktas, worshipping the three major forms for three nights successively. The word “Shakta” is interesting in what it reveals about Hinduism’s views on the feminine.

The noun for power is “Shakti”, which is “feminine”: power is associated with females in Hinduism. And so it was when Vishnu, the sustaining principle of Brahman, himself took incarnation, he prayed to the Devi before going into battle. But the female as “Mother” is also acknowledged as caring and protective. Hindus will be praying over the nine nights for the protection of Guyana, which is significantly called the “Mother Land”.

Telephone service on 333-5003 was ceased for non payment

Dear Editor,

In response to Neil Adams’s letter to the Editor captioned “No GT&T Telephone Service Since 2012,” which was published in the April 1, edition of the Guyana Chronicle and Guyana Times, GT&T wishes to take this opportunity to explain why this customer is still without service.

Adams’ service on telephone number 333-5003

was ceased for non-payment on February 28, 2013, because he had failed to clear the outstanding balance on his account. In fact, his last payment on that account was received on August 24, 2012. In these circumstances, for service to be resumed, the customer was required to clear his outstanding debt to the company and to apply and pay for service re-provisioning.

Service re-provisioning was paid for on December 10, 2013 and GT&T allocated the customer a new number 333-4645. However, during the course of several visits to install the service, our technicians were informed by persons in the neighbourhood that Adams was out of the country. More recent visits have also found the customer’s premises desolate and inaccessible.

GT&T is keen and ready to install Adams’ service. Therefore, if Adams is in the country at the moment, we would encourage him to make contact with the Customer Services Department to arrange for the service installation to be completed.

Respectfully,

Allison Parker

Why should Minister Manickchand apologise?

The Guyana

Parliament has sunken to a new low, that is, persons become easily offended when a simple question is asked about their horrible past.

It seems that no one on the Government side can question a member of the Opposition on any matter.

This became forcibly clear when the Honourable Education Minister Priya Manickchand was banned from speaking in the National Assembly.

The centre of all of this is a statement, rather a question, asked by the Minister.

The Honourable Education Minister was seeking clarification from the Opposition member on a worrisome and contentious issue.

We are well aware of the member of Parliament’s father being before the court on a similar matter, so this is a very good way to start the discussion.

Instead of doing the ma-

ture thing in ignoring the question, Jaipaul Sharma quickly asked for an apology to which Speaker Trotman obliged.

Minister Manickchand stood her ground and did not make an apology, hence the Speaker went ahead and banned her from taking part in further proceedings of the House.

Although this matter is now over, can someone give me a valid reason why a Minister is barred from taking part in the rest of the proceedings of the House?

What parliamentary procedural breach did she violate?

Why should the Minister be banned when all she was doing is seeking clarification on a matter?

The Minister was simply asking the presenter to turn the searchlight inwards by questioning someone right in her midst – of her own party – before bringing it to the full House.

The Minister was asking

Volda Lawrence to do her homework first before coming public.

I would have asked the Education Minister to make a humble apology, reasons being - I would like those very important matters of education to be discussed.

However, when it's her turn to speak she should take the opportunity to raise the topic again with a polite question, “Could APNU Member of Parliament Sharma shed some light on this matter?

The point is this, if Trotman wants to turn the Honourable House into a circus then we are in this game together.

In fact I would have asked Minister Manickchand to include in her deposition the important item of statutory rape as it relates to young boys.

The there is a very serious matter engaging the court right now with a popular radio announcer.

Clearly a youngster of 15

years cannot consent to sex even if that young boy is the one doing the “topping.”

Talk about serious issues of statutory rape and sexual perverts well, they have opened a can of worms on this matter.

There should be no gag order on the Minister on a simple matter as this.

Something of this nature could have been brushed aside with a non response from the opposite side, that is if they were a mature and responsible group.

But that is far from these losers who see Parliament as a place where they can play out their small-mindedness.

Parliament is not a place for thin-skinned babies but a place for grown men and women who can withstand constructive criticisms and not flinch.

Sincerely, Neil Adams

Shubh Navraatri – may this period dedicated to the Divine Mother usher in the spirit of bliss

Dear Editor, Navratri is a time when Hindus adore the Supreme in the form of the Universal Mother called by many names – Durga, Kali, Ambika, Jagdamba, Uma, Gauri, Lalita and Chamundi. These names allude to the different aspects of the single Shakti or power. It occurs twice in the year associated with the seasons of spring and autumn. We are currently observing Vasant Navratra which concludes on April 8. It emphasises the Hindu perception of God as male (Shakta) and female (Shakti) ─ “Twam Stri, Twam Pumanasi”; thou are mother, thou art

father.

The nine-day period is divided into sets of three days during which time the Universal Mother is worshipped in her three principal forms, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. She is the personification of the creative energy; who also possesses the power of preservation and destruction. Although she may be seen in three different forms, we nevertheless seek to invoke the blessings of the different aspects of that one Supreme power of Maha Shakti.

As Durga, she is known to have conquered all her foes and is portrayed as

the source of power and force. Prayers are done to her and she is invoked in this aspect to destroy all negative tendencies. The power aspect of the Mother is to protect the devotee from dangers, disappointments and pitfalls. Invocation of Durga or Kali is not done to harm anyone. The worship in this form should be “satwick” or pure and does not involve sacrifice or blood. There is no room for superstition.

In the divine form of Lakshmi, she is symbolic of prosperity and abundance. Devotees pay homage and pray that their lives may be filled with

every happiness and abundance. The idea here is not only to pursue material prosperity but also spiritual exaltation and peace or Shanti. We seek the manifestation of Maha Lakshmi Devi to assist us in our transition from the dark recesses of ignorance unto the sublime, indeed to cultivate the nobler sentiments, the inner wealth of our hearts.

The final phase of Navratra is dedicated to the Goddess Saraswati who is the giver of intelligence. In this aspect worship is necessary to achieve knowledge, consciousness and self-illumination.

As we worship the Divine Mother, let us not forget the plight of our women and girl children who are continually abused, violated and are victims of violence. Let us pledge to advocate against such heinous practices and use this period to strengthen our resolve to work for a safer environment for our females. Our female folk should be respected as mothers, sisters and daughters. I pray that Durga Mata bless them with fortitude to withstand and triumph over the vicissitudes of life.

I would like to encourage all Hindus to attend their mandirs across the

country and take the opportunity to invite all to the Rama Krishna Dharmic Mandir special Navraatri satsanghs every evening at 18:00h and to the Shri Krishna Mandir, Campbelville on Wednesday, April 2 at 19:00h. On Sunday, there will be a special satsangh in memory of Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud at 20:00h – all are invited. May Shakti Maa shower her infinite blessings on you and your family. Shubh Navratri!

Yours truly, Dr Vindhya Persaud President, Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha

Ramayya should keep his promise and resign from the political scene

Dear Editor,

The host of an AFC programme continues in his inimitable style to make irresponsible statements which are meant to deceive those who depend on them for their information or rather misinformation on a wide range of issues.

I painfully listened to him trying his utmost to confuse his listeners. He firstly attempted to tell Berbicians that the 2014 Budget has nothing for them, nothing for Guysuco workers, nothing for civil servants, nothing for teachers, nothing for nurses and nothing for the poor people.

Mr Ramayya needs to understand that this is assistance given to parents to help their children attend school regularly and that this Government has done more for old age pensioners, more for education, more for public servants, more for teachers, more for sugar workers and more for this entire country than the previous dictatorship government.

Children got ‘white

mouth’ because of rice flour and people became criminals because of food. People had to line up for a whole day to buy half pound of butter! People like you want to bring back that era because you are a U.S. citizen and can go back home. We have to live and die here!

Old age pension has increased hundreds of times since the PPP/C Government took office. Economic development is taking place but at a slow pace due to the AFC’s and APNU’s non-co-operation with this Government.

Yet despite AFC’s and APNU’s unpatriotic and hate-filled strategies to make this country ungovernable the Government has come out victorious. Read the budget well and do line by line analysis in your next episode.

He later contradicted himself by saying that the 2014 Budget is an election budget that is meant to capture votes! Any reasonable person will tell you that if it is an election budget then the Budget is good for the country as a whole! This

man has a close affinity with a deck of cards (the two unused ones).

He said that Anil Nandlall went to court and he got Ian Chang to sign that we cannot touch the budget – well we will see next week. Is he trying to say that the learned Chief Justice, a man of irrefutable integrity did not make a proper ruling and that he was influenced in some way by the Attorney General to turn the decision in the Government’s favour?

Next came the crème de la crème! He claimed that persons from the government are coming to Berbice and are lying with regards to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill.

He claimed that the AFC cannot support the Government on the Bill because the Bill needs a two-thirds majority in Parliament and that only APNU can give that. But the AML/CFT bill only needs a simple majority of 51 per cent.

Will you keep your promise and resign from the political scene? If not can you just avoid embarrassing yourself, the AFC and the People of Berbice by keeping your mouth shut? Where is the truth you boasted about?

This man said that Guyana could export lime and receive a revenue of TT$20 dollars for one lime! In addition, he claimed that someone told him at the Port Mourant market on the same day of his ‘comedy jam’ that the bell loaders use three to four beds of cane to throw in the drains so that the machines could crossover! If they do that then what cane will be loaded into the punts?

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf AFC Councillor

Page Foundation

Advice for parents: What to teach your children before they leave for university

BY EMILY HILTON

When your children leave home it’s bound to be a daunting time for both you and them. But there are some key skills that you can teach your teenagers to make sure they’re well equipped for life outside the home.

How to budget

Your son or daughter is probably used to your being in charge of the finances – paying the bills, buying food and coughing up for the rent or mortgage.

How to budget is the most useful thing you can teach them before they head off to university.

When that student loan lands in their bank account there’s bound to be the temptation to hit the nearest club or straight away, but talking to your child about how to make their money last could prevent them struggling in the last couple of weeks before their next instalment.

Handy tips such as how to keep electricity bills low, especially during the winter months, are things your child might not have thought about before, but that could save them a lot of money. What money-saving tricks do you use and where do you shop for the best deals? Share your knowledge with your student child.

Having a proper discussion about overdrafts is essential for avoiding unwanted

debt. Whether you think overdrafts are an excellent or terrible idea, discussing the benefits and costs will hopefully result in sensible spending habits.

“My parents gave me lots of advice when I was sorting out my bank account for university. Mum told me that I shouldn’t be going near an overdraft at all, and that’s advice I’ve stuck to ever since,” says Luke, a third-year politics student.

And if you’re helping them out at all with their living costs, then making sure your children are money-savvy works out well for you too.

How to cook cheap and healthy meals

The biggest complaint students often have when they arrive at university is not being able to cook.

“When I started at university, I realised I had no idea how to cook or go food shopping and it became a long learning process,” says Josh, a secondyear student at Nottingham Trent University.

Teaching your children to cook simple healthy recipes before they head off to university could save them a term of baked beans on toast.

In the time that’s left, why not get your child to cook the family dinner in the evening? They might make a mess of the kitchen, but it will teach them how to cook (and clean up), and will give you the night off too.

How to store food might

seem obvious, but unless you’ve had the experience of all your produce rotting within two days, you may not be aware of the best way to keep vegetables. Talk to your children about how to keep food fresh, and their fridge hygienic.

Tenancy – know your rights

Renting can be a tricky business, particularly when you’re a student. Dealing with landlords and halls management can be difficult and will not be something your child has experienced before. Go through their tenancy agreement with them, so they are

minds now, but when your child moves out these could mean the difference between getting their deposit back or not.

If your child does end up with a problem with their room or property, equipping them with the resources and language to assert themselves will make them feel more confident when dealing with landlords or management teams.

How to stay safe on a bike in a big city

Public transport can be expensive, so cycling is a popular and cheap alterna-

fully aware of what is expected of them – but also what can be expected from the landlord.

Knowing whether it’s your child’s responsibility to pay for repairs for example, is especially important. Make sure they take dated photos of the state of their room when they move in – it might not be in the front of either of your

to give them a chance to get to know the roads.

“The roads where I cycled at home are a lot quieter than where I live at uni,” says Malika Giles, a third-year student at UCL.

Your child’s first week of uni is stressful enough for both of you, without a cycling accident. And if they haven’t got one already, buy them a cycling helmet as a leaving present.

How to do laundry

Hopefully most new students will have done their own laundry before, but your home washing machine is no match for the erratic standard issue halls of residence washing machine.

“I wish I’d known how to look after and care for decent clothes. I’ve destroyed so many jumpers in the communal washing machines since I’ve been at university,” says second-year student Joe Mason. Tips on how to avoid too many washes will also be useful, as most university supplied laundries will cost money to use.

How to unclog a sink

tive for many university students. But cycling in a big city like London, Manchester or Glasgow can be a shock if you’re used to suburban streets or small villages.

When your child moves into their student halls or flat, why not help them map the cycle route they will be taking from home to university

Most household repairs should be covered by the landlord, but getting problems fixed can take time and usually there is an easier solution. Whether it’s teaching them how to get red wine out of carpet or replacing a broken cabinet lock – arming your children with a stack of home grown solutions to basic

household problems will save them lots of time and energy –and possibly their deposit.

And for the sink, pouring baking soda and vinegar down the drain and waiting five minutes should do the trick.

How to be professional

Your child may only just be starting university but it’s worth getting them ready for a professional environment now. Email etiquette is essential to modern work and university life.

They may be used to texting and chatting on Facebook, but it’s important for your child to know that most lecturers will expect a level of formality in emails.

Teaching your son or daughter the importance of replying to emails within 24 hours, writing “Dear” instead of “Hi” and waiting for your lecturer to sign off with their first name before using it yourself, is a small but valuable skill you can pass on to your offspring. Importantly, it will set them up well for the working world.

How to sew

Do you know how to sew a button onto a shirt? Chances are your children don’t. Teaching them basic mending and sewing skills might seem a bit 19th century, but it will allow them to keep their clothes for longer. Send them away with a simple sewing kit in their bag.

It’s also an idea to talk to them about the benefits of natural fibres. Encourage your children to buy cotton sheets and clothing, so they last longer and they sweat less – they’ll appreciate the tip in the long run.

How to avoid a hangover

Offering advice on drinking might be daunting. But whether your child drinks alcohol or not, it’s likely they’ll be in an alcohol-fuelled environment from the very first day of university.

Teaching your children to drink responsibly and to know their limits – but also to know what to do if they drink too much, could well come in handy during freshers’ week . If your child doesn’t drink, talk to them about navigating the drinking culture without feeling left out.

How to be independent University is a time where people begin to figure out who they are and what they want to become. Learning how to juggle coursework, extra-curricular activities and a social life can be stressful, but it’s also something that they will figure out on their own.

The most precious thing you can give your children is emotional support, so that they can step outside their comfort zone and embrace university life to the full. (The Guardian)

Private sector eyes financial windfall from Limacol CPL

With the six franchises selecting their teams for the second edition of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament on Thursday, the local private sector has begun preparation to cash in on the economic benefits to be derived from this year’s event.

The tournament bowls off on July 10 and concludes on August 16, with Guyana hosting four of the 30 matches to be played. “I believe based upon the huge successes last year, the hotel industry and the services sector on a whole would be preparing themselves for this year’s tournament,” a leading tourism stakeholder told Guyana Times in an invited comment on Thursday. The official said that he was aware that at the highest level in the tourism industry, there have been discussions about Limacol CPL. “Folks are getting ready – whether hotels, resorts – there is already a sort of a coming together to cash in on the tournament,” the official told this publication.

Greater confidence

A leading private sector official also said that businesses are eagerly awaiting the commencement of the tournament. The official believes that the success seen last year would propel local businesses to invest in whatever product they have to offer visitors. “I think when business persons would have looked at what happened last year, they would be more willing now to capitalise on the tournament,” the businessman said.

The businessman asserted that last year a

number of persons were less upbeat about the Limacol CPL given that it was the inaugural tournament, but there is already greater confidence this time around.

“No one would be hesitating this time around. I think the evidence from last year has proven that this tournament has a bright future and any investment would be worthwhile.”

Only last Friday, President Donald Ramotar highlighted the positive impact the tournament had on the Guyanese economy. The Head of State pointed out that the tournament is an excellent platform for the promotion of sport tourism, a concept his Government embraces.

While pointing out that Government is keen on building quality sport facilities across the country, the President said his Administration is also committed to exploring the economic benefits of

sport, thus a major investment in the Limacol CPL in 2013. “Guyana invested US$175,000 and was to get about US$915,000 worth of marketing exposure for the country – that’s the estimate from the experts – and about US$4 million worth in direct and indirect value through our hotels, our restaurants, and the transportation system.

As I said, this was according to the experts doing the economic impact study that was conducted by Mona School of Business and Management [MSBM] of Jamaica,” Ramotar explained.

The President said his Administration will always invest in events such as the Limacol CPL, as marketing Guyana through sport is critical to the economic well-being of the country.

“When you look at that one example [the Limacol CPL], you will see that if we can look at how we can broaden our revenue base

so that we can do more for our people by providing more goods and services and here this gives you a clear example that sport tourism is an area that we can seriously look at in order to enhance our revenue base and diversify even further the economy of the country,” Ramotar pointed out.

GDP boost

The MSBM research also discovered that last year’s tournament generated a combined impact of US$105.6 million across the region. CPL launched last year to sell-out crowds, with more than 250,000 spectators attending matches across Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, and St Lucia. Global stars including Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Ricky Ponting, and Muttiah Muralitharan took part in the tournament, dubbed the Biggest Party in Sport, where franchise team sharehold -

ers include Hollywood stars Mark Wahlberg and Gerard Butler.

The research underscored that at a time when Caribbean nations had been keen to boost economic growth, CPL provided

a much-needed stimulus.

The 26 days of carnivallike entertainment, coupled with exciting cricket, generated a significant economic fillip to the host countries given the huge dollar spent over a short period of time.

The report established that last year’s tournament had wide-reaching benefits in the six host countries (Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and St Lucia) across eight different sectors: general services, transport and communication, Government services, hotels and restaurants, manufacturing, health care and insurance, and financial services sector.

The competition is estimated to have boosted the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by as much as 0.7 per cent in some countries, a tremendous boost given the fact that some countries hosted just three days of cricket.

Police intensify investigation into slain Logwood taxi driver’s murder

Acting Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud on Wednesday stated that the police have intensified their investigation into the murder of taxi driver Roopchand Darsan, who was killed execution-style over the weekend.

He said the police are looking at the possible motives that would have left the killers wanting to harm the young man and as such, their investigation has deepened.

“If this young man was executed, then there has to be a reason for someone wanting him dead… the police are looking at all the leads at their disposal as they attempt to solve the murder,” Persaud said. To

date, no one has been arrested for the killing.

A post-mortem examination on the dead man revealed that he died from a single gunshot wound to his head. As the body of Darsan was cremated on Wednesday, his family remains hopeful that his killers will be brought to justice.

Darsan was discovered with a single gunshot to his head, slumped over the steering wheel in his car around 00:30h at the Strathspey Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.

According to reports, the bullet entered the young man’s head just under his chin and exited the top of

his head. At the time of the discovery, his car was found with its fender in a trench. His hands were still on the wheel and he was wearing his hat. The engine of the car was reportedly running, with music booming through the built-in speakers.

Hours after the incident, the deceased’s mother related that her son left home around 18:00h to go to work. Then about 21:15h, she saw him at the Enmore Junction, so she called him and he told her he will be returning home in 30 minutes since he was ill with the flu.

The devastated woman recalled that she went to bed and was later awakened by voices calling out to her. Upon enquiring, she was informed that her son was shot in his car at Strathspey. She said her son never troubled anyone, but a few nights ago, he was reportedly threatened at Gajadar Service Station, Foulis, ECD. However, she was not sure if his death had anything to do with that incident.

Brazilian national beaten to death at Arakaka

ABrazilian national who was severely beaten by an alleged bandit during a robbery on Wednesday evening succumbed to his injures at the Matthews Ridge Airstrip the following day while awaiting an aircraft to be transferred to Georgetown.

Joao De Souza, 57, was on Wednesday attacked by a man with a piece of wood at Five Miles, Arakaka, North West District (NWD), during which he was struck about the body by the perpetrator who then made good his escape.

According to information received, after the beating, De Souza was taken to the Arakaka Health Centre where he was treated, but was subsequently referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital due to his condition.

However, while at the Matthews Ridge Airstrip on Thursday, he took his last breath. His body is at the Matthews Ridge Hospital Mortuary awaiting a postmortem examination. The police have launched an investigation into the matter. No one was arrested.

Eyew tness

It’s a sad, sad situashan...

...in Parliament

If it’s one time the notion of “moral equivalence” needs to be invoked, it’s right now with the farce that’s playing out in Parliament by Speaker Raphael Trotman. With Easter nigh upon us, maybe Trotman thinks he’s beyond moral strictures. After all, like Jesus, he (almost) rose from the grave to accept the Speaker’s chair. What, Dear Readers? You’ve forgotten that this man withdrew from politics because of some (undisclosed) mega illness, but recovered miraculously with the appointment to high office by Granger?

Some say he “rose” to the challenge...but then again, subsequent events suggest that he might’ve rather risen to the bait. Power’s evidently not just an aphrodisiac... it can also raise the entire dead. Anyhow, we were taken by Trotman’s insistence of setting ground rules for the budget debate. He emphasised that MPs shouldn’t just say “Honourable Member” – insulting members of other MPs families wasn’t kosher.

Now, there’s nothing wrong about this in and of itself. If he hadn’t made this rule, who knows how our everso proper MPs would behave. And it’s all about image, no? Not what they do. It’s got to be so...because if the Speaker had any sort of moral compass, he would’ve ruled that MPs not to do anything illegal – such as cutting or chopping or deleting line items or whatever – from the Budget. The Courts had ruled that such behaviour violated the Constitution – the very highest law in the land.

But the Speaker’s moral compass missed this possibility. Which was actually a certainty given the Opposition’s vow to continue chopping. The compass must’ve been pulled by the stronger magnetic force of his Opposition sponsor’s agenda. We know the Speaker has appealed the Court’s judgement, but knowing too he was a lawyer before a politician, we dared to think he knew that until there’s a reversal by the Appellate Court, the law is: NO CUTTING of the budget!!!!

We’re not even going to defend Ms Manickchand’s heckle. We’ll even stipulate that CN Sharma represents the highest level of probity and morality of the Opposition. And, as Manickchand admitted, she broke the Speaker’s guidelines.

But isn’t there at least an iota of moral equivalence between breaking a procedural guideline and breaking the law of the land??? O judgement! Thou art fled to brutish beasts!!! Who will now stop the barbarians at the gates? As the exemplar of moral rectitude once blurted: “It’s a sad, sad situashan”.

...from Whim

For some reason that your Eyewitness can’t fathom, there hasn’t been much comment on the fact that there are two MPs from the village of Whim. Ramayya and Nagamootoo. Both of them seem to be suffering from a fatal disease – as far as politicians are concerned, at least: foot-in-mouth disease. Ramayya, who claims a PhD from a U.S. university, but still can’t get his subject and verb to agree, advocates “pee” as a cure for various and sundry ailments – in humans. He wasn’t clear if the pee was his or the patients.

Recently, he advocated plying pensioners with butter flaps, butter, and cheese...presumably to kill them off through the clogged arteries that’ll be guaranteed with that amount of cholesterol.

Nagamootoo, of course, is famous (notorious?) for boasting – in Parliament, of all places – he’d yelled at his grandson “shut yuh so-and-so mouth”!! Now he derides “grass cutters” from Leguan.

This from a man who whines as to how he was mocked for being a “fisherman’s son”. The abused becomes the abuser. It’s a sad, sad situashan.

...with bootstrapping

It’s called “bootstrapping”. You create the premise and then argue from there to “prove” what you created. We’re talking about the APNU/AFC poll where they pitted Jagdeo against Ramotar. Then claim Jagdeo’s gunning for a third term. Which pal Ramkarran had conveniently “justified” months ago.

What a tangled web doth the Opposition weave!!!

Opportunities in tourism being squandered – Cathy Hughes

Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament (MP) Cathy Hughes said the tourism sector holds endless possibilities for transforming Guyana, as she took the Government to task for not making the most of these opportunities during her Budget 2014 debate presentation on Wednesday.

Citing her 20 years’ association with the sector, the MP said it can boost the economy by providing non-traditional revenue streams, but the management of the sector has left much to be desired.

“It starts with the organisation of the Ministry of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce itself. How such a sector with all this potential could be lumped with other major sectors like industry and commerce? How can we expect the international marketplace to take us seriously when initiatives to move this sector forward have been put on the back burner for decades? The need for an autonomous Tourism Ministry is overwhelming,” Hughes said in her opening remarks.

Inadequate budget

“Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide, and can provide high levels of job creation through training, which can occur in a short space of time in this industry, once a realistic budget and a strategic marketing plan to drive visitor arrivals to the country exist. Unfortunately, an adequate budget and the comprehensive marketing plan, which is a function of that budget, do not exist,” the AFC member said.

In relation to training, she stated that the announcement of funding for a hospitality training institute as a means of raising standards and improving quality is supported by the AFC 100 per cent.

She then asked Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh to clarify the allocations in Budget 2014 for the institute. She noted that in presenting the budget, Dr Singh spoke of making a US$4 million investment for the establishment of the hospitality institute, but $55 million has been included under the capital expenditures of the Education Ministry for “Provision for a Hospitality Institute and Institutional strengthening – CDB”.

Of this amount, only $5 million appears to be local funding and $50 million appears to be coming from the CDB.

Hughes continued by highlighting that in several Caribbean tourist destinations and elsewhere, Governments have allowed the tourism and hospitality sector to pay a lower than standard rate of Value Added Tax (VAT).

“In the Bahamas, the standard VAT rate is 15 per cent, but for their tourism sector, it’s 10 per cent. In Barbados, the rate is 17.5 per cent, but a concessionary rate of 7. 5 per cent is applied to the tourism industry. Similarly, in Dominica, the rate is 15 per cent, but reduced to 10 per cent for the tourism sector. In Jamaica, they go even further, the rate is 16.5 per cent and a reduced rate of 10 per cent plus a guest accommodation room tax, which is dependent on the number of rooms a hotel has, is applied,” Hughes related.

She reminded that the private sector in Guyana lobbied hard for such an approach long before the implementation of VAT; however, the tourism industry is taxed heavily like any other sector.

She believes the challenge for Guyana is that other destinations have granted better VAT treatment to their tourism and hospitality sectors, making the local tourism products here more expensive. The AFC member recommended that the Government implement a reduced rate of VAT for the tourism sector.

She pointed out that there is a two-tier structure in the system of granting incentives, with tourism businesses in interior locations being eligible for a?wider range of incentives than those in Georgetown.

Marketing plan

“I would be the first to state that I am excited with the development of our eco lodges, community tourism programmes in places like Surama and their commitment to improving standards and quality, but I think it is necessary and only fair that these incentives be given across the board to all participants,” Hughes said..

She said the plight of local small hotels is very similar, pointing to special Government-funded programmes to brand small hotels in St Lucia and Barbados and adding that such an approach is necessary in Guyana.

“May I suggest, therefore, that in this budget we allocate funds to accurately

calculate the contribution of our tourism industry to the GDP [Gross Domestic Product]… please add to my budget, funds for proper marketing plan, and if our dear Minister of Finance would like to suggest there is no money for this, we in the AFC would like to suggest that he use the funds from the departure tax to fund such a campaign as was promised many years ago,” Hughes told the House.

The AFC MP stressed: “The issue here is of allocating limited resources to best use and with a few local hotels up for sale and legitimate hotels experiencing low occupancy rates, I question your figure of a 76 per cent occupancy rate across the industry.”

In referencing the soonto-be completed Marriott Hotel, which Government said will boost tourism, Hughes reiterated that the Administration had no right taking funds from the national reserves to build another hotel. “That should have been left to the private sector… and yes, money from NICIL [National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd] belongs to the people of Guyana and should be included as revenues within this budget.”

She applauded the “Destination Guyana” branding effort, but said being “a well-kept secret” “works against us…. One of the biggest challenges we face is that those with the disposable income to enjoy our more expensive tourism product do not know where we are.”

Free publicity

Hughes, who said her examination of the budget sought to point out where “we” could have done better and put more money in the pockets of ordinary Guyanese, opined that the US$58 million spent on the Marriott Hotel could have been used to fund a morethan-adequate advertising campaign with spots on some of the world’s most popular cable networks.

The AFC is grateful for the free coverage Guyana gets through the numerous documentaries and series like “Gold Rush”, she said, but the tourism sector will only be successful when “we specifically examine whom we are hoping to reach and what are the best means of getting them to buy that ticket and come visit our beautiful country”.

Hughes noted that Guyana’s marketing team was going to the same old locations and events held in North America targeting a diaspora who needed to see some damage control messages, as stories of crime and attacks on returning Guyanese scare away some of these potential visitors every day.

BrainStreet CEO is new GCCI President

BY SVETLANA MARSHALL

BrainStreet Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lance Hinds is the new President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

Hinds takes up the mantle from his predecessor Clinton Urling, who demitted office last Thursday after serving two full terms.

“The work will continue,” Hinds told reporters on Thursday at the GCCI’s Waterloo Street Office in the presence of the new executive members.

The newly-elected President said he has placed high on the agenda for 2014, the rebuilding of the chamber’s secretariat, explaining that the design has been completed. It is currently at the tender stage.

Additionally, the chamber will roll out a series of seminars, including on human capital and leadership and a Distinguished Lecture Series set for June. GCCI’s Annual Business Magazine will also be launched in June.

In addition to Hinds, the new Executive Management Committee for the fiscal year 2014/2015 comprises Senior Vice President Vihnu Deorga of Doerga Business Limited (Guyana), Junior Vice President Padma Prashad

of ANSA McAL Trading Limited (Guyana), Secretary Nicholas Boyer of National Hardware (Guyana) Limited and Treasurer Eon Grant of Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited.

The executive body was elected by a 21-member council on Thursday. The council; however, was formed last Thursday during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Duke Lodge, Kingston, Georgetown.

Meanwhile, Urling leaves the chamber as an executive member with an unblemished record. Last Thursday, he boasted of the

chamber’s success under his stewardship, pointing at that at the end of 2013, $41.3 million was garnered; $18.6 million more than 2012.

According to him, it was a privilege serving two full terms, noting that he had continued the work of his predecessors. “We had done this while preserving and increasing our financial capacity to ensure the organisation’s long-term success and sustainability.”

He is the youngest person to serve as President of GCCI. (svetlanam@guyanatimesgy.com)

UNICEF Child Art Competition launched

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the Parliament Office, and several politicians on Thursday joined hands to launch the UNICEF Child Art Competition at The Public Building.

Launched under the theme “Child Rights and Governance”, the competition is expected to target children between the ages of four and 18, with the objective of having them highlight issues which they believe are affecting them and their peers.

Speaking at the event, UNICEF Resident Coordinator Marianne Flach noted that the competition is aimed at not only having children highlight the issues

affecting them but to have them express their views on what was happening in the country. She remarked that the best way of having children share their thoughts and problems was through art.

The competition is expected to see children participating from all of the 10 administrative regions, inclusive of schools, orphanages, special schools, and the New Opportunity Corps. It is a contest that is meant to have all involved irrespective of race, background, or physical ability.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman related that the Parliament Office was especially happy with the launch and Parliament will be seek-

ing to implement measures which will aid in the development of children across the country.

Expressing similar views were A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Keith Scott; People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament Indra Chandarpaul and Technical Officer at the Education Ministry, Melcita Bovell, who all welcomed the initiative.

The competition will be subdivided into regional contests from which the best entries will be selected and sent to Georgetown for final judgment. The winning entries will be then framed and placed in the Parliament Building for viewing.

Gender disparity still exists in workplace – Webster

Human Services and Social Security Minister Jenifer Webster said though Guyana has come a long way in ensuring gender equality, disparity still exists in the work place.

Addressing the House during the 2014 Budget Debates, the Minister noted that at the 58th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women held in March to review the challenges, and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development goals for women and girls, Guyana was reported to have achieved high rankings in the reduction of hunger, increased access to social services and benefits, improved enrolment in and completion of primary education and the empowerment of women.

“Guyana, by virtue of adopting a people centred development approach, has come a long way towards mainstreaming gender equality and the empowerment of women in national policies. Recognising the importance of creating space for women to contribute to society, strong advocacy was done at the international level for standalone goals to

be included in the post-2015 Development Agenda with respect to issues on gender equality, the economic advancement and support of our women and girls, the protection of women’s rights together with the issue of the elimination of gender-based violence,” she related.

Webster disclosed that the Government continues; however, to face a battle in the private sector since there is still discrimination in certain work environments, where young women are discriminated against in the offering of jobs.

The Social Services Minister cited the need for corrective policies to focus on persistent gender disparities in the work place.

Crucial Webster noted that for the challenge of gender equality to be addressed, the role of men and boys and that of the family as the fundamental unit of society is crucial.

“There is a greater need to promote equal opportunities to continue women’s access to economic and investment opportunities, which promote entrepreneurship and the financial independence as well as women’s participation in all levels of

decision-making in our society. I am happy to say in this year’s estimates under the Ministry’s programme titled “Gender Equality and Empowerment”, contain activities clearly identified for the protection of women’s rights, protection of men’s rights, economic advancement and support and the elimination of gender-based violence,” the woman disclosed.

The Minister stated that plans are on stream for the Men’s Affairs Bureau to increase their efforts by working with the country’s men and young boys at every level of society to make them

aware of their roles and responsibilities with a view of enabling them to respond to conflict in the family in a non-violent manner.

It is expected that the National Commission on the Family will collaborate with state-based organisations and other non-governmental groups to provide resource opportunities through community-based interventions to support men in society who are prone to violence and need psycho-social help in dealing with anger management and other disorders.

Plans

In addition, plans are on stream to have the National Commission on the Family conduct training for men on parenting skills and design a public communication campaign to get the message out.

She further explained that the Women’s Affairs Bureau will continue to support the advancement and empowerment of women through training opportunities in micro-financing, more specifically the Women of Worth (WOW) Programme, to support small-scale businesswomen.

Additionally, the bureau intends to engage the legal fraternity to assist in the development of a simple userfriendly handbook entitled “Know Your Rights”.

A countrywide campaign to sensitise women and girls about their rights to make positive choices and decisions is also expected to be launched.

De third term got people bassidy

Most people gotta fear of some ting. That is parta life. From small days, de fear of some ting does start. Lil pickney does friken to go in a dark room by dem self. As lil pickney get big, dem does stop frikenin dark room and end up likin it instead, like Adumb and de Mook, especially when dem together.

Some people does friken tings and people till de day dem die. Dem does fetch whah ever or who ever dem friken till to dem grave, as old people seh. This is de kinda fear whah does grip people when dem really friken that some ting gon happen to dem.

Or when dem really friken that some ting whah dem don’t wanna happen gon happen. And that is whah happenin right now, even though de main man to mek that ting happen done seh it ain’t gon happen. It just so happen that Jagdeo is a name that got people bassidy. Now this ain’t de same Jagdeo who happen to have a bike park up waitin fuh he at de court when he happen to know that he gon get off. And de pullice does happen to give ticket to people fuh parkin right wheh de bike had happen fuh park. But that day no body happen to get a ticket fuh de bike because de bike just happen to be deh.

It got certain people who used to friken before Jagdeo turn de Prezzi. Dem friken more when Jagdeo was Prezzi. Now dem friken even more bad that Jagdeo ain’t de Prezzi. Dem friken if Jagdeo happen to become Prezzi again, even though de man seh it ain’t gon happen.

That is real frikenin, especially fuh dem same friken people who always wanna be de Prezzi and like de Prezzi. From Rum Jhaat to Rum Karran to Lalloo and now to Nagga Man! Even Green Jah runnin de whole country fuh seh he ain’t friken.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! That is how bad dem friken Jagdeo! And dem even friken fuh seh dem friken!

Lit mosquito coil likely cause of Linden fire

Alit mosquito coil could be the cause of the Saturday morning fire at Determa Street in Linden, which left six persons homeless. This was revealed by the lead fireman at the Linden Fire Station, Don Brandis, who disclosed that firefighting officials are working on this theory, owing to the nature of the fire. He noted that electrical malfunctions or overloading are also possible causes; however, they will not be able to confirm the cause, since investigations are still ongoing.

Brandis said of 14 calls regarding fires placed to the Linden station in 2014, this was the first actual fire. The blaze started in the middle bedroom on the upper flat of the wooden home at 311 Determa Street at approximately 05:45h, completely destroying it.

Rushell Bentick, her two children and her reputed husband, Warren Arindell, a taxi driver, along with his sister, Donna Arindell, and

The

her daughter, remain homeless following the blaze. The family was not able to save anything, escaping with the clothes on their backs. Five freezers and a car which were underneath the home at the time also went up in flames.

The family has estimated their losses to be more than $10 million. Warren Arindell said that despite the losses, he is thankful for his life and those of his family. He said the family, who is now staying with relatives and

friends at Wismar, Linden has been trying to put the pieces back together.

The fire started in the middle room of the home where Bentick’s nine-yearold son was asleep at the time. The other five occupants were reportedly also asleep.

The nine-year-old, who was alone in the room, awoke and alerted the others of the fire. Bentick had stated that she did not know what could have ignited the flames, since everyone was asleep.

Residents object to Rockstone being Amerindian Reservation

Some Rockstone residents as well as Region 10 Democratic Councillors are calling on Government not to go ahead with a move to transform the community into an Amerindian reservation.

The move is reportedly being facilitated by Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai and National Community Development Council (NCDC) Director Philomena Philomena Sahoy-Shury.

While there are some residents who support the idea, others have argued that they want it to remain, so that persons of any race or class would live as equals.

A Rockstone resident only last week said a group of concerned residents recently visited the office of Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon to voice their concerns about the issue.

The resident, who prefers not to be named, disclosed that the community should be home to all residents, regardless of political affiliation or race, while admitting that currently there are issues with some residents who are racially divided.

A few months ago, during a visit to the community by Region 10 Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Councillors and Solomon, some residents noted that the division stemmed over the issue of Amerindian communal lands being set aside.

They noted that the NCDC which was installed last April and the Toshao Council are also divided and persons are confused as to which body is in charge of managing the affairs of the community.

Speaking on the issue, Region 10 Councillor Maurice Butters indicated that the RDC is against the

move to transform the community into an Amerindian reserve.

Butters said he is particularly concerned about the farmers who occupy the land being displaced.

Never been

“Historically, that area has never been (Amerindian reserve). It is because of the employment opportunities which were provided in that area and the provision of accommodation by the logging company that caused many Amerindians to start living in Rockstone, but predominantly it is a farming community, where a lot of farmers of all races lived together. If that area is made into a reservation, then all likelihood is that those farmers who would be doing farming on the boundaries which would be demarcated for the reservation, would no longer be able to farm in those areas. They will have to remove and I think it is unfair for those people who have been farming there for generations,” he said.

Additionally, Butters

noted that the move may create some more confusion among the people in the area, who have been living in a racially divided community for some time.

“The people (years ago) previously lived in unity. They lived together as a group. We’re hoping that better judgement would prevail. We’re calling on the parties involved to stop this and not go ahead with it. They are pressing ahead, even though we have been objecting to making Rockstone into a reservation.”

During the discussion with residents, Solomon had said the community belongs to all citizens who reside in it regardless of race and they should work together, dispelling grievances which residents outlined with a particular group, wanting the entire community to be an Amerindian reservation.

The Regional Chairman noted that he will not dissuade anyone from embracing the Amerindian Act, but said the issue over communal lands is slowing up progress within the community.

Dr Ramsammy defends allocation to rice sector

Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy has defended the $500 million allocation to the rice sector, saying that the Opposition’s criticism of the move is unfounded.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Keith Scott in his budget presentation had described the allocation as an unnecessary handout.

Minister Ramsammy in the release stated that though the rice sector has been successful in recent years, it still deserved the support of the Government like any other sector.

He noted that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) will stand with the rice farmers and will continue to build a strong rice industry.

Gross Domestic Product

In speaking of the successes of rice and the feasibility of the $500 million support to the sector, the Minister said “the rice industry contributes about five per cent of Gross Domestic Product in Guyana and accounts for more than US$240 million in export earnings.

More than 40,000 people directly depend on the rice industry for livelihood and the industry provides employment for more than 20,000 people. In terms of food security, rice has helped to secure Guyana’s status as a food secured country,” Dr Ramsammy disclosed.

The Minister noted that it was clear that Scott is politically-motivated and is trying to find a political slant to not support the sector.

However, he disclosed that he was very certain Scott will very soon regret

his words.

The Minister also related that the Government assisted rice farmers last year in securing more affordable fertilisers, which saved the industry an approximate sum of $800 million.

The Ministry has already begun negotiations for the procurement of about $800 million worth of fertilisers, which are expected to reduce the cost for farmers in accessing the nutrient builders.

“We hope that this injection will help save about

$1 billion overall in fertiliser acquisition costs. This injection of funds will assist in ensuring that cost of production is further reduced. In addition, we will procure a number of laser levelers in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six, to help increase yields,” the Minister related.

Rice farmers can also expect an expansion in the sector as the Agriculture Ministry is looking to expand their research facility which is expected to introduce higher yield of paddy seeds.

To make this possible, an estimated $70 million will be spent to operationalise the Number 56 seed facility and to introduce a larger storage capacity for the industry.

“Therefore, I reject completely the notion that the $500 million allocation to the industry is a handout. We will strenuously reject all efforts to cut the rice allocation and I call on the rice producers’ agency, the rice farmers and all other stakeholders in the rice industry to reject Scott’s position,” Dr Ramsammy remarked.

Hastings to Govt: Stop neglecting hinterland youths

APartnership for National Unity (APNU)

Parliamentarian Dawn Hastings has accused the Government of neglecting hinterland youths, contending that there is little impact of Government’s investments.

Speaking during her budget presentation, Hastings reminded the National Assembly that it is the hinterland that brought people to Guyana in search of El Dorado, and to date, it continues to bring tourists through its flora and fauna.

On this score, she urged the Government to “take care of the needs” of the hinterland people.

Hastings pointed out that over the years, hinter-

land students continue to suffer as they are denied equal access to education.

“I say this, Mr Speaker, knowing that over 20 years, as a Government, the PPP/C has failed to deliver quality education to our hinterland regions. I was hoping that this budget would have sought to improve this situation,” she stated.

The parliamentarian said the poor results of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) over the years are a testament to this fact, particularly in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.

Shifting her attention to the School Feeding Programme, which she recalled was initiated by the World Bank, Hastings ex-

pressed doubt that the money allocated to the programme is sufficient to nourish the brain of a child.

She stated that the cooks are paid some $20,000 per month from funds allocated to the programme; thus, reducing the amount going towards feeding the children.

“Stop neglecting our young people! I say stop making them want to run away from this beautiful Guyana in search of a better place to stay,” she urged.

Limited job offers

The Member of Parliament (MP) noted that there are limited job offers in the interior for youths; therefore, she called for more access to technical and industrial centres in Regions One, Seven and Eight to empower them with the necessary skills so they can contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities.

At present, Hastings disclosed that young people from Bartica and far off communities such as Chinoweing have to travel all the way to Georgetown or Essequibo to acquire trade or skills training, mostly at high costs which their family can hardly afford.

“Majority of the of the children who leave the Waramadong Secondary

School return home year after year, having been successful at one subject or two and having no second chance to equip themselves with technical or vocational skills, find themselves in the gold and diamond fields at a very tender age,” she stressed.

Hastings added that while large sums of monies are being allocated to the hinterland every year, there needs to be some sort of scrutiny to the areas where the monies are being plugged.

She also called for Bartica to gain township status and benefit from infrastructural improvement.

The MP acknowledged that money has been budgeted for the Information Communication Technologies (ICT) hubs in 100 hinterland communities, and noted that it is time that hinterland students get access to Internet, along with teachers and nurses.

No youth or sport officer

The parliamentarian went on to talk about culture and sport in the hinterland regions. She added that apart from the absence of a youth and sport officer, there has been no regional camp held for the past three years or more.

“This is an annual event which used to be funded by

the Ministry and one which the young people always looked forward to attend, was eventually phased out,” Hastings said.

Meanwhile, People's Progressive Party/Civic(PPP/C) Parliamentarian Bishop Juan Edghill in rebuttal told the National Assembly that his party has done a lot to create employment for Guyanese, creating opportunities and even equipping persons with the necessary skills to take advantage of these opportunities.

Edghill noted that Guyana under this Government has achieved Universal Primary Education and is well on its way to achieving Universal Secondary Education. As it

relates to the School Feeding Programme, the PPP parliamentarian pointed out that when the funds had dried up from the World Bank, Government took it upon themselves to continue the programme and has been successful thus far.

The MP noted that persons cannot be so narrowminded in their thinking since things are not “hunkydory”. He further mentioned that this year’s budget has allocated some $1 billion to rural investments.

Edghill stressed that with the establishment of the Hospitality Institute, Guyana’s tourism sector, which is already the largest provider of jobs, will see the creation of more jobs and opportunities for young people.

PANCAP holds justice for all, human rights consultation

The Caribbean Consultation on Justice for All and Human Rights Agenda takes place on April 9-11, at The Jamaica Pegasus, Kingston, Jamaica.

The three-day dialogue advances the Caribbean human rights agenda and is the culmination of a series of national consultations held over the past six months

in several Caribbean countries.

These consultations provided “the fora for community consultations and conversations around establishing and sustaining equal opportunities regardless of race, religion, class, gender, among others and are expected to take forward the process to eliminate stigma and discrimi-

nation in the Caribbean’s HIV response by 2015 – the deadline for the achievement of the millennium development goals,” said PANCAP Coordinating Unit Director Dereck Springer.

The Caribbean consultation is organised around sessions/panels and group discussions and will, among other things, consider up-

dates and outcomes of the key Caribbean milestones on HIV-related human rights and the setting up of a policy and advocacy monitoring group for the Justice for All Programme.

The expected outcome is a PANCAP Justice for All Roadmap which identifies concrete programmes and policies to dismantle structural barriers that deny hu-

man rights and impact vulnerability.

According to Professor Edward Greene, the United Nations Secretary General Envoy for HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean, “this consultation affords an opportunity to encourage leaders to ensure that human rights are respected for all persons including sexual minorities”.

The consultation which is being coordinated by the PANCAP Coordinating Unit in collaboration with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), the Government of Jamaica and the University of the West Indies, with funding support from the Global Fund for Tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria (GFATM), officially opens on April 9.

Under the chairmanship of Professor Greene, the official opening begins at 18:15h and features remarks from the prime ministers of Jamaica and St Kitts and Nevis, Portia SimpsonMiller and Dr Denzil Douglas, respectively.

Remarks will also be given by UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Dr

Luiz Loures; Global Fund Executive Director, Dr Mark Dybul; and Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition Executive Director, Dr Carolyn Gomes.

The keynote address will be delivered by the former Justice of the High Court of Australia Michael Kirby while the vote of thanks will be given by Springer.

A presentation on the Regional Dialogue of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law and progress to date will also be given by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) HIV, Health and Development Director, Mandeep Dhaliwal. The Justice for All Programme, Creating a Facilitating Environment to Reduce HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination in the Caribbean, accords with UNAIDS’s Global Zero Goals – Zero New Infections, Zero AIDS Deaths and Zero Stigma and Discrimination by 2015.

PANCAP is a 62-member partnership which was established by Caricom heads of government in 2001 to respond to the HIV and AIDS epidemic.

Two men kill themselves in Berbice Norton, Ramsaran clash over student nurses' performance

Two men, one on the Corentyne and the other of East Canje, ended their lives on Wednesday after ingesting gramoxone in separate incidents.

Mohammed Ali, 62, of Lot 31 Betsy Ground, East Canje, Berbice, committed the act on Tuesday morning at his home.

Reputed wife of the deceased Nirmala Rajpat told Guyana Times that after being diagnosed with several illnesses, Ali had become dependent on her for almost everything.

“It has been almost one year now since he sick; first with lungs problem then he had cough and then hernia and he had to take surgery. He then start to cry out with belly pain just like that,” the woman said.

Rajpat said she had taken her husband numerous times at various private and public health institutions, where x-rays, ultra sounds and a range of tests were done to determine the cause of his suffering.

On Monday, she took him to a private medical institution in Georgetown, where he was diagnosed with reflux disease.

The woman is of the view that her husband’s decision to commit suicide stemmed from depression and his inability to cope with the pain

he was forced to endure.

“He said the pain too much, every time he go hospital, they give him injection and saline and when he come home is pain all the time on am,” she said, while noting that she did her utmost to assist him in coping with his agony.

“He took his own decision and ended his pain and suffering,” Rajpat said. Ali leaves to mourn his wife and seven children.

Meanwhile, another man also died after consuming gramoxone. Preamdat Ramsingh, 53, of Bloomfield Village, Corentyne, ingested the poisonous substance about 10 days ago and was admitted to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where he was receiving treatment. He succumbed on Wednesday. Details are sketchy, but unconfirmed reports say he allegedly drank the pesticide after a family spat which involved his spouse.

Reports say the deceased was heard begging for his life, saying that he regretted committing the act, and only did so out of anger.

Officials at the institution disclosed that Ramsingh indeed had made passionate pleas for them to save his life and they did their utmost, but to no avail. Ramsingh leaves to mourn his wife and children.

Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran said contrary to what has been reported, it was a small percentage of students who failed the entire nursing programme recently, which he blamed on the inability of tutors to deliver some of the new courses.

Ramsaran’s comments were made during his budget presentation on Wednesday when he responded to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Shadow Health Minister, Dr George Norton.

The APNU Member of Parliament had pointed to the recent failures of students of the three main nursing schools in Guyana.

He said out of the 255 students who entered the threeyear professional nursing programme, in 2010, only 120 were able to sit the final examination. From that number, he said, only 19 were successful.

He described the situation as a “waste of human resources”. Dr Norton said, too, that more could have been done in this regard.

Poor management

“I would now advise the Government on how this problem can be solved, so that our nursing school can once again be internationally accredited and we will once again produce professional nurses of the highest quality as in the past,” he told the House.

But the Health Minister said the matter was being blown out of proportion. Dr Ramsaran said when comparing public and private institutions, the results are the same.

He said students from a private nursing school had also failed the exam, while pointing out that blame should not be entirely shifted from the students.

Dr Norton also blasted the management of the health sector. The APNU MP , who opened the floor on day three of the National 2014 Budget debate, told the House that the Government had, over the years, invested close to $36.3 billion in the

health sector, with a promise that Guyanese would readily have access to a decent public healthcare system. However, according to him, much is still left to be desired.

He recalled that the health sector’s expenditure was increased from 5.8 per cent in the year 2000 to 8.9 per cent in 2013.

Dr Norton noted that even with these improvements, the health sector still seems incapable of “getting it right”. The Shadow Health Minister also decried the state of the National Psychiatric Hospital in New Amsterdam, Berbice.

He said the plans that were drafted in the 2012 Budget have not been realised, even as he spoke about the alarming rise in suicide in the country. “This country has recorded 111 suicides for 2013, with the highest rate coming from Region Six. There are already 23 for this year,”

Dr Norton noted. He continued that the long overdue revised Mental Health Act should be updated, since it is needed to effectively tackle certain situations involving persons with mental illnesses.

Still addressing issues within the health sector, Dr Norton said that Government needs to address the insufficient number of Pathologists in the country.

“ Currently, Guyana has two very senior pathologists, one in Georgetown and the other in Berbice…. the one who has been around for

New Polish Ambassador accredited

Newly-appoint -

ed Ambassador of Poland Piotr Kaszuba on Thursday presented his Letters of Credence to President Donald Ramotar at the Office of the President.

The new Ambassador emphasised that the two countries share similar values, with regards to the commitment to peace, and democracy, as well as commitment towards promoting opportunities for its citizens.

President Ramotar, upon accepting the let-

ters, and welcoming the Ambassador, said Guyana and Poland established diplomatic relations on July 10, 1972 and while relations can be described as cordial, the bilateral relations between the two countries have not reached their full potential.

He, however, said he is confident that this appointment will act as a catalyst to strengthen and enhance these relations, noting that Guyana welcomes all initiatives that will be of benefit to it, and the other countries involved.

nearly three decades is particularly overworked for he has to travel all over Guyana to do his work.”

Addressing the issue of primary health care, Dr Norton stressed that the objective is to ensure that the general public has access to equitable and accessible health services.

He cited the poor quality of service offered, especially to persons living in the hinterland and Amerindian communities. “Mr Speaker, this to the hinterland communities, to the Patamonas in Kurukubaru, might sound like an old pipe dream.

The leader of the Health Ministry certainly may have never gone to Pakaraima regions of this country, where there is not even one medic in most of the villages in sub Region One.” He added that the Ministry seems incapable of promptly addressing the neonatal mortality rate, which remains a critical issue.

Complex issue

Dr Ramsaran countered that on the issue of mental health and depression, his Ministry has always been concerned about the problem “we see depression as the underlying cause, but there are other social factors that lead to suicide. The Ministry of Health has recognised in the past few years that mental health needs to be on the front burner”.

He continued: “Suicide is a very complex issue. The Ministry of Health is very happy to take part, or should I say unhappy to take part, but we come in contact with victims at the end of the chain of events.”

The health sector has been allocated $21.5 billion, of which $428 million has been earmarked to train 20 post-graduate resident doctors and upgrade 4000 providers. Minister Ramsaran said his Ministry, through this year’s budget, will continue to grow from strength to strength and strive to ensure the nation’s health is kept at a satisfactory level while making a collective effort to move forward.

The Guyana Government attaches much importance to the issues of climate change, sustainable development, peace and international security among other areas and continues to place these high on the domestic agenda. President Ramotar noted that like Poland, Guyana continues to seek ways to build a better life for its citizens, democracy, good governance and respect for rule of law.

Ambassador Kaszuba said despite the geographical distance between the two countries, they share the same values, in the commitment to peace, democracy, as well as towards

“I must encourage everyone to endorse this budget, it is an enlightened budget and this budget is well-synchronised with previous years’,” he said.

Responding to the APNU’s Shadow Health Minister on the issue of suicide, Dr Ramsaran said the Government has recognised the need for capacity building in this area and is working on doing same. He informed the National Assembly that over the past few months, the Ministry has been hosting workshops in areas found to have high suicide and attempted suicide rates. Dr Ramsaran said while the Government recognises the need for more interventions, he invited the Opposition parties to become more involved in dealing with this issue.

“It is sad that we have to deal with suicides and attempted suicides, which, in all instances, are the end results of a series of events in a person’s life, this is why we have been hosting workshops and training sessions on depression and its signs.”

The Minister said specialists from overseas have been giving their expertise at the workshops and training sessions which have been held in Berbice and Georgetown. Other workshops and training sessions are planned for other regions in 2014. “Suicide is not only the business of the Ministry of Health, it involves all of us, and we all should become more involved.”

promoting opportunities for youths, and determination to promote prosperity among its citizens.

Ambassador Kaszuba said Poland with its more than one thousand years of history as a sovereign state has much to offer from its culture. He said that Poland and Guyana share common ideas and aspirations, playing both important roles in their respective regions.

“I look forward to work with the Government of Guyana as we address common problems and draw inspiration from shared opportunities,” Ambassador Kaszuba added.

NA man suffers severe burns in house fire

An Angoy’s Avenue man is currently fighting for his life after he suffered severe burns when his home went up in flames on Thursday night.

According to reports, the man Prince Sinclair, 38, also called “Black boy” of Levis Dam, Angoy’s Avenue, lived alone. The incident took place about 20:15h.

A source close to the burnt man said at the time of the incident, Sinclair was in the building apparently sleeping. He was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he is currently being treated.

According to hospital officials, Sinclair suffered third degree burns. The official said that all possible efforts are being made to stabilise the man and a decision is to be made whether he could be transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

According to an official at the Guyana Fire Service in New Amsterdam, the origin of the blaze is unknown; however, investigations will continue to determine what may have caused the infer

no. Prince Sinclair suffered third degree burns

St Lucia latest Caribbean island to record a case of chikungunya disease

St Lucia has recorded its first case of the mosquito-borne disease, chikungunya. However, the national epidemiologists in the Health Ministry, Nehum Jn Baptiste, said the authorities were urging the public not to panic.

“We do not want to create any panic. It is because of our efforts with respect to strengthening the surveillance that we are now able to detect much quicker, not only chikungunya

but dengue, leptospirosis and some of the other diseases that present with similar symptoms,” Jn Baptiste said. Symptoms include a sudden high fever, severe pain in the wrists, ankles or knuckles, muscle pain, headache, nausea, and rash. Joint pain and stiffness are more common with chikungunya than with dengue. The symptoms appear between four to seven days after the bite of an infected mosqui-

to. The majority of clinical signs and symptoms last three to 10 days, but joint pain may persist longer.

Severe cases requiring hospitalisation are rare.

The first case of the disease in the Caribbean was reported in the French island of St Martin last year. Since then it has spread to several countries with Dominica Tuesday urging nationals to adhere to measures to prevent the spread of the chikungunya disease on the island. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

U.S. created ‘Cuban Twitter’ to stir unrest

The U.S. created a text-message social network designed to foment unrest in Cuba, according to an investigation by the Associated Press news agency. ZunZuneo, dubbed a “Cuban Twitter”, had 40,000 subscribers at its height in a country with limited web access.

The project reportedly lasted from 2009-12 when the grant money ran out.

Venezuela street battles leave seven injured

Venezuelan riot police fired water cannons and tear gas Thursday at stone-throwing student protesters in the capital Caracas, leaving at least seven injured.

Demonstrators had initially been riled by armed vigilantes they link to the Government after groups of unidentified civilians on motorcycles fired guns into the air at the campus of Central University of Venezuela. Students, some of them masked, beat two motorcyclists.

The confrontations were the latest violence in two months of near-daily protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s Government that have seen 39 people killed and 550 injured. Hundreds of Opposition and student demonstrators have been detained.

A march called by student leaders had sought to leave the university for

the offices of the vice president who is in charge of the economy when the national guard and riot police intercepted them.

The injured suffered bruises, fractures and open wounds, student leader Hilda Rubi Gonzalez said, adding that they were all in “stable” condition.

At least four photojournalists and cameramen from local media were attacked and robbed, according to the victims and press freedom groups. Protesters are venting their anger over soaring crime, high inflation and shortages of essential goods. (Yahoo!)

Weary Chileans head for hills as earthquake aftershocks

As the aftershocks from a massive 8.2 magnitude quake that rattled northern Chile entered a third day on Thursday, basic services were still out in the port city nearest the epicenter and residents fearful of tsunamis were fleeing into the hills.

The quake on Tuesday was blamed for six deaths and residents have been hit by dozens of aftershocks, including a powerful 7.6 magnitude quake on Wednesday night. Both quakes triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations.

More than 2600 homes have been damaged and fishing boats were smashed up along the coast.

Chile’s arid, mineral-rich north is sparsely populated, with most of the population concentrated in the coastal cities of Iquique and Arica, near the Peruvian border and closest to the epicentres of this week’s quakes.

Iquique is a major cop-

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per exporting port and usually bustling commercial town with a duty free zone that attracts goods and merchants from around the world. The brightly colored housing of its historic center and beaches are popular with tourists.

On Thursday the city was almost completely paralysed, its stores shuttered

except for a few kiosks and supermarkets selling basic provisions.

Many residents are abandoning Iquique entirely for the time being, heading to other homes or friends and relatives in the nearby town of Alto Hospicio, a tsunamiproof 600 metres (2000 feet) above sea level. (Excerpt from Reuters)

The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in the Cuban capital of Havana says there is a thirst for information on the island, which has no independent media. There has been no official Cuban Government reaction to the story.

The scheme was reportedly operated by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a federal international development organisation run under the aegis of the

The U.S. is said to have concealed its links to the network through a series of shell companies and by funnelling messages through other countries.

Department of State.

On Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney confirmed the U.S. Government’s involvement in the programme, saying it had been debated by Congress and passed oversight controls.

He said: “These are the kinds of environments where a programme like this and its association with the U.S. Government can create problems for practitioners and members of the public

Brazilian police sentenced to jail for 1992 prison massacre

ABrazilian court has sentenced 15 police officers to 48 years in prison each for their roles in the deaths of four inmates in the bloody crackdown of a 1992 prison riot that left 111 people dead.

Known as the Carandiru massacre after the nowclosed prison where it unfolded, the incident is one of the darkest chapters in Brazil’s struggle to improve conditions in overcrowded penitentiaries and to ensure

police obey the law.

The sentences, handed down late Wednesday by a state court in Sao Paulo, were the latest stage in legal proceedings that have been mired by more than two decades of controversy, bureaucracy and other delays.

A first round of sentences was handed down a year ago, and a total of 73 officers were sentenced to varying jail terms in four stages of trials. None of the officers has yet gone to prison and

all are expected to appeal.

“With this decision comes an end to the trying of one of the most complex cases in history,” the Sao Paulo court said in a statement on Thursday.

President Dilma Rousseff, who was jailed in the early 1970s for fighting against the country’s military dictatorship, hailed the sentences as a sign that Brazil was working to end impunity for human rights abuses. (Excerpt from Yahoo!)

Israel cancels Palestinian prisoner release

Israel will not release the fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners because of renewed Palestinian efforts to join international organisations.

A spokesman for Tzipi Livni, Israel’s Justice Minister and the Government’s Chief Negotiator, said on Thursday that the Israeli Government had been working to finalise an agreement to free the prisoners when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed letters of accession to 15 international conventions. Abbas said it was a response to Israel’s failure to release prisoners as promised, according to an Associated Press news agen-

cy report.

There was progress made in narrowing some of the questions that have arisen as a result of the last few days, but there is still a gap and that gap will have to be closed and closed fairly soon.

Livni said the prisoner release was tied to the Palestinians avoiding unilateral moves, adding that

the “new conditions were established and Israel cannot release the fourth batch of prisoners”.

Israel had promised to free 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners in four tranches, and in exchange, Ramallah pledged to freeze all moves to seek membership in UN organisations until April 2014.

But a crisis erupted at the weekend when Israel refused to release the final 26 prisoners, enraging the Palestinians who on Tuesday responded by resuming their approach to international agencies.

Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Jerusalem, said: “It’s almost like watching a game of ping-pong. Lipni said they [Israel] would apply sanctions if they [Palestinians] went to the UN.

“The Palestinians said, ‘if you do that we will sue you for war crimes’. The language is not conducive to talks. We have not had official confirmation that the talks are over, but things are not going well. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Mumbai gang rapes: Three now face new charges

Acourt in Mumbai has found three men who had already been convicted of two gang rapes guilty under a new law that carries the death penalty.

Both the victims – a telephone operator and a photojournalist – were attacked in separate incidents at an abandoned textile mill in the city last year.

It is the first time that a new law targeting repeat sex offenders has been used in

India.

Both trials were completed within seven months in a fast-track court. Last month, a Mumbai court sentenced four men to life in prison for the gang rape of an 18-yearold telephone operator.

Three of those sentenced were also convicted of the gang rape of a photojournalist last August.

The 22-year-old photojournalist, an intern with a Mumbai-based English mag-

azine, had gone to the Shakti Mills – a former textile mill that now lies abandoned –with a male colleague on a photo assignment when she was attacked. Her colleague was beaten during the assault.

After that case made national headlines, the 18-yearold telephone operator came forward to report that she had been assaulted in the same place a month earlier.

In India, where a rape

is recorded every 22 minutes, scrutiny of sexual violence has grown since the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi in December 2012.

The case sparked off nationwide protests and forced the Indian authorities to introduce tough new anti-rape laws. Four men were sentenced to death and a juvenile was sent to a correction facility for three years for the Delhi attack. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Russia accuses Ukrainians of plotting attacks

Russia has detained 25 Ukrainians it suspected of preparing attacks in the southern and central part of the country, hours after it was accused by the former Soviet member of contributing to the killing of anti-government protesters in Kiev.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Thursday that the detained, who were reported as being members of ultra-nationalist movements, were planning attacks between March 14 and 17 in Russia’s Rostov, Volgograd, Tver, Orel, Belgorod, Kalmykia and Tatarstan regions.

The press service of the Ukrainian state security service (SBU) dismissed the report as “nonsense”.

The announcement came hours after the SBU said that Russian securi-

ty staff had been present at the SBU headquarters aiding previous authorities during anti-Government protests in Kiev in which

more than 100 people were killed.

Russian Rossiya state TV channel aired a video showing several detained

U.S. warns China not to attempt Crimeastyle action in Asia

China should not doubt the U.S. commitment to defend its Asian allies and the prospect of economic retaliation should also discourage Beijing from using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia in the way Russia has in Crimea, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

Daniel Russel, President Barack Obama’s diplomatic point man for East Asia, said it was difficult to determine what China’s intentions might be, but Russia’s annexation of Crimea had heightened concerns among U.S. allies in the region about the possibility of China using force to pursue its claims.

“The net effect is to put more pressure on China to demonstrate that it remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the problems,” Russel, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East

Asia, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Russel said the retaliatory sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States, the European Union, and others should have a “chilling effect on anyone in China who might contemplate the Crimea annexation as a model.”

This was especially so given the extent of China’s economic interdependence with the United States and its Asia neighbours, Russel said.

Russel said that while the United States did not take a position on rival territorial claims in East Asia, China should be in no doubt about Washington’s resolve to defend its allies if necessary.

Russel said there was no reason why the rival territorial claims could not be resolved by peaceful means.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Syrian refugees hit million mark in Lebanon

Tyoung men, one of them admitting to being a member of an ultra-nationalist movement.

A website for the NTV channel reported, citing security services’ data, that the detainees were assigned by the SBU to take pictures of Russia’s military equipment near the Ukrainian border and to establish contacts with fighters inside Russia.

The hints of Russian involvement in Ukraine protests could further strain ties with the country’s former Soviet master, which annexed the Crimea region after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich’s removal from power, in what has become the worst EastWest standoff since the Cold War.

The FSB denied any involvement in the Ukraine protests. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

he number of Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon has exceeded one million, in what the United Nations refugee agency calls a “devastating milestone” for a small country with depleted resources and brewing sectarian tension.

Refugees from Syria, half of them children, now equal a quarter of Lebanon’s resident population, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement, warning that most of them live in poverty and depend on aid for survival.

UNHCR Chief Antonio Guterres described the figure as “a devastating milestone worsened by rapidly depleting resources and a host community stretched to breaking point”.

“Tiny Lebanon has now become the country with “the highest per capita concentration of refu -

gees worldwide,” and is “struggling to keep pace”, Guterres said in a statement.

“The influx of a million refugees would be massive in any country. For Lebanon, a small nation beset by internal difficulties, the impact is staggering,” he said.

Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has 1000 relief workers in and around Syria, told Al Jazeera that the figure could easily be “more than half a million” higher.

Egeland said not all of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon had officially registered with the UN, an annual requirement to receive food rations, health and education services – and the process often takes months.

“I don’t think we are understanding the scope and breadth and magnitude of this crisis,” Egeland said.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

“A star is born!”

– Trotman tells House after Cummings’ speech

BY VAHNU MANIKCHAND

Recently appointed A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Karen Cummings on Thursday delivered a sterling maiden budget presentation, highlighting several inadequacies within the health sector and offering concrete recommendations which she described as game changing solutions to recover Guyana’s healthcare system.

Dr Cummings’ presentation also drew commendation from Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, who was moved to declare that “A star is born”. Dr Cummings, a medical doctor by profession, had replaced the late Deborah Backer, who resigned as an MP before her passing.

The APNU member commenced her presentation on Thursday by reflecting on the country’s economic growth figures, which she noted Government is boasting about.

However, the medical doctor pointed out that the wealth and development of any country lies in the health and well-being of its people, while noting that there is a dire need for the health sector to be rescued and recovered.

The first concern she raised was the inadequate salaries of medical professionals. “They struggle to pay the utility, transportation, food and rent bills with the meagre salaries they earn… monetary moti-

vation is still the preferred manner of encouragement for the healthcare workers, who provide preventative, curative, promotional or rehabilitative health care services in a systematic way to individuals, families or communities,” she stated.

The MP suggested that shortages of trained technical staff within the health sector should be corrected by strengthening the technical capabilities of healthcare workers at all levels through intense training and retraining.

She recommended the construction of more maternal homes and training of midwives, particularly in remote and rural areas to deal with the high rate of neonatal fatality. Cummings went onto say that rather than focusing on the Specialty Hospital, attention and resources should be directed to the renewal of primary healthcare services.

Reduce inequities

“This approach has been touted to strengthen society’s ability to reduce inequities, and as an essential condition for meeting commitments, including the United Nations Millennium Declaration: the latter, Mr Speaker, addresses the social determinants of health and the achievement of the highest attainable level of health by everyone,” she said.

Another issue she highlighted is the lack of ambulances at healthcare facilities, noting that in some cases, the “new” ambulances would be considered as “minibuses with a stretcher and ambu-bag”. Dr Cummings urged that the ambulances be sent to the hinterland and other areas where they are needed the most. She also added that they should be fully equipped with lifesaving medical equipment so that they can truly be used as a mobile intensive care ambulance.

On another note, she stressed that sanitation in Guyana is a major concern and while some $2.5 billion was directed to address this, there is no structured system in place to manage the

disposal of waste.

As such, she urged that a plan should be developed to deal with waste prevention, waste disposal and combustion or controlled burning and recycling and composting. The APNU parliamentarian ended, saying that “Budget 2014 which has been proposed, seeks to have us embrace the achievement of financial goals, by clandestinely forbidding and disallowing the Guyanese people and the Honourable House to identify wasteful expenditures.” Dr Cummings pointed out that the budget blatantly disregarded and neglected the working and poor people.

Better life

Another APNU frontbencher Joseph Harmon told the House that for the past 21 years, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has ruled the country and has failed to provide a better life for the people. He also chided the Government for excluding the Opposition on the budget.

He said had this been done for the past two years; there would have been a different budget, as it would have reflected the needs of the people.

“The problem though, Mr Speaker, is this rising tide of unemployment, joblessness and hopelessness in Guyana has the tendency to create an outcome that will consume us all. No amount of gerrymandering with macroeconomic fundamentals and selective use of statis-

Man on bail for receiving stolen property

A42-year-old man was granted bail on a charge of receiving stolen property when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday before Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty. Ramesh Persaud, of Lot 159 Grove Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara, pleaded not guilty to the charge. It is alleged that on March 24 at Grove Public Road, the defendant received one wheelbarrow, valued $18,000, property of Tarachandra Kellawan, knowing that it was stolen

tics by Minister Irfaan Ali and others reflect reality,” he stated.

The APNU parliamentarian opined that the Finance Minister and his “budget team” are seemingly locked into a “Budget Matrix” set by this Government in which a significant amount of the people’s money are plugged into so called “transformational projects”.

“We are locked into spending on Amalia Falls even if the investor has pulled out. We are locked into spending on CJIA [Cheddi Jagan International Airport] even if the economic reality calls for change or modification. We are locked into spending on road works even if the cries of the population require a change in priorities. So, Mr Speaker, while speakers on the Government side extol the virtues of this budget being pro-poor, the reality is that it is not so and we have more of the same,” he stressed.

During his extensive presentation on this sector, the APNU’s Shadow Infrastructural Minister noted that too many ministries are responsible for building roads, bridges and buildings. He urged that this be done under one ministry, so that all funds could be disbursed from one source and works can be monitored by that ministry.

He said “Too many cooks spoil the broth”, but given what is currently happening, it appears as though “too many cooks thief de pot”.

Williams gets third stint as GMSA President

The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) Limited on Thursday completed its two-part Annual General Meeting and election of the Board of Directors for fiscal year 2014/2015.

Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana National Industrial Company (GNIC), Clinton Williams, was re-elected by the new Board to serve as President. He previously held this portfolio in 2010, 2011, and 2013.

According to a GMSA release, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Products Limited., Ramsay Ali was also re-elected First Vice President; Luanna Persaud of Qualfon (Guyana) will serve a second term as Second Vice President. Autamaram Lakeram of the National Milling Company will serve a second term as well as Third Vice President.

The GMSA also resuscitated its Policy and Legislation Standing Committee which will be headed by renowned Accountant, Attorneyat-Law and Columnist, Christopher Ram. Eon Caesar, Managing Director of Safeway Security Solutions, will head the Security and Governance Committee, which the Board of Directors had reinstated in November 2013.

Expanding sector

In expressing his gratitude to the Board for the confidence they have again reposed in him, Williams said the GMSA had begun a number of projects and interventions which must be satisfactorily completed for the benefit of the membership.

He noted that the national growth figure of 5.2 per cent recorded in 2013, though minimally improved from the flat rate of four per cent in recent years, was still not reflective of the true capacity of the Guyanese manufacturing sector. Seeking out and lobbying for more technical and financial support, locally and internationally, will remain a key agenda item in this fiscal year, he stated.

The President implored

the Board of Directors to continue to work with the Association’s Guyanese, Canadian, European and other partners and donors to secure further assistance for local manufacturers and ultimately, to improve the revenue generating capacity of manufacturers and service providers throughout the nation.

The Board of Directors is made up of: Ramsay Ali, Sterling Products Ltd, First Vice President; Luanna Persaud, Qualfon Guyana Limited, Second Vice President; Autamaram Lakeram, National Milling Company, Third Vice President; Peter Pompey, BACIF, Construction and Engineering Sub-sector; Ramesh Dookhoo, Banks DIH, Agro-Processing Sub-sector; Malisa Nokta, Environmental Management, Services Sub-sector; George Bulkan, Bulkan Timbers, Forestry & Wood Products Subsector; Gregory De Gannes, Camex Restaurants, Fast Foods Sub-sector; Clement Duncan, Swansea Associates, International Trade Committee; Christopher Ram, Ram & McRae, Policy & Legislation Committee; Eon Caesar, Safeway Security, Security & Governance Committee; Mark Bender, TCL Guyana Inc; Raymond Ramsaroop, Edward D Beharry Group of Companies; Yonette Jeffers, Laparkan Trading; and Brian James, Guyana Pawnbrokers/Haier Company.

Two men charged for unlawful assault

property.

The prosecution had no objections to bail due to the man’s asthmatic condition.

Bail was granted in the sum of $30,000. The defendant is expected to make another court appearance on May 2 at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.

Reyan Haley, 22, and Kester Williams, 21, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday before Magistrate Geeta ChandanEdmond on a counter charge of unlawful assault.

The duo pleaded not guilty to the charge. It was

alleged that on March 31 at Durban Street, Lodge, Georgetown, Haley and Williams unlawfully assaulted each other. It was also alleged that Haley made use of threatening behaviour towards Williams.

Defence Counsel Paul Fung-A-Fat told the court that it was a misunderstanding between the two parties.

The men both decided not to proceed with the matter. The case was then dismissed by the Magistrate, since both parties had decided not to give evidence against each other.

Sharma resigns as MP over Manickchand's heckling

BY SVETLANA MARSHALL

APartnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Jaipaul Sharma resigned on Thursday, hours after Speaker Raphael Trotman lifted the ban on Education Minister Priya Manickchand from speaking during the current budget debates.

Manickchand was banned from the debates after she refused to apologise for heckling while APNU MP Volda Lawrence was advocating for stringent measures to be implemented to crack down on rapists and a pedophiles.

“Ask your member APNU Sharma,” the Education Minister had shouted from across the floor; a move that has been described as a political ploy to discredit the coalition. But although Manickchand offered an apology to the House on Wednesday, Sharma is demanding a personal apology.

Speaking just outside the Parliament Building, Sharma told reporters that he submitted his resignation to the Speaker’s secretary at 11:00h on Thursday. According to Sharma, the Speaker should not have lifted the ban until Manickchand offered an apol-

was to avoid a serious situation because if I were in there sitting and I had to speak and I had to hear the Speaker saying that he allowing the Minister to speak and both of us are speaking today, it would not have been nice.” Sharma further added he would not cause the National Assembly any disrespect, hence, his resignation.

According to him, he would no longer be a part of the “circus” where the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is allowed to be unruly. Questioned whether he consulted with Opposition Leader David Granger before making such a move,

His resignation comes days before the consideration of the 2014 National Budget Estimates, but according to him, APNU has sufficient time to replace him with someone more competent. The MP appears to have serious confidence problems.

Competent

“I resigned at a time when I give the Opposition an opportunity to replace me with somebody competent, somebody more vibrant.” He also said that he was not fit to debate, describing himself as incompetent and poor. “I am incompetent in terms of debating… because I didn’t

ogy to him, contending that she is now trying to create a perception that he might be a rapist or a paedophile.

“On Demerara Waves, she said she wouldn’t apologise to the APNU Member Jaipaul Sharma because of some rape and paedophile allegations, it sounds as though I am a rapist.”

According to the APNU member, had he remained in the National Assembly on Thursday to participate in the budget debates, it might have been a fierce confrontation between him and Manickchand. “What I did

he responded in the affirmative. “Of course, they called me and said that was the wrong thing to do but I made up my mind, because I believe I would not be properly represented in the National Assembly.”

According to the APNU member, the PPP/C are using allegations against his father CN Sharma as a political football to discredit the coalition at a time when snap elections loom over Guyana. Based on his analysis of the 2014 National Budget, there will be snap elections this year.

represent myself. They need more vibrant people in the National Assembly to teach the People’s Progressive Party a lesson. You have to get people to fight fire with fire.” According to him, he would not lower his standards to get “down low and dirty”.

Sharma made it clear that had he resigned on Friday, it would have been considered sabotage, but maintained that the coalition has enough time to select a replacement. While he will remain in politics, it is highly likely that he will return to his father’s

Justice for All Party.

“I don’t want to be part of the APNU to let them show that APNU has people of poor quality, poor in terms of their character. I don’t want that, I am going to be in politics and I am going to be in my Justice For All party… and I am going to fight our election.” But when asked to clear up this controversial comment, Sharma said he is yet to decide whether he will remain in the coalition.

Sharma’s resignation had drawn a small crowd of protesters who said the Education Minister should lead by example and apologise to him.

Disappointed

However, it was clear that the other APNU members were not in support of Sharma’s resignation.

Basil Williams and Carl Greenidge were seen trying to talk Sharma out of the resignation. Greenidge said that it is clear that Sharma is upset and he understands his reasoning.

“If a person is going to be subjected to vicious comments, then this will open the forum to disreputable behaviour and people would just be cussing out one another on the floor.”

However, he believes that with time, Sharma will rescind his decision. “I think with time, the matter will be resolved.” CN Sharma was also seen consulting with his son and other politicians.

Inside of the National Assembly, the Speaker of the House expressed the hope that Sharma would withdraw his resignation, noting that the House would collectively resolve the matter.

However, he explained that the Education Minister was not speaking about Jaipaul Sharma when she made her utterances. In 2010, CN Sharma faced the courts over rape allegations involving a 13-year-old.

In April of that year, Chief Magistrate Melissa Ogle-Robertson remanded Sharma to prison following his first court appearance, but he was later placed on $2 million bail after he collapsed in court. After collapsing, he was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Man chopped 12 times

ACrabwood Creek man, Komalnauth Jagdeo is listed as critical after being severely chopped about his body and left to die at his sister’s home on Thursday.

The injured man’s sister, Sabita Jagdeo told Guyana Times at the New Amsterdam Hospital that she had left her brother at home to go on an errand about 05:15h. She said upon returning home around 14:00h she saw her brother lying in a pool of blood in an unconscious state on the ground in her yard.

“When me watch he, me

start cry, then me call me sister and all body…” she tearfully related, while noting that her brother had appeared to be dead. She said the police came immediately after being summoned from the Springlands Police Station and assisted her to take him to the Skeldon Hospital; however, he was transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

She also disclosed that another one of her brothers was at the house at the time of the incident, but due to the shock he suffered at see-

ing his sibling being brutally chopped, he was rendered speechless. “He helpless, he cannot watch me broad… all he said was the man come from back and start chopping he up,” she said.

The woman also disclosed that she received some information as to the identity of the culprit.

She noted too that the said individual had threatened and hit her brother several times before this incident. “ Me ah only pray that me brother life save,” the woman wept, hoping that

he survives and says what transpired, as no one else knows the full details of the brutal chopping.

The family extended gratitude to the staff of the New Amsterdam Hospital, especially the General Surgeon Dr Algu who worked tirelessly to ensure the injured man was stabilised. Reports are that the man suffered approximately 12 chop wounds about his body, specifically on his head and face and may have completely lost his nose. Police are investigating the matter.

friday, april 4, 2014|

Mom accused of killing children likely to appear in court today

Awena Rutherford, the woman who allegedly poisoned her two children, was discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital on Thursday, so it is likely that she will be arraigned on two charges of murder today at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The woman, who allegedly gave her two children, one-year-old Jabari Cadogan and four-year-old Odecia Cadogan carbon tablets and took several as well at their Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara home, was taken into police custody at the East La Penitence Police Station.

Post-mortem examinations proved that the children were indeed poisoned, but samples were reportedly taken to be further anal-

ysed.

On Thursday last, Rutherford reportedly called the father of her children, Jabari Cadogan Sr, who resides in the U.S. and they reportedly got into an argument.

She then left and went to pick up the children who had spent the day at their father’s sister in Anns Grove, East Coast Demerara. While there, the woman reportedly told her children’s paternal aunt that she will get a surprise for her birthday which was the following day.

Later that evening, relatives were informed that the young woman had allegedly poisoned the children and herself.

The children are likely to be laid to rest on Sunday at Anns Grove, East Coast Demerara.

‘Spanish Man’ stabbed in Camp Street Prison

Abloodied inmate of the Camp Street penitentiary was on Thursday afternoon rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was stabbed several times about the body.

The stabbing was done by another inmate,Joshua Payne, who was incarcerated in 2012 for the murder of Kelvin Caines.

The injured man whose condition was described as critical was identified as Terry Joseph, 29, of Lot 6 Farm, East Bank Demerara.

Information reaching Guyana Times revealed that Joseph and another inmate of the penitentiary were involved in a heated argument, resulting in him picking up a sharp object, suspected to be a “Jooker”, and stabbing him in the chest.

Joseph was remanded to prison in connection with robbery under arms and piracy.

Joseph, also known as “Spanish Man”, was allegedly part of a gang which carried out a series of pirate attacks on fishermen in the Pomeroon River and Waini, Region One.

Injured:

In September 2012, several masked men attacked and robbed several fishermen who were fishing in the Pomeroon River. Around the same time, other fishermen were attacked off the Waini Coast, Region One, by a group of armed, masked men. Following numerous calls for intervention, the police launched an operation in the Barima/Waini area and arrested three of five suspected pirates during an operation. Joseph was one of the men whom the police issued a wanted bulletin. He was subsequently arrested and placed before the court where he was remanded to prison by then acting Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry.

SUDOKU

Be mindful when choosing your friends and colleagues. You will be offered help, but you must impart guidance if you want things done to your specifications.

By Bernice Bede Osol

(June 21July 22) (Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

It’s time to stop making excuses regarding fitness and diet programmes. Procrastination will only make things worse. Get moving; the goal is to look better and feel healthier.

Look in on relatives who have health issues. Keep your work plans a secret until you are ready to make your play. Now is a good time to implement personal changes that you’ve been contemplating. Your attention to detail will make a good impression. Delegate jobs that you can’t complete to someone you have faith in. Your self-confidence will attract positive attention.

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

(July 23Aug. 22) (Feb. 20-March 20)

Trouble may be brewing. It’s essential to keep open the lines of communication between you and your partner or colleagues. Don’t wait until it’s too late, when you’ll only regrets.

(March 21-April 19)

Damaging rumours will run rampant if you are overly attracted to one of your co-workers. Protect your reputation and your job by keeping your personal life a secret.

(April 20-May 20)

A romantic opportunity will come your way when you least expect it. If your working conditions need improvement, get together with your colleagues and take some recommendations to your employer.

(May 21June 20)

We all go through periods when we feel restless and need to experience something different. Making a change to the way you look or to your routine will lift your spirits.

A social function may lead to confusion, deceit or unpredictable motives. Someone may be trying to take advantage of your knowledge or connections. Avoid making promises.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Make sure you have all the pertinent details before making accusations or demands. You have a lot to lose if you are uninformed. Keep your ideas under wraps for now.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Take a break and slow down. Your stress level is high, and you could be risking your health if you don’t deal with minor issues now.

(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Your goals may be admirable and your intentions good, but you could lose a few friends along the way. Don’t turn into a know-it-all, or you will alienate those around you.

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Coach Nixon’s absence comes as surprise to Miller, Bernard Jr

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The duo, however, contend that given the fact that they were not privy to the details of the departure of Nixon, they cannot comment any further.

A former England international, Nixon guided the Tallawahs to victory during last year’s inaugural staging of the tournament.

He has, however, been replaced by former Australia and South Africa coach Mickey Arthur for this year’s instalment.

“I don’t know about what may have led to his resigning or not. However, what I can say is that it was good experience working with him,” said Miller.

“He had a lot of energy, which in turn carried over into the team and our matches.

“He was also willing to listen and learn from the players and other members of the coaching staff, who had more knowledge of local conditions,” he added.

Bernard Jr, who, along with South African Vernon Philander, spearheaded the Tallawahs bowling attack, called Nixon a man of ideas, many of which

led them to the title.

“He was always willing to try new things,” said Bernard.

“He comes from the England system, and had a lot of Twenty20 ideas, and I believe we were able to win based on some of them.”

The Limacol CPL, in explaining the reasons behind non-reappointment of Nixon, said this was largely due to an influx of “highly respected” coaching applicants for this year’s event.

“We were inundated with applications from some of the most highly respected coaches in world cricket,” a Limacol CPL spokesperson told The Gleaner.

“It was (therefore) a very difficult job narrowing such a strong list down to just six head coaches.”

Added the spokesperson: “We appreciate that there were always going

to be some people disappointed by our decision.

“(However) we have spoken to Paul to explain the process, and our decision, and thanked him for his contribution.”

The 43-year-old Nixon is one of five coaches who have been replaced.

The others are former West Indies players Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Andrew Roberts, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes.

The quartet has been replaced by Tim Neilson, Matthew Maynard, Simon Helmot and Robin Singh. Richards, Roberts, Greenidge and Haynes, however, have been retained as “mentors” by their various franchises.

Former West Indies coach Roger Harper, who guided Guyana Amazon Warriors to the final last year, is the only head coach to keep his spot.

(Jamaica Gleaner)

India, Jamaica sign MOU to have floodlights installed at Sabina Park

AFTER numerous delays and a handful of false starts, the wait appears to be over in the drive to have floodlights installed at Sabina Park.

Yesterday at the worldfamous cricket ground, the governments of India and Jamaica signed a memorandum of under-standing which will see the Asian country providing a grant of US$2.1 million towards the inatallation of lights at the venue.

“We are pleased that the Government of India has agreed to sign a bilateral memorandum of understanding with the Government of Jamaica to provide financial support for the installation of the floodlights at Sabina

Park. This support is in the form of a grant in the sum of $2.1 million,” said Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller as she addressed the media and various stakeholders.

Simpson Miller, who spoke feelingly of several landmark occurrences at the historic venue, explained that the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) will grant a further US$600,000 to cover the estimated total project value of US$2.7 million.

The months of seemingly painstaking negotiations have also involved two different administrations of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), members of the Kingston Cricket Club, and representatives of Sabina Park

Holdings, the entity which manages the venue and its facilities.

The project, which will be managed by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), has been awarded to the FosRich Group of Companies, which will be working with Philips Lighting, a global firm that has strong ties in Europe, Asia and South America.

The UDC and the contractors FosRich also signed an agreement for the project which is expected to be completed in three months.

Stakeholders are already eyeing the possibility of having lights in time for the second staging of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 tournament in June. (Jamaica Observer)

Sammy defends waitand-watch approach

as it the rain?

WOr was it Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels? West Indies needed 81 to win from 37 balls with six wickets remaining when a hailstorm ended the first semi-final of the World T20, leaving Sri Lanka winners by 27 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Gayle made 3 off 13, and Samuels was unbeaten on 18 off 29 when the rain came down.

Darren Sammy said it was disappointing to go out under the rain rule, and refused to answer when he was asked whether West Indies could afford Gayle and Samuels taking as much time as they did. When he was asked a related question about the high number of dot balls faced by Gayle and Samuels, Sammy admitted that both had not been able to deliver in this tournament, but said that both had performed in the past.

“When you lose a cricket game, people tend to point out all different areas where that should have happened, this should have happened,” Sammy said. “But I am sure if you look at all the games we have played, there are more than 27 dots [25, between Gayle and Samuels].

“Probably 50-something dots. It’s not ideal for Twenty20 but we’ve developed a formula in which that works for us. We know we are a boundary-hitting team. We know we have got to improve in rotating the strike but if you look at the

way Gayle plays, he normally gives himself some time to get used to the wicket and catch up in the end. But the thing is, in this tournament he has not carried.

“Marlon has not been batting well for us. It is one area - we always tell him, whatever rate you walk into, you try to keep it at that or increase it. Yes, we could say Marlon has not had the best of tournaments but he is one of our better batsmen and in the last World Cup (in 2012), he was the star for us. People have a few dips in form.”

West Indies began with 17 runs off the opening over but scored only 13 off the next five of the fielding restrictions. Sammy and Dwayne Bravo had catapulted them home against Australia in a tense chase and also nearly doubled the score against Pakistan in the last five overs. The captain pointed to that and said West Indies could have pulled it off again.

“Gayle and [Dwayne] Smith have a very clear idea of how they want to go and play. The first over, we were off to a flyer but they brought on the offspinner (Sachithra Senanayake) and (Lasith) Malinga who bowled really well at Gayle and Smith. We were again behind the eightball and just when Bravo looked like picking it up like he did in the last game, he got out but we still had the belief that we could get 12 runs an over in the last six. I guess we have been doing that in this tournament. It is just disap-

pointing but there is nothing we could do about it.”

Sammy praised Sri Lanka for their display and said the rain gods had intervened because they wanted Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, both of whom will be retiring from T20 internationals at the end of the tournament, to win a world limited-overs title after four losses in finals in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012.

“Disappointing to come out of the tournament like this but credit to Sri Lanka. They won the toss, batted first. Probably they knew that some (bad) weather was around. But we have had a good run in this tournament, it is just sad that we got knocked out by the D/L system. But that’s life. You move on and we will start planning for the next T20 World Cup.

“I took it like ‘you know what, we have won a World Cup’. We are a praying team, we know God normally answers our prayers but today, I guess two gentlemen who have played for Sri Lanka, given a lot not only to Sri Lanka cricket but cricket on the whole, I guess the Almighty wants them to leave on a high, so I guess they have one more game to try and win a World Cup and leave on a high. Probably that’s the reason why God put a hand in this match. I am sure I will have another shot at playing the T20 World Cup and we are looking forward to winning it again in the near future.” (Cricinfo)

Knicks rout Nets 110-81, move into 8th in East

New York’s once faint, nearly unrealistic playoff hopes have become a real possibility. The Knicks intend to seize the opportunity and run with it.

‘’We know what we want,’’ Carmelo Anthony said.

J.R. Smith had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Anthony added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Knicks beat the city ri-

val Brooklyn Nets 110-81 Wednesday night to move percentage points ahead of Atlanta for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The Knicks were 21-40 on March 3 after a sevengame skid and are still just 33-43. But they know that record gets wiped away if they can finish off this turnaround.

‘’We want to get there. That’s the goal,’’ Anthony

Parker, Duncan lead Spurs past Warriors 111-90

The San Antonio Spurs continue to win big and to rest players, and the limited minutes are starting to show in the revival of Tim Duncan’s game.

Tony Parker had 18 points and eight assists and Duncan had 15 points and eight rebounds and San Antonio rolled to a 111-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, extending the Spurs’ franchise record winning streak to 19 games.

‘’They’re playing amazing right now,’’ Golden State guard Stephen Curry said. ‘’That’s the best in the league right now.’’

San Antonio (59-16) extended its league-leading record to four games over the Thunder (54-

19) ahead of their matchup Thursday night in Oklahoma City.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was able to rest his core players with his team leading by as many as 26 points and never trailing after the opening three minutes.

‘’Our minutes stayed low and it’s just like Pop likes it, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow (against Oklahoma City),’’ Duncan said.

Duncan played only 20 minutes and Parker 28. Both sat out the entire fourth quarter.

After struggling with his outside shot for much of the season, Duncan is regaining his soft touch just in time for San Antonio’s 17th consecutive postseason appearance. He finished 7 for 11 from the field, including 6-for-7 shooting in the first half on a series of soft jumpers, bank shots and a dunk. (Yahoo! Sports)

Hafeez quits as Pakistan T20 captain

said. ‘’Despite this emotional season, this up-and-down season, I think it would be a big deal to get in that spot.’’

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points a game after spraining his right ankle to help the Knicks win for the 12th time in 15 games, dominating a team that had the best record in the Eastern Conference since the new year. New York won its third straight. (Yahoo! Sports)

Mohammad Hafeez has stepped down as Pakistan’s T20 captain, just days after the team’s exit from the group stage of the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh. Hafeez has also relinquished the vicecaptaincy of the ODI side as well.

He was given the T20 captaincy in May 2012 after Misbah-ul-Haq decided to step down. Misbah continues to lead the Test and ODI sides.

“As a Pakistan T20 captain I solely take the whole responsibility for the performance in the World T20

and decided to step down from the captaincy,” Hafeez told a press conference after meeting with the PCB chairman Najam Sethi at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. “Whether we played either good or bad I owe it as captain to produce results but it didn’t happen. I had a productive discussion with the chairman and I myself offered to step down.”

During his stint as T20 captain, Hafeez led Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka. However, the team exited at group stage after losing to West Indies on Tuesday by a massive 84 runs. It was the first time Pakistan had failed to progress to the semi-finals in five editions of the tournament. Hafeez’s overall T20 record stands at 18 wins (one via a one-over eliminator) and 11 losses from 29 matches. (Cricinfo)

Sri Lanka ‘storm’ into World T20 final

Sri Lanka reached the World Twenty20 final after a thunderstorm ended their semi-final against defending champions West Indies in Mirpur.

Lahiru Thirimanne made 44 and Angelo Mathews 40 from 23 balls as Sri Lanka posted 160-6 after winning the toss.

In reply, West Indies lost openers Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith to captain Lasith Malinga in the fifth over.

Dwayne Bravo fell for 30 and after hail flooded the outfield, Sri Lanka won by 27 runs on the Duckworth/ Lewis method.

West Indies’ defeat means no side have retained the World Twenty20 title since its inception in 2007

Sri Lanka will meet India or South Africa, who play in Mirpur on Friday, in the final at the same venue on Sunday.

Victory for Sri Lanka on Thursday went some way to atoning for their defeat by West Indies in the 2012 final.

Twice runners-up, they now have a chance of capturing the World T20 for the first time and giving Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara the perfect send-off in their final games before T20 international retirement.

“We back ourselves chasing 160. We’ve done it before in the tournament and it was not an impossible task,” said West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

“We didn’t get a fair chance of defending the title. But I see that as the gods smiling on Mahela and Kumar. They’ve done so much for Sri Lankan crick-

Having won 10 of their last 12 T20s batting first, Sri Lanka made an impressive start with the bat, Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan striking spinner Samuel Badree over longoff for six as 32 came from the opening three overs.

However, Perera chopped on to Krishmar Santokie, the first of three wickets to fall for eight runs as Jayawardene was run out without facing a ball and Sangakkara offered Badree a tame return catch.

Seven of the last eight matches in the tournament have now been won by the side batting first Dilshan was run out for 39 by a direct hit from Lendl Simmons after being sent back by Thirimanne, who, having cut seamer Andre Russell for six, was caught at backward point attempt-

ing a similar stroke.

Mathews struck three fours and two sixes to carry Sri Lanka to a competitive total, but Smith casually flicked the first two balls of the Windies reply from seamer Nuwan Kulasekara for a leg-side four and six.

However, Gayle, who had earlier left the field after being struck on the ankle, managed only three from 13 balls before playing on to Malinga, and another cutter accounted for Smith, bowled though the gate.

Bravo was superbly caught by Jayawardene diving forward at deep midwicket moments shortly before rain and hail arrived.

Sammy, yet to face a ball, was left with no chance of playing another matchwinning innings in a tournament in which he boasts a strike-rate of 224. (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka innings

MDKJ Perera b Santokie 26

TM Dilshan run out (Simmons) 39

DPMD Jayawardene run out

(Sammy/†Ramdin) 0

KC Sangakkara† c & b Badree 1

HDRL Thirimanne c Simmons b Santokie 44

AD Mathews c Bravo b Russell 40

S Prasanna not out 6

Extras (lb 2, w 2) 4

Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 160

Did not bat: KMDN Kulasekara, SMSM Senanayake, HMRKB Herath, SL Malinga*

Fall of wickets 1-41 (Perera, 3.6 ov), 2-41 (Jayawardene, 4.2 ov), 3-49 (Sangakkara, 6.2 ov), 4-91 (Dilshan, 13.3 ov), 5-121 (Thirimanne, 16.6 ov), 6-160 (Mathews, 19.6 ov)

Bowling: S Badree 4-0-231, K Santokie 4-0-46-2, SP Narine 4-0-20-0, MN Samuels

4-0-23-0, AD Russell 3-037-1, CH Gayle 1-0-9-0

Women’s World Twenty20 2014: Australia beat Windies in

Holders Australia booked their place in their third successive Women’s World Twenty20 final with an eight-run victory over West Indies in Mirpur.

Opener Elyse Villani top scored with 35 as the Southern Stars made a competitive 140-5 from their 20 overs.

The Windies briefly threatened when Deandra Dottin (40) and Stacy-Ann King (36 not out) were together, but fell short after Dottin holed out.

“What West Indies did show was the ability to manoeuvre the ball, but it was a good performance from Australia and they should be happy.”

England, winners in 2009, meet South Africa in the second semi on Friday. West Indies openers Stafanie Taylor (24) and Kycia Knight (21) added 43 in seven overs thanks to some early boundaries before both fell in quick succession.

Taylor was run out attempting a second run on a misfield, while Knight was

bowled trying to slog offspinner Erin Osborne.

The stage was set for the big-hitting Dottin and King as the West Indies side looked to knock out the side who thrashed them in last year’s 50-over World Cup final.

Both batters hit sixes against the Australian spinners, but just when it looked like West Indies were favourites, Dottin skied a low

Sarah Coyte full toss high over deep mid-wicket and Osborne - named as player of the match for her economical spell of 1-18 - held her nerve to take the catch. It left the Windies still needing 20 from the last 10 balls, which proved beyond them as seamer Rene Farrell

West Indies innings (target: 108 runs from 13.5 overs)

DR Smith b Malinga 17

CH Gayle b Malinga 3

LMP Simmons lbw b Prasanna 4

MN Samuels not out 18

DJ Bravo c Jayawardene

b Kulasekara 30

DJG Sammy* not out 0

Extras (lb 1, w 7) 8

Total (4 wickets; 13.5 overs) 80

Did not bat: D Ramdin†, AD Russell, SP Narine, S Badree, K Santokie Fall of wickets 1-25 (Gayle, 4.1 ov), 2-28 (Smith, 4.5 ov), 3-34 (Simmons, 7.1 ov), 4-77 (Bravo, 13.2 ov)

Bowling: KMDN Kulasekara 2.50-22-1, SMSM Senanayake 2-06-0, SL Malinga 2-0-5-2, HMRKB Herath 4-0-27-0, S Prasanna 2-0-15-1, AD Mathews 1-0-4-0

Venus rises again to win in Charleston

Venus Williams, battling a mystery bug and a dogged opponent who refused to lie down, advanced to the third round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston on Wednesday.

A day after her younger sister Serena was surprisingly beaten at the South Carolina event, Williams kept the family flag flying with a 7-5 7-5 victory over South African Chanelle Scheepers.

It was anything but easy for the 33-year-old Williams, who won the tournament a decade ago but has struggled with health issues in recent years.

She trailed 3-1 in the opening set then 4-1 in the second but fought back each time to seal victory in an hour and 50 minutes.

“She was playing so well, but good thing is that when I get behind, I give even more

Venus Williams

effort and get even more focused,” Williams told reporters.

“(Playing from behind) is something you really have to

do to win big matches.”

The next opponent for Williams is rising Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard. (Reuters)

Palmer expects Tiger to be a force in future majors

Arnold Palmer said on Thursday he expects Tiger Woods to bounce back from his recent surgery for a pinched nerve in his back and once again challenge to win major championships.

Palmer, a seven-time major champion, said that while he did not know the specific nature of the surgery he felt optimistic about Woods’s golfing future.

“Tiger is in such good

physical condition, and has been through his life, that they must know they’re doing the right thing by doing the surgery,” Palmer, 84, said on a conference call promoting a documentary on his life that will be aired on the Golf Channel.

“He is also determined enough in his personality and his well-being that he will overcome any of the problems that might be created physically.

“Do I think he’ll be a potential player to be worried about? Yes ... and I think the potential for him to win future major championships is still very real.”

Woods withdrew from last month’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, an event he’s won eight times, because of his back pain and has been stuck on 14 majors since winning the 2008 U.S. Open. (Reuters)

GCB U-15

Inter-County Tournament….

Woeful Essequibo suffer innings defeat against Demerara

- Berbice complete dominant win over President’s

X1

By Rajiv Bisnauth

An absolutely horrendous batting performance from the Essequibo batsmen, on a batsman-friendly wicket at the Enmore Community Centre ground, saw the visitors nose-diving to an innings and 58 runs against Demerara in the second round of the Guyana Cricket Board-organised Igloo Icecream-sponsored under-15 Inter-county tournament on Thursday.

Essequibo, starting the day on 35-5, and trailing by 114 runs, reached 91-9 despite a fighting, unbeaten 35 from Orlando Jailall. The innings ended prematurely after Punraj Coldhar was unable to bat because of an injured foot.

Overnight batsmen

Orlando Jailall and Vishal Singh, (3), hung on for the first hour of play to salvage some pride, and progressed to 55, before the latter had his woodworks shattered by medium pacer Bhojnarine Singh.

Jailall then added 16 runs with Joshua Jones (8), but once the partnership was broken, Ronaldo McPherson (2) and Shamar Dusraj (8) went in quick succession, leaving Jailall unbeaten at the end.

Left arm-spinner Ashmead Nedd was the most effective bowler to finish with 4-30 off 12 overs, while Colin Barlow took 2-24.

Sagar Hithiramani,

Bhojnarine Singh and Anthony Antonio each claimed a wicket apiece.

Across at the Wales Community Centre ground, Berbice eased to a comfortable seven-wicket win over the President’s X1.

The Berbicians restricted their counterparts to 117 in 72.5 overs, batting a second time on a slow track and returned to chase down the winning target of 45 runs in 22.4 overs for the loss of

three wickets.

Resuming on 47-2, and facing a first innings deficit of 75 runs, only Christopher Campbell (31), Robin Williams (26), Mark Ramsammy (12) and Junior Phillips (11) offered any meaningful contributions.

Kris Ramnarine was the best bowler for Berbice with 4-32. Kevin Sinclair and Keith Simpson chipped in with two wickets apiece.

Berbice lost Kevin Sinclair (9), Junior Sinclair (3) and Dinishwar Budhoo (2) in their run chase, before Steve Deonarine and Kris Ramnarine were left unbeaten on 13 and seven respectively.

Berbice’s left-arm fast bowler Stephen Kalamudin and Demerara batsman Kurt Lovell were adjudged Man of the match respectively.

The third and final round will be held from April 5-6, when Berbice and Demerara will do battle at the Everest Cricket Club ground and Essequibo and the President’s XI will play at the Demerara Cricket Club ground.

YBG postpones launch of regional school tourney

Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) has decided to postpone the launch of their regional schools basketball championships in order to co-exist with the new administration of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF).

The GABF, who is the governing body for basketball in Guyana,had notified the YBG that their tour-

nament is unsanctioned and thus is clashing with the schedule of the GABF, which could cause officials and students participating in the school tournament to be sanctioned.

However, after dialogue with the GABF through email, the YBG will announce when the launching of their tournament will take place along with possibly being affiliated

with the GABF after their schedule is revised to coexist with the national federation.

The tournament which was to be launched today, normally would see some of the best schools in various regions competing for a regional title before the top schools out of each zone face off in the National Schools Basketball Federation.

Boxing Board gives Contender victory to Barbadian ‘Shaka’

Bboxer Christopher 'Shaka' Henry (right) of Team Caribbean faced off with Team Jamaica’s Glenroy ‘Bumpy’ Beckford in the third bout of the Wray and Nephew Contender series.

The Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC) in a news release Thursday said it revised the split decision victory that was in favour of Jamaican Glenroy "Bumpy" Beckford against Barbadian Christopher "Shaka" Henry in Wednesday's Wray and Nephew Contender show.

The Boxing Board said the decision was reached following protest from the Team Caribbean.

On Wednesday the judges voted 2-1 for a Beckford victory after Clifford Brown and Keith Brown scored the fight a draw of 57-57 while Lindell Allen voted 58-56 for Henry.

"Based on those scores, the decision would have been a majority draw," the release said. "Since there must be a winner in the Contender series however for a boxer to move to the next round, the two judges who scored the fight a draw were required by the competition rules to nominate a winner, and they both named Beckford."

In the protest, the Team

Caribbean noted that in the third round of the fight Henry scored a knockdown that was not ruled as such by the referee.

After a tape of the fight was reviewed by the appeal panel Thursday, it showed that in the third round, after receiving two hard blows to the head, according to the Boxing Board's release, Beckford fell forward and his gloves touched the canvas.

"According to the rules of boxing, that should have been ruled a knockdown and he should have been given a

mandatory eight count and have a point deducted," the release said.

The JBBC said that since it was not ruled a knockdown the judges could not have made a point deduction.

The JBBC also said it agrees with the scores of the two judges in question, after the end of the fight, based on the facts, and that when the point is deducted, Henry becomes the winner 57-56. The fight has therefore been awarded to Henry by unanimous decision, the release concluded. (Jamaica Observer)

Vryman’s Erven serves 6-0 defeat on Canje Secondary

Vryman’s Erven Secondary School (VESS) recorded a 6-0 win over Canje Secondary (CS) when second-round action in the Scotiabank/Pepsi Schools Football Academy Berbice leg continued Thursday at the Esplanade Park in New Amsterdam.

VESS completely dominated the one-sided affair to bounce back from their 3-2 defeat they suffered in the opening round of the competition at the hands Tutorial Academy (TASS).

Dexter Welcome scored in the 21st minute and Toshawn Morris in the 29th to give the boys from New Amsterdam a 2-0 half- time lead. On the resumption, Kevin Williams registered his name on the scoring

past

sheet and then five minutes later took the score to 4-0. In the 55th minute of play, Goodanni Rover, who was substituted after the first half returned to the

field and five minutes later made his coach proud. Not satisfied, Rover scored his second goal 10 minutes later to give CS their second defeat in as many matches.

The win was the first for VESS, who will be eagerly awaiting the result of Tuesday’s game between TASS and Berbice Educational Institute

(BEI). Both those teams won their first- round matches. The competition is being played on a round- robin basis, with the winning team

meeting the winner from either of the Georgetown zones or Linden in the national semifinal. (Andrew Carmichael)

GFA/Banks Beer Test of Champions…

Roraima club champs Sao Raimundo FC arrive from Brazil

Will the Georgetown Football Association (GFA)/ Banks Beer Cup champions, Slingerz FC, be able to hold off the state of Roraima club champions Sao Raimundo, when action kicks off on Saturday evening at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Ground?

Sao Raimundo Football Club arrived in Guyana on Thursday.

Football fans in Guyana will have the opportunity to see how well the Slingerz side can play against the Brazilian club, who are expected to show why the Portuguese -speaking nation is called the home of football.

The night of football action will get under way from 19:00h with Santos FC taking on Western Tigers in a pre-game match-up, while Slingerz and Sao Raimundo will battle in the feature game with ticket prices being set at $1,000 and can be uplifted at the venue.

There will also be pro-

motions at different venues, where football fans can win tickets to the game on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile C and R promotions, the group responsible for putting together the one night of packed action received a cheque for sponsorship from Malia’s Brazilian Supermarket as Joanna Carter wished the group success with the games.

Wayne’s Beverage Paradise also came out in support of the promotion group handing over a cheque for an undisclosed sum to liaison officer of C&R promotion, Rayan Farias.

Michelle Robertson of the beverage company believes that the game will bring a different level of football and wished the promotion group a successful venture.

The promotion group expressed gratitude to their sponsors and noted that the display of football will be an excellent test of skill and character for the Slingerz group.

Guyana Amazon Warriors...

From page 24

Jamaica’s Tallawahs won the inaugural tournament when they defeated the Guyana Amazon Warriors by seven wickets in the final in Trinidad and Tobago on August 24.

They will defend their title against the St Lucia Zouks, Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, Antigua Hawksbills, Guyana Amazon Warriors and Barbados Tridents.

Last year, over 250,000 spectators attended matches in Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St Lucia, and the games were viewed by a global TV audience of 36 million.

Draft Players

Guyana Amazon Warriors comprises Sunil Narine, Mohammad Hafeez, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Martin Guptill, Krishmar Santokie, Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton, Navin

Stewart, Steven Jacobs, Leon Johnson, Robin Bacchus, Corey Anderson and Trevon Griffith.

The Barbados Tridents will come from Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Shakib Al Hasan, Ravi Rampaul, Jason Holder, Neil McKenzie, Rayad Emrit, Ashley Nurse, Imran Nazir, Jonathon Carter, Shane Dowrich, Raymond Reifer, Akeal Hossein and Kyle Mayers and Shoaib Malik.

The Antigua Hawksbills: Marlon Samuels, Sheldon Cotterell, David Hussey, Thisara Perera, Carlos Braithwaite, Kieron Powell, Devon Thomas, Ben Laughlin, Orlando Peters, Danza Hyatt, Miguel Cummings, Gavin Tonge, Justin Athanaze and Rakheem Cornwall and Saeed Ajmal.

Defending champions Jamaica Tallawahs will bank on Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Ahmed Shehzad, Adam Voges, Nikita Miller,

Jerome Taylor, Rusty Theron, Chadwick Walton, David Bernard Jr, Andrew Richardson, Carlton Baugh Jr, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner and Odean Brown and Muttiah Muralitharan.

The St Lucia Zouks’ dream of winning rests on the shoulders of Darren Sammy, Kevin Pietersen, Johnson Charles, Sohail Tanvir, Andre Fletcher, Shane Shillingford, Roelof Van der Merwe, Garey Mathurin, Keddy Lesporis, Tino Best, Mervin Matthews, Sunil Ambris, Tonito Willet and Liam Sebastian and Brad Hodge.

The members of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel are Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Kevon Cooper, Nasir Jamshed, Kevin O’Brien, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Shannon Gabriel, Fidel Edwards, Jason Mohammed, Kennar Lewis, Delorn Johnson and Ross Taylor.

Emrit – T&T can win Regional 4-day title

Rayad Emrit, captain of the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team, is delighted with the squad’s comfortable ten-wicket victory over the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) and feels his team can go all the way and win the Regional Four Day Tournament.

Trinidad and Tobago will host Jamaica at the Queen’s Park Oval this weekend, followed by a trip away to

Guyana from April 11-14.

“We have to take each game at a time,” Emrit noted. “Jamaica are going to come here on a defeat (against Barbados) and we’re on a high now. I think if we win the next two games, we could win the tournament.

“We really want to do it because we haven’t won it for a while. I think the guys are really up for it. We’re really working hard. If we do what

we did this game, our batters, as long as they score runs, we can bowl out teams.”

Meanwhile, Jason Mohammed, who scored a double century vs CCC, reflected on his knock, saying, “it was a very nice feeling to score my first double-hundred. Every time you do well in First-Class cricket, it’s always a special feeling to score a double-hundred. It was a very special feeling for me.” (Windiescricket)

Powerade cycling billed for West Demerara Sunday

Banks DIH Limited, through its energy drink Powerade, has committed to sponsoring Sunday’s 50-mile road race on the West Demerara roadways for the third year in succession.

The race will pedal off at 08:00h in front of the Wales Police Station, proceed to Bushy Park, East Bank Essequibo, before returning to the Schoonord end of the

Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) for the finish.

According to national cycling coach Hassan Mohamed, who is also organiser of the day’s activities, the veteran, female and mountain bike riders will start at Wales, but will turn at the Uitvlugt Community Centre ground on the upward journey before returning to finish at the DHB.

The experienced Robin Persaud will look to defend his reign as winner of the Open race last year, when he clocked one hour, 56 minutes, 0.8 seconds (01h: 56m: 0.8s).

Mario King (Junior), Ralph Williams (Veteran), Keon Thomas (Mountain Bike) and Naomi Singh (Female) were the other category winners in 2013.

Mohamed stated that the six first finishers will be rewarded, while there will be eight prime prizes on offer during the race. The first three to the finish line in the Junior, Veteran, Mountain Bike and Female categories

will also be rewarded. The top Over-60 rider will also be recognised with a prize.

Apart from Mohamed, Outdoor Events Manager of Banks DIH Limited, Mortimer Stewart, along with other staff of the company will be on hand to witness the race and later assist in the presentation of prizes at the conclusion.

NBA BAskeTBAll, kNicks 110,NeTs

Guyana Amazon Warriors retain 10 players

Last year’s runnersup Guyana Amazon Warriors have retained 10 players for the upcoming second edition of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League and have already become a force to be reckoned with.

The draft was held on Thursday at Chris Gayle’s Triple Century Bar in Kingston, Jamaica.

Retained Players

Krishmar Santokie and Guyanese Christopher Barnwell, Steven Jacobs, Veerasammy Permaul and Trevon Griffith.

Warriors international franchise Player. The all –rounder, who caused a stir in the T20 world of international cricket has replaced former Pakistan Captain Mohammed Hafeez as the International Player.

The players retained are: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, New Zealander Martin Guptill, Trinidadians offspinner Sunil Narine, opening batsman Lendl Simmons and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, Jamaican

The formidable combination of these retained players forms the nucleus of the team, and with the retention of the core players, the Warriors will look forward to building a stronger, wellknit unit.

New Zealander Corey Anderson has been named as the Guyana Amazon

Newcomers

The newcomers are batsman Guyanese Leon Johnson, Ronsford Beaton, Robin Bacchus and Trinidad and Tobago fast-bowling allrounder, Navin Stewart.

Missing

Missing from last year’s squad are: Ramnaresh Sarwan, William Perkins, James Franklin and Keon Joseph.

Each franchise team is made of a squad of 19 players, comprising two preselected players -- one West Indies Franchise Player (WIFP) and one

International Franchise Player (IFP), selected by the franchise, as well as four under-19 players from each

playing franchise.

However, the under-19 players were not selected in Thursday’s Draft. It is understood that the local board for each franchise team, along with the franchise owner will select two of the players each.

An impressive 228 players were part of the 2014 Draft. The number includes 121 overseas players, more than five times the number that entered the 2013 Draft.

CPL 2014 will give cricketers from across the Caribbean the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world. A total of 107 players in the region, from up-and-coming youngsters to established Windies in-

ternationals, were drafted alongside big- name stars from 11 nations, including Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and, for the first time, England.

In addition, the massive global appeal of the tournament, illustrated by the huge surge in applications from overseas players, another ringing endorsement for the CPL, is the fact that the list boasts a fantastic 98 per cent retention rate of players who played in the 2013 edition of the competition.

This year’s tournament commences on July 5 and ends on August 10, with Guyana hosting four of the 30 matches to be played.