Guyana Times Daily

Malaria Desk established at Ogle

Systems lacking at Health

Ministry's drug bond

Fire ravages Prashad Nagar house

Three removed from duty after control tower fiasco

Probes ordered into police assault on civilian, reporters No VAT exemption for City Hall – Sattaur

Puran Brothers spearheads massive cleanup in Charity

Second victim of Soesdyke smash-up succumbs

tuesday, March 11, 2014|

Fire ravages Prashad Nagar house

An early morning fire on Monday suspected to be electrical in origin has completely destroyed a two-storey house at Prashad Nagar, Georgetown.

The fire started about 07:00h in the upper flat of the three-bedroom house located at Lot 203 Deobrian Street, Prashad Nagar.

According to information received, the flames were first seen emanating from a ceiling of a room in the upper flat of the house and it quickly spread to other sections of the building. At the time of the fire, there were four persons in the house.

When Guyana Times arrived on the scene, the owner of the property, Robert Power was seen assessing the damages as he packed what was salvaged into a vehicle.

The distraught man stated that he had just finished preparing breakfast and called out to his wife who was getting ready to join him, but shortly after, he heard screams of fire.

As he rushed to the upper flat of the house, it was al-

ready engulfed in flames. He said that the fire spread rapidly, forcing them to flee the building. They were not able to salvage any household items from the upper flat. They, however, managed to save a few items from the lower flat. He said while he has lost a house, the artefacts that went up in flames are priceless.

He recalled having various pieces of artefacts that he collected from across Guyana during his 30 years in the mining industry. The pieces, he noted, came from

Amerindian settlements. Power also disclosed he is originally from Ireland and would have moved with his family heritage, which he preserved.

Looting

When the fire started, persons ran to assist but two persons were caught looting during the blaze.

Fire Chief Marlon Gentle when contacted told Guyana Times that the Guyana Fire Service received the report through the Guyana Police Force after persons called

911, instead of 912. He said that the call came in at 07:07h and three tenders were deployed to the area.

The tenders, he noted were from Campbellville, Alberttown and the Central Fire Stations.

He explained that by the time firefighters arrived, the entire building was already consumed by flames, but they managed to contain the blaze from spreading to other locations.

He said that fire officials were able to collect surveillance footage from a nearby house which proved that the fire started from the ceiling, and due to the materials, the fire spread rapidly. He also confirmed that from all indications, the fire was electrical in nature.

Meanwhile, the fire chief reiterated that Guyana has entered a period of prolonged dry season; hence, he cautioned persons to desist from setting fire to heaps without supervision.

He stated that in the past, these fires spread and caused major destruction to

infrastructure. Gentle also highlighted that these fires put a strain on the limited resources of the Fire Service.

The Guyana Power Light Inc (GPL) in a release said it is important to understand service disconnection and restoration as it relates to community fires.

“GPL will disconnect a customer or customers’ electrical service during a fire following a report. The company will take all necessary safety measures required once we have received a report and/or identified a hazardous situation that can result in fires.”

“One recent incident oc-

curred this morning in Prashad Nagar, where a house was on fire due to unknown origins. As a result of this, the power was disconnected for all customers connected to the F9 Feeder. The communities affected for just under an hour from 07:54h were Prashad Nagar, Kitty and Campbelville,” the company said.

GPL added that in conjunction with Electricity Sector Regulations, customers are encouraged to have their premises recertified every 10 years. This can aid greatly in mitigating the dangers associated with old wiring and fires of electrical origin.

First Lady honours elderly women

First Lady Deolatchmee

Ramotar and members of the First Lady’s Foundation visited and delivered goodies to approximately 100 Region Three senior citizens who would have made significant contributions to Guyana’s development.

The gesture was in observance of International Women’s Day on Saturday.

The presentations were done at the Patentia Secondary School, West Bank Demerara and Zeelugt Primary School, West Coast Demerara, while visits were made to the homes of five senior citizens who were unable to travel to the venues.

International Women’s Day which was launched in 1911 is celebrated each year on March 8. It is a day when organisations, religious communities, and governments engage in the quest for peace, democracy and equality, to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.

During brief remarks, First Lady Deolatchmee

Ramotar stated that government continues to honour women who would have contributed to the country’s economy, and each year the foundation has been moving to different locations to ensure that every community benefits from this gesture.

The First Lady noted that International Women’s Day is a day to observe the contributions of women and no woman must be forgotten.

“They have contributed in many ways to the development of Guyana, in helping their families and communities, and so we think they deserve the acknowledgement,” the First Lady said.

In Guyana and the Caribbean, the background to the observance of International Women’s Day differs from that of their sister countries in the Western World.

They developed an early tradition of struggle and activism born out of their experiences in shaking off the shackles of slavery and indentureship.

No VAT exemption for City Hall – Sattaur

Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur has lashed out at the request made by Mayor and City Council Finance Committee Chairman Junior Garrett seeking VAT exemption from the city’s expenses.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Last week, during the council’s $2.5 billion 2014 budget presentation, Garrett had claimed that the council was losing millions of dollars by having to remit all of its money in VAT to the GRA, and had called on government to excuse the entity from paying the required consumption fees.

However, when contacted on Monday, the Commissioner General said that the entity cannot be exempted, since there is no provision in the law for such.

Garrett had reiterated that the council was in no position to offset its many expenses and thought that the good deed by the government would assist in alleviating expenditure incurred.

He said that council pays in excess of $40 million yearly to GRA, noting that if that money was redirected; much improvement

would be had in the city.

He related that the council pays close to $112,000 in VAT each month to the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), while over $300,000 is paid for fuel.

The chairman posited that the situation may not be that strenuous on other entities since it may be possible for them to reclaim their taxes. He said the council depends primarily on the payment of rates and taxes by citizens and for it to reclaim tax would require that those rates and

taxes be increased by 16 per cent. That, he said would add an additional burden on the citizenry since rates and taxes were not raised for the past 16 years.

Urgent

calls

The new development came on the heels of the Council’s apparent cashstrapped situation, and the urgent calls being made by the entity for stakeholders to pay up their taxes.

Among much bickering between the Mayor and Town Clerk’s offices, the much anticipated budget was presented to acting Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker, a few weeks ago. However, it was rejected on the basis of it being deficit. The minister had also pointed out that the financial estimate did not have the signature of City Mayor Hamilton Green.

The minister had noted too that there were provisions in the budget for local government elections, among other things, which according to him should not have been there.

The first budget, which was presented to the City Council in November 2013, was not approved. The council had objected to the

budget, citing the Finance Committee’s non-consideration of various issues that were indicated as being pertinent to the effective functioning of the council.

Among the issues were the upgrade and rehabilitation of all municipal departments and funds for the daily cleanup of the city. They also looked at the council’s liabilities, making special reference to the huge sums owed to the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) which has caused some concern over the years, among other expenses.

Two women busted with illegal substance

Awoman was sentenced to three years' imprisonment and another was remanded after they were found in possession of a large quantity of narcotics during a recent police patrol on Johns Public Road, Berbice, Region Six.

According to reports, the women were busted during an early morning stop and search exercise on Friday last.

They were at the time in a Number 63 minibus heading to Moleson Creek. Some 1150 grams of cannabis was found in possession of Tiffany Robinson, 21, of Lot 60 E, Block F, North Sophia.

She was charged and appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court, where she pleaded not guilty and was remand-

ed to prison until April 2.

Joanna Morgan, 28, of Lot 207, Block Seven, Sophia, the other passenger on the bus, had some 775 grams of cannabis in her possession.

She was charged and pleaded guilty when she appeared before Magistrate Singh and was given three years' behind bars.

According to a police source, the two women were on their way to Suriname via the backtrack route.

Police in the Ancient County say early morning stop and search exercises have proven to be fruitful, pointing out that many narco traffickers have been nabbed.

B Division Commander Brian Joseph told Guyana Times that the campaign against illegal drugs will

continue until the drug houses cease to exist.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell has commended Deputy Superintendant of Police Khali Parsram for his perseverance and dynamic leadership since assuming the portfolio as officer-in-charge of sub division two, following the Upper Corentyne protest.

Recently, two grams of cocaine was also discovered at a house at Bound Yard, Port Mourant following a police raid.

The occupants of the home, Rajmanie Sahadeo,

42; Rasheed Hussain, 45; and Damesh Ramsahai, 20, were charged for possession of narcotics and made an appearance before Magistrate Sherdell Isaacs-Marcus at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court. They all pleaded not guilty to the charge. They were asked to return to court on March 17.

Jairam Singh, 19, of Miss phoebe, Port Mourant was also found in possession of four grams of cannabis and was remanded to prison until March 17 when he appeared before Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus recently.

Editor: Nigel Williams

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

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

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

Editorial

For 200 years a slave

Aweek ago, the film, “12 years a slave” won the Best Picture award at the Hollywood Academy Awards – the highest accolade in the industry and one that will guarantee the film cinematic. But it will do more than that: it will for the very first time, tell the story of a slave from the point of view of the slave. Solomon Northup was a free citizen of New York who had been sold into slavery in Louisana and endured the 12 years of slavery, he wrote of in harrowing detail, in 1853.

The fore parents of Director of the film, Steve McQueen, a Black Briton of Grenadian descent, had been slaves. He was the first man of African origin to have won the Oscar for directing the Best Picture. All of this publicity is rather serendipitous since today, Hilary Beckles, the historian who is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies in Barbados, will be presenting the specific demands for reparations for the horrors of slavery to the Heads of Government (HoG) of Caricom against several European nations – including the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

In an ironic historic twist, the British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, playing the role of a plantation owner in “12 years a slave” is descended from the family that owned the plantation in Barbados to which Beckles’ ancestors had been enslaved. The HoG had already approved the plan for reparations last year, which has now been distilled into 10 demands and are almost certain to be approved unchanged. Since last year, there have been meetings by the several national teams on reparations in the various territories of Caricom.

One of the demands expected to be most contentious would appear to be on the surface, the most innocuous one: an unqualified apology for inflicting the institution of slavery on people shipped across from Africa. There is not a European nation mentioned that can deny their involvement with either the slave trade or slave ownership, nor can they deny the horror of slavery.

Yet there are fears that an apology would lead to an acceptance of “guilt” from which monetary reparations would flow. The contention that restorative justice for the descendants of the victims would at last be given does not seem to be persuasive.

Some of the other demands would be to provide diplomatic help to persuade countries such as Ghana and Ethiopia to offer citizenship to the descendants of people from the Caribbean who “return” to Africa. Some 30,000 have made such a journey to Africa and have been offered generous settlement packages, but lack of citizenship rights for their children is causing difficulties.

Specific to the Caribbean would be proposals designed to change the structural factors inherited from the days of slavery and which have conspired to keep the Caribbean in a state of underdevelopment. One of these calls upon the European nations to craft a development strategy to help improve the lives of poor communities in the Caribbean. This development strategy, for instance, would have to take into consideration the question of capital for development since during slavery the slaves received no money they could save.

There is also the demand that cultural exchanges between the Caribbean and West Africa be fostered to help Caribbean people of African descent rebuild their sense of history and identity. Without this strong sense of identity, they will always remain defensive. In tandem with the preceding, there would have to be support for literacy drives designed to improve education levels that are still dire in many Caribbean communities.

Even more specific, the plan calls for medical assistance to the region that is struggling from high levels of chronic diseases, such as hypertension and Type two diabetes that have been linked to slavery. The claims are being channeled through the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Local democracy is important

Dear Editor,

The vast majority of the population want an early election. At present they are looking on from the outside, since no local government elections were held for the past 17 years.

The existing Constitution says that local government elections must be held every three years for councillors, mayors, deputy mayors, chairmen and vice-chairmen for the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), and every year there must be election for mayors, deputy, chairmen and vice-chairmen

among the councillors.

We feel, however, that no local government body is likely to be viable without the provision for the establishment of an early election. This national body must consist of persons elected by members of local democratic organs who are themselves to be elected by voters in their areas.

Thus, in a very real way, the councillors will be the elected representatives of the people themselves.

The councillors will therefore consist of people taking an interest in local

government matters on a basis which definitively relates to their selection to the people’s will.

The councillors will have an electoral mandate from the people themselves to discuss and to handle local governmental matters from a national perspective.

And it was therefore none of the business of the government to call an early local government election so as to give every taxpayers an equal starting chance to elect their representatives, but as I understand it, the position taken by the Local

Government Ministry is to rubber stamp the people’s wishes.

To resolve this issue, it is necessary to hold an early election. The people must be able to see themselves as being not merely limited to casting a vote on elections day. They must be able to see themselves as a continuing part of the day-to-day processes of their townships and villages.

Yours faithfully, Mohamed Khan

In what direction are our children being led?

Dear Editor,

A woman was recently accosted and robbed by a man and a 10-year-old male accomplice. This situation calls for some urgent attention, since it involves the misleading and encouraging of a minor to participate in unlawful activities.

The child was initially remanded to the juvenile centre, but was subsequently released after his mother offered to pay bail.

As parents and guardi-

ans we need to provide our children with proper guidance and teach them right from wrong. Additionally, when children err, we need to take disciplinary actions against them in order for them to understand that what they did is indeed wrong.

Indeed, young children are vulnerable and may not know better, but that does not justify any reason for them to not face the consequences for their actions.

Furthermore, I dare say that when parents allow their children to get away with small acts of wrongdoing, they only end up providing them with further encouragement to continue to err.

As adults, we all need to monitor the activities of our children in order to ensure that they keep on a virtuous path. Too many children these days are mixing with the wrong company, using explicit language and can

be seen idling in their uniforms. It is essential for us to address these situations before they escalate. Children who are found wandering around the city during school hours should be reported to the police where they will be dealt with accordingly. We must be cognisant of our children’s whereabouts. They are our responsibility.

Sincerely yours,

Yasmin Bacchus

Establishment of the Corentyne River bridge

Dear Editor, I am highly anticipating the establishment of the Corentyne River bridge which will soon link Guyana and Suriname.

The project, which is being funded by the Chinese Government, is currently in the process of having the structure’s design formulat-

ed. The significant emphasis and attention currently being placed on the project indicates that it will surely be successfully completed by its expected date of completion.

Suriname is a Dutch speaking country located in South America and like Guyana, Suriname consists of a unique culture

that stands out among the Caribbean and is also known for its vast virgin rainforests rich in exotic flora and fauna.

The establishment of the bridge will surely allow for the strengthening of ties and aspects of trade, economic relations and cultural exchanges between the

two nations. It will also promote and have a significant impact on tourism in both countries.

I believe I speak for many when I say that the Corentyne River bridge is anxiously being awaited.

Yours truly, Intiquab Al-Hassim

Lessons from the Ukraine conflict

Dear Editor, Kindly allow me some space to share my views on the Ukraine situation and how it relates to Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

The conflict in Ukraine is about ethnic and hemispheric security which has moved past what is right and wrong. It is similar to what Indian people face when elected democratically in the Caribbean. Confronted by some Africans, they operate on the belief that Indians must only play a supporting political role.

Some in Trinidad and Guyana who reject the democratically elected government, cannot really believe that this time around, it will not have dire consequences

similar to the Ukraine.

Unlike India, which turned a blind eye to the slaughter of the Tamil ethnic minority in Sri Lanka, Russia had no hesitation to actively protect its own.

Those advocates in Trinidad, Guyana and even Suriname who habitually ‘kick’ people around politically are certain to recognise the details unfolding in Ukraine which is splitting it apart.

Trinidad’s calypsonians and Indian creolised political writers in Guyana routinely advocate and promote street riots to overthrow the elected government because they do not count on any backlash.

All Ukrainians are paying the price where politi-

cians get power, but it’s the ordinary people who constantly pay the price and suffer. Unless the leadership of Guyana’s two major political parties become resolved to address and deal with our current problems all Guyanese are likely to similarly lose.

I repeat again for emphasis, since it will be easily forgotten: both Indians and blacks deserve their fair share. So do our minorities. But I will be prepared to take a lesser share, not speaking for others of course, so our less fortunate can get a little extra. It is important for us all to THINK before we ACT.

Sincerely, Vassan

Ramracha

CCTV is a valuable tool that aids greatly in crime-fighting

Dear Editor,

The crime situation in Guyana continues to escalate despite the vows made by the Home Affairs Ministry for things to get better. In recent times, we have had some brazen armed robberies in the country, and the need to implement ClosedCircuit Television cameras (CCTV) as a form of security for businesses and homes has resurfaced.

CCTV is a valuable tool that aids greatly in crimefighting. It helps to solve crimes and prosecute of-

fenders, while also offering reassurance and comfort to business owners and communities. CCTV, therefore, greatly minimises the fear factor of its clients.

The police recently confirmed this statement, when they further explained that CCTV cameras are a deterrent to criminals, because they do not want to get caught. It is for this reason that businesses and homeowners who may be at risk should install CCTVs on their premises. As citizens of a malicious

reality, we all need to be more security conscious. In order to be a step ahead of criminals, we need to work collaboratively with the police force.

CCTV footage is, in fact, also often admissible in court and is, therefore, likely to assist the police with their investigations. I urge all citizens to invest in CCTV units. It will surely be worth the cost.

Yours truly, Luther Higgs

Bank expansion a testimony to financial climate

Dear Editor,

A leading bank recently opened another branch in East Berbice, saying it intends on bringing to its customers, the latest technical products and services. The bank will also be opened on Saturdays.

Government acknowledged the opening of the branch and indicated that it reflects the bank’s confidence in the local economy.

Many people are grateful for the bank’s decision to accommodate them on Saturdays, since most of them work and find it difficult to carry out and transact businesses during work hours. With more branches and banking services being established countrywide, I urge people to desist from the habit of moving around with large sums of cash. Moreover, I will suggest

to those responsible to look into the establishment of implementing and accepting visa and debit cards. This will greatly minimise the need for people to walk around with large sums of money, since making payments will be easily made with the swipe of a card.

Respectfully,

Quintyn Ifil

When grammatical errors go unnoticed

Dear Editor,

Recently, several articles were published berating the poor use of the English language in Guyana. Personally, I do believe that we need to improve on our language.

However, I find it extremely ironic and disgraceful when writers formulate a language correctional piece that is in fact made up of poor language and grammatical errors itself.

Sadly enough, many of

our children are exposed to people of all levels of authority who don’t necessarily have a good command of the English language, but because many are unaware of their grammatical mistakes, it often goes unnoticed.

As Guyanese, the use of our very own Creolese language is what many of us initially learn. However, as we grow older and we attend school, we then embrace the studying of English Language and literature.

We must allow the police to do their job

Dear Editor,

Just recently, two suspected bandits were killed during an alleged shootout with the police, just minutes before they attempted to invade the property of a miner.

The police are claiming that they received word of a planned robbery and decided to stake out an area in the village of Golden Grove, on the East Coast of Demerara. Upon confrontation with the suspects, a shootout was initiated and while two of the suspects were killed, one managed to escape.

Not so long ago, a similar incident occurred at North Road, but people are claiming that it was, in fact, a ploy by police who were involved in criminal activities and the act was, in fact, used to cover their footsteps. As a re-

sult, many people question the honesty and integrity behind the work of our police officers.

Aside from a few erring officers, we must acknowledge that Guyana has a competent police force. In fact, several spontaneous stopand-search activities have led to the discovery of the possession of many illegal guns and other substances. Unfortunately, there is now talk about prohibiting this much-needed activity.

Moreover, a large percentage of our nation supports the presence and frequent patrolling of police in the city. Police have, over the years, managed to combat matters of crime and other illegal activities. In some instances, they were required to use force on individuals

who were non-compliant and resisted arrest. We must not penalise them for taking the required actions.

It is unfair for us to negatively label our entire police force simply because a few of them managed to prove themselves as dishonest and wayward.

If we look closely at these situations, we will notice that it is not the average man that is being targeted by the police, but instead, it is people who live questionable lives and who are suspected of being involved in criminal activities.

I urge people to have faith in our police force and allow them to do their jobs. We must allow them to be proactive.

Respectfully,

Zaman Bacchus

Living within our means

Dear Editor,

It is every individual’s concern to be able to earn enough to sustain, if not themselves, then their family also. In fact, the average Guyanese, at some point in their life faces a dilemma of trying to make ends meet.

Personally, I believe that our ability to earn should go hand in hand with our ability to learn to live within one’s means. This anecdote helps to put things into perspective. Too often, people practise a bad habit of borrowing money and to spend on the most trivial things too!

Moreover, it is quite pal-

pable that a person who spends more than what they earn will always find themselves drowning in debt. In life, we have needs and wants, and it is important that we learn how to differentiate between the two. Evidently, first preference must be given to our needs. Additionally, it is important that we all learn to budget our money and cut unnecessary costs, such as taxi bills and buying breakfast. Our primary focus should be placed on fundamental expenses needed for everyday living. Many times some people learn the hard way why it is important to en-

sure that we pay our utility bills on time.

There are several factors that determine how much a person earns, but regardless of our salary, the principle remains that we must learn to accept our situation and live according to our income. People who encounter financial difficulties often become frustrated and blame the government for their situation. We all want nice things in life, but we also need to remain focused and disciplined when it comes to managing our finances.

Yours truly,

Yasmin Husain

Evidently, reading is one of the key approaches to improving one’s English. In fact, those with immense responsibilities such as media operatives and teachers should take it upon themselves to improve their English in order to educate the nation.

Sincerely yours, English teacher Name and address provided

Page Foundation

Learning to let go of mom guilt

BY EILEEN CARTER CAMPOS

Ah, mom guilt. I’m sure we all feel it at some point. Try as I may to resist it, every so often it creeps up on me like a lingering bellyache. Some days are better than others. I’m torn between my work, my passion and my children. I’m a schoolteacher by day and when I get home in the evening what I really want to do is write. However, I have two young boys who crave my time, a hubby as well and I love them all. However, I love writing almost as much as I love them. But I know my children need quality time with their mom, and I’m very aware of that.

During the school year, my mommy guilt peaks. The children go off to school and I go off to my classroom. When we arrive home we will spend time together on homework – which is not my favourite way of spending quality time with them, but it’s something that needs to be done. Then after they go to bed, I skimp on sleep so that I can blog, write and do social media, all of which I enjoy. But, I admit to feeling guilty for sometimes want-

ing them to fall asleep fast so I can do it. I talk to other moms and compare notes on how we all try to balance work, our passions, our hobbies and our family’s needs. These are a few things that seem to work for me most of the time.

I am always explaining what I do. My eldest son often sees me writing and asks, “are you done with your work yet?” I take time to explain to him that it isn’t work. It’s something I enjoy doing and that makes me a better person. I then offer him the opportunity to write with me. He sometimes does some creative writing by my side, and afterwards we read our stories to each other. My youngest, in the meantime, colours or scribbles in his own journal. He then shares the pictures he drew. While I am writing an article or completing schoolwork, I always try to include my children if they are awake. I ask them questions and their opinions on certain things. I believe that if we explain our work and responsibilities to our children, they’ll understand better why we can’t always give them our undivided attention.

I try to make the best of our time.

Whenever I do house chores and my children want to be with me, I give them something to do so we can spend this time together. They fold the laundry or wash dishes while we talk. Or they set the table for me as I cook, and we have discussions about healthy and unhealthy foods, cooking, or what’s going on at school. For us, this is a little bit of quality time, and also a little bit of “quantity time.”

However, our real quality time together means no distractions at all. Phones and computers are off or out of sight. That way my children know they have my full attention. I make sure we have some of this time on a daily basis.

Suggestions for quality time

Bedtime: Bedtime is conducive to reading books together. You read one page, your child reads another and then you can discuss the story and make comparisons and connections with reallife situations. Reading together is relaxing and may encourage your child to open up about his or her feelings. Take advantage of that.

Parks and museums:

Parks and museums are places where children can play and learn, but also spend one-on-one time with you, while they learn, explore and exercise.

Walks: Long walks on the beach are great for bonding. You can spend a day making sandcastles, collecting seashells, and playing games on the beach, while you converse. Children will love the fact that their mom is playing around, getting dirty with them and cherishing quality time. If you’re not near a beach, any outdoor activity is great for bonding, even if it’s just taking the dog for a long walk together.

Our main goal as parents should be to help our children learn to be independent. We want them to be able to do things on their own. But first, we need to plant that seed that enables them to feel loved, valued, and confident enough to do things independently.

As I write this, I hear my boys playing in another room and I smile. They are having fun, and so am I. And when I’m done, maybe I’ll go see if I can join in their games. In the meantime, I’m doing my best not to feel guilty! (mamiverse.com)

Teaching your children to appreciate what they have

BY ALISA VALDES

Houston businesswoman Anna Sykes says she felt neglected as a child. Now a mother herself, Sykes has gone out of her way to give her daughter Nia, nine, everything she never had. To her surprise, this approach has backfired. Nia’s not appreciative, says Sykes. She’s insatiable and feels entitled.

“Buy her a smartphone, she wants an iPhone 4,” said Sykes. “Buy her a DS Lite, she wants a DS3. Buy her a Nook, she wants an iPad. Buy her a DVD Surround for her room, she wants a Blue Ray. She is nine!”

Nia is typical of children who don’t appreciate what they have, according to Albuquerque child counsellor Melynda Madrid, MA, LPCC. “It’s an epidemic right now,” Madrid said in a phone interview. “We call these children overindulged, and this unfortunate attitude will transfer into other areas of their lives as well.”

The pitfalls of overindulging our children

Madrid says it is very important for parents to understand that the fault for ungrateful attitudes among children does not lie with the children themselves, but rather with parents who have failed to provide adequate parenting. Instead of doing the hard work of making children earn what they get, parents just give children whatever they want in hopes of making everyone’s lives easier.

“Parents mean well,” says Madrid. “They want their children to have more than they did. They see that all the other children are walking around with iPods or cellphones and they don’t want their children to feel left out, so they get stuff for them. They don’t want to face the tears or tantrums that come from saying no. They don’t understand that children must learn that there’s value in working toward something. They fail to think about the implications for the child later in life.”

Raising grateful children

Overindulged children don’t feel like they have to wait for anything, said Madrid, and that inability to work toward a goal can result in adults who will expect everything to be given to them just because they want it. Since life doesn’t work that way, such children could face a difficult, disappointing adulthood. Instead, the challenge is teaching your children to appreciate what they have.

So, what can you do to avoid having overindulged children? That’s easy, says Madrid. Stop giving them so much stuff, even if your family can afford it. Make them earn it. Talk openly about the family’s budget, and teach children the difference between necessities and luxuries. Teach children to save money for what they want.

“Recently, my son, who’s 13, wanted a new video game, and I told him he could use the money he’s been saving for a drum set, if he thought that was best,” says Madrid. “He spent a day thinking it over, and decided not to get the game. He went without. Obviously, I could afford to get him the video game, but at what cost to his future?”

“It’s not mean to say no or demand responsibility,” says Madrid. “A lot of parents seem to think that ‘forcing’ your child to work for things is cruel, when in fact the opposite is true. Self-esteem and self-sufficiency come from learning to work hard for what you want.”

This is a lesson Sykes says she has learned the hard way. After seeing what overindulgence had done to Nia, Sykes decided to take away everything except the most basic necessities.

Now, she says, if Nia wants something special, she has to work for it. (mamiverse.com)

Foreign buyers demanding ‘cheap rice’

– GRDB says moves being made to widen markets

By Jomo Paul

Amid reports of a lack of markets for the bumper rice crop being harvested, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is reporting that foreign buyers are demanding low prices owing to the surplus on the local market.

GRDB General Manager Jagnarine Singh told Guyana Times on Monday that samples of the various rice varieties have been sent to several different markets as the board seeks alternative export markets for the surplus rice being produced this year. These markets, he explained, include Holland, England, and Portugal. He said although the countries currently import rice from Guyana, the board is looking to significantly increase the quantities.

In an earlier interview, Singh had indicated that they are in talks with other countries which want to buy rice from Guyana. Among those nations are African countries; England; Colombia; and Caribbean territories such as Haiti, Belize, and Jamaica. Noting that importers are aware of the surplus on the local market, Singh said, many are taking advantage of this by demanding low prices. Farmers have been complaining about the low prices they are being offered for their paddy.

Also commenting on the issue, Rice Producers Association General

Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj noted that the recent price drop has a lot to do with supply and demand. He said the farmers need to understand that as a result of the surplus crop, there will be a decrease in the price for paddy. While noting that the current crop is the largest in the history of rice farming in Guyana, Seeraj contended that since the Venezuelan market is not on-stream, farmers are worried about their livelihood. He further told this publication that the Venezuelan issue would soon be resolved as “only a few more documents have to be signed and processed”.

Rice shipments

Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy echoed these statements during a telephone interview with Guyana Times. He explained that the only document left to be signed is the Purchase Order. He said as soon as that is signed, the issue will be rectified and the ships currently at Venezuelan ports will be able to offload their cargo. Dr Ramsammy had recently announced that rice exports to Venezuela were expected to resume as soon as all logistics were completed between the two governments. He stated then that the rice agreement, which is in its final stage, remains a significant one for Guyana, noting that in early February, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), was inked between

La Casa (on behalf of the Venezuelan Government) and Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela, Geoffrey Da Silva. “There will be a change in paddy versus white rice and once the contract is inked, we will announce that, but the MoA has already established those numbers,” Minister Ramsammy said. With the MoA already inked, the final stage of the Guyana/ Venezuela agreement is near completion. This would include the purchasing order and shipment schedule. Rice shipments have already commenced to Europe, the Caribbean and to new destinations.

No markets

The issue of the lack of markets came to the fore when Region Six Chairman David Armogan told this publication that there are some 200,000 tonnes of rice which Guyana is trying to sell, but does not have a market for. He said the oncesecure Venezuelan market has become unbalanced with the current turmoil in that country. He further stated that ships laden with rice were at ports in Venezuela, unable to offload their cargo. The demurrage (delay) costs have to be borne by Guyana. Armogan said already 2500 acres of paddy have been harvested in Region Six for this current crop, with farmers not receiving all the benefits that they enjoyed during the last crop. The farmers are receiving $5600 per tonne of A grade paddy and $1000 less per grade downwards. Armogan predicts that if Guyana cannot secure markets quickly, the current spring crop production will see more rice being left on the hands of millers who may start refusing to buy paddy from farmers. “It is also going to be harder for us to get markets, because right across the world, more rice is being produced and soon, we would not be able to sell all that we produce,” Armogan had warned.

Caricom to discuss AML impasse

Heads of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) are expected to discuss Guyana’s inability to pass the AntiMoney Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) 2013 Bill when they continue their intersessional meeting in St Vincent and the Grenadines today.

Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who has accompanied President Donald Ramotar to the meeting, made this disclosure. The meeting was scheduled for Monday. In an earlier press statement, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a letter dated March 7, 2014 to President Ramotar, Barbados’ Prime Minister Freundel Stuart expressed concerns over the stalled Bill.

“Without any doubt, this situation and the threatened action by CFATF [Caribbean Financial Action Task Force] will affect Guyana and the entire Caribbean region, and will negatively impact the wellbeing of our people,” Prime Minister Stuart is quoted as saying in the letter. He further said: “I trust that during our interses-

sional meeting, we will be able to discuss this matter in caucus and see what other action we can take as a group to assist Guyana at this juncture.” Caricom is said to be extremely worried about the political stalemate preventing the passage of the bill, as it considers the wider implications. If blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Guyana could encounter difficulties in accessing funds from international agencies. Additionally financial transactions in general can become a burden, affecting even the man in the street. Last November, Guyana and Belize were

placed on the CFATF watchlist, after failing to meet its standards. Guyana was identified as a country with significant strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime. However, it was given a February 28 deadline to submit a progress report along with the passed AML Amendment Bill; however, the Bill is still at the level of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee. With or without the Bill, the country will be reviewed by CFATF in May where a determination will be made on whether or not it should be subjected to an International Cooperation Review by FATF.

GNBS employees on bail

Quincy Gibson, of 120 Co-op Society Road, Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and David Denny of 849 Section A, Block X, Diamond, EBD were on Monday placed on $150,000 bail each after appearing before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine- Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts.

The facts of the case alleged that on March 6, at the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) office at the Sophia Exhibition Centre, Greater Georgetown, being agents employed by the GNBS, they corruptly obtained from Ramona Spencer for themselves, the sum of $150,000 as a reward for forbearing to inspect and approve a motor vehicle to transport fuel for her.

pleaded not guilty to the charge. Gibson’s lawyer Attorney Mark Waldron and Denny’s lawyer Attorney Patrice Henry both made successful applications for bail.

Gibson, 27, and Denny, 29, both

State Prosecutor Michael Grant had no objections to bail being granted to the two accused. They are due to make another court appearance on March 21.

Brothers charged, remanded for possession of cocaine, marijuana

Charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana, Curtly Thomas, 25, and Clifford Thomas, 28, on Monday appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts.

The facts of the case state that on March 7, acting on information received, police approached the two who were at 35 West Middle Walk, Bachelors Adventure, East Coast Demerara and told them of the infor-

Vendor

mation received. A search was carried out on the premises and in the bedrooms occupied by the two accused, six grams of cocaine, along with 17 grams of cannabis and 35 grams of cocaine, along with 325 grams of cannabis were reportedly found respectively.

The brothers who were represented by Attorney Sandil Kissoon pleaded not guilty to the offence. Kissoon in defence of his clients stated that the two do not reside by themselves but the house was occupied by five other per-

sons. In addition, he stated that Curtly does not reside at that address but rather with his father in Mahaica, on the East Coast of Demerara.

In regards to bail, Prosecutor Michael Grant objected, stating the amount of narcotics found, prevalence and no special circumstances presented by the defence for bail to be granted.

While the defendant’s attorney rebutted this, it was in vain as they were refused bail and remanded to prison until March 21.

refused bail for alleged possession of unlicensed firearm, ammunition

David Bernard was remanded to prison on Monday for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition after appearing before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Bernard, a vendor, pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on March 6, Bernard along with pillion rider Dexroy Brown of Waterloo Street, Georgetown,

were riding a CG motorcycle and acting in a suspicious manner when police ranks on a patrol stopped them. During a search of the men and the motorcycle, one 9mm pistol, one .38 revolver, six live rounds of .38 ammunition and one live round of 9mm ammunition was found.

The defendant who was previously charged and convicted in 2007 for robbery under arms and spent two years in prison was unrepresented.

State Prosecutor Michael Grant objected to bail stating that the nature, gravity and prevalence of the crime should not permit bail.

Dexroy Brown who was shot during an attempt to escape is in the hospital and will have charges brought against him once he is discharged.

Meanwhile, Bernard is scheduled to make his second court appearance on the March 21.

Eyew tness Getting the balance...

...in sugar

As old Charles Dickens complained, the best of times can also be the worst of times. And as we look at the situation in the sugar sector, Dickens could very well be speaking about us here in Guyana. After languishing in the doldrums for years, the world market price for sugar headed for the skies – and then stayed there for the past five years or so. So you’d think our folks in sugar would be dancing in the streets, after their “profit sharing” and higher salaries, wouldn’t you?

If you said, “yes”, you’d be wrong. Problem is, after suffering thought the 10 lean years, we had no sugar to take advantage of the 10 fat years. What happened? Guyana became too successful economically, that’s what. Right now the sugar estates just can’t get enough people to work in the cane fields to cut canes. We know the work is hard and all that...but when a cane-cutter can take home $80,000 a week, and you can’t get cane-cutters, it means that cane-cutters can make more money elsewhere. And that’s the bottom line.

We don’t know what the Opposition’s carrying on about, bitching and moaning about “unemployment”. There are thousands of jobs available in the sugar industry. We know that labour isn’t completely fungible...but Jeez, can’t some of these underpaid Public Service workers and unemployed Social Science graduates, for instance, turn up at the sugar order line? The pay is great as mentioned above, the hours are even better and transportation is free. What more can you ask?

C’mon, your country needs you. Imagine we are producing at least 100,000 tonnes below what we can produce without the “troubled” Skeldon Factory. At US$550 per tonne, we’re talking about raking in a cool US$55,000,000...$11 billion in our money. And it’s this kind of realism we’d been expecting from the Opposition after the new dispensation, when it came to development of the country.

Rather than seeking to score cheap political points and harping on a “failed sugar industry”, as Clive Thomas is doing ad nauseum in the Stabber News, why don’t they tell all Guyanese – not just their constituents – that there’s nothing wrong with good, old, honest labour. But this will never be.

Of course, it could be that Thomas, realising the WPA’s down to four or five doddering supporters, figures his exhortations are of absolutely no use.

But what’s APNU’s and AFC’s excuse?

...in rice

Whatever we’ve said about challenges to the production of sugar, the opposite’s true for rice...yet we’re hearing moans of gloom in this sector. What’s going on here, pray tell? Well, it’s a variant of the old “too much of a good thing”. Last year we crossed the half-a-million tonne mark and are well on the way of exceeding that. So that’s good, no?

Well, not when you haven’t anybody to have the extra rice sold to. When this happens, you have the case they teach you in primary school: supply exceeds demand and the price falls. Whether it’s with tomatoes, or rice or whatever...this will happen when you haven’t arranged for sales. And so you get the headline as in our newspaper of yesterday: “Plenty rice, no market...Berbice farmers fume over prices being offered.”

But what bothers us is why have we come to this stage? Didn’t we know since last year as to how many acres will be planted this year? We darned well did. Somebody in charge of marketing our rice has been sleeping at the wheel...and our Agriculture Minister better wake them up.

...on elections

The AFC’s demanding the government schedules Local Government Elections by August 1, even though GECOM is adamant they need a six-month lead time. Has Ramjattan forgotten GECOM’s an autonomous entity? Or is he still imbibing, uninterruptible, since Mash?

Three removed from duty after control tower fiasco

Three persons have been removed from duty to facilitate an investigation into the incident of an Air Traffic Control Officer vacating his post on Saturday while a Caribbean Airlines plane was midair.

In a terse statement on Monday, the Transport Ministry said an investigation is being conducted by senior personnel of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The report is expected to be on Public Works Minister Robeson Benn’s desk by the end of the week, the release stated.

“To facilitate the investigation, three persons have been removed from duty,” the statement added, noting that the in-

bound Caribbean Airlines flight to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) was in continuous contact and in the control of the Area Control Centre, which provided a replacement Air Traffic Controller to ensure the safe landing of the aircraft.

According to information received, the control tower has a staff complement of about 40, including assistants and supervisors, which means the facility is understaffed by 10. A senior official at the facility, when prompted for a comment, said the young man went into work on Thursday afternoon at 16:00h and was supposed to be relieved from his post

at midnight, but the person who was supposed to take over did not report for work.

He added that at no point in time did the Traffic Controller inform his superior that he was not comfortable working beyond the call of duty, noting that if this was done, alternative arrangements would have been made. In an effort to explain what transpired early Saturday morning, he stated that at any given time an aircraft would take about nine minutes on its approach for landing.

The source posited that at the time the aircraft was about to land, the young man left the tower but clearance was subse -

quently given after a senior staff filled the void. He said the three-minute delay was due to the fact that it takes some time to climb the steps leading up to the control room, noting that the elevator is not in operation. When the senior official arrived in the room, he immediately gave clearance for the BW 425 Flight to land. The official said at the end of the day, the blame will fall on lack of coordination, but was happy to report that at no point in time was there panic. Guyana Times understands that getting Air Traffic Controllers to work beyond the call of duty is a major problem in the industry.

CAR holds silent anti-rape march

As the world celebrated the contributions of womenfolk to society, hundreds of Guyanese from government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) took to the streets of Georgetown in silence. They joined millions around the world in observing the United Nations designated International Women’s Day on Saturday, March 8 and protesting the inhumane crime of rape.

The walk was organised by the recently-formed Citizens Against Rape (CAR) body – established by a group of women who had reached their breaking point on matters of abuse in Guyana with a particular focus on rape. It commenced at the Umana Yana and pro-

ceeded through several city streets before culminating at the Promenade Gardens where there were several speeches and poems that delivered a strong anti-rape message.

Included among the silent marchers were representatives of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD); Help and Shelter; the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers; Festival City Parent Youth Organisation; Red Thread; and the Guyana Human Rights Association; as well as Education Minister Priya Manickchand.

The group walked in silence with their banners and slogans, because many victims are living in silence

with no voice to advocate for them. “I Said No” read one placard held by a little girl no more than three years of age.

“Rising Against Rape”

As part of its campaign of “Rising Against Rape”, the organisation advocated for support from men and children, noting that it was necessary for the development of women in Guyana.

They, however, emphasised the point that while celebrating women, men should not be forgotten as they too face abuse at some point in their lives and are afraid to let it be known. It was asked that these men be kept in mind even while International Women’s Day is being observed.

Woman

detained for husband’s death released after autopsy proves he bled to death

The woman detained by police for the death of her common-law husband was on Monday evening released, after an autopsy on his body proved that he died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to incised wounds caused by selfinflicted injury.

Yonette Gumbs, of 1525 Onderneeming, Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, had been detained after her spouse, Dennis Harris died minutes after injuring himself on Thursday evening.

The woman’s release came hours after the postmortem examination performed by Dr Nehaul Singh at the Ezekiel Funeral Home on Monday.

“Inspiring Change” is the 2014 theme for International Women’s Day and it encourages advocacy for women’s advancement everywhere in every way. It calls for challenging the status quo for women’s equality and vigilance, inspiring positive change.

Each year, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. The first International Women’s Day was held in 1911. Thousands of events occur to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. Organisations, governments, charities, educational institutions, women’s groups, corporations and the media celebrate the auspicious day.

Speaking with this newspaper, the woman’s daughter, Samantha Wray, said after the post-mortem proved that Harris bled to death, the police sought advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, and her mother was subsequently released.

She reiterated that the family knew her mother was innocent from the inception, but allowed the police to conduct their investigation. She revealed that when they went to examine the man’s body on Friday, they discovered a puncture to his elbow and several other scratches on his hand.

Harris, 44, died on Friday morning about 01:00h while receiving medical treatment at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

Based on reports received, the couple had a

heated argument at their rented home and he reportedly punched a window, causing him to sustain injuries to the hand, after he was put out of the house. After calling out for Gumbs in an attempt to tell her that he was injured and receiving no response, he reportedly walked to his cousin’s home a short distance away, but collapsed. He was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he succumbed. Guyana Times understands that Harris had been reluctant to receive treatment for his wound. However, he eventually acquiesced, but died while receiving treatment.

Harris and Gumbs developed a relationship after working together in the interior. They had been living together for the past seven years, but there was allegedly constant verbal and physical abuse. However, Gumbs never made a single police report.

Harris leaves to mourn his only son and a number of siblings.

Probes ordered into police assault on civilian, reporters

olice Commissioner

PLeroy Brumell said the recent case of alleged assault committed on a former Miss Guyana Universe contestant by a policeman is currently under investigation and the officer named has been removed from his post.

The Commissioner further stated that, for quite some time, he has been receiving complaints from persons about the rank’s behaviour, hence the decision to remove him from his post pending the outcome of the investigations.

He said once the investigation into the claims made by the young lady is complete, based on the findings, charges may be instituted.

Ali Williams is claiming that while visiting the Providence Police Station to lodge a complaint last Saturday, she was manhandled in the presence

of her children by the policeman.

In a statement , the advertising and marketing executive said while driving to work on Saturday morning, she was involved in a minor accident when another car collided with hers, causing damage to the car’s bumper.

Hence, she decided to visit the Providence Police Station on the East Bank of Demerara with the intention of filing an official report with law enforcement, which would possibly ensure that the delinquent driver pay all expenses to repair her motor vehicle.

She added that she arrived at the police station and after being made to wait some 30 minutes for a police officer to take her report, she inquired what was holding back the process. She contends that her inquiries

caused a reaction from the police officer who thought that she was not in authority to question the conduct of their work.

The woman added that after some time had elapsed, the report was eventually taken but upon completion, the policeman who took the report informed her that her vehicle had to be lodged at the police station for the night and further demanded that she hand over the keys to the car. Williams said she went into the station and was followed by “Officer Tracey”, who instructed her to sit on the bench and told her when she was ready to hand over the keys, she should inform him. She again refused to do such, telling him he needed to give a reasonable explanation for keeping her vehicle overnight. She then took out her mobile phone and con-

tacted a family member and began to relate her ordeal.

“Officer Tracey then grabbed me by my arm, pulled me up from the bench, dragging me more than 10 feet while wringing my hand to take away my personal phone, then chucking me to sit on the station bench like a common criminal in the presence of my two crying children,” she related in her statement.

Recently, media operatives from two media entities were allegedly assaulted by police ranks. One of them was Guyana Times/ Television Guyana/Radio Guyana journalist Bhisham Mohammed.

Brumell noted that in the case of the media operatives, the complaints are being investigated and he will issue a statement at a later date.

Some people woulda never survive under Burnt Ham

In de good book, one man sell out he soul fuh a few pieces a silver. Since then, no body ever wanna take that man name fuh dem self. And no mummah and daady would ever name dem pickney by that name. That is how shameful it is when a man sell he soul fuh a lil small change.

Nowadays people does still sell dem soul fuh a lil small change, although dem does never wanna accept that dem behaviour is just like de man who name begin wid “J” in de good book. Or sometimes even wuss than that.

It got some people in de town who got some real stupiddy people around dem. Some a dem is even de boss man. Burnt Ham never used to like stupiddy people around he, and every body know that. If some a dem stupiddy boss men was around Burnt Ham, dem woulda never survive.

It got one poticlar boss man around de town. If he had ever come across Burnt Ham, he woulda get knock down right away. Some people used to try hard fuh tolerate this boss man, but dem couldn’ta tek it no more.

Wid Burnt Ham, yuh coulda never have stupiddy people around de place. If yuh tink that is lie, ask people nowadays who wuk wid he. At least one man deh round still. Yet some a dem same people doin any ting fuh a lil small change, includin toleratin stupiddy people and sellin dem soul.

Some even got dem as dem boss man. Well, that is another story! Just when yuh tink slavery done, it still got house slaves around. Fuh some people, is every phrase does have to start and end wid “boss man”.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! And some times it does have to end wid “ow boss man”, especially when de boss man in a vex-up mood, which is nuff time. But fuh a lil small change, some people gon do any ting, just like de “J” man in de good book.

Puran Brothers spearheads massive clean-up in Charity

The Puran Brothers Disposal Inc branch in Region Two on Sunday conducted a massive cleanup campaign in the Charity community on the Essequibo Coast.

The campaign was aimed at promoting safe disposal of solid waste as well as encouraging persons to dispose of their garbage in a more responsible manner.

According to Essequibo Branch Office Manager Priya Mohabir, the campaign was a way of cleaning up Charity. Mohabir said Charity was in a “mess” and the campaign was needed. She explained that persons around the area were disposing of their garbage in an untidy manner. Mohabir noted that a live call-in programme was done on RCA Television as a way of informing residents about the campaign.

She said during that programme members of the public called in and volunteered to participate in the cleanup activity. Mohabir noted the clean-up campaign commenced around 10:00h on Sunday. The campaign was a collaborative effort of Puran Brothers Disposal Inc; Charity Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NCD); the business community; and the President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG).

Participants from PYARG were responsible for the distribution of free garbage bags to each household prior to the

clean-up campaign. The garbage was then put into bags by residents and placed in front of their parapets, then it was uplifted.

The Office Manager said a trailer along with a tractor and machinery were mobilised in Charity to start the campaign. The collection of solid and vegetation waste was done free of cost. During the campaign, 51 bins were distributed and 60 persons registered with the company.

Four bins were also given to the Charity NDC to assist vendors in disposing of their garbage neatly. Puran Brothers noted that it was responsible for collecting garbage that was inside of the bins and not that which was strewn around.

Charity NDC Overseer Samuel Sooklall said the Council was pleased to part-

ner with Puran Brothers Disposal Inc in cleaning up Charity. Sooklall said the NDC was responsible for providing a tractor, trailer and workers to assist in the campaign.

Meanwhile, Region Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud said he was immensely pleased with the massive clean-up campaign. He lauded the efforts of Puran Brothers and the NDC in helping to fight improper disposal of garbage in the Charity area. He said residents needed to comply with the standard of Puran Brothers. Persaud added that persons and private entities should emulate the waste disposal company’s example and do more campaigns. Puran Brother’s Disposal Inc first introduced its services to the people of the Essequibo Coast on January 16, 2013.

Deepened integration, security key to Caricom sustainable development – TT PM

Immediate Past Chair of the Caribbean Community, Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar on Monday underscored the critical importance of deepened integration and security to the sustainable development of the region.

In her address to the opening session of the 25th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom, underway in Buccament Bay, St Vincent and the Grenadines, the TT Prime Minister said sustainable development could only be achieved through the free movement of people, goods and reliable transportation across the region.

She made those remarks in the context of ongoing work of the Caricom Commission on the Economy, which is tasked with advising the Conference of Heads of Government on a programme for achieving growth in the region.

A preliminary report from the Commission, chaired by State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Barbados, Darcy Boyce, will be presented to the conference.

Creating a nexus between deepened integration and the process of reform ongoing in the region, the Prime Minister said that she was expectant of the conference’s deliberations on the strategic priorities for the community.

Equal significance

Of equal significance to the region’s sustainable development, Persad-Bissessar said, was decisive cooperation to eradicate the threat that crime posed to the safety of the people of Caricom.

She said that TT placed much emphasis on this issue and in that context, was devoted to the ratification of the United Nations (UN) Arms Trade Treaty. This was demonstrated by TT’s Caricom-endorsed bid to host the secretariat in Port of Spain, she said.

The Prime Minister lauded the move by Caricom Member States to become signatories to the treaty, which she said had provided a “significant component in the global fight against the

trade of conventional arms in illicit markets”.

In urging all Caricom member states to join Iceland, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Mexico, TT, Grenada, Panama and Norway in endorsing the treaty, she said that it was imperative to do so before it became operational, to retain an influential role in the settlement of outstanding issues.

As the region sought to strengthen its security infrastructure, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar noted the critical importance of ensuring the sustainability of the Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS).

Important role

The Prime Minister said IMPACS continued to play a significant role in providing technical assistance to a coordinated approach to crime and security in areas including the Advance Passenger Information System, and the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre.

Caricom member states, she added, had benefited from the agency’s expertise in the negotiations for the UN Arms Trade Treaty and its current implementation phase, as well as provisions under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).

Calling for collective efforts to ensure the sustainability of IMPACS, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said that those mechanisms had resulted in several successful crime interventions including interdicting drug traffickers, identifying paedophiles, monitoring and preventing, where required, the movement of terrorist elements; and assisting na-

tional entities in identifying trends to mitigate the potential threats which could be detrimental to recovering economies.

She noted that TT had taken very seriously the augmentation of its national progress to regional success, and in this vein, she was expectant that recent engagements with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and with the President of China, would redound to the benefit of the region as a whole.

In encouraging the meeting to forge ahead with securing the future of Caricom, she said: “To attain that secure future, to build sustainable development and progress, we must be willing to not only do the work that is required, but also take the tough decisions and fulfil our obligations.”

Meanwhile, taking tough decisions and fulfilling regional obligations were two areas Caricom Heads of Government, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves and PersadBissessar, identified as essential for solidifying integration and moving the community forward.

Implementation has been identified as a challenge, and on Monday, Prime Minister Gonsalves said that the implementation deficit should be placed squarely where it belonged. Each government, he pointed out, had the obligation to put in place arrangements to facilitate speedy implementation of Caricom decisions. He explained that while the Caricom Secretariat was the administrative body of the community, it did not have the authority to compel the enforcement of decisions.

Malaria Desk established at Ogle airport

The Health Ministry has set up a Malaria Desk at the Ogle International Airport (OIA) in a bid to contain the transmission of the disease.

Vector Control Services Director, Dr Reyad Rahaman said the initiative is a part of the department’s 2014 master plan to reduce malaria cases in Guyana. He noted that the desk will become operational in the coming weeks and praised the support of the OIA management, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persuad and Health Minister, Dr Bheri

Ramsarran in making the project a reality.

Dr Rahaman said given the fact that the airport has international status, it is necessary for passengers coming to Guyana to be screened and receive treatment.

Also, given the mining sector has been rapidly expanding, persons going to certain interior locations will receive medication while those coming out will be screened.

Meanwhile, malaria personnel attached to the Malaria Centre at the Georgetown Public Hospital

will visit the homes of Georgetown residents to sensitise them on the causes, symptoms and treatment for the virus.

In the next few months, the Malaria Department will also improve radio service/contact to receive valuable and up to date information from remote areas in Guyana.

Guyana has seen a five per cent reduction in malaria cases from January 2013 to present. This is due to effective smearing campaigns and continuous education programmes.

Keesha Oudkerk, 28, on Monday appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine- Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts charged with the offence of obtaining money under false pretense.

Oudkerk of Q77 Guyhoc Gardens, North East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was alleged to have collected the sum of $2.4 million from Regan James and Candace Sealey with the promise of providing them with house lots between May 9 and July 19, 2013.

She was unrepresented and Police Prosecutor Michael Grant did not object to bail.

The woman who is a self employed caterer was placed on $100,000 bail and is due to make another court appearance on March 18. Caterer on $100,000 bail for

Essequibo trench cleaners want pay increase

Contracted trench cleaners attached to the Region Two administration are calling for an increase in pay per rod for clearing drainage and irrigation waterways.

Scores of contracted trench cleaners noted that the amount being paid per rod cannot compensate for their labour.

One trench cleaner, who has been working since 2008, said the administration promised to increase their pay but is yet to honour the promise.

Trench cleaners on the

Essequibo are currently paid two rates: $35 per rod for narrow trenches and $45 for the wider ones. They want this to increase to $150 and $200 respectively.

One contractor also said the process in acquiring the contract is quit rigorous.

The contractor said the bidding process requires all contractors to have valid National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) certificates.

He said if these requirements are not met, the bidders are disqualified. He fur-

ther explained the process is lengthy and it is unconscionable for the price to be “unreasonable”.

Meanwhile, the trench cleaners said they were informed that their colleagues in the other regions are paid more.

“I heard Region Three trench cleaners are getting as much as $300 per rod, this unfair,” one worker said.

According to the complaints, the money they receive can only assist to buy tools such as cutlass, forks and hookers.

Dharmic Sabha reaches out to the physically-challenged

BY INDRAWATTIE NATRAM

The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha Essequibo Praant on Monday donated wheelchairs to four physicallychallenged persons on the Essequibo Coast.

The recipients include Mohandai Persaud, Dhanpat Sasenarayan and Selochanie Beharry. The donation was made at a simple ceremony held at Freedom House, Anna Regina, Region Two.

Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha Essequibo Praant First President Saywack

Lall said the kind gesture was done on behalf of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha President, Dr Vindya Persaud.

Lall said he hopes that the chairs can bring much peace and comfort to the persons receiving them. Another member of the executive body of the Essequibo Praant, Humace Odit said the chairs will assist the recipients to move around easily.

On that note, he called on the recipients to care the equipment.

Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha Essequibo Praant

President Kaydar Persaud said one of the functions of the Sabha is to reach out to persons in the community despite their differing religious faiths.

He said the Sabha will continue to work and serve the people in time of need.

Persaud was bedridden for the past eight years. Her family said they could not afford to purchase a wheelchair and made several applications to different organisations to uplift same, but only the Sabha responded positively.

On that note, she expressed thanks to the Sabha.

Charity housewife granted bail on noise nuisance charge

Romeeza Ali, 22, of Charity Village on the Essequibo Coast was on Monday granted bail when she appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the Charity Magistrate’s Court to answer to the charge of noise nuisance.

Ali pleaded not guilty to the charge. According to a police report, on March 7, Ali played music loud enough and continuously, offending Jai Bhagwandas. Despite several cautions about the offence, Ali continued to disturb the peace of Bhagwandas. She reportedly plays the music for her own pleasure. Bhagwandas was not represented by an attorney. She was granted $10,000 bail pending trial and is expected to return to court on March 24.

Caricom reforms endorse relevance of CSME

The Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is a platform from which Caricom can build its economic resilience, Secretary General of the 15 nation grouping, Irwin LaRocque said.

LaRocque was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 25th Intersessional Meeting of the Caricom Heads of Government in St Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday. He said that the ongoing Caricom reform process had validated the relevance of the CSME.

LaRocque said following a review of CSME’s operations by the Prime Ministerial Committee on Sunday, the next steps regarding the process would be presented to the conference.

He said the Commission’s preliminary report will recommend that priority attention be focused on fiscal sustainability, including debt management, and promoting a conducive environment that would reduce regional impediments to investment and trade and spur private sector growth and development.

Speaking in more detail about the Caricom reform process, Ambassador LaRocque said a broad consensus was emerging on the strategic priorities for Caricom in the next five years. He explained that the reform process was built around a five-year strategic plan for the community and a transformed secretariat.

He said governance ar-

rangements envisaged based on the change consultations must include all the community institutions as part of Caricom architecture for delivering the benefits of the integration movement.

“In that regard, the Caricom brand must permeate all our institutions and activities as we seek to build our sense of identity,” he said.

The Secretary General also indicated that issues of growth, sustainable development, Information Communication Technology (ICT), human resources and transportation were among the priorities that heads of government will deliberate on over the next two days.

Enabler

Regarding ICT, Ambassador LaRocque said it was both an enabler of socioeconomic development, as well as a sector in its own right for creating employment. He said this sector, in both its forms, must be viewed as the new frontier for regional integration and has to be a significant factor in forging a path towards growth and sustainable development and efforts to strengthen community spirit.

“To enhance those possibilities, the creation of a single ICT space within our community should be pursued vigorously in our efforts to bring technology to the people, while aiding in building our technological resilience,” he said.

In discussing human resource development, Ambassador LaRocque said the issue would be discussed from a holistic approach to the region’s education system. He said this would help to address the shortcomings and challenges that had been observed in human resource capacity in both public and private sectors. In concluding his remarks, the Secretary General said a sense of unity and solidarity must become the central force that drives the community to find a route to ignite growth in its economies.

“As we move to reform our community, let us do so driven by that spirit and welcome the participation and involvement of all stakeholders in a way that ensures a Caricom which fulfils the hopes and aspirations of its citizens,” Ambassador LaRocque said.

Wakenaam coconut farmers battle red termite invasion

Scores of farmers from the Island of Wakenaam are complaining that their crops are being invaded by red termite, and are calling on the authorities to address the matter in an expeditious manner.

Farmers at Marias Pleasure, Makidak, Authurville and Federicksburg are adversely affected.

According to one farmer, Suraj Singh, the plants are

showing signs of discolouration. He explained that fine red insects are eating out the branches of the trees.

The red termite infestation has resulted in the decline of coconut production on the island.

Some farmers told Guyana Times that their trees have collapsed due to the infestation, and they are clueless as to the reason for the termites attack.

The island has predomi-

nately coconut farmers and the infestation is a huge setback for them.

Minister within the Agriculture Ministry Alli Baksh said a team from the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute visited the area and took samples of the leaves for testing. Baksh said he also visited the Wakenaam area to get a firsthand view of the situation.

Systems lacking at Health Ministry's drug bond

– Chandarpal slams poor recordkeeping, communication

By Vahnu Manikchand

Social Sector Committee

Chairperson Indra Chandarpal has stated that there is a need for the effective management of all systems at the Health Ministry’s multimillion-dollar drug bond at Diamond, East Bank Demerara to ensure the timely delivery of supplies to the various medical institutions.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Monday, Chandarpal explained that as part of a programme implemented by the Committee, she, along with other members, visited several hospitals during which it was related to them that the respective pharmacies do not have key medical supplies needed by patients.

This caused the Committee to visit the Material Management Unit with the intention of highlighting the bottlenecks within the system.

According to the Chairperson, they were briefed on all the systems in use; however, they believe no consorted effort was made to improve the delivery of medical supplies. She added that good recordkeeping is one of the many issues affecting the smooth flow of the distribution process at the bond. The Health Ministry has brought in an expert to oversee the technical

the Ministry dumps regularly, Chandarpal said the Ministry was not solely culpable, since many people donate supplies to the health sector and some of these have a very short shelf life.

She explained that while the government may be committed to providing the best services for the public, administrators are responsible for the effective management of these services.

Now that the issue has been highlighted in the media, there will be headway made in improving the system.

management of the bond. This will cover the storage process, retrieval of supplies, distribution, and procurement.

Chandarpal added that she found a lack of communication between the parties involved. She noted that systems should be in place so that persons requesting supplies do so within the requisite timeline, and those distributing also play a part in ensuring the timely delivery of these supplies. She continued that a breakdown of the communication process not only causes delays, but also wastes valuable resources and time.

As it relates to the quality of supplies, given the large quantity of expired drugs that

The Committee has concluded that the bond’s systems must be changed and has given the management team some time to effect the changes before another visit is made. Visits are also expected at other hospitals around the country before the Committee can make any recommendations.

“We will definitely return in a few months… we have given them a timeline and will go back to ensure that just did not waste our time… they promised to do better and have to do better, we are not taking no for an answer,” she pointed out.

A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament and Shadow Health Minister, Dr George Norton, stated that

proper storage and distribution of medical supplies is an ongoing problem in all of the health institutions and lack of communication is one of many problems.

The doctor pointed out that availability of medications is another factor, citing the Georgetown Public Hospital where necessary and regularly used drugs are usually out of stock.

“At this point in time, we don’t know exactly what systems are in place to guarantee proper supply of medications… when you write a prescription you’ve got to ask whether or not we have it, because what you find is that basic drugs, important drugs that are always in need, is in short sup-

ply,” he stated. Dr Norton also said another issue is the short shelf life of drugs when placed in the pharmacies.

Also weighing on the issue is former Region Four Health Officer, Dr Karen Cummings, who is now an APNU Member of Parliament. She said there are systems in place for the timely dispensation of drugs, but there are hiccups which result in shortages and even unavailability of the drugs.

Dr Cummings explained that health centres and hospitals usually have a stock log sheet and a consumption report which they have to and should update.

She stated that by doing this the medical entities can each know their consumption level and the type of medications they used, which will help in addressing the problem of shortages.

Dr Cummings, who is in charge of several health centres, went on to say that this problem can be curbed if the institutions prepare a quarterly or half-year consumption report which will reflect the types and amount of drugs used and match them with the diseases being treated regularly. This way, the institutions can order drugs used in abundance and regularly.

She pointed out that this can only work if there is coop-

eration among the staff of the institutions and government agencies, especially the storage bond.

Earlier this year, the Local Government Ministry held a two-day regional workshop with executives from the various regional offices during which regional health services was scrutinised. The participants had assessed and streamlined the implementation of regional health programmes and also looked at shortages of drugs.

The inventory of drugs and medical supplies was considered, so as to ensure that, at a regional level, measures were in place for another location to share its supplies if one location experienced a drug shortage.

According to the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Collin Croal, these issues were looked at to determine whether there are actual shortages.

“We have always heard coming out from various reports, and media reports, we have seen same from our visits, the whole aspect of short of drugs; is it really an shortage of drugs and medical supplies or is it, maybe, the timely delivery or do we have bottlenecks in the system that create this?” he stated prior to the workshop. (vahnum@guyanatimesgy.com)

CPGs showcase military skills

Members of Community Policing Groups (CPGs) in the various police divisions across the country travelled to Bartica, Region Seven on Saturday to be part of a massive road march as part of the activities to commemorate 38 years of voluntary service.

This is an annual feature of the Community Policing Organisation of Guyana (CPOG). This year’s activities are being held under the theme, “Safeguarding communities through strengthened community policing leadership”, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported. The road march started from the Bartica Ferry Stelling and ended at the Community Centre Ground. Groups were judged by a panel on dress, salute, size of contingent and banner. This competition saw A 1 Division copping first place; A2, second place; D, third place, and C1 and F, tied for fourth place.

Community Policing Coordinator Dennis Pompey, in his remarks, recapped on some of the achievements of the organisation in 2013, among them the Home Affairs Ministry Guyana Police Force’s revision of the CPOG constitution.

Additionally, the police di-

visions were split into smaller CPG divisions to ensure better control, and to reduce the financial cost attached to divisional executives moving around.

This was done following consultations with the groups in the divisions, the community policing executives, and the police.

Smaller CPG divisions

“By doing this we also realised we could have more leadership, which is important for further development of community policing,” Pompey said. The new divisions are: A Division – A1 (Georgetown) and A2 (East Bank Demerara); B Division – B1 (West Coast Berbice), B2 (Lower Corentyne) and B3 (Upper Corentyne); C Division – C1 (Unity to Good Hope), C2 (Good Hope to Conversation Tree) and C3 (Unity to Abary); D Division – D1 (West Coast Demerara) and D2 (West Bank Demerara); and F Division –F1 (Bartica) and F2 (Lethem).

Pompey also informed that the Government, through the Home Affairs Ministry, continues to provide funds for the procurement of stores, vehicles, uniforms and other necessary equipment for CPG members.

Moreover, the CPOG will be embarking on a number of

other initiatives, including the establishment of youth clubs for which funds will be made available under the 2014 national budget.

The Home Affairs Ministry is encouraging the business community, non-governmental organisations, and other entities to get onboard with this initiative.

National Community Policing Executive (NCPE) Chairman Omesh Satyanand commended the spirit of volunteerism among the members, calling it a show of total commitment.

The Chairman also reminded them of the core objectives of community policing. These are: to develop a neighbourhood consciousness of the need for mutual cooperation and mutual understanding of law and order; assist the police as far as possible in the suppression and detection of crime thus making communities safer to live; increase understanding and appreciation of the role of the police; provide residents with a local outpost away from the police station to help residents deal with common social problems; develop a closer inter-group relationship with residents; and develop an awareness to improve neighbourhoods.

Bartica InterimManagement Committee

(IMC) Chairman Ovid Benjamin said the fact that community policing as a system has amassed 38 years in Guyana speaks loudly of the commitment members have shown to the organisation. Similar sentiments were echoed by F Division Commander Courtney Ramsey who said, “As divisional commander, I am pleased with the groups in F Division. Community policing is a part of the architecture of public safety and security.”

He stated that the police, with its manpower shortage and highly demanding role, cannot achieve the task of public safety alone. He recognised the need for greater community support and involvement and said CPGs have assisted greatly in this regard. At present, there are 266 active CPGs across the country with a total membership of 4424. T he system of community policing was established

in 1976 under late Police Commissioner Henry Fraser with the objective of harnessing the energies of willing members of communities across Guyana, in support of the work of the police. This mandate was subsequently expanded to include youth development, health consciousness, road safety, environmental enhancement, and other community related activities.

U.S., Panama reject OAS declaration on Venezuela

Anti-gang legislation approved by Jamaican senate

Ainclusive dialogue, it “cannot support this declaration because… it does not adequately reflect this organisation’s commitment to promoting democracy and human rights in the hemisphere”.

Furthermore, the U.S. said, the declaration places the OAS in a position of taking sides, something it cannot do.

ly advance these goals. The OAS cannot sanction a dialogue in which much of the opposition has no voice and no faith. Only Venezuelans can find the solutions to Venezuela’s problems, but the situation in Venezuela today makes it imperative that a trusted third party facilitate the conversation as Venezuelans search for those solutions.

t a special meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Permanent Council on Friday, the U.S. and Panama both rejected the wording of an approved declaration on the situation in Venezuela.

While the United States said it supported the call for peaceful resolution of the situation in Venezuela based on an authentically

The U.S. said it believes genuine dialogue will require the participation of a third party all sides can trust. It will also require an end to attempts to suppress free speech and a release of political prisoners.

Unfortunately, the declaration does not sufficient-

“Finally and most importantly, the United States cannot agree to the declaration’s call for ‘full OAS support’ to a dialogue process orchestrated by only one actor. The OAS has a responsibility to remain neutral; it cannot take sides,” the U.S. concluded. (Excerpt

Caribbean awaits debate on decriminalisation of medicinal marijuana

Randy Delplesche, 27, is unemployed.

But over the past few weeks he has “earned”

EC$60,000 (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) from the illegal marijuana trade.

He is among those Caribbean nationals anxiously awaiting the outcome of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Intersessional summit where the issue of decriminalising marijuana for medicinal purposes would have been discussed.

Delplesche does not hide the fact that he too favours regional governments agreeing to decriminalise the drug for medical purposes.

“I think it is a good vibes,” he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), adding “no work is going on in the

country, so we have to look to do something else. That is the only thing we can do and make a little money.”

A report by a group of experts supports the argument by Delplesche that decriminalising marijuana and exploring its use for medicinal purposes could help boost the sluggish economies of Caribbean countries.

When they meet over the next two days, the regional leaders will discuss the report that has already indicated that the Caribbean has a built-in competitive advantage with marijuana cultivation.

“The region may wish therefore to explore any commercial benefit from a potential multibillion industry, including research and

A report by a group of experts supports the argument that decriminalising marijuana and exploring its use for medicinal purposes could help boost sluggish regional economies

development and also the production of medical marijuana products,” the report stated.

Caricom Chairman, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, the host Prime Minister of the in-

tersessional summit, last year urged his regional colleagues to discuss the issue of decriminalising marijuana, noting the steps taken in the U.S. in this regard. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

‘Long-dead’ Mexico drug lord killed

Officials in Mexico say that they have killed a drug lord who was reported to have been shot dead three years ago.

Nazario Moreno, known as “El Mas Loco” – The Craziest One” – was the founder of the La Familia cartel and regarded as the spiritual leader of its offshoot, the

brutal Knights Templar. His death was first announced after a 2010 shootout, but no body was found and he was reportedly seen alive since.

Police said he was finally tracked down and shot dead in Michoacan state.

“From a fingerprint analysis we have confirmed 100 per

cent that this was Nazario Moreno Gonzalez,” said Tomas Zeron, the head of investigations at the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

Dangerous person Government security spokesman Alejandro Rubido said security officials had been tracking Moreno for

some time.

“Anonymous tips indicated that Nazario Moreno was not only living, but continued operating at the head of a criminal group conducting extortion, kidnapping and other crimes,” he said at a news briefing in Mexico City.

“This person was known as dangerous,” he said, with police believing he had committed multiple murders since his reported death.

Rubido said Moreno was stopped by police on Sunday morning in the village of Tumbiscatio in Michoacan state.

“When he was asked to turn himself in, he opened fire and was killed,” he said.

Moreno, 43, was the founder of the La Familia cartel, which dominated the drugs trade in Michoacan but was believed to have been severely weakened by his reported death.

The Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) Bill, popularly called the “anti-gang” legislation, was passed in the Jamaican Senate on Friday, with three amendments.

The law makes provision for the disruption and suppression of criminal organisations and outlines offences, in order to restore a sense of security in Jamaican society and strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies to deal with crime effectively.

Foreign Minister AJ

Nicholson said he supports the legislation, and argued that a higher penalty should be placed on gangs recruiting children.

Clause four of the Bill, which makes it an offence to recruit a child to be a part of a criminal organisation, stipulates that any person found guilty of this offence could face a period of imprisonment of up to 20 years. However, clause five of the Bill also makes it an offence to recruit an adult to be a part of a criminal organisation, with any person found guilty of this offence facing a period of imprisonment of up to 20 years.

“It cannot be that they carry the same penalty; it cannot be. So, let us see how we can rationalise that,” Nicholson said.

In his contribution to the debate, opposition senator, Ruel Reid, noted that in principle he fully supports the legislation.

“I want to reiterate that we fully support the intent of the legislation. I fully endorse the need to have effective public education on the Bill,” Reid said. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

Thousands of Jamaican sugar workers threaten industrial action

More than 4000 sugar workers have threatened to take industrial action following weeks of failed negotiations involving their unions and the Sugar Producers Federation (SPF) for improved wage and fringe benefits.

The three unions representing the workers and the Sugar Producers Federation (SPF) are still at a stalemate in hammering out a wage and fringe benefits agreement as a marathon meeting on Friday at the Labour Ministry ended without a settlement.

The SPF has offered to increase wages to seven per cent in year one and three per cent in the second year. This, however, has been rejected by the unions.

First Vice President of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) Clifton Grant said the SPF’s offer has only served to anger the workers.

“The union wants a 13 per cent (increase) in the first year for the employees and an eight and a half per cent in the second year. The federation says they are not in a position to change. So we have communicated this to the employees. They are very, very upset. The feedback that we are receiving is that the workers wanted to take industrial action, but we have asked them to give the Ministry of Labour and the Minister and opportunity to try and broker an agreement between the parties,” Grant said.

However, the SPF is insisting that the industry stands to lose millions during this crop season due to increased international competition. But the unions are insisting that they produce figures for both rum and sugar production to support the prediction. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)

China says Malaysia ‘must intensify jet search’

China has urged Malaysia to “step up its efforts” in the search for the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane that disappeared on Saturday.

Malaysia said it was widening the hunt, after days of searching found no trace of the plane or the 239 peo-

ple on board – most of whom were Chinese.

Rescue teams from nine countries will now scour areas stretching from the Malacca Strait to the South China Sea.

Beijing-bound flight MH370 vanished shortly after it left Kuala Lumpur.

Relatives of the missing

passengers have been told to prepare for the worst.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang had earlier urged the Malaysian authorities to sharpen its search efforts.

“We have a responsibility to demand and urge the Malaysian side to step up search efforts, start an investigation as soon as possible and provide relevant information to China correctly and in a timely manner,” he said.

Patience appears to be wearing thin in the search for the missing aeroplane, said the BBC’s Celia Hatton in Beijing.

The Malaysian authorities are attempting to address Chinese concerns –they have reissued a pledge to fly worried family members to Kuala Lumpur so they can be closer to the search efforts, our correspondent adds.

But one victim’s relative – Guo Qishun, whose son-inlaw was on the plane – said he did not see the point of flying to Malaysia.

“If we go to Malaysia, we can do nothing but wait, just like we are doing in Beijing now. If we go to Malaysia, who can we rely on? Most of us don’t speak English,” he told the Associated Press

Earlier, the Malaysian authorities said they had identified one of the two men travelling on the missing plane on stolen passports.

Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said they could not reveal his identity, but confirmed the man was not Malaysian.

International police agency Interpol has confirmed the passengers were travelling with Italian and Austrian passports stolen in Thailand years ago. (Excerpt from BBC News)

NATO aircraft to monitor Ukraine crisis

The North American Treaty Organisation (NATO) has said it will start reconnaissance flights over Poland and Romania to monitor the situation in neighbouring Ukraine where Russian forces have taken control of Crimea.

The AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) flights will take place solely over NATO territory, the alliance said on Monday.

Ukraine is not a NATO member but Russia’s intervention in Crimea has alarmed neighbouring countries, including alliance members that used to be dominated by the Soviet Union.

The announcement comes as the U.S. is sending a dozen F-16 fighter jets and 300 service personnel to Poland as part of a training exercise.

The U.S. and Russia are bitterly divided over how to ease the crisis, with each challenging the other to show they are really interested in a peaceful outcome.

Russia denounced alleged lawlessness by farright activists in eastern Ukraine on Monday, in a statement likely to trigger fear in Ukraine over possi-

ble Russian intervention.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was outraged by lawlessness in the country’s east, blaming the group Right Sector for “conniving” with the new government in Kiev.

Right Sector is a grouping of several far-right and nationalist factions who were actively involved in the

uprising against Moscowbacked President Viktor Yanukovych.

The movement uses swastika signs, is blamed for various attacks, and according to its leader Dmitro Yarosh, has “enough weapons to defend all of Ukraine”.

Its activists were among the most radical and confrontational of the demonstrators in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and organised “self-defence” brigades for the protest camp.

Witnesses in eastern Ukraine told Reuters news agency that tensions had been fuelled by pro-Russian activists to provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with a justification for invading Ukraine to protect Russians.

Pro-Russia sentiment is at a high and there are fears Russia could seek to incorporate that area as well.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Spain says rubber bullet use was wrong

SStrong quake hits off California

An offshore 6.9 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks shook the coast of Northern California and parts of Oregon on Sunday night, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. No major damage or injuries were immediately reported.

The main quake, centered in the Pacific Ocean about 50 miles west of Eureka, California, happened at 22:18h PT, the USGS said. The depth was about 10 miles.

Mike Meltzer, in Ferndale, just southwest of Eureka, told CNN affiliate KTVU he felt the quake for about 10 seconds. The only damage that he could see was a bottle fell over.

“I’ve been through a number of these,” Meltzer, a bartender at Ferndale’s Hotel Ivanhoe, told KTVU. “It wasn’t a jolter; it was a wave.” More than 15 aftershocks were reported in the area within five hours, the strongest of which was a 4.6 magnitude temblor in the ocean, according to the USGS.

The strongest shaking was reported in the Eureka area, with weak motion felt in west-central Oregon and in the San Francisco area, according to the USGS.

There is no tsunami threat, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

The shaking drew a number of comments on social media. (Excerpt from CNN)

Sarkozy seeks to block publication of secret recordings

former President

Fand his singer-songwriter wife Carla Bruni sought an emergency injunction on Monday to block further publication of private discussions secretly recorded by a trusted advisor.

The conservative Sarkozy, who has been positioning himself for a political comeback, and Bruni-Sarkozy pitted themselves against an aide who was among the most trusted men in their inner circle – until last week.

That is when recordings by aide Patrick Buisson were published on a French website and newspaper.

Accusing him of lies, betrayal and deception, Sarkozy’s lawyers requested 30,000 euros from Buisson and a symbolic fine of one euro against the online publication that posted the recordings, Atlantico.

The judge at the main Paris courthouse said a decision would be made on Friday. The recordings by Buisson include the day-to-day discussions of a president and his team. There is also chitchat between Sarkozy and Bruni, which was at the core of Monday’s proceedings.

Atlantico said the recordings were published and transcribed “for legitimate public interest” but that it has taken down those involving Bruni because “she is not a political personality and never claimed any role as such”.

Buisson’s lawyer said Monday that Buisson had the recorder in his pocket but never intended to tape the conversations. (Except from France24)

Saudi Arabia slams terror charges by Iraqi PM

The police were criticised by the EU and rights groups who said the bullets could have played a role in the deaths.

This is the first time the Spanish government has admitted that police should not have used rubber bullets.

Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said that rubber bullets were unlikely to deter the sub-Saharan migrants.

At the time he insisted that coast guards had not shot directly at the migrants and that the rubber bullets did not cause the deaths of any of those who drowned.

Together with Melilla,

a second Spanish enclave, Ceuta is the European Union’s only land border with Africa.

The two cities, both located on the Mediterranean coast at the northern tip of Morocco, have become a magnet for migrants trying to get to Europe.

The latest attempt by migrants to force their way into Spanish territory came at the weekend, when about 150 people tried to break into Melilla.

Local police said it was the second attempt in less than 24 hours and 15 made it into the city before being arrested. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Saudi Arabia has rejected accusations by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that Riyadh is funding Sunni fighters his troops are battling in Iraq’s western Anbar province.

“The kingdom condemns the aggressive and irresponsible statements made by the Iraqi Prime Minister,” an unidentified official told the Saudi Press Agency on Monday.

In an interview aired on Saturday, al-Maliki charged Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Qatar were supporting armed groups not only in Iraq but across the Middle East as well as terrorism worldwide.

“Nouri al-Maliki knows

very well, more than anyone else, the clear and categorical position of the kingdom against terrorism... and is aware of the kingdom’s efforts to combat this phenomenon locally and globally,” AFP news agency quoted the official as saying. Iraqi forces have been battling fighters of the al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Anbar’s two main cities since January 1. ISIL overran Falluja and parts of Ramadi after a tribal revolt provoked by the arrest of a Sunni legislator and the clearing of an anti-government protest camp.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Trini is 10 millionth Aeropost customer

Aeropost International Services Inc/ Aerocasillas, acompany involved in cross-border e-commerce solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, shipped their 10 millionth package on February 19.

To commemorate this major milestone, Aeropost/ Aerocasillas celebrated with the TT customer who

received package number 10,000,000 by providing a limousine to pick him up at his home for an event at the company’s offices on the island. After an Aeropost/ Aerocasillas news conference was held, the customer of honour was awarded with a US$1000 shopping spree with Aeropost/Aerocasillas.

The company’s CEO, FredJoseph Goldner said:

“We at Aeropost/Aerocasillas are proud of this important event and the service that we provide in 38 markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is great to be sharing this milestone event with our outstanding Trinidadian operation, a very important contributor to our US$1 billion mark in merchandise shipped through our network.”

(Trinidad Guardian)

Africa

Equatorial Guinea seeks to shake off ‘oil curse’ image

On land cleared of tropical forest, gleaming new office towers, apartment blocks, homes and highways dazzle the eye in Equatorial Guinea, SubSaharan Africa’s number three energy producer where oil and gas revenues have fed a frenzy of construction.

But cutting away the jungle is proving easier for President Teodoro Obiang Nguema than shedding his

North America Asia

S&P slips from record on China concern; Boeing weighs

Merger and acquisition announcements, as well as company-specific news including on Facebook and Alexion Pharma, helped stem losses. China’s exports unexpectedly tumbled 18.1 per cent in February, against expectations for a 6.8 per cent rise, swinging the trade balance into deficit and adding to fears of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

“There’s reasons to be a

Europe

little cautious on the market. There’s a little bit of profit-taking,” said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING Investment Management in New York.

“But the numbers are not persuasive enough to make me want to sell U.S. stocks,” he said. “The impact (of China) would have to go beyond what we already expect from emerging markets.”

Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold lost 3.3 per cent to US$31.13 as signs of

a slowing China sent London copper to a more than eightmonth low. The S&P materials index lost 0.5 per cent.

Unidentified armed men fired in the air as they moved into a Ukrainian naval post in Crimea on Monday in the latest confrontation since Russian military groups seized control of the Black Sea peninsula. Russia said the United States had spurned an invitation to hold new talks on resolving the crisis. (Reuters)

Fyffes and Chiquita to create biggest banana firm

Irish fruit firm Fyffes and U.S. rival Chiquita are to merge to create the world’s largest banana company, worth about US$1 billion (£597 million). The new firm, named ChiquitaFyffes, is expected to sell about 160 million boxes of bananas annually, more than any rival.

“This is a milestone transaction for Chiquita and Fyffes that brings together the best of both companies,” said Chiquita boss Ed Lonergan. It will be listed in

New York.

In the merger, shareholders will receive shares in each firm, with Fyffes shareholders owning about 49.3 per cent of the combined company. Lonergan said the deal would help it to save costs and expand the areas it served.

The tie-up came as Fyffes revealed that its profit before tax for 2013 rose 9.8 per cent to 28.7 million euros (£23.8 million).

It said results in its ba-

nana division were “broadly satisfactory”, although profits in that division were slightly down compared with 2012’s strong performance. It said “significant inflation” in the cost of fruit and the strength of the U.S. dollar against sterling had both hit performance.

The global market is currently controlled by four firms – Chiquita, Dole Food Company, Fresh Del Monte and Fyffes – according to the United Nations. (BBC News)

central African nation’s dark image as a reclusive, repressive and graft-ridden poster child of the “resource curse”.

Obiang, in power since 1979 and Africa’s longest-serving head of state, is fronting a bid by Equatorial Guinea to break out of negative media coverage he says is one of its biggest obstacles to progress and international acceptance.

“The country is not being shown for what it is,” Obiang,

72, complained in a rare recent interview with reporters just outside Malabo, capital of the small Gulf of Guinea state. In an outreach campaign since the start of the year, Obiang has declared his country open for more business outside of oil and gas, widened its alliances by joining a global community of Portuguesespeaking states, and offered a political dialogue to domestic and exiled opponents. (Reuters)

Japan’s deficit hits record as economic growth slows

Japan’s current account deficit widened to a record 1.5 trillion yen (US$15 billion; £8.7 billion) in January, the largest since records began in 1985. In further bad news, the country’s economic growth figures were also revised downwards. Japan’s economy grew by 0.7 per cent in 2013, down from an initial estimate of one per cent.

Middle East

Investors reacted with disappointment to the news, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index falling by 95 points, or more than 0.6 per cent.

From October to December 2013 Japan’s economy grew by just 0.2 per cent, after earlier estimates showed an increase of 0.3 per cent.

The sluggish growth and growing deficit come just be-

fore a planned sales tax increase, scheduled to take effect in April. Many economists had expected growth to pick up towards the end of 2013, as consumers spent ahead of the tax rise.

But the latest revisions show consumer spending increased by 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013, revised downwards from 0.5 per cent. (BBC News)

Bahrain’s GFH to start delayed US$3B Tunisia project

Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House (GFH) will start building a US$3 billion financial park and real estate development north of Tunisia’s capital, a project that had been suspended for five years, the Islamic investment bank said on Monday.

The project will be one of the largest private foreign investments in the North African state, which has struggled to revive its economy since the revolution that toppled former President

Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali three years ago. A caretaker government has taken over to run Tunisia until elections later this year, ending months of crisis. But despite political progress, high living costs and a lack of economic opportunities remain the major concerns for many Tunisians.

GFH’s project was scheduled to begin in 2009, but financial difficulties at the Islamic bank and Tunisia’s 2011 uprising froze several large-scale projects.

Investors' guide

Aformal business plan is an important document for any business. Entrepreneurs just starting out may find putting their thoughts, goals and in some cases dreams to paper an intimidating process. Nevertheless, it is vital to the success of your business. A business plan details every aspect of business operations. Writing a business plan need not be an overwhelming task if you consider the following information.

Purpose of business plan

Before drafting a business plan it is important to understand why this document is

so important to the success of your business. Your business plan will detail all aspects of your business operations from marketing to organisation and management. This document not only helps owners see where the business is headed, it is also required by most lenders and potential investors.

Nine essential parts of a business plan

There are several essential elements of a good business plan according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Focus on the following nine elements when drafting a business plan for your small business.

Business concept

“The US$3 billion project will start on March 15, today [Monday] we will sign an agreement with the Tunisian contracting companies to start practical implementation of the project in a few days,” Lotfi Zar, the Executive Director of the project, told Reuters. The site will contain a corporate centre, an investment banking and advisory centre and an insurance area. It will also include homes, offices, a golf course, a business school and trade centres. (Arabianbusiness)

Executive summary

Although this is the first section readers will see, it should be the last section of your business plan written. The executive summary is an overview of the entire business plan and will either capture the readers attention or make them lose interest before reading any further. A crucial part of the business plan, the summary will basically tell readers the history of your company, where it is today and what direction it is headed; this is where you sell others on the potential success of your business idea.

(Business Dictionary)

– Natural monopoly

U.S. bank sponsors women forum on mentorship

Guyanese women last Saturday joined together for the seventh annual Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk, part of a global movement to inspire a rising generation through mentorship.

Held on International Women’s Day and sponsored globally by Bank of America, the mentoring walk convened established women leaders and emerging women leaders to walk together in their community. According to a U.S. embassy release, the event in Georgetown was one of more than 40 mentoring walks taking place around the world, as part of a global movement to highlight the importance of women’s leadership and to accelerate the impact of women leaders through mentoring. As they walked, women discussed their professional challenges and successes to establish a mentoring relationship.

Global Mentoring Walk

The Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk provided an environment for aspiring women professionals to gain the support and guidance that they need to fulfil their goals. Mentoring is proven to be one of the most important steps to establishing a successful career.

It is a particularly effective support system to help overcome the obstacles to career growth that women commonly face in corporate and professional environments, such as experiencing the “glass ceiling” effect. Equipped with the advice and support of a mentor, female professionals are better able to navigate the professional challenges they face.

Naturopathic practitioner and entrepreneur Barbara Dublin-Peterkin organised the Global Mentoring Walk in Guyana and served as the flag bearer. Several high-level participants were invited to make remarks, including representative for Human Services and Social Sector Minister Jenifer Webster, Empretec

Guyana Inc Programme Manager Karen Raphael, Management Consultant and Entrepreneur Sheree Baron, and Women Entrepreneurs Network (WEN)Guyana Co-Chair and Entrepreneur Lucia Desir.

Last March, DublinPeterkin and Lucia Desir launched the Guyana Chapter of WEN. Desir is the Managing Director of D & J Shipping Service and Dublin-Peterkin is the CEO of B’s Beauty & Naturopathic Centre and Visions of Excellence Personal Development Centre. Desir and DublinPeterkin represented Guyana at the Caribbean Women Entrepreneurship Forum sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC in March 2012. Following the Forum, they joined with Caribbean counterparts to establish the Women Entrepreneurs Network Caribbean (WEN Caribbean).

The Guyana Chapter is now part of this broader regional network. DublinPeterkin and Desir have since been working to develop a network to share their experiences and knowledge to empower more Guyanese

women entrepreneurs committed to growing their businesses at the small and medium level.

U.S. President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton originally launched the Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Americas (WEAmericas) initiative at the Summit of the Americas in April 2012. WEAmericas leverages public-private partnerships to increase women’s economic participation in Latin America and the Caribbean by reducing barriers women often face in starting and growing small and medium enterprises. These barriers typically include access to training, networks, markets, and finance.

This is the first year that the Bank of America sponsored the Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk, building on its longstanding partnership with Vital Voices. Vital Voices is the leading nongovernmental organisation that identifies, invests in, and brings visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities.

Litter Prevention Regulations empower Litter Wardens

In January this year, the Litter Prevention Regulations became enforceable and will be enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These Regulations allow the EPA to appoint Litter Wardens with the authority to apprehend persons who commit litter offences.

The EPA will recruit suitable persons to function as Litter Wardens. These persons will be required to undergo a period of training, which will adequately equip them for the job. Focus will be given to providing a good understanding of the Regulations, and the responsibilities of Litter Wardens. Further, Litter Wardens will be provided with identification cards, which would be presented as proof of their authority.

Authority to enter premises

Litter Wardens, upon presenting identification to the inhabitant(s) of any premises with litter that poses a public health risk, have the authority to enter the premises to remove this litter. The person(s) responsible for the litter will be required to pay for the cost of its removal. Examples of litter that pose health risks include dead animals, animal offal, etc.

On entering a premise with litter that poses a public health risk, a Litter Warden may take along a person(s) as necessary to remove the litter. Any person who obstructs the Litter Warden from carrying out this litter removal is guilty of an offence with a penalty of $20,000.

Authority to give notice for the removal of derelict vehicles

Litter Wardens have the authority to request persons responsible for a derelict vehicle found in a public place remove it. These persons must also restore the place to a satisfactory condition. Removal of the vehicle and restoration of the public place must be done within two days of being given notice. It should be noted that notice can be given orally or in writing.

Any person, who fails to obey a notice given by the Litter Warden to remove

a derelict vehicle, is guilty of an offence which carries a fine of $30,000. An additional $5000 will be added to the fine for each day that the vehicle is left in the public area. Further, the Litter Warden can have the derelict vehicle removed, and the defaulter will be required to pay for its removal.

Authority to give notice for the removal of litter Litter Wardens also have the authority to give notice to persons who litter a public place to remove such litter, and restore the area to its former state within three days of being given notice. Failure to obey the notice is an offence which carries a fine of 20,000, and an additional $5000 for each day that the litter is left in the public area.

Look out next week for more on the Litter Enforcement Regulations. For a closer look at the Regulations, visit www.nre. gov.gy.

Share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/o EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, Georgetown; or email us at eit.epaguyana@gmail.com.

Imo Fox is not licensed – Wildlife Management Authority

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, through the Wildlife Management Authority, has responded to allegations made by self-proclaimed wildlife exporter Imo Fox that the organisation has failed to adequately address issues within the trade that have caused him and other legal exporters to be cut off from markets.

In a media release on Monday, the body said Fox was allowed to legally engage in the trade sometime back, but he no longer has such privileges.

“It must be noted that while Mr Fox was licensed to export wildlife a few years ago, he is not currently a licensed wildlife exporter.”

Fox had called on the government to pay closer attention to the health and well-being of wildlife before their exportation, and the tracking of diseases such as psittacosis, which has become a serious neurological disease in the bird trade.

In response to this, the division said that the animals are inspected by Veterinary Officers of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority before they are exported.

“The Wildlife Management Authority and the Guyana Livestock Development Authority are collaborating on a protocol to improve monitoring of animals destined for export,” the division stated.

As it relates to the accusation of discriminatory

policies whereby the quotas given to the Fox family are diminished after they “bring in the markets”, the organisation said it found it “puzzling since Mr Fox is not currently licensed”.

“Further, the Wildlife Management Authority has a process for allocating extra quotas which takes into account several factors.”

The allocation process, it said, is overseen by a subcommittee established by the Wildlife Management Authority to manage quotas. It further claimed that the family were unable to provide proof that a new primate had really been discovered.

Speaking with Guyana Times a few days ago, Fox said he and his family had been in the wildlife trade

for close to two decades and were upset with the treatment meted out to them by the wildlife division.

He also said that his family was responsible for the many deals emanating out of Guyana, alleging that “discriminatory policies by the wildlife division” has also been rampant.

“We bring in the markets and we don’t get the quota to fill the numbers of animals that importers would like, so that after we bring in the markets, our quotas are diminished, when we apply for extras, we are not granted the extras but other exporters are given these quotas,” Fox lamented.

He claimed that the failure by the relevant authorities to properly screen

the animals caused the trade to become less viable for him and other exporters who had already invested millions of dollars. He said because of the serious threat of the disease, wildlife trading in Hong Kong had already closed down. And as other countries move towards banning the trade, exporters like him would continue to feel the effects.

“This does not allow for exporters to do their business in the right way, because fewer markets become available and as this happens, the trade becomes more competitive,” he told this publication.

His family has, so far, invested more than $15 million in the trade, Fox claimed.

SUDOKU

You may need to make some alterations in your quest to move ahead. Find a more imaginative way to present your ideas. What works for others may not work for you.

By Bernice Bede Osol

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

Take care of nagging health issues by making medical appointments that you’ve been postponing. You will need to be at your best for the challenges that lie ahead.

After much deliberation, you now have the knowledge and resources to make positive changes in your life. Overcome your fear of failure and take the plunge.

You will receive an unexpected financial gain. Legal issues are in the process of being resolved. The plan you are involved in should be kept secret for the time being.

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

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

Being in contact with children will help you see the lighter side of life. If you’re honest in your dealings, you will avoid questions about your motives.

(March 21-April 19)

It’s important to keep an open mind. Consider the solutions being offered by others. Respecting the opinions of your colleagues will be half the battle. Compromise will be necessary.

(April 20-May 20)

You are likely to take on too much today. Look for possible changes that could help you cut corners, and delegate more jobs in order to free up some time.

(May 21June 20)

You will be given an opportunity to increase your income. Look at an old problem in a new light to find a way to advance. Listen to someone with experience.

You will be successful today, provided you have all the relevant documentation in place. Keep a close eye on your competitors. They will be looking for an opportunity to derail your plans.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

You have the power of persuasion on your side. Don’t sit back and wait for events to transpire. Present your ideas to those in a position to help you reach your target.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Success is in sight. After much hard work, you will realise your ambitions. Maintain your current course and ignore those who try to change your mind.

(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

An old friend will unexpectedly come back into the picture. Love is in the air. Spice up your personal life by offering someone special a little romance and adventure.

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Second victim of Soesdyke smash-up succumbs

After almost four days of being unresponsive in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital, a second victim of the Soesdyke/Linden Highway smash-up succumbed on Monday morning.

Dead is Fabian Williams, of Wakapao, Pomeroon, Region Two, a first-year theology student at the Hararuni Full Gospel Church, Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

Based on information received, ever since the young man was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital from the East Bank Regional Hospital (Diamond Diagnostic Centre), his condition was deemed critical, since he was not responding to any medical intervention. As such, after carefully analysing the situation, his relatives took the decision to take him off of life support.

An official close to the training college confirmed

the young man’s death and disclosed that the other injured persons – Akelema Simpson of Corentyne, Berbice and Seechand Singh of Mahdia, Region Eight remained hospitalised.

The first person to have died as a result of the collision was Clifton Aaron Marks, who was also a firstyear theology student at the Hararuni Full Gospel Church. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.

The three others were treated and transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further medical attention.

Guyana Times understands that the Tapir in which the students were travelling was not fit to be used on the roadways.

Based on reports, the Tapir was bought some time in December and was not properly checked by a mechanic before it was used.

It was reported that the students from the Full Gospel Church were on their way to Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara to attend a crusade when the head-on collision occurred. Guyana Times reported that while descending ‘First Hill’, Soesdyke/ Linden Highway on Thursday, the steering end of the Tapir gave out causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle, which almost immediately veered into the path of a truck belonging to Bounty Farm Limited.

The driver of the Tapir, Singh, according to information, was previously involved in an accident, which left several persons injured. The truck driver, according to reports, was on Monday informed of the death of the other person and was asked to visit the Timehri Police Station. It is unclear if the driver will be charged for the demise of the two persons.

FAO DG meets typhoon-stricken farmers in the Philippines

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General José Graziano da Silva on Monday witnessed the positive results of the entity’s Typhoon Haiyan response programme and committed to supporting the recovery of fishing and farming livelihoods in the longer term.

Graziano da Silva travelled together with Secretary Proceso Alcala of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Permanent Representative to FAO, Ambassador Virgilio Reyes, to Basey, a municipality of Samar province, in the Eastern Visayas.

Meeting with affected farmers and fishers, he handed over bags of fertiliser and tools and ate lunch with farmers supported by FAO.

timely response and support to the Government, which enabled 44,000 farming families to restore their livelihoods by securing what would otherwise have been a lost harvest.

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Making landfall four months ago, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) claimed more than 6200 lives, displaced millions, and devastated the agriculture and fisheries sectors. Striking between two planting seasons, the typhoon destroyed ready-to-harvest, harvested and newly planted rice crops, wiping out whole coastal communities and damaging or destroying some 33 million coconut trees.

Collaborative efforts

In the weeks immediately following the typhoon, FAO responded to an official request for support to affected rice farmers, providing 75 per cent of the Governmentrequested rice seeds. Thanks to a coordinated response by FAO, the Government and partners, farmers who would have been otherwise unable to plant in time for the December/January planting season were able to go back to their fields, and will soon be harvesting the first rice crop since the typhoon hit the country.

Graziano da Silva visited flourishing rice fields planted with FAO rice seed and was thanked by Alcala for FAO’s

To bolster FAO’s, the Government’s and partners’ rice seed distributions, FAO is distributing 4000 tonnes of fertiliser to more than 80,000 families along with 13,000 farming tools which ensures planted rice seed can reach full production potential and produce an optimum yield, which, in turn, ensures food security and a full recovery.

The typhoon devastated the agriculture sector with losses of around 1.1 million tonnes of crops and 33 million coconut trees damaged or destroyed. “Providing coconut farmers with alternative livelihoods while their newly-replanted coconut trees become fully productive is a top FAO priority,” Graziano da Silva emphasised.

Livelihood diversification

FAO is supporting these coconut farmers through livelihood diversification and land use intensification through intercropping and livestock rearing, which will give them access to vital income and productive capacity during the six to eight years it will take for their trees to become fully productive again.

With up to 400,000 fisherfolk impacted and an es-

timated 30,000 fishing vessels damaged or destroyed, the fisheries sector was one of the most severely affected. Estelita Taboy, representing one of the fishing communities in Basey, thanked FAO for the support received so far and added that “although the government has helped us to rebuild our boats, we still need fishing inputs, such as nets, hooks, and cages that were all destroyed by the typhoon.”

“Supporting the recovery of fishing communities through boat rebuilding and the provision of key fishing inputs is another top priority,” said Graziano da Silva. Over lunch with farmers and fishers, he listened to their testimony on how they benefited from FAO and the Government’s collaborative efforts and lauded the Filipinos’ positive attitude in the face of recurring disasters. “We are committed to ensure that affected populations can build resilience to future disasters and make sure that when the next typhoon hits, they are able to build back better and safer,” he added. FAO continues to advocate for urgent support to affected farmers and fishers and has received confirmation from several donors for significant additional funding that will enable it to deliver an effective and well-funded response.

Root ruled out of World T20 with broken thumb

England batsman Joe Root has been ruled out of the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh after fracturing his thumb against West Indies last week.

Root, 23, who is also a frontline spinner in limitedovers cricket, has been replaced by batsman Ian Bell.

Root was struck by the third ball of his innings on March 5, but went on to make 107 as England won by 25 runs and claimed the one-day series 2-1.

He flew back to England the following day to undergo a scan.

In Root’s absence, England suffered a 27-run defeat by West Indies in the first of three Twenty20 in-

ternationals in Barbados on Sunday.

Captain Stuart Broad, who aggravated a longstanding knee problem, will miss the final two matches in the series and may need an injection to get him through the tournament in Bangladesh.

The World Twenty20 begins on March 16, with England taking on New Zealand in their opening match of the tournament on March 22.

The International Cricket Council approved Root’s replacement as Bell, who has not played a Twenty20 international since January 2011.

Both have played seven T20 matches in total, with

Root’s strike rate of 139 superior to Bell’s 119.

Root has also emerged as a wicket-taking spinner in the shorter forms of the game for England.

Opening the bowling in all three one-day games against West Indies, he took a combined 4-86 in the three games with a best of 2-15.

Root made his international debut in a Test match against India in Nagpur in December 2012, scoring 73 in his first innings, and has quickly become a fixture for England in all three formats of the game.

No timescale has been put on Root’s return, with Yorkshire’s County Championship season starting on April 13. (BBC Sport)

Neymar case embarrassed Barcelona, says club president

Barcelona’s president has admitted the saga surrounding the transfer of Brazilian superstar Neymar has been “embarrassing.”

But Josep Maria Bartomeu told the BBC that the Spanish champions had done nothing wrong.

Spain’s authorities accuse Barcelona of tax fraud over the transfer.

“It’s embarrassing because we think we are right,” Bartomeu said. “We think we did things properly, that everything was done in the correct and best way.”

The club were formally accused of tax fraud in February, when a judge in Spain ruled there was enough evidence to continue investigations into the transfer.

Pistorius sick during post-mortem evidence

Oscar Pistorius vomited in court as he heard a pathologist’s testimony about the nature of his girlfriend’s injuries after he shot her dead.

Pathologist Gert Saayman told the court that Reeva Steenkamp was shot three times, in the head, hip and arm.

The judge had earlier banned live broadcast of the post-mortem examination testimony.

The Paralympic athlete, on trial for murder, denies intentionally killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Mr Pistorius’ body jerked and he retched as he heard the pathologist’s evidence, reports the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani at the court in Pretoria.

A bucket was placed next to Mr Pistorius, who broke down in tears on several occasions, leading the judge to briefly halt proceedings.

The pathologist described how the wounds on Ms Steenkamp’s body were consistent with bullets being fired through a wooden object such as a door.

The wounds to her arm and hip could have killed her because of the extent of the bleeding, Mr Saayman said.

Bullets

He added that the bullets used were a “black talon” type, designed to cause maximum tissue damage.

The pathologist also said that Ms Steenkamp had eaten within two hours of being killed.

Our correspondent notes this seems to contradict Mr Pistorius’ account - that the couple had been in bed for several hours before he woke, thought there was an intruder and mistakenly shot the 29-year-old model and aspiring lawyer four times through the toilet door.

After the trial was adjourned for the day, the athlete remained slumped in the dock for several minutes being comforted by family members.

Mr Saayman used the following arguments to persuade Judge Thokozile Masipa to ban broadcasts of his autopsy report: “Very

personal nature of the findings”, “Graphic details of the injuries have the potential to compromise the dignity of the deceased”, It may “harm the rights” of friends and family of the deceased; and “Goes against the morals of society.”

The judge also banned coverage of the details of the post-mortem examination through Twitter and other social media, but did allow the media to summarise the evidence after it was given.

Large parts of the trial have been televised - a first for South Africa - but there are some media restrictions in place.

For example, there is a ban on showing the faces of witnesses giving evidence, as well as on close-up shots of people in the courtroom.

Shock

Earlier, a security guard at the compound where Mr Pistorius lived defended his own account of phone calls made in the minutes after the shooting of Ms Steenkamp.

Pieter Baba said he had phoned Mr Pistorius and not the other way round, as the defence team had suggested.

If found guilty, the 27-year-old, a national sporting hero dubbed the “blade runner” after having both lower legs amputated, could face life imprisonment.

On Friday Mr Baba, a security guard working at Mr Pistorius’ gated community, spoke of his shock at seeing Mr Pistorius carrying a dying Ms Steenkamp down the stairs at the ath-

lete’s villa.

Mr Baba said he had called Mr Pistorius in response to neighbours’ reports of gunfire from the house in the early hours of the morning.

The guard said Mr Pistorius had told him: “Everything is fine,” before calling him back a few minutes later and crying down the phone.

On Monday, Mr Pistorius’ defence lawyer suggested the athlete had called Mr Baba first and not the other way round, but the witness stuck to his testimony.

Mr Pistorius’ lawyer, Barry Roux, then suggested his client had said: “I am fine,” and not: “Everything is fine,” but again the witness said this was not true.

“My Lady, what I just told the court is the truth,” Mr Baba told the judge.

During an emotional testimony on Friday, his former girlfriend, Samantha Taylor, described how Mr Pistorius fired his gun from his car. The athlete denies doing so.

Mr Pistorius has appeared distraught as the events of 14 February 2013 have been recounted in the court in Pretoria.

The state is seeking to convince the court that Mr Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp, a model, reality TV star and law graduate, had an argument before the athlete fired the shots that killed his girlfriend.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors. (BBC Sport)

It is alleged that Barcelona tried to evade £7.58m in taxes after signing the Brazilian forward from Santos in June last year.

Bartomeu added: “Barcelona acted in the proper way but if somebody thinks that there is damage to the name of Barcelona then there is damage to be repaired.”

Insisting the club had

done nothing wrong, he added: “We are not happy with the situation but we will defend our club very strongly.”

In January, Sandro Rosell resigned as Barcelona president following accusations he misappropriated money. He is also being investigated but denies any wrongdoing.

At the time of the move, Barcelona said the transfer was worth £48.6m but, after questions were raised by a member of the club, they

were forced to release documents showing the full cost to be more than £71m.

A fortnight ago, after a judge decided the investigation into the transfer could continue, Barcelona made a “voluntary contribution” of more than £11m in taxes. So far, there is no sign the payment will bring an end to the criminal investigation.

Bartomeu said: “We paid because of prudence, because there is a possible different interpretation. So we

want to be prudent. We don’t want to take any risks.

“Barca is a very well known brand name in the world and we have to take care of Barca of the club and doing this is prudent situation to keep the good image of our club.

“We don’t agree with the judge, of course. For us, this is an absurd and unfair situation because we did everything correctly in signing Neymar to FC Barcelona.” (BBC Sport)

Bopara, Sammy and Samuels

found guilty of breaching ICC Code of Conduct

England’s Ravi Bopara and West Indies’ Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels have been fined for a level one breach of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code of Conduct during the first Twenty20 International (T20I) in Barbados on Sunday.

The three players were found to have breached Article 2.1.8 of the code, which states: “Where the facts of the alleged incident are not adequately or clearly covered by any of the (above) offence, conduct that either: (a) is contrary to the spirit of

Rocky

the game; or (b) brings the game into disrepute”.

All the three players pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the sanctions proposed by Andy Pycroft of Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

The incident took place in the 12th over of England’s innings when Bopara, while taking a single, made insulting comments towards Samuels, who responded. West Indies captain Sammy joined in, also trading insults with Bopara. The exchange only ceased with the

intervention of the on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Peter Nero.

For their involvements in the incident, Bopara was fined 25 per cent of his match fee, while Sammy and Samuels were fined 20 and 10 per cent respectively.

Besides the on-field umpires, the charge was also laid by third umpire Gregory Brathwaite as well as fourth official Nigel Duguid.

All Level 1 breaches for this offence carry a penalty of a warning/reprimand and/ or the imposition of a fine up to 50 per cent of the applicable match fee.

In-form Treacle wins RSTC feature race

Treacle chalked up another victory in a feature race, this time before a packed Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC) on Sunday.

Ridden by Randolph Richmond, the animal out of the Dookhie’s Stable was in exceptional form, toying with its rivals before beating them handsomely in the C and Lower event.

The race saw ten animals leaving the gate in an even break and as they approached the first turn, the lead was rapidly changing.

However, it was Treacle that had the final say, as it pulled away from its rivals as the animals were approaching the final turn.

Coming into the home-

Hutson’s hat-trick gives South New Amsterdam teachers 6-1 win

South New Amsterdam Teachers gave their counterparts from the North a trashing and a lesson in counting when they whipped them 6-1 in the feature game of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) triple-header Saturday night at the All Saints Primary School.

Playing under lights, North New Amsterdam started the game with great aggression, but were soon tamed and for most of the first half the teams shared possession equally.

However, former Berbice player Colin Bowery made good use of a pass that went across the goal midway in the first half.

When the half time whistle came, the score line was the same and the match seemed wide open.

On the resumption Rocky Hutson found himself in the right position to receive a pass from Bowery and made no mistake.

Although limping with a groin injury, the Tutorial Academy teacher continued on the field and netted twice more before Graham Thomas found the back of the net.

Not satisfied with his lone goal, Bowery scored again to make in 6-0. With some injury time granted to

the players, Micah Erskine pulled one back for North.

Earlier, the female students played to a 2-1 game in favour of North New Amsterdam.

The North New Amsterdam girls made it almost impossible for South to score with solid defense from the likes of Taniean McWatt (Berbice High School [BHS]), Nerissa Grant (Berbice Educational Institute [BEI]), Sodia Smart (BHS) and Roshell Miller (BHS).

Together with the fast running striker in team captain Taniean Savory (BHS), North took the lead. However Shantia LeCock, who utilized her speed to play at every available part

of the field, ensured that the score line was level at the halfway stage of the game.

In the second half, the rivalry continued and South seemed to be better able to get past the defense, but still could not change the score line.

In an effort to strengthen their defense, South replaced goalkeeper Abigail Walker, with National School’s triple jump record holder Daniela Joe – a move that could have cost them the game.

Marsha Narsaiah, playing just off the centre line, fired at a rolling ball and sent it straight to the goal, but by the time the ball reached the goalkeeper it was moving at a snail’s paste.

To the surprise of all, the goalkeeper missed it and Narsaiah scored her first goal at the inter-school level.

The boys game was played at a fast paste and seemed a mismatch, as some of the players from New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI), representing North, were at least 18 inches taller than their counterparts from the South. One spectator asked whether there was an age limit for the players. But the disadvantage did not dampen the spirits

stretch, jockey Richmond (only name given) showing his brilliance in the stirrups, decided to let the animal go, giving it full rein to win with easily by about three lengths. The win was worth $1 million dollars and the Banks DIH Trophy.

Country Armagh finished a distant second place, with Swing Easy and California Strike rounding out the top four.

The Dookhie’s Stable was in winners’ row again, with Easy to Win racing to pole position in the I Class race ahead of Marian.

The Jumbo Jet Stables took top honours with three wins and other top placings in the seven-event meet.

The Stable won the Four-

year-old race for West Indies Maiden and Guyana bred horses as well as the F Class and G3 and Lower races. The winning animals for the three respective races were Princess Alicia, Appealing Harvest and Rosetta.

Unsettled and the De Gump won the Three-yearold race for West Indies and Guyana bred horses and the J and Lower race respectively.

The Jumbo Jet Stable won the champion stable accolade, while jockey Colin Ross won the champion jokey award.

Horse racing action continues this Sunday with the Kennard Memorial Turf Club’s (KMTC) annual Phagwah horse race meet.

Andy Murray digs deep to beat Jiri Vesely at Indian Wells

Aof the boys from the South. In fact they embarrassed the taller guys and made oneon-one plays.

Six minutes into the game, Staffard Edwards of South (BEI) sent a shot that beat two defenders and found the goalkeeper slightly out of place to open the scoring.

Two minutes later Steffon Boucher (NATI) answered that goal. In the 14th minute, Edwards dribbled through the field and sent a powerful shot, which had goalkeeper Edmond Semple diving to his left, but could not hold on to the ball and Orin Glen completed the job for South.

In the second half of the game, North employed a more meaningful strategy and kept the ball more on the ground. They were rewarded with a goal when Jeremy Samuels got a free kick just off the corner line and just outside of the 20yard box.

The shot went up and curved to the far end of the goal to find the back of the nets, despite an excellent attempt by goalkeeper Omari Bentham to end the game 2-2.

The GTU New Amsterdam Branch organized the event to raise funds for the branch.

ndy Murray survived a scare to beat Czech youngster Jiri Vesely 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-4 in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

The British number one battled back from a set and a break down to level against the 20-year-old.

Vesely, ranked a career-high 77, then led 4-2 in the decider before Murray showed his experience to reel off four straight games.

Murray will play either Milos Raonic or Alejandro Falla in the next round.

"It was a poor matchso many breaks of serve," Murray told BBC Sport. "I was up a double break in the first set and didn't get it, which is obviously disappointing.

"I basically just had to try and find a way to win the match in the end because the quality and the rhythm of the match was not really there from start to finish.

"The best way of building confidence really is by winning matches when you aren't playing well."

Murray has never won the Indian Wells tournament, although he reached the 2009 final, when he lost to Spain's Rafael Nadal.

He made a bright start in his first meeting with the left-handed Vesely, but was forced into a tie-break, which the Czech won amid some controversy.

Vesely should have

lost a point when he put his racquet over Murray's side of the net, but umpire Mohamed Lahyani did not see it.

"It's tough for the umpire to obviously call it," added Murray. "He'd also made a few bad overrules in my favour just before that, so it would have been a tough one to call. That's never happened to me I don't think on the tour ever."

In an error-strewn display, Murray twice had to come back from a break down to take the second set. Both players required treatment to blisters on their feet and neither found their rhythm in an untidy decider.

But Murray's will to win shone through when he responded to falling two games behind with back-to-back breaks to win the match.

Murray, who also fought back from a set and a break down to beat Lukas Rosol in the previous round , was joined in the last 16 by fourtime winner Roger Federer, who overcame Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-2).

Meanwhile, British pair Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins were beaten 3-6 6-4 10-6 in the second round of the doubles by third seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo.

The deciding set went to a champions tie-break, with the winner the first to 10 points. (BBC Sport)

Assuria Invitational Tennis Classic…

Lowden, Adams to contest Men’s Over-35 final

In closing two weeks of high quality tennis, Godfrey Lowden and Carlos Adams would add another chapter to their list of rival clashes when the two meet for the Men’s Over-35 title in the Assuria Invitational Classic Tennis Tournament.

The two tennis ‘heavyweight giants’ in the senior division steamrolled through the round-robin leg of the tournament with both men playing undefeated in their respective groups.

Lowden, the top Men’s Over-35 player in the country, and the top seed in Group B, showed no mercy as he never dropped a set in his straight-set demolitions of Steve David-Longe and popular veteran player Rudy Grant. Lowden opened his campaign with a fighting 6-2 7-5 victory over DavidLonge, who is known to be a stealthy retriever on the local tennis circuit.

The top seed Lowden later returned for his final round-robin game against Grant, who over time has proven to be a hand full for all the top players on the circuit. But there was no stopping the powerful Lowden, who claimed his remaining match to advance to the final, by taking a quick 6-1 6-4 victory over Grant. David-Longe is ranked second in the group since he too took out Grant in a hard fought three-set victory 6-4 4-6 10-8.

Meanwhile, the very vocal and fancied Adams also played undefeated in Group A where he was competing against the likes of Mario Niamatalli and Harry Panday. The feisty Adams, who is known for his vocal outbursts, was relatively tame during his on-court performance in his straightset defeats of his Group A opponents. He made a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 victory

over tennis lover Panday.

His second outing of the tournament was more of a walk in the park for the top seed. He steamrolled past the third seed in the group Niamatalli 6-1 6-0 to claim his place alongside Lowden. Niamatalli took second after defeating Panday in straight-sets 6-1 6-4.

The Ladies Singles category also proved their worth on the local tennis scene when Girls champion Nicola Ramdyhan and junior sensation Afruica Gentle clashed in their group. As they wowed the spectators with their hitting power, Ramdyhan kept her calm to avoid falling prey to Gentle, who spared no moment blasting from the baseline.

Ramdyhan eventually edged out a close win at 7-6 6-4. Berbician veteran champ Carol Humphrey, who recently recovered from knee injury, also fell prey to the 14-year-old Jamaali Homer 7-5 6-4. But Homer was subsequently easily defeated by Ramdyhan 6-4 6-1.

In the Men’s Singles, Boys champ Gavin Lewis was stunned Leyland

Leacock in a gruelling threesetter 6-7 6-4 7-5 that took a great toll on both players.

Leacock, who is a seasoned player and Assistant National Coach, seemed to be in control initially with his flawless placement of the ball, but it was the stamina and power of Lewis that created his demise. In the other match, Daniel Lopes defeated Khalif Gobin 6-0 6-3.

This week’s matches will conclude the tournament starting at 17:30h today, where it will feature the most anticipated match of the tournament, with top player in the Boys category Daniel Lopes and Lewis playing each other possibly to determine the winner in that category.

After that match, Leacock will play Gobin. On Wednesday in the Ladies Singles, Gentle will play Jamaali Homer and then in the Men’s Singles, Lewis will tackle Gobin. On Friday, the Men’s Over-35 final encounter will take place with Adams playing Lowden and in the Men’s Singles, while Lopes will trade skills with Leacock.

Table Tennis Academy dominates in team league

Table Tennis Academy

‘A’ dominated the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) League Teams table tennis tournament on Saturday at the National Gymnasium in Georgetown. In the ‘B’ Class tournament Academy ‘A’ (Warren Hackshaw, Elishaba Johnson and Sunil Logan) won both of their matches, defeating Blue Thunder ‘B’ (Patrick Triumph, Jurome Mitchell and Roy McClennon) and Blue Thunder ‘A’ (Remy

Taitt, Devon Richmond and Vernon Rodrigues) 3-0 and 3-1 respectively, while Malteenoes Sports Club ‘A’ (Shemar Britton, Jeremey Singh, Kyle Edghill and Chelsea Edghill) defeated Blue Thunder ‘B’ and Blue Thunder ‘A’ 3-1 and 3-0 respectively.

In the ‘C’ Class competition, Table Tennis Academy ‘A’ (Terrence Rausch, Khalil Ninvalle and Kristie Lopes) also won both their encounter against Bank of Guyana ‘A’ (Cleveland Davson, Imran

Stag Beer/EDFA Division One League... Agricola, Grove prevail in latest action

With the intensity of the Stag Beer sponsored East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Division One League getting better, the latest battle between Grove Hi Tech and Soesdyke was an epic last Sunday afternoon at the Grove Playfield, and has been dubbed as the most exciting game to date.

Grove ran out 5-3 victors, but it was not an easy battle, barring some questionable referral calls that saw both teams on the wrong end, the game had the attention of the fans from start to end.

Sunday’s other match-up saw Agricola Red Triangle trouncing Herstelling 8-0 for their second win in as many matches. With the victory, they have assumed the number one spot on the points table by virtue of a better goal difference ahead of Kuru Kururu Warriors and Timehri Panthers.

Grove, led by captain Domini Garnett, who has been named in the national squad that will com-

such a comfortable advantage was not to deter the Soesdyke boys, who kept up their offensive efforts.

Their persistence brought the desired results and in the 32nd minute the advantage was narrowed, compliments of a Colin McLean goal. This change in fortunes brought more energy to the Soesdyke team, even as Grove tried to keep them at bay, the half ending 3-1 in favour of Grove.

On resumption, Soesdyke continued where they left off from the first half and five minutes on they found their second goal to bring down the advantage to one goal, Dwayne Dillon converting in the 50th minute.

Dillon’s goal added a new perspective to the game, but Grove wasn’t comfortable with their rivals coming so close; restoring the two-goal cushion two minutes later when Tybert Muir found the back of the nets.

The exchanges continued end to end as neither team relented. With

found another goal to draw them level. The Grove ballweavers were not in a mood to share any points.

On the stroke of full time, the home team placed the result beyond any doubt when Dick netted his second to seal an exciting win for Grove 5-3, their first points while it was Soesdykes first loss of the league.

Easy victory Agricola did not have much worry in disposing the challenge of Herstelling, one of the youngest clubs in the association.

Finding the target for Agricola were Travis Farinha (2nd, 18th) and Gordon Grant (22nd, 26th) with a brace each, while there was one each for Winston Rawlins (15th), Travis Welch (42nd), Colin Richie (44th) and Yohance Roberts (48th).

Matches will continue at the same venue this Sunday and Monday, which is a national holiday in observance of Phahwah.

Khan and Leonardo [only name given]) and Central High ‘A’ (Romario Hemraj, Jamal Persaud and Jamol DaSilva) 3-1 and 3-0 respectively.

Table Tennis Academy ‘B’ (Kayson Ninvalle, Amit Mookram and Brittany Bunbury) defeated Central High ‘A’ 3-0, while Bank of Guyana ‘A’ defeated Table Tennis Academy ‘B’ 3-2 in a close encounter to end the day.

The league will continue on March 17 at the same venue.

mence preparations for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) championships, opened the scoring for his side in the 12th minute.

Garnett’s goal was soon matched by teammates Denzil Crawford in the 17th minute and Joel Dick one minute later from the penalty spot and the first of a double from him, as Grove raced to a 3-0 lead. But even

the time ticking away, Soesdyke again found goal shooting range and made it count when Roger Dey blasted in their third four minutes to full time much to the delight of his teammates and fans.

At this juncture the Soesdyke lads were on a high and were at least looking for an even share of the points if they could have

On Sunday, Diamond United will oppose Mocha Champs in the first game from 13:00 hours with Kuru Kururu Warriors and Timehri Panthers clashing in the feature.

Mondays matches will see Grove Hi Tech opposing Herstelling FC with the main event between Soesdyke Falcons and Agricola Red Triangle.

Road to Mecca…

Stephney's clutch play carries Ravens to semis

By Treiston Joseph

With Ravens up by one and the clock on 36 seconds, Ryan Stephney came down the court, called an isola tion play, used his hesita tion dribble followed by a left cross, drove the lane and scored over traffic to the resounding applause of a packed Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Sunday eve ning to help the Ravens de feat the Pacesetters 61-58 in the Road to Mecca National Club Championships.

The game started with both teams swishing threes to start the competitive game in front of one of the best crowds in a while.

As usual, the Ravens were active on the glass and received numerous second chance opportunities which helped them run out to a seven-point lead at the end of the first.

Three-point bomber for the Pacesetters Stephon Gillis, in the second quar ter unleashed a barrage of threes to erase the seven point deficit and head into the half time break with just one point ahead of the Ravens with score on 41-40.

DCB U-15 Inter-Zone starts Wednesday

The Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Under-15 InterZone competition will bowl off on Wednesday at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) grounds in Georgetown.

So far, the DCB is in possession of three of the four teams that will compete for top honours. The Georgetown team was slated to be selected last evening.

The other three zones are East Coast Demerara, East Bank Demerara and West Demerara. Below are the teams.

After the halftime break, Ravens settled into their offense, as they looked to pass for the open shots, while Gillis started to go cold from the arc, but continued to fire away, while the guards of the Pacesetters found it hard to penetrate the 3-2 zone defense of the Ravens.

However, with the score on 57-55 in favour of the Ravens in the final two minutes and both teams cranking up the defense, Gillis hit a clutch three to send his team one point ahead with a minute left to play.

Stephney then took over the game driving the ball

Stephney ended with 25 points while Akeem ‘The Dream’ Kanhai contributed 12 points in the thriller of a game. Gillis ended with 23 points for the Pacesetters while Travis Burnett dropped 10 points as well in the losing effort. Meanwhile, the Retrieve Raiders pulled off a 57-55 thriller of a game against the Kashif and Shanghai Kings to move to the semifinal round.

Dwayne ‘Brown Suga’ Roberts and Keon Cameron combined for 41 of the team’s 57 points in the game.

Roberts inside tactic

double of 11 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

The Bounty Colts was the fourth team to make the semis, as they routed the Pepsi Sonics 65-51 for their second win of the tournament.

Dave Causway was the high point man for the Colts with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Shelroy Thomas had 16 points and seven rebounds.

Guard Jason Squires had an all-round game for the Sonics with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Trevor Smith was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points.

Paul Thomas, Ricky Dass, Ronaldo Jaisingh, Anthony Ontonio, Christopher Hamilton, Devon Allen, Daniel Scott, Akeem Bahoney, Raule Douglas, Joshua Singh and Takudyal

Manager is D Debidial.

East Coast Demerara: Bhashkar Yadram (captain), Rovin Ramsaroop (vice-captain), Gopaul Applesammy, Vishal Roopchand, Ramdeo Basdeo, Mohamed Hussain, Compton James, Shaquelle King, Marc Mahase, Akash Narine, Travet Sheopersaud and Sewnarine Sukhai. Manager is Gavin Moriah and Coach is Latchman Yadram.

East Bank Demerara: Sagar Hiathiramani, Bhojnarine Singh, Mark Ramsammy, Nazim Esau,

West Demerara: Chukiram Outar (captain), Ganesh Jailall (vicecaptain), Troy Persaud, Kumar Ramlakan, Parmanand Rambarak, Navindra Persaud, Ahamad Sattuar, Rajesh Bhoodram, Sayrendra Pooran, Retesh Samaroo, Joshua Rahaman, Lakram Haimkarran, Daneshwar Kowlessar, Aftab Basdeo and Shem Khan. Sudesh Persaud is Manager. In the opening round on Wednesday, East Coast will take on East Bank at GCC and Georgetown and West Demerara will clash at DCC.

NCN Inter-Zone U-15 tournament bowls off today

West Berbice and New Amsterdam/ Canje will clash in the first round of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) organised National Communication Network (NCN) Under-15 Inter Zone tournament, which is set to bowl off today at the Cumberland ground, Canje.

The competition is a yardstick for the junior selectors to pick the Berbice Under-15 team for the Limacol Under-15 two-day competition, which will take place from March 23-30, featuring Demerara, Berbice, Essequibo and the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President’s XI.

According to a release

from the BCB, the ongoing Tenelec Under-15 InterClub tournament will also be used by the junior selectors.

The tournament will be played for two days as the BCB strives to expose young players to the longer version of the game.

Defending champions Lower Corentyne and Upper Corentyne will clash from Thursday at the Albion Sports complex.

The winners of the two semi-finals will feature in the final scheduled for sometime next week, with the two losing teams’ battling for the third place playoff. All matches start at 10:00h. The respective squads are

below.

New Amsterdam/Canje: Kevin Sinclair, Alex Algu, Steve Deonarine, Garfield Benjamin, Junior Williams, Malcolm Mickle, Davendra Ramkissoon, Naresh Chand, Melvin Singh, Brandon Stewart, Dominic Durant, Jamal Frank, Rajendra Beharry and Bharrat Bhopal.

West Berbice squad: Kris Ramnarine, Sachin Veerasammy, Saheed Khan, Seon Glasgow, Javid Karim, Tallim Inshan, Assad Isaqhawk, Imran Azeez, Christopher Harry, Bickram Mohan, Adrian Ramnarine, Yuvendra Budhu, Nicholas Shewrattan and Navindra Persaud.

Goodwill football series concludes

TheGoodwill football series hosted by Vision Sounds concluded on Sunday evening at the GFC ground with Alpha United edging Boys Town FC out of Jamaica 1-0 through a Dwight Peters’ 69th minute goal. The other game between Slingerz FC and Buxton United was a goalless draw. In photo, a Boys Town FC player tries to stave off the challenge of an advancing Alpha United player.