Guyana Times Daily

Guyana needs anticorruption strategy

– OAS urges strengthening of Audit Office’s fraud unit

Tzero and

High Tide: 01:46h and 14:11h reaching maximum heights of 2.40 metres and 2.50 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 07:42h and 80:11h reaching minimum heights of 0.81 metre and 0.66 metre respectively.

he Organisation of American States (OAS) said Guyana should develop an anti-corruption strategy, which could include the establishment of specialised units in the police force and in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to root out alleged graft in the Government system.

The body also spoke of the many incomplete investigations into state fraud and the authorities’ inability to prosecute alleged offenders of corruption.

The call is contained in a menu of recommendations which form part of the OASanti-corruption watchdog, the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the Follow-Up Mechanism for its Implementation (MESICIC) final report on Guyana. The report was submitted last Friday when Guyana underwent a review by the body in Washington, U.S.A. Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira represented Guyana at that forum.

The committee’s recommendation also comes against the background of comments made by Auditor General Deodat Sharma when it conducted an onsite visit here last year.

The OAS body, said Sharma, spoke about his department’s difficulties in prosecuting fraud and corruption in Guyana, which resulted in virtually no prosecution of fraud/corruption cases.

Fraud/corruption

The Auditor General informed the committee that both the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Office of the DPP are overloaded with cases and that fraud/corruption cases compete with other serious crimes such as murder, sexual violence and robbery.

The Auditor General also stated, according to the OAS report, that fraud cases are usually complex and therefore intimidating to those unfamiliar with the subject.

He said access to bank account information would assist in the prosecution of fraud/corruption cases but the Audit Act of 2004 requires obtaining a warrant from a court in order to obtain such information.

However, Sharma reported that some Magistrates require a criminal charge to have already been filed in order to issue such a warrant.

“In light of the situation described above and in the absence of detailed information regarding the final outcome of the fraud/corruption cases investigated by the Audit Office, the committee believes [the Audit Office] should consider strengthening its ability to prosecute fraud/corruption cases, especially those of greater importance or complexity, whether due to the level of the Government official involved or the amount of

economic injury to the state,” the report stated.

To this end, the committee believes Guyana would benefit from establishing an articulated anti-corruption strategy, which could include the establishment of specialised anti-corruption units in the GPF and in the Office of the DPP.

Additionally, the committee reported that Sharma said that lack of staff and the geographic spread of the country have hampered the department’s ability to conduct special audits, particularly in the area of fraud at Government departments.

But the OAS body believes that the office, especially its Forensic Audit Unit, could be further strengthened to increase its capacity in investigating and uncovering fraud and corruption in Guyana.

Noting that Guyana has adopted measures intended to maintain and strengthen the Audit Office as an oversight body and has established a Serious Organised Crimes Unit (SOCU) with an interagency National Oversight Committee comprising a range of institutions, the body recommends that efforts be made to strengthen the Audit Office, especially its Forensic Audit Unit, by ensuring that it has the human, financial and technological resources necessary for the proper execution of its functions, bearing in mind the availability of resources.

Annual reports

The OAS’s recommendation stemmed from its perusal of the annual reports of the Auditor General, which provide information on fraud uncovered in the current and previous periods.

In respect to the 2012 Annual Report, the Committee reported that there was also a loss of cash amounting to $206.379 million at the Accountant General’s Department Head Office.

This fraud was uncovered where payments of arrears pension and gratuity were made to 61 inactive, deceased and fictitious pensioners. At the time of reporting, five persons were charged by the police and the matter is before the court.

Besides, the body said over the years 1995 to 2001, there were nine matters which are either being investigated by police or pending before the Supreme Court.

It noted that in each case, the cases were based on apparent irregularities or suspected fraudulent acts perpetrated against the state.

The estimated losses, which remain outstanding to date, were valued at $14.476 million. The department had still not recovered amounts totalling $962,074, which remains outstanding in relation to 44 employees overpaid during the years 2007 and 2011.

According to the OAS body, from the information above, it observes that there seems to be an issue with the recovery of the amounts overpaid or fraudulently stolen from the state. It said too that it did not obtain complete information on the status of other cases of fraud, thefts, losses and overpayments other than that mentioned in the Auditor General’s Annual Report 2012.

Accountability

Additionally, the body has recommended that the Audit Office publish on its website all accountability documents and reports prepared by the agency and presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), such as its three-year strategic plans and the annual updates thereof, as well as the independent auditor’s report to the members of PAC .

The anti-corruption body also urged that the Audit Office website be improved, by advertising a specific hotline telephone number and/

or a (secure) hotline for complaints in electronic form from those interested in presenting reports, complaints or allegations of fraud or corruption.

Additionally, it called on the office to provide guidance on the website on how to present useful reports, complaints or allegations and on how the interested person can follow-up on its status.

The body also called for the promotion of awareness campaigns to educate the general public on how they can help the Audit Office in its functions, especially those of its Forensic Audit Unit, related to the uncovering and deterrence of fraud and corruption in Guyana; provide support and incentives to its current staff to pursue and attain professional accounting qualifications recognised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana; and/ or take these qualifications into consideration when selecting future staff are also recommendations made by the body.

Quality assurance

It recommended greater efforts to ensure the Audit Office’s participation in the peer-review programme on audit quality assurance in the framework of the Caribbean Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (CAROSAI) and for the continued strengthening of the internal audit departments in the various Government agencies and consider gradually increasing their staff.

The OAS body further called on the Audit Office to prepare statistics on the amount ordered to be paid back to the state in cases of fraud, theft, losses and overpayments and the amounts actually recovered, in order to identify challenges and recommend corrective measures.

“Prepare comprehensive statistics on the outcomes of disciplinary investigative proceedings within the Audit Office showing how many investigations are under way, how many have been shelved, and with respect to how many the statute of limitations have expired, in order to identify challenges and recommend corrective measures,” the OAS body urged.

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

Banking on education

The Government’s continued commitment towards the development of the education sector was displayed very graphically with the largest percentage of spending in Budget 2014 being allocated to developing the capabilities of Guyana’s future – its youths. Spending $32.8 billion or 15 per cent of the budget in this area, the Government cannot be accused of crafting an “elections” budget, since investment in education is only recouped in the medium to long term.

But their decision to continue with the promise of Dr Cheddi Jagan, to focus on education, is indicative of the PPP/ C’s determination to give all Guyanese an equal opportunity to participate in the growth and development of the country. While the focus on economic growth via expansion of the Gross National Product (GNP) is a valuable tool for the policymakers, it is accepted that the metric can hide many sins – including that of unequal growth in different sections of the society.

But with every child having an equal opportunity to educate themselves, there is a greater likelihood for a more level playing field being created in which the rewards of the economic growth can be distributed more equitably. Without that equality to hone their natural endowments, many would then be forced to continue in the impoverished social and economic environment in which they were born. With education, there is an opportunity to transcend these structural barriers.

But while there might be equality in opportunity to gain an education, this does not necessarily guarantee an equality of outcome in the real world of work and employment. In this arena, personal qualities and attitudes matter as much as the “paper” qualifications. We raise this issue among another within the context of the massive spending this Government has undertaken over the last two decades.

The Government will be allocating over $2.7 billion towards the improvement of school infrastructure, which is already in very good shape. There will be more monies spent on computers and other equipment to facilitate teaching. There will be the continuation of the school uniform project, as well as the school feeding programme. These are all necessary, but the question is whether they are sufficient. If we are to look at what the educational system has been delivering, we have to confess that the answer has to be “no”.

While the Government has done yeoman service in securing funding for the sector, the results have not been commensurate with the amounts expended. At each level of the education system, be it nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary, while there are always the sterling achievements at examinations, of the top one per cent, this is statistically insignificant when compared with the remainder. The cliche of “the rising ride raises all shops” seems not to be applicable to the rising tide of money expended in the education sector.

Interestingly enough, we do not believe that the less than stellar “bang for the buck” in this sector is for want of innovating. Almost annually, there are new programmes launched to improve performances. But there are two problems: a lack of focus on values and very little follow-up via management initiatives after programmes are launched to ensure that the intended goals are achieved.

Take, for instance, the “Assessments” introduced over a decade ago in the Primary Levels at Grades Two and Four. There has never been any record of a single teacher being guided by these “Assessments” at the Primary level to rectify identified problems with the students’ performances, much less that at the Secondary Level in Grade Seven.

In the meantime, the number of youths that are effectively being warehoused in the school system until they have to depart – but lacking in life skills, values or work ethic, increase exponentially. The poet Langston Hughes once warned: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore – And then run? ... Or does it explode?”

Victimisation by the police

Dear Editor,

After being a victim of police harassment, I am now faced with the after-effects of exposing such behaviour. The police are well known to strike back with a method that has been employed and practised and known as victimisation.

Victimisation has long been adopted by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and exercised against those that seek to highlight bad experiences with the police.

Numerous citizens suffer from this atrocious act daily, while those in authority

seem unconcerned and condone this kind of behaviour. Also, citizens find it difficult to rely on those offices that are responsible to protect them, and are left to endure this distasteful practice.

Action must be levelled against this type of behaviour by our officers in the GPF who vehemently abuse their authority for their own satisfaction and vindictiveness. Citizens have become vulnerable to victimisation since we are trapped under an abused system.

Citizens are likely to be subjected to repeated victi-

misation, if not treated as a crime and dealt with accordingly. Unless our system has the means and provision to ensure this act is eradicated, citizens will remain fearful of their own safety from those that took the oath to protect and serve.

Consistently, there has always been a low level of public satisfaction with the performance of the police. With continuous harassment and victimisation emanating from the force, citizens will continue to hold a bad perception of them unless steps are taken in the direction to

correct same.

No doubt there are many genuinely suitable and good officers in the GPF, but there are also genuinely some square pegs in round holes. Only recently I have fallen victim to the harassment and victimisation by the police and it’s my hope that those in authority will recognise the plight we suffer as citizens and take steps to correct same, least the citizens of this land lose all confidence in the GPF.

Sincerely, M

Azimullah

Mayor should do something meaningful for the City

Dear Editor,

I read with disgust the utterances by the Mayor of Georgetown, Hamilton Green during an interview rejecting monies approved to clean up the huge piles of garbage around the city.

There has been an age long cry about the lack of funding, and now that the Government has made a proposed allocation of $500 million to clean up the city, none other than the Mayor is saying that it is not necessary. Dam if you do, dam if you don’t. The Mayor is comfortable with the piles of garbage around the city. Is it that garbage is his comfort zone?

The Mayor is indeed suffering from the ‘rip van winkle’ syndrome, as he is not aware of the enormous piles of garbage that decorate the city on a daily basis. The current sanitation and health risk of the city falls solely at the feet of the Mayor, while playing old school PNC politics.

I, among the thousands of Guyanese that traverse the city on a daily basis, am sickened and fed up with the state of the city and the lack of concern by the Mayor and City Council to address the nastiness that fills the city’s drains and streets is unbecoming.

Notwithstanding, the

lackadaisical outlook of the Mayor and City Council to address the garbage calamity in the city, the effort of the government through the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and its campaign against littering is slowly catching on and will pick up speed when more litter bugs will be charged under the new Litter Regulations.

This new piece of law introduced by the Ministry is most welcomed and is proving to be effective.

I strongly believe that the Ministry and its regulatory agency – the Environmental Protection

Agency is heading in the right direction to create a sense of awareness among citizens then address enforcement.

With this in mind, I would like to remind Mayor Hamilton Green that the City of Georgetown belongs to all the peoples of Guyana and it’s not a toy than can be used for political attention and gimmicks. As such, I would like to urge the Mayor to awake from his deep slumber and do something meaningful for the City for which he will be remembered.

Sincerely, Shamshudeen Khan

Page Foundation

How does multitasking change the way children learn? (Part two)

BY ANNIE MURPHY PAUL

During the first meeting of his courses, Rosen makes a practice of calling on a student who is busy with his phone.

“I asked him, ‘What was on the slide I just showed to the class?’ The student always pulls a blank,” Rosen reports.

“Young people have a wildly inflated idea of how many things they can attend to at once, and this demonstration helps drive the point home: If you’re paying attention to your phone, you’re not paying attention to what’s going on in class.” Other professors have taken a more surreptitious approach, installing electronic spyware or planting human observers to record whether students are taking notes on their laptops or using them for other, unauthorised purposes.

Such steps may seem excessive, even paranoid: After all, isn’t technology increasingly becoming an intentional part of classroom activities and homework assignments? Educators are using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as well as social sites created just for schools, such as Edmodo, to communicate with students, take class polls, assign homework, and have students collaborate on projects. But researchers are concerned about the use of laptops, tablets, cellphones, and other technology for purposes quite apart from schoolwork. Now that these devices have been admitted into classrooms and study spaces, it has proven difficult to police the line between their approved and illicit use by students.

In the study involving spyware, for example, two professors of business administration at the University of Vermont found that “students engage in substantial multitasking behaviour with their laptops and have non course-related software applications open and active about 42 per cent of the time.” The professors, James Kraushaar and David Novak, obtained students’ permission before installing the monitoring software on their computers

student texting just 17 minutes into her very first class – the beginning of her law school career.)

Can the brain multitask?

Texting, emailing, and posting on Facebook and other social media sites are by far the most common digital activities students undertake while learning, according to Rosen. That’s a problem, because these operations are actually quite mentally complex, and they draw on the same mental

“Under most conditions, the brain simply cannot do two complex tasks at the same time. It can happen only when the two tasks are both very simple and when they don’t compete with each other for the same mental resources... But listening to a lecture while texting, or doing homework and being on Facebook – each of these tasks is very demanding, and each of them uses the same area of the brain, the prefrontal cortex.”

– so, as in Rosen’s study, the students were engaging in flagrant multitasking even though they knew their actions were being recorded.

Another study, carried out at St John’s University in New York, used human observers stationed at the back of the classroom to record the technological activities of law students. The spies reported that 58 per cent of second- and third-year law students who had laptops in class were using them for “non-class purposes” more than half the time. (Firstyear students were far more likely to use their computers for taking notes, although an observer did note one first-year

resources – using language, parsing meaning – demanded by schoolwork.

David Meyer, a psychology Professor at the University of Michigan who’s studied the effects of divided attention on learning, takes a firm line on the brain’s ability to multitask: “Under most conditions, the brain simply cannot do two complex tasks at the same time. It can happen only when the two tasks are both very simple and when they don’t compete with each other for the same mental resources. An example would be folding laundry and listening to the weather report on the radio. That’s fine. But listening to a lecture while texting, or

doing homework and being on Facebook – each of these tasks is very demanding, and each of them uses the same area of the brain, the prefrontal cortex.”

Young people think they can perform two challenging tasks at once, Meyer acknowledges, but “they are deluded,” he declares. It’s difficult for anyone to properly evaluate how well his or her own mental processes are operating, he points out, because most of these processes are unconscious. And, Meyer adds, “there’s nothing magical about the brains of so-called ‘digital natives’ that keeps them from suffering the inefficiencies of multitasking. They may like to do it, they may even be addicted to it, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s far better to focus on one task from start to finish.”

Researchers have documented a cascade of negative outcomes that occurs when students multitask while doing schoolwork. First, the assignment takes longer to complete, because of the time spent on distracting activities and because, upon returning to the assignment, the student has to re-familiarise himself with the material.

Second, the mental fatigue caused by repeatedly dropping and picking up a mental thread leads to more mistakes. The cognitive cost of such taskswitching is especially high when students alternate between tasks that call for different sets of expressive “rules” – the formal, precise language required for an English essay, for example, and the casual, friendly tone of an email to a friend. (blog.kqed.org)

Age of distraction:

Why it’s crucial for students to learn to focus

(Continued

BY KATRINA SCHWARTZ

Perhaps the most well known study on concentration is a longitudinal study conducted with over 1000 children in New Zealand by Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi, psychology and neuroscience professors at Duke University. The study tested children born in 1972 and 1973 regularly for eight years, measuring their ability to pay attention and to ignore distractions. Then, the researchers tracked those same children down at the age of 32 to see how well they fared in life. The ability to concentrate was the strongest predictor of success.

“This ability is more important than IQ or the socio economic status of the family you grew up in for determining career success, financial success and health,” Goleman said. That could be a problem for students in the U.S. who often seem addicted to their devices, unable to put them down for even a few moments. Teachers say students are unable to comprehend the

from Wednesday)

same texts that generations of students that came before them could master without problems, said Goleman. These are signs that educators may need to start paying attention to the act of attention itself. Digital natives may need help cultivating what was once an innate part of growing up.

“It’s very important to ramp up the focus side of the equation,” Goleman said. He’s not naive about the role digital devices play in society today, but he does believe that without managing how devices affect children better they’ll never learn the attention skills they’ll need to succeed in the long term.

“There’s a need now to teach children concentration abilities as part of the school curriculum,” Goleman said. “The more children and teens are natural focusers, the better able they’ll be to use the digital tool for what they have to get done and then to use it in ways that they enjoy.”

Some argue that the current generation of students grew up with digital devices and are much better at multitasking than their parents. But the idea of multitasking is a myth, Goleman said. When people say they’re “multitasking,” what they are really doing is something called “continuous partial attention,” where the brain switches back and forth quickly between tasks. The problem is that as a student switches back and forth between homework and streaming through text messages, their ability to focus on either task erodes. That trend is less pronounced when the actions are routine, but it could have significant implications for how deeply a student understands a new concept.

“If you have a big project, what you need to do every day is have a protected time so you can get work done,” Goleman said. For his part, when he’s writing a book, Goleman goes to his studio where there is no email, no phone, nothing to distract him. He’ll work for several hours and then spend designated time responding to people afterwards.

“I don’t think the enemy is digital devices,” Goleman said. “What we need to do is be sure that the current generation of children has the attentional capacities that other generations had naturally before the distractions of digital devices. It’s about using the devices smartly but having the capacity to concentrate as you need to, when you want to.”

kqed.org)

New Slovak Republic Ambassador accredited Businesswoman shot twice during robbery

Newly-appointed Slovak Republic Ambassador, Mila Cigan on Wednesday presented his Letters of Credence to President Donald Ramotar at the Office of the President, and reaffirmed his country’s dedication to deepen the cordial relationship that it shares with Guyana.

In accepting and welcoming the newly-appointed ambassador, President Ramotar said the two countries have a lot of areas in common.

“Areas such as mining and agriculture, both of which we can find areas of cooperation,” he said as he expressed optimism that the two countries would have even closer ties in the future.

Ambassador Cigan said he was privileged to be serving as his nation’s representative to Guyana, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

“I’m honoured to be here to start work on a new chapter of relations between Slovak and Guyana,” he said, adding that he will continue efforts to develop the political, economic and cultural relationship between the two nations, and do his best to enhance future cooperation. Ambassador Cigan, previously served as his country’s ambassador to neighbouring Brazil.

Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about

49,000 square kilometres (19,000 square miles).

The country is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is the capital, Bratislava, and the second largest is Košice.

Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, the North American Treaty Organisation (NATO), the United Nations, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organistion (WTO), among others. In July 1992, Slovakia led by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, declared itself a sovereign state.

AParfaite Harmonie businesswoman was on Wednesday shot twice during a brazen daylight robbery at her home by three men who went to her grocery shop under the pretext of purchasing a five-gallon bottle of distilled water.

Ann Gravesande, 52, of Lot 301 Westminster, Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, is nursing injuries to her right arm and right leg at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH). She is said to be in a stable condition.

According to information received, the businesswoman was in her shop when one of the men suddenly appeared, requesting a bottle of water.

As normal, the customer opened the grilled cage but took a long time to take out the bottle, and when Gravesande enquired the reason for the hold up, she was told that he was waiting on two of his workers.

As she went about her business, two armed men invaded the woman’s property, demanding money and jewellery. They reportedly dragged the woman from the shop into the house in an effort to get money, but the woman put up a fight.

After they realised that they could not have gotten the woman to release any money and jewellery, they took her into the yard and

shot her twice.

Terrance Lall, a son of the injured woman stated that the incident occurred about 10:30h, when his mother was home alone.

Escape

He said after his mother was shot, the men went into the shop and collected an undisclosed sum of money before escaping in a waiting motor car.

“They boarded a yellow wagon which was waiting for them. All we know it the registration number started with HC, but the numbers were not visible.”

The son further stated that after his mother realised the men left, she walked to the bridge where she waved to a neighbour and collapsed. The neighbour, along with two others,

ran to the woman’s rescue.

“They picked her up, put her in a car and drove to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where she was admitted,” the son said.

Lall added that from information gathered from his mother, one of the men is known to his family, but she does not know the other two.

The man, who pretended to be a customer, is of Indian descent while the two others are of African ancestry.

The young man added that it is a norm for his mother to be at home alone as he is employed elsewhere. After receiving the news, he rushed to the hospital, where he saw his mother receiving treatment. The bullets, he added, were removed from her body.

Police are continuing their investigations.

No hope of retendering for Specialty Hospital contract – Dr Ramsaran

The hope of the Indian construction company Fedders Lloyd Corporation Limited to have the US$18 million contract retendered for the building of the Specialty Hospital has been dented, since according to Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, that process has long been completed.

Addressing a recent report in another section of the media, the Health Minister said the contract for the construction of the hospital was already awarded to the Surendra Engineering Corporation and was clearly made known to the Fedders Lloyd Company, which made the lowest bid. He pointed out too that there is an appeal process that is known by the company.

According to the newspaper report, the construction company is awaiting the reconvening of Parliament in an Indian state, where, according to the company, the contract award will be reviewed. The company hopes that after the review, the contract will be retendered in Guyana. Finance

Minister, Dr Ashni Singh had announced on Monday a $910 million allocation to the hospital. Dr Ramsaran said the money will go toward further development of the site.

He noted that Guyanese will not see any building being constructed anytime soon, since much emphasis is being placed on the pile driving to support for buildings or other structures. He said that there are several hundred piles on site, with just over one hundred already used to test for quality.

Geotechnical survey

He noted that the geotechnical survey and the technical work stage have already been completed. And while the Surendra Engineering Corporation has been contracted for the project, another company, VICAP, is currently carrying on consultancy programmes.

Since its inception, the Specialty Hospital has been under scrutiny by Guyana’s parliamentary Opposition. Health Minister, Dr Bheri

Ramsaran in December of last year had requested a $34.4 million supplementary funding for the hospital.

Although his request was not approved by the Opposition, the absence of A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Volda Lawrence during the voting period made it possible for the Minister to obtain the funds for the hospital.

Dr Ramsaran told Guyana Times that the money was used for all the projects listed above; including the pile driving that is currently ongoing.

Preparatory work on the construction of the multimillion-dollar hospital has since commenced and the Health Minister said that the Donald Ramotar Administration was very passionate about seeing the project to completion.

During the 2013 budget debate, the $1.25 billion provision for the controversial hospital was cut by the combined Opposition, using their one-seat majority in the House. APNU had contended that the formulation

of the project was not transparent, a view that has been denied by the Government.

The construction of the hospital is part of an agreement between the governments of Guyana and India, for Guyana to use US$18 million through a line of credit to build the hospital. The medial institution is being built to cater for complicated surgeries, ranging from heart operations, organ transplants to cosmetic surgery.

Dr Singh in his budget presentation on Monday said efforts will continue to advance the construction of the hospital, which aims to deliver tertiary level healthcare not previously available to Guyanese.

Update on Clean and Green Guyana Project today

Representatives from over 50 environmental groups and corporate entities are expected to attend a workshop organised by the Clean and Green Guyana Project today.

The project is being held under the auspices of the Local Government Ministry’s Solid Waste Disposal Programme and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The initiative seeks to bring the groups up-to-date on the progress of the public awareness campaign.

The event will be held in the Conference Room at Red House, Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, High Street, Kingston, Georgetown, from 10:00h12:00h.

Public Affairs activist Jocelyn Dow will facilitate the session and there will be a special presentation by Aretha Forde of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry on the introduction of the new anti-littering laws.

Eyew tness

The right to approve

...is not to amend

As the Opposition huddle around the just-presented Budget of Dr Ashni Singh like Macbeth’s witches, it’s no secret as to what’s brewing. They announced their intentions even before the Minister spoke: chops ahead!!!

Now your Eyewitness has to ask: is this any way to run a country? How do you say you’ll chop if you haven’t even seen the proposed spending allocations? Of course, it could be the wankers have a mole in Dr Singh’s office and already were informed of the budget’s details. But we doubt it.

What’s playing out here is nothing but naked arrogance and hubris. It didn’t matter what the Government proposed – it was still going to face the Opposition executioner’s axe. It’s like they have to prove their manhood. It’s all about the one-seat majority they received. Can you imagine what they’ll do if they ever get their grubby little paws on Executive power? A whole lot of people will have to begin writing their wills.

It’s rather pathetic that so much ink’s being spilled to discuss and analyse the budget when so much of it’s going to go down the tube. What makes the Opposition’s promise on chopping so much more cynical is that they’re flagrantly giving the middle finger to the rule of law in this country. There’s been a lot of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth over the breakdown of law and order here. Feral youths prowling the streets and snuffing out innocent lives willy-nilly and so on...

But how’d you expect the folks in the trenches to do the right thing when you have the lawmakers of this country announcing in the very place where the laws are made they’ll break those laws? In Guyana, the Opposition accepts the Constitution is the highest law of the land. They haven’t disputed that... yet. They’ve also accepted that it’s up to the courts of the land to determine if the law’s being broken. And the courts have declared – in no uncertain terms – that it’s illegal for the Opposition to chop – or even to snip – the budget. The courts accepted that the Opposition had the power to “approve” the estimates on spending. But it ruled: “A power to approve does not imply a power to amend.” We wonder which part of that statement the Opposition doesn’t get.

If they “amend” the budget estimates, then it’s no longer the Government’s but theirs. And this power to place charges on the Consolidated Fund via a budget or any other Bill is expressly forbidden by the Constitution.

O judgment... thou art fled to savage beasts!!

...is not to cherry pick

When it comes to the Opposition in Guyana, it’s always a case of half step forwards (at best) and three steps backwards. Here it is, we’ve taken over 33 years...that’s right, 33 years!... to get a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the death of Walter Rodney. We’re not surprised the PNC balked at participating after talking fat about “not being afraid”. But what does the WPA, the party for which Rodney died, do? Throw a spanner into the works that’s what.

How could a Senior Counsel from Trinidad be seen as an agent of the Government, which selected him as a Commissioner, when all he did was to represent the state – not even the PPP – in a court matter? How come in 1996, when the then PPP/C Government appointed Doodnauth Singh as Special Prosecutor to bring back and try Gregory Smith, the WPA objected then?

Doodnauth had represented the PPP/C in dozens of cases. For free, even.

O judgement... thou art fled to savage beasts!!

...an invitation?

APNU’s Greenidge thinks he has the right to amend the Minister’s invitations for consultations, to suit his whims and fancies. He may be out of a job and have all the time in the world on his hands.

But the Minister has work to do on behalf of the people of Guyana.

Govt ready to account for EU funds – Dr Ramsammy

Agriculture

Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy said he is willing to justify and verify the expenditure of the €110.1 million provided by the European Union (EU) to support the ailing sugar industry.

The Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union (GAWU) on Tuesday called for clarity, stating that while the Government is contending that €110.1 million was provided to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) during the period 2005-2013, its records indicate that disbursements only commenced in 2007. The union is also of the opinion that all of the funds provided under the EU programme have not been allocated to the industry.

“I am inviting GAWU to a meeting to discuss the matter and clear up any misunderstanding that they might have. I am certain that GAWU will be satisfied that the Government of Guyana has surpassed sums from the EU as payments to GuySuCo,” Dr Ramsammy said on Wednesday.

According to the Government, it has transferred a total of US$195 million to GuySuCo over the period from 2005-2013 in support of its various restructuring and turnaround initiatives, supporting the amount injected by the EU. The Agriculture Minister also expressed disappointment that Opposition Leader David Granger and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Carl Greenidge have indicated their intention to vote against the $6 billion budgeted for GuySuCo. It will be quite an unfortunate situation if the Opposition goes ahead with its plans, Dr Ramsammy opined. According to him, the Opposition’s intention follows a series of actions to suppress the sugar industry. “Just a few weeks ago,

they expressed views that GuySuCo should be closed down. It was only after the backlash of sugar workers and other key stakeholders rejecting their proposal that they backpedalled and claimed that they were speaking of replacing sugar with ethanol,” he lamented.

Indirect move

The Minister is contending that any move by APNU to reject critical funding for GuySuCo is an indirect move to gradually close the sugar industry. “But we will resist such efforts and we will never allow the closure of sugar in Guyana. Yet sugar workers and other stakeholders must not be fooled. APNU’s intention is clear – they want to close sugar,” he added.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh in announcing the $6 billion subsidy to GuySuCo said the funds should be seen as a provision to “help” the industry, which has been affected by mixed fortunes and a menu of unfortunate blows. He also said the help given to GuySuCo was testimony of the administration’s unswerving support for the sugar industry and its commitment to the sector’s long-term viability and profitability.

“This commitment has manifested itself not in void rhetoric but in tangible support,” he told the National Assembly, while acknowledging the fact that 20,000 people and their families would benefit from the injection of funds into the sector.

Singh reported to the Parliament that non-sugar Gross Domestic Product grew by 6.3 per cent in 2013. As expected, sugar production suffered a contraction of 14.4 per cent in 2013 to 186,770 tonnes of sugar. “The issues confronting the industry such as labour shortages and disruptions, irregular weather and managerial capacity constraints, are well known, and a more concerted effort is required to return the industry to a growth trajectory... with viability and profitability,” he stressed.

Last year, Guyana’s sugar export accounted for 8.3 per cent of total exports valued at US$112.2 million. The industry, according to the Finance Minister, managed to contribute 3.9 per cent of the GDP for that year as the sector remains the largest employer.

Rum Jhaat like to choose behind

In life, people got all kinda choices. De Almighty One does allow people to choose one ting or de other depending on whah dem like or don’t like. Even when people choose de not so good tings in life, is dem own choice after all.

Nowadays some people does choose the least of whah yuh expect, just like Rum Jhaat. A good while now Rum Jhaat choose to run when de pressure buss he pipe and de Pee-P-P choose to leff he behind.

Ever since then Rum Jhaat can’t come out from behind. No wonder de other day he choose to run out and leff de budget behind. He thought Green Jah woulda run out behind he behind. But Green Jah end up leffin he behind wid no body behind.

And talkin bout behind, Rum Jhaat is a man who does choose a lotta behind. In fact, some people seh he is more of a behind man than a in front man. But is only de people who does deh behind or in front gon know that fuh sure. Rum Jhaat deh behind No Gel Hughly to get in fronta de KFC. Rum Jhaat deh behind de Feathers people all de way in India fuh all kinda tings. Rum Jhaat end up behind in de same poll whah he help to run to know who gon be President. Plus Rum Jhaat always deh behind a bottle. And de other day, Rum Jhaat had want to haul a man behind. Now, Rum Jhaat is not even a Minister and he wanna haul a Minister behind. Imagine if Rum Jhaat become a Minister how much more people behind he gon wanna haul.

But Rum Jhaat does also deh in front some times. He always in fronta de 7-owe-4 bar. Plus he always in fronta some body face whenever he in fronta bottle. And soon he gon wanna be in fronta de budget debate.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! But no matter how hard he try to deh in front, Rum Jhaat always deh behind. Especially when is some body behind.

Grumble gets three months behind bars for 10 charges

Aman who was slapped with 10 charges was sentenced to three months imprisonment on Wednesday after he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Geeta ChandanEdmond.

Orland Grumble of Lot 227 Alexander Street, Lacytown, Georgetown, pleaded guilty to all the charges against him.

It is alleged that on

March 13 in Alexander Village, Georgetown, the defendant unlawfully assaulted Kenrick Hodge. It is also alleged that Grumble on the same day at Regent Street, Georgetown, he made use of abusive language.

The police allege that the accused resisted arrest and assaulted Police Constable 21146. More charges were read before Grumble minutes before he was sentenced.

Covent Garden man charged for threatening behaviour

Forty-one-year-old

auto mechanic, Vijay Naidu of Lot 127 Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara, on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to the charge against him in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty.

It is alleged that on March 24, the defendant at Covent Garden behaved in a threatening matter towards Rondy Bradshaw.

Defence Attorney Melvin

Duke told the court that his client and the virtual complainant (VC) have a long relationship. He went on to say that it was the VC in fact who is known to be constantly harassing the accused.

Police Prosecutor Bharat Mangru had no objections to bail. Both the defendant and the VC were placed on a bond to keep the peace by the Magistrate. Bail was granted in the sum of $10,000. The matter will be recalled on June 2.

UNICEF, Health Ministry launch cluster survey

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Health Ministry and the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday launched its Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).

The initiative seeks to improve the lives of children across the country.

The MICS is a household survey developed by UNICEF in response to the World Summit for Children, held in 1990, to measure progress towards an internationally agreed set of goals regarding children.

Since the inception of MICS, four survey rounds have been completed (1995, 2000 and 2005-6 and 200910). The first round of MICS was conducted around 1995, and though Guyana did not participate, it was one of the 65 countries involved in the second round of global surveys conducted in 2000, and participated again in 2006.

This has given the country, its decision-makers and donors, quality data that has started to map out development trends for the country.

Speaking at the event, UNICEF Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Marianne Flach noted that while Guyana has either achieved or is well on course to achieving several of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including those related to hunger, primary education, gender

equality and environmental sustainability – other goals are proving to be more elusive and costly to attain. Among these is the goal of reducing infant and maternal mortality.

“While we have made significant progress in reducing under five mortality through better vaccination coverage and management of childhood illnesses, neonatal mortality remains a critical issue. Too many children still die from preventable causes within the first month of life. MICS can provide us with the data we need to identify these trends and plan effectively to address them,” she stated.

Monitoring tool

She further added that the MICS is an important monitoring tool for assessing the well-being of children, women and their families, stating: “For Guyana to continue making progress as a lower-middle income country, sound information on child rights indicators is crucial for formulating and revising national and sub-national policies, and for monitoring to ensure the country’s progress toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other global commitments aimed at promoting the welfare of children. Gaps in data often impede Guyana’s efforts to formulate effective policies and programmes and can present a challenge when channelling

the country’s limited resources to those most in need.”

Guyana is poised to address the current data through the MICS.

For children, this means that critical areas which need to be addressed can be identified and measures put in place to ensure that they are protected, have better access to quality healthcare and education, and make better life choices so that they will have a sustainable future as they grow into adults.

New indicators

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud welcomed the survey on behalf of the Health Minister and related that the Government and the Health Ministry will seek to work on alleviating the hindrances of child development in Guyana after they would have been identified in the survey.

The upcoming MICS will also provide an opportunity for the inclusion of new indicators, such as those on life satisfaction and subjective well-being, alcohol and tobacco use, men’s health, chronic diseases and access to media and technologies.

MICS is now structured to offer more information than before about children and women, adolescents and young people, thereby making it one of the few surveys of its kind to capture such indepth disaggregated data on these groups.

Through the leadership of the Bureau of Statistics, and with support from the Health Ministry, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) the United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA), UNAIDS and other development partners, data collection will begin as soon as next week and is expected to be completed in full by August 2014.

The agencies are calling on the general public to cooperate with their agents and to provide valid and reliable data in the survey.

The survey will be taken to all 10 administrative regions in Guyana and is targeting an estimated 6000 households.

Caribbean Press to republish Egbert Martin’s Scriptology

In observance of World Poetry Day 2014, the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry hosted an evening of international, regional and Guyanese poetry.

The event held at the Umana Yana was well received by a sizable gathering. Many of the poems told tales of various life experiences

In his remarks, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony noted that even though Guyana is observing the World Poetry Day late, the intention is still the same, and that is to celebrate poets and poetry.

Rich literary legacy

He emphasised that Guyana has a rich literary legacy. “We don’t have enough occasions when we can talk about this rich legacy that we have,” he said. In this regard, at every opportunity possible, people need to be made aware of this legacy and discuss what can be done to celebrate those things.

Minister Anthony also spoke about renowned Guyanese poets such as Martin Carter, who is regarded as a national poet. He also recognised Egbert Martin, another Guyanese poet, who was described as one of the greatest Negro poets in history.

The Minister lauded Martin’s work, noting that one of his books entitled Scriptology was missing for 100 years; however, the only existing copy has been located at Howard University.

“This year through the Caribbean Press, we will be republishing Scriptology

and we will be making it available to the Guyanese public,” the Minister said.

It is anticipated that when the book becomes available, more Guyanese would be acquainted with Egbert Martin, who was acclaimed as the first major poet in Guyana and Caribbean.

Enriching

The Minister recognised that over the years, the observance has been enriching because some of the poets recited poems in their original languages.

Several of the poems that were recited were done in Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. However, the latter was done by a student of Queen's College and translated into English by a representative of the Embassy of the Federation of Brazil.

“We ourselves we have been writing predominant-

ly in English but we have the indigenous languages… perhaps we should encourage people to write poems in these languages,” Minister Anthony highlighted. He explained that UNESCO started World Poetry Day on the premise of sustaining linguistic diversity.

Minister Anthony noted that he has seen work done in several of the indigenous languages and the stories have also been collected but there are not many poems. The Minister made a call for such a collection to commence.

In 1999, the United Nations made a decision to proclaim March 21 as World Poetry Day. One of the main objectives of the day is to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered language the opportunity to be heard within their communities.

CJIA gets $6 billion to continue developmental agenda

Some $6.6 billion has been budgeted for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) to meet its strategic goals this year, as Government seeks to push ahead with plans to modernise its premiere airport.

In 2013, a total of $1.1 bil-

prove safety.

Works will commence on the West Coast Demerara Road and will include pavement rehabilitation, pedestrian and cycle lanes in selected high traffic areas, and street lighting. The widening of the East Coast Highway will continue and road recon-

the improvement of rural, community and hinterland roads and for street lighting from Belle Vue to Patentia,”

Dr Singh said. He said negotiations have

lion was expended on the expansion and modernisation of the CJIA. Additionally, $67.2 million was disbursed for the maintenance of hinterland airstrips while $80 million was spent to procure an Automated Dependent Surveillance Broadcast to bring the precision and reliability of satellite based surveillance to national airspace.

Delivering his 2014 budget presentation on Monday, the Minister said $682.6 million was spent for the docking of several ferry vessels, the acquisition of spares, and the rehabilitation of stellings.

In 2013, Government invested $11.3 billion to continue the construction of the East Bank Demerara and East Coast Demerara fourlane highways, CJIA access road, rural, community and hinterland roads, additional street lighting, and the rehabilitation of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

In 2014, an amount of $13.7 billion is budgeted to improve roads and bridges network, of which $12.9 billion will be spent on roads and $844.2 million on bridges. The four-lane access road to the CJIA and the East Bank Demerara (EBD) fourlane highway are slated for completion this year and will alleviate much of the current traffic bottlenecks and im-

struction works for the upgrading from Better Hope to Belfield will commence. Construction of the Parika/ Ruby backdam roads will begin, thus opening up access to over 330 farming households and over 2000 acres of mixed crop farming. Engineering designs for the Canal Polder Numbers One and Two roads and feasibility studies and designs for the extension of the highway from Diamond to Timehri , EBD will be undertaken. On the East Bank Berbice, studies and designs will be completed and the complete reconstruction of six kilometres from Stanleytown to Everton and upgrade of 11.5 kilometres from Belle Vue to Light Town will commence.

Study to complete

“Also in 2014, we will complete a financial feasibility study for the construction of a bypass road from Ogle to Eccles which will open new areas for development and investment and create a second route to reduce the congestion for the East Bank Demerara traffic. This will constitute the first phase in the development of an alternative route to the CJIA, thereby linking our two international airports and opening up a new development corridor for the East Bank Demerara. An amount of $7.7 billion is allocated for

technical assessment for alternative transport options, including the cost benefit analysis of a rail link to ultimately connect with the deep water harbour and container port on the Berbice River, will be completed.

In addition, Guyana, he said has collaborated with the Surinamese Government for the construction of the fixed bridge over the Corentyne River. Resources are budgeted to upgrade the road

and commercial centres, and bridging the spatial divide between the populated coastal areas and the natural resource-rich hinterland communities with accessible transportation facilities and infrastructure, constantly preoccupy our development efforts,” he said.

Sea and river defence

Dr Singh said rising sea levels continue to threaten the already vulnerable coastland.

“As we continue to utilise

frastructure. Critical works will be done in Regions Two through Seven. The mangrove restoration and replanting programme will continue with the planting of 50,000 mangrove seedlings, spartina grassing in selected areas, the construction of geotextile breakwater structures, and the hydrological restoration of Wellington Park mangrove site.

“Looking ahead, Government will invest more than US$65 million over the next five years in infrastruc-

link from Springlands to Moleson Creek and to prepare the bridge terminal facility. Further, the feasibility study for the new Demerara Bridge has been completed, and Government has invited expressions of interest for a public-private partnership for its construction and budgeted $338 million for critical works to extend the life of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

advanced substantially between the Brazilian and Guyanese technical working groups regarding the preparation of a design study for the construction of the Linden to Lethem Road. The

The Minister said meeting the growing demand for reliable and efficient airlift and riverain transport services to enable easy, safe and cost effective movement of people and goods remains a Government priority.

“The tasks of improving linkages with important international business

new and emerging technologies for the improvement and sustainability of the structural integrity of our sea and river defence infrastructures, we are simultaneously promoting experimental soft and hard interventions,” Minister Singh said.

In 2013, the sum of $1.7 billion was disbursed for the improvement of sea and river defence infrastructure. Under the piloted interventions, bamboo brushwood dams, iron bamboo fences and rubber mound groynes were constructed to protect young mangrove seedlings from destruction and promote mangrove restoration.

In 2014, the sum of $1.9 billion is budgeted to ensure the further strengthening of the sea and river defence in-

tural works and coastal zone management systems, which will benefit almost 90 per cent of our population. These interventions include construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of more than 80 kilometres of sea and river defence infrastructures, the implementation of an integrated shore zone management system that will enhance resilience to coastal and riverain hazards, and integrated flood risk preparedness strategies. To reduce the risk of flooding and loss of land, our policy is to foster better harmonisation among coastal zone and flood management stakeholders in close coordination with our national disaster management agency and strategy,” he said.

Pomeroon farmers battle parrot, flea invasion – asking for guns to keep the birds away

By IndrawattIe natram

Amid bitter complaints from rice farmers on the Essequibo Coast about low paddy prices, Pomeroon fruit farmers are up in arms over a parrot and fly invasion of their carambola crops.

Cash crop farmers who cultivate carambola in the Lower and Upper Pomeroon River are calling on the Region Two authorities to stave off the attack.

According to reports, the pests have been wreaking havoc on the trees for the past month, and came at a time when they were blossoming.

One Hackney Canal farmer, Boyan (only name given) explained that the parrots in flock would destroy the leaves and fruits of the trees.

Another farmer from Upper Pomeroon, John Williams said the parrots seem bent on not allowing

the trees to produce.

Williams said the parrots usually inhabit the trees at nights and by morning, the fruits are destroyed, and this is not all.

He said the birds appear fixed on making his life miserable as they would make loud and annoying chattering sounds, and as soon as he peeps at his window, they will fly way.

Some farmers have been

using sling-shots and arrows and bows to stave off the birds, but they say this is not enough, contenting that guns will do a better job.

And, on this note, they are calling on the Agriculture Ministry to support their case, with some saying that scaring away the parrots is not enough, as they should be killed and cooked.

Region Two Vice

Chairman Vishnu Samaroo recently in his report to the Regional Democratic Council, acknowledged the parrot invasion, while calling for urgent counter measures. He said the mischief of the birds has invited swarms of fleas, feasting on the fruits destroyed by the parrots.

According to Samaroo, a National Agriculture Research Extension Institute (NAREI) field officer visited several affected farmers and advised on how they should get rid of the fleas.

Pomeroon farmers usually harvest thousands of carambola, which they vend at the Charity Market. The fruits are harvested manually by farmers. Some farmers preserve the fruit and use it for cake mix. Carambola cultivation is prevalent in the Pomeroon River and is a main source of livelihood for many there.

India’s Congress targets ‘inclusive’ growth in election pitch

India’s ruling Congress party, facing a likely general election defeat, defended its economic track record over a decade in power and sought to woo voters with offers of further costly welfare measures.

The party, controlled by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and its scion Rahul

Gandhi, is expected to lose due to public anger over graft scandals, high inflation and an economy growing at its slowest pace in a decade.

Unveiling its election manifesto on Wednesday, the party said it would lift 800 million people – almost as many as have the

Zimbabwe court orders compensation for rape victim

Zimbabwe’s top court has ordered the state to pay compensation to a rape victim who was denied an abortion after she was attacked eight years ago.

The court criticised police and medical workers for delays in helping the woman seek a termination of her pregnancy. Abortion is illegal in Zimbabwe, but may be permitted where the pregnancy is a result of rape or where it poses a threat to the woman’s life.

The woman’s eight-yearold child is now going to school. The Supreme Court was scathing in its judgment, reports the BBC’s Brian Hungwe from the capital, Harare.

It ruled that the mental anguish from the pregnancy was foreseeable and doctors should have recommended

Afurther 122 objects potentially from the missing Malaysian plane have been identified by satellite, the country’s acting Transport Minister has said.

The images, taken on March 23, showed objects up to 23 metres (75 feet) in length, Hishammuddin Hussein said.

All aircraft taking part in Wednesday’s search have now left the area without identifying debris from the plane. Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board.

The objects were found in satellite images from a 400-square-kilometre (km) area around 2557km (1588 miles) from Perth in Western

emergency contraception –the so-called “morning-after pill” – within three days of the rape in 2006.

The doctors instead referred the matter back to the police, contributing to delays which meant it was eventually too late to terminate the pregnancy. The Supreme Court referred the case to another court to determine the sum to be awarded in damages.

The woman was also seeking US$42,000 (£25,000) in compensation to cover the costs of raising the child, but that claim was thrown out, the AFP news agency reports.

The ruling was welcomed by the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association, which initiated the litigation on behalf of the woman. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Australia, Hishammuddin said.

He said that it was not possible to tell whether the potential objects were from the missing aircraft, but called them “another new lead that will help direct the search operation”.

The images were supplied by French-based Airbus Defence and Space and were given to the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency on March 25, Hishammuddin said.

The images were passed on to the Australian Rescue and Co-ordination Centre in Perth on Tuesday, he added. The latest images are the fourth known collection of satellite pictures showing possible

right to vote – into the middle class and raise gross domestic product (GDP) growth to eight per cent within three years.

Appealing to its core constituency of poorer voters with a call for inclusive growth, Congress proposed new rights to include guaranteed access to health, pensions, housing and even “to entrepreneurship”.

“Growth by itself is not sufficient,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told an event at which Congress President Sonia Gandhi made a rare public appearance in support of son Rahul’s leadership of the party’s flagging campaign.

The 50-page policy document was long on policies to redistribute wealth with fewer proposals on how to generate it, reflecting a left-leaning heritage that predates independence in 1947. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Around the world

UN considers probe into Sri Lanka atrocities

Sri Lanka faces renewed condemnation at the United Nations’ top human rights body, as a resolution for an international criminal investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by Government soldiers is being debated in Geneva.

The debate has been denounced by Sri Lankan officials as “unwarranted interference” in the country’s internal affairs. On Wednesday, UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay presented a report on the issue to the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) before the debate started on a U.S.-led resolution demanding accountability for the deaths of thousands of ethnic Tamil civilians in the final stages of the country’s 26-year civil war.

“Almost five years since the end of the conflict, it is important for the Human Rights Council to recall

U.S. court convicts bin Laden’s son-in-law on terrorism charges

AU.S. court convicted former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law on Wednesday in connection with his role in producing propaganda videos aimed at luring new terrorist recruits in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The jury found Sulaiman Abu Ghaith – the highestranking al Qaeda figure to face charges on U.S. soil for the attacks – guilty on three charges: conspiracy to kill Americans, providing support to al Qaeda and conspiring to provide support to al Qaeda.

Abu Ghaith had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. The Kuwaiti imam testified during his

three-week-long trial that he complied with a request from bin Laden to record videos for use in recruiting new followers for suicide missions like those that saw 19 al Qaeda followers use hijacked planes to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

“The storm of airplanes will not stop,” Abu Ghaith was heard warning in an October 2001 video, which was played for the jury. Also shown to the jury were frames of a video made on September 12, 2001, that showed Abu Ghaith seated next to bin Laden and two other top al Qaeda leaders as they discussed the attacks. (Excerpt from France 24)

the magnitude and gravity of the violations alleged to have been committed at that time by the Government and the LTTE” said Pillay to the council on Wednesday.

She said that even though the Government established various mechanisms with the task to investigate past violations, “none have had the inde-

pendence to be effective or inspire confidence among victims and witnesses.” Government troops crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an armed separatist organisation known as the Tamil Tigers, in May 2009. The UN says the war may have claimed as many as 40,000 civilian lives in its final months. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

China to try former mining magnate and his gang next week

The trial of a Chinese former mining magnate and the “mafiastyle” gang he ran will begin in central China next week on charges including murder, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Liu Han, the former Chairman of Hanlong Mining, which attempted to take over Australia’s Sundance Resources Limited, led his gang on a crime spree for more than a decade, focused on China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, state media have said previously.

The probe into Liu is one of the highest-profile cases against a private businessman since President Xi Jinping took power last

year, vowing to battle corruption.

All 36 members of the gang will stand trial in a court in Hubei province on Monday, Xinhua said. “They are suspected of organising, leading and participating in the gang as well as intentional homicide,” the report cited a court statement as saying.

“The gang, allegedly led by Liu Han and (his brother) Liu Wei, is the largest mafia-style criminal group to be tried in recent years in China.”

The ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily said last month that the Government would also be going after the officials who protected the gang.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Pope Francis has formally accepted the resignation of a senior German Church leader suspended over his alleged lavish spending. The Vatican made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.

Bishop of Limburg FranzPeter Tebartz-van Elst has been accused of spending more than 31 million euros (£26 million) on renovating his official residence. The cleric, dubbed the “bishop of bling” by the media, offered to resign when the scandal broke last October. In response, Pope

Francis temporarily suspended Bishop Tebartzvan Elst and instructed a Church commission to investigate the matter. Pope Francis has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of senior clerics whose lifestyles seem too lavish.

On Wednesday, the Vatican said the inquiry found that the senior cleric could no longer exercise his ministry. The Church called on the diocese of Limburg to accept the decision “with docility” and to work toward restoring a “climate of charity and reconciliation”. (Excerpt from BBC News)

thursday, march 27, 2014| guyanatimesgy.com

Rohee unaware who will be next top cop

As Police Commissioner Leroy

Brumell prepares to demit office, he is endorsing his incumbent, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud as the next top cop, but Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee on Wednesday said that he does not know who will fill the post.

In an invited comment at the closing exercise of the SWAT training team at Eve Leary, Georgetown, Rohee said that before a new Police Commissioner is appointed, there must be consultation between President Donald

Ramotar and the Opposition Leader David Granger. To date, he added, the two men have not met on the matter.

Unlike appointment of the Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Judiciary, the President is not required to agree with the Opposition Leader’s choice for Police Commissioner.

Former Opposition Leader Robert Corbin had opposed the appointment of Henry Greene as the Police Chief, but then President Bharrat Jagdeo confirmed him as Commissioner.

Recently, President Ramotar had promised that he would make an official announcement regarding the post of Police Commissioner.

Until now, nothing has been said. He had said the extension of Commissioner Brumell’s tenure will last until the appropriate system is in place to appoint the new Commissioner.

Brumell, whose term of office expired on February 8, remains on the job to facilitate a smooth transition for his successor.

He is expected to leave by March 31. Granger has been

on record as saying that Brumell should leave the office when the time comes.

Brumell took up the substantive post of Police Commissioner in October last year, after acting in the position since December 19, 2011. Brumell has served the force for more than 36 years. The possibility also exists that Persaud will be appointed to act as Police Commissioner until the Police Service Commission is reconstituted.

Media reports have suggested that Persaud was tipped as the next top cop.

The 50-year-old Persaud holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Management and a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Studies from the University of Guyana (UG). He also holds a Certificate Course for Senior Executives in National and International Security from Harvard University, U.S.A. He also did the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Standard Officers Course and investigating courses with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In less than five days, Brumell is expected to leave office as top cop but yet there has been no official announcement with respect to his replacement, but rather speculations.

As a matter of fact, there is a retirement parade that is planned for Brumell on Friday at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary. The parade will be under the command of Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Joseph, assisted by Senior Superintendent Lyndon Alves.

Justice sector’s budget caters for New Land Court

Anew Land Court and also a new Magistrate’s Court at Sparendaam are on the cards this year, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh said in his $220 billion budget on Monday.

During the presentation of the 2014 National Budget on Monday, Dr Singh disclosed that the administration has put aside $1.8 billion for the sector to continue its advancement. With the $1.8 billion allocation for the sector, there will be continued investments in infrastructural works as some $238.5 million will be directed towards the construction of a Land Court, a new Magistrate's Court at Sparendaam, the completion of the Number 51 Village Magistrate’s Court, the rehabilitation of court rooms at the High Court and maintenance of facilities nationwide.

This year will also see works done in the modernisation of the country’s law documents. Already in February last, the requisite law revision order was gazetted; thus bringing into effect the newly amended and consolidated version of the Laws of Guyana. This was done in accordance with the Law Revision Act Chapter 2:02.

Meanwhile, the courts will see several new practice directions drafted to support the new Rules of the High Court Civil Procedure. The new rules were implemented to simplify the commence-

ment of proceedings in court, allow citizens easier access to the court, and provide the mechanism for recourse to mediation. There will also be works done with the civil and criminal justice committees to intensify efforts to monitor and evaluate the performance of Magistrates’ and High Courts countrywide. A baseline report on the use of court resources is expected to be produced to aid the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the courts, thereby ensuring more timely access to justice.

Voice recording systems

On the note of modernisation, this year will also see the voice recording systems being introduced for the first time in the court of the Chief Justice, Commercial Court and Court of Appeal. This initiative is expected to reduce the time taken to manually record and process cases.

In February last, the National Assembly had unanimously passed the Recording of Court Proceedings Act legislation. This project will be tested in the three courts, first as a pilot project before it is extended to the other courts. The equipment was purchased with funds procured from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB). Last years, some $275.5 million was expended on works on the infrastructure within the sector. This included the construction

a $25 million Mediation Centre in New Amsterdam and several upgrade works at facilities such as Magistrates’ and High Courts. Some of the courts renovated were the Wales Magistrate's Court, West Bank Demerara; Leonora Magistrate's Court, West Coast Demerara, and the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

These infrastructural works were done under the Modernisation of the Justice Administration Project, which seeks to improve the physical and infrastructural capacity of the justice sector. Further, under this component of the project, new courts were constructed in Springlands, Whim, Canje, New Amsterdam, Sisters Village, Fort Wellington, Wales, Wismar, and Lethem, among other areas.

The project also saw rehabilitation works conducted on the Court of Appeal and the High Court complexes of Berbice and Demerara. Also renovated were the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecution’s offices, both in Georgetown and New Amsterdam.

Strengthening of justice sector

As it relates to the strengthened efficiency of the justice sector, one civil and three criminal justice committees were established with the primary function to review the functioning of the justice system while monitoring and evaluating the performance of the

courts, and further make recommendations on how to improve effectiveness. A training session was done in January 2013 on the work of the committees for all stakeholders in the justice system.

In addition, a Prosecutors Management Information System was installed and operated at the DPP’s Chambers to speed up the processing of criminal depositions.

It was also reported that some 1000 cases were disposed of from the backlog of the court system.

Government has taken a decision to increase the number of puisne judges from 12 to a whopping 20 to help reduce the backlog of cases.

Prior to this increase, the Judicial System had met its complement of judges with the appointments of three judges in October 2012; however, the magistracy was and still is several magistrates short of its complement of 21.

Additionally, persons within the judicial system had benefitted from several training programmes and workshops that were conducted throughout the year.

Another stride recorded in the justice sector would be completion of the Guyana Law Reports for the period 1930 to 2007, along with the revision of the Laws of Guyana up to 2010.

The revised copies of the country’s laws are now available in print for the first time in 34 years.

WPA fumes at Ramotar’s non-response to concerns on Rodney commission

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) has dubbed as “Shameful”, the non-response from President Donald Ramotar to a letter written to him about the contents of the Terms of Reference (ToR) being used in the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI).

It has been three weeks now since the letter, signed by the WPA’S Chairman, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine and Executive Member, Professor Clive Thomas, was sent to the Head of State, outlining the party’s concerns over sections of the ToR.

Dr Roopnaraine said while Office of the President has made no formal contact with the WPA, there have been reports in the media regarding Government’s feelings about their objections to the ToRs. “That is shameful,” he lamented.

Concerns

The WPA earlier this month, had raised concerns over paragraph four of the ToR, which it said “strays a considerable distance from the precisions of paragraph one”. Section four of the ToR tasks the Commission with “examining the facts and circumstances immediately prior, at the time of, and subsequent to the death of Dr Walter Rodney”.

Dr Roopnaraine had questioned the time period defined in paragraph four (1st January 1978 to 31 December 1980) – qualifying it as being “immediately prior, at the time of, and subsequent to the death of Dr Rodney”. The party’s Chairman said that that section runs the risk of opening a Pandora’s Box that will guarantee an unwelcomed poisoning of the political environment.

Questions were also raised about the granting of an absolute pardon to persons who may have been involved in the death of Dr Rodney.

The letter said that “it would seem to have the Commission of Inquiry tiptoe in the direction of a Truth Commission, even while the Terms of Reference and the prevailing conditions fall far short of the complex requirements of a Truth Commission. Perhaps it is enough, at this stage and in our conditions, that it pins the flag of reconciliation on its mast.”

The party had also expressed concerns over the

presence of Trinidadianbased Guyanese Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam on the Commission. Jairam, the WPA noted, was the lead counsel representing the Government in the budget cut case of 2012 before acting Chief Justice, Ian Chang. It said that his presence on the Commission would cause a conflict of interest.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) last week made a public statement, calling on the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and Working People’s Alliance (WPA) to cooperate with the CoI, which was set up to probe the death of the historian.

Exclude

The PPP/C had stated that the decision to exclude the PNC and WPA in the formation of the Commission and the crafting of its ToRs was taken considering the request made by Dr Rodney widow, Patricia Rodney, who asked that the two political bodies not be involved by way of consultations. According to the letter, Mrs Rodney did not want the inquiry to become politicised.

The PNCR has also warned that if the ToRs were not addressed, it may refuse to participate in the inquiry, which is expected to begin on April 22. The three-member Commission consisting of Chairman, Barbadian Queen’s Counsel, Sir Richard Cheltenham; Jamaican Queen’s Counsel Jacqueline Samuels Brown; and Senior Counsel Jairam was set up on February 25 to probe the circumstances leading to the death of Dr Walter Rodney when a bomb exploded in the car in which he was sitting 34 years ago.

Since their appointment, the Commissioners have had several meetings with stakeholders, including the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Defence Force and the Public Service Commission.

During its recent visit to Guyana last week, the Commission had also met with members of APNU at its Hadfield Street office, Georgetown.

The Commission has been calling for persons to present witness statements to the Secretariat, since according to Chairman Cheltenham, a certain amount of witnesses are required before the inquiry can commence.

Budget cuts case Chang erred in final ruling, Speaker claims in appeal

Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman has stated that acting Chief Justice Ian Chang has erred in his final ruling earlier this year on the 2012 budget cuts case filed by Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Anil Nandlall to block the National Assembly from cutting the national estimates presented by the Finance Minister.

This was said in the notice of appeal document filed on February 25, by Trotman’s group of attorneys, led by Attorney Khemraj Ramjattan. The notice named Nandlall as the respondent. The document stated that Trotman is dissatisfied with the decision made by Chang on January 29. The Speaker noted that the persons who will be affected by the appeal are himself, Nandlall, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh and Opposition Leader David Granger.

In the appeal, Trotman is seeking the court to reserve and set aside the decision made by Chang and that the respondent pays the cost of the appeal and of the court.

The appeal was filed primarily on six grounds. Firstly, it said that the judge erred when he ruled that the National Assembly, and its Committee of Supply, do not have legal and constitutional

authority to amend or reduce the Estimates of Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for any given year.

The second ground stated that Justice Chang erred when he ruled that Standing Orders, or rules of procedure of the National Assembly, which provide for the amendment and reduction of the Estimates of Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana are not procedural rules of law, nor are they written law, nor are they subsidiary legislation within the meaning of the Interpretation and General Clauses Act, such as can impact upon or have a significance on the purposeful construction of Article 218 of the Constitution.

Claim

Further, the third ground mentioned that the acting Chief Justice wrongly construed Articles 218 and 171 (2) (a) and (b) of the Constitution of Guyana, thereby resulting in a construction that effectively ousted the National Assembly’s right and power to amend or reduce the Estimates of Revenues and Expenditure of Guyana for purpose of charging the said estimates to the Consolidated Fund. Chang should have properly and purposefully construed the said articles ensuring a construction, which would have

resulted in the National Assembly possessing that ‘incidental’ power and right to amend or reduce the said estimates in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana.

The fourth ground mentioned that the judge further erred and overreached when he ruled that the amendment and reduction of the Estimates of Revenues and Expenditure through the Committee of Supply, was an abrogation of the doctrine of separation of powers, unconstitutional, unlawful and void since such changes was encroaching on the function of the Executive as exercised by the Finance Minister.

While the fifth ground mentioned that the judge also erred when he ruled that the Finance Minister

was at liberty to make advances/withdrawals from the Contingencies Fund pursuant to Article 220 of the Constitution for the purpose of restoring the funds as originally budgeted for in the said estimates of 2012.

Supervisory jurisdiction

Finally, the last ground said that Chang erred and overreached when he ruled that the court has a supervisory jurisdiction over the National Assembly and its Committee of Supply when the said National Assembly and its Committee of Supply proceeds upon the process of considering and deciding on the Estimates of Revenues and Expenditure and, thereafter, charging those said estimates to the Consolidated Fund.

In January, Chang ruled that the parliamentary

SWAT team charged to uphold human rights

Outgoing Police

Commissioner Leroy Brumell has urged members of the newlytrained Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit to uphold basic human rights and not sully the image of the Guyana Police force as they discharge their duties.

He made the comments as 27 ranks graduated from the SWAT training conducted by The Emergence Group (TEG).The unit is Guyana’s first SWAT Team. Urging the ranks to maintain selfdiscipline, Brumell said their new role requires commitment and adherence to basic human rights.

“Nobody must speak of this unit of committing heinous things,” the Police Chief said. Brumell also warned the ranks to be prepared for hoaxes, saying that persons may want to “put something out to see how you will react”. He told the gathering that the unit will be called upon to respond to high-risk situations.

Brumell expressed satisfaction in the accomplishment of the unit, which he said has worked extremely hard to be where it is today. He encouraged the officers to work at their best.

“I knew when they started their physical, most of the times when I look, I see people pacing. I must say that

you have shown a great level of discipline, you appear to be well coordinated and I admire what I see.” He told team members that they must be the best at all times.

“I want to thank you for staying, because someday something will arise.”

Historic Meanwhile, at the simple ceremony, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee described the occasion as historic. He said members of the public have always been expecting much from the disciplined force; something he believes is normal.

“It is ok for the population to have expectations. They are taxpayers; they have an

interest in law and order, in public safety and security. They may not be active players as you are, but because they are citizens of this country, they have a say in ensuring that the population is not in fear,” he told the group of smartly clad officers.

It was behind that backdrop, Rohee said, that the SWAT unit was established. The team, he said, is being trained as an additional component within the Guyana Police Force. He said the challenges in Guyana are common knowledge, but noted that the criticisms often unleashed against the Police Force, are sometimes “unwarranted”.

Rohee said while the force welcomes the criticism,

Opposition had no right to cut the national estimates presented by the Finance Minister and can only approve or disapprove the budget in its entirety or sections within.

“The power of the National Assembly to approve (or not to approve) the Minister’s estimates simply means that the Assembly is conferred with a ‘gate keeping’ function by the Constitution and does not imply or involve a power to amend or to adjust the estimates presented by the Executive Minister”.

The acting Chief Justice stated that if the Opposition were to cut the budget, then it would not be a final estimate from the Minster.

“If the Assembly were permitted to cut the Minister’s estimates, the estimates, when cut, would necessarily become the estimates as fixed and determined by the Assembly and would cease being the Minister’s estimates,” Chang said in his 21page ruling.

He further explained that powers given to the National Assembly to make cuts to the budgets, would “necessarily” mean that there will be no room for the Finance Minister to essay any amendments to the estimates to meet the concerns expressed during the debates, or in the Committee of Supply.

“It is one thing to say

that the Assembly or the Committee of Supply can propose amendments to the estimates. It is quite another thing to say that the Assembly can itself effect those amendments to the estimates.

If the Assembly itself were to effect amendments to the estimates, that would be an end to the matter and the issue of the Cabinet accepting or rejecting those amendments would not and cannot arise,” the written ruling stated.

In April 2012, the combined parliamentary Opposition used its one-seat majority to slash $21.9 billion from the proposed $192.8 billion national budget, as such; the Government subsequently took to the court to block the National Assembly from cutting the budget.

it would also appreciate and welcome recommendations. He said that any person that works within the security sector will always come under tremendous criticism.

“It is precisely why, even before the SWAT Team was launched, there was so many things said about it. Many people, even those from the many lofty organisations did not welcome it,” He said. However, according to him, any programme which seeks to raise the prestige and reputation of the Police Force “must be welcomed”.

Earlier this year, the batch of officers was introduced to Guyana when the training programme was launched at the centre. The establishment of the SWAT Unit was done through collaboration between the Government of Guyana and U.S.-based security and justice reform consultancy firm, TEG.

In October last year, the contract finalising the agreement between the two entities was inked. At the launching ceremony, TEG’s representative Dennis Hays had said that Guyana should be proud of the group selected for the SWAT Team. He noted that the officers would positively impact the Police Force, pointing out that SWAT members undergo a continuous training process.

Guyanese man found dead in trash can

The body of a New York-based Guyanese man was found inside a trash bag on a Far Rockaway beach Monday morning after the man’s mom grew worried and tracked his phone, New York cops said.

The missing man, identified as 32-year-old Quynton Ross, was last seen on Sunday, cops said. His mother pinged his phone that night and ended up at the boardwalk. She did not find anything then, but returned in the morning to discover a bag containing bloody clothes, cops said.

The body of a missing Queen’s man was found in the area of Beach 40th Street between Edgemere Avenue and the boardwalk.

“She’s taking it pretty hard,” said Ross’ uncle Patrice Jacobs, 43. “It was her only son.” He took his sister, Guliana Jacobs, to St John’s Episcopal Hospital because she was beside herself with grief. He said the family used the Find My Phone app to find Ross. Ross is a photographer and has a daughter with his girlfriend, he said. His body bore a number of bullet wounds. (NY

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Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray at Sony Open

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Djokovic goes on to face Roger Federer or Kei Nishikori in the last four, while Murray must focus on Britain’s Davis Cup tie in Italy next month.

He also hopes to replace his now former coach Ivan Lendl, who was watching from the stands in Miami, before the French Open begins at the end of May.

Despite the defeat, the Scot played arguably his best tennis since winning Wimbledon and undergoing back surgery in September.

Djokovic proved too strong, however, serving superbly on his way to a ninth consecutive win as he looks to back up his victory in Indian Wells earlier this month.

Brazil will win World Cup with

state-of-the-art

Brazil unveiled on Wednesday the stateof-the-art training center they will use during this year’s World Cup and manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said the facilities would help them win the tournament for a record sixth time.

“The players here will have much more than they have at their clubs and they will want for nothing,” Scolari told reporters at the re-opening of the Granja Comary complex.

“Now, the responsibility is ours,” added Scolari, who was the manager when Brazil last won the World Cup in 2002.

“We need to play our role. And in playing our role we are going to do what everyone wants and become world champions.”

The training center was opened 27 years ago and hundreds of Brazilian players have stayed there. But it was in need of repair and builders tore it down and built a modern new complex that Scolari and assistant manager Carlos Alberto

base: Scolari

Parreira said would be the envy of any European side.

“Nothing I’ve ever seen before is like this here,” Parreira said.

“We’ve started to win the World Cup off the field. You can’t win on the field if you don’t win off the field. When we win off the field that’s one hand on the trophy.

Now it is up to us.”

The old twin rooms which players shared have been transformed into 39 individual rooms, each with its own bathroom, king-size bed and big-screen TV.

Women’s World Twenty20, Sylhet

The huge complex in the hills around 91 kilometers (57 miles) from Rio de Janeiro has swimming pools and jacuzzis, a cafeteria, a games room and an area where the players can host friends and family. There are also several full-sized pitches and indoor training facilities.

The squad, due to be announced on May 7, will meet there on May 26 to prepare for the World Cup. Brazil’s first match is against Croatia in Sao Paulo on June 12.(Reuters)

England ease past India

England responded to defeat in their opening match with a five-wicket win over India at the Women’s World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

Sarah Taylor top scored for England with 28, before Heather Knight and Jenny Gunn took them over the line.

England go on to face Bangladesh (28 March) and Sri Lanka (30 March) as they attempt to qualify for the semi-finals. (BBC Sport)

Bajan centurions praise help of mentors

Two young national cricketers emphasised the importance of support and mentorship, acknowledging the role of former Barbados captain Carlisle Best in their success against Trinidad and Tobago at Kensington Oval last weekend.

When Ashley Nurse completed his maiden firstclass century on Saturday, a knock in which he remained unbeaten on 130, he acknowledged the contribution of Best, a former West Indies batsman and Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation commentator, by pointing his raised bat in the direction of the media centre.

“I want to thank him for talking to me and Carlos through the innings,” Nurse

told MIDWEEKSPORT following the match in which he also captured six wickets and took four catches, including one off his own bowling.

“It’s nice to see a legend in cricket in Barbados cheer you on and help you to keep focused. I raised my bat to him yesterday but I just want to make it official,” Nurse said.

Carlos Brathwaite, who made 109 and with Nurse put on 190 runs for the eighth wicket, was also highly appreciative of the support offered by Best.

“When I first came out to bat he was basically saying, be supportive of Shane (Dowrich), get through the evening and then he really came into full flow yesterday when we came back

out, myself and Shane.

“After Shane got out he was even more vocal when Ashley came in. He basically told Ashley to play the supporting role for [me].

“After the start that Ashley had and the momentum that he had, then he quickly told me, well, you know it’s your time to support and he basically walked us through both of our innings, giving each one of us support from either end,” Brathwaite said of Best, who shouted his comments from the area just underneath the media centre, located at the southern end of the ground.

Best, speaking after the comments from Nurse and Brathwaite, was deeply moved by the appreciation

shown by the two young cricketers.

“It just shows that the right messaging system, the right message alerts are needed,” Best said.

“It was not only about beating Trinidad and Tobago that I was thinking about, but helping players to manage their abilities which allow them to produce and achieve high performance targets,” Best explained.

The former West Indies batsman said he had developed a batting psychology programme and a performance management system.

“I am sure that I could be of use not only to the Barbados team, but also the West Indies team,” said Best. (Windiescricket.com)

Leeward Islands make ‘sweeping changes’

The Leeward Islands selectors have made what they are calling “sweeping changes” ahead of the team’s Regional Four-Day match against Windward Islands slated to bowl off Friday at the Grenada National Stadium.

Four Antiguans –Sylvester “Bouncing” Joseph, Mali Richards, Justin Athanaze and Hayden Walsh Jr – along with Anguilla’s Lyndel Richardson have all been

dropped by the selection panel.

Antiguan Orlando “Baby” Peters, Montserrat’s Quinton Boatswain and Jaison Peters, Nevis’ Javier Liburd and Anguilla’s Yannick Leonard replace the dropped players.

Coach of the Leewards and former West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman, Ridley Jacobs, said consistency had been a major factor that played against the subregional team and hopes the

changes will turn their fortune around.

“The last two games we played we didn’t really play particularly well, especially against Trinidad, and a few guys didn’t really perform the way that we as selectors think they ought to and we think that we have to give someone else an opportunity to prove their skills,” Jacobs said.

“In our bowling at times we fell apart and I think that we need players to come

there and be consistent and put the ball in the right areas for a long period of time so that the captain can be more comfortable.

“We need guys to bat and score runs because we haven’t been getting that consistently so we are looking at consistency in the team,” he added.

Jacobs said that victory against Windwards over the weekend is necessary if Leeward Islands are to stay in the competition. (Windiescricket)

vs Durham, Champion County match, Abu Dhabi

Virender Sehwag hits ton to seal win over champions

India’s Virender Sehwag condemned Durham to defeat in the county season curtainraiser in Abu Dhabi with a superb 88-ball century for the MCC.

The 35-year-old hit 18 fours and a six in his 109 as the MCC cruised to 2254 to win by six wickets.

He shared a fourthwicket stand of 105 with Nottinghamshire’s Samit Patel before falling to Jamie Harrison.

Patel was 48 not out when a delivery from Harrison ran away for four byes to bring the match to an end.

Sehwag last played international cricket just over a year ago, but showed he is still a batsman to be feared when in the mood by striking three fours in the day’s opening over from seamer Harrison.

Although Mark Stoneman’s 115 on the third day had given Durham hope, their large-

ly inexperienced attack was unable to stem the flow of runs from the MCC captain.

His half century took only 47 deliveries and by lunch he was only five runs short of three figures, England Test hopeful Scott Borthwick having taken the only wicket to fall during the first session when he claimed a return catch from Kent’s Daniel BellDrummond, who made 27. Sehwag’s hundred arrived shortly after the resumption with a second four in three balls off Harrison, but the bowler gained a small measure of revenge when he was caught by Paul Coughlin. Sri Lankan Prasanna Jayawardene made an unbeaten six after joining Patel for the final rites, before the game ended from the final ball of the day’s 31st over.

MCC 282 & 225-4 beat Durham 248 & 257 by six wickets. (BBC Sport)

Coach Williams demands T&T improvement

Trinidad and Tobago coach Kelvin Williams wants to see 100 per cent improvement from his players after their innings and 160-run loss to Barbados in their Regional Four-Day match at Kensington Oval which ended on Sunday.

T&T went to Barbados last week full of confidence after convincing wins over the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands in

their previous games in Trinidad.

But the trip was a disaster. Barbados, helped by a couple of dropped catches, scored 479 for eight declared after winning the toss and batting first.

Left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and rightarm off-spinner Ashley Nurse then combined to dismiss T&T for 120 and 199.

“In all departments, we

were very poor,” the coach said after returning to Trinidad a day early.

In terms of his team’s batting, Williams said: “The application was not there. We just did not bat well and there were no demons to talk about.

“It was Benn and Nurse that actually did the damage for Barbados,” he added.

Benn took four for 31 and four for 66 while Nurse

had two for 27 and four for 64.

Williams said that the T&T bowling did not look penetrative without the injured Akeal Hosein, but he still thought they were in the fight after day one of the contest.

“On the first day, I thought we were competing when they were 243 for five at the close but then in a session and an hour on the second day, there were

21 fours and five sixes,” he explained.

“We took the new ball early in the morning and got early wickets but then Ashley Nurse played a blinder,” the coach added.

Nurse starred in a 190run partnership for the eighth wicket with allrounder Carlos Brathwaite (109) which took the game away from T&T.

“We planned a lot for Barbados but during the

match the execution was poor,” Williams added. Looking ahead, the T&T coach said they will have to look at ways of making the bowling more penetrative.

He also expects the players to raise the standard of their games for the clash against the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) starting on Friday at the Queen’s Park Oval.(Windiescricket)

England v Sri Lanka, World T20, Group 1, Chittagong

No extra spin for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka will resist the temptation the bolster their spin attack against England even though the opposition have a poor record against the turning ball. The conditions in Chittagong, which has offered help for quicker bowlers, will persuade Dinesh Chandimal to persist with the balance of attack that dispatched Netherlands for 39 and overcame South Africa.

That does not mean Sri Lanka will be short of spin options as Chandimal has Ajantha Mendis, Sachithra Senanayake and Tillakaratne Dilshan to call on, but the two others in the squad, the experienced Rangana Herath and legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, will remain on the bench despite England’s frailties against most forms of spin.

“These wickets are totally different to Dhaka,” Chandimal said. “There was a lot of grass on the pitch in the last four or five games and there is a little bit of seam for the fast bowlers so we cannot go with more than two [specialist] spinners in these conditions.”

“All the players in the squad are fit but we have not yet taken a decision on the final eleven. We need to assess the conditions tomorrow night and then decide on our best 11.”

Chandimal picked Lasith Malinga and his trademark selection of yorkers and slower balls as the key weapon against England but retained respect for what Stuart Broad’s team can offer even though they have only won one of their seven T20Is this year.

“He [Malinga] will come in and bowl at any time and take good wickets for us. The way he bowls it is difficult for anyone to hit sixes off him especially off the first ball.

“England are a good T20 side and we have special game plans for them. We never underestimate England they have specialised T20 players like Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales. We have something up our sleeves.” (Cricinfo)

FICA tells players to shun BPL

The future of the Bangladesh Premier League as a reputable international tournament is now in serious doubt after FICA, the international players’ federation, advised against future participation because of prolonged nonpayment of fees.

ESPNcricinfo understands many players are still awaiting full payment for the 2013 edition of the BPL, with FICA - the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations - now stating it has “no choice” but to “recommend players don’t participate.”

FICA’s condemnation of BPL comes at a bad time for Bangladesh as it concentrates on staging a successful World Twenty20 tournament.

“Whilst a few players have received full payments from their participation in the 2013 BPL, the vast majority haven’t and payments are now months overdue,” Paul Marsh, chairman of FICA, said. “This is a repeat of the issues we saw in 2012.

“Unfortunately this is an outcome FICA predicted and we advised players prior to the tournament of our concerns. We were hoping the BPL would prove us wrong and deliver an event that addressed our concerns.

“It didn’t and going forward we are left with no choice but to recommend players don’t participate in an event that doesn’t respect players’ basic contractual rights.”

The latest player chasing payment is Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan. He claims he has been paid only 21 per cent of the fee promised to him for representing Dhaka Gladiators. Although he was promised a second instalment immediately after the tournament, this payment never reached his bank account. The franchise owners insist they owe him nothing.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board, who originally said they would act as guarantors in the event of non-pay-

Scotiabank/Pepsi Schools Football tourney

Football Officials Arrested As N/A Multi 2-1 Canje Secondary

Municipal constables attached to the New Amsterdam Town Council on Tuesday arrested two officials for the Berbice leg of the Scotiabank/Pepsi Schools Football Academy before the start of match two, resulting in a one hour delayed start.

Coach/teacher Colin Bowery and Coach of New Amsterdam United Football Club Lennox Adams, were approached by two batonwaving constables and taken to the Town Hall.

Town Hall officials were questioning the use of the Esplanade Park for the game between New Amsterdam Multilateral (NAMS) and Canje Secondary (CSS).

The issue was quickly resolved and the under-15 children were allowed to use the park which belongs to the people of New Amsterdam.

The delay caused the game to commence at 16:30hrs ; by then, many of the players were tired and had difficulty concentrating on the job at hand.

However ,Tavell Simpson standing in goal for NAMS made an excellent save in the 15th minute of play, but stepped outside the 18-yard box with the ball still in his hand.

A free kick was awarded to CSS and striker Shane Hamilton took it. The shot flew over the defence wall created by NAMS and over the out- stretched hands of Simpson to find the far corner of the net to break the deadlock.

One minute before the half- time whistle ,Nkomo Smith, who had already made several attempts to score but was prevented by Simpson, received a pass in

the 18-yard box and went around the defence with the ball before releasing his booth and the ball with great power to register the equalizer.

In the second half as the players seemed more energized, striker Chad Henry was fouled by Aleem Bovell of CSS in the 18-yard box. Henry took the penalty shot and put NAMS in the lead for the first time in the 56th minute of play. CSS tried desperately to equalize, but NAMS were satisfied with a 2-1 victory. The Berbice leg of the competition will continue today when Vryman’s Erven Secondary (VESS) take on Tutorial Academy Secondary (TASS) at the Esplanade Park. That match is scheduled to commence at 15:30 hrs. (Andrew Carmichael)

Johnson promises more fire in IPL

Mment issues in the BPL, are now claiming it is not their responsibility to pay the fees incurred by franchises. Sri Lanka Cricket have made representations to the BCB on Dilshan’s behalf, but to no avail.

Tim May, the former chairman of FICA, had warned players against participating in the BPL as early as 2012 due to similar issues.

The news comes just days after it emerged that several Chittagong Kings players - England’s Ravi Bopara, Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate, West Indies’ Kevon Cooper, Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor and Surrey’s Jason Roy - had also complained to the BCB that they have not been paid.

itchell Johnson, the most fearsome fast bowler in world cricket at the moment, is ready for the IPL. And Johnson, bought by Kings XI Punjab for INR 6.5 crore ($1.4m), has issued a warning: he will continue to deliver the menacing spells that destroyed the confidence and mental composure of some of the best international batsmen in the last six months. With his aggression, extreme speed and accuracy, Johnson not only etched bruises and caused pain but also helped Australia regain the Ashes before overwhelming South Africa, the world’s No. 1 Test team, on their own turf.

The fear factor he managed to create, Johnson agreed, is likely to help him gain a psychological edge in the IPL. “Definitely it is a psychological advantage based on the past six months of my performances,” Johnson said in a media call arranged by the franchise on Wednesday. “(I bowled) A lot of shortpitched bowling which was more effective on our bouncier wickets (in Australia and South Africa). But even on the last ODI series in India I definitely tried to bowl short-pitched deliveries.

“I have often said I really do enjoy the challenges of Indian wickets. I find that you can still get good bounce and pace out of them and I noticed that during the last IPL last year. It wasn’t all just for the batsmen. I’m really excited playing on those wickets in India again and try and be intimidating as I have been in the last six months or so,” he said.

Unfortunately for Johnson he was forced to miss the ongoing WT20 in Bangladesh due to a toe infection he picked up during the South Africa tour. The infection arose from a cut in his right big toe, a result of his marathon bowling spells during Australia’s 2-1 Test series win in South Africa.

Johnson admitted the break came as a blessing after “a long summer which was quite draining” for him. “The toe is feeling much better. I had an infection that came from my toe, went into my foot and up my leg. But I got on top of it very quickly with some antibiotics. I have started training this week. I am feeling very good and I will be ready to go, ball one of the IPL,” Johnson said.

During the time away from the cricket he was able do both strength training as well as technical stuff for which otherwise he would not have time for during a season. “I might

be as well prepared as I am going to be fit. I am going to be fresher. I am going to very keen because it is a new club and I would like to impress. Whatever are the responsibilities are there I am really excited about them. I know how to perform at my best and I am feeling at the top of my game so I just want to keep getting better as a player and try and bring some of the young guys with me and try and improve their game,” Johnson said.

This would be Johnson’s second stint in the IPL after he made a spectacular debut with the Mumbai Indians last year, ending as joint third-best bowler with 24 wickets, and playing an influential hand in the franchise winnings its maiden title.

So was he disappointed that he was not retained by Mumbai? Johnson was measured in his response. “[It was] a new auction.[A] Lot of players were in the auction pool this year and that made it very difficult for everyone. It would have been exciting to obviously go back there (Mumbai), but I am very happy with Kings XI Punjab,” Johnson said. (Cricinfo)

Time for drastic changes in Guyana’s cricket

By Rajiv Bisnauth

As Guyana’s performance in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional four-day tournament becomes progressively dismal, it is time to call a spade a spade in Guyana’s cricket. A new direction, new focus and new personnel are needed quickly.

The current tournament has shown in no uncertain manner that there is a lack of commitment in the field and at the crease among a number of the current crop of Guyanese players.

With just 17 points from four matches, three defeats and a draw, Guyana are at the bottom of the points table and with just two games remaining, are no longer in contention for a place in the semi-finals.

The Guyanese have shown major weaknesses in several areas of the game,

with their batting certainly below what is expected at this level.

There can be no complaints about the weather in Guyana prior to the commencement of the tournament, while the fitness preparation was among the most intense for a national cricket

team in a long time.

There is no shortage of talent in Guyana’s cricket, so the big question is: what has gone wrong and gone wrong so quickly?

There are several different reasons for Guyana’s cricket decline, but the blame should be placed squarely at the feet of those who run the local game . Their failure to install proper structures and systems for cricket development could be seen as one of the main contributing factors.

However, the power struggles and internal wrangling among board members, and the constant court battles can seen as the main reason adversely affecting the game and if structures and personnel are not changed, Guyana’s cricket will die a slow death.

The cricket administrators seem not too serious about winning games, but more interested in scoring

“points”, including political ones, among their supporters; and it is time that cricket lovers clamour for change.

However, this change depends on the Cricket Administration Bill which is before parliament.

Judged from the current crop of administrators, one can conclude say that the game is being administered in “cowboy” fashion.

Many say the players are not working enough on their game, but usually a player is as good or as bad as the system that produces him. The standard on the field is a

clear indication of the cricket system in Guyana and only a change of guard can change the fortunes of Guyana’s cricket.

While changes are needed at the administrative level, it is also imperative that the coach take some of the blame for Guyana’s poor showing.

Esaun Crandon, who rep-

Torginol Paints golf tourney set for

Saturday

The annual Torginol Paints Medal Play golf tournament, sponsored by Continental Group of Companies, will be played on Saturday at the Lusignan Golf Course, East Coast Demerara.

According to Vice-President of the Lusignan Golf Club, David Mohamed, it is expected to be another keenly contested tournament that will feature several previous winners, including last year’s champion Mark Lashley, 2012 winner Clifford Reis and 2011 champion, Fazil Haniff.

However, eyes will be focused on the in-form Mohanlall “Santo” Dinnanuth, who won last weekend’s Best Gross Prize, parring the course.

Chatterpaul “Chen Sing” Deo, winner of the Sanjay’s Jewellery partner tourney along with the in-form Joanne Deo last weekend, the Cummings brothers, Haresh Tiwari and Ravi Persaud are said to be on the roster, along with several other top players.

Among them are Avinash Persaud, Alfred Mentore, Brian Hackett, Kassim Khan, Christine Sukhram, Maurice

Solomon, Joe Solomon, Robert Hanoman, Troy Cadogan, Carlos Adams, Kishan Bacchus, Muntaz Haniff, Munaff Arjune, Dave Mohamad, William Walker and Imran Khan.

According to Mohamed, the Continental Group continues to be a regular sponsor and members of the club look forward to competing in Torginol tournaments.

“We are expecting 40- plus players this weekend. This is great for us, it’s really good to see so many players are showing an interest in the sport,” he said.

Prizes will be awarded to the top finishers, best net, as well as nearest-to-the-pin, and best gross.

Officials of Continental Group of Companies have been invited to present the prizes at the end of the tournament. Tee-off time is noon and the presentation of prizes is fixed for 17:00 hrs.

Meanwhile, Club Captain Chatterpaul Deo said that tournaments in the coming weeks will be of top quality, as the ground is in excellent condition with the fairways offering lots of assistance.

resented Guyana in 38 First Class matches, has struggled as National Coach.

While Crandon’s cricket knowledge is sound, he seems incapable of adequately addressing the on-field problems facing Guyana’s cricket.

With Guyana being embarrassed at the regional level in the last few seasons, and their performances having regressed since his appointment, it is time for Crandon to get some help from candidates such as Roger Harper, Reon King or Monty Lynch.

On the other hand, while the administrators and team management have had their fair share of criticisms, the players themselves, especially the seniors, have been cause for public concern.

Guyana’s bowling has been decent, if not destructive, this season; but the batting has been the team’s main let down.

Assad Fudadin is the only Guyanese batsman with 200 runs (249) and two 50s, but he has batted eight times and his six other innings have produced less than 100 runs. Wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble (192) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (146) are the only other batsmen with over 115 runs in the tournament.

Apart from Shivnarine Chanderpaul who missed the first two matches, Narsingh Deonarine is the team’s most experienced batsman but the talented left-hander has scored five ducks in the four matches so far. The Guyanese draw the bye for this weekend before travelling to Antigua for their next encounter against the Leeward Islands; and it is the hope that the selection panel, led by former national fast bowler Rayon Griffith, will take bold steps in ensuring that Guyana’s cricket takes a fresh direction.

Yadram to lead Demerara in U-15 InterCounty competition

National U-15 opening batsman, Bhaskar Yadram, will skipper Demerara for the GCB/Igloo Ice Cream U-15 InterCounty Two-Day Competition, which will bowl off on Sunday March 30 at the Everest Cricket Club and Demerara Cricket Club grounds.

The young Demerara team was involved in a two-day practice match on March 22-23, 2014 at the Demerara Cricket Club ground to further prepare them for the challenge.

From a group of 26 players, the match saw Bhaskar Yadram’s XI playing Stephen Wilson XI. Batting first ,Yadram’s XI made 185 all out in 40.3 overs after Yadram compiled a half century (80), which included 10 boundaries. He got support from Sagar Hiathiramani (33) and Ashmead Nedd (23). Bowling for Wilson’s XI, Junior Phillips took 2-34, Ganesh Jitlall 2-23 and Wilson 2-20.

Wilson’s XI didn’t shine with the bat as they did with the ball; they were bundled out for 102 in 44.2 overs, giving Yadram’s XI a lead of 83 runs. Christopher Campbell and Mark Ramsammy top-scored with 22 runs each. Among the wick-

ets were Mark Baptiste (3-12), Hiathiramani (2-11) and Nedd (223).

Yadram’s XI then piled on 183 runs for eight wickets in their second innings, giving Wilson’s XI, a target of 266 for victory. Kurt Lovell led the way with 44 and got support from Yadram 35, Nedd (24), Joshua Persaud 24 and Hiathiramani (22). Kenchandra Hardyal was the best bowler for the Wilson-led XI claiming 2/18.

Wilson’s XI were restricted to 122/7, 144 runs short of their target, when the umpires called of the match at 16:15 hrs. Alphius Bookie made 37, Mark Ramsammy (26) and Robin Williams (20). Ashmead Nedd grabbed 3/23 and Pradesh Balkisson 2/15.

Demerara will go into the competition as the defending champions. The team reads: Bhaskar Yadram (Captain), Paul Thomas, Alphius Bookie, Joshua Persaud, Kurt Lovell, Ganesh Jitlall, Ramdeo Basdeo, Ashmead Nedd, Sagar Hiathiramani, Bojnarine Singh, Colin Barlow, Mark Baptise, Pradesh Balkisson and Anthony Antonio. The coach is Garvin Nedd and the Manager is Robert “Pacer” Adonis.

Cricket Canada excited about posibility of hosting Limacol CPL matches

By Ravendra Madholall in Toronto

Prior to the inauguration of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (Limacol CPL) last year, Cricket Canada had begun negotiations with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to have the opening ceremony along with three first-round matches played in Toronto, Canada, this year.

The second edition is scheduled to commence on July 5 and will run until August 10, with the semi-final and final games slated for St. Kitts and Nevis.

President of Cricket Canada, Ravin Moorthy, stated that the decision has not been finalized; but he remains very optimistic the matches will be played here.

Defending champion Jamaica (Tallawahs), runners-up Guyana (Amazon Warriors), Trinidad and Tobago (Red Steel), Barbados (Tridents), Antigua and Barbuda (Hawksbills) and St. Lucia (Zouks) are the teams that will be vying for supremacy again.

The opening ceremony will be held at the Toronto Cricket Club ground in the city, while the other sanctioned venue, is King City (Maple Leaf), approximately 40 KM North of Toronto.

“Since last year we have been working with the WICB to bring this league to this country; in the last six months, we have been dealing directly with the organisers

Trophy Stall sponsors trophies, medals for HRC

around the world,” Moorthy further commented.

Meanwhile, if the agreement is signed, excitement galore is highly anticipated, as some of the world’s professional T20 cricketers will be on show.

Ravin Moorthy

and with some good discussions, things have been good so far,” Moorthy declared. He continued: “I don’t want to divulge too much at the moment, but what I can say is that we have an understanding in principle and we are trying to bring that to a formal agreement so hopefully, we will have something concrete very soon.”

Only several days ago, organisers from the Limacol CPL were in Toronto to be part of the negotiations and to look at the feasibility of these matches and an opening function.

“They want to do it here and we want to accommodate them and that makes lots of sense for them to bring their product to a market that appreciates top-quality cricket and is home to nationals from cricket-playing nations

‘Classic’

In the final last year at Queen’s Park Oval, Port-ofSpain, Trinidad, Jamaica Tallawahs humbled nemesis Guyana Amazon Warriors by an emphatic seven-wicket margin. Belligerent opener Chris Gayle led the way with an unbeaten man-of-thematch 47.

Players from across the cricketing globe represented the various countries as guest players and some of those were Australian Ricky Ponting, Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakarante Dilshan, Lasith Malinga, New Zealander James Franklin, South African Vernon Philander, Pakistani Mohammed Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal.

Many may share the same view that once Canada is able to attract this segment of the Limacol CPL tournament, it will ultimately boost the country’s cricket tremendously.

Over the past eight months, the national team has suffered the consequences of early eliminations at both the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 and 50over World Cup Qualifiers.

The under-19 team, which participated in the recently concluded ICC 50-over World Cup in Dubai, also failed to make an impression.

meets eager NGSS students

Students of North Georgetown Secondary School (NGSS) were given a pleasant surprise on Wednesday, when IFBB Pro athlete Jeff “Classic” Beckham paid a visit to the school with his long-time friend, Hugh Ross.

Beckham, the 32-year-old American, is here in Guyana for the first time as a guest poser at this Saturday’s fourth staging of the Hugh Ross Classic Bodybuilding and Fitness Show at the National Cultural Centre.

The visit to NGSS was Beckham’s second to a school since his arrival. Immediately upon landing here on Monday, he made an appearance at the Chase’s Academy in Kingston, where students and teachers alike were in awe at his muscular and well-defined physique.

At NGSS on Wednesday, both Beckham and Ross shared with the students a brief on their respective careers, while encouraging them to dream big, be disciplined and work hard for whatever careers they might be pursuing.

Beckham told the gathering of his early life, noting

that he came from a singleparent home with his mother taking care of seven siblings, two boys and five girls. He told the pupils that he always had a temper and was sent for counselling at the age of 14. It was during those sessions that he was advised to take up exercising as a means of countering his temper and that was the beginning of a successful career in bodybuilding.

Beckham also used the occasion to show the students how push-ups are done. The session went well, but had to end abruptly since the students had to sit an examination.

Students and teachers also took the chance to ask a few questions as well as take some photographs with the strapping athlete.

The fourth Hugh Ross Classic Body Building and Fitness Show is set for this Saturday at the National Cultural Centre with muscle flexing time being 19:00 hrs. Weigh-in time is 10:00 hrs on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Beckham will be at Fitness Express, which specialises in health and fitness products for two hours

today (14:00-16:00 hrs). He would be available to answer questions on fitness and nutrition athletes or members of the public might have. Fans will also have the opportunity to take a photo with Beckham.

Come Saturday, there will be three female categories: bodybuilding for females who are of a more muscular body type; Miss Figure for athletes who are symmetrical and toned and the Miss Bikini for the softer and more feminine eye -pleasing type of figure.

The male categories are: Bantamweight- up to 65kgs (143lbs), Lightweightup to 70kgs (144-154lbs), Welterweight- up to 75kgs (155-165lbs), Light Middleweight- up to 80kgs (166-176lbs), Heavyweight (80kgs and over).

The respective category winners will then face off in the Overall battle to decide Mr. Hugh Ross Classic 2014.

Mr. Hugh Ross Classic 2012, Kerwyn Clarke, will be defending his title and will face stiff challenges from a number of top athletes from the various gyms. Tickets are on sale at the National Cultural Centre at $1500 each. (Avenash Ramzan)

The Hugh Ross Classic (HRC) 2014 was given a major boost with the Trophy Stall agreeing to sponsor all the trophies and medals for Saturday’s bodybuilding and fitness show at the National Cultural Centre.

At the company’s South Road and Bourda Street branch, Manager Devie Sunich, wife of proprietor Ramesh Sunich, handed

over the trophy for the overall winner to Chairman of the Hugh Ross Committee, Hugh Ross. She stated that Trophy Stall was pleased to be on board and had no hesitation in sponsoring all the trophies and medals.

“We at the Trophy Stall are happy to be supporting one of the more prestigious bodybuilding shows in Guyana. We have been sup-

porting before and we have seen the kind of positive progress it has made over the years and we will continue to add our muscles to this event,” she remarked. Ross thanked Mr. and Mrs. Sunich for their continued confidence in the event, while assuring that come Saturday, it will be the biggest and most competitive event to date.

Quintyne spins Women to low-scoring win

West Indies Women swept aside host Bangladesh by 36 runs to win their second match in the ICC T20 World Cup at Sylhet Stadium here on Wednesday.

Eighteen-year-old leg break bowler, Shaquana Quintyne, grabbed three wickets to inflict a top order submission that severely restricted the hosts who imploded for 79, on the hunt for 116 set by West Indies.

Quintyne returned impressive figures of three wickets for five runs from three overs which included a maiden, and received support from Tremayne Smartt and Anisa Mohammed who picked up two for nine and two for 22 respectively.

The teenager, who also scored 11 and was voted player-of-the-match, knocked back the stumps of two frontline batsmenopener Ayasha Rahman for 10 and Fargana Hogue for 2,to leave Bangladesh scrambling for momentum.

But middle-order batsman Rumana Ahmed top scored with 26 to lead a fightback that injected a measure of stability into Bangladesh’s innings.

In the process, Ahmed added 28 for the fifth wicket with Nuzhat Tasnia before another batting collapse ensued and the match swung

decisively in favour of the visitors.

In the space of four balls Tasnia, who scored 6, was bowled by Anisa Mohammed, while Quintyne ended the reign of Ahmed

who was caught by Smartt. The Caribbean women asserted themselves ruthlessly by removing the last four wickets for just five runs to secure a comfortable win with 15 balls remaining. (Windiescricket.com)

SCOREBOARD

West Indies Women

Kycia Knight LBW Salma Khatun 0

S Quintyne b Fahima Khatun 11

Kyshona Knight LBW Fahima Khatun 11

D Dottin c Fahima Khatun b Khadija Tul Kubra 34

M Aguilleira*+ c Panna Ghosh b Rumana Ahmed 6

S King c Fahima Khatun b Khadija Tul Kubra 20

S Campbelle run out (Fahima Khatun) 7

A Mohammed run out (Jahanara Alam) 15

T Smartt c & b Salma Khatun 3

S Selman c Lata Mondal b Khadija Tul Kubra 1

S Daley not out 0

Total: (20 Overs) 115

Extras: (w 7) 7

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Kycia A Knight, 0.2 ov), 2-22 (Quintyne, 5.2 ov), 3-33 (Kyshona A Knight, 7.1 ov), 4-43 (Aguilleira, 10.4 ov), 5-83 (King, 15.2 ov), 6-89 (Dottin, 15.4 ov), 7-96 (Campbelle, 16.3 ov), 8-110 (Smartt, 18.6 ov), 9-115 (Mohammed, 19.5 ov), 10-115 (Selman, 19.6 ov).

Bowling: Salma Khatun 4-1-11-2, Jahanara Alam 2-0-12-0, Fahima Khatun 4-0-27-2, Rumana Ahmed 4-0-23-1, Khadija Tul Kubra 4-024-3, Panna Ghosh 2-0-18-0.

Bangladesh Women (Target; 116)

Ayasha Rahman b Quintyne 10

Sanjida Islam run

Cricket Canada excited about posibility of hosting

Limacol CPL matches

Quintyne spins Women to low-scoring win

‘Classic’ meets eager NGSS students

Alpha United qualifies for CFU final leg

Despite the treatment meted out to its players at the Caribbean Football Union’s (CFU) Club Championships held in Jamaica, Alpha “The Hammer” United emerged winners of group three and successfully qualified for the final leg of the Club Championship.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Waterchris Hotel following their return, Club president Odinga Lumumba labelled the achievement as historic, despite the challenges.

“Alpha United has been the only Guyanese club to achieve such [a] milestone,” Lumumba said.

Caribbean Football Union (CFU) about the treatment that was meted out to his charges and staff during the first leg.

On the other hand, Head Coach Wayne Dover said the performances were definitely a team effort.

“Overall it was a team effort, we played extremely well”.

He further stated that if Alpha were to win the next match against Haiti’s Valencia, they will be crowned Caribbean champions, a feat that has never been achieved by a Guyanese club.

Alpha created history during the first leg by

winning both their games against Trinidad and Tobago champions,the Defence Force and Jamaica’s champions Harbour View.

Lumumba added: “My understanding was that we had an outstanding tournament and that we will play

Haiti’s Valencia in the first game in the next round and if we win, we will automatically qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.

“If we lose, we will then play the loser of the other match between Jamaica’s Waterhouse and Puerto Rico’s Bayamón FC” and if we win that match, we will also qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League” added Lumumba.

Dover said that the aim is to simply win the fixture and qualify for the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Lumumba said that he has lodged a formal complaint with the

Alpha United will begin the final round of the CFU campaign against topranked side Valencia of Haiti on April 18th at a venue still to be announced.