Guyana Times, October 26, 2014

Limacol goes global!

will

Ebola monitoring in Berbice weak

– residents concerned about backtrack routes

By Tajeram mohaBir

Even as the Health Ministry steps up surveillance at all major ports of entry for the Ebola virus, calls are being made for patrol of illegal routes used to enter Guyana’s porous borders.

Weather: Thundery showers can be expected in the morning and early afternoon, with sunny weather otherwise prevailing. Partly cloudy skies are expected in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East north-easterly between 3.57 and 4.02 metres per second.

High Tide: 17:53h reaching a maximum height of 2.78 metres.

Low Tide: 11:28h and 23:54h reaching minimum heights of 0.56 metre and 0.43 metre respectively.

With the virus which originated in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone spreading to the United States and Spain, and even in light of a recent suspected case in Brazil being tested negative, local authorities say they remain ever alert.

Recently, Nigeria, a nation with some 150 million people, was declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Africa’s most populous nation was praised for its remarkable efforts in containing the deadly virus.

The Government has increased monitoring at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), and the Ogle International Airport (OIA).

It recently announced that some 1600 persons will be trained to tackle the virus in case of an outbreak here.

The President in a recent address to the nation, said systems are being put in place to ensure the safety of all Guyanese.

“Modern equipment is being used (at CJIA and OIA) and more is being acquired to raise the effectiveness of this exercise.

“The Government has been,

tres are being identified and established for quarantine and monitoring of suspected cases. In the event of the discovery of suspected cases, the Public Health responses have been organised,” the President said.

The President noted that suspected arriving passengers will be quarantined at holding centres at ports of entry. Elsewhere, suspected cases, if hospitalised, would be cared for under conditions of strict isolation.

The President’s announcements were made amid questionson what Guyana is doing to address the virus, given the consequence it might have, as the country struggles to suppress the Chikungunya virus.

Speaking with Guyana Times, officials said aside from the CJIA and OIA monitoring is being done, but residents are contending that the current efforts do not appear to be

and will be acquiring additional medical supplies, including more protective gear, gloves, etc in order to be better prepared. Retention cen-

enough.

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) estimates that some 28,000 Surinamese visit Guyana annually through Berbice. This is about 76 per-

sons per day, and according to the Berbice Regional Health Authority (BRHA), the ports in the county are being monitored for the Ebola virus.

The ports are the Moleson Creek Ferry Stelling and the backtrack route at Corriverton.

“To say that we have a 24hour presence at the backtrack route would not be correct. However, with the Canawaima ferry service, we have a Port Health Officer every time it comes in,” BRHA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Vishwanauth Mahadeo said.

No checks

But persons who have utilised the ferry service over the past week told this publication that they have not been checked and have not seen any health official at the stelling.

“I ain’t see anybody… nobody stop anyone who come off the boat,” a passenger told Guyana Times

According to Dr Mahadeo, the health officer does not interrogate passengers during the monitoring exercises.

“They are trained to look for certain signs and symptoms and once persons exhibit any of those signs and symptoms, the person will be pulled in.”

Signs and symptoms of the Ebola virus include fever, fatigue, malaise, reddened eyes, weakness, joint pain, muscle

pain, headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

According to MedicineNet. com, patients experience a loss of appetite and often stomach pains. Some patients experience sore throat, rash, cough, hiccups, chest pain, breathing problems and difficulty swallowing.

Later, as the disease progresses and worsens in severity, symptoms can include both internal and external bleeding.

The BHRA CEO also pointed out that if a person has the virus and it is within the 21-day incubation period, it would be difficult to detect the symptoms, contending that “if the mighty United States can’t pick it up, I don’t think we can pick it up as yet.”

Sensitisation programmes

Meanwhile, a check on the backtrack route at Corriverton proved that no monitoring is being done there even though scores of persons frequent the channel on a daily basis.

“I am there every day and I never see anyone come out checking at the passengers,” one person said. Operators there also say that they have not seen any Port Health Officer in the vicinity.

Editor: Tajeram Mohabir

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

Opposition blackmail fails

Of recent, with the Opposition in relentless “attack mode” against the Government and its programme of development, good news from the political front has been few and far between. But on Friday there was a most welcome respite from this doleful trend: the Secretary to the Cabinet announced that Guyana has been spared immediate sanctions because of non-passage of enabling legislation to comply with internationally mandated mechanisms to combat the financing of terrorism and money laundering.

It appears that we now have until September 2015 to pass the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill (AML/CFT) along with six other measures.

Once again, Guyana – not just the Government – has dodged a bullet to its financial heart, fired by the joint Opposition PNC/APNU and AFC. While of recent the populace has been transfixed by the Opposition’s “no-confidence motion” and Local Government Election demands, it may be forgotten that the latter gambits were simply the latest in a prolonged war of attrition waged by that Opposition to remove the democratically elected Government, by any means necessary.

The G-20 sponsored Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to which most of the economic powerhouses belong, had established a desideratum of measures for banks and other financial institutions to institute. While Guyana already had measures in place, these would have to be tightened – with the enabling legislation as a necessary prerequisite. Failure to comply would result in sanctions being imposed that would make Guyana into an international financial pariah.

At no time did the Opposition indicate that they disagreed with the details of the AML/CFT Bill, which was introduced by the Government in Parliament. But they adamantly blocked the passage of the Bill using their one-seat majority because each wanted to extract a quid pro quo, from the Government. While by the looser ethical canons of politics, horse trading is not a totally alien practice, to hold the country hostage to external financial sanctions was completely unprecedented.

The Opposition refused to budge even though the local Caribbean Financial Action Task Force spelled out the likely dire consequences for the country very graphically. At a minimum, all financial transactions with overseas banks and financial institutions would be subjected to a higher level of scrutiny that would significantly slow down their processing.

In the present globalised financial architecture where financial transactions are expected to be instantaneous and any delay costs money, it was projected that many of the larger international financial players might just choose to bypass business with Guyana because of its insignificant size.

This would have proven fatal to the development aspirations of all Guyanese but the Opposition insisted on their pounds of flesh.

The representatives of the ABC countries, the International Financial Institutions, along with Caricom all implored the Opposition not to derail the progress of Guyana. They pointed out that the Opposition themselves agreed with the premises of the legislation: in fact they had been accusing the Government of harbouring money launderers in the country. But their pleas fell on deaf ears.

The Government in its latest effort to fend off sanctions had presented a personal commitment by the Head of State, President Donald Ramotar to the FATF International Cooperation Review Group to address the loopholes in the present AML/CFT regime. But it is obvious that this would still require the passage of the AML/CTF Bill as a threshold issue.

It is our conviction, however, that conditions may have changed enough to break the Gordian knot. The APNU appears to have realised that in its quest to increase its votes, the AFC is willing to pander to the gallery with its “noconfidence” motion, while ignoring more pressing national issues for Parliament to address.

We are suggesting that the Government utilise the ongoing talks with APNU to secure its support to remove the financial Sword of Damocles from over our heads.

Heartening that Guyana is off the hook with FATF blacklisting

Dear Editor, I am very much relieved to learn that Guyana is off the hook as regards the FATF blacklisting – at least for now.

A GINA report stated that this was largely due to the high-level commitment of the Government, coupled with demonstrated actions made to address the technical deficiencies identified in the country’s AML/CFT regime.

However, Guyana will have to continue to be subjected to an “ongoing process in improving compliance” to ensure that it discharges its obligations under the Action Plan which was worked out with

the Americans Regional Review Group (ARRG) and submitted as Guyana’s action plan.

Praise must be showered on Attorney General Anil Nandlall for his hard work before and during the Paris conference. I sincerely hope that every step be taken by lawmakers from both sides of the House to ensure that the requirements of the FATF are met.

Countries and territories are backlisted by the FATF if they fail to cooperate in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing and to this end the FATF has set out certain laws and regulations which should be put

in place to prevent mainly money laundering and to finance terrorist groups.

Guyana has failed to comply because the Opposition parties did not cooperate with the Government to pass legislation/regulation in this regard and the country was on the verge of being blacklisted.

At Friday’s meeting in Paris, FATF congratulated Cuba and a few other countries including Argentina, Ethiopia, Tajikistan, and Turkey on their progress in addressing AML/CFT deficiencies earlier identified by he FATF. The FATF also identified jurisdictions which have strategic weak-

nesses in AML/CTF.

Two days ago the joint Opposition of APNU and AFC met and agreed to press for a early resumption of Parliament to discuss the No-Confidence Motion against the government.

Nothing was said about the move to put the necessary legislation in place to comply with the FATF requirements. I hope that the Opposition will reconsider their stand and work towards putting their house in order as regards the FATF and prevent further embarrassment.

Sincerely,

Oscar Ramjeet

Shifting to competitive production depends on STEM and HRD

Dear Editor,

It was refreshing to see the recent long letter written by our Prime Minister (PM) Samuel Hinds advising that “we must shift from distribution and redistribution to production and productivity”.

Our experienced PM must be complimented for taking this stand and with respect, I wish to humbly underscore that any such shift requires a strategic reorientation and determined push to re-direct action on: STEM, that is, graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering and Management to facilitate the changes; and HRD, that is, Human

Resource Development to sustain change or, as our learned PM reminded us, learning to fish in order to feed ourselves for life.

I was especially impressed by the PM’s frank acknowledgement that his decades of experience in the bauxite industry taught him that “business success does not come easily and that socialists tend to under estimate, under value and even belittle the contribution of the capitalists”.

My own experience in the capitalist run sugar and rum industries leads me to a similar conclusion.

I believe that most Guyanese of the same vin-

tage as the PM and myself will readily recall Bauxite’s and Booker’s substantial attention to technical training and human resource development via apprenticeships to produce tradesmen and operatives, plus cadetships/ scholarships for development of the managerial and executive cadres.

Many graduates of these initiatives became successful captains of industry, enterprises and organisations at home and abroad.

Interestingly, our PM also refers to the issues of income disparities and the role of taxation in earnings re-distribution.

I do not think we should

ignore the power of solid, relevant education, skills training and attitudinal/behavioural changes as natural levers (as opposed to contrived, manipulated taxation) to address income inequalities and mal-distribution of earnings.

Furthermore, I believe a concerted refocus and possible expansion of the role and programmes of entities like the Board of Industrial Training and TVET as well as our Technical Institutes across the country are necessary steps at this stage of our (under)development.

Sincerely, Nowrang Persaud

The Ebola virus: A religious perspective

By Shaikh Moeenul hack

As Ebola spreads in its worst outbreak in history AS WELL AS Chikungunya locally, how can we protect ourselves from these viruses?

Allah is the Creator and does not do anything without a purpose. Ebola is a wake-up call for all, to adhere to the etiquette and ethics which many have been ignored due to lack of knowledge and heedlessness.

Islam as a way of life has provided appropriate mechanisms that guarantee both safety from and prevention of infectious diseases.

First: Prophet Muhammad (SAS) said, “If you receive news of an outbreak of an epidemic (plague) in a certain place,

do not enter it and if you are present in the place then do not leave.” The implication of this is that, it is a religious responsibility not to travel to areas associated with the deadly virus and also for

those there not to leave. This is the best way to contain and restrict the spread of the virus. Health-care and relief workers are excluded from this group.

Secondly: Islam is a religion of cleanliness. ‘Cleanliness is half of faith.’ Cleanliness of our bodies, clothing and place of prayers are necessary for the acceptance of prayers. Islam insists on washing of hands with water and soap after urinating and defecating, before and after eating. Those who wash their hands often would guard themselves against the Ebola infection. In addition, Muslims are prohibited from bathing, urinating or defecating in stagnant pools of water. This is because it is not hygienic and coming in direct contact

Ebola monitoring in...

Dr Mahadeo said health workers are being trained to both identify the virus and protect themselves against it. According to him, doctors have already been trained and radio and television programmes will be launched to educate the public about Ebola virus.

Over at Charity on the Essequibo Coast, residents have expressed concerns that Venezuelans are entering Guyana regularly through a backtrack route, using the Pomeroon River, unmonitored.

The WHO has reported that the Ebola virus spreads through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids.

Floodgates

The residents said while they are not putting down the neighbouring country, there is bodily contact on the boats and if an Ebola victim happens to enter Guyana through that channel, it might open the floodgates for a difficult-to-control problem.

A vendor at the Charity Market, who gave her name as Dharamdai Seeram, said she is deeply concerned about the situation, noting that the Venezuelans come to Guyana with speed boats. Guyanese also go to the neighbouring country using the same means of transportation.

According to sources, the trip to Venezuela with speed boat is arranged by an agent and costs $60,000 per person to go and return, which is cheaper than air travel, as a flight costs $240,000.

Another vendor, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said the boats from Venezuela with the undocumented passengers come to Guyana every week.

Although the Charity Oscar Joseph Hospital is not far away from the wharf, there is no system in place to monitor the incoming passengers.

A businessman, who preferred to be called “Brian”, said the illegal channel is used primarily to trade illegal goods, including drugs, furniture and fuel.

All of this, the businessman said, happens unmonitored, noting that with the President calling for heightened surveillance at the borders to protect against the Ebola virus, the authorities on the Essequibo Coast should beef up patrols in the area.

The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) said it is willing to work with Government to strengthen monitoring for the virus, but called for an immediate closure of all backtrack routes.

Guyana Times Linden correspondent Sheldon FraserSealey reported that Region Nine (Upper Takutu – Upper Essequibo) officials say they have stepped up monitoring and are taking every precautionary measure to prevent the Ebola virus from entering Guyana through the border at Lethem.

According to a Port Health Officer at the border, who gave his name as “Franklin”, screening and checks are being carried out for travellers entering and leaving Guyana.

Restrictions

“For those persons travelling and entering the border, there are Police officers who interview each passenger, asking them a variety of questions pertaining to the Ebola virus.”

According to the Port Officer, the questions include if they have fever, rash and are experiencing diarrhoea, among other pertinent questions.

He said at the Lethem Airport, daily reports are compiled and along with those gathered at the border at Lethem, are sent to the Health Ministry for analysis.

Reports indicate that about 50 to 60 persons enter Guyana from Brazil at the Lethem Airport, most of them Guyanese. Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis

with bodily fluids would predispose one to infections like Ebola, among others.

Keep surroundings clean

Our surroundings must be kept clean. This is the responsibility of every believer in God Almighty.

Thirdly: Islam prohibits eating of certain animals like pigs, dogs, monkeyS and all fanged animals, which have now been identified as vectors of Ebola virus. Medical experts confirm that the disease was first discovered in monkeys.

Fourthly: Based on the principle of Injury and Harm, one of the five principles of Islamic Law, “it is permissible not to wash corpses if washing them would expose the washers to harm”. The same is applicable for decomposed bodies. Islam is pro-life

and several other nations have implemented travel restrictions on the West African Ebola-hit nations.

Over 9500 persons have been infected by the virus and Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have seen most of the 4800 plus deaths.

On Friday, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) reported that a Guyanese woman who recently returned from a West African country is in voluntary isolation at the hospital’s Ebola Response Unit.

In a statement, the GPHC said it was notified by a private physician of a patient who had recently travelled to a West African nation where Ebola is not present.

“She went to the physician for evaluation and treatment of leg pains.”

The hospital said during the physician’s interview, the woman reported some mild joint pain and was concerned about Chikungunya infection.

The private physician referred her directly to the Georgetown Public Hospital. The woman had reportedly recently returned from a leisure trip to a region in West Africa.

The APNU has also called for a single national plan of action to coordinate the efforts of the Government, civil airlines and the population to stay safe from the deadly

and prohibits any human from performing any acts which will place his/her life in danger. Therefore, medical personnel treating patients with Ebola must take all precautions, use of protective clothing, etcetera. Also, shallow graves are not allowed in Islam.

As a matter of faith and conviction, Muslims are enjoined to live Islam by adhering to its ethics and etiquette in order to be safe from infections and diseases.

There is no cure presently for the Ebola virus. We have a moral and civic responsibility to protect ourselves and not to travel to the affected areas. In addition, if you know of someone who went or came into contact with anyone from those areas, let us encourage them to get medical help. Protect yourself by washing your hands with

virus.

While the Government has implemented a series of measures to protect against the virus, regional health officials are of the opinion that if the virus reaches these shores, Guyana will be severely challenged.

Containment plan

Some doctors are also of the view that Guyana is not in top shape technologically to handle the virus as they stressed the need for a strong containment plan.

They also suggested that if the Government has not done so in a through manner, it should devise a road map outlining detailed steps that would be taken if a per-

soap and disinfect your surroundings.

Finally, we strongly encourage the health authorities to intensify their screening at all ports of entry including Lethem, Ogle, Moleson Creek, CJIA, among others, and equip them with the necessary facilities and tools to deal with this virus. Islam enjoins Muslims to be compassionate to all, especially those who are sick and in distress. We must support and include them in our prayers. With the amicable relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, the numerous similarities among the major faiths and the relevance of this message, hopefully we will display collective responsibility and global solidarity absent at the start of this outbreak to bring it to an end.

son is found with the virus, and the measures to protect both health workers and the citizenry. They too join the citizenry in calling for stronger monitoring at the ports of entry, especially at the borders and illegal routes.

President Ramotar on Friday met with top officials from several sectors including, security, aviation and medical to discuss the country’s preparedness for any possible Ebola case.

The meeting is one of several scheduled to keep all officials appraised of the latest developments that may arise in addressing concerns across the sectors in dealing with any possible case.

LAnu Dev

ast year I came home for Diwali. But this year, in a rush of resolve, I decided that I’d stay on at Mount Hope. I reasoned that since last year I spent so much time during lectures daydreaming about coming home, I should really batten down the hatches and pay attention to my work this year.

But one of my friends pointed out that Thursday would be a holiday, we had no Labs on Friday, and both Saturday and Sunday would be free, which meant that a trip home would be very doable. And there went my vaunted resolve!! Before you could say “Diwali”, flights had been booked and all that!

So this year, I was again lucky enough to celebrate Diwali at home with my family at the old homestead. And it was incredible. The entire village was permeated with Diwali songs and bhajans. There’s something so very special about being

Foundation

Home again for Diwali!

“Home is the nicest word there is.” – Laura

surrounded by your family, singing bhajans, lighting diyas and eating good food. What more can you ask?

And of course, ambling over to neighbours to share the goodies we’d concocted during the day and imbibing the same from others. There are, of course, the “oohing and aahing” at the displays of diyas and lights in the houses around. Our family sticks to the traditional diyas as lights...no electric flashing neon lights yet.

Diwali is a time of renewal ...starting a new year, by praying to Mother Lakshmi and making a resolution to do better in all regards you may be lagging. Her iconography doesn’t beat around the bush – the dominant “red” in her sari signifying hard work and effort, which will lead to the rewards signified by the second prominent colour, “gold”. And talking about renew-

Ingalls Wilder

al, I also visited Georgetown the day after Diwali. As my mom and I were returning home during rush hour, I was so impressed by the way traffic was flowing near the Harbour Bridge. Where was all of this when I had to schlep over to Queens for seven years?? There were Policemen directing traffic at every step of the way, no one was bullying, and there wasn’t any bottlenecking to get onto the bridge! I kept wondering, “Is this real life? Am I dreaming that traffic is flowing so smoothly?” And before you wonder why I’d ever possibly be dreaming about the traffic situation at the Demerara Harbour Bridge, I’ve been having some pretty mundane dreams of recent. I wonder what old Freud would say about this.

One that stands out is the one with me at the

Supermarket, meticulously selecting the PERFECT baigan to roast for baigan choka. Really thrilling stuff that. Then again it could just be that I’m fixated on Mom’s home cooking – which I’m trying to replicate over in the land of Carnival.

Returning home also gives me the opportunity to look at my homeland with fresh eyes. I know we have a far way to go. But I have to be honest. Things keep changing every time I return home. New roads get built, new houses get built and there’s always something new for me to exclaim over.

OK! OK! There’re still the folks at the back street playing their music at decibels high enough to test the limits of my eardrums. But nostalgia does soften rough edges.

On Monday, this little, mini holiday will be over and I’ll be thrust back into the daily grind of Med School. But before then, I’ll savour every last minute here at home sweet home. There really is no place quite like home.

In Guyana.

Ebola bloodtherapy team set up

An international team of scientists has been set up to determine the effectiveness of using the blood of Ebola survivors as a treatment.

It is hoped the antibodies used by the immune system to fight Ebola can be transferred from a survivor to a patient. The study will start in Guinea and is led by the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. The European Union has given 2.9 million euros to fund the project.

There are no widely available, proven drugs or vaccines for Ebola. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has backed the use of survivors’ blood as the worst outbreak of Ebola in history continues to get worse.

People produce antibodies in the blood in an attempt to fight off an Ebola infection. In theory, those antibodies can be transferred from a survivor into a sick patient to give their immune system a boost.

However, large-scale data on the effectiveness of the therapy is lacking.

Studies on the 1995 outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) indicated seven out of eight people survived after being given the therapy.

Is it safe?

Johan van Griensven, from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, said: “Blood and plasma therapy are medical interventions with a long history, safely used for other infectious diseases.

“We want to find out whether this approach works for Ebola, is safe and can be put into practice to reduce the number of deaths in the present outbreak.

“Ebola survivors contributing to curb the epidemic by donating blood could reduce fear of the disease and improve their acceptance in the communities.” In total, more than 4800 people have died of Ebola. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Caribbean energy sector needs vibrant support – Finance Minister Limacol goes global!

The NEW GPC INC is proud to announce that it is about to rollout its iconic Limacol splash-on in most of the major markets of the world.

According to Executive Chairman, Dr Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, the launch follows a timeline built into Limacol’s expansion strategy that was initiated when the brand became the major sponsor of several major sporting events in Guyana and the Caribbean.

The ensuing broadcasts in every continent made the Limacol Brand a talking point in all the nations where the sports, especially cricket, were played.

In the US, the Limacol Brand will be associated with baseball as well as with the new cricket leagues being launched. Now that the Limacol Brand awareness has reached the critical benchmarks set in the strategy, the decision to launch was made.

Limacol – and several of its brand extensions – will now be introduced into major new markets in Australia, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa and the Middle East.

In the US, Canada and

Britain, it will strike out into mainstream outlets, in addition to the traditional Caribbean ethnic market where it has always had a loyal following and customer base. The increased sales in its home Caribbean markets will also be augmented.

This major marketing push will see the Limacol production facilities at Farm, East Bank Demerara ratcheted up to deal with the increased demand.

NEW GPC INC has always been in the forefront of boosting the local manufacturing sector with Limacol and numerous other products.

All of these had been shipped to the traditional export markets. With the massive Limacol expansion occasioned by the new market roll outs, it is projected that Guyana will benefit substantially both in terms of increased employment opportunities and in earning foreign exchange. Dr Ramroop emphasised that his company is very bullish on Guyana.

Limacol is a unique body splash on, manufactured in Guyana since the 1920s. Its signature slogan “Freshness of a breeze in a bottle” is known across the Caribbean –and now it will be on lips across the globe.

Policeman shot in toe while parting fight

APoliceman who was acting as a peacemaker was shot to his left foot in the wee hours of Saturday morning at a night spot at Tabatinga, Lethem, Region Nine.

Assistant Police Superintendent Deolall Rooplall was taken to the Lethem Hospital where he was treated and sent away while a security official has been arrested.

Reports reaching Guyana Times stated that the senior Police officer was at the popular drinking spot when an argument started among a group of men. The officer was reportedly in civilian

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh has called on international financial institutions and regional development banks to provide more support to the energy sector in the Caribbean.

The Minister made the call while speaking at a recent high-level Caribbean forum in Jamaica.

Minister Singh argued that unreliable and costly energy is one of the principal sources of uncompetitiveness in the Region, pointing out that apart from Trinidad and Tobago, most of the rest of the Region is burdened with unreasonably high energy costs.

He argued that this imposes a constraint to investment and growth, adds pressure on cost of living, and results in fiscal stress as a result of inefficient energy subsidies that have to be provided by Governments to cushion the effect of high

costs among other factors.

The Minister also argued that high energy costs and dependency on imported fossil fuels contribute to the Region’s macroeconomic vulnerability, especially as a result of high and volatile imported oil prices, with concomitant pressure on the balance of payments and on domestic price inflation

where there is price pass through.

Resolving the impediment of unreliable and costly energy requires scaled up investment, including in renewable energy such as hydropower, Minister Singh argued, but pointed out that given the limited fiscal space

clothing and from all indications went over to the men.

While doing so, an altercation ensured and in the height of parting the men, the security official attached to a private security firm discharged several rounds, hitting Rooplall in the process.

Persons upon realising that the Police officer was shotto the toe took him with haste to the hospital where he was treated.

The licensed .32 pistol belonging to the security personnel was seized and lodged at the Lethem Police Station.

The Police are continuing their investigations.

On this basis, Minister Singh called on the Region’s development partners, particularly the multilateral financial institutions and regional development banks to make a more concerted effort to help the region mobil-

ise private investment into the sector.

available in most Caribbean countries, this investment would have to come from the private sector.

Glenn Lall is lying on others – remigrant businessman

... to deflect from his alleged tax fraud

Remigrant businessman Kamal Mangal is accusing Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall of continuing to publish misinformation, lies and libel about him in an effort to drag him into a scandal in which Lall himself as the owner of the newspaper is currently entangled.

“He obviously wants a partner in his criminal conduct,” said Mangal on Saturday.

Mangal said, in the first article, the reporter lied when it was stated that he said he did not know that he have to live in Guyana. “I never said that,” he stressed.

“In the following day’s Kaieteur News, they published that I was not in

Guyana when the vehicle was cleared. This is another lie.

"I was present in Guyana and I cleared an entire container, which contained personal effects, household appliances and that vehicle. I was present in Guyana and hired a Customs Broker to do so,” he said.

“In the next day’s newspaper, they accused me of dodging taxes. Yet another lie. The truth is, I am a remigrant and I applied as a remigrant to bring back to Guyana certain household appliances and a motor vehicle. I was qualified by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and granted the concessions by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).”

Mangal said the letter granting him the concession says: “Please note that the abovementioned exemption has been granted on condition that the motor vehicle cannot be leased or transferred within three years of registration, and providing the registration, licence, fitness and insurance are submitted for inspection at the GRA every six months.”

He stated that he has complied with these conditions and that Kaieteur News is making headline stories out of a non-issue.

Mangal said if he has done anything wrong, the GRA is free to do what is necessary.

“In fact, I have imported another vehicle, for which

I have paid full duties and taxes. Maybe they will start writing about that too, because it seems as if anything is news for them,” he added.

“It is obvious that Kaieteur News is trying to get to my relative, the Attorney General (AG) [Anil Nandlall], through me. I am a big man and none of my relatives, including Anil Nandlall, is responsible for my conduct,” said Mangal.

He said he has never seen a newspaper being used by its owner like this to deliberately attack people’s character and to print lies about people.

“This newspaper is nothing but trash. People should not pay money for trash,” he said.

Guyana gets help from China for geographical mapping

Guyana is one step closer to completing its geological mapping after Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud participated at the 2014 China Mining Conference and Exposition.

The Minister was there at the invitation of China’s Land and Resources Minister Jiang Daming.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud

Accompanied by Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Chairman Clinton Williams, Minister Persaud participated in discussions relating to the developmental trend of both Chinese and foreign mining industries as well as the global commodities outlook. He told the conference that Guyana encourages green mining and invest-

ments that are environmentally safe and sustainable.

This, he said, is guided by policies and programmes that are aimed at maximising the benefits of the extractive sector.

However, he cautioned that all investors must adhere to the various acts and regulations governing the mining sector and respect the laws of Guyana.

Additionally, Minister Persaud pointed out that numerous opportunities exist for investment in the mining sector, but investors must be compliant with strict environmental guidelines which are being enforced by several regulatory Government agen-

cies.

As a result of Guyana’s participation at the global event, the China Geological Survey has committed to assisting the Government of Guyana to undertake a mineral property assessment to gather geological data as vast tracts of land have not been geologically mapped.

“Further, it must be recalled that major stakeholders within the sector have been making fervent representation to the Ministry through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for such a survey to be undertaken so that all miners can benefit for geological data,” a release from the Ministry said.

Convenient amnesia...

...on Jagdeo’s Norway deal

Guyana just pocketed another US$35 million from the Norway US$250 deal million President Jagdeo had negotiated back in 2009. It’s not surprising the Opposition will never acknowledge this boost for Guyana

not to mention his numerous other accomplishments during his stint at the helm. Especially his role in freeing Guyana from the US$2.1 BILLION debt the PNC had saddled us with in 1992.

The PNC – whether in its PNC-R1G or APNU reincarnation – keeps bleating that most of that debt was actually “accrued interest” and not actually “borrowed” by them. As if this excuses them!!

Actually it damns them more than ever. They should be even more ashamed since the country didn’t even get a pin for all that money owed! Didn’t the wankers know when they default on loans, they incur interest??

Anyhow, back to the money flowing in from Norway. Some think it’s manna from heaven. Yet it’s the same people who scoffed when Jagdeo first broached the idea that Guyana should be paid for not cutting down its forests. In retrospect, it sounds eminently sensible. The planet’s dying from all the Carbon Dioxide the developed countries’d poured into the atmosphere during the last 200 years.

Our forests remove and lock away Carbon Dioxide –purifying their “smoke”, while they keep “puffing” and polluting. If we cut down our trees for whatever purposes – development or otherwise – the developed countries can’t get the free pass we provide. But nobody thought of this at the time. In fact, some said that Jagdeo was trying to blackmail the developed world!! Jagdeo was just willing and ABLE to think outside the box.

Jagdeo was able to sell the idea because he was able to situate the Carbon sequestration programme within a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). This is now a model for even the developed countries. And it’s why he’s consulted whenever climate change comes up on the global agenda. But like we said before, you’d never know if you go by the local spit press. Which just acts as the Opposition’s handmaidens.

Another reason for what can only be called their “hatred” of Jagdeo is the Opposition’s humiliation at the former’s hands when they played their ultimate card with their “slow fyaah; mo’ fyaah” and he stood them down. Burnham had laid down the dictum, expressed by Hoyte, that the PPP only understood the “language of force”.

Jagdeo was the first PPP leader to turn the tables on the PNC. This sticks in the Opposition’s craw. But why are Jagdeo’s erstwhile comrades so diffident about acknowledging him??

...on Lalloo’s challenge

A week or so ago, that pot-salt struggling for some sort of recognition, Lalloo Ram, challenged the Clerk of Parliament on the AFC’s No-Confidence Motion. He found release in the letters pages: “Clerk needs to explain why he is now excluding discretion of Speaker to convene the Assembly when the public interest requires it.”

Well, the Clerk immediately bitch-slapped him by quoting the same Standing Order that Lalloo had mangled. But not only that. The Clerk quoted two previous Speakers and Clerks and showed that Lalloo was blowing hot (and fetid) air through his nether orifice. Even the present Speaker, who’s from the AFC, hasn’t supported Lalloo.

Now you’d think the wanker would issue some kind of apology to the Clerk, wouldn’t you?? But if you go by the previous bitch-slappings of Lalloo by his betters in the accounting and legal professions, you wouldn’t hold your breath.

Lalloo’s lying low until this humiliation blows over. He’s a sucker for punishment! Like Freddy Kruger, he’ll be back.

...on skeletons

Looks like some Ministers would stand on their heads to placate Mook Lall. Or more precisely, they’ll stand on their face on their Facebook pages. This Eyewitness wonders what skeletons they have rattling around in their closets they’re afraid might be exposed.

Accounting body in collusion with Glenn Lall – GRA Head

Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur said he is extremely disturbed over revelations that appear to suggest a “very high level of collusion” between a group of members of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG), who refer to themselves as the Disciplinary Committee of the local accountancy body, and Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall.

In a letter issued to Sattaur dated October 24, and signed by Ramesh Persaud as Chairman of the Investigations Committee of ICAG, the disturbing disclosure is made that the Council was informed by the Disciplinary Committee after a meeting held on October 22 to deliberate on the complaint made by Lall regarding the alleged misconduct of the Commissioner General, that the Disciplinary Committee of the Institute has ordered, as a standard procedure, that the Commissioner General respond to the allegations.

This revelation comes one day after this newspaper carried an article in which the Commissioner General claimed he contacted the institute and spoke with Cardilla Agard, Administrative Officer of ICAG, who denied any knowledge of a meeting or decision taken on the matter, even though Kaieteur News had the very day carried a front page article referring to a decision taken to undertake a probe.

“What is extremely irregular and disturbing is the fact that the meeting of the Disciplinary Committee, which according to the letter had deliberations on October 22, informed the Council of its decision presumably after the meeting was concluded,” said Sattaur in a statement issued on Saturday.

“Yet this information appeared in the headlines of the Kaieteur News on the very day of its October 22 edition,” Sattaur pointed out. “This is a clear indication that the members of the said Disciplinary Committee informed Lall of their decision prior to the meeting and deliberations of the

Committee.”

He said the question for both the owner of Kaieteur News and the members of the Disciplinary Committee of the ICAG is how is it possible for a media outlet to publish the decision by an independent investigative agency one day before it was actually made.

“Further, how can the communication to the Commissioner General be officially made two days after the Kaieteur News printed headlines of the decision, when the owner of the newspaper is the complainant?” questioned Sattaur.

Sattaur is also questioning how is it he is being subjected to disciplinary proceedings by the Council’s Disciplinary Committee, when he is not engaged in public practice, and therefore not subject to the ethics that professional Accountants subscribe to, but rather is a public servant and carries out a statutory function prescribed in law.

“This suggests extreme bias and lack of knowledge of their own by-laws,” he said.

Collusion

Having discovered this glaring evidence of “obvious collusion” between Lall and ICAG, the Commissioner General is calling on the Council to stop this “charade and travesty” immediately.

He said a report is presently being compiled that will be lodged with ICAG’s parent body in the United Kingdom, pertaining to the highly irregular actions on the part of the members of the local disciplinary body.

“Clippings of the newspaper article and letter stating the Council’s decision made on the very same day will be submitted as evidence,” he explained.

Sattaur intends to write the parent body of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the UK, asking for an investigation to be conducted into this “obvious collusion” with the owner of the Kaieteur News to discredit the good name and standing of a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) member.

He said it would appear also that some of these members may be aiding and abetting the Kaieteur News’ owner’s alleged reckless behaviour of fraudulent under-reporting of income, and have now joined forces with the publication to have his image tarnished with the hopeful consequence that the audit against Lall will not proceed.

The Commissioner General is contending that while he has nothing to hide, he cannot submit himself to an investigation for a very serious offence by a panel comprising Paul Chan-aSue, Khalid Ali and Persaud,

that from this major disclosure, it would now appear to any right-thinking person, to be extremely biased. He said that it is evident they have been in direct communication with Lall.

He said it would appear also that they would have promised Lall certain courses of action, which definitely gave him the confidence to have published their decisions before they were taken.

“This would suggest further that these three individuals would have committed to Lall that they will disbar the Commissioner General which is highly irregular, illegal, void, arbitrary and outside of their powers.”

Sanction

A partner of a leading accounting firm has speculated that were the parent entity of the local accounting body to investigate this very “invidious” act by members who are put in a position of trust to investigate perceived wrongdoings of their fellow members, andthey were

found guilty of misconduct to prejudice the outcome of the investigation, they can face lifetime bans and would never be allowed again to practice their profession.

He said all the evidence of their complicity suggests grave misconduct on their part, as Lall whether out of ignorance or some unfathomable reason has been very liberal in using his newspaper to attack the character of the Commissioner General.

“How Lall would have exerted his influence on the Disciplinary Committee members, one of whose members is the son of the leading partner of an accounting firm, is speculative. But it leads one to conclude that these Accountants are now in collusion with Lall to prevent a probe of their complicity with the alleged tax cheat,” said the official.

As such, lawyers for the Commissioner General are considering possible sanction of shady Accountants, including reporting their highly unethical and immoral conduct to their parent body in the UK for serious misconduct and malpractice and for bringing the profession into disrepute.

Further, were this demand of the Commissioner General not to be adhered to, of immediately revoking any probe by these members of the Disciplinary Committee, the Commissioner General will publish his response to the clarification sought by the Disciplinary Committee, and take other measures not limited to legal action to prevent any further involvement of the institute in the matter.

Republican Congressman hammered for saying Ebola started in Guyana

Let she who is without geography sin cast the first globe! On her MSNBC show, Rachel Maddow mercilessly mocked Republican Congressman Darrell Issa for confusing Guinea with Guyana.

The Republican Congressman made his mistake during a discussion of the country in which the latest Ebola outbreak began. Issa said it was “Guyana”, a South American country, whereas in fact it was Guinea, a West African one.

Fair enough. Issa should have gotten his countries straight. But of all the hosts in the MSNBC line-up, Rachel Maddow should have been the last to have the chutzpah to highlight Issa’s blooper.

Last month, Maddow made a big geography blooper of her own. During a discussion of President Obama’s then-impending trip to Estonia – a Baltic country – Maddow went on – repeatedly and at length – about the last time a President had visited . . . the

Balkans.

After Maddow’s mistake was reported, instead of owning up, she tried to cover her error, tweeting out that “she didn’t mean to imply” that Estonia is in the Balkans”.

Maddow also mocked Issa’s mispronunciation of the disease as “Ebol-i”.

Maddow on her show said: “We begin tonight in South America. Can we put up a map of South America? On the continent of South America, there is a country called Guyana. It can be a little confusing because Guyana is near another country in South America that has a similar name: French Guiana is just two borders over. But both of those countries are roughly on the same part of the eastern coast of South America. What neither of those countries has anything to do with, is Africa. Africa is a whole different continent. Africa, Western Africa, is where the nation of Guinea is. Guinea is one of the countries where Ebola is now an epidemic. So to be clear, Guinea is in Africa. Guyana is in South America. Armed with that knowledge, go, Congress, go.”

The comments were in response to Issa, who has said: “Beginning in March 2014, in the West African nation of Guyana, the world first learned about yet another new outbreak of the Ebola virus.”

Maddow said, “Republican Congressman Darrell Issa today, telling the world today that Ebola started in a nation called Guyana, which is a nation in South America, which has nothing to do with it.” (mrcNewsBusters)

Sterling Products playing role in ‘education revolution’

– Deputy Chief Education Officer

No employee should ever put a ceiling on their potential, especially when it comes to their education, Deputy Chief Education Officer Marcel Hudson said.

He made the comment at the fourth graduation ceremony for the “Fast Track Initiative Programme” on Tuesday, at Sterling Products Limited (SPL).

The Fast Track Initiative Programme is a collaborative effort between SPL and the Education Ministry, who together undertook the task of improving the lives of staff of the

company by improving their literacy skills.

The specifics of those literacy skills included the ability to read, write and understand; listen and speak. The graduation programme included 15 employees who graduated from levels one to four of the literacy programme.

The charge of unlocking their education potential and continually grasping at opportunities for selfdevelopment was given by the Deputy Chief Education Officer.

Reflecting on his third year at the graduation pro-

gramme, Hudson commended SPL for its efforts to facilitate the advancement of its employees, while committing the Ministry’s continued support with regard to initiatives like these by the organisation.

He added that the drive, commitment and willingness of the lecturers to render their services to the programme should be emulated by all.

Hudson pointed out that SPL was playing an integral role in Guyana’s ‘education revolution’.

SPL Chief Executive Officer Ramsay Ali re -

Caribbean energy sector needs vibrant...

“The stark reality is that, with limited fiscal headroom and given the debt sustainability imperative, the investment required into the Caribbean’s energy sector will have to be financed by private capital. Tangible assistance to mobilise this capital should be a priority of the international and regional institutions provid-

ing development support to the Region,” Minister Singh stated.

Guyana is currently working closely with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to harness its hydropower potential through the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.

In addition, Minister Singh recently signed with

the IDB and the European Union (EU) agreements to finance more than US$64.6 million of investment into modernising the energy sector.

The forum, a collaboration between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Jamaica’s Finance and Planning Ministry, was held un-

flected on the commitment and drive of the employees, the difficulties some might have shared and the achievements of some, highlighting one employee who has since received a diploma from the University of Guyana after passing through all the levels of the programme at Sterling Products.

SPL Finance Controller/ Company Secretary Deodat Indar lauded the commitment and efforts shown by the successful employees and urged them to continue seeking higher levels of education.

from page 9

der the theme “Unlocking Growth in the Caribbean”.

The event focused on ways to unlock growth in the Region and examined key issues such as improving the reliability and efficiency of energy provision, a tax regime to encourage investment, and steps to strengthen the financial sector.

Baring flesh

Satiricus was titillated. Satiricus wasn’t too proud to deny that he liked his share of eye candy. So he had no quarrel with the new dispensation in which the fairer sex had dumped the Victorian mores in which it was a scandal if an ankle was revealed!

While he wasn’t old enough to remember when the revolution had begun, he’d read of the “bra-burning” demonstrations back in the 1960s.

Satiricus was happy the revolution had eventually spread to Guyana. Even though sometimes he wondered about that when he attended events at the National Cultural Centre. No pants for women?? Please!! Would the revelation of the contours of the derrière throw the performers off their lines?? “Hey!” thought Satiricus, “They’re sitting on their buns, aren’t they?”

Now Satiricus had always figured if the new “letting it all hang out” ethos in clothes had spread geographically, sooner or later, it had to spread socially. Meaning the upper crust would have to “get with it” and reveal some skin.

No one batted an eye when the French and Italian PMs' wives and girlfriends (they’re allowed simultaneously over there) bared it all on the beaches of Monaco. They never had their “Victorian” era, after all. But when Michelle Obama bared those arms and made sleeveless dresses all the rage in Washington, that caused some comments, remember?

What's next? Was the Queen over in old Blighty going to throw off those hats at Ascot?? Let’s not go as to whether she’ll be more revealing in other areas. But her young’uns like Princess Di did give folks more than a peek, didn’t they??

So Satiricus was more than a wee bit surprised when a storm erupted over the Trinidadian President’s wife’s bared mid-riff. Seems she took a pic standing next to the wife of the UN head honcho and wore an outfit that bared her belly. And some (female) radio host took her to task. Now Satiricus had a position on this midriff exposure.

He absolutely would forbid those Indian women with their saris who routinely bared their naked midriffs – if they had more than two rolls of fat hanging out. Three rolls was too gross even for the stolid Satiricus. But Jeez, the TT President’s wife had a very sculpted midriff, thank you. Not as sculpted as Michelle Obama’s arms...but good enough.

“And,” thought Satiricus, “this is Trinidad, for goodness sake!!” Did the radio host want their country’s top lady to be wrapped in a burqa?? Hey, the lady was only selling TT’s top product – Carnival!

PNC proud of its record, says Granger

People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader David Granger said the party is proud of its record as he claimed that the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is at its weakest.

Granger made the remarks at the PNCR final General Council Meeting for 2014 on Saturday at the party’s headquarters, Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

The meeting was held under theme “PNCR For National Unity, Good Governance and Development” and was chaired by party Chairman and Member of Parliament (MP) Basil Williams.

Williams said the General Council was occurring at a time of looming elections and the PPP/C’s deployment of outsiders in the Rodney Commission of Inquiry to assist their political campaign.

According to him, Guyana needs the PNC now more than ever.

“This (the PNC) is not a party for the ‘get rich

country.

"We must, most of all, remain committed to achieving national unity and to build bridges to all communities and groups which are interested in the well-being of the people and progress of our country,” he said.

Granger claimed that “the PPP/C Administration is at its weakest in 20 years… our party must be the champion of jobs for all.

"Our party must be the champion of education. Our party must be the

quickers’ but rather one of service… I have no doubt that the PNCR as a partner in APNU will surge to victory at any future elections.”

General Secretary Oscar Clarke in his report to the Council outlined the work of the party’s secretariat during the period between General Council meetings.

He reported on the work of the 11 party regions and the party’s youth and women’s arms.

The highlight of the morning session was the feature address by party leader retired Brigadier David Granger.

In an appeal for national and party unity, Granger said, “The PNC is proud of its record…. Our party has never forgotten and must never forget its duty.

"It must never forsake the working people of this

Attorney General: Glenn Lall is a most desperate man

– doing everything to escape fraud charges

Attorney General Anil Nandlall is contending that Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall is engaging in relentless news manufacturing with the hope that the fraud charges filed against him will be withdrawn.

Nandlall said during his temporary absence from Guyana, representing the State at a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris, he was bombarded with queries about articles which appeared in the Kaieteur News, regarding the importation of a vehicle by his relative.

“Upon my return, I exam-

ined the articles. I have concluded that Kaieteur News is engaged in a relentless and desperate mission to concoct

a scandal and place me in it. This much must be obvious to the reader,” said Nandlall.

“The question is, why? My answer is that Lall believes that by using his newspaper to lynch my family, he will force the withdrawal of the criminal charges against him.

"If he is to succeed, I will be guilty of perverting the course of justice. I will do no such thing. I am made of sterner stuff. In any event, only those who filed the charges can withdraw them. The quicker this is understood, the better.”

champion of equality.

"Our party must be the champion of local empowerment; we must show how the PPP/C has undermined local democracy for the past 20 years and paralysed the entire local Government system."

Granger quoting from the party’s battle song, called on members of the PNCR to “hold the line of battle... to link their arms in unity… to organise and charge the forces of the haughty enemy”.

He said: “This is the time to achieve our goal of getting back into Government as part of our great partnership.”

The General Council is the governing body and the second highest decision-making forum of the PNCR between Biennial Congresses and meets once every quarter.

He said it is nothing short of blackmail, by those who labour under the self-induced delusion that they are above the law and therefore, when the law is applied to them, it is misconstrued as a plot to destroy them.

“In the end, what must be excruciatingly plain is that this has nothing to do with freedom of expression, but a newspaper being used to defend criminal charges and to avoid the application to them of the laws of this land. In this quest, they will not succeed,” said Nandlall.

The Attorney General said he is deeply concerned about the levels to which a newspaper has descended under the thin guise of freedom of expression.

Caribbean Airlines satisfied with crash findings

Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) said it remains committed to working to ensure the effectiveness of its flight crew following the release of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) findings of the 2011 crash.

The airline in a release said additional train-

thorough.

CAL has worked with the GCAA to uncover all the facts as they related to the incident. The airline said it appreciated the opportunity granted by the GCAA to make submissions during its investigation and respects its final conclusions.

The findings of the re -

ing was also covered during initial and recurrent training of its pilots.

CAL said it has reviewed the final report of the GCAA investigation into the July 30, 2011 Flight BW 523 aircraft touchdown incident at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, and is satisfied that the investigation has been

port reiterated that the Captain was a veteran pilot and the First Officer was experienced.

“CAL is committed to working with our flight crew to ensure they meet the required regulatory standards. The Captain of Flight BW523 remains employed by CAL as a First Officer. The First Officer of the flight left

employment at CAL in 2012. All regulatory requirements vis-à-vis the crew were met following the event.

“CAL has examined the findings of the report and has already incorporated all of the recommendations.

Based on the report’s findings, CAL has re-emphasised the airline’s commitment to working with its flight crew to ensure their effectiveness.

“The majority of personal injury claims arising from the incident have been resolved. CAL cannot comment specifically on the findings of the report as there is litigation in respect to a few claims pending in the United States. Caribbean Airlines’ highest priority is providing safe, reliable air services for our valued customers,” the release said.

Some two years after the CAL Airlines Flight with 157 passengers and a six-member crew, skidded off the Cheddi Jagan International Airport runway, investigators on Friday disclosed that human error was the instigating factor for the crash.

This was according to head of the investigative

team, Paula Mc Adam. The team comprised several high-level aviation experts from Guyana, the Caribbean and the United States.

“Our findings show that there was pilot error and more so, poor cockpit management,” she said. There was little or no communication between the Pilot and Co-pilot.

Caucus on

She added that they both had duties to carry out and from all indications, both of them erred.

The lead investigator said that the probable cause of the accident was that the aircraft (which was coming from Piarco International Airport just after midnight) touched down approximately 4700 feet beyond the runway

threshold.

This, she noted, occurred as a result of the Captain maintaining excess power during the flare, and upon touching down, failing to utilise the aircraft’s full deceleration capability; hence, the aircraft overshot the remaining runway and the fuselage was fractured.

Caribbean Statisticians

opens here on Monday

Guyana will be hosting the 39th Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) and the 24th Regional Census Coordinating Committee (RCCC) meetings on Monday

The meetings will be held at the Princess International Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

This is the first time Guyana is hosting the regional meetings. The meetings have been held in St Kitts and Nevis (2013); Grenada (2012); Belize (2011); St Lucia (2009), Barbados (2008), Suriname (2007) and Trinidad and Tobago (2006).

According to a release, this year also marks the 40th anniversary of the SCCS.

The annual meeting of the SCCS is an event that sees Regional Directors of Statistics and Chief Statisticians of Caricom deliberating on a regional statistical work programme geared at ensuring integration and cooperation of all statistical offices in the Region.

Guyana’s Chief Statistician Lennox Benjamin said that these two events (SCCS & RCCC) serve as a reminder of the key roles statisticians play in trying to “improve the quality of life of the peoples of the Caribbean Community”.

Benjamin noted that statistics plays an important role in the everyday lives of persons.

“It enables policies that facilitate the development of each country in the Region.” The Chief Statistician noted that the National Statistical Offices of the Region aim at “producing and disseminating statistics to inform public policies as well as for use by researchers and the Private Sector”.

He noted that there is an increase in demand for high quality statistics in a timely manner.

The SCCS was established one year after the coming into effect of the Caribbean Community with the recognition of the vital role of sound, relevant and timely statistics

in guiding sustainable social and economic development of the region.

Given the establishment of the SCCS in 1974, this year is an auspicious occasion for statisticians across the Region as it is the 40th anniversary of the

evaluate the Population and Housing Census in each Caribbean country and to continue to encourage the sharing of experiences, the identification of best practices and challenges so as to provide support to countries in need.

The RCCC also aids in fulfilling the SCCS mandate with the preparation of a regional plan to support a common census framework.

“Statistics is the core of everything we do and is crucial in the development of our territories,” Guyana’s Chief Statistician said. He said too that the continued challenge to statistics in today’s dynamic world is referred to in the theme of this year’s meeting “Data revolution for sustainable development in Caricom –designing and operationalising a framework for sta-

SCCS.

Benjamin said too that all member countries of Caricom as well as associate members participate in the SCCS.

The meetings of the Standing Committee were subsequently expanded to include meetings of the RCCC, which is the umbrella body for the conceptualisation and implementation of the National Population and Housing Census throughout the Caribbean Region.

The 24th RCCC meeting will serve to monitor and

tistics”.

Several items have been placed on the agenda for discussion. They include but are not limited to sustaining the development of statistics in Caricom; advancing the process of implementing the regional statistics work programme; economy, finance and investment statistics; population, demographic, social and living condition statistics; and statistics on information and communication technologies.

The meetings will conclude on October 31.

Simply the Truth

Economy of manners

This nation of ours is full of people with good manners, kind, helpful and genuinely nice people. I returned home for a few days in October to get too many things done. I stayed in Kitty for a few days.

One of my relatives lent me a car. To park the car safely, I used the parking lot as instructed by the hotel people. Unfortunately, I did not know there was this deep, large drain, and drove the car into that drain. Both front wheels!

It was night, and I was quite at a loss at what to do. My immediate reaction was to turn to the Guyana Police Force and ask for help. I knew that help would be forthcoming from that dependable source!

But before I knew it, one young man on a motorcycle stopped, asked what the problem was, and summoned two other young men. The three strong young fellows could not lift the car out of the hole into which I put it. The three summoned a few more, until there were about 12.

There was the usual argument about what should be done, what could be done, what car jacks were needed, and so on. Everyone had an opinion. I listened, quite confused by it all. And yet, they worked it out. These young men that I did not know and who did not know me (except one who called me “professor”).

In the confusion, I called the cops. They were going to send a unit to assist. But before they could get there, our good young men lifted the car out. I invited them for a drink each, but one of them said: “Big man! You ain’t gatta give we nothing! We just help yuh out, that’s all!” I had to insist that each of them have a drink or juice. One of them was on his way to church. He had a Bible in his hand and rested the book on a motorcycle seat. Such kindness! This is why it breaks my heart to have to leave our Guyana, because there is so much goodness that needs to be nurtured. So gentlemen of Kitty, thank you.

This is not to say that we do not have our share of hypocrites, rapists, killers, and abusers. They are there inside and outside of our homes. But I remain confident that the goodness as exemplified by these young men in Kitty and by our good cops would overwhelm the forces that would perpetrate evil upon us and our loved ones!

Goodness wins eventually, although

tyranny and evil may seem indomitable for a while.

I left Kitty for Berbice where I stayed at Little Rock in New Amsterdam. There was the same kindness and care, although I got nagged about not eating well and not taking care of myself. Little Rock is quite like home.

The manners are impeccable, and it reveals itself with such ease and effortlessness that it is like second nature. Same as in Kitty. Our Guyana, this nation of so many good souls that just wait for a chance to exercise that goodness!

At the same time, in this nation there are those who befoul the very air that we breathe with their evil. Would we could rid ourselves of the monsters! The kindness that I got came from as far away as Linden and stretched all the way to Skeldon!

Once again, the members of Guyana Police Force were always there. Gentlemen, I am honored to know you all. Especially the Commanders who understand well the oath they took and who live by sublime protocols.

And our few righteous religious leaders and professionals too. In just 11 days, the names of kind of people would fill many columns, and Guyana Times would be upset.

I had to go to a place in Georgetown for a meeting. The person who was manning the desk of the most important person there was sour. The “professionals” passed by without a good morning or hello, but they were not busy. It is not as if a good morning would cost you much.

The economy of manners is cheap indeed. It does not take too much time or effort or money. But a simple good morning or good afternoon can bring such great rewards. To those that wish it, it brings a sense of well being; to those that receive it and give it back, it brings

Guyana attending trade fair in Argentina

a simple sense of gladness. It is like the air after rain. It brings a freshness again to the world.

In Guyana, we usually complain about loss of manners and about loss of respect. This new generation about which we complain! But I say that we have not lost that gift of good manners and decency, that those of us that maintain good manners and kind politeness far outnumber the rude and the crude.

We who are helpful far outnumber those who inflict violence for no reason, who abuse and enslave. But we, the good, shall prevail. The rest should beware.

AGuyanese delegation is presently in Argentina attending one of the largest trade fairs in Latin America- FIT.

Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Director Indranauth Haralsingh, Communications Manager Chevon Lim and Product Development Officer Natoyah Fields Harewood are participating in the expo to market and showcase Destination Guyana.

The expo attracts thou-

sands from across the globe.

FIT America Latina is one of the leading trade shows targeting travel and tourism.

The event allows companies operating in this sector to display their products to a large gathering under one roof while providing an opportunity for networking.

The expo began on October 25 and will conclude on the 28th in Buenos Aires.

According to a release, discussions will include the setup of the virtual training programme recently launched as part of an agreement between the two countries.

The Guyanese delegation is showcasing to the world all the attributes which have made the country one of the top destinations to visit in a lifetime.

While in Argentina, the local team will also attend a series of workshops and meetings with officials from the Argentine Tourism Ministry.

CIOG extends New Year’s greetings to Muslim community

The Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) has announced that the new Islamic year 1436 AH begins today as it extends greetings to the Muslim community, wishing that the period will be peaceful and productive.

The CIOG in a release said, “Alhamdulillah. Let us make a sincere and concerted effort to keep track of Islamic dates throughout the year and try to make them a part of our day-to-day lives and most importantly, let us resolve to adhere to the system of the Creator in order for us

to attain success in both worlds.”

Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is one of the four sacred months that Allah mentions in the Qur’an (9:36).

Fasting on the Day of Ashura (10th Muharram) is highly recommended. It is also encouraged to fast on the 9th and 10th or 10th and 11th of Muharram. (November 3 and 4 or 4 and 5)

Younge’s Take Visionless leadership

One of the world’s most renowned Philosophers, Plato, said that until political power and philosophy are married, “cities will have no rest from evils nor will the human race”.

In his scholarly Book, the Republic (473c-d), Plato explains that it is counterproductive for any leader to pursue either political power or philosophy exclusively because the society will not be the beneficiary of the best quality of leadership.

He also warned that unless something is “forcibly” done to prevent leaders from pursuing either concepts exclusively, there will be chaos and a society that lacks structure, as well as moral-ethical order.

Sadly, the situation that Plato alluded to is developing in Guyana. Some of those who are entrusted to govern the affairs of the country have become consumed in their campaign and pursuit of political power.

They lack any sort of coherent and well thoughtout philosophy or vision for the overall socio-economic development of our country.

Additionally, it is clear that there are leaders within key Opposition political parties who couldn’t care less about making good and sound patriotic decisions on behalf of the Republic and its people.

It is also clear that some Opposition politicians today are merely concerned with pursuing their personal ambitions and political careers even if it means creating unnecessary tension and stalemate by jeopardising the work of Government and the Parliament.

Yet, these politicians argue that they are representing the interest of the masses whenever they oppose largescale developmental projects, Government-piloted initiatives, and legislative reforms that could significantly improve the lives of ordinary citizens.

One would have thought that if these politicians were genuinely concerned about the future of Guyana’s Republic and its people, they would demonstrate more seriousness in their engagements with the Government.

Also, mutually acceptable measures for achieving consensus and bridging deadlock would be a never ending feature of the country’s democratic landscape and political embodiment if the Opposition leaders were concerned about operationalizing stalled initiatives of the Government.

On the other hand, some Opposition politicians do not understand the importance of having a philosophy which would guide every political action and decision that they take.

Many of the new leaders within the system are unable to make informed decisions on behalf of the other classes which Plato described as the workers and guardians.

This is so, because the Opposition leaders continue to squander good opportunities to demonstrate their willingness to be part and parcel of the formation of a new political culture that would see the pursuit of political power and philosophy unified.

As a result, they remain visionless and retarded as far as becoming the well-respected “Philosopher Kings” that Plato spoke about in his writings.

Perhaps, our society needs to start to explore measures that would “forcibly” prevent those who are still pursuing these concepts from accessing Government, Parliamentary or judicial power.

In fact, there is a greater need now than ever before for the leaders who are in positions of power within the state to hold firm to a specific philosophy. This philosophy must centre on advancing the socio-economic interests of the masses and modern civilisation.

It must drive them to put aside racial biases, classism, social and economic prejudices and other partisan interests as they seek to nurture a new world order.

Berbice Wedding Expo launched

Berbice Wedding Expo 2014 was launched with much pomp and flair on Wednesday with the competition set to commence on December 7 at Tain, Berbice Campus.

The launch was held on the lawns of Hand-in-Hand, New Amsterdam branch and mimics the Roraima Duke Lodge Wedding Expo, but promises “not to be reinventing the wheels”.

Organiser of the Berbice Wedding Expo, Ryan Alexander said the idea was conceptualised after persons from as far as Suriname had been visiting his business place, Party Plus, seeking similar services.

“We have seen a constant demand for services as it pertains to events and events planning; whether it is in cake making, whether it be in decoration… we realise that there is a demand for this.”

Alexander pointed out that Party Plus had in a small way been trying to promote other businesses in the service industry, but felt the need to do it on a much larger scale.

“The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport since 2007 has conducted 117 courses and programmes to equip persons to make themselves economically viable. We at Party Plus have seen lots of people coming for services that those persons have been trained to take care of; tailoring, dressmaking, cosmetology…. We figure the time has come to showcase these persons.”

He said many of them can ill-afford to market themselves, and as a result, Party Plus had in the past been recommending many of them through a system which the company has set up.

The Berbice Wedding Expo 2014 will give persons who provide event planning services the opportunity to showcase themselves.

It will also provide patrons who attend the December 7 event at Tain the opportunity to benefit from discounts if they submit information on their next event.

That information, Alexander said will be published in a brochure and distributed to exhibitors after the event.

Meanwhile, Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Senior Product Development and Marketing Officer Annarie Shiwram said the initiative creates a marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services associated with weddings to expand their businesses.

“We know that weddings are an integral part of our society and a striving business and Guyana is making efforts to become a wedding destination, among our counterparts in the Caribbean,” Shiwram added.

Region Six (East Berbice – Coretyne) Chairman David Armogan, also speaking at the launch, said expos such as a Wedding Expos are excellent tourist attractions, but also provide useful business opportunities.

In congratulating Alexander, Armogan said more entrepreneurs need to be innovative when setting up a business.

“Many of us would prefer to venture into a business which is traditional, to ven-

ture into a business which we know about…. The fact that Alexander has chosen to launch something outside of the box means that he is a businessman with great ideas and good conceptualisation skills to be able do this.”

The expo is being supported by several corporate entities including Citizens Bank, Pan American Motor Inc, A Ally and Sons, Hand-in-Hand, Homeline Furnishing, Furniture World, TAG, Impressive Signs and Graphics, Littlerock Hotel, Guy Gas, Banks DIH, Scotiabank, CIDI, Fly Jamaica, Outar’s Jewellery, J’s Printery, First Impressions Hotel and Party Plus.

Surinamese national vanishes after drug disappearance

Surinamese and Guyanese law enforcement officers are investigating the disappearance of a Surinamese national who might have been involved in the crossborder smuggling of close to 170 kilograms of cocaine.

Narinder Kumar Mohabir, 33, also called “Rewie” and “Dara” has been missing since August 28 after he was accused of either finding or stealing the illicit drugs that crossed Guyana’s border into Suriname.

According to information reaching Guyana Times , Mohabir might have been kidnapped by persons connected with the drugs, but to date, there has been no call to the man’s family with a demand.

Investigators are hoping that the man might still be alive but some believe that he is already dead.

Up to late Friday evening, a Police rank who was implicated in the matter was being interrogated as well as two colleagues of the missing businessman.

Investigators believe that the persons arrested can provide vital informa-

tion but are withholding it.

In addition, Mohabir’s family remained tightlipped but Police sources in Suriname believe that after the man’s disappearance, he was brought to Guyana.

Surinamese Police Chief Humphrey Tjin Liep Shie has confirmed that Police in the neighbouring country are investigating the matter.

He added that a unit called Combating Serious Crime is assisting with the investigations.

“We are in contact with colleagues from Guyana. The case has all features of cross-border organised drug crime and is being in-

vestigated to the bottom,” the Police Chief said.

He could not confirm if the businessman’s disappearance was as a result of a drug deal that went sour. He also said that some information which the Police gathered in the initial stage of the investigations has turned out to be false.

A source stated that the Police Chief confirmed that one member of the Arrestatie Team (a heavily armed, well-trained and feared Police SWAT member) is likely involved in the case. A bodyguard of a Government Minister is also believed to be involved.

The implicated Police rank, “Rodney G” has reportedly told reporters that he is not in any way involved in the drug matter.

He, nevertheless, confirmed that a colleague stationed in the Commewijne District (East of Capital Paramaribo) is in Police custody assisting with investigations.

Attempts to contact the Head of Customs AntiNarcotics Unit, James Singh for a comment proved futile.

Waterloo Street man found with high powered pistol

One man is now in Police custody after he was found with an unlicensed high power pistol in his possession on Saturday morning during a search by Police.

According to reports received, a mobile Police patrol responded to a report of gunshots being discharged in the area and made the discovery.

Four live rounds and three empty shells were also

found in his possession.

The ranks during the interrogation found out that he was not the holder of a firearm licence; hence, he was cautioned, told of the offence and taken into Police custody.

The Waterloo Street, Georgetown resident is expected to make his first court appearance on Monday at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

At about 0515h. Saturday, October 25, ranks of a mobile police patrol responded to a report of gunshots being discharged at Waterloo Street, Georgetown.

A man was arrested and found in possession of an unlicensed Intratech Luger 9mm pistol with four rounds and three empty shells.

He is in Police custody assisting with the investigations.

5 more Jonestown victims buried

Irene Mason was among the oldest victims of the People's Temple mass murder-suicide, having turned 86 a week before her horrific death. Tony Walker was a 20-year-old security guard who patrolled the cult colony and its livestock in the Guyanese jungle.

Nearly 36 years after the Jonestown Massacre, they now have a place to rest.

Their long-forgotten remains and those of three others discovered this summer in an abandoned Delaware mortuary, have now joined more than 400 other unclaimed or unidentified Jonestown victims in an East Oakland hillside memorial.

Rain drizzled over a small ceremony at the Evergreen Cemetery organised Monday by the son of Jim Jones, the cult preacher who led more than 900 followers – one third of them children – to their deaths in November 1978 after instructing them to drink a cyanide-laced grape punch. Those who survived the suicidal poisoning were shot and killed.

“I have to accept the horrific event, the tyranny that Jim Jones created, but I also have to respect the people who were trying to build a new world,” said Jim Jones Jr, 54, who remembers many of the dead. “They were trying to build a new world and they really believed that.”

Painful memories of the tragedy resurfaced in August when Delaware authorities announced the discovery of nine cremated remains of Jonestown victims in a foreclosed funeral home near Dover Air Force Base, where all 918 bodies were shipped from Guyana in 1978.

A mystery

Why their remains were stored for three decades in the Minus Funeral Home might never be known. The funeral home closed after its owner died in 2012.

All nine were AfricanAmerican, and five lived in the Bay Area before they followed Jim Jones in shifting his People's Temple headquarters from a San Francisco church, USA to a remote jungle clearing in Guyana.

The South American settlement advertised itself as a hub for socialism and racial integration where more than 1000 followers worked the land and gathered for dai-

ly assemblies. Defectors who fled back to the United States recounted physical and emotional abuse under a paranoid cult leader.

When a fact-finding team led by US Representative Leo Ryan flew to Guyana to investigate in November 1978, Jonestown followers ambushed the Congressman on an airstrip, killing him, three journalists and a defector, and wounding others. Hours later, the mass suicide and murder of the Jonestown colony began.

When Evergreen Cemetery owner Buck

tant families.

“There are still people who don’t want to have anything to do with their relatives.”

Family members did claim four of the victims, including Maud Perkins, whose remains were shipped to her husband in Antioch.

Delaware state officials were unable to find any relatives of Ottie Mese Guy, 34, and Ruth Atkins, 74, so they arranged with McGehee and Jones Jr – Co-directors of the Jonestown Memorial Fund – to send them to Evergreen Cemetery, which is still owned by Kamphausen.

Agreed

Investigators also made contact with relatives of Tony Walker, Irene Mason and Wanda Bonita King, a 39-year-old Jonestown teacher originally from Indiana, where the People's Temple was founded. Their relatives agreed to let them be interred in Oakland.

“Sweet and feisty” is how one former Peoples Temple member described 86-year-old Mason, who belonged to the church’s Los Angeles branch before moving to Guyana. She was born in 1892 in Alabama. Oakland resident and

Kamphausen said he would welcome any unclaimed remains of Jonestown victims at his Oakland property in 1979, he went against the trend of other cemeteries and politicians that wanted nothing to do with the bodies.

Unclaimed, unidentified

The US military trucked more than 420 victims to Oakland and laid their airtight coffins like dominoes in a hillside excavation site. Many of the unclaimed and unidentified were children whose parents had also died.

Until this summer, all of the unclaimed victims were thought to be in Oakland.

With help from The Jonestown Institute, a San Diego State repository of research on the Peoples Temple tragedy, Delaware officials made contact with relatives of seven of the nine victims rediscovered this summer.

Not all of those relatives wanted the remains.

“One of the things we’ve noticed is that 36 years after Jonestown, it still has the power of stigmatisation,” said Fielding McGehee, a co-founder of The Jonestown Institute who helped track down reluc-

Jonestown survivor John Cobb, 54, was part of the same security team as Walker and remembered him as a quiet and hardworking young man.

Cobb stood with Jones Jr, the cult leader’s adopted son, and Cemetery Executive Director Ron Haulman under a canopy on Monday morning and made some brief remarks as gravediggers placed the five small boxes of remains in a hole just outside the existing memorial wall.

Jones Jr and Cobb helped build the four-stone Jonestown Memorial in 2011. Other victims’ family members sued, arguing that it was an insult to the victims to include the name of Jim Jones, the architect of the killing, on the list of dead. The California Court of Appeals dismissed the case and formally closed it last month.

Cobb, who lost eight family members at Jonestown, said he was saddened that these forgotten five victims were just joining the memorial ground Monday.

“They were unidentified and sitting somewhere for a long time,” Cobb said. “It’s good to have this kind of closure.”

US-based Guyanese receives prestigious Sunshine Award

At an elegant and captivating ceremony at the AXA Theatre, Manhattan, USA earlier this month, well known and accomplished Guyanese and Caribbean dancer and choreographer Dheeraj Gayaram was honoured with the prestigious Sunshine Award for his contribution to the arts

The Indo-Caribbean icon, who heads the Dheeraj Cultural Foundation Inc (DCF) and the dynamic Ghungaroo Dance Academy (GDA), told reporters he is extremely happy to be honoured and to be in the company of distinguished local and international performing artistes.

Gayaram was the first Guyanese artiste and the first dancer in 26 years to receive such an award, and was overwhelmed by the occasion.

“I would like to thank my two daughters for being my inspiration; my other children from the Ghungaroo Dance Academy for pulling the best out of me; my two sons for being there for me; my sister Shanti for always being there from day one; my best friend Anil; my friend Buddy for his support; my bestie Nadira for checking up on me almost every day; my sisters and my brothers, nieces and nephews; my sister-in-law Alicia; my Gurus, my mom and dad; and Mr Gobin Ram for introducing me to the world of showbiz…”

He added: “The award is like icing on the cake, since this year marks the

40th year of dancing for me on stage.”

Gayaram was also given the honour to open the programme with his Ghungaroo Dance Academy dancers, with Dhaniram as the lead performer. Gayaram made a guest appearance on stage with his daughter, Nikita.

Many firsts The dance legend has many “firsts” in his long and illustrious career as a dancer and choreographer. For example, he was the first Caribbean dancer to be featured in the New York Times Magazine, and the first Caribbean performing artiste to win the India-sponsored Naya Andaz Dance Competition. Prior to that, (1982-1988), Gayaram held the “Disco” Dancing Champion title and was the national dancer for Guyana for five years.

Gayaram performed before several world figures including Queen Elizabeth II and, former Presidents, Dr Cheddi Jagan of Guyana and Nelson Mandela of

South Africa.

He performed twice at the Bollywood Awards that was held at Nassau Coliseum, New York and Trump Taj Mahal. He was on a tour with India’s legendary singer Asha Bhosle and peformed for the “Chutney-Soca Monarch” Competition that was held in Trinidad and Tobago.

Gayaram has performed in over 5000 shows locally and internationally and has won over 150 dancing competitions.

He started dancing at the age of nine and soon won the first prize in both classical and pop dancing at a local competition. For the next five consecutive years, he won first prize in both classical and pop dancing competitions at the Maha Sabha Diwali competitions.

Huge break

A huge break came for Gayaram in November 2009. “It was really something big because it was the first time that a West Indian-produced show would be staged on

Broadway.”

Gayaram was performing at an event in Club Tobago when his talent was spotted by a group of guests who subsequently made the connection to Broadway. On November 7 and 8 at the American Theatre of Actors in Manhattan, Gayaram and his dancers, along with actresses and singers, staged an historic show under the theme “West Indian Dreams”.

According to Gayaram, the show featured both Bollywood and African dances with him playing the lead role. But one of his greatest moments was yet to come.

In 2010, Gayaram produced an off-Broadway show called “Lethal Triumph” that featured himself, the Ghungaroo Dance Academy, Nadia Shiwgobin, Avinash, Princess Anisa, Wendy Khan, Harry Ramudit, Dhaniram and Dhanesh Kessari and others. Music was provided by the Supertones Band. Because of popular requests, the show was also taken to the Queens Theatre on the Park, where it was enthusiastically received by the audience.

Gayaram is perhaps the best dancer to come out of Guyana. More important though, is that he is always ready to utilise his enormous talent for the upliftment of his community and beyond. Congratulations to Gayaram on his prestigious Sunshine Award!

Bandits rob, terrorise Mahaicony goldsmith

Pandemonium broke out at the Mahaicony Market on Saturday morning after three gun men stormed the vehicle of a goldsmith and relieved him of millions of dollars in gold, diamond jewellery and cash.

Salikram also called “Bush” was at the market when the three men armed with gun held him up and instructed him not to move or they will shoot him.

While he was being held by one of the men, the two others looted the jewellery and an undisclosed sum of money.

While bagging off the jewellery and money, the bandits discharged several rounds in the air, cause persons in the area to scamper for safety.

The men then made good their escape on feet,

but as they left the scene, they continued to discharge rounds in the air.

Guyana Times was told that the goldsmith would normally sell at the market on Sunday and it seems as though the men might have been monitoring his every move.

The businessman would also park his van at one location. A source told this publication that the robbery prompted several vendors to take an early day.

Attempts to make contact with the victim proved futile since he was up to late Saturday afternoon with the Police at the Mahaicony Police Station.

The men also took away the goldsmith’s mobile phone.

Moments after the robbers left the area; the Police arrived and

launched a manhunt for them but came up empty-

handed. They are continuing their investigations.

Some $128M in education vouchers distributed in Georgetown

Over 12, 870 parents and guardians on Saturday received the Education Ministry’s “Because We Care” grant at several locations in Georgetown as the distribution of the $10,000 support continues across the country.

The programme was officially launched on October 11 in Region Seven.

A total of 4,564 parents of primary schools received their vouchers at the National Park, Thomas Lands.

The distribution exercise targeted parents and guardians of children attending Stella Maris, St Margaret’s, North Georgetown Primary, Winfer Gardens Primary, St Angela’s Primary, St Agnes Primary and the David Rose School for the Handicapped.

About 8,315 people received theirs at several other locations, including the Sophia Primary, Graham’s Hall Primary, St Gabriel’s Primary, St Ambrose Primary, West Ruimveldt Primary, Dolphin Secondary, St Pius Primary, FE Pollard Primary, Rama Krishna Primary and Enterprise Primary.

With more than $600 million in vouchers handed over to parents and guardians since its launch, the programme is being executed “incredibly well” Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said.

At the National Park with the Prime Minister was Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, where hundreds of beneficiaries had gathered to uplift the grant.

The senior Government functionaries were pleased with the civility and speed of the entire process, and pointed out that more than $250 million in vouchers have al-

ready been encashed by recipients.

Distribution is slated to end on November 21, and should cover the entire country. The $10,000 voucher can be encashed at Western Union outlets with recipients in riverain and hinterland locations receiving cash.

Several parents at the National Park expressed their appreciation for the education grants being offered. Marcia Bradford said she was thankful to the Ministry for giving her the opportunity and that she will be purchasing text books for her daughter.

Prime Minister Hinds told the gathering at the National Park that programmes such as the education grant is testimony of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government’s commitment to Guyana’s children and their education.

The Prime Minister encouraged those gathered to adjust their lifestyle in order to assist their children to take full advantage of the education provided to them by the Government, as he mentioned the numerous investments of the administration to provide text books, train teachers, provide access to information technology, and new programmes to provide assistance to parents so their children can attend school.

He asserted that “... when we deliver services, we deliver services equally such as, this one... delivering the same amount of money to every child all across the country...”

Approximately 188,400 families of children who attend public schools will benefit from the education grant.

South American 10k set for today

Guyana’s Cleveland Forde will aim to defend his South American 10k crown when the event is held from 16:00h today from its starting point in front of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph station on Carifesta Avenue.

Forde who has won the last eight consecutive events will aim to add his ninth, in the midst of all the competition that will surround him.

Forde will have to fend off the likes of Cleveland Thomas who was impressive at the Courts 10k as well Trinidad’s Richard Jones who is confirmed to be in the country for the event.

A couple of Suriname athletes are also confirmed for the race as Forde will have a tough road ahead of him especially in light of his 1500 metres defeat at the Joint Service sports only a week ago.

Forde has been suffer-

ing from flue like symptoms which has caused him to underperform as well as miss the Courts 10k.

Meanwhile on the women’s side of things Trinidad’s Tonya Nero who is a regular competitor in Guyana has arrived for the event and will likely battle overseas based athlete Euleen Jossiah-Tanner for the

rights to the women’s title.

However, if the past is an indication of anything, Nero easily outran JossiahTanner at the Wartsila 20k event held earlier this year.

With the distance 10km shorter, it is expected to be a better race between the two women.

GCA/NBS Second Division 40-over tourney…

MSC, Everest in winners’ row

Malteenoes Sport Club and Everest Cricket Club recorded victories when action in the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)/New Building Society (NBS) second division 40-over tournament continued on Saturday in the capital city.

At Malteenoes SC, the host overcame Sophia by ten wickets.

Batting first, the visitors were bowled out for 105 in 23 overs. Zalim Rasheed led with 30, Gareth Allen made 23 and Dwayne Peters 16.

Shaquille Moseley grabbed 4-15 off eight overs and Mark Cumberbatch

3-29. MSC reached the target in nine overs, ending on 108 without lost. Troy Lewis stroked 54 (3x4,4x6) and

Nikosie Barker 43 (4x4,3x6). At the Muslim Youth Organisation, Everest thumped Third Class by a mammoth 162 runs.

Everest posted 236 all out in 39.1 overs as Shaheed Mohamed slammed 56 (5x4,1x6), Manjrekar Bhola cracked 54 (5x4,1x6) and Denesh Mangal 30 (6x4).

Trevor Hossein claimed 3-37, Pablo Ghisiawan 2-42 and Kapil Deosingh 2-46.

In reply, Third Class was skittled for 74 in 18.4 overs. Kevin Bob Semple made 24.

Christopher Surat bagged 5-13, Raphael Singh 2-16 and Kishan Singh 2-21.

Courts Pee Wee round of 16 produces top contenders

By TreisTon Joseph

Action in the Courts

Pee Wee school football tournament continued with the top guns performing as expected on Saturday at the Banks DIH Thirst Park ground.

Tucville Primary School displayed their attacking capability with a 4-nil beating of North Georgetown Primary School.

Rayheem Marques, the tournament’s leading goal scorer with seven; scored two goals in the game, netting in the eighth and 17th minutes while his teammate Keion Marques scored twice in the 14th and 34th minutes.

FE Pollard Primary School thrashed Smith Memorial Primary School 8-0 to end the day with a dominant performance.

Quincy Williams had a hat-trick in the third, 32nd and 36th minutes while teammate Makhaya Jarvis also had a hat-trick in the seventh, 29th and 35th minutes.

Bryan Williams and Lesedi Daniels scored a goal each in the 37th and 24th minutes respectively.

St Pius Primary also played a good game of football, topping Green Acres Primary 5-1 in the round of 16 stage.

Raymond Austin scored twice for St Pius in the first and 32nd minutes while Youhan Yarris, Sherwin Nelson and Brendon Solomon netted in the seventh, 12th and 27th minutes respectively for St Pius. Lebron Wickham was the lone scorer for Green Acres in the 39th minute.

Meanwhile Stella Maris

Primary School needled Enterprise Primary 1-nil for a much needed win. Earl Grant was the scorer of the lone goal in the 17th minute. West Ruimveldt looked a bit on their heels despite their 2-0 victory over Ketley Primary School. Michael Oie opened the scoring for West Ruimveldt in the second minute while Jason Persaud followed in the 10th minute to close out the game for West Ruimveldt. The other three games of the day saw St Angeles Primary defeating Marian Academy 2-1 while both South Ruimveldt and St Margaret’s Primary won 3-2 on penalty kicks against St Stephens Primary and East La Penitence Primary respectively.

Action in the tournament will continue on November 1.

Williams advances to WTa finals for rematch with Halep

Wozniacki served for the match in the third set and led 4-1 in the deciding tiebreak but Williams battled back.

The world number one will face Simona Halep in the final after the Romanian beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-2.

“Caroline played a great match, it was really difficult today. I feel so bad,” said the 33-year-old American.

“She’s the only one undefeated (after the group stages) in this tournament and she deserved to win.”

Wozniacki admitted: “This really sucks. You know, being so close and still losing, it really sucks.”

Halep is through to the final on her debut appearance at the season-ending

championships

Williams had earlier smashed her racquet in frustration as the first set slipped away, but two breaks of serve brought the reigning champion level in the second set.

third set was an epic affair, lasting longer than the first two combined, but after grabbing a break at 4-4, Wozniacki was unable to serve out the contest.

She saved a match point in her final service game and the Dane again looked on course for only her second win in 11 meetings with her good friend when she moved 4-1 clear in the tie-break.

Williams would not be denied, however, reeling off five straight points and finally sealing victory on

her fourth match point after two hours and 13 minutes.

“I don’t know how many times I hit it, but boy, that racquet will never do me wrong again, I tell you,” Williams said of her angry outburst in the first set.

“It was definitely legendary. I kind of lost my cool a little bit. I thought, well, at least you know I’m passionate. I give 200%.

“When I play, doesn’t matter how I feel, I’m going to give everything I have for every shot and every point.”

Williams will face a rematch against Halep on Sunday, four days after suffering her heaviest defeat in 16 years against the Romanian in the group stage.

“I’m excited. My goal is to win three games. That’ll be my first goal. I’m going to go from there,” joked Williams.

“Hopefully I can hold serve. That would be good. Most of all, I hope to break once.”

Halep broke Radwanska’s serve five times and hit 26 clean winners as she swept past the Pole to reach the final on her first appearance at the WTA season finale.

Australia crumbling against Pakistan

An Australian television promo for this series has cribbed from the film poster for Lawrence of Arabia. After four days of the Dubai Test match a suddenly mighty Pakistan have pushed Australia into a position where the avoidance of defeat seems even less likely than the taking of Aqaba.

David Warner, Alex Doolan and the captain Michael Clarke all demonstrated different symptoms of Australia’s deeply entrenched malady against spin. The loss of Nathan Lyon completed a rush of four wickets for five runs, and left Chris Rogers clinging on at stumps in the company of Steve Smith. Ninety overs tomorrow seem far too many for a team so utterly and unexpectedly humiliated.

So far, the loss of Saeed Ajmal has barely seemed to matter to Pakistan, so skilful have his proxies proven to be. Zulfiqur Babar and Yasir Shah ran rings around the Australian top order in the final session, much as Younis Khan and Ahmed Shehzad had done against their pacemen and spinners while establishing a gaping, 437-run advantage.

Younis became Pakistan’s most prolific Test century-maker and also the first batsman in more than 40 years to post twin centuries against Australia - not since Glenn Turner did the trick in 1974 had a batsman saluted a century in each innings in the face of 11 baggy greens. The rarity of the feat was in line with the scarcely believable indignities being piled upon the same team that won the Ashes at home last summer before besting South Africa away.

Shehzad had also soared to three figures before Younis completed his second of the match, at which point Misbah-ul-Haq declared.

fort of the batsmen that Clarke chanced an lbw referral for a Peter Siddle delivery that struck Younis well outside off stump and may have also hit the bat first. From there Shehzad sprinted towards his century, clattering four sixes along the way.

But the shot of the day belonged to Younis, a low, skimming drive to the cover boundary from the bowling of Johnson. If Australia’s spearhead was unable to break through, the No. 1 spinner was barely used - Clarke ignored Lyon for much of the session in favour of O’Keefe. It had become a matter of damage limitation.

Murray stays hot in Valencia Open

Andy Murray reached the Valencia Open final and took a huge step towards qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals with victory over David Ferrer.

The Briton won 6-4 7-5 - his second victory in three meetings with Spaniard Ferrer in the last three weeks.

Murray will take on Tommy Robredo or Jeremy Chardy in Sunday’s final.

With ninth place in the Race to London good enough to qualify, Murray would move up to fifth in the standings if he wins the title.

“After the US Open I was aware that I would need to win a lot of matches to try to reach the Tour Finals,” said Murray, who is playing for the fifth week in a row.

Andy Murray

Saturday’s victory over Ferrer all the more important.

Murray made much the better start, breaking at the first opportunity as Ferrer double-faulted twice and coming through the only early alarm by saving a break point while serving for the set.

faulted to offer up another break point in game eight, watching coach Amelie Mauresmo looked understandably concerned in the stands, but her charge clung on to make it 4-4.

The set remained in the balance and the pressure switched once again to Ferrer, who saved two break points at 5-5 but could not withstand some fine hitting from Murray on the third.

Serving out a match of such significance was never likely to be straightforward and Murray had to fight off three break points, the second with a bold second serve right onto the line.

Steve O’Keefe claimed the only Pakistani wickets of the day, isolated moments of joy for Clarke’s tiring team. Australia’s bowlers struggled once more to pose significant dangers with either pace or spin. The lack of wickets or even appeals from the Australians has contrasted notably with their time at the batting crease in both innings, when Pakistan’s use of reverse swing and spin brought regular questions before the umpires Marais Erasmus and Richard Kettleborough. Mitchell Johnson occasionally beat the bat or struck the body, but neither batsman allowed these moments to affect them. Shehzad and Younis accelerated steadily after lunch, choosing the right moments to attack while also frustrating Australia’s bowlers with patient defence in between. It said much for the com-

After tea Shehzad perished attempting a reverse sweep at O’Keefe, but Younis was more successful in using the stroke against Lyon, on the way to a hundred that brought every spectator to their feet. Warner and Rogers began brightly against a token two overs of pace, but the introduction of Mohammad Hafeez and then Zulfiqur drew numerous false strokes.

Even so, Roger’s reprieve from an incorrect caught behind decision seemed likely to get Australia through to stumps unscathed. Little more than half an hour’s play remained when Warner danced fatally past a Zulfiqur delivery that carried on with the arm, and his exit opened up the wound.

Doolan was transfixed on the crease and lbw for a duck, Clarke unable to get his bat out in front of pad against Yasir’s canny use of line and pace, and Lyon completing a dismal match by falling in similar fashion. There was the scantiest consolation in the fact that Smith twice eluded freak run outs after advancing down the pitch. Tomorrow he and Rogers must cross the sun’s anvil. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

Scorecard Australia/pakistan

Pakistan 454 & 286/2d

Australia 303 & 59/4 (23.0 ov)

Australia require another 379 runs with 6 wickets remaining

Pakistan 2nd innings

Ahmed Shehzad lbw b O'Keefe 131

Azhar Ali c †Haddin b O'Keefe 30

Younis Khan not out 103

Sarfraz Ahmed† not out 15

Extras (b 2, lb 3, w 2) 7

Total (2 wickets dec; 78 overs) 286 (3.66 runs per over)

Did not batMohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Asad Shafiq, Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir

Shah, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan

Fall of wickets: 1-71 (Azhar Ali, 24.4 ov), 2-239 (Ahmed Shehzad, 71.3 ov)

Bowling O M R W

MG Johnson 12 2 34 0

PM Siddle 14 5 44 0

NM Lyon 18 0 72 0

SNJ O'Keefe 27 3 112 2

MR Marsh 7 1 19 0

Australia 2nd innings (target: 438 runs)

CJL Rogers not out 23

DA Warner st †Sarfraz Ahmed b Zulfiqar Babar 29

AJ Doolan lbw b Zulfiqar Babar 0

MJ Clarke* lbw b Yasir Shah 3

NM Lyon lbw b Yasir Shah 0 SPD Smith not out 3

Extras (lb 1) 1

Total (4 wickets; 23 overs) 59 (2.56 runs per over)

To bat: MR Marsh, BJ Haddin†, MG Johnson,

PM Siddle, SNJ O'Keefe

Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Warner, 13.1 ov), 2-44 (Doolan, 13.6 ov), 3-49 (Clarke, 16.2 ov), 4-49 (Lyon, 16.5 ov)

Bowling O M R W

Imran Khan 1 0 6 0

Rahat Ali 1 0 10 0 M Hafeez 5 2 12 0

Zulfiqar Babar 9 3 22 2 Yasir Shah 7 1 8 2

“So it was important for me to try and get as many matches as I can against the top players between now and the end of the year.”

Ferrer had begun the day just one place behind Murray and will head to next week’s Paris Mastersthe final event of the regular season - in ninth, ahead of Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov.

Murray has already been placed in a tough section of the Paris draw that includes Dimitrov and Novak Djokovic, which made

Ferrer looked unusually forlorn when an errorstrewn service game saw him fall behind early in the second set and, after recovering from 0-40 to deuce in game three, a tame forehand in the net gave up the double-break.

A 6-4 3-0 lead looked like being enough for the former Wimbledon champion but Ferrer, urged on by his home crowd, launched a terrific fightback as Murray’s level dropped.

When Murray double-

One match point went begging but a big first serve then set up his forehand and Murray roared in delight at one of the biggest wins of his year.

“Murray served pretty well in the first set and I couldn’t do anything,” said Ferrer.

“In the first set and part of second, he was better than me. Andy is a pretty good player. If you aren’t focused against him, you pay.”

In Basel, Roger Federer defeated Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-3 to set up a final against Belgian David Goffin, who beat Croatian teenager Borna Coric 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Barcelona handed first defeat of season from arch-rivals Real Madrid

Real Madrid took the Clasico honours as they beat arch-rivals Barcelona in a captivating game at the Bernabeu.

Luis Suarez started for Barcelona after a fourmonth ban for biting and set up Neymar to arrow in the opener.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi spurned a glorious chance before Cristiano Ronaldo equalised with a penalty.

A powerful header from Pepe put Real ahead before they added to their lead when Karim Benzema finished a brilliant counter-attack with an angled shot.

The Real fans roared their approval at the end as as the home side came out on top in a match-up between two of the world’s most star-studded line-ups.

Real’s celebrations following the 229th meeting between the two were also heightened with the victory helping them close the gap to one point on La Liga leaders Barcelona.

The visitors may have taken the lead but were ultimately disappointing as they failed to match the greater cutting edge in at-

tack and solidity in defence of the home side as they suffered their first league defeat of the season.

A game between these two Spanish giants is usually one to savour and it was even more so this time considering the array of talent on show.

Real had Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and Benzema up front, while Barcelona had Messi, Neymar and Suarez.

Suarez starting added to the spectacle as he played for the first time since his ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup came to an end.

The Uruguayan made an immediate impact when his crossfield pass found Neymar, and the Brazilian cut in from the left and curled in a low shot for the opener.

The goal only served to spark Real into action during a fast and furious opening. Barcelona keeper Claudio Bravo had not conceded a goal in his side’s eight league games prior to the match and had to be at his best to keep his run going.

He got a left palm to

a Benzema effort before the Real Madrid forward thumped a header from Ronaldo’s cross against the woodwork and smashed the rebound wide.

The game was living up to the hype and Barcelona should have added to their lead when Suarez sent in a low cross for Messi only for the Argentine to uncharacteristically sidefoot wide from close range.

However, Real were level when Gerard Pique handled a low Marcelo cross and Ronaldo dispatched the penalty to score his 16th league goal of the campaign.

The home side started the second half brightly and their pressure eventually broke a vulnerable Barcelona defence when Pepe powered in a header from a corner.

The goal gave Los Blancos a firm grip of the game as they sat back and comfortably soaked up Barcelona’s pressure, while continually hitting the Catalan club on the break.

And, when Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta lost possession on the halfway line, Real lethally struck for their third. Isco, Ronaldo and Rodriguez combined before the latter slid a pass through to Benzema, who angled in a precise shot. Barcelona never looked like engineering a way back into the game and even Messi struggled to make an impact as he and his teammates were well-marshalled by deserved winners Real.

(BBC Sport)

Sri Lanka fight back against West Indies A

Assad Fudadin’s fourth first-class hundred helped West Indies A to a strong start in Moratuwa, but a five-wicket haul from the offspinner Tharindu Kaushal dragged the visitors down to 239 for 6 at stumps.

Opting to bat, West Indies began brightly as Fudadin and his opening partner Kraigg Brathwaite put up a 137-run stand. Kraigg muscled seven fours to make his way to 75, but his dismissal in the 38th over triggered a slide, as Kaushal struck at quick intervals to reduce West Indies A to 178 for 5.

SCOREBOARD

West Indies A 1st Innings

Kraigg Brathwaite c Priyanjan b Kaushal 75

A Fudadin c & b Kaushal 103

J Blackwood b Kaushal 7

J Carter st †Dickwella b Kaushal 2

A Fletcher c Perera b Madushanka 0

S Ambris c Thirimanne b Kaushal 5

C Walton+ not out 16

Carlos Brathwaite* not out 18

Total: 239/6 (66 Overs)

Extras: (b 5, lb 1, nb 2, pen 5) 13

Still to Bat: D Bishoo, S Gabriel, M Cummins.

Fall of Wickets: 1-137 (Kraigg Brathwaite, 37.3 ov), 2-149 (Blackwood, 39.6 ov), 3-157 (Carter, 41.4 ov), 4-169 (Fletcher, 44.6 ov), 5-178 (Ambris, 47.6 ov), 6-219 (Fudadin, 63.5 ov).

Bowling: N Pradeep 101-32-0, K Madushanka 10-0-41-1, C de Silva 161-50-0, T Kaushal 28-4-945, A Priyanjan 2-0-11-0.

Fudadin, though, batted through the collapse and managed to score 103, with 11 fours. He and Chadwick Walton hinted at a recovery with a 41-run partnership, but Fudadin was caught by Kaushal off his own bowling towards the end of the day.

(Cricinfo)

balotelli remains scoreless as Hull city draws with Liverpool

Mario Balotelli suffered another frustrating day as his Liverpool team were held at home by Hull City.

The striker missed an injury-time effort and had a shot saved, but remains without a Premier League goal since his £16m move from AC Milan.

Dejan Lovren had a header cleared off the line by Hull’s Ahmed Elmohamady.

Jake Livermore wasted the Tigers’ best chance, shooting at Simon Mignolet, but defeat would have been harsh on the hosts, who had 17 efforts at goal.

The best opportunity fell to Balotelli in the closing moments but, with only goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic to beat, the exManchester City striker failed to connect with the ball from close range.

He had also seen an 11th-minute shot pushed wide by the third-choice Hull keeper as the Italian tried to repay Brendan Rodgers’s faith in starting him.

Table-tennis makes successful defence of IGG title

– chess players endure mixed fortunes; female volleyballers lose again

By AvenAsh RAmzAn in PARAmARiBo, suRinAme

Guyana’s table-tennis team made a successful defence of the Inter-Guiana Games title, shattering the competition posed by hosts Suriname and French Guiana on Saturday at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal.

The female racquet wielders topped Suriname A 3-0, gained a similar result against Suriname B, before inflicting defeat of the same scoreline against French Guiana in the ‘gold medal’ game.

The Guyanese boys were also in a no-nonsense mood, toppling Suriname A and B and French Guiana, all by 3-0 margins.

Of point to note, the games against Suriname B did not count to the points tally, as the organisers usually allow the host nation to field a second string team to gain exposure.

Below are the summarised scores.

Girls: (Singles v Suriname) Priscilla Greaves defeated Zoue Hooghart 1210, 15-13, 11-3; Selenas Jackman defeated Noemi Pawiroredjo 12-10, 117, 11-9; (Doubles v Suriname) Greaves and Jackman defeated Hooghart and Pawiroredjo 11-5, 11-4, 11-7; (Singles v French Guiana) Jackman defeated Maria Fatal 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6; Greaves defeated Dianna Fatal 11-5, 11-3, 115; (Doubles v French Guiana) Greaves and Jackman defeated M. Fatal and D. Fatal 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6.

Other results

But Balotelli, who had been criticised after swapping shirts with Real Madrid defender Pepe at half-time in the Reds’ 3-0 Champions League defeat, failed to score for the eighth consecutive game.

The result means Liverpool, Premier League runners-up in 2013-14, are eight points behind leaders Chelsea, who have played a game fewer.

But for Steve Bruce’s workmanlike Hull it was another hard-earned point, their fifth draw of the season, after holding Arsenal 2-2 at Emirates Stadium last week.

They also had chances to steal a win and Livermore should have done better than shoot at home keeper Mignolet when unmarked in the penalty area.

Mohamed Diame, who had scored four times in five games after joining from West Ham, also dragged a shot off target, before Huddlestone’s effort bounced off Martin Skrtel and narrowly wide. (BBC Sport)

…Bravo shocked

Adding a new twist to West Indies’ pullout from their India tour, Dwayne Bravo, their ODI captain, has said he is “shocked” at statements by team-mate Marlon Samuels, who indicated earlier this week that he had not wanted to quit during the series.

In an interview to a Caribbean radio station, Samuels said that since he is not accredited with the West Indies Players Association, he wanted to focus on finishing the India tour before raising any objections concerning the collective bargaining agreement and memorandum of understanding signed between the WIPA and the WICB.

Samuels told Power 104 FM that his priority was West Indies cricket. “Wavell Hinds (the WIPA president) cannot negotiate on behalf of me so I know that once I continued (to play), I just needed to finish this tour and then I would have asked questions,” Samuels said. “The main thing first was West Indies cricket; that is why I remained focused throughout everything.”

Samuels was the highest run-getter in the abandoned series with 254 runs, including two centuries in the three possible ODIs. According to Samuels, he

was present only during two of the eight player meetings Bravo headed on the tour. “For most of those meetings, I was probably in my room ordering room service. I don’t go to those meetings,” Samuels said. “A lot of meetings were kept but I have no time for those meetings. My focus was just on playing some cricket.”

However, Bravo countered Samuels, saying the Jamaican was an “interested party” and spoke “vigorously” during the meetings he attended. “I note the comments attributed to Mr. Marlon Samuels from media reports and wish to state that Mr. Samuels was invited to and did attend the majority of meetings with the players on tour,” Bravo said in a media statement issued on Friday. “We extended an invitation to Mr. Marlon Samuels with the full knowledge that he is not a member of WIPA but was an interested party. Mr. Samuels contributed vigorously to the discussions held and indicated clearly, at that time, that he would stand with any decision taken by the team. I am therefore shocked to see the statements, if true, that have been attributed to Mr. Samuels.”

According to Bravo, the decision to quit the tour was

The chess players endured a tough day, failing miserably against hosts Suriname before rebounding to beat French Guiana at the Stardust Hotel.

Guyana is being represented at the Games by national junior champion Haifeng Su, Sheriffa Ali, Roberto Neto and Jessica Clementson.

And the female volleyballers turned in an improved performance against French Guiana on Saturday evening but could not pull off a win at the Ismay Van Walgen Sporthal.

The Guyanese lost 3-1, a marked improvement from their 2-0 thrashing at the hands of Suriname on Friday night at the same venue.

The second leg of the IGG will conclude today with action in several disciplines followed by the closing ceremony at 20:00 hours.

Boys: (Singles v Suriname) Elishaba Johnson defeated Adesh Jawahir 11-2, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8; Kyle Edghill defeated Jared Soogeea 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4; (Doubles v Suriname) Johnson and Edghill defeated Jawahir and Soogeea 11-9, 11-8, 118; (Singles v French Guiana) Johnson defeated Dominic Banai 12-10, 11-6, 13-11; Kyle Edghill defeated JeanChristophe Cognet 11-5, 117, 7-11, 4-11, 11-8; (Doubles v French Guiana) Johnson and Edghill defeated Banai and Cognet 11-9, 11-9, 11-2.

Samuels wanted to continue India tour

taken “in concert with all members of the squad” and not solely by him. “I wish to state for the record that all correspondence sent and decisions taken were with the full agreement and consent of the players on tour including the current Test captain Mr. Denesh Ramdin and the T20 captain Mr. Darren Sammy. It was agreed that someone needed to correspond with WIPA after we were presented with the match/tour contract in India when it became evident that the terms and conditions were very different from what we were accustomed to and expected. The team members met and I, as captain, was nominated and accepted the responsibility to correspond on behalf of the players on tour and I will continue to do so as designated.”

Bravo said that the players, barring Samuels, have decided to pursue the issue through legal help going forward. “We do not wish to make any further statements on this matter since the players on tour (except Mr. Samuels) with some additional players who did not tour India have appointed counsel to represent them in this matter.”

The deadlock between the players, the WIPA and the

WICB has resulted in fears being privately expressed by other Full Members, who are not afraid to work out alternatives to West Indies if Bravo and co. fail to resolve the issue. However, Bravo expressed optimism when he said: “We look forward to a speedy resolution and that our concerns, and that of all players including the firstclass players, are addressed in a satisfactory and timely manner.”

According to Bravo, though the WIPA had laid out a new payment structure for the international players during its annual general meeting on February 1, it has not shared the new agreement, which was signed with the WICB in September, with the players. Having failed to get a convincing response from Hinds, Bravo and his team-mates approached the WICB to communicate with them directly. However, Dave Cameron, the WICB president, said he would only communicate with the players through the WIPA under the rules of the MoU. Infuriated at the WICB stance, Bravo and the rest of the West Indies squad quit the India tour after the fourth ODI, drawing the ire of the BCCI and the cricketing fraternity at large. (Cricinfo)

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Shakib Al Hasan exploited the significant bounce and turn on offer on a first-day pitch in Mirpur to take six wickets on his comeback from a two-and-a-half month disciplinary suspension imposed by the BCB. His performance - the highlight of which was a relentless accuracy - helped Bangladesh dismiss Zimbabwe for a below-par total, and underlined his value to a team that has not won a Test or one-day international in 2014.

Before Shakib resumed his familiar starring role for Bangladesh, however, 19-year old debutant Jubair Hossain, the first specialist legspinner to play Test cricket for the country, had displayed a bag full of variations. His two top-order scalps, and left-armer Taijul Islam’s one, took the spinners’ wicket tally to nine. Batting was a constant struggle - a few deliveries stayed low, most bounced sharply, there was always a degree of spin, and the ball never came on to the bat - and Zimbabwe played their shots to get what they could before being dismissed in the last hour of the day.

Given that Bangladesh are likely to bat last on this surface, a first-innings lead will be crucial to their chances of winning, but they lost Tamim Iqbal cheaply to a short-of-alength delivery that rose sharply from Tinashe Panyangara, who was also returning to the Zimbabwe team after an expulsion for disciplinary reasons. Tamim fended the lifter to slips and it was left to the inexperienced second-wicket pair of Shamsur Rahman and Mominul Haque to see their team through to stumps.

National Stadium was sparse at the start but cheered vociferously when Shakib came on to bowl the eighth over. He began with two maidens and when Hamilton Masakadza tried to break free in the spinner’s third over, the attempt at clearing the straight boundary landed in Jubair’s hands at mid-off.

At 31 for 2, Brendan Taylor’s decision to bat seemed to be backfiring, but he played a part in steadying the innings. Realising the importance of Taylor’s wicket, Bangladesh reviewed a bat-pad decision that went against Shakib but replays indicated no edge.

Zimbabwe’s other opener Sikandar Raza also had his moments, stepping out to a flighted delivery to lift Shakib

Zimbabwe 240

Bangladesh 27/1 (12.0 ov)

Bangladesh trail by 213 runs with 9 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Stumps - Day 1

Zimbabwe 1st innings

V Sibanda c †Mushfiqur Rahim

b Shahadat Hossain 6

Sikandar Raza c Mahmudullah

b Jubair Hossain 51

H Masakadza c Jubair Hossain b Shakib Al Hasan 13

BRM Taylor* c Taijul Islam b Jubair Hossain 28

E Chigumbura c Mominul

Haque b Shakib Al Hasan 29

CR Ervine c Mominul Haque b Taijul Islam 34

RW Chakabva† c Shamsur

Rahman b Shakib Al Hasan 25

J Nyumbu lbw b Shakib Al Hasan 14

T Panyangara c sub (Marshall Ayub) b Shakib Al Hasan 8

TL Chatara not out 14

over cover, and using the depth of his crease to turn the strike over. He had some luck, though, when a top-edged pull fell short of the fielder at fine leg.

Jubair had bowled the last over before lunch and in his first after the break, he ended the third-wicket stand on 52. The flighted delivery dipped sharply and Taylor scooped it straight to mid-off, leaving Zimbabwe 83 for 3. For a teenager with only two firstclass matches worth of experience, Jubair bowled an accurate length around off stump, and mixed legbreaks with the occasional googly that turned significantly. One googly pitched outside off and spun to hit Elton Chigumbura on the back pad, but the turn was so much that the ball would have missed leg stump by a long way.

Raza had become more watchful after lunch and he brought up his second halfcentury in his second Test by sweeping Shakib for four. He did not push on though and was done in by a dipping legbreak from Jubair that he spooned to cover. Shakib had Chigumbura caught soon after - Mominul Haque diving forward at silly point to reduce Zimbabwe to 142 for 5. Craig Ervine, playing his first international game since March 2013 because he had made himself unavailable to Zimbabwe when offered only a winter contract, put on 50 with Regis Chakabva, but both batsmen fell in quick succession. Taijul had not bowled in the second session and he struck in his first after tea, having Ervine caught at bat-pad. Shakib then had Chakabva caught off a delivery that spun and bounced viciously, lobbing off the glove to slip. (Cricinfo)

(Chigumbura,

8-221 (Nyumbu, 71.1 ov), 9-230 (Panyangara, 73.2 ov), 10-240 (Kamungozi, 75.5 ov)

Tamim Iqbal c Masakadza b Panyangara 5 Shamsur Rahman not out

Mominul Haque not out 14

Extras 0 Total (1 wicket; 12 overs) 27 (2.25 runs per over)

To bat: Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim*†, Shuvagata Hom, Taijul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Jubair Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain

Despite Bangladesh’s wretched form this year, they began this series as favourites, a view that was strengthened when fast bowler Shahadat Hossain struck off the fifth ball of the match, drawing an edge from Vusi Sibanda with a delivery that moved late. The crowd at the Shere Bangla

T Kamungozi c Shamsur Rahman b Shakib Al Hasan 5

Extras (b 12, nb 1) 13

Total (all out; 75.5 overs) 240 (3.16 runs per over)

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Sibanda, 0.5 ov), 2-31 (Masakadza, 11.3 ov), 3-83 (Taylor, 31.3 ov), 4-128 (Sikandar Raza,

Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Tamim Iqbal, 4.5 ov)

Digicel/Breast Cancer Awareness Cycle Road Race…

Cream of Guyana’s cyclists in action today

The cream of Guyana’s cyclists will be in action today when the 3rd Digicel/Breast Cancer Awareness Cycle Road Race organized by the Linden Bauxite Flyers Cycle Club (LBFCC), takes centre stage.

Information originating from Digicel Sponsorship and Events Manager Gavin Hope on Saturday indicated that over 60 cyclists have registered for today’s event.

Hope, however, pointed out that the number is expected to increase prior to the start of the race.

The route will be from Rosignol to the city via Carifesta Avenue where riders will proceed around the outer circuit of the National Park twice before ending outside the Park’s entrance on Carifesta Avenue.

Juveniles, females and veteran riders will ride from the Mahaica Bridge to the city also going around the National Park’s outer circuit twice before concluding. The seniors and juniors will go the full course.

Meanwhile, Guyana Times Sport understands that defending senior champion Raynauth Jeffrey and Veterans defending champion Junior Niles will not be able to defend that crown this year.

With Jeffrey and Niles being unable to defend their title, a new senior champion will pocket $250 000 while the veteran champion will

Raynauth Jeffery raises his hands in triumph after winning comfortably last year. However, he will not defend his senior champion title this year

be rewarded with $50 000 in the event which carries a total prize money of G$1.3M.

The defending junior champion is Michael Anthony while Hazina Bharrat of Linden Bauxite Flyers Cycle Club, is the defending champion for the female category.

For the senior category, the second place finisher will receive $200 000 while the other top four performers will collect $150 000, $100 000, $50 000 and $25 000 re-

spectively.

In the junior category, the second- and third-place finishers will receive $50 000 and $30 000 respectively, as will the first- and secondplace riders in the female and veterans categories, while the first three finishers in the Juvenile category will be rewarded with trophies. Race time is 09:00 hrs.

The event is strategically held to assist in breast cancer awareness.

Former World Champ killed in car crash

Former 800m world champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi has been killed in a car accident in his native South Africa.

Mulaudzi took 800m gold at the 2009 world championships in Berlin and won silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

The 34-year-old, who carried his country’s flag at the opening ceremony in Athens, retired in 2013.

“Mr Mulaudzi was surely one of the most decorated track athletes that South Africa has ever seen,” his agent Peet van Zyl said.

The Transvaal Province runner won gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, bronze at the 2003 World Championships, followed by gold at the 2004 World

Indoor Championships and silver at the 2004 Olympics. Mulaudzi went on to win two more medals at the World Indoor Championships, taking silver in 2006 and 2008.

He won the 800m title at the World Championships in

Letter

to the Sport Editor

‘Olive branch’ needed to play a pivotal role with Team Coco’s participation

Dear Editor,

I must commend Digicel Guyana for its contribution with its “Digicel Guyana Cancer Awareness Campaign 2014” as sponsor in collaboration with the Guyana Cycling Federation for hosting a cycling that took place on October 26.

I see such a camapign as an educational message and tool in having the entire nation involved from all walks of life, because many of us would have lost or know of someone who transitioned through this deadly disease.

To me, such a campaign involves every cyclist, media house, traffic officer, official, onlooker, Opposition member, Government official, diplomatic corps member, etc.

However, it was brought to my attention via social media that Team Coco’s riders were not allowed to participate in the above mentioned event because of drama that unfolded at the just concluded “Ride for Life 5-Stage” race sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, which is headed by Dr Frank Anthony.

I will say for the record that Dr Anthony’s speech was the most balanced at the 5-Stage presentation ceremony.

In my personal opinion and I stand independent and neutral, what transpired at the 5- Stage should not have affected the participation or prevented Team Coco’s riders from competing in “Digicel Guyana Cancer Awareness Campaign 2014”, which is an educational promotion.

I also believe that the Ministry of Health needs to have a say on this subject based on Health Education to the entire nation.

I also believe that any personnel from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) would agree with me that we should not prevent anyone’s participation on a worldwide health campaign.

After the Government of Guyana accused the former US Ambassador to Guyana of meddling in Guyana’s Affairs, and the drama which unfolded at the US

Ambassador’s Residence on July 4, did the Government of Guyana prevent the US Embassy from participating in GuyExpo 2014?

Absolutely not! I am living proof that the US Embassy was present at GuyEpo 2014 with its educational campaign because I have coverage to prove their participation. Isn’t the Cancer Awareness Campaign an educational tool for the nation of Guyana?

I simply urge all parties involved with the “Digicel Guyana Cancer Awareness Campaign 2014” cycle event to make the effort to reach out to each other with the ‘Olive Branch.’

Failing to do so and the prevention of Team Coco’s riders to participate is telling me that it’s not a genuine Cancer Awareness Campaign 2014 sponsored by Digicel Guyana in collaboration with Guyana Cycling Federation.

Yours faithfully T

Pemberton

Troy Humphrey Memorial cycle programme rescheduled for November 8

Due to more pressing undertaking by the Government of Guyana, the Roraima Bikers Club (RBC) was forced to reschedule the 17th Annual Troy Humphrey Memorial cycle programme.

The eight-race programme was billed for today for the National Park’s inner circuit, but a release

issued late Friday evening stated that the club was informed by the National Parks Commission about the distribution of the $10 000 Educational Grants to approximately 5 000 parents/guardians and this is scheduled from 09:00h to 14:00h today, hence the rescheduling of the event.

“After a brief meeting

with management of the National Park on Friday, it was decided to reschedule the event in the interest of the safety of the cyclists and the crowd that is expected to converge on the National Park,” the release stated. The event has been rescheduled for Saturday November 8 at the same time and venue.

Trojan Cycle Club has new executive body

The Trojan Cycle Club (TCC) of New Amsterdam has been able to sort out their differences and now has one executive body.

This follows the election of office bearers on Tuesday where a number of persons were elected to serve as the club’s executive body.

Berlin in August 2009, then set a personal best of 1m 42.86secs in a race in Italy two weeks later.

Mulaudzi did not compete globally after 2009, but remained on the athletics circuit until 2013. (BBC Sport)

Suarez seeking help for biting impulse

Luis Suarez says he is getting help in order to control his “impulse” to bite.

The striker, 27, who will make his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid on Saturday, was banned for four months for biting

Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.

Admitting he had a problem, Suarez told the Guardian Weekend magazine: “It is like an impulse, like a reaction.

“I believe I am on the

right path now, dealing with the people who can help me, the right kind of people.”

Suarez’s attack on Chiellini was the third time the Uruguayan had bitten an opponent. (BBC Sport)

Kevin Crawford was elected as President while the First Vice-President was named as Dwayne Ferdinand.

Secretary/Committee

Member was named as Anita Crawford, Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer Cosmata Lindie and Treasurer Oneika

Ramsuchit. Patron of the club is Mohamed Mursaline.

Earlier this year the club encountered problems and the executive body was divided which forced founder member Steve Ramsuchit to resign from the club in March.

Berbice Rodeo set to bring excitement to the ancient city

All the visiting Vaqueros from overseas and Guyana’s hinterland have arrived in Berbice for Rodeo Day at the Rising Sun Turf Club Arima Park, West Coast Berbice.

The venue has been given a spruce up with more rails added and the old ones replaced while the ground has been graded and prepared for the day’s action.

The number of participants has increased significantly with the overseas contingent

from Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela along with those from Lethem, the Rupununi Savannahs and the Corentyne River being involved.

Organizer Fazal Habibulla says there are lots of surprises this year, “There are a number of new events to be featured this year. Among the events will be steer roping, bare back bronco, male and female barrel race, wild cow milking, calf roping, wild bull riding,

saddle bronco and the Rodeo King competition.”

Habibulla also mentioned that this year will include Tug-O-War and other novelty competitions. Several companies have already come on board namely, Trophy Stall Guyana Limited, Hablaw Meat Centre, Mohammed ‘Nankoo’ Shariff, Banks DIH Limited, Cattle Ranch, Chester Fry and Rising Sun Cattle Ranch. (Andrew Carmichael)

Griffith pleased with attitude of players

heartened by work ethic

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Griffith, who took 56 wickets from his 22 First-Class matches, outlined that while the selection panel will be looking at a number of factors before the final squad is selected, ‘players commitment ‘, will be the key criteria for selection.

“Commitment is the top priority of us. We (selectors) are also looking at attitude, fitness and of course performance,” Griffith added.

According to Griffith, the team for the first round will be selected after the two four-day practice games. The first practice game commences on October 27-30 while the second is scheduled for November 4-7.

The new franchise system allows each of the six franchises to have fifteen contracted players. However, that does not mean that those contracted players are eligible for selection. This, according to Griffith means the other players selected on the ‘Pay for Play’ criteria are also

Inter-Guiana Games, leg two...

Spirited Guyanese lose 2-3 to Suriname in badminton

Despite an admirable effort, Guyana’s badminton team went down to host Suriname 2-3 on day two of the Inter-Guiana Games at the KNTS- Chinese Sporthal on Saturday.

Suriname won the mixed doubles to separate the teams after they had won the girls’ singles and Doubles while Guyana had claimed top honours in the boys’ singles and doubles.

Captain Narayan Ramdhani, battling a neck strain, gave Guyana the perfect start when he defeated his Surinamese counterpart Alrick Toney 21-16, 21-14.

Narayan’s sister Priyanna, an Under-13 player, was then outplayed by Suriname’s top Under-19 female player Rugshaae Ishack 21-12, 2112 in the girls’ singles as the host’s drew level.

Guyana would take the

lead when N. Ramdhani and Jonathon Mangra teamed up to defeat Kevin Lou and Patrick Vigilandzoon 21-13, 21-12 in the boys’ doubles.

Guyana’s girls’ doubles team of Ambika Ramraj and Krystal Peters, with an opportunity to hand Guyana the overall success, found Shemara Windveld and Santusha Ramzan too hot to handle, losing 12-21, 5-21 to level the scores with the mixed doubles being the virtual final.

The match was keenly contested with Mangra and P. Ramdhani joining forces to take a hard-fought 23-21 first set win over Toney and Ishaak.

Despite a valiant attempt from the Guyanese, Suriname leveled the scores 21-15, before taking the final set 21-14.

With French Guiana not fielding a badminton team this year, Guyana and Suriname will clash again today at the same venue from 10:00h.

eligible for selection.

The Regional four-day will be played on a home and away basis over 10 rounds from November 14, 2014 to March 23, 2015.

The league format tournament will commence with three matches in the opening round from November 14 to 17 in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana. Each round will consist of three matches.

Each team will play 10 matches, five at home and five away.

The WICB Professional Cricket League comprises the Regional four-day tournament and the NAGICO Super50 Tournament which will be played in January 2015.

Guyana Jaguars will play their first three games at home, Leeward Islands Franchise from November

Inter-Guiana Games, leg two...

Guyana males win time trial

By AvenAsh RAmzAn in PARAmARiBo, suRinAme

As was widely envisaged, Guyana’s male cycling team easily won the Time trial on day two of the Inter-Guiana Games in Suriname, while the females placed runnerup on Saturday.

The team of Alonzo Ambrose, Shaquille Agard, Akeem Arthur and Kravitz Jeffrey, completed the 10km course in a time of 12 minutes, 53 seconds, a comfortable 21 seconds ahead of French Guiana. The Surinamese wheelers came in third in 13 minutes, 59 seconds.

National cycling coach

Hassan Mohamed said he was always confident that Guyanese boys would win the time trial.

Mohamed said he is expecting the same level of success at today’s road race, which is set to pedal off at 09:00h.

Meanwhile Guyana’s female team of Toshwanna Doris and Ronella Samuels had to settle for the runner-up spot to the host after clocking 10 minutes, seven seconds on the 6km trek. Suriname grabbed gold in nine minutes, 35 seconds.

At today’s road race, the males will battle for 69km, while the females will compete for half that distance.

Samuels wanted to continue India tour

Griffith pleased with attitude of players –

heartened by work ethic

By RAjiv BisnAuth

As intense training continues for the Guyana Jaguars, Chairman of the national Selectors and former Guyana fast bowler Rayon Griffith has expressed satisfaction at the attitude of the players.

In fact, Griffith said the attitude has been positive from players. The squad is preparing for the inaugural West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League Regional four-day franchise tournament which starts on November 14.

“I think we are heading in the right direction,” Griffith said.”I think it is just a matter of the guys continuing in that vein, giving the effort, showing enthusiasm and hopefully, we can move forward from here.

“I thought the guys are putting out the effort and they cooperated, gelled and assisted each other well as a unit, and I think that was good for us,” said Griffith.

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