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Weeks after terminating the contract of the Indian company Surendra Engineering Construction Limited (SECL) to build the Specialty Hospital, Government is yet to go to tender again for a builder.
Construction of the US$18 million hospital was early last month halted after Government suspended the contract initially awarded to Surendra Engineering.
Government said it had previously written the company about its concerns over the design and construction of the Specialty Hospital, which, after completion, will be able to offer medical services to Guyanese with complicated conditions requiring surgeries ranging from heart operations and organ transplants to cosmetic surgeries.
Government’s concerns were related to the delayed milestones and inadequate accountability by SECL for public funds the company had received on signing the contract with the Health Ministry. Government had
also discovered that SECL’s representative in Guyana had submitted a fraudulent document purporting to emanate from the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.
Based on that, among other concerns,
Government decided to pull the contract.
Meanwhile, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Clement Rohee, who is also a member of the Cabinet, told Guyana Times that Government
continues to pursue the legitimate interest of the Specialty Hospital in the context of what was recently disclosed by both Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon.
Legal action
At a press conference, Luncheon had informed
Speaking exclusively to Guyana Times , Dr Ramsammy, under whose tenure as Health Minister, the project was conceptualised, said he hoped Government would do everything in its power to complete the hospital.
According to him, it is a medical facility that will significantly benefit every Guyanese.
“It was a good idea then and it is a good idea now. And I do hope that Government could do all in its power to make sure the Specialty Hospital is completed and is in operation within the shortest period of time,” Dr Ramsammy had told this publication recently.
Not deterred
He said Government should not be deterred by the experience it has had with the contractor, noting that the issue must be separated from the important need for such an insti-
that Government would be taking legal action against the construction company, which, up to that point, had still owed Government some US$4 million. One of the objectives of that lawsuit was to also blacklist the company. The US$4 million, used for mobilisation work at the Liliendaal site, represents 23.5 per cent of the total project cost.
Meanwhile, Nandlall reported that the Legal Affairs Ministry has already begun preparing documents to move towards suing the company for breach of contract.
He said too that all documents relating to the crime has been handed over to the relevant authorities at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Former Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy had said that Government should not be shaken by the situation involving the company, but should move towards finding a new contractor to continue the work.
tution in Guyana. Asked about his feelings about the contractor, Dr Ramsammy said it was clear that the company did not meet its obligations, noting too that the Government of Guyana did the right thing by withdrawing the contract.
According to the Government, since the fraudulent act by the company was confirmed by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, it wrote Surendra informing it of its intention to terminate the contract, pursue legal action for fraud, and recover public funds for which it has failed to account fully.
The contract withdrawal came days after a lawsuit was filed against the company in an Indian court, alleging that it owed $180,100,242 to BK International for work done in the months of May, June, and July 2014.
Prior to the decision to take legal action in India, BK International sought the intervention of the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, but saw no progress.
AWeather: Heavy rain showers can be expected during the day with light rain showers in the afternoon. Clear skies will give way to thundery showers in the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius.
Winds: Easterly between zero and 4.02 metres per second.
High Tide: 04:06h and 16:23h reaching maximum heights of 2.83 metres and 2.90 metres respectively.
Low Tide: 09:57h and 22:20h reaching minimum heights of 0.40 metre and 0.29 metre respectively.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
ttorney-at-Law Peter Hugh on Tuesday defied the “black wall” created by his colleagues to take up the case of Johnny Welshman who has made shocking allegations of rape against the Speaker of the National Assembly.
Welshman told Guyana Times on Tuesday when asked why no one wanted to represent him that: “They are all afraid…some saying it’s too much of politics and don’t want to get involved.”
But Hugh assured the young man he would represent him, adding in a statement: “quite frankly, I’m disgusted by the manner in which some persons in the social media attacked Mr Johnny Welshman who may be a victim of sexual violence. I am of the firm belief that no victim of any alleged sexual violence should be intimidated, threatened, vilified, degraded or humil-
she received threats from known and unknown individuals and she could not be involved in his matter and was no longer in a position to offer him her legal services as she was afraid.
The lawyer said the allegations made by Welshman against Trotman were of a sexual nature which allegedly occurred when the young man was a child.
“A child is considered a vulnerable victim and is afforded protection by our laws and our justice system. Sexual violence is often a traumatic and damaging experience.
"No civilised society ought to allow a complainant to be degraded by public chastisement, embarrassment or humiliation in their quest for justice. The public chastisement, embarrassment or humiliation of a complainant by the alleged perpetrators, their servants, agents,
iated in an effort to silence them. I also believe that that Counsel must be able to accept any brief and practise law fearlessly without there being threats and/or intimidation.”
Gagged
Welshman recently announced that Trotman and two other men – one of them his father – had allegedly sexually molested him when he was 12. Ever since he made the claims, Trotman gagged him by securing an injunction in the High Court barring the young man from speaking on the matter. He also sued him for $50 million.
Hugh said in his statement that Welshman contacted him and explained his difficulty in retaining a lawyer who was willing to offer him legal representation and apply on his behalf to the Court to have the interim injunction, which was granted on September 22, 2014 discharged.
Hugh said too that Welshman also informed him that a young lawyer, who he had initially started communicating with told him that
supporters, sympathisers or anyone in my humble opinion is an attempt to tamper with a witness and in some cases, may amount to an attempt to pervert the course of justice,” Hugh declared.
He said there seemed to be tactical accusations of grand conspiracy theories implicating Welshman in a plot by a political group to bring into disrepute the character and reputation of Trotman by publishing accusations in the print media and on a social network.
He said Trotman sued Welshman alone for damages in excess of $50 million for defamation when he would have a cause of action (the right to sue) three national newspapers which would have printed and communicated the purported defamatory statements.
“In the very articles published by the three national newspapers Trotman is quoted extensively as denying the allegations levelled against him.
These articles carried by the newspapers are also available on the Internet and can be easily accessed by anyone. Mr Trotman nev-
er sought to have these articles removed from the online sites of these papers,” Hugh observed.
He said Trotman – after obtaining an Interim Injunction on September 22, restraining Welshman whether by himself, his servants or agents from publishing or attempting to publish whether in print or any electronic media any material relating and or pertaining to allegations of sexual assault by Trotman on Welshman– continues to speak to the press and cause to be published, both in print and electronically, articles which clearly seek to directly attack the reputation, character and integrity of Welshman.
Silence
Hugh contended that in his opinion this was unacceptable behaviour by Trotman who was in the print and electronic media continually attacking the reporter of an alleged sexual assault, especially as Welshman was now restrained from publishing, in print or electronically, any material in relation to those allegations. “This seems to me to be attacking someone who cannot respond, reply or defend himself.”
Hugh said appalling too is the deafening silence from the usual Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and
groups who claim to repre
sent and champion human rights generally and more particularly, the rights of the victims of domestic, transgender and sexual violence.
“These NGOs and groups rush to the aid and offer counselling to victims even more so when the victim is a child, indigenous person or part of another vulnerable group. I am greatly displeased with what appears to be convenient and bandwagon activism.
"Is it that these NGOs and groups are fearful of challenging influential people in our society who seem to behave in a manner contrary to what these NGOs and groups claim to stand for?
"Is it that these NGOs and groups reserve their activism for victims whose alleged attacker is not affiliated with particular political parties or who do not hold prominent offices or positions in society? I am saddened.”
Hugh said too that Trotman claimed that Welshman was mentally unstable and was only making wicked assertions, yet he recommended him for a job with not one but with two reputable businesses operating in Georgetown.
“It could reasonably be inferred that up until a report of the allegations was made to the Guyana Police Force, Trotman did not hold the view that Welshman was mentally unstable.
"If Trotman initially thought that Welshman’s allegations were a political plot by a political party then why didn’t he come out immediately upon hearing of the allegations and expose this plot? Why was a public statement only made by Trotman and his supporters after the matter was reported to the Guyana Police Force?”
Editor: Nigel Williams
Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134
Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown
Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com
As a society we must do everything in our power to protect our children and safeguard their future regardless of their mistakes and missteps in life. Any attempt to reprimand children or even young adults for their wrongdoings must be done with the aim of improving them, while strengthening their ability to understand the implications of their mistakes.
A mixture of tough love in the form of carefully thought-out sanctions, and psychological help ranging from counselling to rehabilitative assistance is most times necessary for creating positive behavioural change in young people. More and more today, adults are recognising that another set of wide-ranging measures will have to be taken to correct the social, ethical and moral misdemeanours of our young people as technology advances.
Additionally, those who are quick to condemn (and in most cases rightfully so) young people who post pictures and videos depicting nudity, varying forms of sexual intercourse, and other socially deviant behavioural patterns, must ensure that they are part of the solution and not the problem.
Sharing, liking and glorifying these pictures and videos when they are leaked to social media can never be considered as being part of the solution. Defending these posts and turning a blind eye to them is not seen as being part of the solution either.
It is therefore worrying that the thousands of Guyanese shared and liked a video with secondary school students that was leaked to various social media and networking sites here. By sharing, reposting, and liking the video, Guyanese deliberately promoted the video and in doing so are jeopardising the four students and young people in general.
Those children, who have brought the wrath of sections of our society upon themselves, are still deserving of our love and protection as they are disciplined for their wrongdoings.
The fact that these school-aged children allowed themselves to be filmed during the encounter is also symptomatic of a wider problem within our society.
It would, therefore, be instructive for the Education and Human Services Ministries to launch a full-scale study into the prevalence of the under aged sexual activity that occurs when these children are in the environment of their own schools.
It is no secret that there are several videos of this nature posted on several social media sites. Something must be done to also penalise those who share this type of material via social media, most times without the permission of the parties involved.
Anyone interested in the wellbeing of children would share that sort of video materials with their parents and their guardians including educators not the brutish and judgmental social media mob.
That aside, the Government’s newspaper that went as far as publishing a screen grab of the video showing two of the children engaged in oral sex on its front page with an accompanying article. This must be condemned.
The media has a responsibility to act in a mature manner and to protect the identity of the children involved regardless of how many times it has been shared via social media. Apart from achieving the sale of a few more dailies, the newspaper would have done a grave injustice to these children and are part of the problem rather than solution.
In this case, the imagery was not necessary.
Any “feral blast” by Education Minister Priya Manickchand on this matter must include a condemnation of the manner in which the children have been treated by sections of media and the society as a whole.
It must also include general findings and recommendations as to urgent SOPs that must be activated when these situations occur.
Minister Manickchand is duty-bound to save these and any other child, regardless of their mistakes or bad choices, from the wolves that wear sheep’s clothing that are ready to devour them as if they too have no skeletons in the closet.
Dear Editor,
In every society there are persons who crave public attention and in order to catapult themselves in the limelight, they select certain targets, be it in Government or outside of Government and probe relentlessly until they discover that which they perceive will give them the public attention about which they are obsessed.
It is beyond dispute that Christopher Lallbachan Ram is one of such persons and the Legal Affairs Ministry has become his latest target. Unfortunately for him, his probing’s and public disclosures of the results have been largely unworthy of publication in the newspapers in the form of news items. As a result, he has now resorted to the forum of the letter column in his quest to draw attention to himself.
Quite frankly, the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Legal Affairs Ministry are quite flattered and indeed humbled by the attention it is receiving by Mr Ram. All we ask of him in his public relations work for us, is that he be accurate and fair. A little reading, especially of the law, will do the trick.
His latest disclosures were published in the letter columns of the Stabroek
news dated October 7. He wrote on two issues: the Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority and the Judicial Review Act.
As regards the Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority, Mr Ram, presumably, having no comments of his own to offer, piggybacks on remarks made by Mr Leon Rockliffe that were published in the press. Perhaps it is apposite that we address Mr Rockliffe’s concerns once and for all. The transformation of which Mr Rockliffe is critical encompasses the following:
1. The conversion of the Deeds Registry from being a department of Central Government to being a statutory body corporate with functional autonomy, managed by a board comprising of representatives of the Legal Affairs, Housing and Finance Ministries, the Private Sector, the Guyana Bar Association and the Berbice Bar Association.
2. And the conversion of the staff of that entity from being public servants, to employees of the newly created authority.
Prior to this transformation, consultations were held with various stakeholders including above-mentioned entities. More significantly, because of his known, views
Mr Rockliffe was consulted by the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister on more than one occasion.
Indeed, Mr Rockliffe was kind enough to acknowledge this publicly. The truth of the matter is that Mr Rockliffe’s views were taken into account but were in the minority. The unfortunate reality is that even the Bar Association, which, presumably, represents their interest did not see it fit to nominate either Mr Rockliffe or Mr Ram to represent them on the board.
They chose Mr Rafeek Khan instead. As they say the proof of the pudding lies in the eating. The public feedback received from the changes made at the Deeds Registry has been overwhelming. In short, the system has become far more efficient.
As regards the Judicial Review Act, Mr Ram boldly accuses the Attorney General of frustrating “the decision of Parliament by his failure to bring the Act into operation”. Again, a simple reading of the Act would have saved Mr Ram much public embarrassment. Section 3(1) of the Act provides as follows:
“An application to the court for relief against an administrative Act or omission shall be made by way
of an application for judicial review in accordance with this act and with Rules of Court.”
It is either that Mr Ram has not read this section or, he did so but did not understand what it means or, worst yet, is shockingly unaware that the Rules of Court currently in force do not provide a procedure for an application for judicial review.
The procedure for same is contained in the new Rules of Court which are in draft. The Act, therefore, cannot be brought into operation without the promulgation of the new Rules of Court and that is a responsibility which does not reside with the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister.
As an Attorney, one would expect that Mr Ram would be acquainted with these elementary matters or at least, will seek the guidance of his seniors at the Bar before he makes such embarrassing public disclosures.
But then again, a little learning can be a dangerous thing.
Yours sincerely, Indira Anandjit Permanent Secretary Ministry of Legal Affairs
Dear Editor, I appeal to my very good friend Freddie Kissoon to end personality attacks against others with whom he disagrees or with those who show greater intelligence than him.
He recently attacked Oscar Ramjeet, a respected journalist and eminent Guyanese, as well as Ralph Seeram, another respected Guyanese, because these gentlemen wrote objective commentaries on the performance of the Ramotar and Jagdeo administrations.
Both Ramjeet and Seeram are objective writers who are known to have penned pieces critiquing the PPP/C Administrations.
But Freddie does not want the men to write anything positive about PPP/C. Freddie wants the men to use the Kissoon methodology and lie about the Government.
Kissoon uses fascist tactics to denigrate and derogate people, especially against those who write objectively on the Government. He delves into the sewer calling people homosexuals, jackasses, dogs, etc.
Readers don’t learn from personality attacks but from informed commentaries. Writers should emulate Ronald Sanders, Henry Jeffrey, Ralph Ramkarran, Sultan Mohammed, and a
few others who stick to issues rather than on personality. One may not agree with their viewpoints, but one respects them for not going into the mud attacking people with whom they disagree.
Kissoon thrives on personality driven hatred frequently telling people (with whom he disagrees) to go to hell. It was his personality attacks against others that drove them to respond in kind about Kissoon’s own closeted lifestyle.
Which self-respecting writer or academic publicly calls people homosexual? That is rolling in the sewer; worse it is Hitlerite and McCarthyite.
The newspaper that features Kissoon’s columns should not allow nasty, hatred driven comments on its pages – it is endorsing the Kissoonian methodology. In addition to ending personality attacks, the paper should also require writers to stick to facts rather than pen misinformation or making conclusions and claims without evidence.
Peddling misinformation or distortions is the core of the Kissoon methodology which was invoked by Freddie against Ramjeet and Seeram and umpteenth times against myself.
Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram
Dear Editor,
His birth name is Lenox O Shuffler, known to many as “Uncle Leny”, “L O”, “Cucumber Head”, and “Lenwald”. He’s oldish, incredibly funny, patient, loves people, especially young people, believes in a ‘hand up’, not to be confused with a ‘hand out’. He’s a visionary and creator of the Sports, Education and Culture Train (SECT) initiative.
Robin Phillips founded the Buxton Youth Developers (BYD) in March 2007, and was joined by Lenox Shuffler as Patron and Paulette Charles as Special Advisor, to promote positive change in the community.
Rotary Club of Stabroek, Guyana (RCOSG) has provided critical management support and guidance and continues today. BYD’s Mission Statement is “Regaining the glory of Buxton through sports, education and culture”, and their motto is, “Promoting friendship –influencing change”.
Over the years, a fantastic bond of friendship evolved between Phillips and Uncle Leny, that demonstrates their unselfish and dedicated service to the BYD on a daily basis.
BYD employs elements of sport, education and culture and is a place of learning that is fun filled for the youth of the community. Yes, it was Uncle Leny’s vision and Robin’s ability to turn vision into reality through his inimitable way of mobilising, motivating and moving people into action.
After the period of crime in the community (2002-2008), BYD provided positive images of the community and proved that change is possible with creative thinking, collective effort and commitment. At the risk of being contradicted, I would say that the grandmothers and mothers, especially the many single parent mothers decided to take back their community for their children.
The programme began with 30 students, three afternoons a week at the old Buxton Market. It now caters for more than 300. Parent and community involvement have grown significantly and so has children’s attendance and performance at their schools.
With collaboration of the RDC, the Vigilance Community Centre ground was identified and approved for BYD to develop for the benefit of all. Many supporters came on board, the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives built the centre’s building, sanitary block and
bleacher stands.
The Government of New Zealand raised and sand filled a huge portion of the ground for sports. Digicel, Scotia bank, UNICEF, Toucan Industries, Courts Guyana, Farfan and Mendes, Food for the Poor, Red Entertainment, Grant a Dream, Dr and Mrs Radiq Talim and Gord Johns from Canada and others from the Diaspora to name a few other contributors.
This afforded additional classes for school dropouts from 08:00h-15:00h, Monday through Friday. Ten volunteers conduct these classes which cover Reading, Writing, Maths and Social Studies. A community library previously accessible on Tuesdays and Thursdays is now accessible daily and sports sessions are conducted on Saturdays.
In addition to scheduled classes there are regular motivational, life skills and cultural sessions. Larger scale activities are also executed eg, annual Christmas parties, Spelling Bee competitions, literacy competitions, anniversary award ceremonies, cultural pageants, etc.
BYD is managed by its Founder, Robin Phillips, a man with a huge heart and community spirit, volunteer teachers and a management committee.
The BYD literacy initiative is premised on “learning is fun.”
Prior to moving to the new facility, the children learned football way down the line in Buxton, almost getting to the cane fields, on an uneven open spot in the village, filled with ‘cow holes’, but their enthusiasm for the sport and learning were mind blowing, both boys and girls. Mostly for me though was a conversation with one of the volunteers.
His name is Percy Miller, I call him Rasta Man, he has the most amazing locks and a gentle soul, he plays for the Rastafarian Football team, he’s a mason by trade, was at the time working on a construction site in Linden and used to travel home to Buxton two days a week to work with the kids.
A female football team was formed and 11 members of the team were called to East Coast trials with five selected to train for the national team.
The 12-year-old who could not read, and after being tutored, stood before her entire group and read a vote of thanks to visitors.
There is an annual cultural pageant
Don’t be fooled
Dear Editor, They stood there with placards silent, imperceptibly quiet in protest trying to force the Government’s hand to call Local Government Elections. The main political Opposition party APNU has been holding these protests in the major municipalities across Guyana.
Their objective, at least so it seems, is that the Government would be pressured to the point where it will have to call Local Government Elections.
Some writers call this a clear sign of lunacy on the main Opposition. Why stand there and waste time in a protest that is not going anywhere? Judging from past activities of the party when on the agitation path, they are asking the question where is the action?
violent display of burning, looting and shooting but none of the above is forthcoming. So, they are forced to conclude that this is very idiotic and very strange development.
But there is nothing strange about the PNC/ APNU’s protest, this is just a precursor as to what will eventually happen. Violence and mayhem like we have never seen are about to be unleashed on this nation come next election. This latest display of calm is just a facade or a veiled display of the real event that will come after.
I will close by saying a detailed account of what is about to happen will be communicated to you shortly.
with a focus on history and community development issues. The participants then become "ambassadors" and share with their colleagues in facilitated sessions on social issues. They also assist whenever feasible in working with the younger children.
Two female participants were selected in 2008 to represent Guyana at wind ball and athletics.
Two members – one male, one female selected this year to represent Guyana at the Table Tennis championship in The Dominican Republic.
BYD has a positive impact on women as at the time of date collection by the Rotary Club of Stabroek, 65 per cent of the youth participants are from single parent households where that single parent is female. Parents know that their children are learning and playing in a designated safe space and benefiting from structured after school activities.
Fast forward to 2014, seven years later and after many challenges, the BYD continue to provide a safe place for learning and fun for its children and those of neighbouring communities.
I wish to salute Uncle Leny, call him what you will. A true giant and am very proud to have walked and continue to walk this walk with him. He’s like Nike… Just do it!
Robin Phillips and his amazing volunteers get my big shout out, also RCOSG, the management team, all those who have and continue to support BYD. Wouldn’t it be awesome to have satellites of this model across our beautiful land?
My old people folks used to say “one, one dutty build dam” and they also said “it takes a village to raise a child”, though not quite in those words, but Aunty and Uncle in the village (no blood relative) had the right to discipline us.
BYD represents that one, one dutty. Listen to old people everyone. Let’s do our part collectively and while we’re at it, bend, bend and pick up de garbage, better yet put it in your bag until you reach home.
If you’d like more information on BYD, to make a contribution, or get involved, Robin and Uncle Leny would love to hear from you at 686-0457.
Walk in de corner, Ann Geer
They expect the usual
Sincerely, Neil Adams
Dear Editor,
Thank you for taking the time to ask the question regarding DNA testing of Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee. What is of concern is that the tone of the response seems to lack urgency in a time of escalating killings and a continued issue with unidentified bodies.
As your article went on to state, the Caribbean American Domestic Violence Awareness (CADVA) and One Billion Rising (OBR) have stated their willingness to work with a laboratory to help escalate the process with the help of Eureka Medical Laboratories.
Has anyone from the Government even bothered to contact Dianne Madray with CADVA? Just so they have her contact information. Here it is: diannem@
cadva.org, Guyana cellphone number 696-9398, and her US cellphone number 1-917399-5764. Guyana’s CADVA Representative Tiffiney Jackson can be reached on telephone number 682-2292, or by email at tiffineyj@cadva.org. Why would anyone want to re-invent the wheel or laborious infrastructure when the wheel or infrastructure is already is motion and ready to be used? Eureka Laboratories has their infrastructure established. We have a contact. We can assist in escalating. What is the issue?
Thank you for publishing my letter.
Sukree Boodram Founder, Interim President, CADVA, Inc
sukreeb@cadva.org
Toddlers don’t seem to have an off switch. Often, when they’re tired, they just reverberate faster, like an over-wound toy, until they crash.
Toddlers need adequate sleep to rise to the developmental challenges that fill their lives, from controlling their temper on the playground to staying on top of their own bodily functions. Even the stress of saying goodbye to Mom and Dad when the babysitter comes can be handled more resourcefully by a rested toddler than a tired one. Your toddler doesn’t know it, but he needs his sleep.
The bad news is that some children seem to be born “good” sleepers, and some aren’t. After all, many adults are insomniacs, and while some of them are certainly influenced by environmental factors, some of our ability to sleep easily seems to be innate.
The good news is that falling asleep is a matter of habit, and all children can learn it. While some children have a harder time falling asleep than others, all children do start sleeping through the night most nights. It may take some time to develop that habit, but your busy toddler can learn to put himself to sleep, and to stay asleep, eventually. Here’s how:
1. Start the wind-down process early in the evening. Toddlers who’ve been racing around the apartment can’t simply switch gears and decompress when you decide it’s bedtime. The last few hours before bed should be calm and quiet.
2. Follow the same evening routine every night, if possible. Your goal is a sense of calm, safe, inevitability. Dinner, then a bath, then stories, then kissing and tucking in all the stuffed animals who share the toddler’s bed, then prayers or blessings, then lights out while you sing to your little one, is an example of a common and effective routine. Beware of too elaborate a routine, because they have a way of expanding to take more time. But don’t think of bedtime as a chore that’s taking too much time. Think of it as the best part of the day, when you get premium quality time with your little one. Toddlers who are showing oppositional behaviour may resist moving along with the bedtime routine. The best way to sidestep this is to have the clock, rather than you, be the bad guy. Create a chart with photos of your child doing all the steps of the bedtime routine, with a clock time next to the photo. Then point to the photos as you go through the rou-
tine every night. Over time your kid will begin to move herself through the routine.
Even better, with a routine your child sees you as her advocate. “Look, it’s 19:15h! If we can get out of the tub now and brush your teeth, we’ll have time for an extra story before lights out at 19:30h!” That way, you’re on his side, and he doesn’t need to rebel against you. He also begins to learn
with an early bedtime; between 18:30h and 20:00h. You’d think a later bedtime would help them fall asleep more easily, but when they stay up later, they get overtired, and stress hormones like adrenalin and cortisol kick in to keep them going. Then they actually have a harder time falling asleep, wake up more during the night, and often wake early in the morning. So keep
for stories, and turn the lights out at 19:00h, he’s much more likely to fall asleep than if you put him into pajamas at 19:25h and snap the lights off.
The key is to watch for those yawns that signal he’s getting sleepy. If he kicks into “overdrive” mode, getting him into bed will be much harder.
4. Set up a cozy bed All children go through nor-
about responsibility and making smart choices. And, of course, allow plenty of time. It won’t exactly settle your child down if you get impatient or angry.
3. Help your toddler set his “biological clock”. Toddlers need a set time to go to bed every night. Most toddlers do better
moving bedtime earlier until you find the time before your little wind up toy starts getting wound up.
Dim lights in the hour before bedtime, as well as slow, calm routines, help children’ bodies know that it’s time to sleep. If you can take him up to his bath at 18:00h, be in bed at 18:30h
mal sleep cycles in which they wake just slightly and then settle into deep sleep again. Your goal is to ensure that discomfort doesn’t wake your child during those periods of slight waking. Quiet matters – make sure she can’t hear the TV. Consider a “white noise” machine. Darkness matters –
make sure the curtains keep the streetlights out. Roomdarkening shades or blackout curtains are invaluable, especially in the summer months when your toddler will be going to sleep while it’s still light out. Warmth matters – if your toddler kicks his covers off, make sure he sleeps in warm pjs with feet. And of course, once he’s out of diapers, be sure he uses the bathroom last thing.
Finally, a “big” bed for a toddler who is graduating to his or her own bed, that he or she picks out, can be a real attraction. But remember that losing the crib walls may be more freedom – and insecurity – than he can handle. Plan the transition to the “big” bed carefully.
5. Many toddlers need a bedtime snack to hold them through the night, especially during growth spurts. Warm milk, a slice of turkey, a piece of toast, something calming and predictable, not too interesting, and without sugar, works best. If they can eat it at a snack table in their room while you read a bedtime story, before brushing teeth, you can move efficiently through the bedtime routine. If your baby is over a year old and still nurses to sleep or falls asleep with a bottle, you’ll want to break that association, so that when your child wakes in the night she can put herself back to sleep. She can still nurse or have her bottle, but then should brush her teeth and fall asleep without food in her mouth.
6. Don’t give up naps too early. Although every child has individual sleep needs, most children are not ready to give up naps until age three. Going napless before that just makes them cranky and adrenalised, making bedtime much more challenging.
7. Make sure they get enough fresh air, sunshine and exercise during the day. Your grandmother was right: children really do sleep more soundly when they get more outdoor play. Just not in the hour before bedtime, which re-energises them! Laughter is also essential for many children. Play a roughhousing game to get them laughing before dinner – be a bucking bronco, or chase them around the house.
This allows them to let out the pent-up anxieties of their day, so they settle more easily at bedtime. (ahaparenting.com)
to the matter.”
The Guyana Chronicle and the hundreds of others on Facebook who have been sharing a video of four schoolchildren engaging in oral sex have been repudiated as reckless and insensitive (see story on page 11), with child rights advocates going as far as invoking the law which prohibits the distribution of such materials and calling on the authorities to take condign action.
The Guyana Chronicle, for its part, has since removed the offensive images from its website and Facebook has apparently deleted the video that had gone viral before the Education Ministry stepped in on Monday. The amateur video captured the schoolchildren engaging in the sexual act at an unknown location.
Guyana Times was told that at least one of the schoolgirls has expressed surprise at the video, indicating that she might have been drugged before performing the sexual acts. The incident occurred back in July. The students were reportedly taken to the house prior to going off to extra lessons.
They were also reportedly offered something to drink prior to the sexual acts. These, among other claims, are being investigated by the Education Ministry and the school.
On Monday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said an investigation has been launched into the video. The video was leaked by an individual who is not a student of the school in two separate clips, each showing a different girl performing oral sex on a male student.
According to Minister Manickchand, the Ministry only learnt about the video last Thursday, and an investigation was launched imme-
diately to identify the persons in the video, and where the escapade took place.
Manickchand said the Ministry will be sending a very strong message to students, but, in dealing with the matter, consideration will be given to the future of the ‘actors’ in the video.
While many persons pointed fingers at the school and contended that such acts are a “regular practice” in the school system, others say parents have to be more vigilant about the activities of their children.
“Parents need to talk to their children about these issues and make it their duty to question their children and develop a strong relationship with them. Parents should know more about their children, who their friends are, where they go before and after school, who they go out with, etc,” an education official speaking on condition of anonymity said.
He said these moral depravities contribute to a decline in students’ academic performance as it affects their focus on their studies.
Indecency
Meanwhile, according to the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:02 — Indecency and Obscenity, “everyone who, for the purpose or by way of trade, or for distribution or public exhibition, makes, or produces, or has in his possession, or imports, conveys or exports, or causes to be imported, conveyed or exported, or in any manner whatsoever puts into circulation, any obscene writing, drawing, print, painting, printed matter, picture, poster, emblem, photograph, cinematograph film or any other obscene object; or carries on
or takes part in a business, whether public or private concerned with any of those obscene matters or thing, or deals in any of them in any matter whatsoever, or distributes them, or exhibits them publicly…, shall be liable to a fine of not less than $25,000 nor more than $50,000 or to imprisonment for 12 months.”
Director of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association, Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth told Guyana Times that this country has the second highest rate in the Caribbean of teenage pregnancy and the video adds to a dreadful situation.
“We need to change our conversations on how we talk about sex,” said, addding that sex is being “thrown around a bit too often; it is not like in the colonial days where there was so much control on sexual activities”.
In addition, she hopes some serious action is taken about this matter, especially as it relates to the law, “Something is wrong with that person who leaked the video, some serious action needs to be done as it relates
Government continues to invest in the lives of the people through a variety of ways, one of which is the provision of transportation. Because of the remoteness of many Amerindian communities, transportation to and from these locations is limited, hence, Government continues to provide the necessary funds,
through the Amerindian Affairs Ministry to assist in this regard.
Recently, Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai visited Santa Rosa, Region One, where she handed over one 40 horsepower boat and engine each to Assakata, Kabora, Santa Cruz and Waikarebi, to the tune of $1.2 million each. The equipment were delivered based on request by the communities, and will be used for emergencies, transporting children to and from school and other activities to benefit the people of the respective communities. Minister Sukhai urged the community leaders to ensure proper maintenance of the equipment, and that they be used for the benefit of the people.
Minister Manickchand urged schoolchildren not to capture every moment of their lives on their gadgets. She said persons needed to be more mindful of what they do and where they do it, as the simple click of a button can drastically spread information that can ruin someone’s image for the rest of their lives.
Veteran broadcaster and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tagman Media, Alex Graham, in a letter to the Editor of this newspaper, drew attention to comments he had placed on public record during the communications and public education activities which accompanied the signing of the Sexual Offences Act 2010.
“Our efforts to combat sexual offences and genderbased violence come at a time when the advances in technology, while providing a platform for the leapfrogging of Guyana’s economy through improved business, education and social networking, also provide new opportunities for sexual exploitation and opens up the channels for trafficking in such exploitation.
"The rapid expansion of the mobile telephone networks coupled with the availability of more capable handsets has already opened up the distribution and sharing of graphic sexual content for gratification and for the control of victims of repeat abuse.
“Expansion of information sharing capability, both locally and internationally
through improved and affordably priced broadband services, adds another dimension to the distribution and sharing of graphic content and is spawning trade in such content.
"It is instructive to note that the Government of the United States of America recently launched a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.
"The US Attorney General, Eric Holder, speaking at the launch, lamented the challenges posed by the new technologies being used for child sexual exploitation," he said.
“Unfortunately, we’ve also seen a historic rise in the distribution of child pornography, in the number of images being shared online, and in the level of violence associated with child exploitation and sexual abuse crimes.
Tragically, the only place we’ve seen a decrease is in the age of victims,” he said.
Graham said technology was no respecter of national boundaries and, therefore, the same technologies that challenge the authorities in the United States are beginning to challenges us here in Guyana.
He said fortunately, at the moment, the technology and tools for trading on the web and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Networks is not well developed here and so distribution and exchange for profit is slow.
Nevertheless, quick action is needed on this front to defend Guyana’s children against the expanding global network of trade in the sexual exploitation of children.
“These comments were made about four years ago, but my fears about the implications of what was witnessed in these videos over the last few days have become greater.
"We are at great risk of our children being exploited by the global trade in child pornography which involves priest and prisoner, aristocrat and vagrant, rich and poor alike.
"A collective national effort is needed to save our children. The idea of a national effort would seem like shouting at the rain in the present environment, but the Sexual Offences Act was passed unanimously in Parliament and a way must be found to recapture that for the greater good of a generation of children,” Graham concluded.
wednesdAY, october 8, 2014 | guYAnAtimesgY.com
Where’s it all going to end??? Your Eyewitness is no prude, but school kids posting videos of themselves performing explicit sex acts??? Not only performing the acts per se... but POSTING them on Facebook where they know they’ll definitely be seen by friends and teachers??
Only last week, we heard from the head of the Teachers’ Service Commission that paedophilia’s rampant in the school system. What’s going on??
Sociology tells us that once a behavioural pattern has become very widespread, we’re not dealing with just individual aberrations and choices. Something is happening at the group level structurally. And that’s what we’ll have to eke out if we’re going to get to the bottom of what’s pushing this breakdown in our societal norms. And that’s a clue right there, isn’t it? Somehow the norms on sex by and with children have been loosened to such an extent that maybe there aren’t any standards anymore? Now it’ll come as no surprise to be reminded that human depravity as far as sex with children and amongst children aren’t anything new. We all heard of Sodom and Gomorrah, haven’t we??
The point is that civilised societies have introduced sanctions to deal which what is considered “deviant” behaviour. But to the extent that such sanctions are absent or withdrawn, individuals will have no compunction in letting their baser instincts run wild. Now let’s look at how the Ministry of Education’s dealing with our local episode of “school kids gone wild”.
It’s presently investigating the matter, but it was reported that the Minister “was quick to point out that it will not be done in a way that would affect the children and their image”. So is this all we’re concerned about?? How the “image” of the children will be affected?? Now we don’t believe that we have to have the kids wear a “Scarlet Letter” henceforth, but surely we have to go beyond “image”.
As we were informed in the reports, this isn’t the first sexual incident by school kids in school and in uniform, going at it. And in every instance, the Ministry and schools have been more concerned to protect the “reputation” of the school and the children than trying to set guidelines for what consists of proper behaviour in our schools.
At a minimum, this Eyewitness insists that the students engaged in these sex acts be expelled from the school. To do less would be to accept the disappearance of moral standards in our schools.
...as journalists show no spine
In the wake of the GRA finally taking action on the rape of the Treasury committed by Glenn Lall and the MuckrakerKN in the remigrant scam, the email gate and various other illegal transgressions, the Muckraker’s been busy printing testimonials on the wanker’s “character”. Lall’s house slave Adam Harris is going by the playbook on “damage control” now that the sh*t’s hit the fan on the darker side of the goings-on at Saffon Street.
There were three testimonials yesterday in the Muckraker’s letters’ pages. Samaroo from the Stabber News sniffed that in matters against Lall, he “will not be drawn into personal disputes of this nature”. Personal?? So tax fraud’s personal??
And what about his earlier confession about the Muckraker which caused him to “cringe at its journalistic integrity”??
But he tripped up when he admitted comparing Lall to Jay Gatsby... the fictional Fitzgerald character who became literally “filthy rich”. Gatsby earned his wealth from prostitution and illegal liquor smuggling with the mafia. But we guess this is “personal”!
They say a fish starts to stink from its head. And so too does society. Part of the breakdown of morality on sex and children has started from the way the big ones look away when one of their own is accused of paedophilia.
But don’t examine the accusations. Shoot the messenger.
The preliminary report from a study being conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) shows that in a matter of six years, revenue from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Guyana’s extractive sector will peak at US$100 million, but thereafter that amount will decrease substantially.
The preliminary findings which covered the entirety of the extractive sector including sand, gold, diamond, and manganese was presented on Tuesday during a workshop at the Herdmandston Lodge in Queenstown.
Currently several international companies have invested massively in Guyana’s mining sector. Companies such as Guyana Goldfields Inc, Troy Resources, and Sandsprings Resources Inc have a combined investment of close to US$ 1 billion in the extractive sector. Guyana Goldfields has already signalled its intention to produce 150,000 ounces of gold in its first year of mining operations.
According to the consultants from the UNDP who undertook the study, Masuma Farooki and Sohinee Mazumdar, the revenue from FDI will drop thereafter because there are no other investors earmarked to commence operations in Guyana at this time. And based on what
obtains right now with respect to gold prices and the price projections, this is what the figure will be, but it is still small and could pose a threat to the country if not properly managed.
During the presentation of the preliminary findings, it was also noted that with respect to the diamond mining sector, there were no foreign direct investors and though the gold mining sector had a handful, the majority of the produced gold comes from the small and medium scale miners.
With respect to employment in the sector, it was noted that within the sphere of FDI there was capacity for 1000 jobs, but 15,000 within the small and medium miners circle. Farooki pointed out that while at initial glance, the
best choice may be clear, this was not the case, since most of the jobs in the small and medium-scale mining enterprises were somewhat seasonal.
The UNDP representative also pointed out that it was now up to Government and policymakers to implement stronger regulations for the sector, since the present ones were outdated.
She explained too that Government should see to offering foreign investors better incentives for taking steps to invest in Guyana. Farooki articulated that there was global competition to attract foreign investment and other countries offer more attractive investment incentives to international companies.
“Fiscal incentives for
Apopular pastime among youths ended tragically for a teenager on Tuesday after he reportedly broke his neck during a swimming outing.
Dead is 14-year-old Mark Anthony Burnette of Lot 60 Third Street, Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara. The incident occurred around 12:00h at the Stanleytown School Street Backdam. According to information reaching the Guyana Times , the young man and a friend went for a swim and he plunged into the trench. He reportedly landed on his head, hitting it in the process on an object at the bottom of the trench.
Speaking with this newspaper, the sister of the teenager with whom he was staying, Roshanna Bowen, disclosed that she left her younger brother at home to go into town to transact
some business; about 45 minutes later, she received a call from someone informing her that her brother had died.
The woman said that the news shocked her and she immediately made her way back to the West Bank, where she was told what transpired. “I really can’t say if it’s true but I hear that this boy come and collect Mark to go swim and he plunge and hit his head on tyre and like he break his neck,” the woman related. She said that when she got there, she was summoned to the Police station and by the time she was done there, it was too late for her to go visit her little brother at the parlour. Bowen related that after her brother’s friend saw that he was not surfacing, he rushed home and informed his mother before going to inform them.
“He went home first and come tell we so when my other brother hear what happen he and another boy went to look for Mark… they feel in the water till my brother feel Mark foot and pull him out,” she revealed.
Bowen went on to say that after her little brother was hauled from the water, checks were made for any sign of breathing or pulse but none were found. The body of the 14-year-old has been taken at to Ezekiel Funeral Parlour awaiting a post-mortem examination, which is expected to be conducted later in the week after the young man’s overseas-based mother returns to Guyana.
Burnette was a student of Endeavour Secondary School in Canal Number Two Polder. He leaves to mourn his parents and nine siblings.
mining companies are important, but it is imperative that you do not give away the farm,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mazumdar explained present figures show that extractive activities contribute to 94 per cent of Guyana’s deforestation rates, effectively dwarfing all other pushers of deforestation, which would mean that logging and other activities can only attribute to four per cent of deforestation.
She explained the need for strengthening the organisational structure at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The consultants also signalled the need for the revision of the mines closure policy which would have to be done at the level of the GGMC and the Natural Resources Ministry.
After the presentation of the preliminary report, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud remarked that the report should be seen as a “catalyst” to investor confidence and a tool to move the extractive industry forward.
He said that the report when completed would forge greater understanding among stakeholders and other concerned parties
thereby preventing “uninformed or misinformed” comments about the extractive sector. Further, the Natural Resources Minister lamented that some of the findings can be applied to other sectors such as the forestry sector.
The Minister underscored that the Government carefully picks which companies contribute to Guyana’s development by way of FDI and is very cautious in that manner. He related that the companies are subjected to intense scrutiny, and careful
thought is given to what the investors will be contributing to Guyana and in what form.
He indicated that “having the right investor is more or less determined by the proposal” and several other factors whether the investment “does justice, in terms of the well-being of the country not being hampered”.
He also contended that Guyana was at a critical stage with foreign investment as a whole, in respect to “turning the corner of economic growth”.
BY UTAMU BELLE
Region 10 officials have begun to voice concerns over the spread of the Chikungunya virus in the region and have criticised the national response to the disease so far as being lacklustre.
According to information received from regional health officials, there have been five confirmed cases of the virus in the region. However, there are hun-
is serious concern over the spread of the virus, noting that he himself was recently infected.
Dissatisfaction
Responding to a question posed by Regional Councillor and Regional Health Committee
Chairman Maurice Butters at the October sitting of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) statutory meeting on Thursday, Solomon registered his dis-
dreds of other persons who are suffering from the symptoms associated with the illness.
So far, there have been confirmed cases of the virus in Wismar Housing Scheme and the One Mile area at Wismar, Linden.
Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon said there
satisfaction over the issue.
Butters, addressing the Council, asked for an update on the situation, explaining that the Board of the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) which usually provides an update, has not met in approximately two months.
“We have so many hiccups about what is going
on because of this disease. There is no response to this disease in the region, absolutely none, and its dangerously frightening to note that.
"I’m saying there is a serious deficiency with how this matter is being treated in ensuring that the regions are equipped, more so Region 10....
"There’s nothing coordinated coming out of the Government’s approach,” the Regional Chairman said.
He added: “Fogging is not a response, we fog all the time. We have no mechanism in place that this region is aware of, that is dealing with this sickness.”
He noted too that there are concerns over the availability of resources and the response to the situation, adding that the people of the region have a right to be aware of what is happening with the situation.
The Regional Chairman also expressed concerns over testing mechanisms used in detecting the virus. He said there are persons in the region who are suffering from similar symptoms as that of the Chikungunya virus, which are left unconfirmed.
“This Council is looking for answers... we have been asking for fogging to be done long before Chikungunya, fogging is the response to the mosquito infestation
situation which we had before.... I am saying, on behalf of this Council, we are calling on the Government of Guyana to re-implement a more coherent and a more structured response to the Chikungunya virus, so that it takes care of testing and treatment, and even a response mechanism,” he said.
Councillor Leslie Gonsalves called for “a more hands-on approach” to the situation, noting that he is dissatisfied with the way treatment for the illness is being approached and handled.
He said patients are only being treated for the painassociated symptoms, but there seem to be no treatment for the cause of it.
Gonsalves also called for more communication on the issue by the Health Minister and the Health Ministry. Several other Councillors also expressed their dissatisfaction on the issue.
Marked increase
Only last week, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud disclosed that more than 5000 persons are suspected to have contracted the Chikungunya virus, although only 105 cases have been confirmed.
He said there are 5230 suspected cases of the virus in the country. Dr Persaud, who spoke to Guyana Times, explained that indeed there was a marked increase in cases, and it was time that the population begin to take more proactive measures to protect themselves and others.
Dr Persaud said the 105 cases were confirmed from the 261 samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago for testing. This indicated that more than half of the samples sent to the agency returned with negative results. This begs the question
Satiricus was disappointed in the President. Seems that he insisted on taking coals to Newcastle.
“Or in the case of Guyana,” thought Satiricus, “sending emails to Mook Lall!”
Hey!! with all the hacking Lall did, his problem was how to keep up with emails! Imagine the President telling GrainJa, “Well, my mother used to say you can’t have it in cake and have it in bake; you can’t have it both ways, you have to make up your mind what you want.”
With all due respect to the President, that might have been true in Kara Kara up the Essequibo River, but not in the circles where GrainJa was raised. Ever since GrainJa was a boy in short pants going to Queens, he had been taken in hand by the Kabaka.
No, the Kabaka didn’t TAKE young GrainJa’s hand to groom him the way people in high places in Speakers’ chairs do with boys nowadays. That was just a figure of speech as far as the Kabaka was concerned. He had taught young GrainJa that, indeed, you could have it in cake and have it in bake. Like how he showed GrainJa you could have not one vote for you – and still win the elections!! Or how you could tell the Opposition absolutely nothing and still say you “consulted”. All you had to do was call the fella up, say “Hi!!” and voila!! “Consultations!!!”
Or how the Kabaka took money from the Americans for NOT being communist, and at the same time took money from the Russians FOR BEING a communist!! You couldn’t just have IT in cake and in bake – but even in steak!!!
And GrainJa had proven to be such a good student of the Kabaka on the “Principle of Cake, Bake and Steak”!! Look at how he’d handled the challenge from the Pee-an-See Linden Group. Did he worry about all of those interior people coming to vote him out of the Pee-an-See leadership?? Nah!!! They also believed that you couldn’t have IT in cake and in bake at the same time. So innocent!!
All GrainJa had to do was dig into the Kabaka’s bag of tricks and pull the old rigging routine!! The Linden hicks never saw that coming!! They thought that rigging was only to be used against the President and his PPCEE! They had to slink back to Linden and nurse their wounds. But GrainJa wasn’t finished with them. That was just IT in cake and in bake. He’s about to show them IT in steak.
GrainJa just announced that there wasn’t even a Pee-an-See Linden Group! There’s just a Linden Coordinator – who he had personally appointed. This was IT in steak, well done.
of how many of the 5230 cases are in actuality positive Chikungunya cases.
“Chikungunya is wellestablished now… we expected that it would be this widespread at this point in time… definitely with people’s movement,” remarked Dr Persaud.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) said it continues to be at the forefront of efforts to deal with the Chikungunya epidemic and the Ebola threat.
Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque held discussions on the weekend with representatives of the Governments of Brazil and Argentina on assistance for the region, particularly in the fight against Chikungunya.
The discussions with Brazil’s Vice Minister for Health, Jarbas Barbosa have led to an invitation for a team from the Caricom Secretariat, CARPHA, and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) to visit Brazil to further discuss specific areas of support against the Chikungunya virus.
The continued protest by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) for the holding of Local Government Elections (LGE) is in direct opposition to calls by its partner Alliance For Change (AFC) to make the no-confidence vote its top priority.
On Tuesday, the coalition held another protest outside President Donald Ramotar’s office, calling on him to set a date for the holding of LGE. This time the party was joined by the quasi political movement BLUE CAPS. Over the last three weeks, the coalition and some of its supporters have paraded in front of the Office of the President on Vlissengen Road protesting when Cabinet meetings are to be held. The protests saw about 100 APNU supporters marching with APNU Leader David Granger.
The coalition in a release reiterated its “demands that the President desists from pretending to desire elections, but, in fact, [he is] preventing the holding of Local Government Elections. APNU calls on the President to issue the ‘commencement order’ to operationalise the Local Government Commission.”
This week, the protesters were joined by Blue CAPS, which over the last few months has continuously advocated for local Government polls to be held. At the last protest, the Opposition Leader said “we are sending a message to the PPP, the Central Government and the Executive that we are fed up waiting for Local Government Elections, so whether the
President is here or not, it doesn’t really matter to us”.
He also noted that the protest actions were somewhat “symbolic” and the President and his administration should adhere to the needs and concerns of the populace and set a date for the local polls.
Granger explained that while the coalition remains committed to the passage of the AFC-tabled NoConfidence Motion in the National Assembly, the protest actions will continue and intensify until the President sets a date for the holding of LGE. Granger had mounted his protest in the face of criticisms that he was following the AFC regarding the NoConfidence Motion. Political analysts have criticised the posited that APNU, being the major political player in the one-seat majority Opposition in the House, should have been the one to first put forward a proposal such as the No-Confidence Motion, if needs be, against the Donald
Ramotar Administration.
“We are not following the AFC; we have taken a line to support the No-Confidence Motion. There were four courses of action and the NoConfidence Motion was only one. ..,” Granger told this newspaper last week. Asked if his coalition had ever before, on its own, consider such a motion against the current Government, Granger responded in the negative.
Analysts have also commented on the reluctance of the AFC to throw “wholehearted” support behind APNU’s push for LGE. There is talk that while APNU has thrown its weight behind the AFC’s No-Confidence Motion, there is little support demonstrated by the AFC for APNU’s call for LGE. This, it was noted, could be seen in the absence of AFC supporters at the spate of protest actions carried out by APNU.
But Granger said he and his coalition could not be bothered by the level of sup-
port received from the AFC. According to him, it is APNU’s campaign and whether or not support is given by the AFC, the campaign is progressing. “If the AFC chooses to come up, it’s a matter for them, but we are conducting our campaign and we will continue to do so whether the AFC is present or not.”
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had already said that the two parties seem divided on the pending NoConfidence Motion. General Secretary Clement Rohee said it was quite obvious that one party is heading east, while the other is heading west and that he was waiting to see where they both will end up.
Questions have been posed about APNU’s real position, since although it is calling for President Donald Ramotar to name a date for local Government polls, it has also signalled its commitment to the No-Confidence Motion put forward by the AFC.
Atotal of 226 cases are listed to be heard as the October Criminal Assizes in Demerara opened on Tuesday. This is the last criminal session for the year and will run until January.
The session began with its usual pomp and grandeur as the Police Force Band marched from the Brickdam Police Station to Croal Street then into South Road outside the High Court. During the march past, Justice Brassington Reynolds took the salute and inspected the guard of honour.
He, along with Justice Navindra Singh and Justice Dawn Gregory, will be presiding over this criminal session. Two of the three judges empanelled 12-member juries in their respective courts for murder trials.
The first case to be called up before Justice Gregory is against Cyon Collier called “Picture Boy” who is indicted with the murder of Chandrapaul Persaud called “Kero man”, a Nonpareil, East Coast Demerara (ECD) businessman, on September 30, 2006.
The accused had previously faced trial for this indictment in October of 2011; however, the trial ended with a hung jury; hence, a retrial was ordered by the then presiding judge, Justice Winston Patterson. This trial began on Tuesday with State Counsel Natasha Backer leading the state’s case and Attorney Lyndon Amsterdam representing the accused.
Justice Brassington Reynolds inspecting the guard of honour on South Road on Tuesday morning
Justice Singh will be hearing the case against Delon Gordon, who is accused of murdering his reputed wife Natasha Johnson on July 11, 2011, at their Better Hope Squatting Area, ECD home. This trial will commence today. On the other hand, a jury panel was set to be selected before Justice Reynolds; however, the accused, Ryan Hurdle, began behaving disorderly in court; as such the presiding judge ordered that a psychiatric evaluation be conducted on the man. Hurdle is accused of killing and burying his landlord sometime ago. Meanwhile, the Demerara June Criminal Assizes ended last Wednesday
The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security has slammed the state-owned Guyana Chronicle for the publication of images of children involved in sexual acts, saying that it is appalled by the media house and those in charge.
The article that accompanied the pictures was written by Leroy Smith – a rookie reporter at the state media entity. In its statement, the Ministry described the descent by the state newspaper as disgusting. It said too that the acts of the children “… have exposed a tremendous need for more to be done by parents, teachers and our society as a whole to ensure that our children understand and practise moral values that would prevent them from making poor decisions.”
However, “some sections of the media sought to exploit this issue in the press and shared images that have gone viral. The recent media report in the Guyana
demns such irresponsible behaviour from media operatives who ought to know better. Media personnel have continuously received training on the ethics of journalism, the legal implications and the importance of safeguarding the identity and integrity of our children. The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security and the Child Care and Protection Agency hereby call on the Guyana Chronicle to publicly apologise for the publication of these images and urge everyone associated with the electronic publication of these obscene images to desist from doing so.”
According to the Ministry, dissemination of these images have negatively impacted upon the efforts and progress made with respect to child protection in Guyana. It added that the upgrading of “our laws to cater for electronic and cyber crime is much needed to address such issues.
Noting that Guyana is
and saw a total of 49 cases disposed of, but only 31 had engaged the court’s attention. The other 18 were nolle prosequi (not prosecuted) by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers. There were five convictions, seven not-guilty verdicts, 15 formal verdicts of not guilty and one case was quashed and the PI was ordered to be done de novo (from the beginning). There was also a retrial and two hung jury verdicts. The Berbice Criminal Assizes is set to open on October 21, with 52 cases. Justice James Bovell-Drakes will be presiding. The new Criminal Assizes in Essequibo is scheduled to start on October 28 with 19 cases to be heard before Justice Franklin Holder.
Chronicle edition of October 7, 2014, will also serve to unsettle other children. Imagine their sense of diminished pride and the glaring suspicion that everyone around them must be aware of this most sordid affair!” Additionally, the Ministry said: “The racial identities of the children, the school they attend and the compromising acts being performed are obvious in the images. The lives of these children and their families are certainly in turmoil over this unfortunate situation and now they have been further humiliated by the publication of these images both on the Internet and in the print media. The impact of such an action will affect their self-esteem, and may have serious consequences upon their lives in the future,” the Ministry lamented.
“The Ministry through the Child Care and Protection Agency unequivocally con-
a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which clearly addresses the issue of human rights of our children, the Ministry cited Article 17 of the Convention which delineates the responsibilities of mass media organisations, including ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of children and adolescents. Similarly, Article 34 speaks of the need to “protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation .…” It said too: “Our local laws also clearly state acceptable standards for media publications of sexual content. It is therefore appalling that these have been blatantly ignored by media personnel, particularly the Guyana Chronicle newspaper. Every Guyanese, including members of the media, have a duty and a responsibility to protect our children. We must take this responsibility seriously.’
wednesdAY, october 8, 2014 | guYAnAtimesgY.com
Johnny Welshman, the young man who has accused Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman of sexually molesting him when he was a child, on Tuesday disclosed that persons connected with the Opposition have offered him around $3 million to implicate the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in the saga.
Welshman showed this newspaper a quotation uplifted by a prominent department store with a range of items and other articles which he said persons offered him to settle the matter with Trotman.
He said one of the conditions attached to the $3 million was for him to implicate two key figures in the PPP/C in a statement claiming that they had set him up to make the allegations against Trotman.
On Tuesday, the young man’s lawyer, Peter Hugh, also alluded to the allegations in a statement to the media.
“I am informed by my client that despite the filing of the libel suit and a matter being investigated by the Guyana Police Force, he has been approached with offers of settlement in the sum of three million Guyana Dollars on the condition that he makes a public statement that the PPP/C asked him to make these allegations.
"When he refused to accept any settlement or to lie and say that the PPP/C asked him to do anything, his life was threatened,” Hugh’s statement read.
Hugh said he believes that any other victim of an alleged sexual assault would be offered protection pending the
outcome of the criminal investigation. Welshman is entitled to the same protection other victims are afforded. The lawyer queried if his client was being denied the protection of his rights and not afforded protection simply because of who his alleged attacker is.
“The most recent threat upon his life has been reported to the Police. These threats upon Mr Welshman’s life could well be constituted as attempting to pervert the course of justice and I trust that the Police will investigate these threats to my client’s life and unearth the individual or individuals responsible.”
The lawyer said justice must never be premised or appear to be premised on who is the alleged perpetrator of an offence regardless of their station, position, office or affiliations.
“Every citizen must be equal before the law. All alleged victims of domestic, transgender and sexual violence must be afforded equal access to justice and equal protection of the law regardless of their socio-economic, racial or gender differences,” he said.
In addition to the sexual molestation claims, Welshman has accused Trotman of pampering him with gifts during the alleged period of his sexual abuse.
“He started to sexually assault me when I was 12. It first started in his office, at that time I did not agree with it, but he offered to take me to Dairy Bar (formerly located on Croal Street) to buy me ice cream and then later that day, he took me to the House of Flavours and so I start to
give in to him,” the young man had alleged.
Welshman went on to say that after the assault continued, he complained to his father who turned a deaf ear, so he continued to collect the things which were offered to him by Trotman.
“Around school time he would usually take me to buy all my school things, telling my parents that he will take care of the expenses. He would also make sure that
"I wear the most expensive clothes and also buy me fancy sneakers and everyone in my class would usually tell me that I am rich with the amount of money I used to go to school with; all of that Uncle Raphael give me,” Welshman had noted.
Trotman has since denied all the allegations, describing them as malicious, unfounded and coming from “an unstable young man who, sadly, appears to have a troubled mind.
"I categorically deny his wicked assertions”.
Trotman said unfortunately, Welshman seems to
have been “conveniently encouraged by manipulative and diabolic political forces.
Conveniently, such scandalous assertions are obviously intended to provide a timely distraction from the serious prevailing political situation in Guyana, which imminently requires me as Speaker of the National Assembly to guide the ship of the nation’s Parliament through the strongest test to Guyana’s constitutional democracy: the debate of a no-confidence motion.”
He said, as a true patriot of Guyana, “I will not allow the office of Speaker of the National Assembly to be compromised or be denigrated by false accusations for political expediency.
"There is absolutely no truth in the allegation, and I am confident that the masterminds and supporters of this dastardly plot will soon be exposed. I call for a thorough and professional investigation into this scurrilous allegation. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Baishanlin
International Forest Development Inc said it has not constructed any new road in the Rupununi, but “merely upgraded old roads and trails through existing forest concessions”.
The company made the statement following reports in the media that claim it constructed 130 kilometres of road that passes through the North Rupununi district, disrupting the lives of several Amerindian communities.
“(We have) not constructed any ‘new’ road but merely upgraded old roads and
cluding those from Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice).” Baishanlin said it was currently in the process of meeting with communities in the North Rupununi district to address concerns and take on board, recommendations for the proposed operations in the area, as part of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) phase. Additionally, the company said that it has gone beyond what was required under regulations by including the upgrade of the old roads and trails in the current ESIA.
trails through existing forest concessions and, onto one of its State Forest Exploratory Area (SFEA).”
The road in question is in fact aligned between the escarpment of the Corentyne River and the Berbice River watershed, in keeping with regulations that permit limited commercial activity in the exploratory phase of the operations.
The roads and trails upgraded by the company do not pass through any Amerindian community but are limited to the locations for which forestry concessions are being considered or active, the company stated.
“The road will also provide vital access to other operators in the forestry sector, in-
“The environmental and social effects of the Project are being assessed, and the ESIA report of the findings will be prepared and submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency for approval.
The ESIA report will be prepared in accordance with the Terms of Reference which considers all national legislation and policies, and environmental and health standards and regulations.
“Baishanlin would like to reiterate that it is fully committed to adhering to the laws and regulations governing forestry in Guyana and will continue to work in the best interest of the communities in which it operates, and Guyana as a whole.”
Ministers meet at FAO to discuss role of commodity markets
Governments ought to review the way international agricultural commodity markets are governed, FAO DirectorGeneral José Graziano da Silva told ministers from around the world gathered for a meeting on the subject Monday.
Commodity markets caught global attention due to volatile food prices in the past five years. While prices are currently declining, Graziano da Silva noted that underlying issues lurk in market institutions largely forged in the 1970s. Enormous changes since then, in production and distribution fronts, “have had far-reaching implications not only for how international commodity markets work but also for food security, property rights and access to productive resources, and the position of smallholder commodity pro-
ducers,” he said in opening remarks at FAO’s third ministerial meeting on international agricultural commodity market governance.
FAO has piloted the idea of creating inclusive “multistakeholder fora” involving all stakeholders in a particular commodity market: government, private sector producers and traders, consumers and non-governmental organizations.
It also hosts AMIS, the Agricultural Market Information System, an early-warning monitoring service that allows for coordinated response in times of stress, such as the 2012 droughts in North America and the Black Sea region.
“We need more,” Graziano da Silva said.
Lassaad Lachaal, Minister for Agriculture of Tunisia and chairperson of the ministerial meeting, said there were “deficien-
cies” today in amassing reliable, up-to-date information on commodity stock levels and trends and that a stronger institutional scheme to promote policy coordination is needed.
“Governance-related issues are gaining increasing attention, especially in light of the post-2015 Development Agenda,” he said. Ministers in atten-
dance included those from Burkina Faso, Central African Repubilc, Georgia, Haiti, Lebanon, Malawi, Mauritania, Portugal, South Africa, Sudan, Tonga, Ukraine, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. Other countries sent vice ministers or senior officials, including Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and United States.
The Committee on Commodity Problems, a FAO technical committee with more than 100 members set up in 1946 to survey and review international aspects of commodity production, trade and distribution, will meet from Tuesday 7 October through Thursday 9 October.
New priorities
One question ministers have been asked to discuss is how commodities should be related to the broader international development goals of the Post2015 Development Agenda. Commodity production and export account for a fifth of the world’s economic activity and are estimated to provide incomes and employment for more than a billion people.
Smallholders in developing countries produce the lion’s share of the world’s agricultural commodities, including non-staple foods such as sugar and coffee. Improving their productivity and relative prosperity is central not only to FAO’s goal of eradicating hunger, but to the broader United Nations agenda of supporting sustainability in all policy arenas. Nearly two-thirds of developing countries rely on primary commodity exports for more than 50 percent of their export earnings. Many countries have high levels of dependence on commodities such as bananas, jute or cotton. Coffee alone account s for two-thirds of Burundi’s export earnings. Globally, 80 percent of coffee is produced by smallholders, and the figure is higher for cocoa. Both products are part of global value chains that are often dominated by distributors.
Residents of Kwakwani, Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice), and neighbouring communities have been urged to assist with the verification of persons who have applied for laptops as the Government of Guyana aims to ensure 90,000 families across the country receive the devices.
Mister within the Ministry of Finance, Juan Edghill, visited the community of Kwakwani recently at which time the One Laptop Per Family
“When we make a promise we fulfill it! It may take a while, but when you are sharing things there has to be a system,” Minister Edghill said while adding that the promise to equip every qualifying family with a laptop is very important to the Government because it is seeking to modernise Guyana.
“Former President Jagdeo initiated the OLPF and President (Donald) Ramotar addressed and continued the project,” Minister Edghill explained
to the outside world, being able to communicate with families overseas using the device.
The provision of laptops to families who cannot afford one moves Guyana into the modern era, and thus, this initiative will transform Guyana into one of the countries with the highest computer literacy rate and accessibility countered with persons also purchasing their own computers.
One recipient of a laptop, who is a student at the University of Guyana,
Programme (OLPF) was engaged in distribution of over 700 laptops to families in Kwakwani and neighbouring communities along the Berbice River.
Minister Edghill explained to residents that in common-law marriages where persons reside in the same household, with different last names, they are still considered as a single family by the Government.
He further explained to residents that the Government’s goal is to bridge the Information Communication Technology (ICT) gap for Guyanese, and as such, every family that qualifies to receive the laptop will benefit.
The Minister noted that the aim and objective of the OLPF programme is to carry out a promise made by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), through former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
to residents gathered to receive their laptops in Kwakwani.
He told the recipients that education should be available for the people in the Berbice River and Kwakwani, the way it is for persons in other parts of Guyana.
Better performance
He stated that the laptop can be an enabling tool for children to perform better in schools because of the vast availability of information it possesses through the internet.
Minister Edghill said having access to a computer also posts an opportunity for employment and further strengthened his point by stating that at present 3000 Guyanese are employed in the ICT sector under Qualfon, an international call center.
He reiterated that persons can have easier access
Leslyn said, “I feel good because the community will benefit- the youths and the elderly people.”
She added that the fact that she will be able to use the laptop for her university studies relieves her of the financial burden of acquiring one.
Julius Da Silva thanked the Government for the laptop initiative, and added that it will be of great benefit to his daughter.
Another recipient, Ann Gordon said she was excited and impressed by the laptop initiative. She too said it will be of great benefit to herself, her family and the rest of the community.
A single mother, Sandra Henry said she was very elated to receive the laptop because it will be of great benefit to her son, who is at present attending primary school while Winslow McCurdy said the OLPF initiative is a wonderful one.
Cuban fined $100,000 for fraud
Twenty-nine-yearold Jonny MaRose was on Tuesday fined $100,000 for fraud when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges which stated firstly that between August 1 and August 29, he conspired with persons unknown to forge a Republic of Guyana employment visa in his passport knowing this to be false. And secondly, on October 3 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), with the intent to defraud, he uttered
to an Immigration Officer, Constable Alexander, a Republic of Cuba Passport, Number 126957, in favour of himself with a false Guyana employment visa knowing it
“It is incumbent upon every nation to adhere to the principles of justice, equality and self-respect. Guided by our Constitution, our Government continues to protect fundamental basic rights of every citizen regardless of race, colour, creed or religion.” This was the message of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds as Guyana joined the world in celebrating the 145th birthday anniversary of the visionary and peaceful revolutionary Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
“Undoubtedly, what Gandhi saw as challenges in his days and fought to overcome, remains with our generation today and perhaps with greater intensity,” Hinds said to the audience gathered at the Promenade Gardens on Thursday.
The birth anniversary of the Mahatma or “Great Soul” is celebrated annually worldwide and has been declared as the international day on non-violence.
Prime Minister Hinds added that each year citizens across the world take time out to reflect on the Mahatma’s teachings and Guyana is no exception. He said as Guyana celebrates Gandhi’s birth and honour his memory for his doctrine on non-violence and his philosophies on love and tolerance, the palpable truth is that the world is still faced with conflicts that rage as a result of ethnic tensions and divisions. Religious intolerance and hatred are rampant while domestic abuse is on the rise as well, Prime Minister Hinds was quoted as saying by the Government Information Agency (GINA).
“We will continue to improve responses to the many challenges that face us. Our country is not alone in this...
as this relates to domestic violence. We must spare thoughts for the millions of persons whose lives have been disrupted by the wars and terrorist attacks carried out in the Middle East and on the African continent,” Hinds stated.
He added that the Government of Guyana hopes the international system will not fail at arriving at a lasting solution for these problems. In accordance with the charter of the United Nations, Guyana will continue to support the efforts of the international community in maintaining international peace and security, he stated.
Gandhi lived from October 2, 1869 to January 30, 1948. He was a paramount leader of the Indian Independence movement in British-ruled India and led India to independence by applying non-violent civil disobedience. Gandhi inspired civil rights and free-
dom across the world.
In his remarks, India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Venkatachalan Mahalingam stressed that Gandhi’s “philosophy of nonviolence has influenced national and international non- violent resistance up to this day. His efforts to combat racial discrimination in Africa, where he lived for 20 years, today have become more relevant in India and the entire globe.”
Businessman Yesu Persaud, President of the Indian Commemoration Trust, urged that everyone think good thoughts and explained that “we are what we think.” He added that persons should follow the late icon’s footsteps and be good human beings.
Amongst the gathering were Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Ronald Bulkan.
Shot man wanted for armed robbery, murder of villager – still hospitalised in stable condition
Swas false, which he admitted to after the allegation was translated by an immigration officer.
He was represented by Attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat who told the court that his client has a wife and children, and given his low salary, came to Guyana to work with his sister’s family (name not given). He noted that this was not the first time that his client has visited Guyana, giving his stable residency at Lot 20 Dennis Street, Prashad Nagar, Georgetown.
The defendant was then fined the sum of $100,000, with an alternative sentence of six months.
teve Mohamed, the man who was shot by Police during an exchange of gunshots on Monday evening, is said to be wanted for questioning in a murder and armed robbery which occurred several weeks ago at a mining camp in Mahdia, Region Eight.
Mohamed, 26, a miner of Third Field, Kaneville, East Bank Demerara (EBD), is currently under guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The man reportedly sustained two gunshot injuries. He is said to be in stable condition.
According to a release by the Police, around 19:30h on Monday, “investigations have revealed that acting on information received, the Police went to Friendship, EBD, where they saw Steve Mohamed…on seeing the Police, Steve Mohamed opened fire on the ranks who returned fire, hitting him to
his left upper leg.”
Residents nearby reported to this newspaper that they heard a single gunshot before a series of gunshots were heard. The exchange lasted about five to 10 minutes. The residents claimed that after the gunshots stopped, there was a commotion among the Police officers present at the time.
Ranks then picked up the injured man and rushed him to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he was treated and subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Ranks recovered a .38 Special revolver along with two spent shells and three live rounds at the scene.
Guyana Times was made to understand that the injured man is wanted in relation to the murder of a Craig, EBD man at Mowasi Backdam, Mahdia, a few weeks ago and
a number of armed robberies in several interior locations. Investigators are looking into the man’s background in efforts to uncover any other criminal activity he might have been involved in.
Speaking with this newspaper, a relative of the injured man related that the 26-yearold returned from the interior about four or five days ago; however, before he would have arrived at home, Police was already there looking for him.
Moreover, the relative explained that the person Mohamed is accused of killing is a fellow villager and the entire community knows about it so he could not have gone home, so he went to stay with a friend on the East Bank. “Somebody probably see he there and inform the Police: that’s why they went for he Monday night,” the man stated.
The death of former Haitian ruler JeanClaude Duvalier must not halt the investigations and prosecutions owed to thousands of people killed, tortured, arbitrarily arrested and disappeared under his regime, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
“The death of JeanClaude Duvalier must not be used to brush away the crimes committed under his regime. An entire network of volunteer militia and state authorities are also suspected of perpetrating human rights violations under Duvalier's command. These people too must be investigated and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, prosecuted in fair trials,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
“This is not the final chapter in this horrific episode of Haiti’s recent history. Instead it should be a reminder that there are thousands of victims who still deserve justice, truth and reparation for the human rights violations they suffered,” she added.
In response to news of the death, Haiti’s current President Michel Martelly has spoken of reconciliation and called Jean-Claude Duvalier a “true son of Haiti”. In the past, Martelly has hinted in several public statements at pardoning the former leader.
Despite being investigated for embezzlement charges, Duvalier was issued with a diplomatic passport in 2013, and participated in several official ceremonies and events. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)
Atight runoff campaign for Brazil's presidency kicked off on Monday with leftist incumbent Dilma Rousseff and pro-business rival Aecio Neves racing to win over supporters of the thirdplaced candidate after she was knocked out of the election.
Neves, a centrist senator who had been widely written off until a few days before Sunday's first-round vote, rode a late surge in support to grab second place with 33.6 per cent of the vote.
Rousseff led with 41.6 per cent and they now face each other in an October 26 runoff to decide Brazil's most unpredictable race in decades.
Rousseff remains a slight favourite as she has strong support among Brazil's poor
but Neves is within striking distance and is expected to pick up most of the 21 per cent of voters who backed the third-placed finisher, environmentalist Marina Silva.
Neves reached out to Silva on Monday, stressing the similarities of their proposals to reduce the size of Government and free up private enterprise.
He said he was the candidate of change, a slogan dear to Silva who sought to end the horse-trading of Brazilian politics.
He also fired back at Rousseff, who said he represents the "ghosts of the past," a reference to an austerity drive, layoffs and the privatisation of state assets when his Brazilian Social Democracy Party, or PSDB, last held power from 19952002. (Excerpt from Reuters)
US Virgin Islands Health
Commissioner Darice Plaskett reported on Tuesday that the Department of Health is collaborating and communicating with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local hospital officials, healthcare partners and emergency medical personnel to be prepared in the event of a local Ebola case.
The Department of Health has taken proactive measures to ensure readiness by conducting clinical education on Ebola and issuing guidance to the district hospitals, healthcare partners and emergency
medical personnel on early detection, safe clinical management, and infection control measures.
Last week, the Department of Health led a multiagency meeting with officials from the hospitals, federally qualify health centres, Customs and Border Protection to discuss steps that can be taken to prevent the spread of the disease, Plaskett said.
Plaskett also noted that the representatives were provided with CDC’s resources on hospital and healthcare provider preparedness checklist for Ebola and Ebola screening criteria template for hospitals. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)
of
Nearly all Jamaicans believe the Government should keep legislation banning men having sex with men, according to an opinion poll published here on Monday.
The poll, conducted on behalf of the Gleaner newspaper, found that 91 per cent of Jamaicans believe lawmakers should make no attempt to repeal the controversial buggery law, which makes it a criminal offence for persons to engage in anal sex.
The Bill Johnson Poll was conducted during the period September 6-7 and 13-14 and included interviews with 1208 residents. It has a margin of error of plus or minus
three per cent. The poll found that only five per cent of those questioned felt the law should be abolished and just four per cent said they did not know. The pollsters also found that 82 per cent of Jamaicans did not believe homosexual men were not treated fairly by either the legal system or the police in Jamaica. According to the polls, 10 per cent said they were treated the same, while eight per cent said they did not know. However, 68 per cent said they should not have the same rights as others, while 26 per cent said they should, and six per cent did not know. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)
TT’s energy wealth allows the Government to delay the struc-
After news appeared on social networks that the United Nations was recruiting volunteers to respond to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, authorities in Haiti sprang into action.
A statement released last week, signed by the Ministers of Health, Interior and Defence, effectively banned Haitian volunteers from travelling to Ebola-stricken countries in Africa.
Citing other diseases that have devastated the impoverished country in
recent years, the ministers prohibited any agency – including the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) – from organising the recruitment of Haitian volunteers. The ministers appealed to “the common sense of every citizen to avoid other more dramatic situations than what we have experienced in the recent past.”
The October 2 statement was described as a “warning” by Defence Minister Lener Renauld, who added: “It’s a question of public health and securi-
ty to avoid any (Ebola) epidemic crisis happening in Haiti.”
This latest development follows a recommendation by the Health Minister last month that all international agencies “suspend any rotation of members coming from countries where Ebola cases have been found.”
According to Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaume, the announcement was made “to restore the confidence of our citizens. (Excerpt from Caribbean360)
tural reforms – in particular in the public sector –that the country needs to continue developing, says Elie Canetti, the head of the last two International Monetary Fund missions to Port of Spain.
Speaking at the InvesTT conference at the Council on Foreign Relations two Thursdays ago, Canetti commended TT for its macro-economic stability with a low debt load, low inflation and high levels of employment, but said the country faces twin challenges that come from being an energy-dominated economy: the need to save more of the current earnings for future generations and laying the basis of a post-oil and gas economy.
“One of the things that the IMF missions to TT has focused on is the need for more structural reforms to make the country more investor friendly to attract non-energy investment,” said Canetti. Among the major challenges the country faces is
Twitter has sued the US Government over surveillance laws. Under current regulations, Twitter cannot reveal certain information about government requests for users’ data relating to national security.
Twitter argues that this violates the right to free speech, as defined by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. The firm said it brought the case in an effort to force the Government to be more transparent about personal data requests.
“It’s our belief that we are entitled under the First Amendment to respond to our users’ concerns and to the statements of US Government officials by providing information about the scope of US Government surveillance,” Twitter’s lawyer, Ben Lee, wrote in a blog post.
Twitter brought the action against the US Department
Twitter is fighting US government regulations regarding surveillance disclosures
of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a northern California court on Tuesday.
In April, Twitter submitted a Transparency Report to the US Government for publication; however, so far officials have denied the firm’s request to share the full report with the public. That report includes specific information about the nature and number of requests for Twitter user information
relating to national security.
“The US Government engages in extensive but incomplete speech about the scope of its national security surveillance activities as they pertain to US communications providers, while at the same time prohibiting service providers such as Twitter from providing their own informed perspective as potential recipients of various national security-related requests,” wrote Twitter. (Excerpt from BBC News)
Aprominent World Health Organisation official has warned that more Ebola cases can be expected among medical staff – even in developed countries with modern health care systems.
Professor Peter Piot said that he was not surprised that a Spanish nurse had contracted the disease. The nurse has become the first person known to have contracted the deadly virus out-
Aside West Africa. She treated two Spanish missionaries who died of Ebola in Madrid. The nurse, identified in media reports as Teresa Romero, looked after the pair after they were repatriated from West Africa.
She remains in quarantine in the Spanish capital with her husband and 50 other people in Spain are being monitored. Some 3400 people have died in the cur-
rent outbreak.
Most of the deaths have been in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The BBC’s Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says that from the start of the Ebola epidemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has emphasised the impoverished health care systems of the countries hardest hit: Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. (Excerpt from BBC News)
The US-led coalition has carried out its most sustained air attacks so far on Islamic State (IS) fighters attacking the Turkey-Syria border town of Kobane.
Syrian Kurdish fighters said the strikes were the most effective yet but should have come much earlier.The surge of IS appeared to have been halted, although fighting around Kobane continues.At least 12 people were killed in protests by Kurds in Turkey about the lack of Turkish military support.
Kurdish Syrian Party leader Salih Muslim said the situation overnight remained very seriouswith the Kurdish fighters of the YPG militia under intense pressure. "There is heavy fighting going on by YPG forces and they're trying to defend the civilians.There is a very large operation against them," he said.
At least 400 people have died in three weeks of fighting for Kobane, monitors say, and 160,000 Syrians have fled across the border to Turkey.
The latest media release from the US military
confirmed five air strikes around Kobane, saying they were on Monday and Tuesday, but without specifying exactly when. Air strikes took centre stage today, apparently bringing the IS advance to a juddering halt. With jets overhead for long periods, IS clearly had to spend time under cover to avoid being hit. As a result, there was nothing like the intensity of fighting seen on Monday. At times, Kobane seemed eerily quiet.
Significantly, it seems the Kurdish defenders of Kobane are now commu-
t least nine people were killed in Kurdish protests across Turkey against the Government’s refusal to intervene militarily against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters attacking the SyrianKurdish town of Kobane, Turkish media reported.
Several people were also injured in the protests late on Tuesday which took place in a number of towns, including those in the majority-Kurdish southeast of the country.
Authorities announced a curfew in Kurdish populated districts in the southern and eastern towns of Mardin, Diyarbakir, Siirt and Van, where thousands of protesters rallied against ISIL’s advance on Kobane.
In Istanbul, police used tear gas, rubber-coated steel
bullets and water cannon in clashes with the protesters.
Ninety-eight people were detained and 30 people were injured, including
eight police officers, during clashes in and around Istanbul on Tuesday, the Istanbul Governorship said in a news release early on Wednesday.
Erdogan promised in a speech last Wednesday that Turkey would fight ISIL and “other terrorist organisations”. The president’s speech came a day before the Turkish Parliament voted on motions that granted the government authority to send forces into both Syria and Iraq.
“We will fight effectively against both [ISIL] and all other terrorist organisations within the region,” said Erdogan as he opened the parliament’s autumn session. “This will always be our priority.”
Turkey is not a part of the US-led coalition, but has sent tanks to border areas threatened by ISIL advances towards Kobane. The Turkish army, however, has so far not intervened in the heavy fighting across the border. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)
An outbreak of dengue fever in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong has killed six people and infected thousands more, state media report. Provincial health authorities said that as of early Tuesday, more than 23,000 had been infected.
State news agency Xinhua said the outbreak is believed to be the worst in China for 20 years. The tropical disease, which is spread by mosquitoes, causes high fever and severe joint pain. Chinese authorities have
attributed the outbreak to high temperatures and wet weather, and increasing travel to dengue-prevalent places. The number of mosquitoes is also said to have increased five-fold. The outbreak is also thought to have been exac-
erbated by the week-long holiday celebrating China’s National Day. Daily health reports indicate that there are more than 1000 new infections a day. The province capital Guangzhou is launching a clean-up campaign targeting schools and
nicating directly with USled coalition forces. But air strikes alone may not be enough to stop IS taking Kobane in the long run. The Kurdish YPG militia claims to have the upper hand in street fighting, but it is outnumbered and outgunned by IS. Only a ground operation, or significant military assistance from Turkey could carry any guarantee of success, and the prospects for this seem remote. Turkey's conditions are not ones the US seems ready to accommodate. (Excerpt from BBC News)
one of the 48 people who had contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan have shown any symptoms of the deadly virus, state and local health officials said Tuesday.
David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said officials are keeping close tabs on 10 “high-risk” contacts and monitoring 38 “low-risk” individuals for fever or other symptoms.
“Honestly, this is a very critical week,” Lakey said. “A lot of monitoring has to take place.” Lakey said plans are in place to isolate and monitor any individuals who develop a fever or show other symptoms.
At the Dallas County
construction sites that were unoccupied during the period, said Xinhua. It reported seeing vehicles spraying pesticides in Guangdong, and sewers and garages disinfected. Free mosquito repellent is being distributed.
Commissioners Court meeting, Christopher Perkins, the medical director for the county’s Health and Human Services Department, warned that many start to show symptoms within “eight to 10 days” of contact. Duncan arrived in Dallas on September 20 and fell ill a few days later. He went to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas Hospital on September 25, but was discharged. He returned two days later and was diagnosed with Ebola on September 30. Duncan, 42, who flew here from Liberia, remains in critical condition. Duncan had stayed with his girlfriend, Louise Troh, and other family members at The Ivy Apartments in Dallas before being hospitalised. (Excerpt from MSN)
Last month Malaysia reported that dengue fever deaths had more than tripled in 2014, while Japan recently saw its first outbreak in 70 years with many contracting the illness at Tokyo’s popular Yoyogi Park. (Excerpt from BBC News)
Remittance flows to Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to increase by 5.0 per cent to US$64 billion in 2014 and by 4.3 per cent to US$67 billion in 2015, the World Bank Group said in a recent publication.
According to the Bank, economic growth in the United States is having a positive impact on the outlook for remittance flows to Mexico and Central America. The high unemployment rate in Spain will continue to dampen remittances to Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Peru. Data for Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala – which together account for more than half of remittances to the Region – show that remittance inflows grew by more than six per cent in the first eight months of 2014 compared with the same period the previous year.
Remittances to Nicaragua rose by four per cent over the same period. Despite the increase in the number of deportations from the US back to Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, remittances received by these countries continue to rise. The pace of growth in the rest of Latin American has been slow and uneven, especially for Argentina.
Remittances from Chile are continuing on an upward trend. Remittances from Chile to Colombia grew by more than 20 per cent during the first half of 2014 compared with the same period the previous year. New housing construction in the US, traditionally a large employer of migrants, appears to be recovering.
The number of housing starts for new privatelyowned homes grew by eight per cent in August 2014 from a year earlier, and the US construction sector has added about 19,000 jobs per month over the past year. Reflecting this increase, remittances to Mexico have
had 12 consecutive months of growth.
In the US, the unemployment rate of Hispanics declined from 10.1 per cent in August 2012 to 7.5 per cent in August 2014. Employment of foreign-born workers overall remains more responsive than native-born workers. Employment rates for both groups fell during the crisis in 2009, but since early 2011, employment of migrants has recovered faster than the employment
of native workers. In contrast, slow growth and high unemployment in Spain, which hosts about one-tenth of all migrants from Latin America, has been reflected in the negative or flat growth in outward remittances. Many migrants are returning to their countries of origin.
These restrictions are pushing remittance flows towards informal channels. At the same time, foreign exchange controls in
Argentina and Venezuela are also impacting remittances to Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Peru. Venezuela banned outward remittances starting in February 2014, and flows to Colombia, for example, fell steeply from US$44.6 million in the first trimester (which already was half of the amount received in the same period in 2013), to only US$0.5 million in the second trimester. Remittances sent to Venezuela through formal channels have also become prohibitively expensive –sending US$200 through formal channels yields the recipient less than US$30 worth of bolivars through the official exchange rate.
Officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries are projected to reach US$435 billion in 2014, 5.0 per cent higher than last year. The growth in remittances is expected to moderate to 4.4 per cent in 2015, raising flows to US$454 billion. This outlook is based largely on lower projected Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth rates in key remittancesending countries.
Global remittance flows, including flows to higher-income countries, are expected to follow a similar pattern, rising from US$582 billion in 2014 to US$608 billion in 2015. Remittances are an essential source of external funds for developing countries.
These flows were three times larger than official development assistance in 2013, and are steadier than both private debt and portfolio equity flows. Remittance flows are significantly larger than total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to developing countries, excluding China.
They are also a more stable component of receipts in the current account, reliably bringing in foreign currency that helps sustain the balance of payments and dampen gyrations.
Miner found hanging at Onderneeming
road entrance
Residents of Onderneeming Village on the Essequibo Coast woke up early Tuesday morning to the news that a villager was found hanging from a piece of wood attached to the southern part of the Onderneeming road entrance. Dead is Clarence Boyer, 33, originally of Little Red Village, Onderneeming. His body was discovered hanging from a wooden bar attached to the southern Onderneeming road entrance. The discovery was
made by residents. Boyer was fully clad and had a piece of blue rope around his neck. Residents alerted the Suddie Police Station and ranks later visited the scene and removed the body.
Phillip Charles, a relative of Boyer, said the
young man had been unwell for the past few days and had been taken to the Suddie Public Hospital.
Boyer was admitted as a patient, but escaped from the institution. He was last seen Monday midnight by his stepfather.
The countdown to another period of high drama, conflict, grandstanding and puerile politics has begun as there are just about five days left until the National Assembly reconvenes after its lengthy recess period.
The Assembly, which in recent times has been watered down to a “House of Drama”, will see Raphael Trotman returning to preside over its affairs as Speaker even though there are several damning sexual molestation allegations levelled against him by a 22-year-old male.
One would have thought that the honourable and fitting thing to do would be to resign out of respect for the office he occupies pending the outcome of the investigations.
Instead, Trotman is moving full speed ahead. And this could not be because he has a score to settle with the Government which he accused of plotting against him. It could not be because he has special interests in ensuring that his rulings are designed to facilitate the agenda of the Opposition political parties.
Another important matter that the Opposition parties may want to address is the referral of Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh to the Privileges Committee of the National Assembly for the money he restored after several illegal cuts were made from Budget 2014.
The APNU/AFC grouping may want to get as much political mileage and publicity from this development when Parliament reconvenes.
That aside, Trotman has already announced that the No-Confidence Motion debate will be taking place as the historic motion submitted by the AFC is properly before the house.
It is likely that the Opposition parliamentary parties will avoid discussing other issues ahead of the Motion which, if successfully passed, will bring down the Government and cause the dissolution of the National Assembly.
There are already signs that the AFC and APNU are working together having met to discuss their strategy for piloting the No-Confidence Motion in the House.
This confirms signs that there may be possibly be a pre-electoral coalition alliance between the two as alone neither of them may be able to secure a plurality of votes to remove the PPP/C from office.
The PPP/C, on the other hand, does not appear worried or intimidated by the cosy relationship that is being developed between the two Opposition parties.
In fact, the PPP/C appears more occupied with the sanitisation of the voters list and the concomitant issues surrounding the work of the Guyana Elections Commission, which if not in order, could negatively impact the successful staging of free and fair elections.
The party also has a very high level of confidence in regaining its majority despite several mis-steps by its Government and the amount of pressure and attacks piloted by the parliamentary Opposition parties.
This means the future of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill, the Telecommunications and Public Utilities Commission Bills, Education Bill, Customs Amendment Bill, the Wildlife Import and Export Bill, the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill, and the referral of the Petition by the Pensioners of the former GTC and GTT to a Special Select Committee, among others appear to be uncertain and in limbo.
One thing is sure however. Whatever happens in Parliament during this period will redefine history and change the course of politics forever.
No one has been nominated to lead the minority Opposition party Alliance For Change (AFC), General Secretary David Patterson has said.
He explained that while there have been nominations for candidates for the presidential and prime ministerial posts, no nominations have been received for the top spot within the party.
Over the weekend, the AFC’s National Executive Committee met and received four nominations for presidential candidate: Khemraj Ramjattan, Nigel Hughes, Moses Nagamootoo, and Cathy Hughes. Nominations were also received for prime ministerial candidate: Raphael Trotman, Nigel Hughes, Cathy Hughes, Dr Verasammy Ramayya and David Patterson.
The decision on who will
be elected the presidential and prime ministerial candidates will be made when the party holds its biennial National Conference on October 25.
Patterson told Guyana Times on Monday that the party’s constitution gives persons up to one week before the conference is slated to be held to submit nomina-
tions.
According to Patterson, the party has already confirmed some 320 delegates, but this number is expected to increase as more persons confirm participation in the congress which is to be held at the Oceanview Convention Centre,Greater Georgetown.
The AFC on Saturday
Youth, women's, involvement in agriculture critical
Farmers in the Region on Monday welcomed the attention being placed on family farming, but cautioned against the non-involvement of women and youth, shifting goalposts and ignoring cultural elements in the development
dress at the opening of the seminar, which was chaired by Desiree FieldRidley, Officer-in-Charge of the Directorate of Trade and Economic Integration at the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat. Presentations
tion of food.
“Take care of the land and, as the saying goes, it will take care of you,” he told participants at the seminar. Another participant pointed to the case of Haiti where there were one million family farms with five million
of policy for the sub-sector.
The advice was provided from the floor at a seminar titled “Caribbean Agricultural Transformation: the Role of Family Farming”. It was the first activity of the 13th Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) now underway in Paramaribo, Suriname. Its aims were the promotion of dialogue and sharing of knowledge and experiences on family farming and its role in revitalising agriculture and the rural economy. A definition of the way forward on policy action on the transformation of agriculture through family farming is the expected outcome of the seminar.
Suriname’s Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister, Soresh Algoe, gave the feature ad-
by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) focused on the role, challenges and new vision for family farming in the Region. Presentations were also made on best practices and lessons from Central America and Brazil.
Land use conflict Farmers and representatives of farming and agriculture organisations had their say during an interactive segment following the formal presentations. One farmer pointed to the competition family farmers faced from the use of the land for housing and industry. He added that sustainable land development had to be done in tandem with the produc-
held a meeting to finalise its strategy as the party prepares for Regional and General Elections, which are expected to be held early next year if the joint Opposition passes a NoConfidence Motion against the Governmenmt.
According to a release, representatives from all 10 administrative regions
gathered at the Georgetown Club, with representatives from the Diaspora joining by Skype to put details to the party’s strategy that will guide it at the much-anticipated 2015 polls.
“The National Executive Committee (NEC) gave total support to the NoConfidence Motion and saw the representatives pledg-
ing 100 per cent commitment to move the election process forward. All representatives were highly motivated and eager to get back to the regions to advance the work that will give the AFC the advantage at the next poll.
“The AFC leadership in one voice condemned the minority Government for undermining the Constitution by refusing to hold Local Government Elections and establishing a Procurement Commission, as well as unlawfully spending public funds not authorised by the Parliament,” the party claimed.
The meeting also saw the NEC pledging full support for the party‘s Cofounder and now Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman in the face of damning child sodomy allegations.
CDB leading talks on energy policy at Miami confab
Regional policymakers contemplated the alignment of policy to energy security on day two of the 2014 Caribbean Renewable Energy Conference, which began on October 6 and ends today at the Marriott Marquis in Miami.
According to a Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) release, the conference assembled Government and development partners to explore the prospects and praxis of alternative energy for the Caribbean.
CDB President, Dr Warren Smith chaired the panel discussion: “Aligning policy approach to energy security with the regional development of renewable energy”.
The panellists explored sub topics such as: “National vs regional energy policy: conflict or complement”; “How gas is re-shaping the policy approach to energy security” and “Are strong, independent regulators the missing link?”.
people benefiting directly from farming. There was no specific policy targeting family farming, he lamented, even as the country was totally dependent on those farmers for land management and sustainability.
CWA is a roving regional agricultural event. During the week, policymakers, experts and institutional actors from the Caribbean come together to discuss strategic issues regarding the future of agriculture in the Caribbean. On Tuesday, officials begin meeting in preparation for the Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) which will be convened on Friday. Focus was also placed on Tuesday on agricultural health and food safety.
Along with Dr Smith were Dominican Public Works, Energy and Ports Minister Rayburn Blackmoore; Jamaican Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister Phillip Paulwell; Bahamian Environment and Housing Minister Kendrid Dorset; and EU Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Mikael Barfod.
The CDB has proffered that there was urgent need to change the legislative framework in Caribbean by altering the monopoly on generation where it exists. Legislation which protects monopolies obstructs the emergence of renewables as part of the energy mix.
Additionally, the framework needs to ensure equitable pricing for the provision of energy from independent
suppliers or small, distributed renewable generators of electricity.
The Bank has also called for an appropriate regulatory framework to be put in place which ensures that equitable tariffs and rules for optimal performance, which balance the interests of consumers, investors and Governments. Some countries have enacted legislation, such as Jamaica and Barbados which have laws that support net billing.
Other important developments in the Region include the establishment of the Eastern Caribbean Energy Regulatory Authority and the adoption by Caricom Energy Ministers as a feasible mechanism for ensuring equitable pricing.
Reducing poverty through inclusive and sustainable social and economic growth, and building resilience to external shocks and natural hazard events underpin all of the CDB’s development financing and technical assistance to its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs).
Within that broad framework, the Bank has been intensifying its focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The Bank has established a Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency Unit to prepare a new Energy Sector Policy and Strategy as well as focus on developing new financing instruments for the sector. Relatedly, the CDB has also published a study entitled “A New Paradigm for Caribbean Development: Transitioning to a Green Economy”, which is available on the Bank’s website.
Through the Basic Needs Trust Fund, the CDB has used renewable energy solu-
tions to improve the quality of life of the poor by using solar photovoltaic components for lighting and pumping water to households in remote areas. Drawing on the expertise of CDB’s Caribbean Technological Consultancy Services Network, a number of micro, small and medium enterprises have benefited from energy audits to identify opportunities for improving energy efficiency.
Financing for appropriate retrofitting of these enterprises has also been made available by the CDB through local financial intermediaries.
CDB has also funded, through the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Secretariat, a programme of strategies for increasing awareness of the need for energy efficiency and to support the introduction of enabling legislative reform. The Bank is actively promoting a new Green Economy paradigm for sustainable growth, noting that renewable energy, coupled with energy efficiency, would create opportunities for the growth of new nontraditional businesses, lower electricity costs, and boost foreign exchange reserves by reducing energy imports.
ARIES (March 21April 19)
TAURUS (April 20May 20)
(May 21June 20)
Keep your cash and documents safe while traveling. Ensuring that your papers are in order before you go will reduce the chances for delays or difficulties.
A successful partnership is heading your way. You have the knack of making everyone around you feel at ease, and this will help you connect with influential friends.
Make the most of any chance you get to discuss a position of power. Make yourself a regular at events and trade shows so that you can cultivate future opportunities.
LEO (July 23Aug. 22)
VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)
An indoor sports regimen will help you unwind and get into shape. You will fall into bad habits and overindulgence if you don’t make an effort to keep fit.
A short journey will encourage an interesting connection with someone beneficial. Don’t feel that you have to buy someone’s interest when your personality should be enough to form a worthwhile relationship.
Romance is in the air. You will be smitten with a new acquaintance if you are single, and in the mood to rekindle your love if in a long-term relationship.
LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)
Include the people you live with in your plans if there are to be any physical alterations at home. Avoid opposition by asking for input and handson help.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)
Romance is heading in your direction. You will come into some money through a lucrative financial deal, an investment, an old debt repaid or a gift for your services.
CAPRICORN (June 21July 22)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)
Make concessions for people in your life you deem important. A short getaway will give you the chance to devote your attention to someone special. Take a break from your responsibilities.
(Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)
PISCES
(Feb. 20March 20)
Tie up loose ends and do your best to close deals. Use your powers of persuasion to enlist the help necessary to finalize your plans and move forward.
Don’t be vocal about your financial plans. The additional funds you are looking to earn may disappear if you let others know about your ideas. Preparation, presentation and promotion are best done without partners.
Disagreements should be dealt with directly. If you involve other people, you will turn a minor problem into a major blowout. Don’t invite others to meddle in your private matters.
Christopher Matthias’ turbulent tenure as president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) was dealt another blow on Tuesday when a group of three persons mounted a peaceful picketing exercise outside the GFF office in Campbellville.
The protest action is being orchestrated by former football referee, Mark Young, who is calling for Matthias’ immediate resignation, citing his perceived lack of leadership.
“Basically, he has taken football to the lowest level ever,” Young commented.
Deeming himself a “concerned fan of the game”, Young lamented the current state of football, noting that Matthias’ inability to provide opportunities for youngsters to play the sport is leading to the creation of “criminals.”
Young said Matthias and his administration has shown “total disrespect” to the nation’s footballers, making reference to Guyana’s team that attended the recently held Caribbean Cup Qualifiers. The former referee pointed out that the team was un-
doubtedly the weakest national unit ever.
Young also highlighted that Matthias has shown blatant disregard for the referees, claiming that the officials have not been paid for several tournaments they officiated in this year, including the Digicel School Champions, the National League and the recently held Amerindian Heritage Month football games.
Young, who added that the protest action will continue on Thursday, has extended an invitation to all concerned football stake-
holders to attend the picketing exercise. Meanwhile, this publication was unsuccessful in soliciting a comment from Matthias. He was not in office when Guyana Times called, while calls to his cell phone were blocked. Since being elected to head the GFF in April 2013, Matthias has faced staunch criticisms from several corners of the football fraternity, even surviving a no-confidence motion by a group of disgruntled members earlier this year.
"We felt having a player of the calibre of Sarwan in our side would be invaluable to our squad, which includes a number of young players," Trinidad and Tobago head coach Gus Logie said after the player draft.
Asset Having seen Sarwan in the draft and knowing our position, we thought it best to include him. We think he still has a lot to offer and we are happy we could acquire his services,” said Burns. I think someone of his experience will definitely be an asset,” added Burns. Reifer, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the more talented regional all-rounders in recent seasons. An
attacking left-handed batsman and steady left-arm seamer, Reifer has never represented Barbados but has played his first class cricket for Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC).
Guyana Chairman of Selectors, Rayon Griffith, said Reifer would fill an important gap in the side.
"We have struggled with the all-rounder role, and we were glad to get a second player in the all-rounder position," said Griffith.
Barbados, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, and Windward Islands all went for players from their territories.
The draft was held over five rounds, with each of the six regional franchises selecting five players each, in addition to the ten each preselected from their home territories forming 15-man squads to contest the newly revised first class championship, which bowls off November 14 and runs until March 23, 2015.
The draft was organised to achieve an equitable distribution of the available player talent in the regional four-day and one-day tournaments.
The six franchises participated in the draft through a selection panel consisting of the chairman of selectors and head coach. The selection order for the draft was according to the final league position in the 201314 WICB regional four-day competition.
Dear Mr Hinds,
We refer to our last correspondence to you dated October 6th, where we the players suggested as a way forward that "The players are proposing in light of the above and our previous correspondence, that we continue with the same old payment structure which was previously agreed by WIPA and WICB until we are in a position to properly be informed of all the WICB's finances etc, have an input in the decision making process and more importantly negotiate an acceptable agreement in an attempt to arrive at a win-win resolution.
For the avoidance of doubt, this old payment structure will continue and remain in effect until a new agreement is mutually reached between the Players and the WICB". We are of the view that this proposal would be an acceptable way forward since everything remains the same and more importantly neither the WICB nor the players are in a disadvantageous position while we continue to discuss further.
We are disappointed with the lack of proper representation and the players are now forced to make this proposal without any details as to how this new purported agreement was even arrived at and by whom, since the only advice we have received from you as President and CEO of WIPA is to not sign the contract /agreement that was sent by the WICB. The players are of the view that as a matter of principle, we should not accept these conditions whereby we are being asked to play a series against India without any certainty of what are our obligations and what we will be playing for.
As you would appreciate Mr Hinds, this is how we as professional cricketers earn our livelihood and provide for our families, our careers are short and uncertain, furthermore it is a highly competitive and stressful environ-
ment as one bad performance can see you out of the team forever, a player can suffer an injury at any time which could not only be career threatening but in many cases affect their lives even after their playing days are over. Mr Hinds, the list can go on and on.
As we have indicated to you earlier, the players here in India are under tremendous stress and the team morale is at an all-time low. We believe that this present WIPA Executive under your leadership has failed to properly represent the best interest of ALL the players. Many are questioning whether there is now some "special relationship" between the WICB and WIPA which may be good for some but has not taken into account the whole picture resulting in the what may be seen as embarrassing and demonizing some players who represent the WI, yet signaling to public that this new purported agreement (MOU) is in the best interest of West Indies Cricket. This is evidenced by the inaccurate WIPA press statement which was sent after we raised our strong objections to you both verbally and in writing.
Mr Hinds, we have over the past few days raised a number of questions which have not been answered even though you should have firsthand knowledge of the facts. We find it worrying that you would want to have a Board meeting to determine who were the lawyers and IR persons used for the negotiations of this agreement. This has led us to do our own preliminary investigation which has informed us to date of the following, which we will stand corrected as we await your written response later today.
1. There were little or no legal advice sought in the negotiating of this purported new MOU between the WICB and WIPA.
2. There were little or no Industrial Relations advice sought
during the negotiations of the purported new MOU.
3. None of the players were consulted during and after the negotiations of this purported new MOU. This is a process that has been the common practice between previous WIPA representatives and the players. This was completely ignored.
4. The Players were never given the opportunity to consider the document (MOU) and approve it before it was signed consistent
Dwayne Bravo
with past practice.
5. The first time any agreement was seen by the players was a match/tour contract with a new fee structure significantly different from what we received in the past. This was given to us in India.
6. To date, the players have still not seen this new purported MOU between the WICB and WIPA.
7. The players rights which we have protected through many negotiations and Arbitrations have been given away for nothing.
8. Questions raised by some WIPA Board members were ignored.
Kevin Pietersen says he stands by his allegations of bullying in the England camp and claims he regularly voiced his concerns to former coach Andy Flower. Former team-mate Graeme Swann described Pietersen's accusations as "codswallop" while England managing director Paul Downton knows of no formal complaints.
But former batsman Pietersen told BBC 5 live: "It happened. Everything that's in this book, I can stand by 100%.
"Andy knows about it. I kept saying it to him day in, day out."
Pietersen said he regretted sending text messages about former team-mate Andrew Strauss to South Africa players in 2012, but denied they contained tactical information.
"That's absolute garbage, complete nonsense," he said. "It hits to the heart of your profession. It is not something I would do, it is a no-go area."
Pietersen, who scored 8,181 runs at an average of 47 in 104 Tests before he was sacked in February, claims England bowlers Stuart Broad and Swann were central to an "exclusive club" that ran the dressing-room.
In his book, to be published on Thursday, he says those outside the "clique" were "fair game for mocking, ridicule and bullying".
Asked why no-one else had spoken up, he said: "They have, they made a complaint to the coach and the captain and they talked to the team about it before a one-day international in Bangalore.
"But Swann and Broad disagreed with the captain and said: 'No, we demand an apology, we deserve an apology.'" Pietersen, who earlier had spoken on the BBC's Breakfast TV programme, added: "There are players who are introverted in the dressing-room, batsmen who won't talk about it, but when they've finished they will."
Pietersen said he wrote the book to get his side of the story across following years of "character assassinations".
In a wide-ranging interview with Adrian Chiles on BBC Radio 5 live, Pietersen also talked about England wicketkeeper Matt Prior, the Twitter parody account that left him feeling "ruined", his approach to batting and why he still hopes to play for England again.
Pietersen on Prior "I was the one who was made out to be this big brash person, but then I looked at the double-standards of the way Prior conducted himself in the dressing-room and talked to Andy Flower. Things were getting worse and when he got dropped he was an embarrassment in the dressingroom in Australia. "I don't think I could have been that wrong because he doesn't have a central contract any more. England are finished with him." (BBC Sport)
9. The WIPA Board never approved the new purported MOU before it was signed.
10. WIPA is receiving in addition to the 3 percent of all players earnings, a sum of $500,000.00 USD annually from WICB (1 percent 0f WICB Revenue) once this new agreement remains.
As indicated in our earlier correspondence the reduction is unacceptable and as one of our members put it "it is ridiculously insane" when one considers the massive cuts based on the information we have received:
1. Our Test/ODI/T20 fees have been decreased by 75 percent
2. No compensation for the use of our rights. That has been decreased by 100 percent
3. Our ICC fees have been decreased by close to 100 percent
Perhaps Mr Hinds, the confusion of the plethora of positions that you occupy being Chairman of Selectors for Jamaica Senior team, a Board member of the Jamaica Cricket Association and the dual role of President and CEO of WIPA have in some way contributed to the confusion or perhaps being a member of the same club as Mr Cameron in some way may have clouded your judgment. However, we as players who are paying members of WIPA demand that proper representation is required. We wish to make it very clear that should the players be forced to take matters into their our own hands, we will not hesitate to take the appropriate action as see fit. We will hold you and the WIPA Board who support this process liable.
Mr Hinds, the players have raised some further questions that remained unanswered:
1. Have the WICB Board members and staff taken a pay cut as we are being asked to do or at all. Our information is that staff have been increased both in numbers and their salaries.
2. Have the WICB declared their million dollar television deal
3. Have the WICB declared how much they are being paid extra for the matches outside of the FTP like this India tour.
4. Have the WICB declared what they are getting from the sale of CPL to Digicel our most lucrative tournament.
5. Have the WICB declared what they are getting from Digicel as the team sponsor.
6. Have they declared their financial arrangements with Governments for the international and regional home series.
We wish at this stage to once again reiterate our position as a way forward, let us continue under the old structure until we are able to properly negotiate a fair and reasonable agreement in the best interest of West Indies cricket. This in our view is a sensible approach since it would give us players an opportunity to have an input, seek the necessary advice and put our house in order. We have articulated this position to Mr Richardson, Mr Pybus and Mr Lloyd who all understand our position.
It is without question that we want to see West Indies cricket rise again and we are very committed to that process, but the way it is being done is most unfortunate and unacceptable. We believe we are being hoodwinked and are being treated like little school boys, yet we are being asked perform and play against professionals. We appeal for good sense to prevail and that you, who have a responsibility until such time that you hold the position as President and CEO to act in all the players best interest.
We look forward to hearing from you later today.
Regards, Dwayne Bravo, on behalf of WI Cricket team
Rafael Nadal intends to play his secondround match at the Shanghai Masters against Feliciano Lopez despite being diagnosed with appendicitis.
Nadal, 28, complained of stomach pains on Sunday and doctors subsequently confirmed he had the condition.
He has been given antibiotics to enable him to face Lopez on Wednesday, but will require surgery in the future.
"I'm in Shanghai. I am here to play a tournament. If I don't play, I don't have the chance to win," Nadal said.
"It seems like everything is under control now. The normal thing is for the improvement to continue."
World number two
Nadal has struggled with injuries since the summer and missed the US Open with a wrist problem.
He has competed just once, at the China Open last week, since he was beaten by Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Nadal has yet to decide whether an operation on
his appendix will force him to end his season early. However, should he choose to do so then it would benefit Andy Murray's chances of playing at the World Tour Final.
Murray's current position of ninth in the race to qualify would be enough if Nadal pulls out of the event. (BBC
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Steven Smith scored his first ODI century to set up Australia's win
Steven Smith embarked on this tour as a key Test player without a clear role in Australia's oneday side, but his first ODI century might change that. Smith struck 101 to set up Australia's comfortable 93run victory over Pakistan in the first ODI in Sharjah, where Nathan Lyon, another man just establishing himself in the one-day team, also made an important contribution.
Smith was the only batsman from either side who passed 50 and it was thanks to his confident work against spin that Australia reached a competitive 255 for 8. Still, it was a total that Pakistan would have fancied their chances of overhauling had Lyon not struck twice in the 13th over to reduce them from 59 for 1 to 59 for 3 during an excellent spell of offspin bowling.
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On a pitch that offered plenty of turn, few batsmen really got themselves in for an extended period and, perhaps surprisingly, it was the Australians who handled the conditions the better. Lyon's first ball gripped and turned sharply and he became a different type of weapon to Mitchell Johnson, whose pace was also causing issues for Pakistan's batsmen.
Earlier in the day Pakistan's frontline spinner, the debutant Zulfiqar Babar, had bowled well without having a major impact and Shahid Afridi picked up three wickets. But the real difference between the two sides was Smith, whose nimble footwork and ability to keep the scoreboard ticking ensured that Australia did not get bogged down.
And there was a chance of that happening, for after an 86-run partnership between Smith and David Warner, who pulled a catch to midwicket off Afridi for 43, no other Australian made it past the 20s. Afridi had two catch-
es put down off his own bowling, both off Glenn Maxwell, but took a pearler of his own running back from midwicket to remove George Bailey for 18.
The drops of Maxwell, an edge behind to Sarfraz and a missed top edge by Ahmed Shehzad running back behind the wicketkeeper, were not too costly as he fell for 21, the 216-centimetre Mohammad Irfan his unlikely athletic catcher at long-off. It was the first wicket for Babar, who at 35 had become Pakistan's second-oldest ODI debutant, but it was his also his only one.
But while his partners struggled to get going, Smith kept the innings on course at
the other end. It was a wellpaced innings, steady early while batting with Warner, until Smith showed his willingness to go over the top by launching Anwar Ali over long-off for a cleanly struck six. He was also inventive against Irfan, walking across outside off stump to flick a boundary through midwicket. It was an indication that his footwork is just as effective against pace as spin. However, with captain Michael Clarke injured, Smith is clearly the best player of spin in the side, and his quick footwork was notable. He regularly advanced to the spinners and worked the ball through gaps, and a second six came when he moved down the wicket and thumped Babar straight back over the sightscreen.
Smith had never so much as scored an ODI half-century before and he turned his first into a century, clipping a single through midwicket off his 115th delivery. It was not only a landmark for Smith in the one-day international side but in limited-overs cricket more generally, for his previous highest List A score was an unbeaten 99 for New South Wales.
But the chance for a bigger score, and for pushing Australia to a more daunting total, disappeared when Smith sent a catch to Wahab Riaz at long off from the bowling of Afridi. That slowed Australia in their final overs, although 17 came off the 50th from Wahab as Johnson found three consecutive boundaries to lift the total past 250. (Cricinfo)
Australia innings (50 overs maximum)
AJ Finch c Ahmed Shehzad b Mohammad Irfan 0 DA Warner c Umar Akmal b Shahid Afridi 43 SPD Smith c Wahab Riaz b Shahid Afridi 101
GJ Bailey* c Shahid Afridi b Fawad Alam 18
GJ Maxwell c Mohammad Irfan
b Zulfiqar Babar 21
JP Faulkner lbw b Shahid Afridi 11
BJ Haddin† not out 23
SA Abbott c Anwar Ali b Wahab Riaz 3
MG Johnson b Wahab Riaz 21
KW Richardson not out 2
Extras (lb-3, w-9) 12
Total (8 wickets; 50 overs) 255
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Finch, 0.1 ov), 2-86 (Warner, 18.1 ov), 3-123 (Bailey, 25.5 ov), 4-158 (Maxwell, 32.1 ov), 5-196 (Faulkner, 40.3 ov), 6-216 (Smith, 44.1 ov), 7-221 (Abbott, 45.5 ov), 8-253 (Johnson, 49.5 ov)
Bowling: Mohammad Irfan 102-35-1 (1-w), Wahab Riaz 100-61-2 (4-w), Zulfiqar Babar 9-0-35-1, Anwar Ali 8-0-520 (1-w), Shahid Afridi 10-046-3, Fawad Alam 3-0-23-1 Pakistan innings (target: 256 runs from 50 overs)
Ahmed Shehzad c Smith
Out-of-favour West
Indies batsman
Ramnaresh Sarwan was not surprised at being sidelined from the Guyana franchise line-up and said that the disappointment would not affect his focus ahead of the inaugural West Indies Professional Cricket League, the newly revised first class championship which bowls off November 14.
Sarwan was selected by Trinidad and Tobago Red Force during Monday’s draft as a second round pick while Barbados all-rounder Raymon Reifer was chosen by Guyana as a first round pick. They were the only two players chosen by teams based outside the territory of their birth as regional franchises chose to stick with their zonal players.
Of the 30 players chosen in the draft here, only two will play for teams based outside the zone of their birth. Barbados, Jamaica, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands all went for players from their territories.
During an interview on the Sportsmax Zone on Monday Sarwan, a former Guyana and West Indies captain, the right-hander has played 87 Tests, 181
One-day Internationals and 18 Twenty20 Internationals said, “I knew they were not going to pick me because there is a lot of feud. There is one individual who doesn’t really like me.
"Obviously I knew that was going to happen, I was prepared for it so it wasn’t a situation where I wasn't surprised or anything like that.
This has not been the first time Sarwan was omitted from the Guyana lineup. Back in 2011, Sarwan was overlooked by Guyana
for the then Caribbean Twenty20 Championship.
Sarwan’s omission then was based on fitness, according to the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). However, it is unclear now the reason/s for his omission.
Meanwhile, the former Guyana and West Indies captain has expressed excitement to be a part of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force line-up and more so delighted to be reunited with former coach Gus Logie, who is now in charge of the team.
“I’m pretty excited, it’s a great opportunity,” Sarwan stated.
“I have always been well received in Trinidad, so representing Trinidad is a great privilege and honour. To have Gus Logie as the coach, who has coached me since I was 15, I know I would be very comfortable and I’m excited to be a part of team,” the right-hander continued.
The 34-year-old said his main goal is to be healthy and fit and score big hundreds to get back in contention for the West Indies team.
“My main objective is to try and get myself fit to try and play in the 2015 World Cup,” he exclaimed. “The key for me is to try and get myself ready for the regional tournaments and I’ll make a very big statement there and then we would go from there.”
Sarwan acknowledged that with his experience, he will have to play a mentorship role to some of TT’s young batsmen and is looking forward to the role.
Sarwan is expected to be a big boost to Trinidad and Tobago Red Force who open their campaign against Barbados at Queen's Park Oval.
When play in the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport (MCY&S) sponsored East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Under-13 League continued on Saturday last at the Farm ground, East Bank Demerara, there were wins for Grove Hi Tech, Herstelling Raiders and Soesdyke Falcons.
their dominance in all formats of the sport on the East Bank with a 2-1 win over a game Agricola side. Trevon Pluck picked up where he left off the week before having blasted a double. He scored Grove’s opening goal in the 13th minute. Kevin Padmore then netted his second goal of the League and Grove’s second
For the second week running, Herstelling won by a 1-0 margin. They added Diamond to their list of casualties, having also put away Agricola previously. The player on target for Herstelling was Joshua Boodhoo in the 24th minute. Grove Hi Tech continued
of the game in the 36th minute of the one hour encounter. The Falcons took three points in their first appearance via the walk over routeKuru Kururu Warriors failing to put in an appearance. Matches will continue on Saturday at the same venue.
Local riders will have one more opportunity to test their preparedness for next week’s ‘Ride for Life’ Five-Stage when the
10th annual Hand-in-Hand Insurance’s 11-race programme is staged at the inner circuit of the National Park on Saturday.
The Five-Stage is billed for October 16-19 and this weekend’s event will give a clear indication of the Guyanese cyclists’ readiness for the gru-
elling four-day race. Alanzo Greaves, the firstever winner of the FiveStage, is the defending champion of the Hand-in-Hand
main race- the testing 35-lap School Boys and Invitational. He will face stiff competition from a large group of riders who would be keen to prove
themselves, among them the in-form Raynauth Jeffrey, comeback kid Christopher Holder, the ever-improving Hamzah Eastman, the consistent Paul DeNobrega and the old heads Robin Persaud and Marlon Williams.
Greaves’ winning time last year was one hour, 21 minutes, 27.58 seconds (01h: 21m: 27.58s). Michael Anthony won the Juveniles event in 2013, while Junior Niles (Veterans Under-50), Richard Charles (Mountain Bikes) and Alfie Soonaram (12-14 Boys and Girls) were the other category winners. Other events carded for the day are the BMX 6-9, 9-12, 12-14 and Open, as well as the Veterans Over-50 and Over-60. National coach and organiser of the day’s activities, Hassan Mohamed, said he is looking forward to a large turnout of riders, primarily because it is the final race before the highly anticipated Five-Stage.
He also divulged that senior executives of Hand-inHand Insurance would be on hand to witness the races and assist in the presentation of prizes at the conclusion.
(Avenash Ramzan)
By AvenAsh RAmzAn
Guyana’s premier cycling showpiece- the annual ‘Ride for Life’ Five-Stage- is once again expected to take on an international flavour with several foreign riders already confirmed to compete at the October 16-19 event.
In giving an update on
Tuesday, national coach and chief organiser of the four-day activity, Hassan Mohamed, said plans are progressing well, and while registration from local riders has been slow, riders from beyond the shores of Guyana have given their commitment to be here for the mega race.
“Usually, it is slow with
the local riders. They would register at last minute, but what is heartening is the amount of foreign riders we are expected to have again this year,” Mohamed commented.
The Miami-based Team Coco’s, which comprises a mixture of foreigner and local riders, is coming strong this year, as it has done in
the past, with a 12-member team. A team from Suriname and the Heat Wave club of Trinidad and Tobago are the other two foreign contingents so far registered to compete.
According to Mohamed, several overseas-based Guyanese have also expressed an interest in competing at the Five-Stage and
for Life’ Five-Stage
their involvement will be confirmed by this weekend.
“We have about 35 riders who have completed the registration process, but we’re aiming for the record this year, which is 66 in the year 2009. In all, we’re aiming for 70 this year,” Mohamed stated.
After cyclists and officials travel to the Ancient County on October 15, the opening stage will be held the following day from Corriverton to New Amsterdam (46.6 miles) from 07:30h; while Stage Two will be on the same day from Rosignol to Georgetown (60.4 miles) from 14:00h.
Stage Three will take place on October 17 from Wales to Parika (35 miles) from 09:00h, while the penultimate stage will be contest-
ed from 07:30 hours the following day from Supenaam to Suddie, covering a distance of 62 miles. The fifth and final stage will commence in Linden at 08:30 hours and finish in Georgetown on October 19, covering a distance of 62 miles.
As was the case in previous years, the event will be held with the objectives of increasing awareness and knowledge about HIV/Aids among participants and the general public, and increasing HIV/Aids activism and volunteerism among the participants and inspiring them to become ambassadors in the fight against HIV/Aids.
The deadline for registration is October 13 and those riders interested in participating are advised to contact Mohamed at his office, located in the Help and Shelter building, during regular working hours.
Team Coco’s Raynauth Jeffrey is the defending champion of the Open category, having won last year’s event in a time of 10 hours, 05 minutes, 33 seconds. Hamzah Eastman was the leading Junior rider with a time of 10 hours, 09 minutes, 56 seconds, while Raymond Newton was the top Veteran in a time of 10 hours, 09 minutes, 57 seconds.
D’Edward are the 2014 Hand-In-Hand
Second Division 40over champions of West Berbice after beating Hopetown United in the final of the competition on Monday at Cotton Tree.
It was the second final of a competition organized by the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) in three days and on both occasions the team batting first failed to s a chal-
lenging score. On Monday Hopetown winning the toss and choosing to bat were dismissed for 91 in 18.4 overs with only four of their batsmen being able to reach double figures.
Christian France was the main destroyer taking 5 for 32 off of 8 overs. He received good support from Navin Rampersaud with 2 for 44 off 8 and Devindra Singh who bowled two overs for
10 runs and picked up two wickets.
Kwesi Mentor top scored for Hopetown with 17 (2x4s) and Kenje Sedoc 11. After finding themselves at 59-7
A. McKenzie and C. Saul came together and saved total embarrassment with some enterprising hitting.
Saul smashing 3 fours in his 12 while McKenzie sent the ball over the boundary board twice in also making 12.
Set 92 for victory
D’Edward reached the target in 14.1 overs with Jaipaul Heeralall unbeaten on 50 (9x4s) after smashing the ball to all parts of the ground. Nicholas Persaud was unbeaten on 16 (3x4s) when victory came.
At the end of the game
BCB Treasurer Anil Beharry congratulated both teams and urged them to contin-
ue uplifting the standard of cricket in West Berbice. He noted that the competition was played at a very competitive level.
Beharry however sent a bouncer at the West Berbice Cricket Association which he said had just been standing at the wicket and not doing anything for the development of cricket. “It is with concern that the Berbice
Cricket Board decided to organize this competition because we realized that the Association had not been doing anything for cricket.”
Beharry urged cricket lovers and organizers in West Berbice to do whatever it takes to ensure that the Association works in the best interest of the development of the game. (Andrew Carmichael)
– he is among Guyana’s best available batsmen, hence we can’t afford to ignore him
The Guyana franchise has been accused of making a mockery of Monday's draft for the inaugural West Indies Professional Cricket League, largely shunning ex-West Indies Test captain Ramnaresh Sarwan from their franchise lineup. Sarwan, the out-offavour Test batsman, was picked by Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the second round of the draft, while Barbados' Raymon Reifer went to the Guyanese franchise. They were the only two players who were not selected by their territorial sides.
To this end, former Guyana middle-order batsman Ravindranauth Seeram, believes Sarwan deserves more respect, adding that Guyana’s cricket cannot afford to ignore a player of Sarwan’s calibre.
Seeram said, “Frankly Sarwan deserves more respect. His experience is invaluable to any team, so we cannot afford to ignore a player of Sarwan’s calibre.
“Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul are Guyana’s best available batsmen and not to have Sarwan in the team will put a lot of pressure on Shiv, so the bottom line is Guyana can’t afford to throw away one of our best player.
“Guyana needs Sarwan, he the best persons to lead any franchise team in Guyana,” Seeram, who played 41 first- class matches for Guyana between 1982 to 1992, during
which he aggregated 1, 997 runs with three centuries and 12 half-centuries concluded.
Big boost
While Guyana shut out Sarwan, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force Head Coach Gus Logie and chairman of selectors Alec Burns both said Sarwan’s selection could be seen as a developmental move and a big boost to the line-up.
continued on page 19
West Indies cricketers are threatening strike action on the eve of the One Day International (ODI) series against India, regional media reports have said.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) was warned that players may withdraw their services for the opening ODI scheduled to start 4 AM Eastern Caribbean time Wednesday, the Nation Newspaper reported.
The threat of strike comes less than three weeks after WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) signed what has been termed a landmark memorandum of understanding and collec-
tive bargaining agreement (MOU/CBA).
It appears that the players are not happy with some of the clauses in the new MOU/CBA.
The WICB is yet to issue an official statement on the dispute but according to reports, several players were not privy to many key sections of the agreement signed on September 18 by WICB president Dave Cameron and WIPA president and chief executive officer Wavell Hinds.
“We have a signed agreement with the players’ association,” The Nation quotes Cameron as saying.
“If there is some issue within the players’ ranks, that is another matter”.
At the centre of the players’ issues are decisions taken that significantly result in a decline in income.
It is understood that under the terms of the new MOU/CBA, a portion of the revenue, previously divided among West Indies players, would now be shared by the wider membership of WIPA.
Additionally, the players would no longer be entitled to a 25 per cent share of income the WICB secured from International Cricket Council events.
In their correspondence to the WICB the players have been quoted as saying that they would take drastic action, if their issues were not resolved.
– former referee Mark Young leads picketing exercise outside GFF office