Guyana Times Daily

Land titling, conflict of interest fiasco brewing …

Minister

Granger for UN Development meeting in Ethiopia

– Nagamootoo acting as President

Simona Broomes mining lucrative Amerindian lands

– while justice denied to villagers awaiting title after eight years

Govt under pressure to fight crime…

Serious crimes up by 9 per cent

– 79 murders, 56 road facilities, 207 rapes to date

Young Entrepreneur launches teeth whitening business

EZjet boss jailed 20 years for embezzlement in US

Kitty resident remanded on cocaine charge

Venezuela woos

Essequibians with identity cards

Broad Street man seriously injured after colliding with cyclist Venezuela’s threat stymies

Guyana’s development – Solomon

Teenager hospitalised after labaria bite

Taxi drivers fearful as carjacking toll steadily climbs

In light of the frequency of carjacking over the past few weeks, taxi drivers are now worried and a bit more fearful than ever for their lives.

On Wednesday last, a taxi driver from Patrick’s Taxi Service was brutally beaten, robbed and carjacked around 23:00h as he was performing his duties.

Luis (only name given), was traveling along Cowan Street, Georgetown in his HC 1641 motor vehicle heading back to the base when a lone pedestrian flagged the car for a ride.

The passenger requested to be taken to South Ruimveldt and, upon arrival at the destination, two more passengers entered the vehicle and the driver was then directed to his next destination.

However, Luis had only driven off some 50 yards when one of the passengers pulled out a gun and began attacking him from behind. He was then cruelly dashed out of the car when the three men overpowered him and made away with his vehicle.

Also on Wednesday morning, around 12:30h, a taxi driver from Gem’s Taxi Service was attacked, robbed and carjacked.

Jonathan Gordon had stopped to pick up three male passengers, who were destined for Lamaha Springs, Greater Georgetown, however one of the men asked to be dropped off at Mandela Avenue and he complied with the request.

When the first man exited the vehicle, he came over to the driver’s window and started looking for change.

He then told his friend that he did not have change and that they should pay.

Gordon then turned to collect the cash from the second person when the man on the outside leaned in, turned off the car, and took the key out of the ignition. After this he proceeded to punch him about his face. Again, the three men overpowered the driver and succeeded in driving off with the vehicle.

Guyana Times spoke with several taxi drivers who reported that there are many incidents of carjacking that do not make the news.

GR Taxi Service confirmed that there was a recent incident where one of their drivers fell prey to the crime. Reports also indicted that two freelance drivers working along the East Bank of Demerara were recent victims of carjacking.

A driver operating at Patrick’s Taxi Service, speaking under the condition of anonymity, noted

that the recent incidents have definitely shaken up taxi drivers across Guyana and he wants the authorities to look into the situation.

“They took off the police patrols because they say it’s too much corruption. In the previous Government, we had patrol all over the road, all over Georgetown; I mean things weren’t many then but we never had so many incidents. Why they took off the patrols. Let me tell you something, no matter how people talk, I used to love to see road blocks on the road because I would feel safe knowing that every other turn I make, it get Police nearby that could respond to an incident if anything should happen,” he related.

“I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place because I have to earn a living, but then I don’t feel safe now going out there and picking up people,” said a freelance taxi driver who normally operates the

park by Demico Quik Serve Outlet in Stabroek.

Conspiracy

Several of the taxi drivers interviewed believe there is some conspiracy involved with the recent incidents of carjacking.

“This got to be a scheme. I want feel is somebody hiring these men and paying them to do these things. And then they’re taking it to them and they will fix it up and spray it over and change it up and sell it back or use it for parts and sell the parts and they’re making the money. Because my friends who got robbed, we went looking all over and we didn’t see this car. I mean Guyana is a small country and the Police can’t find it and we searching and we ain’t find it; so where it disappear? Somebody got to be behind these attacks and then they changing up the car,” one of the drivers suspected.

“I mean, what a poor man like me going to do stealing a car. What will

I do with a car? I can’t buy food with a car. I could work the car yes, but then once I make a report; somebody will know it’s a stolen car and I will get caught. So this thing got to have a man behind the scenes calling the shots on this hijacking business,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, last year, the Taxi Service Association announced its intention to install a special radio frequency in all taxis across Guyana to address the situation.

The frequencies would provide a connection between the taxi service dispatchers’ radios and the A Division Police radio in Georgetown.

Therefore, if the taxi driver is in a dangerous situation, he can contact the dispatcher using a code word.

Subsequently, the dispatcher can contact the Police via the frequency with details of the situation. The Police can then immediately respond.

The system was intended to ensure prompt responses to carjacking situations as the Police would be updated when carjackings are happening.

When asked about this system, the taxi drivers said the idea was never floated to them. However, they believe the best approach to the situation would be to have more police on the roads and to have GPSs (Global Positioning Systems) installed in cars at a reasonable cost, and have a police networking system that can track down the cars when they are stolen.

Remanded prisoner upset at prosecutions’ slothfulness

Aprisoner of the Camp Street Jail expressed his distress on Friday when he was brought before Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan for the fourth time to hear the commencement of his trial has been delayed.

Kurt Kendall, 27 of 474 Section B Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara, made a bail application to Magistrate McLennan, stating that the prosecution has been quite slothful in filing the statements necessary to begin his trial.

Kendall is currently a prisoner due to a charge of armed robbery against him. He allegedly robbed two employees of Fly Jamaica of over $4 million of the company’s money.

On his first court appearance on June 9, the Police Prosecutor, Corporal Bharat Mangru, told the court that the Virtual Complainants (VCs) were stationed at the Ogle International Airport when, on May 29 at 10:30h, they boarded the company bus on their way to transact some business for the company.

It was when the bus was in the vicinity of Queen’s College that a motor car stopped in front of it, blocking the bus’ progress. The prosecutor said three men exited the car, emphasising that the one with the gun was identified as Kendall. The men removed a combined amount of $3.7 million from Elizabeth Seepaul and a separate $1,652,000 from Christopher Ali.

However, Kendall’s attorney, Paul Fung-A-Fat had told the court that his client was innocent of the offence as he was not on Camp Street robbing the VCs, but renting motor car PPP 8049 from a Car Rental Service. He even tendered several papers to prove his claim.

Fung-A-Fat also questioned the identification pa-

rade that was done, stating that Kendall was wrongfully picked out as the gun man during the robbery.

However, these arguments did not move the Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. She refused him bail and ordered him to return on June 22, where he will receive his statements and a date will be set for the commencement of his trial.

However, on June 22 Kendall was told that the prosecution’s statements were not ready thus postponing his case. This was the issue once more when the accused made his third appearance in court.

On Friday, Kendall addressed Magistrate Mc Lennan about his concerns regarding the delays, indicating he was worried about his unemployed wife and preschool child. He explained to the Magistrate that his wife is a student at the Cyril Potter College (CPC) and thus does not work. He had been the family’s main bread winner and it has been a month that he has been remanded for already.

Kendall’s attorney was not present this time thus he presented his bail application on his own, reminding the court of his alibi.

However, Magistrate Mc Lennan denied his application, giving no import to the documents. It was not stated but Kendall’s previous conviction on an armed robbery charge may be the reason behind the Magistrate’s unwillingness to release him on bail.

The accused has already spent 3 years in jail and was only last year implicated in a break and enter charge. Nevertheless, Magistrate Mc Lennan gave the prosecution until July 17 to file the statements. If this is not done, Kendall may indeed be granted his bail.

The

The

and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-easterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres per second.

High Tide: 01:08h and 13:46h reaching maximum heights of 2.41 metres and 2.33 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 07:15h and 19:36 reaching minimum heights of 0.80 metre and 0.88 metre respectively.

Land titling, conflict of interest fiasco brewing…

years Minister Broomes mining lucrative Amerindian lands

– while justice denied to villagers awaiting title after eight

Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Simona Broomes is among several persons involved in lucrative mining operations in Tasserene, an Akawaio community located in the Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), even though villagers of that community applied some eight years ago for the title to their land, but are being told to hold on, despite being entitled under the Amerindian Act to their land rights.

This development has led to the residents there raising concerns over the issue, while also raising other matters directly related to equity, fairness and the process of natural justice.

Tasserene is situated within a prime mining area disputed by several gold mining concessionaires.

There has been no progress on the land titling process which remains unconcluded, due to conflict of interests between miners and the Village Council. However, in the case of Tasserene, approximately 400 residents are affected by the decision to issue blocks within their ancestral lands.

Minister Broomes, who owns at least three mediumscale mining blocks, is one of the most prominent persons who have exploited the delay in titling of Amerindian lands.

The three blocks were registered under B-149/ MP/000, B-149/MP/001 and B-150/MP/000, and issued in April, 2013 to the Minister despite the fact that she was intimately familiar with the negative consequences of mining operations in Amerindian areas, having headed the Guyana Women Miners Association (GWMA) for several years before being awarded in June 2013 by the US Secretary of State John Kerry, for her significant efforts in fighting against trafficking in persons (TIP) in mining districts in Guyana.

Broomes’ new role as Government Minister has not influenced a decision

to rescind exploration and mining in the Amerindian Community that is fighting against miners to obtain legal ownership to land.

The Tasserene Village Council has been continuously requesting that the title be delivered since residents depend on their ancestral lands to secure their future livelihood.

The Village Council had applied for title since 2007 and title was delivered to the village during at the National Toshaos’ Conference (NTC Conference) in 2012. However, due to objections from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA) the title was withdrawn.

This newspaper was informed that the land titling process for Tasserene had resumed under the Amerindian Land Titling Project, spearheaded by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs.

The village was then slated for early titling by the previous Administration, which was in the process of developing a mechanism to resolve pending mining issues.

Broomes was featured on the list of those miners who owned mining blocks within the area designated for titling by the village. However, the project was brought to a halt by the new Administration on June 15, leaving the village in a situation where residents are confronted daily with the appropriation of their lands by miners and remain vulnerable to the destructive impact that gold extraction is having on their lands and environment.

Indigenous Rights Activist Yvonne Pearson who is also a former Advisor to the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister and now a People’s Progressive Party/Civic Member of Parliament, in an interview with this newspaper stated, “When Minister Broomes acquired those blocks she was a miner heading the GWMA. Now she is a Minister of Government and

maintained a policy of addressing Amerindian land rights expressed through the titling of at least 105 villages provisioned for by Government funds as well as the LCDS funded Amerindian Land Titling Project.

However, major challenges such as high implementation costs and conflicting interests among stakeholders have resulted in the delayed land titling process for some villages, particularly those located in zones exploited for their natural resources.

this challenges her responsibilities as a representative of the people. Will she still keep those mining blocks knowing that the people of Tasserene are still awaiting title after so many years?”

Pearson, who has solid experience in dealing with matters of governance and indigenous land rights, also posited that “the Government has to ensure that the question of Amerindian lands is expedited”.

The GGMC continues to issue prospecting and mining permits on lands which are not legally held, as these belong to the State.

Mining affects communities that depend on the environment and natural resources or their subsistence and cases of potable water sources being contaminated by mercury and high levels of turbidity may arise due to operations.

Amerindian land titling is a major part of Amerindian development as it is a key element to the expansion of the asset base of communities.

The Government of Guyana has over the years

In mining areas, Amerindian villages depend mainly on the exploitation of mineral resources which represent their main source of income. In the case of Tasserene, mining blocks issued on ancestral lands deprive villagers not only of title but also of the possibility to conduct their own mining.

Minister of Governance and Patrimony Raphael Trotman, was quoted in a statement to another newspaper last week, while referring to the new Administration’s plan of reforming the mining sector, that there will be no indulgence in “areas in which favouritism seems to have been shown for one person or one company or one group as against another”.

He also emphasised the need to increase transparency in the mining sector and “strike a balance between business and maintaining a healthy environment and that includes how people are treated and how companies operate within communities”.

Whether this applies to the case of Tasserene is still to be determined.

Sunday Editor: Michael Younge

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

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

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

Editorial

“Get Jagdeo” mindset

The decision by Chief Justice Ian Chang asserts that the democratic right of a citizen to freely choose their presidential candidate is so fundamental and foundational in a democratic republic, decisions to restrain or restrict it must be affirmed by a referendum of the people. In essence he is asserting that there are certain rights inhering in each citizen that they cannot be delegated to their representatives - even to 2/3 of them voting in unison.

It is unfortunate that rather than focusing on this most important principle which gives life to the sovereignty that lies in the people - most commentaries have honed in on the individual through which the principle had to be asserted in the courts: Bharrat Jagdeo, two-time former President of Guyana. This is rather ironic since it was in his last term, when most of his critics insisted that he was bent on running for a third term, that he signed the enabling legislation, now revoked, into law.

But that irony would be lost on those same critics since the implacably hostile mindset they have betrayed in the past towards him has intensified during his three year absence from the political scene, when he gave his successor political space to chart his own course. Only three months ago when Jagdeo was gratuitously attacked in a series of full page ads in the Kaieteur News we had cause to write in this space:

“It would appear that we have to revisit the Nietzchean concept of “ressentiment”, to explain the envy, bitterness, hatred and desire for revenge that undergirds the transparent “anonymous” attack of the “legacy” of former President Jagdeo.

Born from their belief that they should have occupied his position because of the “heritage”, they lacked the strong qualities that Jagdeo displayed during his tenure, and became frustrated at their impotence to achieve those values. They finally and insidiously transvalued their original desire for strength and decisiveness to propose that their own weakness is superior.

In this perverse scheme, Jagdeo, who led this nation out of the economic wreckage wrought by the PNC and rolled back the armed gangsters who would have destroyed the very foundation of the Guyanese State, is now dubbed “unsuccessful”.

The danger of ressentiment is that because the qualities that define a successful leader are not found in every politician, the Opposition’s petulant and envious transvaluation is superficially attractive. It is easy to covet and hate the successful and believe one’s weakness is superior: it excuses one’s inability to be successful.”

But it is now a fact that Bharrat Jagdeo is the Opposition leader on behalf of the PPP, which garnered just less than 1% of the votes of the coalition now forming the government. If we are to extend the notion of “sovereignty of the people” into the value of “political legitimacy”, if Guyana is to make progress in any field of endeavour, he and the party he represents cannot be derided or ignored. Jagdeo accepted being a candidate and now the Opposition Leader for the PPP because of his commitment to the development of Guyana. Without taking away from the accomplishments of others, it cannot be gainsaid that former President Jagdeo is more experienced that any of the politicians who will be sitting in the benches opposite him in Parliament. Experienced in the art and science of actually delivering growth and development for this country, not in some theoretical sense.

It is to be hoped that the present government of the day can tone down the gratuitously strident rhetoric and “get Jagdeo mindset” evident in some of its ranks against an individual who can offer so much. Take, for instance, the rice-for-oil initiative that was unilaterally cancelled by the Venezuelans. What, excepting false pride, would it have cost the administration to call upon Jagdeo to assist them in a matter that affects all Guyanese?

Trying to buy our silence with goodies

Dear Editor,

I think it is wonderful that the government is taking advice from everyone, including us parents of school-age children. If I am reading the Minister of Education correctly, the School Uniform Voucher programme is to become a Give Parents Cash programme instead and we can do what we like with the money. Oh, goodie!

The minister sought parents’ advice on this and he, bless his soul, is going along with it. The PPP govern-

ment locked us into actually buying uniforms and school supplies with the vouchers, but I must say I like this idea better. My children want to go to the movies at the new Giftland Mall when I collect the cash and I am so excited with the new freedom of using the voucher money any way I want that I am looking forward to the outing too.

All this consultation does make it appear that government doesn’t know what it is doing but I am not complaining.

Yet, with so many ministers and so many advisers, government is still bungling all over the place. There is a Minister of Finance who does not understand accounts and a Minister of National Security who has no idea how to deal with crime. They lost the swap deal of oil for rice with Venezuela and are so busy auditing everything the PPP government did that they do not yet have time to even announce a single plan or project for any development whatsoever.

The Canadian government recently spent Cdn$24 million and over a year of auditing to uncover Cdn$1 million of fraud. This is a true story. How much the Granger Government is spending on audits is a question that needs answering. I want to know, in particular, how much of our taxpayers’ money Mr. Anand Goolsarran and Mr. Christopher Ram will be collecting for their “findings”.

Shanie Jagessar

Response to Pastor Gideon’s letter on the issue of LGBT in Guyana

Dear Editor,

I am neither gay nor atheist but I believe in defending the Human Rights of all, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT). Although like Pastor Gideon, I come from a Christian family, I fail to see how denigrating the basic human rights of anyone renders legitimacy to a Pastor or any Christian.

Pastor Gideon was quoted saying that promoting LGBT rights is an attempt to “corrupt the morals of the world”. However, there are as many different morals as there are people in the world, since morality is a reflection of culture, education, social development, and other particularities of a people. For instance, Hinduism being one of the oldest religions in the world, practiced by over a billion people, historically recognised LGBT as being part of a third gender, while putting the focus on the quality and divinity of souls rather than a person’s sexual orientation. This

makes sense after all, for why should we be concerned about whose bed our neighbours frequent?

Pastor Gideon while mentioning that LGBT are a vector for transmitting AIDS, forgot to mention that heterosexuals are also a majority of those contracting the disease and infections via syringes are significantly elevated. Instead of seeking to throw the blame on the LGBT community, or anyone for that matter, the focus should be on how to fight and prevent its propagation.

Contrary to the Pastor’s assertion that if same sex marriages were to be leglised then the Churches would be forced to marry people of the LGBT community, legality of marriages is acquired only through the State (GRO) and not in the Church. Subsequently, the Church is not obliged to marry LGBT and same sex marriage can be done without the Church if it were legal.

While Pastor Gideon is quick to quote the Bible

to prove the unholiness of LGBT, he has forgotten those scriptures which encourage to love his neighbours as he loves himself and discourage to throw the first stone if he isn’t without sin.

Pastor Gideon overtly disregards these rights, but his advice may strongly influence the actions of those within the Christian community, leading to further discrimination of the LGBT community at a time when Guyana is struggling with other socially divisive issues.

In our culturally diverse society where moral values differ, what Guyanese need is open democratic debate and concensus on social issues such as the high rate of teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, domestic abuse and crime, to name a few. What if Hitler for example, decided that Germany’s problem were not Jews but LGBT instead? (Although he did persecute minorities such as the disabled and members of LGBT). SASOD which has defended LGBT in Guyana

for years, should not remain indifferent to such dangerous views launched in the public arena.

However, I do agree with pastor Gideon, that the new Government should insist on maintaining the full control of the management of its internal affairs by resisting the pressure of foreign powers.

If Guyanese unanimously believe that there is no urgent need to address same sex marriage then the Government should not succumb to the influence of the US. Maybe Pastor Gideon can take solace in the fact that President Granger is a fervent Christian who possibly shares his beliefs on LGBT and as such would resist the US on this issue. On a final note, no individual, whether religious or not, should be allowed to deprive another of his basic human rights, something which is not Man’s to give nor confiscate.

Regards, Stacy Cheong

Escalating social violence, the result of inadequate interventions

Dear Editor,

The escalating social violence being played out in our communities is unprecedented in the country’s modern history. The way to begin to address this problem is via the holding of a focused public discussion which will examine all aspects of this debilitating problem. I am a community mental health practitioner. Since 2010 I’ve been paying keen attention to the horrifying tales of violent behaviours - domestic abuse, interpersonal violence, rape, incest, child abuse, abandonment, road fatalities and suicide, just to name a few – which pervade the society and which have been reported in the local media. The records will show that generations of families are overwhelmed and traumatised on a daily basis by these repeated occurrences of violence. There are instances when families have moved from tragedy to tragedy without any respite.

While it is true that the issue of domestic violence has been debated at length both at the community and national levels, it is important to note that the recommended interventions have had little or no meaningful impact. The violence continues to escalate, with no end in sight. In 2011, I began a systemic investigation to better understand the phenomena. I am aware that if in my professional capacity I wish to contribute to nation building, collecting and accessing data will help me to better understand the chal-

lenges surrounding the issues and allow me to make meaningful proposals for their resolutions. It is out of my developed sense that data was not readily available in the relevant institutions to support any hypothesises and guide future psychotherapeutic interventions at the community level that I moved to put in place a system of collecting and analysing date which have helped me to arrive at an objective assessment of the problems.

I soon realised that intervention models that were currently being used failed to achieve the desired results, because to a large extent, this model is too general. Guyana is a multi-ethnic society and no single model approach will meet the needs of all. It is not too late for us to seriously change our approach to these nation building challenges. With a new government, we should have a new approach to deal with these social challenges.

Guyana should introduce pilot programmes which directly address the more challenging psychosocial issues that have for a long time negatively impacted our communities. Any meaningful bio psychosocial-educational intervention at the community level must take into consideration the individual, family and group mental health, substance abuse and domestic violent domestic relationship issues simultaneously and should be guided by evidencebased data which is cultur-

ally sensitive to the community under investigation. At an agreed period, evaluations should be done to determine the effectiveness of the model used. As it relates to foreign driven programmes while they are welcome at this time, these interventions are usually inadequate as they do not have a germane organic connection with the community.

In addition, to the above, NGO’s and Faith-Based community leaders who engage in direct-service delivery must be re-trained, with information and skills which address the challenges communities are confronted with on a daily basis.

Our communities have an abundance of committed persons with well and good intentions using 19th Century techniques in the 21st Century. A diligent effort must be conducted in this early stage of our new administration to address these challenges along the lines suggested above.

For some time now, faced with the growing social crisis, our policy makers have displayed a strong dependency to turn to external expertise to address this crisis. While there can be some benefits of this approach, over depending on foreign personnel to the exclusion of local resources, human and organisational, will both in the short and long term be counterproductive.

Ingrid Goodman, Executive Director, PATOIS WOMENS’ REFUGE

Janette Bulkan is misleading Guyanese

Dear Editor, I wish to refer to Janette Bulkan’s letter in the SN of Monday, June 29th, 2015 under the caption “Transfer pricing in log exports is a good example of why forensic audits in the Natural Resources Sector are urgently needed”. Bulkan’s erroneous claims in her letter distinctly show that in trying to score points against the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), she is guilty of comparing monkey apples with apples. What Bulkan is doing is comparing the FOB with the wholesale prices of forest products in China and then ridiculously and falsely claiming that there is transfer pricing in log exports. But Bulkan deliberately and mischievously omitted this part in her misleading unprofessional and callous letter in sections of the media just to capture the attention of the Granger Government in her axe-grinding agenda against the GFC. However, any CXC business student knows that the aim of any business is to make profit and the exportation of logs from Guyana to

China or India is definitely a business which is strictly subjected to Guyana’s national log export policy.

I therefore strongly appeal to Bulkan to desist from writing and sending letters of deception to sections of the press in Guyana, designed to fool the Guyanese people about Guyana’s Forest Sector. However, Bulkan will not stop which suggests that she should undergo a psychoanalysis examination and not a forensic one.

Yours sincerely Mark Luke

The criminal’s newfound confidence

Dear Editor,

Upon his immediate accession to office, President Granger granted pardon to sixty young, strong, talented criminals freed at the stroke of a pen. This was a dangerous move, leaving to wonder why a President could so openly associate himself with criminal elements. We are now reaping the sad rewards of this and other sinister moves of this new administration.

Not to mention Minister Khemraj Ramjattan who now commands home affairs duties. He too is now guilty of the crime wave sweeping through the land. He was quick as an opposition leader to blame the previous home affairs minister of not doing enough to fight crime. However, the table has

turned.

The breakdown in law and order today, moves at lightening speed with armed, oftentimes fatal robberies escalating. Many innocent lives are at risk as criminals go on their deadly, daily rampage.

This is also taking place under a government which, before taking office, described the previous administration as having “the police are after innocent youths “ while “the youths do not have jobs.”

Two recent events highlight the government’s neglect of crime: one in Felicity and the other near to the Minister Ramjattan’s home. Both armed robberies are similar in nature with brazen assaults on innocent citizens. Residents of Felicity found it difficult to be-

lieve that such crime could be committed within their community, since it’s an upscale gated one, having sound security features.

This may continue to happen if criminals remain confident that no place is off limits for them in Guyana. So while the government vainly tries to implement a plan to halt crime, the mayhem continues. The fear factor is anchored in society and while it affects ordinary residents, it also holds greater danger for local and foreign investors. No one would want to live or invest in a violent society. This spells doom for our country, it means that we are on a downward spiral way out of control.

Neil Adams

Response to Adam Harris’ “The former rulers are fooling themselves”

Dear Editor, I refer to Adam Harris’ “The former rulers are fooling themselves” published under his weekly column in the Kaieteur News on June 14,2015. There are huge credibility gaps in this story. The records would show that Harris was a former editor of the Guyana Chronicle under the PNC dictatorship.

He and Urmiah Johnson, the then Assistant General Secretary of the PNC were registered as being the owners of the Guyana Media Company Ltd. which owned, printed, published and circulated the New Nation, official organ of the PNC. At one time it was claimed that the New Nation ceased being the official organ

of the PNC.

Harris was sent by the PNC to edit the New Nation from 1980 to 1988. He then returned to edit the Chronicle, resigning after the PPP took Office in 1992.

Harris still claims monies in lieu of “unbroken service” as an employee of the Chronicle for the years he served at the New Nation. His claim is based on an arrangement made between himself and the PNC, in keeping with its philosophy of party paramountcy that his placement at the New Nation was facilitated through the then Ministry of National Development which is believed to have provided his pay-packet to edit

the New Nation. In a booklet entitled “Paramountcy over the media - a case for reform”, Moses Nagamootoo wrote: “there is so much which Harris should answer as a friend and professional colleague for the obscene and arrogant manner in which the state-owned newspaper is misused to propagate the views of the authoritarian ruling party”. These are the gaps Harris left out of his article which incidentally, would not have been complete since half was spoken and the other half left unspoken. Suh dem bhais seh.

Sincerely Brian A Azore

Criminal hideout in Patentia

Dear Editor,

We the residents of Patentia East, commonly called “Road End”, are presently living in fear due to an illegally occupied, old abandoned house situated at the end of the trench. Many wrong things are being done in this house, including drug dealing (marijuana and cocaine). Some criminals who have committed serious offenses in other villages would also use the abandoned house as a hiding place.

Many people claimed to have been robbed by those squatting the house. I kindly call upon the commissioner of Police and Minister Ramjattan to intervene and resolve this matter as quick-

ly as possible. Whenever the matter is brought to the police officers claim that more information is needed from the public.

President Granger thought he did well by releasing so many prisoners, but they remain criminals and pose a threat to society, causing crimes to rise. When individuals are charged, convicted and sent to prison by the ruling of the Law, the President should not bypass this authority to release prisoners, regardless of the crime for which they were convicted.

Concerned Citizen

Page Foundation

Anu Dev

We’ve all been forced to do group assignments at some point in our school life. Most of the time, these groups are arbitrarily assigned by the teacher. And so, without a say in the matter, you find yourself lumped together with a bunch of people, some of whom you’d love to work with and others...ummmm... you’d really, really rather not.

I’ve always had a theory (more than a sneaking suspicion!) that the groups are never really quite as arbitrary as they’d have us think. Sometimes I get the feeling that teachers deliberately assign students that don’t get along to the same group. Is it because they want them to learn to get along by having to work together? Or is because they just want to watch the world burn? Sometimes it really isn’t clear which.

I’ve never really liked

Group Assignments

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill

group assignments. There was always this uneven divide, with some kids who actually cared about getting a good grade and others who didn’t really care one way or the other and were content to just kick back and relax. So it inevitably fell onto the shoulders of the kids that cared about their grades to carry the load of the assignment and do most (all?) of the work.

So you quickly develop survival rules. If you start off too gung-ho at the beginning, chances are that you’ll be the one saddled with the brunt of the workload. You learn to suss out the situation before making your move. You observe the other group members to see who the "try-hards" are, who "the slackers" are and who falls somewhere in the middle. And then you plan your future interactions with the group accordingly, hoping to hit that sweet spot where you’re a valuable member of the team, doing your part, while not having to carry the entire project all by your lonesome.

But even while detesting most group assignments, I still appreciated that they were a not-so-subtle metaphor for real life. As far as metaphors go, this one re-

ally whacks you round the head.

Whether it’s at a new job or in college, you’ll be stuck with co-workers or class-

Be assertive. If you’re being left with the majority of the work to do on your own, speak up. Tell the rest of the group in no uncer-

ferent perspectives. By finding a way to incorporate everyone’s viewpoint, you can end up with a much better project. Basically the lyr-

mates that you didn’t choose. And you’ll have to find a way to work with these people to get the work done. And if you chose to learn from your experiences with group assignments in school, you’ll find that you’re well equipped to deal with these group situations. So here are some things I learnt from group assignments in school:

tain terms that they have to start pulling their weight. Some people just plain suck. They just won’t listen or participate. Sometimes you have to ignore those people, get the work done and hope to never have to work with them ever again. They’ll get realitychecks sometime down the line.

Everyone has dif-

ics for “Let up cooperate for Guyana”

Some people can surprise you. Sometimes there are bad surprises, but sometimes people can surprise you by being really efficient or passionate about the project. And a bunch of other life lessons that I’m sure group assignments taught me but I really can’t recall right now. It’s impossible to avoid working with other people (I mean, it’s probably possible, but it’ll be lonely). So you have to learn to put aside your differences and just do what you gotta do. And the Winston Churchill quote above can be really applicable to group situations- sometimes you have to speak up and assert yourself and sometimes you have to be patient and listen to what others have to say.

Granger for UN Development meeting in Ethiopia – Nagamootoo

Pacting as President

resident David Granger left Guyana on Saturday to attend the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The conference will last from July 13-16, under the theme “Time for Global Action.”

The Third International Conference on Financing for Development will gather high-level political representatives, including Heads of State and Government, and Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, as well as all relevant institutional stakeholders, non-governmental organisations and business sector entities.

President David Granger

The Conference will result in an inter-governmentally negotiated and agreed outcome, which should constitute an important contribution to and support the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.

President Granger is being accompanied by Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador George Talbot and Guyana’s Ambassador to Suriname, Keith George. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has been sworn-in and will carry out the functions of the President.

Presidential Benefits Act…

Granger, Ramotar and Jagdeo unaffected by “benefits cap”

– legislation affects only “future” Presidents

Contrary to what some sections of society had hoped for, the passage of the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Bill 2015 will not affect those individuals who served as Presidents prior to the amendments which were made when the Bill was tabled in the National Assembly on July 9.

Therefore, the new provisions provided for in the law will absolutely have no effect on former Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar, nor will it affect current President David Granger. The changes will, however, affect future Presidents.

But, even if Granger succeeds in serving a second term as President of Guyana, the current law will not apply to him because he was initially sworn in as President of Guyana when the law at the time provided the same benefits in which Jagdeo and Ramotar are now enjoying.

The changes made in the Bill now allow a capped allowance of $75,000 for water, electricity and telephone expenses per month, three household staff and three technical and clerical staff.

Former Presidents and their children will also be subject to a financial limit of $200,000 per annum in free medical attention and treatment or reim-

Maduro asks for appointment of Good Officer

– as UN hears Venezuela on border controversy

Sbursement of medical expenses incurred by a former President himself and his children below the age of 18 years and the former President would not be allowed more than two motor vehicles owned and maintained by the State.

In addition, his security detail shall not exceed two persons including the services of the Presidential Guard Service at the residence and will only receive an annual vacation allowance equivalent to the cost of two first class return tickets provided on the same conditions applicable to the Judges of the Supreme Court of Judicature. The benefits will not be subjected to any tax exemptions, concessions or privileges.

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall had stated that the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Bill 2015, which repeals the Former Presidents (Benefits and other Facilities) Act 2009, will not affect or apply to former Presidents who were sworn in while the latter Act was in effect.

Therefore, Nandlall pointed out that any attempt to use the new Bill as an instrument to deny and deprive any or all of the aforementioned persons their entitlement under the 2009 Act, would be unlawful, unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.

ecretary General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Ki-moon, on Friday met with Venezuela’s Minister of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs Delcy Rodriguez, in New York during which he heard the Spanish speaking country’s side of the controversy precipitated by Venezuela against Guyana on the latter's western borders, and more recently its maritime boundaries.

Rodriguez was accompanied by Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Rafael Ramirez, and Ambassador of Venezuela to the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Raul Li Causi.

A statement from the UN said that the Secretary General received a letter from President Nicolás Maduro, who is asking for the appointment of a UN “Good Officer” to solve the conflict between the two neighbouring countries. In the meantime, Guyana had moved away from this process.

“The Secretary General took note of the Foreign Minister's views on the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela and said the United Nations Secretariat was in contact with both Governments on this issue,” the press release stated. Furthermore, he acknowledged the receipt the letter and reaffirmed the willingness of the UN Secretariat to discuss a way forward with the two Governments. However, the statement did not indicate the UN’s response to the request from Maduro.

In addition to the meeting with the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also received a phone call from the Venezuelan President on the same subject. On Friday, President Maduro was quoted in Venezuelan media as saying that he had a telephone conversation with the Secretary General of the international organisation, during which they discussed the events that have occurred in recent months between Venezuela and Guyana.

Back in 2010, the UN had appointed Jamaican Professor Norman Girvan as the Special Representative in the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy; however, he passed away in April 2014, after suffering a fall while hiking in Dominica a few months before. Girvan was the latest Good Officer going back decades but to no consequence in the settlement of the controversy.

Meanwhile, following Friday’s meeting, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister disclosed that she presented the UN Secretary General with a letter from her President. “We brought a letter from President Nicolás Maduro to designate the Good Officer on historical claims between the Cooperative Republic of

Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, mechanism in the rules International and the Geneva Agreement of 1966, which is the instrument governing the friendly, practical and legal solution to this territorial containment,” the Minister stated.

She claimed that the border controversy hanging over the territory of Essequibo, which she referred to as the "Venezuelan Essequibo", is the product of imperial manoeuvres and that the Government of Guyana has been paid for such manoeuvres. “It is striking the presence of a multinational in a territory that is subject to a historical claim with energy interests, seeks the division of the region,” Rodriguez declared.

On this note, the Foreign Affairs Minister stated that the world is permanently on the lookout for natural and energy resources from Venezuela, mainly by the Orinoco Oil Belt Hugo Chávez, representing the book world's biggest oil.

The Venezuelan Foreign Minister further emphasised the importance of recognising that the issue of the territorial dispute is governed by the Geneva Agreement of which both Governments are parties, thus forcing them to respect that instrument.

Adding to the Minister’s comments, Rafael Ramirez said that this meeting is a political demonstration by Venezuela, reaffirming the need for a diplomatic solution to the territorial conflict. “We are asking the Secretary General to be accelerated and be made as expeditiously as possible all necessary steps so that in the short-term this mechanism is reactivated Good Officer,” the Venezuelan UN Representative remarked.

Earlier this month, President David Granger was able to put forward Guyana’s position on the controversy to the UN Secretary General. The two met for a brief engagement in Barbados on the sideline of the 36th Caribbean Community Conference of Heads of Government.

During the meeting, President Granger informed the Secretary General of Venezuela’s aggression towards Guyana, which had gone beyond Guyana and Venezuela. The first Decree issued by Maduro in May claimed territorial sovereignty over most of Guyana’s Atlantic Ocean off of the Essequibo Coast and the coordinates had extended onto other Caribbean countries. However, Venezuela has since withdrawn that highly controversial proclamation and has since issued another without coordinates.

Nevertheless, during the meeting with Guyana and UN heads, President Granger acknowledged that the Good Officers Process and the Geneva Convention still stands but outlined that those have already been exhausted. The Government of Guyana, as did its predecessor, has requested that the Secretary General move to the "judicial process" option which is also contained in the Geneva Agreement.

However, the UN Secretary General had committed to have a mission appointed and sent to Guyana with the aim of addressing the matter from a more in-depth and informed platform. The Guyanese Head of State also stated that his Administration will stand ready to receive the UN mission when the time arises to deal with the issue.

EZjet boss jailed 20 years for embezzlement in US

Owner of collapsed EZjet Airline, Sonny Ramdeo, was on Thursday sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for siphoning in excess of US$20 million from a United States (US) hospital chain.

The sentencing was handed down on Thursday by US District Judge Kenneth Marra following over eight hours of hearing in the federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida. The sentencing comes almost two years after 38-year-old Ramdeo, of Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara, had admitted to wire fraud and money laundering to the tune of US$21.4 million.

According to a South Florida newspaper, Sun Sentinel, federal prosecutors told the court that Ramdeo “envisioned himself as the next Sir Richard Branson – with a bandit twist – and used his ill-gotten gains to set up a charter airline company”.

The Sun Sentinel reported that Ramdeo was payroll manager for Promise Healthcare and Success Healthcare hospital management companies when he set up his own charter air service offering flights from New York City and Toronto to Guyana. He was being feted as a gifted entrepreneur and planning to expand the service to Miami when it all came tumbling down in October 2012.

After his employers figured out something was amiss and confronted him, he fled and hid out in New

York City for two months until federal agents tracked him down, the US newspaper reported. He admitted he had secretly set up his own corporation, PayServ Tax Inc, and told his employers that the company would handle the transfer of the hospital management company’s local, state and federal payroll taxes to the Government.

Ramdeo did not reveal that he was running the payroll company, so his employers had no clue that their payroll manager had “outsourced” the business to himself, according to Assistant US Attorney Ellen Cohen. Ramdeo transferred tens of millions of dollars to his own bank accounts and used more than US$80 million of it to pay the taxes that were due. However he skimmed off what prosecutors very conservatively estimated was more than $21.4 million that

he used to set up his airline charter.

Though Ramdeo pretty swiftly pleaded guilty and was first scheduled for sentencing in January 2014, he set off on an odyssey around the justice system that left prosecutors, federal agents, a series of defence lawyers that he dumped along the way, and even the judge, visibly frustrated with him.

His sentencing was delayed and delayed again as he fought to withdraw his guilty plea, blaming his lawyers for his predicament and filing dozens of handwritten documents, trying to sway the judge. It took three days, spread out over the last eight months, to finish his sentencing.

US District Judge Kenneth Marra could have imposed an even harsher term, but said Ramdeo’s “foolish actions” of lying and perjuring himself in court, obstructing justice and failing to accept responsibility for his crimes meant he had already ensured he would serve a longer prison term than he would have originally faced.

The judge also ordered him to pay US$21.4 million in restitution, predicting Ramdeo will probably never come close to paying the full amount.

Ramdeo finally apologised in court Thursday evening, but blamed his crimes on what he said was a life he “dedicated to the service of others”. He said he worked for Promise, which runs 17 hospitals around the US and has about 4000 employees,

for seven years and only defrauded them for two of those years.

“Eighty per cent of the money went to where it was supposed to go,” Ramdeo told the judge, urging him to focus on his unspecified good deeds. “In my trying to do good … doing the right thing leads to doing the wrong thing.”

Prosecutors said he did it before on a smaller scale in 2000 in West Hempstead, NY, when he was convicted of grand larceny for stealing US$55,000 by cashing 133 fictitious payroll checks from his then-employer, National Wholesale Liquidators.

Back in 2011, Ramdeo introduced EZjet, a low-cost charter company he reportedly founded, which operated between New York and Guyana, but later offered flights to Canada and Trinidad and Tobago.

Upon the introduction of the aircraft, there were questions by key players in the industry about the airline’s sustainability. Ramdeo told media operatives that monies to sustain the flights were from his savings and mortgage taken on his Florida home.

Remanded prisoner upset at prosecutions’ slothfulness

Aprisoner of the Camp Street Jail expressed his distress on Friday when he was brought before Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan for the fourth time to hear the commencement of his trial has been delayed.

Kurt Kendall, 27 of 474 Section B Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara, made a bail application to Magistrate McLennan, stating that the prosecution has been quite slothful in filing the statements necessary to begin his trial.

Kendall is currently a prisoner due to a charge of armed robbery against him. He allegedly robbed two employees of Fly Jamaica of over $4 million of the company’s money.

On his first court appearance on June 9, the Police Prosecutor, Corporal Bharat Mangru, told the court that the Virtual Complainants (VCs) were stationed at the Ogle International Airport when, on May 29 at 10:30h, they boarded the company bus on their way to transact some business for the company.

It was when the bus was in the vicinity of Queen’s College that a motor car stopped in front of it, blocking the bus’ progress. The prosecutor said three men exited the car, emphasising that the one with the gun was identified as Kendall. The men removed a combined amount of $3.7 million from Elizabeth Seepaul and a separate $1,652,000 from Christopher Ali.

Eyew tness

Turning a blind eye...

...on rice

Your Eyewitness is flummoxed...bewildered...and dazed. Let’s say your neighbour’s playing his music at a level beyond the decibels achieved by 747’s taking off. And it’s past 2 am. You’ve had it with this guy... even though he’s pretty nice to you during the day and lending you stuff and things. In fact you still have that screwdriver he lent you to fix that pesky electrical switch. But you get a call from your rich pal down the block who hates your neighbour and you call the cops.

Wonder of wonders - they show up in one of those fancy new Allions Ramjattan just gave them and hauls the guy off to the Station after he gives them lip. Now, would you be surprised after he drags his bedraggled a55 back home complains that least you could’ve called him? And demands his screwdriver back... in not too dulcet tones? Well you would be if you’re our new Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder.

Venezuela’s been shipping us oil under an attractive credit facility since 2007. An added sweetener since 2009 was we could ship them our rice in lieu of payments in hard currency. Gave us a vent for all that surge in rice production by our farmers. A great win-win situation all around, no? So when Venezuela starts rattling swords at our western border after ExxonMobil starts drilling for oil, shouldn’t we at least have given them a (diplomatic) call?

The previous government did this several times, after “incursions” by the Venezuelans and most recently after another oil drilling ship had been detained by them. They retained the rice contract on a year to year basis. So should we be surprised that they cancelled their rice contract and are looking elsewhere (Suriname?) to replace same after no “call”?? Now don’t get your Eyewitness wrong.

Yes.. we should’ve responded strongly to the Venezuelan decree. But even in times of war, prudent nations keep lines of communication open with their adversaries. And we weren’t even at war with Venezuela. As far as protecting our interests we’d already indicated - through the previous and the present administration’s - that we were going to take them to the World Court to settle, once for all, the controversy they stirred up since 1962.

But life is strange, isn’t it? The same rich neighbour who advised us to call out Venezuela was the one that encouraged them to create the controversy! And they export rice to that country! So yes Holder.

We should’ve been looking for new markets the moment we decided to eschew jawboning.

....on equity in constitution

We all know we inherited our legal system from the British. And the British system evolved from their “common law”. However this common law was so rigid in its application that if a wrong done to you didn’t fit EXACTLY into the conditions specified in “writs” - you were screwed. “No writ - no remedy” was the rule.

To overcome the patent unfairness, the maxims and courts of “equity” were introduced. One maxim, for instance is - “Equity will not allow a statute to be used as a cloak for fraud.” Nowadays the common law and equity have been merged.

But for some reason, Professor Duke Pollard, in unleashing a virulent and intemperate attack on Chief Justice’s recent ruling, refuses to accept that the analogous process has entered the interpretation of Constitutions as well as statutes. The Constitution, for him is like a writ from 1275.

He would take us backwards and have justice (and democracy) denied because an “i” wasn’t dotted.

...to back scratching

Fresh off his contract to “audit” government agencies he’d trashed during the previous administration - for still undisclosed sums - Goolsarran’s has another gig of the same type. This time from the EU.

Do you think critics of THIS government - perchance your Eyewitness - will also be duly rewarded with a contract or two?

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

Pearson, Dharamlall and Charlie to advocate for Amerindian rights

First time Members of Parliament (MPs) Yvonne Pearson and Nigel Dharamlall, who both worked within the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, are eager to continue the fight for indigenous peoples’ rights as they take up the position of representatives of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) in the National Assembly.

Aleister Charlie, who worked with the Public Works Ministry, was overseeing the implementation of the Hinterland Road Programme and he too is excited to continue to fight for the betterment of those living in the hinterland regions.

Pearson, former Head of the National Toshaos’ Council and former advisor to the Amerindian Affairs Minister, said she felt extremely honoured when the PPP/C extended the offer for her to represent them in Parliament.

“I supported the PPP/C since 2011 and then I supported them again this election, so when they asked me I felt extremely honoured to have the opportunity to represent the Party and the people of Guyana at the highest

level,” she said.

Pearson very passionately noted her intentions to continue to represent the Amerindian people and to help them through their challenges, with the hope that one day they will be treated equally as every other Guyanese.

Growing up in the Pomeroon area, Pearson said she was always interested in advocating for betterment for those living in the hinterland regions in Guyana.

“I have always been interested in indigenous peoples’ issues. I have practically spent half my life advocat-

ing for their rights and I am looking forward to be part of the process to effect change in Guyana and I hope I can be the voice to bring positive changes,” she said.

She recognised that under the PPP/C administration, the lives of Amerindians took a turn for the better; however, more is still to be done. Therefore, when in Parliament, Pearson will be fighting for the rights of Amerindians, addressing among others mining issues, social issues, health problems and educational matters.

Similarly, Dharamlall, after working as Permanent Secretary within the Amerindian Affairs Ministry for a number of years, has accumulated much experience in the same area. He expressed his intentions to represent Amerindians and to promote development in all regions across Guyana.

However, while he remains dedicated to enhancing the lives of those residing in the hinterland communities, Dharamlall also sees himself focusing on areas such as agriculture, trade, infrastructural development and regional development.

He noted that, after serving as Chairman of the Rice Board, he has gained much knowledge about the issues facing local farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural sectors and therefore, this is one of the main areas in which he will be directing his energies.

Asked why he accepted the offer to be an MP representing the PPP/C, Dharmalall, who grew up in Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), said he was always passionate about politics. After experiencing hardships under the Burnham administration

“Environmental Day Camp”

The Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN), a non-profit youth driven organisation, will be hosting its second annual “Environmental Day Camp” beginning from July 20 and will last a period of five weeks. The event will be held under the theme “Let’s Save the Earth.”

This programme is guaranteed to be educational in nature and seeks to foster awareness of environmental issues and best practices among children ages 6-14. It will see young people passionate about eco-systems learning about ways to save the earth.

Topics to be covered throughout the programme include pollution, climate change, the three R’s of the environment (reduce, reuse and recycle), among others. Participants will also be engaged in making posters, pledge cards and crafting

their own poems on a thematic area.

The camp will be conducted in Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica), Region Six (East Berbice-

Corentyne) and Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), and the CYEN hopes to shape more environmental stewards and to foster behavioural changes

Remanded prisoner upset at...

However, Kendall’s attorney, Paul Fung-A-Fat had told the court that his client was innocent of the offence as he was not on Camp Street robbing the VCs, but renting motor car PPP 8049 from a Car Rental Service. He even tendered several papers to prove his claim.

Fung-A-Fat also questioned the identification parade that was done, stating that Kendall was wrongfully picked out as the gun man during the robbery.

However, these arguments did not move the Chief Magistrate, Priya SewnarineBeharry. She refused him bail and ordered him to return on June 22, where he will receive his statements and a date will be set for the commencement

of his trial.

However, on June 22

Kendall was told that the prosecution’s statements were not ready thus postponing his case. This was the issue once more when the accused made his third appearance in court.

On Friday, Kendall addressed Magistrate Mc Lennan about his concerns regarding the delays, indicating he was worried about his unemployed wife and pre-school child. He explained to the Magistrate that his wife is a student at the Cyril Potter College (CPC) and thus does not work. He had been the family’s main bread winner and it has been a month that he has been remanded for already.

Kendall’s attorney was not

present this time thus he presented his bail application on his own, reminding the court of his alibi.

However, Magistrate Mc Lennan denied his application, giving no import to the documents. It was not stated but Kendall’s previous conviction on an armed robbery charge may be the reason behind the Magistrate’s unwillingness to release him on bail.

The accused has already spent 3 years in jail and was only last year implicated in a break and enter charge. Nevertheless, Magistrate Mc Lennan gave the prosecution until July 17 to file the statements. If this is not done, Kendall may indeed be granted his bail.

during the 1980’s, Dharamlall said he always had a passion to fight for betterment for all Guyanese, especially now since “the installed Government has Guyana on sound path to profound destruction”.

Dharamlall indicated that he saw himself “as a bridge between the citizens and the future of this country” now that he has a better opportunity to represent all of Guyana.

In addition to being knowledgeable in a variety of areas including project management, business management, agriculture, science and culture, Dharamlall also has extensive experience working with youth and emphasized that “young people can count on me for their representation in Parliament”. He also noted that subsequently, he is in a grounded position to represent Guyanese of all walks of life.

Charlie, when asked how he felt about becoming a MP for the PPP/C, said, “The position was bestowed upon me and I’m happy to take it up. It gives me more zeal to represent my people, to defend their causes and interests.”

He pledged to represent the

best interest of Amerindians, while at the same time defend the values of the PPP/C.

Besides having strong experience in finances and infrastructure, Charles is also actively engaged in maintaining the cultural aspect of village life and preserving ancestral culture.

His linguistic skills in Macusi, Wapishana and Portuguese facilitate his daily work in hinterland communities, particularly in Region 9 (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo), where he worked as Regional Councilor.

begins July 20

among Guyanese. CYEN, in a press release, noted that it is committed to driving this process at the national level through the use of specialised educational and training programmes, as well as community empowerment as critical prerequisites to develop an eth-

ic amongst Guyanese youth that will assist in the protection of both human and natural resources not only within Guyana, but also the Wider Caribbean.

It noted that its members are dedicated to improving the quality of life of Caribbean youth by facilitating and promoting their personal development and full involvement in all matters pertaining to sustainable development.

Registration fee is $2500. For more information, contact can be made with Event Coordinator Dionne Petty on 601-4194.

Scholarship awardees eager to continue studies overseas

The four Guyanese students who were awarded scholarships to complete their high school education overseas are extremely enthusiastic at the thought of embarking on this new journey.

Merissa Devina Peterson, Saif Panday, Kyle Joseph and Stephon Anthony Orlando Roberts have impressed representatives of the international school, United World Colleges (UWC), thus earning themselves full scholarships to study at various universities across the globe.

They were chosen by the National Committee of UWC (Guyana) from a shortlist of 16 students. The committee was established in Guyana in 2014 for the specific purpose of selecting three students to study at their universities in China, Canada and the United States (US).

Peterson, 16 years old, earned herself a chance to study at UWC College in the US. The Diamond Secondary School student, who has a passion to become a medical doctor, expressed her gratitude to the UWC for granting this opportuni-

ty for her to be one step closer to realising her dreams.

“I’m so thankful to be one of the lucky students chosen for such a great opportunity. I intend to use it to the best of my ability and do intend to come back home and share all the new skills and knowledge I would’ve learnt at UWC USA College,” she said.

Saif Panday, 18 years old of St Rose’s High School, will be going to UWC Singapore to complete his education.

The aspiring economist registered his excitement as he daydreamed of success in the future, “I see this as an opportunity to fully dive in, pursue my passions and take a step towards achieving my ultimate goal of being an economist. I intend to make every moment count while on this programme. I also intend to use the skills learnt there to be a meaningful contributor to Guyana’s development when I return.”

Kyle Joseph, all the way from the South Rupununi, earned a scholarship to study at UWC Canada. The Queen’s College student wants to be a medical doctor and sees this as the ide-

al opportunity to achieve his goals. “Because I’ve been a part of these various activities that exposed me various cultures and people, I was particularly excited about UWC. Their values about making education a force to unite people is truly inspiring. The whole idea of going to one institution with people of different cultures and learning about their ways all makes it more exhilarating...,” he said.

And lastly, 18-year-old aspiring economist Stephon Anthony Orlando Roberts will be studying in China and is very much elated at the thought of being in a new country, meeting new people, learning new cultures and developing himself. “I must say thanks to the UWC for considering my application. I am very excited for the opportunity to study in a new environment. I believe it would encourage me to have a more positive attitude towards learning. I expect challenges such as learning Chinese and adapting to the climate and I will miss my family (especially my grandmother), friends and my home, but I leave

with the hopes of returning a better person, with sufficient skills to contribute to the development of my country.”

Earlier this year, UWC offered the scholarship opportunities to Guyanese students 16 years or older. The aim is to educate young people of different ethnicity, religions and social statuses in one place as a means of promoting world unity. This was the first year that UWC Guyana ran a selection cycle and it is unsure if the cycle will continue next year.

Eighty-six applications were received from across the country, and there was a competitive 2-stage interview process. UWC noted that the main emphasis was not grades, but rather students’ commitment and vision to use this opportunity to help change society and be ambassadors for Guyana.

Outsider for the Presidency

Satiricus always admitted he couldn’t ever keep up with the bright boys from Queens. Even with the ones from Bush Lot Secondary which he’s attended in his dissolute youth.

“So how am I the only one to see what this “third term” case is all about,” he marveled to his friend Cappo at the back street bar at 3 am in the morning. “Is absolutely nothing to do with “third terms”” he continued.

“Bharrat was the fella who had made the law, wasn’t he? If he wanted to run again he just wouldn’t have signed on the dotted line.” “Dats right!” chirped his friend Cappo the canecutter. “Like how he na sign dat gay law. But ah who file the case, den?”

“Listen, Budday. It had to be a chap who know some law...and who gon benefit from the decision,” replied Satiricus, with a smirk. “Sato me friend, if you know who deh behind all dis, why yuh na tell me befo’ yuh choke? Said Cappo through clenched teeth.

“But I got to tell the reasons,” he countered. “All right,” replied Cappo with a resigned shrug. He knew Satiricus always had to tell the whole story. Satiricus said he always failed précis in school. “”Well all of you only think Chango allowed Jago-Boy to become President again,” started out Satiricus.

“Well na suh?” countered Cappo. “Na suh!!” grinned Satiricus as he took a swig of beer. “Chango also ruled that Guyanese who became foreign citizens can now also run for President!” “Really?” asked Cappo. “So ah Run Sanders behind all dis?” “Naah,” said Satiricus dismissively. “He ain’t no lawyer.” “Listen Sato, me na gat time fuh waste!” yelled Cappo. “Just tell me who the arse bring de case!” “All right! All right!” said Satiricus placatingly. “Is Lalloo Ram....The fella with the Suspenders holding up up his illfitting suit.

He British! That’s why he always try to be suha know-it-all!” “Naaah!” exclaimed Cappo involuntarily. “De President salary and pension too small fuh he. And dat is only wid de audit he get. Wait till he get outside wuk like he friend, Ghoul-seh-run!!” “Is not the money, Cappo my friend,” said Satiricus with a wise smile. “Is the power. He would be able to use tweezers all the time if he turn President!”

Aresident of 185 Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown was refused bail on Friday when he made an appearance before Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan for a narcotic charge.

Marlon Thoman, 39, was escorted into the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to the charge which stated that he was found with 18 grams of cocaine on April 25 while in Georgetown. He was officially charged with possession for the purposes of trafficking.

However, Attorney George Thomas told the court that his client was not there at the time in question. He said the Police had gone to Thoman’s house on April 25 where they searched the

house, supposedly found the illicit drugs then left with other documents. He stated that the house is also occupied by several other family members and the cocaine was found in the kitchen,

which is accessible to everyone. The Police Prosecutor, Corporal Deniro Jones, disagreed. He stated that the defendant was present during the search and the alleged cocaine was found in his personal room. To remove suspicion from the Guyana Police Force, the Jones stated that no other documents were removed from the home of the accused.

Thus, Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan refused the bail. She said that Thomas’ explanation is not a special reason to justify bail for his client. She ordered that his client make his next appearance in Court Three on July 23, where Magistrate Judy Latchman presides.

Suspect confessed to murder, attempted murder

Almost one week after Police ranks arrested Orpheus Johnson of Lot 13 First Street, Craig, East Bank Demerara (EBD) for the murder of Travis Rudder at his Nandy Park home, he has finally confessed to the heinous crime.

The confession was made in the presence of detectives on Friday as Police continued interrogating the suspect who crumble and gave a detailed account of what transpired on the night Rudder was executed. This was confirmed by C rime Chief Wendell Blanhum on Saturday morning.

Blanhum stated that the file will now have to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, for advice. Guyana Times understands that during interrogation, Johnson revealed the names of two others who were with him on the night of the shooting.

He reportedly told investigators that on the night of the shooting, he peeped through the back window and indeed saw Rudder’s 18-month-old son lying on the bed, but was pressured by the two other men to open fire. The shooting incident stemmed from an old grievance between the three suspects and Rudder, where by Rudder reported disseminated information about some unfinished business to an enemy of the gang.

They then boarded the car and left the scene. He also told investigation that, based on the amount of bullets, they were under the impression that Rudder, his son and his girlfriend, Mawanza Gill, were all dead. Guyana Times understands that the three murder suspects, including Johnson, went back to the scene a few hours after the shooting.

Johnson, who was arrest-

Venezuela

ed on Sunday evening last as he was about to board a minibus at the East Bank Demerara minibus park in Stabroek, Georgetown, was also implicated in the murder of Gladstone George who was executed in a minibus at Agricola, East Bank Demerara a few weeks ago. At the time of his arrest he had an unlicensed 9mm Beretta Pistol with 18 matching rounds of ammunition in his possession.

Johnson was accused of the 2009 murder of Brendon Charles, but was freed in October 2013 in the High Court by Justice James Bovell-Drakes after a nocase submission was upheld in his favour.

Justice Bovell-Drakes set Johnson free after his attorney, Latchmie Rahamat, made a no-case submission on his behalf, stating that there was an insufficiency of evidence by the prosecution after State Counsel Natasha Backer closed her case.

It was alleged that between April 7 and April 8, 2009, at Kaneville, Grove, East Bank Demerara, Johnson murdered Brendon Charles, whose body was discovered in a yard several streets away from his Lot

with identity cards

In what appears to be a desperate attempt to gain ownership of Guyana’s territory, the Venezuelan Government is mulling the idea of offering Identification Cards (ID) to the 200,000 estimated inhabitants residing along the Essequibo Coast.

This is according to Venezuelan Presidential Advisor, Retired Colonel Pompeyo Torrealba, who was quoted in Venezuelan media laying out his Government’s plan to take over Guyana.

In the coming days, the Government of Venezuela intends to launch a diplomatic strategy to gain ownership of the western Essequibo area.

In the Venezuelan media, the plan is dubbed as a diplomatic approach to “recover” the geographical space that traditionally belongs to Venezuela.

Guyana and Venezuela are currently embroiled in a cen-

tury-old border dispute, where the latter country is claiming ownership of the Guyana’s Essequibo territory.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had issued decree 1787 claiming most of Guyana’s territorial waters off of the Essequibo Coast; however, only recently, he withdrew the proclamation and issued a new one, which, according to Venezuelan media, supersedes the initial pronouncement.

The new decree does not have any defining coordinates. It poses no decision on land issues; but instead intends to support and justify the actions of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) in defending the newly created Integrated Defence Maritime Zones and Island (Zodimain).

According to Venezuelan reports, the Ministries of Defence and Interior are em-

914 Fourth Field, Kaneville home. Johnson was 21 years old when the charge was first read to him.

Rudder, 26 of Lot 130 Lindley’s Avenue, Nandy Park, EBD, was gunned down on the morning of June 21 after several gunmen opened fire on him and his family while they were asleep. His 18-monthold son, Travic Rudder, and 31-year-old girlfriend Mawanza Gill of Lot 149 Regent Street, Georgetown were also injured during the execution-style killing.

It was reported that Rudder, Gill and their son were in one of the rooms in the house while his mother and his younger brother were in another when several men with 9mm pistols with extended magazines opened fire through the bedroom window.

Based on reports Rudder was shot several times, while his girlfriend was shot about seven times to her legs and the baby was shot five times. The Police have since recovered 26 9mm warheads from the scene.

After the shooting, the men fled the scene in a white car after which Gill started to shout for help. A few minutes later, a neighbour ran to her rescue but was unable to move her due to her injuries. He subsequently took her son and sped off to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where the baby underwent emergency surgery. Gill was later collected by an ambulance and taken to the medical facility.

After spending sometime in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital, Travic Rudder was discharged and place in the pediatric ward but was later sent home. His mother was also discharged and is recuperating.

Pres Granger pardoned youths enrolled in USAID SKYE programme

Exactly one month after some 40 youths were granted amnesty by President David Granger as part of the Independence Day celebration, the pardoned individuals have since been enrolled in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Skills and Knowledge for Youth Empowerment (SKYE) Programme, in which they are currently excelling.

This is according to SKYE Chief-ofParty Magda Wills, who told Guyana Times that all of the released youths are attached to coaches from their respective areas. Before their release on June 12, the 40 individuals were all interviewed by SKYE representatives and were identified for certain training programmes that are being conducted in all the regions.

Originally there were supposed to be 60 convicts pardoned by President Granger on Independence Day. The missing 20 were presumably found unsuitable for various undetermined reasons and remain incarcerated.

Wills explained that the youths are benefiting from education, skills and behavioural training that will guide them along the right path, so that they can be reintegrated successfully into society. However, she clarified that they are only facilitating the reintegration progress and

paving the way for opportunities, stressing that they will not be acting as probation officers for these young people. “We will not be monitoring them after they leave,” she stated.

The Chief-of-Party noted that about 98 per cent of the amnesty beneficiaries are male, while the other two per cent of females are between the ages of 18 and 25. During the training, she explained, the youths will be educated on areas of working habits, the labour laws, among other aspects, so that they will have the right attitude for the working environment.

Willis also disclosed that the programme will conclude on September 16, when the 40 youths will graduate with the other participants of the programme. After graduation, the

respective coaches will link the necessary technical and vocational programmes. This means that the individuals would be deemed “rehabilitated” after a mere three months and let out into society.

Recently, at a reception held to celebrate the United States Independence Day, US Chargé d’Affaires Bryan Hunt further committed to the programme to empower Guyanese youths in order to deter and reduce their involvement in crime and violence. “Our mutually beneficial goal is to reduce youth crime and violence by development-enhanced skills and increased economic opportunities,” Hunt said.

According to the US Embassy official, they have partnered with Guyana’s Magistracy and the Probation Department of the Social Protection Ministry to ensure that alternative sentencing was given to more than 70 young persons. This, he noted, will divert young persons from incarceration and push them towards receiving support to reform their lives.

Hunt went one to outline that “Over 1600 youths have been linked to long-term employment. Our work to empower youth and support improvement of their lives through this programme continues, partnering with Government, the Private Sector, and the non-governmental community to achieve objectives.”

powered to implement the decree.

With Guyana’s resistance growing stronger, Venezuela has seemingly decided to intensify its efforts to steal the country’s territory. According to Torrealba, other aspects of the plan include having the border dispute between the two countries taught in elementary, high schools and universities; have the issue widely broadcast in media located in bordering areas; and launching of an awareness campaign to make Guyanese understand that the territory belongs to Venezuela.

In addition, only recently, President Maduro announced publicly that the country will also seek help from the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, to urge him to advocate and defend Venezuela’s right over the Essequibo territory.

Decomposed bodies of mother, baby found in Diamond house

The decomposed bodies of a mother and her 5-month-old daughter were on Friday evening discovered in their Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home by Police ranks who were contacted after a foul scent was detected by residents. The gruesome discovery was made at about 23:00h.

The dead woman was identified as Yoleana Charles, formerly of Mabaruma, North West District and of Lot 408 Section C Block Y, Diamond, EBD. The name of the child was not immediately available and the woman’s husband, who works in the interior, is Silvon Carter of Upper Demerara River.

Guyana Times understands that the couple moved into the house in December last, soon after which the baby was born. Carter reportedly left for the interior a few weeks ago and the woman and the child was last seen on June 24.

Although living in the area, neighbours told this publication that the woman and her husband hardly spoke with anyone.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told the Guyana Times that the Police are awaiting the reports from the post-mortem examination to determine how to treat the matter.

He stated that investigations revealed that at about 23:00h on Friday evening, a tenant who occupies another section of the house reportedly came across the foul stench and informed the caretaker of the house, who in turn contacted the Police.

As the Police arrived at the scene, the door was opened and the gruesome discovery was made. He stated too, that the due to the condition of the two bodies, the investigators could not say if it was a homicide. As of now, they are treating the incident as a suicide.

When the Guyana Times arrived on the scene on Saturday morning, the flat concrete home was locked tightly and no one was in sight. One man who lives a house away from where the bodies were found stated that he started to smell the foul scent since Sunday last and thought that it was the septic tank; the smell got worst on Friday evening.

The man stated that he was at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre on Friday and after he returned home later in the evening he saw a large gathering in front of the house, which is owned by an overseas based Guyanese. As he enquired he was told of the terrible discovery.

He stated that while he spoke to the woman’s husband, he never spoke with the woman who seemed very reserved. “She would go to the shop and return home without saying anything to the neighbours’,” he stated. He confirmed that the woman is of Amerindian descent and was about 26 years old.

Another neighbor, who conducts business on behalf of the owner, told the Guyana Times that the young lady who occupies the back apartment contacted her relating that a foul stench was emanating from the house. She stated that she immediately

telephoned the Police.

At that point in time, she did not want to think about dead bodies. “I know when the husband goes into the interior, the wife would pick up her daughter and they would go out and spend the time with family. As she gets news that her husband was coming out, she would return,” she stated.

She recalled that as the Police came and opened the door, the two decomposed bodies were found in the front room. She too added that the woman did not really communicate with people in the area. The man at the shop recalled seeing the woman but she did not speak much.

When contact was made with the owner of the house in New York, he told that Guyana Times that the woman lived at 18th Avenue, Diamond New Housing Scheme, but moved to his house when he left in December last. At the time she and her husband moved in, she was pregnant with her child.

He, however, learnt of the incident after he would have received a telephone call from a neighbour seeking permission to enter the house due to the stench that was emanating. He noted that he would have given permission since he thought that something was amiss.

After sometime, he made contact with the neighbour who told him of the gruesome discovery. He posited that he attempted to contact Carter, but that was to no avail. He plans to return to Guyana at the earliest possible opportunity.

Region Two Police to help to tackle increased suicides –

residents and faith-based organisation educated on suicide

prevention

By IndrawattIe natram

With Guyana rating the highest adjusted incidence of suicide amongst six Carribbean countries, and Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) having the most suicide cases according to statistics presented the Health Ministry and National Suicide Prevention Programme, the Guyana Police Force in collaboration with the Health Ministry, are working together to educate persons on the prevention of suicide via seminars and workshop.

On Friday, G Division in Region Two hosted a seminar of such nature which saw persons from the faithbased organisations, residents, ranks of the force and residents receiving much information about suicide prevention.

The team consisted of doctors from the Health Ministry, which included Dr Bhiro Harry, Dr Jorge Balseiro MA, Dr Cailin Vieira BA Msc and Dr Leslyn Holder Msc. The doctors gave a brief presenta-

tion on suicide prevention.

Commander of G Division Kevin Adonis, during the opening of the seminar, said that the initiative is to educate persons about suicide prevention, and noted that it is a national one also embarked by Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud. Adonis said the suicide rate in Region Two is very alarming and as such educating individuals is important.

Psychiatry Department

Head of the Health Ministry, Dr Bhiro Harry, during his presentation in the Anna Regina Courtroom, said that the issue of suicide is very prevalent. He called on the Police to help in the prevention and to assist with the “suicide prevention health hot line”, citing the important role the Police and faith networks play in the National Suicide Prevention Programme.

It was noted that once the lines are established, there will be five telephone lines that will be monitored by trained personnel. “Anyone can call; we are

here to help. If you are feeling lonely, anxious, sad call us.”

Elaborating, Dr Harry proposed that an emergency suicide prevention plan be put into place in an effort to train individuals to help combat this battle. The strategy, he explained, will have several components consisting of developed training, media reporting, awareness about suicide prevention, increased access to mental health, as well as follow up community support.

According to statistics conducted between the period of 2010-2012, Guyana has had 667 attempted suicides with over 200 persons losing their lives.

The presentation revealed that, during that period, Region Two had the highest suicide rate with 52.7 per cent of the total amount. It was most prevalent among East Indian, ages 19-40. The most used method was poison, and depression and uncontrollable anger are listed as the most contributing factors.

Young Entrepreneur launches teeth whitening business

Guyanese born Karen Manifold is the proprietor of a new teeth whitening business called “Simply White Cosmetic Teeth Whitening”. The 27-year-old lady, resided in the United States for about 11 years and has recently returned to Guyana with a mission to serve the public.

The stunning young lady explained why she chose to enter such a strange market, saying, “I have always had a likeness for white teeth and about two years ago, while I was living in New York, I was trained in this specific area and I decided that I would like to take this skill home to Guyana”. She further explained that her unique facility mimics the setting of a typical New York Cosmetic Whitening Spa, but she added a bit of her own flare to it.

When she returned to Guyana a short while ago, she decided to invest around $4 million to make her dream a reality. The business has been receiving great reviews from the customers thus far, and Manifold and her team are looking forward to making Guyanese people more comfortable by helping them achieve a perfectly white smile. The receptionist attached to Simply White, Bibi Harris, explained how persons get to access the treatments offered. She said that persons can call or drop into the Norton Street location and schedule an appointment; they will be given a date to return and be treated.

Dr Steve Baul, the dentist attached to Simply White, explained that the whitening process offered at the Spa is

simply and painless. Persons desirous of having the treatment would have to endure a painless one hour procedure. The whitening process is done in three 20-minute sessions in a very comfortable and safe environment. After the procedure Simply White calls back their patients a few days later for “follow-ups”. The business also caters for persons who do not want to go through the process, so they sell dental items that will help make teeth whiter.

Simply White Cosmetic Teeth Whitening Spa is located at Lot 50 Norton Street and Louisa Row, Werk-enRust and their phone number is 231-6329. Persons who are desirous of being treated can call and make appointments and schedule their payments of $45,000 for the treatment.

Our past is real

By Ryhaan Shah

The past can neither be dismissed nor disremembered. This would go against all scientific evidence of the fourth dimension of reality which is Time itself. Time has been threaded together since the universe came into being and the future cannot happen but for the past.

So, when the Coalition came up with the campaign strategy that Guyanese must “go beyond the past”, “put aside the past”, and such like, in its attempt to evade the many transgressions of the PNC’s political history, it should have been waging an unwinnable battle. That it won the elections by a contentious slim margin still means that just about half of the population did not buy into its evasions, anyway.

The PNC and its supporters do know the importance of the past but are comfortable with a selective memory. African Guyanese remember slavery – as they should - and this past week they commemorated the “Son Chapman” explosion that killed some forty residents of Linden.

In a newspaper report, Linden politician Sharma Solomon called the tragedy a “massacre” implying that it was a deliberate act. While the Inquest/police investigations in 1964 turned up no suspects, African Guyanese believed agents provocateurs of the then PPP government – and Indians by extension – were the perpetrators although Home Affairs Minister Janet Jagan suggested that the launch could have been taking explosives upriver, that they were badly stored, overheated and exploded.

Since the annual remembrance is always presented by African Guyanese politicians and the PNC without benefit of context, as if the tragedy occurred in isolation and without reason, why then was the PPP suspect?

None of the commemorations ever refer to the horrors named and remembered as the “Wismar Massacre” which preceded the “Son Chapman” tragedy by some six weeks. Over two days, May 25-26, 1964, African-Guyanese in Wismar and McKenzie turned on their Indian-Guyanese neighbours and friends and carried out attacks that included arson, looting, assaults, rape and murder.

At the end of the bloody, two-day spree, five Indian-Guyanese were dead, including a 10-year-old boy, and over three thousand more had been chased from their homes. Permanently. It is the one act of ethnic cleansing that Guyana has ever experienced. Six weeks later, the “Son Chapman” launch was blown up. Retaliation or accident? Whatever your conclusion, it is clear that we are a nation divided even with our grief.

Writer Cormac McCarthy said, “Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.” Each side has its scars. Each side has its narrative. While African-Guyanese commemorate the “Son Chapman” tragedy each year, Indian-Guyanese are more often silent about the Wismar Massacre and its attendant horrors. Have they and their leaders forgotten or forgiven?

Forgiveness does not occur in a vacuum. It is given when perpetrators accept responsibility for their violations and, as with all of the PNC’s past, this has never been done. Even if Indian-Guyanese choose to transcend that past, it does not make the perpetrators any less guilty or any less responsible.

And there would never be any forgetting that would deny the pain and trauma of the thousands who lost their homes and businesses and, more importantly, lost their trust in their fellow citizens. The report on the Wismar Massacre compiled by the then colonial government recorded this. The perpetrators were never covert about their actions or intent.

Another writer, William Faulkner, stated simply, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Ours continues with the pattern set by our colonial history and by more recent political transgressions. Many continue to proffer the idea of healing and reconciliation but we are hardly there yet when the PNC/APNU could mount a political campaign on everyone forgetting its past and could attract stout defenders of this unseemly idea. Yet the memorial it created to the Sun Chapman in 2004, says “Those who forget the past do so at their peril”

It shows where we are as a nation - completely divided, and by race. Race trumps everything, including truth and morality.

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to shah@guyanatimesgy.com

Broad Street man seriously injured after colliding with cyclist

Moments after leaving his house on Saturday afternoon on a motorcycle, a father of one is now hospitalised following an accident along High Street, Georgetown involving a pedal cyclist.

Jason Lawrence, 28 of Lot 7 Broad Street, Georgetown reportedly received severe head injuries following the collision and he was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was admitted.

According to information received, Lawrence was driving his motorcycle bearing registration number CF 4726 along Princess Street when he collided with the pedal cyclist who refused to stop at the intersection at High and Princess Streets.

As a result, both men were thrown off their cycles and toppled several times before coming to a halt. Lawrence received the majority of the injuries, due to the fact he was not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred.

Blood was seen on the roadway and the motorcycle, which is owned by the now injured man’s brother, was taken into police custody. The man on the pedal cycle was also being questioned by the Police.

Speaking to the Guyana Times , Nicola Warren, his mother, recalled him telling her that he was leaving

home, but was not aware that he was leaving on a motorcycle.

She said that a few minutes later, she received a telephone call informing her that he was involved in an accident. In tears, the woman stated

that by the time she arrived at the scene, she was made to understand that he was taken to the hospital.

The woman stated that only recently her son was involved in anoth-

er accident and had to undergo surgery. At the hospital later on Saturday afternoon, Warren stated that the doctors had taken him to do a CTScan to determine the severity of his injuries, and that he was not breathing on his own and hooked up to oxygen. She is hoping for the best.

At the scene, a security guard attached to the service station in the area explained that the two men were nearly crushed by a truck which was passing at the time of accident. She stated that from all indications, both men failed to stop at the intersection thus resulting in the collision.

“After I see the two men, I called 912 and I tell them about the accident, but then the woman on the other end say it was the fire station and not 911 and put down the phone… I then called 911 and when the Police answer, I tell them that the accident happen at Princess and High Street, and they say they sending somebody,” the woman stated.

She stated that after the accident, Lawrence was lying on the roadway for about 15 minutes before he was picked up and rushed to the hospital. All the vehicles passed and refused to stop to take the man to the hospital. The Police have launched an investigation into the accident.

Govt under pressure to fight crime…

Serious crimes up by 9 per cent

– 79 murders, 56 road facilities, 207 cases of rape to date

The Government of Guyana is under pressure to fight crime, even as the Guyana Police Force on Saturday disclosed that there has been an increase of nine per cent in serious crimes in the first half of 2015, when compared to the same period last year.

The Force stated that a total of 79 murders were recorded at the end of June 2015 in comparison to 69 at the end of June 2014, which saw an increase of 14 per cent. On to the tenth day of July, one murder was recorded. Of these, 29 murders were committed in A Division (Georgetown/East Bank Demerara) followed by 14 in C Division (East Coast Demerara) and 13 in B Division (Berbice). In addition, 11 were committed in F Division (Interior locations) and four each in D (West Bank Demerara/East

Bank Essequibo), E (Linden/ Kwakwani) and G Divisions (Essequibo coast/Islands).

However, the Police further disclosed that 29 of the 79 murders committed were disorderly, followed by the 20 during robberies and six through execution-style killings. Nine were as a result of domestic disputes, 20 were from unknown causes and three by other means.

In addition, the Police recorded a six per cent decrease in robbery under arms as well

as a nine per cent decrease in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms.

Further, there has been an increase of 74 per cent in the number of reports of rape, with 207 cases being reported at the end of June when compared to 119 for the same period last year. Break and enter, larceny and bur-

glary have shown an overall increase of nine per cent.

The Police also seized a total of 61 illegal firearms, comprising one sub-machine gun, 35 pistols, 14 revolvers, four shotguns, six rifles and one pen-gun.

Behind the backdrop of the Police statistics, the Government was forced to convene a meeting on Tuesday last to develop a broad-based anti-crime strategy to curtail rampant criminality that has gripped the country in the past month.

With the recent upsurge in crime, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan admitted that in order to significantly reduce the crime rate in the country, a longterm plan will have to take effect as this serious crime surge cannot be curbed with short-term strategies.

He was also quoted as saying that fighting crime was a herculean and multidimensional task, as it could not be easily erased or reduced from any society. He explained that Government will have to first identify the root causes for the problems and then address the matters from there.

In relation to traffic, the Police reported that 56 road fatalities from 45 accidents have been recorded at the end of June in comparison to 57 fatalities from 52 accidents for the same period last year. There have been decreases in all other categories of road accidents – serious, minor and damage.

Pedestrians have been the main category of road users affected so far in road fatalities with 17 such persons having lost their lives at the end of June.

In addition, five pedal cyclists, 16 persons in motor vehicles, eight motor cyclists, eight drivers, one pillion rider and one person who was

being towed on a bicycle also lost their lives.

Speeding has been the major contributory factor to fatal accidents, having been the cause of 22 of the 45 fatal accidents on to June 2015.

Traffic enforcement by the Police Force has resulted in a total of 26,390 cases being made against errant motorists; of this total 11,168 cases were for speeding, 770 for driving under the influence of alcohol, 328 for using cellphones while driving and 764 for failing to wear seatbelt. Two road fatalities have been recorded for the month of July.

Al Ghazali Islamic Academy hosts prize giving ceremony

The Al Ghazali Islamic Academy’s Primary Department hosted a ceremony for the graduating class of 2015. The ceremony was attended by the Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine; the Director of Public Prosecution, Shalimar Hack; General Manager of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG); and other executives from the school and CIOG along with parents and well wishers.

The school has seen a significant improvement in its performance at the National

Grade Six Assessment since 2012, and this year two of the 21 graduates gained places in the top 100 of the country. The two young ladies, Aselah Najab and Raissa Young, will both be attending Queen’s College come September. Additionally Shamar Bruce, who came in third, will be attending The Bishops’ High School, with the remaining nineteen students all successfully gaining places at good schools in the city. The Education Minister was the Guest Speaker of the graduation and, in his remarks, greeted the atten-

dants in Arabic before he expressed how honoured he was to have been given the opportunity to address the graduates of the Al Ghazali Islamic Academy’s Primary Department. The Minister also said that “I am very happy that this school caters to the needs of orphans” since the school has a wide cross section of students, with a few of them being orphans and non-Muslim. The school promotes peace, love and tolerance of each other’s culture and that is the main reason why the administration opted to take in nonMuslim teachers and stu-

dents.

Dr Roopnaraine presented certificates to all the graduating students and encouraged them to be meaningful Guyanese citizens. Awards and certificates were also awarded to the top performers from Grades One to Six of the school.

The graduation came at a very significant time for all Muslim, as it occurred during the month of Ramadan. All Muslim and non-Muslim Guyanese were urged to appreciate the meaning of sacrifice and to understand how beneficial it may be in the future.

Younge’s Take

Riding the Storm

This week, the Peoples Progressive Party Civic proved that it cannot be outmaneuvered even if it is in opposition when it confirmed that former President Bharrat Jagdeo will serve in the country’s eleventh Parliament as Guyana’s Opposition Leader.

The public’s response to this development has demonstrated just how much the new Government has to fear as a result of Jagdeo’s return regardless of what the State Minister Joseph Harmon and his political minions would like us to believe.

The truth is, Jagdeo has always been favoured by the masses and the Government contributed to his popularity in a variety of ways despite their failing attempts to break him and end his political career with their scandalous disclosures while in opposition.

Since the announcement of Jagdeo’s return, there has been renewed hope within the ranks of the PPP/C. There has always been a strong view from the masses and grassroots supporters that Jagdeo is the only man that could effectively lead the party’s crusade against the neo-PNC which is hiding behind the veils of the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change coalition of convenience.

The hype within the party skyrocketed on Thursday following Chief Justice Ian Chang’s ruling that the twoterm limit is unconstitutional and without legal effect given the parliamentary process used to make changes to the Constitution.

The party also skillfully responded via its General Secretary Clement Rohee to a school of thought which was being advanced by the likes of Ralph Ramkarran and his media minions that it had “lost its way”.

In fact, the PPP proved just how he had lost his way and had become consumed by what the leadership of the party described as “bitterness and vengeance” because of his alleged inability to secure his political interests within its structure.

Also, in its bid to quell concerns about the representation of those who voted for it at the last the elections, the party announced a strong parliamentary team of individuals led by Jagdeo who would occupy its 32 seats in the National Assembly.

But the eleventh parliament will be quite interesting because those who have, over the last three years, cursed Jagdeo down in public and demonized the PPP will now have to stare him in the eye.

There are also those who will have to take time out from enjoying their 30 pieces of silver after betraying the PPP to observe the tone, speeches and posture of Jagdeo as he represents the opposition in Parliament.

Jagdeo’s return may also prove to be an awkward situation for Moses Nagamootoo and Khemraj Ramjattan after all their actions over the last decade gave light to an insightful statement made by former US President George Washington who said “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder”.

Having campaigned alongside Donald Ramotar during two consecutive elections, Jagdeo returns to Parliament with a huge appetite for setting the record straight, exposing the alleged misinformation and lies peddled about his tenure in Government, shattering the hopes of the new Government in implementing half-baked idealistic but unrealistic policies that would eventually hurt the populist, and ensuring that the new David Granger’s Government is kept on the back foot until it is time for Guyanese to head to the polls again.

He is returning to the National Assembly at a time when Granger’s Government is under immense pressure to deliver on a mere 21-point 100 day plan it promised the electorate would be made a reality if it became Government.

Jagdeo at 52 is also returning to the helm of politics while Granger’s foreign policy and diplomacy initiatives are resulting in unwarranted chaos as Venezuela is becoming more assertive in its claim to Guyana’s rightful territory and had axed a major bilateral deal with Guyana which will no doubt hurt the country’s rice sector and thousands of farmers.

The imagined utopia being enjoyed by the APNU is over and the former president will no doubt use every opportunity made available to him to show just why the new Government is unable to manage the affairs of Guyana. It is expected too, that he will use measures presented in parliament to advance the reduction of poverty and work with the Government to improve the country’s overall development.

In short, Jagdeo is the man who will ride the storm until Guyana is ready to vote again.

Venezuela’s threat stymies

Guyana’s development – Solomon

Former Region Ten (Upper DemeraraBerbice) Chairman Sharma Solomon has noted with great concern, Venezuela’s continuous threat and irrational claim on Guyana’s geographical space and the negative impact it is having on the country’s overall development.

“History has shown that we lost the realisation of the Upper Mazaruni hydropower development under President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham Government because Venezuela was claiming Essequibo, which scared off investors and bankers,” Solomon noted in a press release.

“Already, we have seen President Maduro’s attitude towards us when it comes to the PetroCaribe deal,” he added.

Recently, the Venezuelan authorities instructed Guyana to cease all paddy and rice exports to their country with immediate effect, thus jeopardising the livelihood of hundreds of Guyanese who depend on the rice industry for survival. The Venezuelan rice markets makes up some 60 per cent of Guyana’s overall rice market.

Also, Solomon pointed out that the issuance of the decree Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is an act geared towards stymieing Guyana’s production of oil. The decree was issued shortly after United States oil giant Exxonmobil announced that it found oil in Guyana’s offshore waters in the Stabroek Block.

However, as of recent, Maduro recalled that decree and issued a new one which supersedes the original decree. “Today we are confronted with President Maduro’s act to stymie the production of oil, which can bring down our cost in building an efficient manufacturing sector through cheap energy supply. An effective manufacturing sector can create thousands of jobs for Guyanese to be employed. Cheap energy means the small man can benefit from jobs and goods and services at affordable prices. For the society it means improved and expanded social services and infrastructures. Together this means economic development for the society and steep reduction in poverty,” he underscored.

Solomon vigorously affirmed that “to claim what’s not yours is an act of misplaced aggression. To continue to want to grab what has been settled by international arbitration is a show of contempt for the rule of law. To decide on one day you will use this decree and next day use another in efforts to push an agenda, which is known to have no moral and international premise and support among right thinking persons within your country, is a sign of desperation.”

On that note, he declared and made it clear for all to understand that all “83,000 square miles and the Exclusive Economic Zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in relation to Guyana remain ours!”

Therefore, Solomon highlighted that for Maduro, the aggressor, to get highly offended when Guyana stridently takes a stand to protect itself as a sovereign nation and to defend its territorial integrity, is a clear sign that the Venezuelan leader has no regard for international law.

“The act of economic aggression by President Maduro is intended to circumscribe our sovereignty by making us dependent on Venezuela who will play a significant role in determining our national programmes,” he noted.

Further, Solomon concluded that Maduro’s failure to provide basic amenities for the citizens of Venezuela has angered his people, which ultimately resulted in the series of protest action and widespread discontent that is currently ongoing.

“The President’s failure to properly address domestic affairs has seen him

Teenager hospitalised after labaria bite

Seventeen-year-old Lennox Fredericks of Wakapoa village in the Pomeroon River, is presently a patient at the Suddie Public Hospital receiving treatment after surviving a venomous labaria snake bite.

He was bitten by the reptile on Monday while walking along the trail at Timber

River head in the Lower Pomeroon River in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Fredericks was bitten to his right foot and was rescued by his boss. He was immediately rushed to the Charity Oscar Joseph Hospital and later transferred to the Suddie Public Hospital. His condition is listed as stable.

turning his personal aggression against Guyana and other sovereign nations. The intention of President Maduro’s act is to rally the citizens of Venezuela against Guyana, and others with a view of diverting attention from his failed economic policies,” he reasoned.

In light of this growing aggression, Solomon reiterated that Guyanese are required to put all differences aside and do everything in their power to guard and protect what is theirs.

“Guyanese are required to first and foremost recognise that we too have a country that we call home and it for this reason we must protect and defend every inch that belongs to us, by remembering it is not what country can do for us but what we can do for country. Let us cooperate for Guyana and resolve to fight together. Yes we can!”

3 in custody for marijuana found at Lombard Street

Three men were arrested on Saturday following the discovery of a quantity of cannabis sativa, during a Police operation at Lombard Street, Georgetown. Those in custody are Collin Hubert, 32, of Lot 17 Lombard Street, Georgetown; Tireto Farley, 27, of Kaneville, East Bank Demerara (EBD); and Dudley Bascom, 27, of 942 Kaneville, EBD.

According to information received, Police ranks conducted a raid at Lot 17 Lombard Street, Georgetown during which 1.5 kilograms of cannabis was found hidden under the flooring of the house owned by Hubert.

At the time of the raid, the three men were in the house and were therefore told of the offence, cautioned and arrested. The seeds, leaves and stems were taken to the Police Narcotics Branch where it was weighed and amounted to 1.5 kilograms.

The three men are expected to make their first court appearance on Monday where the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking will be read. The Police are continuing their investigations.

Man nabbed at Ogle International Airport with ganja in rice

Ranks of the Police Narcotics Branch on Saturday arrested a Georgetown resident as he was attempting to smuggle marijuana in a quantity of food items via the Ogle International Airport. The arrest was made at about 11:15h. Collin Downes of Lot 14 Durban Street, Georgetown, was reportedly in the process of sending a quantity of food items via the Ogle International Airport to Kiakan, Region Seven (Cuyuni Mazaruni) when a quantity of seeds, leaves and stems were detected in a 10 kilograms sack

of rice.

Police ranks escorted Downes to a search area where the cannabis was extracted and weight, amounting to 280 grams. He was told of the offence and arrested. He is expected to make his court appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Only on Wednesday evening, Kevin Sandy, age 30, of 37 West La Penitence Housing Scheme, Georgetown, was nabbed with 2.238 kilograms of cannabis sativa (marijuana) and 1.2 kilograms of cocaine at the Ogle International Airport. He subsequently made an ap-

pearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years imprisonment, along with a fine of $6.1 million.

It was reported that ranks from the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit made the discovery at the Ogle International Airport as the mule – who is attached to the Edward B Beharry and Sons Company Limited – was about to board a LIAT Flight to Barbados. The 3.5 kilograms of drugs was found in his suitcase as he was about to check-in at the counter.

New Giftland Mall surpasses expectations

BY DEVINA SAMAROO

The Giftland Mall, dubbed the single largest innovation in Guyana, has been the talk of the town long before its grand ceremonial opening on July 2.

From the classic shuttlecraft rides to the colossal structure, the dozens of multiplex stores, the mega food court and not forgetting the modernised movie theaters, the Giftland Mall has almost become synonymous with high-class entertainment.

Catering for the entire family, the full-blown entertainment complex has almost everything each family member may need and desire. However one cannot simply comprehend the excitement that comes with the mall if they do not experience everything it entails – which may very well take

an entire day.

“I was ecstatic even at the idea of having this complex in Guyana. Now that it is finally opened, I think I am slowly dying of excitement. I know for sure everyone who visits will have a memorable tale to tell,” said an overly excited teenager, Rebecca Rampersaud.

The journey through the mall begins with the giddy feeling of traveling in the fancy buses along the lengthy stretch of road into the enormous compound. “One cannot simply visit the mall and not use the shuttlecrafts!” visitors expressed. Once there, the most difficult challenge arises-where to begin.

The mall boasts a variety superstores which are fully stocked with everything you may need. “It’s just like that simply little store they had on Water Street, except it’s 100 times better; there

is more to choose from and it’s more spacious. It is definitely a wonderful shopping experience. It makes shopping a breeze, rather than a hustle and bustle,” said a mother who was getting an early start on the back-toschool shopping.

“You can always come to Giftland and get good customer service. It was

shop, socialise, watch a movie, grab a meal, or just to take photos, the Giftland Mall is indeed the trending entertainment hub in the country where everyone wants to be.

“After classes, I would just come over here. We don’t have to do anything; we would walk around and then go by the food court.

the same experience at the smaller location. Other businesses should take pride in customer service because it really makes a customer want to come back to your store and this is one of the reasons why I will always come to Giftland,” said Dawn Rodney, who travelled all the way from South Ruimveldt, Georgetown to visit the shopping plaza.

With the mall being the new highlight in Guyana, hundreds of persons from near and far, crowded the facility on a daily basis, whether to shop, window-

Guyana’s pride in the fashion industry...

Sometimes we would buy something to eat, sometimes we don’t. That’s the thing, it’s a nice place to be and you don’t really have to do anything; you just come with your friends and hang out and it’s the perfect environment for that,” said Natasha Williams, a University of Guyana student.

But while the mall is fairly busy during the day, the buzz of it is in the evenings when paramours, friends and families come out to experience high-level entertainment in a com-

fortable atmosphere that is going to leave you yearning for more.

“This is the best movie experience ever! I don’t even have to stand in the lines to get food. You know normally the lines are long and you may not want to wait. They have a system in place where, when I am in the cinema, I can press a button and order what I want and then they will bring it inside. I don’t have to get up. How awesome is that?” Cindy Kishun gleefully exclaimed.

The cinema complex boasts eight gigantic modernised screens, high-back reclining chairs, digital surround sound systems, state-

completion and Guyanese are certainly already ecstatic about the features it is offering- which is minute in comparison to the other features that are yet to come.

The 560-foot entertainment strip, which will comprise fine dining restaurants, sports bars, Brazilian grills, and pubs for evening entertainment, is still to be opened. Video arcades, zip lines, rock climbing and bungee jumping are also some of the exciting additions left to be established.

Though it is located all the way behind the Caricom Secretariat in Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, many Guyanese from afar brave the journey just to ex-

of-the-art projection technology, stadium seating and the latest trend in movie theater design.

The funny thing is, the mall is not even close to

“Exclusive designs with an upbeat

perience the wonders of the Giftland Mall. And indeed, the mall definitely delivers a new exhilarating experience for Guyanese.

Caribbean

flavour with an International flare”

BY DENNIS GLASGOW

In Guyana, when you hear about fashion, you immediately think about Sonia Noel. This gorgeous fashion designer is definitely an iconic figure for fashion in the Caribbean. The award winning designer, humanitarian, entrepreneur and mother has managed to remain relevant in the industry for close to two decades.

Noel has showcased Guyana all over the world, from as close as Trinidad and Tobago to as far as Finland. Noel said that she is “someone who wants to be known for her positive contributions in society... fashion is my first love but when it comes to my career, I am a Guyanese fashion designer”. The modest mother of two is very passionate about the creative industry, not just fashion alone and tries to give back to the community in any way possible, especially by empowering the younger generation of creative minds.

Her involvement in the fashion industry has given her many opportunities to give back to her homeland, and one of the main examples would be The Designers Portfolio and The Sonia Noel Foundation for Creative Arts which she founded to nurture young talented people. In 2008 when the Designers Portfolio and Guyana’s Top Model were first launched, it produced one of the greatest opportunities for young people to showcase their unique-

ness and talent. However, the winner for the Designers Portfolio was Andrew Harris who has made a name for himself in the United States of America. When Noel spoke about Andrew she said “Andrew has been doing exceptionally well and I am very proud of him.”

Noel had this to say about the challenges faced in the fashion industry, “The industry is definitely not without challenges and though they may be endless, designers always find creative ways to overcome them. The main challenge however is finance, because sponsorship has always been a major problem in the creative sector. It doesn’t matter how great your idea may be but to get it to the next level or to make it a reality, you have to have money. Another challenge is the lack of fabric materials and even the simplest thing like a zip in a specific colour can be challenging to find in some cases.”

Noel explained that in other Caribbean countries like Trinidad and Tobago, the National Budget caters for fashion. This is mainly because fashion is a part of the “tourist package” that persons from North America and Europe come to the Caribbean to sample. In places like Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados, they seem to be more “well off” than Guyana and this is as a result of the lack of funding that Guyana’s needs to be taken to the next level.

Noel also said that “it is not a case where Guyana lacks talent because

we have superb designers, but finance is the main problem. Though the Private Sector offers support, it is still very minimal. The previous Administration also made a little bit of contributions but Noel remains hopeful that the new Government is more supportive of the Arts.

The designing queen explained that one of the major benefits of being a designer is “Waking up every day knowing that you are doing something that you love”. She added that the biggest benefit is person-

al satisfaction and she is extremely lucky that she gets paid for doing something that she loves.

The fashion industry has allowed her to meet many phenomenal people worldwide and the industry has also given Sonia the opportunity to work with social causes like domestic violence, sickle cell, HIV/AIDS, environmental preservation, child abuse and many others.

Fashion has always been a strange but effective measure used to bring awareness to these pressing issues. Noel related one of her most cherished experience in the industry, “I could remember once when we did fashion week and we partnered with the Ministry of Human Services to address domestic violence and Anna Marie Horsford, the Hollywood actress, was here and we did a segment where young ladies came out on stage with absolutely gorgeous dresses and then they wore bandages around their bodies to appear as women who were abused. Ann Marie was so quiet and she said if one more model came out there I would be in tears. It was so impactful.”

Sonia Noel’s tagline is “Exclusive designs with an upbeat Caribbean flavour with an International flare” and this captures her market which is basically Caribbean countries, and most recently, the wider Diaspora. Her line was officially launched and can be purchased from Faze Boutique at the Cov Galaria Mall in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Though

her market for consumers caters for Caribbean people, it does not mean that only Caribbean people buy her clothing and this is evident in her client lists that spread all across Europe (especially Finland).

Her most recent showcase was in the United States of America, in New York and Atlanta, for the Caribbean American Month long celebrations. One of New York’s Councilwomen Laurie Cumbo was so impressed by Noel that she has asked Sonia to design for her in the near future. The designer will be flying the Golden Arrowhead at the Pan American (PAN AM) games next week in Toronto, Canada. In the next few months, she will be taking her pieces to Spain, Holland and London.

Noel recently received an award called “The Golden Arrow of Distinction” and this was given to her for her outstanding achievements in community work and her career. The award was presented to her by the Guyana Tristate Alliance in New York City. Noel said that she feels very honoured and proud to have been issued with such a distinguished award to add to her collection. She added that “Getting that award makes me feel great to actually be recognised for what I have been doing through the years and it was quite an honour to be in such a line-up with prestigious people... I feel like this is not just an award for me but it is one for the fashion sector.”

China evacuates nearly a million as typhoon hits

Chinese authorities have evacuated more than 960,000 people and cancelled hundreds of flights as a typhoon with wind gusts of up to 200kmph (kilometres per hour) hit the country’s southeastern coast.

Typhoon Chan-hom struck mainland China on Saturday afternoon between the coastal cities of Ruian and Zhoushan, south of Shanghai, according to the country’s national weather service. It said the typhoon might be the most powerful to hit China since 1949.

The Provincial Flood Control Bureau said 28,764 ships had been ordered back

to port by late Friday. The country’s railway service said more than 100 trains between the region’s cities were cancelled through Sunday.

Chan-hom caused 20 injuries as it moved over islands in southern Japan, Kyodo news agency reported, citing the Okinawa Prefecture Government. People in coastal fishing farms in Fujian province to the south of Zhejiang were also asked to evacuate Friday morning when a red alert was first issued, the highest level, for the typhoon.

Al Jazeera’s meteorologist, Rob McElwee, said

most of the risk from the storm comes from sea waters. “Most coastal damage from hurricanes and typhoons tends to come from ocean flooding as the storm surge inundates all low-lying areas: the entire ocean surface will rise by tens of centimetres as the Chanhom passes,” McElwee said.

The typhoon is the second storm to hit China in two days after severe tropical storm Linfa made landfall on the coast of southern Guangdong province. Earlier in the week, Typhoon Linfa displaced 56,000 people in southern China’s Guangdong province. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Deadly clashes as UN warns of more violence in Burundi

At least 12 gunmen have been killed in clashes with Burundian government soldiers in a northern region near the border with Rwanda, a regional official has said.

The fighting took place on Friday night near Rugazi, north of the capital Bujumbura and in a thickly forested area on the Rwandan border. The attack was claimed by rebel Burundian army soldiers who attempted but failed to overthrow President Pierre Nkurunziza in a coup in mid-May.

The violence in northern

Burundi comes as United Nations (UN) Human Rights Chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein warned that security was deteriorating rapidly in the country and that an explosion of violence is close at hand.

He told the UN Security Council that “the risk to human life, and to regional stability and development, is high” as a result of escalating politically motivated violence and Burundi’s history of recurring bloodshed and atrocities. He said his office has documented dozens of killings in the past two months, most of them shootings of demonstrators and

human rights defenders by the youth wing and security forces

The central African nation has been gripped by months of unrest over Nkurunziza’s plan to stand for a third consecutive five-year term, which opposition groups say is unconstitutional and a violation of a peace deal that ended a dozen years of civil war in 2006. Hussein’s comments came as the country’s presidential election was postponed to July 21 from July 15, after African leaders called for a delay in a bid to resolve the political crisis. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Vatican sex abuse trial halted as ex-archbishop falls ill

The trial of a former archbishop charged with child sex offences has been adjourned after the defendant fell ill hours before he was due to appear in court at the Vatican.

Jozef Wesolowski, 66, is accused of paying for sex with children in the Dominican Republic from 2008-2013. He is being treated in intensive care for an unspecified illness.

Wesolowski is the first

high-ranking Catholic to stand trial in the Vatican on sex abuse charges. He has already been found guilty by a special church tribunal and defrocked. His case is seen as a test of Pope Francis’ push to tackle sex offenders.

Wesolowski, who is originally from Poland, had been recalled from his role as the Vatican’s envoy to the Dominican Republic in 2013 after allegations surfaced ac-

Granger, Ramotar and Jagdeo...

The former Legal Affairs Minister supported his position by making references to Articles 222 (1-4) of the Constitution. He declared that the salaries and allowances of those holding such offices as the President are charged to the Consolidated Fund, hence they are not subjected to the approval or disapproval of the National Assembly. In fact, he stated this is an indication of the level of protection and the security of tenure which the Constitution accords to these office holders.

Furthermore, Nandlall referred to Article 222 (3) which protects the salaries, allowances and terms of service from any alteration that will cause the office holder to lose his or her benefits after their appointment. He added “as it relates to Presidents, I submit that the benefits and other facilities conferred by

the 2009 Act are captured in these “allowances and terms of service” to which Article 223 makes reference. It is clear, therefore, that while the remuneration package of these office holders can increase, no diminution is permitted even after they would have left office”.

Commenting on President Granger’s position, Nandlall outlined that the current President assumed office while the 2009 Act is in force, and as such, he is guaranteed certain facilities and benefits which will accrue to him when he ceases to hold the Office of President.

“Article 222(3) protects those facilities and benefits from any alteration to his detriment. The 2015 Bill cannot, and does not, affect those facilities and benefits,” the former Attorney General positioned.

He further outlined

that the courts, both in Guyana and throughout the Commonwealth, have given varied possible definitions to the term “property” to include money, rent charges, mortgages, easements, shares, or anything that has economic value.

Nandlall went onto say that every single entitlement listed in the 2009 Act as a benefit or facility to a former President, is capable of being converted into monetary or economic value.

These entitlements he said, therefore, are the legal property of those to whom they statutorily accrue and Article 142 of the Constitution prevents the repeal of the Act by this 2015 Bill from having the effect of compulsorily acquiring the property which the 2009 Act confers, without prompt and adequate compensation.

India’s Narendra Modi accepts Pakistan visit invite

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted an invitation from his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to attend a regional summit in Islamabad next year. This will be Modi’s first visit to Pakistan after he took power last year.

A meeting between the two leaders on Friday came after increased border hostilities and India cancelled secretary-level talks last year. They also agreed to help expedite the 2008 Mumbai terror attack trial, blamed on Pakistan based militants.

The suspected mastermind of the attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, was released on bail from a Pakistani jail in April, a development that India described as “unfortunate and disappointing”.

He still faces trial - along with six other suspectsover the attacks, which left 166 people dead and damaged peace efforts between

the two countries.

In a separate development, Modi accepted Sharif’s invitation to visit Pakistan. “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated his invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit Pakistan for the Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit in 2016. Prime Minister Modi accepted that invitation,” a joint statement from the two Governments said.

cusing him of abusing boys there. He is also charged with possession of child pornography. If convicted, he could face between six and 10 years in a Vatican jail.

Pope Francis has overhauled the Vatican’s justice system to allow bishops to be tried in the Papal state, after the church was accused of not doing enough to tackle sex crimes against children.

(BBC News)

Alarge explosion has severely damaged the Italian Consulate in Egypt’s capital, Cairo. The Health Ministry says at least one person has died. Four people were also injured, medical sources said.

The blast was caused by a car bomb, an official told the state-run news agency Mena. No group has yet said it carried out the attack.

The consulate was closed and no civilian staff members are among the injured. The main entrance of the building was almost totally destroyed, windows were shattered and the building was flooded after water-pipes ruptured. Had it

Indian Foreign Secretary Jaishankar told reporters that the two sides had also agreed to hold a meeting of their top security advisers to discuss terrorism.

Friday’s meeting was the first between the two leaders since Sharif attended Modi’s oath taking ceremony in May 2014. But relations between the nuclear-armed rivals deteriorated soon after and in August India cancelled talks with Pakistan after accusing it of interfering in its internal affairs. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Egypt explosion hits Italian Consulate in Cairo

been a working day, the casualty numbers could have been much higher, says the BBC’s Sally Nabil in Cairo.

The attack raises questions about the security forces’ ability to secure foreign diplomatic missions in the country, our correspondent adds.

Egypt’s Public Prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was killed last month by a car bomb attack in the city. In the same month, another car bomb targeting a police station left three people dead.

Egyptian security forces have been battling militants, but the fighting has been mostly confined to the

Sinai Peninsula. Militants in Egypt have killed at least 600 police and armed forces personnel in the past two years. They stepped up their attacks after the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

In recent weeks, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah alSisi has promised to crack down further on Islamist militants. Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members, including ousted President Mohammed Morsi, have been sentenced to death by Egypt’s courts. The majority remain on death row awaiting execution. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Federer aiming to defy Djokovic in Wimbledon final today

Roger Federer will look to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles when he plays defending champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final.

Federer, 33, currently shares the record of seven wins with Pete Sampras and victory would make him the oldest Wimbledon winner in the Open Era.

Djokovic, 28, beat Federer in the 2014 final for his second title at SW19.

“I have played Roger many times and he is one of my greatest rivals,” Djokovic said. “We all know how good he is.”

Federer is into a record 10th Wimbledon final after sweeping aside Britain’s Andy Murray in straight sets to maintain his 100%

winning record in semi-finals at the All England Club.

He is three years older than Arthur Ashe was when he won Wimbledon in 1975 and the oldest man in a final since Ken Rosewall, who was 39 when he lost to Jimmy Connors in 1974.

The Swiss second seed has been in imperious form, dropping only one set and one service game in his six matches so far at the tournament. He faced only one break point against Murray, in the first game.

“I need to keep it up for one more match to really make it the perfect couple of weeks,” Federer said.

To do that, he must overcome the Serbian world number one, who trails 2019 in their head-to-head record since 2006 but has beaten Federer twice already this year.

Both players will have something to prove on Sunday according to BBC Sport analyst Andy Roddick, who lost three Wimbledon finals to Federer.

“Roger has been turning back the clock and, if he wins, we will be saying that he has never looked better,” Roddick said.

“For Novak, it is about getting over the disappointment of losing the final of the French Open.

“Federer is in better form but Djokovic can say to himself that he is still going to establish himself as the number one player and he doesn’t have to play well for the whole two weeks do ithe just needs to get himself in a position to succeed on Sunday.”

Djokovic took almost four hours to beat Federer in a thrilling five-set encounter in last year’s final, and Roddick is expecting another memorable encounter this time.

“There is almost no way for this not to be an impressive match,” Roddick added.

“If one of these guys comes out and wins in straight sets then we are going to be saying ‘what an amazing performance’. (BBC Sport)

Digicel Nationwide Secondary Football Tournament…

Waramadong and Bush Lot Secondary in showdown today

Waramadong

Secondary will, for the first time, meet Bush Lot Secondary to battle for a quarter final place in the fifth annual Digicel Nationwide School Football Tournament.

GFF, IPAM on week-long tour of hinterland region

The Indigenous People’s Affairs Ministry (IPAM) is once again teaming up with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) in an effort to develop the sport of football in the hinterland region.

Minister within the Ministry, the Honourable Valerie Garrido-Lowe, along with GFF’s Technical Director Claude Bolton, journeyed to the hinterland where they would travel between Regions Seven, Eight and Nine to kick start the Ministry and Federation’s plans for the sport.

On July 1, the GFF handed over 100 footballs to the Ministry to aid in their preparation for the Hinterland Games, but

Minister Garrido-Lowe made it clear that the indigenous people, whose favourite pastime sport is football, deserves an equal opportunity at representing Guyana on the international stage.

“What generally happens, although they are really talented and enthusiastic, they don’t get the necessary exposure, training and everything and it makes me sad to see every time, a national team has to represent Guyana, I’m not seeing a truly national team; I’m not seeing my indigenous brothers and sisters and I would like us to change that,” said Minister Garrido-Lowe.

The Minister pointed out that it is her hope for the Ministry and the GFF to form a strong link, “where

we can develop hinterland football to a high level where the opportunity can come to our hinterland brothers and sisters.”

Chairman of the GFF’s Normalisation Committee, Clinton Urling, had stated that Guyana has a unique geography in the Caribbean region, with large expanses of land, while noting “we’ve not seen the best of Guyana’s football when we send our national team out. I sincerely believe that some of our best players will come from the hinterland region, and since becoming the Head of the Normalisation Committee we’ve made a deliberate effort to expand the game and reach out to the hinterland communities.”

So far Bush Lot has not showed the skills they exhibited at the playoff for third place last year when they achieved a win over Beterverwagting (BV) Secondary.

Bush Lot, the Region Five champions for a second straight year, met with eventual winners Christianburg Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) in a semi final match last year at the Burnham Park.

After playing to a 1-1 stalemate in their semi-fi-

The teams finished second and third, respectively, in the national competition in 2014 and it was questionable whether Bush Lot would have given a better showing against Wismar/ Christianburg Secondary in the final had it been contested between Bush lot and Wismar/Christianburg Secondary.

nal against CWSS before the match was decided from the penalty spot, Bush Lot were forced to compete for third place with BV. They did so successfully by whipping BV Secondary 3-1. BV had held Waramadong to a 2-2 score line before their semifinal match was decided from the penalty spot.

However, this year the West Berbice boys have not shown the skills that have been exhibited thus far by Waramadong. Despite having only six players from last year, the Region Seven

champions, Waramadong, have a very good offence and defence. Their weakness, though, is the lack of speed of their centre defenders.

Serena wins 6th Wimbledon title

Standing a set and 5-1 up in the Wimbledon final against a Spaniard playing only her second match in tennis’s most famous arena, a fourth consecutive grand slam singles title looked a formality for Serena Williams on Saturday.

She duly completed the job against Garbine Muguruza 6-4 6-4 to claim the so-called ‘Serena Slam’ and will head to the U.S. Open bidding to become only the third woman to win the “calendar year” Grand Slam in the professional era.

But an angst-ridden finale in which Muguruza tenaciously fought back showed that, despite Williams’s vast experience and vice-like grip on women’s tennis, crossing the finishing line for a 21st grand slam title made her heart pound just as fast as when she made her first breakthrough at the 1999 U.S. Open.

Which, for her rivals hoping that at nearly 34 the American will become blase about collecting trophies, is bad news.

“I just learned that all the people are nervous, even Serena, in a final, because I saw it,” Muguruza, the first Spaniard to contest a Wimbledon women’s singles showpiece match since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 1996, told reporters.

In securing her sixth Wimbledon title and first since 2012, Williams became the oldest woman to win a grand slam in the modern era, 16 years after winning her first.

It seems unlikely anyone can stop her march into the history books at Flushing Meadows where she is unbeaten since 2011.

On Saturday, however, it was the feat of holding all four majors concurrently, something she also achieved at the 2003 Australian Open,

that was foremost in her thoughts.

“I honestly wouldn’t have thought last year after winning the U.S. Open I would win the Serena Slam at all,” said the world number one.

“It’s super exciting.

“I just knew I wanted to win Wimbledon this year. Of all the grand slams, it was the one I hadn’t won in a while.”

Magnificent muguruza

Muguruza, the clean-hitting 21-year-old born in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, played magnificently in the first set, leading 3-1 and 4-2 before Williams raised her game after a sluggish start to take the opener.

The enormity of the occasion and the sheer presence of Williams then seemed to hit home and the Spaniard crumbled, losing 14 out of 15 points to trail 5-1 as her vastly-experienced American opponent closed in for the kill.

Then, Williams got a bad attack of the jitters before regaining her poise in the nick of time.

“You’d be surprised, I feel

Under-15s and19s start Regional preparation

– Ashmed Nedd and Travis Persaud to lead respective teams

By Rajiv Bisnauth

The national Under-15 and Under-19 squads began preparation for this year’s regional Under-15 and Under-19 cricket competitions with a six- day preparatory camp.

The camps are being held simultaneously at the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence hostel and indoor facility at La Bonne Intention on the East Coast of Demerara

vulnerable every time I step out there,” she said. “It’s just overcoming those feelings.”

She was totally dominant until, serving at 5-1, she was broken to love. Muguruza then started swinging as she had in the early stages of the match when she had broken serve in the opening game and led 3-1.

Williams began to miss and the 20th seeded Muguruza, cheered by the Centre Court crowd, held for 3-5.

It still seemed only a hiccup for Williams as she stepped up to serve for the match for a second time.

But her anxiety was apparent when she began the game with an eighth double-fault, gesticulating to her players’ box where her family and friends, including rapper Drake, watched on.

Muguruza won the next two points with backhand winners, the second one almost leaving Williams in a heap on the baseline.

Williams replied with an angry ace and screamed, “Where have you been?” to her trusty weapon. (Reuters)

Ronaldinho joins Fluminense

Fluminense have announced that Brazilian icon Ronaldinho is set to call the Maracana home until the end of 2016.

Ronaldinho is set to continue his career with Fluminense, with the 35-year-old signing a contract until the end of 2016.

Having been linked with Angolan club Kabuscorp and Antalyaspor of Turkey, plus the MLS, this year, since it became clear his time at Queretaro in Liga MX was coming to an end, Ronaldinho has instead chosen to go home to Brazil.

Fluminense announced the deal on Saturday, with Ronaldinho hoping to help the Rio de Janeirobased club win their third Campeonato Brasileiro title

in six years.

“It was one of the things that motivated me to return to Brazil, going after a title that still do not have, and also because it is a club that

has great players,” the attacking midfielder said in a statement.

“It’s a very cool project and I am very happy to join these great players.”

Fluminense won the Brazilian Serie A in 2010 and 2012, and they sit second in the 2015 standings after 12 rounds - two points adrift of leaders Atletico Mineiro - one of Ronaldinho’s former clubs.

Ronaldinho also previously played for Fluminense’s archrivals Flamengo.

In one season with Queretaro, Ronaldinho scored eight goals in 25 games, while in his last full season in Brazil - with Mineiro, the veteran struck seven times in 14 matches.

(Digicel Sportsmax)

Under the watchful eyes of Coach Adrian Amsterdam, the Under-19 squad was revealed to the Guyana Times Sport on Saturday morning by Manager David Black, which saw 12 of the 14 players encamped. Ricardo Alimohamed and Shemron Hetymer were the two players missing the opening day. Alimohamed is currently on national duties with the Under-17 team in Trinidad and Tobago, while Hetymer is with the Guyana Amazon Warriors line-up.

There were no real surprises in the 14-man squad which will be led by talented all-rounder Travis Persaud. The other members of the squad are: Tevin Emlack, Parmesh Parsatom, Balchand Baldeo, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Parmanand Ramdhan, Kasim Khan, Nathan Persaud, Akinie Adams, Grisean Grant and Akshaya Persaud.

Meanwhile, in an invited comment, Amsterdam said he will be trying to identify areas of weakness in the players so that those areas can be worked on as prepa-

rations for Jamaica continue. Amsterdam expressed satisfaction with the level of fitness of most of the players on the first day.

Further, Amsterdam revealed how pleased he was with the squad selected. The squad is scheduled to depart on July 20 for the Reggae country. The Guyanese captured the 50 overs-a-side title as well as the Three-Day crown

last year, to complete the Under-19 double, when the tournaments were staged in their homeland.

This year’s tournament is scheduled to take place from July 22 to August 2.

The six regional teams - Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad & Tobago and Windward Islands - along with a side from ICC Americas will play the other once in a round-robin competition with the top two teams contesting the final to determine the winner.

U-15 squad

On the other hand, Ashmed Nedd will lead the Under-15 squad. The other members of the squad are: Sachin Singh, Alphius Bookie, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair, Garfield Benjamin, Qumar Torrington, Haifa Walters, Nivendra Persaud, Pradesh Ballkishun, Kelvin Umroa, Orlando Jailall, Robin Williams and Kevin Christian.

The squad will be coached by Julian Moore, who explained that he will not only be focusing solely on the on-field aspect, but topics such as captaincy, field positions and the importance of teamwork will be dealt with.

Guyana will host the tournament from July 2330. The Guyanese captured the title last year in Jamaica by topping the points table, following victories over all opponents except the Windward Islands.

The tournament, which is now in its 20th year, will be contested under a roundrobin format, featuring five rounds of matches, with the team accumulating the most points being declared champions.

All new One Day International playing conditions, recently introduced by the ICC will apply for the tournament, which presents another opportunity for the region’s best Under-19 players to showcase their talent to break into the West Indies Under-19 squad for the ICC Youth World Cup next year in Bangladesh.

– to conduct official testing at Relay Championships today

The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) installed the Fully Automatic Time (FAT) system on Saturday at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

With numerous grumblings about the inaccuracy of time and finish line judging, the FAT system will eliminate such errors thus giving Guyana’s athlete times recognisable by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Confirmation of the

installation of the system which was acquired by the Guyana Olympic Association came from AAG’s President, Aubrey Hutson. Hutson also noted that an official from Trinidad came in to help educate local officials on the correct use of the system

Further, Hutson also revealed that the system was tested on Saturday, but will have its first official test at the Relay Championships scheduled for today at the National Track and Field Centre.

The Ashes…

England go 1-0 up with emphatic win

There are many ways to lose a Test and Australia have lost this one in a manner that will cause them much disquiet. They would have had to make history to chase down 412 in Cardiff. Instead they made an unholy mess of things, surrendering five top-order wickets in 12 overs from the stroke of lunch to make a thumping England victory in the first Investec Test inevitable.

That victory came in the 17th over of the final session: the margin 169 runs, the forecast of rain until mid-afternoon on the final day an irrelevance. The pace bowlers were having a rest in anticipation of a second new ball that was not needed and Joe Root, Man of the Match for his decisive first-innings hundred, even nipped in with a couple of wickets and the final catch.

A defiant, clean-hitting half-century by Mitchell Johnson, with the ball soft, the pitch napping and the pressure lifted by the prospect of certain defeat, provided some window dressing, but by the time he fell at slip for 77 from 94 balls, he had provided apt commentary on Australia’s middleorder failings as England went 1-0 up in the series. The favourites beaten at the first attempt: we have a series on our hands.

Australia initially put up determined resistance in challenging batting conditions. No side had ever suc-

cessfully achieved such a fourth-innings target in an Ashes contest, but Australia made a solid start before the departure of David Warner, the second wicket to fall, in the final over before lunch, rallied England’s spirits. Things were never the same again.

There were doubts before the series that England’s attack had the capacity to dismiss Australia twice. But in Cardiff they have made much more disciplined and resourceful use of a slow, dry and occasionally inconsistent surface. Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been rejuvenated by another Ashes skirmish, Mark Wood

has bowled straight and purposefully, Ben Stokes has raised his reliability levels and Moeen Ali, although not finding the turn uncovered by his Australian opposite number, Nathan Lyon, has nevertheless had the guile to spirit five good wickets in the match.

The loss of Warner, for 52, abruptly changed the outlook at the end of a morning session when Australia, at 97 for 1, had done their utmost to insist that in an Ashes Test there was no such thing as a done deal. Moeen ran a ball into Warner’s pads, he was bemused as he edged back when he might have gone forward, missed

ing at seven, and a share of the record. Broad capped a probing new-ball spell by dismissing him for 10 as he angled one into him from around the wicket and a defensive push flew low to Ian Bell at second slip. Rogers stood his ground, to England’s discomfort, before TV replays confirmed the catch was clean.

Warner had begun to settle in ominously before his dismissal and England had already jettisoned one review against him when a ball from Broad had actually flicked the top of Warner’s pad. Broad also sensed another lbw when Warner was 15, his brain not entirely computing the presence of a big inside nick.

the ball by a notable distance and the umpire’s decision fell to England.

That wicket must have been a particular relief for Moeen, who had been given an early outing by Cook, but whose two overs cost 22, including a six over midwicket by Warner, as he failed to settle.

Lyon had taken four wickets on the previous day on a responsive surface and Moeen was bearing heavy expectations. It was a good call by the captain to take another look as the morning session ticked away.

Chris Rogers had been the first wicket to fall, his sequence of Test fifties end-

There could be no more liberties with only one review remaining and Broad curbed his ambitions, holding his hands to a reddening face like a teenager sud-

denly realising on the last bus home that they had left their mobile phone in the lavatory.

England could be satisfied with the standards they achieved, and could point at numerous examples in the morning session when fortune did not quite fall their way. Broad and Anderson combined in an insistent opening salvo, passing the bat regularly.

There was not the same swing available as there had been earlier in the match but England wisely pulled back their lengths slightly, in the expectation that a dry and variable surface would come to their aid.

Five Australia wickets for 25 in 12 overs was an emphatic turnaround. Seven balls into the session, Smith was gone, steering a wide ball to Bell at second slip, the second time in the match he had been out for 33. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

Carl Lewis visit to Barbados ends with inspirational speech

Carl Lewis, visiting Barbados for three days, had some words of inspiration before leaving.

Speaking to an audience at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex, Lewis spoke about being patient and about sticking to your guns.

According to Lewis, he didn't start out doing well at athletics.

The International Association of Athletics Federations Athlete of the Century said his sister did well, but that he struggled.

When we began to run my sister had tremendous success. In the beginning my sister ran and she won every race, but I was kind of the small kid. I was a late bloomer and I was always the small kid . . . the runt in the family so to speak . . . the one who didn’t get first,” he explained.

The advice he received from parents and coaches was to be the best you can be.

“But my parents kept saying to me when I was a little kid to keep trying to be my best. So I focused on honing my talent and being the best athlete I could be, listening, running and work-

ing hard and just trying to be the best that I could be.”

During that period, Lewis said he would finish last but that didn't matter.

He was honing his skills.

“But I was honing my talent and I was getting better and I never thought about winning. I just thought about being the best that I could be, because I didn’t think that I would have been that great,” said the University of Houston coach.

The rest, as they say, is

history. Ten Olympic and 10 World Championships later, Lewis has all right to say he has some idea of what it takes to succeed.

“It takes time and it takes focus and it takes listening and it takes trust, just like everything else. There are people in your life who are going to ask you to be successful and do things, and they want to give you their support, but you have to trust them,” Lewis advised. (Digicel Sportsmax)

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here was a big cloud hanging over Mohammad Hafeez ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. He had managed only returns of 98 runs and three wickets in four innings before missing the series-deciding Test in Pallekele to undergo tests on his bowling action. He replied by getting impressive drift, turn and bounce, claiming his personal best figures of 4 for 41 in 10 overs, including a maiden before marshalling the chase of 256 with his tenth ODI century, the last four of which have come against Sri Lanka.

Hafeez rolled into action right away, after the hosts were inserted. He began by removing left-handed batsman Kusal Perera off his third delivery. He would eventually cap his spell with the wicket of another left-hand bats-

Mohammad Hafeez is mobbed by his team-mates

man, Thisara Perera, off his last ball.

Sri Lanka, however, were hauled to a competitive total by Dinesh Chandimal, who profited from controlled bottom-handed heaves and slogsweeps to strike an unbeaten 65 off 68 balls.

The hosts’ momentum, though, faded away quick-

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka innings (50 overs maximum)

MDKJ Perera

c Mohammad Rizwan

b Mohammad Hafeez 26

TM Dilshan b Mohammad Hafeez 38

HDRL Thirimanne c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Anwar Ali 23

WU Tharanga st †Sarfraz Ahmed

b Mohammad Hafeez 20

AD Mathews* c Babar Azam

b Yasir Shah 38

LD Chandimal† not out 65

NLTC Perera c Mohammad Rizwan b Mohammad Hafeez 1

TAM Siriwardana c Mohammad

Rizwan b Rahat Ali 22

S Prasanna c Mohammad Hafeez b Rahat Ali 0

SL Malinga not out 4

Extras: (b 4, lb 7, w 6, nb 1) 18

Total: (8 wickets; 50 overs) 255

Did not bat: RAS Lakmal

Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-82, 3-111, 4-118, 5-200, 6-204, 7-244, 8-245

Bowling: Mohammad Irfan 10-0-

41-0, Rahat Ali 8-0-44-2, Anwar Ali 7-0-38-1, Mohammad Hafeez 10-1-41-4, Yasir Shah 10-0-46-1, Shoaib Malik 5-0-34-0.

Pakistan innings (target: 256 runs from 50 overs) Azhar Ali* c †Chandimal b Mathews 21 Ahmed Shehzad c †Chandimal b Lakmal 29 Mohammad Hafeez c & b NLTC Perera 103

Babar Azam lbw b Dilshan 25 Shoaib Malik not out 55 Mohammad Rizwan not out 20

Extras: (lb 1, w 5) 6

Total: (4 wickets; 45.2 overs) 259 Did not bat: Sarfraz Ahmed†, Anwar Ali, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-65, 3-123, 4-198

Bowling: SL Malinga 8-0-560, RAS Lakmal 5-1-21-1, NLTC Perera 8-0-32-1, AD Mathews 5-0-22-1, S Prasanna 9-072-0, TM Dilshan 8.2-0-451, TAM Siriwardana 2-0-100.

Bravo inspires Red...

Not long after that halfchance, Peters cut Sulieman Benn towards short third man, and was sent back going for a risky second run when Benn broke the stumps with a tumbling dive.

The Red Steel spinners continued to squeeze the Patriots after the wicket, but Dowrich picked one from Benn and broke the shackles by coming down the track and thumping him over long on for six. However, he could not get hold of a leg spinner from Badree and Javon Searles ran in from the boundary to complete the catch.

Johan Botha dragged his length back to have Marlon Samuels caught at midwicket, and the very next ball he also dismissed Shahid Afridi, who toe-ended a high catch to Dwayne Bravo on the ropes. Botha did not manage to complete his hattrick, but with four overs left and the score at 103-6, the Patriots needed to get a move on. Dwayne Bravo bowled Brathwaite with a full, straight delivery to bring up his 250th T20 wicket, becoming only the fifth man to reach this milestone.

Devon Thomas hit a quickfire 25 in last night’s victory over the Zouks and once again he was a key player for the Patriots. He lost partners quickly though, as Searles took a screamer over his head to get rid of Raymon Reifer, and Sohail Tanvir nicked his first ball behind to Kamran Akmal.

In the final over, Thomas turned his side’s fortunes around by taking Searles for 22 including three maximums. Although he was out caught off the last ball, his 44 from 23 gave his team a fighting chance of winning the match by setting a target of 147.

Jacques Kallis made a positive start to the Red Steel’s chase, punching two length deliveries outside the off stump for four in the first over of the reply. He picked off Sohail Tanvir for three more boundaries in the second over, as the Pakistani seamer erred with both his line and his length.

Tanvir made amends for his first over when he changed ends and Kallis popped a slower ball to Shahid Afridi. Soon after, Cameron Delport

ly in the chase, with Azhar Ali and the recalled Ahmed Shehzad beginning strongly. They set up Pakistan’s ninth fifty-plus opening partnership in the last ten ODIs before both openers were out caught behind, fishing outside off. Hafeez struggled with his timing early on, dragging and hacking balls over the leg side but settled down after his fifty and underpinned Pakistan’s reply against a Sri Lankan attacked that lacked bite and direction despite some assistance from the pitch. Lasith Malinga and Seekkuge Prasanna went wicketless while conceding 128 together in 17 overs.

The change of gears from Hafeez was stark: the first fifty took 58 balls while the second took only 35. After lifting Thisara over point, Hafeez pumped his fist, hugged Shoaib Malik, the first and the only other Pakistan player to have produced a four-wicket haul and a century in an ODI. Two balls later, Hafeez popped a return catch to Thisara but by then the equation was clawed down to 58 off 85 balls. Malik then picked up the mantle, waltzing to his fifty and sealing victory by launching Tillakaratne Dilshan over long-off with six wickets and 28 balls to spare. Malik used his feet adeptly and crunched four fours and two sixes in his 45-ball 55. (Cricinfo)

was given a life when an edge burst through the hands of Patriots captain Marlon Samuels at slip..

William Perkins punished some poor deliveries from Jomel Warrican to take the pressure off the required run rate. He and Delport rotated the strike and looked to be aggressive against anything loose from the Patriots bowlers. With just 47 needed from 50 balls, Delport was caught behind when he misread a delivery from Shahid Afridi. Perkins kept his cool after losing his partner, though, and when he launched Shahid Afridi over extra cover for six in the 14th over, the game was all but up.

Perkins reached his 50 with a huge maximum onto the roof over long on, and sealed the win by carving Reifer to the ropes after losing both of the Bravo brothers towards the end. It was only the Red Steel’s second win of this year’s Hero CPL, and it helped lift them off the bottom of the table leapfrogging the Guyana Amazon Warriors. (CPL Release)

Pompey nominated for IAAF

Athletes’ Commission spot

– Jones, Hutson wishes her well

By TreisTon Joseph

Commonwealth gold and silver medal-

ist Aliann Pompey will have a chance to be selected to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Athletes’ Commission by the end of the World Championships in August. Pompey was nominated for one of six available spots on the commission and will most likely be the first Guyanese to be a part of the commission.

To be eligible for nomination, athletes must have participated in at least one of the past two editions of the IAAF World Championships or in the most recent Olympic Games or be a competitor at this year’s IAAF World Championships.

While Pompey did not compete in the last two World Championships, she did compete in the most recent Olympics Games, being London 2012. The names of the six elected members of the commission will be announced before the end of the cham-

pionships and they will begin their mandate on January 1 2016.

President of the Athletics Association of Guyana Aubrey Hutson, who revealed that his association made the nomination, is of the firm believe that Pompey will be exceptional at the job. “Pompey remains our dearest representative, especially in North American, and the job she is doing there, we believe that it will transcend to that job once she gets it…I believe that her being in such a position will bring light to third world countries such as us and it will bring recognition to Guyana,” Hutson stated.

Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, was also happy for Pompey and noted that it is a great opportunity for the four-time

Olympian. “It’s an excellent opportunity for her; Aliann being there can really in turn help our association here in terms of their practices. She is in a position to help build our athletes and it would really put Guyana on the map in the IAAF because of her Guynese connection,” Jones highlighted.

The nominees are: Valerie Adams (NZL), Mehdi Baala (FRA), Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT), Nataliia Dobrynska (UKR), Michael Frater (JAM), Jacques Frisch (LUX), Yelena Isinbaeva (RUS), Vanda Juhasz (HUN), Ezekiel Kemboi (KEN), Fabiana Murer (BRA), Koji Murofushi (JPN), Blessing Okagbare (NGR), Christian Olsson (SWE), Aliann Pompey (GUY), Alina Talay (BLR) and Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR).

Trophy Stall sponsors overall Mr Gym Expo trophy

The Savannah Suite at the Pegasus Hotel will be buzzing with muscle flexing this evening when the Fitness Paradise annual Gym Expo comes off with an international flavour.

Athletes from Studio Body Shape of neighbouring Suriname will also be on stage against their Fitness Paradise counterparts. The evening will also see the formalising of relations between the two gyms.

The overall winner of Mr Gym Expo will be rewarded with a beautiful trophy, compliments of the Trophy Stall of Bourda Market.

On Saturday, Managing

Director of the Trophy Stall,

over the trophy to Fitness

Sunich said he was pleased to be onboard with Gym Expo and complimented Sinclair for the initiative of linking with Studio Body Shape of Suriname, which can only enhance relations between the two gyms while making a positive impact on the sport.

Sinclair expressed gratitude to Sunich, noting that the Trophy Stall has always been supportive of events that his gym undertakes. Showtime this evening is 19:00h.

Payless Variety Store favours Fortune

Payless Variety Store is celebrating its 18th anniversary this month, and the company’s management team, which has an avid interest in sports, is finding ways and means of giving back to the country’s sportsmen and women. The latest individual to benefit from the entity’s generosity is athlete Alisha Fortune, who is slated to travel to France soon.

A few days ago, at the business establishment’s Wellington Street location, the athlete received a monetary donation ahead of her international duties in the European country, where she will compete at the World Masters Athletic Outdoor Championship next month. Fortune’s sponsorship will be used to offset

some of her airfare and accommodation expenses.

Rajan Tiwari, a representative of the store, presented Fortune with the monetary support as she aims to medal at the meet, which will be staged in the city of Lyon from August 4-16.

Fortune will be competing in the 100, 200 and 400m events. At those same races in the North, Central and Caribbean World Masters Athletics (NCCWMA) in Costa Rica last year, she copped gold.

The 40-year-old evergreen track star thanked Tiwari and noted that she will do her best while in Europe. Tiwari wished Fortune the best of luck and encouraged her to do Guyana proud.

P&P 15th annual 11-race cycling…

DeNobrega returns to winning ways

BY AVENASH RAMZAN

Team Alanis’ Paul DeNobrega made a welcomed return to the top podium spot on Saturday, carting off top honours in the feature

win of the season in a time of one hour, 16 minutes, 56.78 seconds (01h: 16m: 56.78s). Persaud came in a close second, while Wilkinson and Choo Wee Nam took third and fourth respectively.

35-lap event at the 15th annual P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited’s 11-race cycling programme.

Competing in the school boys and invitational main race at the inner circuit of the National Park, DeNobrega shrugged off

Ambrose claimed the fifth spot, while King finished sixth. DeNobrega and Ambrose took two prizes each, while there was one each for Christopher Holder, Jamal John, Mark Harris and Persaud.

Earlier in the day, Kennard Lovell and

the challenge of his competitors to record his first win in four months.

DeNobrega’s form had tapered off a bit since winning the “Dash for Cash” 40-lap race in March at the same venue, and Saturday’s victory was a timely reminder of his prowess, even if it happened on a day when the leading rider this season, Team Gillette Evolution’s Orville Hinds, pulled out of the race with 10 laps to go owing to discomfort he encountered with his new cleat (cycling shoes).

At the start of the final lap, DeNobrega was part of a four-man pack comprising Robin Persaud (Carlton Wheelers), Akeem Wilkinson (Team Gillette Evolution) and Paul Choo Wee Nam (Team Alanis), with Alonzo Ambrose (Team Alanis) and Mario King (United Bike Shop) chasing.

The peloton stayed together until the final 50 metres when DeNobrega made his move, sprinting away to claim his second

Wilfred Thom won the Veterans Over-50 and Over-60 races respectively, while Shameer Baksh, Jaikarran Sookhai and Ian Jackson were 1-2-3 in the Veterans Under-50. Jamal John took the spoils in the Juveniles event ahead of Christopher Griffith and Brighton John, while Seon Budhan prevailed over Daniel Perriera and Nicholas Alphonso in the Mountain Bike race.

In the BMX races, Alexander Leung won the 6-9 ahead of Safyyah Baksh and Shay Sue Hang; Jonathon Jagdeo defeated Jeremiah Harrison in the 9-12; and Adelia Hodge got the better of Thuran Garbarran and Jagdeo in the 12-14. Toshawna Doris won the 12-14 Boys and Girls.

The race was organised by National Cycling Coach Hassan Mohamed, and Akesh Panday, representing P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited, assisted in the presentation of prizes at the conclusion.

guyanatimesgy.com

Hero CPL…

Barabos Tridents top Tallawahs for breathing room atop points table

The Barbados Tridents moved clear on points table after defeating the Jamaica Tallawahs by 17 runs on Saturday evening at

Sabina Park when the Hero CPL continued.

In an electric atmosphere, the Barabados Tridents struggled with the bat but

SCOREBOARD

Barbados Tridents innings (20 overs maximum)

DR Smith run out (Santokie/ Russell) 27

EMDY Munaweera c Jayawardene b Taylor 18

JL Carter† c Lynn b Theron 6

KA Pollard* not out 59

Misbah-ul-Haq

JE Taylor

4-0-24-1, J Theron 4-0-392, AD Russell 4-0-18-2

b Rampaul 14

CAK Walton† b Emrit 46

CA Lynn b Peterson 13

DPMD Jayawardene c Pollard

b Peterson 0 J Blackwood b Peterson 2 NE Bonner not out 31

AD Russell c Pollard b Holder 15

J Theron b Holder 0

JE Taylor not out 3

Extras:(b 1, lb 1, w 3) 5 Total:(7 wickets; 20 overs) 129

To bat: DL Vettori, K Santokie

Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-34, 3-34, 4-36, 5-103, 6-121, 7-122

Bowling: R Rampaul 4-0-21-1, JO Holder 4-0-36-2, RJ Peterson

3-0-13-3, AR Nurse 1-0-12-0, RR Emrit 4-0-14-1, KA Pollard

3-0-23-0, ND Stewart 1-0-80.

had a superb knock by Captain Kieron Pollard who scored 59 off 37 deliveries to guide the Tridents to 1467 after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Andre Russell was the pick of the Jamaican bowlers with 2-18 of his four over while Rusty Theron also chipped in with two wickets.

In reply, Chris Gayle started hammering the ball but the party for the big Jamaican ended quickly as he was caught for 14.

Batting became a struggle for Tallawahs and they never really recovered from Gayle’s dismal as they withered to 129-7.

Chadwick Walton was the top scorer for the Tallawahs with 46 runs while Robin Peterson raan through Jamaica’s top order and ended with figures of 3-13 off three overs.

The Tallawahs will be in action again today against the Guyana Amazon Warriors with the match starting from 17:00h.

OPCO (Guyana) Inc is putting up for sale a limited number of private booths at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Coast Demerara for the four Guyana Games of the Hero CPL 2015 slated for July 15,17,18 and 21. Booths are available in 15 and 30-seater sizes. Interested persons can contact the CPL OPCO Office in Middle Street, Georgetown on telephone numbers: 223-1437, 2255530 or 265-7099.

Bravo inspires Red Steel to victory

After a watchful start against the respected leg spin of Samuel Badree, Martin Guptill greeted Jacques Kallis into the attack with a booming drive down the ground. Kallis came back well though, and he and Badree ensured that the Patriots made a slow start to their innings.

Evin Lewis turned on the gas with two overs of the Powerplay remaining. He edged Badree’s first ball through the vacant first slip area, and then punished a shorter ball for a second four. Two balls later he perished though, when he misread the turn and played a wild slog to Kallis at short third man.

SCOREBOARD

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots innings (20 overs maximum)

MJ Guptill c Botha

b DJ Bravo 16

E Lewis c Kallis b Badree 10

SO Dowrich† c ScantleburySearles b Badree 22

O Peters run out (Perkins/Benn) 8

MN Samuels* c Benn b Botha 17

Shahid Afridi c DJ Bravo b Botha 9

DC Thomas c Badree

b Scantlebury-Searles 44

CR Brathwaite b DJ Bravo 7

A Reifer c Scantlebury-Searles

b DJ Bravo 3

Sohail Tanvir c †Kamran Akmal

b DJ Bravo 0

J Warrican not out 0

Extras: (lb 2, w 8) 10

Total:(all out; 20 overs) 146

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-28, 3-45, 4-67, 5-86, 6-86, 7-105, 8-117, 9-124, 10-146

Bowling: S Badree 4-0-18-2,

The Red Steel made another crucial breakthrough in the final over of the Powerplay. Dwayne Bravo took enough pace off the ball so that Martin Guptill’s straight drive fell to Johan Botha at wide longon. Orlando Peters joined Dowrich at the crease, and had a nervous moment when a

JH Kallis

2-0-13-0, DJ Bravo 4-0-29-4, SJ Benn 4-0-320, J Botha 4-0-23-2, JPR Scantlebury-Searles 2-0-29-1 Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel innings (target: 147 runs from 20 overs)

JH Kallis c Shahid Afridi b Sohail Tanvir 23

CS Delport c †Dowrich

b Shahid Afridi 38

WKD Perkins not out 64

DM Bravo b Brathwaite 8

DJ Bravo* c sub (JJ Athanaze) b Reifer 1 Kamran Akmal† not out 0

Extras: (b 4, lb 3, w 7) 14

Total:(4 wickets; 18.5 overs) 148 Did not bat: J Botha, JPR Scantlebury-Searles, S Badree, SJ Benn, ML Cummins

Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-100, 3-134, 4-144

Bowling: RA Reifer 3.50-25-1, Sohail Tanvir 4-026-1, CR Brathwaite 4-0-