Guyana Times Daily - November 3, 2015

Swami P16 Vidyanandaji Maharaj to be cremated tomorrow THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 2666

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

PRICE

Couple found dead on seawall Page 2

– suicide suspected

WHAT'S INSIDE:

P12 GRDB probes report of fake seed paddy

11 injured as truck topples in Mahdia

As crime spirals out of control

Bandits escape with over $6M following Berbice robbery Page 17

$80 vat included

Page 12

American P2 bird smuggler nabbed, fined

FITUG names reps for P10 Trade Union Recognition Board – joins TUC to rap no consultation on chairperson’s appointment

President’s conclusion on crime situation “flawed” P3 – PPP/C

– 74% increase in rape, 14% murder

Region 2 residents call for “functional” housing P7 department

In an effort to reach out to communities as part of its social integration and crime reduction strategy, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) hosted a Gymkhana at Buxton, East Coast Demerara. The event served as a social gathering between ranks from the GPF and residents of the community. In photo, a Police rank on his horse jumps through a hoop of fire

CJ’s appointment

No vacancy, Carl Singh already Page 7 holds post – Jagdeo

... says AG is ill-advised

Potable water, paved road for Timehri North residents Page 12

AG refutesPage claims of 11 instructing Police to arrest rice farmers in Region 5

– says allegations based on ‘hearsay’

3 homeless after fire ravages P8 Corentyne house

Diwali date controversy

Date should be resolved

by Hindu P13 community – Ramsammy

2 news

tuesday, november 3, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

taxi driver Couple found dead on seawall Parika died from blunt

– suicide suspected

T

he bodies of a young couple were on Monday found on the Kingston, seawall, Georgetown, in the vicinity of CID headquarters, Eve Leary.

Up to press time, the identities of the persons were not yet known.

Guyana Times understands the couple were spotted walking along the seawall at about 12:00h.

Passersby made the discovery at about 17:15h.

At the time of sighting the young man was wearing a black jeans along with a white armless vest and black socks while the female was wearing a green jeans and black tshirt.

The bodies at the seawall on Monday evening

Both persons, who appears to be in their 20’s are of East Indian decent.

Based on reports, a bucket containing a poisonous chemical was found in close proximity along with several pack-

ets of medications. This led police to suspect the couple may have committed suicide.

It is suspected the couple drank the poisonous substance before walking into the Atlantic Ocean

but due to the current of the water, they were washed ashore quickly.

The police have taken the medication and other items into evidence as they continue their investigations.

When Guyana Times arrived at the scene, the bodies were already removed and taken to Lyken’s Funeral Home to await post mortem.

When contacted, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Guyana Times that from all indications, it seems the couple had committed suicide. The police nevertheless have launched an investigation into the discovery.

trauma to the head

A

post mortem examination performed on slain taxi driver Sherland Dalloo proved he died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head.

The autopsy was performed on Monday by Dr Nehaul Singh at the Georgetown Public Hospital Mortuary.

On Monday, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told this newspaper that police have questioned several persons in connection with the disappearance and murder of the taxi driver and are following several leads.

The body of Dalloo, 33, of 55 Parika, East Bank Essequibo was discovered on Sunday morning at Onverwagt Backdam, West Coast Berbice. The young man went missing on October 26 after he left for work at the Parika Stelling area.

At the time of his disappearance he was driving a silver grey Toyota 212, with registration plate HB 8729.

After days of searching, the man’s body was discovered by residents in the area who were heading to the backdam.

After Dalloo went missing, relatives sent out search parties to several locations including Linden, Mabaruma, Lethem, and

Dead, Sherland Dalloo

Berbice.

According to the dead man’s mother Bhanmatty Dalloo calls to her son went unanswered, arousing suspicion that something was wrong.

A missing person’s report was eventually made at the Parika Police Station.

Guyana Times understands that following the discovery, Dalloo’s family was contacted and his brother travelled to Berbice where his worst fear was confirmed as he positively identified the battered body as that of his brother.

The slain taxi driver will be laid to rest shortly.

American bird smuggler nabbed, fined

Bird smuggler Ramjit Singh Takerdeen

A

n American citizen was on Monday fined $75,000 after she appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan charged with attempting to smuggle exotic birds from Guyana.

Ramjit Singh Takerdeen, 27, pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on October 31, 2015 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, without obtaining a permission, she attempted to smuggle 29 birds.

According to Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones the American citizen was

an outgoing passenger on Caribbean Airlines flight BW526 destined for the John F Kennedy Airport, New York The Prosecutor stated that at about 16:20h while passing through security, a search was conducted on her person and the birds found concealed in hair curlers in her hand bag.

When questioned, woman admitted ownership of the birds and was arrested.

She was fined and her export and import licence was revoked for 12 months.

news

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tuesDay, November 3, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, November 3 – 11:00h-12:30h and Wednesday, November 4 – 12:30h-14:00h The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, November 3 – 10:05h-11:35 and Wednesday, November 4 – 11:20h-12:50h

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily.

WEATHER TODAY

Weather: Thundery rain showers can be expected in the morning, while heavy rain showers can be expected in the afternoon.

Partly cloudy skies are expected in the evening.

Temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East to East North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 4.47 metres per second.

High Tide: 09:28h and 21:51h reaching maximum heights of 2.14 metres and 2.15 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 15:20h reaching a minimum height of 1.13 metres.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

President’s conclusion on crime situation “flawed” – PPP/C – 74% increase in rape, 14 % murder

BY KRISTEN MACKLINGAM

C

rime in Guyana is higher than that being portrayed by the APNU/AFC government and continues to spiral out of control without proper intervention and implementation of policies by the current administration.

This is according to People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary Clement Rohee, who during a media briefing on Monday stated that government has failed ‘miserably’ to address the issue of crime.

He posited that to date the country is yet to hear more about the “much touted anti-crime plan” that was submitted months ago to Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan by the Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud.

The last update on this plan was that the Minister had submitted it to the Cabinet for its perusal and deliberation.

Rohee noted that the recent criminal occurrences expose the “logical fallacy” behind President David Granger’s claim that the country is “not experiencing a new crime wave”.

Reporters were told that such an explanation by Guyana’s Head of State is pure, “unadulterated semantics” which is disingenuous and must be exposed as an attempt to evade the issue.

According to Rohee, the President appears to be labouring under the illusion that there is a difference between ‘crime wave’ and ‘high level of crime’.

“He seems to be holding to the view that the only crime wave Guyana experienced was as a result of the 2002 jail break and that since then there has been no new wave of crime affecting Guyana,” Rohee said.

He added there is presently a “popular perception that there is a crime wave in Guyana and that perception, if not reality, is based on re-

PPP/C General Secretary Clement Rohee ports that there is a sustained increase in the number of crimes committed in the country.”

The PPP/C General Secretary further stated that the question to be asked either by definition or perception is whether or not Guyana is currently experiencing an increase in the number of crimes committed.

It was stated that the answer to this can be found in the statistics on serious crimes published on a regular basis by the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

According to Rohee, it was earlier in this year that the United States of America State Department issued an advisory stating: ‘Criminal activity continues to be a major threat, particularly violent aggravated robberies’.

As such, no amount of semantics or excuses can contradict the fact that there has been and still is an increase, if not heightened, criminal activities in Guyana, he said.

Rohee further explained that the coalition administration would very much like to “wish this unpleasant situation away” by claiming criminals are being caught and that measures put in place by the APNU/AFC are fruitful.

He pointed out that the government in its manifesto had promised to bring about sustained improvement in crime prevention and the security environment while

ensuring a ‘good life’ for all Guyanese. However, this is yet to be realised and is another promise which is undelivered by the current administration, he also noted.

“This sorry state of affairs will get worse with the economic situation in the country spiralling downwards.

This situation will only serve to exacerbate the causes of crime, which Granger admits, has to be “looked at” and to “bring about certain changes in our society”. The APNU+AFC will end up like a dog chasing its tail,” declared Rohee.

He reminded that while the APNU+AFC government was in Opposition prior to their ascension to office, they had enough time to “look at” the causes of crime and had claimed they had all the solutions to bring about certain changes in society.

He added that as far as President Granger’s conclusion on the crime situation in Guyana is concerned, it is fundamentally “flawed and founded on fallacy”, based more on fiction rather than

fact that cannot be proven in the same way as his conclusion itself.

In July this year, the GPF had declared that there was 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.

Further, there was 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 burglary have shown an overall increase of nine per cent. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy.com)

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, november 3, 2015

Views Editor(ag): 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

The GDF at 50

T

he Guyana Defence Force (GDF) became 50 years old at the beginning of this month and President David Granger has used the occasion to issue a decree that henceforth, November 1 will be known as “GDF Day”. The President noted the seminal role the GDF has played in defending the nation’s territory and sovereignty against foreign threats. He would have probably been referring to the GDF’s role in 1966 just a year after it was formed and also in 1969.

In 1966, the Venezuelans seized our portion of Ankoko Island in the Cuyuni River, which they still control and which, for reasons unknown, has never been discussed when the Venezuelan border controversy is discussed.

In 1969, the GDF and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) quelled a secessionist rebellion in the Rupununi, which had been backed by Venezuela. In the same year, they removed a Surinamese armed and fortified base camp from the remote New Triangle area, which that country had claimed.

Suriname’s chasing away of a Guyanese licensed oil rig in 2000 and Venezuela seizure of a ship on an oil survey venture thirteen years later suggested that the GDF’s marine wing, at least, needed to be boosted.

Last month, with reports of Venezuelan troops massed on our western border, the GDF conducted well publicized exercises in Georgetown and Bartica after which the Chief of Staff pronounced that they were fully capable of taking on any Venezuelan invasion. The citizens of Guyana were quite reassured.

As should be obvious, the GDF was formed just before Guyana’s independence of 1966 and with full knowledge of the Venezuelan threat. Guyana, however, had just come out of what was virtually a civil war fought between the two major ethnic sections of the country and so internal security also loomed as large, if not larger than the Venezuelan threat.

This, at least, was thought to have been addressed by the Geneva Agreement hammered out in early 1966.

Because the internal security apparatus, consisting of the GPF and the reserve Volunteer Force (VF), was considered to have played a partisan role in the civil conflict on account of their membership being dominated by one ethnic group, the British Governor had formed in 1964, an ethnically balanced Special Services Unit (SSU) that was to be the nucleus and model for the soon-to-be independent nation’s army.

In 1965, the British government also insisted that the newly ensconced PNC/UF coalition government invite the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) to conduct an inquiry into the composition of the Public Service as well as the armed institutions – the GPF and the VF. In its recommendations concerning the latter bodies, the ICJ insisted that they be ethnically balanced by future enlistment be skewed in favour of 75% Indian Guyanese to 25% Indian Guyanese.

The PNC/UF government dissolved the SSU and merged some of its members with those from the VF to form the Guyana Defence Force, which was as ethnically skewed as its predecessor VF. The GPF was also never “balanced”. These matters remained contentiously unaddressed afterwards, until 2004, when the Disciplined Forces Commission, established to inquire into the composition of the forces, recommended that this “balancing” become the official policy.

While the scores of recommendations of the Commission remained mired in a Parliamentary Committee, by 2010 it was approved but has remained stubbornly unimplemented, even as politicians from both sides of the aisle give lip service on its implementation.

The present government has committed to doubling the manpower of the GDF to return it to its optimum strength.

Towards this end, 375 privates were inducted last weekend when the President made his “GDF Day” declaration.

It is our hope that the new, improved and enlarged GDF will at long last fulfil the commitment made by the government at its birth for it to be representative of the populace it protects.

All should be involved if all may be consumed.

A concert was held at the Botanical Gardens to mark the end of Elderly Month. October was celebrated as Month of the Elderly. In photo Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence addresses the gathering. Also attending the concert was First Lady Sandra Granger

Bakr’s views on Indians as interlopers a fallacy Dear Editor, Abu Bakr please tell sir, what does it matter at all, to you, whatever may be it which defines the IndoGuyanese existence? Your unbridled contempt to openly mock that their complaints are all “screech and whimper coming from the Indian side (which) is not sustained enough, ethnic enough, and that it is due to an intimidation” is exactly what Indians historically have faced by constant barrage since 1838 arrival. Say it is not so? This truth is not new but all so familiar.

Bakr was responding in the SN of 10-30-15 which inquired “What is the definition of the Indian they wish to protect and preserve”?

His missive responded to Dr Baytoram Ramharack’s original SN letter of October 29, 2015 titled “Clear lack of an intellectual tradition creates a number of challenges for the Indian,” Bakr’s African supremacist missive is not the first open declaration of race war on Indo-Guyanese.

Again, and straight from the horse’s mouth, he enjoins perfect synchronization with Afro-centric militant Tacuma Ogunseye’s prior warning that they will not accept the 2011 election results and would take to the streets if the PPP/C won.

Tell us Bakr, if you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?

If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”

wrote Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice like he knew Guyana’s Indian anguish so well.

Responding to Dr Ramharack’s lamentations, Bakr’s letter only keeps pouring more fuel by his race provocations that “not the colonial system, not the PNC with the dhall ban or the ambient Marxism. But the need to jettison all forms of Islam and Hinduism or Kali philosophy, or social practice, prejudices and values that conflict with their ideals and styles of the world in which they now evolve” within, can only be what motivates his horrific quest for ethnic cleansing of IndoGuyanese.

When routine denial of the right of reply rules in a democracy what are the alternatives left? Yet Bakr is most correct when he wrote: “In short, Indians are the most active proponents of their own de-Indianisation” destruction.

So true. How ironic that an Afro-centric militant is most correct in assessing those “Indians” most active in their own self-destruction and that of the Indian community.

That they flaunt it daily with gushing pride is no secret or shame of loss. But isn’t such “Indians” source of massive self-hatred all due to their own cultural destruction and confusion which escapes them completely? What Bakr’s letter has done is only widen a steady trickle into an

anti-Indian open gusher; if Indians are at ease in destroying themselves why can’t he help them as a friend, he argues so well.

Will it open the target’s’ eyes? The Indo-Guyanese cannot however justifiably continue to give comfort by apathy to Bakr’s skewed origins of slavery and its enriched European benefactors. For Bakr the Indo-Guyanese presence is apparently only a tangential hollow humbug to be discarded before the main event.

It’s akin to feeding beggars at Indian religious functions not in genuine compassion or a courtesy but to be rid of them.

Well who asked our prejudiced Afro-centric Bakrs to cry for Indians in Guyana, Argentina and France - or pick up their burdens to add to theirs?

The horrors of slavery are indeed traumatic, Bakr.

Some like yourself have found solace in religion.

Good for you. Yet when you write, it’s not as a pious genuine Muslim but that of the usual angry and educated African slave descendant seeking revenge and reparations.

Understandable.

But what feeds your antiIndian angst has no validity whatsoever. If God and religion has not cured your anger like it cured Malcolm X’s, something is fundamentally wrong.

After 28 years of the PNC which wrecked Guyana’s economy, we have started all over again down

the path to economic destruction with the PNC at the helm. Why is the Indian the problem and always the best quick solution? What is it that you, Bakr cannot understand about this which must be avoided, and prevents Indian ethnic and cultural destruction?

Eusi Kwayana to his eternal credit wrote that indentured Portuguese, Chinese and Indian descendants did not enslave Africans. Constant Afrocentric venomous race bile targeting indentured descendants are most unwarranted and unjust. Lashing out at Indians, in reaction to Dr Ramharack’s letter obviously addressed to Indians is, respectfully, no business of yours, sir.

Indians do not need external cultural validation even as they face their own many problems from both internal and external threats. Your problems, failings and vitriol now heaped, as usual, on IndoGuyanese to be remedy for the African’s plight will not prevail.

It can never be right or justified to see Indians as readymade spare parts.

Expecting them to acquiesce in their destruction is a fallacy. It will not happen nor should it be so written. The options are still Partition or Federalism.

Bakr your peace initiatives are most welcome anytime. Time flies.

Sincerely, Sultan Mohamed

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

CPL and IPL benefiting economies Further on Diwali Dear Editor, Cricket 20/20 has been contributing significantly to India’s GDP ever since it was launched half a dozen years ago. The same can be said for the CPL in the Caribbean though figures are not available for Guyana and the Caribbean.

By just looking at the activities tied to the CPL in Guyana, one would estimate that a minimum US$3 million (tickets sold, etc) is added to the GDP for every match and a lot of jobs were created and money passing from hand to hand. Beneficial economic effects to the country could be a lot more – airline, hotel, food, drinks, local transport, security, broadcast rights, etc.

The key benefits and opportunities that arose from CPL were employment generation across sectors, tourism development, international media exposure of the country, and development of cricket and sport participation across the country.

In spite of these benefits, the current government was not supportive of the CPL in

Guyana because of the ownership of the team and perceived political affiliation.

Government should not look at politics but the benefits to the economy and to the country in general.

A report out of India quoted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last Friday as saying that the 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL) contributed US$182 million to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The BCCI said it appointed KPMG Sports Advisory Group to undertake a survey on the economic impact generated by the IPL on the economy of India, which brought forward the figures.

IPL 2015 consisted of eight franchises that played 60 matches over 44 days in 13 host venues of 12 cities across the country. Previous IPL editions had six teams.

Players come from all over the world with some earning over US$1 million for the six weeks tournament. There is also extra money for outstanding plays.

In one particular year, Sunil Narine earned some US$2 million.

In 2015, as many as 193 cricketers took part in the tournament that attracted 1.71 million spectators at the venues, the BCCI statement added.

The total economic output associated with IPL matches in India for 2015 is estimated at US$418 million. This is the aggregate value of all transactions that took place as a direct, indirect or induced effect of the economic activity of the 2015 matches. Hosting an IPL match also adds value and revenue to the economy of the city and the state.

Preceding editions of IPL would have added similar values to the GDP and other spread effects of the economy.

Hundreds of millions were added to the economy every year through the IPL. The Indian economy benefited from international visitors primarily from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and South Africa. It is noted that the host city economy benefited enormously as well.

Some 20 per cent of spectator attendees visited from cities other than the host city.

Guyana also benefited from tourism as many fans flew in from other countries.

Airlines were filled and hotels had good bookings.

IPL had a very positive impact on India’s economy as indeed the CPL on the Caribbean economies. The tournament’s huge contribution to India’s GDP through a 60-day event is surely testament to the tournament’s success, says BCCI. Same can be said of Guyana. But the CPL in Guyana is not receiving the kind of support and promotion it needs to add value to the economy.

The BCCI is seeking to redefine the GDP benchmarks by looking to add more to the economy. The Guyana government should work closely with the owners and organizers of Guyana CPL team to boost the nation’s economy through cricket – make it attractive to tourists and cricket fans from distant locations through flight availability, etc.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

or Deepavali Dear Editor, I recently penned a letter to the media, which was published on the current Diwali controversy. The organizations have expressed their views. I had expressed mine as 11 Nov as the best day for Diwali, according to my research.

However, having listened and considered the view of his Excellency, High Commissioner of India, that the South normally celebrates Diwali on the 10, and the North on the 11 November, I began to understand more clearly.

Then Swami Aksharananda published his views, and I studied this with depth. I have much love and respects for Swami. He is a true patriarch of peace and a personal friend. I recall him arranging a masjid in his school compound on the UN’s International Day of Peace, a few years ago, so that the Muslims may conduct their prayer in respect. This is a great form of honour to another religious group. It dis-

Some troubling issues confront us Dear Editor, Every time I read the daily newspapers my worst fears are realized. With each day that dawns upon us it is evident that those who voted for this APNU/AFC government have made a tragic mistake.

This administration stumbles from one controversy to another. Their acts started with the wholesale dismissal of primarily one race from state jobs and important Boards, to Salarygate, to pensioners having to utility pay

bills, to the possible closure of GuySuCo — and many more sickening acts.

The spin doctors of this administration, chief among whom is Freddie Kissoon, are having a very difficult time trying to justify all these dictatorial and unjust acts which will all have terrible consequences.

Writing in his column of October 29, 2015 Kissoon states on the issue of salary increase for Government ministers: “Voters (at the next

election) are going to look at the big names on the APNU/ AFC slate and yell out, Not me boy, dem big names, me ain’t voting for them; when dey get into power dey gun want big money.”

Kissoon concedes that it was a gargantuan mistake of this administration to increase salary for ministers. To add not only salt but pepper to the wounds of decent hard-working Guyanese, it was announced by these “POLITRICIANS” that the increase will be retroactive

to July 1, 2015.

What this means is that there is a strong possibility that way before the elections, these increases were planned.

Another dastardly act was giving the public servants 5 per cent increase in wages.

This is a breach of the campaign promise of 20 per cent.

What a deceitful campaign!

Guyanese were made to believe that the treasury was empty! Against this is the announcement that pensioners will now have to pay wa-

ter and electricity bills. What travesty!

How much more can Guyanese take! Region 6 Chairman, David Armogan is also claiming that his authority is being usurped

by Versammy Ramayyah.

Haseeb Yusuf was correct in his analysis of the latter.

Please continue to write and expose the sickening acts of the AFC in Berbice, Yusuf!

Sincerely, Rakesh Singh

plays refinement and charisma. He had even invited me to make a special presentation on a topic of my choice to all the students of the school.

I now stand more learned, taking it positively, and say, let us use love as we proceed, as it seems that both the 10 and 11 Nov could be utilized. I understand this as a Muslim, as we almost always had two days for Eid ul Fitr (Celebrations after the Fast of Ramadan) in Guyana.

Therefore, I say, let us celebrate on days preferred by various Sabhas or segments of the Hindu Community.

Let us not be humiliating to the other, condemnatory, abusive, but reach out to celebrate with the other group on their day.

For me, a Muslim, a lover of religions, I made it clear that I usually light a diya for solidarity.

Well, I will light two now.

One on the 10 and then another on the 11 Nov whichever is correct, and then I have it for sure, and I smile, God will be pleased. So should we all.

Celebrate on the day we choose in power and love, and light a few the next day as well.

Here, we satisfy all, ourselves first.

Let us strive for peace and love always. Let us keep from controversy and hate.

Let us care for our country, and love all our peoples. Care the other person’s viewpoint and interpretations. Herein is the nexus of true universal love.

Sincerely, Roshan Khan National Chairman Universal Peace Federation Guyana

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Foundation

– learn what phrases to banish from your vocabulary and how to talk so your children will really listen

By Paula Spencer

“Wait till Daddy gets home!”

This familiar parenting cliché is not only another kind of threat, it’s also diluted discipline. To be effective, you need to take care of a situation immediately yourself. Discipline that’s postponed doesn’t connect the consequences with your child’s actions. By the time the other parent gets home, it’s likely that your child will actually have forgotten what she did wrong. Alternately, the agony of anticipating a punishment may be worse than what the original crime deserved.

Passing the buck to someone else also undermines your authority. “Why should I listen to Mom if she’s not going to do anything anyway?” your child may reason.

Not least, you’re putting your partner in an undeserved bad-cop role.

ware. There’s a tendency when we’re rushed to make our children feel guilty for making us rush. The guilt may make them feel bad, but it doesn’t motivate them to move faster.

“It got so hectic at my house in the mornings, I hated that the last image my children had of me was be-

“Hurry up!”

Who in this world of back-to-back appointments, overbooked schedules, sleep deficits and traffic snarls hasn’t uttered these immortal words?

Certainly every parent whose toddler can’t find his shoes or blankie or who’s blissfully oblivious of anything but putting on his socks “all by self!” has. Consider, though, your tone of voice when you implore a child to hurry, and how often you say it.

If you’re starting to whine, screech or sigh every day, with your hands on your hips and your toes tapping, be-

guyanatimesgy.com

ing angry,” says family therapist Paul Coleman, author of How to Say It to Your Children. “So I made a pact with myself. No matter what, I wouldn’t yell or roll my eyes even if someone spilled their Cheerios or asked me to find something just as we were heading out.” Rather than hectoring (“I told you to turn off that TV five minutes ago!”), he looks for calm ways to speed things

Cont’d from Monday

along (he turns off the set himself).

“Great Job!” or “Good Girl!”

What could possibly be wrong with praise? Positive reinforcement, after all, is one of the most effective tools a parent has. The trouble comes in when the praise is vague and indiscriminate.

Tossing out “Great job!” for every little thing your child does – from finishing his milk to drawing a picture – becomes meaningless. Children tune it out. They can also tell the difference between praise for doing something rote or simple and praise for a real effort.

To get out of the habit of such effusiveness: Praise only those accomplishments that require real effort. Finishing a glass of milk doesn’t cut it.

Neither does drawing a picture, if your child is the kind who makes dozens of them every day.

Be specific. Instead of “Beautiful job,” say, “What bright, happy colours you picked for the dog’s spots.” Or “I see you drew a picture of the story that we read this morning.”

Praise the behaviour rather than the child: “You were so quiet with your puzzle while I was finishing that paperwork, just like I asked.”

How much nicer if I’d said that to my daughters instead of transforming into a spewing volcano. Luckily, I’m sure to get another opportunity tomorrow. (Excerpt from Parenting.com)

I

n applied behaviour analysis, there are two types of reinforcement and punishment: positive and negative. It can be difficult to distinguish between the four of these. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explain the differences in order to help parents and professionals develop appropriate interventions to improve behaviour.

Reinforcement

• Reinforcement is used to help increase the probability that a specific behaviour will occur in the future by delivering a stimulus immediately after a response/behaviour is exhibited.

• Another way to put it is that positive reinforcement is adding something that will motivate the child (or individual) to increase the likelihood they will engage in that behaviour again.

Positive reinforcement:

Positive reinforcement works by presenting a motivating/reinforcing stimulus to the person after the desired behaviour is exhibited, making the behaviour more likely to happen in the future.

The following are some examples of positive reinforcement: • A mother gives her son praise (positive stimulus) for doing homework (behaviour).

• The little boy receives $5.00 (positive stimulus) for every A he earns on his report card (behaviour).

• A father gives his daughter candy (positive stimulus) for cleaning up toys (behaviour).

Negative reinforcement:

Negative reinforcement occurs when a certain stimulus (usually an aversive stimulus) is removed after a particular behaviour is exhibited. The likelihood of the particular behaviour occurring again in the future is increased because of removing/avoiding the negative consequence.

Negative reinforcement should not be thought of as a punishment procedure.

With negative reinforcement, you are increasing a behaviour, whereas with punishment, you are decreasing a behaviour.

The following are some examples of negative reinforcement: • Bob does the dishes (behaviour) in order to avoid his mother nagging (negative stimulus).

• Natalie can get up from the dinner table (negative stimulus) when she eats two bites of her broccoli (behaviour).

When thinking about reinforcement, always remember that the end result is to try to increase the behaviour, whereas punishment procedures are used to decrease behaviour. For positive reinforcement, think of it as adding something positive in order to increase a response. For negative reinforcement, think of it as taking something negative away in order to increase a response.

Punishment

• When people hear that punishment procedures are being used, they typically think of an aversive or harmful consequence. This is not always the case as you can see below.

• Punishment is a process by which a consequence immediately follows a behaviour which decreases the future frequency of that behaviour. Like reinforcement, a stimulus can be added (positive punishment) or removed (negative punishment).

• There are two types of punishment: positive and negative, and it can be difficult to tell the difference between the two. Below are some examples to help clear up the confusion. (Excerpt from bcotb.

com)

news

tuesday, november 3, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

CJ’s appointment

Region 2 residents call for "functional" housing department

No vacancy, Carl Singh already holds post – Jagdeo L …says AG is ill-advised

Acting Chancellor Carl Singh

Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang

ith discussions ongoing regarding the existing vacancy to fill the post of Chief Justice, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is contending that in actuality there is no vacancy for this position since acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh already substantively holds the post of Chief Justice.

President David Granger is yet to engage Jagdeo on the appointment of a new Chief Justice to replace acting Chief Justice Ian Chang who is set to go on pre-retirement leave in February 2016.

Government has already announced that it has been advertising for the post of

Chief Justice, both locally and overseas. However, Jagdeo pointed out that there was no vacancy and that the Attorney General Basil Williams appeared to be ill-advised.

“I’ve noticed the Attorney General is speaking liberally on this matter in the media and I just don’t understand; I think he is ill-advised. There is no vacancy for a Chief Justice. Carl Singh substantively holds the post of Chief Justice,” Jagdeo highlighted during a recent interview with Guyana Times.

Therefore, automatically Justice Singh would come to the fore to be appointed as Chief Justice. Asked whether he would support the ap-

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7

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

pointment of Justice Singh as Chief Justice, Jagdeo declined to comment.

According to the constitutional reform process of 2000, appointments to the positions of Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice need the approval of both the President and the Leader of the Opposition.

“He is acting as Chancellor because the Constitution provides for the Leader of the Opposition to agree with the President on the appointment of the Chief Justice and the Chancellor.

The Government can’t just consult; they have to get the agreement of the Opposition Leader. So the Opposition ef-

fectively has a veto on the appointment of the Chancellor and Chief Justice. They’ve exercised that veto in the past, because they refused to confirm or to agree to the appointment of Chang as Chief Justice and Singh as Chancellor,” Jagdeo explained.

Nevertheless, Jagdeo said Government was yet to approach him on the issue, and when that happened, he would accordingly address the situation.

Meanwhile, Williams when asked by media operatives for an update on the matter stated that there was “nothing to update”.

About two weeks ago, Minister Williams had told reporters that he was currently in discussions with President Granger about recommendations for a new Chief Justice. “The question of a vacancy occurring in the Office of Chief Justice would arise very shortly and when the Chief Justice goes on leave, obviously somebody has to act in his position,” Williams had stated.

Justice Chang confirmed with Guyana Times that he would be heading into retirement on February 23, 2016.

ima Sands and Charity residents in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) are calling on the Minister within the Communities Ministry, Keith Scott to immediately have a functional housing department in the Region.

This newspaper spoke to a number of residents both from Lima Sands and Charity and the common theme was the lack of information regarding house lot applications and certificates of title.

According to residents, they have numerous housing issues, but there is no one in the region to adequately address their concerns.

This newspaper was told that when persons visit the regional housing department, they are being told that the department is ‘nonfunctional’. Guyana Times was further told that the department has one staffer, but that person only works in the capacity of a clerk.

Speaking with this newspaper, Helin Abrams of Charity Extension Housing Scheme, said that she made full payment for her land since 2007 and to date, she was still waiting on her certificate of title.

A couple who requested that their names not be published said that they applied for a house lot several

years ago and are still waiting for their house lot.

Another resident complained to this newspaper that the housing department in the region did not have any application forms for those desirous of applying for a house lot.

In addition, some residents said when they had specific complaints about issues that required a housing officer’s visit, they were told that the office in the region did not have “any officers to deal with the matters on the ground”.

When contacted on the issue, Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt said that there was indeed a need for strengthening of the department. He said on a daily basis persons would visit him venting their frustration about housing issues. Ramdatt said that he has documented some of the issues that were raised by residents and have since dispatched a correspondence to Minister Scott. He, however, admitted that he was yet to receive a response from the Minister.

The Regional Chairman has since promised the Lima Sands and Charity residents that he would follow up on the issues with the Minister on their behalf. He said that he would also request that the regional housing department be fully functional.

8 NEWS

tuesday, november 3, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Rice farmers misled about export market – Rohee …PPP/C studying feasibility, success of exporting rice to Mexico

By Kristen Macklingam

W

hile rice farmers throughout the country are expectant that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government will provide some aid in securing new markets for their produce, the Administration has misled the populace as it relates to markets like Portugal and Panama.

This is according to the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Clement Rohee who on Monday stated that Guyana was already exporting rice to both Portugal and Panama before the new Government took office.

He said the new Government gave the im-

pression that these markets would be new additions to countries to which Guyana exported rice.

“We are already exporting rice to Portugal and Panama, so it is kind of dishonest to say we (the APNU/AFC) are now going to be exporting rice in those two markets,” Rohee said.

With respect to Mexico, he noted that the first thing the Government should examine was the tariffs, trade barriers, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures required to export rice to that country.

Rohee explained that the PPP/Civic was still conducting research to establish the market accessibility for Guyana’s rice into Mexico, and noted that while there was nothing wrong with having a polit-

ical chat with another person on the topic of market access, the “devil is usually in the details”.

“Look, for example, how difficult it was for us to export rice to Trinidad because at one time they said the grain of rice was not suitable for the consumers in their domestic market.

Another time they said the colour of the rice was not acceptable to their consumers in the market and another time they said that the scent, the smell of the rice, was not acceptable to the consumers in the Trinidad market and they raised a whole set of issues as well.

So much that it almost became impossible for us to export rice to Trinidad and Tobago and many other countries were importing

Uncle Ben’s rice from the United States on a much cheaper basis even though Guyana had the capacity to export, produce in quantities and export on a reliable basis.,” the PPP General Secretary elaborated.

He maintained that two major factors which usually determine the success of exportation to other countries and which needed to be carefully deliberated on are reliability and the cost of transportation to ship the items to the importing country as well.

“So, if we are having these challenges here in the Caribbean Community (Caricom), one can very well imagine what will be the challenges in other extra-regional markets,” Rohee added. (kristenm@ guyanatimesgy.com)

Three homeless after fire ravages Corentyne house

T

hree persons are now homeless after fire of unknown origin completely destroyed a twobedroom wooden house at Alness Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

This newspaper was told that the fire started about 13:30h on Sunday and quickly spread through the building. At the time of the blaze, no one was at home.

Those homeless are Alfred Grey, his daughter Marcia Grey and grandson Malachi Grey.

Speaking with this newspaper, Alfred Grey said that he was at a horse racing event when he received a call informing him that his home was on fire.

“When I come, the house on the ground and the Fire Service already there. I didn’t get nothing to save,” the distraught man said.

He said that his neighbours told him that they attempted to break into his house via the door to save items, but could not, since

The home on fire

the blaze ravaged the house within 15 minutes.

The father of 19 said that his house was fully furnished. He added that at the time of the fire he had taken his horse “Sanality” for its first race in Corentyne.

Grey’s neighbour, Wesley Saul, whose house was damaged by the fire, said that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the total destruction.

“When I see the fire, I run inside to get water but

by the time I reach back is the whole house in fire. I had to try to save mine,” he told this publication.

He explained that residents quickly organised a bucket brigade and focused their attention on his house which had caught fire.

“People run and come with bucket and start throwing the muddy water from the trench on my house.

Within 15 minutes the whole house collapse…by the time the Fire Service come, the

whole house already drop to the ground, so my house was safe,” Saul related.

Other residents confirmed by the time the Rose Hall Fire Service responded, Grey’s house had already burnt to the ground.

Grey and his family are staying at a relative’s house, until they can pick the pieces of their lives up.

The Guyana Fire Service has since launched an investigation into the fire.

Eyew tness Why hide… …assets if in government?

This Eyewitness is puzzled. Not at the hypocrisy of Ramjattan, but at his chutzpah to think he can get away with the nonsense he spouted in response to the Opposition Leader’s demand that government officials also reveal their assets – just as the Opposition ones are now being asked to. The 4am fella didn’t even deign to justify why he should be allowed to stonewall the country about his assets.

That he wasn’t “in government”?? So how come he always insisted when in opposition that they were part and parcel of the governance structure and in fact a coequal part of government – the Parliament? And that when his AFC and the PNC-led APNU had that majority of one in the Parliament they insisted they should control the government?

At a less mundane – but more venal – level, Ramjattan has been enjoying one of the largest perks of government for decades. That duty free car twice every five years.

Since he entered the Parliament – Ramjattan would have collected at least 9 duty-free cars – each one a SUV on which the state lost a cool $300M at a minimum. This is US $1.5M!!! Now you may say, that this was simply money lost to the state.

But any declaration of assets and their sources would show that Ramjattan sold each and every one of those cars at prices that included the duty free portions. The money that should’ve gone to the state went into Ramjattan’s pockets. And Ramjattan certainly doesn’t want anyone to see that nest egg. It’s an egg the size of an ostrich’s!

How would be explain to the GRA if the GRA would get the brass (via legislation) to go after him?

Then there’s the matter, as a member of that upstanding profession called the “self-employed”, the tendency of its membership to declare to the GRA but a portion – a TINY – portion of what they earn or more properly, separate from their clients. Why don’t Ramjattan and the rest of the Ministerial crew share with the public, their income tax declarations? With the economy tanking as it is, and everyone fearing a black Christmas that ought to get beleaguered Guyanese a chuckle!!

Jagdeo also knew why he called for the foreign assets of Ramjattan and his comrades to be declared. Knowing that at some point, the taxman might “cometh”, these fellas have long been spiriting away and squirreling away their undeclared income.

We just hope that even if Jagdeo doesn’t get his demand, the AML/CTF legislation with the demanded institutions, will snare the cheating, yet sanctimonious, wankers.

…the code of conduct

It’s not only on salaries and VAT that the people were stiffed by the APNU U/AFC coalition. There are also several other “100 day” promises that have fallen on hard stones rather than fertile ground. Take promise number 16: “Code of Conduct will be established for Parliamentarians, Ministers and others holding high positions in government public office to abide by, including mechanisms for demoting office in violation of the Code of Conduct.”

After a studied silence following his request to “trust” the government for giving themselves a 50% pay raise while throwing a 5% scrap to public workers, Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman – averred that the Code of Conduct was being formulate and circulated.

Now this Eyewitness would’ve thought after twenty three years of complaining about “conduct unbecoming” in every which way by the PPP, the new government would’ve been been most qualified to produce such a code.

That they haven’t and are still pleading “consultation” with stakeholder is proof positive that they’re just yanking our collective chain.

…our appreciation?

Following Pressie’s long delayed recognition of the sterling role of the GDF by giving them their own “Day”, this Eyewitness says let’s have a Nurses Day, a Doctors Day, a Mechanic Day...etc.

And if we run out of days, let’s have “Half-Days”.

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

news

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tuesday, november 3, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Elections Petition case

PPP/C advances that GECOM’s case is wrong, misconceived – Jamaican lawyer joins legal team

T

he preliminary hearings into the elections petition continued at the High Court on Monday when the People’s Progress Party/Civic (PPP/C) countered claims that material facts were missing to support the petition as was presented to the court by GECOM Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield’s lawyer Roysdale Forde during a previous hearing.

On Monday, the PPP/C lawyers were given three days to counter-argue the claims made by Forde.

Before starting the proceedings, Jamaican lawyer Abraham Joseph Dabdoub was admitted to the local bar before Justice Rishi Persaud and immediately after joined the PPP/C’s legal team for the petition case against GECOM. PPP/C Executive Member and Attorney Anil Nandlall during an interview with Guyana Times, explained the basis on the counter-arguments which the PPP/C’s legal team will advance.

He said many authorities were relied upon by the lawyer of GECOM’s CEO emanating from India, Sri Lanka, Canada and other jurisdictions.

PPP/C Executive Member Ganga Persaud, Attorneys Euclin Gomes, Abraham Joseph Dabdoub, and Anil Nandlall

But the PPP/C, he said, were able to show that the statutory provisions in relations to an elections petition differed in those countries.

“We were able to show that in Guyana, like many Commonwealth countries, the jurisdiction which a court has to hear an elections petition is a special one, limited one, and exclusive one. It used to be exercised 200 years ago by par-

liament and it was conferred by special statute and has now received constitutional embrace conferred to the high court… and the exercise of the jurisdiction carries its own peculiar rules,” Nandlall said.

He added that according to the rules a judge can only exercise powers in relation to an elections petition, which the election laws give to that judge.

“No power given to

Miss Guyana Universe 2015 Pageant officially launched

T

he 2015 Miss Guyana Universe 2015 Pageant was officially launched at the Princess Hotel’s Conference Room on Sunday evening in a simple ceremony.

The nine intelligent, beautiful and well-groomed

for making the facility available for the occasion.

The coronation is also billed for the said venue on November 15. Lumumba stated that the winner of the local pageant will represent Guyana in Las Vegas on December 20, 2015,

testants has improved, citing that Guyana has a better opportunity of placing at the international leg of the pageant.

After Lumumba’s address, each delegate introduced herself to the audience and mingled with the

Franchise holder Odinga Lumumba posing with the delegates on Sunday evening

delegates were unveiled to the public for the first time at the event by radio personality Feliz Robertson.

Addressing the gathering, franchise holder Odinga Lumumba thanked the sponsors for supporting the event and was particularly grateful to the management of the Princess Hotel

where she will be competing against 94 other delegates from around the globe.

He said that the local beauties would participate in a televised Intelligence Competition before pageant night during which they would be interviewed.

He also indicated that this year the calibre of con-

media and patrons with the hope of securing much-needed sponsorship.

Those competing for the coveted title this year are Shauna Ramdian, Zeena Bland, Najuma Nelson, Babita Seelall, Malike Russel, Tricia Quail, Diana Hamad, Kiswana Jefford and Melissa Defreitas.

a judge to strike out an elections petition on the grounds advanced by the CEOs lawyer… there is no basis in elections law for the application to have been made which he had made…

The rules of the high court have no application whatsoever to an elections petition and the lawyer for the CEO relied heavily on the rules of court… And we have cases which we are using to show how, Guyanese cases which

presided in ‘70s, 60s and 80s, and they all say what a special jurisdiction the high court exercises when it hears an elections petition case… Those cases uniformly say you can’t apply ordinary law and principles, practice and procedures in an elections petition case.

It carries its own peculiar rules…,” Nandlall stated.

Legal terminology aside, Nandlall noted that the PPP/C is attempting to persuade the judge that the arguments advanced were wrong, misconceived, and that they contain and illustrate the lack of understanding of the relevant law and legal principle in relation to an elections petition.

Meanwhile, in addition to Lowenfield, Attorney General Basil Williams and Head of the APNU/AFC coalition’s List of Candidates Professor Harold Lutchman advanced summons to the Court to have the petition nullified.

However, the elections petition, which was filed by Nandlall on behalf of PPP/C Executive Member Ganga Persaud, puts the argument forward that the recently concluded elections on May 11 were seriously flawed to the extent that the en-

tire outcome of the elections could have been different.

More than 20 grounds were cited to support the petition. These include valid ballots being wrongly deemed rejected; Statements of Poll (SoPs) used to ascertain the results contained arithmetic errors; multiple voting by persons and impersonation of persons; PPP/C ballot attendants and polling agents being prevented from accompanying the ballot boxes; and the fact that there were fraudulently concocted SoPs. The petition is asking the Court to “determine and declare that the whole of the electoral process was so flawed, contained so many procedural errors and so many instances of fraudulent and/or suspicions actions that the results that have been derived from the process cannot be credibly deemed to represent accurately the will of the electorate”.

The matter is being heard in the High Court before Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang.

At the end of the preliminary hearings, the substantive matter is expected to be heard.

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guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, november 3, 2015

News

FITUG names reps for Trade Union Recognition Board – joins TUC to rap no consultation on chairperson’s appointment

By Edward Layne

T

he Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has proposed its President Carvil Duncan and General Secretary of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) as its representatives on the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TURCB).

Duncan in a brief comment told Guyana Times on Monday the umbrella union body also named General Secretary of the National Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) Kenneth Joseph, and President of the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) Sherwood Clarke as the alternates.

The Guyana Trades Union’s Congress (GTUC) will be represented by its President Lincoln Lewis and General Secretary of the Postal and Telecommunications Workers Union (PTWU), Eslyn Harris, while Gerry Goolsarran represents the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry (CAGI), the employers’ organisation.

No consultation When asked about the controversial appointment of Justice Claudette La Bennet as the Chairperson of TURCB, Duncan said while it has been a normal practice for the government to appoint the chairpeoson, it is always expected there will be consultations.

However he went on to question the interpretation of the term ‘consultation’, which he said seems to carry very little weight.

Earlier in a statement, the FITUG questioned the appointment of La Bennet, bemoaning the lack of consultation on her appointment.

FITUG stated on Wednesday, a mere five month into office, the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition is already “self-inflicting serious damage” to its much-touted labour-friendly status, respect for regulatory morality, and the industrial rule of law.

FITUG reminded that the guidelines for the appointment of the chairperson as well as other members of the TURCB are clearly laid out in the act.

FITUG President Carvil Duncan Section 5 of the Trade Union Recognition Act, Chapter 98:07 states that "the Board shall consist of seven members, with a Chairman appointed by the Minister after consultation with such associations as in his opinion are the most representative associations of trade unions and employers respectively; three members appointed by the Minister on the nomination of such association; and three members appointed by the Minister on the nomination of such association as in his opinion is the most representative association of employers.

The members of the Board shall hold office for

two years."

FITUG said it is surprised that despite being the most “verifiable, most representative organization of workers” in the country it was not consulted on La Bennett’s appointment, following the expiration of the previous board at the end of June 2015.

“No such courtesy was extended to the FITUG whose thousands of membership dwarfs any affiliations the Guyana Trades Union Congress can claim.”

FITUG is now puzzled as to whether or not its two nominees to sit on the board will be appointed.

“There are extremely vital matters now pending for the still-to-be-appointed Board’s consideration and urgent transparency with regard to its re-establishment (which) is crucial to labour movement democracy, the majority worker organization is contending.”

General Secretary of the GTUC Lincoln Lewis also confirmed in sections of the media that his organisation was not consulted on La Bennet’s appointment.

As a matter of fact Lewis was reported as saying the GTUC proposed a candidate to fill the position, but was not optimistic the government would have accepted the nominee.

“There was no consultation on who would have been the person but as happened, we had submitted a name…

While we had not had that face-to-face engagement, we were informed last week that they had proposed La Bennett,” Lewis was quoted as saying.

Critics say this is another glaring example of the David Granger administration backpedalling on its much touted promises of transparency, inclusivity, and respect for the rule of law.

Some believe that the actions of the government continue to expose its true nature and, in due time, Guyanese will come to realise they were just duped by the APNU+AFC into believing they were serious about their promises on the campaign trail.

Many are of the view the government is adopting a high-handed approach in dealing with the affairs of workers and their representatives.

Some recalled the administration’s failure to respect the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it arbitrarily announced an average of 5% pay increase for public servants earlier this year.

It is important to note that APNU+AFC while in opposition, chastised the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government for not consulting with workers unions before salary increases.

The State of Affairs T

he current regime is murdering itself slowly but surely. First, Joe Harmon declared the 50 per cent increase in salary for Cabinet members with no regrets and appeared recently citing paradoxically that low wages have affected the performance of the public sector.

Second, Raphael Trotman begged the nation to trust the recalcitrant regime. Perhaps someone should remind this man that trust is earned, not bought.

Third, President David Lomarsh Roopnarine Granger placed the icing on the cake, that is, the 50 per cent thing is here to stay. In local parlance: suck it up and deal with it.

Fourth, PM Moses Nagamootoo claimed he is the one responsible for the 50 per cent pay hike for Cabinet members for reasons he only understands, plunging the nation into a helter skelter state of mind.

What is next in this line-up of madness is not precisely known.

What is known is that the WPA faction within the coalition, namely Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, has been awfully silent.

What is also known are the following: crime has spiralled out of control, the economy has declined, markets for commodities have dwindled, the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela remains controversial, and hundreds, if not thousands, are waiting to vote with their feet, saving to invest in buying visas and airline tickets.

What is even more unsettling is that there are no solutions to these problems. Where we go from here and what we do from here are questions that will haunt and preoccupy this regime for some time to come. ?The aforesaid problems speak to a larger problem: Would the Ministers deliver at acceptable levels? This is a vexing question worth exploring. A cursory examination reveals that most of the Ministers are inexperienced in the domain of political leadership.

This is not surprising since most of the tertiary educated Guyanese (87%) have emigrated.

Interestingly enough, Carl Greenidge stated that he has to look outside of Guyana for skilled personnel to carry out Foreign Service objectives. The question Greenidge should have asked is whether or not he has the skills to be Guyana’s Foreign Service Minister.

Moreover, if and when he seeks advisement, would he be willing to acknowledge and accept views different from his own? So far, he has not demonstrated the sort of sophistication and diplomatic dexterity so needed to be a sound Foreign Service leader even with an avalanche of support.

The Guyana-Venezuela territorial dispute requires a strong leadership now more than any other time. There is, however, a difference between belligerence and strong leadership. Greenidge’s grandstanding style is not only spewing rancour but it is also at variance with the modern form of diplomacy.

His style is more in tune and tandem with the dictatorship he was groomed under. That Greenidge might have accepted one of the most testing jobs currently is one of his rare pluses in his new political lease of life. He is certainly not someone who has risen to prominence as a remarkable Foreign Service officer, and he is even less creditable in his supposed area of expertise - economics.

Apart from overseeing a bankrupt regime under Hoyte, he gave away the store when he helped negotiate the EPA with the EU. Greenidge occupies one of most sensitive political offices of Guyana not because of capabilities but because of patrimony and patronage to party politics. He is obviously a victim of circumstances who is regulated by the complexities of foreign affairs rather than the other way round.

Carl Greenidge aside, there is a lot more to be said about the appointment of the myriad of featherbedding Ministers, a decision that whipped and whirl-winded the nation into an irreparable shock.

Even the street committee is confused as to how some of these individuals have made to the highest political office of the land. To ask for their qualifications now for the jobs they were given is too late and futile.

Given their inexperience, what is important now is the question on how long are they going to be in the learning process until they are ready to deliver? From where and whom are they drawing their inspirations to lead? What sort of a system they seek to promote?

What new emerging political literature are they reading to assist their leadership skills?

These questions are unsettling but sound for two reasons: The first is that the inglorious start of the regime has disappointed even the optimists, and many have gone berserk. The second is that the fissures in regime are now becoming painfully obvious.

Look at Nagamootoo’s statement on the salary increase and it is a matter of time before the public will have a glimpse as to what goes on in the inner sanctum of the chamber of the Cabinet.

The future, which is always risky to predict, of this regime will depend largely on the relationship with its support base and the sense of despair engendered by the bitter experience of massive salary increases for the boys and pittances for the masses.

Meanwhile, the madness continues.

tuesday, november 3, 2015

guyanatimesgy.com

11

News

Boutique AG refutes claims of instructing Shot owner discharged Police to arrest rice farmers from hospital in Region 5 O – says allegations based on ‘hearsay’

A

ttorney General Basil Williams has refuted allegations that he gave an order or instructed ranks at the New Amsterdam Police Station, Berbice, to have rice farmers arrested should they proceed to harvest lands leased from the Mahaica-MahaiconyAbary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA).

In an article published on Thursday, October 22, 2015 in the Guyana Times, Rice farmer, Phillip Johnson of Seafield, West Coast Berbice complained about the ongoing battle involving rice farm-

Attorney General Basil Williams

ers from Region Five and the Seafield Cooperative Society Limited continues.

US firm Sprint signs roaming telecom deal with Cuba

T

elecom giant Sprint on Monday became the first US company to sign a deal to provide a direct roaming mobile phone service for foreigners visiting Cuba, executives said.

The Kansas-based firm signed a deal with the Cuban state telecom company Etecsa, hoping to tap into the millions of visitors they hope will visit the island now that Washington and Havana have restored diplomatic relations.

Sprint customers will be able to generate and receive calls and text messages in Cuba from their own phones, the companies said in a joint statement after signing the deal in Havana.

“As the commercial relationship between the US and Cuba continues to progress, it is expected that the number of travellers to Cuba will increase exponentially,” Sprint chief executive Marcelo Claure said in a statement.

“We want to make sure any Sprint customer travelling to Cuba can use their phone the same way as they do in the United States.”

The new service is subject to technical checks and financial issues being resolved.

Despite the restoration of diplomatic relations in July, a half-century-old US trade embargo on Cuba is yet to be lifted.

That means the companies will have to work out a way to process payments for the new roaming service through third countries.

The embargo also limits travel to Cuba for US nationals to certain categories of visitor – not including everyday tourists.

Sprint said, however, it expects the number of visitors to Cuba to surge to five million a year within 10 years.

“I have a lot of faith that our Governments will reach an agreement that will allow the free movement of Americans to Cuba,” Claure said at the signing, during a visit by a business delegation to Cuba.

Another US provider, Verizon, said in September it would offer a roaming service to its customers visiting Cuba, but indirectly through a foreign company contracted to Etecsa.

Sprint is controlled by the Japanese telecom group Softbank.

With about 57 million customers, it is one f the four biggest mobile operators in the United States. (AFP)

The farmer claimed that he, along with other farmers, were forced to pay the co-op members before harvesting their crops. He also claimed the farmers were being threatened.

Johnson told this newspaper he along with the other farmers went to the New Amsterdam Police Station to request police protection since the co-op members were threatening them when they go to harvest their crop.

The farmer claimed he

was told by police that if he returned to the disputed farm land to harvest his crop he would be arrested, an order which he was told came from AG Williams.

However, AG Williams told this newspaper on Monday that he passed no such instruction to ranks at the New Amsterdam Police Station and is therefore rejecting such accusations since they confer “hearsay”.

“I gave no order or instructions to anyone,” he stated.

wner of Street Style Boutique who was shot to his right knee following a robbery on Saturday evening has been discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The businessman, Carl Innis, was about to leave his Bar Street Kitty Store, when he was confronted by four armed men.

As he was about to drive off, one of the men reportedly pulled him from the car and threw him onto the ground where he was beaten.

The men took away his jewellery and an undisclosed amount of cash, after which they shot him with a handgun to his right knee.

They then escaped in a sliv-

Carl Innis

er grey car.

This is the second time in two years the businessman said, he has been robbed.

Police are investigating the incident.

12 news

tuesday, november 3, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

11 injured as truck GRDB probes report of topples in Mahdia fake seed paddy

T

A

One of the injured persons after being taken out of an aircraft at the Ogle International Airport

t least 11 persons have sustained severe injuries following an accident in Mahdia, Region Eight, on Monday afternoon. Seven of the 11 persons were air-dashed to Georgetown for medical attention.

They are Charles Barrows, David Durant, Dashoda Small, Malcolm Grimes, Douglas Calary, Jason and Jamal (only names given). The other injured persons were medivaced late Monday. The driver of the truck Charles Barrows is said to be in a critical state.

Reports stated that among injuries sustained by the others were broken arms, legs and severe head injuries.

While information remains sketchy, this newspaper understands the truck turned turtle after the driver lost control while descending a hill in the area.

he Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is currently investigating reports of “fake” seed paddy being distributed to farmers within the rice-producing regions of Guyana.

Reports recently surfaced in the media about fake seed paddy being distributed to rice farmers which resulted in significant losses, and stakeholders in the rice industry were calling on Government to launch an investigation into the situation.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, during an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA), disclosed that an investigation was launched.

He explained, however, that reports of this nature only surfaced in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and not from the other rice-producing regions like Region Three (Essequibo Islands-

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

West Demerara); Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) and Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

He pointed out too that the bond where the seed paddy is stored in Region Two is owned by the Rice Producers Association (RPA).

The Minister further stated that the GRDB dis-

covered from its investigation thus far that the RPA contracted farmers to produce and distribute seed paddy.

The investigation also revealed that the quality of the seed paddy, which was produced by the GRDB Rice Research and Extension Station in Burma, Mahaicony, was not the same as was being distributed to farmers after it was collected from the Station.

This has raised several questions within the GRDB since it is suspected to have been happening for some time now.

The GINA release noted that technical advisers within the GRDB have opined that the inferior quality can directly result from bad storage.

The investigation will continue into these reports and the findings will be made public subsequently.

Potable water, paved road for Timehri North residents A passenger who sustained a broken arm being transported to the GPH

At the Ogle International Airport, the wife of the injured driver told this newspaper the accident occurred after the truck hit a tree stump, thus causing her husband to lose control.

As a result, the truck toppled while descending a hill, she said, adding that several persons were in the tray. She add-

ed that the injured persons including her husband were rushed to the Mahdia Hospital where they were treated. However because of the extent of their injuries, they were transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

An investigation has been launched into the accident.

P

ersons living in the Timehri North area will benefit from better access to potable water and a paved access road in the not-too-distant future.

This announcement was made by Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

Recognising that most of the community depends on a small stream for potable water, the Public Infrastructure Minister said he would take up the matter with his colleague, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan. The residents recommended that

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson

several standpipes be installed at strategic locations to alleviate the situ-

ation.

Further, the community’s main access road will be paved.

The Minister also encouraged the residents to become regularised and secure their land titles.

“You have all worked hard, get your titles from the Communities Ministry so that you can use it as collateral…get together and start thinking as a team on ways to boost community development,” the Minister charged.

In another few weeks, the Minister is scheduled to return to the community to interact with residents.

news

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tuesday, november 3, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Diwali date controversy

Date should be resolved by Hindu community – Ramsammy

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he Diwali date controversy which has ruffled the feathers of the Guyanese Hindu community should have been resolved at the level of the Hindu Leaders rather than at the level of government, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Executive Member Dr Leslie Ramsammy posited.

In the interest of good governance, Ramsammy noted that Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan was entirely wrong for interfering in matters of a religious nature.

“In imposing a date for Guyanese Hindus to celebrate Diwali, the APNU/ AFC government has directly imposed restriction on religious freedom in our country,” Ramsammy stated as he called on the Minister to issue an apology to the nation.

Dubbing the situation as a “national disgrace”, Ramsammy explained that

Dr Leslie Ramsammy

lemma where they have to decide when exactly to celebrate the festival of lights.

“I now have a dilemma on which date to celebrate Diwali. Given the conundrum I face, I will have to celebrate Diwali on November 11, not because I am convinced that is the right date, but because that is the date that the majority of Hindus will celebrate Diwali.”

He added that it is a national scandal that Hindus in Guyana will celebrate Diwali on different dates:

Diwali date controversy ruffled the feathers of Guyanese

by taking sides, Ramjattan as a government Minister is clearly in breach of interference in the country’s religious freedom.

Ramsammy made it clear he has no expertise in the matter therefore he does not know the “correct” date for Diwali celebrations in Guyana. However, his contention is the Minister should have allowed the Hindus to dialogue and come up with a date they agree on. Even, as the situation appears to be, a consensus was not reached; Ramsammy noted that the Minister should have then decided through a transparent process, using a clear dispute resolution method and provide reasons for choosing one date over the other.

“For the minister to have chosen a date based on his hate for a group of Hindus or his hate for a leader of that Hindu group is insane and repugnant. His action has placed an ugly stain on Guyana’s proud record of religious freedom and nongovernment interference,” Ramsammy expressed.

Dilemma

According to Ramsammy, because of the situation created, Guyanese now find themselves in a di-

some on November 10 and some on November 11.

Ramsammy said the vast majority of Hindus around the world, particularly in India, will be celebrating Diwali on November 11 the date being advocated for by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha. He noted too that Guyana has always celebrated Diwali on the same day as Hindus around the world.

“I am well aware also that some Hindus following a small group of Hindi scholars will celebrate on November 10. But such decisions must be made by the Hindus themselves. No government should get involved in stirring up division by making such disputes about a date into a national scandal, as Ramjattan and APNU/AFC have done,” Ramsammy asserted.

November 10 v November 11

The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha contended that November 11 is the date which should have been declared the National Holiday.

President of the Dharmic Sabha Dr Vindhya Persaud explained that “Diwali occurs annually on Amawasya or the new moon day of the Hindu month of

Kartik. It is the 15th day in the dark half of Kartik and the darkest night of the year. According to the Panchang/Patra, this occurs on November 11. The Hindu day lasts from sunrise to the next sunrise.

The tithi corresponding to a particular Solar day is defined as that tithi which is present at sunrise.

There is now doubt and it has been acknowledged by all that Amawasyatithi is the tithi at sunrise on November 11 and as such, this is Diwali. The new moon moment itself occurs at 13:57h on November 11.

The Sabha’s date coincides with when several prominent organisations and mandirs in the Americas (Guyana’s time zone) will observe the festival including the renowned BAPS Swaminarayan Mandirs in Toronto and USA, the Chinmaya Mission, USA and ISKCON Hare Krishna Movement, USA. The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has been calculating its Hindu festival dates for more than 40 years on the basis of the Bhavani Shankar Panchang and the 100 year Panchang, India’s most renowned and reputable Panchangs.

In coming up with our date this year, we have done exactly what we have always been doing and we have gone further to crosscheck these with other pandits and astrological experts.”

On the other hand, Ramjattan in defending his November 10 date explained that 90 pandits and swamis approached him and provided him with the rationalisation for the date to be changed.

“The pandits and swamis of this country, totalling some 90, whose signatures I have, and who have rationalised and justified why it should be November 10, 2015, asked me, the Minister with power under the law, to correct the mistake made by politician, Dr Vindhya Persaud.

In accordance with my religious principles and my legal duty, I did exactly that,” Minister Ramjattan said.

Providing a comment on the situation, Ramsammy noted that Ramjattan only made matters worse by revealing the above as the reason for choosing November 10.

“It is a political decision because the Hindus that decided November 11 is the correct date, is led by a person who is a PPP politician.

He castigated Dr Vindhya Persaud as being a woman politician with the PPP. In addressing the issue, he insisted that there is no reason for him to reconsider since the leader of the Dharmic Sabha is a PPP politician,” he stated.

Car thief on $60,000 bail

A

known car burglar was on Monday placed on $60,000 bail after he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Court Two of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Albert De Freitas, 51, a Fisherman of Leopold Street, Georgetown, denied the allegation which stated that on August 13 at Alexander Street, he broke into a car of the Virtual Complainant (VC) Mani Jagmohan and stole two bottles of cologne, one CD player, $10,000 and, other items, all to a total value of $76,000.

According to the facts presented by Police Prosecutor

Deniro Jones, on the day in question the VC secured her vehicle on Alexander Street to conduct business. When she returned she discovered the car was broken into and the items missing. It was explained that an eye-witness came forward and gave a statement as to what transpired. The accused was positively identified and later arrested and charged.

In July the accused was found guilty of attempting to break into a car parked along the Kitty Seawall on January 23. De Freitas was caught trying to break into the car while one Gulliver acted as his look-out. A Corporal who was at the Seawall caught

the duo in the act.

Also, in 2013, De Freitas had pleaded not guilty to another charge which stated that on October 16, at Sheriff Street, Georgetown, he stole a quantity of clothing, fishing equipment, two compact still cameras, one cellphone, one i-Phone charger and one British passport, totalling G$1.5 million from Nicholas Barrage.

The Prosecutor in this case made no objections to bail and the accused was released on $60,000 bail.

The matter was transferred to Court 10 for November 23 where it will appear before Magistrate Alex Moore.

14

guyanatimesgy.com

tuesday, november 3, 2015

Regional

Dominica moving to woo Amnesty International joins call for US to lift Cuba embargo more tourists with yachting

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he United Nations’ vote last Friday to lift the United States embargo on Cuba is a strong message to the US President Barack Obama and Congress about the dire human rights impact of the economic embargo on ordinary Cubans, said Amnesty International.

Last week’s vote was the first regarding the US embargo since Obama ordered the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba in December 2014.

“Claiming to be open to fostering a new kind of relation with the Cuban authorities on the one hand and maintaining an economic embargo that prevents ordinary Cubans from accessing

Americas Director at Amnesty International Erika GuevaraRosas

medicines and other basic commodities on the other is a complete incongruity on the

part of the USA and greatly contributes to further undermine human rights in Cuba,” said Erika GuevaraRosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

“The US Congress must listen to the loud message sent by the international community through the UN and lift an embargo that has no place in today’s world.”

A total of 191 countries voted in favour of the resolution calling on the US to lift its economic embargo against Cuba. Only the US and Israel voted against it.

This was the 24th consecutive year that the UN adopted the resolution for an end to the embargo.

(Caribbean360.com)

T

he Tourism Ministry of Dominica is looking to further develop the yachting industry as a means of attracting more visitors to the island.

Minister for Tourism and Urban Renewal, Senator Robert Tonge has disclosed that the Ministry would be focusing on the French West Indies to attract tourists through yachting.

“As part of our marketing strategy, we plan to increase our advocacy on the neighbouring islands. Once we pitch in the right way, we should be able to bring a lot more people to Dominica with the funds which we have,” he said.

OECS Ambassador to

Brussels, Dr Len Ishmael says yachting has the potential to contribute more to the social and economic development of the region.

“About 80 years ago, we produced what is now known as the UN Economic Commission for Latin America Caribbean report.

These reports were pioneering because for the very first time, we were able to show in a dynamic and real way the total number of yachts which were moving through the region but more importantly, the sort of asset base that different countries had with respect to yachting,” she said.

“For example, the British Virgin Islands, with fixed

assets of about US $500 million [and] contributions to GDP of US$220 million annually even then and then at the lower end; St Vincent and the Grenadines with an incredibly beautiful product in the Tobago Keys and the rest of the Grenadines having far less funds generated by that sector into the national treasury from yachting.”

She says, however, that Dominica is ripe for investment. “… we are massively under-invested and given the comparative advantage which we have, we are ripe for investments in the Region.” (Excerpt fromCaribbean360.com)

Mexican Navy rescues four Fugitive French ‘cocaine fishermen “adrift for 30 days” pilots’ arrested

T

wo French pilots who fled the Dominican Republic last week have been arrested by French Police in Lyon.

Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos were convicted of drug smuggling by a Dominican court earlier this year and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

They had been placed under judicial supervision while they were appealing against the sentence.

They reportedly escaped by boat to the French Antilles and from there by plane to France.

Their lawyer said their arrest was “unnecessary” as the two men had placed themselves at the investigating judge’s disposal.

Last week, the law-

Pascal Fauret (left) and Bruno Odos were arrested in March 2013 in the Dominican Republic

yer said that the two pilots were intent on clearing their name.

They were arrested in the Dominican resort of Punta Cana in 2013 after Police found 26 suitcases on their plane stuffed with 680 kilogram (1500lb) of cocaine.

They, and two other Frenchmen arrested with them, have always maintained their innocence.

The Dominican Republic has asked for their extradition, but legal experts said that was unlikely to happen.

(BB C News)

Trinidadian being extradited to Canada to face 54 charges

A

5 2 - y e a r - o l d Trinidadian man has been ordered extradited to Canada to face 54 charges for several offences, including murder and kidnapping, which he allegedly committed almost 10 years ago.

Chief Magistrate Marcia Caesar-Ayers ordered that Septimus Neverson, also known as Christopher David Munroe, Richard Murphy and Septimus Samuel, be returned to Canada to answer

the charges.

Neverson is accused of murder, three counts of attempted murder, four counts of kidnapping, six counts of attempted robbery, 13 counts of breaking and entering a dwelling house for unlawful purposes, and 27 counts of robbery.

The offences, which involved several victims, are alleged to have occurred between May 4 and July 20, 2006.

Neverson also had previ-

ous charges and convictions in Trinidad and Tobago, in 1985 and 2001. He was also deported from Canada in 2010.

In November 2014, an extradition request was received from the Canadian authorities for his provisional arrest, and after a few months of evading authorities, he was apprehended without incident on February 25 this year. (Caribbean360.com)

Tivoli Inquiry: Cop says 12 bodies discovered

A

Police Sergeant Monday testified in the ?Tivoli Inquiry that a number of bodies that could be those of men shooting at the Police were found.

Sergeant Steve Waugh testified that the bodies were found behind sandbags and barricades, suggesting that these men had been firing at members of the security forces who went into

Tivoli Gardens in May 2010 to apprehend Christopher “Dudus” Coke.

He said he could not recall how many bodies were picked up from these areas.

He said more bodies were picked up in other ?parts of the community.

The Sergeant said about 12 bodies were picked up on May 25, 2010 and that some were in a state of decomposi-

tion.

Waugh said that ?on May 24, 2010, gunmen injured two of the men in his truck as he was taking two bodies that he picked up in Tivoli Gardens to the morgue.

Minutes earlier, the bodies were pronounced dead at the Kingston Public Hospital.

He said no bodies were taken from houses. (Jamaica

Observer)

The boat was spotted by Mexican navy pilots during a routine flight

T

he Mexican Navy has rescued two Colombian and two Ecuadorean fishermen off the coast of the southern state of Chiapas.

The fishermen said they had been adrift at sea for 30 days after their boat ran out of petrol.

They said the currents carried them north from the waters off Ecuador to Mexico.

Doctors said the four

were dehydrated. It is not clear what they lived off while adrift.

Navy personnel carrying out a routine night flight spotted their boat 260 kilometres (162 miles) off the coast of Chiapas.

The four said they had sailed from the port of Esmeraldas in Ecuador on September 24 and had run out of fuel on October 1.

Currents have been known to carry castaways

for thousands of kilometres.

In 2006, three Mexican fishermen were rescued off the Marshall Islands in the Pacific after what they said was about nine months drifting across the Pacific Ocean.

And in February 2014 a Salvadorian castaway was rescued also off the Marshall Islands more than a year after he said he sailed in a fibreglass boat from Mexico. (BBC News)

Barbados must reduce its debtto-GDP ratio, says Central Bank

D

espite the dramatic improvement in the tourism industry, especially a 14 per cent increase in long-stay arrivals so far this year, the Barbados economy grew by a marginal 0.3 per cent for the first nine months of the year, according to the Central Bank of Barbados, in its latest economic press release.

The major reason has been the construction sector, which the Bank said “fell short of expectations” and the spin-off effect this had on the retail and domestic services sectors.

Also holding back the

economy were what the Bank termed “administrative issues” which had caused the emerging photovoltaic systems sector to stall, with only a quarter of around eight megawatts of new capacity fully operational.

Net new foreign capital inflows were estimated at BDS$417 million (US$208.5 million), down from BDS$542 million (US$271 million) a year ago, while foreign income from services, including international business and financial services, were on par with last year.

The country spent

BDS$144 million (US$208.5 million), or about 20 per cent less on fuel although the amount brought in increased by eight per cent.

The lower cost of fuel – a result of the global oil war now being waged over who will command prices for the commodity in the future – not only saved Barbados foreign exchange, but lowered the cost of living for everyone on the island.

Said the Bank, “The dramatic fall in payments for imported fuel and lower commodity prices have had a major impact on Barbados’ inflation rate.”

(Excerpt from

Caribbean360.com)

tuesday, november 3, 2015

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the world

Sinai plane crash: ‘External influence’ caused crash

However, the widow of the plane’s co-pilot told Russian TV her husband had complained about the aircraft’s technical condition

T

he Russian airline Kogalymavia has blamed “external influence” for Saturday’s Sinai plane crash which killed 224 people.

A senior airline official said: “The only reasonable explanation is that it was [due to] external influence.”

An investigation by aviation experts using data from the aircraft’s “black boxes”

has yet to give its conclusions.

The head of Russia’s Federal Aviation Agency said it was premature to speculate on the cause of the crash.

“This kind of talk is... not based on any proper facts,” Aleksandr Neradko said on Russian TV. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also

said in an interview with the BBC that it was too early to say what had caused the crash.

He called a claim from jihadis allied to the so-called Islamic State (IS) group that they had brought down the plane “propaganda”.

“This is one way to damage the stability and security of Egypt and the image of Egypt,” he said.

James Clapper, the US Director of National Intelligence, said there was no “direct evidence of any terrorist involvement yet” adding: “It’s unlikely, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the crash as an “enormous tragedy” and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

“Without any doubt, everything must be done to create an objective picture of events so that we know what happened and can react accordingly,” he said.

At a news conference in Moscow, the Deputy Director of the airline, which was later renamed Metrojet, ruled out a technical fault and pilot error. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Erdogan hails AK Party poll win as ‘vote for stability’

T

urkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hailed his party’s election victory as a vote for “unity and integrity” after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) took back a majority in Parliament.

With almost all of the ballots counted on Monday, Erdogan’s party won 49.4 per cent of the vote – enough for a majority with 317 seats.

The main Opposition CHP won about 25 per cent of the vote (134 seats), while the nationalist MHP party secured almost 12 per cent, 40 seats.

The pro-Kurdish HDP

15

party has claimed 10.8 per cent to get 59 seats.

In a statement after his party’s win, Erdogan said the result “delivered an important message” to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party that “oppression and bloodshed cannot coexist with democracy”.

“Our people clearly showed in the November 1 elections that they prefer action and development to controversy,” 61-year-old Erdogan said.

Voters “have given proof of their strong desire for the unity and integrity” of Turkey, he added.

Despite the result, the

AK Party failed to take the required number of seats needed to call a referendum on changing the Constitution and increasing the powers of the President, which Erdogan has sought.

The outcome of the vote came as a surprise to many, as opinion polls had predicted a replay of the June election when the AK Party won only 40 per cent and lost its majority for the first time in 13 years.

Then, the pro-Kurdish HDP party won seats in Turkey’s Parliament for the first time, denying Erdogan’s party a majority. (Excerpt from Al

Iraq’s Parliament pushes back against PM over reforms

I

raq’s Parliament has unanimously voted to bar the Government from passing important reforms without its approval in an effort to curb the power of Prime Minister Haider alAbbadi amid discontent over his leadership style, politicians have said.

The assembly acted on Monday after Abbadi unilaterally enacted reforms in August that it deemed a violation of the Constitution, including his dismissal of the Vice Presidents and Deputy Prime Ministers and cuts to salaries of government employees.

Some of the measures have been implemented, while others appear to have stalled, with Iraq’s three Vice Presidents remaining in place.

“What we have warned against in our letter to Abbadi last week of taking unilateral reforms now came to an end,” an MP, who asked to remain anonymous, told

Senior officials have said they are not consulted about reforms and often learn about them through the media [Thaier Al-Sudani/ Reuters]

the Reuters news agency.

“Under this resolution no more absolute authorities for the Prime Minister.”

Last week in a letter, more than 60 members of Iraq’s ruling State of Law coalition threatened to withdraw parliamentary support for Abbadi’s reforms if he did not respond to their demands for wider consultation.

Many of the politicians who signed the letter are supporters of Abbadi’s prede-

cessor, Nouri al-Maliki.

When he took office in September 2014, Abbadi was seen as a consensus builder who could heal divisions between Iraq’s Shias, Sunnis and non-Arab Kurds that sharpened during Maliki’s tenure.

But senior officials have said they are not consulted about Abbadi’s reforms and often learn about them through the media (Excerpt from

Al Jazeera)

Lebanon charges Saudi Prince with drug smuggling

P

rosecutors in Lebanon have charged a Saudi Prince and nine other people with drug smuggling, a week after a record seizure at Beirut’s airport.

The Prince was not named, but he and four other Saudis were arrested after two tonnes of Captagon pills were found in cases being loaded on a private jet.

The others charged in the case – three Lebanese and

two Saudis – are at large.

Captagon pills, which typically contain amphetamine and caffeine, are consumed widely in the Middle East.

The drug has helped fuel the conflict in Syria, generating millions of dollars in revenue for producers inside the country as well as being used by combatants to help them keep fighting.

Captagon, originally the trade name for the synthet-

ic stimulant fenetylline, was first produced in the 1960s to treat hyperactivity, narcolepsy and depression. But it was banned in most countries by the 1980s because it was too addictive.

In 2013, the UN said 64 per cent of global seizures of amphetamine took place in the Middle East, and that most of the amphetamine was in the form of Captagon pills. (BBC News)

China unveils passenger aircraft to challenge Boeing and Airbus

Jazeera)

Nepalese Police shoot and kill Indian man amid protests

N

epali Police have killed an Indian man and injured several Nepalese after opening fire on demonstrators allegedly attacking a Police Station with stones and petrol bombs on the country’s southern border, Nepalese officials have said.

Police official Raju Bahadur Shrestha said six Police Officers were injured on Monday by protesters from the Madhesi ethnic minority.

“One of our officers was almost burned to death, we

managed to rescue him,” Shrestha said.

Shrestha said the man killed was an Indian involved in the attack, identified as Ashish Kumar Ram. Earlier, Indian Police official Rakesh Kumar had said the man was on his way to the Nepalese town of Birgunj.

The attack happened about 300 metres inside Nepalese territory.

People from Nepal and India are not required to have documents or visas to cross each other’s borders.

Madhesi protesters say Nepal’s new Constitution unfairly divides the Madhesis among a number of states, diluting their political power.

They are calling for a larger state and more political representation.

The protesters have imposed a general strike in southern Nepal and blocked the main border crossing between Birgunj in Nepal and Raxaul in India, resulting in a severe fuel shortage across Nepal. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

The C919 is due to enter commercial service in 2019

C

hina has unveiled its first large passenger aircraft in decades, in an effort to mount a challenge to planemakers Boeing and Airbus.

The C919, with 168 seats and range of 3444 miles, was displayed at a ceremony attended by 4000 guests.

The C919’s first test flight is not until 2016, but the unveiling was seen as having huge industrial sig-

nificance.

“A great nation must have its own large commercial aircraft,” the country’s civil aviation chief Li Jiaxiang said.

“China’s air transport industry cannot completely rely on imports,” he told the ceremony at a hangar near Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport.

The BBC’s economics correspondent Andrew Walker

says the aircraft represents “an important step in China’s economy moving beyond low-cost manufacturing”.

The C919’s manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) says it has orders for 517 aircraft from 21 customers, most of them Chinese airlines, but also from leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services. (Excerpt from BBC News)

16 news

tuesday, november 3, 2015| guyanatimesGY.com

Swami Vidyanandaji Maharaj to be cremated tomorrow BY: INDRAWATTIE NATRAM

T

housands are expected to pay homage at the funeral for the renowned spiritual leader Swami Vidyanandaji, which has been confirmed for Wednesday.

Swami Vidyanandaji died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 79 on October 28 at the Long Shore Hospital, New York.

The cremation service will be held in the compound of the Cove and John Ashram, East Coast Demerara where thousands of Guyanese are expected to converge to pay tribute to Guyana’s first Swami.

The funeral service,

(Antyesti Sanskara), will begin with a procession where devotees will travel in a motorcade parade from Nabaclis Village and make its way to the Ashram. At the Ashram, the service will commence at 10:00h with prayers, after which it will move into a formal programme where several persons will pay tribute to the Swami.

President David Granger is expected to attend the service, along with several members of the Opposition. In addition, many religious leaders, swamis and other devotees from London, United States, Canada, Brazil and Suriname will be attending to pay their respects.

The will be expected on

the lawns of the Ashram.

His ashes will be sprinkled in the rivers of Berbice, New York and India.

Furthermore, a book of condolences will remain opened during the funeral sermon.

Persons attending the funeral are requested to wear white. They are also asked to use fresh flowers instead of artificial wreaths to place on the Swami’s casket.

Meanwhile, Swami’s body arrived in Guyana from New York on Monday morning. His remains were accompanied by devotees from the United States Bharat Sevashram. His body is currently at the Jerrick’s Funeral Parlour.

Influenced and steered Swami Vidyanandaji has influenced and steered the lives of thousands of Guyanese including former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Former Finance Minister Sasenarine Kowlessar and internationally renowned sportsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, among others.

Swami Vidyanandaji was a famous historian, theologian and strong believer in his spirituality.

He fashioned his lifestyle after Swami Purnananda, who came to Guyana from India decades ago.

Swami Vidyanandaji, who was born on July 3, 1936, returned to the West Indies in 1976 as Guyana’s first ordained Hindu monk of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha.

Back in April, the Guyana Sevashram Sangha hosted a day of

honour, tradition and literature at Cove and John where the book “Journey of the Guru” by Richard B Mahase was launched.

The book, which honours the memory of the founder of the Sangha – Swami Purnananda, is written from the perspective of Swami Vidyanandaji.

Condolences Many persons and organisations have publicly expressed condolences over the passing of the spiritual leader.

Kowlessar Swamiji noted that Swami Vidyanandaji was a man of principle and everyone who came into contact with him was touched in some way or the other. He noted that Guyana’s history would be incomplete without the impactful contributions of Swami Vidyanandaji in the field of Education (socially, ac-

ademically and morally).

“Swami is the first Swami for the Caribbean, this alone is history…

Swami was a man of God that today we classify him as God himself with the acts he would have done during his life on earth; he had struggled to make the Hindu College what it is today and from 1970, he has undoubtedly touched thousands of persons through his humanitarian efforts,” Kowlessar said.

Jagdeo also expressed sincere condolences over his passing.

“For me personally, he was a man of great moral and spiritual stature, whose wise counsel and profound knowledge was always refreshing and inspiring. His calm demeanour and charming personality, his humility, his good humour and lively conversations, and his love and affection, were quite awesome and reassuring,” he said in a statement.

The Indian Action Committee (IAC) has also expressed profound sadness at the death of the Cove and John Ashram Guru: “Guru Vidyananda was a beacon of spirituality whose guidance was much sought by thousands over the years he has been attached to the Ashram. His humility was exemplary and in providing spiritual guidance, he positively influenced many lives. He was foremost an inspirational figure with a humble disposition.”

GPF hosts reception for NYPD Officers

Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud with several NYPD Officers

V

isiting members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) were guests at a special event organised by the Guyana Police Force on Saturday evening at the Police Officers Mess, Eve Leary.

The reception was organised by the hierarchy of the Force and was described as a historic event, since it was the first time such a function was

held there for ranks of a foreign Police Department.

Welcome and opening remarks were made by President of the Mess Committee who is also A Division (Georgetown/ East Bank Demerara) Commander, Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken.

Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud also gave a brief speech and conveyed the

condolences of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to the visiting ranks for their fallen colleague.

The occasion was graced with the presence of Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.

The NYPD Officers, most of whom have Guyanese roots, were extremely appreciative to the local Police Force for such an event.

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tuesday, november 3, 2015 | guyanatimesGY.com

Bandits escape with US company buys North American over $6M following Resources Limited Berbice robbery

T

wo armed bandits escaped with more than $6 million in cash and jewellery following a brazen daylight robbery in Port Mourant, Corentyne.

According to reports, the two men went into Gobin’s Grocery Store at Port Mourant pretending to be customers but subsequently whipped out handguns and held the owners of the business hostage along with five staff members and 11 customers.

Co-owner of the store, Rhada Gobin told this publication that she was doing some administrative work when the bandits struck.

She said a popular beverage company truck had just arrived at the store for routine delivery and she was in the process of paying $1.1 million to the sales representative.

“Two boys walk in, welldressed up, neat and ask ‘Aunty Rhada you have Heineken?,’ and Ah say no.

So they turn to leave and them turn around and ask me if I have Guinness. They give me a $1000 and say they want three Guinness.

Then they pull out a gun

Rhada Gobin

and put it on a lady head at the counter and say ‘nobody don’t move.’ Then tell every we to lie down pun the ground,” She said one of the bandits discharged a shot in the shop and demanded that she hand over cash and jewellery. One of the bandits also threw a bag at her and ordered her to pack the money and jewellery into the bag.

“He tell me open all the draw and take out all the money. So I open all the draw and take out all the money and full up in the bag. Then he start to cuss

nasty, saying ‘go and bring all the so-and-so millions what you get’ and Ah tell he that everything deh right here and he take the gun and hit me in the head and me fall own,” the traumatised woman related.”

The customers who were in the shop at the time were also robbed of their valuables including cash, jewellery and cellular phones.

Gobin said the men carried away about $500,000 in jewellery from her collection, in addition to the cash.

According to her, the robbers used an overseas-based Guyanese who was in the shop at the time, as a human shield as they made their escape.

“They put the gun at the lady neck and back to back to the road and jump on a motorbike and ride away.”

She said the men destroyed the surveillance footage from her CCTV cameras before leaving.

Shortly after, villagers went in search of the robbers but came up empty-handed.

The Police were called and have since taken one person into custody for questioning.

Cozier rice farmers call for proper drainage and irrigation

By Indrawattie Natram

aging NARIL’s operations, including supervising the process of refurbishing both cutterhead dredges to increase efficiency and production.

Clint Mishleau, the company’s CEO, stated, “We are all excited about NARIL conducting its operations now as a subsidiary of the company. NARIL is one of Guyana’s oldest junior mining companies. The company’s acquisition of NARIL allows us to combine the best of both companies in a region that has a long history of rich gold deposits.

And, with the refurbishment of both dredges reaching conclusion, NARIL’s production is expected to commence soon with greater efficiencies.”

In addition to the river dredging operations through NARIL, the company is conducting two small exploratory pilot land operations in the Mazaruni river region of Guyana. One operation is in the Issano Creek area and the other is in the Semang area. Based upon current results, the company intends to expand operations at the Issano Creek area.

Ensurge Inc is a mining holding company that has been engaged in exploring and developing gold mining opportunities in Guyana, South America. Through its subsidiary, TransGlobal Gold Corp, the company has been engaged in mine development in Guyana since 2012.

Guyana Association of Women Police marks 3rd anniversary

A

ccessing water in the Cozier and Somerset backlands in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) is quite troublesome as many farmers (both rice and other crops) cannot irrigate their fields on account of a lack of drainage and irrigation.

More than 335 cash crop and rice farmers operating within the district are affected. Last crop, rice farmers had to pay exorbitant fees to pump water into their fields.

Rice farmers are frustrated as the canal leading to the rice lands is clogged with tall bushes and shrubs.

According to a rice farmer, Mata Harricharran, the issue is very difficult and hundreds of farmers are suffering. Harricharran said that over 8000 acres of land are dependent on the canal for irrigation.

The farmer is calling on the Region Two Administration to install tubes in the area, clean the trenches and also upgrade the dams.

Another large-scale farmer, Odit Narine called for the upgrading of the access dam from Somerset and Berks to Cozier.

Narine said presently farmers were facing serious problems transporting their agricultural produce as their vehicles often got stuck.

Crop farmer Ramnarrine Ramcharran said the area

E

nsurge Inc (trading symbol: ESGI) announced on Monday that it has completed its acquisition of North American Resources Inc Ltd (NARIL).

NARIL is a Guyana mining company that has been conducting gold exploration and mining for over 20 years. NARIL currently operates two cutterhead dredges on the Konawaruk River. Gold production for NARIL exceeded 1600 ounces in 2014. NARIL has been actively engaged in mining activities for two decades.

In March of this year, the company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NARIL. Pending completion of the acquisition, the company has been man-

Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt meeting with large-scale farmer Mata Harricharran

was desperately in need of drainage as well as the upgrading of the farm to market dam.

With the upgrading of the dam and the cleaning of the irrigation canal major challenges faced by farmers in the area would be alleviated.

Following several complaints made by farmers, Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt visited the area. Several farmers met him in the backdam and voiced their concerns.

They have called for the upgrading of the access road, a machine to assist in the improving of the drainage and irrigation and a tube to be installed in the area.

Ramdatt said having recognised the challenges faced by rice farmers in the industry and

Government’s neglect, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) will offer support. Based on his visit and findings, Ramdatt said that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) would be enlightened about the issue and recommendations would be suggested.

The Regional Chairman said farmers should be provided with better drainage and irrigation to reduce the burden to pump water to irrigate. He said other crop farmers needed to have easier access to markets in a hassle-free environment as well.

Ramdatt said he was impressed with the potential in the Cozier area and if necessary drainage was provided, then the area can be a bread basket for the Region.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and others at the church service on Monday

T

he Guyana Association of Women Police on Monday held its third Anniversary Church Service at the Police Officers Mess Annexe. This year’s theme was “Women on the move to bring back the glory”.

The Association, which is an affiliate member of the International Association of Women Police, is growing bigger and bigger each year

and is creating positive impact on improving the lives of especially womenfolk.

Several presentations on healthy lifestyles for women/men are also slated for the coming days inclusive of one on self-discipline which is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, by the “Jus Society” of Canada.

Present during the ceremony were Public Security Minister Khemraj

Ramjattan, Junior Social Protection Minister Simona Broomes, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, senior officers, junior officers and retired Police Officers.

Senior Superintendent Maxine Graham, who is the Force Staff Officer, has been heading the Association since its inauguration in 2012 and continues to push the body to higher heights.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

Tuesday, november 3, 2015

ARCHIE

If you manage your time carefully, a setback won’t tax (March 21- your progress. You will have April 19) a false impression of someone who could actually help you out. Don’t disregard information because of the source.

ARIES

Resolve a misunderstandTAURUS ing before agreeing to a part(April 20- nership. Don’t listen to ruMay 20) mors. It’s essential that you realize what is expected of you before you make a commitment or sign a contract.

dilbert

Let others see your affecGEMINI (May 21- tionate side. Your family may June 20) be feeling unappreciated if you haven’t been sharing your thoughts or time. Harmony at home is essential to your wellbeing.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

A new relationship will be an eye opener. A change of scenery will be refreshing.

Making vacation plans now will give you a strong incentive to save and inspire you to work hard.

Attention to detail will be LEO necessary before you make (July 23a change in direction. Avoid Aug. 22) taking on too many tasks at the same time or you will fall short of your goal.

Calvin and Hobbes

Volunteer work will be VIRGO satisfying and appreciat(Aug. 23ed.

Strangers will become Sept. 22) friends and personal relationships will be strengthened if you share concerns and goals.

Romance is highlighted.

Financial difficulties will LIBRA (Sept. 23- occur if you are indulgent. If Oct. 23) you are unhappy with your current vocation, look for a position that offers more possibilities. Nothing will change unless you take action.

SUDOKU

Don’t do or say anything SCORPIO until you have weighed the (Oct. 24consequences. Your commuNov. 22) nication skills will enable you to reveal just enough information to entice without giving away your game plan.

Don’t be limited by the SAGITTARIUS perceptions of others. Look (Nov. 23into unorthodox ways of marDec. 21) keting your skills and ideas.

Joint ventures look promising. A moneymaking opportunity is apparent.

solution for Last Published Puzzle

CAPRICORN Have faith in your abili(Dec. 22- ties. It’s OK to rely on others, Jan. 19) but the ultimate result must be of your own doing if you are to receive the recognition you desire.

AQUARIUS

Don’t rely on secondhand information. Do some inves(Jan. 20tigative work on your own if Feb. 19) you want to know the whole story. It’s best not to judge a situation until you have the facts.

Keep an eye on your cash.

PISCES (Feb. 20- Disregard for saving will March 20) cause a serious depletion in your financial future. Be shrewd when it comes to investments and expenditures.

tuesday, November 3, 2015

19

GFF supports UDFA League with $1M T donation

NBA: Rockets remain winless, Thunder stay undefeated

– Solomon calls it a step in the right direction

W

UDFA head Sharma Solomon

ith the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) kicking off their 10team First-Division League on Sunday at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) showed its support by handing over $1 million to the association to aid in the execution of the League.

GFF’s Normalisation Committee Chairman, Clinton Urling pushed for such a venture after a visit to the community to oversee the election of their executive which is headed by former Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon.

After handing over a quantity of balls to the UDFA, Urling told the clubs gathered at the LEN Building on October 1 that the GFF intended to give financial assistance to the tune of $1 million.

According to Urling, “Linden has not had any significant football competitions being played in 2015 as a result of administrative issues with the UDFA, so the GFF is delighted to see the return of football in the region.

“Moreover, the Normalisation Committee welcomes the initiative by the new executives of the UDFA to host a league that will ensure consistent and sustainable football being played in the region.”

Urling also stated that the Normalisation Committee is committed to supporting the GFF’s member associations with financial support for com-

petitions, once detailed proposals are submitted.

“We must compliment the UDFA executives for the robustness of their plans and timeliness of submission of their plans for the League,” Urling said.

Solomon, in his comments, thanked the GFF. “It’s a step in the right direction and we want to personally thank the Normalisation Committee and the GFF for lending a hand.”

In addition, Solomon pointed out that “even before I came into football, we always hear about the GFF receiving assistance from FIFA and I always felt that some of that should somehow reach the member association and I’m happy that the Normalisation Committee and the GFF have ensured that associations start to benefit from the FIFA assistance, even if it’s in a small, meaningful way; we’re grateful.”

Meanwhile, Solomon highlighted that along with the First-Division League,

GFF Normalisation Committee Chairman Clinton Urling

simultaneously, the UDFA will host an Under-17 league which he said was made possible through the GFF’s intervention.

Solomon also highlighted that “what we’re happy about is that the clubs understand the position we’re in with regards to getting sponsorship and funding, so they have agreed to use the gates as payments.”

he Houston Rockets’ season went from bad to worse against the Miami Heat, while the Oklahoma City Thunder preserved their unbeaten start.

The Houston Rockets are still searching for their first win of the season after suffering a comprehensive 10989 loss to the Miami Heat in NBA action on Sunday.

James Harden and the Rockets were within touching distance of the NBA Finals last term, only coming unstuck against eventual champions the Golden State Warriors.

But the Rockets look anything but the team that made it to the Western Conference Finals after falling to 0-3 this season.

The Rockets, who led 63-44 in the first half, were overrun after the interval as the Miami franchise outscored Houston by 41 points in the final 23 minutes.

“You can’t have a stagnant offense and not get stops,” said Harden, who was limited to 16 points and seven assists.

“That’s a sign of disaster, which happened in the second half.”

Marcus Thornton led the Rockets with 21 points.

The Heat were inspired

by Hassan Whiteside’s double-double, which consisted of 25 points and 15 re-

Hassan Whiteside

bounds, and Dwyane Wade contributed 20 points.

While the Rockets continue to struggle, the Oklahoma City Thunder are flying high at the other end of the spectrum.

The Thunder preserved their perfect record with a 117-93 win at home to the Denver Nuggets.

Kevin Durant top-scored with 25 points for the Thunder, who have started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12.

The San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the Boston Celtics 95-87.

Led by Avery Bradley’s 18 points, the Celtics closed to within four points of the Spurs on three occasions during the final four min-

utes.

However, Kawhi Leonard (19 points) and Tony Parker (six) saw the Spurs to victory.

LaMarcus Aldridge was the star of the show for the Spurs, finishing with 24 points and 14 rebounds, while veteran Tim Duncan reached 26,000 career points.

In other results, the Chicago Bulls condemned the winless Orlando Magic to a 92-87 defeat.

Dirk Nowitzki inspired the Dallas Mavericks to a 103-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 106-87 and the Atlanta Hawks edged the Charlotte Hornets 94-92. (Digicel Sportsmax)

Srinivasan likely to lose ICC chairmanship N

arayanaswami Srinivasan’s decadelong regime as a high-profile cricket administrator may come to an end next Monday, as the BCCI, at its annual general meeting, is likely to replace its former chief as ICC chairman with current president Shashank Manohar.

Since the restructuring of the ICC last year, Srinivasan has been at the helm of its affairs as the BCCI’s nominee. However, given his controversial stint as BCCI chief ended earlier this year after the Supreme Court of India barred him from seeking re-election, a majority of the BCCI members feel it would be inappropriate to have Srinivasan continuing as the ICC chief.

Most of the BCCI members have expressed their desire to remove Srinivasan to Manohar, who had stepped

Narayanaswami Srinivasan

up the drive to stamp out conflict of interest issues - one of Srinivasan’s main stumbling blocks - in Indian cricket since taking over as president. It is understood that Manohar is willing to take up the additional responsibility as ICC chairman besides dealing with the BCCI affairs. In fact, ac-

cording to a Manohar aide, he had expressed his desire to be elevated to ICC chairman even before the special general meeting in October that was necessitated by Jagmohan Dalmiya’s death.

Srinivasan had begun to gradually lose his clout in the BCCI after not being allowed to continue

as the BCCI president by the courts. And Manohar and Srinivasan, once allies, had turned into bitter rivals over the last couple of years. So, sensing the need to be on the right side of the power equations, even some of the staunch Srinivasan loyalists have distanced themselves from him over the last month, ever since Manohar took over the Indian board. As a result, the resolution to get Manohar in the ICC role in place of Srinivasan may not even require voting among members.

Anuraj Thakur, who had scraped past Srinivasan supporter Sanjay Patel to be elected BCCI secretary, has also already given hints of not following Srinivasan’s directives anymore by inviting Nepal to India to prepare for the World T20 qualifiers in June and proposing to revive the Asian

Cricket Council. It remains to be seen if the ManoharThakur combination decides to maintain the terms of the ICC revamp spearheaded by Srinivasan - the controversial restructuring saw the BCCI earning a majority of the ICC’s revenue, thus creating a dissent in the global cricket community.

Srinivasan had taken over as BCCI treasurer in 2005, then served as secretary from 2008 to 2011 with Manohar as president. In October 2011, he was appointed as the president and subsequently also took charge as the Asian Cricket Council chief. Despite his son-in-law being involved in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, he controversially took over as the ICC chairman in June 2014. He will continue to serve as Tamil Nadu Cricket Association chief. (Cricinfo)

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guyanatimesGY.com

tuesday, November 3, 2015

Taylor leads England towards high ground A

s the third Test hardened into a battle of wills and wiles, England were hauled into a position of relative strength by a maiden Test half-century from James Taylor. His unbeaten 74 helped take England to within touching distance of Pakistan’s firstinnings 234 at the close and bound together a hitherto porous middle order on a pitch that yielded every run grudgingly.

It was hard going but England were determined not to squander the gains achieved by their bowlers on Sunday. A surface that had threatened mayhem as least by recent UAE standards - on the first day was increasingly cowed, a slow outfield providing a further obstruction to scoring. This England team may not appear adept at grafting but they dutifully buckled down to add 218 runs from the allocated 90 overs.

It was an innings shaped in the image of their captain, Alastair Cook, who plotted England’s initial course in pursuit of a series-levelling victory. His 49 from 119 balls was a rate of scoring that came naturally but Ian Bell, his senior partner in the top order, was even more abstemious, curbing his natural instincts to make 40 off 159, a rate of 25.31. He had actually struck his seventh

James Taylor looked adept against Pakistan’s spinners (Getty Images)

ball for six, in an attempt to push back the field, and was eventually lured out by Yasir Shah to be stumped after two sessions of hard labour.

England had turned to Taylor in a bid to add some fibre lower down and he duly repaid the faith. Playing his first Test innings since two brief appearances against South Africa in 2012, he was quickly attuned to the conditions, ensuring that his movements back and forward were decisive, particularly against the spinners - all six of his fours were struck off Yasir and Zulfiqar

Babar.

At times Taylor went down on one knee and turned his back on the ball as it bounced through to the keeper, as if preparing to guard his wicket bodily. His only moments of alarm came against the pace of Rahat Ali, with Pakistan venturing an optimistic review against him on 11, hoping in vain for either an edge to the keeper or an lbw. When he had made 52, a defensive jab towards his toes left him facing his wicket, wondering where the ball had gone as it rolled past his stumps.

His partnership with

Jonny Bairstow, who also showed commendable resolve as Pakistan sought a chink in his technique, helped lift England from 139 for 4 and the possibility of trouble. Pakistan made early breakthroughs in each of the three sessions but, even though the run rate was occasionally allowed to stall, England blotted out the memory of their collapse in Dubai and redoubled their efforts in pursuit of a matchdefining lead.

Cook had relied on his usual formula of judicious defence and deliberate accumulation but a couple of

nervy inside-edges against Yasir proved a harbinger of what was to come. He had 48 at lunch but only added a single to his score thereafter before a faint deflection on to his pads was claimed by short leg; Cook looked suspicious of Chris Gaffaney’s decision to give it out but sensibly chose not to review.

It was Cook’s third dismissal out of three to Yasir - a detail the great impresario of legspin, Shane Warne, would be sure to make his opponent aware of - and prevented him from ploughing his productive furrow in the UAE landscape. Barren for so many on England’s previous tour, this time around it has provided fertile soil for the captain and when he pulled Yasir for four to move on to 45 he surpassed what was previously his most prolific calendar year, 1287 in 2010.

Root is the only man close to Cook as the leading runscorer in 2015 but he could only take his tally on by 4, to 1282, before falling to what is becoming a familiar leftarm suckerpunch, Rahat Ali finding the edge of a loose drive and Sarfraz Ahmed taking a fine low catch in his right hand.

Bell was becalmed but seemed more comfortable than he had all series and was happy to let his partners dictate the tempo, scoring just 40 out of 120 while in the middle. Boundaries were in short supply but Taylor showed nimble feet and fast hands in swatting Yasir away whenever he dropped a fraction short, his diminutive stature an advantage in such conditions.

He and Bairstow put further pressure on Pakistan by stealing singles wherever possible. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD Pakistan 1st innings 234 England 1st innings AN Cook* c Azhar Ali b Yasir Shah 49 MM Ali c Younis Khan b Shoaib Malik 14 IR Bell st †Sarfraz Ahmed b Yasir Shah 40 JE Root c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Rahat Ali 4 JWA Taylor not out 74

JM Bairstow† not out 37 Extras (lb 2, nb 2) 4 Total (4 wickets; 92 overs) 222 To bat: BA Stokes, SR Patel, AU Rashid, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-90, 3-97, 4-139 Bowling: Rahat Ali 16-8-35-1, Yasir Shah 29-3-79-2, Wahab Riaz 15-4-23-0, Zulfiqar Babar 25-2-60-0, Shoaib Malik 5-216-1, Azhar Ali 2-0-7-0.

United’s Rooney given Hughes’ death changed our thinking vote of confidence

by Van Gaal – McCullum

M

B

rendon McCullum has said the death of Phillip Hughes, and its aftermath, played a big role in how his team approached their cricket over the last year.

New Zealand were in Sharjah when McCullum heard the news of Hughes’ death - after he was hit on the neck in a domestic game - and their Test against Pakistan was postponed by 24 hours to give players time to grieve.

“It felt like he was one of us,” McCullum said in an interview to the Cricket Monthly, recalling the incident. “It was this horrible feeling of knowing it could have been any one of us. We didn’t want to continue. I was looking around the sheds and thought there was no way we could get these guys in the right space to play cricket.”

New Zealand cricket roped in mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka to help the players deal with the tragedy. Enoka, who had worked with the All Blacks rugby and other professional teams, suggested to the team management that the players should be self-absorbed for that one Test.

Brendon McCullum

“What you saw was a team playing without feeling,” McCullum says of the series-levelling victory, in which he starred with a rapid 202. “What we learnt was that when you play without any of the pressures and expectations we normally put on ourselves, your skills can be properly expressed.”

The week after Hughes’ death would prove to be a turning point for the New Zealand team, McCullum said. The senior players talked a lot about the way they approached the game and realised that New Zealand had never carved their own cricket identity.

“Most of it emanated from us being semi-embar-

rassed about the way we had played in the past,” McCullum says. “It has to be authentic and it may not last - you can’t force it down people’s throats - but this is the way I want this team to play and I know the senior guys have similar feelings on it.”

New Zealand went on to win the ODI series against Pakistan in UAE. They notched up series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home before an undefeated maiden run to the World Cup final. They also had a memorable summer in England - drawing the Test series and going down 3-2 the thrilling ODI series that followed. (Cricinfo)

anchester United manager Louis van Gaal has given a vote of confidence to the team’s misfiring captain Wayne Rooney ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League home group game against CSKA Moscow.

But he did not rule out resting him at some stage “when we think it is better”.

The England striker has looked below par in recent games and drawn criticism from many supporters who feel he should either be dropped or moved into midfield, allowing French prodigy Anthony Martial to take over as the main attacker in United’s 4-2-3-1 formation.

On Monday, however, Van Gaal defended his “fantastic” captain, who has scored only two goals in the Premier League this season, telling a news conference that Rooney has “more credits” than any other player.

United have drawn their last four games, the past three of them goalless, and won only one of their last six.

They have scored only 15 goals in 11 Premier League games and Martial’s header in the 1-1 draw at CSKA two weeks ago was the last time they found the net.

Wayne Rooney

“We’ve had a dip in our results and we have to come out of it,” Van Gaal said.

“That’s why we need the support of the fans.

“I hope they shall support my players. I hope they will be the 12th player again tomorrow.

“Against Crystal Palace (on Saturday) was a concern because we don’t create so much but that was one of a few matches that we were not the better team.

“We are the best defenders of the Premier League, you say we cannot attack

and it’s not true. It’s only a moment in a process.

“It’s a bad period when you don’t score. Football is scoring goals.”

United have a win, a draw and a defeat from their Group B matches so far, the same as Tuesday’s opponents.

Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin did not train on Monday for “personal reasons” the manager said, adding that defender Phil Jones was fit to play but not Memphis Depay. (Reuters Sport)

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21 Bolt named to IAAF World Athlete of the Year list sports

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W

orld’s fastest man Usain Bolt has predictably been nominated among the candidates for the IAAF World Athlete of the Year award.

Despite recovering from two injury-plagued seasons, the double world record holder went on to claim three gold medals at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.

In doing so, Bolt withstood a serious challenge from American Justin Gatlin who is not eligible for nomination.

Joining Bolt as the front runner on the female side is Netherland athlete Dafne Schippers, who claimed the women’s 200m title in the fourth-fastest time ever recorded over the distance. The duo have amassed the most voting in

Usain Bolt

the opening round.

A preliminary list of nine men and women from the sprints, hurdles, middle and long distance running, race walking, jumps, throws and combined events were selected between October 7 and 25.

An international panel of 10 experts will then

select the finalists, three men and three women, the names of whom will be announced on November 17 and 18. The Council of the International Athletics Foundation (IAAF) will then select the male and female World Athletes of the Year. (Digicel Sportsmax)

GCB/Banks DIH/Digicel NSSCL

Zeeburg, St John’s College register massive victories

Z

eeburg and St John’s College registered massive victories in the West Demerara and Georgetown zones respectively in the Guyana Cricket Board’s National Secondary School Cricket League (NSSCL) sponsored by Banks DIH Limited’s Coca Cola and Rainforest Water, along with Digicel.

At the Zeeburg Ground, the home team defeated Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) Secondary by a massive 151 runs.

SVN Secondary won the toss and invited Zeeburg Secondary to take first strike – a decision that backfired, as Zeeburg Secondary made prodigious use of favourable batting conditions to aggregate 226-8 from their allotted 14 overs.

Kelvin Shewprasad topscored with 56, which included five fours and two maximums, while Ryan Fahein chipped in with 44, which included two fours and four massive sixes.

Avishkar Ramgobin contributed a classy 33, and Ganesh Jitlall a strokefilled unbeaten 40, which included four boundaries and two well-timed sixes.

Bowling for SVN, Aditya Kakarnauth took 3-35.

In reply, the SVN boys were blown away for just 75 runs, as Jitlall and Avinash Ramgobin returned figures of 3-14 and 2-17 respectively. Kakarnauth was the only SVN batsman to put up any resistance to the Zeeburg Secondary bowlers by recording a top

Zeeburg Secondary stars Kelvin Shewprasad (left) and Ganesh Jitlall

score of 24.

In the Georgetown zone, at Everest Ground, Christopher Campbell bowled St John’s College to victory with a five-wicket haul, as St George’s College found batting difficult on a pitch that favoured the bowlers.

Batting first, St John’s College mustered 122 in 22 overs, with the Douglas brothers, Ooida and Raul, being the main contributors with 40 and 26 re-

spectively. Bowling for St George’s, Mario D’Aguiar took 4-42, Meshack Sostleigh 3-17 and Ntini Permaul 2-27.

St George’s College, in their reply, were skittled out for 82 as Christopher Campbell produced a superb performance with figures of 5-21, robbing St George’s College of victory. Johan Blair supported with 3-19 off four overs, as St John’s College won by 40 runs.

22

guyanatimesGY.com

tuesday, November 3, 2015

Johnson to lead Guyana Alanzo Greaves hails his Jaguars in PCL 4-Day performance at Tour of Guyana – Motie lone newcomer

By Akeem Greene

G

uyana’s ace rider Alanzo Greaves said he was impressed with his performance at the recently -concluded Tour of Guyana given the fact that he did not have a team and rode on his own.

Greaves finished fifth overall after a victory in the Fourth Stage, third place in the First Stage and fifth place in the Second Stage.

Greaves underscored the importance of having a team if a cyclist wanted to win; since a team helped to protect the lead as one cyclist could not simply do it on his own.

The cyclist said he was in the Roraima team but the reality was some of the members left and join other teams, but he would be grateful to be a part of a team which would inevitably boost his performances.

When quizzed about what was the biggest test in

Alanzo Greaves

the Tour of Guyana, the rider believed the “mental aspect” was paramount, since if “one gets off to a bad start, they must be determined to come back stronger to make up the time they lost in the previous stage”.

Greaves was in high praise of the treatment shown the riders as there

were better accommodation and meals compared to previous years, when they would have to camp in schools. This year, racers were allowed to stay in hotels.

As to where the Tour of Guyana could improve, Greaves is of the view that more international riders coming to the race in an attempt to raise the level of competition would help.

“When foreign riders come and compete, it allows local riders to gauge their performance as to what they need to do better come the next year. “ In addition, he believes their presence would push local riders into a more team-oriented set-up Greaves spent six months in the United States of America participating in “quick races” on the circuit which he felt put him in top shape. This allowed him to return home to take part in the Tour of Guyana without a team.

The exceptional racer underscored the importance of racing as much as possible as the more you race, the better you get, and cited regular training and proper nutrition as vital components. “Eat right, train right and rest” Greaves outlined as the keys to winning.

The 27-year-old’s main goal is to win the Caribbean Championships next year; that would be a momentous achievement as his best placement in the championships is sixth. He also commented that it would be great to go to the Rio Olympics as a “wild card” entry.

The rider was thankful for the support given by the Government and most importantly his sponsors.

Greaves plans on putting in some hard work, as he looks to create a bigger name for himself come next year. (akeemg@guyantimesgy. com)

in 13-man squad

C

Leon Johnson

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

ricket Guy Inc (CGI) has named its 13-man squad for the first Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional Four-Day game of the 2015/16 season.

The Guyana Jaguars will face off with the Windward Islands Volcanoes from Friday at the Guyana National Stadium,

Providence, as they begin the journey to defend the title they won in the inaugural edition of the PCL. Former West Indies Under-19 left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie is the lone newcomer in the squad to be captained by Test batsman Leon Johnson. The squad includes four players with Test experience, among them the Caribbean’s most capped Test batsman, Shivnarine

Regal make clean sweep of Guyana Softball Cup – Latiff, Narine voted MVPs

Man of the Match in the final of the Open category, Richard Latiff of Regal receives his trophy from a representative of SCI Miami

sibility of the match resuming, even after Rafeek decided to sacrifice his wicket in the interest of a restart, the umpires, Barker and Richard Albert, decided to award the match to Regal.

NYSCL President Eric Ferrier later apologised to the organising body, the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) and the spectators for the unceremonious end to the game, noting that it was not the NYSCL All Stars that lost, but the game of cricket.

At the point when the match ended, Regal were 65-1 in 9.3 overs, chasing 120. Richard Latiff, the eventual Most Valuable Player of the Open category,

By Avenash Ramzan

R

egal made a clean sweep of the Open and Masters categories on Sunday when Guyana Softball Cup 5 concluded under floodlights at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), Queenstown.

The Open final was cut short following New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) All Stars leaving the field after a confident appeal for a stumping was turned down by umpire Ava Barker at the halfway stage of the run-chase.

At that moment when the NYSCL All Stars wicketkeeper knocked over the stumps after Fazal Rafeek missed a delivery down the leg side, the game was brought into disrepute, as the NYSCL All Stars walked off the field in frustration after Barker ruled not out.

The NYSCL All Stars

This lucky spectator is all smiles as he was one of three persons who won a return ticket to Barbados. Here, representatives of Survival Travel Agency make a symbolic presentation

players openly displayed their disgust with the decision, and the wicketkeeper was flabbergasted, kicking the stumps and throwing his gloves to the ground.

After a lengthy delay, and no consensus on the pos-

was unbeaten on 40.

Earlier, NYSCL All Stars posted 119 all out in 18.2 overs, with Amar Singh and Hemendra Ramdial scoring 20 each and Wasim Haslim 18. Bowling for Regal, Amier Nizamudeen and Tyrone

Gudakesh Motie

Floodlight’s batsman Ramesh Narine was rewarded for scoring two centuries in the Masters division

Sanasie claimed 3-10 and 3-23 respectively.

In the Masters final, defending champions Floodlights batted first and posted 160-9 with Uniss Yusuf scoring 31 (2x4s, 2x6s) and Wayne Jones 25 (4x4s).

David Harper claimed 4-19, while Raymond Harper bagged 2-28.

Regal Masters responded with 161-4, with Eon Abel cracking an unbeaten 80 with four fours and four sixes to lead the chase. Rudolph Baker chipped in with 42, as the match ended with a ball to spare.

At the presentation ceremony, Eon Abel was adjudged Man of the Match in the Masters final, while Regal pocketed a trophy and $600,000 and Floodlight a trophy and $150,000.

In the Masters category, Ramesh Narine collected the Most Valuable Player award (304 runs, including two centuries, and

two wickets), while Kewal Tribena (Orlando Florida) and Narine received prizes for scoring centuries.

Latiff took the Man-ofthe-Match accolade in the Open final, while Regal grabbed a trophy and $800,000. The runner-up, NYSCL All Stars, took home a trophy and $200,000.

Latiff also received the MVP prize (101 runs and seven wickets), while Zaheer Haniff (Petama XI) was rewarded with a trophy for scoring a century.

Ricardo Adams of Hyde Park and Kelvin Orford of Petama XI were also rewarded for taking five-wicket hauls during the threeday tournament.

In the female exhibition final, Mike’s Wellwoman defeated Karibee Girls to lift the winner’s trophy and $50,000, while the losing team collected a trophy and $25,000. (aramzan@guyanatimesgy.com)

Chanderpaul.

The squad reads: Assad Fudadin; Rajendra Chandrika; Leon Johnson (Captain); Vishaul Singh (Vice Captain); Shivnarine Chanderpaul; Christopher Barnwell; Raymon Reifer; Anthony Bramble; Steven Jacobs; Gudakesh Motie; Shimron Hetmyer; Keon Joseph and Ronsford Beaton.

The Coach is Esuan Crandon, while the Manager/Assistant Coach is Rayon Griffith and the Physio is Beverley Nelson.

According to a release from CGI, “The other contract players and the academy players will be the replacements, in case of any changes. Our champion slow left-arm orthodox bowler, Veerasammy Permaul was not included in the squad because he’s suffering from an ankle injury.”

Guyana Jaguars are the defending champions going into the tournament, which they dominated a year ago.

“The contracted and academy players have been in continuous training all year and are expected to put on a highly competitive and outstanding performance in the tournament,” the CGI release concluded.

guyanatimesGY.com

tuesday, November 3, 2015

23

Experience key as Nazim Gafoor gears up for Nov race meet Goodluck holds slim National Rifle Shooting championships

By Akeem Greene

Y

oung race car driver Nazim Gafoor is looking to get more experience with his new car, as the highly-anticipated Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) November 15 meet organised by the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) is soon approaching.

Gafoor is of the opinion that the more he gets acquainted with his Mazda Miata car, the better performances he will churn out.

The racer has declared that the 2000cc engine car was one of the most powerful cars in Group Two, but has admitted there was tough competition in the group.

Nazim Gafoor’s Mazda Miata in action

In what will be his first year at the 2015 Seaboard Marine CMRC, Gafoor said his recent racing in Barbados at the CMRC, was of great value despite the failure of the car during the races.

Gafoor is also still aiming to gain points for the Guyana team so they can

secure the Championship.

“What we looking to do is make sure we make the qualifying times after which I am confident we can be a serious threat on the final day,” the driver said.

When the two-litre engine car revs up on November 15, it will be its first competitive race at the

South Dakota and the driver is confident that once everything goes well with the car mechanically, a victory can be secured.

Gafoor will also be participating in Group One with his Toyota Galanza and brimming with confidence for an exceptional performance in that category too.

Gafoor, who races out of Team Universal Communications, is expecting after the various tunings this week to be at the circuit practicing this Sunday.

“This year we had had late start but we looking to better the car and return next year to take the Caribbean championships in Group Two,” he revealed. (akeemg@guyanatimesgy. com)

Inter-Ministry/Corporation futsal

Customs display offensive firepower with 9-3 win

By Treiston Joseph

C

arlos Monkhouse scored a quintet of goals to lead Customs to a 9-3 victory over the Public Security Ministry when action continued in the Banks Beer InterMinistry/Corporation futsal competition on Sunday evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

While Rawle Johnny scored the game’s first goal in the first minute of the match to give Customs an early lead and Gavin Bobb equalised in the fifth minute, Monkhouse scored the next five goals to singlehandedly win it for Customs.

Monkhouse’s goals came in the seventh, eighth, ninth, 14th and 16th minutes while Terrence Adams and Vincent Thomas scored the other two goals for Customs in the 17th and 19th minutes.

Shemar Andrews scored for the Public Security Ministry in the 13th while Bobb scored again in the 17th minute in the loss.

Meanwhile, Game One of the night saw the Bank of Guyana topping the Agriculture Ministry 2-1 in a highly competitive game.

Delon Wilburgh scored the game’s first goal in the first minute of the encounter, while Marvin Yard dou-

bled the lead in the seventh minute. Ramain Lindo’s 14th minute goal counted as a consolation goal in the loss.

Transport and Harbours topped the Tourism Ministry 1-nil, as Ulric Bourne was the only player to trouble the net in the game.

John Fernandes Inc topped the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) 3-1 to win a much-needed game in the group stage of the tournament.

Clifford Cummings opened the scoring for John Fernandes in the 12th minute, while Ray Smith scored a minute later to increase the lead.

YBG Junior-age group basketball tournament

Plaisance, Queen’s pick up wins

Jada Mohan dribbling the ball up the court

P

laisance Secondary School and Queen’s College picked up big wins on Saturday when the Youth Basketball Guyana Junior-age group tournament continued at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).

Both games were contested in the Under-17 category, with Queen’s College topping Bladen Hall 25-20 in a close encounter.

Omari Joseph was the high-point man with 17 points and seven rebounds

along with five steals and three assists. For Bladen Hall, Darnell Hamer had nine points and eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, Plaisance Secondary defeated Bishops’ High School 45-39 in a seesaw battle that saw the former getting the better of the latter.

The top performers for Plaisance were Delroy Critchlow 14 points and 14 rebounds, Andrew Johnson 12 points and Nigel Bowen eight points and

11 rebounds. For Bishops’, Timothy Thompson had a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.

In girls’ action, Marian Academy topped St Rose’s 22-12, with Jada Mohan leading the way. Mohan scored 14 points and had five steals in the eye-opening performance.

The tournament will continue on November 6 from 15:00h, at the Marian, St Rose’s and Tutorial hard courts and on November 7 at the CASH from 13:00h.

Colin Birchman scored in the 14th minute for NIS, while Wesley Tudor sealed the deal for John Fernandes in the 19th minute.

In other results, Oasis Water and the Guyana Power and Light drew 2-2, while the Natural Resources Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry also had a 2-2 draw. The Public Infrastructure Ministry and Republic Bank had walkover wins. The tournament will continue during the remainder of the week.

lead in ‘X’ Class

R

ansford Goodluck held on to a slim onepoint lead at ‘X’ Class at the end of the first day of competition in the National Rifle Shooting championships at the Timehri Rifle Ranges on Sunday.

The former national champion had a first-day aggregate of 132 points with 12 V-bulls, one point ahead of defending champion Lennox Braithwaite, who recorded 131 with 12 V-bulls following competition at the 300, 500- and 900-yard ranges.

Goodluck recorded 33 points with one V from a possible 35 points at 300 yards and returned to shoot a possible 50 points with seven Vs at 500 yards and dropped just one point to record 49 points with four Vs at 900 yards.

Braithwaite also shot a possible 50 points at 500 yards, but recorded scores of 34-2 and 47-5 at 300 and 900 yards respectively. National Vice Captain Dylan Fields was in third with 127 points and six Vs with individual scores of 33-1, 47-4 and 47-1 at the three ranges.

Ryan Sampson had an overall score of 124 points with eight Vs with scores of 31-2, 47-3 and 46-3. Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Terry Stuart shot 123 with five Vs, recording scores of 31-0, 48-3 and 442, while Peter Persaud was one point behind with 122 with nine Vs. He shot 30-1,

Ransford Goodluck

48-4 and 44-4.

Sherwin Felicien recorded 121 with 4 Vs with scores of 30-0, 49-3 and 42-1.

National Captain Mahendra Persaud and leading ‘O’ Class shooter Leo Romalho did not compete on the first day owing to illness, but are likely to participate this weekend. The competitors battled very humid conditions with subtle changes in the winds.

Robert Tewari and Gordon Richards, who are competing in the Tryo Class (Beginners), shot only two ranges. Tewari recorded 70 points with two Vs, while Richards secured 64 with 1 V. The championships continue on Saturday with shooting at the 500-, 600and 900-yard ranges, starting at 10:00h, while the final day of competition will be on Sunday, starting at the same time.

tuesday, November 3, 2015

Sports is no longer our game, it’s our business

Regal make clean sweep of Guyana Softball Cup Pg 22

– Latiff, Narine voted MVPs Hail the champs! Regal Open and Masters players in a jubilant mood in the wee hours of Monday as they celebrate victory at the DCC Ground (Avenash Ramzan photos)

Inter-Ministry/Corporation futsal

Customs display offensive firepower with 9-3 win Pg 23

Some of the action during the tournament

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