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ARCHIVES FOR SEPTEMBER 23, 2009

UN climate summit -
President Jagdeo expresses…
RENEWED OPTIMISM AHEAD OF COPENHAGEN
- following successful ‘free-flowing’ round-table discussions he co-chaired with British Prime Minister
By Mark Ramotar in New York

CLIMATE TALKS’: President Bharrat Jagdeo interacts with Mr. Ricardo Lagos, the UN Secretary General’s Special envoy on climate change and former president of Chile during the round-table session at the UN headquarters in New York. The session was co-chaired by President Jagdeo and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

WITH the clock ticking towards this December’s climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, President Bharrat Jagdeo is optimistic that world leaders are much closer to ‘sealing the deal’ when they meet again in just under 80 days time.

His optimism is being fuelled, in part, by the successful outcome of a crucial round-table meeting he co-chaired yesterday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Financing was one of the main issues discussed during the round-table meeting and President Jagdeo said participants, having recognised that climate change is the pre-eminent geopolitical and economic issue of the 21st century, acknowledged that it would take as much as, and maybe even more, than US$100B to fight the impacts at this point in time.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle shortly after the session, President Jagdeo said the idea was to get leaders together to have a free flowing discussion about what it would take to “seal the deal” in Copenhagen and to “break the deadlock which seems to be part of the negotiations at this time”.

According to the Guyanese Head of State, the discussions were centered around five political areas the leaders felt would be useful to the future. These, he said, ranged from deep cuts by the developed countries aimed at assisting mitigation actions from the developing world, to adaptation and institutional governance structure to deal with the environment in the future.

“These were just some of the areas that we thought we needed clarification for …and then of course the very important matter of financing…so we had a free flowing discussion and we think that we have made some progress towards having a better understanding of what it would take to have this deal in Copenhagen on the part of all the players, the developed countries and the developing world, and what quantum of financing is needed,” President Jagdeo said.

According to him, the leaders immediately recognized the magnitude of the problem and “start talking about a large sum of money, in excess of US$100B”.

Those figures get closer to the sums required, he said, noting that in the past, those figures used to range in the tens of millions of dollars and clearly that would not be adequate for mitigation and adaptation action and it wouldn’t have led to a deal in Copenhagen.

“So I think out of the round-table we had leaders participating and we have built some level of momentum and optimism that we may be able to secure this deal in Copenhagen,” President Jagdeo told the Chronicle.

Among the countries that participated in the round-table discussions were Sweden, Mexico, Tanzania, Switzerland, Germany, Sri Lanka, Poland, Fiji, Singapore and Ghana. Yesterday’s summit at UN Headquarters in New York is the largest ever on climate change, with more than 100 heads of State and Government in attendance.

It takes place just under 80 days before the start of the Copenhagen conference, where nations are aiming to wrap up negotiations on an ambitious new agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions that would go into effect in 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period expires.

Stronger signal needed by U.S. in climate fight
- President Jagdeo
By Mark Ramotar in New York
While acknowledging the strides made by the United States in the fight against climate change, especially in recent times, many persons felt the U.S. should have sent a “stronger signal” that it is prepared to cut greenhouse gas emissions, during President Barack Obama’s address at the opening of the United Nations Climate conference in New York.

President Obama, during his much anticipated address yesterday, challenged the world to act swiftly to fight global warming but offered no new proposals that could jumpstart stalled talks on a U.N. climate pact.

In his speech, Obama said time was running out to address the problem.

"Our generation's response to this challenge will be judged by history, for if we fail to meet it -- boldly, swiftly, and together -- we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe," he said.

In an interview with the Chronicle, President Bharrat Jagdeo shared the sentiment that he had also expected a “stronger” statement from President Obama. He, however, expressed the hope that it was just a “tactical move” by the US President.

“We have to understand that President Obama has moved significantly from where the U.S. was on climate change to where they are today and that is largely because of his leadership...but whether what the U.S. is doing now is adequate to have this global deal (in Copenhagen), that’s another issue,” President Jagdeo told this newspaper.

“So I think most people were looking forward to his (Obama) sending a stronger signal that the U.S. is prepared to reach that deal and I felt that was absent from his speech this morning” the President added.

He said one would think that it is “a tactical thing”, and one would hope that it is.

Prior to yesterday’s special UN summit on global warming, activists had hoped the United States and China would inject momentum, just two-and-a-half months before 190 nations gather in Copenhagen aiming to complete a deal to slow climate change.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who called the meeting, said talks were moving too slowly.

"Failure to reach broad agreement in Copenhagen would be morally inexcusable, economically short-sighted and politically unwise," Ban said.

"We cannot go down this road. If we have learned anything from the crises of the past year, it is that our fates are intertwined," he said.

Speaking shortly after Obama yesterday, Chinese President Hu Jintau pledged to reduce the carbon intensity of his country's economic growth.

Asked what were his views on President Jintau’s presentation, Mr. Jagdeo said: “I think he made some significant signals in his address.”

“Although he spoke about endeavouring to achieve targets, he started out using some important terminologies that were part of the debate before; he spoke about a 2005 baseline and he spoke about 20/20 targets...,” Mr. Jagdeo said.

“But China has signaled some important commitments,” he stressed.

President advances Guyana’s climate model in world media
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo is supplementing the international lobby for Guyana’s climate change model in more interviews with leading global media agencies and newspapers.

He has been interviewed by Reuters, one of the largest news agencies in the world, the American TV network CNN, and has met the Editorial Board of the prestigious New York Times on the sidelines of the special climate change summit called yesterday by United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon.

The Guardian newspaper of London yesterday also carried the full text of the President’s remarks at the ‘Team Earth’ public event in Greeley Square, New York Monday when he shared the spotlight with popular actor and environmentalist Harrison Ford.

He has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and is scheduled for an interview with the Economist later this week.

On Friday, Mr. Jagdeo is due to advance his pitch in a speech at the renowned Columbia University.

The Guardian headlined the President’s Monday speech at the Greeley Square event as ‘Guyana is a model of forest protection that could solve the climate crisis’.

In that speech, President Jagdeo stressed that a deal at the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark in December must enable countries like Guyana to generate an income by conserving forests rather than cutting them down

“The UN General Assembly this week is going to change the world. This is because quiet conversations in meeting rooms and corridors around the UN complex will shape the world's climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December — and all of our lives, and those of every generation that follows”, he said.

And this is all going to happen because of trees. This week, among the talk of recession and growth, defence and terrorism, economic stimuli and trade sanctions, world leaders will discuss one of the key solutions that we need to focus on to tackle climate change — the world's forests, he added.

In his interview with Reuters, the President noted that he wants to turn this country into one of the world's most environmentally progressive countries by preserving vast swaths of tropical rain forest -- if rich nations pay for it.

"We can generate money from preserving the forests, we can use these resources to invest in low carbon opportunities, and we can use some of the money to make our economy climate-resilient," Mr. Jagdeo said.

Protecting forests is crucial, he said, as destruction of tropical forests releases more carbon dioxide emissions than all the world's cars, trucks, planes and trains combined.

He said his preservation model could be replicated in other countries and incorporated into a new climate change agreement to be signed in Copenhagen.

"By Copenhagen, we can show a real country model working that would address all of the issues that have come up in the negotiations," he said.

The President said the biggest stumbling blocks to making his model work were persuading rich countries that payments they make to poor ones would be used transparently, and convincing poor countries they would not give up sovereignty when they agree to set aside forests for conservation.

Negotiations for Copenhagen among 190 nations are stalled over how to share the burden of curbs on gas emissions through 2020 between rich and poor nations and how to raise perhaps $100 billion a year to help the poor combat warming and adapt to changes such as rising seas.

"What will constitute a good agreement in Copenhagen for me is one that has deep emissions cuts, adequate financing and improving forests as an abatement solution," Jagdeo said. "Developed countries need to take the biggest steps."

Although Jagdeo wants to turn Guyana into a low-carbon economy that relies on green energy, he said only rich countries should face mandated deep cuts in carbon emissions.

Poor countries fear they might sacrifice future economic growth if they agree to mandatory reductions.

"We don't want to pass blame, but many of the developed countries used these traditional tools to get where they are today. Many people feel that they are kicking away the ladder now, they don't want us to use the same development tools, which were high carbon," he said.

"We believe we don't have to go that route, we believe that we can shift to a low carbon direction without compromising our development prospects, but we have to be helped to that route."

CNN also reported on the President’s stand on its website.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday lauded Guyana’s leadership on climate change.

In a meeting with President Jagdeo in New York, Rudd expressed his country’s interest in collaborating with Guyana in the global effort to address climate change.

President Jagdeo also took the opportunity to outline Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.

Australia has committed to supporting Guyana’s Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) System and remote monitoring of its forests.

This development builds on Guyana’s recent work on developing its MRV System at which several experts from the Australian Climate Office participated.

Prime Minister Rudd and President Jagdeo agreed to continue discussions at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad in November to explore other areas of bilateral cooperation on climate change as well as regional initiatives for the Caribbean Community.

China pledges climate action, Obama says time short
By Jeff Mason and Claudia Parsons

President Barack Obama addresses the Summit on Climate Change at United Nations headquarters in New York, yesterday. REUTERS/Mike Segar

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - World leaders tried to inject momentum into climate change talks yesterday but new proposals by China and a rallying cry from U.S. President Barack Obama did little to break a United Nations deadlock.

Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaders of the world's top greenhouse gas polluters, had hoped to help foster efforts to forge a new global warming treaty two and a half months before a December deadline.

Speaking at a special U.N. climate change summit in New York, Hu laid out a new plan to tackle China's emissions but failed to include specific figures.

Obama outlined his administration's efforts since he took office in January but offered no new proposals.

Hu, due to meet Obama directly later on Tuesday, said China would vigorously develop renewable and nuclear energy and promised emissions would grow slower than economic growth in the future.

"We will endeavor to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by a notable margin by 2020 from the 2005 level," Hu said, according to a prepared text of his remarks.

The pledge, while short of an absolute cap on output, was seen as an attempt to counter critics, especially in Washington, who say Beijing is doing too little.

Obama said the United States had done more over the eight months of his presidency to reduce carbon pollution than at any time in history and urged all nations to act together.

"The time we have to reverse this tide is running out."

Activists and analysts expected more.

"It was a bit disappointing that China did not give a number for greenhouse gas intensity. I had expected it to come now," said Knut Alfsen, head of research at the Center for International Climate and Energy Research in Oslo.

"But this is progress. Five years ago climate was a non-issue for China. Now they have turned around and are saying 'we are going to do something now.' This is a tremendous shift."

MOMENTUM
Environmentalists assailed Obama for having few specifics in his first presidential speech to the United Nations.

"We are really very, very disappointed about what Obama has said," said Thomas Henningsen, climate coordinator for Greenpeace International.

"It is really more of a step back than a step forward," he said, adding that Obama had not spelled out any concrete steps compared to what Japan and other nations were prepared to do.

Europeans, who had welcomed Obama's commitment to fight climate change as a positive development after his predecessor George W. Bush, have grown impatient.

A climate change bill mandating cuts in U.S. emissions is unlikely to be passed by the U.S. Senate by December while other domestic issues, notably healthcare reform, dominate the congressional agenda.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed that heads of state from major economies meet in November ahead of the Copenhagen talks.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who called Tuesday's meeting, said talks were moving too slowly.

"Failure to reach broad agreement in Copenhagen would be morally inexcusable, economically short-sighted and politically unwise," Ban said.

Talks leading to the December 7-18 meeting have put developed and developing countries at odds over how to distribute emissions curbs. Poorer nations are pressing richer ones to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars a year to help them cope with rising temperatures.

Police launch investigation into alleged Kwame McKoy tape
Consequent upon an interview done with Kwame McCoy on Monday, at his request, police launched an investigation into the allegations which had surfaced in a tape recorded conversation, also, on McCoy’s report, that persons had imitated his voice in allegedly making calls to the Kaietuer News, according to a police report last evening.

Kwame McCoy also handed over a copy of the tape recorded conversation to the police.

Police contacted a reporter at the Kaietuer News who confirmed Kwame McCoy’s report about a conversation with someone purporting to be Kwame McCoy and what the person had said. The Kaieteur News reporter refused to give a statement in the matter, the police report continued.

Contrary to a Stabroek News report, the young man who allegedly had a conversation with someone purporting to be Kwame McCoy never reported to the police. In fact, efforts by the police to contact the said young man proved futile, the police statement concluded.

For Education Month…
Learning resources exhibition opens to boost quality delivery
By Vanessa Narine

Two school children assist Minister Baksh in cutting the ribbon as the exhibition is declared open.

EDUCATION Minister Shaik Baksh said yesterday that, while Guyana is leading the Caribbean in early childhood and pre-primary education, such development must be put to use if the expectation is quality learning.

He was declaring open a three-day learning resources exhibition open at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), in Kingston, Georgetown.

The display is one of the activities organised to mark Education Month 2009, themed ‘School attendance and punctuality: Keys to Education success’.

Its purpose is to sensitise the public on types of teaching/ learning materials available to teachers; expose them to best practices in the classroom; help them develop their own teaching materials and show them innovative technology that can be used to create opportunities for critical thinking.

Mr. Baksh said the event is extremely timely, as the education sector advances its delivery to the children of Guyana.

He challenged teachers and education managers to support the show, so that they can take back, to their respective schools, ideas on how to use the displayed materials for improving teaching at their schools.

Baksh declared that, too often, learning resource materials are stacked away in cupboards and said the Ministry is taking steps to correct the practice.

He cited schools in the hinterland as an example and pointed out that the reason materials are not used is because the teachers were not trained in the methodologies of their usage.

Baksh said, however, that, once training is done, the teachers will understand the value of the materials in helping schoolchildren to learn better.

He reiterated that resource materials must be put to use, as part of the education sector advancement is the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, over the years, to develop and produce the different learning resources.

“If we are to see quality learning outcomes, we must ensure that the materials developed and produced are utilised and made available,” Baksh maintained.

Developments

School children listen attentively to this teacher who uses an interactive method of story telling during yesterday’s exhibition.

He said access to them is imperative and listed several related developments, among which are:

* the development of 11 resource centres in hinterland communities, with the expectation of 11 more being established;

* the $251M Fast Track Initiative (FTI) programme that seeks to enhance literacy across the country;

* the Basic Education Access and Management Support (BEAMS) project which also aims to improve literacy and numeracy achievement throughout Guyana;

* the establishment of the Book Distribution Unit;

* the focus that is being placed on library development in all the regions, through collaborations with the National Library;

* development of a multi-media learning centre at NCERD, that will be tasked with developing education resources to keep the sector on par with the 21st century and is expected to be fully staffed by year-end and

* provision of televisions for nursery and primary schools, within another two years, to augment distance education, an initiative that is a key in the Education Strategic Plan.

Baksh said: “The Government is committed to promoting these initiatives to better the quality of learning in Guyana.”

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Acting Representative in Guyana, Mr. Geoffrey Ijumba, lauding the initiatives, said the Ministry of Education must ensure that it pursues, aggressively, the strategies for excellent reading programmes that go beyond the exhibition.

Perseverance
He congratulated the Ministry on its perseverance to improve student achievement in simple but powerful ways and on making sure that other duty bearers in the community understand that attendance and punctuality are critical to educational success.

Minister Shaik Baksh receives the donation of books from UNICEF representative, Mr. Geoffrey Ijumba.

Ijumba handed over a copy of ‘My Rights and Responsibilities’ and said more copies of the attractive, child friendly book, with puzzles which not only tell of the rights of children but encourage participation of teachers and parents for effective reading, comprehension and interpersonal skills, would be made available.

“Recognising the importance of early learning these readiness materials target nursery and grades one and two…they are fun and will stimulate discussion, stretch imagination and encourage bonding with peers, teachers and parents,” he said.

Ijumba said UNICEF has adequate publications to facilitate distribution to all the nursery and primary schools in Guyana and it is hoped that they would be utilised to stimulate progressive reading and comprehension in schools and homes.

The books were on display in the UNICEF booth, one of the many education partners which had booths in the NCERD auditorium where the majority of displays were mounted by the latter.

Head of the Learning Resources Development Unit, Mrs. Rajwantie Permaul said, although she hopes teachers and educators from the regions would view the exhibits at the current site, requests are being considered for them to be taken countrywide.

Minister Irfaan Ali.

Advancing development in indigenous communities
The issue of the rights and development of indigenous people has been and still is a contentious one in many parts of the world and has proved to be challenging for many governments because of historical and cultural prejudices.

At least 350 million people worldwide are considered to be indigenous. Most of them live in remote areas in the world. Indigenous peoples are divided into at least 5000 peoples ranging from the forest peoples of the Amazon to the tribal peoples of India and from the Inuit of the Arctic to the Aborigines in Australia. Very often they inhabit land which is rich in minerals and natural resources. Indigenous peoples face serious difficulties such as the constant threat of territorial invasion and murder, the plundering of their resources, cultural and legal discrimination, as well as a lack of recognition of their own institutions. Today many indigenous peoples are still excluded from society and often even deprived of their rights as equal citizens of a state. (Source: International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs)

Here in Guyana, we also have our challenges but notably one of the distinctive features of the current administration has been its growing emphasis it has been placing on Amerindian development especially in the areas of health, education, communications, and community development.

However, while the government intends to continue social sector development programmes it has now signalled its intention to shift gear into economic activities to further improve the standard of living of our indigenous people.

And one of the initiatives in this regard is the secure livelihood programme aimed at enhancing community development.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Sukhai said that her Ministry recognises that government has done much in the social sector, and while there is need to improve much more in the health system and provide quality education to the people, this secure livelihood programme will be looking at the development of indigenous communities.

“We are embarking on a new focus for the Amerindian Affairs Ministry. While we like to see new infrastructure…we want to talk about economic activities that will bring income to your communities,” Minister Sukhai said.

“We will be taking a strong position towards those communities which are lagging behind and need some support for improving governance and management of their communities,” she added.

“We will be taking a strong position towards those communities which are lagging behind and need some support for improving their governance and management of their communities,” she added.

“The Amerindian Affairs Ministry is pursuing development for its constituency across the country. Our role is to ensure that these services are delivered to you”, Minister Sukhai said.

Provision of electricity supply in these communities will certainly enhance their productive capacity and in this regard Minister Sukhai informed residents of the administration’s interest in providing a cleaner and cheaper source of energy, pointing put that each year a Presidential grant of $150M is made available for the development of hinterland communities. These grants provide communities with financial resources necessary to fund projects to assist communities to become more economically viable. The programme includes productive and economic projects ranging from expansion of village farms, eco-lodges, building dams, clearing drains, cattle-rearing and providing kitchen facilities for school feeding programmes.

The Minister said her Ministry has acquired 1,000 solar lighting units which will provide electricity to some villages.

She said some communities in the North Rupununi have already benefitted from solar lighting units and other villages, including the Karasabai sub-district, Pipang, Taushida, Tipuru are slated to benefit, while communities such as Tiger Pond, Rukumuta, Yurong Paru will be provided with solar lighting units in the near future.

“We want to focus on small and distant communities first…we are not going to leave any community out, but it is the first phase since there are only 1,000 solar units…the second phase will address the bigger communities,” she said.

And with the anticipated Brazilian assistance in building a hydropower station, the prospects of further advancing economic activities in the indigenous communities would be heightened.

It is therefore clear that the foundations are being solidly laid for an economic take off in the hinterland regions of our country which augurs well for its long term socio-economic development.

Pandora's Box
WHO IS BLACKMAILING WHOM?
Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News are among the several media houses that are unequivocal in their call for citizens of Guyana not to support the Government’s initiatives, even if it is in their interest to do so, as it normally is, because their oft-stated intentions are to remove the PPP/C from the seat of power; and they have no qualms in misrepresenting or subverting the facts in this campaign of destabilisation and demoralisation of the PPP/C administration.

In this campaign, they have aligned themselves with various political parties, the cause of which they advance in direct correlation to their persecution of the current administration, and while they have no qualms in suppressing information that shows their parties of choice in a bad light, they magnify issues; no matter how inconsequential they are, if they portray the administration in a negative way; or they distort a truth so as to make the final edition absolutely unrecognisable to the actual, rather than tell a fact in a non-prejudicial way. In so doing, they pander to the sentiments of those who have even a minor grouse even against one member of the administration, or who may have had one singular bad experience within the public service configuration, or more so, which is the ultimate intention, to the collective opposition cabal which, to any just, rational, right-thinking human being, would immediately bring the media organisation in question into disrepute.

Freddie is an avowed former WPA-supporter who currently supports the AFC. He was also not treated, as per his expectations, as a demi-god when this administration took office. There was a time when Freddie was objective, analytic, and someone who could have been respected. Today he is so venomous and irrational because he did not get his own way over a number of issues that he has lost almost all the respect he once enjoyed because he has lost his objectivity – even to the point where his current writings run counter to things he wrote and said in the not-so-distant-past.

Constrained to resign
The current Editor-in-Chief of the Kaieteur News was once editor of the New Nation – the PNC organ. When the PPP/C won the elections in 1992 he was constrained to resign as Editor-in-Chief of the Chronicle, for obvious reasons. He was integral to the mechanics and the machinery of the PNC and its administration – in all its dynamics. What has changed now?

What has changed now is that the newspaper medium he is currently using is different because the PNC organ is obsolete and the Chronicle is no longer an option for him, so his strategies have been reconfigured, and Glenn Lall is a mere pawn in this political chessboard; because, while he may proudly display his new avatar as a publishing magnate, he is being cleverly manipulated by politically opportunists whose intent, obvious and subtle, is to destroy this administration, and Kaieteur News affords and provides the perfect vehicle for so doing.

“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” was an appropriate analogous warning after the destruction of Troy, but so can a phrase that will be coined here, to “beware of seemingly-reasonable persons who smile, drink with you, even as they turn the knife in your back.” The operatives in the administrative configuration need to be aware of the truism of the old adage that “all skin-teeth nah laugh” when they are interacting with an editor who skins his teeth with them, then turns around and drives a knife deep into their backs.

There is no doubt that Stabroek News was a major player in the fight to restore Guyana to becoming a democratic state, but it did so as a supporter of the WPA.

When all the opposition parties joined forces under the umbrella organisation - the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy (PCD), it was recognised that the PPP was the leading party with the maximum supporters, yet they denied Cheddi Jagan the right to the Presidency after elections, even though he offered the Prime Ministerial position to WPA co-leader, Clive Thomas, after what would have been a clear victory for the joint political parties after the Carter Centre had intervened and the bankrupt economy of the country had forced Hoyte to concede to Carter’s conditions.

The rest is history
The adamant stand taken by the other opposition leaders against Dr Cheddi Jagan becoming President after elections forced the PPP to enter the elections on an independent slate. The rest is history.

However, the contempt for the PPP/C was inbred in the hierarchy of the Stabroek News and it went into an offensive against the fledgling Government – which had inherited a devastated economy, with all the major industries in the nation in severe decline, debts the servicing of which took nearly 100% of Guyana’s income, demolished infrastructures and social services, with all the public service networks – health, education, etc in shambles. Almost everyone was skeptical that, with all the best will in the world, this country could have gotten itself out of the muck in which it had lain for so long that few persons remembered a better time.

However, with perseverance, hard work, commitment, making mistakes and learning from those mistakes along the way, Guyana slowly emerged from the edge of the abyss of total destruction on which it had been perilously teetering onto more solid ground, where Guyanese are not merely subsisting, but are living and growing – in every sector. The realisation of a decades-long dream of Dr Cheddi Jagan for a peaceful, stable, and even prosperous Guyana was achievable once more.

At the Certification Ceremony of the completion of the Phase 11 Runway at Ogle Airport, Chairman of the Ogle Airport Inc (OAI), Mr. Michael Correia said: “Today, I see a Guyana that has better economic prospects, over the next 5 – 10 years, that ever before.”

Correia recalled returning to Guyana from Canada in 1981 at age twenty, when only rice flour was available on store shelves, and compared that to current time when just about anything can be purchased.

Correia told his attentive audience, “I believe it important that we re-enforce the fact that Guyana is no longer considered ‘a highly-indebted country’ by the international community.

“Our foreign debt servicing is now down to less than 5% of Government revenue.”

According to Correia, most private sector companies cannot boast of such a low debt service ratio.

He quoted the President as saying that Guyana’s foreign currency reserves have now reached the highest in our history and that inflation is stable and in single digits.

Correia said that these macro-economic fundamentals are impressive and will ensure that our free-floating currency remain strong, which therefore consequences an anticipated continuation of stable exchange rates in the foreseeable future.

“Access to foreign exchange, once an enormous problem, is now a non-issue for businesses in Guyana. Access to finance is now more readily available, and at lower interest rates. Our banking sector is one of the strongest, and most profitable, in our country”, informed Correia.

He also spoke of the growth of Guyana’s telecommunications sector providing the platform for Guyanese to electronically integrate with the global society.

Waxing poetical, and anyone knowing of the love of the Correias for adventure, natural things, and Guyana’s interior regions would know of their quintessential harmonising with nature, Correia elucidated that in the midst of all this development, we can simultaneously enjoy our sea breezes, our pristine forests, and our magnificent waterfalls, through the careful management of our natural resources and our environment.

He posited that this is not just optimism, but very real facts.

Correia expressed the excitement of all the investors and operators of Ogle Airport at the formal certification of Ogle as Guyana’s second international airport, almost in juxtaposition with the opening of the Berbice River Bridge and the Takutu Bridge crossing to Brazil.

According to Correia, the launching of the Phase 11 expansion of this new international airport and the completion of a new 4000 ft runway will result in Ogle Airport being enabled to accommodate larger aircraft which can travel over longer distances. He said that the expansion and completion of Phase 11 will have a timeline of 12 – 18 months, but will be dependent on the duration of the rainy season.

The core issue
“Mr. President, as I am sure you will agree, Guyana will continue to re-emerge within CARICOM as a force to be reckoned with, both politically and economically….Let us lead CARICOM from the front on the core issue of the CSME and the regional integration of our Caribbean people”, said Correia.

This man who said these things is not a traditional PPP-supporter, and he is in a position of such strength, apart from not being so inclined, that he does not need to “butter-up” the administration, which is an accusation made by Mayor Hamilton Green and other detractors, including the opposition media.

The Stabroek News has today embraced the AFC, so its anti-Government policy is blatant and unapologetic, as is the rhetoric spouted almost daily by its columnists, almost all of whom have an axe to grind, like WPA member Christopher Ram, among others.

Yet, even while these people enjoy the fruits of the PPP Government’s progressive endeavours, they attack the very Government whose policies have made lifestyle changes that have transfigured their lives, where they can obtain free healthcare across the country, where children from the remotest regions have access to quality education on par with that of children across the land, where electricity and potable water is accessible in many areas not before served, whereas previously the sight of children with hand-drawn carts pulling receptacles for water for long distances was a common sight, where persons who never dreamt of owning their own homes today live under their own roofs, where the freedoms of the land is so expansive that the Government takes the constant anti-Government, anti-President tirades in stride, only rebutting when the lies become destructive to the national psyche, where peace in the land can once more become a statistic, where roads are networked across the country so that travel is not the ordeal it once was, where the average household can, with prudent management, afford a vehicle – or even more than one.

However, the opposition cabal called the Government’s debt-reduction strategy, which freed up monies for social and infrastructural development imperatives, as going with a begging-bowl like mendicants, forgetting that the PNC administration was the machinery that created our once-prosperous land into a wasteland, and made our people a nation of beggars, shunned by our neighbours who had once looked at us with respect and envy.

When the Government had to provide house lots to persons in need of homes before the infrastructure was fully in place, they lambasted the Government for treating people like animals, forgetting that the money had to come from someplace and that necessitates a negotiating and implementing process; but in the interim people did not have to pay rent so they could have used the money they saved to buy materials with which they built nicer homes than they could have afforded if they were paying a rent. Today those same properties are highly-coveted and valued at millions of dollars, making the average homeowner a virtual millionaire, in terms of real estate ownership.

The President’s LCDS, which may or may not attract solid income to our country, is putting little Guyana on the map (not like Jonestown); the offshoot will definitely boost our tourism and other income-generating drives, but the myopic detractors are having a field day blasting the concept even as it is in its embryonic stages, with columnists from both Stabroek News and Kaieteur News lambasting the strategy and the President – the latter for travelling to different parts of the globe to address world bodies.

The obsolete Mayor
One Stabroek News editorial had the temerity to say that the President is not affected by the garbage in the city because he is hardly ever in the country, not blaming the “obsolete” Mayor and the administrators of City Hall for incompetence and mismanagement, and outright theft for the city’s woes, nor is it blaming the PNC, the political party to which Green belongs, for not paying up its over $100 millions that it owes in taxes, which could adequately cover the payments to the contractors and the municipal staff,

It is blaming the Government, which is up-to-date with its taxes, for not paying an “advance” on taxes, the time limit of which payment is yet not due until the end of the year. It is blaming the Government for its reluctance to waste more money from the exchequer by putting it into the hands of the same persons who mismanage the city’s finances as a norm.

Chronicle’s editorial of yesterday stated: “What has happened in Georgetown is a microcosm of what his (Green’s) Government did to this country when it was in government.”

The city was in such a perilous state of devastation under the PNC council that in 1994 the Government was forced to appoint an Interim Management Committee; and yes, monies were disbursed to the Council, as is the case consistently, with this council, but they performed and utilised the money effectively. With the IMC, the city was well on its way to its former glory days of beauty, with monies left in the council’s account.

The President, prior to leaving the country, took time out of his busy schedule to brief media operatives on relevant issues. Responding to a question on the issue of contracts, the President explained in an “easy-lesson-good-for-dunce” manner that Guyana receives loans and grants from several agencies and that each has its own procurement rules that are different from those of this Government.

He went on to explain the principles guiding the processes of awarding contracts through the bidding system. He explained that while Kaieteur may get a lower evaluation for a certain piece of equipment, it does not necessarily mean that the equipment as quoted by Kaieteur fits the engineers’ specifications.

Although the President said that the only transparent system would be through public tender, he conceded that the lowest tender may sometimes be higher than the actual price.

He said that unlike the days when no audit was done by the PNC government, (for which no one takes Corbin and Green to task, although they were central players), today there is full accountability, because the Government places no restrictions on the Auditor General scrutinising any contract, and its implementation in the country.

However, the next day Kaieteur News’ headlines read: “Jagdeo defends contracts.” What utter rubbish. No contract was discussed so no contract needed to be defended. The President merely outlined, in simple language, the processes governing the award of contracts. How even Kaieteur News can interpret this as a defence of contracts boggles the mind.

So yes, there is blackmail, but it is the Government being blackmailed – do it our way or else! President Jagdeo and the PPP/C administration are being held to ransom by the collective opposition cabal – including the Kaieteur News and the Stabroek News.

TERM LIMITS
By Ralph Ramkarran
The issue of term limits has been once again attracting attention, this time as a result of remarks by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, events in Honduras and a recent poll in Guyana. Just before he left Guyana two months ago, having attended the CARICOM Heads of Government Conference, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves expressed disagreement with term limits.

President Zelaya of Honduras is entitled to only one four-year term as President. He tried to amend the constitution to provide for a second four-year term without success. He then attempted to hold a non-binding referendum to elect a constituent assembly to amend the constitution. If approved this constituent assembly would have been established after he left office. This was misrepresented by the military as an attempt to illegally gain a second term in office and they used this to stage a coup, bundling Zelaya out of the country.

Vishnu Bisram, the well known and reputable New York pollster, recently published a poll, reflecting what I believe to be the true state of affairs, namely, that President Jagdeo is the most popular politician in Guyana and if he runs for a third term he will win hands down. The outstanding economic and social progress in Guyana under President Jagdeo’s leadership, amidst great challenges, and a number of initiatives in the world financial architecture and climate change have ensured Jagdeo’s stature as a leading statesman. The poll confirms this.

Most countries in Latin America impose term limits. Venezuela is the only country that has abolished them altogether. Most countries in the Westminster system, with a Prime Minister as head of Government, do not have term limits. In most, though not all of these countries, governments rotate between two main parties or through differently constituted coalitions. In a few like Singapore and Malaysia, one political party has remained in office for a long time. There are no demands in these countries for term limits, perhaps because the Prime Ministers relied on democratic principles and wisely adopted successful development models.

In recent years many countries, particularly in Africa, imposed term limits. Since the early 1990s, 18 African presidents completed two terms in office. Eight retired while ten sought amendments to their constitutions to remain in office. Seven were successful. (Daniel Vencovsky: Presidential Term Limits in Africa: 20 January 2008). It is fair to conclude that the trend towards term limits for presidents is strong. It is perhaps irreversible in Latin America but not yet so in Africa although the unmistakable tendency is in that direction. For prime ministers in this region and elsewhere there is no such trend, nor demand.

The Guyana Constitution Reform Commission, by a majority of 12 to 4, across party lines, recommended in 2000 that “a person shall hold the office of president for a maximum of two terms and those terms shall be consecutive.” The Bill that came to the National Assembly limited the terms to two but did not provide for them to be consecutive. The Bill was supported by both political parties and is now law.

Guyana’s experience which led to the imposition of term limits had to do with its experience and history. The era of the “Big Man’ in politics, both in Guyana and Africa, was coming to an end by the 1990s. It was felt that provision should be made to ensure that leaders should not be allowed to remain in office indefinitely in view of the tendency towards authoritarian rule even where these leaders were elected democratically. With the exception of Guyana, the Caribbean had no real experience of ‘Big Man’ politics. Without the experience of the hubristic attitude, stagnant economy and corrupt behaviour that lifetime or even long term leadership of a country can bring, even where electoral democracy prevails, the strong support for term limits, as in Guyana, cannot really be appreciated in countries like St. Vincent.

Term limits are matters for individual electorates. The abolition of term limits in Venezuela was supported by its electorate. Term extensions from one to two in Brazil and Columbia were democratically implemented. So were the imposition of term limits in Africa and Guyana. It is a matter for each people to decide based on their own experiences and circumstances. One size does not fit all. Asked if he will respect term limits, Paul Kagame, the internationally acclaimed President of Rwanda, in an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN on July 19, responded in the affirmative and said that the constitutional provision was there for a purpose.

In Guyana, despite several statements by President Jagdeo that he is not interested in a third term, speculation continues to be generated by fanciful, ludicrous and denigratory analyses and scenarios, concocted in the twisted, becloaked, minds of self described and attention seeking ‘essayists,’ specialising in trash journalism and obsessive character assassination. They can and should be ignored. (www.conversationtree.gy)

Guyanese in New York celebrate Eid
THERE are several Guyanese masjids in Queens, one in virtually every community. Guyanese tend to pray in mosques built by their own nationals rather than those built by nationals of other countries. Each national group tends to have their own masjids in NY.

Dozens of curious American onlookers stood from across the streets of the mosques observing the rituals and proceedings for Eid which signals the end of the Islamic month of fasting or Rojah. The men prayed outside while the women were inside as Islam does not allow the sexes to pray together.

The celebration began with prayers. At the start and conclusion of the prayers, the imam of the masjids announced over the microphone that fasting is over and Eid ends the fasting. Announcements were made congratulating the worshippers for their month long sacrifice of abstaining from food and world Our NY-based Guyanese Muslims joined the rest of the world in celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr on Sunday. Thousands showed up for the opening Salaat or Namaz at the various Masjids in Queens where there were streets closings to accommodate the huge throngs of worshippers. Sidewalks covered with carpet and cardboards were converted into places for worshipping. There were several namaz in the course of the day – The Jama Masjid had four in the morning on the hour beginning from 8:00 A.M.

Eid is an important event and Muslims wait anxiously for the festival to arrive on Sunday morning.

At Jama Masjid, the meiji said: “Brothers and sisters, fasting is over. We made a lot of sacrifices. Now, we must celebrate the end of the sacrifices. Enjoy the meals and sweets”. Similarly, the Meiji at the Al Abi-Din implored the flock to eat and “eat a lot! You deserve it”. People were seen feasting on Vermicelli, khajoor, burfi, gulab jamon, and other mitai.

Haji Zakir, who led the flock into prayers at Jama Masjid, said people have gone through a period of restraint over the last month to develop spirituality and piety. “And they did well”, he said. He thanked Allah for being merciful on the congregants and those who fasted during the holy month. At the conclusion of the prayers, he urged congregants to embrace and offer greetings. He said it is a time for brotherhood and sisterhood and called on people to respect one another including non-Muslims.

“Eid Mubarak Ho” was repeated again and again by the hundreds who prayed on the streets as they embraced one another and or planted kisses on each other’s cheeks, not different from Shubh Diwali greetings of Hindus.

Eid celebrations are marked by fervent preparations within Muslim families. Stores were quite busy over the last week. Families purchased halal meat and other goodies. New clothing were also bought to celebrate the occasion. And one can see the revelers dressed in beautiful colorful garbs – sherwanis, shalwars, Nehru suits, hijabs, etc. Liberty Avenuve was like a carnival on Saturday and Sunday with crowded sidewalks and teeming shoppers because the period also coincides with the holy period of fasting for Hindus which began two weeks ago and will conclude this Sunday.

Around the Richmond Hill community, Muslim families decorate their homes on the inside and the outside. The masjids are also beautifully decorated with flickering lights comparable to Christmas. Eid cards and gifts are distributed to friends and family. Sweets and other delicacies are prepared and shared with neighbors and friends. Donations are made to the masjid and to the imam and the poor who come to the masjids seeking financial assistance. Celebrants were seen putting donations into boxes at the entrances of the masjids in Queens.

Eid is not a holiday in NY but parking rules are suspended on Monday for the occasion. Muslim students are also excused from classes.
VISHNU BISRAM

Congratulations to new President of CABOFE
I read with delight the news that my good friend Mr. Peter Abdool was elected the President of the World Boxing Council/ Caribbean Boxing Federation (WBC/CABOFE) last week at a meeting in Barbados.

I wish to extend my congratulations to him and I am certain that he will bring fresh and innovative ideas so that the boxers in this region can get more opportunities in the wider world of boxing. Mr. Peter Abdool served with me in the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association and knows the sacrifice and problems that amateur boxers face in Guyana. He shared the disappointment when due to lack of money, our promising and talented boxers were unable to go to qualifying tournaments for the Pan-American and Olympic Games. He saw the frustration that pushed some of those boxers to go professional in order to try and earn. He saw that amateur boxers were dedicated but did not have jobs and as such were at times side-tracked in order to survive.

He was aware that boxing has brought glory to Guyana both in the amateur and professional circles but still the government was not committing resources that could maintain and surpass this position. Unfortunately this situation still exists and Sports Minister Dr Frank Anthony although he wants to do more cannot as his budget needs to be enlarged by cabinet.

I make the above points since recently Mr. Abdool and myself discussed the way forward for amateur boxing as without a vibrant amateur body, professional boxing would not be strong. We looked at the need for co-operation between the amateur and professional bodies. I pointed out to him my fear that professional boxing would scoop up promising amateur boxers before they fulfilled their mandate as amateurs.

I was not surprised that Mr. Abdool indicated that he will try to ensure that amateur boxers stay as amateurs as far as possible and wanted to work more closely with the amateur body in order to secure more resources for their benefit. I do hope that this area of co-operation becomes a reality as our resources are limited.

I am confident that Mr. Abdool would keep his promise and I look forward to a very successful tenure of him as the new president of CABOFE.
K.A. JUMAN-YASSIN

There is only so much the government can do
INEVITABLY, but reluctantly, I must add my voice to the ongoing price brouhaha in the rice industry, both the planting and milling sectors of which have now been left in the lurch after rice prices skyrocketed in 2008.

Our honourable Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud has been doing his level best in trying to appease a very chaotic situation but we must understand that there is only so much the government do in this free market economy as ours where price-fixing is no longer possible.

A relief package of G$400,000,000 for the rice industry, though not much and not a “gimmick” as reported in the Kaieteur News, is reflective of the fact that the government is willing to try and bring some amount of comfort to the hard-pressed rice farmers.

Statistically, I will attempt to illustrate how Guyana fits into the global scheme of things as it relates to the production and consumption of rice.

If our country is to produce 360,000 metric tonnes rice for 2009, as projected by the local authorities, this will represent a mere 0.07 per cent of forecast world production of 484,000,000 tonnes for this year.

The world’s daily rice consumption is estimated at around 1,300,000 tonnes which is 72 per cent more than Guyana’s total annual production. Total global consumption of rice for 2009 is estimated at 479,000,000 tonnes, leaving a surplus of around 5,000,000 tonnes which will be regarded as intervention or buffer stocks.

For the world’s estimated 6,790,000,000 people eating a total of 1,300,000 tonnes of rice daily means each of us consuming almost seven ounces of rice.

Based on that world consumption figure, Guyana’s estimated total production of 360,000 tonnes for 2009 means providing all of the world’s people with only about 2 ounces of rice- a mere 28 percent of what is eaten every day by each of the inhabitants of the world.

As of now, Guyana has absolutely no influence in global rice prices which are dictated mainly by the Asian giants of India, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Pakistan as well as the US, Europe and Japan, with the latter three countries and regions providing huge annual subsidies to ensure its rice sectors remain competitive. However, such subsidies, challenged at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) only serve to distort global free trade and devastate small emerging economies dependent on the export of agricultural crops such as rice.

We have always taken pride in telling our visitors that Guyana is one of the biggest net rice exporters but have we been able to influence any global policy decision taken on rice?

Indirectly, our farmers produce rice at the behest of the Asian, American and European and other large producers. If they so desire, Guyana’s small and fledgling rice industry can be wiped out in no time.

We have seen what effects the dumping of highly subsidszed US rice can do to our economy. One need not look beyond Jamaica which today still imports US paddy at a time when there is again a call for greater economic co-operation among Caricom member states.

The large rice mill in Kingston is owned by Archer Daniels Midlands (ADM) Group- a huge US grains conglomerate.

My proud upbringing on a rice farm in Mahaica has provided me the opportunity of identifying with the present plight of our farmers and appreciating that today they are faced with the real possibility of devastation. But can we be unfair to the millers who are also caught in this quagmire, too?

Global rice prices have today fallen by more than 50 percent from 2008 unprecedented high price levels and I remembered well our Honourable Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud telling our farmers then to spend their “windfall” wisely.

I believe his good advice fell on many a deaf ear and I can attest to the fact that many of these hardy farmers have over expended and over extended in machinery and equipment and luxury vehicles. In other words, many squandered the gains of 2008 and are now worse off and may be looking for some amount of state bail-out.

Some used equipment importers have also been caught in a bind because sales of rice harvesters and tractors have tapered and may even have grounded to a halt. One only needs to look around and see the huge number of rice machinery and equipment lying waste in many areas along the coast and in the city.

Within recent weeks, and seemingly having “crawled from within the woodworks into the open” a little, vociferous group purporting to represent rice farmers, has been making very wild and misleading statements especially regarding the prices for paddy which millers have offered to farmers this current crop.

One of the individuals of this group, “plucked a figure from thin air” and said farmers overseas are receiving as much as the equivalent of $4,200 per bag of paddy.

Whether that is the case, how can that be applied to Guyana?

I know of farmers in India receiving far more for one bag of Basmati paddy.

The local group of so-called agitators, including a one-time big miller who now operates at a subsistence level and who for many years effused arrogance on the very farmers he owed, for very prolonged periods, for paddy supplied to his mills and whom he now purports to support, is continuing to mislead the farmers by providing erroneous information.

The farmers, by their own admissions, have stated it costs as much as $84,000 to produce one acre of paddy. Based on that production cost, only a price in excess of G$3,000 per bag will realize a profit for these farmers.

These are individuals who should not be in the business of rice farming simply because it is costing them too much to produce one acre of paddy. Is not this a case of poor or bad management? Or should we not attribute this to absenteeism farming, a practice I had alluded to many years ago?

Having said that, it may seem that the economies of scale have been showing a perfect imbalance to the extent that the days of the small farmers may be numbered by what is happening internationally- low rice prices and high input costs.

On the other hand, to deal with the dynamics of the situation, the unpredictability of rice prices and the long term future of the rice industry, government must seriously look at diversifying into the production of short and medium grain varieties of rice, both of which are high-yielding and both of which set the pace for global rice prices.

I recalled telling the late Mr. C.P. Kennard, head of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) in the 1990s, that significant emphasis must be placed on the production of short and medium grain varieties of paddy as against our continued experimentation and breeding of the long and extra long grain varieties many of which are susceptible to adverse weather conditions, pests and diseases such as `blasts.’

By our standards, and as a country, the rice industry has been regarded as one of the pillars of our economy and it has been the recipient of praises over the years although we have never been recognised as a key player in the area of international rice production and trade simply because of our low output on the global market.

Though we have large tracts of idle lands and an abundance of sunshine and water, we have to recognize that there is limited additional arable lands suitable for the type of rice cultivation we practice and with climate change and rising sea levels, we face a clear and present danger of losing large tracks of lands along the coast, to the sea.

The authorities in India are most aware of the realities of climate change and through its Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Cuttack, have been developing new strains and varieties of rice to deal with changing climatic conditions.

For example, CRRI has recently reported that it had released several drought-tolerant varieties of rice such as Vandana, Anjali, Sadabahar and Virendra. The varieties are endowed with longer roots to draw moisture from deeper layers of soil.

CRRI is also presently developing several submergence-tolerant varieties such as Savitri, Gayatri, Tulasi and Sarala for severely flooded conditions. CRRI reported that these varieties will be able to “withstand complete submergence for 15-17 days without perishing and can grow normally and produce the desired grain yield after the water recedes.”

Here in Guyana, we do have rice varietal breeding and development programmes at the Burma Rice Research Station (BRRS) in addition to being affiliated to the Fund for Latin American Irrigated Rice (FLAR) as well as the Caribbean Rice Improvement Development Network (CRIDnet), the latter of which I am hopeful may still be in existence and involved in meaningful work.

Through the BRRS, we should invite a core group of rice scientists from India to help us in breeding and developing new high-yielding, drought-tolerant, submergence-tolerant and saline-tolerant varieties of paddy.

I wish to advise the so-called rice farmers’ advocacy group to allow common sense to prevail and not to continue to mislead the farmers.

Trying to get the millers to pay unrealistically high prices for paddy just won’t work.

They have to look beyond that if they are serious about helping the farmers- that is if they are capable of looking further and if their real motive is helping our hardy rice farmers.
MAHADEO PANCHU

Depleted Windies open Trophy campaign today
… Afridi to captain Pakistan
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CMC) – West Indies will be looking to cause a stir in their opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy, when they face Pakistan today at The Wanderers.

Floyd Reifer’s inexperienced side are hoping to spring an early upset and cool some of the negative talk surrounding them, after the long-running dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players’ Association crippled the selectors.

Pakistan, the World Twenty20 champions a few months earlier, will be looking to take advantage of their severely depleted opponents, and put an early stamp on the competition, but Reifer has warned that his side has other ideas.

“There is a nervous energy in the camp, but we are not scared of anyone,” he said. “Once we get out onto the field, and get going that nervous energy will transfer to positive energy.”

He added: “We have watched Pakistan a lot on the television and on video analysis and we have had several meetings where we have planned our strategy. We have been able to come up with some tactics, but they have never watched us play, so that’s good for us.”

The under-strength West Indies side have been preparing for this day for the last three weeks. It also included four warm-up matches – two unofficial, two official – of which they were successful in only one.

This however, has not deterred Reifer, and he has called on his side to approach the match with a confidence belying their relative experience, and not focus on the names of the players in the other side.

“We have enjoyed the conditions and the pitches in South Africa, and are looking to do well,” he said.

“Improving our game is a serious matter to us and will take every opportunity to win,” he continued.

“We know Pakistan is a very good team with some very good players, but we won’t be playing names. We believe in our ability and we will be looking to play well in all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding.”

West Indies have been drawn in Group-A alongside the Pakistanis, defending champions Australia, and current World No.2 India. All their matches will be played at The Wanderers on Saturday and on Wednesday respectively.

Reifer acknowledged that his side is not highly favoured, but he noted that West Indies similarly were not favoured in the previous two editions of the competition – yet they won five years ago, and reached the Final three years ago when the Aussies stopped them.

“We are in the working stages,” he said. “We are looking to rack up experience and take on the challenges set before us, whether that’s against Pakistan, India or Australia. This is a major tournament and we want to do well.”

West Indies chances have been enhanced, after Pakistan suffered a setback, when their captain Younis Khan was ruled out of the match due to a finger injury.

“It is most unlikely that he will play,” said Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam. “He will start practising from Wednesday, and I am sure he will be ready to play in the next match against India.”

He said: “It happened during a warm-up game. The injury is not serious. It’s a hairline fracture. He is a strong person and does not want to miss a match. He will start practising so that he could be fit for the remaining games.”

All-rounder Shahid Afridi will lead Pakistan in Younis’ absence in what would be his first One-day International as Pakistan captain. He has already led the national team in a Twenty20 match in Sri Lanka.

The match will also mark the return of fast bowler Mohammad Asif to the Pakistan side after serving a one-year ban for a failed dope test.

Neal and Massy hands over $2M sponsorship cheque for GCB 40-over tourney
By Storme Moore

Neal and Massy’s CEO, Deo Singh, hands over the $2M cheque to Guyana Cricket Board president Chetram Singh in the presence of executives of Neal and Massy and the Guyana Cricket Board. (Adrian Narine photo)

CHIEF Executive Officer of the Neal and Massy Group of Companies (N&M), Deo Persaud voluntarily parted ways with a cheque for $2M which he donated on behalf of his organisation to the Guyana Cricket Board for sponsorship of their 40-over first division round-robin cricket competition..

Persaud related that N&M is a corporate sponsor of cricket throughout the entire Caribbean. This tradition he revealed goes way back and attests to the company’s intimate involvement with regional cricket. “A lot of Neal and Massy executives have held executive positions on various cricket boards throughout the region,” he disclosed.

Persaud also said that N&M is most pleased because it is making such a generous gesture at a very opportune time, when bitter controversy threatens the future of West Indies cricket. He said that Neal and Massy acts thus because the entity holds West Indies cricket at heart.

According to the CEO, Neal and Massy operates in all ten regions and are very happy that they could give back to Guyana by playing a part in supporting cricket locally. He said that he hopes the Guyanese public will come out to support the various teams.

He reiterated that N&M is pleased to be involved because these matches unearth talented players who later populate teams for local and regional development.

Trevor Yan, Director of CCS Stationery one of the subsidiaries of the Neal and Massy group, said that this marks N&M’s 5th year of involvement in this tournament.

Chetram Singh, president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) thanked Neal and Massy for their continued sponsorship for what he revealed is a very important competition for the GCB.

Singh said this is the only 40-over national competition and as such this competition is used to select players for the national one-day team.

He revealed that this chain of selection is continued as players from the national one-day team are showcased in the regional limited-over competition from which the West Indies selectors choose players for the regional one-day team.

According to the GCB boss this year’s competition has attracted 34 top teams from the three counties and the finals will be played on October 18 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. He said that he hopes the best teams reach the final so that it will be an exciting encounter that will attract a multitude of supporters.

Garraway, Benn and Heyliger put Essequibo in control
(From Calvin Roberts at Anna Regina, compliments of Lifetime Real Estate and Regal Stationery and Computer Centre)
SOME incisive fast bowling from Trevon Garraway (4-63) and Trevor Benn (3-18) complemented by a positive batting display from Dillon Heyliger (35*), helped put Essequibo in a commanding position against Demerara at the end of the first day in their four-day match at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground.

After bowling out their star-studded opponents’ batting lineup for 119, of which West Indies middle-order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan top-scored with 32, Essequibo began their reply with Norman Fredericks (7) and Mahendra Boodram, with the latter surviving two chances given to him by Leon Johnson and Steven Jacobs off Christopher Barnwell, but managed to finish the day on 109-4.

Fredericks had earlier driven Leon Scott through mid off for four, before he fended at a short one from Barnwell and was caught at the wicket by Joseph Perry. At tea, Essequibo were 18-1 with Boodram on nine.

Barnwell got Boodram immediately after tea, when he fended a short delivery through to Perry, but his demise brought Latchman Rohit (17) to the wicket and together with Lall, pushed the score to 61-3 before Rohit was caught by Rajendra Chandrika at mid on off Zaheer Mohammed.

Heyliger entered the fray and took the attack to the visitors, hitting Mohammed over mid-wicket for six, followed by a four through mid-on as he fought gallantly to keep his team in the picture, even pressing the fielders with his decisive running between the wickets.

Prior to Heyliger’s attacking display, a determined looking Mohammed and his spin twin at the other end, Troy Gonsalves, kept a tight screw on the Essequibians’ batting, hence Heyliger’s boundaries which were struck in the 25th over, was the first since the eighth over.

He lost a compact-looking Lall who was adjudged lbw to Steven Jacobs after batting for 118 minutes and hitting one four in his 31, whilst facing 111 deliveries and when the umpires offered the batsmen bad light at 17:42 h with two overs to go five minutes after, Essequibo were 11 runs away from first innings points.

Barnwell has so far taken 2-25 while Jacobs and Mohammed picked up the other two wickets to fall to date for Demerara and will be looking to send back Heyliger and Garraway who is yet to open his account as quickly as possible on the second day today, when play commences at 09:52 h.

Earlier Demerara, winning the toss and opting to take first strike in hazy conditions on a pitch with preparation moisture, were rocked by some steady swing bowling from both Garraway and his partner Benn.

Former West Indies Under-19 opener Rajendra Chandrika (2) was trapped on the wicket by Benn who later had national opener Shemroy Barrington (7) caught at second slip by Heyliger, before Garraway got into the act with the wicket of national left-hander Johnson who had earlier pulled Benn through forward square leg for four.

At 19-3, Demerara thought they would have been let out of the woods easily by Essequibo, who are known to be the perennial whipping boys in local county cricket, but they had other ideas when former West Indies Under-19 captain Jacobs (2) who edged one through to wicketkeeper Lennox Andrews two balls after Johnson’s dismissal.

Barnwell (16) and Krishna Deosarran (22) fought back gallantly for their team, with the latter pulling Benn through midwicket for four, while Barnwell drove Garraway back along the ground with disdain also for four.

But Benn, operating from the Commentary box end, had other ideas in mind when he got one to nip back at Barnwell to knock back his off stump and at the end of the first hour’s play, Demerara found themselves staring down the distress barrel on 51-5.

Deosarran who struck five fours in his 22 whilst batting for 58 minutes and adding 31 with skipper Sarwan, took the fight to the Cinderella County team when he struck Benn through midwicket for four, while Sarwan hit Garraway and Fredericks exquisitely through extra cover for four.

At lunch Demerara, who lost Deosarran caught at the wicket off Garraway, were 69-6 with Sarwan on 13 and his deputy Mohammed yet to score, as both Garraway and Benn wreaked havoc with the new ball for their team in the first session of play.

It took Essequibo 86 minutes after tea to wrap up Demerara’s innings, even though Troy Gonsalves struck Andrew Williams over wide long on for six.

Sarwan struck Garraway through point for four whilst Mohammed pulled the same bowler through forward square leg for a boundary, but a diving catch at extra cover by Garraway off Williams, accounted for the West Indies, after Mohammed went down the wicket to Anthony Adams and was caught at Heyliger low down to his right at slip.

After Gonsalves’ shot, Perry was run-out by the full length of the pitch by an alert Benn while Gonsalves was caught by Boodram at cover off Garraway, leaving Scott unbeaten on two.

Berbice and Rest Team locked in battle
BERBICE and the Rest Team were locked in a battle yesterday afternoon when action commenced in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) four-team four-day cricket competition at the Demerara Cricket Club ground in Queenstown.

At the end of the first day’s play, the Rest Team, in reply to 205 by Berbice all out off 55.5 overs, were 151-6 off 34 overs. They are 44 runs away from first innings advantage with four wickets in hand.

Scores in the game so far are as follows: Berbice 205 all out: Assad Fudadin 41, Veerasammy Permaul 37 not out, Sewnarine Chattergoon 30, Homchand Pooran 23; Deon Ferrier 3-27, Stephen Latcha 3-43, Sauid Drepaul 3-77.Rest Team 151-6: Trevon Griffith 61, Vishaul Singh 21; Permaul 2-19.

The action set to resume at 10:00 h today.

Champions Trophy opener ...
Dilshan century sees Sri Lanka to D/L win
A COMPOSED century from Tillakaratne Dilshan helped Sri Lanka begin the Champions Trophy with a comprehensive 55-run Duckworth-Lewis victory over a rusty South Africa at Supersport Park, yesterday.

The right-handed opener made batting look easy on a slow pitch, eventually finishing with 106 from 92 balls after sharing a record 158-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara (54) - the highest for all wickets for the Asian team against the Proteas.

Mahela Jayawardene (77) also cashed in late on to set their opponents 320 for victory.

The home side, who had not played a competitive match since the World Twenty20, struggled in response with only Graeme Smith (58) crossing the half-century mark.

Ajantha Mendis (three for 30), Angelo Mathews (2 for 43) and Lasith Malinga (2 for 43) were all amongst the wickets, helping their side to what turned out to be a comfortable win.

After being asked to bat the visitors made an attacking start to their innings - Dilshan pushing the third ball for four, before his partner Sanath Jayasuriya took consecutive boundaries off Wayne Parnell (3 for 79).

However, the veteran opener was then trapped plumb in front for 10 as he attempted to swing Dale Steyn (3 for 47) across the line.

Dilshan continued the assault, though, and was particularly harsh on Parnell, whom he slammed for 14 in the eighth over, including his famous scoop shot over the wicketkeeper as the Asians raised their 50 in 49 balls.

Not to be denied, new batsman Sangakkara also joined in as the pair raised the 50 stand in 46 balls, followed by Dilshan's half-century in 38 deliveries and then the 100 partnership in 93 balls.

The introduction of spinners Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe did cut down the boundaries, but the two batsmen continued to bat sensibly. (Eurosport)

SRI LANKA (50 overs maximum)
T. Dilshan c Morkel b Steyn 106
S. Jayasuriya lbw b Steyn 10
K. Sangakkara c and b Duminy 54
M. Jayawardene c Duminy b Parnell 77
T. Samaraweera c van der Merwe b Parnell 37
A. Mathews b Steyn 15
T. Kandamby c Duminy b Parnell 6
N. Kulasekera run-out (van der Merwe/Steyn) 1
M. Muralitharan not out 0

Extras: (lb-5, w-5, nb-3) 13

Total: (8 wkts, 50 overs) 319

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-174, 3-181, 4-297, 5-297, 6-314, 7-317, 8-319.

Bowling: Steyn 9-2-47-3 (w-1), Parnell 10-0-79-3 (nb-1, w-3), Kallis 7-0-43-0, Morkel 4-0-39-0 (nb-1), Botha 9-0-53-0 (nb-1, w-1), van der Merwe 10-0-42-0, Duminy 1-0-11-0.

SOUTH AFRICA (target: 261 runs off 37.4 overs)
G. Smith b Mendis 58
H. Amla b Mathews 2
J. Kallis c Mathews b Mendis 41
A. de Villiers c Jayawardene b Malinga 24
J. Duminy b Mendis 0
M. Boucher lbw b Matthews 26
A. Morkel not out 29
J. Botha c Mathews b Malinga 21
R. van der Merwe not out 3

Extras: (w-2) 2

Total: (7 wkts, 37.4 overs) 206

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-90, 3-113, 4-113, 5-142, 6-163, 7-198.

Bowling: Malinga 7.4-0-43-2 (w-1), Kulasekara 7-0-44-0, Mathews 8-1-43-2, Muralitharan 8-0-46-0, Mendis 7-0-30-3 (w-1).

Points: Sri Lanka 2, South Africa 0

Fruta seeking to conquer `Tigers’ this evening
--- GCA, Cellink Plus double-header on at Tucville ground
FRUTA Conquerors will be seeking to conquer BK International Western Tigers when the two sides collide in the feature match of the Georgetown Football Association/Cellink Plus Premier League at the Tucville ground from 20:00 h this evening.

In the opening encounter which is scheduled to get under way from 18:00 h, Flamingo will face Pele.

Both Fruta Conquerors and BK International Western Tigers will be seeking to end the game with a win, as both of them will be seeking to improve their position in the points table.

Home team Fruta Conquerors are currently fourth in the standing with 20 points while Western Tigers are sixth with 11 points.

Like the feature match, the winless Flamingo with three points and fifth place Pele will also be looking to improve their positions and with this in mind, football fans and supporters can expect an evening of entertaining football.

The double-header will be preceded by a Guyana Football Federation Women’s Inter-Association League fixture that will bring together Lethem and East Demerara. This match gets under way from 16:00 h.

For this evening’s feature match, Manasseh Primo will work in tandem with Joylon Harry on Fruta Conquerors’ strike line and they will be expecting valuable support from midfielders Jomo Hinds and Lester Peters, while Gerald Gritten and Lennox Charles will marshal the defence with Oswald Cornett performing duties between the uprights.

The West Ruimveldt-based Western Tigers will respond with the likes of Devon Millington and Nedd Fraser as strikers along with midfielders Ryan Thomas and Phillip Rowley while the experienced pair of Dillon Fraser and Shermon David will marshal the defence with Deryck Carter in goal.

For the main supporting game, Marvin Joseph, Travis Grant and Dirk Archer will form the core of Pele’s attack when they take on Flamingo who are expected to have in their lineup Shem Porter, Leon Yaw and Eon Singh, among others.

The competition will continue on Friday at the same venue with another double-header that will be preceded by a GFF Women’s League match.

GCB pays tribute to Cecil Ramsingh
THE Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has received with great sadness news of the death of a great friend and supporter of Guyana’s Cricket, Mr Cecil Ramsingh.

Mr Ramsingh familiarly known as “Weasel”, has been associated with the game in Guyana for decades and would be most fondly remembered for his role as liaison officer during the visits of international teams to Guyana.

He was always liaison to the visiting sides and performed his duties with great commitment and professionalism. Reports from the management of the touring teams consistently expressed appreciation and satisfaction for the way he worked to guarantee their welfare and comfort.

Mr Ramsingh was a long-standing member of the Georgetown Cricket Club and a close friend of the former Guyana and West Indies off spinner Lance Gibbs.

His comments on the game, his constructive criticisms and his recollection of significant events on and off the field will be sorely missed.

The Guyana Cricket Board extends deepest condolences to his wife, his relatives and friends on this loss.

Hong Kong’s Joey Chan eliminates Fernandes
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (CMC) – Hong Kong’s Joey Chan resisted a late fightback from Guyana’s Nicolette Fernandes to win their second round qualifying match at the Forexx Women’s World Open Squash tournament on Monday night.

After losing the first two games, Fernandes rallied to win the third but the 21-year-old Chan narrowly won a tense fourth game to step closer to a spot in the main draw at Frans Otten Courts.

Chan eliminated Fernandes 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 12-10 in a match that lasted 49 minutes.

“In the third (game), I made too many mistakes, so I tried to be more patient in the fourth, particularly trying not to miss my volley drops,” said Chan, who was contesting her second World Open.

The 26-year-old Fernandes, in her comeback year after two years off the international circuit with a knee injury, had threatened to take control after a good win in the third game, but could not prevent Chan from taking the pivotal fourth game.

Contesting her first World Open Championship since 2006, Fernandes had won her first-round qualifier on Sunday over South African Adel Weir in straight games.

The main draw begins today with Malaysia’s Nicol David, the World No.1 unbroken for the past three years, opening against Orla Noom, of the Netherlands.

GFF Women’s Inter-Association League kicks off today
By Michael DaSilva

At yesterday’s briefing from left: Ms Charmaine Wade, GFF officials Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major, Noel Adonis and Lawrence Griffith. (Colin Bess-Nelson photo)

THE Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Women’s Inter-Association League will kick off today with at the Tucville ground where Lethem will tackle East Demerara from 16:00 h.

Addressing members of the media yesterday at the GFF’s head office, the Federation’s General Secretary Noel Adonis informed that the Women’s League will involve six associations from around the country and would be played on a one-round basis this year.

He disclosed that the associations involved are: Georgetown Football Association (GFA), East Demerara Football Association (EDFA), Bartica Football Association (BFA), Berbice Football Association (BFA), Lethem Football Association (LFA) and Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA).

Adonis noted that the League would be a significant achievement for the GFF and women in Guyana and more particularly for the National Association of Women’s Football (NAWF) who was represented yesterday by its Assistant Secretary Charmaine Wade.

He said the League was long in coming and his Federation is pleased at this time to be commencing it.

According to Adonis, the GFF had lobbied CONCACAF to have the League run as part of the `Win in CONCACAF with CONCACAF’ Programme’ that the current National Super League is part of, but the Regional body did not approve it and this caused the GFF to make it a part of its national development programme.

The General Secretary pointed out that some of the women’s matches will coincide with the National Super League matches so as to give the women some prominence.

The matches will be played on a home-and-away basis and the top three associations will receive trophies and cash prizes.

The winning association will be rewarded with $125 000, while the second- and third-placed associations will receive $75 000 and $50 000 respectively.

There will also be incentives for the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, the Highest Goal Scorer, the Best Goalkeeper and the Fair Play award.

The GFF will provide transportation, accommodation and meals for teams playing away from their respective communities.

The former national rugby player said because Amerindian Heritage Month is currently being observed, the GFF would use the opportunity to have the Lethem team play the first three matches of the League and as such, the girls from the hinterland will be in action once again on Friday and Sunday.

They (Lethem) will face Berbice from 16:00 h on Friday at the Tucville ground and Linden on Sunday at the GCC ground, from 16:00 h also. This match will be followed by two Super League matches.

In brief remarks, Wade said the NAWF welcome the historic event with open arms as it is going to give female footballers the chance to be competitive.

She also thanked the Government of Guyana for getting involved.

Adonis said this is a new level for moving women’s football forward.

During the duration of the competition, GFF’s technical team would monitor the matches and identify players who will form a squad to compete against Guyanese females from the wider Diaspora in December, Adonis informed, adding that invitations have also been sent to Trinidad and Suriname football authorities to have representative teams contest the Goodwill series in December as well.

Crowe unveils plans to reinvigorate Test cricket
FORMER New Zealand captain Martin Crowe has come up with an idea to reinvigorate Test cricket: a knockout Test championship to be held every year with a final to be played at Lord's.

Crowe, who is also a member of the MCC's World Cricket Committee, said the games would ideally eventually become day-night Tests.

Crowe will present his plan to the ICC in November and also sent his idea to the Sydney Morning Herald, in which he mentioned the potential danger to the longest format.

His idea was specifically designed to lift the flagging interest in contests between lower-ranked teams, as their games would become elimination matches.

''If we don't do something soon then the bottom teams in particular will wilt away and the bottom will fall out of the pinnacle format of the game," Crowe said. "Test cricket needs a meaning and a new motivation among all these other shorter version comps that are scheduled every year. It needs a Test champion, annually.''

Among the issues that could hamper the committee's proposal is the sharing of broadcast revenue during the finals by the concerned boards. India and England are believed to have opposed the Test championship idea because it would mean splitting the profits of their lucrative television deals.

But Crowe had a ready solution. ''If hosting quarter-finals is shared, then you don't have an issue with sharing rights," he said. "This is for the top eight teams only, which would exclude Bangladesh in the next stage. But if they get up to top eight in the next stage then in they go.

''For those who make the semis and finals then the pie is shared with them. Obviously, [the] ECB would demand a hosting fee for the final and semis - and why not? Or the semis can be played earlier if the two teams involved want to arrange it, higher ranking gets advantage or if the event is already scheduled in the FTP. These are smaller problems to overcome.''

The ICC is keen on a Test championship in some form, but developing such a plan that is welcomed by all countries has been problematic. The ICC's chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, said a Test championship could be implemented by 2012, if all the ICC's members agreed.

"I would like to convince people that the way to ensure Test cricket survives is through a championship model," Lorgat told the Guardian. "The only two countries who do not see the argument are India and England, but debate is growing all the time. The MCC seem to have come out in favour but when I met the ECB recently it was the wrong time to tackle them in detail. They were too high on the Ashes."

The ICC would need to reconsider the Future Tours Programme (FTP), which requires countries to regularly play each other home and away in series of at least two Tests while allowing the national boards to hold longer series, such as the five-match Ashes campaigns. However, Crowe believed the good of the game must be put ahead of national interests.

''There are pitfalls with the FTP scheduled years out so they must, over the next full stage of the FTP, ensure it rotates fairly and everyone gets a go to host quarter-finals," Crowe said. "Like all good competitions, everyone starts with a fair chance. This gives incentive to the lower teams to be motivated every year. The motivation is to play the final at Lord's. That is truly meaningful.

''When a series is drawn then rankings apply - so that means every Test played has a meaning. So what we are creating here is by using an already existing schedule, we are able to use a simple knockout format to crown the Test champion each year. This we could call the Test Cricket Open.''

Tony Lewis, the chairman of the MCC World Cricket Committee, which also counts Steve Waugh, Anil Kumble, Mike Atherton, Rahul Dravid and Andy Flower among its board members, said: ''We're quite happy for this proposal to get knocked down by a better idea. But I think we all would agree that something needs to be done. As long as the ICC brings cricket sense to political bias, then things should be possible. (Cricinfo)

Albion, RHTWSB through to Neal and Massy national semis
… to clash in B’ce Zone final on Saturday at Port Mourant
By Vemen Walter
ALBION Community Centre and Rose Hall Town Windies Sports Bar (RHTWSB) have both advanced to the Berbice Zone final of the 2009 Neal and Massy national 40 overs first division competition.

In their respective semi-final encounters played last Sunday, Albion whipped Bermine by eight wickets while Rose Hall Town trounced defending champions Young Warriors by 56 runs.

With the Ancient County being allowed two teams in the countrywide final four by virtue of a Berbice team having won the tournament last year, it means that both Albion and Rose Hall Town have also booked their places in the national semis and next Saturday’s Berbice Zone final at Port Mourant will be just a matter to decide which of the two teams will be the winner and runner-up of the Zone.

At the Albion ground, the home team who won the tournament back to back in 2006 and 2007 and with five national first division titles under their belt, dismissed Bermine for 142 with the last ball of their 40 overs after winning the toss and decided to take field.

Only Keon De Jesus with 44 and Joemal La Fleur (28) offered some amount of resistance as leg-spinner Sewnarine Chattergoon picked up three for 16, off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine two for 27 and leg-spinner Davendra Bishoo two for 30.

Albion then responded with 146 for two in 27 overs with teenager Harrinarine Chattergoon slamming 12 fours and a six in a superb unbeaten 89, having shared in a magnificent 119-run opening stand with his elder brother Sewnarine Chattergoon who made 38.

Left-arm-spinner Troy Mickle and off-spinner Sean Devers had a wicket each for 51 and 25 respectively.

Over at the Cumberland ground in Canje, Rose Hall Town, calling correctly and taking first strike, rattled up a challenging 240 for eight at the expiration of their 40 overs.

Assad Fudadin topscored with 60, a knock spiced with four fours and two sixes and was well supported by Khemraj Mahadeo (40), Esuan Crandon (30), Terrence Madrimootoo (26) and Ravi Narine (23) not out.

Off-spinner Farouk Hussain bagged three for 60, medium pacer Paul Wintz two for 24 and left-arm spinner Charran Singh two for 50.

Young Warriors in reply were all out for 184 in 36 overs with Maxie De Jonge, in his first match for his new club, spanking six fours and two sixes in 53 and Daryl Narine 27.

Fast bowler Crandon returned with the ball to grab three for 40, off-spinner Eon Hooper three for 37 and left-arm spinner Ravi Narine three for 50, bowling for Rose Hall Town who are hunting their second Neal and Massy and their third national first division title.

ECB not against Test idea
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have said they are supportive of a world Test championship "in principle".

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has suggested England and India are the only countries blocking the proposed venture. However, ECB chiefs have been receptive to such a model for Test cricket for some time - their only concerns being over the mechanism employed.

"We are fully engaged with the ICC over proposals for a world Test championship and are supportive in principle," said an ECB spokesman.

Various models have been put forward in the past and the current format would result in countries playing each other over a four-year cycle, with the highest-placed teams competing for the championship in a one-off final.

Such a qualification process, however, contains some stumbling blocks, primarily the change in strength of teams over such a long period of time.

For example, no one would quibble with the fact England and Australia were the best two Test teams during the epic 2005 Ashes summer but neither could be classed in that bracket now.

A shorter qualification period would therefore provide a better reflection on current form.

But that would be problematic for leading nations such as England, in terms of revenue.

If the championship cycle was shortened, it would run the risk of money-spinning series against Australia, South Africa and India being shortened to accommodate matches against lesser draws such as Bangladesh, New Zealand and West Indies.

While there is global concern for the state of the Test game, it is still thriving in England, where a day's play against top-class opposition is seldom watched by anything other than a full house. Sponsorship and television income is also based on the big campaign. (Eurosport)