FRIDAY 14th September, 2018
Lindo Creek CoI pins Joint Services No.105397
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… chairman says no evidence ‘Fineman’ gang carried out massacre
Jagdeo for SOCU today 02 PAGE
'Tipsy cop' arrested for fatal 12 accident PAGE
Attorney in pickle for 08 abusing cop PAGE
The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure is in the preparation phase of developing a new Stabroek Market Wharf. Town Clerk, Royston King told a news conference on Thursday that the wharf is a threat to life and unsuitable to continue accommodating vending activities. Vendors were given notice to relocate (see story on page 9)
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Jagdeo for SOCU today
LEADER of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo has
agreed to appear before investigators of the Spe-
cial Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) to answer questions pertaining to the sale of state lands at Pradoville 2. Reliable sources confirmed that Jagdeo was served with a notice to be at SOCU on Friday. The source was also positive that the opposition leader would appear before the investigators. “I will go because once these things happen we set a precedent which will be followed…they do not know what they have just done,” Jagdeo said during a press conference on Thursday. He argued that the Pradoville 2 issue is like a long series with periodic episodes with different “plots and twists.” Jagdeo, who did not receive the letter from SOCU at the time of his press conference, said the new iteration of Pradoville
GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
2 is that all the cabinet members who were there in 2010 were being invited to SOCU. “From what I am told they are asked about the $13M contract for roads and about the vesting order, whether the cabinet and individual members had knowledge of the law governing vesting of properties,” said the opposition leader. Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett also appeared before SOCU on Thursday. Rodrigues-Birkett who was accompanied by her attorney, Priya Manickchand, was called in to answer questions about the aforementioned issue. She did not divulge information on the questions which were asked but said the investigators were professional in their approach. On Wednesday after-
Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett speaking to the Guyana Chronicle in front of SOCU on Thursday (Adrian Narine photo)
Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo (Adrian Narine photo) noon, former President and Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds and several other former government officials appeared before SOCU for questioning on the matter. Hinds was accompanied by former Minister of Local Government, Kellawan Lall; former Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai; former Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsarran and former Minister of Housing Irfaan Ali. Former Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon, Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira and former Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee also received calls from SOCU for questioning. Opposition Member of Parliament Anil Nandlall, told reporters prior to the meeting with SOCU on Wednesday afternoon that “as far as we are aware,” certain members of the People’s Progressive Party
(PPP) Cabinet who attended a particular meeting in March 2010 have been invited by SOCU for questioning. Following the appearance, Nandlall, who was making an appearance as an attorney for his colleagues, told reporters that the former ministers were asked a number of questions in relation to Pradoville 2. He said it was the subject of a cabinet meeting back in 2010. The Guyana Chronicle reported recently that charges are expected to be instituted against persons fingered in the Sparendaam Housing Project AKA Pradoville 2, land scam, according to a wellplaced source. The Guyana Chronicle understands that investigations into the housing project are near completion, and that charges could be laid soon.
Lindo Creek CoI pins Joint Services
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
… chairman says no evidence ‘Fineman’ gang carried out massacre By Svetlana Marshall
GOVERNMENT has been provided with evidence which suggests that the Joint Services, back in 2008 allegedly killed the Lindo Creek miners. The evidence, in the form of testimonies and experts’ findings, are contained in the Report on the Lindo Creek Commission of Inquiry (COI)- A nation’s search for truth and justice, which was presented to President David Granger on August 2, 2018 by the Chairman, Justice (Ret’d) Donald Trotman. Speaking on the report, Justice Trotman, in a meeting with media persons on Thursday, said the report detailed a number of findings and put forward a total of 28 recommendations. For a decade, Guyana was divided on who killed the eight diamond miners at Lindo Creek, Upper Berbice River, Region 10. The men’s charred remains were discovered by the camp owner, Leonard Arokium on June 21, 2008. The then People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government, the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force have argued that it was the notorious gang led by Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins that had killed the miners, but relatives of the murdered men and persons familiar with the terrain have contended that it was the Joint Services. In his report, Justice (Ret’d) Trotman points the current administration in the direction of the Joint Services. “I think it is best to say more specifically with more certainty, who did not kill them (the miners),” the Chairman said as he responded to a question posed by this newspaper. Based on geographical
and technical evidence provided by surveyors, evidence offered by civilians including Leonard Arokium, and the visit to the crime scene by the Commission, Justice (Ret’d) Trotman concluded that it was not reasonably possible for the criminal gang to have moved from Christmas Falls, where they had engaged in a shootout with the Police on June 6, 2008, to Lindo Creek in a matter of hours or days while being hunted by the Joint Services. The evidence suggests that the miners were killed between June 7, 2008 and June 21, 2008. “Putting all of those to-
but we would say that there are strong reasons to support the view held by many that they (the miners) were killed by ranks of the Joint Services,” Justice (Ret’d) Trotman responded. He, however, said there are some unanswered questions. “What of course remains in some doubt is what ranks of the Joint Services actually did the killing, since they were military and police, defence force and police ranks… Whether they did this on their own or they did this on specific instructions and commands from any superior officer. Or whether
that if it wasn’t the ‘Fineman’ gang in the area, (and) there were no other persons in the area according to the evidence...who could have done it,” he said while emphasising that his findings are based on evidence. “There was no evidence of that, and there was no evidence that people came in, any civilians came in from Kwakwani or any of the surrounding areas or any loggers or other miners in the area, no evidence,” he explained. He added: “So while we don’t want to lay our heads down on a block and say definitely it was the Joint
The front cover of the Lindo Creek COI Report gether, the conclusion of the commission was that it was not reasonably possible for the ‘Fineman’ gang to have gotten into the area from where they were originally located in Christmas Falls. It is not reasonable to expect that they could have gone from Christmas Falls to Lindo Creek to be in a position to have committed the massacre or the murders,” the Chairman explained. Is there then validity to the claims that it was indeed the Joint Services that had committed the inhumane act? “We wouldn’t say that there is validity to the claim
they did it by mistake, those are the uncertainties that still hover around the suspicions. Let us say, that the Joint Services might have been the persons, the ranks that did the killings,” he explained. According to Justice (Ret’d) Trotman, a retired judge who served as Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Grenada, and has more than 50 years of legal experience under his belt, the Commission arrived at its conclusion through process of elimination. “The reasons were really found by way of elimination
Services, it seems from a process of elimination and exclusion that it is more likely that if anybody did it at all it was the joint services ranks.” At the time of the massacre, the Joint Services was conducting a manhunt for the criminal gang between Kwakwani and the UNAMCO Check Point, and along the Kwakwan/Ituni road. The UNAMCO trail is used to access Lindo Creek. An investigation conducted by the Military Criminal Investigation Department (MCID) in 2008 had cleared the Joint Services of the allegation
Chairman of the Lindo Creek COI Justice (Ret’d) Donald Trotman. of mass murder. The investigators then had said that the miners might have been victims of a fatal robbery or may have been killed because of their suspected roles as informants of the Joint Service. When he appeared before the Commission earlier this year, Major Andy Pompey, who spearheaded the investigation into the allegations levelled against the Joint Services, said his findings cleared the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF), which had carried out joint operations in the area, of any wrong doing. Major Pompey, while fielding questions from the Commission’s Counsel Patrice Henry, had said that based on his investigation, which was conducted between June 26, 2008 and July 8, 2008, it could have been possible that the miners were robbed and killed, or killed under the assumption that they were informants. “Possible motive of the killers could have been 1) robbery or 2) assumptions that the miners were informants
working for the Joint Services,” Major Pompey told the commission as he read one of the key findings from the GDF investigation. But Trotman said there was no evidence to support the claim of a robbery while lashing out at the Joint Services for conducting, what he considered as a poor, investigation. “I have to say quite categorically that there was no evidence either of an actual robbery or an intended robbery or whoever did the killings intended to rob the miners, no evidence of that at all so we could not dwell on that supposition or suspicion or allegation,” he told this newspaper. The COI was established on February 1, 2018 to investigate all matters in relation to the killing of eight miners: Cecil Arokium, Dax Arokium, Horace Drakes, Bonny Harry, Lancelot Lee, Compton Speirs, Nigel Torres and Clifton Berry Wong at Lindo Creek in the Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice Region, on, or, about June 21, 2008.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Florence pummels North Carolina
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ILMINGTON, N.C. (Reuters) - The outer edges of Hurricane Florence began lashing coastal North Carolina with heavy winds and flooding roads on Thursday hours before expected landfall that will bring walls of water and lingering downpours. The center of Florence is expected to hit North Carolina’s southern coast around midnight (0400 GMT) on Friday, then drift southwest before moving inland on Saturday, enough time to drop as much as 40 inches (1 meter) of rain in places, according to the National Hurricane Center. Avon on North Carolina’s Outer Banks barrier islands reported winds gusting to 74 miles per hour (119 km per hour), while Morehead City had received 3.6 inches (9.1 cm) of rain in the past 13 hours, the National Weather Service said. Already some
roads were flooded. About 10 million people live in the storm’s path and more than 1 million people had been ordered to evacuate the coasts of the Carolinas and Virginia. Thousands have taken refuge in emergency shelters, officials said. Florence’s maximum sustained winds were clocked on Thursday at 105 mph (165 kph) after it was downgraded to a Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, according to the NHC. The winds had been as high as 140 mph earlier in the week. “Hurricane Florence was uninvited but she’s just about here anyway,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told a news conference, warning people not to be complacent just because the storm’s winds had diminished. “Stay on guard. This is a powerful storm that can kill.” Some people who had rejected calls to evacuate took walks along the water as they tried to enjoy
a few final hours of normalcy before Florence’s fury arrived. In Sea Breeze, Roslyn Fleming, 56, made a video of the inlet where her granddaughter was baptized because “I just don’t think a lot of this is going to be here” after the storm. Ten miles (16 km) away in Wilmington, wind gusts
were stirring up frothy white caps into the Cape Fear River. “We’re a little worried about the storm surge so we came down to see what the river is doing now,” said Linda Smith, 67, a retired nonprofit director. “I am frightened about what’s coming. We just want prayers from everyone.”
The Union Point Park Complex is seen flooded as the Hurricane Florence comes ashore in New Bern, North Carolina, U.S., September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
FLOODING, POWER OUTAGES BEGIN The storm’s center was about 108 miles (173 km) east of Wilmington, North Carolina, at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) but already some 19,000 homes and businesses were without power by mid-afternoon in the Carolinas and Virginia. Millions of people are expected to lose power from the storm and restoration could take weeks. The hurricane center also said the threat of tornadoes was increasing as Florence neared shore and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said the heavy rains could trigger landslides in the western part of his state. Florence could bring wind-driven storm surges of seawater as high as 13 feet (4 meters) and NHC Director Ken Graham said on Facebook they could push in as far as 2 miles (3 km). Heavy rains were forecast to extend into the Appalachian Mountains,
affecting parts of Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. Emergency declarations were in force in Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Near the beach in Wilmington, a Waffle House restaurant, part of a chain with a reputation for staying open during disasters, had no plans to close, even if power is lost. It had long lines on Thursday. Will Epperson, 36, a golf course assistant superintendent, said he and his wife had planned to ride out the storm in his home in Hampstead, North Carolina, but reconsidered due to its ferocity. Instead, they drove 150 miles (240 km) inland to his mother’s house in Durham. “The anxiety level has dropped substantially,” Epperson said. “I’ve never been one to leave for a storm but this one kind of had me spooked.”
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Autopsy finds...
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Victim in Kumung-Kumung Trail accident was run over
P Dead: Phillip Arthur
HILLIP Arthur, 35, of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara who was crushed last Sunday at Kumung Kumung Trail, Mazaruni, Region Seven died as a result of multiple crush injuries, an autopsy done Wednesday confirmed. Enquiries have revealed that the deceased was seated in the cabin of motor lorry GPP 8748 with trailer TPP 9380 attached, which, while reportedly climbing a hill, developed a mechanical problem and began to descend. During the descent, Authur allegedly jumped out of the vehicle and ended up in the path of the right front wheel of
the vehicle. According to his reputed wife, Veronica Johnson, Arthur had been working with the Alfro Alphonso mining company for the past 15 years. “He travelled in Friday last,” she said, “but the news I received is that he was carrying in an excavator in Kumung Kumung, and there is where the accident occurred. “The information I get is that he jump off the excavator when they were going up a hill and he died.” The driver, a 42-year-old resident of Itaballi, Mazaruni, is in custody assisting the police with the investigation.
Venezuelan ex-officials charged in Andorra over $2.3bn graft scheme
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judge in Andorra has charged 29 Venezuelans with corruption - among them two former deputy ministers. Prosecutors allege that they were part of a network of corrupt officials who received $2.3bn (£1.8bn) in bribes from companies in return for lucrative contracts with Venezuela’s staterun oil company, PDVSA. They allegedly hid the money in the Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) bank. BPA is defunct after it was named as a “primary money-laundering concern”. Judge Canòlic Mingorance in Andorra, a tiny financial haven located between France and Spain, charged the Venezuelans with taking kickbacks of up to 15% to facilitate contracts with PDVSA, Spanish daily El País reports [in Spanish]. The list of those charged includes Diego Salazar, who is the
cousin of former oil minister Rafael Ramírez, as well as two men who served as deputy energy ministers in the government of Hugo Chávez. They are Nervis Villalobos and Javier Alvarado. There has been no comment so far from those charged. ‘WEB OF CORRUPTION’ The network they allegedly formed part of is thought to have taken $2.3bn in bribes between 2007 and 2012. The money was then laundered and hidden in Andorra’s BPA bank before some of it was transferred into tax havens, prosecutors say. BPA was accused in 2015 by the US treasury of helping organised crime groups launder money. The Andorran authorities ended up seizing its assets. Judge Mingorance has been investigating the case since 2012. She alleges that the accused “joined forces to take control of PDV-
SA’s public tendering as well as energy infrastructure projects run by PDVSA’s subsidiaries, Corpoelec and Electricity of Caracas”. Former BPA bank officials have also been charged. Critics of the current Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro and that of his predecessor, President Chávez, have long suspected that officials misappropriated government funds. On Monday, US treasury official Marshall Billingslea accused President Maduro of “rapacious corruption” and of operating “a kleptocracy”. A number of other high-ranking government officials have had sanctions placed on them and had their assets frozen. Among them is Industry Minister Tarek El Aissaimi, who has been blacklisted by the US for alleged drug trafficking. Venezuela’s government says it is being attacked by “imperialist foes”. It blames US sanctions for the dire state of Venezuela’s economy, and the poor performance of PDVSA. (BBC)
Jamaica Gov’t signs MoU to combat illicit maritime trafficking
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INGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of National Security this morning signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Delegation to Jamaica and the Jamaica Customs Agency on the
Seaport Cooperation Project (SEACOP). SEACOP will support Jamaica’s capability to combat illicit maritime trafficking and associated criminal networks while enhancing international cooperation in tackling unlawful maritime trafficking on the transatlan-
tic cocaine route, the ministry tweeted. “For Jamaica’s border to be truly secured we must collaborate with our regional and international partners. Border security is a critical component of the Government’s crime prevention strategy” said Chief Techni-
UK deploys experts to overseas territories to help with storm threats
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RIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — The United Kingdom has deployed a team of specialists to the Caribbean to help mitigate the impact of impending storms threatening British Overseas territories. According to Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, 87 engineers, medics, maritime experts and other specialists have joined the regular crew of RFA Mounts Bay, which is the mobile hub of the British relief effort. He added that approximately 1,000 personnel are deployed or being held at high-readiness in the event that further storms head towards the region.
“I want to assure everyone in our Overseas Territories that our Armed Forces have been pre-positioned in the region and are absolutely prepared to help. We will be there to support during this hurricane season while still helping those whose lives were devastated by Irma and Maria to rebuild their lives and homes.” Last September, several homes were destroyed and infrastructure decimated when Hurricane Irma and Maria, two of the most powerful hurricanes for decades, hit the region back-to-back. As well as being able to carry vital aid and equipment, RFA Mounts Bay will use the Royal Navy Wildcat he-
licopter on board to provide aerial support. The Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) troop, consisting of Royal Engineers from the British Army and Royal Marines, have been training with their French counterparts in Martinique to ensure they are fully prepared. This training is part of a six-month deployment to the region for hurricane season, while RFA Mounts Bay also carried out a significant HADR exercise in July. Some islands are expected to be impacted by Tropical Storm Isaac on Thursday, raising concerns about the physical damage it could wreak.
cal Director Rohan Richards, who delivered remarks on behalf of the ministry at the signing ceremony, which was held at the Jamaica Customs Agency in Kingston. The MOU will pro-
mote faster maritime ties amongst our JDF Coast Guard, Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Maritime Police, Jamaica Customs Agency and their international partners, the min-
istry said. The SEACOP Project is aligned to and will bolster the Ministry’s Five Pillar Crime Reduction Strategy aimed at reducing crime and creating a safer Jamaica, it added.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Congregationalism’s role in village renaissance
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ECENTLY, President David Granger was guest of honour at the 165th Anniversary of the Zoar Congregational Church in Plaisance Village. The Congregational Church is deeply intertwined with the history of Guyana, and not only gave spiritual guidance to but was deeply immersed with the social and economic progress of society. The Church began ministering to the enslaved plantation workers, and continued to do so after Emancipation. In its own quiet way, it struggled for human rights during slavery, and this led to the martyrdom of Rev John Smith, the Congregational missionary who was associated with Quamina, his close friend, and the Demerara Slave Rebellion. Indeed, in the history of religion in Guyana, there were two martyrs: The Rev John Smith and, over a century-anda-half after, Father D’Arc, a serving priest who was also a photographer for the Catholic Standard newspaper. President Granger, in his inspiring and informative address which evidenced his knowledge as a fine Guyanese historian, pointed out the social, economic and even democratic impact Congregationalism has had on Guyana. Just over a century ago, Professor Tawny wrote his famous ground-breaking study, “Religion and the Rise of Capitalism”. President Granger, likewise, was pointing out the part the Congregational religion played in the Village Movement, and in the formation and growth of successful societies in the villages founded by the emancipated African slaves. In the President’s own words, “Guyana is eternally grateful to the Congregational Church. I would go so far
as to say that without the Congregational Church, the Village Movement would not have achieved what it achieved; it gave the freed Africans a sense of purpose, a sense of dignity, and it is that dignity, that yearning for freedom that propelled them. “The Church was not an instigator, but it gave the freed Africans a vision...” For those who may not have had knowledge of the Village Movement to which President Granger referred, the following explanation may be of help: When the plantation slaves were Emancipated in 1834, they were subjected to a period of “Apprenticeship”, whereby they would have to continue to labour on the plantations for a number of years, but would now receive a small wage. When Apprenticeship ended in 1838, the African freedmen were now fully legally liberated, and they could negotiate for their wages, which they could not do when they were under the Apprenticeship System. The freedmen tried to negotiate a fair wage but the planters would not give way, and, eventually, between 1840 and 1842 there were two strikes which were unsuccessful, and the freedmen decided to leave the plantations and set up their own villages. They had carefully saved the small wages they had received under Apprenticeship, and with theses fund, in the two or three years thereafter, they were able to purchase abandoned plantations from which they created villages like Buxton and Victoria and Plaisance on the East Coast Demerara, Queenstown on the Essequibo Coast, and others in the Counties of Berbice, Essequibo and Demerara. The story of the creation of these villages is an epic one, of which every Guyanese could be proud. These simple
In lies there are no truths Dear Editor,
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nyone who understands the meaning of public morality, and its relevance to political leaders’ understanding of being honest about their stewardship of governance, will agree that within this context, there is no PPP/C former government official, who should ever be complaining/criticizing the current government/giving opinion on any socio-economic issue which would have evolved during this party’s period of governance; and which they either ignored, or refused to remedy. This is not to say that criticisms from the political opposition are not welcomed, as the former practice is a part of the traditional political behaviour of such a political party in such a constitutional category. But even though it is accepted that politics is adversarial, it is not expected to mean the descent to dangerous lies, and wholesale, brazen attempts to deny the occurrence of a type of governance which have caused this country so much political-socio-economic maladies. For any of its political front persons to counter such denials, with deceptive lies, means that it is an attempt to deceive and mislead, as has been the regular case since their party’s defeat at
the 2015 national elections. In such a case, they have no moral high ground, much less, to stand on same. The problem with these leaders, and they know who they are, apart from the fact that they are well-known, is that they are aided and abetted by certain sections of society; of course, with a political agenda. It is amazing at the daily letters, purporting to give perspectives on very critical aspects of the nation’s collective experience that have done so much harm to the national wellbeing, that it will take years to repair, much less to overcome the deleterious effects caused on the national psyche. Rather than being honest about their stewardships, and role in what the selfish exercise of power that they held, had caused – their continuous distortion, no doubt taking advantage of a nation that is divided, of events, can only be seen as a further insult to the national wounds already inflicted, and which can only serve to stymie attempts at bringing about healing. Such behaviour, cannot be any good to a nation which is seeking to correct so many of the ills that it now confronts; or to its people, many of whom would have suffered so many forms of injustice. It cannot, also, be of any moral value to many of our younger segment of the nation, many of whom are reflecting the realities of the social degradation of over two decades, into
freedmen laid out the groundplan of the village replete with house lots, roads, drainage, public buildings, community centres and sports grounds, and established a village government. They laid out farmlands, and were even able to inspire and train various types of tradesmen. President Granger sums the impact these villages have had on Guyanese life thus: “There was nothing you could want which was not produced by these villages; these villages were rich in fruits, vegetables, provisions, sugar cane and other cash crops. In addition, Plaisance and other villages produced carpenters, cabinet makers, gutter smiths, masons, painters, plumbers and tailors; and those men were held in high esteem. “Their schools graduated brilliant sons and daughters who became attorneys, businesspersons, civil servants, doctors, engineers, teachers, nurses and other professionals. The villages once had vibrant business sectors, which included small manufacturing, shops and stores. “These were not accidental achievements; they were the result of hard work, of the intelligence of the forefathers who set up the pillars: The family, the farm, the school and the church. These pillars must be reinforced if the villages are to enjoy a renaissance.” In this renaissance Congregationalism could today play an important role, as President Granger indicated ‘in reigniting the beacon of spirituality and hope for the communities; reintegrate with the communities by participating in social, civic and economic initiatives; reinvent opportunities for young people by working with cultural and sporting groups and reengage with neighbourhood democratic councils, other churches and civil organizations to arrest social decay.’
which they were born. It can only sow seeds of doubt and discord in their minds. With every attempt to paper over the truths of their stewardship, to obfuscate their well- known reality, and to bury their shocking stark results in the well-known ploy of reverse psychology, these leaders continue to insult the collective memory of the nation, in seeking to deny the past. This can only result in an inherited future that will still be saddled with the untruths of the past which ought to have been abandoned and buried in the latter time. Continuous attempts, whether via the media or whatever form, to mislead through the medium of lies, half-truths, and misleading accounts, about what has occurred in this nation, doing it so much damage, can only result in the accrual of moral deficits on the page of those very leaders, referred to in this discourse. Further, such political dishonesty, for that is what it really is, will only result in the sullying of this country’s image, which the current administration has been effecting a more than admirable effort in repairing and restoring both its national and international profile. Guyana is once again being respected, but vociferously objects to those leaders whose continuous lies are self-serving and can mean no good for the national well-being. These must unequivocally be condemned by all honest Guyanese who believe in the truth, and subscribe to its undeniable principles. Regards Earl Hamilton
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Even the post can contribute to the good life Dear Editor,
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n cable TV there is an ad: The words, the inflection!! “My mum washes the dishes before she puts them in the dishwasher. So what does the dishwasher do?!” In the decade of independence as the Assistant to the Monitor in the Mails Branch GPO I recalled being involved in receipt and dispatch of all mail, local and overseas, surface and air. The volume was so high that the authorities placed a second Monitor (Outdoor Monitor) to properly manage the mail traffic. That was the decade of almost ten Aircraft Companies using Timehri Airport regularly. (KLN. SLN. ALN. PANAM. Cruzeiro Du Sol. BOAC. BWIA. Air France including). The waterfront volume was similar with regular Canadian ,Caribbean, UK/Europe and USA destinations served regularly. What this meant was that our mail was received and dispatched with a regularity which was consistent and speedily effected. If you were around then you shipped large packages (even small ones and even letters) by surface mail with complete satisfaction. Persons took overseas courses and used surface mail to send and receive course content. Dozens of bookstores imported hundreds of bags of books and flourished. We even had persons buying things like suit lengths, shoes, Xmas cards and the like by Cash on Delivery (COD) service through the Post. What impressed me then was the special treatment given to the mail by carriers and their local agents. We were supplied with ship and airline schedules and called
to be reminded to prepare dispatch/mail bags, and promptly informed of mail awaiting pickup. On many occasion we went aboard ships to uplift documents or special mail bags from ship officers. Aircraft Georgetown resident companies picked up mail from us in GPO and in some instances brought small quantities of mail bags and delivered to us in GPO. When problems arose with “mail tampering” of our airmail bags coming especially from North America, the then PMG sought assistance and obtained cooperation from local authorities for someone (yours truly as the Asst Monitor) to meet arriving aircraft and be present to take control at unloading of mail from the holds of aircraft! Later other persons followed, and interestingly, I still have in my possession the pass issued to me in1986 as APMG Ops, to traverse several restricted areas at Timehri while on mail duty. Nowadays I airmail a letter to St Maarten and it takes from March to June to be delivered partly because of haul up capacity. This is not an isolated air mail problem. If it were not for one particular cargo flight company Guyana would be almost mail isolated. We know that Charters are not allowed by some countries to convey mail. We know about reciprocity. We are told that some American Carriers have recently sought permission to use our facilities at Timehri, as we know that LIAT has sought permission to increase usage of Ogle facilities. What prevent our negotiators from putting on table a demand that each flight must convey our mail. Get the GPOC involved in these discussions as the technical mail operatives and let the PMG use the powers in the PTC Act to make carriers and their agents responsible to convey our mail. In the case of LIAT they should have destination conveying responsibility of a set weight. Why not? Back to the opening case (apologies to Certo).What does the Minister/Cabinet do? Even the Post can contribute to the good life. Regards LA. Camacho
A step in the right direction Dear Editor,
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n the Friday September 7, 2018 Stabroek News there is a headline captioned “Cop on drunk driving charge after fatal Mandela Ave accident.” It is very nice to see the police have one of its members before the court for such offences. I think it is a step in the right direction. This is saying to them that they must be responsible, since such behaviour would not be condoned. However, it must be noted that while under the influence of alcohol he was involved in an accident and someone has
lost their life yet he was only charged for driving while under the influence of alcohol. I am kind of worried that that is the only charge he will get and that charge he got is only to give some satisfaction to the public and the victim’s family. I am certain had it been the other way around the other person would have been charged for driving under the influence of alcohol and causing death by dangerous driving and who
knows they might have been many more. While I do not know all the facts, I am getting the feeling that we will not get justice here. I am appealing to the new
Commissioner of Police to ensure that justice is served. Regards John Allen
Audits, policymaking must not be held back Dear Editor,
J
an Mangal’s public attack on the government and our energy sector is veering further and further off course. While he might be upset about losing his role as energy advisor airing his grievances in the public discussion on oil and gas development is both embarrassing and counter-productive. What disappoints me most is that Jan must understand how badly we need the revenue from oil to develop the Guyanese economy. He talks a lot about what is be best for Guyana, but it’s clear he only believes that he is what is best for Guyana. Mangal’s recent criticism of the GRA’s handling of Liza phase-1 contract costs is a great example. In his letter, he rants against the GRA and claims that the government is incompetent. But the only solution he provides is “Only highly experience Oil & Gas professionals can understand and review these costs. Not the GRA.” I wonder which specific professional he has in mind. One must consider that when his contract as government energy advisor expired earlier this year it was not renewed. We don’t know why but the government decided his services where no longer needed. Now, by claiming that he is the only person who can conduct an adequate audit, Jan is really just advocating for a new position for himself. What is most astonishing is that Jan is now saying that Guyana should delay the approval of Liza phase-2 until they have the right experts (i.e. himself) in place. But the government already has expert oil & gas advisors in place. The recent hiring of Mr. Matthew Wilks, with decades of energy industry experience, proves this point. They don’t need Jan to move forward, but he seems willing to delay billions of dollars in revenue for Guyana just so he can recover his pride. The government is taking steps to responsibly develop the energy sector and should continue to do so. Audits and policymaking efforts don’t need to be held up because of one angry former bureaucrat. Regards Patrick Davis
Stakeholders call for ‘separate legal entity’
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
– to manage Sovereign Wealth Fund
By Lisa Hamilton
A BOARD of Directors void of political individuals to manage the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) is being proposed by former Chair of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Persaud. Persaud, now the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), presented examples on how this could be achieved during a discussion hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) on Thursday. The discussion was themed, “Managing future petroleum, revenues and the establishment of a fiscal rule and a SWF,” and saw a number of civil society and private sector representatives being invited to make contributions to the debate. Persaud is in favour of the fund being set up as a separate legal corporate entity by an Act of Parliament, as provided for under the Constitution of Guyana. He also wants the fund designated as the entity to receive all monies from the oil-and gas sector, and any other natural resources as deemed necessary. When it comes to ownership, he suggests that the
fund be owned by the people of Guyana and governed by their elected representatives in the National Assembly, who will be tasked with performing all duties of a shareholder at Annual General Meetings. While acknowledging that in many areas, it is difficult to be operational without the involvement of politics, he stated that there are possibilities where this can be achieved to some extent. As such, Persaud proposes that for the governance of the SWF, that the National Assembly, acting with their right as shareholders, should appoint a Board of Directors. The Board would comprise of seven to nine individuals to avoid political partisanship, and will include representatives from varying areas of expertise and functions in society.
COMPOSITION Among those persons, he suggests, should be a lawyer who is a Senior Counsel and nominee of the Guyana Bar Association (GBA); an accountant with at least 15 years membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG); and an economist with no less than a PhD nominated by the
Former PSC Chair, Ramesh Persaud addressing the GMSA forum on Thursday Council of the University of Guyana (UG). Persaud suggests that the other members of the Board include a representative of a multilateral agency, perhaps nominated by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) or Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); the head of a publicly-listed company or a licenced financial institution nominated by the Guyana Securities Council; a member of a global company; a director as nominated by the International Forum on SWF; a representative nomi-
nated by an organised labour body; and a representative of the Guyana Human Rights Commission. Those on the board will be empowered by the elected Chairman of the Board, Persaud stated. He also added that directors should be appointed for no more than three years and director must serve no more than two terms. The Board would then appoint the professional management of the organisation, but it ought not to be involved in individual
investment decisions. “The Board should be involved in policy making, performance management and ensuring that the right types of people are being appointed at as the CEO and at least at the Executive level,” Persaud outlined. In addition, although the SWF Green Paper suggests that the Bank of Guyana (BoG) could serve as the Operational Manager of the fund, he is not in favour of this. “For me, the BoG should be the banker for this organisation, so it has similar responsibilities like it has with commercial banks with regulatory and supervisory responsibility rather than operational management responsibility,” he said, adding that the reporting would be no different than is expected from a publicly listed company. He stated further that auditors should be nominated by the auditor general every three years through public tender, and submitted for approval to the Annual General Meeting. At the same time, asset class limits will be done and approved by the Board, based on recommendations from management and other investment specialists. GOV’T ACCESS
When it comes to access, Persaud suggests that a portion of the Fund be set aside for projects to be undertaken by the government. However, to utilise this, the government must make a justified proposal for accessing of funds while meeting the same standard of any other investment. “It is my view that the capital element of the fund should not be used for any consumption purposes,” he said. “The capital element of the fund should only be used for infrastructure and investments in income-generating activities; this means that we will take all the capital into this fund and the government, with advice through the macroeconomic committee, would determine the annual budget which is approved by Parliament and they will apply for funding from the Sovereign Wealth Fund fulfilling all the feasibility conditions and everything that [the process] required.” He added that in this case, the Fund’s management will decide on the feasibility of the government’s projects, consistency with investment policy and will be empowered to reject same where necessary.
Attorney in pickle for abusing cop AN attorney-at-law who verbally abused a policeman on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) Public Road on Thursday is being investigated, police confirmed. The lawyer, Ryan Crawford was stopped
for a routine check of his driver’s documents by a rank, but this seems to have incensed him. He proceeded to ask the policeman why he was stopped and made it clear he was not going to comply when asked to produce his driver’s
licence, and wind up his windows for a test of the tint level on his vehicle. In his almost four minutes of profanity-laced defiance of the traffic rank, Crawford declared: “you can go and tell each and every one of the commanders,
the President and the Vice President, you go and tell whoever you want…” He then drove off. In a terse statement on Thursday evening, police said “the Commander of “C” Division Senior Superinten-
dent Calvin Brutus, has caused an investigation to commence in respect to the incident. The video of Crawford’s encounter with the policeman went viral on social media, with many condemning him for his actions.
Attorney-at-law, Ryan Crawford
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
AFC says can clinch Linden mayorship at LGE
CAMPAIGN Manager for the Alliance for Change (AFC) in Linden, Audwin Rutherford, said his party is confident of outperforming their coalition partnerAPNU at the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE) even though the parties will be contesting independently. Rutherford said that the party is deep in the preparation process, all candidates for the eight constituencies have been so far selected and those selections were done internally. Alluding to the support the AFC would have received at the 2006 elections from Linden, he said that since then, membership and support would have grown
tremendously at all levels and it is this that the party is banking on. In addition to growth, Rutherford noted that the electorate in Linden is not pleased with the way matters are being handled at the Linden Mayor and Town Council and what was done over the three years to bring development to the town. He believes that the party has a greater chance in winning Linden independently, than a coalition and the party is in full gear, to bring the changes needed. Sharing similar sentiments was AFC executive Norris King who said that the party will be bringing a new bunch of innovative thinkers who are primarily young
AFC executive Norris King leaders, who are genuinely interested in moving the economic trajectory of Linden
AFC Linden Campaign Manager Audwin Rutherford forward while improving and upgrading the current state of
the town. While the party may not be taking the public campaigning approach, King said that the party is putting in the work quietly, but assiduously to bring the change that Lindeners deserve and desire. At the last LGE, AFC was granted two seats out of the 15 and members publicly expressed their grievance with this, describing it as unfair treatment. King said that this time around, the party will be controlling far more than two seats. “We have a ton of people who would have been members and loyal supporters who are enthused, I can assure you lots of people are in disagreement over the way things turned out at the last
council. “Most of Linden are prepared to give somebody a chance to see what difference will be brought to the table,” King noted. He said that AFC’s main mission will be to improve the economic state of the town. “There are simple things that can be done, they weren’t interested in adopting measures in improving the economic status and so the AFC has basic things on its agenda to improve the economic state of the town,” King posited. He is encouraging Lindeners to take the LGE seriously so that there will be a larger voter population this time, especially among the youths.
King shuts down vending at derelict Stabroek Market Wharf By Shirley Thomas
VENDORS plying their trade on the Stabroek Market wharf and dealing in perishable items have been given one week to shut up shop, while those dealing in non-perishable items were given an ultimatum to vacate the premises by the end of yesterday. And just in case they thought it was not for real, they were convinced when early Thursday morning they witnessed the erection of shiny steel gates across entrances to the wharf. Scores of vendors were taken by surprise when around 10:00hrs they were informed by Town Clerk, Royston King that almost with immediate effect, they would have to vacate the premises to allow for City Hall to effect much needed repairs to the building. The announcement was made by the town clerk during a meeting which lasted for a few minutes with the vendors outside of the Office
of the Clerk of Markets. King told the vendors gathered that the displacement was being done in their best interest, since the conditions under which they operated constitute a health hazard and a threat to life and limb. However, shocked out of their wits, at not knowing their next move, the vendors, many of whom vend in perishable agricultural produce and who had already displayed their ripened fruits on the stands, pleaded with the Town Clerk to give them a chance to get their goods sold off, but the impression given by him was that “It’s a done deal,” and that they had no choice but to vacate. Meanwhile, after making the brief announcement, the town clerk invited the vendors to a more formal meeting at his office. And as soon as he left vehicles laden with steel pipes and other equipment waited at the south westerly corner of the market - the gate through which the town clerk quickly
exited. Immediately on his departure, a team of yellow coated men, accompanied by a barrage of City Police and other police ranks proceeded to erect shiny steel gates across the entrances to the wharf, leaving only one small gate for ingress and egress by the vendors. Meeting at City Hall The meeting at City Hall was well attended by some 100 vendors who took the opportunity to vent their concerns. King, who convened the meeting attended by two other councillorsone of whom strongly disagreed with the decision, told the vendors that an area just off Parliament Buildings was identified for them to do their business. He said that council had agreed to construct the stalls for the vendors at a specification and cost to be made known later. Objection The Town Clerk also mentioned that the first set of stalls for the perishable
Town Clerk, Royston King meeting with vendors
City Council has sealed off entrance to the Stabroek Market Wharf items would be quite attractive and made of steels now on display outside the Fire Station. However, the vendors advised against this, contending that the material would have adverse effects on their fruits and vegetables, ripening them prematurely. They refused the offer and said they would prefer put up their own stalls, using exclusively wood and work with the guidance of maybe three engineers provided by the council. The Town Clerk, however, made it clear that there should be uniformity and that no shanty-town style would be allowed. He said he would communicate this information to Council at a meeting to be held soonest. But even though all vendors on the wharf are under ‘marching orders,’ the town clerk outlined that some degree of concession would be granted vendors who deal in perishable goods such as fruits, vegetables and preserved fish and who would have already made purchases
of commercial quantities. Such vendors will be allowed to spend another week on the wharf before making their permanent exit. It is hoped that by then their goods would have been sold out. The vendors however, with non-perishable items for sale, King said, would have to immediately cease operations for another three to four weeks–the period over which the construction of their new stalls is likely to span. Asked what arrangement would be made for storage of their goods, the town clerk assured that council will provide storage boxes. The vendors asked that they be given a written commitment to all that council has promised. Asked by the vendors whether they would be able to return to vending on the wharf after it would have been completed, King replied in the negative, adding that it would take another two years at any rate, signaling that they should get on with their lives. Another vendor questioned the possibility of
utilising the tarmac in front of Stabroek Market Square for vending, but the town clerk stoutly refused, stating that he has objections. Notwithstanding, vendors were peeved and quite vocal, stating that they all have commitments, hence the reason why they are selling, even under such adverse conditions. “We consider this move grossly unconscionable and unfair. After all we have families, with children to send to school. So what is going to happen to us for the weeks we have to stay home and be out of business?” they asked. The Stabroek Market Wharf has, for several years been derelict and in a state of disrepair, a portion having collapsed and hanging dangerously above business persons and customers. This matter has been brought up for discussion on several occasions, but City Hall perennially cashstrapped, never managed to undertake the repairs.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
'Don’t join the bandwagon; – Housing Minister tells new pay up and build' Region Three land owners MINISTER within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for Housing, Valerie Adams Patterson-Yearwood, has advised residents of Region Three (Essequibo Island/ West Demerara) to work towards paying off for their lands and begin building as soon as they receive their titles. The minister was delivering remarks to residents, moments before she distributed close to 100 house lots to families in the region, at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Thursday. The ministry has made available house lots in the Tuschen Phase Two and Block Eight areas for applicants, from as far back as 1989. “I encourage you not to join the bandwagon. You are here, and I believe the reason why you are here is that you need a house lot. And because you
Minister within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for Housing, Valerie Adams Patterson-Yearwood, addressing residents of Region Three. need a house lot I am going to give you a house lot.” She said that persons must aid in the process by utilising the house lots, as too often persons who are allocated the house lots leave the
land to become overgrown with bushes. The minister said that there are countless persons who would give anything to have the said land. The lots distributed cost $92,000 for low-income
earners and $500,000 for persons in the middle income bracket. The Department of Public Information (DPI) spoke with some of the elated recipients. Gopaul Sanasie
said that he had applied for his house lot 10 years ago, and while he was allocated a plot of land at Stewartville and had paid for it, he was never shown the land. Like Sanasie, two other families
received their lots in Tuschen. “I was waiting for this for10 years now, since I applied. And with the Minister being here, I guess this is the fastest thing that could have ever happened,” Sanasie said. Amidst tears, Raymond Khan, and his wife, Nalinie Etwaroo, said that they had applied for a house lot since 1989, however, they were never fortunate to be allocated a land. “We squat and build a little house and live in it on the dam. We are happy for the government to give us our land, we are really thankful,” the couple said. Minister Patterson said that the government’s objective of securing a good life for all Guyanese is being realised. She stressed that a good life is not having to pay a monthly rent, but rather, being able to own one’s own home. (DPI)
Jagdeo yet to give reasons for rejecting Hairdesser to do hard nominees for top judicial posts time, pay $2.3M
PRESIDENT David Granger, while maintaining that the procedure used to nominate Justices Kenneth Benjamin and Yonette Cummings-Edwards for the positions of Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice was transparent, said he is prepared to consider the Opposition Leader’s justification for rejecting the nominees. Last February, the Opposition Leader rejected the nominees for the two, top judicial posts contending that after requisite due diligence he was unable to offer his support to either candidate. According to Article 127 of the Constitution of Guyana, “the Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall each be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition.” At State House on Wednesday, President Granger when approached on the topic of judicial appointments, maintained that the nominees were selected based on a transparent procedure. He outlined that the positions were advertised and interested persons applied for either position. The nominees were selected
and recommended to the President by a panel, comprising former Justice of Appeal Claudette Singh; Justice James Patterson and Professor Harold Lutchman. The President then wrote the Opposition Leader informing him of the nominees. “It wasn’t something hasty or arbitrary or whimsical, there was a process. There was a public advertisement, people who were interested applied, a panel interviewed them and made recommendations, so when I met the Leader of the Opposition it was on the basis of a long process. I didn’t pull the names out of the sky,” President Granger told reporters. The President said, though, it is within the Opposition Leader’s right to reject the nominees but that he is standing by his position that the process of selecting them was transparent and legitimate. He told reporters, however, that he is willing to consider Jagdeo’s justification for the rejection. “He has not told me what his process was in rejecting it, but I am confident that my process produced the best candidates and I am prepared to stand by my candidates. I have described to you a detail
and careful transparent process, so if he can show that he has a similar process and justified the rejection of my candidate, it is something to be considered,” the President said. Justice Benjamin had served as a magistrate in Georgetown in 1980 and 1981, and subsequently an Assistant Judge Advocate for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). The Guyanese scholar has also served 17 years as a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Court (ECC). If appointed Chancellor, Justice Benjamin will replace Justice Cummings-Edwards, who has been acting in the post since March, 2017. Justice Cummings-Edwards has previously acted as the chief justice. Guyana has been without a substantive Chancellor since 2005, when the then Chancellor, Desiree Bernard, retired and took up a position as judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) the same year. The non-appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice is a result of the government and opposition sides not agreeing to the candidates for the post.
–– for attempting to traffic ‘coke’ to New York A 46-year-old East Ruimveldt hairdresser was on Thursday sentenced to four years in prison and fined $2.3M, after pleading guilty to being in possession of over two pounds of cocaine, which she was trying to sneak on board a flight to New York. Karen Stuffle, who was sentenced by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, admitted that on Saturday last at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri, she attempted to traffic 1.142 kilograms of cocaine. Konyo Sandiford of the Custom Anti-narcotics Unit (CANU), told the court that on the day in question, Stuffle was an outgoing passenger on a Caribbean Airlines flight BW526, bound for JFK, New York; and when she went to the check-in area, she was first cautioned by a CANU officer before
Karen Stuffle being taken by said officer into a room where she was subjected to a cavity search. That search, Sandiford said, uncovered the cocaine wrapped in plastic in Stuffle’s vagina. On realising that the game was up, Stuffle reportedly told the CANU rank, “That is all the cocaine I got.”
But when she was taken to a city hospital to have an X-ray done, it showed that she had foreign objects in her stomach, and was given a dose of laxative to help pass them out. Two days later, while under guard at the hospital, Stuffle reportedly excreted 100 pellets of cocaine. Sandiford told the court that the woman had, in her confession statement, given detailed information about her recruiters, and that they’d taken care of all her travel arrangements and paid her US$400 to do the job. The prosecutor disclosed that three persons are currently in custody, and that they are on the hunt for a fourth suspect. Before handing down the sentence, the Chief Magistrate asked Stuffle if she had anything to say to the court. At that, she broke down in tears and quietly said, “I’m sorry.”
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
CARICOM SG accredits Panama’s first Ambassador
THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on Thursday formalised diplomatic ties with Panama, accrediting the first Ambassador of the Central American country to the Community. CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, received the Letter of Credence of Her Excellency, Soraya Cano Franco during a short ceremony at the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, in Georgetown, Guyana. He said Panama and the Community have had strong people to people contact since the 19th Century, with thousands of Caribbean workers, mainly from Jamaica, Barbados and Saint Lucia, involved in the building of Panama’s Railroads and later the Panama Canal. Today, their descendants are part of a vibrant Caribbean community in Panama, he added. In a release, the Caricom Secretariat said LaRocque noted the high value CARICOM placed on this relationship, which has been strengthening over the years. Panama has bilateral relations with several CARICOM Member States. CARICOM and Panama are also members of sub-regional, regional and hemispheric organisations such as the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the United Nations (UN).
The Secretary-General highlighted the critical role Panama plays in strengthening trade and commerce through Copa Airlines and the Panama Canal. He commended the Government of Panama on the Canal’s expansion, noting that it will meet the growing demand of maritime trade for the whole world, while opening new opportunities, for the Panamanian people, and the wider sub-region. Secretary-General LaRocque noted that Panama’s assistance and support to the countries affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year, demonstrated the strength of its ties with the Community. He said in the areas where they faced similar challenges, Panama and CARICOM could help to address those hurdles by speaking with one voice in international fora on issues of mutual interest and importance to their continued development. Among those matters were: the issue of being labelled as non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, which has targeted Panama and some of the Member States of the Community. “We are concerned that the organisations claiming to set global standards in international tax matters do so without countries, such as ours, having a voice in the process. We should join hands to advocate against the unjust and onerous demands on our financial sectors,” Secretary General, LaRocque told the newly accredited Panamanian envoy.
CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, receives the Letter of Credence of Her Excellency Soraya Cano Franco Panamanian Ambassador to CARICOM
Over 100 Linden youths now equipped with life skills
LINDEN youths residing in the community of Block 22 have recently concluded a two-month programme which has equipped them with life skills. The programme was coordinated by Marva Semple, a philanthropist and the founder of Totally Moulding Training Centre, where hundreds of youths over the last three decades would have benefited from similar programmes. Youths as young as 10 years were trained in various fields of agroprocessing, small scale manufacturing and art. They were taught to manufacture scented candles, soaps, cushions, pillow cases, laundry bags and aprons. As a way of embracing a green Guyana, this year’s training programme also included
manufacturing household and personal items with recycled materials. These include hand bags from old denim pants, wall hanging ornaments from newspapers as well as other trashed material to make belts and picture
frames. The programme which commenced on a the 9th July at the Block 22 Multi-Purpose Centre, received an overwhelming response from the youths who were eager to build their skillset and capacity
for the niche markets. Cake making, cooking and other culinary skills were also taught. Collaborative efforts from the office of the Regional Chairman Renis Morian, the Regional Executive Officer Orrin
Participants learning the art of making soap
Gordon and the Community Development Group of Block 22, also made the programme possible in the form of providing sewing machines, food for
the participants and extra furniture. Semple had been rolling out programmes of this nature since the 1980’s
Cushions that were made by the students of Block 22
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
'Tipsy cop' arrested for fatal accident
DEPUTY Superintendent of Police, Patrick Todd is being investigated after the Toyota Rav4 he was driving, fatally struck down a 64-year-old cyclist on the Boerasirie Bridge, West Coast Demerara (WCD) on Wednesday night. Dead is Conrad Alleyne, 64, of 33 Hague, WCD. Residents said that Alleyne lived alone. His home was tightly locked when this publication visited. Reports indicate that the accident occurred at around 19:20hrs on the bridge, when the vehicle PTT 992 was proceeding east along the northern side of the bridge. The driver related that he suddenly felt an impact and
upon investigating, saw the cyclist lying on the bridge with injuries about his body. He was taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital in a semi-conscious state, treated and referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital but succumbed on his way. The body is currently at the Ezekiel Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination. Press Officer Superintendent, Jairam Ramlakhan said an investigation has since been launched by a senior officer who visited the scene and also conducted a breathalyser test on Todd who was found to be above the legal limit.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Patrick Todd
The vehicle the Deputy Superintendent was driving when he was involved in the accident.
Custom broker, mechanic robbed of motorcycles A 21-year-old customs broker of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was robbed of his XR motorcycle: CJ 1680 by armed bandits when he returned home on Tuesday night. Reports indicate that the victim had just arrived home and turned onto his bridge at Stevedore Housing Scheme, North Ruimveldt, when he noticed two men on a black CG motorcycle. The men rode up and stopped behind him. One resident said that the pillion rider came off of the motorcycle with a gun in hand and approached the victim, pointing the gun towards him. The perpetrator then demanded that the 21-year-old get off the bike and hand over the keys, to which he refused. The gunman then assaulted the victim by hitting him to the back of his head with the handgun and discharged a round in the air causing the victim to give up his keys. The bandits then
escaped with the motorcycle along Aubrey Barker Road. Meanwhile, a 35-year-old mechanic of Section M Campbellville was also robbed on Tuesday night of an XR motorcycle: CJ4341 and other valuables when two bandits on a black and white Honda XR motorcycle cornered him at Plum Park, Sophia. Reports indicate that the victim was riding his motorcycle north along Plum Park when he observed the perpetrators on a motorcycle behind him. He then heard loud explosions, which sounded like gunshots, coming from behind him and he immediately stopped and jumped off his motorcycle. The pillion rider then came off the motorcycle and pointed a handgun at the victim, searched his pockets and took away his cellular phone and valuables. The robber then picked up the victim’s motorcycle and escaped in the company of his accomplice.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Understanding Energy
Breaking down the details in Wood Mackenzie’s latest report
INTERNATIONAL energy research firm Wood Mackenzie released another report last month, building on their previous analysis of Guyana’s contract and oil potential. The new report, titled “Guyana – the richest corner of South America?” emphasized the sheer magnitude of the discoveries in the Stabroek and their global importance. The report and a subsequent podcast interview with Senior Corporate Research Analyst Ruaraidh Montgomery explained that the Stabroek finds by the ExxonMobil-led consortium account for 15 percent of all global discoveries of conventional oil since 2015 by volume. That’s an incredible amount for the Guyana basin, which was universally regarded as a high-risk frontier area just a few years ago and has still yielded few significant finds outside the prolific Stabroek block. Wells off the coast of Suriname drilled by independent oil companies Kosmos, Apache, and Tullow have all come up dry but the consortium drilling in the Stabroek has seen success on more than 80 percent of its exploratory wells.
Wood Mackenzie’s report also addressed the latest Hammerhead discovery, the consortium’s ninth to date, as evidence that the recoverable reserves are likely to be “well in excess of 4 billion barrels.” Montgomery called Exxon’s success in the Stabroek block “phenomenal.” He also highlighted particularly promising technical aspects of the project like the successful finds in different “plays” or types of geological formations. So far Exxon and its partners have found commercial quantities of recoverable oil in Cretaceous sandstone (Liza), Cretaceous carbonate (Ranger), and now in Miocene sandstone (Hammerhead). These vary based on the age of the rock strata, the location in the geologic timeline, and the type of rock and formation where the oil is found. Montgomery stated that it “might be some time before we stop seeing this run of good news,” especially considering the additional Exxon drillship that will be on site and exploring new prospects in the Stabroek by the end of the year. He also hailed the Guyana basin and the wider South American equa-
torial margin—an area stretching from Guyana to Northern Brazil that sits directly across the Atlantic from the prolific oil fields of West Africa—as one of the industry’s bright spots. “[There’s] enormous interest from the biggest players in the industry. [It’s] one of the most active areas globally in terms of exploration in the near to medium term.” That interest from companies is partial due to “plenty of running room in terms of exploration and attractive fiscal terms on the block that reflect its status at the time of the award and that was as a frontier exploration area with very high risk,” Montgomery said. All this goes to emphasize the incredible route that Guyana has taken,
progressing rapidly from frontier status to burgeoning investment opportunity to a clear position as one of the energy world’s most promising new areas. With first oil production set for 2020 and rapid increases forecast after that, this underscores the need for implementing smart and transparent revenue management policies and building regulatory and accounting capacity as soon as possible, including the Sovereign Wealth Fund. In this way, Guyana can take full advantage of the coming windfall that will truly transform this country. The podcast is available for free on Wood Mackenzie’s SoundCloud page for people curious to know more about Guyana’s prospects.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Most schools in Region 10 get facelift for the new school term
IT WAS a breath of fresh air for primary and secondary school students in Region 10 as the Department of Education ensured that a facelift was given to most of those schools, so that the children can commence the new school term in a cleaner, brighter and more conducive environment. Regional Education Officer (ag) Keane Adams, explained to this publication that most of the schools in the region are in pretty good shape and the focus for 2018 works programme was the refurbishing and beautifying of sanitary blocks, the physical infrastructure and the overall aesthetics of the school, so that children as well as teachers can feel more comfortable and learning can occur more effectively. “I am happy and elated that children are better accommodated because for Region 10, we would have exhausted our budget for furniture and equipment. Schools are better equipped. We are not 100%, but we are better than where we were 6 months ago; we are a bit more comfortable,” Adams noted. The schools that would have seen extensive refurbishing are the South Amelia’s Ward, Pine Street, Republic Avenue, Kwakwani Water Front, Kwakwani Park, Retrieve Nursery Schools; Mackenzie and Watooka Day Primary Schools; the Christianburg/Wismar and the Linden Foundation Secondary Schools as well Mackenzie High School, among others. Refurbishing works include tiling, painting, ceiling repairs, replacement of equipment and furniture and other improvement works to the physical structure of the school. Unfortunately, however, the One Mile and
Regional Education Officer (ag) Region 10 Keane Adams the Wisroc Nursery School’s rehabilitation works were not completed last Monday, when students and teachers made a full return to school. While the children of the One Mile Nursery returned on Wednesday, the Wisroc Nursery children are expected to return by Friday. While this angered some parents who noted that after two months of vacation and one week of strike action, the schools were still closed. Adams explained that the breakdown occurred at the late release of funds and the change of the procurement system which was formerly selective tendering. She said that in some cases the contractors underbid for some of the contracts and to cut cost, they hired fewer workers, which resulted in the work taking longer or the workers dragging out the work, if they are being paid per day’s work. She, however, noted that a contingency plan was implemented and those students and teachers are being housed at neighbouring schools. The REO said that in 2019 the Department will be focusing on the green initiative in the classroom, as solar panels will be installed in more schools. “That is one criterion we are trying to fill, come 2019, we will have more solar energy in all schools and in 2019 too, we will have smart classrooms where children will be better able to interact. It will no longer be chalk and talk, so we are getting there,” she noted.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Ex-sugar workers graduate from skills training course
A BATCH of 84 persons graduated from the Industrial Skills Training and Enhancement Programme (IN-STEP) on Wednesday, after completing training in a range of technical areas. The areas are: basic welding and fabrication, electrical installation, motor vehicle servicing and minor repairs and refrigeration. The programme was a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Board of Industrial Training and targeted retrenched sugar workers and members of the communities. Present at the graduation ceremony were Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry and Chairman of the Board of
directly in that development. You are now ready to embark on employment in this region and that will support indirect services of petroleum, mining, agriculture and other economic sectors.”
Valedictorian Sunil Latchman receives one of his many prizes from Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman
Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman presents a trophy to best female student 52-year-old Desiree Pollard
Industrial Training, Clinton Williams. While delivering remarks, Minister Henry urged the graduates to maximise the advantage of the training since it will allow them to participate in thriving economic sectors. “Where workforce is increasingly automated and computerised, it is imperative we utilise all our experience and manpower to keep up with the world. We must re-train our experienced workers to meet the needs of 21st century industries that are emerging right here in Guyana, this is imperative to the sustainability of our nation’s development. This additional training will allow you to participate
The minister added that while her ministry advocates for a good education for every Guyanese, there must be continuous improvement in the delivery so that everyone can benefit
equally, especially after the formal school setting. “Many times, people associate learning with formal education in the school See page 17
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Parts of Georgetown flooded Baby dies after brother after torrential rainfall feeds him rat poison -M&CC says most pumps operational, two blocked by debris
Flashback: A section of Alexander Village which was flooded earlier this week (Adrian Narine photo)
F
olvern
Cit
eer, C y Engin
Venture
OR the early part of Thursday, residents in certain parts of Georgetown had to battle floodwaters following heavy rains. The flooding which was caused by torrential rainfall between Wednesday night and Thursday, did not last for long because of active pumps which drained the land quickly. Areas such as North and South Ruimveldt and some parts of Alberttown/ Queenstown had to endure the moderate level of water for a bit longer than other persons. Some persons said if it rained longer the water would have reached into their houses. According to a resident of North Ruimveldt, the flooding would usually be worse but things have changed over the last few years. Persons in the flood-affected areas complained that the drains were clogged by garbage which was dumped there by persons. City Engineer, Colvern Venture also alluded to the blockage of drains which also caused two pumps to stop working. “The two pumps were down because of debris which got into the pump… the pumps are the Riverview pump and Princess Street pump,” said Venture during a press conference at City Hall on Thursday.
A
ONE-year-old baby of La Grange, West Bank Demerara has died after allegedly being fed rat poison by his older brother. The child, Andre Kerron Tappin, reportedly died Wednesday at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was rushed after initially being admitted to the West Demerara Regional Hospital at Vreed-en-Hoop. Reports are that the children’s mother had between 08.00 and 08.45hrs that morning left the baby and a sister in the care of her eldest son, who’s nine, while she went about her business. But before leaving, the Guyana Chronicle has learnt, she’d sent the boy to the shop to buy the very rat poison he fed his baby brother. She only learnt of this when she returned home and tried to feed the baby and he started to vomit. The matter is being investigated by the police.
The city engineer said the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) was working to get the pumps removed, fixed and reinstalled before the end of Thursday. The other pumps were operational. “Repairing pumps usually costs us millions of dollars so we would like to urge persons to desist from disposing of waste in waterways,” Venture lamented. Despite the challenges, he said the council was able to take action to ensure that the water recedes quickly. Over the past month the council has been clearing drains in North Sophia and Kitty but intend to expand their work to ensure that waterways are cleared so that water could reach the outfalls faster. In future, the council, he said intends on focusing on areas south of the city because those communities are severely affected by rainfall. The council will soon clear the North Ruimveldt Canal which has caused problems in the past. Venture said the council will employ persons from the community to weed the canal manually. The same approach will be taken to clear the Cane View Canal while M&CC workers will deal with the canal at the Avenue of the Republic. Drainage work is also expected to be done in Campbelville and Sophia.
GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Ex-sugar workers graduate... From page 15 system. While that is important, education is much more than that. Lifelong learners are motivated to learn and develop because they want to; it is a deliberate and involuntary act. Learning can enhance all understanding of the world around us as it provides us with more and better opportunities to build a quality of life.” Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mariscia Charles echoed similar sentiments as expressed by Minster Henry about the opportunities not only in the emerging petroleum sector but across all other sectors. “While this is the end of the programme, it
ever, 84 completed the 120 contact hours required for the successful completion of the courses which were held on weekends. The course material which was mainly hands-on, saw several projects being undertaken and completed by participants such as the fabrication of a monkey bar and ring climber at the Esplanade Park in New Amsterdam, fabrication and installation of a steel door for the instrument workshop of GuySuCo as well as the servicing of the breaking and suspension systems of several vehicles and the servicing of air conditioning units for GuySuCo. Of the 84 graduates, 39 passed with distinction, 25 with credit while 20 passed.
Minister of Education Nicolette Henry presents a gift to one of the graduates is the beginning of a new chapter of your lives. Take this programme as a stepping stone to propel you to greater things, let this programme catapult your duties of public service to the development of Guyana; your social responsibilities of being active participants in the change process. You are building a pathway of increased growth through reintegration into the job market and greater investments into your personal [lives] by furthering your studies.” The training started in June this year with 98 participants how-
Manager of GuySuCo Training Centre, Jainarine Sookpaul said the figures are testament to the quality of lecturers at the GTC and called on other ministries to collaborate and utilise the training centre for other sectors. He also urged the graduates to elevate themselves further to become specialists in their respective fields by moving on to higher levels. He noted that with the training completed, the lecturers have already liaised with the business sector in the Region to provide possible employment for them.
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MoTP calls for retraction of misleading Citizens’ Report article THE Ministry of the Presidency has condemned what it described as the deliberate publication of false information by Citizens’ Report, an online news outfit, regarding President David Granger’s reason for not attending this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) scheduled for September 18, 2018, in New York. In a release, the ministry said the website, “which has
a reputation for misrepresenting facts,” attempted to mislead the public by stating that the President is “unfit for travel.” In an article published under the headline, “President will not be attending the 73rd United Nations General Assembly…source says President unfit for travel”, Citizens’ Report said “a source from the Ministry of the Presidency” had informed that “the President is not as
healthy as he appears and thus he is not taking any chances, hence the real reason he is not attending the UN General Assembly.” “Nothing can be further from the truth than that,” the ministry stated. The Ministry of the Presidency stated that the President’s decision to not attend the 73rd UNGA is based solely on the fact that there are urgent matters of national importance that require his attention, partic-
ularly the upcoming Local Government Elections slated for November 12, 2018. Guyana will be represented at the international forum by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Carl Greenidge, who clearly reiterated this fact in a statement on Tuesday. “The intent of the Citizens’ Report article is clearly malicious in nature and is meant to mislead. The ministry therefore calls for a retraction of this article.”
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
Making music his life O s i r v h e C YOU may not know the name Chris Ove, but in a few months you just might be hearing a lot more about this talented singer and if you give his single “Another Lover” a listen, you’ll see why. Chris, real name Christopher Davis, released the single on September 1, and it has been getting a lot of love on social media from the ladies ever since. And it should since it was a lady that inspired the lyrics in the first place. Chris sat down with The Buzz earlier this
I was vibing on this young lady, she had some issues with her boyfriend and I stepped up to her, started having a conversation and eventually she ended up leaving her boyfriend and we got together,” Chris shared, unashamedly. Chris Ove is one young man who is owning his “sweet boy” status. “So I was home alone and I just threw on the instrumental and I was feeling excited because I’ve never taken away a guy’s girl in the club before. So I was listening to the instrumental and the chorus just started coming
week to share the story behind this smooth single that has ladies hooked. “The instrumental was sent to me by my producer Jonathan Tailor, and I didn’t really like it at first, but then I was at this party and
to me. Once I get the chorus before the verses it’s always a great song,” he explained. Chris spit the lyrics to the young lady in a social media voice note and she loved it and soon she wasn’t the only young lady in love
Guyanese singer Chris Ove
with the tune. The song has a hypnotic beat that just lets you know that it’s going to be stuck in your head for a while. The track is not Chris’ first, but definitely the one that’s getting him noticed, and getting persons to sit up and realise we may have something big here. It’s his fourth single and will be a part of an upcoming album that he’s currently working on, that’s set for release on October 22, his birthday. “The name of the Project is ‘Less Pleasure, More Pain’. The reason why I came up with that name is, for me personally when in a relationship you go through more pain than usual, when you first start off yeah, you go through a lot of pleasure but after then something might happen and you’re arguing and fighting all of the time,” Chris reasoned. “It’s the intro track and six songs. There are two songs about pleasure, a song that meets everybody in the middle, a song that comes out of that song, and then it leads into the tracks about pain. And yes, there will be a launch party.” Though it has taken him a while to realise it, deep down, Chris Ove has always known he was meant to be a singer and a ladies’ man. And the two seem to go hand in hand, when it comes to Chris’ inspiration for his music, there seems to always be a lady behind his lyrics. Though he has spent a large portion of his life living overseas, sitting down and talking to the laid back 19-year-old, you would never believe it, with hardly even the hint of an accent. And definitely none of the “yankee airs” that many overseas Guyanese are often known for. When you speak to Chris Ove you get a Guyanese who’s true to his roots and proud of his people and what they’re about. It’s only when he’s home that Chris really gets serious with his music.
“I mainly started making music because it’s a way of life for me, I can’t go to sleep without listening to music. I wake up and I’m listening to music. I’m versatile but I like making R&B, soul music, afro-fusion, a little bit of dancehall mix. But R&B and soul are really it,” Chris related. After leaving Guyana when he was eight years old, Chris returned in 2010 for a short while and was enrolled in school here for a bit, and it was then that he was persuaded by his teachers to represent his school at the Schools’ Mashramani Competition in the calypso category, where he finished in second place. After returning to the US, his academics once again overshadowed any musical aspirations he may have had, but it by no means put an end to them. “When I did the calypso competition, I really felt love for my country. When I went back it was more of crunch time trying to write Pre-SATs. I was mainly focused on that. I wasn’t focused on music fully until I came back to Guyana,” Chris relayed. Six years later he was back in Guyana, where it all started, and music once again began to take a leading. It all started for Chris in his hometown in Berbice, when he took his inspirations from listening to Michael Jackson “Michael Jackson, that’s all I should say. Back then we had black and white TV and a bunch of VCRs and stuff and I would watch a bunch of Michael Jackson videos and singing. I was about five. So it was definitely the influences of Michael Jackson and even Chris Brown,” Chris said. Now all these years later Chris is still dreaming about making it just as big. He’s currently working with Morocco & Co., through their distribution division Mor Global, to market and distribute his music internationally.
GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
‘Club Privilege’
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set for grand opening in Berbice
club seeks to set the tone for future events. The club complements the sports bar, restaurant, poolside bar and accommodation of the hotel where the proprietors want guests to have an all-inclusive experience. “Despite the name ‘Privilege’ we want the average person to be able to experience quality entertainment and services at a reasonable cost and we will be partnering with various distributors to ensure we maintain our low prices while providing you with quality service,” Phillips stressed. The pool at Leisure Inn
A view of the Sports bar
ALL roads lead to New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice – Corentyne) tomorrow night as Club Privilege officially opens with Naila Blackman and KI and the Band in the house. The club is located at the recently opened Leisure Inn Hotel on Main Street, New Amsterdam and is expected to provide international standard entertainment, comfort and ambience in the ancient county. According to Keisha Phillips, one of the proprietors, the idea is to afford patrons quality entertainment in a safe and comfortable setting. To this end, they have hired a New York-based company to set up the lighting and sounds. With the ‘Baila Mami’ and ‘Single Forever’ artistes in the house, patrons are expected to have a blast as the
Inviting atmosphere at the poolside bar
She continued that being Berbicians themselves, they are cognisant of the different cultural backgrounds of the population as well as the varying genres of music that are enjoyed in the countryside and they want to capture the essence of that experience and showcase it to the entire country. Since their opening of the $450 million Leisure Inn, there has been nothing but rave reviews of the quality and service of the experience in a county that is starved of quality entertainment. Today is also the official launch of the after-work lime at the poolside bar, which will see persons who want to unwind and simply want to have a good time from a long day of work, relaxing in and enjoying good music and vibes. The owners promise unlimited fun and fabulous deals.
Miss India Guyana Pageant to be revamped New franchise owners to add more cultural training for delegates “Promoting the Indian culture for decades is an active attribute of ours and with our track record in the pageant world we saw it fit to take on this mandate,” Hashim said in an exclusive interview with The Buzz. The co-founder of Nachle Designs, he is positive that he and his wife have what it takes to see the Miss India Guyana pageant take off to higher heights, otherwise they would’ve never gone through the tough process of acquiring the franchise. “The acquisition of the franchise was not a walk in the park. A lot of detailed conceptualising and strategising had to be done, and the level of commitment needed was taken into consideration. The Indian Festival Committee (IFC) of New York, owner of the Miss India Worldwide pagNew directors of the Miss India-Guyana franchise, Hashim Alli and Melicia Partab-Alli eant, has been very supportive in making the process very professional though,” he IT WAS a love and passion for their Inconveyed. dian culture that led Melicia and Hashim He stressed that they understand the big Alli to decide the time was right to take shoes they have to fill in upholding the stanover the Miss India Guyana franchise dard of the pageant, and taking the pageant when it went up for grabs earlier this year. from where it is to where they want it to be. Melicia and Hashim acquired the fran“The legacy of Miss India Worldwide chise in June and will be hosting the first Guyana has been a sterling one and we are Miss India Guyana pageant under their sure that with our attributes we will uphold directive next month. and improve this prestigious torch that we The pair already stands as franchise have now inherited,” he said. holders for the Miss Global International Under their stewardship, he hopes to see Guyana which has made many strides over the pageant open even more ways for the the years on the international scene, going delegates entering the pageant to connect as far as taking the international crown last with their cultural roots. They hope to see year. Now they’re hoping to do the same for this done by adding a number of cultural the Miss India Guyana pageant. aspects to the training period for the girls.
“One of our newest additions to the pageant will be the exposure to the Indian culture and heritage. This year all of the finalists will be awarded training in Hindi, kathak dance, Indian musical instrument playing, yoga, sari draping and Indian cooking classes, which will offer a closer connection to their rich culture and traditions,” Hashim explained. This, they hope, would work in their favour in improving the quality of the Guyanese queen as she prepares to represent her country at the international level. The 2018 M iss India Worldwide pageant is slated for December 9-14. “Locally we will be holding our Miss India Guyana pageant on October 27, giving the local Reigning Miss India Guyana Sangeeta Bahadur queen just under two months to prepare to make it on the at the pageant. international scene,” he said. But getting results is what Hashim and According to Hashim, the applications Melicia do. Working on the Miss Global have already been pouring in ever since they International pageant, they saw their put out the word that the search is on for a delegate finishing in the Top 10 the first new queen year they took over the franchise. They Guyana has seen incremental improve- continued to see incremental increases in ment at this international pageant over the the following years as the Guyanese girls years. The reigning queen, Sangeeta Baha- continued to do well, until last year’s dur, finished as second runner-up last year, delegate Cynthia Dookie won the interwhile in 2016 Guyana finished in the Top 10 national crown.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
The making of Georgetown A historical timeline
THE township that became the port town, then the city of Georgetown, then capital of the united counties that are now the nation of Guyana, is the consequence of no objective plan but rather a process of events that began with the initial settling of the Dutch and African slaves in 1623 and their establishment of the small defence outpost at Kijk –Over-Al, to protect the plantations Duinberg, Fortuin and Poelwyck at Bartica. Then came the arrival of the Caribs who then resided in the Orinoco and were in constant clashes with the Spaniards who then moved into Dutch territory and requested to settle on the Mahaicony River. They, like the Dutch, were sworn enemies of the Spanish. They supplied the Dutch with slaves taken from other Amerindian tribes, to expand the plantations on Bartica. But the serenity was broken in 1708 with the arrival of French pirates who lay siege to the fort and extracted a ransom from the Dutchmen, they eventually abandoned Kijk-Over-Al and soon enough Bartica, to the African and Amerindian slaves who had run away finding no reason to die protecting ‘Massa’s’ property. The Dutch then established their official capital in 1753, on the island of Borsselen, off the area of what is currently known as Soesdyke. But in 1738, Governor Gravesande had opened the colonies to farmers from all friendly European nations, noting that Demerara was the most fertile of the three colonies and the Demerara River was the deeper of the rivers. This required the expansion of the slave
population whose task it would be to extract the coastal lands from the sea, dig the canals, build the wharves and make possible the semblance of Port Town Stabroek. The Africans secured the plantation lands through brutal, savage toil and an understanding of tropical drainage. The creation of the Demerara coast began through savage means, on the backs of African slaves. To guide ships into the Demerara River, the Dutch built a Brandwagt or observation post possibly where the Georgetown Magistrate Court is (the river washed well past the Stabroek Market). In 1748, the ward of Stabroek was established to accommodate both slave ships and cargo shipping; this small ward was bordered by two canals dug by slave labour, the Hadfield canal and the Croel street canal. In 1781, the English came and the colony was surrendered to them. They built a fort named Fort St George. The following year, the French came and they demolished the English Fort and their commander decided that Stabroek would be the capital. From him we inherited the famous declaration of Stabroek: “Religion would have its temple, Justice a palace, war its arsenals, commerce its counting house, and industry its factories.” The Dutch abandoned Borsselen Island and Stabroek become the official capital administrative centre of Demerara. By the 1780s many Africans had escaped from the plantations and established Maroon settlements. The Maroons even defeated an English/Dutch expedition in 1795 in the Boerasirie Creek. The Dutch and English estab-
lished a contingent of African and Amerindian troops. The Africans would become freemen for this service. They intercepted the Maroons with the scouting diligence of the Caribs, to quote Pinckard, “Most of the ringleaders were taken and brought to Stabroek, where they were afterwards tried and executed, the majority of them suffering from a degree of fortitude and heroism worthy of a better cause. One in particular named Amsterdam supported the extreme of punishment with firmness truly astonishing. He despised the severest suffering and nothing could induce him to betray his late companions, or to make known their yet undiscovered retreat.” Some of our historians have told us that by the 1800s the Maroons were wiped out, but they were there in 1823 when a rendezvous with them was mentioned in Crowns of Glory, Tears of Blood- 1823 insurrection. The Maroons seemed to have changed their tactics by the early 1800s and even mingled with the slave population at the Sunday morning market selling their produce, earning money. The first census of old Stabroek rests with Henry Bolingbroke 1799-1806. He accounts for 1,500 Europeans, 2,000 free people of colour, 5,000 Africans - not all were slaves. He accounted for colony Africans who were miserable prisoners. He alluded to freemen who have purchased their emancipationthese were butchers, fishermen and artisans. He also describes African clerks, no doubt slaves but learned in the functions of the waterfront for the bloodline of Georgetown was the Plantations that enveloped the Town like
plantation Bourda etc. and its breath of life the waterfront. Brickdam is our first road that, like its name suggests, was paved by bricks. Werken-Rust was described as a separate village or town. Kingston is also an old village, linked to Fort William Frederick (where Transport and Harbours in now located). There were other wards at the time, like Longchamp and Newtown. In the History of the performing arts of Guyana, we must include the travelling American actors who are described with their cargo of “Canvas palaces and painted forests; of crowns and daggers, sceptres and chains; of the purple attire of majesty, and the motley foppery of folly.” It was incredible that though illiterate, there were Afro Guyanese who would impersonate the few Moorish characters, Othello, Juba, and Oroonoko with propriety -Bolingbroke. These were the first groups recorded that launched the performing arts to old Stabroek. On May 5, 1812, it was ordered that the town formerly called Stabroek be called Georgetown. The colony was firmly then an English colony. With my ACDA colleagues Elton McCray and Sister Marshall and the support of then-Mayor Hamilton Green in 2012, I advocated the concept ‘Kreole Day’ that consisted of a showcase of small business craft and culinary items to celebrate on the parade ground the 200th Anniversary of Georgetown, since the Government of the day ignored that significant milestone, it went well considering the limitations we faced.
GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
There’s a lot to do this weekend and the top of the list is CPL semifinal and final cricket matches with several spots hosting viewing parties. There’s also the Tasha Cobbs concert on tonight, so get out there and have some fun! Don’t be cooped up at home
TODAY It’s finally here! Heavenly Light Mocha presents “Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Band Live in Concert” at the National Stadium from 18:30hrs. Also featuring Sean Sobers, Miriam Williams, Shawn English, Melissa Vandeyar, Zamar Music, Redeemer’s Band, PEK’s Band and much more. Admission: $2,000 (Old tickets still valid) Who will go on to face the Guyana Amazon Warriors? Let’s find out! Watch the Trinbago Knight Riders take on the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots live at the Giftland Mall Strip! It’s Cocktails and Beer Happy Hour at 704 Sports Bar from 19:00hrs20:00hrs, so head down and cash in on 50 percent off your next drink!
Masicka JAVAUN Fearon, more popularly known to the world as ‘Masicka’, is one of Dancehall’s hottest talents and now, the 26-year-old Jamaican is ready to ignite the National Park on September 29 for his ‘They Don’t Know My Story’ concert, compliments of Lion Heart Entertainment, Guinness and Kings of Kings Records and Productions. Masicka is enjoying a break-out year in Dancehall, becoming the most sought-after Dancehall artiste. The ‘Top Form’ singer will be heading to Guyana to perform for the first time and according to Damion ‘Teflon’ Forbes, the principle of Kings of Kings Records, all systems are in place to host the show which will also feature world-rated a sound clash champions Bass Odyssey. “Masicka is more than excited to come to Guyana. He’s aware that Guyanese love his music. He knows that Guyana is a great place to perform and what I can say to people is grab your tickets early, avoid the rush. Apart from Masicka, we have Kellz from Tobago and Sky Kidd from Antigua performing also for the first time in Guyana, as well, we will see Lion Heart Sounds making a return, DJ Ackeem and other top local
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ready to ignite National Park on September 29
Deejays,” said Forbes. The Marriott Hotel, Digicel, White Castle Fish Shop and Chelsea’s Restaurant are listed as some of the sponsors for the show which carries a gate entry price of $3,000 per ticket, while VIP tickets are being sold for $8,000. Early bird tickets will be sold for $2,000 and are available at White Castle Fish Shop, Clairan’s Boutique and Chelsea Suits. Masicka is considered as the leader of the ‘new school’ in Dancehall music, with the Portmore, Jamaica-born and raised entertainer entering the scene as a teenager. Since then he has slowly been making a name for himself and his ‘Genahsyde’ crew. In recent years, songs like ‘Top Striker’ and ‘Knock It’, allowed Masicka to show his ability to tell vivid stories of the streets and his rise to the top. Coupled with his undeniably versatile melodic sensibility and punchto-the-gut delivery, Masicka has made it clear that he is a musical force to be
Masicka
reckoned with, in Jamaica and beyond. Masicka said he’s looking forward to his time in Guyana since he’s aware that some of his tracks are on the playlist of many dancehall fans.
Hebrew Family youth bringing back the culture of drumming
TOMORROW The Vintage Wine Bar, Restaurant & Lounge presents Saturday Fete and Karaoke. This and every Saturday you can expect something exciting to be happening at The Vintage! Keep checking our page for updates on themes and specials! Sniper Entertainment and Carib Beer presents “DJ Golden Child Birthnight Celebration at Mitra’s Bar, Mon Repos. Carib Specials and giveaways all night. BBQ by Corner Spot Grill SUNDAY Cricket oh lovely cricket continues this weekend! Experience the matches live with at 704 Sports Club! Get Amazon warrior flags, horns and whistles on entry! El Dorado Rum and cutters specials! Live DJ during game breaks! FREE entry for all patrons If you missed last Sunday night’s Marvelous Sundays at Club Blue Iguana then you missed one of the best Sunday night parties in a long while. It continues this Sunday, with the same great vibes, drinks specials and great atmosphere. Music by Stereo Sonic, Determined Family and DJ Energy the Party King. Everyone FREE before 23:00hrs
The Hebrew drummers participating at a recent African cultural event
THE sounds of the drums are the sound of life for the young drummers of the Hebrew Family. Despite living in a western society where 21st century music has been embraced by most millennials, these young men have made a conscious effort to remember their roots and have incorporated it into their daily lives. For the sextet; Hodael Yisrael, Yiverekayahoo Yisrael, Nehchemiyah Yisrael, Shmuel Yisrael, Ovadyah Yisrael and sh’matiel Yisrael- they were born into drumming, but they are on a mission to educate other youths, especially those of African descent to embrace their heritage and learn to love the sound of the drums; the very sounds their ancestors lived by. “Drumming has always been a part of African culture, so we incorporated drumming since we lost it for many years. Some of us grew up seeing the drummers
before us drum. What I’m saying is, it’s a cultural thing that’s passed down from generation to generation,” Sh’matiel related. Giving a brief history of the Hebrew Family in Guyana, he explained that it all started about 40 years ago. “When our spiritual leader Cohane Michael Ben Levi, was given the mandate by his teacher to come to Guyana, a meeting had taken place between Cohane Levi Ben Levi and former President LFS Burnham about birthing a Hebrew Isrealite community in Guyana. Cohane Levi Ben Levi felt it was imperative as an African people returning to our culture, to incorporate the drums into our shabbath, or holy seasons or festivities as well,” he said. Over the last few years, the group has gained some momentum and has been performing at various cultural functions especially in the presence
of President David Granger. It is not about popularity, Sh’matiel explained though, but about bringing like-minded ones to the sounds of the drums. “One’s source of strength comes from knowing who one is. So I’d admonish the AfroGuyanese to research who they are, not to say there isn’t a love for youths of other ethnic backgrounds because for us, there is love for humanity as our mission statement is: in service to humanity, but one must love their self, first by extension, love others because self-love is true love and by that, youths would embrace their culture, despite their ethnicity,” he said. Presently the Hebrew family is celebrating the holy month of Etaneem, which is the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar. It’s the most holy month because there are more holy days in this one month than any other month in the Hebrew calendar.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 14, 2018
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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday September 14, 2018
Liverpool FC signs Golden Jaguars goalkeeper LIVERPOOL FC, one of the most storied clubs in the English Premier League, yesterday signed Guyana’s national goalkeeper Kai McKenzie-Lyle. The details of the former Barnet stopper was on a try-out with the club, coached by Jurgen Klopp this summer, and impressed the ‘reds’ boss enough for the Guyanese to make a move to Anfield. Via his Instagram, the Golden Jaguars keeper said, “Happy for my new challenge with Liverpool FC.” He also thanked his agency, 10Ten Talent, which is owned by Terry Byrne, who represents some of football’s biggest stars. McKenzie-Lyle joined Tottenham Hotspur as an Under-10 before he moved to Barnet as an Under-14, and progressed through the club’s academy to become
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first-choice keeper for the Under-18s. He first appeared on the bench for the first team in October 2014. The Guyanese keeper made his first team debut on September 12, 2015 in a 1–3 away defeat by Portsmouth coming on as a substitute for John Akinde after regular goalkeeper Jamie Stephens had been sent off. McKenzie-Lyle joined St Ives Town in August 2017 on loan and also played for Hayes & Yeading United on loan in December 2017. McKenzie-Lyle, who scored on his debut for Guyana during their 2-3 defeat against Suriname, last turned out against Barbados in the Golden Jaguars’ 2-2 draw at the National Track and Field Centre in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Race 5 Sugar Queen Race 6 Rossby Race 7 Muchacha Uno Race 8 Mentality South Africa Racing Tips Fairview 08:25 hrs Dancing Ruga 09:05 hrs Breakfast Club 09:35 hrs Free Agent 10:10 hrs Border Control 10:40 hrs Bid Before Sunset 11:10 hrs Mainland Irish Racing Tips Listowel 09:05 hrs Munees Gemini 09:40 hrs Stormy Belle 10:15 hrs Freetown 10:45 hrs Acrux Cass 11:20 hrs Listen Dear 11:50 hrs Cappacon 12:20 hrs Dorrells Pierji 12:50 hrs Shanakey English Racing Tips Doncaster 08:50 hrs Laugh Aloud 09:25 hrs Rumble Inthejungle 10:00 hrs Ben Vrackie 11:05 hrs Sangarius 11:40 hrs Turgenev 12:10 hrs Aeolus 12:45 hrs Loveisili Chester 09:00 hrs Indomitable 09:35 hrs King Of Tonga 10:10 hrs Mearing 10:40 hrs The Feathered Nest 11:15 hrs Brisk Tempo 11:45 hrs Jabbaar 12:15 hrs Gabrial’s Kaka Sandown 09:15 hrs Royal Dynasty 09:50 hrs Tan 10:25 hrs Venedegar 10:55 hrs Custom Cut 11:30 hrs Firmament 12:00 hrs Augenblick 12:30 hrs The Last Emperor
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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday September 14, 2018
Surrey seal first County Petra, GUYOIL team Championship title in 16 years up for Tradewind Tankers Football Tournament
By Stephan Sookram
Surrey celebrate winning the County Championship title - sealed by their ninth successive victory.
SURREY have won the County Championship for the first time since 2002 after beating Worcestershire by three wickets. Led by 66 from captain Rory Burns, the top run-scorer in domestic first-class cricket, Surrey chased 272 to seal the title with two games still to play. The England hopeful shared 111 with Mark Stoneman (59) for the first wicket to put them in command at New Road. Worcestershire, bottom of Division One, fought back with three wickets before lunch but Ollie Pope’s 49 helped the visitors home. Morne Morkel hit the winning runs, after Pope was bowled by Dillon Pennington with 32 still required, to end their 16-year wait for a Championship crown. “What took them so long?” South Africa great Morkel joked on BBC Radio 5 live. “It’s a special feeling.
To clinch the trophy with two games to go is unbelievable. “There’s a lot of emotion in the dressing room - it’s been a lot of hard work. It’s been competitive, there’s been quality cricket played, but I’ve been blown away by this season.” Alec Stewart’s side have won 10 and drawn two of their 12 Division One matches so far and remain on course to finish the season unbeaten. But, while the Surrey players and staff celebrated, Worcestershire were left to rue their own predicament, with the Pears now 20 points from safety with only two games left to play. They had held a 68-run first-innings advantage over their visitors and, with Surrey at 157-3 and then 260-7 in their second innings, were still in with a slight chance of causing an upset. However, veteran Rikki Clarke struck a composed
unbeaten 18 before Morkel guided a short Pennington delivery to fine leg for four to complete the chase. Burns & Morkel are Surrey’s stars It was fitting that Burns, who now appears destined for a place on England’s tour of Sri Lanka following Alastair Cook’s retirement, was to play a significant role in their decisive victory. The 28-year-old has passed 1 000 runs for the fifth successive season and his half-century, which followed a fourth Championship ton of 2018 in the first innings, laid the platform for the win that confirmed Surrey as champions. “I did think we had a squad good enough to win the title, but I didn’t think it would happen in the manner we’ve done it,” said Burns. “The journey this club’s been on, there’s been a lot of building to this point and it’s
great to get over the line. “The blend in the squad and the team - there’s been a lot of experienced heads to allow the slightly younger heads to express themselves. It’s great to see.” In addition to his last-day heroics with the bat, Morkel has also been a key man with the ball and it was his 5-24 - his fourth five-wicket haul of the season - that kept the visitors’ target down on the third day. The 33-year-old has been ably supported by all-rounder Clarke and brothers Tom and Sam Curran, both of whom have earned call-ups by England in the past 12 months as reward for their domestic form. Pope looks likely to be Surrey’s next home-grown product to make a mark on the international stage, already appearing in two Tests this summer and known to be highly-rated by chief national selector Ed Smith.
Russia's Cheryshev cleared of wrongdoing by anti-doping agency BARCELONA (Reuters) Spain’s anti-doping agency has closed its investigation into Russia and Valencia winger Denis Cheryshev, who fell under suspicion after his father Dmitri told Russian media that his son had taken an injection containing “growth hormone”
to treat an injury. “The AEPSAD has closed the investigation, the decision has been communicated to the player, the Russian anti-doping agency and the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA),” a spokesman for the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sport,
which is responsible for the fight against doping, told Reuters. Cheryshev, who scored four goals in Russia’s surprise run to the World Cup quarter-finals, has denied ever taking a banned substance I have never used any prohibited substances and you
don’t even have to think twice about it, “ he said during the World Cup. The player shared a letter from the AEPSAD on his official Twitter account on Thursday which stated the case had been closed after “no signs of irregular conduct were found”.
UNDER-18 football action will return on October 6 with the launch of the GUYOIL Tradewind Tankers Secondary Schools football tournament. Launched yesterday at the GUYOIL Conference room in Kitty, the tournament will feature 12 secondary school teams, according to Petra Organisation co-director Troy Mendonca. “Our focus in this tournament is to bring together the best 12 teams in the country competing in a league format where each team is going to play each other. In this case, they will play 11 times.” He noted that the tournament was done on an invitation basis as it is the inaugural year, speaking to the possibility of structured qualification policy for the next year. The Petra co-director continued by saying that institutions such as Chase’s Academic Foundation, Sir Leon’s Lesson, Morgan’s Learning Centre and Buxton Youth Developers have not been drafted into the tournament. “We think that their practices do not align to our philosophy. However, we would like to go on record in recognition of their efforts to the contribution to the growth of the game.” The participating schools are Annandale Secondary (Region Four), Friendship Secondary (Region Four), Vergenoegen Secondary (Region 3), Uitvlugt Secondary (Region Three), Berbice High School (Region Six), Christianburg/ Wismar (Region Ten),
Bishops’ High (Georgetown), Lodge Secondary (Georgetown), Dolphin Secondary (Georgetown), Queenstown (Georgetown) and Queen’s College (Georgetown). Head of the Physical Education Unit in the Allied Arts Department of the Ministry of Education, Nicholas Fraser, commended the body for another successful venture for grassroots football. “With regard to the format, I am very happy to hear that it is going to be a league. I believe that this might be the first pure league football competition (for schools) in Guyana,” he said. Jacqueline James, Marketing and Sales Manager for GUYOIL and the representative of Tradewind Tankers called for fair but intense play during the competition. “We want to encourage you to have good clean fun. We also want to say to you that the sky is the limit and we want to make sure that the two top teams would be the best teams going forward.” The winning, second-, third- and fourth-placed teams will all receive funding towards a project of their choice, with the top two teams gaining automatic qualification to the Petra/KFC four-team Invitational Goodwill football tournament in December. The other two teams in that tournament will be Shiva Boys Hindu College from Trinidad and Annai of Region 7. The tournament concludes on December 9 and games will be played on Saturdays and Sundays.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday September 14, 2018
Rounds 1 and 2 in GCB/CGI Jaguars One-Day League called off … Tournament to now start on Monday
ROUNDS one and two of the 2018 GCB/CGI Jaguars One-Day League have been cancelled due to the inclement weather. The tournament will now commence on Monday September 17 with West Berbice going up against Lower Corentyne at Bush Lot, East Bank battling East Coast at Enmore, while Upper Corentyne will face Georgetown at the GCC ground, and West Demerara will take on Essequibo at Everest ground. The team with the highest aggregate points at the end of the tournament will be declared the winners. The teams are as follow: Upper Corentyne: Lloydel Lewis, Joshua Ramsammy, Trishan Ramsarran, Andy Mohan, Omesh Matura, Eon Hooper, Shawn Perreira, Demetri Cameron, Alex Algoo, Sylus Tyndall, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Clinton Pestano. Stand-by: Antonio February, Jonathon Rampersaud, Ryan Ramdass, Rameshwar Chatterpaul, Gavrav Ramesh. Coach is Winston Smith and assistant coach/manager is Leslie Solomon. Lower Corentyne: Jonathon Foo, Seon Hetmyer, Sasenarine Sukhu, Jason Sin-
Leon Johnson
clair, Nial Smith, Kassim Khan, Keith Simpson, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair, Kelvin Umrao, Karan Arjpaul, Veerasammy Permaul, Raun Johnson. Stand-by: Trevon Stanislaus, Sharaz Ramcharran, Kandasammy Surujnarine, Royston Crandon, Devon Clements. Coach is Julian Moore and assistant coach/ manager is Kwesi Maltay. West Berbice: Arthley Bailey, Kevin Jawahir, Raffel Estriado, Steffon Adams, Keith Fraser, Ceon Glasgow, Heeralall Bridgela, Stephen Harris, Javed Karim, Shimron Hetmyer, Gudakesh Motie, Keon Joseph, Kevin Sinclair. Stand-by: Quacey McPherson, Leon Andrew,
Carlston Nurse, Andrew Dutchin, Waquar Hassan. Coach is Andre Percival and manager is David Black. ECD: Ameer Khan, Dambuka Nqando, Rajendra Chandrika, Kamesh Yadram, Brian Sattaur, Clive Andrews, Gajanand Sukhanana, Eshwar Singh, Ramnarine Chatura, Javier Spencer, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Bhaskar Yadram, Joshua Persaud. Stand-by: Pradesh Balkishun, Chanderpaul Ramraj, Andrew Samaroo, Yuvraj Dyal, Mahendra Doodnauth. Coach Esaun Crandon and assistant coach/manager is Latchman Yadram. Georgetown: Andre Stoll, Steven Sankar, Kellon Carmichael, Ovid Richardson, Franchet Duncan Clark, Ashmead Nedd, Qumar Torrington, Adrian Hinds, Leon Johnson, Christopher Barnwell, Ramaal Lewis, Robin Bacchus, Raymond Perez. Stand-by: Steven Jacobs, Dexter Soloman, Dwain Dick, Omesh Dhaniram, Ray Newton. Coach is Bharrat Mangru and assistant coach/manager is Clive Grimmond. Assistant to coach and manager is Michael Franco. Upper Demerara/East Bank Demerara: Ershad Ali,
Gavin Singh, Deonarine Seegobin, Chewroy Kendall, Traven France, Romain Muniram, Keon Morris, Sachin Singh, Yeudister Persaud, Vishaul Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Ronaldo Alimohamed, Trevon Griffith. Coach is Orin Bailey and assistant coach/ manager is Rohan Sarjoo. West Demerara: Ronaldo Renee, Safraz Esau, Mahendra Dhanpaul, Travis Persaud, Malcolm Hubbard, Navindra Persaud, Aaron Sewpersaud, Raymon Reifer, Akshaya Persaud, Romario Shepherd, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Richie Looknauth. Coach is Rayon Griffith and assistant coach is Dhanpaul; manager Omar Hussain. ESSEQUIBO: Kevon Boodie, Ricardo Peters, Akini Adams, Mark Williams, Nealand Cadogan, Leoryan Ramlakhan, Chitram Persaud, Joshua Persaud, Keemo Paul, Antony Adams, Kemol Savory, Ricardo Adams, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Stand-by: Quintin Sampson, Pamesh Parsotam, Khandhiya Ramkarran, Ronsford Beaton, Tulsieram Permnauth. Coach is Ryan Hercules and manager is Nankishore Andrews.
Ronaldo struggles for goals, Dybala for playing time MILAN, Italy (Reuters) While Cristiano Ronaldo spent part of the international break on holiday in St Tropez, his Juventus team mate Paulo Dybala found himself in all-too-familiar surroundings on the substitutes’ bench. Ronaldo has failed to find the net during his first three games for Juventus following his move from Real Madrid and will continue his quest when the Serie A leaders, early leaders with nine points, host surprise early challengers Sassuolo on Sunday. But if the five-time World Player-of-the-Year is feeling frustrated by his mini-drought - and his reactions on the pitch suggest he is - his worries pale in comparison to Dybala’s unhappy start to the season. The 24-year-old Argentine, known as the Jewel for his pace, technique and scoring prowess, has played a pivotal role for Juventus since joining them three years ago. But, having started Juve’s opening game of the season, a 3-2 win at Chievo, Dybala
Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo with Paulo Dybala. (REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo)
was then left out of the starting line-up for the following two games against Lazio and Parma. He then joined Argentina on a quick tour of the United States, where he was expected to get at least one start, but had to be content with a second-half substitute’s appearance in the second match against Colombia. Dybala’s admirers have hit out at his treatment with his brother Gustavo angrily criticising Argentina’s new coach Lionel Scaloni. Meanwhile, Maurizio Zamparini, the president of Dybala’s previous club Palermo, suggested that the player would leave Serie A in the
next transfer window. “Every time he is left out of the team, it makes me want to cry,” said Zamparini, who is proud of the role the Sicilian club played in developing Dybala after he arrived from Argentina. Zamparini said it was “all down to” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri and added: “I sent a message to Dybala two years ago, advising him to go to Spain, where they play football, and not stay in Italy.” Dybala’s dip in form seemed to begin in April when a poor display in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid culminated in a red card for
two bookable offences. He also found himself sidelined during the World Cup when his only appearance was as a second-half substitute in the infamous 3-0 defeat by Croatia. While Dybala was warming the Argentina bench, Ronaldo, having been asked to be rested from Portugal’s two matches, was enjoying a break in St Tropez - posting photographs on Instagram after Allegri gave his players some time off. He also launched his latest line of branded underwear. Dybala avoided any complaints about his situation, telling Gazzetta dello Sport: “I admit I did not start as well as last year or even in 2016. I want to get to Turin to work hard and recover my place in Juventus” “I told myself that after being lucky enough to play with Lionel Messi in the national team, now I have the chance to be with Ronaldo in Juventus,” he added. “It’s amazing.”
Bahamas icon Debbie Ferguson joins University of Kentucky coaching staff
The Bahamian track icon Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie
BAHAMIAN track icon Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie has been appointed assistant coach at the University of Kentucky for the 2018-2019 season. The 42-year-old Ferguson-McKenzie will form part of the support staff for head coach Lonnie Greene, who was appointed to his position earlier this year after a successful six-year run at Purdue. “I want to be one of the first to welcome coach Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie to The University of Kentucky,” Greene said. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in this noble profession of ours. She will bridge the gap between coach Tim Hall and myself. I am excited for her to get started on our staff.” Ferguson McKenzie joins the UK staff after spending the past four seasons at the University of Houston where, according to a statement put out by UK, she helped build that programme into a nationally relevant contender. “I’m thankful to coach Lonnie Green and the UK administration for giving me the opportunity to work with the Wildcats,” Ferguson-McKenzie said. “Being able to work within the SEC is an honour and a privilege. I want to also thank Houston and every one I worked with there. Now I’m so honoured and excited to be with UK. “I’ve always heard great things about coach Greene, particularly his loyalty and pedigree. I know I’m joining one awesome staff. The
group of coaches he’s assembled and support staff are very exciting, positive, spiritual and grounded. I’m looking forward to working to take Kentucky to great heights.” In 2017, Ferguson McKenzie’s athletes had great success at the Conference Championship level as she helped lead senior Tori Williams to the indoor title in 200-metres, while Sierra Smith claimed silver medals in each of the 60m and 200m. During the outdoor slate, Ferguson McKenzie saw freshman Brianne Bethel take home a pair of silver medals in each of the 100m and 200m. As an athlete, Ferguson-McKenzie won 52 medals in international competition including her Olympic and world championship medals and was a 10-time Bahamas national champion in the 100- and 200-metre sprints. Ferguson-McKenzie was a specialist at the 100 and 200m sprints, as she represented The Bahamas in five Olympic Games Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 - and is a three-time Olympic medallist – owning the full suite of medals – and four-time medallist at World championships. (Sportsmax)
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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday September 14, 2018
Justice Singh upholds Guyana Cricket Administration Act
… dismisses the Fixed Date Application JUSTICE Navindra Singh on Wednesday upheld that the Guyana Cricket Administration Act is constitutional and in his ruling dismissed the Fixed Date Application filed by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). Below is a full release from the Solicitor General, Ministry of Legal Affairs General’s Chambers. On May 28, 2018 a Fixed Date Application (FDA) was filed by the Guyana Cricket Board et al challenging the provisions of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act. The applicants applied for several declarations and other reliefs which revolved around one central assertion, that is, that the Guyana Cricket Administration Act, Cap 21:03 of the Laws of Guyana is unconstitutional. The FDA is identical in claim and relief sought in High Court Action No. 2014-HC-DEM-CIVCM-106, the Guyana Cricket Board et al versus the AG
and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport. That matter was deemed abandoned and incapable of being revived by the Honourable Justice Harnanan after the applicants failed to file their Statement of Claim on time. The matter came up for decision before Justice Navindra Singh on September 12. The first declaration that the applicants sought is that the Act is likely to contravene the applicants’ rights to protection from inhuman or degrading treatment as guaranteed by the Articles 40 and 141 of the Constitution. The respondents contended that when an applicant applies to the court to determine if certain legislation is repugnant or offensive to the Constitution, it is imperative that the applicant states with clarity and specificity how the legislation offends the Constitution and affects the applicant. The Court held that the
applicants have not set out one ground or single particular in their Affidavit in Support of the FDA supportive of their assertion that the Act or any section of the statute offends against Articles 40 or 141 of the Constitution. The applicants did not provide a single particular of how the Act or any section thereof has resulted or imposed inhuman or degrading punishment on any of them. The second Declaration that the Applicants sought was that the Act is likely to contravene their right not to be deprived of property as guaranteed by Articles 40 and 142 of the Constitution. In this regard the Applicants failed to demonstrate that they have in fact been deprived of property. The third declaration that the applicants sought was that the Act was likely to contravene the Applicants’ rights of freedom of assembly and association as guaranteed by Articles
associating freely with any other legal personality. Further, the applicants also sought a declaration that since there were matters engaging the court’s attention at the time that the Act came into force then the Executive and Legislature acted contrary to the principles of Separation of Powers since that amounted to an unconstitutional intrusion into the judicial process. Justice Navindra Singh The court held that if that position 40 and 147 of the Constiwas to be adopted then it tution. would mean that the LegThe Court held that islature and Executive are there has been no evidence barred from performing presented showing that any their constitutional funcof the applicants’ right to tions upon the institution of freedom of assembly has, an action in the court. in any way or form, been The Respondents’ main breached, hindered or re- contention was that there is stricted. The applicants had a presumption of constitunot stated or produced evi- tionality of legislation and dence that they have in any it is for those who contend way been prevented from otherwise to establish to
India coach Ravi Shastri under fire after series defeat in England NEW DELHI, India - India coach Ravi Shastri has come under fire for his side’s 4-1 Test series loss to England - a second consecutive away defeat for the world’s top-ranked side. The thrashing in England, following the loss in South Africa earlier this year, piles pressure on Shastri ahead of a tour to Australia in November and next year’s World Cup - as well as a massive clash with arch-rivals Pakistan next week. Critics and former captains have rounded on the coach, particularly for his mid-series claim that his team is the best to come out of India in 15 years. Prior to the final Test at the Oval - which India lost by 118 runs - Shastri had raised eyebrows with lavish praise for his side. “If you look at the last three years, we have won nine matches overseas and three series. I can’t see any other Indian team in the last 15-20 years that has had
India coach Ravi Shastri
the same run in such a short time,” he said. India have won two recent series in Sri Lanka and one in the West Indies. But his comments rankled former star players. Sourav Ganguly, who was part of the committee that appointed Shastri last year, dismissed the coach’s claims as “immature”, telling Indian television Shastri
must improve the team. Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that Indian teams of the 1980s had won series in England and the West Indies - as well as a series victory in England as recently as 2007. “The best travelling teams are made by performances on the ground and not by sitting in the dressing room and talking about it,” added former Test opener
Virender Sehwag. Captain Virat Kohli leapt to his coach’s defence following the final Test on Tuesday. Asked about Shastri’s pre-match comments, Kohli said: “We have to believe we are the best side, why not?” In a tetchy exchange, Kohli turned the question on a journalist, who responded, “I am not sure”. Kohli hit back: “You’re not sure. That is your opinion. Thank you.” Shastri now has to immediately lift the side for the six-nation Asia Cup starting in the United Arab Emirates tomorrow - without the brilliant Kohli, who is being rested. The whole country will be watching as they take on arch-rivals Pakistan on September 19, with Rohit Sharma to lead the side throughout the 50-over contest. India then have two Tests at home to West Indies before four Tests in Australia. (AFP)
the satisfaction of the court that it is unconstitutional and it is for the party who attacks the validity of the legislation to show that it is arbitrary and unsupportable which the Applicants failed to do. Based on the forgoing, his Honour held that the Guyana Cricket Administration Act is constitutional and dismissed the Fixed Date Application with Costs to the Respondents. Consequently, the interim order which was granted on June 4, 2018 that prohibited the Respondents from doing, taking, permitting, allowing or executing any acts or steps to be done, taken, permitted, allowed or executed by the Second Named Respondent and or the Executive of the State of Guyana until the hearing and determination of the Application herein challenging the constitutionality of the Act has been discharged.
Premier League to test VAR at five games tomorrow THE Premier League will test video assistant referee (VAR) technology across multiple games for the first time tomorrow. After VAR tests at individual fixtures last season, the Premier League now wants to see how the system copes with several games at the same time. The trial, across all five 15:00hrs kick-offs, will be at the central VAR hub. There will be no communication with anyone at the grounds at which the games are taking place.
The trial limits the use of VAR to goals, penalty calls, direct red cards and cases of potential mistaken identity. In April, Premier League clubs voted against introducing VAR for the 2018-19 campaign. As with last season, it will be used in the EFL Cup and FA Cup, but only at top-flight grounds. It was in operation at 19 games last term, a number it is thought will rise to about 60 this season. (BBC Sport)
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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday September 14, 2018
Lady Jags ‘keeper’ Nedd secures Graceland University scholarship THE Guyana Football Fed eration (GFF) along with The International Support ers Group (ISG) is proud to announce the first female football player in Guyana’s history to be signed to a scholarship at an American University. Natalie Nedd, goalkeeper for the Senior Women’s Football team, commonly known as the ‘Lady Jags’, started school at Graceland University, which competed in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), on August 27. Nedd was recruited by the school as part of a programme established by the GFF and ISG to identify and promote national team players for scholarship opportunities in the USA and Canada. In an invited comment, president of the GFF, Wayne Forde, said providing de-
velopment opportunities for footballers to pursue education and football ambitions is part of the mandate of the Executive Committee. “My constitutional mandate is to develop football but my moral calling is to create an environment where the beautiful game can enrich the lives of every man, woman, and child. That is the full measure of my service to the football community. The executive committee is determined to create scholarship opportunities across the world that will give our players access to world class education, along with solid professional football development experiences. My best wishes and prayers go out to Natalie; make us proud,” Forde said. “This is a very important first for the women’s programme and Natalie is a
great representative for the programme; we will be following her progress closely,” said Technical Director Ian Greenwood. For his part, Paul Beresford, GFF’s International Team Coordinator, who went to Iowa for Natalie’s signing ceremony and first college match said this is a start of a long-term process to achieve development within Guyana. “This has been part of the vision of the GFF current leadership and the ISG. The partnership is a strong one that I know will benefit not only the players but the country as these players give back to Guyana using the knowledge gained from the education afforded to them through these scholarships. We want to make Guyana a primary destination for college coaches to recruit players going forward.”
From left: Assistant coach Graceland University, Chelsea Phillips; International Team coordinator Paul Beresford; Natalie Nedd and head coach of Graceland University, Ozzie White
Head coach of the ‘Lady Jags’ Dr Ivan Joseph said having players consistently training and playing is a key strategic element of the national programme. Meanwhile, head coach of Graceland University, who recruited and signed Nedd to her four-year scholarship and was instrumental in working through the challenges she faced during the college application process, expressed his thoughts on Natalie’s arrival. “We at Graceland University are excited and proud
T&T athletes rewarded with TT$5 million
Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Shamfa Cudjoe presents Keshorn Walcott with a copy of the National Policy on Sport 2017 – 2027.
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Friday September 14, 2018) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1)
Barbados Tridents
(2)
Andre Russell
Today’s Quiz: (1) Who was declared Man of the Match in Qualifier #1 of Hero CPL 2018? (2) Who was voted Man of the Match in the Eliminator game of Hero CPL 2018?
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Olympic javelin champion Keshorn Wal cott was among a group of athletes who received TT$5 million from the Trinidad Government for their out standing performances at the recently concluded Cen tral American and Caribbe an (CAC) Games. Triple gold medallist cyclist Nicholas Paul and shot putter Cleopatra Borel were also among those who were rewarded on Wednesday at a function hosted by the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Shamfa Cudjoe, at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua. The event was also used to officially launch the National Policy on Sport 2017 – 2027 and was attended by T&T’s first Olympic gold medallist Hasely Crawford, cricket legend Brian Lara and talented footballer Russell Latapy. In commending the athletes for their efforts, Cudjoe said the new National Policy on Sport ensured that national athletes are rewarded for their performances at regional and international meets. “I am surrounded by he roes. It is my privilege and pleasure to be here to launch the National Policy on Sports 2017-2027 as we recognise sporting excellence with our
national athletes who would have medalled at the region al and international Games,” Cudjoe said. “The 2002 polic y fo cused on the development of sport under two main areas, total participation in sport and high-performance sport. Though at the time the 2oo2 policy was considered to be holistic in its app roach to sports development, it was never fully implemented. “The national policy on sports 2017-2027 would have capitalised on any deficien cies identified with the previ ous policy and rectified. The new polic y adopts a com prehensive and collaborative framework for action,” she added. Cudjoe promised that her ministry would ensure that all individuals and institu tions responsible for servicing the needs of the sport were equipped with the necessary skills and competencies. Additionally, she said Cabinet had approved the reward of national teams who create history by qual ifying for their respective World Cups for the first time, like the women’s se nior volleyball team, who will make their debut at the World Women’s Volleyball Championships in Japan later this year.
to partner with the Guyana Football Federation and the International Supporters Group to provide a pathway for Guyanese student/athletes to receive a quality education and a fantastic football experience in the USA. Natalie Nedd is the first recipient and she is a fine choice. Natalie ticks all of the boxes we are looking for. She is a quality person with great habits and work ethic. I have no doubt that Natalie will succeed in the classroom and on the pitch. I am grateful for the work
that Paul Beresford and the Guyana Football Federation are doing to make this opportunity possible.” The GFF said they are aiming to welcome more colleges into the pro gramme and are looking forward to the impact it will have on Guyanese foot ballers as well as the coun try as these student athletes return to Guyana to repay the investment the feder ation and the footballing community have made in their education and career.
CWI president, director meet with Minister Harmon
Minister Joseph Harmon is flanked by Dave Cameron (right) and Anand Sanasie.
MINISTER of State Joseph Harmon on Wednesday re ceived a courtesy call from President of Cricket West Indies (CWI) Dave Cam eron at the Ministry of the Presidency. Cameron was accompanied by secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and CWI director Anand Sanasie. During the meeting, the two sides discussed the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the development of cricket in the Caribbean, plans of the GCB, the selection of players and the
procurement of an electronic screen for the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara. The upcoming International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Twenty20 Women’s Cricket Tournament, which would see Guyana hosting several matches, was also discussed. Minister Harmon as sured the visiting delega tion that the Government of Guyana remains com mitted to the development of sport and will try as far as possible, to lend assis tance where necessary.
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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday September 14, 2018
We bowled the wrong length at the wrong time - Russell CAPTAIN Andre Russell admitted that the Jamaica Tallawahs bowled the wrong length at the wrong time in the second eliminator game of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Wednesday evening. The Patriots kept their CPL 2018 campaign going after they trounced the Tallawahs to seal a thrilling two-wicket win with a ball to spare. Glenn Phillips smashed a ton to help Tallawahs post 191-5 before Anton Devcich’s half-century and some nerveless batting from Cutting saw the Patriots go past the target off the penultimate ball. Patriots needed 15 in the last over but Rovman Powell failed to hold his nerve. After he dismissed Carlos Brathwaite, he bowled four wides to leave the equation down to 5 off 2. Cutting then launched him over midwicket to seal a win and knock Tallawahs out of the tournament.
Captain Andre Russell having a word with Rovman Powell during the final over
“We’re disappointed. The way we batted, we couldn’t cap it off with the bowling. These guys got the runs very easily and we bowled really poor balls. We need to regroup for next year. It goes to show that if you’re not up to the task, you will end up paying. Good luck to Chris and his team for Trinidad,” Russell said. He added, “When we got the drier ball, we expected the bowlers to bowl fuller, but that didn’t happen. I’m
just disappointed the way we bowled tonight. We bowled the wrong length at the wrong time. We shouldn’t be depending on the last over with 190 on the board. Rovman (Powell) did well to take it to the last two balls. The umpires can’t make such errors, and I’d like to plead with them that they be a little more attentive because they are messing with our careers,” Russell said after the game.
Russell slams umpiring decisions after Tallawahs’ loss JAMAICA Tallawahs skipper has called out the Hero Caribbean Premier League for a growing list of poor umpiring decisions that have affected the outcome of games this season. The latest came in the final over of a thrilling playoff game between the Tallawahs and the Patriots, who ended up winning by two wickets with a ball to spare. Chasing 192 for victory, the Patriots had gotten within 15 runs of the target when Rovman Powell took the responsibility of bowling the final over. After being hit for six by Carlos Brathwaite off the first ball, he duly dragged the ball full and wider and picked up the wicket of the big righthander with the second delivery of the over. Brathwaite struck Powell
straight down the throat of Russell at long on. With Ben Cutting facing what should have been the third ball of the over, Powell tried to bowl full and wide again, coming dangerously close to the wide line, too close for the umpire’s liking. When the umpire signalled wide, Powell was visibly shaken, remonstrating with the umpire for what replays showed to be a harsh decision. Powell did not regain his composure and bowled the next two deliveries wide as well, reducing the score to seven from three deliveries. A third wide came, making the score six from two, and Cutting duly dispatched the sixth ball of the over well over the midwicket boundary to give the Patriots the victory.
After the game, Russell, was not quite steaming, but minced no words about what he thought of the umpiring throughout the CPL. “Rovman did well to get it down to those last two deliveries. Again, umpires keep making errors and I think that it just goes to show, you know, once a decision goes wrong, which shouldn’t be, anything can happen,” said Russell. Russell did suggest he understands that the job of an umpire isn’t an easy one but cautioned them to be more vigilant. “I wish them all the best and hope that they can keep a close eye on the game and focus on what they need to focus because, as you can see, it’s messing around with our careers,” said the Tallawahs skipper.
Liverpool FC signs Golden Jaguars goalkeeper
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DONE DEAL! Guyana’s national goalkeeper Kai McKenzie-Lyle (centre) following his contract signing, where he joined English Premier League side Liverpool FC.
Kai McKenzie-Lyle
Petra, GUYOIL team up for Tradewind Tankers Football Tournament 27 PAGE
Petra co-director Troy Mendonca (right) collects the sponsorship cheque for the GUYOIL Tradewind Tankers Secondary School Football Tournament from GUYOIL’s Marketing Manager and Tradewind Tankers representative Jacqueline James. (Adrian Narine photo) Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2018