Guyana Chronicle E-paper 10-17-2018 by Guyana Chronicle

WEDNESDAY 17th October, 2018

No toll hike

No.105430

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… gov't rebuffs BCCI proposal for massive toll increase from next month 03 The team from the Brazilian Army's Sixth Battalion Engineering Corps drilled the third successful well yesterday in Chukrikednau Village, South Rupununi

(Ministry of the Presidency photo)

Decision on GECOM Guyana tops 17 appointment set 02 at CAPE, CSEC … AG reminds court …QC students dominate for Thursday of President’s immunity again at CXC regional awards PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Decision on GECOM appointment set for Thursday By Svetlana Marshall

PRESIDENTIAL Immunity and the question of whether the list submitted by the leader of the opposition is still valid if it includes persons who are

Attorney General, Basil Williams deemed unacceptable to the President, were among the issues brought to the fore when the final round of arguments were made in the Court of Appeal in the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman appointment case. After close to two hours of arguments on Tuesday, by the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams and his team, who are representing the interest of the State, and Attorney-at-Law, Anil Nandlall, who is representing the appellant Zulfikar Mustapha, Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards announced that the decision would be handed down on Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 11:00hrs in the Appellate Court. The appeal seeking to overturn the ruling of Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire, which upheld the appointment of Chairman of GECOM, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, is being heard by the

Chancellor (ag, Justice Dawn Gregory and Justice Rishi Persaud. Before the date for the decision was announced, the parties involved, in their arguments, responded to four questions put forward by the Appellate Court. Those questions were: (1) Whether the Orders sought in paragraphs III and IV in Fixed Date Application dated the 23rd day of October, 2017, or the effect of those Orders can be granted by way of these proceedings; (2) whether Article 177 has any bearing on the President’s role under Article 161 (2); (3) whether the role of the leader of the opposition in submitting a list under Article 161 (2) is restricted only to the category of “other fit and proper persons”; and whether the list is still valid, if not all six persons are deemed not unacceptable. In opening the arguments on Tuesday, Nandlall, in response to the first question, argued that A Fixed Date Application is one of only two ways to commence proceedings under the Civil Procedure Rules 2016. He pointed out that Rule 8.01 (2) of the CPR specifically mandates for a Fixed Date Application to be used: (i) when the relief claimed is urgent; (ii) if it is in respect of a matter where it is unlikely that there will be material facts in dispute; or (iii) the matter can be determined at the date fixed for the hearing based on Affidavit evidence. “It is submitted that this matter satisfies all these requirements and therefore could only be commenced by way of a Fixed Date Application,” Nandlall told the court. He further argued that

once the jurisdiction of the court is properly invoked and the correct vehicle is used, then the High Court has an unlimited and original jurisdiction to grant any orders claimed by the parties. In building his case, Nandlall turned the court’s attention to Sections 24 and 25 of the High Court Act, Chapter 3:02. “Subject to the provisions of any written law, the court may in any cause or matter make any order as to the procedure to be followed or otherwise, which the Court considers necessary for doing justice in the cause or matter, whether that order has been expressly asked for by the party entitled to the benefit thereof or not,” the attorney read aloud as he quoted Section 24 of the High Court Act, Chapter 3:02. NO ONE ABOVE THE LAW Pointing to the Constitution of Guyana, Nandlall emphasised that no one is above the law. “No matter how powerful one may be; Ye maybe high, Ye is never higher than the law… Though the President enjoys immunity personally from suit, his actions are not immune from suit,” he posited. In response to the second question, Nandlall argued that Article 177 of the constitution addressed the process of electing a President. Meanwhile, Nandlall responded in the negative to the question whether the role of the leader of the opposition in submitting a list See page 9

No toll hike

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

… gov’t rebuffs BCCI proposal for massive toll increase from next month By Lisa Hamilton

MINISTER of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson says the government will do all in its power to prevent increases in the Berbice River Bridge toll intended to be made effective by the bridge company on November 12, 2018. On Tuesday, at a press conference, the BBCI announced plans to increase the bridge toll by more than double its original cost in aims of meeting operational costs and the company’s accumulated loss of over G$2.8B. The rates announced by the company are as follows: Cars: G$8,040; Pickups: G$14,600; 4WD: G$14,600; Minibuses: G$8,040; Small trucks: G$14,600; Medium trucks: G$27,720; Large trucks: G$49,600; Articulated trucks: G$116,680; Freight: G$1,680 and Boats: G$401,040. BBCI Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Surendra Persaud, stated that the company made the move having received legal advice on the rights and responsibilities of BBCI and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI). He said, too, that the decision goes in accordance with the Berbice Bridge Act of 2006 and public-private partnership between the government and the private investors in the bridge under the Concession Agreement. However, at a subsequent press conference at his office yesterday, Minster Patterson said that his ministry will be seeking legal advice from Attorney General, Basil Williams, with the aim of thwarting the increase. “My position remains the same. I will not be approving any toll increases for the Berbice Riv-

er Bridge crossing and that is our position on that. We will be seeking legal advice from the attorney-general’s chamber on the legal implication of what is the power and the authorities under this Act,” he stated. Although Persaud said that the November 12 implementation date has nothing to do with the Local Government Election (LGE) to be held on the same date and were chosen “based upon legal advice”, Patterson disagrees. “We note the date by which the toll is to be implemented and it’s no coincidence that it’s the date of the Local Government Elections. We do note by that move alone that there is political implication and political reasoning and political machinations behind this,” Patterson said. Questioned about the

consequence of such increases on residents on the region, Persaud said that the proposed increases are within the realm of the company’s agreement. MAINTENANCE PROPOSAL During recent correspondence with the BBCI and in turning down the company’s request for the adjustment, Minister Patterson had proposed that the government take responsibility for servicing the bridge pontoons. Inspections conducted by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) had proven that the company’s bridge pontoons had not been serviced for years thereby risking the public’s safety. With the approval of cabinet, MoPI made known

Minister of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) David Patterson speaks on the increase in the bridge toll proposed by the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) on Tuesday. ist within the Concession Agreement and are in breach of our agreement. The actual cost, in fact, of maintaining the bridge pontoons is a small part of the overall operational cost of the Bridge and would do nothing to improve the revenue of the Bridge.” Despite the response Patterson stated: “We will be making provisions to ensure the maintenance and the safety and integrity of the bridge is not compromised during this period.”

The Berbice Bridge

The proposed tolls to take effect November 12, 2018 its proposal to take over the briefing: “These options maintenance of the bridge’s are outside of the contracpontoons for the nine retual arrangements that exmaining years of the concessionary period. This would come at a cost of $90M in 2019 for the maintenance of six pontoons and some $1B overall for all the pontoons while another $148M was set aside for a dry dock to facilitate this. Patterson also offered to arrange a meeting with the minister of finance for further consultation to examine the company’s debt situation. However, the BBCI indicated at yesterday’s press

FLAWED CONCEPT He calls on Berbicians to enquire of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo how he proposes to discuss a solution with the government as the existing agreements are the works of the former administration. He added that the agreement is a “flawed See page 10

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

PPP says opposed to Berbice Bridge tolls hike THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said it is opposed to any increase in

the tolls to cross the Berbice River Bridge even as it sought to blame the cur-

rent government for current threat by the company to apply massive increases. In a missive, the PPP said it advanced the construction of a bridge across the Berbice River with no additional burden to Guyanese taxpayers, noting that the people of Berbice have had use of the Berbice Bridge for close to 10 years and have seen the transformational benefits of the bridge – crossing at a toll that was equivalent to the cost of using the ferry. “Had the APNU+AFC Coalition Government pursued the financial model used by the former Peo-

ple’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration, there would have been no proposed increases of this magnitude. The bridge was built around a financial model that did not envisage such massive increases in tolls; rather, minimal increases were envisaged – followed by a steep decline in tolls – until the Berbice Bridge was handed over to the State. Since July 2018, the PPP General Secretary and Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, had questioned whether the current Administration tinkered with the financial model. To

date this question remains unanswered,” the PPP release read. The party contended that Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, has in his possession both the financial model and contract documents for the Berbice Bridge. “These can be released. The minister, instead, is trying to absolve himself of responsibility by claiming that there is a confidentiality clause preventing release the documents’ – there is none.” According to the PPP the APNU+AFC Coalition holds office and must bear the responsibility of ensuring that there are no further impositions of hardship measures on the Guyanese people. “They have to address this issue…” The PPP said like with everything else, it is being blamed for the current state

of affairs. “Blaming the PPP seems to be a tactic of the AFC – with Patterson himself admitting that the Chairman of the Berbice Bridge is a close personal friend of his and a supporter of the AFC – to secure for itself a campaign issue with which it can return to Berbice. Minister Patterson, as campaign manager for the AFC, seems to have forgotten that the AFC is part of the current government,” the PPP said. “The PPP is categorically opposed to any increase in tolls at the Berbice Bridge. We do not support an increase in the tolls, particularly given what is happening in Berbice – loss of thousands of jobs in the sugar industry and other sectors…The government should take measures to prevent the increase in tolls. “

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 11:30hrs. - 13:00hrs.

Saturday 13, October, 2018

03 05 10 12 13 26 24

07, 13, 08, 16, 11

8, 6, 4

6, 5, 2

01, 02, 06, 11, 15

12, October, 2018

03 04 16 17 19

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

TT companies looking to network with local players By Gabriella Chapman A TEAM of Trinidadians is in Guyana attendi n g a t h re e - d a y B u s i ness-to-Business (B2B) engagement being hosted by the Trinidad & Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) to foster collaboration that will develop industries, both in the twin-island republic and Guyana. The first session was held at the Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel on Tuesday, when the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ActionCOACH Guyana, Vishnu Doerga, brought them up to speed with sta-

CEO of TTMA, Dr. Ramesh Ramdeen

Research/Illicit Trade Officer, Trade Unit of TTMA, Ismahieel Ali

TTMA, Ismahieel Ali, told this newspaper that the agency decided to collaborate with their consultant in Guyana, ActionCOACH. He said this idea was sparked since “Over the last 18 months, we have seen Guyana go through many cycles in development, and our businessmen in TT have seen the opportunity to create synergies and foster trades. We have been in business with Guyana over the past 20 years on a consistent basis, but we have seen over the past 18 months or so, that it can be gone at a higher level.” A section of the group of business agents from Trinidad and Tobago

tistics about Guyana, which he said will aid in their engagements during their stay. At the session, CEO of TTMA, Dr. Ramesh Ramdeen shared that 27 persons from 16 different companies in Trinidad, ranging from food and beverage, pharmaceutical, construction, trading, etc, are here to explore uniqueness and challenges, with the hope of networking with like companies between the two countries. “There are a lot of people here looking to be buy-

ers, sellers, looking to be partners in investment opportunities. There are many things that can be derived from this engagement,” he said. Trinidad and Tobago has a long history in oil and gas, while Guyana has not so recently discovered same. This, Dr Ramdeen said, can be used to Guyana’s advantage. “A lot of lessons can be learnt from the mistakes that we made in Trinidad and Tobago. Guyana can

take heed and learn those lessons as well. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket; use the capacities of these investors to invest in other sectors to diversify the economy from the start,” he encouraged. He added: “My manufacturers who are here, we are here to look to see how best we can reap any rewards we have for you. It is going to be three hard days of work, meeting and engaging with the right people.”

Dr Ramdeen told the group of Trinidadians that they should ensure that they go back home and do their homework, so as to ensure that they reap the rewards they can possibly get from the engagements that will occur. Research/Illicit Trade O ff i c e r, Tr a d e U n i t o f

GREAT OPPORTUNITY And as such, the TTMA saw it as a great opportunity to come to Guyana at this point in time, with several distributors, contractors and persons in service industries as well. Ali said their target is the construction industry, as well as the food and beverage industry. “We see it as two pivotal

sectors in Guyana that our businessmen can target. As you know, with the finding of the oil, infrastructure in Guyana is going to go to another level. As such, our construction companies back home have been liaising with contractors in Guyana… And we are looking to invest in Guyana, but we are also seeking opportunities for Guyanese raw materials to come into TT for business.” He further noted that the TTMA holds annually, a trade and investment convention (TIC) in July, with 200 booths featuring countries from the various CARICOM states. They are hoping to have more Guyanese companies participate in the convention. Some of the Trinidadian businesses being represented are Vemco -- Victor E Mouttet Limited, HADCO Limited, Kamri Glass, and Cargo Consolidators Agency Limited, among 10 others. ActionCOACH aided in organising 10-12 meetings that will occur over the next two days to help execute the group’s mission. Some of the companies will also be participating in Guyana’s Green Expo being held at the National Stadium, looking to see how they can benefit from it. The Trinidad & Tobago Manufacturers’ Association was founded in 1956 by eight visionaries in the hope of keeping the wheels of industry turning. This group of entrepreneurs recognised the need for a unifying organisation. The TTMA was therefore developed for the specific purpose of promoting local industry.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Fruitful Guyana/China relations

WHEN Guyana became independent of colonial rule in the 1960s, the Chinese Communist Revolution was in progress. At independence, Guyana’s main political parties, like the Chinese communist revolutionaries led by Mao-tse-Tung, were committed to the socialist ideology and this led to an immediate and better understanding of each other. At this time, the Cold War was raging and any country in the Americas which attempted to have relations with China, had to face the displeasure of the USA, the greatest power in the world and in the Americas. Despite the fact that the Koumintang government was defeated, expelled from the Chinese mainland and occupied only the Chinese island of Taiwan, the Koumintang continued to occupy China’s seat at the United Nations. Eventually, in October 1971, the General Assembly of the United Nations had to consider a resolution recognising the People’s Republic of China as the rightful government of China and the one to occupy China’s seat in the United Nations. This resolution was debated at the height of the Cold War when the world was split into adversarial camps. Guyana, at great risk of sanctions from the Western powers, voted for the People’s Republic of China. Guyana established diplomatic relations with China the following year, the Chinese Embassy was opened in Georgetown and the Guyana Em-

bassy was opened in Beijing. The Chinese Government recognised the great sacrifice Guyana had made for its principled position and relations between China and Guyana were almost familial; despite the fact that China was still regarded as a poor developing state, she gave Guyana much economic support. Relations with China continued to be close and as China grew in economic and technical strength, China’s assistance to Guyana continued in a gradual, rising crescendo. One noticeable impact of Chinese assistance was in medicine and health, whereby scores of able Chinese doctors served at the hospitals and health centres throughout the country. There was also a great deal of cultural cooperation as world-class Chinese artistes and groups performed in Guyana. Books and magazines were widely distributed and later the Chinese language was taught at the University of Guyana. Also, the Confucius Institute was established to help to propagate Chinese culture. Other Chinese assistance was given in defence, energy, education, agriculture, mining and other fields. One could scarcely fail to recollect the introduction of the famous Peking ducks or the building of the modern Conference Centre or the Marriott Hotel. Within the last several months, Guyana-China relations had reached a climactic state and had grown as close as any states may

be: just two months ago, Guyana and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding under the Belt and Road Initiative. President Granger remarked: “The Belt and Road Initiative is a strong indication of China’s transformative vision of the world. Guyana signed the Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate within the framework of the Initiative.” Foreign Minister Greenidge emphasised this by declaring that the initiative “will certainly add impetus to our efforts to promote deeper cooperation and collaboration in critical areas.” The Belt and Road Initiative is known worldwide and has already had many infrastructural achievements in many countries to its credit. Probably the most important thing which has occurred in this general warming of relations is the visit of Mr Wang Yi, State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Persons of the status of Mr Wang Yi rarely have the time to visit small countries; President Granger rightly described the visit as “historic” and added that “it demonstrates the close friendship which exists between our two states.” Foreign Minister Wang Yi, for his part, remarked that Guyana and China have enjoyed mutual respect over the years and that Guyana has been China’s trustworthy, long-standing partner and friend. Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Greenidge signed far-reaching and important agreements. These agreements

are “Framework Agreement Provision of a concessional loan between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Government of the People’s Republic of China”; and “Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Government of the People’s Republic of China.” Mr Greenidge pointed out that while the agreements outline broad areas of collaboration such as policy coordination, enhancing connectivity, promoting trade and increased people-to-people exchanges among others, the two countries must develop specific proposals and evaluation at the technical level. Opportunity was taken by China to hand over its contribution to hosting of the Seventeenth Session of Committee of the UN Convention on Combating Desertification, which will take place in Guyana in January, 2019. Among the important agreements is that pertaining to the National Broadband Project, which will help in upgrading the network to enable an equitable delivery of service in education, health, security, business and other sectors. It is expected that once these ICT projects get underway, Chinese investors would be attracted to have an involvement in the very profitable telecommunication industry and bring much-needed competition to it.

Green State development report needs major improvements

Dear Editor

THE recently circulated report on the Green State Development Strategy(GSDS) falls woefully short of the promise implied when President Granger launched it. The Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) considers it both premature and unwise for this document to be advanced in its present form. Civic organisations are requesting an extension of the unreasonably short period granted them for commenting on the report; to allow for omissions to be included and for a more coherent presentation of some of the difficult questions facing the nation. The first paragraph of the report limits the aim of the GSDS to a narrow technical purpose: “To guide public investment over the next 20 years in achieving sustainable and inclusive development.” Inevitably, with an objective of this nature, the report is dominated by financial discussions, which in turn are dominated by considerations with respect to oil and gas.

What instead is really needed is a broadbased vision of environmental justice, capable of taking account of our indigenous community, the migrant, the urban poor, as well as the middle-class consumer and their relationship to environmental entitlements. Unresolved relationships related to ethnicity and territory also fall within the ambit of a national strategy. Rather than a holistic vision for a green Guyana, the report reads like a shopping list of seemingly good – but totally unconnected – projects, ranging from good governance to solar energy, land use, transport, and agriculture and mining that individually seem well intentioned, but as a whole don’t add up to a green Guyana. In fact, the projects, if implemented, could produce a ‘booming’ economy without much “green” about it. Without a coherent vision, the report cannot address effectively difficult decisions such as trade-offs between renewables and hydro-carbons. The section on Energy focuses on gas, not renewables and the renewable amount mentioned is less than in the Nationally

Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments made by Guyana at the 2015 COP21 Paris Climate Conference. The time-line for those changes has also been pushed back from 2025. When was this decision to abandon the NDCs taken? Nor does the GSDS document reflect the recent progressive breakthrough on solar energy arrived at with Norway. Indeed, new wind and solar technologies are emerging every day and are getting better and cheaper. Already, solar power can be produced cheaper than any other source; it also can be developed faster and, together with grid-scale battery storage, be deployed in a way that increases grid reliability and reduces the burning of heavy fuel oil. Are we setting all this aside to drift inevitably into the hydro-carbon dependency, despite the looming catastrophe predicted in the latest UNFCCC report? Similarly, payment for ecosystem services, including forest carbon (REDD+), climate-change mitigation, protected areas and their role for tourism and conservation of Guyana’s ecosystem services and biodiversity,

do not merit a mention in the report. A further consequence of the absence of vision is that it allows reference to Guyana as one of the countries with most freshwater per capital, whereas the reality is that all of our rivers are threatened by pollution from mining. The GSDS report can still help achieve a greater level of coherence, if its major omissions were recognised and a reasonable time allowed for the civic and business sectors to provide their considered inputs. Such a move would be far more meaningful at this juncture than pursuing the original time-table for moving forward with this clearly deficient report. The Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) is of the view that an extension of time for consultation to allow such contributions to be made would enhance the possibility of the Green State Development Strategy emerging as a genuinely national strategy for environmental governance. Regards Policy Forum Guyana

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Op-ed

By Imran Khan Examples: The Berbice “$8k per ride” River Bridge, The US$187M Skeldon “Broken before it Started” Sugar Factory The US$32M Alexei Ramotar Fibre Optic Cable to Nowhere The US$21M ‘Fip’ Motilall Road The US$58M Taxpayers-Subsidised Marriott Hotel OH, for the heady days of the Jagdeo administration! Never mind the record-high murder and crime rates and the rampant corruption; the country, the PPP brayed, was going places with the Champion of the Earth in charge! The high point must have been the opening of his (and Bobby Ramroop’s) beloved Berbice Bridge on December 23, 2008. A breathless, unquestioning Stabroek News said it was the delivery of “a sixteen-year-old promise by the PPP government”. “Chairman of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI), Geeta Singh-Knight,

cut the ribbon to declare it open and made the announcement that vehicles would be allowed to cross the bridge free for yesterday amid loud cheering from the gathering.” Bharrat was ebullient! He mentioned that the “farmer from Black Bush Polder would no longer have to sell his produce to the middleman who, after getting the supplies on the ferry, would eventually enjoy the profit at the market.” And he said he was relieved that when he visits Berbice he would no longer have to answer questions about when the bridge would be completed, noting that he would have to deal instead with the question of the completion of the Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project. Yes, another of his follies even as he mentioned more: “Meantime, Jagdeo said more roads would have to be built into the intermediate savannahs to bring more land into production. A deep-water harbour which would cut the cost of freight is also needed, he said. He mentioned too that

Berbicians continue to pay for Jagdeo’s bad deal “government needs to put in infrastructure such as fibre-optic cables to slash the cost of bandwidth.” In hindsight, the Berbice Bridge was not in fact the high point of his time in office. It was a low watermark and remains to this day a symbol of the reckless spending on ill-advised projects that continue to cost taxpayers. The cost overruns on the poorly designed and executed US$187M Skeldon Project so ran down the capital of GuySuCo, that it became heavily dependent on bank overdrafts, and extended credit periods to maintain its operations; no deep water harbour or interior road of any significance was ever built, which may have been a good thing as even the $32M fibre-optic cable project to Lethem overseen by Donald Ramotar’s son, Alexei, was never finished. A total waste of money. And let’s not forget “Fip” Motilall and his US$21M road to nowhere! The $58M Marriott Hotel Project up to 2017 still required At-

Lusignan jail break points to too many remand prisoners Dear Editor THE slackness associated with the recent escape of three inmates has to be laid at the door of the Prison Service itself. Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels made no attempt to dodge responsibility on this issue and is to be commended for doing so. At the end of the day, however, the effective management of prisoners requires cooperation from a number of agencies, over which the Prison Service itself exercises no authority. Despite considerable efforts by the Prison Service to reduce the numbers of inmates, their work continues to be frustrated by too many prisoners remanded for trivial offences, or unable to pay bail. Responsibility for this problem lies squarely on the shoulders of the judiciary–the magistracy in particular. By the end of 2017, targeted reductions recommended after the disastrous fire at the Camp Street prison had largely been achieved by the prisons through early

releases; weeding out the mentally ill and others who should never have been in prison in the first instance. The benefit of these efforts has been lost as magistrates complacently acquiesce to prosecutors’ demands. Reduction of the prison population can also be achieved by greater efforts to work with substance abusers and those mentally affected by drug abuse. As with the remand issue, the Prison Service has to rely on the cooperation of services over which it has no direct control for this kind of support in getting the numbers down. The long-term solution to our prison problems are preventative rather than punitive. Private sector concerns over the conditions of prisons is a welcome development. Directing these energies towards provision of jobs and better coordinated job-training programmes for inmates would ease the burden on the over-stretched Prison Service. Regards Executive Committee GHRA

lantic Hotel Inc to receive a US$2M annual subsidy. We are surrounded by Bharrat’s follies. Now we heard yesterday that the Berbice Bridge Company is to quadruple the tolls across the river from November 12 to a minimum of $8040 per car and commuters be damned! The fact is, this government has been subsidising the tolls on the bridge as it realises the grave burden it places on commuters. When the 2015 National Budget was passed, the government took the first step, which ensured the cost for minibuses to cross the bridge was lowered from $2,200 to $1,900, representing a 10 percent decrease in the toll. This was a promise made and

fulfilled by the government. The true scandal is that Jagdeo and his cronies knew the tolls would have to rise to $8k for a car back in 2006 when the agreement was originally signed. He never told anyone and of course the contract was kept top secret. Contrast that with the transparency of this government; and contrast the haste with this administration’s caution and consideration, when it comes to crucial infrastructural projects, even as it cleans up the mess of the Jagdeo/Ramotar years. At the same time as its opening, someone even wrote a poem to the Berbice Bridge which the Guyana Chronicle published: “Stretching across the

river from the East to the West Bank There’s a monument our pride and joy, the government to thank…. We know the toll we have to pay we think it is too high, But we hope as time goes by, the cost will be reduced by and by.” So much for that! Berbicians were wise to vote the PPP out of office in 2015; but this toll increase is a nasty sting, a cruel reminder of the unaccountability and wastefulness of that era coming back to haunt them. The coalition government, as assured by Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson yesterday, will do all in its powers to mitigate their pain.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Decision on GECOM ... From page 2

under Article 161 (2) is restricted only to the category of “other fit and proper persons.” “The clear letter, spirit and intent of the framers of the constitution is to permit and authorise the leader of the opposition to include on the list of six persons, persons who hold or have held office as judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth; or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court; or who is qualified to be appointed as any such judge, or any other fit and proper person. I see no juridical or lingual basis for the restriction suggested in the question,” the attorney told the court. He argued that prior to the Carter Formula, the President made unilateral appointments and included a narrow pool of persons. The Carter formula, he said, allowed for the expansion of the pool from which to choose, and included the opposition to allow for consensus on the part of the opposition leader and the President. On the final issue, Nandall reiterated his earlier arguments that neither the President nor the opposition leader is entitled to a “perfect candidate.” He argued that the President could have chosen from the list on the basis that it may have had one or more persons who were found not unacceptable to him. Attorney General Williams, while thank-

Attorney Anil Nandlall ing the court for posing the questions to parties involved, said the President’s act of appointing Justice Patterson Chairman of GECOM was done during the performance of his office under Article 182 (1) and Article III (1) of the constitution, as he responded to the first question on the Fixed Date Application. WOULD BE BURDENSOME He further pointed to Article 89 of the constitution as he addressed the issue of Presidential Immunity in Guyana, noting that the current system which exists would be eroded if the President is exposed to the scrutiny of the judicial system. “Without this protection, the President would be obligated to justify every contestable action. This would subject the President to control and inspection by the judiciary and he would be burdened by

countless civil and criminal actions,” he emphasised. The attorney general made it clear that the President is not above the law; however, he has special protection as he executes his functions in the interest of the people. As a result, he said the President is not personally answerable to any court, and it is not for the attorney general to answer for the President. “The constitution makes no provision for the attorney general to answer for decisions of the President,” Williams posited, while pointing out that the State Liability Proceedings Act Chapter 6:05 of the Laws of Guyana does not empower the attorney general to be named as a representative of, or for the President in any court. Like Nandlall, Williams responded in the negative to the second question posed by the Appellate Court, which dealt with Article 177. The attorney general was backed by the Solicitor General Kim Kyte and Barbadian Queen Counsel, Ralph Thorne. Kyte,in addressing the role of the leader of the opposition in presenting a list of six nominees to the President, said that role is not restricted to the category of “other fit and proper persons” as she pointed to Article 161 (2) which provides three categories. “What this has done your honours, is extend the categories of persons from which the leader of the opposition can select

to present the list to the President. So there is the judicial category from which he can choose; and there is the category of other fit and proper persons,” she said. Turning the court’s attention to the fourth and final question on the validity of the list if it does not contain six acceptable names, the solicitor general said the state has argued in the court that the President should be given a fair choice from amongst six persons.

Kyte argued that it is the entire list which must be acceptable to the President and not just some of the names on the list. She said the President’s options would be limited if he is provided with unacceptable and acceptable names. “The list must maintain its integrity in its fullness,” she told the court. In an effort to build her case, she alluded to the ruling of the learned Chief

Justice in the case of Marcel Gaskin (page 25-26). In that ruling, the chief justice said, “Simply, where the President has determined that some persons on the list are unacceptable, he is not obliged to select anyone else from the six names for appointment.” President David Granger was provided three lists totalling 18 persons, which he has rejected on the basis that the lists were not acceptable.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

No toll ... From page 3

concept” as investors were given a rate of return between 9-12 per cent which he believes was calculated on a “pixie dust basis” that the building of the bridge would result in increased travels. However, the minister said that this was the total opposite as persons now only cross the bridge when absolutely necessary. “We’re willing to listen to see what suggestions he would have since this is a storm by his (Jagdeo) and their making,” Patterson stated. ‘TOLL’ ON RESIDENTS He posited that the proposed toll is perhaps the highest worldwide,

noting that it would significantly impact the cost of living and goods and services in the region. “The reality is that the persons in Berbice cannot afford it. I’ve been written to by the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce; the Berbice Chamber of Commerce; the New Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, pleading with me not to accede to any tolling fees, that was earlier on,” Patterson said. The government has made numerous attempts to aid BBCI, even to purchase shares in the company but each time it had stated that its investors are not interested. Asked about resuming the ferry service, the minis-

ter revealed that the Berbice Bridge Act prohibits any other means of vehicles crossing the river and that even the resumption of the ferry service may prove to be costly. “It is not an easy task to put back in a ferry system. When the bridge came into effect we took the ferries away, we did very, very little maintenance on either the Rosignol or the News Amsterdam stelling. Therefore, obviously, it would be a tremendously costly exercise to bring them back up to speed,” he said, adding that all options would nonetheless have to be considered. Meanwhile, the BBCI Chairman of the Board of Directors says that while the

BBCI Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Surendra Persaud numbers are “quite large” they are compounded as a result of failure to adjust the toll over the years.

He stated that requests were made to the government in 2015 through 2018 all which went without favourable response. The company sated further, however: “The Government of Guyana, like it is currently doing with a number of services including the bridge can subsidise the cost of the toll thereby reducing the impact on consumer.” Following the signing of the Berbice Bridge Act in 2006, the present administration, subsequent to it acceding to office promised citizens during its campaign that it would work to provide a reduction in the bridge toll. In 2015 Patterson wrote the BBCI on several instances to reduce the toll later introducing the free Berbice River taxi which caters for

school children, pensioners, nurses and teachers to ease their financial burden. In addition, since January 2016 the government has also been paying annually $155M to the BBCI in keeping with a contract signed for a 10 per cent reduction in the toll. Even so, Patterson has expressed his confidence in the government’s ability to stop the BCCI’s “unconscionable” plans. “I would like to give all assurance to all communities in Berbice and Region Five and Region Six that the government will do all that are necessary to ensure that commuters can continue to use the bridge safely and without any particular undue harassment or tolls,” he said.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Lethem is jewel of the south

-- says attorney general at the opening of Town Week THE town of Lethem is being prepared for economic and social modernisation and transformation, said Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams during the opening ceremony of Lethem Town Week on Sunday. Scores of residents and representatives from the Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo and Rupununi Regions turned out to the second hosting of the week-long event featuring a list of exciting activities. Minister Williams reinforced that the town, known as the jewel of Guyana’s south, has become an emerging frontier of economic development, primarily in the areas of agriculture, eco-tourism, trade and communication.

bean and Central America, North America and Europe. We see Lethem as eventually being transformed into a major trading port, moving goods and tourists between Guyana and Brazil,” Williams said. As such, the government has commenced preparing Lethem for such, a task through initiatives such as the road link between Linden and Lethem; the Guyana-Brazil road and the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative. “Your government is developing Lethem’s and the region’s infrastructure, strengthening its administration, catalysing its agricultural, business and industrial potential and improving its public services,” Williams

its dumpsite is being upgraded for improved solid waste management; the Lethem Police Station is slated for renovation and considerations are being made for advancements in renewable energy sources. Also, a new Magistrate’s Court was established in the town this year; Radio Lethem was launched in May 2016; Information Communications Technology (ICT) services are being extended and additional street lights have been installed. Regarding regional and municipal administrations, an ambulance was provided to the town’s regional administration; a vehicle for the municipality while works are to be completed on the administrative building; staff-quarters and

Members of the audience at the opening of Lethem Town Week He stated that through said. kitchen and laundry of the the town week activities, He added: “The pro- Lethem Regional Hospital. the region, which occupies posed all-weather road beMeanwhile, agriculture more than a quarter of the tween Linden and Lethem in the region is being accountry’s landmass has the will further integrate the celerated as Williams statopportunity to showcase its economies of Guyana and ed that investors are being progress and uniqueness as Brazil and through Brazil, courted to establish mega it prepares for even greater the rest of South Ameri- farms in the savannahs while transformation. ca. The road will unlock an agricultural centre and Williams told the gather- economic opportunities for reservoir are soon to be esing that with a growing de- Lethem, this region and tablished. mand for food in the world, its communities. The road, Other plans in the pipecoupled with the adverse also, will connect Lethem to line include the establisheffects of climate change, Georgetown and will spur ment of a passport office in the Rupununi savannahs increased investments and the town; the completion of can serve as Guyana’s next development throughout this the Lethem Industrial Estate; major agricultural frontier. region.” the development of a busiWith Lethem being the ness registration centre and capital of the Rupununi, he AERODROME installation of lights within added that it has the potenOther efforts of the gov- some sport grounds. tial market to supply food ernment to improve the eco“Lethem Town Week and other items from Guy- nomic transformation of the is an opportunity to gauge ana to neighbouring regions region include improvement the progress which is being in both South America and in infrastructure through made in Lethem. It is an octhe Caribbean. which a feasibility study has casion to highlight this new “Lethem is a gateway to been launched for the Let- town’s development. It is an Brazil and through Brazil to hem aerodrome to be devel- opportunity to attract greater the markets of South Amer- oped into a regional airport. investment into this town. ica. It also is a gateway for In addition, road works With the support of your the countries of the continent are ongoing within Lethem government, the people of to the markets in the Carib- and drains have been built; Lethem can be assured that

better days lie ahead.” “I applaud the efforts of all those who have contributed to the hosting of the various activities for Lethem Town Week. It gives me great pleasure to formally declare open Lethem Town Week 2018,” Williams said. Remarks also came too from Mayor of Lethem, Kerry Jarvis The Town Week will run from October14-20 and features activities in the areas of culture, the environment, education, sports and entertainment, in keeping with this year’s theme: ‘Celebrating Transformation, Diversity and Uniqueness in 2018’.

Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams making opening remarks on Sunday

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

First Lady for Delhi women, children health confab

FIRST Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, will join 1,200 global partners, who are dedicated to the

‘Every Woman, Every Child’ (EWEC) movement and the achievement of the Global Strat-

egy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, on December 12 and 13, 2018, in New Delhi, India at the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) forum. In a statement the Ministry of the Presidency said the Partners Forum is co-ordinated by the PMNCH and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India and is hosted every four years. It is the world’s leading event on solutions for improving the health and well-being of women, children and young people. Mrs. Granger, who is scheduled to address the Forum, is one of three First Ladies’ selected from the Caribbean to attend. The First Lady said that she is honoured to have been chosen to attend the forum. “I see it as a means through which Guyana’s agenda could be pushed forward. Anything that amounts to the benefit of

the women and children of Guyana will be something that I will be very much in favour of,” she said. Meanwhile, in an invited comment, Pan American Health Organisation PAHO)/World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative Dr. William AduKrow, said the First Lady was selected because of her

demonstrated leadership to transform the lives of women and girls in Guyana. “Her Excellency, the First Lady has been a champion for women and girls and therefore when the Partnership was discussing which countries to select, Guyana was one of the few selected,” he said.

First Lady, Mrs Sandra Granger

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

I envy the cyber-armchair activist

I RECALL my time at the University of Guyana. As student activists, we were enthused and motivated after Politics 110 classes, lectured by Frederick Kissoon and Aubrey Norton. Being subjected to academic instructions about the likes of Jean-Paul Satre and being regaled about the heroism of Walter Rodney was certainly bound to have some effect on the average mind. This led to many of us being part of numerous activities geared to changing something on campus and by extension, in the country; and Lord knows there was much to change. This was not easy, from a mere physical standpoint. The internet was not pronounced at that time; technology was not ubiquitous. It required a Herculean effort to mobilise support and enlighten persons about the issues you wished to highlight. All of this came to bear in 2003, when the biggest struggle of our university lives visited us. The execution of Yohance Douglas by rogue members of the Guyana Police Force, clearly directed by the repressive political directorate, represented our moment of Bob Marley’s call to see who the real revolutionary is.

From the outset, we had to meet to discuss the issue: there was no Whatsapp or Email group. On Sunday, leaving your homes to catch public transportation was no easy feat. We planned protest action with physical meetings; cyber-meetings were not possible. We had to walk the entire university campus in the glaring sun to convince persons about our cause and persuade them to march with us; a Facebook page would have sufficed, but the internet was not widespread. I wish I could have tagged the police commissioner, the minister of home affairs and those in authority who presided over the system. Instead, we had to write letters and deliver in hard copy with no guarantee of a response. I would have loved to take our struggle global by taking it to Twitter and connecting with Amnesty International and more, connecting with millions and numerous groups that fought against extra-judicial killings; but we had to settle for the old-school, tiring activism. Today, cyber-armchair activists enjoy these luxuries. They don’t even have to leave their comfy abodes and they could spark a revolution with just a hashtag.

When our marches for justice for Yohance commenced, we walked from the University of Guyana every day for one week to Brickdam Police Station, over to the Office of the President, then we proceeded to Eve Leary. Gruelling journeys to these locations under the unforgiving sun. Our feet got corns and calluses; we were thirsty, the bullhorns were difficult to carry and we were exposed to danger in a time of death squads and “Phantoms,” under the aegis of a murderous cabal that held control over the state apparatus. Today, I call your attention to movements such as the Arab Spring. When Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in December 2010 in Tunisia and openly challenged the Ben Ali regime, within hours, the internet propelled a regional revolution. I ooze with envy when I think what we could have achieved if we were endowed with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp. Maybe we would have succeeded in our calls for justice. My grudge for the modern activist, who has to do less work to advocate a cause in comparison to the time when technology was not a readily available tool

39 rape cases for Berbice October Assizes THIRTY-NINE rape cases are slated for hearing during the October session of the criminal assizes in Berbice. The assizes opened with the traditional ceremonial parade and marchpast outside the Berbice High Court in New Amsterdam on Tuesday. Presiding Judge, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry took the salute from ranks of the Guyana Police Force, before commencing hearing the case of the State versus Sunil Suedhar called ‘Papoo’, who allegedly sexually penetrated a female between November 2-3, 2017 in the County of Berbice. Suedhar has pleaded not guilty. He is represented by Attorney-at-law, Arun Gossai. Further, there are 19 cases of murder, and eight cases of manslaughter amongst the 98 cases listed for trial during the session, which will conclude in January 2019. Meanwhile, Justice Sewnarine –Beharry will continue to hear on Thursday, a roll-over case of murder

in which Ryan Persaud, known as 'KK', and Shivnarinee Jainarine, called 'Sammy' or 'Samuel', are indicted with the murder of security guard, Jagdat Ramcharran. Ramcharran was killed during a robbery on January 7, 2013, at the Iskcon Hari Krishna Mandir, at Williamsburg Village, Corentyne, Berbice. Fellow accused, Kevin Hintez, at an earlier court hearing had confessed to the killing, and was sentenced to 20 years by Justice Sandil Kissoon. In the meantime, at the gaol-delivery, Superintendent of the New Amsterdam Prison, Deoraj Gyadat, had informed the court that 42 male prison inmates are listed, and are requesting early trial at the October session. Amongst the inmates are Saif Persaud, Rawle Bernard and Abdul McLennon, along with Arthur Clarence, who have all indicated their willingness to plead to the lesser count of manslaughter and rape, respectively.

at the disposal of activists, does not only rest with this fact. It also includes the fact that in Guyana’s present governance context, the issues of the day are child’s play when compared to what we faced. From bullets, tear gas, executions, murder, to the biggest issue being the President needs to face the press more; if I were currently an activist, I would have been bored.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Being raised in a single-parent home

SINGLE-PARENT families can be caused either by divorce or separation, death or desertion of partner or by choice. In the traditional Guyanese setting, it is expected that the parents get married and either they live with the extended family, or they live on their own and they take care of their child or children. The times are chang-

ing; some things change for the better and some for the worse. In this case, there has been an increase in the number of single-parent households. In fact, it is the second most common family type in the world, with women heading most of these families. Many call this a problem, the increasing numbers of single-parents; but I beg to differ. I think the way in

which we look down at parenting skills; the emotional, physical and mental readiness to become a parent, as well as contraceptives and family planning are the actual problem. Conversations of parenthood are not formed before conceiving the child; formal sex education is not taught at an early age to many; and the faded beliefs in morals are all contributing

factors with the exception of the death of a partner. Why is it that there are more women than men becoming single parents? Is it that we hold onto the traditional beliefs that women should be the caregivers? Or is it that we teach our males that their role of father is insignificant compared to that of the mother? I think it is very important that both parents be present for a child’s upbringing. The behavioural theory in psychology states that our learning is based on ideas in our environments. Using that, we can apply it to the outcome of children who grow up in single-parent households. In my defence, the trend will always continue. If boys learn from their fathers that it is okay to abandon their roles as fathers, and if girls learn that it is okay to accept this as normal behaviour, then we will always see an increase in single-parent families. It is not to be a fight against the genders, however; it starts with teaching our children equity and also their rights and responsibilities. Single-parent families are oftentimes disadvantaged, socially, economically, emotionally, mentally and even physically. I’ll make a web to connect all four of these areas: if a person is working for the minimum wage of $55,000 GUY dollars and they have school fees to pay; food to lay on the table; a rent to pay and also themselves to take care of, financially that family

is suffering. If there is little money, then there is little food. Physically, the health of that family is on the downside. Most single parents have no choice but to work at any given hours and jobs. In Guyana, for example, most of the single-mothers are security guards who work in the night. While the parents are away, the children are oftentimes left alone or with other family members. There is little to no time to help with proper socialisation of the children, especially if that single parent has little to no outside help from family and friends. Given all of that, do you think this family, especially the parent, is mentally and emotionally stable? I think not. While there are exceptions to this scenario, many single-parent households are at the sinking side of the playfield. It’s not that the children end up as immoral citizens or that their parents are failures, NO. My father was brought up in a single-parent household, in poverty, and he had two older siblings with a little shade of a father’s presence, and today he is a successful and respectable citizen. My point is that it is harder on single parents. It is a struggle with the awful amount of child support along with the taboo of our society. Meleisha Welch, a future neurologist who will be studying at York College in New York, explained how she managed to pursue her dreams despite the fact she

came from a single- parent household: “Some persons may have a different experience while growing up in a single-parent family, but for me, it was hard most of the time. It was particularly hard for me, because my mother became a single parent due to the death of my father. My mother made sure that I was protected and that I was in the care of other family members most of the time. While attending high school, I saw other students having ‘nice things,’ but you know that your parent can’t afford them, so whatever little she could have provided I learned how to be satisfied. I also learned independence and how to multi-task. I had to attend school, lessons, complete school assignments, homework and study for quizzes, while completing most of the chores at home; keeping in mind that every child should help around the house, but in a single-parent family you would find yourself doing most of the chores. Sometimes I came home from school and I had a bad day or I needed a second opinion from my mother, but she wasn’t home from work as yet. At times, I felt left out when my friends talked about their parents; both their father and mother. There’s always this void no one can fill, other than that parent that’s not present. My advice to young people growing up in a single-parent family is to be very strong, brave and stay positive. You might feel sad or feel as if you’re not being loved or comforted enough, but remember that that one parent loves you and is trying his/her best to provide everything for you. If you know a family member, friend or teacher etc. that you can trust, I advise you to share your feelings. It’s healthy to talk to someone about your feelings;learn to love yourself and make yourself happy; use every resource your parent provides; get an education and make the best of whatever little you have. My mother is a single parent, what’s your “super power?”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Guyana ideal place for doing business

–– minister of business tells visiting Canadian delegation CITING Guyana as a reputable business destination, Minister of Business Gaskin said the nation welcomes partnerships with reputable entities, even as he noted that the country is not a “free for all.” He made the remarks on Monday night at a reception hosted at the home of Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Lilian Chatterjee, in Bel Air, Georgetown.The reception was in honour of a visiting Canadian delegation from the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Several government officials, Minister of Natural Resources of Newfound-

to come to Guyana believing that this is a free for all and that our entire country can be bought,” he said, and assured the visitors that Guyana is a clean, secure and profitable place to do business. He said too, that the government welcomes partnerships with reputable agents, since it values deeply, their experience. The Canadian High Commissioner said that Canada’s commercial relationship with Guyana is growing, and will continue to grow; she noted that the two are natural partners who share similar values. She added that Canada has been Guyana’s partner “before and after inde-

Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin engages Head of the Department of Energy of the Ministry of the Presidency, Dr Mark Bynoe, during the reception (Adrian Narine photo) land and Labrador, Siobhan Coady and members of the private sector attended the event;it provided members of the visiting delegation with an opportunity to interact with locals. Minister Gaskin told the gathering that the government is working to ensure that the expectations of the population pertaining to the oil-and-gas sector, are met. “We don’t want foreign companies

pendence”, and that her country stands ready to assist Guyana and to strengthen ties between the two nations. Dr Mark Bynoe, Head of the Department of Energy, pointed to Canada’s assistance to Guyana in various areas of development. He said that Guyana is finally moving towards unleashing its potential--one which is not for the faint-hearted. Dr Bynoe said the department will con-

Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes chats with British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn and US Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway at the reception on Monday night (Adrian Narine photo)

tinue to seek ways to streamline operations which will occur within the oil-and-gas sector, and which he noted are essential for private sector partners. He encouraged the visiting delegation to continue their engagement with locals for the benefit of all, as he noted that such should be done with balance and transparency. Minister Coady told the gathering that her team includes knowledgeable and experienced persons and that there are many expectations from the ongoing visit. During the reception, it was noted that two Guyanese companies, Action Coach and Global Technology have es-

tablished relations with Canadian firms NSV Energy and Rogers Enterprise. Recently, Guyana presented worldclass, deep-water petroleum prospects, which offer business opportunities that align with Newfoundland and Labrador’s petroleum expertise and experience. According to the Canadian High Commissioner, the development of potential partnerships between the two jurisdictions, could serve to build strong business relationships, transfer technology and skills development to support the growth of Guyana’s offshore oil-and-gas industry.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

James vows no victimisation of junior ranks By Leroy Smith

COMMISSIONER of Police, Leslie James has sent a strong message to all and sundry that there will be no victimisation of any member of the force who raises concerns with him publicly during his tour of inspections to the various divisions across the country. James was at the time responding to questions from this publication about the rationale behind requesting

junior ranks and officers to raise concerns publicly with him and his administrative team, namely the four deputy commissioners of police during visits to their division. The first of these visits commenced on Monday last in ‘A’ Division, where the commissioner and his deputies met with the ranks. The ranks and officers were asked to raise issues which affected them but there was a clear reluctance by junior ranks to stand up with any concerns that might be

affecting them even as the commissioner, his deputy and the commander of the division were part of the head table. It was however observed that immediately following the session, a number of ranks both juniors and seniors, were seen engaging the commissioner and his deputy in some instances, clusters and one on one. “There will be nothing like victimisation that will be taking place under my watch if the ranks say something

publicly. They must not feel that if they say something publicly that they may have some level of victimisation coming towards them” the Top Cop firmly stated. He continued; “Let me tell you this, we will not have any issues that resemble victimisation taking place under my administration of this force,” James concluded. The commissioner said that the importance of his visits are to illustrate, to the staff and commanders of the various divisions, that

as commissioner, he and his administrative team of four deputy commissioners are very serious about ensuring that the force is set on the right path and that there is leadership which each rank and officer under them can emulate as they prepare to lead the force from the front. “We are reminding them of their duties and what is expected of each and every one of them,” said Leslie James. He further stated that as is always the call, the police administration hopes to see its members serving the public and performing their duties in an exemplary manner by way of their conduct and professionalism, especially when engaging members of the public. Commissioner, Leslie James has reassured the members of the police force that under the new management, which they currently serve, there will be strong focus on the issues of human resources, training and infrastructure. According to James, works in these areas have

already commenced and will continue as the police force is very confident that with these hallmarks, ranks will be more motivated to put their all into what they do and that will ultimately result in a better quality of service rendered to members of the public, increased public trust and transform the image of the organisation to the glory it once enjoyed. As it relates to his visit to ‘A’ Division on Monday, Leslie James said that he found the concerns raised by the police officers to be very genuine and realistic. “That is why I urged them to speak and we are not about shutting down any questions or ideas that come from our officers and especially junior ranks as we hope to listen to them, take them into consideration and ensure that we have those issues fixed soonest” Commissioner James assured. The commissioner would be moving to another division to carry out a similar exercise within a matter of days.

GDF rank reportedly confesses to rape, robbery DETECTIVES in Essequibo are preparing to seek legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution Chambers on the case in which two Guyana Defense Force ranks are accused of robbing a teenager in Anna Regina and raping and robbing his girlfriend. The Guyana Chronicle was told that the two ranks are presently in police custody and while being interrogated, one admitted to the crime while the other denied the allegations. The Guyana Defence Force is not saying much on the issue but in a statement issued to the media on Monday, the organisation said that they are supporting the police in their investigations into the matter. The release also stated that the ranks, who were identified as being attached to the Sixth Infantry Battalion at Anna Regina, were also placed under close arrest. The Guyana Chronicle was told that given the seriousness of the offence and the fact that it’s an indictable offence, the Guyana Defense Force is in the process of making some administrative moves to have the men removed from the employ of the organisation. Sources out of Essequibo indicated that a medical examination was conducted on the female who claimed that she was raped by the ranks and it was determined that she had some levels of bruises at her private area. The soldiers were positively identified by their victims during an identification parade after the police took statements from the young lady and her boyfriend. The two young people alleged that on Saturday night, they were at the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground eating and speaking when they were approached by the two ranks who robbed them and raped the young lady. The Guyana Chronicle was informed that the two soldiers, who were unaware that one of their victims was familiar with them, approached the couple and told the young lady that she should allow her boyfriend to have sex with her in their presence, while they watched on.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Guyana tops at CAPE, CSEC …QC students dominate again at CXC regional awards

By Vishani Ragoobeer GUYANESE students have again topped the Region, following their excellent performances at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Certificate (CAPE) examinations of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). At the (CSEC) level, Guyana bagged three of the regional awards, according to the CXC website. Daniel Basdeo-Thorne of Queen’s College was adjudged the Best Science Student for the Region; Salma Majeed of ISA Islamic School copped the award for the Most Outstanding Candidate in Humanities and Rebekah Persaud of the St. Rose’s High School, won the award for the Most Outstanding Candidate for Business Education.

Salma Majeed, the Region’s top CSEC Humanities student

Hearing the news of his achievement for the first time from the Guyana Chronicle, Thorne said: “Unbelievable. I’m in pain because I just pinched myself like a thousand times.” Though at the May/ June sitting of CSEC, Thorne scored 13 Grade One passes and one Grade Two pass, he said that this award was definitely unexpected. Salma was the third highest performer at this year’s examination with 18 Grade One passes, while Persaud scored nine Grade One passes, two Grade Twos and one Grade Three pass. The Region’s overall best CSEC student and School of the Year awardsawards that have traditionally been scored by Guyana- were however snatched by Antigua

and Barbuda. Keondre Herbert, from St Joseph’s Academy on the Caribbean Island, wrote 20 subjects and secured Grade One passes in all of them, according to the Antigua Newsroom. He bested Guyana’s top performer, Christian Pile, who scored 19 Grade One passes this year. As a result of Herbert’s feat, his school will receive the CSEC 2018 School of the Year award. Last year, Michael Bhopaul of Queen’s College had copped this overall prize, along with the Regional Best Science, Business and Technical/Vocational Studies awards, after achieving 25 Grade One passes. Principal of the Queen’s College, Jackie Benn-Ralph, said that she is nevertheless, very proud of Pile’s performance this year. “In order to remain cutting-edge, our students have to write the most subjects” Benn noted. She also shared that she was proud of the other awards the school brought home this year, as well. Guyana, however, made its mark at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), with its top CAPE student, Aadilah Alli, being adjudged as this year’s Regional Top Student. She also won the award for the Most Outstanding Candidate in Natural Sciences. Alli copped eight Grade Ones at the recent sitting of the examinations and by topping the Region, she would have also caused Queen’s College to cop the CAPE School of the Year award. Alli has had her eyes on the prize since 2016, when she wrote 22 subjects at CSEC in an attempt to score a scholarship to help her to further her studies. She returned to the Sixth Form at Queen’s College to pursue CAPE studies, gave it one more try and was able to garner 14 Grade One passes and One Grade Two pass overall, over the two years at Sixth Form. She too related that she was shocked at the award, but as the nation’s and the region’s top performer, she has certainly made it. Alli was complimented by her colleague, Rajiv Muneshwar, who is the best CAPE Mathematics performer in the Caribbean. Muneshwar served as the Head Prefect for

Queen’s College during the past academic year. The students will receive their awards at the Regional Top Awards ceremony slated for Thursday, December 6, 2018 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Herstelling A.O.G to soon turn 50

–– plans a series of activities to tackle domestic violence

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

The Herstelling Assembly of God Global Outreach Centre THE Herstelling Assembly of God Global Outreach Centre, in observance of its 50th Anniversary, has joined the national efforts to bring an end to domestic violence. Under the banner “An action against domestic violence”, the church will participate in a series of activities from October 19-21 geared at raising awareness against the scourge. According to a release, the church will kick start the observance on October 19 with a prayer meeting for victims and survivors of domestic violence. That meeting will start at 19:00 hrs. This will be followed by a street march the next day starting at the church’s location at 14:00 hrs. On October 21, Dr. Michelle Shiwnandan will speak on Developing Family Values at 09:00 hrs and on October 22, Attorney Kavorn Williams will deliver a presentation titled ‘Domestic Violence: The Problem, The Law and You’ at 19:00 hrs. Pastor of the church Dr. Ravindra Shiwnandan, believes that there is an important place for the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence

Against Women, to set the parameters for nations to measure their degree of freedom from domestic violence. He agrees with UN Secretary General, Ban KiMoon who said, “Everyone has a responsibility to prevent and end violence against women and girls, starting by challenging the culture of discrimination that allows it to continue,”. Dr. Shiwnandan, therefore, encourages everyone to continue to embrace national policies to stamp out sexual violence against men, women and children, and trafficking in persons. He also believes that it is the responsibility of every citizen, every church and every NGO, despite their philosophy or political affiliation, to work with the leaders of Guyana to protect victims and survivors of this scourge. However, there is much more to be done to create a society where people can live free from domestic and gender-based violence. Dr. Shiwnandan said the real obstacle to the elimination of domestic violence is not external or legislative, but it is a deep-seated lack of genuine love for ourselves and fellow humans.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

MoPH rolls out training to curb maternal deaths THE Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has taken its countrywide training programme to Berbice, as efforts continue to eliminate maternal deaths through haemorrhage. Zero Maternal Deaths by Haemorrhage is an initiative of the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), along with its Latin Centre for Perinatology, Women’s and Reproductive Health (CLAP/ WR) to prevent maternal deaths by postpartum haemorrhage. According to a research conducted by the Ministry of Public Health and PAHO, haemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal deaths in Guyana. As a result of this public health concern, several training sessions have been executed in Regions One, Three and Four. The three-day session, which targeted midwives, doctors, gynaecologists and community health workers, began on Monday at the Regional Health Services boardroom in East Berbice-Corentyne. Director of Regional Health Services, Region Six, Jevaughn Andrew Stephen said there are approximately 10 reported cases of maternal deaths thus far for the year, with one in Region Six. PAHO’s representative Ulex Fung, noted the organisation’s satisfaction with the collaboration between the MoPH and PAHO, to implement the training sessions. Fung noted that the initiative also works towards empowering women, so their rights and preferences are respected; and they are encouraged to seek timely, qualified medical care. She emphasised that the training for health care professionals serves to reduce the number of cases, and ensure timely and effective treatment for cases that do occur. The PAHO representative further highlighted that the participants will be introduced to an electronic system, known as “Prenatal information system Plus” that is used to store data belonging to patients. The Public Health Ministry will be taking the programme to Regions Two and Seven soon.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Achieving sustainable mobility crucial to combating climate change Authorities meeting on Tuesday at the Second Cities Conference agreed that achieving sustainable mobility systems is a priority area of action to counter climate change and attain sustainable and inclusive urban development. The Conference is being held through Friday, Oct. 19 at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) headquarters in Santiago, Chile. The conference, co-organized by ECLAC, the Assembly of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI) and UN-Habitat, was inaugurated by Cristián Monckeberg, Chile’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development and Mario Cimoli, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations regional commission. During his remarks, Minister Cristián Monckeberg affirmed that “sustainable urban mobility is key for people’s happiness and improved quality of life in cities.” He added that “city development does not only depend on good mobility and good housing, it also depends on good health care infrastructure and provision of education services.” The minister underscored the importance of thinking of urban development in inter-sectoral terms. In this sense, he commended the celebration of the Second Cities Conference and said that “to the extent that what we debate, discuss and propose at this conference may become public policy, be taken up by governments and implemented, we all win. ECLAC plays a key role in this,” he pointed out. In his remarks, Mario Cimoli asserted that for ECLAC, the issue of cities “must go beyond just reporting, beyond mere facts and data; it must become a matter of public policy, an issue that enables governments to see the new paradigm, which is not only about mobility, the city and individuals, but also technology, productive activity and everything required for sustainable growth over the long term. Without structural change, this will not be

achieved,” he said. He added that in a predominantly urban world, the future of the planet depends on how we develop our cities, and urban mobility systems play a decisive, fundamental role in this transformation. The ECLAC senior official specified that, according to projections, 60% of the world population will be urban and the number of vehicles will double by 2030. He underlined that Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the most urbanized regions of the world, where nearly 80% of the population lives in cities and 56% of daily commutes are on public transport, a figure that reaches nearly 75% in the lower quintiles. Therefore, he said, urban mobility and public transport must remain at the center of the region’s policy agenda debate. “Improving urban mobility in the region and guaranteeing accessible and safe transport services is fundamental to reducing inequalities and improving use of time and quality of life for all citizens,” he concluded. The latest edition of the Cities Conference seeks to improve the integration of urban planning, management, financing and mobility and transit systems in Latin America and the Caribbean toward sustainable urban development, as part of the Regional Action Plan for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) in the region. The conference also aims to facilitate exchange of good practices and policy recommendations to strengthen the institutional framework for sustainable urban mobility, and to explore the functions and responsibilities of different stakeholders that could facilitate a sustainable transport agenda at the national and subnational levels. The opening day of the conference consisted of sessions on sustainable urban mobility and global development agendas in Latin America and the Caribbean, opportunities and challenges posed by sustainable urban mobility in the region and an analysis of urban mobility as seen from national and local perspectives.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

CARICOM accredits new Norwegian ambassador

CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Tuesday accredited the first Ambassador of Norway to CARICOM, Her Excellency Ingrid Mollestad

CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Tuesday accredited the first Ambassador of Norway to CARICOM, noting that the appointment strengthens “already good” relations and signals a new chapter in a longstanding friendship with the Kingdom of Norway. Ingrid Mollestad presented her Letters of Credence to the secretary-general at the headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana, 16th October 2018. Describing 2018 as an eventful year in CARICOM-Norway relations, Ms. Mollestad said engagements between CARICOM and Norway in May, July and September demonstrated the many interests and values they shared, a release from CARICOM Secretariat said. Norway’s Minister for International Cooperation, Mr. Nikolai Astrup and CARICOM Foreign Ministers held discussions in The Bahamas in May. Ambassador Mollestad herself participated in the 39th CARICOM Summit in July, in Jamaica. More recently, on the sidelines of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York, CARICOM Foreign Ministers, the secretary-general, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and

Community Relations, had discussions with the Nordic countries at an annual breakfast engagement, which was graced by the presence of His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. Ambassador Mollestad said the memorandum of understanding signed between the CARICOM Foreign Ministers and Norway in 2016, provided an excellent framework for further work in areas in which her country has keen interest, including climate change, climate adaptation and resilience, clean and healthy oceans and the blue economy. In that context, Mr. LaRocque noted that the Community welcomed the structured review of the regional fisheries sector aimed at strengthening capacity. He said CARICOM also appreciated the comprehensive marine survey of the Region to be undertaken by a Norwegian research vessel. In addition, he said the establishment of a high-level panel for a sustainable ocean economy, aimed at promoting science-based decision-making in the fields of ocean economy and ocean management, is of great relevance to CARICOM, compriing for the most part, small states with large marine territories. “Balancing our devel-

ERC holds one-day media monitoring workshop ETHNIC Relations Commission (ERC) conducted a media monitoring workshop for its new recruits along with staff of the commission on Monday. The training session was conducted by Remington Eastman, Head, Media Monitoring Unit, ERC, at its Georgetown location. The nine trainees were drawn from Berbice, Linden and Georgetown. Norris Witter, ERC Commissioner, in giving brief introductory remarks, charged the new recruits to carry out their tasks profes-

sionally for the job that lies ahead. The trainees were introduced to concepts and laws governing elections monitoring, racial incitement and ethnically offensive language. As the body continues to expand its staff complement, the Media Monitoring Unit of the ERC is gearing up to monitor information being disseminated through online news outlets, radio, newspapers, television and at political meetings related to Local Government Elections scheduled for November 12, 2018.

opment aspirations with our desire to be more respectful of our marine, and land, environment is a major priority for CARICOM,” he said, expressing appreciation for this kind of cooperation from “friendly countries such as the Kingdom of Norway.” He said the Community welcomed the statement in New York by Norway’s Foreign Minister, that the Nordic countries supported the removal of the GDP criteria, in respect of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) for small, middle-income

countries which have been affected by natural disasters. This follows on the statement by Norway`s Minister for International Development, His Excellency Nikolai Astrup, in May, when he told CARICOM Foreign Ministers that Norway’s official position was that graduated countries should be eligible for ODA when their economic base is ruined by a catastrophe. Noting that concessional financing should not hinge on a disaster, Secretary-General LaRocque said CARICOM proposes

that “per capita income criteria should not apply in instances where countries are seeking to invest in building resilience to climate change before a disaster occurs.” He added that discussions on this matter were ongoing this week during the meetings of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD and called on the support of Norway and other Nordic countries which are members of the DAC. “Excellency, we seek the strongest support from the

international community, as we seek to build our resilience, and to advocate for the realisation of appropriate international policies; policies that would allow for the achievement of a balance in the provision of financial, human and institutional resources for mitigation and adaptation actions. I feel confident that Norway would lend its support and influence in the relevant international fora to aid our cause,” Ambassador LaRocque told the new envoy.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

No department in this force is a dumping ground-Top Cop By Leroy Smith IT is often said that when officers are sent to certain departments of the force it is punishment for something that they might have done, and as such they are removed from the public’s eyes or from direct interface with the members of the public. On Monday, Commissioner of Police Leslie James, who recently took over the helm of the force, made it clear that no department

Officers and ranks of ‘A’ Division listen attentively as the Top Cop addresses them

me say this; no department in this force will be referred to as a dumping ground, if a particular rank had committed a breach that rank would be dealt with, if the rank’s behaviour is so chronic, that issue would be addressed” Commissioner of Police Les-

lie James firmly stated. He continued: “He or she will not be transferred to departments, and then after a while that department is referred to as a dumping ground, it will not be; we have had a rethink of it and that has changed.” With respect to training, Commissioner James told the gathering of ranks that the force will be seeking to strengthen its training institutions in Berbice, Georgetown and Essequibo. “We will deliberately examine our human resources management, we will be dealing with training and retraining as well as infrastructure,” James told a gathering of juniors and senior at the Brickdam Police Station. “What [takes place] at the moment at our training schools in Georgetown, Essequibo and Berbice, we will

Top Cop Leslie James speaking of his vision for the force.

never given the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learnt, and it is something that the force hopes to arrest almost immediately, based on the communication from James to his ranks and officers. He stressed that for the

Deputy Commissioner Maxine Graham, in discussion with female ranks at the Brickdam Police Station on Monday morning, during Top Cop, Leslie James’s visit to the division.

in the force is a dumping ground. He said that when officers err they will be dealt with, and depending on the situation at hand, the issue

will be addressed. James made the comment, while visiting the Police ‘A’ Division as part of his tour of the unit, where he interfaced with his ranks,

juniors and seniors. “I recall in the past that persons would say that the Training School might be a dumping ground and also other departments, well let

Arriving to a sentries’ salute, Commissioner Leslie James makes his entrance into the Brickdam Police Station compound

be having a rethink of what [takes place] there as of today,” said the Top Cop. “Our curriculum must be examined, the persons who are working at our training institutions must also be of the calibre that trainees themselves can see as leaders,” James said. As it relates to the ranks that would be undergoing local training, regionally and internationally, the force also has a plan for them, as well as, those who are already on training and have to return to work at some point. “On their return they would be allowed to interface at their respective divisions and perhaps headquarters, to demonstrate what they have learnt, they would also be given an opportunity to engage in the field of study they were exposed to,” said the Top Cop. This came against the backdrop, that many ranks who have returned from training either force-sponsored or otherwise, were

training that ranks are presently undergoing and those who would be embarking, when they return, given the areas of study they are engaged in, the force would be in a much better position with their contribution. “As I have said before, whatever rank you are currently, endeavour to function in the other rank, so that when you attain that rank you are not awkward to execute the office of that other rank,” James stated He also encouraged police ranks at all level to write the promotional examination once they are eligible to do so. Meanwhile, it is his personal wish that the officers and ranks would vigorously seek to elevate themselves academically. It should be noted that Commissioner James, who is the holder of several certificates from higher learning institutions, is still pushing ahead with his academic upward mobility and is presently still studying.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Building Resilience, Building Hope

..CDB hosts workshop on improved practices for construction of houses There is an urgent need to make homes across Caribbean communities impregnable to natural hazards such as earthquakes and hurricanes. When a natural hazard strikes in the Region, too often the housing sector is severely affected, with evidence pointing to poor construction practices. In an effort to defeat this trend, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has embarked on a programme to create a cadre of artisans armed with the tools and knowledge they need to build with resilience and safety in mind. In the Region, many houses are still constructed by the informal building sector in which small artisans often have limited understanding of Government compliance requirements, where such requirements do

Participants at the Improved Practices for the Construction of Houses workshop

exist. It is for this reason that CDB prioritised training for government personnel as the first phase of the programme. The trained public servants will return to their home countries as trainers, who then share the information with local artisans. The goal of the pro-

gramme is to help at least 350 people across the Region understand how to build more resiliently. The process got underway in July 2018, with a train-the-trainers workshop on Improved Practices for the Construction of Houses. Planners and building inspectors from 16 of the

Bank’s Borrowing Member Countries attended the workshop. Some were from Caribbean countries that are in the process of rebuilding following the catastrophic impact of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Cordel Niles of the Department of Planning in An-

City Hall CoI

Procurement officer says sometimes working in the dark PROCUREMENT Officer for City Hall, Jacqueline King, says that she is not comfortable with the fact that she is often times not given copies of contracts that City Hall enters into with contractors and other businesses. Appearing on Monday before the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into City Hall at the Critchlow Labour College, King declared that the correct procedure involving the procurement of certain services is not always followed. “I don’t like the fact that I am asked at times to prepare payments without all of the supporting documents. I cannot report effectively on the progress on any given contract if I don’t see the contract,” she related. King explained that her department is responsible for the procurement of certain small contracts such as for the repairs of vehicles, repairs to computers, repairs to furniture and equipment such as AC units, refrigerators, gas stoves at day care services, and this is done using a three quote system King established, however, that her department was not in charge of the procurement of goods and services that involve large contracts, these include works for drainage and alleyway cleaning, refuse removal and road repairs; procurement for these services fall under the Town Clerk’s Office.

Nonetheless, while her office does not award the contracts, the payment orders for all contracts, large or small, are still required to be prepared by her office. “Other services like the drainage contracts, cleaning of drains, canals, alleyways, in terms of contracts for roads and refuse removal; that is done at the level of the town clerk office. I deal with the payment aspects of it. I prepare all accounts for payments as it relates to procuring goods and services,” she explained. These contracts are not acquired by the procurement office because prior to payment, these contracts require that the works first be verified by the City Engineer Department, headed by City Engineer, Colvern Venture. “Contracts for large works, drainage works and refuse removal large contracts… we make payments upon instructions, for example the drainage works contract - the instruction to pay on progress of works comes with instructions from the City Engineer Department. So I have to look for those things when a payment comes to me for those contracts,” King explained. However, while her office does not award the contracts, they are required to be given a copy. In the past, all first time payments on new contracts would be accompanied by a copy of the contract.

“Sometimes I see the contract. When I started working in the unit there were times when I would’ve seen a copy of contract. Every time we have fresh contracts for refuse removal the first payment for that new contract usually comes with a copy of the contract. That used to happen but that is not happening anymore,” King declared. . According to proper procedure, there should be no case where a contract is not awarded when a business is employed to carry out a service for the MCC. There are alternatives in the case when emergencies arise and certain processes must be bypassed, but, according to King, even in those cases there is a procedure that is supposed to be followed. In such cases, where a company is not issued with a payment right away, the company still needs to receive a credit order from the council. “What happens if there is an emergency, something needs to be done immediately. What is prepared where the item has to be taken without the procedure being followed to the wire… a credit order has to be prepared and that credit order has to be prepared by me but it has to be signed by the City Treasurer, that is authorising the entity to relinquish the goods or services to the [MCC] without payment. The item should not be collected without a credit order. Once a payment is not

being made the item should not be acquired. The item should be acquired through the use of a credit order,” King further explained. King was then questioned about a revelation by a contracting company, XL Engineering, which testified before the commission earlier on Monday that they were contracted by Town Clerk, Royston King, to do clean up works around the City. They were never given a contract, and are stilled owed some 90 per cent of its payments. It was never established whether they have ever received any credit orders for their services, King could not recall if she ever prepared any documents for the company. However, King said, if what the company said is true then several procedures were breached in the arrangement “I can’t say that would be proper. It will not be in keeping with the proper procedure of the organisation if that happened. If there is no contract, if payment was done, if that was done the way you said it was done then that will be outside of the procedure,” she stated, however further noted that it is possible for the Town Clerk and City Treasurer to unilaterally make out payments. “The town clerk, I guess, can commit the Council’s finances I guess in conjunction with the city treasurer, they can make that decision.”

guilla said when he learned about the workshop he was relieved “to know that we have support, and to know that there are solutions to aid in building back resilient”. The sessions incorporated and built upon the construction practices reflected in the Regional Code of Practice, which was developed by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and prepared by the Caribbean Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality, in consultation with relevant professionals and institutions back in 2005. This Code, however, only makes provisions for the construction of houses that can withstand up to Category 3 hurricanes. So the training was enhanced to include considerations for Category 5 hurricanes. As part of the workshops, participants

visited construction sites to observe building more resiliently in action. “I learned a whole lot of stuff,” said Selena Curry of the Ministry of Works in The Bahamas. “Some things we do but there are a lot of new concepts that I think we can use in our country,” she added. The participants also had the opportunity to share some of the best practices from their countries, lending to knowledge-sharing and an exchange of lessons learned throughout the workshop. The workshop was coordinated by CDB’s Caribbean Technological Consultancy Services Network and was conducted in collaboration with CDEMA and Walbrent College, an accredited building construction training institution in Barbados.

PTA honours outstanding St Margaret’s top teachers

The Parent Teachers Association of St Margaret’s Primary on Monday honoured five teachers for their longstanding service to the school. The teachers are: Christeta Chapman; Janice Torrington; Malika Jacobs; Yasmin Arthur and Lalieta Budhram. In this photo Raul Jerrick, Lieutenant Colonel of the Guyana Dfefence Force and President of the PTA presents Miss Jacobs with her award.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Europe, China join hands drawing maritime blueprint

UPON entering the ship repair zone at the port of Piraeus, southern Greece, one could easily notice the immense floating dock painted in black and red and mirrored in the glossy Aegean Sea. Not far from the giant dock is a much smaller old one, lying idle, rusty. The “Piraeus 3” that arrived in March from Shanghai, eastern China, has greatly improved the capacity of the local ship repair business, a regional pillar industry hard hit in the debt crisis, according to Li Weina, general manager of the shipyard. MORE JOBS SECURED Running the shipyard at Piraeus has been the first concrete project since 2016, when China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) took over the operation of the port of Piraeus. The port is seen as the southern gate of Europe. On Sept. 28, Greek Parliament Speaker Nikolaos Voutsis visited the Piraeus Port Authority. A press release issued by the parliament said that Piraeus was the fastest growing port in the world, now ranking 7th place in Europe and 37th worldwide based on the projects carried out in recent years. “The investment of COSCO Shipping in the port of Piraeus has proved to be mutually beneficial to both sides and it is important that it, in a difficult period, helps the country overcome the crisis,” Voutsis was quoted as saying. Following the Greek debt crisis that broke out in 2009, thousands of workers lost their jobs and machines were down at the port. The picture is different now -- some 3,000 people are hired to do the services outsourced by COSCO, and even thousands more jobs have been created in the peripheral industries since COSCO made the 1-billion-euro (1.15 billion-U.S.-dollar) investment. A similar scenario is seen in Belgium, western Europe, where COSCO acquired the port of Zeebrugge in late 2017 and brought in strategic investors in 2018. COSCO bought 76 percent shares of the Zeebrugge port in November 2017, and

plans to build a diversified logistics service platform, together with the Zeebrugge Port Authority, to serve the entire continent and the British Isles. Standing at the crossroads of northwestern Europe, the port of Zeebrugge is located on the shore of North Sea, reaching the Hamburg-Le Havre area, facing Britain across the strait, and connects to the railway network extending to the rest of Europe. TRADE GROWTH WITNESSED Before the acquirement of the port of Piraeus, COSCO had participated in its

operation for eight years already, helping enlarge tremendously the throughput from 680,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in 2008 to 4.15 million TEU in 2017. A TEU is one 20-foot-long cargo container or its equivalent. Encouraged by the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, a water-land express has been established to link the port terminals to the China-Europe railroads, along which the cargo trains are now running at a frequency of 17 trips per week inbound and outbound at the port.

MARITIME TIES STRENGTHENED Mutual economic benefits have been guaranteed by the improved maritime

business -- more investment in ports, better design in cargo vessels and stronger link between harbors and railways. All of this has gained momentum since the idea of building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was put forward by China five years ago. The blueprint aims at economic rise along regions, including southeastern Asia, southwestern Asia, eastern Africa and many coastal areas in Europe. The combination of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road Economic Belt is also popularly known as the Belt and Road. Trying to rejuvenate the ancient trade routes, the initiative calls for better connections and stresses common interests between different nations. It has been welcomed by European businesses and politicians. “China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the position of the Netherlands as the gateway to Europe offer further opportunities for cooperation,” Hanneke Schuiling, director general for Foreign Economic Relations of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the audience during a ceremony in the Hague on Sept. 27 to celebrate China’s National Day. Concerns over the ambition are not non-existing though. COSCO’s investment in the port of Piraeus and its plans to upgrade the shipbuilding zone “will have to deal with the older mentality”, said Elias Hajiefremidis, president of the Worldwide Industrial & Marine Association headquartered in Greece. He admitted that the “rigidity” may come from public or private operators. “However if there is communication between all the stakeholders that make up the chain, a common line will definitely be found, always in the light of the common interest,” Hajiefremidis underlined. “After sixty years of presence in the shipping industry as shipping agents operating in Piraeus and in the wider Greek area, we have always been convinced that anyone who deals with the sea will never be damaged,” he said. (Xinhua)

from 34 countries and regions to exhibit at around 1,000 booths. The number of firms from countries and regions along the Belt and Road makes up around 60 percent of the total participants at the import exhibition. China’s foreign trade remained stable in the first nine months with improved trade structure. Foreign trade rose 9.9 percent year on year to 22.28 trillion yuan (about 3.2 trillion U.S. dollars) from January-September, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Exports increased 6.5 percent during the period to 11.86 trillion yuan, while imports grew 14.1 percent to 10.42 trillion yuan, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.44 trillion yuan, which narrowed by 28.3 percent. More than 25,580 firms at home and abroad will attend the fair. Its first phase runs from Monday to Friday, featuring products such as electronics, home appliances and mechanical equipment. The second phase will run from Oct. 23 to Oct. 27, and the third phase will start on Oct. 31 and end on Nov. 4. (Xinhua)

Greece is not the only European country that has seen the rise of trade with China. At the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, its throughput of containers has been increasing in the past five years, with a quarter of its inbound cargo coming from China. Moreover, nearly half of China’s deep-water cargo routes to Europe choose the largest European port as their first stop. In northern Europe, COSCO’s new fleet has started to dock at the Helsinki cargo port to help local pulp and wood producers increase their exports to the Chinese market. The modern ships with the latest design can

take voyage both in the high north and down the Indian Ocean. Finland is the world’s largest exporter of softwood pulp, and about one-third of the pulp is exported to China. With the new vessels, which are particularly suitable to load pulp products, COSCO is expected to transport more than 1.1 million tons of Finnish goods to China in 2018, 30 percent higher than last year.

China’s largest trade fair opens in Guangzhou CHINA’S largest trade fair opened Monday in Guangzhou, capital of southern China’s Guangdong Province, attracting more import-oriented companies. Held every spring and autumn in Guangzhou, the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is seen as a barom-

eter of China’s foreign trade. Xu Bing, the fair’s spokesperson, said imports are under the spotlight this year at the trade fair as the country seeks to open its domestic market wider. The fair features an exhibition area for imports with 636 companies, 19 firms more than the previous session,

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Govâ€™t donates boat, engine to Waipa/Sandhills health department In its quest to ensure that all communities across the country have adequate access to healthcare the Government on Sunday donated a boat and engine to the small riverine community of Waipa/Sandhills.

The doination comes just over one week after Chenapouâ€™s health department also received a boat and engine from the government. The handing-over ceremony was done in Orinduik

Community Health Worker, Ms. Sylvita David on the new ATV

by the Regional Chairman Mr. Bonaventure Fredericks and the Regional Executive Officer Mr. Carl Parker to the Community Health Worker, Ms. Julianna Skybar in the presence of the Deputy Toshao Mr. Luciano Torres and a few residents of Waipa, who had made the trip. Parker advised residents, health workers and the village council, to use the assets wisely and to assist wherever possible. Ms. Skybar said she is very grateful and that the boat and engine for the health department have been long overdue; she also promised to take good care of the assets. Also in August, the Kaibarupai health department received an all-terrain vehicle from the Regional Democratic Council for the purpose of improving the health services in those far-flung areas of Region Eight. The Community Health Worker, Ms. Sylvita David, collected the Keys to

Residents and officials pose next to the boat and engine

the brand new ATV from the regional chairman during his visit to the North Pakaraimas

Football Tournament. Waipa/Sandhills and Kaibarupai are remote vil-

lages located at the border between Brazil and Guyana in Region Eight.

26 26

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Deputy Supt. pleads ‘not guilty’, makes bail –in ‘causing death’ matter

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Patrick Todd, making his way into court on Tuesday

DEPUTY Superintendent of Police, Patrick Todd, who is in charge of the La Grange Police Station, was on Tuesday charged for causing the death of a 64-year-old pedal cyclist, following an accident on the Boerasirie Bridge on the East Bank Essequibo, last month. An unbothered Todd, 53, appeared before Magistrate Rushell Liverpool at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to the charges of causing death by dangerous driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol. Particulars of the first charge allege that Todd, on September 12, 2018 on the Boerasirie Public Road, East Bank Essequibo, drove motor car PTT992 in a danger-

ous manner and caused the death of 64-year-old pedal cyclist, Conrad Alleyne, of Hague, West Coast Demerara. The court also heard that on the same day, Todd drove the motorcar while his breath alcohol level was 0.70 micrograms. He was represented by attorney-at-law Dexter Todd, who made an application for reasonable bail, and labelled the incident an unfortunate accident. He also said that the deputy superintendent has served the Police Force for over 35 years, has an unblemished record, and is the father of four, with another on the way. The magistrate released Todd on $250,000 bail and adjourned the matter until November 12.

Patrick Todd and his attorney, Dexter Todd

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Mocha man to stand trial in High Court –for raping underage girl FORTY-seven-year-old Jegede Hodge was on Tuesday committed to stand trial at the High Court for raping a 16-year-old girl. The ruling was handed down by City Magistrate Judy Latchman after he appeared in her court. The matter was heard in camera and was prosecuted by Inspector Shellon Daniels.Particulars the charge stated that between September 1 and September 30, 2017, at Plantation Mocha, East Bank Demerara, the accused engaged in sexual penetration of a child who lived in the same house as he. His bail will remain at $300,000.

Bandits attack Bushlot restaurant THE Su Mamoo Restaurant in Bushlot Village, East-Berbice, Corentyne, was broken into by bandits in the wee hours of Tuesday morning and over $30,000 in cash was stolen. At approximately 01:30hrs, three masked men, armed with a shotgun and a piece of 2X4 wood, broke into the upper flat of the two-storey building and held the two occupants hostage, while demanding money. The men gained entry by smashing in a louvre window and hitting out the wooden bars with the 2X4, before holding the proprietor, Su Zhi Young and a relative, Sa Zhi Young at gunpoint. The duo were told to lie face down on the

floor and were beaten by the men as they demanded cash. Despite handing over $30,000, the men continued to inflict blows on the duo demanding more. Still not satisfied, the bandits ransacked the house looking for valuables and eventually searched the occupants and removed $20,000 from Sa Zhi Young’s pocket. The men eventually left through the same window from which they had entered and made good their escape. The police arrived shortly after and are investigating the incident. This is the third time that the proprietor, who is a naturalised Guyanese citizen, has been robbed since moving to this location.

Ecstasy pusher makes bail A SINGLE-PARENT father of three on Tuesday appeared before a city magistrate for having in his possession ecstasy pills. Steve Fiedtkou, 32, of Mandela Avenue, denied the charge which alleged that last Friday at South Ruimveldt, he had in his possession 552 pills, the equivalent of 146 grams of the substance, for the purpose of trafficking. Fiedtkou, a mechanic by trade, was represented by Attorney-at-Law, Siand Dhurjon, who told the court that what his client is being accused of is a non-violent offence; that he’d never before been charged for any criminal offence; and that to boot, he’s no threat to society, and as such he is asking that his client be placed on a reasonable sum of bail. Police prosecutor, Simone Payne had no objection, and bail was granted in the sum of $75,000. The matter was adjourned to November 7.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

APA urges speedy settlement of Upper Mazaruni land rights court action THE Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) is urging a swift end to a 20-year-old court matter regarding a land claim by the Indigenous peoples of the Upper Mazaruni, who are seeking legal recognition to their traditional and ancestral lands. The court action was filed against the Government of Guyana some 20 years ago and the APA said this October 2018 marks the 20-year anniversary. In a release, the APA said in 1967, the Government of Guyana instituted an Amerindian Lands Commission, tasked with mapping and suggesting titles to be issued to Indigenous communities. In 1991, title was granted individually to each community, though they had requested holding collective title to their traditional territories. The Villages of Paruima, Waramadong, Kamarang (Warawatta), Kako, Jawalla and Phillipai in the Upper Mazaruni have long sought legal title over the area defined by the 1959 Amerindian District as one Akawaio/Arecuna district. Dissatisfied with the then government’s disrespect for their rights and for their wishes, the Arekuna and Akawaio peoples brought a landmark case to court to fight for their rights as indigenous peoples of Guyana. However, the case has not yet been given a definitive ruling some two decades later, the APA stated. “In 2008, when they appeared in court again, the issue was adjourned. When they met in 2012 and the community brought forth an anthropologist to provide expert evidence on their claims to their ancestral lands, the government’s defence team disqualified her as a witness and caused the matter to be adjourned once again. Fast forward to 2017: the government filed a submission in defence of their claim.” The APA said: “This is now 2018, exactly 20 years later and the communities are still awaiting a decision from the High Court. It seems as if the government has not prioritised these issues and it begs us to question if the stalling of this issue trivialises Indigenous peoples’ rights, especially as related to their lands, the APA questioned. The government has been issuing mining concessions on these lands throughout this 20-year legal battle. They continue to issue mining rights to outside miners over this traditional Akawaio and Arekuna territory without their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), even though this legal dispute is ongoing,” the APA charged. The APA asked if it is ethical to continue giving concessions on lands that are still being contested in the court. “The government has been receiving revenues for lands in the areas, even though they have not yet settled the matter with the Indigenous peoples in the Upper Mazaruni area and this is cause for worry. Does this mean that they are deliberately stalling this process to continue profiting off of these lands, or is it a case of incompetence in Guyana’s judicial process?” Furthermore, the APA said as “we mark 20 years of fighting for the land rights of the Upper Mazaruni Akawaio and Arekuna peoples, we are hereby calling on the Government of Guyana by way of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and Ministry of Legal Affairs to finally put this issue to rest by granting the rights of the Indigenous peoples in the area. We are asking for them to prioritise this issue and really show to the Indigenous peoples of Guyana, that they are really on our side.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Windies coach Law banned for first two ODIs over comments MUMBAI, India (Reuters) - West Indies head coach Stuart Law has been suspended for the first two one-day internationals of the series against India following his public criticism of match officials during a recent Test match between the sides in Hyderabad. The Australian received a 100 percent fine of his match fees and three demerit points for breaching the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct during the Caribbean side’s 10-wicket loss to India, the ICC said in a statement. Law, 49, was carrying one demerit point from a pre-

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Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) 14 times (2) Andre Russell Today’s Quiz: (1) Who delivered the first ball in Hero CPL 2018? (2) Who faced it? ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

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vious sanction during the Dominica Test against Pakistan in May 2017 and with the addition of three more, it automatically led to his suspension from ODIs in Guwahati and Visakhapatnam. He will be available for the final three contests of the fivematch series. “The incident on Sunday afternoon happened when Stuart Law, following the dismissal of Kieran Powell, went to the TV umpire’s room and made inappropriate comments,” the statement from the governing body said.

“He then walked to the fourth umpire’s area and, in the presence of the players, again directed inappropriate comments at the fourth official.” The former Australia batsman pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad as West Indies lost the series 2-0. Law, who took charge of West Indies in February 2017, will leave his role after the tours of India and Bangladesh to take charge of English county side Middlesex in January.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

V Net supports Zeelandia Cricket Club

AS part of its corporate responsibility, longstanding local communication provider, V Net Communications of Delph Street, Campbellville, recently donated a complete set of team uniforms to Zeelandia Cricket Club of Wakenaam. Managing Director of V Net Communication, Safraz Sheriffudeen, made the donation to club captain Navindra Pooran and club members Damindra Pooran and Navishaul Pooran. Sheriffudeen, who is from the proud Essequibo Island of Wakenaam, said he is happy to lend support to the club, since it’s a part of the business entity’s corporate responsibility. In response, club captain Pooran thanked Sheriffudeen for the donation. Overseas based Guyanese Wazheer Dahar also contributed to the donation.

(From right) Darmindra Pooran Navishaul Pooran, Safraz Sheriffudeen and Navindra Pooran

Pickering dedicates baseball diamond to late player of Guyanese parentage

Motie and Anela Jadunandan pose with a Pickering City Council member. The city of Pickering dedicates the Amberlea Park to the late Carl Rayaz Jadunandan.

TORONTO, Canada - The city of Pickering, Ontario, Canada is dedicating a baseball diamond to the late Carl Rayaz Jadunandan, who is of Guyanese parentage. Jadunandan, who grew up in Pickering and started to play baseball at Amberlea Park in 1993 when he was just seven, died suddenly in 2007 following a brief illness. According to reports, the young Jadunandan practised pitching and other drills with his dad three times a week at the park. Jadunandan went on to play for the Pickering Red Sox representative team and was the hurler in the winning game of the 2004 Lake Ontario Secondary School Athletics (LOSSA) Championships. Since his death, his parents, Motie and Anela Jadunandan, have been running a memorial baseball tournament for house league players in Carl’s name. The tournament is run for rook and minor tyke division teams, giving those kids the thrill of playing in a tournament, something typically reserved for select and representative divisions. Anela, a former student of Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Club (OMSCC); president Azeem Karamat Khan of Charlestown Secondary School and Motie Jadunandan were honoured in May at Pickering’s Annual Civic Awards and were given the Individual Volunteer Civic Award for their work on the ‘Carl Rayaz Jadunandan Memorial Baseball Tournament.’ The plaque in Amberlea Park was unveiled at a ceremony last Thursday evening and among those in attendance were Mayor Dave Ryan and other Pickering City Councillors. Motie threw the first pitch to Preston Malandrino, the first winner of the Carl R Jadunandan Award. It’s given to a select player who displays good baseball skill, a great attitude, dedication, sportsmanship and a willingness to learn. (Frederick Halley)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Pakistan reclaim advantage after Lyon wreaks havoc (REUTERS) - Pakistan recovered from losing five wickets before lunch to post a respectable 282 and then remove two of Australia’s openers before close of play on the opening day of the second and final Test in Abu Dhabi yesterday. The tourists were left on 20-2 after seven overs going into the second day. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon took four wickets in six balls to leave Pakistan reeling on 77 for five at lunch. However, Pakistan were indebted to debutant opener Fakhar Zaman and captain Safraz Ahmed who each scored 94 to help their side reclaim the advantage in the afternoon session. The hosts, forced to settle for a draw in the first Test in Dubai after a desperate rearguard action from the Australians, won the toss and chose to bat on a wicket that promised a big tally. The tourists bowled with spirit and pace, however, and Mitchell Starc struck in the fourth over, swinging a rising delivery into the pads of Mohammad Hafeez. Hafeez slapped it straight to Marnus Labuschagne at short leg and the close fielder juggled the ball off his thigh, knee and calf before it finally settled in his hands to send the batsman on his way with a single boundary to his name. Azhar Ali (15) and Haris Sohail (0) were removed on consecutive deliveries by Lyon to conclude one over, and although Asad Shafiq fended off the hat-trick ball,

he too went for a duck after a DRS review. The fourth wicket, two balls later, was the pick of the quartet, with Babar Azam bowled for nought after wafting an ill-advised shot at a perfectly pitched delivery to leave Pakistan teetering on 57-5. Zaman and Ahmed did more than steady the ship, however, by combining for a partnership of 147 to kill off Australia’s momentum. Zaman was eventually bowled for lbw by Labuschagne, before the leg-spinner then got Bilal Asif caught for 12 by Aussie captain Tim Paine. A lapse in judgment from Ahmed saw him caught by Peter Siddle six runs short of his century as he sliced high to cover for Labuschagne’s third wicket of the day. Yasir Shah (28) and Mohammad Abbas (10) added 38 to Pakistan’s total before being bowled by Mitchell Marsh and Starc, respectively, leaving Mir Hamza on 4 not out. Australia’s hopes of chasing down 282 took two blows in quick succession in the last seven overs of the day. Abbas claimed the prize wicket - his 50th in Test cricket - of Pakistani-born Australia opener Usman Khawaja after four overs, having given a slight edge caught by Ahmed. Abbas then got his 51st Test wicket, removing Siddle for lbw to leave Australia shell-shocked on 20-2 at close of play, with Aaron Finch on 13 not out and Shaun Marsh next to bat.

Fakhar Zaman curbed his natural instincts to ‘see ball, hit ball’ to make a composed 94 on Test debut. (Getty Images)

SCOREBOARD

PAKISTAN 1st innings Fakhar Zaman lbw Marnus Labuschagne 94 Mohammad Hafeez c Marnus Labuschagne b Mitchell Starc 4 Azhar Ali c & b Nathan Lyon 15 Haris Sohail c Travis Head b Nathan Lyon 0 Asad Shafiq c Marnus Labuschagne b Nathan Lyon 0 Babar Azam b Nathan Lyon 0 Sarfraz Ahmed c Peter Siddle b Marnus Labuschagne 94 Bilal Asif c Tim Paine b Marnus Labuschagne 12 Yasir Shah b Mitchell Marsh 28 Mohammad Abbas b Mitchell Starc 10 Mir Hamza not out 4 Extras: (b-11, lb-6, nb-4) 21 Total: (all out, 81.0 overs) 282 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-57, 3-57, 4-57, 5-57, 6-204, 7-226, 8-247, 9-264. Bowling: Mitchell Starc 12-3-37-2 (nb-2), Peter Siddle 10-3-39-0 (nb-1), Mitchell Marsh 7-2-21-1 (nb-1), Nathan Lyon 27-5-78-4, Jon Holland 13-3-45-0, Marnus Labuschagne 12-2-45-3. AUSTRALIA 1st innings Usman Khawaja c Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Abbas 3 Aaron Finch not out 13 Peter Siddle lbw Mohammad Abbas 4 Extras: 0 Total: (two wkts, 7.0 overs) 20 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-20. Bowling: Mohammad Abbas 4-2-9-2, Mir Hamza 1-0- 4-0, Yasir Shah 2-1-7-0.

Smith, Imlach help Windies B stun Volcanoes TAROUBA, Trinidad (CMC) – Odean Smith unleashed a stunning half-century as Windies B dealt title-holders Windward Islands Volcanoes their fourth defeat of the Regional Super50 here Monday night, to virtually put them out of contention for the final four. Chasing 228 at the Brian Lara Stadium, Windies B pulled off a three-wicket upset, to register their second win and move into third place in Group B on 10 points. They were in deep trouble with two wickets down with no runs on the board but Smith smashed a breathtaking 34-ball 64 while Kevin Imlach stroked an unbeaten 57 and Jeavor Royal, 44 not out, to power Windies B to an unlikely victory – their second of the tournament. The defeat left Volcanoes on seven points with just one win, 18 points adrift of leaders Jaguars and 11 behind second-placed Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. Sent in, Volcanoes

slumped to 40 for five in the 12th over as a clever combination of spin and pace ruthlessly blew away the top order.

Tevin Imlach anchored the Windies B run chase with an unbeaten half-century

But right-hander Kavem Hodge came to his side’s rescue, bolstering the innings in two successive half-century stands – first with wicketkeeper Emmanuel Stewart (56) and then Ryan John (44). Hodge put on 95 for the

GLTA names team for Cup of Guianas in Suriname

sixth wicket with Stewart who belted six fours and a six off 71 balls before perishing in the 36th over. The 21-year-old John provided the late fireworks, clobbering a four and three sixes in a 42-ball cameo as he posted a further 76 with Hodge for the seventh wicket. All told, Hodge faced 126 balls and counted four fours and a six before he was seventh out in the 48th over. Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, pulled from the Windies oneday side to tour India because of fitness concerns, grabbed three for 54 from a full 10-over spell while the pacey Chemar Holder claimed two for 37. Windies B slumped early when they lost openers Keagan Simmons and Kimani Melius without scoring and even though Imlach and Kirstan Kallicharan (18) put on 40 for the third wicket, a clatter of wickets left the innings floundering on 70 for five in the 24th over. The revival started, however, when Smith arrived at

the wicket to rip the Volcanoes attack to shreds, in a stunner laced with seven fours and four sixes. Importantly, he dominated an invaluable 80-run, sixth-wicket stand off 65 deliveries with Imlach which hauled Windies B right back into contention. When Smith was bowled by left-arm spinner Larry Edwards (4-47) in the 34th over, Windies B were still 78 away from victory but with plenty balls to spare and when Joseph fell after belting two sixes in 15, cool heads were required. The 21-year-old Imlach then showcased his maturity, anchoring the innings in a 110ball knock with just two fours, as he helped add a precious 53 with Royal in an unbroken eighth wicket stand. Royal opted for attack, striking five fours and a six off 38 balls and impressively finishing the match with two slogs to the mid-wicket boundary off left-arm seamer Delorn Johnson in the 47th over.

From left – GLTA president S. Barakat, player Vadeanand Resaul, treasurer Tina Ram and vice-president Cristy Campbell. V. Resaul hands over cheque to GLTA on behalf of Massy Industries.

THE Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA) has revealed the players who will represent Guyana in the upcoming Cup of Guianas tournament, scheduled for October 24-29 in Suriname. Team Guyana are the reigning champions of the tournament. The tournament will feature the U-12, U-14 and U-18 categories. The team comprises 12 players who will represent Guyana in all the categories. The defending champions are expected to depart Guyana on October 24 for Suriname to defend their title. THE TEAM IS AS FOLLOWS: U-12 Males - Hayden Mentore, Ricky Romascindo U-12 Females - Rashida Hardy, Menikshi Jaikisson U-14 Males - Vadeanand Resaul, Jeremiah Kalekyezi U-14 Females - Saskia Akilah Jones, Nandanee Ramdyhan U-18 Males - Heimraj Resaul, Viraj Sharma U-18 Females - Afruica Gentle, Kalyca Fraser Coaches: Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan, Orande Dainty Following the announcement of Team Guyana, sponsors have already gotten on board by showing their financial support. Massy Industries Limited presented a cheque for $50 000 to the treasurer of the GLTA.

Ukrainian twins banned for life for match-fixing - TIU

(REUTERS) - Ukrainian twin brothers Gleb and Vadim Alekseenko have been banned from tennis for life and fined $250 000 each for “multiple match-fixing offences”, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) said on Monday. The 35-year-olds, who are both ranked outside the top-1000 in the world, were found guilty of the offences at lower level Futures tournaments in Romania, Russia, Germany and Turkey between June 2015 and January 2016. The brothers were found to have breached sections of the tennis anti-corruption code that deals with soliciting a third-party to place a bet on matches, in which they then contrived the outcome. “The findings of guilt and imposition of the lifetime suspensions means that with immediate effect both players are prohibited from playing in or attending any sanctioned events, organised or recognised by the governing bodies of the sport,” the TIU said in a statement.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

RHT Gizmos & Gadgets win BCB-sponsored Skyy Vodka T/20 title THE Rose Hall Town (RHT) Gizmos and Gadgets were crowned champions of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)-sponsored Skyy Vodka T/20 tournament last Sunday after they defeated Upper Corentyne by 64 runs, at the No. 69 ground. The final was played in front of a massive, colourful crowd, as residents in the Upper Corentyne area came out to support their team’s first appearance in a BCB final in two decades. Upper Corentyne won the toss and decided to bowl first. They reaped success in the first over when Junior Sinclair was bowled off the inside edge by Looknauth Roopchand without scoring, at 5-1. Kevin Sinclair and Kevlon Anderson then added 40 for the second wicket before Sinclair was caught at short mid-wicket to off-spinner Devendra Budhoo for 22. Anderson top-scored with 35 (3x4) and received support from Eon Hooper 31, Vidal Crandon 25 and Keon Sinclair 13 thereafter. RHT Gizmos & Gadgets reached 165-8 from their allotted 20 overs. O. Khemraj and Devendra Budhoo took two wickets for 44 and 17 runs respectively.

In the run chase, Upper Corentyne lost Devin Baldeo, run-out for one in the third over, at 9-1 before Hooper trapped Terrence Budhoo lbw without scoring, at 13-2.

The home team were eventually bowled out for 101 runs from 19.2 overs. RHT Gizmos & Gadgets skipper and former Under-19 leg-spinner Shawn Pereira

ed its 11th cricket tournament in less than three months. President of the BCB, Hilbert Foster, expressed delight at the massive turnout of residents. Foster told the presentation

The winning Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets team Pacer Keon Sinclair then bowled Upper Corentyne’s best batsman Rishi Persaud for 16 to leave the home team at 25-3, after five overs. They never recovered from that position with only L. Roopchand and Devindra Chatterpaul reaching double figures with 12 and 15 not out respectively.

bowled well to claim 4-20, while Eon Hooper, who was named man-of-the-final, took 2-22. Meanwhile, Albion Community Centre earlier in the day had defeated Skeldon cricket team by 12 runs to clinch the third place prize, as the BCB successfully complet-

audience that cricket is being played in every village and township in Berbice. He expressed gratitude to Ansa McAl for its sponsorship, the authorities of No. 69 Vikings ground for hosting the final and the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association for its hard work.

Eon Hooper collects his trophy.

Period for vending opens at Providence stadium

Guyana Fitness Games 2018

Sinclair Guyana’s strongest man, Team Mahadeo reign supreme

THE 2018 edition of the Guyana Fitness Games provided much entertainment and fireworks as it ended at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall last Sunday night. The 2017 champion of the strongman contest, Suriname’s Donovan Dongo, was a noshow but the local contestants did not disappoint. Crowd favourite Carlos Peterson-Griffith was upset by Julio Sinclair who came good. Peterson-Griffith, who finished second in 2017 looked good after setting the pace in the first event, the Sled Pull, which saw the athletes pull 270lb, immediately followed by the Sled Push with a starting weight of 360lb; 50lb being added on at the 20-ft mark at three different points, a total of 80 feet. When Sinclair came into the picture it quickly became obvious that the battle would have been between the two power players. Joseph O’Ryan, Anis Ade-Thomas and Caerus Cipriani (who must be given kudos for trying, as he was clearly out of his depths), were all a notch below the top two athletes as they struggled from the Sled Push. The Farmers Walk and Bag Throw, Event 2, where the athletes had to walk with 536lb and throw a 250lb bag over a 4-foot high log,, again saw Petterson-Griffith and Sinclair carry the pace, Petterson-Griffith threw the bag over a total of 9 times in the

time allotted, the closest to him was Sinclair with five successful attempts. Tied going into the final event, the MACORP Truck Pull, Sinclair managed to distance himself from Petterson-Griffith who struggled in the final event.

Debutant Shelisa Roopchand with 260 points took the final podium spot. Sinead Roberts (248), Kean Andrews (244), Lakeisha Bacchus (243), Ruth Collins (231), Quenita Walrond (227) and Kimberley Dos Santos (211) were the other contestants.

290 points. Second on 285 points were Anis Ade-Thomas, Kimberly Pinas and Jadan Mannes, while the third place went to Omissi Williams, Tonnica Archer and Kellon Reid with 280 points. The team of Paul Meusa, Thurston Pearce and Salma Hack

Dillon Mahadeo once again led his team to victory at the Guyana Fitness Games. Sinclair covered the 60-ft pull in just over 40 seconds to win the title of the Strongest Man in Guyana and bragging rights for the next 12 months. He ended with 295 points with Petterson-Griffith managing 280 and O’Riley 265. Ade-Thomas had 260 and Cipriani 250. The female winner of the Scaled competition was Latoya Roberts with 295 points, comfortably ahead of the second-placed Keisha Abrigo, who accumulated 270 points.

The male champion was Kelvin Baul who tallied 285 points, five more than the second-placed Gidel Patrick with Randy Hailey occupying the 3rd place with 260 points. The other competitors were Pride Ade-Thomas (255), Darrin Noble (250) and Darren Allen (245). Meanwhile Guyana’s premier CrossFit athlete, Dillon Mahadeo, teamed up with Delice Adonis and Josh DeAgrella to win the RX Team competition collectively powering to

placed fourth with 250 points with fifth place going to Timothy McAndrew, Christina Rahman and Randolph Leitch on 245 points. Sponsors of the 2018 Guyana Fitness Games included Ansa McAl (I-Cool Water, Lucozade and Mackeson), St Joseph Mercy Hospital, Republic Bank, Pollo Tropical, Trophy Stall, Star Party Rentals, Fitness Express, Genesis Fitness Gym and Caribbean CrossFitter Community.

Monica Sharma (left) assisted by Mahinder Ghanshiam measuring the Concession area in the Green Stand at Providence. (ICC WWT20||John Ramsingh photo)

NEW and established entrepreneurs are invited to be part of history, as vendors, for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s World T20 which opens on November 9 at Providence stadium. The oganisers are creating a ‘close to home’ environment for spectators to feel comfortable while enjoying matches in the first ever standalone Women’s World T20 and are reaching out to local vendors. According to ICC WWT20 Logistics Officer (Guyana) Monica Sharma, persons or companies may apply for the exciting opportunities to become either roaming vendors, small- or medium-scale vendors for the entire tournament. Sharma further noted that once persons sign on to all of the match days they will be given the opportunity to sell at the warm-up matches at no additional cost. “We want to have the Guyanese-feel when viewing the matches at Providence so we definitely need local flavours to be incorporated. We need the best creole dishes, burgers, hot dogs, plantain chips, pastries, nuts and more. We are looking to ensure the true Guyanese experience and our food is a sure way to achieve that,” Sharma stated. While marking out concession areas in the stands at Providence, Sharma made it clear that “the window period is now open for all persons interested in sales at the upcoming WWT20 but will close on Friday October 26”. This will allow the organisers and vendors to adequately prepare for the 13 matches. In addition to official tournament matches on November 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 there are official warm-up matches scheduled for November 4, 6 and 7 all at the Providence stadium. Persons looking to establish or continue their businesses in the field must contact the Guyana Cricket Board on 227-7130 or Monica Sharma on 600-2223 for full details including prices. Ten of the world’s best female cricket teams will be battling for the title which is currently in the grasp of hosts, Windies, from November 9 to 24. Other than Guyana, preliminary matches will also be played in St Lucia while the semi-finals and final are scheduled for Antigua.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Reifer’s half-century puts Jaguars top of Group A Reifer – and kill any hopes Canada harboured of a surprise victory. Jaguars have 25 points from six matches in Group A,, seven clear of Trinidad and Tobago Red Force who have played one game less.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – West Indies all-rounder Raymon Reifer struck his second half-century in three days and third of the Regional Super50 as Guyana Jaguars produced a clinical run chase to beat minnows Canada by four wickets here Monday night and go top of the standings. In pursuit of 206 at Queen’s Park Oval, Jaguars recovered from a mid-innings stutter to reach their target in the 40th over, with the left-handed Reifer stroking an unbeaten 61. Captain Leon Johnson scored 37 and makeshift opener Sherfane Rutherford, 27, but Jaguars lost quick wickets to find themselves stumbling on 96 four in the 20th over. However, wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble slammed an enterprising 44 off 40 balls, to help Jaguars back on track – in tandem with

ting on 38 with Navneet Dhaliwal (20) for the first wicket and a further 48 for the second wicket with Kumar. Gunasekera faced 80 balls and struck two fours while Kumar struck three fours and a six in a 72-ball

All-rounder Raymon Reifer struck his second straight half-century for Guyana Jaguars.

Opting to bat earlier, Canada got a top score of 51 from Nitish Kumar while captain David Jacobs remained unbeaten on 34 and opener Ruvindu Gunasekera also got 34, in a total of 205 for seven off their 50 allotted overs. The visitors started well courtesy of Gunasekera, the left-hander put-

stay at the crease. However, Gunasekera’s demise at the end of the 24th over triggered a slide that saw Canada lose five wickets for 52 runs, to be tottering on 138 for six in the 41st over. Jacobs and Nikhil Dutta (29) then produced cameos in a 62-run, seventh-wicket stand off just 52 balls as

Canada gathered precious runs towards the end. The right-handed Jacobs faced 30 balls and struck three fours while Dutta’s innings came at a run-a-ball and included a four and a six. Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul was the best bowler with two for 26 from his 10 overs. In reply, Jaguars lost Trevon Griffith cheaply for nine in the fifth over with the score on 16 but the left-handed Johnson added 30 with Rutherford for the second wicket and a further 33 for the third with Chris Barnwell (9), to steady the innings. When Johnson, who faced 45 balls and counted seven fours, fell within 29 balls of Barnwell, it left Jaguars having to start over. But they rallied once again, this time through Reifer and Bramble, the pair adding a crucial 79 for the fifth wicket to put victory in sight. Reifer faced 73 deliveries and struck five fours and a six while Bramble bludgeoned three fours and two sixes in a quick-fire innings. Bramble and Ricardo Adams (1) fell in the space of seven balls but Reifer remained solid in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand with Permaul (12 not out) worth 30, to seal victory.

Fly Jamaica on board with Prime Minister’s Cup 2 THE second edition of the Prime Minister’s T20 Softball Cup received a major boost yesterday when Fly Jamaica made a presentation of an undisclosed sum towards the organisers, the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc. (GSCL Inc.). The three-day tournament is set for October 19-21 at various grounds in Georgetown. During the simple presentation ceremony held at the company’s head office at Ogle, Marketing Coordinator Patricia Lewis, prior to presenting the cheque, said the company is always serious of its corporate responsibility. Lewis further noted that the donation is a way of giving back to the society. She congratulated the GSCL Inc. for their efforts in promoting the sport, and at the same time she wished the teams every success during the tournament. In response, Mario Allicock who represented the or-

ganisers thanked the business entity for its support.

The final fixtures will be published in tomorrow’s

Fly Jamaica Marketing Coordinator, Patricia Lewis, hands over the sponsorship cheque to Mario Allicock, a representative of the organisers.

Meanwhile, the teams participating in the tournament were drawn in their respective groups last evening.

edition. Twenty-four teams have been confirmed for the tournament, inclusive of five international teams from the USA and Canada.

This year the organisers have indicated that there is a substantial increase of cash prizes for both categories. The winning teams from the Open and Masters categories will pocket $100 000 more than last year’s winners. This year $700 000 will be up for grabs in the Open category while the Masters will vie for the winners’ purse of $600 000. Both categories will have a runners-up prize of $100 000 as well as trophies. Everest cricket ground will host the finals on October 21. Lighted bails will be used in the competition and added entertainment will be provided by the Caribbean Hot Shot Crossover band and cheerleaders during the finals. The tournament is being played, in collaboration with National Sports Commission, Ministry of the Presidency Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport.

Less running, less possession paid off for France at World Cup By Brian Homewood

ZURICH, Switzerland (Reuters) - France let their opponents do the hard work on their way to winning the World Cup, running less than most teams and enjoying less than 50 percent possession throughout the tournament, a FIFA technical report showed yesterday. The report also showed that the French scored once in every six shots on goal - compared with once in 36 shots for Germany, who were knocked out in the first round. The two sides met in the UEFA Nations League last night. As expected, the FIFA report showed that Spain enjoyed the most possession at an average of 69 percent, but the style of play that brought them great dividends from 2008 to 2012 proved their undoing in Russia as they were knocked out in the second round. France ranked a modest 19th out of the 32 teams in terms of possession, controlling the ball an average of 49 percent of the time in their games, behind Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Peru among others. They also ran an average of 101 kilometres per match - the fifth-lowest figure at the tournament ahead of only Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria and Panama. Serbia, who covered nearly 113 kilometres per match, ran more than any other team but went out in the group stage.

FLASHBACK: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - September 9, 2018 France’s Kylian Mbappe and Raphael Varane celebrate with the World Cup trophy during a ceremony after the match. (REUTERS/Charles Platiau)

“France went out to win the matches in the most appropriate way for the talents they had,” former Scotland coach Andy Roxburgh, a member of FIFA’s technical study report team, told Reuters by telephone. “They didn’t play high intensity pressing football; it was very much - contain and counter attack.” But he said it would be very unfair to say France were dull. “They scored four goals in the World Cup final and they were incredibly entertaining in the counterattacks. There was so much quality in the team to admire,” he said. If there were a prize for entertainment value, however, it would likely go to top scorers Belgium for their bold tactics in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Brazil. “You are entertained if you see people take a risk, and Belgium versus Brazil was without doubt the most interesting game tactically,” said Roxburgh, referring to Belgium’s decision to leave three players in attack. “I spoke to Belgium’s coach (Roberto Martinez), and what they decided to do was so high risk it took them two days to persuade the players.” Roxburgh said one of the attractions compared with club football was that teams still maintained their own identities and style of play — even though most of the top players are now based in Europe. “If you look at the Champions league right now, you can probably identify three different basic schools of football coming from individual coaches from certain regions,” he said. “The great thing about international football is that there is still definitely a style element, a way of playing ... You can tell a Colombian team, a Brazilian team, or a Japanese team.” “Clearly, players based in Europe are going to bring that (influence) back home ... But if you’ve been brought up in a certain way of playing, and mentality then you usually retain that.” “There is no transfer market so you use the players who are available to you, and those players are brought up in home territory with the kind of philosophy and attitudes and mentality which come from there,” he added.

THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) facilitated a drug awareness session with the National U-20 squad as the players prepare to travel to Florida, USA for the CONCACAF U-20 Men’s Championship from November 1 to 22. The session, titled “Benefits of dissing illicit narcotics”, was facilitated by the Customs Anti- Narcotic Unit (CANU) on October 13 at the National Library’s conference room. Leading the discussion were CANU’s Legal Officer Konya Sandiford and Senior Manager Rayon Samuels, who explained key aspects of the law highlighting the concepts of “possession” and “trafficking,” and the corresponding penalties. The interactive session also saw CANU officials share tactics used by traffickers to lure potential mules, methods of concealment and the benefits of “dissing” the narcotic trade. Press stories and practical examples were shared with the eager participants. Prior the CANU presentation, GFF president Wayne Forde and first vice-president Brigadier (Ret’d.) Bruce Lovell, offered words of encouragement to the group. Forde urged the youth to embrace a positive

GFF teams up with CANU to host Drug Awareness session for National U-20 team

lifestyle and be good ambassadors of the sport while Lovell’s presentation titled, “Understanding Your D.A.D (Discipline, Attitude and Dedication)” went into detail about the three areas of focus and their impact on the positive development of the person. Among the thoughts he encouraged them to remember was: “If it is to be, it starts with me”. In wrapping up, Team Manager Daniel Thomas expressed appreciation to the speakers for their presentations and urged the national team members to activate the positive messages conveyed during the meeting in every aspect of their life. Present at the event was CANU’s Deputy Head Leslie Ramlall and members of the technical staff. The National U-20 team’s match schedule in the first round will see them face Guatemala on November 2. On November 6 they will come up against the Cayman Islands, while on November 8 and 10, the Guyanese men will play Curacao and El Salvador respectively.

CANU’s Legal Officer Konya Sandiford during an interaction with one of the National U-20 players

RHTY&SC congratulates Pestano on hat-trick THE Patron, Management and Members of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) MS, would like to offer profound congratulations to Clinton Pestano on his remarkable achievement in the current CWI Super50 tournament. Pestano took a hat-trick against Trinidad and Tobago, and the wickets included Lendl Simmons, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, three of the biggest names in West Indies cricket. Pestano’s hat-trick is the first by a Berbician fast bowler. Pestano has been a regular performer for the RHT Gizmos & Gadgets first division team over the years with both bat and ball. There have been moments of frustration and thoughts of quitting the game when he was not considered for selection

but he was always urged to keep his faith in God. The entire membership of Guyana’s leading youth and sports club would like to reassure Pestano that he has our full support. The club would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Farfan & Mendes Ltd, Bakewell, Pepsi, Gizmos & Gadgets in the career of Pestano and it is only a matter of time before our promising starts Kevin Sinclair, Kevlon Anderson, J u n i o r Sinclair join him in

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the Guyana team. The RHTY&SC would also like to extend best wishes to captain Leon Johnson and the rest of the Guyana team for a successful conclusion to the CWI Super 50 tournament.

Windies coach Law banned for first two ODIs over comments West Indies head coach Stuart Law

GFF investigating disciplinary matter involving players on the pitch

Clinton Pestano

THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has commenced an investigation into a physical altercation which occurred at the GFA-IMC Revival Cup last Sunday, at the Fruta Conquerors FC ground, Tucville. The scuffle, involving players from Beacons FC and Black Pearl FC respectively, occurred in the 30th minute of the first match of the day resulting in the match being abandoned. This is a regrettable incident, which has resulted in a thorough investigation being activated following which the matter will be referred to the GFF’s Disciplinary Committee and necessary steps taken to avoid a recurrence. The tournament will continue this weekend and the public will be updated on the outcome of the investigation.

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018