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Come to Guyana No. 104605

THURSDAY JULY 7, 2016

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3 - President Granger urges CaribbeanPagebusinesses to set up shop here - assures Guyana remains open to all CARICOM nationals Page 3

Focus on your education

Gov't moves to enforce Pension Act

Page

- PPP cries discrimination

Pregnant teen jailed, fined $1.8M for cocaine in sanitary pads, handbag Page 3

First Lady Sandra Granger presents a trophy for “Most Improved Student” to Alex Doodnauth of the West Ruimveldt Primary School in Georgetown, on Wednesday. Mrs Granger attended the school’s graduation ceremony and urged the students “To focus on your education, to take every opportunity offered to learn and to develop yourselves so that you can contribute to, and share in the wealth of our nation.” (Orlando Woodman/Ministry of the Presidency photo)

Patrima Isaacs

Wrong page numbers force suspension of Westford 16 fraud trial Page

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

U.S. Ambassador Perry Holloway and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo took the lead in cutting the cake to mark the U.S.’s Independence Day. Others in photo are Mrs Holloway, Mrs Sita Nagamootoo and First Lady Sandra Granger (Samuel Maughn photo)

Prosperous, inclusive Guyana good for the U.S.

By Svetlana Marshall

A STRONG, prosperous and inclusive Guyana means well for the U.S., Ambassador Perry Holloway said on Wednesday evening. “Our hope is that our relationship can lead to a more secure, prosperous, and inclusive Guyana. Not because we are overly altruistic, though sometimes we can be altruistic. It is because we are neighbours, trading partners, allies, and we share a cultural, historical, and literally a genetic shared history,” the U.S. Ambassador said Wednesday evening at a

- Ambassador Holloway

ceremony held at the Guyana Marriott to mark “The Fourth of July.” “A secure, prosperous, and inclusive Guyana is good for the United , because it means less crime in the Region, less danger from terrorism, more trade, better standards of living for both countries and hopefully more tolerance and acceptance in both countries and between both countries,” Ambassador Holloway added. Though the ceremony was organised to commem-

orate the U.S.’s 240th Independence Day, it was also a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between Guyana and the U.S. “We started out in 1966 by turning over the lease to Atkinson Airfield to the new country of Guyana. “You young folks may not know that the U.S. originally built Atkinson Airbase in 1941 to protect this area against German Underwater or U-Boats and to protect the bauxite deposits, which could be used by Germany to make aircraft. It eventually became Guyana’s international airport,” Ambassador Holloway said. In the 1960s, the U.S. overseas development arm, USAID, played a critical role in the construction of the Soesdyke/Linden Highway. The U.S. had also jumped to the country’s rescue during the 18 years of its worst economic times by supplying the

country with wheat, so that there could have been bread in Guyana. “President Jimmy Carter and others have participated in a number of national elections as observers and President Carter himself has long been a friend and admirer of Guyana, providing support and advice at key moments and earning the respect of all,” the U.S. Ambassador recalled. In recent years, the Caribbean Basin Initiative, and the PEPFAR Programme on which more than US$30M has been expended to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDs and to treat those who are infected, have taken centre stage as the countries continue to display “strong” diplomatic ties. “We opened a DEA Office, which very soon will pay off with big dividends. We have provided equipment, training and technical assistance to CANU and

SOCU,” he added. Guyanese have also been contributing to the U.S., Ambassador Holloway posited, while noting that there are approximately 800, 000 people in the U.S. of Guyanese descent. “They are teachers, doctors, scientists, store-owners, members of the police force and military, business people, artists, and everything else that is good.” Ambassador Holloway addressed the gathering in the presence of his wife Rosaura, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Bryan Hunt, Guyana’s First Lady Sandra Granger, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and his wife Sita Nagamootoo, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan and other Members of Government, members of the diplomatic community, and members of private and Non-Governmental Organisations. Prime Minister Nagamootoo, in his address, underscored the mutual relations that the Guyana and U.S. share, noting that in recent times, the central focus has been on transnational threats ranging from global security to climate change to diseases and crime.

“The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – an initiative of the United States Government prove the value of cooperation on both sides,” the Prime Minister posited, emphasing that it has contributed significantly to the reduction and control of the spread of HIV and AIDS. “It has also benefited Guyana by creating greater awareness, encouraging citizens to make responsible choices and by boosting Guyana’s national capacity,” he added, while expressing appreciation to the U.S. Guyana and the U.S., he stressed, must continue to model cooperation agreements to address the respective interests of both countries. Prime Minister Nagamootoo said too that Guyana is encouraged by American Oil Firm ExxonMobil’s oil find. “The discovery of petroleum reserves will allow Guyana to realise its true economic potentials…,” he said, while adding that the establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund will ensure that future generations are not denied the benefits of economic development. In this regard, he said Guyana looks forward to sharing best practices and experiences with the Government of the U.S.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Come to Guyana - President Granger urges Caribbean businesses to set up shop here - assures Guyana remains open to all CARICOM nationals

“We’re [Guyana and Suriname] open for investment and we’re open for development and we’re all a part of one community. So Guyana’s land space, Suriname’s land space and our resources, petroleum, gold, diamonds, bauxite are all part of the Caribbean patrimony. I want to see us develop together,” President Granger stated. By Ravin Singh WITH recent confirmation of a significant oil find brightening hopes of a prosperous economy and with sprawling interior lands begging for investment to satisfy the food demands of the Caribbean, President David Granger Wednesday extended an open invitation for the Region’s people to set up shop here. “We’ve got Brazilians here, we’ve got Chinese, we’ve got Russians here, we’ve got Canadians here; so why not [people from] other Caribbean countries?” the President told reporters at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown where he was meeting with other Caribbean leaders. Guyana’s economy has been touted to become the beacon of CARICOM in the next decade given the significant oil discovery by ExxonMobil. The U.S.-based company recently confirmed a “world-class discovery” of between 800 million and 1.4 billion barrels of oil following the drilling of the Liza-2 well in the Stabroek Bloc offshore Guyana. President Granger said he expects that some of the proceeds from the foreseen petroleum industry will go into a Sovereign Wealth Fund. In addition, he noted that the surpluses will be used to develop Guyana’s infrastructure

and education system. “We are quite mature and we know what we are going to do when the revenues start to flow. So the Guyanese people can look forward to a higher quality of life,” the President committed. Given Guyana’s potential for expansion of its economy, the Head of State also reaffirmed that his invitation for regional investments, which was issued last year, is still in effect. “That invitation is still extended. The states of the Caribbean, particularly Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica have well developed business communities and [today] I’ll be going into the hinterland with one of the CARICOM Prime Ministers to show him [investment] possibilities,” President Granger said. He pointed out that the Rupununi is larger than Costa Rica, which underscores the fact that its potential is still to be realised. “I am sure that they are interested and that they’ll be able to take a message back to their countrymen in the business sector to see Guyana and Suriname as a new horizon for development in agriculture and tourism.” The Head of State also boasted of the fact that Guy-

ana has the “best eco-tourism product on the continent,” while adding that he expects in years to come Guyana will be seeing a lot of development with its Caribbean colleagues. Quizzed further on whether Guyana remains open to nationals of other Caribbean countries, the President responded in the affirmative. Regarding Guyana’s role in CARICOM in the coming years, the President noted that the English-speaking country will assist in resolving all difficulties that might have impeded growth in the regional bloc, since its headquarters is located in Georgetown. He also revealed that the Heads of Government have been informed that Guyana and Suriname combined are larger than Germany, which underscores the need for CARICOM to regard these two states as being part of the hinterland of the Caribbean. “We’re [Guyana and Suriname] open for investment and we’re open for development and we’re all a part of one community. So Guyana’s land space, Suriname’s land space and our resources, petroleum, gold, diamonds [and] bauxite are all part of the Caribbean patrimony. I want to see us develop together,” President Granger stated.

Pregnant teen jailed, fined $1.8M for cocaine in sanitary pads, handbag

Isaacs conceals her face on her way to court Wednesday

PATRIMA Nima Isaacs, 19, was on Wednesday sent to jail for three years and ordered to pay a fine of $1.8 million after she was convicted for trying to traffic cocaine, which she stashed in sanitary pads she was wearing and in the handles of her handbag. She was busted with the cocaine, weighing some one pound, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Sunday. She was about to board a flight to the United States. The teen confessed to City Magistrate, Leron Daly that the cocaine belonged to her and that she intended to traffic the prohibited drug.

Patrima Isaacs Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor, Konyo SandifordThompson led the facts in court and contended that Isaacs on the day in

question was an outgoing passenger on a Caribbean Airline flight BW 526 destined for JFK International Airport, United States. Isaacs was stopped while at the airport scanner and a search was conducted by CANU ranks on her carry-on hand bag. The cocaine was found concealed in the handles of the woman’s multicolored straw bag. The ranks became suspicious and conducted a full body search on the woman and found a plastic parcel of cocaine in the form of a sanitary napkin between Isaacs’s legs. She was taken to the CANU headquarters,

where the drug was weighed in her presence. “I know that I did a wrong act and I’m very sorry; I will never do this again,” Isaacs told the court, as she begged for leniency. The prosecutor urged the Magistrate to consider the fact the Isaacs had assisted the Police with further investigation to arrest the recruiter who solicited her to fetch the drugs. Magistrate Daly, in her sentence, considered that the teen is pregnant, while at the same time placing weight on the seriousness of the offence and the manner in which the drug was concealed

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday July 7, 2016

British inquiry slams ex-PM Blair for catalog of failures over Iraq war

(Reuters) FORMER British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s justification, planning and handling of the Iraq War involved a catalog of failures, a seven-year inquiry concluded on Wednesday in a scathing verdict on Britain’s role in the conflict. Eight months before the 2003 invasion, Blair told U.S. President George W. Bush “I will be with you, whatever”, eventually sending 45,000 British troops into battle when peace options had not been exhausted, the long-awaited British public inquiry said. More than 13 years since the invasion, Iraq remains in chaos, with large areas under the control of Islamic State militants who have claimed responsibility for attacks on Western cities. Many Britons want Blair to face criminal action over his decision to take military action that led to the deaths of 179 British soldiers and more than 150,000 Iraqi civilians over the following six years. Critics also say it fueled a deep distrust in politicians

and the ruling establishment. The report was issued 13 days after Britons delivered a stunning blow to their political leaders by voting to leave the European Union. The inquiry, which was given unprecedented access to confidential government documents and took longer to complete than British military involvement in the conflict itself, said Blair had relied on flawed intelligence and determined the way the war was legally authorized was unsatisfactory. The threat posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s supposed weapons of mass destruction - the original justification for war - had been over-hyped and the planning for the aftermath of war had been inadequate, it found. “It is an account of an intervention which went badly wrong, with consequences to this day,” said the inquiry chairman, former civil servant John Chilcot. In a lengthy and passionate defense lasting almost two hours, Blair explained his

decision to back Bush and go to war alongside the United States in March 2003, at a time when the inquiry said Saddam posed no imminent threat. “I did not mislead this country. There were no lies, there was no deceit, there was no deception,” the former prime minister told reporters, looking gaunt and strained but growing animated as he responded to questions. “But there was a decision, and it was a controversial decision ... to remove Saddam and to be with America. I believe I made the right decision and the world is better and safer as a result of it.” The only Labour prime minister to win three general elections, Blair was in office for 10 years until 2007 and was hugely popular in his heyday, but Iraq has severely tarnished his reputation and legacy. A statement issued by Bush’s spokesman Freddy Ford said the former president had not had a chance to read the report but defended the war’s goal of ousting Saddam. “Despite the intelligence failures and other mistakes he has acknowledged previously, President Bush continues to believe the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power,” the statement said.

In a memo dated July 28, 2002, eight months before the invasion, Blair told Bush: “I will be with you, whatever. But this is the moment to assess bluntly the difficulties.” Outside the building where Chilcot delivered his findings, protesters chanted “Tony Blair, war criminal”. But the report itself stopped short of saying the war was illegal. “We have, however, concluded that the circumstances in which it was decided that there was a legal basis for military action were far from satisfactory,” Chilcot said. Reg Keys, whose son, 20-year-old Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, was killed in Iraq, said: “We all know who the key players are ... who took part in this most shambolic episode in British politics. We would like to see all those key players face some form of accountability.” H e a d d e d : “ I f t h a t ’s through the legal channels, then we will look at that and see what’s viable and appropriate. It has been passed over to lawyers.”

BLAIR’S SORROW Blair said he would take the same decisions again, and that he did not see the action as the cause of terrorism today, blaming outside forces for continuing sectarian violence in Iraq and the legacy of the Arab Spring for the emergence of Islamic State militants. However, he acknowledged mistakes had been made. “The intelligence assessments made at the time of going to war turned out to be wrong. The aftermath turned out to be more hostile, protracted and bloody than ever

“I WILL BE WITH YOU” The inquiry report, running to 2.6 million words, or more than four times the length of “War and Peace”, shed light on the interaction between Blair and Bush in the months leading up to the invasion, which has long been the subject of speculation about secret deals and pledges.

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we imagined,” he said. “For all of this, I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you will ever know.” Chilcot said there was no imminent threat from Saddam at the time of the invasion and the chaos in Iraq and the region which followed should have been foreseen. Britain had joined the invasion without exhausting peaceful options, and thereby undermined the authority of the United Nations Security Council. “It is now clear that policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged and they should have been,” Chilcot said. He also said that Blair’s government’s judgments about the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were “presented with unjustified certainty”. No such weapons were discovered after the war.

Throughout its report, the inquiry, which cost 10 million pounds ($13 million), criticized Blair’s leadership, saying he over-estimated his ability to influence U.S. decisions on Iraq and took major decisions without consulting his cabinet. The report listed a catalog of mistakes, saying the war was poorly-resourced, badly-planned and in the turmoil that followed the invasion, there was a total failure to conduct a reappraisal of policies with the only strategic objective to cut troop deployment numbers. “It fell far short of strategic success,” the report said. Chilcot said Britain did not have the capacity to engage in

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campaigns in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and said it was humiliating that the military in 2007 had had to make a deal with a militia that had become dominant in the southern Iraqi city of Basra which Britain was supposed to control. Iraq is still struggling with the widespread violence unleashed by the war. On Saturday, 250 people were killed in Baghdad’s worst car bombing since the U.S.-led invasion. “I wish Saddam would return; he executed many of my family but he is still better than these politicians and clerics who got Iraq to the way it is,” said Kadhim Hassan al-Jabouri, an Iraqi who was filmed attacking Saddam’s statue with a sledgehammer after the invasion. Others said they were grateful to Washington and London for ending his dictatorship. The purpose of the inquiry was not to point fingers but for the British government to learn lessons from the invasion and occupation that followed. “We cannot turn the clock back but we can ensure that lessons are learned and acted on,” Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament. “It is crucial to good decision-making that a prime minister establishes a climate in which it’s safe for officials and other experts to challenge existing policy and question the views of ministers and the prime minister without fear or favor.” Jeremy Corbyn, the current leader of Blair’s Labour Party and a fervent pacifist, told parliament that the war was an act of aggression based on a false pretext that had fueled and spread terrorism across the Middle East. “I now apologize sincerely on behalf of my party for the disastrous decision to go to war,” he said in a later speech.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Brazil’s Rousseff gives impassioned defence against impeachment

(Reuters) Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff presented her written defense to a Senate impeachment trial on Wednesday, denouncing the proceedings as a farce and saying her alleged crimes were no more than “routine acts of budgetary management.” “Everybody knows that you are judging an honest woman, a public servant dedicated to just causes,” the suspended leftist leader said in a document read aloud by her lawyer and former Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo. “I’ve honored those who voted for me.” R o u s s e ff ’s r e m o v a l would mark an end to 13 years of leftist rule over Latin America’s largest economy by the Workers Party that began in 2003 under her mentor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Her defense made clear she is sticking to the strategy of refuting the impeachment process as a soft “coup” led by her one-time Vice President Michel Temer, a conservative who has taken over since mid-May when the Senate voted to try Rousseff. Rousseff has repeatedly said her impeachment is an

Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff attends a news conference with foreign media in Brasilia, Brazil, June 14, 2016. (REUTERS/UESLEI MARCELINO) tions that she broke fiscal attempt by Temer and other right-leaning members of her one-time governing coalition partner, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), to remove her because she did not impede a sweeping probe of corruption at state-run oil company Petrobras. That investigation has ensnared dozens of top politicians, including the former

speaker of the lower house of Brazil’s Congress, who led the impeachment campaign against Rousseff. Rousseff herself is not directly accused of corruption. But Brazil’s chief prosecutor has asked for her to be investigated for obstructing justice in the Petrobras case. She has denied any wrongdoing. Her impeachment is technically focused on accusa-

laws by disguising the size of the budget deficit to make the economy look healthier in the run-up to her 2014 re-election. Rousseff has said her

budget maneuvering was no different than under previous presidents. But critics have said Rousseff borrowed far more money from state banks than her predecessors to plug budget gaps and hide the real state of Brazil’s economy. Rousseff ’s suspension in May had ample political support because her popularity had plunged amid Brazil’s worst recession since the 1930s and public outrage over a string of corruption scandals involving her government. A recent poll showed interim President Temer is also highly unpopular. “What most hurts right now is the injustice,” Rousseff said in her written defense on Wednesday. “What hurts most is to perceive that I am the victim of a judicial and political farce.” Rousseff said she believes she is being targeted because she “never gave in

to blackmail. I never accepted ... the backroom deals so well known in the traditional politics of our country.” Rousseff warned that should the Senate vote to find her guilty, as it is widely expected to do next month, her permanent removal would result in a Temer government that would shift Brazil’s politics to the right without a win at the ballot box. She said that would turn back democratic gains made during the fight against the nation’s long dictatorship, during which Rousseff herself was arrested and tortured while spending three years in prison. “A government that was not directly elected by the people will not have the legitimacy to propose solutions to our crises,” Rousseff’s defense read. “A government without popular support will not solve a crisis because it itself will always be the crisis.”

Editor-In-Chief

Nigel Williams Editor

Godfrey Wray

Editorial: 227-5216; 227-5204 guyanachronicle.com wnigel10@hotmail.com gnnleditorial@gmail.com

Editorial

Building turn-key houses

EFFORTS by the Ministry of Communities to build on the housing policies of past administrations are commendable. Outside of a family and education, owning a house is often seen as one of man’s greatest accomplishments. A house is not only a physical structure , but also a monetary asset that can be used towards future investment, serving as surety. News recently that the Ministry of Communities, through the minister with responsibility for Housing led a delegation to Suriname to follow up on a proposal submitted by a housing construction company to build turn-key houses is somewhat perplexing. Guyana is not short of turn-key housing development, the intellectual capacity, nor the construction methodology to get it done. To Guyana’s credit, its government, civil society and citizens have utilised various approaches in this regard, as evident in all three counties. In Essequibo, there are housing schemes such as in Henrietta and Suddie; Festival City and South Ruimveldt in Georgetown; and BERMINE and Town Council in Berbice to name some. The trade unions also participated in turn-key communities such as TucVille the Stevedore Scheme in Georgetown, Tucber in New Amsterdam and Kwakwani in the Berbice River. These houses still stand and having been built with the ingenuity of local labour, and at times utilising the prospective home-owners (i.e. self-help) under supervision of skilled foremen, with technical support coming from the housing ministry. It should be said that these houses were built in the 1960s and 1970s, which is more than enough testimony to the capabilities of Guyanese and possibilities when given opportunity to be self-sufficient. On the financial side, prospective home-owners sourced funding through various lending institutions, such as the state-owned Mortgage Finance Bank, New Building Society, credit unions and private banks, using the properties as surety. In some instances where public sector workers participated in building their houses, government facilitated time-off from work with pay and other benefits. Where skilled artisans are needed today Guyana has more than a ready pool. Guyanese carpenters, masons, plumbers, furniture-makers, painters, draughtsmen and so forth can be found all over the country. Many have exported their skills and are in high demand in the Caribbean and afar, even as some choose to remain or return in the hope that employment or economic opportunities can be had. Reportedly a trade school, the Guyana Industrial Training Centre which still functions, was built to provide the housing development drive with ready, available, and

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday July 7, 2016

Don’t give up Dear Editor: WHEN I wrote the Common Entrance Examination for the first time I got Alleyne’s High School and on my second try, Richard Ishmael Secondary School. My six years at Richard Ishmael shaped my life in ways I could not imagine it would when I held the Common Entrance results in my hand. Richard Ishmael was an education. The teachers were dedicated. My first exposure to debating was at high school; those experiences live with me. My first chance at leadership was serving as a Prefect. Some of the lessons from that simple task I still carry with me. The extra-curricular

activities were a blessing, I grabbed the opportunity to help organise concerts etc. and was an eager spectator at sporting events. What was a greater blessing was a good family and more particularly, a great mother who inspired me every step of the way. The empowerment of my mother in making sure I had all I needed for school and the motivation she gave told me very early in life I could do anything with my life. I went to Richard Ishmael Secondary proudly. It was not considered by any measure a “top school,” but that did not stop me from going on to higher education, earning certification in Industrial Relations and Management, a diploma in Communication Studies and Bachelor

of Laws degree (LLB); currently,I’m in the stages of the Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies. Richard Ishmael inspired me to give back more than 10 years teaching experience to the sector. I would go on to work for the Office of the Prime Minister and serve in the second highest position in the largest municipality in our country. The salient point I leave with you is that the school you go to is not the final word on who you become in life, the same way the Bible tells us a man’s life is not determined by its beginnings. I leave with you another biblical injunction which has served me well: “The race is not for the swift, nor the battle for the

strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) Good teachers, great family, some motivation and encouragement, self-determination and the purposes of God being fulfilled in our lives all go towards who we become and not just the high school we go to. Congrats to all Guyana’s children who wrote these exams. God bless you. Regards SHEROD AVERY DUNCAN, LLB, JP. Deputy Mayor, Municipality of Georgetown

Heads of Gov’t are empowered to act, yet are calling for action Dear Editor: IT was observed that at the opening (July 4, 2017) of the Annual Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) that presenters on matters relating to advancing Caribbean integration were taking the positions of calling for action. It needs to be said that as Heads of Government, the President and Prime Ministers are empowered to act under the CARICOM Treaty, Charters, and each nation’s respective laws, and in keeping with the duties and responsibilities of the offices held. Caribbean countries are no longer colonies, thereby requiring the call for action from elsewhere (the Crown). The Caribbean peoples are no longer colonized, thereby having to call on the

Crown to act in keeping with their welfare. Heads of Government are in charge of the day-to-day business in their respective countries and their party or group holds significant sway in the legislature. It means that in addition to day-to-day administration of the Government, they can also proceed with making laws to advance integration. Heads of Government are not Leaders of the Opposition or minority, thereby not having control of the executive, and requiring action on the part of the executive which they head. Calling on others to act when you are empowered to act has been a new fad of the Heads of Government and executive and it should cease. This had never been a practice of Heads of Government of yore. It can be recalled that Forbes Burnham, Eric Williams, Errol Barrow, Michael Manley, Vere

appropriate pool of skills. Outside of that, others got to learn through apprenticeship to experienced artisans. Unemployment in Guyana is very high. Most notably among the unemployed is the demographic age 40 years and younger who make up about approximately 65 percent of the population. In the retired pool, there are skilled and talented persons, some of whom are retired, not due to inability, but that of statutory requirements, who would be willing and able to work alongside the younger generation in the continuous process of being involved in the building of Guyana and helping the housing drive. When the minister reported that the Suriname-based company made a commitment to hire 50 percent Guyanese and found this remarkable, no disrespect is meant to this minister in saying that Guyanese possess the capacity and capability to do this project utilising 100 percent of their labour. Looking at the model house which is presented as proof of the contractor’s work, outside of the ministry’s recognition of our topography that local houses would be built on stilts, it ought to be of pri-

Bird Sr., Eugene Charles and others came to CARICOM with a vision, shared it with the Region’s peoples, engaged stakeholders, and moved to act. Most of the time the political work was done before the convening of conferences, which were used to fine-tune proposals, make decisions, and return to their respective countries for implementation. What the in tegr ation process needs to realise the objectives set out therein is for Heads of Government to recognise that they have the power to act on the things they are calling for action on. Heads should use the muscles that come with the offices they occupy, and bring before the Region a Plan of Action they will embrace, having done preparatory work, and making known the respective arms of CARICOM tasked with getting the job done.

It is the absence of political will and commitment to the integration process that is responsible for many decisions taken not being implemented by the respective members. A lot of work has been done by the technicians, but beyond the work prepared, implementation, which the politicians are in charge of, have been slow. The Region’s peoples can only act on the basis of clear guidelines and enabling environments created, which the Heads of Government have the responsibility to ensure. The peoples await leadership and have been calling on the respective governments to act, notwithstanding some have taken initiatives to proceed on their own to make integration work. Regards LINCOLN LEWIS

ority, given that Guyana has embarked on a Green Economy, to retrofit new houses likewise. The proposed turn-key housing project provides ample opportunity to do ground-breaking work in creating green communities through appropriate climate ventilation, natural lighting in houses, hybrid use of energy, environmentally compliant waste-management system, recreational and mental facilities (playground, library/reading centres), community building, neighbourhood association, proper water management, roads with sidewalks, and so forth. In the 21st century when the world is rethinking development cognisant of climate change and the need to protect the environment, the APNU+AFC administration can be on the cusp of tapping into the ingenuity, natural resources, skills and talents of Guyanese in presenting an alternative to the present. There is nothing Guyanese cannot do when given the opportunity, equally as there is nothing wrong with Guyana that cannot be made right by Guyanese. These turn-key houses should prove a start in this direction.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Major parties must work together

Dear Editor,

THE People United and General Workers Union(PU&GWU) is calling on both APNU+AFC Government and the Opposition Party,the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic to work together in the interest of Guyana by proposing and passing new amendments to the existing laws of Guyana that will move the country to a higher level as it relates to greater economic development, modern health care,a healthy and safer environment, elimination of substantive comminutes/government infrastructures, job creation, a safe and conducive environment that will attract local and foreign investors, reduction or elimination of poverty , improved technology, reduction in the general cost of living, reduction of the crime rate and most of all, a higher and improved education

sector to meet international standards. Editor, During the campaign trail of all the general, regional and local government elections held in Guyana, both the APNU+AFC (Government) party and the opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic had promised the citizens of Guyana a good and better life and general development for Guyana if they stay or get into power. Further, they had made promises in their elections manifestos; if the said manifestos were legal documents, both parties could have been challenged in court for not fulfilling their promises made in their manifestos. Guyana has too many resources for the government to be borrowing money from other countries ,the IMF or the World Bank etc.; and also, no Guyanese should be out of a job, based on a number of resources being produced out of the soil of Guyana on a daily basis.

Editor, The PU&GWU is calling on the APNU+AFC Government to manage the country’s resources properly and remove Guyana from the Third World countries list; but for this to become a reality, both APNU+AFC Government and the opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic will have to work together in the interest of the country and make amendments to existing laws and implement new laws to the constitution of Guyana that will pave the way for the devolvement of welfare of Guyana and its citizens as proposed in this letter by the PU&GWU not forgetting that a lot of things have changed in the world over the years that Guyana’s constitution was made and implemented and Guyana needs to sign onto a lot of international laws, conventions and treaties with other countries and international organisations for Guyana to reach international standards

Wide consultations needed on constitutional reform Dear Editor

THE Guyana Constitution– familiarly known as the Burnham Constitution–is flawed. It has always been flawed. The person who was the first to benefit from its enactment, constructed the constitution so he could have benefited from its flaws. Even after the 1980 amendments, it still remains flawed. The sad reality is that the constitution is flawed, to the hurt of the progress and development of Guyana. The constitution is so flawed that all the opposition parties over the last 50 years had problems with how the respective governments applied it. President Cheddi Jagan had a problem with the Guyana Constitution. Especially the fact that Burnham was Executive President for life. President Desmond Hoyte had a problem with the Guyana Constitution. Especially when President-elect, Janet Jagan, blatantly disregarded the injunction from the Chief Justice. (The Burnham Constitution allowed for such behaviours.) The APNU+AFC leaders, while in opposition, had a problem with the Guyana Constitution. To avoid an embarrassing no-confidence motion against him, President Ramotar prorogued the parliament. (The Burnham

Constitution allowed for such actions.) The Guyana Constitution is so flawed that the APNU+AFC coalition while in opposition and on the campaign trail, promised the nation, faithfully, that if the people elected them, in their first 100 days they would reform the flawed constitution. Now it is looking like this will be another unfulfilled coalition promise. It was published that President Granger is refusing to give a timeline for the promised constitutional reform. This is sad. In what appears to be a shifting of the goalpost, the President is saying that he needs to see some national discourses on the proposed amendments. Editor, that sounds plausible. However, it seems like an attempt to further delay the much needed constitutional reform. If the President cannot, or will not, give a timeline for constitutional reform, then he should at the least give a timeline for the beginning of the public discourses he claims he needs to see. For the President to simply tell the country that he needs public discourses on the matter, yet do not say who will be responsible for organising those discourses, or when they will begin, is really unacceptable. Editor, there is a current discourse going on in relation

to the amendment of the Juvenile Justice Bill. Given my knowledge in this field, a draft copy of the bill was sent to me by the Public Security Ministry. I made my inputs for additions and deletions. A few weeks ago, several stakeholders were summoned to the Pegasus Hotel for a public discourse on the bill. If the President wishes to have public discourses on amending the Constitution, there needs to be a similar template. A draft document of the proposed amendments that Mr Nigel Hughes submitted to the President needs to be sent to stakeholders, or otherwise published. Some structured group needs to be assigned to organising the public discourses across the country. And timelines, both for the commencement of the public discourses and the compilation of those findings, need to be established. Aside from these deliberate structures, reform to the publicly acknowledged flawed Guyana Constitution will never see the light of day. Editor, please allow me to end by saying that it is very disheartening how some politicians become so flippant about the promises they make in desperate times. Regards PASTOR WENDELL JEFFREY

and requirements to be removed from the Third World countries list. Editor, The current political climate that is being created by the APNU+AFC Government and opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic need to change to bring about development in Guyana. Pointing fingers and condemning each other will not fix any of the issues affecting the county or its citizens, but trying and working harder to reach common ground on all such important matters and focusing on cooperating with each other to move the coun-

try forward, as both political parties have a responsibility to serve the country and its citizens will bring about the changes that Guyana need etc. In the absence of both the APNU+AFC Government and opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic not working together and cooperating has resulted in as follows: the cost of living continues to go up, a number of citizens remain out of jobs , the resources of Guyana continue to ship out and develop other countries, the crime rate is on the rise ,poverty continues to increase etc., not forgetting that the citizens of

Guyana have voted for both APNU+AFC Government and the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic to look after the country and their interest and also the constitution of Guyana provides for them to do same at the level of parliament and/or during debates with each other etc. Publisher, editor or readers can feel free to make contact with me on my listed cell# or email address for any further information, comment or question that you may wish to ask. Yours Truly MICAH WILLIAMS

Eid ul Fitr Congratulations

Dear Editor

Al-Mustafa Islamic Trust (AMIT) wishes heartiest congratulations to the Guyanese Muslim community for the conclusion of the Holy month of Ramadhaan, that initiates the celebration of Eid ul Fitr. Eid ul Fitr is the celebration that is incumbent upon Muslims as it concludes the 29 or 30 days of fasting (depending on the moon sighting) of the Holy month of Ramadhaan and promotes a new opportunity for Muslims to unite with their fellow believers, and share their contributions.

This is also seen as an indication to the Muslims by Allah, the Almighty, to spread social and economic equality in the society, since giving charity is highly encouraged on this day. Muslims from across the world, of different races, ethnicities, nationalities and sects, come together in their Mosques or Islamic Centres, to offer specified prayer and embrace each other in happiness and gratitude for what they collectively went through in the Holy month of Ramadhaan. It is prohibited to fast on this specific day due to its significance.

AMIT advises the Muslim community of Guyana to remember all the people who gave their lives away during the recent deadly terrorist attacks in Iraq, Arabia and other places. It is necessary for every Muslim to remember their partners and fellow believers in other parts of the world, while supplicating to Allah, the Almighty. AMIT happily invites all the Muslims to celebrate and enjoy this auspicious event Regards Al-Mustafa Islamic Trust (AMIT)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Gov’t moves to enforce Pension Act - PPP cries discrimination

MINISTER of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence says her new position on old age pension is dictated by the law, and she is simply enforcing the old age pension act, which was neglected over the years. Her announcement that overseas-based Guyanese would not be able to access their pension did not sit well with many citizens home and abroad. On Tuesday during an interview with Government Information Agency (GINA), the minister disclosed that measures are being put in place by her Ministry to ensure that Guyanese who live in other countries do not access a Guyana pension. Minister Lawrence emphasised that there will be no “double-dipping” under her watch. “We have persons who believe that it is their right to live in a foreign country and collect their pensions here… we are saying no, it is not going to happen,” she was quoted as saying. However, in response to growing criticisms, the Social Protection Minister, in a statement on Wednesday, maintained that the Ministry is simply implementing the Law. Minister Lawrence pointed out that old age pension

is not an entitlement from employment, as in the case of government pension and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pension, but a monthly pension of $18,200 paid to eligible Guyanese aged 65 and older. It is provided for under the old age pension Act (Chapter 36:03), which states that applicants must meet certain statutory conditions to qualify for old age pension. According to the conditions outlined in the Act, applicant must have attained the age of 65 and satisfied the appropriate authority that he or she has been a citizen of Guyana for at least 10 years, immediately preceding his or her claim for a pension. “In the event that the person is temporarily absent from Guyana, the applicant or pensioner must satisfy the authority, usually through the provision of the person’s passport and an immigration check conducted by the Ministry, that the period of absence from Guyana has not exceeded two years during the past 20 years, according to law,” the Social Protection Minister pointed out as she alluded to the Act. It was also pointed out that persons receiving old age pension may become ineligi-

as she addressed reporters at Freedom House.

PPP/C Chief Whip Gail Teixeira ble if that person is a resident in a charitable institution that provides board and lodging; is in prison or has migrated. ERRONEOUS “The current policy that both the previous and current Government has followed to date dictates that persons applying for old age pension must have been living in Guyana for at least two years preceding their application. It is precisely this approach that was highlighted by the recently conducted audit as erroneous, since the law actually prescribes that the old age pension applicant ‘must have been ordinarily resident in Guyana during the 20 years immediately preceding

Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence his or her claim for pension,’” she said. But the opposition’s Chief Whip in the National Assembly, Gail Teixeira begged to differ. According to the Teixeira, it would appear as though the Social Protection Minister is unaware of the Constitution and Legal conundrum she has opened. “If a Guyanese, as defined in the Constitution, earned their pension in another country, it cannot be considered double-dipping, if they apply and are approved for the non-contributing old age pension in Guyana, which is provided for under the Poor Relief Law,” the opposition Chief Whip posited,

A CONTRADICTION She further opined that such a move by the Social Protection Ministry is a contradiction of Government’s call for overseas-based Guyanese to return home and invest. “Is the minister aware that many Guyanese return here to live in Guyana after long years of toil and cold weather and hardships, to live here on the pensions they have duly earned in another country, and most have to return every six months to keep that pension available?” The old age pension was meant to help the poor and vulnerable, she emphasised, in addition to those who did not earn public service pension, National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pension or any private pension. However, the PPP had removed the means test, which had stated prior to 1994, that if a person was earning a pension, he or she would not be qualified for old age pension. “Is the minister, by her statement, returning to the pre-1992 position of the PNC Government, stating that one could only have one pension?” In order to access old age

pension, Guyanese must be living in Guyana for a minimum of two years. The Opposition Chief Whip also took umbrage of the minister’s decision to single out residents of the hinterland regions. In the interview with GINA, Minister Lawrence contended that there are persons in hinterland regions with more than one identification card who collect pension under one name and then travel to another region and collect under another name. “Interesting, the minister didn’t focus on the one per cent, who are upper middle class people, who also applied, and who also receive old age pension, but instead she focuses on the interior residents, most of whom are Amerindians, most of whom are unable to earn NIS pensions, instead, she declared that people collect from two administrative regions, if the minister knows anything about the interior of Guyana, this is highly improbable as the travelling cost would be more than the actual contributions of the old age pension.” The PPP is therefore calling on the Government to review its decisions with respect to the access of old age pension.

Surviving Cancer & other potholes

“A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life”- Coco Chanel I ran my hand over my freshly cut hair as I stared at my face in the mirror. ‘Wow’, my face is big’, I mused in my head. “It looks so good on you!” Ann exclaimed as I continued to check out my new G.I Jane look. She was right, it did look good. It was weird to see all of my face not framed by any hair, but it was not bad look, it made me look tough. I needed that. When I awoke that morning the sides of my hair had mostly fallen out. My hair was not necessarily just falling out from the roots it was literally breaking off. My hair had become brittle; it would just break off wherever I touched it. I took a scissors and chopped it off in a haphazard way; large chunks of hair from the top of my head because the heaviness of hair was becoming painful to my scalp. My head looked like a lawnmower had run over it, I kept it tied up until Ann arrived to shave it off with the buzzer, in what turned out to

be a moment of hysterical laughing as I would tense up and get ticklish at the approaching sound and touch of the buzzer. I had not expected to lose so much of my hair in under a month but chemotherapy affects everyone’s hair differently. Most people think that chemotherapy drugs always cause hair loss. But some don't cause any hair loss at all, or only slight thinning. Other types of chemotherapy may cause complete hair loss, including eyelashes, eyebrows, underarm, leg and sometimes pubic hair. Hair loss happens because the chemotherapy affects all cells in the body, not just the cancer cells. The lining of the mouth, stomach, and the hair follicles are especially sensitive because those cells multiply rapidly just like the cancer cells. The difference is that the normal cells will repair themselves, making these side effects temporary. Cold caps that protect the scalp from burning up from the drugs can help but this depends

on the type of drugs being administered as it does not always protect against certain drugs and dosages. Shaving my head helped me to have some sort of control over what was happening to my hair, it was easier emotionally to affect the change myself and not draw the painful process out. Because cancer doesn’t attack just your body, it attacks your mind and spirit one must have a certain amount of vanity and lots of self-love to deal with its physical results, there are wigs and makeup out there to fix the ugly side effects- because that’s what cancer does, it makes you look ugly, it strips down the mask for all to see and leaves you naked faced and feeling vulnerablebut inner beauty, strength and positivity will always shine through the veil of superficiality and that’s more powerful than any fix from eyebrow gel. (Next week: Round two chemo and more side effects.)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Granger hopes Venezuela border controversy goes to int’l court in four months By Ravin Singh PRESIDENT David Granger is hopeful that the outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will declare a move to the International Court of Justice within four months to settle once and for all the border controversy with Venezuela. His comment came at the start of Wednesday’s meetings of the 37th Heads of Government meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Guyana’s border controversy with Venezuela dates back to over a century, with renewed and forceful claims after the American oil firm ExxonMobil announced a giant oil find offshore Guyana last year. With the oil discovery approximately 120 miles offshore Guyana, Venezuela extended its land claim and sought this country’s Atlantic front. The decree, deemed by the President as “obnoxious,” was withdrawn after CARICOM backed Guyana in the controversy. It was back in 1966, on the eve of Guyana’s independence from Britain, that Venezuela claimed the 1899 arbitral award which settled the countries’ borders was null and void. That triggered the socalled Geneva Agreement, which mandated the United Nations Secretary- General to dictate a mechanism to settle

the controversy as provided for in Chapter VI of the Charter of the United Nations. The then UN Secretary-General selected the Good Officers Process as one of the specific means available under the Charter. However, President Granger contended last year that after 25 years, the Good Officers Process has been exhausted. “It is, therefore, not an infraction, but a fulfilment, of the Geneva Agreement to seek another peaceful option if one tried option failed to resolve the controversy,” the President had said. Subsequently, there was a proposed resolution, as was promised by the Venezuelan delegation at the

ident Granger’s pleading with CARICOM to reaffirm its collective support for the principles enshrined in international law for safeguarding territorial integrity, sovereignty and national independence. And with CARICOM reaffirming its support for Guyana, President David Granger said on Wednesday that Guyana was very fortunate at the last Heads of Government meeting to get Venezuela to withdraw and change its “obnoxious decree.” However, the Head of State made it clear that presently, Guyana is not satisfied with a dormant status of the border spat. “Right now we’re not

File photo shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and President David Granger at a meeting with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last September

“All Mr. Ban Ki-moon has to do within the remaining months and weeks of his office is select a course that doesn’t involve warfare… we’ve asked him to choose a course that would take the controversy to a juridical settlement and we hope he does this within the next four months before he demits office.”

– President Granger

36th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government Conference last year. Topical during the fourday meet, the border dispute garnered support in favour of Guyana from the regional bloc. This followed Pres-

satisfied, but CARICOM is aware of the developments which have taken place and is in full support of Guyana’s sovereignty. The Commonwealth is in support of Guyana’s sovereignty. So as far as the Venezuelan claim is

concerned, this is something that is not necessarily invented for the petroleum matter. It has been bothering Guyana for the last 50 years and we want to bring it to a juridical conclusion at this point in time,” Granger said.

He went on to express his hope in the UN’s Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon choosing a course for the peaceful resolution of the controversy. “That’s his [Ban Kimoon’s] job - to simply select a course and it is up to Guyana and Venezuela to pursue that course. And our selection is the course that will take us to the courts” the President added. But according to him, he remains hopeful that Mr Ban will make a decision on the course of action before he demits office in the near future. “All Mr. Ban Ki-moon has to do within the remaining months and weeks of his office is select a course that

doesn’t involve warfare… we’ve asked him to choose a course that would take the controversy to a juridical settlement and we hope he does this within the next four months before he demits office,” the President said. Ban Ki-moon is the eighth UN Secretary-General, who first took up office on January 1, 2007. In 2011, he was unanimously re-elected by the General Assembly and will serve until December 31, 2016. Last year, the UN announced that for the first time in its history, the 193 member states, including those of the Caribbean, will be included “totally” in the selection of the next UN Secretary-General.

‘Way less’ than $500 an hour to park in city THE Mayor and City Council (M&CC) Wednesday declared that when the parking meter system comes into effect, citizens will be asked to pay “way less” than $500 per hour. The M&CC is angry that some news entities continue to feed the public that parking will cost $125 per rotation, and hence $500 per hour. “It is already counterproductive when the Council has to deal with internal differences that cannot be contained within the walls of the Council Chamber. It is, however, back-breaking to undo the damage caused by misinformation and thus [we are asking] media houses to be mindful of the information they feed the public. You must remember that your reporting has a great effect on the reaction of citizens and contributes immensely toward the positive or negative movement of this country,” a statement from City Hall said on Wednesday. The M&CC said it is unfortunate that dissatisfaction within

- City Council

the Council’s circle has led stakeholders to publicly air their concerns, rather than speak within the membership of the municipal body. “This has forced unwarranted public concern and created a media frenzy that persists with incorrect information. Before clarifications were sought from the municipality about utterances on the parking meter issue, speculations and unsupported statements were being made to the country, including the G$500 an hour parking fee that the media continue to feed the public. “The Council wishes to state clearly that G$500 will not be the cost of parking in the city. Her Lordship Mayor Patricia Chase-Green as well as the city’s Chief Executive Officer, Town Clerk Royston King, have stated repeatedly that discussions are ongoing with the facilitator of the parking meter project and so far, it can confidently be stated that parking

will cost citizens way less that G$500 per hour,” the statement continued. M&CC said it understands that a meter project may not be in favour of all sectors of the city, but that it must be recognised that the decision to implement parking meters has long been on the slate for Georgetown. “We understand, too, that persons are concerned that paid parking is an added expense, but for the benefit of our capital and country at large, the Council recognises the need to increase revenue to fulfil the functions of the city and at the same time, keeping the pockets of the people in mind. “There are numerous benefits to adding parking meters, for instance, the immediate change in the city’s landscape. The vision this municipality has for Georgetown is a clean, green and well organised city. As we have stated before, this change requires change in attitudes and behaviours.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

AG debunks Nandlall’s claims over FATF exit

… insists int’l financial watchdogs pleased with steps to fight money-laundering By Ariana Gordon ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams on Tuesday rubbished claims by the Opposition PPP which claimed that he misled the nation in announcing that Guyana was being removed from the review lists of the international financial watchdog. Williams said that Guyana has satisfied the requirements to be taken off the radar of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and its regional arm, namely, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and that a visit this September will pave the way for the exit process. “Why would I come here and lie and the international

In addition, it was noted that Guyana has established a fully operational and effectively functioning Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and has put in place effective measures for customer due diligence and enhancing financial transparency. The plenary also noted that Guyana has beefed up requirements for the reporting by banks of suspicious transactions and an adequate supervisory framework has been established. “After every meeting, FATF issues a Public Statement summarising the important decisions it has made in respect of each country that is under its review process. I have carefully examined FATF’s Public Statement in respect of Guyana. “Nowhere in that statement is it posited, either ex-

Basil Williams, Attorney General

Anil Nandlall, former Attorney General

community is watching things all the time?” Williams asked. “FATF has commended Guyana for the fact that within six months we passed four pieces of legislation and the progress we have made within a year,” the Attorney General stated, dismissing claims by the Opposition’s spokesperson on legal affairs, Anil Nandlall, that the public statement issued by FATF does not state that Guyana is cleared to exit the FATF and CFATF regimes. CFATF, at its plenary meeting held in June, 2016, on improving Global Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering Financing Terrorism Compliance recognised that since the last high-level political commitment made by Guyana in October, 2014, to work with the FATF and CFATF to address strategic deficiencies to prevent money-laundering and the financing of terrorism, “Guyana has substantially addressed its action plan at a technical level.” According to the report from the plenary, Guyana has adequately criminalised money-laundering and terrorist-financing, and has also established and implemented adequate procedures for the confiscation of assets related to money-laundering. Further, it noted that Guyana has established and implemented an adequate legal framework for identifying, tracing and freezing terrorist assets.

pressly or by implication, that Guyana was “cleared to exit FATF and CFATF regimes.” In fact, nothing contained in that statement lends itself to such an interpretation,” said Nandlall in a Facebook post last Saturday. However, the Attorney General made it clear that the APNU+AFC administration has taken action to correct deficiencies not addressed by the PPP at the time it lost executive power in May, 2015. “CFATF says we have satisfied everything and we have to satisfy the criteria to apply to exit CFATF, but we can’t do so because the PPP administration was referred to FATF. “FATF has said that we have satisfied all the technical things. We have cleared all the recommendations, so the next stage is the stage to exit and they gave us clearance to start that stage by the on-site visit. If we did not remedy the deficiencies in the action plan, we couldn’t reach the stage where they [are] recommending an on-site visit.” The Attorney General quipped that had Nandlall been paying attention, he would have known what the process to exit the regimes entails. “You have to start the process of exiting,” said Williams, who added that the first attempt by Guyana at

a follow-up report was successful. This was the 10th follow-up report, the Attorney General said, noting that the former administration had failed to follow up on the previous reports. Being successful at the10th follow-up report, the Attorney General said Guyana has satisfied the criteria to exit FATF. “The Americas Region Review Group (AARG) and International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) have confirmed that we have satisfied all the recommendations at the technical level, then we went to the plenary and they recommended an on-site visit to begin the exit process.” But Nandlall said that by virtue of the AML/CFT (Amendment) Act 2015, Act No.1 of 2015 removing the existing Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and installing the AML-CFT Authority - a 20-member body, 10 of whom are yet to be appointed by the National Assembly following a recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments Guyana cannot be seen as clear to exit two regimes. “…there is no AMLCFT Authority in place, there is no Management Committee of the Financial Intelligence Unit in place, and there is no Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in place. These bodies exist on paper only. I am, therefore, amazed that the FATF has been led to believe that Guyana has a ‘fully operational and effectively functioning Financial Intelligence Unit.’ Who is responsible for such misinformation? This can cause immeasurable international damage to Guyana,” Nandlall stated. In response, Williams said the AML/CFT Bill that saw its first reading despite challenges from the PPP in June, 2015, was before the Special Select Committee along with one from the Opposition. The difference in the Bills he saw is that the APNU+AFC government found that the arrangement or government structure of the FIU was weak and not transparent. As such, the Bill was amended and taken to the Special Select Committee and new structures inserted. “They were contending that CFATF said having an authority was not in keeping with their recommendations ...At all material times, FATF would have been dealing with the structure that operated in 2010 which we inherited. FATF would not have evaluated Guyana on the authority and that structure that we now have proposed to strengthen the FIU. At that time, CFATF and FATF did not find anything wrong with the structure,” the Attorney General stated. Williams stressed that when FATF comes to Guyana it is to examine that which has been implemented and is being sustained. “FATF is not coming to Guyana to see if we have an authority, to see whether there is a deputy director and accountant. Setting up the authority is not in the action plan… that is icing on the cake.” The Attorney General said “FATF is not coming for [any] ‘big, deep investigation;’ they are coming to see if what we put in the legislation we have in place and that [the] FIU is functioning.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Childcare and Development Services Regulations launched By Shauna Jemmott

Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo poses for a photo with Mr Chester Humphrey at his office Wednesday

PM meets with Senate President of Grenada PRIME Minister, Moses Nagamootoo Wednesday met with Chester Humphrey, President of the Senate of Grenada. Mr. Humphrey is also an outstanding veteran labour leader in the Caribbean and is General Secretary of the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL). Prime Minister Nagamootoo expressed pleasure at reconnecting with Mr. Humphrey, whom he considers a colleague and friend, their professional and personal relationship extending to over 40 years. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Humphrey raised with Nagamootoo the issue of CCL’s accreditation with regard to the Congress’ associate relationship with CARICOM and shared ideas as to the role the CCL could play in resolving labour related issues between governments and trade unions. The labour leader also briefed Prime Minister Nagamootoo on the state of CCL’s finances and posited that the proposal that governments subsidize the operations of CCL is one which ought to be considered. Mr. Humphrey also expressed regret that the Guyana Trades Union Congress lost membership status to CCL due to accumulated dues and wished to see this anomaly rectified. Prime Minister Nagamootoo gave a commitment to consider the issues raised by Mr. Humphrey and explore ways in which the matters can be addressed. Mr. Humphrey is in Guyana as a representative of the CCL attending the 37th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government or CARICOM.

ALL facilities providing child care services throughout Guyana will now be better regulated with the launch of the Ministry of Social Protection’s Childcare and Development Services Regulations. Subject Minister Volda Lawrence said the regulations are part of a collaborative effort between the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the Child Care and Protection Agency (CPA) to improve the care, protection and well-being of Guyana’s children. Last year, UNICEF organised a seminar which focused on sensitising East Coast Demerara (ECD) providers to the need for minimum standards in centres, and the roles of Registration and License Officers. That seminar was a prelude to the launch of the regulations under which child care facilities will be managed. “… our children deserve the best practices (in) the services that our home care, play group, day care or night care sponsors or care-givers provide and so I would like to applaud the initiative of the CPA and UNICEF for making this possible through the provision of these regulations,” Lawrence said. She also said that all stakeholders have a great opportunity to participate in the standardisation process, where guidelines have been outlined for the effective operation of their respective

facilities, in all aspects of their operations. “For too long, our child care services have been ineffectively monitored… some

Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence facilities have been operating under conditions where our children have been at risk – safety and security measures compromised, health provisions neglected, non-provision of a comprehensive educational and developmental plan for the children, improper documentation among others.” She said the new regulations communicate the responsibilities vis-à-vis the standard facility requirements to present and potential sponsors and care givers, as well as the fire prevention and health care measures, establishing clearly the criteria for eligibility to providing child care services. “You will agree with me that in this era of globali-

City Environment and Sustainability Committee appointed SEVEN councillors were elected on Monday to serve on the Environment and Sustainability Committee that will provide the City Council with specific recommendations on environmental issues. Mayor Patricia Chase-Green will chair the committee that is now made up of Councillors Linda Gomes-Haley, Carolyn Caesar, Heston Bostwick, Junior Garrett, Monica Thomas and Winston Harding. The committee is responsible for reviewing all matters pertaining to garbage, recycling, composting, water conservation, environmental stewardship, water quality, air quality, open spaces, trees, energy conservation, climate change, global warming, among others.

sation and sustainability, we cannot continue to have our East Coast Demerara (ECD) centres operate in a haphazard way, we cannot allow our home care providers to provide a service that is below par,” Lawrence said. She added: “In regularising our child care services, we envision not only the enhancement of our ECD centres and improvement in the quality of our home care service, but the optimisation of our output and outcome – that professionalism of the highest caliber will prevail, that the well-being of our children will be assured, that safety and security issues will be effectively managed and that parents will have no re-

serve in their choice of child care service as all facilities will function with the same level of efficiency.” The Minister noted that the regulations will be pivotal in solidifying the process of “respecting the rights of the child and raising the bar of child care in our country”. “… Government through Ministry of Social Protection is committed to the care, protection and nurture of our children. I am convinced that the experience with the regulations in place will be a rewarding one for all our stakeholders. Let us all strive for excellence and quality and in so doing provide an enriching environment for our young, curious minds,” Minister Lawrence said.

Policeman who allegedly took gold as bribe granted bail A FORTY-THREE-year-old Police Corporal stationed at the Ekereku Police Station appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Wednesday charged for accepting over $350,000 in gold as a bribe. Ronald Fraser, of Supenaam Creek, Essequibo, was charged for collecting different amounts of gold over a period of time, to avoid an investigation into marijuana possession by one Mark Williamson. On one occasion, he collected one ounce of raw gold valued at $200,000, then two pennyweights of gold valued at $90,000 on another occasion, and then three pennyweights of gold valued $60,000 on yet another occasion. The corporal allegedly collected the bribe between February 1 and February 20 at Ekereku. Fraser pleaded not guilty to the offence while his lawyer, Dexter Todd, asked that his client be released on his own recognizance Todd pointed out that prior to Fraser’s court hearing, he was still on active study and has served the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for over 24 years. The lawyer pointed out that the matter had since gained the attention of the GPF Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). “Williamson is not the complainant in the matter, but was under the supervision of my client at the time,” Todd told the court as he explained that Williamson is also a police officer stationed at Ekereku. Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones made no objection to the officer being released on bail, which was set to the tune of $75,000 by the chief magistrate. The case was transferred to the Kamarang Magistrates Court for September 19.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan PRESIDENTIAL Advisor on Social Cohesion, Malcolm Haripaul has lauded the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex AA (ACIC) and the Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman (GUSIA) for their dynamic leadership in the Guyanese community. He extended high praise to the two organisations as he joined hundreds of Muslims and non-Muslims in the annual sharing of the Iftaar and dinner for the month of Ramadan.

Representatives of the Hindu, Christian and Baha’i communities were also present at the event. Haripaul brought greetings to Guyanese, especially the Muslim community, on behalf of the Government of Guyana, for a fulfilling month of Ramadan. Former Prime Minister of Guyana, Samuel Hinds, who was the first person to be made an honorary member, also praised the work of the ACIC, notably for reaching out to the less fortunate in society.

ACIC President General, Hakeem Khan joins Muslims in Guyana and around the world in celebrating the month of Ramadan Leader of the Inter-Religious Organisation of Guyana (IRO), Pastor Ronald McGarrell, who also spoke at the occasion, said the holy month of Ramadan is a story of inspiration for all Guyanese. Also speaking at the event was representative of the New York-based social group, The Caribbean Voice, Bibi Ahamad, as well as a representative of the Hindus for Selfless Service (HSS), Dr Abdul Bari, Ronald Williams and other leaders of the community. National Football coach, Jamal Shabazz spoke about the love, warmth and respect he has received from the ACIC. ACIC President General, Hakeem Khan in his remarks joined Muslims in Guyana and the world over in welcoming the month of Ramadan and challenged Muslims to live up to the divine ideals of this month. Khan praised the respect shown to the religious beliefs and practices of all religions in Guyana by the different religious groups, and was particularly grateful to the Christian, Baha’i & Hindu communities for being part of the event. He stated that the fast is performed for no other reason than to learn discipline, self-restraint and generosity, while obeying God's commandments. It is also a time when people of other faiths can learn more about Islam, the great benefits that it offers to mankind and the enormous contributions made by Muslims to human civilisation. Ramadan, each year, brings a promise of renewal and hope for the world, he said. “As we focus this year on self-restraint, prayers and acts of charity to achieve self-reform, these acts must be taken to the wider community. We cannot totally reform ourselves without reforming the communities we live in,” he said. Khan expounded on the great similarities between the various religions of the world and drew similarities in the teachings of Islam and other faiths. He lauded the government for the many measures taken and maintained to ensure that the various religious communities in Guyana can live with each other in peace and harmony. The programme was organised by the ACIC and the Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman, as they have done for many years. The dua (prayer) to break the fast was made by imam of ACIC, Abdool Fazeel. ACIC is Guyana’s leading Muslim Centre. It is the venue for more than 80 per cent of all national Muslim programmes held in Guyana and serves as the hub for the international cooperation between the Muslims of Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Holland, England and USA. The ACIC has been awarded Guyana’s fourth highest national award for its outstanding work.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Leguan residents call for investigation into construction of sea defence

LEGUAN residents are calling for the alleged use of substandard materials for sea defence work at Blenheim and Maryville to be fully investigated. The contractor was reportedly expected to supply clay for heightening of the sea dams, but opted instead to excavate trenches and use whatever was dug out. The ‘trench soil’ is often mixed with paddy, weeds and garbage, a source told the Chronicle on Sunday. Satrohan Maraj was awarded the contracts for these Leguan locations. Regional and Government Councillor, Kamal Roy Narine had said that the poor quality work done on sea defence projects at Leguan years ago is appalling, and now the new Government is tasked with executing additional and corrective works. There were four major projects being carried out on the sea defence to

protect the foreshore at La Bagatelle, Endeavour, Maryville and Cane Garden. According to Narine, the island needs groynes, which are man-made structures designed to trap sand as it is moved down the beach by the longshore drift. As the longshore drift current approaches the groyne, it is forced to slow down and change direction. He explained that the improper placement of boulders (often improperly sized) also causes a distortion and sagging of the sea defences, especially when the sand washes out. The councillor further said that if the sea defence is done properly, there would be no flooding; and roads, bridges and other infrastructural work can be done. Suggesting that engineering audits be conducted on all sea defence works done so as to identify the problems and take corrective action, Narine

noted that these projects cost hundreds of millions of dollars and are a severe burden to the taxpayer when poor work is done. Last year, the Public Infrastructure Ministry, through its Sea and River Defence Division (SRDD), strengthened the sea and river defence within the country’s geographically defined sea defence districts. Work Services Group Coordinator, Geoffrey Vaughn, had noted that activities in 2015 included advancing sea defence construction (new construction/reconstruction, rehabilitation and maintenance work). There was also procurement of equipment and materials for the execution of routine maintenance and emergency works (by the WSG Force Account Unit), monitoring and research activities, and public awareness and community evaluation, Vaughn said.

ARIES - Choices to make between home and career can be quite perplexing now, but you become more decisive when push comes to shove. Nevertheless, it’s all too easy to be so distracted by your immediate needs that you lose the game plan in the process. There’s no reason to involve others in your melodrama; just do what you must to take care of your heart and move on. As Tori Amos said, “Some of the most wonderful people are the ones who don’t fit into boxes.” TAURUS - You’re not interested in speaking your mind now if you think it’s going to stir up a hornet’s nest. But you don’t want to blindly follow the crowd just because it’s the path of least resistance. Although you might try to keep your feelings to yourself and pursue your heart’s desires anyway, postponing a confrontation will only intensify everyone’s emotions in the long run. Don’t put off until tomorrow what needs to be said today. GEMINI - Although you prefer to dance your way around a sensitive subject, you can’t sidestep a conversation that should have already occurred. It’s one thing to compromise for the good of everyone involved, but sacrificing your values is never a smart move. Nevertheless, there’s no reason to issue an ultimatum; find a way to create common ground where you can still adhere to your core beliefs while entertaining opposing viewpoints. CANCER - You might wish that people didn’t love you so much today -- or that they would express their affection in a less passionate manner. But the tables may be turned if someone feels like your attention is excessive. No one wants to be smothered by another person’s emotions, no matter how honourable the intentions. Find a happy medium where you can exert a positive influence on those closest to you without overwhelming them with your insecurities. Keep in mind that nurturing others is not an all-or-nothing proposition. LEO - You want people to listen between your words today and connect with your soul rather than your performance. However, your bold behaviour can be more intimidating than you realise. But toning down your delivery doesn’t mean you need to dilute your message. In fact, the gentler your approach, the easier it is for you to stick with your position, even if it goes against someone else’s grain. A little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down. VIRGO - Love doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems today, especially if you’re locked in a power struggle that eludes resolution. The stress of an unsolvable difference of opinion can wear you down to the point of wanting to walk away from the whole thing. But disengaging doesn’t fix anything; it only delays the inevitable. Forget about determining who is wrong and who is right. Instead, assume everyone has a viable perspective and seek ways to integrate the best points from each person’s experience. Blessed are the peacemakers. LIBRA - You may not appear to be in control today, but you’re probably holding onto your position tighter than anyone realises. Your diplomatic approach seems so natural to everyone else, but you work at it in ways that are not obvious. Sometimes you are genuinely ambivalent, but your current indecision could be part of a calculated ploy to sway people to your position. The beauty of your plan is that others will feel as if they are in charge while you gently pull the strings. Perhaps the meek really will inherit the Earth. SCORPIO - You’re not afraid to rattle a few cages in your fight for independence today. But you don’t necessarily have a specific plan; you just want the freedom to dance to your own drummer and you believe a breakdown of structure will offer you the personal space you need. Unfortunately, everything may unravel too quickly and your strategy can backfire if you make more of a mess than you intend. You don’t need to create a diversion if you have the courage of your convictions. Do what you must and let others respond as they will. SAGITTARIUS - You are stepping into a power zone today, but need to move cautiously so you don’t waste this cosmic opportunity. Although you’re tempted to react without stopping to think about your feelings, it doesn’t take too much self-control now to shift the balance in your favour. A little energy applied at the right moment can change the course of the day, but you must be willing to wait. As the Persian poet Saadi wrote, “Have patience. Everything is difficult before it is easy.”

Sea defence works being undertaken at Blenheim, Leguan

CAPRICORN - It seems as if someone is trying to manipulate your feelings today, but they won’t confront you directly. Unfortunately, it may fall on you to expose the unspoken tension. However, you might try to avoid the discussion because the negativity isn’t even yours. Upon deeper examination, you could realise that your personal resistance to the ideas of others created the problem in the first place. Take a risk and share your concerns now, but do it in a manner that invites give and take. Keeping the communication channels wide open ultimately works in everyone’s favour. AQUARIUS - You’re content to remain behind the scenes today while others are shining in the spotlight. But it’s not because you want to avoid recognition; of course, you prefer to be acknowledged for your contributions. It’s just that you’re more interested in getting things done and you’re more efficient when you’re not wasting time interacting with people beyond the scope of your immediate work. Thankfully, you can win both ways now; focus on the task at hand, but be ready to step onto centre stage at a moment’s notice.

Residents are claiming that substandard materials are being used to heighten the sea dams

PISCES - You’re not necessarily very expressive today, but your feelings are still strong enough to shake your world. However, you might be worried that someone you’re attracted to now doesn’t feel the same way about you. But choosing to keep your desires quiet from the one you admire does a disservice to you both. You have the potential to break out of a rut, but you must make the first move. The answer to your question will always be no if you never ask.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday July 7, 2016

Blairmont Primary sweeps Region Five top spots at NGSA

BLAIRMONT Primary school in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) has produced most of the top 10 pupils in the region in this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). Sandyah Ramoo of Blaimont Primary was the top-scorer with 534 marks and her classmate Sonie Karan achieved the number two position with 530 marks. Two other pupils of the school were also in the top 10. They were Simron Ramsahai with 526 marks at the number five position and Drupatie Naul in the number 10 position with 517 marks. Yeuvraj Jawahir of Rosignol Primary and Mariah Baksh of Cotton Tree Primary tied for the third position with 529 marks each. Joshua Mohamed of Novar Primary tied for the fifth position with Ramsahai of Blairmont Primary with 526 marks. Nalicia Willaims of Hopetown Primary achieved the number seven position with

Di-Shanae Burnett

Drupattie Naul

Gavin Bristol

Sandyah Ramoo

Simron Ramsahai

Sonie Karan

Mariah Baksh

Yeuvraj Jawahir

523 marks; Di-Shanae Burnett of Cotton Tree Primary was placed at number eight with 522 marks; Gavin Bristol of Lachmansingh Primary recorded the number nine positon with 521 marks and Drupatie Naul of Blairmont placed number 10 with 517 marks. S a n d y a h R a m o o , the number one student has been offered a place at Bishop’s High School, while Karan, Jawahir, Baksh, Ramsahai , Mohamed Williams and Burnett have been offered places at St Stanislaus College. Bristol and Naul have been assigned to St Rose’s High School. The top 10 achievers in the region were elated with their results and said that they are all eagerly looking forward to secondary school and ultimately university. Officials at the Department of Education said that the performance of the primary schools at the NGSA had improved slightly over the last year with 21 pupils gaining above 500 marks, as against 16 last year.

Son Chapman memorial needs national recognition By Vanessa Braithwaite AS Lindeners on Wednesday commemorated the lives of the 43 men, women and children who perished in the explosion that occurred on the Son Chapman 52 years ago, a call was made for the memorial of this river bloodbath to be remembered nationally. A group of Lindeners and other concerned citizens journeyed to Hurudaia where a monument stands and tombs where some of the victims were buried. Among those present at the moving service were Attorney-at-Law and former Minister of Government Llewellyn John; children of Norman Chapman, the owner of the Son Chapman; relatives of those who perished and regional officials. Addressing the gathering, Chairman of the Regional Commemorative Committee, Charles Sampson, said even though The Son Chapman

--say Lindeners at commemoration of tragedy

event can be described as one of the greatest acts of terrorism against Lindeners, it is being treated lightly. “I am disappointed that after 52 years we have not stepped up and treated the Son Chapman tragedy in terms of national commemoration as that is the kind of treatment it deserves,” he contended. Sampson compared the tragedy to other events where fewer people died, but is recognised nationally, notably the Enmore Martyrs. He also called for the erection of a proper monument and structure at Hurudaia, so that persons visiting for the yearly memorial would be comfortable and protected from the elements. Attorney John echoed Sampson’s views, pointing out that those persons who died should be given more respect today, contending that the explosion was an intention to punish the people of Linden

by those who felt that they should not be discriminated against. In his presentation, he also alluded to the Ballot Box Martyrs of Number 63 Village and the Enmore Martyrs who are given national recognition. “They have put forward monuments which are lasting and we of the local authorities must campaign, we must agitate for the national statues where the events that took place so that they could always be remembered.” Historian Winslow Parris in a sober address called on Lindeners to use the Son Chapman tragedy to heal the wounds of the past and strive for social cohesion, while former leader of the People’s National Congress (PNC) Robert Corbin sent messages of peace and national unity. The Son Chapman tragedy occurred on July 6, 1964 at approximately 16:00 hrs. The vessel, captained by Herman

Softleigh, had just left the docks of Hurudaia, a timber grant settlement 16 miles up the Demerara River after letting off three passengers. About 300 yards from Hurudaia, a loud explosion occurred killing 43 persons inclusive of four children. All those who died were of African ancestry. Pandemonium broke loose as the 27 persons and six crew men who were on the decks of the boat, and who survived the explosion, swam to shore while others were rescued by other vessels as they watched the “Son Chapman” sink. TERRIBLE SIGHT Donald Gentle, who lost his mother in the tragedy, related that he had just left Christianburg Government School and was heading for home at Lee Ting alley, when he observed an unusual amount of people standing on both banks of the Demerara River in the vicinity of Lin-

den. “What I was told as the reason why those people were standing there made me begin to cry immediately, knowing that my mother travelled every Monday on the Son Chapman,” he said. His mother was a huckster who travelled to Georgetown every Sunday evening to purchase commodities and returned the following day with the Son Chapman. “Unfortunately, on July 13, 1964, she did not make it back to Wismar where she lived and sold her commodities from a stall erected at the side of Burnham Drive in the vicinity of Poker’s Sand road…. She was the woman whose father pleaded with her not to travel with the Son Chapman on that particular day, because he had heard rumours of a bomb being placed on the launch. Maybe, it was because she had left nine children, including an 18-monthold baby at home that she insisted on travelling with the

launch. She did not make it to Linden alive,” recalled Gentle, who was 15 years old at the time. By July 8, 32 bodies had been recovered from the river and taken to the Mackenzie Hospital morgue. Two badly decomposed bodies were buried at Hurudaia and two in Georgetown. Some of the bodies that were identified and buried were Jean Abrams, Winifred Giles, Irene Jordan, Daphne London, Edna Dublin, Carmen Carrlyn, Alphonso Peters, Joseph Brittlebank, Frank Adams, and Evande Adams, among others. Several theories were put forth as to the intent of the explosion and who orchestrated it. Some of the blame was placed on the PPP, the PNC, racial Indians seeking revenge for those Indians who were murdered, raped or had lost their properties to fires in Wismar. Though an answer was never given to the people of Linden, the spirit of those who died continues to live on.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Education Minister visits NGSA top performers E

By Rabindra Rooplall

DUCATION Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine and Chief Education Officer (CEO), Olato Sam on Wednesday visited Mae’s Under 12, Graham’s Hall Primary and Dharmic Rama Krishna to extend congratulations to the country’s top performers at this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). Anthony Ferreira of Mae’s Under 12 and Aryan Singh of Dharmic Rama Krishna tied for the top spot in this year’s NGSA with 568 marks each, while Sarena Razak of Graham’s Hall Primary grabbed the third spot with 565 marks. Minister Roopnaraine, in an interaction with the students and teachers at Mae’s Under-12, noted that the students did very well even through there were slippages in some areas, but overall, the Ministry is pleased with the performance of the school. “Overall, the girls outperformed the boys, and I want to congratulate the girls and urged the boys to try to catch up… it is very important that you do your best and get your assignments done on time. Do your research on time, do reading outside of the classroom, I can’t emphasise enough how important it is for you to read a lot,” the minister said. “When I was your age, the first thing I had to do was read the editorial to my father since my father was very stern,” he recalled. He explained that all skills required reading, but also noted that it is essential that students find time to play. On that note, Dr Roopnaraine said, “I want to see more sport and music in the schools.” Ideally speaking, the minister said he would like to see every school with a small steel band. Adding that every child is born with some form of musical inclination, the Minister said he would love to see more choirs and children’s participating in singing, since this can also contribute to a child’s rounded development. “Education is not about books alone, books are important, but I want to tell you that at the end of your education in school, I want to see rounded children, make sure you enjoy your physical education, sports and a lot of emphasis on other things that have slipped away in the education system such as theatre, performances and plays,” the Education Minister noted. Underscoring that the Ministry does not want to produce a generation who will be regurgitating information, the minister said the next generation of Guyanese should be active physically, mentally and should also do well in the arts. Dr Roopnaraine also commended the teachers for their work, and noted that without proper teachers, the country will not move ahead in the manner it should. “Education is at the centre of everything we do. Without a solid education, we are going to fail in other areas; the teachers have a really vital role to play in all of this. I personally believe that we don’t prize teachers enough in this country, I think we need to do more to elevate our teachers and this is not just a matter of salary although that is just as important,” the minister explained. Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam said the students who did exceedingly well would credit their success to hard work and support from teachers and parents. “There are some who are trying to make a disparity between the children in private schools and public schools. But our education systems serve everybody and all of Guyana children. So regardless of which school you find yourself in, the work that you’re doing is really going to help us develop Guyana’s as a whole,” the Chief Education Officer noted. He said that the Education Bill which is pending will play a new role, and there will be a private school coordinator whose sole purpose will be to ensure that all connections between public and private institutions are clearly mapped out.

Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine with Anthony Ferreira of Mae’s Under-12 and other students at the school

Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine and Chief Education Officer Olato Sam with Aryan Singh (third from left) of Dharmic Rama Krishna and another student

Lichfield residents want audience with Gov’t

RESIDENTS of Lichfield, West Coast Berbice want the streets in their village repaired and upgraded. They are also clamouring for flood relief following their heavy losses in crops and livestock during the May/ June rains. According to a spokesperson for the villages, the streets currently being used was built some 12 years ago, and due to lack of maintenance, it has deteriorated over the years. “There are numerous potholes in these streets, some of them can only be traversed on foot since vehicles get bogged down or even damaged,” the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary/ Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) has installed a pump in the village and water has receded in both resi-

A pot-holed street in Lichfield village

dential and agricultural areas. However, no one in authority had visited the village to determine how residents had been affected and what forms of relief they could benefit from. The spokesperson said villagers are eagerly awaiting such a visit from Government officials to know when repairs would be effected on the streets, when the clogged-up drains would be de-silted, and what action will be taken to improve the quality of life in the village. “These residents are not the types to block streets and disrupt traffic but we need urgent attention to the issues affecting us,” the spokeswoman who chose anonymity said.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Wrong page numbers force suspension of Westford fraud trial THE $639M fraud trial against former Public Service Minister, Jennifer Westford and her former aide Margaret Cummings was Wednesday adjourned after it was found that the statements filed were in “disarray.” Westford and Cummings faced 24 charges before Magistrate Judy Latchman for allegedly stealing more than $639 million from the Government of Guyana over a period of five years, while being stationed at the Ministry of Public Service. The duo is represented by a team of attorneys – Rexford McKay, Neil Boston, Keisha Chase, Eusi Anderson, Bibi Shaddick, Brandon Glasford, Dexter Todd and Stanley Moore. At the start of proceedings, Chief Accountant of the Ministry of the Presidency, Department of Public Service, Andre Dazzle was the first witness to be called on behalf of Police Prosecutor, Vishnu Hunt. However, his testimony was stopped halfway by at-

torney Boston. Dazzle was able to identify that Dr. Westford was the head of the Ministry between the years of 2011-2015, while Cummings was her Personnel Officer, who also acted as the Administration Officer and Confidential Secretary to Dr. Westford. The witness disclosed that Cummings was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the accounts department and was the person who he reported to directly. However, his evidence was halted after Boston objected. The lawyer was unable to follow, since Page 54 in the prosecution’s file was of Dazzle’s statement, but in the lawyer’s file, Page 54 was the statement of former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Public Service. The Attorney was quick to point out that the prosecutor was treating the witness as Ally since Page 52 of the file is what was being led by Dazzle. The Prosecutor was quick to address the lawyer’s claims and contended that it

Mom, daughter convicted for lying to police - Duo tried to frame East La Penitence man for murder

A mother and daughter were Tuesday found guilty of lying to Police investigators in an attempt to frame a man for murder. Charlene Bess, and her daughter Melany Garraway, had claimed they saw Shawn Barrow gun down 22-year-old Kellon Hinds on August 31 last. Due to the women statements, the Police charged Barrow, 23, also called “Baige,” of Lot 8 East La Penitence for the murder of Hinds. Barrow had spent several months on remand but was freed after witnesses testified on behalf of the accused that he was at fast food restaurant Royal Castle at the time of the murder. Video footage also supported the witnesses claims. The two women, both relatives of Kellon Hinds, had later given the Police a second statement stating that they did not see the alleged shooter. City Magistrate Annette Singh found the women guilty and sentenced them to pay a fine of $25,000 each or three months imprisonment. Hinds, of East Ruimveldt Squatting Area, Georgetown, was fatally shot on August 31, last year by three men in his family’s yard just hours after being released from Police custody. According to members of his family, Hinds had been held by police as a suspect in the murder of Shawn’s brother, Sherwin Barrow, who was killed three months prior.

Former Public Service Minister, Jennifer Westford at court Wednesday was a mere mix up of the files since there are 24 statements from each of the files, which may be numbered wrong. “I will put together one file for the court to stop the confusion,” Hunt said in an application for the new file of statements. In what Boston deemed as “a hurricane of turbu-

lence,” the matter was adjourned until July 26 for the file to be submitted and for the trial to continue. Westford and Cummings are both out on bail of $4.8M each after they pleaded not guilty to the joint charges in February last. The charges state that between the period of October

Personnel Officer Margaret Cummings 19, 2011 and April 28, 2015, Westford and Cummings, while being employed with the former Public Service Ministry, stole $639,420,000 belonging to the Government of Guyana, which they accessed by virtue of employment. It is also alleged that between 2011 and 2015, Westford signed 24 memorandums

amounting to $639,420,000 and sent them to the Permanent Secretary at the Office of the President to be signed and approved. The money was said to have been requested for activities to be conducted in the 10 administrative regions. Westford acted in her capacity of Minister and signed a number of memorandums for the total sum of $639,420,000 and sent them to the Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Ministry, who in turn approved them. The payment vouchers were made by the Office of the President and sent to the Finance Ministry, which issued the cheques and Cummings signed for them. The cheques were allegedly made out for the purpose of financing various activities of the Public Service Ministry across the 10 administrative regions; however, an investigation revealed that these events never took place, nor were there any documents to show how the money was spent.

Post mortem confirms Linden newspaper vendor was murdered A POST mortem examination carried out on Linden Newspaper vendor, Albert Ashby, confirmed that the elderly man died from an incised wound on the right side of his chest that punctured an internal organ. According to Divisional Commander, Calvin Brutus, the wound could have been a bicycle spokes or another very thin object. The wound was so thin that it could not have been visible to the naked eye, the Senior Superintendent confirmed. Three teenage boys, ages 15, 16 and 17, have reportedly confessed to the murder after they were positively identified by an eyewitness. The boys, who had previous brushes with the law, are currently in custody at the Mackenzie Police Station, while the police are awaiting word from the Director of Prosecution to have them charged either with murder or manslaughter. The boys gave conflicting stories to the Police about how they planned to rob the newspaper vendor who operated his stall on the Wismar Shore. According to Brutus, they orchestrated the plan the day before and armed themselves with a “jukker.” “One of them observed him while the other was on the

lookout but they kept switching positions as to who did what,” revealed Brutus. The eyewitness claimed to have seen the boys in proximity to the shop acting in a suspicious manner and asked what they were doing there. Ashby called “Finny” of Half Mile Wismar Linden was last Friday discovered in an unconscious state sitting leaning against the front of his shop. The elderly man was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex where he was pronounced dead on arrival. There was no blood or no weapon was seen close by. The man who lived alone was disabled and residents expressed their anger upon hearing that the man might have been murdered. He was last seen alive earlier in the day walking and selling his newspapers as he did over the past decades. “Finny was a humble man just walking and selling his newspaper to make a living, how can people be so cruel,” said a resident. Ashby shared the business with his wife and completely took it over after she passed some years ago. Linden residents described him as a quiet and humble individual.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

GRPA gets $1.2M from Georgetown Rotary Club

- to support project to reintegrate teenage mothers into the education system

By Vishani Ragobeer THE Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) on Wednesday received $1.2M from the Rotary Club of Georgetown to aid in a project to reintegrate teenage mothers into the education system. The project will give 50 girls a second chance to “face life with hope and joy”, said GRPA Executive Director, Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth. She lauded the good gesture from the Rotary Club and said the GRPA also looks forward to working with the club to provide counselling to young girls and to shield them from the social ills of society. This, she said would be useful as Guyana has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), in addition to having a low rate of functional literacy and high rates of domestic and sexual

violence. Most girls who have become victims of teenage pregnancy, she said “end up in a cycle of poverty and abuse”, mainly because they are heavily dependent on others, especially men to provide for their child and themselves. Because of this situation, Sheerattan-Bisnauth said they often fall prey to sexual predators. But, she noted that girls who are able to complete a basic education are less likely to become pregnant, contract HIV and STIs, and are better able to take control of their lives and contribute to their families and communities. The project to reintegrate the teen mothers into the education system aims to equip them with an education and skills, as well as to give them psychological support so that they will be able to pursue their dreams for a

Health certificates must accompany imported food

- Government Analyst- Food and Drug Department reiterates THE Government Analyst- Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) has restated its call for all shipments of imported foods in Guyana to be accompanied by a free sale or health certificate. This, the agency said, will protect consumers against expired and unwanted goods. According to the GA-FDD in a release, the free sale or health certificate must be from the product’s country of origin, along with a certificate of analysis and a commercial invoice. It is in keeping with the statutory requirements as stated in the laws of Guyana, Food and Drug Act chapter 34:03 section (32) ii and the food and drug regulation number 13. These requirements are also in keeping the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s 1985 ruling on sanitary and phytosanitary measures to protect consumers from substandard items of foods traded across borders. Importers are being reminded also that the GA-FDD would only accept original copies of documents for processing and letters of commitment for future shipments (waivers) will no longer be accommodated or be used to facilitate items of foods to be released on our local market. The department stated that it will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that foods imported into Guyana are accompanied with the requisite documentations, according to the laws of Guyana, and to ensure consumers are protected from substandard food traded on the global market.

better future. The girls will be instructed in areas such as sense of self, life skills, personal development and career guidance. Counseling will also be provided to them and their families.

GRPA Executive Director, Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth (left) receives the donation from Rotary Club of Georgetown representative Lisa Foster

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Jehovah's Witnesses to host convention at Leonora THE Christian organisation Jehovah’s Witnesses will hold their annual convention from July 15-17 at the Leonora National Track and Field Centre, West Coast Demerara. The three-day programme will feature 49 presentations, each exploring the theme of

“loyalty.” Additionally, the Witnesses have prepared 35 video segments specifically for the programme, plus two short films that will be shown on Saturday and Sunday. Each day, the morning and afternoon sessions will be introduced by music videos recorded for the convention. As they have in years past, the Witnesses have been distributing a special invitation to the public welcoming them to attend the programme. Additionally, the trailers for the two short films can be viewed on the Witnesses’ official website, jw.org. Bony De Andrade, a spokesman for the convention, stated: “We strongly believe that loyalty is an essential part of any healthy re-

lationship. Our convention this year features content that will help people develop stronger bonds with friends, family members and, above all, with God. We are confident that all who attend will enjoy this programme.” There is no admission fee and no collection will be taken. Conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses are supported entirely by voluntary donations. The programme will begin each day at 09:20 hrs. An estimated 6,000 will be at the Leonora National Track and Field Centre for the Bible-based programme. Worldwide, there are over 8,000,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in more than 118,000 congregations.

Thursday July 7th, 2016 - 05:00 hrs Friday July 8th, 2016 - 05:00 hrs Saturday July 9th, 2016 - 08:30 hrs

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

France bid to end 58-year run of losing to Germany in big games By John Irish

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - Coach Didier Deschamps believes his players are ready to write a new page in the history of French football at Euro 2016 today when the hosts attempt to beat Germany for the first time for 58 years in a competitive match. The French go into the semi-final against the world champions in Marseille as underdogs. Even though they have twice won the European championship, they have not beaten their German neighbours outside of friendlies since the 1958 World Cup. During six decades, French fans have been forced to endure World Cup semi-final losses in 1982 and 1986 and, most recently, a 1-0 quarter-final defeat at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

France coach Didier Deschamps (R) and assistant coach Guy Stephan during training. (Reuters/Charles Platiau) “Nobody can change history, but we have a new page to write,” Deschamps said. “It’s a blank page today, but they

can fill it tomorrow. I think the players believe and the people too, but our opponents remain the best team.”

Deschamps, who captained France to World Cup and European trophies in 1998 and 2000, said his side could not compete with Germany in terms of experience, caps and number of semi-finals or finals. But he said they had enough quality to win. “I don’t want to play this game thinking of just defending,” he said. “We have offensive strength to score and create chances with players of different profiles and we can put our opponent in danger.” France did beat Germany 2-0 in a friendly last November on the night that Islamist militants struck in Paris, but captain Hugo Lloris said it would mean nothing tomorrow night. “We’re very close to the end of the tournament so

the bodies are tired and that means the mind will start to take over,” he said. “We have that little spark that has been guiding us since the start.” Deschamps said he knew how he would play tactically tomorrow, although at this stage, given the injuries and suspensions in the German team, he had no idea how his opponents would line up. He will also be looking to emulate the success of Michel Platini’s generation in 1984 when the French came from behind to defeat Portugal in a semi-final in Marseille before going on to win the tournament. Deschamps, a former coach and player for Marseille, said the passionate local crowd could also give his young side the edge.

Amazon Warriors wary of Gayle factor By Rajiv Bisnauth

THE Guyana Amazon Warriors face Jamaica Tallawahs in match nine of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) this evening from 19:00hrs at the Giyana National Stadium, Providence. Both teams could not

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have asked for a better start to their CPL campaign this year. Both have wins in their first two matches and are occupying the top two positions on the points table with four points each. However, the two teams are separated at the top by their net-run-rate statistics. The last time these two

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teams met at Providence, the match was abandoned without a ball bowled. Their most recent face-off at this venue in 2014 was won by Jamaica Tallawahs. Guyana Amazon Warriors won here back in 2013. Overall, they have gone head-to-head seven times with four wins to Guyana and three to Jamaica. Both were eliminated in the semi-finals last year, and they seem to be equally strong this year. Both teams are evenly matched and it is very difficult to pick one above the other. However, the Chris ‘Gayle’ factor is so pronounced that the local franchise must be wary of the threat he poses, largely because the southpaw can cut any reputed bowling attack to ribbons. Of course, it’s a different story when Gayle perishes cheaply. Gayle is considered the most dangerous cricketer in the world in this format of the game. He underlined his supremacy in the tournament so far with a fifty in the first match and a hundred in the next. Apart from Gayle, and to some extent Andre Russell,

the rest of the players of the Jamaican outfit have yet to fire. Their overseas recruits Kumar Sangakkara, Dale Steyn and Shakib Al Hasan have not contributed much either. Speaking at a prematch press conference yesterday, captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Martin Guptill, admitted that they have plans in place for the Gayle factor. “We looked at the way Trinidad (Trinbago Knight Riders) bowl at him (Gayle) and try to do the opposite really. We have plans in place, and hopefully we execute well tomorrow (today), Guptill revealed. He added “The mood in the camp is good, the guys have played some very good cricket for the first two games, so we are hoping to carry that on tomorrow night (tonight), and we are expecting a tough game … Jamaica (Tallawahs) are a quality side, they have some real world-class players within their ranks, so we will need to be on top of our game if we will reap the results we want.” On the other hand, Guyana have one of the

most well-balanced lineups with both the batting and bowling looking good. What has worked in their favour is that their big hitters like Dwayne Smith, Chris Lynn and Jason Mohammad have found form early which has relieved the pressure on Guptill and given them some sort of momentum. Their bowlers have shown why they are rated so highly. Both Sohail Tanvir and Adam Zampa have come up with important contributions at crucial moments. However, the Tallawahs bowling coach, Donovan Miller, during his team pre-match press conference pointed out that it’s quite important to maintain the momentum, since Guyana are a dangerous outfit as evidenced by their early performances. Miller pointed out that the team were indeed in high spirits coming off of their two consecutive wins in the tournament thus far. He also stated that he was happy to be a part of the team and is equally happy with the team’s performance in the tournament, lauding the players for their teamwork.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday July 7, 2016

Federer stages amazing comeback to beat Marin Cilic ROGER Federer staged an amazing comeback on Centre Court to beat Marin Cilic in four sets 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. He fought back from two sets down and saved three match points to secure himself a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals - the eleventh time he has reached that stage in the competition. It was Federer’s 307th win in a grand slam breaking Martina Navratilova’s long-standing record. Cilic stood one point away from victory three times in a pulsating fourth

Roger Federer set that had spectators on Three huge serves kept the edge of their seats. Federer alive - just - and he

then produced the kind of form, and outrageous shots, that made him the most successful man in tennis by stealing the tiebreak 11-9. An ace on his first match point finished off the job and carried him into a 40th major semi-final, where he will face Milos Raonic for a place in Sunday’s final. “I knew I was in so much trouble in the third and again in the fourth,” Federer said after walking off Centre Court to a standing ovation. “It wasn’t going well for me. So for me it was about staying in the match and

somehow hoping for his level to drop ... and maybe get a bit lucky. That’s exactly what happened at 3-3, 0-40 (in the third set),” added Federer about the game where he saved three break points. “Obviously the breaker was crazy. It was an incredible match. Marin is one of the nicest guys on the tour so I feel sorry for him but for me the dream continues.” Having missed last month’s French Open with a back injury, the five-set thriller also delivered a knockout punch to those thinking the

Swiss third seed did not have the stamina to last the distance. “It’s really encouraging for me to see that I am improving. As the match goes on, I was able to sustain a really high level of play,” added the 34-year-old, who came back from two-sets down for the 10th time in his career. “My legs were there, my back was there, serving was key. Plus mentally this is going to give me a hell of a boost. I am ecstatic that I was able to come through somehow.” (Eurosport)

Angelique Kerber, Elena Vesnina out to halt march of Williams sisters IT would be hard to bet against the Williams sisters meeting in their first Wimbledon final since 2009, but Angelique Kerber and Elena Vesnina won’t just be making up the numbers in the last four today. While unseeded Vesnina has described her semi-final against world number one Serena Williams as a dream, she is playing inspired tennis, bringing the guile from two doubles slams to deliver baseline power and a deft touch at the net. Fourth seed Kerber, meanwhile, has a 3-2 head-to-head lead over five-time champion Venus Williams and stunned younger sister Serena, who has won Wimbledon six times, at the Australian Open in January to win her first major final. All four will bring a wealth of experience to Centre Court -- their average age is 31 years and nine months, the oldest for the last four in an open era women’s major. “The experienced players are ready to keep winning. They want to keep being great,” Serena, 34, told reporters after she ground down 21st seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter-finals. She is aiming to equal Steffi Graf’s open era record of 22 majors by lifting the trophy on Saturday, having been stuck on 21 since last year’s Wimbledon. Of the challenge from her 29-year-old Russian opponent, she said: “I’ll be ready for it.” Vesnina said of Serena after reaching her first major

Venus and Serena Williams semi-final: “You have to give all your heart and fight for every single point and just use your chances because it is really difficult to break her, especially here on grass.” Like everlasting opponents on the other side of the net, Vesnina will also be taking on the American sisters in the doubles quarter-finals with her partner Ekaterina Makarova. Venus, 36, has reached her ninth Wimbledon semi-final and owns seven slam titles overall -- the last coming on

the grass in 2008, inevitably against her sister, before the result was reversed the following year. It is nonetheless the first semi-final since the 2010 US Open for the oldest woman in the 2016 Wimbledon field. “Semi-finals feels good. But it doesn’t feel foreign at all, let’s put it that way,” she told reporters after brushing past Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova in straight sets. “All those other semi-finals helped me to have the experience to be in this semi-final.” Her perfect last-four record at Wimbledon could come under pressure though from Kerber, 28, who is trying to replicate the focus and relaxation that brought her the title in Melbourne. The last player to win both the Australian and Wimbledon in the same year was Serena Williams in 2015 - the last German was Graf in 1989. First up though is Venus. “She’s always dangerous on grass, especially here in Wimbledon. She has a lot of confidence right now. She played great matches,” Kerber said after beating Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep. And it is Kerber who may have the last laugh: “I’m playing really good tennis right now. Yeah, I think I’m playing like in Australia, like really high-class tennis.” (Eurosport)

CONCACAF Under-15 Murray works hard to prevail against tournament returns to calendar Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets THE CONCACAF Under-15 competition will make a return to the regional tournament calendar after being axed last year. The tournament, the brainchild of former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, was introduced in 2013, with the Girls’ edition of the tournament held the following year. The tourney was, however, cancelled last year when the CONCACAF administration was rocked with another corruption scandal that saw over 40 officials arrested, including Webb. The administration shelved the tournament as part of cost-cutting measures. When it was cancelled in 2015 the tournament had more than 36 teams entered, including England and Brazil from outside the confederation. This year the Girls’ tournament will be held from August 9 to 21 in Florida and twenty-three nations have already entered. The teams will play in three groups of five and two groups of four with the group winners, plus the second-place teams from the five-team groups, going forward to the quarter-final knockout rounds.

ANDY Murray was made to work hard for a five-set victory against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga yesterday but he eventually came through 7-6(10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1. Murray was clearly frustrated with his performance in the third and fourth sets but gathered himself to produce a scintillating display in the final set. After Roger Federer’s miraculous earlier escape act against Marin Cilic, when he recovered to win from two sets down, 12th seeded Frenchman Tsonga threatened something

Andy Murray

equally improbable as dusk settled at the All England Club. Tsonga looked down and out after letting an epic 22-point tiebreak slip away despite having three set points, then capitulating in a one-sided second set. But he roared back with some audacious attacking tennis and Britain’s 2013 champion Murray, for the first time in a tournament that had been stress-free before, seemed close to buckling. Second-seed Murray, hot favourite after champion No-

vak Djokovic’s third-round demise, was outplayed in sets three and four as winners flowed from Tsonga’s racquet. He then had to save a break point at the start of the decider, rediscovering his earlier form and racing away to a victory, cheered by a packed arena as he sealed it with an ace. He will now face Tomas Berdych in the semi-final - his opponent in a notoriously heated 2015 Australian Open semi-final. (Eurosport)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Ronaldo and Portugal end Wales dream By Karolos Grohmann LYON, France (Reuters) Cristiano Ronaldo scored one goal and inadvertently set up the other as Portugal ground out a 2-0 win over Wales yesterday to march into the Euro 2016 final. The Portuguese superstar, who has had to soak up a lot of criticism for a lacklustre tournament by his high standards, majestically powered in a 50th-minute header to put his side in front. Ronaldo then saw his shot turned in by Nani for a second goal three minutes later, ending Wales’ remarkable run at their first major finals since 1958. The Portuguese, who had not won a single game in the tournament over 90

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates their second goal. (Reuters) minutes, next meet hosts knew it would be a long France or Germany who way but we’ve fought all the play their semi-final today. way.” “We’ve been dreaming Wales kept their oppoabout this from the start,” nents quiet in the first half Ronaldo told reporters. “We but could not recover the

two-goal deficit, ending a scintillating run that has captivated millions back home and turned their players into heroes. The Welsh, with midfielder Aaron Ramsey suspended and replaced by Leicester City’s Premier League winner Andy King, had an early spell of possession but a tight Portugal defence kept them at bay. Portugal, bidding for their first Euro final since losing on home soil to Greece in 2004, had their first chance in the 16th minute, a low drive by Joao Mario after a clever flick from Ronaldo. OVER THE BAR Wales responded as Joe Ledley found Gareth Bale with a low corner and the

forward fired over the bar. T h e We l s h , p l a y i n g their first major tournament semi-final, did not suffer from stage fright with their back line, supported by midfielders Ledley and Joe Allen, remaining disciplined and compact. In a cagey first half Portugal struggled to find Ronaldo, opting for long crosses into the box that were easy pickings for central defender James Collins. Portugal injected some urgency after the break, pressing high up the field. It paid off instantly with a corner in the 50th minute that Raphael Guerreiro floated in towards the far post where Ronaldo climbed high above two defenders to power his third goal of the

competition. They doubled their lead with Nani sliding into the box to connect with Ronaldo’s mishit shot and claim his third goal of the tournament. Wales were then lucky not to concede more goals as Portugal, now unbeaten in 13 competitive matches, continued to dream of a maiden international trophy. “We are massively disappointed obviously but we have given everything on and off the pitch,” said Welsh talisman Bale. “We tried our hardest to get back in the game. “They shut up shop well but we have no regrets. We are very proud ... nobody expected us to get this far but we did.”

AB de Villiers, Malik guide Tridents to first win BARBADOS Tridents rode on half-centuries from AB de Villiers and Shoaib Malik to chase down a 163-run target with eight balls to spare against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, registering their first win of the 2016 Caribbean Premier League Tuesday night. Patriots, who elected to bat at Warner Park, were restricted to 162 for 8 despite a half-century from Evin Lewis at the top. In reply, Tridents made 166 for 3 in 18.4 overs, thanks primarily to de Villiers’ 33-ball knock. Following the victory, de Villiers said it was his team’s bowlers who made

AB de Villier the difference. “I think the bowlers kicked us off really well,” he said. “Restricted them to what I thought was about 20 to 30 short of

a good total. So it was up to our batters to just finish the job.” And finish the job de Villiers did. He walked in with Tridents reduced to 45 for 2 in the eighth over. Steven Taylor had been the first to fall, in bizarre fashion: Thisara Perera had the left-hand batsman squared up with a short delivery and got the outside edge, but Devon Thomas, the wicketkeeper, failed to hold on to it as he flung himself to his left; instead, he parried it to Tabraiz Shamsi at short third man, who held on to complete the dismissal. Perera struck again four

overs later, when Wayne Parnell holed out to Carlos Brathwaite at long-on. de Villiers and Malik then changed the course of the game with a 63-run third-wicket stand that came off just 39 balls. Malik played the support role with a knock of 54 off 46 balls that included two fours and as many sixes before it was ended by the legspin of Samuel Badree. de Villiers was already set on 33 off 18 at that point, and he kept going. Kieron Pollard got going with a boundary off chinaman bowler Shamsi, off the second ball he faced.

He followed it up with a six and a four to make it 14 off the over, the 16th of the innings. de Villiers crunched consecutive sixes off Perera in the 18th over to bring the equation down to seven off 16, before Pollard sealed the game with a boundary to square leg off Krishmar Santokie, the left-arm medium pacer. Pollard finished unbeaten on 25 off 13 balls. When Patriots batted, they were in trouble early, with Lendl Simmons and Faf du Plessis dismissed by the third over with 21 on the board. Lewis kept the innings afloat, adding 54 runs for the

fourth wicket with Jonathan Carter. Carter hit one boundary and three sixes on his way to 41 off 37 balls, before cameos from Thomas and Carlos Brathwaite ensured a relatively strong finish to the innings. Tridents bowlers shared the wickets around, but South African seamers Parnell (2 for 22 in four) and David Wiese (2 for 14 in three) had the best returns. Patriots face Guyana Amazon Warriors next at Providence on July 9, while Tridents take on J a m a i c a Ta l l a w a h s i n Bridgetown on July 11. (ESPNCricinfo)

Quarter-final places up NSC to conduct 50 shades of Games, for grabs in Mayor’s Cup Summer Table Tennis Training Camp football tourney

EIGHT quarter-final places will be up for grabs on Saturday when the Annual Mayor’s Cup Football tournament continues with a triple-header at the Georgetown Football Club ground. From 17:00hrs, Camptown will face Eagles of Linden and from 19:00hrs, Uitvlugt of West Demerara take on Guyana Police Force. The feature, which is set for a 21:00hrs start, will see Riddim Squad oppose Den Amstel of West Demerara. The tournament is set to continue on July 11 with a double-header at the same venue. Santos will clash with Beavers from 19:00hrs and Western Tigers come up against Pouderoyen of West Demerara. Saturday’s triple-header is being sponsored by the Sparta Family of Sparta Boss family and managers of the Sparta Boss Football team. The winners of this 21st annual tournament will receive $700 000 and the Mayor’s trophy while the second-, third- and fourth-place teams will earn $300 000, $200 000 and $100 000 respectively. They will also receive trophies. The player who scores the most goals in the competition will be rewarded with a three-piece suite, compliments of AH&L Kissoon’s Furniture Store.

THE National Sports Commission will be conducting its 50 Shades of Games, Summer Table Tennis Camp for Beginners and Semi Intermediate players at the National Gymnasium Mandela Avenue, commencing July 18. According to a release, the training camp which will conclude on August 12 will start at 10:30hrs each day, Monday to Friday and finish at 12:30hrs. At the conclusion of the camp, certificates of participation will be presented. The objective of the camp are: To help players with the basic skills To help players to be better prepared for future tournaments To train and introduce students to the basic techniques of the game To discover the skills of children. To identify talent To amuse children with sport skills and to develop habits of healthy competition. The programme seeks to target players between the ages of 4 and 18 years. Over 70 players (boys and girls) will be exposed to the introduction, orientation, teaching and practising the sport of table tennis in a fun way. The coaching panel will include International Table Tennis Federation Level 1 and 2 coaches. Registration forms are available at the NSC office, Homestretch Avenue, from 09:00hrs to 16:00hrs or at the National Gymnasium between the same hours.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday July 7, 2016

Suriname, Jamaica keep winning ways in CBC Under-16 championships By Daniel Haynes

IN the third game of the day, Suriname captured their second win of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) male Under-16 championship with an 80-68 win on Tuesday night against Aruba. Defence was the order of the day as the boys next door shut out Aruba in the last quarter to stop their offence after the Arubans fought back to a 1-point lead at the end of the third. It was Andrew Blijd who led the way for Suriname with 21 points while Serdinio Rozewijn and Farai Stoffels had double doubles with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 15 points 10 rebounds each. For the Arubans it was star shooter Leonardo Winterdal who dropped a gamehigh 25 points, going 5/9 from the three-point line to lead the Aruban squad. Jahleel Heemstadt also had 18 points while Giomar Madura scored 12 points in the loss. The first quarter was highly competitive with Suriname focusing the point of their attack on the paint and had a quick 12-6, but it was a fourpoint play by Winterdal tied the game at 20. Aruba seized the lead 24-22 due to buzzer-beater dagger 3 from NBA range courtesy of Gomar Maduro. In the second quarter Suriname displayed the pace Surinamese were known for, steaming past Aruba in transition pushing their stamina to the limits. They regained

Jamaica’s Jalen Menzies goes for a layup. the lead and turned it into a 43-32 lead heading into the third. The three-point shot was Aruba’s deadliest weapon in the third quarter. Stunning defence and sparkling offence were key to winning the third quarter. The zone defence of Aruba held Suriname to 9 points while scoring 21 of their own to go into the fourth with a 53-52 lead. Suriname returned to dominant form with the same pace and shooting they had in the first half and Aruba had no answer. However, the Arubans never let their spirit down fighting to the end to pull the game back to just a 12-point loss 80-68. In the final game of the night, Jamaica held their nerve against a Trinidad and Tobago side determined to register a win. The game ended 72-64 in favour of Jamaica. It was once again the dynamic duo of Jalen Menzies and Samora Williams who were Jamaica’s biggest playmakers on the night, with Menzies kick-

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Thursday July 07, 2016) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & AUDREY’S TASTY SNACKETTE-176 Charlotte Street, Georgetown (Tel: 226-4512) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Colin Munro (2) 1 Today’s Quiz: (1) Which team did the Guyana Amazon Warriors play first in Hero CPL 2016? (2) How many centuries Chris Gayle has scored in CPL cricket? Answers in tomorrow’s issue

ing his game into high gear in the second half. Menzies ended the game

with 23 points and six steals while running mate Williams had a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds in the game. Backing them up was Jabari Cunningham who had 11. For Trinidad and Tobago Jordan Persad who had posted 34 points in the first game, finished 7 short with 27 in their loss. Theo Devoren also scored 18 points in the loss. In the first quarter Jamaica came out gunning with an up-tempo style of play. The Trinidadians proved they were up to the challenge, matched the

speed but failed to convert on their attempts. Persad was visibly frustrated by the defensive presence of Jamaica. Every time he touched the ball he was either double teamed or trapped. The defence definitely worked and Persad went 2-12 from the field. Despite Persad out of commission, Trinidad and Tobago kept the game close by sharing the ball and playing as a team. This contributed to the score being 36-30 after one half of play. Putting his team on his back with drives to the ring,

or simply stopping and popping jumpshots, Menzies had a explosive third quarter, sinking 4-8 for 10 points allowing the Jamaicans to take a 54-48 lead heading into the fourth. Fourth quarter was much of the same and the animated Menzies factored into the Jamaicans’ win. The Jamaican coach Tarry Upshaw cited that toughening up on defence is the key to winning. He also commented on the fact that getting Menzies to stay out of foul trouble is important to extending and keeping the lead.

Ohio brings F1600 podiums for Calvin Ming OVERSEAS-based Guyanese Calvin Ming picked up two podium finishes this weekend as the F1600 series continued in Ohio. Ming could have made it a perfect weekend with three wins in as many races but car troubles sidelined him in the last race of the day. In the first race, Ming was knocking on the door throughout the keenly contested action-packed event but could manage to finish only third behind Peter Portante, and Neil Verhagen respectively. In the second race, he

Calvin Ming (centre) stands on the podium with Phillippe Denes and Peter Portante after the 11th race of the F1600 series.

managed to make the jump to first after some intense driving with Phillippe Denes and Peter Portante finishing a close second and third respectively. “The race was good from the start. We tried to stay in the lead pack and in the end it worked out. It was a good battle with the front group and I can’t thank Team Pelfrey enough,” said Ming. In the final race of the day, however, an electrical failure put him out of contention on the final lap while he was leading. He finished thirteenth.

THERE are early indications that there will be at least one major change to the West Indies squad named to play India in a four Test-match series in the Caribbean starting later this month. The first Test is set for Antigua from July 21 to 25. West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin was indicating on social media yesterday that he is being dropped for the upcoming series. He did not make mention of who would be replacing him. According to the 31-year-old Trinidadian, who has played 74 Tests for the West Indies,

the recently appointed Chairman of Selectors Courtney Browne, himself a former West Indies wicketkeeper, has indicated that Ramdin will not be selected as his Test average of 25.87 is simply not good enough. “What a rainy day, lil heads up for shotta80 fans wouldn’t be playing in Test series vs India. New chairman says my average isn’t good,” Ramdin posted on his Twitter account. He immediately went on the offensive attacking the chairman of selectors about his career playing for the West Indies. “Life goes on man. God is great. What I haven’t done

is 16, telling me about batting and has never scored an international hundred, shameless.” In his own defence Ramdin posted: “Last two innings over 60 vs Australia down under but not good enough to play anymore.” Ramdin made his Test debut for the West Indies against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2005. His last Test was against Australia in January 2016. In that match he scored 62 as the West Indies made 330 all out in a match that ended as a draw. The official West Indies squad is expected to be named within the coming days. (Sportsmax.com)

Angry Ramdin hints at being dropped for India series in my Test career is drop any batsman to score a double hundred vs WI.” Ramdin was making reference to Courtney Browne’s disastrous dropped catch off Steve Waugh two decades ago, enabling the Australian captain to go on and score a double-hundred and lead his team to a series win that effectively ended the Caribbean side’s reign as the unofficial world champions of Test cricket. He wasn’t done. The player who has scored five Test centuries and 15 50s also hit out at Browne’s career Test average. “Man, who’s telling my average is bad with 25.87 but his

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, July 7, 2016

Jamaica carry on, Bahamas look unstoppable By Daniel Haynes

JAMAICA have secured three straight wins in the Caribbean Basketball Confederation male U-16 Championships this time beating Aruba on day 4. In the first quarter of the game, Aruba and Jamaica both came out showing what game exposure and competition exposure looked like. Both teams appeared evenly matched with Aruba going into the second quarter up by one with the score 12-11. The second quarter was much of the same. However, Aruba tried double-teaming the seemingly unstoppable Jamaican point guard Jalen Menzies. The Jamaican attack was well balanced with Samora Williams contributing per normal. The quarter finished 26-26 with no team yielding. However, coming out of

Domnick Bridgewater with easy layup for two of his points the half the Jamaican team would not be denied, scoring 45 points in the half to Aruba’s 32. Menzies and Samora Williams were again the high point men for Jamaica with 15 and 18 points respectively. Wil-

liams also added 11 rebounds. Once again Jabari Cunningham played his supporting role well with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Star shooter Leonardo Winterdal had easily his worse shooting performance

in the tournament, scoring only 6 of his 18 attempts. He scored only 15 points in his final game of the tournament. For Aruba, Jahleel Heemstadt was the only other scorer in double digits with

11 points. With the loss Aruba have been eliminated from the tournament with a record of 1-3 from their four games. Jamaica’s final group game will be against Guyana today at 20:00hrs. Meanwhile Bahamas continue sheer dominance, recording a 104-point victory over the Dominican side. The game finished 125-21, cementing Bahamas’ position as tournament favourites. From the first quarter the game was already won with the Bahamas recording 34 points in the quarter to Dominica’s 8. The up-tempo, high pressure defence the Bahamas employed stifled almost all of Dominica’s offence with the latter side scoring from free throws. The second quarter was much of the same with Bahamas limiting the side to 3 points

while scoring 27 of their own. Heading into the half the score was 61-11. The second half of the game brought nothing but misery for the Dominica side who had all but 10 points in the quarter to Bahamas’ 64. Bahamian player Davonte Moxey put the icing on the cake with a LeBron James-like tomahawk dunk to finish the game, much to the delight of the bench. Turnovers were the ultimate letdown for Dominica, with Bahamas forcing 58 of them, with 52 of them being forced and 6 unforced. Seven Bahamian players recorded double-digit point totals with Domnick Bridgewater scoring a game-high 20 with 9 steals and Chosen Levarity recording 18. No Dominican player scored in double figures with Jamie John-Rose having a game high 6 for his side.

Wayne Jones sparkles on first overseas sojourn By Frederick Halley AT 55, Wayne Jones is still touted as one of the best softball players to have ever graced the venues in Guyana, churning out unbelievable batting performances over a career that has spanned more than three decades. What’s somewhat remarkable about Jones is the fact that, unlike some of his peers, he has concentrated strictly on the grassroots sport and has never entertained the thought of entering the ‘hard ball’ arena. Coupled with his skilful batting and undoubted knowledge of the game, Jones is considered an automatic selection for any squad competing in and out of Guyana but for personal reasons he had never left the

Wayne Jones after completing a fine 97 versus Albion All Stars

shores of his homeland. Last weekend was therefore a special one for the lanky Jones when he donned colours for the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) Masters squad in the 12th annual New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) Legends Cup tournament. In an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport, Jones disclosed that it was always his dream to play softball cricket out of Guyana and was extremely happy that the opportunity presented itself. Very meticulous with his preparation prior to competing in “big” games, Jones ensured that he had a thorough inspection of the pitch and playing area last Thursday, prior to the commencement of the tourna-

ment on Friday and that seemed to have paid off. Seemingly well set to complete a masterful century on his first game out of Guyana and with wickets tumbling at the other end, Jones went via run-out for a well-composed 97, falling three runs short of a well-deserved century with five deliveries remaining in the 20-over game. After the game. Jones also recalled being run-out for a fine 76 in the Wolf Warriors memorial tournament currently being played in Guyana in his last match before leaving there and felt he was well prepared for the New York tournament. Jones’ dominating and match-winning knock against Albion All Stars included nine sixes and five fours with Lloyd

Rooplall’s 18 being the next highest score. He also slammed a quick-fire unbeaten 39 (two sixes, two fours) versus eventual winners Regal Masters in last Sunday’s final, albeit in a losing cause. Prior to Sunday’s final, Jones had expressed confidence that the GFSCA outfit would have emerged victorious but his hopes and dreams were dashed by archrivals and Guyanese counterparts Regal Masters who were clearly the better team when it mattered most. A product of Bel Air, Greater Georgetown, Jones has won many accolades during his long and distinguished career, representing several top teams, including Bel Air, Youth Stars, President’s XI, Durban XI, Good-

wood, Dirty Dozen, Ariel and more recently GFSCA. He was also a regular member of the Demerara Inter-county team when that tournament was a feature years ago. Now a permanent member of the GFSCA on and off the field, he is tasked with organising tournaments in his capacity of organising secretary, Jones’ enthusiasm for softball has never waned although he was on the verge of retiring several years back. That retirement never materialised and, being as fit as ever in the twilight of his career, Jones has no intention of ‘calling it a day’ anytime soon. He’s also hoping that the recent New York trip will be the impetus for several more.

Messi sentenced to 21 months for tax fraud MADRID, | By Emma Pinedo and Angus Berwick Barcelona’s Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in prison and fined 2 million euros (1.71 million pounds)after being found guilty of three counts of tax fraud, although it is unlikely he will serve time. The Barcelona court handed the same sentence to the player’s father, Jorge, with a 1.5 million euro fine. Both defendants have around five days to appeal to the supreme court, the Barcelona court said in its statement.

…but unlikely to serve time Spanish law is such that any sentence under two years for a non-violent crime rarely requires a defendant without previous convictions to serve jail time. A spokeswoman for the court confirmed Messi was unlikely to be imprisoned. Messi, 29, and his father defrauded the Spanish tax office of almost 4.2 million euros between 2007 and 2009 by using a web of shell companies to evade taxes on income from the player’s image rights, the court said in

a written ruling. The companies - with names such as Sport Consultants and Sport Enterprises - were based in tax havens such as Belize, Uruguay and Switzerland where legislation kept the identities of their owners secret, according to the ruling. Messi, five-times World Player of the Year, admitted during the trial to signing contracts protecting his image rights but said he had no knowledge he was partaking in any wrongdoing

or defrauding the Spanish state. He said his father had control over his financial affairs, but the court said on Wednesday that this was not enough to avoid charges. “(His) avoidable ignorance, which was derived from indifference, is not an error, and it does not remove responsibility,” the presiding judge, Mercedes Armas Galve, wrote in the statement. “The information that the accused avoided having was, in reality, within his reach via trustworthy and accessible sources.” Messi, who has held

Spanish nationality since 2005, and his father had already paid 5 million euros to the tax authorities as a “corrective” measure after formal investigations were opened. The footballer is 10th on Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s highest-earning athletes over the past decade, with an estimated income of $350 million during this period. Barcelona football club, of which Messi is the leading goal scorer of all time in all competitions, said in a statement on its website following the ruling that it considers the player to be free of criminal

liability . “The Club ... considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish tax office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case,” the club said. Messi, who has won eight La Liga titles, four K i n g ’s C u p s a n d f o u r Champions League crowns with Barcelona, said last month he was quitting international soccer after the Argentine national side, of which he was captain, lost on penalties to Chile in the Copa America tournament.

Jamaica carry on, Bahamas look unstoppable

(See Story on page 27)

CPL action at Providence tonight

Amazon Warriors wary of Gayle factor It’s important to maintain the momentum, - Miller

The Guyana Amazon Warriors squad during their practice session yesterday.

(See Story on page 23)

Head coach Roger Harper and skipper Martin Guptill at yesterday’s press conference.

WICB Women’s Super50 bowls off today By Rajiv Bisnauth THE West Indies Cricket Board Women’s Regional Super50 Tournament bowls off today, with three matches here. Guyana will play defending champions, Windward Islands at the Enterprise ground, while Barbados face Trinidad and Tobago at Enmore and debutantes Leeward Islands clash with Jamaica at Everest. The tournament will comprise five rounds followed by the final which will be played on July 17. The WICB Women’s Regional Twenty20 Tournament will then commence July 21 and conclude with the grand final on July 25 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Both formats will comprise six teams: Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago Leeward Islands and Windward Islands. Meanwhile, at the offi-

... Players urged to play to their full abilities

From right, seated are: WICB Project Officer (Female), Josina Luke, Anand Sanasie, Drubahadur and Christopher Jones. The six captains stand behind with Guyanese Tremayne Smartt (second left). Also making brief recial opening ceremony last an opportunity to showcase of female cricket, and to this marks was Director of Sport evening at the Georgetown their talents amongst the best end, he noted that the GCB Christopher Jones, who welCricket Club pavilion, pres- female players regionally. has already drafted an extenident of the Guyana Cricket He urged the players to sive programme for the de- comed the visiting teams, and at the same time urged Board (GCB), Drubahadur play to their full abilities velopment of female cricket. welcomed each participating and at the same time re“We here in Guyana are Guyanese to support the team, adding that the GCB spect the rule of the game. not short of talent, it’s just a games. Jones pointed out that is grateful to host the tourThe GCB boss pointed matter of time to have that naments, since it will give out that the board has always talent noticed,” Drubaha- the Guyana government is extremely firm on the develthe young Guyanese players advocated the development (See Story dur on concluded. page 31)

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opment of female sport, adding that the government has allocated significant funding for female participation in the sport. Further, WICB Project Officer (Female) Josina Luke, in her remarks, pointed out that this year’s tournament is special, since Leeward Islands are participating for the first time. She encouraged all players to gain the requisite knowledge both on and off the field of play. All games bowl off at 09:30hrs and admission to the venues is free. Guyana Squad: Tr e m a y n e S m a r t t (capt.), Akaze Thompson (v-capt.), Melaine Henry, Latoya Smith, Shemaine Campbelle, Kavita Yadram, Shakiba Gajnabi, Heema Singh, Plaffiana Millington, Subrina Munroe, Erva Giddings, Mandy Mangru, Lashuna Toussaint, and Kaysia Shultz. The Manager is Carol Nurse and the coach is Andre Percival. THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016