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No Shenanigans No. 104645

TUESDAY AUGUST 16, 2016

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-PM calls for GNBA Board to iron out internal bickering

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‘Be your own boss’ … President urges SLED graduates

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President David Granger in conversation with one of the graduates of the Ministry of Communities “Sustainable Livelihood Entrepreneurial Livelihood (SLED)" programme (Samuel Maughn photo)

AG says Dep Teen chopped, Wanted American 8 Registrar beaten to 15 forger gets 36 months in jail 16 not qualified death Page

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- during ‘wedding-house’ brawl

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

‘Be your own boss’ By Alva Solomon More than 100 young entrepreneurs were on Monday charged to “Be your own boss” as they graduated from the Ministry of Communities “Sustainable Livelihood Entrepreneurial Livelihood (SLED)" initiative. The graduates who hail from different parts of the country are now positioned to develop their respective businesses within their communities. They were part of coaching and training sessions that later provided them with the relevant skills to enter the world of business while being creative. SLED operates by the distribution of interest-free cash grants to registered groups and associations, who need the financial or economic boost to improve their enterprises. It is operationalized after the prospective entrepreneur undergoes training, provides a business plan /proposal and is identified as a successful applicant. SLED has partnered with non-profit organisations, such as the Canadian funded Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED),

the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE), which carries the “Be your own boss” concept and the Swine Producers Association to provide training and capacity building to beneficiaries of the grant, While addressing the graduates at the event, President David Granger pointed out the importance of youth in the society, noting that Guyana will falter if youth falter and that the group will fail if there are no avenues for employment. He said that employment is essential to human development since it generates an income which consequently generates livelihoods, adding that it is the principle means which allows people to escape from poverty. The Head of State noted that the government is committed to generating employment and has embarked on a strategy to prepare young people for the world of work. He said in the national budget presentation last year, Finance Minister, Winston Jordon announced the launch of the SLED initiative. He explained that the initiative emphasizes the employment policy of government through

… President urges SLED graduates

President David Granger (centre) sits alongside Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkhan (left) , Minister of Finance , Winston Jordan (second left); US Ambassador to Guyana , Perry Holloway (second right) and Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Dawn Hastings (right) with the graduates at Monday’s event. the encouragement of entrepreneurship, particularly for young people. He said the project contradicts the critics who posited that the government has no plans for unemployed and under-employed. According to the President, SLED aims to assist those at the grassroots level, by providing training, mentorship, business development skills and start- up grants for individuals and for groups. He said the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) which was launched last December in the mining town of Linden is also geared at assisting persons who may President David Granger shares a moment with young entrepreneur Akeem Williams, who sells his pure honey product under the “Friendly Bee” brand. have ideas for small business ventures. A government subvention of $155M from the 2015 national budget has been made available to assist those persons. He said another project, the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) Programme which caters for 2000 youths in 106 communities is also testimony of the government’s plans to create employment opportunities. “SLED, HEYS and LEN initiatives are all part of this administration grand strategy to employ young people”, the Head of State told the gathering. He singled out the importance of education in order to improve performance as he reiterated the government’s commitment to generating employment. Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkhan told those gathered that the SLED initiative is working in communities to develop sustain-

able strategies for development in form of Local Area Economic Profiles (LAEP) and Local Economic Development Strategic (LFC). He pointed out that there are tools which communities could use in order to attract investment, generate revenues and use as a compass for short to medium term development plans. He said eight such groups were developed. Minister Bulkhan noted that during the initial phase of the project, advertisements were placed in the media requesting expressions of interest and he noted that 140 expressions were received. A selection of representatives from the subject ministry as well as the Ministry of Business and CARILED initially selected 7 to 8 groups and an additional 4 for initial funding. These included the Guyana Swine Producers Cooperative Limited, the United National Resources and Ag-

riculture Producers, Women for Change, USAID’s SKYE project and For The Children Sake Foundation. He said the activities funded include pig rearing, pork production, bee-keeping, sheep and goat rearing, milk and cheese production, expansion of existing production enterprises, bottled seasoning businesses and computer repairs among others. He said a total of $76.5M was initially disbursed and to date almost $100M has been expended on the initiative with individual disbursements ranging from $3M to $20M. The investment, he noted, will create approximately 200 jobs which all carry a multiplier impact “To those persons who will obtain a job out of this programme, I assure you that the government is

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No Shenanigans

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

By Ariana Gordon

-PM calls for GNBA Board to iron out internal bickering

PRIME MINISTER Moses Nagamootoo has expressed concern over what appears to be the stymieing of efforts to provide full television and radio coverage to citizens across the country. Speaking to Guyana Chronicle on Monday, the Prime Minister -- who has responsibility for the communications sector -- noted that draft regulations were sent to him by Chairman of the Board of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA), Leonard Craig, and those regulations were reviewed and dispatched to the Attorney General’s office for further examination. He explained that, through the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, the AG’s Chambers would have sent the draft regulations back to the GNBA, but no further action has since been taken by the board. “I am surprised that it has been there languishing in the bosom of the board, or at a sub-committee of the board, and has not been forwarded to me again, so I can pass it through cabinet and then table those regulations in Parliament,” he told Guyana Chronicle. The Prime Minister said the mandate of the GNBA has been hamstrung, and it was indicated to him, via correspondence from the Chairman of the Board, that there are problems brewing that can assume “crisis dimensions.” “I responded to the chairman by saying that it seems to be a story internal to the GNBA, that they should summon a meeting of the board and try to sort this thing out.”

The Prime Minister made it clear that the APNU-AFC coalition government made several promises during the lead-up to the May 2015 elections, and intends to keep those promises. He stressed that the administration is impatient and wants to “see all of the licences for televisions issued regularized.” “We want to see the new applications that we made processed, and they must have new radios and televisions introduced in our landscape,” remarked Prime Minister Nagamootoo. He said he finds the reports emanating from the GNBA troubling. “I find that troubling because this is one of the boards I expected would have been able to run smoothly and quickly, because there are highly qualified persons within that board…and they should have been able to clean up the issue.” Asked to provide a timeline by which he expects legislation to be tabled before the National Assembly, the Prime Minister said it is his desire to see the regulations made ready for the reconvening of the Parliament in October. “Whatever is bothering the board, the internal issues…they should be able to resolve those very quickly and move on… we don’t want to enter the New Year and have that cowboy behaviour that prevailed in the broadcasting landscape,” he declared. Citizens, he said, deserve better and ought to have access to information. “Guyanese people deserve better…the spectrum belongs to the people of Guyana, it is a national resource; it is not something that belongs to any private person, and one cannot simply arrogate to one’s self the

‘Be your own boss’ From page 2 happy to have played this small part in your life”, Bulkhan said as he urged the graduates to value and learn from the job. United States Ambassa-

dor to Guyana, Perry Holloway told the audience that in 2015, Minister Jordan mentioned plans to use initiatives to encourage viable economic interventions which

would stimulate employment opportunities. He said the SLED investment objectives are consistent with the US government’s development efforts in Guyana particularly

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkhan, presents a certificate to Tiffany Ramcharran who will utilise funding she received under the SLED initiative to develop her poultry venture.

those consumed under the USAID SKYE programme. He said hundreds of persons have benefited from the SKYE programme here and he was encouraged by the government’s commitment to an investments in its youth. A number of participants expressed appreciation to the authorities for assisting them via the SLED initiative. These include AKeem Williams who was supported via the SKYE/SLED partner-

right to broadcast in a select area. I would like to see television and radio cover all parts of Guyana; every citizen of this country has a right to know what is taking place in this country,” he stressed. The Prime Minister is unprepared to accept in any state board “shenanigans” which hold back work which ought to be done as a matter of priority. “The people deserve better,” he declared. Asked to comment on the statement he made to the Kaieteur News, which saw him praising the GNBA Chairman, the Prime Minister said he has much confidence in Craig, and noted that his position has not changed. The Prime Minister, “I want to say that I reaffirm that confidence in him. However, I applauded the Authority for having crafted procedures and regulations by which they should work. It has been a great expectation of this Government and the people of Guyana that by now the GNBA would have sorted out the less-than-acceptable television and radio scenario in Guyana.” He said promises were boldly made to have reviewed the licences granted by the previous People’s Progressive Party Civic government, because they did not confirm to acceptable standards in law. The Coalition government had also promised to have processed all applications on file. “None of this seemed to have taken place at the level of the board, and while I had said I was pleased with the work, it was in fact a pleasure I had said when I received a copy of the draft regulations with the attached law, Broadcast Act, to set out where and how the board intends to review and to grant new licences.” ship. Today he sells bottled honey products and has big plans to expand his venture. Young Tiffany Peters, who was pardoned after spending time at a correctional facility, expressed appreciation to the government for assisting her in her poultry project. She is also working to expand her project in the months ahead and is about to start rearing her second batch of chickens. Collette Burgess, who

was once an inmate at the New Opportunity Corps, delighted the audience with her testimonial on her poultry project and the challenges she faced while starting the venture. She brought emotional smiles to some in the audience as she advertised sales even as she expressed appreciation to the authorities in providing her with another opportunity to develop her ambitions.

My size! President Granger checks his size at one of the booths which the young entrepreneurs set up after the graduation ceremony on Monday

No flight of fancy 4

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

‒ President says relocation of Walter Roth Museum an administrative, rather than ‘whimsical’ decision By Alva Solomon PRESIDENT Granger has cleared the air on the proposed relocation of the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology from Main Street, saying that it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. “This is not a whimsical move; it is because there are organisational changes,” he told reporters yesterday when braced on the subject following a function at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal. Besides noting that every precaution will be taken to avoid any damage to those collections currently housed at the Museum, the president said it’s all in keeping with plans by the government to relocate the institution to the west wing of the Guyana National Museum on North Road. And just in case there are still reservations, given that the artefacts have to travel a bit in getting to their new destination, the president said he doesn’t foresee any problem, as it’s just a distance of 400 meters. AN IMPROVEMENT “It’s not tumbling out;

ment announced that the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology has been earmarked for a major upgrade and change of location. According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, the government had taken a decision to relocate the museum from its current location on Main Street.

The Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology at its current location on Main Street, in downtown Georgetown

it’s an improvement,” he said, adding that if the move could have been avoided, such would have been the case. Noting also that the government did not envisage encountering any resistance to the change of venue, which was announced on Friday last, President Granger said: “We saw it as an im-

provement in providing access to the Walter Roth Museum.” And while on the subject of improvement, the president said the authorities will do whatever it takes necessary to ensure that the western wing of the Guyana National Museum is prepared to international standards. On Friday, the govern-

THE REGION’S OLDEST Acclaimed to be the oldest such museum in the English-speaking Caribbean, the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology was established in 1974, but was not opened to the public until 1982. The museum was founded with the collections of Guyanese archaeologist Dr Denis Williams. In 1980, the ethnographic collections of Dr Walter Roth, J.J. Quelch

and Sir Everardim Thurn were transferred to the Walter Roth Museum from the Guyana Museum. An ethnographic collection of the Wai Wai peoples was presented to the museum in 1991 by local cultural anthropologist, Dr George P. Mentore. The museum’s collections also include excavated artifacts from all ten administrative regions of Guyana. The museum is a non-profit institution created by the Government of Guyana to collect, exhibit and conserve artifacts relating to the nation’s ancient cultures, to conduct anthropological research and disseminate knowledge of the Indigenous Peoples of Guyana through its inhouse and outreach programmes.

Passport services to be launched in Linden today By Vanessa Braithwaite A PASSPORT office will be officially launched by Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, in Linden today. It will process requests for renewal or replacement of lost, damaged, or filled passports. The launch is a part of that Ministry’s efforts to decentralize the services offered in Georgetown to all regions in Guyana. The subject minister made the first announcement of this development at the ‘Meet the Public’ initiative in July, and he consolidated this development by his visit last week to the mining town. “This (development) is for two purposes: we realize the need to bring government services in the region,

and we need to reduce the unnecessary crowds that we have at the passport office at Georgetown,” Minister Felix had said at the ‘Meet the Public’ initiative. The Minister took the opportunity to sensitize Lindeners, as well as meet with the staff of the National Insurance Scheme where the passport office will be located. “This initiative has its genesis in His Excellency’s [President David Granger’s] concept of providing government services in the towns. It is his view that government services should be delivered in the townships created, thereby avoiding unnecessary travel to Georgetown to conduct simple business with a government agency. It is in this regard that the Depart-

ment of Citizenship has taken the initiative a stage further,” Minister Felix explained. The services will allow for residents of Region 10 to go about the renewal or replacement of lost, damaged or filled passports every Wednesday and Thursday, and they can uplift the document the following Thursday. First-time applicants will, however, still have to travel to Georgetown to process their application. This is as a result of the unavailability of the machinery used to produce first-time machine-readable passports. This situation will only be temporary, however, as the NIS location is also temporary; but after the Ministry has secured a permanent location, first-time applicants

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Gov’t heeds ‘clarion call’ for youth empowerment ‒ Minister tells YLTP graduands FORTY-four youths from Region Nine are now in possession of valid leadership certificates after successfully completing a one-week Youth Leadership Training Programme (YLTP). They received those certificates during a graduation exercise on Friday at the Indigenous Peoples’ Conference Hall in Lethem. Youths were drawn from Moco Moco, St. Ignatius, Culvert City, Nappi, Parishara, Tabatinga and Lethem. According to Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Mr. Sydney Allicock, who delivered the charge at the exercise: “Government has heard the clarion call for the improvement in the quality of our local leaders; we learnt of the need for the strengthening of leaders’ capacity to negotiate, to conceptualise projects, create project proposals, and to record and report on finances.” Minister Allicock, himself a leader worthy of emulating, went on to say: “It is not by mistake (that) you are being trained; it is because there is a need for Guyana, and first of all, for Region Nine to be fully prepared for the development that we anticipate.” OIL FIND In obvious reference to oil giant, Exxon Mobil’s recent announcement, he said, “I am quite certain you are aware of the great oil find. We cannot wait until we see the oil; we have to prepare now; we have to prepare today.” Noting that David Granger-led administration is always ready to heed the call, particularly where creating an enabling envi-

The latest batch of YLTP graduands. Among those with them are Messrs Aubrey Norton, Sydney Allicock and Basil Williams (seated third, fourth and fifth from left respectively)

ronment for the nation’s youths is concerned, Minister Allicock, by way of encouraging his charges to make use of the opportunity, said: “Education is a right; not a privilege! Your responsibility now must be to ensure you pass on this information to those in your respective villages and communities... using the knowledge you have gained here!” HIGH PRAISE Coming in for high praise from the minister was Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment, Mr Aubrey Norton, the brainchild behind the YLTP initiative, from Minister Allicock whom he said “remains one of Guyana’s foremost youth leaders... and fully understands, better than most, the dynamics of education and the progression of youth in the different spheres of life in Guyana.” Norton would later explain that for years, there

had been no critical youth leadership programmes, and that as such the programme he helped formulate had to be thorough. “This is a comprehensive programme that seeks to give persons the required information they need to develop as leaders,” he said, adding: “It emerged because, across the country, we find a lot of young people are in youth organisations etc., but they have not been exposed to training to improve their performance.” But that is all in the past, he said. “Government believes that solutions to a number of problems in Guyana will have to be solved at the level of the youth; so, as part of the thrust of youth, we have developed a youth policy, which will be going to Parliament...” SIMILAR PROGRAMMES Minister Allicock said he hopes similar training programmes will be car-

Passport services to... will be able to utilize the services in Linden. Assistant National Director of Community Development Councils, Ms. Sandra Adams, who is also a Lindener, expressed gratitude to Minister Felix for bringing the services to the mining town, as it would alleviate the hassle to travel to Georgetown. “There are a lot of seniors in Linden who cannot make it to Georgetown, and I have

received a lot of complaints recently, that by time they get to Georgetown, the numbers are finished and they have to return without getting their passports. So we are happy for this service to begin,” she said. DECENTRALIZATION Following implementation of this service in Region Ten, decentralizing of passport application services will expand to other

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areas, including Mabaruma in the Waini Region (Region One); Anna Regina in Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two); New Amsterdam and Corriverton in East Berbice-Corentyne Region (Region Six); Bartica in Cuyuni–Mazaruni (Region Seven); Mahdia in Potaro-Siparuni (Region Eight), and Lethem in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine).

ried out in all 212 hinterland villages and communities, since it is a way of complementing the ongoing Hinterland Employment and Youth Service Programme (HEYS). “This is a bold and enormous step taken in fulfilling the Coalition government’s commitment to Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples in a positively impacting way.” Meanwhile, 19-yearold Maxine Welch, reputedly one of the country’s youngest Deputy Mayors, as well as Mark George

were awarded for exemplifying best leadership qualities, while the award for most outstanding male and female personalities went to Frederick Stephen and Hayeeyah Asgar respectively. Among facilitators were Head of Education and Training, Ronald Austin Jr.; Head of Research and Planning, Adeti De Jesus; Head of Administration, Fayon Marshall; and Community Officers Fiona Hamilton, Atisha Daly, and Suraj Narine. According to Austin,

this is the fifth leadership programme that has been conducted so far for 2016 at the Department of Culture, Youth and Sports’ Madewini Training Camp, with participants being drawn from Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10. The graduation exercise was also attended by Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams; Region Nine Assistant Regional Executive Officer, Althea Fitzpatrick; and friends, relatives and well-wishers of the graduands.

Editor-In-Chief

Nigel Williams Editor

Godfrey Wray

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

Editorial Venezuela’s humanitarian issue

UNDERSTANDING the current turmoil in Venezuela requires looking at same through complex lenses. The presence of shortages in some sections of the society is underpinned by many factors, including their local and external politics and developmental ideology. The present situation is not void of the revolution impacting on, and response to it by a status quo with dissimilar ideology, the decline in global oil prices, instances of poor management of government, and economic implications that come with the Barrack Obama government declaring the country a national security threat. Whereas Venezuela is a natural resource rich country, it has within its midst a significant number of poor people. During the presidency of the late Hugo Chávez, the country saw the adoption of a socialist ideology and the implementation of a programme, known as the Bolivarian Revolution, which reportedly had among its aims addressing socio-economic inequities in the society. The socialist ideology, which saw more state control in sectors such as oil, received criticism and condemnation from internal and external quarters. With the passing of Chavez and the subsequent elevation of Nicolás Maduro, though not of similar charismatic and political savvy, the dissatisfaction of the ideology and programme grew louder. Compounding this is that Maduro’s presidency in itself is not without controversy, as it remains tenuous, with the Parliament moving to have him impeached and amidst grumblings in a population living under the present conditions, whether persons think it is his doing or agents sabotaging the revolution. Notwithstanding the border controversy, Guyana shares diplomatic relationship with Venezuela, and the two countries are members of Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). Venezuela played a significant role in the establishment of this hemispheric body (2008) during the Chavez presidency, with the English-speaking Caribbean, which led Guyana to becoming a member. This hemispheric bond has seen intensification in cross border trade between Brazil and Guyana, and Venezuela and Guyana. In 2013, the Government of Guyana added Portuguese to the already offered Spanish in the high school curriculum, with a view to breaking down language barriers to enhance trade among the countries. At the regional level, Venezuela and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) shared a free trade agreement that saw CARICOM countries, in the first five years of said agreement, being allowed to export goods manufactured in the region to that country tax free. Though this agreement is tax exempted between the partners, CARICOM countries enjoyed the concession five years before same kicked in for Venezuela. The intensification of Venezuelans coming into Guyana came as a result of the country’s present socio-economic and political climate, which has contributed to shortage of essential foods and other items. In such circumstance, history has shown that there has always been an intensification of cross-border trade with the country that is more stable. Outside of this category of persons (i.e. traders) visiting and those who engage in hard core criminal activities, there are those who come here -- though breaking immigration laws, which should not be countenanced in principle -- seeing fleeing to

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

IAC cannot be villain and victim at the same time Dear Editor,

FUNDAMENTAL rights and freedoms are held sacred equally as their corresponding responsibilities. Response is made to the Indian Arrival/ Action Committee’s (IAC) view that there exists an interest on my part to silence or intimidate the body. The IAC’s right to freedom of expression in questioning the President’s declared intent to establish a “Land Commission” to regularise African ancestral/communal lands vis a vis what it means for the legally constituted Lands and Surveys Commission was never questioned. What is being questioned, and deservedly so, is the use of this premise to front what is clearly an expressed denial to Africans of the universal human right to own property, which in this instance was bought and paid for by their ancestors in the post-slavery Village Movement era. You cannot fool persons by seeking to wield and hide behind the false claim that reparation talks between CARICOM and European countries have something to do with the issue

of regularising lands, which also is a function of the State. Any effort to bring ancestral lands in line with 21st century State record keeping/accounting, which will also make known ownership, is appropriate and welcome. It also avoids the illegitimate land grabbing tendency, as happened in Sparendaam (Pardoville II) and elsewhere, and continues today with consequences of creating injurious conflicts. In exercising the right to free speech and freedom of association, the IAC, in its letter, did send out a dog whistle to Indians that ‘they must run, run, go tell every Indian the [evil] blacks are coming for their lands, so let us come together and resist this force”, when such has no basis in fact, pursuit, or intent. And here is where this group continues to exercise fundamental rights and freedoms to engage in conduct designed to deny the bringing about of justice, equity and fair play in the system, which would ensure harmony and peaceful co-existence between and among the races. Were the body interested in such pursuit, the falsification of the publicly

and widely known case/focus of reparations would not have been applied. And where it claims that Indians are fearful their lands would be taken away, given the publicly well-known position advanced on the ancestral lands issue and what the President also clearly stated, there is a responsibility on the part of the IAC to so educate and empower its constituents with the facts. Evidently, to do so would compromise what the organisation has set out to achieve. There is no interest in silencing and/or intimidating the body; because organisations, though led by bigots, also enjoy the right to exist and be heard. Correspondingly, those who desire a society where all are treated equally with dignity and respect will expose such operatives. Persons, when confronted and exposed, may seek to deny the evidence by referring to such as “baseless attacks” or “false assertions”, but no choice exists in playing villain and victim at the same time. Regards, LINCOLN LEWIS

Pitbull allowed to roam National Park Dear Editor,

ON SUNDAY, August 14, while jogging in the National Park, I noticed a gentleman on bicycle with his pitbull running alongside, being held on a leash. However, when this gentleman entered the park, he stopped his bicycle and reached down and unhooked the dog. He then resumed riding, with his animal roaming free about 15 feet behind him. I watched this scenario with great surprise, fear and nervousness. As he passed me, I asked him about his silly action, and his response was, “Nah! He

[the dog] good!” Mr. Editor, I am not sure what “good” in this instance means, but I do know what a potentially dangerous situation is. Dog owners need to realise that their animals react differently to strangers. Over the years, we have had reports of some vicious pitbull attacks in our country. I am calling on the management of the National Park to implement leash laws to protect the citizens. The park is, on a daily basis, filled with both adults and children; and we simply must not allow silly, reckless dog owners to threaten our safety. I am also

Guyana as opportunity for betterment for self and loved ones left behind. And to the latter group, moving the humanitarian element becomes a factor for consideration. Guyana has had little experience in handling situations of the nature presented by Venezuelans, save for the period when large influx of Brazilians entered illegally into our gold mining sector. It is recognised that the Government of Guyana’s position is gradually evolving on how to treat with the Venezuelans, and this is understandable; and it may be of some utility to learn from, and build on, the Brazilian experience. President David Granger himself said last week that Guyana will, on humanitarian grounds, assist Venezuelans and persons of other nationalities, should they find themselves fleeing from their countries as a result of economic turmoil or political persecution. But despite the foregoing, President David Granger said, assistance will not be done haphazardly. “We are not going to simply open our borders to people who are causally drifting in…but if there is evidence of political

calling on our government officials and members of the legal fraternity who frequent the park to exercise to use their office to ensure we are kept safe, not only in the National Park, but also in other public spaces. There should be very harsh penalties on silly, negligent and reckless owners of vicious animals. Please let us not do the Guyanese thing of waiting until the proverbial horses have bolted before closing the stable door. A stitch in time saves nine. Regards, MIKOOWANYAH YOSEF-YISRAEL

persecution or economic deprivation, we are prepared to give favourable consideration to this. The President said, too, that Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, has been apprised of Government’s position on the matter, and will act accordingly. For while the situation that led to Venezuelans’ movement has its complexities, it is not a Herculean task that cannot be handled through humanitarian perspective, conscious of the historical relationship the countries and peoples share. From a national interest perspective, where the Venezuela Government continues to hold spurious claim to two-thirds of our territory, any act that is considered anti-humanitarian is not deserving in this situation. Borders and laws are made to govern society; providing order, discipline, and security in all forms of existence within. Where any or all of these is or are threatened and people flee, their circumstances need to be examined within the existing context, not in the traditional manner.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Armed bandits strike ‘West Side’ ‒ twice in less than 24 hours By Michel Outridge AN elderly couple who operates a variety store at Nouvelle Flanders, West Coast Demerara was on Sunday night robbed of cash, a licensed firearm, and a quantity of brand name colognes when two gunmen stormed the premises from which the couple operates. A visibly traumatised Lennox Albert told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that the incident occurred at about 20:00hrs as he was about to call it a day. He was in the process of padlocking his gate when he was confronted by a man carrying a gun. He explained that after putting the gun to his head, the man told him to be quiet and began riffling his pockets, during which the bandit came across his licensed .32 pistol and relieved him of it. The robber then ordered his accomplice to jump the gate and enter the yard, and together they took him at gunpoint to join his wife, Verna, in the house. LONG GUN By this time, Albert said, the accomplice had pulled out ‘a long gun’ from his waist, and training it on his wife, they both proceeded to make their demands. Albert said $500,000 he and his wife had in cash were immediately handed over to the bandits, in addition to a

quantity of expensive perfumes they had in the house. But seemingly not satisfied with what they’d gotten, the bandits demanded more; at which point the Alberts, pleading for their lives, told them to take whatever took their fancy, as they had nothing more of value to offer. At this, Albert said, the one with ‘the long gun’ went into each of the home’s three

matter. SEPARATE INCIDENT Meanwhile, in a separate incident early Sunday morning, the proprietor of Vincent Supermarket, located on the Vreed-en-Hoop Public Road, West Coast Demerara, was beaten in the head when two gunmen stormed the premises. Persaud told the Guyana

The supermarket at Kidram Street, on the Vreed-en-Hoop Public Road, which was robbed early Sunday morning (Photos by Adrian Narine)

The variety store operated by the Alberts at Nouvelle Flanders, WCD

bedrooms and ransacked them. He even took whatever $100 and $20 notes he came across, Albert said. In all, he said, the men spent about 20 minutes searching the house, after which they calmly left. The couple later summoned the police, who took statements from each of them. Up to press time, there’s been no arrest in that

Chronicle yesterday that it was the third time in his more-than-40-years in business that he’s been targeted by armed bandits. He said he was tending to his birds when he came face-to-face with a man with a handgun. He distinctly recalled that it was at about 06:30 hrs, because he’d just opened for business. Placing the weapon

Cabinet Sub-Committee on Small Business holds first meeting CHAIRMAN of the Cabinet Sub- Committee on Small Business, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, has met with the Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, and the Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, to discuss involvement of small businesses and contractors in the public procurement process. Among issues discussed were the Public Procurement Act, and how small businesses and contractors can be given contracts without compromising quality. Also highlighted were the need to empower small businesses and contractors;

and fair and equal distribution of contracts, once persons would have complied with the necessary regulations. This meeting formed part of the mandate of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Small Business, which is to examine how best small businesses and contractors can be incorporated into the Government’s procurement process. The Sub-Committee on Business was established in July following concerns raised by small business persons and contractors at a public procurement symposium held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal, East Coast

Demerara. Members of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Small Business are Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo (Chairman); Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; Minister of Business and Tourism, Dominic Gaskin; Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson; Minster of Communities, Ronald Bulkan; and Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan. Minister Ferguson represented Minister Patterson, who is currently overseas, while the other members of the committee were unavailable, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office has said.

at his head, Persaud said, the bandit escorted him to the kitchen area, where he made his demands. It was at this point, he said, that the man was joined by an accomplice, who also had a similar weapon. Persaud said that al-

though he was warned not to scream, he did anyway, so as to alert his daughters, wife and mother-in-law, who were in different parts of the premises at the time. Angered by what he’d done, Persaud said, one of the intruders struck him in the head with his gun, while the other discharged a round in his direction, but the bullet missed him. Nettled by now, he said, the men took whatever cash they could find in the supermarket, which he said was

“a substantial amount”, and headed to the corner near the shop to await the arrival of the getaway car. This they did in full view of passers-by, who were either going about their daily business or heading to work. They reportedly had to wait for five minutes before the vehicle, a white Toyota 212 with license plate PPP 6813, arrived with three other occupants inside, and whisked them away. No arrest has as yet been made in this matter.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

AG says Deputy Deeds Registrar not qualified - accuses JSC of interference in the work of the executive

ATTORNEY GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams on Monday described the woman appointed Deputy Registrar of the Deeds Registry as “hapless” and unqualified, saying that she was an imposition by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). What is more, Mr Williams believes the provision to have the JSC appoint the Registrar and the Deputy Registrar came about within the last decade, and he indicated that the government would seek to have this “recent vintage” of the constitution repealed. Mr Williams, speaking at a press conference at his Carmichael Street, Georgetown office, said that the Deputy Registrar, Ms Zanna Frank, did not meet the qualifications the JSC dictated in its advertisement

for the position, that is, that the person should have three years of experience as an attorney or three years of experience working at one of the registries. After teaching for a number of years, Ms Frank was admitted to the bar in November, 2014. She had applied for a job at the Chambers of the Attorney General to be a state counsel, but she was not accepted by the Public Service Commission. As such, Mr Williams was baffled that she could be appointed Deputy Registrar. He said that workers at the Deeds Registry have refused to work with Ms Frank. Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, writing to the press, noted that Article 199 (1) and (3) of the Constitution, provides for the JSC to make the appointment of the Regis-

Zanna Frank trar of Deeds and Deputy Registrar of Deeds. Accordingly, he said Ms Frank was interviewed and appointed by the JSC but “through a series of machinations engineered by the Attorney-General, this officer is being prevented from performing the functions of her office.” When the Registrar, Azeena Baksh, was asked

to take up her vacation leave, Mr Williams noted that Ms Frank declared herself the acting Registrar. But he argued that a woman who “knows nothing” about the operations of the Deeds Registry could not assume that position. Former Attorney General Nandlall argued that the actions of the current Attorney General “consist of a naked usurpation of the functions of the JSC and a gross violation of the Constitution.” “Not only does it undermine the independence of an important constitutional institution, but it interferes with the functional autonomy of a statutory body corporate, the Deeds and Commercial Regis-

try, which is managed by a Board of Directors in accordance with the provisions of the Deeds and Commercial Registry Act,” Mr Nandlall insisted. But Mr Williams noted that it was the Board of the Deeds Registry and Commercial Registry which approved of the acting appointment of Ms Penny White, a woman with 29 years of experience in the registry, though not an attorney, when Ms Baksh was urged to utilise her leave. The Attorney General noted that the JSC did not consult with him on the appointment of Ms Frank. He said he wrote the JSC, whose chairman is Chancellor Carl Singh,

last week but has received no response. As far as Mr Williams is concerned, the JSC violated its own rules for the appointment of the Deputy Registrar. Further, he said the JSC ought not to be making such an appointment, as it amounts to interference in the work of the executive and the judiciary should seek to engender the same separation of powers that is expected of the executive arm of government. He said that the appointment of Ms Frank has sought to disrupt the work of the Deeds Registry. Up to press time, the Guyana Chronicle was unable to contact Ms Frank for comment.

Agri. Ministry’s Hydromet Dept. reactivates Wauna Climate Metrological Station - other weather stations to be established across the country THE Agriculture Ministry’s Hydrometeorological Department has re-activated a number of weather stations across the country in an effort to support hinterland agriculture. Thus, after more than twenty years of being inactive, the Wauna Climate Meteorological Station in Barima-Waini, Region One, has recently been reactivated as part of efforts to ensure weather changes and climatic conditions are correctly recorded, in order to foster improved agricultural practices. Works carried out on the station were concluded on June 25 last, and trial tests have since commenced to ensure the effective use of the new, state-of-the-art technology. This station is now fully equipped with instruments to effectively measure a number of weather-related activities, such as temperature, rainfall, wind speed and direction, evaporation, soil temperature, sunshine hours, etc.

Additionally, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) has been able to carry out works on its AgroMet Station, and this will function collaboratively with the Climate Met station. Both stations are scheduled for commissioning in October of this year as part of the Agriculture Month’s calendar of activities. Another weather station is set to be re-established at Kato, Region Eight. This weather station has also been down for in excess of twenty years, making it difficult to determine the weather patterns in the region, which have had a direct effect on residents and agriculture-related practices. This facility will be equipped with an automatic weather station along with an automatic hydrological station. In an invited comment, Chief Hydrometeorological Officer (ag) Dr. Garvin Cummings said the projects would have great beneficial impact

on hinterland agriculture. “With the operation of these stations we will be able to conduct water quantity monitoring, and also monitor the Chiung Falls, which has hydropower potential,” he said. The Ministry of Agriculture will, in early September, be establishing a climate station at Barima. This, too, would be furnished with the necessary equipment to effectively predict climatic changes and weather patterns, to foster improved agricultural practices in the hinterland. The hydrometeorological arm of the Agriculture Ministry is also in the process of procuring tidal stations to provide tidal data. The first will be stationed in the vicinity of the Berbice River Bridge. Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, recognizing the importance of the hydrometeorological services to agriculture, has been lobbying for the establishment of tidal stations. (GINA)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

ARIES - Sometimes you gung-ho Rams can’t tell the difference between assertion and aggression. However, your steady persistence is rewarded today because it counterbalances the progressive Sun-Uranus trine which blasts you clear into the future. An odd mixture of strategic planning and impulsive reactions can positively influence your work and help you reach your professional goals. Success doesn’t just come and find you; you must go out and get it. TAURUS - Innovation and common sense work in tandem today. The Sun’s harmonious trine to independent Uranus in your 12th House of Fantasy sets your imagination free. Outof-the-box solutions to stubborn problems empower you to untangle knots in your progress or raise your awareness to new levels of understanding. Unfortunately, all your brilliant concepts are useless now if you don’t have the means to make them real. Nevertheless, if you want to achieve your dreams bad enough, you’ll find a way rather than an excuse. GEMINI - It requires courage to reveal your vulnerability instead of just showing off the clever side of your personality. The bighearted Leo Sun, shining in your 3rd House of Communication, motivates you to take chances and talk about your feelings, especially now that it’s forming a liberating trine to spontaneous Uranus. Honesty can sometimes be a double-edged sword, but it’s easier to build a solid foundation when you come straight from your heart. It takes time to build trust, but it’s an essential ingredient in any type of relationship. CANCER - You can straddle the divide between caution and risk today by discovering and applying previously untapped talents and abilities. However, the creative Sun in your 2nd House of Self-Worth forms a supportive trine with Uranus, encouraging you to take chances in your professional life. This is your moment to shine; the cosmos is empowering you to be boldly innovative and break out of your familiar shell. As Robert Kennedy said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” LEO - Allow yourself as much freedom to dream as you can today. Temporarily letting go of responsibilities gives you the space you need to see your life in a fresh new light. The unconventional Sun-Uranus trine opens your mind, creating an ideal time to release your old self-image, making way for a more amazing version of you with a more adventurous future. Learning to fly looks harder from the ground. Jump and your wings will appear. VIRGO - Although your thoughts are truly brilliant now, people may not be able to understand what you’re saying unless you simplify your concepts. Instead of rushing ahead in a flurry of words, slow down and explain everything methodically. Although a thrilling Sun-Uranus trine opens doors that were previously locked, it’s still up to you to be careful so you can make the most of this more permissive environment. Today is an opportunity that vanishes tomorrow; don’t waste one moment second-guessing yourself. LIBRA - You’re hesitant to come out and say what’s on your mind today because you’re worried about people misunderstanding your intentions. Although you might send subtle signals of interest to someone so you won’t be noticed by others, your actions may be more obvious than you think. Luckily, a stroke of genius suddenly reveals a way for you to break free of an unpleasant situation as the Sun trines rebellious Uranus in your 7th House of Others. For once, it’s better to say too much now than nothing at all. SCORPIO - It’s as if a lightning rod is attracting unexpected events and encouraging radical behaviour at work. Although this cosmic interference might normally be disturbing, the Sun’s superconductive trine to electrifying Uranus is thrilling as it lights up your mind with original answers to existing questions. But don’t waste this energy on attention-seeking antics; keep your ego in check and just do your job to the best of your ability. Success can be yours if you don’t become arrogant or expect everything to fall your way. Humility is your friend. SAGITTARIUS - Don’t wait for someone else to rush in and save the day today. The dramatic Leo Sun’s trine to radical Uranus calls for bold action that produces both emotional and financial rewards. Although you may be inspired by the vibrant Leo Sun’s presence in your 9th House of Big Ideas, its awkward aspect to wounded Chiron leaves you uncertain about the value of your actions. Fortunately, your amazing ideas are the proof of the pudding if you trust in yourself. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. CAPRICORN - There is chemistry at work today if you’re open to the spontaneity of the moment. Collaborating closely with a creative partner sparks contagious excitement and fascinating ideas while the willful Sun in your 8th House of Shared Resources trines brilliant Uranus. Make sure to record your conversations for future use or the genius of the moment could be lost into space forever. As Dante wrote, “He listens well who takes notes.” AQUARIUS - You can take giant leaps over huge hurdles while the confident Sun in creative Leo forms a mind-opening trine with revolutionary Uranus. When you devote your heart and head to a cause, the obstacles you encounter are no match for the strength of your convictions. You’re ready to carve out a unique path into the future that fully expresses your originality. This cosmic wake-up call releases you from doubt and drudgery today, clearing the way for others to follow in your pioneering footsteps. PISCES - It’s as if you struggled up a mountain, arrived at the summit, and now finally enjoy an unobstructed view of the future. Your illusions are shattered by lightning bolts of awareness that awaken you from a foggy sleep. You can suddenly see the truth and are eager to apply your newfound passion to making something wonderful happen. Although you feel the exhilaration of the radiant Sun’s trine to wild Uranus, you also realise how much work still lies ahead. Seek out new experiences, but proceed with caution, so you don’t do anything you’ll soon regret.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Linden Mayor refutes allegation of $.5M in travelling expenses - demands public apology

By Vanessa Braithwaite LINDEN Mayor Carwyn Holland on Monday denied the claim in an August 3rd Stabroek News article that

he, along with his deputy Waneka Arrindell had spent about $500,000 in fuel since taking office. Holland said that the allegation is completely untrue

and is a gross exaggeration of the actual expenditure which was actually $255,464 for the period of April 1st to June 30th 2016. The Linden Mayor con-

tended that most of the money was used for travelling to Georgetown on council’s business and it is the responsibility of the council to reimburse him and the deputy of expenses incurred for those trips. Each of the requests for reimbursement, the Mayor said, was approved by the Town Clerk as she is the one with direct access to the council’s funds. “As Mayor I do not have access to council funds and no spending of the council is done without the passage and signature of the Town Clerk….therefore the impression presented to some sections of the media and members of the public that I treat the council’s funds like my personal piggy bank is not only untrue but signals a clear attempt to incriminate and bring the Mayor’s office into disrepute with malicious slandering,” claimed Mr. Holland. NO BALANCE He further described the allegations in the news article as criminal, mischievous and wicked and no attempt was made to balance the story with a comment from him or the deputy. The Mayor revealed that he is at present seeking legal advice on the matter and will be demanding a public apology from those responsible for disseminating the information. The article mentioned that Councillor Derron John accused Town Clerk Jonnellor Bowen and Councillor Lennox Gasper of leaking the information to the public as it was discussed in a financial committee meeting with no reporters present. Councillor Lennox Gasper in response to the allegation demanded proof that he leaked the information and threatened to charge him with defamation of character if he fails to produce the said proof. He added, “Be that

as it may, there is nothing wrong with transparency and accountability, since it was the people’s business and therefore every dollar of the finance record should be published for every quarter.” The Mayor also accused Councillor Lennox Gasper of being improper and slanderous. “The councillor who is regularly claiming improprieties has himself been improper in conduct in and out of council and has displayed blatant and persistent efforts to slander the deputy and I and this warrants adamant repudiation,” Holland affirmed. TOWN CLERK Referring to the no-confidence motion that was moved against the Town Clerk by the council in July, the Mayor said that the intentional inflating of travel expenditures by the Town Clerk was the last straw and it signals an end of the council’s tolerance for her unacceptable behaviour. “This mean exploit of the Town Clerk and partner in the council has since placed my family in serious discomfort and as such I’m contemplating legal proceedings until I get a public apology.” In a letter written to Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, the Mayor outlined reasons why the Town Clerk should be relieved of her duties. These include being ineffective in managing the finances of the council, displaying a nonchalant attitude in fulfilling the duties assigned by the council and the deliberate attempt to stymie progress. These, in addition to other reasons were also outlined in the council’s recommendation to have her removed via the no-confidence motion. The no-confidence motion was passed at July’s statutory meeting and was moved by Councillor Deron

John and seconded by Councillor Neola Rogers. Ten of the twelve councillors present at the meeting voted in favour of the motion while Councillor Lennox Gasper and Councillor Fern Mckoy abstained. ‘LOCKED OUT’ ALLEGATION It was alleged that the Town Clerk on the next day was debarred from entering the compound but this was refuted by the Deputy Mayor who said, “the attempt to disseminate false information to the public by the Town Clerk even in this matter is synonymous with the continued attitude and behaviour of this Town Clerk.” The Mayor said that he was told by the Town Clerk that the security informed her that he left instructions that she should not enter her office. “She said that they told her I said lock her out of which I did not give any such orders,” he affirmed. The security personnel, however, in an invited comment said that she was given an instruction by her corporal to not allow the Town Clerk to enter the building and she was just acting accordingly. Commenting on the issue, the Town Clerk said that she was sitting on a bench in the compound since 7:55am as she was following an instruction given. “Instructions were given, I was very respectful, I would have followed those instructions, hence I am sitting on this bench since 7:55 this morning,” said the Town Clerk who also revealed that an investigation will be launched into the matter. The Town Clerk had promised to put out a statement on the issue as she was at the time seeking legal advice. She was however unavailable on Monday for a comment.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

PPP calls for Public Health Minister to be sacked

MR. Clement Rohee, as General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), has articulated a party position that Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton should be sacked for what he described as “mismanagement” of the health sector and poor handling of the storage bond fiasco. The Party’s position is that the Public Health Minister’s utterances in the National Assembly warrant

his dismissal from office; and at the PPP/C’s weekly press briefing at Freedom House on Robb Street, Rohee argued that the issuance of an apology by Dr. Norton, review of the threeyear contract for the lease of the Sussex Street bond, and re-examination of the monthly charge of $12.5M are not enough to amend for Norton’s utterances. Rohee stressed that Norton should be “sent packing”, because, had the tables been

turned, there would have been a public outcry. He said Dr. Norton made a mockery of the Opposition when he was questioned about the bond, its location, rental and certification, and the parliamentary opposition is demanding that the Health Minister be placed before the Privileges Committee. However, through Minister Raphael Trotman, chairman of the sub-committee established to investigate the matter, Government has said

Ramson Jr. to be replaced by qualified match - Rohee THE People’s Progressive Party has begun its search for a replacement of Charles Ramson Jr. as he prepares to depart Guyana to take up a Chevening Scholarship offered by the British Government. Speaking at the party’s weekly press conference, General Secretary Clement Rohee confirmed that Ramson is expected to tender his resignation soon from the National Assembly. “He will take a course in respect to his presence in the National Assembly that will see his seat being vacated and being replaced by another Member of Parliament,” said Rohee. Ramson Jr has been in discussion with party officials about his scholarship and the impact it would have on his future as a politician. Given Ramson’s imminent departure to further his academics, several persons are being considered by the party as a possible replacement. “The same process that was used to identify the 32 Members of Parliament (MPs) following the May 2015 elections, [is] the same criteria and assessment [that] will be employed in selecting the person,” said the General Secretary. Charles Ramson Jr Rohee said that while the party will be affected by Ramson’s departure from the National Assembly, he will be replaced by “someone who is equally qualified or by someone who is just as effective in presenting a case and so forth, that’s why we are looking at more than one person,” he said. Ramson Jr., who is an Attorney, is one of more than twenty young Guyanese who applied for and were granted the prestigious scholarship to complete his Masters at a University in the United Kingdom. He is expected to take up his scholarship in September.

Jamaican put away for 3 years, fined $1.4M JAMAICAN national Easton Stapleton who pleaded guilty to the charge of smuggling cocaine in deodorant bottles last Friday was sentenced to three years and fined $1.4 million when he appeared before city magistrate Leron Daly on Monday. Before sentence was read Stapleton asked the magEaston Stapleton istrate to allow him to say something. When permission was granted he stated that he was provider for three of his grandchildren since their mother had passed away recently. Also his wife did not know that he had been charged. “I made a mistake and I am asking the court to have mercy on me. When I found out the price for the shipment I changed my mind,” Stapleton told the court. He further stated that he was in a financial problem and his house was up for foreclosure and he was also suffering from prostate cancer. “That is why I took the offer up when I was invited here by someone to do this thing.” Stapleton pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him which stated that he had 526 grams of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking on Tuesday, August 10 at the Guyana Post Office Corporation. According to the facts he went to the post office to inquire about the procedures for posting a package. He left when he was told that a Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) officer would have to check the package before shipping. However a CANU officer became suspicious and trailed Stapleton before confronting him at the back of Fogarty’s Department Store. The package was inspected and inside contained 20 roll-on deodorant bottles along with several markers. Further checks found that the inside of the items were laced with cocaine.

it is satisfied with the explanations provided by Minister Norton. Rohee has also declared his position that Dr. Norton has no authority to dismiss Mr. Michael Khan, Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). He thinks Dr. Norton has overstepped his boundaries in this regard. “Norton is in no position to dismiss the CEO of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. That is the responsibility of the Board….

PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee But this is where we keep saying the political interference keeps taking place. Mr. Norton has absolutely no role in determining what decisions should be taken by the Board,” the PPP General Secretary stressed.

Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton Mr. Basil Williams, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, has been appointed mediator in this matter. He is required to submit recommendations to Cabinet on the way forward.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

‘Mai Mai Dam’ altercation...

Alleged gunman flees, leaving severed wrist - he and cohorts hospitalised after chopping spree

By Jeune Bailey-Van Keric AFTER his left hand was severed at the wrist, eyewitnesses say, Ashton Simon fled the scene, leaving it behind, fluttering on the

ground where it fell, silver ring still intact. The 42-year-old father of five, of Sheet Anchor, East Canje, was amongst three persons who went to ‘Mai Mai Dam’, a squatting area on the eastern fringes

of the township of New Amsterdam, on Sunday afternoon ostensibly to settle an old score. According to eyewitnesses, Simon was the first to mount the stairs of the home of the Gildaries, the family with whom he

and his two friends had a misunderstanding. It was around 17:30hrs, they said, and Rohit Gildarie was seated on the front stairs having a meal, when Simon, along with Valas Mootee Boodie and Jason Wilson exited a motorcar driven by one André Lewis of Palmyra Village. QUICK AS A FLASH Reports are that it was Simon who pointed a gun at Rohit’s neck, when, quick as a flash, one of the latter’s siblings, who was armed with a cutlass, fired a chop, severing Simon’s left hand, which was in an upraised position in the vicinity of his neck. He also sustained other injuries about the body. His two companions meanhile, who had accused the Gildharies of being police informers, were also dealt several chops during the melee, which saw curious neighbours and passersby flocking the scene to get a first-hand glimpse of the incident. Wilson lost his left ear, and suffered lacerations to his back and chest, while Boodie, a fisherman, was chopped in the region of

Valas Mootee

Ashton Simon his right side rib. All three men remain patients in the male surgical ward at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

NO BUSINESS During a visit to their home late yesterday, Simon’s relatives were overheard quarreling, saying that he had no right to be in other people’s business. “I keep talking to he, but he does not hear. He got five children, and one on the way. He keep following people and their nonsense. Now he lost he hand; dis boy nah ah hear,” said a woman who said she was his cousin. Meanwhile, Boodie, aged 25, denied either of them having a gun in their possession. He however opted to remain silent when asked the reason for he and his friends being in the area. Eyewitnesses said that after the cutlass attack, the men fled the scene, leaving behind a trail of blood and Simon’s wrist, which a plain-clothes detective subsequently took away. A father and two sons have since been arrested, and are assisting police with their investigations .

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

NDIA CEO visits C/tyne rice farmers group in Canje Creek

By Nafeeza Yahya

STARING HUGE DEBTS

MR. Fredrick Flatts, Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), visited the No.52/59 Scheme on Thursday last for a firsthand look at the situation facing the Corentyne Youth Farmers group, formed in 2010 and comprising 30 rice farmers. Those farmers have each pooled $8.5 million of their own finances to put up a massive total of $255 million to develop the land aback the No.52 to No.59 villages in the vicinity of the Canje Creek, and have been cultivating 100 acres each for a combined cultivation of 3,000 acres, making it one of the largest rice producing areas in Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne).

These farmers have been cultivating the area since 2010, but inclement weather conditions and poor drainage have made them unable to cultivate any rice for the last crop, thus they are facing the huge debts which they incurred to set up the scheme. These farmers have met with the Prime Minister’s Representative in Region 6, Gobin Harbajan, to apprise him of their plight, and he invited the CEO of NDIA to assess the situation and look at possible solutions. “We want better drainage and irrigation here, so that we can ensure, when we plant again, everything is in place. Whenever the rain fall heavy, the place flood; and whenever it dry, we nah get enough water for the crops. We invest

nuff and can’t afford to suffer losses,” one rice farmer told this publication. Flatts and other officials made the trip by boat from the No. 52 channel to the Canje Creek, to analyze the situation on the ground and come up with possible solutions. In an interview with this publication, he said he was pleasantly surprised to see the extent at which the farmers have developed the area, and thus he knows for a fact that the sizeable investment means the men are serious about rice cultivation. He said the farmers need help in quite a few areas, and he would take the information back to the office, look at the critical issues, and make a proposal for solutions, so that the farmers can resume cultivation of their lands. “It was good coming

Frederick Flatts in discussion with rice farmers of the Corentyne Youth Farmers group

down at the back here to look at the various crosses. What the Corentyne Youth Farmers have done with their own finances tell me they are interested in cultivating the area. I can see they need help in a lot of areas, but what they mentioned, or their main concern, is the cleaning of the drainage channel between Number 52 and 53 villages… What I will have to do is go back into the office, look at it, and perhaps ask them to make a formal request for help.” The NDIA CEO ex plained that while cleaning the channels falls within the ambit of his agency, to do such a clearing would be very costly; and while an initial clearing would help get the ball rolling for the farmers, a few months down the road the problem could arise again, and more

finances would have to be put in to have a repeat cleaning. This, he said, is one of the challenges he foresees, since the NDIA has to manage its finances to meet the needs of everyone, not just this group of farmers, and look at the cost-and-return benefits from the investment. “The details of the arrangement would have to be worked out with the farmers since, across the country, other farmers face similar issues, and we need to be impartial in dealing with everyone. We would want to get an idea of land use in the area, because what you need to do is (this): when you clean a channel, you want to maximize its use; so the more persons that use it makes more sense in terms of cost-and-returns you get from cleaning a channel. We would be interested in wheth-

er or not farmers are willing to plant the areas downstream of the co-op land, since that would make it more interesting,” Flatts disclosed. The farmers are also calling for the creation of a proper road/dam to take them all the way to the creek, since the journey is quite burdensome by boat. This, they say, would also encourage other farmers to cultivate the area. “We hope after this visit that we can get some assistance for the upcoming crop; because we got loan we have to pay, plus it would be really good if they can look into getting an all-weather road so we can drive in all the way to the creek. Cause when you use the boat you gotta pull it over four dams before you can get to the creek,” the farmers have said.

Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, Frederick Flatts, leads his team into the area in the vicinity of the Canje Creek

Accused ‘recruiter’ on $400,000 bail Police, gold miners case adjourned

TWENTY-YEAR-OLD mason Shamar Morris of 60, Durban Street, Lodge was granted bail in the sum of $400,000, when he appeared before city magistrate Leron Daly on Monday, charged with allegedly recruiting 26-year-old Patrima Nima Isaacs to traffic 698 grams of cocaine out of Guyana between March 1 and July 3, 2016. The conditions attached to bail are that Morris has to lodge his passport at the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit and report there every Friday. Ranks of the CANU were

able to implicate Morris after Isaacs had been busted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) with the drugs concealed in the handles of her handbag and in the form of sanitary pads that were placed between her legs. Based upon the woman’s statements, CANU officers were able to arrest Morris, who had been on their radar for a while. Isaacs appeared before magistrate Leron Daly and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and fined $1.8M.

Shamar Morris

THE FIVE police officers who were charged with robbing gold miners earlier this month made another court appearance before city magistrate Judy Latchman on Monday. However the matter was adjourned until September 6, 2016 for statements. Lance Corporal Mark Fernandes, 42, of 16 Annandale Railway Embankment, Constables Raphael Lowenfield, 25, of Diamond Housing Scheme; Akeem Thompson, 25, of Bell Air, Georgetown; Kosice Arthur,25, of Linden and Delroy Duncan, 22, of Sister’s Village, West Bank Demerara, were charged in connection with robbing three gold miners of a total of $165,000 worth of raw gold. The policemen are accused of robbing Sherwin Noel of five pennyweights of raw gold valued GY$55,000; Herilall Gildharie of four pennyweights of raw gold valued GY$44,000 and Urie Samuels of six pennyweights of raw gold valued GY$66,000 on July 25, 2016 at Timehri, East Bank Demerara. According to police reports the five armed officers who were on mobile patrol searched the men and stole the gold in the process.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Several children injured as speeding minibus crashes in city

The car that collided with the speeding, off-route minibus

MORE than 10 persons, mostly children, received injuries after a speeding Toyota HiAce minibus collided with a Toyota Fielder Wagon at the corner of Lance Gibbs and New Garden Streets, Queenstown. When questioned, the driver of the Route 40 minibus, BPP 8442, Naresh Ramjohn said he took that route in an attempt “to beat the traffic.” He was driving north towards Lamaha Street, where eyewitnesses attested that he was speeding and failed to heed the stop

Unnecessary chances: The minibus that was carrying an overload of passengers failed to heed a stop sign while speeding and diverting from its Route 40 zone

sign at the corner of New Garden Street. Consequently, the minibus collided with the Fielder Wagon, HC 5787, which was travelling west along Lance Gibbs Street. The driver of the minibus was allegedly carrying an overload, primarily children and a few parents who had been out hunting school supplies.

Minibus driver Naresh Ramjohn (Samuel Maughn photos)

“PACKED” MINIBUS According to an 11year-old girl, who sustained minor injuries, the bus was

“packed” and the conductor was “standing” inside of the bus to accommodate the overload of passengers. A baby was also sitting with her mother beside this 11-year-old girl who luckily remained unharmed, even though the mother sustained some injuries. The driver of the Fielder Wagon, Calvin Barrows, said that he was driving along Lance Gibbs Street when he saw the speeding bus that failed to stop. The Wagon collided with the minibus causing it to “top-

ple” and “skate” on its left side further north of New Garden Street, according to eye-witnesses. Neither of the drivers nor the minibus conductor sustained any serious injuries. However when the Guyana Chronicle visited the Georgetown Public Hospital more than 10 persons were either being treated or awaiting treatment for a variety of injuries ranging from bruises to lacerations sustained in the crash. (Vishani Ragobeer)

Digicel sponsors Berbice Expo IN keeping with its thrust to give back to the Guyanese community, Digicel Guyana on Monday handed over an undisclosed amount of money to the Central Corentyne Centre of Commerce to assist with the Berbice Expo. The Company’s Communications Manager Vidya Sanichara told Guyana Chronicle that the company is donating a “significant amount” towards the Berbice Expo as the company finds it necessary to give back to its customers. Berbice Expo which begins on Aught 19, and will end on August 22, provides

an outlet for residents of Berbice to market their products. It also aids in the fostering of new businesses. Meanwhile, Sanichara noted that Digicel will be taking its ‘Duck Curry competition’ and ‘Bring the Beat: Amateur DJ Competition’ to Berbice in search of local talent. Coordinator and past president of the Central Corentyne Centre of Commerce Tajpaul Adjpdhea said annually a budget of $12M is made for the hosting of the Berbice Expo. This colossal amount is only achieved through sponsorship. Assistant Secretary of the Central Corentyne Centre

of Commerce, Krishnanand Raghunandan, said the Expo provides a platform for persons to market themselves and in many cases provides an opportunity for them to establish lucrative businesses. He noted that annual exposition fosters community development and noted that in 2005, $500,000 gained from the Expo was used to construct the Rosignol fire station. The annual Berbice Expo showcases over 100 booths and features local talent as well as culture. It is estimated that approximately 25,000 persons attend the event.

Digicel Representative Luanne Abrams (second left) hands over Digicel’s contribution to Tajpaul Adjodhea (second right). Also photographed are Digicel’s Communications Manager Vidya Sanichara (right) and Assistant Secretary Central Corentyne Centre of Commerce Krishnanand Raghunandan (left)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Teen chopped, beaten to death ‒ during ‘wedding-house’ brawl By Michel Outridge DEVANAND Sanichar, 13, of Plantain Walk, Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was reportedly chopped and beaten to death by a group of men following an argument at a ‘wedding house’ in the village on Sunday night. The incident reportedly occurred at approximately 23:30hrs at the Plantain Walk Access Road, in Triumph, not far away from where the lad lived. According to the police, Sanichar, who was at a function in the village, had earlier had an altercation with some men over a girl. He reportedly left the function and returned with a cutlass, whereupon the argument continued. Reports are that one of the persons with whom he had the argument took the cutlass away from the teen and dealt him a chop to his head; and that whilst on the ground, he was given a severe beating with a stick. The Guyana Chronicle has learnt that three persons are in custody, assisting with the investigation but the primary suspect is currently on the run. 11 HOUSES AWAY Mother of the deceased, Sookdai Sanichar told this newspaper that she, along with other relatives and her son, were at a wedding some 11 houses away from theirs, when at around 23:00h, she saw him leave. Reports are that the teen had been drinking beers before he left the ‘wedding house’ with a friend who frequented their home. The grieving mother of four said that within 15 minutes of his leaving, she was

Murdered: Devanand Sanichar

informed that he was lying lifeless on the street. She said she immediately left the wedding and went to verify what she had been told, and upon arrival, found that he was indeed lying in a pool of blood on the street, with a gaping chop wound to his head. According to the woman, her son’s body bore other marks of violence. She said it was based on the information given the police by another teen, who reportedly saw what happened, that three persons are now in custody. The teenager reportedly saw a group of men, all of whom reside in Beterverwagting, chopping Sanichar as he attempted to defend himself with a piece of wood. It is believed that while the teenager was attacked by five men, the prime suspect is still at large. NEW TO COMMUNITY And according to sources, he not only recently moved to the community and befriended the teenager, but would invite him out from time to time. “I need justice for my son,” the lad’s mother said, “because he was a good person. He didn’t drink a lot, didn’t t’ief nor smoke; and

The Sanichars’ home

whoever killed him should face the full force of the law.” As she told the Guyana Chronicle, Devanand, who was her ‘first-born’, attended Lusignan Secondary, but due to circumstances, she was forced to take him out of school. His father, meanwhile, said he was not around when the incident occurred, and is at a loss as to why anyone would want to kill his son. The teen would have turned 14 on September 23.

Devanand’s grieving parents and siblings

Peace Pole restored at City Hall THE Mayor and City Council (M&CC), in collaboration with the Peace Pilgrim Foundation and the American University of Peace Studies, has unveiled the restored ‘Peace Pole’ in the City Hall Compound. City Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene said on Monday that City Council is working assiduously to ensure Georgetown returns to its former ‘the Garden City’ glory. She said efforts to return the city to this status must be done in a peaceful manner. “We must work to strengthen the peace of our nature; peace among our communities; peace within the environment; peace among individuals; and most of all, our inner peace,” said the Mayor. Echoing the sentiments of Mayor Chase-Greene was assistant Town Clerk Sherry Jerrick. She said it is the vision of the City Council to develop Georgetown into a city that is healthy, peaceful and clean. Jerrick noted that the Mayor and City Council “does not stand only as a legal instrument, but as an instrument of peace.” And Dr. Eton Simon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Executive Chairman of the American University of Peace Studies, and Friend of the Peace Pilgrim Foundation, expressed gratitude to the M&CC for fostering the efforts towards restoring the Peace Pole, and by extension renewing the restoration of peace.

The Peace Pole is being unveiled by Prabhupada Deva Prabhu, while City Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene (left), Dr. Eton Simon (left), Sherry Jerrick (right) and a religious leader look on

Dr. Simon said the Peace Pilgrim Foundation is one which spreads the message of peace, while stressing that good must be used to overcome evil, truth to over-

come falsehood, and love to overcome hate. “Only good can overcome evil,” he said. Collis Spencer-Drake, Administrative Director of the American University

of Peace Studies, said the Peace Pole is not merely an object of decoration, but serves as a reminder to keep peace in the thoughts of all citizens always.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Bartica gets asphalt plant, compliments of Berbice construction company BARTICA on Saturday received a $150M asphalt plant, compliments of local construction company, Associated Construction Services (ACS). The asphalt plant has the potential to produce 300 tonnes of asphalt daily and is expected to boost employment in the mining town, as well as road projects. Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, who was present at the commissioning ceremony, described the investment by ACS as timely. HINTERLAND ROADS She also noted that the APNU+AFC coalition government has committed to ensuring that all-weather roads are constructed in the country’s hinterland locations. “With this asphalt plant being here, it will see many road projects moving from loam, DBST (Double Bituminous Surface Treatment), with asphalt roads becoming a reality,” she said. Minister Ferguson said that the establishment of an asphalt plant in Bartica would also aid in the reduction of pollution. She said residents have over the years been affected by dust entering their homes. Additionally, the asphalt plant would reduce the cost associated with transporting asphalt to Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). Meanwhile, Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally assured residents of the administration’s commitment to assist the region in leveraging their natural and human resources for the town’s development. She said the investment by ACS is one of several that will foster development in the town. Reassuring that “Region Seven is on the cusp of significant development,” she noted that the commissioning of the asphalt plant is an indication that development of the region’s roads has been prioritised. Regional Chairman, Gordon Bradford said that in Bartica, ACS has continued to support the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on a number of projects and initiatives. Bradford also explained that earlier in the year, the RDC took the decision to “do away with chip seal roads,” as these were “not standing up to the rigours of the type of vehicles that traverse the local roads.” “We took that decision that any road that we are going to

construct there must be asphalt surface,” Bradford said. He said that ACS on hearing of the RDC’s decision, took up the challenge to help the council meet its goal. ACS investment in Bartica covers the preparation of the land for the facility and the acquisition and installation of the fully computerised plant that was procured from India and assembled by an Indian engineer. The engineer also spent one month in Guyana providing training to the local staff who will manage the facility. Mayor Gifford Marshall said that the multi-million dollar investment in Bartica is testimony that the new municipality is leading the way and will definitely be the model of Guyana in economic, sports, health and green energy. “ … the season to be happy is now and the place to be happy is in the beautiful place of Bartica…when someone can leave Region Six and come to Bartica to make a major

investment you know that Bartica is the place to be,” Marshall declared. Going forward, he promised that the town council will work feverishly to ensure that Bartica promotes a green economy. He assured that the council will work with the local contractors to ensure that Bartica’s pristine environment is not destroyed in the name of development. This is the second asphalt plant set up by ACS. In 2014, the company invested more than $100 million in the establishment of a modern asphalt plant in Tarlogie Village, Corentyne, Berbice. The plant was the first of its kind in the Ancient County, serving to provide quality asphaltic concrete. Established in 1997, ACS of Hampshire, Corentyne, Berbice provides construction services across the country. The company builds roads, rents machinery and equipment, and is also involved in charitable work. (GINA)

Wanted American forger gets 36 months in jail

STACY Hamilton (44) of Texas, United States of America appeared on Monday before City Magistrate Fabayo Azore charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony. Hamilton pleaded guilty to both charges - the first of which stated that between January 1 and August 12 at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, she conspired with persons known or unknown to fake a Guyanese passport with the name Tara Maughn. The other charge stated that on August 12, at Port Lethem, she presented a fake passport to an immigration officer. The prosecution contended that Hamilton was a wanted fugitive from her homeland since she had pending matter before the court in the USA. Police Prosecutor Corporal Deniro Jones explained that the foreign national entered Guyana on January 1, via Cheddi Jagan International Airport. While in the country she met with persons to forge a passport in favor of Tara Maughn. Jones noted on August 12, Hamilton was stopped at the

Lethem Check point by immigration officer Stephen Williams after she submitted the fake passport. The officer confronted the woman and she confessed that she had bought the passport for $1,500USD from a man. Hamilton further disclosed that she had gotten the passport to travel in Brazil. Attorney-at-law, Paul Fung-a-Fat stated that Hamilton has been living in Guyana for more than a year at Grove, East Bank Demerara. The lawyer further disclosed that US police officials had already made contact with Hamilton and also the woman had an open ticket back to her homeland. The Magistrate in her ruling considered the woman’s guilty plea while placing weight on the seriousness of the offences. The US national was sentenced to 18 month on each of the two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony. These will run concurrently. After serving her jail time she will be deported.

Convicted Stacy Hamilton

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Serial convict collects another 18 months

T W E N T Y- Y E A R - O L D Kevin Christopher Balkaran was Monday sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment by City Magistrate Annett Singh for burglary. Balkaran of Houston Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara is a frequent visitor to the courts and who was earlier this month released from prison after severing a three-month sentence.

H e w a s c h a rg e d f o r breaking into the dwelling house of Elizabeth Johnson during the night of Thursday, August 11 at Georgetown with intent to steal. The 20-year-old admitted to the crime, smiling as he told her: “My worship, Elizabeth used to be talking meh name so I just do it fuh spite.” According to the prosecution’s facts which were read by Corporal Seon Blackman,

Teen smoker escapes jail term NINETEEN-YEARold Nyron Williams of Lot 10, Old England, Linden was yesterday fined $5,000 after he was charged with possession of six grams of cannabis. Williams pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him by City Magistrate Fabayo Azore. According to the facts on August 12, police on patrol saw the Nyron Williams teen acting in a suspicious manner and decided to search him. The prohibited substance was found in his pants pocket. The Magistrate imposed the fine and ordered him to perform six months’ community service at the Linden Magistrate’s Court.

Tuesday August 16th, 2016 - 14:30 hrs Wednesday August 17th, 2016 - 14:30 hrs Thursday August 18th, 2016 - 05:00 hrs

Kevin Christopher Balkaran the defendant and Johnson are neighbors in Houston Housing Scheme. On Wednesday, August 10 Johnson secured her house and retired to bed.

However in the wee hours of August 11 the woman was awoken by Balkaran touching her legs. She raised an alarm. Balkaran reportedly made good his escape but was later arrested by police during a search in the village. “Every time you appear before me you’re just standing there smiling and graduating to more serious offences,” Magistrate Singh said in disgust. The prosecutor urged the magistrate to impose the maximum sentence on Balkaran since he had several other charges before the court and also the fact that he showed no remorse. Magistrate Singh sentenced Balkaran to 18 months’ imprisonment and

ordered that help be sought for him from a specialist in Psychiatry, who would visit prisoners at the Camp Street prison. In May, the 20-year-old was sentenced to 3 months’ imprisonment by Magis-

trate Singh for threatening to kill his mother Usha Balkaran. Last year Balkaran was convicted on two separate charges for threatening his mother. He served four months on each occasion.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Imperious Rudisha retains 800m title

DAVID Rudisha retained his Olympic 800m title with an imperious performance.The 27-year-old Kenyan showed his experience to keep his composure after compatriot Alfred Kipketer sprinted clear on the first lap of the race. Rudisha hit the front with about 300m to go as Kipketer started to fade and never looked troubled as he won in one minute 42.15 seconds. Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi won silver and the fast-finishing Clayton Murphy of the United States took bronze. Makhloufi ran a new national record of one minute 42.61 seconds and Murphy clocked a personal best of one minute 42.93 seconds in a bizarre race. Kipketer set out at an incredible pace, going through the first 200m in just 23 seconds. But the 19-year-old, who had beaten Rudisha in the Kenyan national trials, faded to finish seventh in Rio. Rudisha's win made him the first athlete since New Zealand's Peter Snell in 1964 to retain the men's 800m Olympic title. He said: "Running 1:42, it's just fantastic. I had no doubts before. The feeling in my body was good. "It is great to win such a big competition, my second gold. It's so great. I am so excited. It is the greatest moment of my career." (BBC Sport)

South Africa Racing Tips Kenilworth 08:45 hrs Silver Laurel 09:20 hrs Arabian Winter 09:55 hrs Twinkle Toes 10:35 hrs Waiting For Rain 11:10 hrs Boldly Respectable English Racing Tips Ripon 09:00 hrs Her Terms 09:30 hrs Thello 11:00 hrs Pure Fantasy 11:30 hrs Tadaany

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Herath quells Aussies after Smith, Marsh tons SHAUN Marsh and Steve Smith each hit centuries as Australia, bidding to end a disappointing series on a high, built a first-innings lead over Sri Lanka in the third Test yesterday. Australia have already lost the three-Test series but are in a good position to claim a consolation victory after finally scoring 300, having failed to do so in the last four innings. Marsh and Smith closed day two on scores of 64 and 61 respectively and their strong partnership was maintained on day three, opener Marsh reaching 130 before being dismissed while captain Smith went for 119. Rangana Herath's 6-81 quelled Australia's hopes of taking a significant lead in Colombo, with a meek performance from the middle and lower order seeing them bowled out for 379 in response to Sri Lanka's 355. But the tourists claimed the scalp of nightwatchman Dilruwan Perera (8) before the close, as play was called for the day with the hosts trailing by two runs on 22-1. Resuming on 141-1, Marsh and Smith picked up where they had finished day two in a magnificent stand of 246. Marsh, whose innings featured 19 fours, brought up his fourth Test hundred when a Dilruwan Perera (2-129) delivery came off his glove as he attempted to sweep, sending the ball to fine-leg boundary. Smith's 15th Test ton arrived less than four overs later with a well-worked single to midwicket, but his 473-ball partnership with Marsh came to an end when the latter chopped a Suranga Lakmal (1-54) delivery on to his stumps. A superb turning ball from Herath saw Smith stumped by Kusal Perera, with Moises Henriques (4) then falling in the same fashion. The slew of wickets continued but Mitchell Marsh (53) kept the scoreboard ticking over, enjoying particular success through the off-side on the way to a half-century that enabled Australia to move ahead.

A 246-run partnership between Shaun Marsh and Steve Smith helps Australia with both batsmen completing centuries.

Isaacs helmet-trick inspires Net Rockers to 7-0 drubbing of Hi-Stars NET Rockers made up for their late entry to the competition with a 7-0 thrashing of Hi Stars behind Jewel Isaacs’ four-goal demolition while Milerock and Botafago played to a 1-1 stalemate when the Guyana Football Federation/ NAMILCO Flour Power Under-17 football championship in Linden continued at the Wisburg Secondary School ground last Saturday afternoon. Playing in their first game, the Net Rockers side quickly asserted themselves through Isaacs who netted his first goal in the 15th minute before Linden Griffith sent the score to a 2-0 lead three minutes later. Then Isaacs got his second goal in the 21st minute and on the stroke of halftime it was 4-0 as Isaacs grabbed his third goal. When play resumed after halftime, Isaacs was able to send his side further into the lead, scoring in the 69th minute before Griffith got his brace with another goal in the 62nd minute and Junior Thom closed things out for

Jewel Isaacs

the winners with a goal in the 65th minute. In the other game, Milerock were able to score first in the first half against Botafago through Raheem Angus but that game ended in a draw when Botafago were able to draw level in the second half although that scorer’s name was unavailable.The competition continues tomorrow at the Wisburg Secondary School ground with another double-header.

Princess She Is Not conquers CP Got Even to win Guyana Cup Rangana Herath sent back Nos. 10 and 11 in quick succession to finish with 6 for 81.

But he found little in the way of support from the rest of the middle-order, Adam Voges (22) and Peter Nevill (14) both going cheaply to Herath and Dilruwan Perera.

Herath ended Mitchell Marsh's resistance before removing the tail with little difficulty. However, Australia were provided with further reason for hope

late in the day, Sri Lanka's decision to move Dilruwan Perera up the order backfiring when he was trapped lbw by Mitchell Starc (119). (OmniSport)

SCOREBOARD SRI LANKA 1st innings 355 (D. Chandimal 132, D. de Silva 129; M. Starc 5-63) AUSTRALIA 1st innings (overnight 1411) D. Warner c K. Perera b D. de Silva 11 S. Marsh b Lakmal 130 S. Smith stp. K. Perera b Herath 119 A. Voges lbw b Herath 22 M. Henriques stp. K. Perera b Herath 4 M. Marsh c K. Mendis b Herath 53 P. Nevill lbw b D. Perera 14 M. Starc not out 9 N. Lyon c K. Mendis b D. Perera 3 J. Hazlewood b Herath 0 J. Holland c Mathews b Herath 1 Extras: (b-4, lb-9) 13

Total: (all out, 125.1 overs) 379 Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-267, 3-275, 4-283, 5-316, 6-353, 7-367, 8-376, 9-377. Bowling: D. Perera 44-4-129-2, D. de Silva 7-0-2-1, R. Herath 38.1-11-81-6, L. Sandakan 19-0-70– 0, S. Lakmal 13-0-54-1, A. Mathews 4-1-5-0. SRI LANKA 2nd innings D. Perera lbw b Starc 8 D. Karunaratne not out 8 K. Silva not out 6 Extras: 0 Total: (for 1 wickets, 5 overs) 22 Fall of wickets: 1-8. Bowling: M. Starc 3-0-19-1, N. Lyon 2-0-3-0.

PRINCESS She Is Not with Trinidadian jockey Nicholas Patrick mounted on the mare stormed past a star-studded field to cross the finish pole first and take the 10th Guyana Cup feature event for horses classified A and Lower on Sunday at the Port Mourant race track. With revenge in the minds of jockeys, two-time defending champion C.P Got Even was under pressure from the starting gates with $4M and 1800 metres away. The animals were off to an even start with Princess She Is Not of the Shariff Racing Stables maintaining the early lead to win handsomely by about four lengths from Jack in my Style, Lady Budapest and Just call me Boss. The winner received an additional $500 000 cash bonus and the winning jockey $50 000. Other winners on the day

were Isn’t She Charming, Red and Lovely, It’s my Choice, Cat Massiah, Quiet Strom, Awesome Cash, Royal Cash and Mystery Man. Colin Ross was crowned the champion jockey, while the Jumbo Jet stable was declared the champion stable. Meanwhile, chief organiser Nazrudeen Mohammed Jr said the event was a huge success and an incident-free one. He promised an even larger event next year. The mega event was staged in observance of Guyana’s 50th Independence anniversary. $30M in cash and trophies were distributed to first- to fourth-place winners. The 10th running of the Guyana Cup will go down in the annals of history as the biggest horse race meet in Guyana so far where thousands turned up to witness their favourite horses and jockeys.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Bolt, Wayde van Niekerk and Team GB shine on 'impossible' night By Tom Fordyce â€œWE are used to Usain Bolt pulling off the impossible. On Sunday the impossible almost happened to Bolt: being upstaged on the night of his Olympic 100m final. Not by a rival from the blocks alongside him. The world has not reversed on its axis nor the stars dropped from Rio's night sky. There was a tectonic shift all the same: a record detonated that many thought indestructible, a new hero confirmed who may help fill part of the chasm that will be left when Bolt finally jogs away from this sport and into our giddy memories. Wayde van Niekerk is no ordinary athlete, and not just because he is coached by a 74-year-old great-grandmother. In winning gold at the World Championships a year ago he got to within 0.30 seconds of Michael Johnson's 400m world record set 17 years ago. But that is like saying you have climbed Everest when you are sitting round a camp fire at base camp. To break that record and run 43.03 seconds as he did in Rio is jogging up to the summit without oxygen. To do it from lane eight, blind to the forces pushing you on from inside, alone with the lactic and the fire in

your lungs, adds another rich layer of wonder. To athletics fans, Bolt's defeat of Justin Gatlin 25 minutes later could only be an anti-climax. It tells its own tale of the Jamaican superstar's hold on the watching world that he will still own the front pages and win the popular vote in a golden landslide. It was not a thriller of a final. The man who everyone knew would win won. The triptych could never really be in doubt. At this late stage in Bolt's sprinting curve it is like watching a greatest hits tour: we know all the moves, we can all sing along with the hits, we all know how the encore goes. It should draw nothing from this night and nothing from the cumulative wonder of the past eight years. Three Olympic 100m finals, three Olympic 100m gold medals. Bolt goes where no-one has ever gone before. No-one has ever relished these nine-point-something seconds of intensity like this man nor flourished so much within them. The age of Usain has been like nothing else the Olympics can offer. From above, the stadium is a little bowl of white light in dark city; inside, with the world watching, the silence is so sudden when the sprinters crouch that all you can hear

Egyptian judoka sent home for handshake snub on Israeli EGYPTIAN judoka Islam El Shehaby has been sent home from the Olympics after he refused to shake the hand of Israeli opponent Or Sasson after their bout. The 34-year-old was "strongly reprimanded" by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after his first-round loss on Friday. The IOC says his conduct was "against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic values". The Egyptian Olympic

Committee condemned El Shehaby and sent him home. El Shehaby was roundly booed by the crowd and was called back to the stage for his failure to bow to his opponent as it contravenes judo rules. Sasson later revealed his coaches had warned him El Shehaby might refuse to shake his hand. The Egyptian had come under pressure from some conservative voices in his homeland to withdraw from the bout. (BBC Sport)

is the rhythmical chopping of helicopters overhead. The stands glimmer with the firefly glow of 50 000 mobile phones. It is too much for some. Justin Gatlin, just as he did at the Worlds a year ago, owned the first 20 metres but lost the critical last 20 as his muscles seized and form collapsed under the knowledge of what was coming up and past him two lanes to his right. So 46 days after tearing his hamstring, with a turnaround of just over an hour from the semi-finals, Bolt could still make all this appear easy. In the aftermath of it all he found Van Niekerk still wandering round with his hands on his head and wrapped the younger man up in the fastest hug in history; in that embrace were the world records for the 100m, 200m, 400m and 4x100m. van Niekerk, a passionate Liverpool fan, had prepared for this final by watching Sunday's 4-3 win over Arsenal. When he came to run there was no chance of anyone closing up on him as Arsene Wenger's men had at the Emirates. These were his splits across each of the 100m he ran: 10.7 secs, 9.8, 10.5, 12.0. You don't catch that, and you can't match the impact

won a gold in men's gymnastics. After Whitlock's two in two hours, a few made that hoary old comparison to waiting for a bus and then two coming along together. This was more like waiting for a bus and then two spaceships arriving at once. In the very recent past, the idea of a British male winning Olympic gold on either the pommel horse or floor was not so much a stretch as unimaginable. So too were the deeds of

Usain Bolt

it made. This was a 17-yearold world record, in an event that has seen its best broken only four times in 48 years. The only comparison you can make is with David Rudisha's stunning 800m record set in London four summers ago, another one run alone out in front, another one on the same night as Bolt held the world's stare. For a British audience watching on from thousands of miles away, it added to the unreal dizziness that had already taken hold of the weekend. On Saturday Team GB had won three gold, four silver and a bronze. Between 18.30 London time on Sunday and shortly after midnight they won five more gold, from Justin Rose at the golf course in Marapendi to Jason Kenny in the velodrome, Andy Murray in

the tennis stadium and Max Whitlock - twice - about 200 metres away the Olympic Park in Barra. It made it Britain's most successful day ever at an overseas Olympics, and knocked several consecutive decades of toil into stunning contrast. In the 16 Olympics from 1928 to 1996, only once did Britain win more than five gold in an entire Games. Until the giddy madness of London 2012, not since 1908 had GB won five in a day, and that was at a Games so unrecognisable it included tug-of-war and real tennis. From Super Saturday Britain's athletes appeared to have upgraded to This Is Getting Silly Sunday. It was the Weekend of Wonder, not just a few special hours but the Great 48. Britain have never before

Wayde van Niekerk

Bolt, and the one-lap wonder of his young apprentice. One Sunday brought them all - maybe the most impossible thing of all.â€? (BBC Sport)

Teenager Jebet wins 3,000m steeplechase gold BAHRAIN's Ruth Jebet won the women's Olympic 3,000m steeplechase gold in the second-quickest time in history. Jebet, 19, posted a time of eight minutes 59.75 seconds, narrowly outside of Russian Gulnara Samitova-Galkina's world record of 08:58.16. Kenyan Hyvin Kiyeng

Jepkemoi took silver, while Emma Coburn of the USA won bronze by just 0.59secs. Kenya-born Jebet's gold is Bahrain's first of the Games, and their second medal in total. Jebet opted to represent Bahrain when she was 16 years old. She said: "Today it was too hot for the athletes, it

was not easy to run a good time but I tried my best and the track is good. "It's the first gold medal for Bahrain. They saw how I ran in the Diamond League and how I did there, and they told me when I was coming that 'we're sure of you, you're going to have a medal'." (BBC Sport)

Teenager Ruth Jebet of Bahrain celebrates with her Olympic gold medal.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Record total of gay athletes boosts homosexual community By Anthony Boadle

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - The record number of openly gay Olympic athletes has boosted the acceptance of Brazil's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community amid a backlash over same-sex marriages, homosexuals said. With the largest total of openly gay athletes participating, 49 according to Outsports magazine in July and double the number of London in 2012, Rio 2016 has seen the first married gay couple competing and a lesbian marriage proposal at a medal ceremony. Brazil's courts have recognised civil unions between homosexuals but its Congress has opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriages. The LGBT community

hopes the high-profile example of Olympic athletes can help change attitudes in the country. The coming-out of world-class athletes, such as U.S. basketball player Elena Delle Donne who announced her engagement to a woman days before the Games, raised the visibility of the gay cause in the positive light of sports, said Brazilian visual artist Murilo Sousa. Dressed as a mermaid with shells covering his nipples, Sousa won a competition on Sunday at the Danish Pavilion on Rio's Ipanema beach to celebrate diversity at the Games. "The LGBT community in Brazil is going to have another face besides Carnival. Now we will (be identified with) sport which is healthy, constructive, educational," he told Reuters. He added that homosexuality, a taboo issue in

NAMILCO/GFF Thunderbolt Flour Power Nat. U-17 League

Monedderlust, Rosignol clash today; Cougars trounce Corriverton Links 4-0 ARCH-RIVALS Monedderlust and Rosignol United are set to clash today at the Mahaicony ground in what is anticipated to be one of the most exciting matches in the ongoing Berbice leg of the GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power National Under-17 Intra Association league. The two sides over the years have produced exciting encounters and will continue the trend today when the next generation of footballers collide. Kick-off time is 16:00hrs at the Mahaicony ground. In the lone match that was contested last Sunday at Burnham Park, New Amsterdam, Cougars roared to a comfortable 4-0 win over Corriverton Links, thanks to

a brace each from Quinton Crandon and Lamar Reid. Crandon sent Cougars into the lead 15 minutes into the match and by the end of the first 45 minutes they were up 3-0 on account of Reid’s double in the 32nd and 40th minutes. Corriverton Links never threatened Cougars’ dominance on the match as the winners sealed the deal ten minutes into the second half when Crandon completed his double with a 55th minute strike. The respective associations that are contesting this inaugural and historic league have been hampered by inclement weather for the past five weeks which has put paid to their ability to have available grounds in playing conditions.

Rafaela Silva holds her gold medal during a press conference. (REUTERS/Nacho Doce)

traditional families, could now become a dinner table topic of conversation. Brazil's Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that homosexuals in stable relationships have the same rights as heterosexual couples when it

comes to retirement benefits, inheritance and alimony. FAMILY BILL However, same-sex marriages have not been legalised and Congress is moving in the opposite direction

with a family bill backed by Evangelical Christians that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. "Right-wing politicians are attacking the LGBT community very hard," Sousa said. Women's rugby made its debut in Rio and Brazilian player Isadora Cerullo melted hearts last week when she accepted a marriage proposal from her girlfriend who was working at the medals ceremony. International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said the marriage proposal furthered the IOC's efforts to remove sexual discrimination from the Games. The winner of Brazil's first gold medal in Rio last week, judoka Rafaela Silva, highlighted the plight of a lesbian who faced sexual and racist discrimination to rise from a slum to Olympic

glory. Two days after her flawless performance in five matches turned her into a national hero, Silva, 24, discussed for the first time in public her relationship of three years with her girlfriend in an interview with Globo television. Male chauvinist aggression in poor neighbourhoods force lesbians to be discreet about their love lives, said Juno Griz, attending the Ipanema mermaid competition with her girlfriend. "To be a white, rich lesbian is acceptable but a poor lesbian living on the margins of Brazilian society will continue to suffer," Griz said. "This visibility is very important but violence against gays will continue. Unfortunately there is a long way to go still. It does not stop here with the Olympics."

Amazon Warriors group makes timely donation to DCC summer camp organization

Omar Khan, manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, presents the donation to Alfred Mentore, president of the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC). Also in photo is Ian John – vice-president of DCC, coach Garvin Nedd and some of the participants of the summer camp.

MANAGER of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Omar Khan, on Friday last presented a cheque towards the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) annual summer camp, which is currently in its second and final week. The donation was made on behalf of the Guyana Amazon Warriors team as well as its

owner, Mr Bobby Ramroop of the Limacol and CPL Group. This is the second consecutive year that the team has supported the summer camp. It should be noted that two players from the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) represented the local franchise in the 2016 HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL). They

were Christopher Barnwell and Paul Wintz. At the handing-over ceremony, Omar Khan encouraged the youths to make the best use of the summer camp and the opportunity it presents to them. President of DCC, Alfred Mentore, accepted the donation on behalf of the club and extended gratitude to Khan,

the Amazon Warriors and Mr Ramroop for their continued support and commitment towards the annual summer camp. He stressed the timeliness of this contribution which will come in very handy in offsetting cost and contributing to the success of this youth camp.

GVF hosts one-week volleyball coaches course

THE Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) yesterday commenced a Level 1 Coaches Course that is being conducted by renowned International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) instructor and author, Dr Christian Kroeger at the National Gymnasium. The course will run for one week ending this Friday, and will aim at helping to aspire coaches to learn about the proper knowledge and techniques to effectively teach the sport. Twenty persons from across Guyana are taking part in the course. The par-

ticipants will attend sessions from 08:00hrs to 16:00hrs daily and will be tested on what they have learnt at the end of it. “The course lasts five days, each day has a programme of 8 hours. On the last day they will have written exams and practical exams. We have all the technical and conditional preparation for beginners. “ said Kroeger, who has over 30 years’ experience as an instructor. This course is a continuation of an online programme that the participants began a few months ago. This activity

is part of the GVF’s ongoing development of volleyball all across Guyana. “This is a course that will give the participants enough technical knowledge to do some coaching when they go back to wherever they are from, when they go back and develop volleyball,“ stated GVF president John Flores. “Basically we wanted to spread the games in schools, so it’s mostly aimed at the schools. Every year we host a course and this year we decided that a coaching course for teachers would be the best.” He further added.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Rutherford’s 93 sparks Guyana Under-19s to victory over TT … wins also for Barbados and Windwards By Brij Parasnath SHERFANE Rutherford registered a superb 93 to spark Guyana Under19s to a comfortable 52-run victory over Trinidad and Tobago in their fourth round 50-overs encounter at the Stubbs playing field in St Vincent yesterday. In the other matches, Barbados made light work of the Jamaicans at the Park Hill playing field while Windward Islands hammered ICC Americas by eight wickets at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex. Batting first, Guyana amassed 229 for 6 in their allotted 50 overs with Rutherford being the principal scorer with a match-winning 93 that was studded with four sixes and three fours off 140 balls. He shared a 38-run third-wicket stand with Bhaskar Yadram (17) and 124-run fifth-wicket partnership with Raymond Pe-

Sherfane Rutherford

rez who made 55 that contained two sixes and three fours off 68 balls. Ronaldo Ali Mohammed was unbeaten on 22 (2x6s and 1x4 off 9 balls). Jarlanie Seales (9-037-2) and Jonathan Bootan (7-1-34-2) were the main wicket-takers for T&T. In reply, Trinidad and Tobago were bundled out for 177 in 44 overs. Joshua

da Silva topscored with 73 while Seales contributed 41. Kheshram Seyhodan (10-0-32-3), Marlon Hubbard (9-0-33-3), Rutherford (6-1-26-1) and Keemo Paul (7-0-29-1) were Guyana’s wicket-takers. Jamaica were dismissed for 121 in 33.4 overs with Javelle Glenn and Michael Frew getting 26 each. Joshua Bishop was the chief destroyer and finished with excellent figures of 9.4-036-6. Shian Brathwaite was undefeated on 41 when Barbados romped to victory at 122 for 4 in 31.1 overs. Emmanuel Stewart and Alick Athanaze were unbeaten on 57 each when Windwards celebrated a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over ICC Americas who batted first and made only 165 for 5 in their 50 overs (Arslan Khan 86, Sagar Patel 23). Windwards scored 168 for 2 off 30.4 overs.

Raffle ticket No. 982 wins RHTYSC trip to the USA International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) instructor and author Dr Christian Kroeger (right) poses with some of the participants yesterday.

Campbell-Brown out of 200m heats TWO-time 200 metres Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown failed to make it out of the heats as the event got under way at Rio 2016 yesterday. Campbell-Brown won the event in 2004 and 2008, but was pipped to the podium in London four years ago, finishing fourth in the final, 0.24 seconds behind USA's Carmelita Jeter. The 34-year-old insisted in the build-up to the Games that retirement was not in her thoughts and had run a season-best 22.29 seconds twice this year. That time would have

Two-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown

topped the ranking in the heats, but she could only manage 22.97 as she finished third in the fi-

nal heat, just the equal 27th-fastest time and not enough to progress to the semi-finals.

AFTER the raffle drawing of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC), ‘Say Yes to Education and Sports raffle’, national female cricketer Sheneeta Grimmond, with ticket No. 982, won the airline ticket to the United States of America. Ticket No. 464 won the second prize of a bicycle while the holder of ticket No. 310 won an electric blender. The fourth prize of a large food hamper will go to the holder of ticket No. 1630. Funds raised from the raffle will be used by the club to purchase school bags for less fortunate students in an effort to get them to stay in school and complete their education. Some of the funds will also be used to purchase cricket gear for the club’s cricket development programme. Persons holding tick-

Club member and national cricketer, Sheneeta Grimmond, draws the winning ticket while fellow club member Brandon Corlette looks on.

ets with the numbers 982, 310 and 1630 are asked to make contact with the club on 337-4562 or visit the

club office at the Area ‘H’ Ground, Rose Hall Town during normal working time.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER 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) Carlos Braithwaite (2) Rajendra Chandrika & Devendra Bishoo

Today’s Quiz: (1) Which Indian player has so far scored four Test hundreds, all have been against the West Indies? (2) Which WI made his debut in the third Test of the current WI/IND series? Answers in tomorrow’s issue

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 16, 2016

You can run but you can't hide, IOC tells doping cheats By Karolos Grohmann in Rio de Janeiro (REUTERS) - Doping cheats using designer drugs or gene doping at the Rio Olympics should know they will eventually be found out, the International Olympic Committee said yesterday. The Rio Games are taking place under the cloud of doping with the Russian track and field team virtually excluded after a statebacked systematic doping programme was revealed, and three more athletes having tested positive since the opening of the Games village on July 24. But that may not be the end of the story and about 6 000 tests, both urine and blood, will be stored by the IOC for a decade to allow for re-testing, using new technology, and the detection of substances that were not yet known at the time. "We will store the sam-

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach and former Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

ples. We can be very confident that an athlete who is cheating should be very scared," IOC medical chief Richard Budgett told reporters. He said athletes guilty of gene doping or using the so-called designer drugs -more sophisticated forms of performance-enhancing

drugs -- will be caught. "If someone thinks they have designer drugs eventually they will be found," he said. "The message for all those cheats out there is 'beware you will be caught'. "I am confident we have the deterrents that should lead to the protection of

clean athletes." Targeted re-tests from the Beijing 2008 and the London 2012 Games recently yielded an additional 98 positive samples for banned substances with none of those athletes able to compete in Rio. A test for gene doping would also be used in a matter of months after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved it recently Budgett did not want to say whether the Rio Games would be drugs-free but he said he was confident over time the cheats would be discovered. "I am a medical man fundamentally so we always doubt everything. That is our job. So I think it is right we always investigate. But it is unfortunate that we doubt every fantastic performance. That's why we test the top five athletes. You can never know."

Wevers ruins Biles chances of record five golds By Pritha Sarkar RIO DE JANEIRO,(Reuters)-Dutchwoman Sanne Wevers caused a huge upset when she ruined Simone Biles' chances of scooping a record five golds at a single Olympics by winning the balance beam title in Rio yesterday. The American had been expected to add the beam title to her team, all around and vault triumphs but drew gasps as she lost her footing following a front somersault and had to grab the beam with both hands to save herself from falling off. Her score of 14.733 was only good enough for bronze behind team mate Laurie Hernandez. Biles' misfortune allowed Wevers to become the first female Dutch gymnast to grab gold in an individual final, with a graceful routine featuring numerous spins, including a triple. She scored

Gold medallist Sanne Wevers (NED) of Netherlands (C), silver medallist Laurie Hernandez (USA) of USA (L) and bronze medallist Simone Biles (USA) of USA (R) pose on the podium. REUTERS/Mike Blake

15.466. The Netherlands' only previous top prize for the women had been in the team competition in 1928. Biles, a double world champion on the beam, was rock solid as she spun around 900 degrees on her right toes. There was not a wobble in

sight as she executed her backflip into two layouts. With the gold medal in her sights, she soared high into a front somersault but then it all went horribly wrong as her right foot missed its target on the beam and a routine that had been spellbinding till that moment

lost its sparkle. After completing her dismount, her frustration was clear for all to see as the megawatt smile that had lit up the Rio Olympic Arena time and again over the past week failed to materialise. The judges pondered over her score for several minutes and when it was confirmed, Biles rolled her eyes skywards as the mark was almost a point lower than her qualifying effort of 15.633. With five more competitors to go, Biles knew her chances of hanging on to lead with such a modest score were slim, and she was right. Wevers mounted on the four-inch wide wood never having won a gold medal at an international meet but that shortcoming did not stop her from impressing the judges as she avoided any glaring errors to bag the top prize. Biles will be back today when she will be favourite to win the floor exercise.

Crowd jeers Russia's heavyweight gold medal winner

(From L) Silver medalist Vassiliy Levit (KAZ) of Kazakhstan, gold medalist Evgeny Tishchenko (RUS) of Russia and bronze medalists Rustam Tulaganov (UZB) of Uzbekistan and Erislandy Savon (CUB) of Cuba pose with their medals. REUTERS/Yves Herman

By Alan Baldwin RIO DE JANEIRO,(Reuters)-Russia's Evgeny Tishchenko won the Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medal to a chorus of boos from the crowd yesterday after beating Kazakhstan's Vasily Levit on a unanimous points decision. Levit, whose world champion opponent required medical attention for a cut in the third and final round, had to settle for silver despite seeming to land more punches and steer the fight. The bronze medals went to losing semi-finalists Rustam Tulaganov of Uzbekistan and Erislandy Savon of Cuba. The majority of the audience, in a Riocentro arena that was barely half full, reacted to the score announcement with derision while a pocket of Russian fans waved flags and celebrated. There were more boos during the medal ceremony, although Levit gestured for silence by putting a finger to his lips. The judges score cards had Levit narrowly ahead after the first round, with two out three giving it to him, but they were unanimous in giving the second to the Russian. Levit, who prevented the world champion from using his height and longer reach to any effect by smothering him, steered the Russian repeatedly on to the ropes and came on strong in an often scrappy third round. Both men hit out wildly, with Tishchenko slipping on the canvas and momentarily

losing his balance as they grappled. The referee called a halt with 51 seconds remaining for inspection of a cut, more common now that Olympic boxers no longer wear head guards, before the fight resumed and ended in a flurry of punches. Russian athletes have been regularly booed in Rio as a result of the country's doping scandal that has overshadowed the Games, but Tishchenko faced plenty of questions about the scoring. To his increasing irritation, he was asked whether he considered himself a worthy winner and whether he agreed with the outcome. If the judges gave me the medal, they had reasons for it," he said, speaking through a translator. "For sure I am really upset about this (booing) because I respect my opponents and all the crowd," he added. "I just cannot understand why they booed in such an outrageous way." Levit, who put his silver medal in his pocket as he left the arena after the award ceremony rather than keeping it around his neck, refused to criticize anyone and told reporters his opponent deserved a better reception. "There is a solidarity between fighters and I think that every boxer that comes to the ring deserves respect," said the Kazakh. "In my head I was thinking that I won and the coaches were quite happy with me and told me I did everything they asked me to do for the fight. But you see how it ended up."

Guyana’s Troy Doris makes triple jump final By Tamica Garnett

Bahamian Miller beats Felix in dramatic 400m final

Bahamas' Shaunae Miller falls over the finish line to win gold ahead of United States' Allyson Felix, right, in the women's 400-metre final during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last night.

SHAUNAE Miller of the Bahamas fell over the finish line to beat Allyson Felix in a dramatic women's 400 metre final last night. Felix, who won the 2015 world title in the event, ran the individual 400 for the first time at the Olympics. But she does have two Olympic 4x400 golds. Her others came in London in the individual 200 and the 4x100 relay.

Miller had a sizeable lead coming into the final 100 meters, but Felix closed the gap only to see Miller surge ahead as the line loomed. Steps from home, Miller appeared to overstride and stumble, but she caught the wire 0.07 seconds ahead of Felix. Felix was trying to break a tie with five others who have four golds each: Fanny Blanker-Koen of the Netherlands, Betty Cuthbert of Aus-

tralia, East Germany's Barbel Eckert-Woeckel and Americans Sanya Richards-Ross and Evelyn Ashford. Felix became the most decorated U.S. woman in Olympic track and field history with seven medals, breaking a tie with Jackie Joyner-Kersee. At 30 years and 271 days, Felix also became the oldest woman to medal in the 400. Shericka Jackson of Jamaica got bronze.

Imperious Rudisha retains 800m title David Lekuta Rudisha (KEN) of Kenya celebrates after winning the race REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

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AFTER clearing a best jump of 6.81m, yesterday, Guyana’s national record-holder Troy Doris finished with the sixth best jump of the day in the men’s triple jump event at the Rio Olympics and will now be in the final today when the competition continues at 08:50hrs. This makes Doris the only athlete on Guyana’s six-man team to have made it into a final at this year’s Olympics. Noting how thrilled he was, the 27-year-old yesterday statted that it was “time to make history” following his performance in the event. “I’m excited to finally be an Olympic finalist. Time to make history,” Doris stated, in a social media video, shortly after completing his jump. On site to witness Guyana’s Troy Doris at the the historical moment Olympics yesterday was former Guyanese Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Aliann Pompey, who now works as overseas ambassador for the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG). Speaking with Chronicle Sport, an ecstatic Pompey remarked what a proud moment it was to see a Guyanese make it that far at the esteemed Olympic Games. She’s even keeping her fingers crossed for perhaps a podium position performance when Doris gets to the pit today. “It was amazing to witness. Each jump got better as the rounds went on,” stated Pompey. “On the outside he seemed to hold his composure. He was consistent when his competitors weren’t. In most cases, consistency is key. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he medals. Anything can happen, and he’s in great physical and mental position to do it. We’re all prepared with our flags for tomorrow. We’ll witness history being made. What a tremendous time to be Guyanese,” Pompey said. Doris is one of only 12 athletes who made it through to the final, from the 39 athletes who took part in yesterday’s jump. Current world number one, USA’s Christian Taylor registered the best jump of the day after flying across 17.24m. Doris has a personal-best jump of 17.18m, in an event where the Olympic record stands at 18.09m and the world record is 18.29m. That 17.18m jump, which is also Guyana’s national record, has Doris currently ranked seventh in the world. Also commenting on Doris’ accomplishment yesterday was president of the AAG, Aubrey Hutson, who was also ecstatic that Doris was living up to initial hopes. “From day one I kept stressing that Troy Doris is our best medal prospect based on results that we’ve been seeing. I am always elated when our athletes do well especially when they put in the efforts; he’s our first athlete in a long time who would have made it to the final. “He’s on the right track, he’s taken us to a point we haven’t gone before in recent history and now it’s for us to throw all of our support behind him,” Hutson told Chronicle Sport. TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016