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The eternal teacher â€“Leonard Fredericks

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Leonard Fredericks (74) spent over half of his life teaching at interior locations in Guyana

Linden brothers killed in road accident No. 104692

SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2016

Price: $140

(VAT Inclusive)

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Phillip Armstrong (a medical student) and his brother Jonnel Armstrong (an aeronautical engineer) were killed when their vehicle crashed into a truck at Friendship, East Bank Demerara

Remarkable baby heart surgeries at GPHC 8 P.

Corentyne mother, daughter commit suicide P.12

Millions lost in Bartica arcade fire

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Illegal aircraft secured at CJIA

THE illegal aircraft that was recently discovered camouflaged at an airstrip in Yupukari has since been repaired and flown to Lethem initially before being flown to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at 10:00h on Saturday, the GDF has reported. The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has said that aeronautical engineers of its Air Corps, after inspecting the aircraft, identified

the problems which had rendered it unserviceable. The necessary spares were sourced and the repairs were effected, resulting in the aircraft becoming operable. A GDF statement noted that the aircraft was flown by GDF pilots to Lethem on Friday, where it overnighted, allowing for army engineers to conduct further repairs and functional checks under more favourable condi-

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

The plane at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Saturday (GDF photo) tions, so as to ensure the aircraft’s suitability to fly to Timehri. “Consequently, the aircraft departed Lethem for CJIA (on Saturday) morning…and is currently secured at the GDF Air Corps Hangar, Air Station London, CJIA,” the GDF

stated. “Investigations are ongoing with regards to all aspects surrounding the discovery of the aircraft,” the army added. The twin-engine Cessna was discovered mid last month in an area that is on the radar for the illicit drug trade. The craft bore a bogus United States (US) registration, and Cabinet Secretary Joseph Harmon had earlier stated that the registration number N767Z – was actually that of another aircraft that is active in the United States. Army Chief of Staff,

Brigadier Mark Philips, had told the Guyana Chronicle that the aircraft was spotted by residents of Yupukari, and they alerted the GDF and the police; and according to Harmon, a joint patrol that was sent in found the aircraft partly hidden. “ I t w a s o ff o f t h e airstrip itself, and there seemed to have been some kind of a camouflage net that was thrown over it and it was partly in the bushes, so we get the sense that it would have been there a few days,” Harmon stated. It was not the first time

that authorities have stumbled on illegal aircraft in the hinterland. Back in March 2005, police had stumbled on a Cessna 206 aircraft with duplicate registration, said to be used in Venezuela. The Cessna, with black and grey stripes and an emblem suspected to be that of Venezuela on its tail, was first observed to be bearing the number YV0880P. Police had issued a wanted bulletin for Gary Anthony Grandison, whose address was given as Lot 13, Guyhoc Gardens and 13 Prince William Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. One of the men for whom wanted bulletins had been issued later turned himself over to police, but no charges were laid in connection with the plane. The white, single engine aircraft had among its features a special drop door, as well as on-board fuel tanks to facilitate long-range flights, an indication that it may have been used in some illegal activity, including the trafficking in narcotics or persons, lawmen here had said. Additionally, in October 2012, an Ecuadorian-registered 421 Cessna plane was seized at an illegal airstrip at Pirara, Region Nine. The plane had been repainted and its registration number changed when authorities here found it.

Linden brothers killed in road accident SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

The truck that collided with the Rav 4

Dead brothers: Phillip and Jonnel Armstrong

THE Linden community was Saturday plunged into a state of mourning after news circulated that two young brothers, one a medical student and the other an aeronautical engineer, were killed in an accident. Dead are Jonnel and Phillip Armstrong, sons of Region 10 Regional Health Officer Pansy Armstrong and veteran dentist Joseph Armstrong. Their sister is attorney-at-law Tammy Khan, the wife of the Director of Public Information Imran Khan. In a message on Facebook, the Khans stated: “We are broken but we will heal.” “We do not know how

else to beg of you, but please slow down and take care on our roadways,” they added. The brothers, who were both in their 20s, were at the time heading to Linden in their Toyota Rav 4 when it collided with a truck at Friendship, East Bank Demerara. The two brothers reportedly died instantly, while a friend who was also in the vehicle is said to be critical at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Phillip Armstrong, a medical student, was involved in a serious accident in 2013 but recovered after months. Jonnelle Armstrong, who was an aeronautical en-

gineer,has left to mourn his wife Olesa and a baby girl. This newspaper understands that the boys were heading to Linden to assist their mother with some reconstruction of their Watooka home. The boys were described as well-respected and mannerly by most Lindeners who took to social media to express sympathy over their deaths. Their mother Pansay and other relatives, including their only sister, were too distraught to speak to the media. Police said that the accident occurred Saturday afternoon about 14:00hrs,

when there was a collision between a Toyota Rav4 PLL 9830 and a truck GNN 5355. The Armstrongs were heading south and the truck was travelling in the opposite direction when they collided in the vicinity of a turn at Friendship, East Bank Demerara. Police also noted that there were three passengers in the vehicle and one brother was sitting directly behind the other when the accident occurred. The other person in the front passenger seat was listed as critical. The driver of the truck is in police custody assisting with the investigation. Residents of Friendship told this publication that, that specific accident site has multiple holes on the roadway and there are bushes in the area that blind drivers to oncoming traffic.

“Somebody needs to be placed in charge of looking after simple things like this; you can’t wait until somebody dead in order to start fixing things. “What type of foolishness we going on with in this country?” one driver and resident of the area asserted. The accident, which brings the number of road deaths to 102 for the year, came two weeks after the Guyana Police Force launched Operation Safeway, a major campaign to curb the high incidence of road accidents. “We are going to have an increase in traffic patrols by day and night, we will have the reintroduction of spotting exercises, we will have an increased deployment in black spots (the cluster where there are fatal accidents), we will have random breathalyzer

testing,” Police Commissioner (ag) David Ramnarine had announced at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, on September 14. Ramnarine said “Operation Safeway” will restore much-needed road safety consciousness with the ultimate goal of minimising the number of accidents. On the day the campaign was launched, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had issued a statement calling for safe use of the roadways. “The carnage on our roads leaves so many persons in pain and agony. Mothers, fathers, children, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands and other relatives, friends, neighbours, classmates and work colleagues are all emotionally distressed by the needless loss of life,” Mr Nagamootoo had stated.

Special Forces dominate in GDF’s quarterly fitness competition THE Special Forces Squadron (31 SF Sqn) branch of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on Friday copped first, second, and third places in competing in the Force’s Third Quarterly Fitness competition, which was held at Base Camp Stephenson. After competing in nine disciplines which tested the mental, physical and intellectual capacities of the teams, 31 SF Sqn’s “B” team emerged the winners, with Squadron’s “D” team and its “C” team finishing second and third respectively. Twenty-three teams participated in the exercise. In the female category,

Base Camp Stephenson’s females won, after being the lone team to successfully complete all stages of the two-day competition. Each of the winning teams was presented with trophies, medals and monetary incentives. Handing over the trophy to the winning team was outgoing Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips, who encouraged the soldiers and officers to continue to apply themselves and strive for excellence in everything they do. He sought to highlight the achievement of the female team, noting that it was an inspiration watching them compete in every event. He

referred to the fact that the women were able to shoot down more targets in the shooting aspect of the competition than their male counterparts. “Our females are soldiers too. You showed us you are soldiers too,” he said, while pointing out that the team even managed to score way above the minimum pass standards which were set by the Force. He congratulated each of the 23 participating teams, noting: “I’m retiring as a pleased Chief-of-Staff whose troops came out in full force today and showed that they are all winners.” (Ravin Singh)

Special Forces Squadron’s “B” team’s captain (left) receiving the winning trophy from outgoing Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips, after his team won the Third Quarterly Fitness competition at Base Camp Stephenson on Friday (Ravin Singh photo)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Guyana will become a green state but concerted effort needed ‒ says President Granger at observance of National Tree Day

PRESIDENT David Granger Saturday pledged to ensure that Guyana becomes a leader in the fight against climate change and in the pursuit of “green’ and sustainable development,” but said this can only be achieved if a concerted effort is taken by all citizens of the country. President Granger, who was at the time addressing Ministry of Agriculture staffers, residents of Fairview, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine) and other surrounding villages of the Iwokrama Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, said that the National Tree Day is an important observance in the pursuit of Guyana becoming a “green state and a leader in the fight against climate change.” He used the opportunity to officially launch the Department of the Environment and introduce its Head, Mrs Ndibi Schweirs. The President noted that the world continues to grapple with the effects of climate change and global warming, but Guyana has the potential and resources to help in the fight. “I’ve undertaken to improve the monitoring of our forests so as reduce illegal deforestation, increase value-added activities in the forestry sector so as to augment carbon storage in long-use wood products and introduce mineral mapping in order to better identify exploitable deposits, thus reducing deforestation caused by the clearing of lands with

only minimal deposits. “The ultimate objective of Guyana’s ‘green agenda is the creation of a green state. Guyana’s green state rests on six pillars: the protection of our biodiversity and wildlife; the provision of educational, environmental services and ecotourism; the generation of sustainable energy, the mitigation of the adverse effects of climate change; management of our coastal zone, rivers, wetlands and protected areas; and the management of waste and sanitation services,” he said. The establishment of the Department of the Environment will coordinate the activities of the various agencies involved in environmental management to ensure that Guyana’s patrimony is preserved. While these agencies will continue to function within their subject ministries, the Department of the Environment will allow them to work more closely together. The Iwokrama Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, the President said, is a pioneering example of what Guyana has to offer the world in the fight against climate change. “We are here because Iwokrama is in the centre of Guyana and Guyana is in the centre of the Guiana Shield and the Guyana Shield is bigger than Greenland. The Guiana Shield is perhaps the largest area of unspoilt biodiversity on Planet Earth. “I call it the second ‘Garden of Eden.’ Iwokrama represents the essen-

President Granger, with the help of eight-year-old Konankiae, planted a breadfruit tree at the Iwokrama Centre on Saturday in observance of National Tree Day (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

tial environmental services, which trees provide and we provide these services to the entire earth not just to Region Eight or Nine. President Granger noted that the forests of Iwokrama preserve the habitats of Guyana’s abundant and high-endemic biodiversity and the destruction of trees destroys these habitats and increases the risk of extinction of our floral and faunal species. Trees, also, reduce environmental degradation, he said. “I am serious about National Tree Day, because I want each one of you to take away the message that

emphasises Guyana’s beauty and biodiversity… Our forests take up about 85 percent of our land mass, the second highest largest percentage forest cover in the world… The trees provide cover for our animals, our beautiful flora and fauna. If you cut down the trees, then the animals will be left in the desert and they will perish and we will lose that valuable cycle of biodiversity. So today is very, very important… Far beyond the importance of planting a tree, it is telling us why we should plant trees,” President Granger said. Minister of Agriculture

Mr Noel Holder said that by proclaiming a National Tree Day, it is the Government’s and his ministry’s hope to create more awareness on the importance of all types of trees for food, medicinal purposes, fibres for clothing and wood for shelter, and other such uses. “I urge all Guyanese to commit to planting trees, reducing deforestation with the continued effects of reducing poverty and promoting sustainable livelihoods for all dependent on trees,” he said. Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Mr Sydney Allicock, emphasised the

importance of education and awareness so that every Guyanese can see themselves as stewards of the environment. “It is about education, about bringing people together and understanding more of what it is to have a country like ours, a centre like Iwokrama and people like ourselves. For us to achieve this, it is not going to happen by Government alone. Government, as we see it, is the facilitating body, but you are the partners in this drive… this is one way we can help to bring the people in the country together and the President is very passionate about this.” Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Mrs Dawn Hastings-Williams, delivering a speech on behalf of Minister of Communities Mr Ronald Bulkan, said that the National Tree Day is much more than an emblematic event. Rather, it is a commitment on Government’s part to ensure that a better world is left for the generations to come. As part of National Tree Day activities, the President planted trees at the Fairview Airstrip, the People’s National Congress Headquarters at Sophia and at the Iwokrama Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development. National Tree Day was launched on October 1, 2015 by President David Granger and will be observed annually on the first Saturday in October going forward.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Inadequate signs blamed for two more West Dem. accidents POLICE Lance Corporal Jerron Clarke of the Tactical Services Unit reportedly lost control of his car at about 3:30hrs on Saturday, and it crashed in front of a mosque at West MetenMeer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara (WCD). Subsequent to that accident, a relative of Clarke’s who was heading to the Georgetown Public Hospital to visit the injured rank also lost control of his vehicle, causing it to topple three times before crashing to a halt. Reports revealed that Lance Corporal Clarke was driving his Toyota Primo at a fast rate heading home to Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo when he drove his vehicle onto the “crush and run” where the road is being constructed and the accident occurred. Other persons were in the vehicle with him. Francisco Andrews, 36, also of Tuschen, was treated and sent away from the Leonora Cottage Hospital; but Jummo Petty, 32, of Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara and Clarke were rushed by ambulance to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where they were admitted because of their injuries. The policeman’s brother-in-law and sister, Ryan

Police Lance Corporal Jerron Clarke

and Amanda Hyman of Lot 14 Uitvlugt, WCD, heard of the accident and were proceeding to visit him at the GPHC when, in the vicinity of Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara, Ryan also lost control of his car on the “crush and run” on the roadway. Reports reveal that Hyman’s vehicle toppled three times before crashing to a stop. He and his wife were not seriously injured, but their vehicle was totally destroyed, with the roof being flattened. They were both taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where they were treated and sent away.

Residents of the West Coast Demerara communities of West Meten-Meer-Zorg and Uitvlugt were disappointed that the accidents had occurred. They noted that the Traffic Chief had issued a warning to the contractor to place the necessary reflectors and signs on the roadway. “In some sections of the road, the entire piece with ‘crush and run’ is left opened. Those parts are supposed to be closed, because people keep losing their lives. Just the other day in Blankenburg, another driver lost his two children because of the same problem,” one resident lamented. “But like the Traffic Chief and other senior police word don’t have weight with these contractors? Somebody needs to be jailed!” another said. In that Blankenburg accident, Mark Halley and his common-law wife Michelle Francis lost their two children: two-year-old Marvin Halley and seven-year-old Tina Francis. Halley was taking his family for a drive when, at a section of the Blankenburg Public Road that is presently under construction, he lost control of the vehicle and crashed same into two others before it landed in a nearby drain.

The Hymans’ Nissan Bluebird which also became uncontrollable after it was driven on the “crush and run” on the WCD roadway

Clarke’s vehicle after it landed in a trench in front of a mosque at West Meten-Meer-Zorg, WCD

Following the accident which claimed the lives of the two siblings on the Blankenburg Public Road, Traffic Chief Dion Moore

had advised the contractor who is presently rehabilitating the roadway to place thereon reflectors and adequate reflectorized materi-

als, along with information signs, warning signs, and command signs to guide road users so they can get to their destinations safely.

Editor-In-Chief

Nigel Williams Sunday Editor

Neil Marks

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

Editorial

Made, Packaged or Produced in Guyana NATIONAL pride is an important factor in uniting a people and energising a country to compete with others. Products made in a country and rightfully labelled so bring confidence to the citizens and respect for the nation. In some respects, Guyana continues to hold its own in specific areas, but more needs to be done in a concerted and consistent manner to not only ensure psychological benefits, but also social and economic development. Guyana’s rum, sugar, bauxite and gold are known to hold prized positions in the international marketplace. Our rum has won numerous international awards. Sugar is renowned to the point where an American company is packaging sugar brought from other countries, using the brand “Demerara,” which has affinity to the production of sugar here. Our bauxite is known as a sweetener in enhancing the capacity in steel and aluminium processing plants, and Guyana stands out as the only country that produces this specification. The reputation of gold dates back to the fabled El Dorado that saw many expeditions, including the legendary stories of Sir Walter Raleigh and others, in search of it. Being allowed opportunities to produce products from local materials enhances a people’s ingenuity and competitive spirit which are integral factors in growth and development. It would not be lost on the discerning, the opportunities that can be derived from a new economy which can create wealth in industries that are considered safe and green. For instance, the coconut industry which has been neglected offers economic opportunities outside of the water. Bauxite, in its raw form, can add diversity to the ornament industry. This product comes in a variety of colours and specifications and can be attractively packaged for the market. The forest products industry can add ornaments, jewellery and other special pieces. Similar approaches can be taken to every product and service Guyanese are capable of producing, packaging

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Jagdeo’s ‘We black people’ remarks in Miami Dear Editor, “WE black people…”. Those words were uttered by someone whom countless Guyanese would be shocked to learn that those words came from his mouth. But yes, Guyana’s former president and current Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Friday evening, in delivering the 18th annual Eric Williams Memorial Lecture in Miami, did say “we black people” and “we are black people” as he spoke of the people of the Caribbean. He also identified one of the reasons for US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s popularity as the failure of the status quo (meaning mainstream politicians and political parties in the US) to address a number of stereotypes and misconceptions, one of which is that black people are lazy and criminal and “just want to live off welfare.” “This is just not true,” Jagdeo told his audience of Caribbean Americans and others, including a Bahamian delegation that included Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. In an earlier letter to the press, I had indicated the resentment by many Guyanese of the invitation extended to Jagdeo to speak at this prestigious lecture series, and to my sharing information on

Facebook about the event. I am in no way associated with the organizing of the event, but was accused of trying to legitimize Jagdeo, whom many feel is racist, corrupt, and ultimately responsible for the deaths of some 400 young people during the reign of the phantom squad during his tenure as president. I also said in that letter that I am in no position to legitimize or dismiss anyone. Well, on Friday night, Jagdeo sought to, and was successful in, further legitimizing himself. While I did not agree with some of his arguments, I would be dishonest if I said anything other than the fact that his lecture was informative, thought-provoking, and well presented. He displayed a familiarity with the issues regarding global trade and development; Caribbean integration, or lack thereof; and US domestic politics. He offered suggestions/solutions to some of the challenges he identified facing the CARICOM region. His presentation was well received, and some attendees later told me “he was statesman-like.” Notwithstanding all the ranting and raving on Facebook about Jagdeo’s invitation, not one Guyanese who feels so strongly about his alleged wrongdoings during his tenure as president turned

and marketing. Not to discount the success of other countries in being able to exploit their resources, creating opportunities for their people and entering our markets, the time has come when Guyana and Guyanese must move from being primarily on the receiving end to that of being equally competitive. This would require a new approach that factors in strong and continuous technical research such as in product development, identifying markets, tastes and preferences. Government is expected to play a role through revisiting investment programmes, strategies and laws wherever necessary. It will require stimulating a new economy by exploiting resources with the assistance of new incentives. This can be done in the form of grants to places such as the University of Guyana, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, and Institute of Applied Science and Technology to conduct studies. There can be tax and duty-free concessions for businesses that create opportunities at home. Last month, Registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Glenroy Cumberbatch in his address at the launching of Guyana’s accreditation to award the Caribbean Vocational Qualification, engaged in what can be considered a rarity in self-critique. Cumberbatch questioned the education being offered and called for an alignment of education and training to meet the needs of the region’s social and economic development.

up to ask any questions of him. No one has even written a letter to the Eric Williams Foundation requesting an explanation for the invitation extended to Mr. Jagdeo. I asked two questions of Mr. Jagdeo, and one had to do with Guyana. My question had to do with the Venezuela claim, which I make sure I raise in every public forum. His answer was in keeping with the Guyana position on the claim, and he said it is difficult to predict how a Trump presidency would impact the controversy. At the cocktail reception which followed, I quite audibly greeted Mr. Jagdeo as “my black brother”, and then proceeded to quietly ask him to juxtapose his “we black people” against his “beating drum in the morning” remarks just prior to the last election, and those reportedly made during a recent speech in New York. He explained that, on both occasions, sections of his remarks were excluded so as to remove the context and meaning of what he said. He told me he had explained this at press conferences in Guyana. Like him or hate him, Jagdeo will continue to be a key factor in the political life of Guyana for the foreseeable future. Regards, WESLEY KIRTON

Even as the Government of Guyana works with its CARICOM counterparts to examine such advice, where presently a Commission of Inquiry into the education system is being conducted, it may help to bring under examination such offerings consistent with the nation’s developmental thrust, which education ought to be built on. Synergies can be forged and made possible in alliance with the tri-sectoral economy. Partnership with Government, Private and Cooperative sectors should not only come with recognition and appreciation of the unique ability and responsibility of each, but also the importance of cooperating with each other to be competitive at the international level. Presently there is a discussion about stone being sourced from Suriname and not Guyana for the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. While in open-market economies such occurrence is not unusual, in a small developing state such as ours with high unemployment, it may require examining if there is wisdom in ensuring that Guyanese too are part of the production line. Guyanese want to build Guyana. And while it is laudable that our procurement law requires at least 20 percent of the contracts be given to small contractors, a similar approach may be needed in other instances in ensuring that Guyanese are allowed to earn, produce and benefit from the nation’s resources and opportunities.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Prime Minister arrives in India

Guyana’s new High Commissioner to India, Dr. David Pollard (right), welcomes Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo. The PM is in India as the chief guest of the third World Tamils Economic Conference. (Office of the Prime Minister photo) PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo has arrived in India to attend several events of the Tamil community there, and to receive an award which honours outstanding personalities from the Tamil community after he declares open the 3rd World Tamils Economic Conference. A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister was released to the media on Saturday with the foregoing details. The title of “Crown Jewel of World Tamils” Award, which the PM has been selected to receive, will be conferred on October 4, 2016. Prior to this, PM Nagamootoo will declare open the 3rd World Tamils Economic Conference and deliver the inaugural address. The aim of the World Tamils Economic Conference is reportedly to bring together the Tamil and Indian communities in the world in order to foster cooperation and tap the vast human and material resources for a collective growth. The Prime Minister, in response to the invitation to participate in the Conference, said he “looks forward to forg-

ing stronger ties between Guyana and the World Tamil community, especially entrepreneurs and industrial leaders of Tamil Nadu.” He said Guyana has an open-door policy that welcomes all investors and economic partners from around the world. PM Nagamootoo is being accompanied by Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo. The duo arrived to a rousing welcome on Saturday evening for the Conference in Chennai, India. Upon his arrival in Delhi, the PM was received by Guyana’s new High Commissioner to India, Dr. David Pollard; First Secretary Mr. Forbes July, and other staff of the High Commission. During the airport reception, Conference Conveyor Dr. VRS Sampath and officials of the Ministry of External Affairs greeted the Guyanese PM and his wife with scarves and bouquets. Also in the welcome party was Dr. M. Pannavaikko, Pro-Chancellor of the Bharath University which will also honour the Prime Minister later this week.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Remarkable baby heart surgeries at GPHC ‒ Hospital building Paediatric Intensive Care Unit By Shirley Thomas THE Baby Heart Foundation formerly known as the International Children’s Heart Foundation (ICHF) has completed its sixth mission here with a commendable record of having performed 117 surgical procedures, including 84 open-heart surgeries, since it started its missions in April 2015. The latest mission, which commenced on September 17, 2016 and concluded last Friday, saw 13 complicated cardiac surgeries being performed, including one open-heart surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC). The babies operated on were from across Guyana, with some 50 per cent having come from the hinterland; the youngest was recorded as being 20 days old and the oldest 34 days. The good news was shared with the local media on Friday at a press conference held by the GPHC. An elated Dr. Max Hanoman, Chairman of the GPHC Board of Directors, expressed satisfaction with the work done by the Baby Heart Team and the local partners. Consultant/Paediatric Surgeon Dr. Merissa Seepersaud, in commending the collaboration, said the Baby Heart Foundation is not only interested in coming to help treat these babies, but to train and help the GPHC to continue doing such surgeries long after the team would have left. Noting that the partners all saw the need for the development of paediatric

cardiac care and paediatric intensive care in Guyana, she said the main emphasis is to impart knowledge and ensure that the local team is well trained to take up this responsibility going forward. Dr. Seepersaud said that among those trained so far are 40 nurses, two surgeons, seven paediatric registrars, six scrub nurses, four anesthetic cardiology residents, and a number of other res-

atric health care. Dr. Seepersaud said the training would essentially be used to help not only paediatric cases, but any cardiac case the hospital encounters. She assured that the ICHF has indeed been performing quite complex cases, and, for the first time in Guyana, has been able to perform open-heart surgeries. Also addressing the press conference were mem-

at GPHC, Dr. Sheik Amir; and Sisters Marks, Ramdial and Singh. Head of the Mission, Dr. Rodrigo Soto, thanked the Ministry of Public Health; the Chief Executive Officer of the GPHC, Michael Khan; the chairman and Board of Directors of the GPHC, and other key players for the support given in making the collaboration possible and successful. Dr. Soto emphasized that the Baby Heart team is here to help the local team to develop its own unit to such a

come,” Dr. Soto stated. He said that while they will be happy to come along to see how the local facility develops, these visits are but building a foundation on which the institution can stand going forward. “What we are doing here is actually building the capacity and taking care of all the critically ill patients, the critically ill children that come to GPHC. We are building a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit which is going to be the first in the country,” Dr. Soto said.

treated, thus considerably reducing space capacity. To this end, he said, plans are being made to double the capacity from a four-bed to possibly a nine-bed facility, providing for air-conditioning and offering more space for storage as well. Meanwhile, a token of appreciation was presented to Dr. Joanna Cole, Consultant, Internal Medicine/ Infectious Diseases. Dr. Cole, a full time instructor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine from

Dr. Carl Max Hanoman presents a token of appreciation to Dr. Joanna Cole, Consultant, Internal Medicine, whose contract came to an end on October 1. Others, from left, are Dr. Rodrigo Soto, Dr. Sheik Amir, Dr. Clint Doiron, Mr. Michael Khan and Dr. Merissa Seepersaud (Cullen Bess-Nelson)

idents and other local personnel. She said that, this time around, the ICHF was able to have five training sessions before the mission actually started, and a full programme was done on the opening day of the training, with an emphasis on paedi-

bers of the Baby Heart team headed by Dr. Rodriguo Soto, along with Doctors Clint Doiron and Joanna Cole, Consultant Internal Medicine. Local partners integrally involved in the process included Director of Medical and Professional Services

standard that, after a while, it would be able to stand on its own and carry on without the Baby Heart team. “We are here not only to operate on these patients, but also to train them (the local staff) as providers, so they can perform the same procedures in the years to

“The persons working along with the team right now on very complex cases certainly will be able to take care of any other patients going to the ICU without us,” he added. Dr. Soto pointed to a steady increase in the number of patients now being

July 2013 to August 2014, was assigned to the GPHC to work along with the residents of the Masters in Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases. The next baby heart mission is due to arrive on November 30 and conclude on December 14.

Call for end to discrimination against the elderly SIXTY elderly men and women who are primarily from the West Coast of Demerara were on Saturday honoured at the CIOG Headquarters on Woolford Avenue in Georgetown to mark International Day of Older Persons. Speaking at the event, Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence said that, as a nation, we must “take a stand against ageism” as the theme for this month charges. This ‘ageism’, she explained, is the stereotyping and discrimination of a person based on their age. She noted that, in Guy-

These two women were at the event on Saturday to honour the elderly (Aubrey Odle/Ministry of Social Protection photo)

ana as well as in the rest of the world, the trend of young

people not respecting their elders enough has become

more and more prevalent. “Who has taught our young persons to lose respect for our elders?” she questioned. “Elders are treated as outcasts and humbugs…not only in the family, but in society,” she stated. In combatting the phenomenon of elderly persons not being given the respect they deserve, the Minister said that through the National Commission of the Elderly, the Ministry will be “reaching out” to the young people. One strategy that will be employed, she said, is engaging with the Ministry of Education in 2017 to

use young people to provide care to the elderly in homes. Here, she said, a system of “credit” for community work can be established to encourage this. Though she said her ministry would seek to establish a “new, modern facility” for elderly persons, Ms. Lawrence also said that her Ministry and the Commission would work with the family to “keep the elderly in their homes.” Sheik Moeen Hack of the Central Islamic Organisation also spoke at the forum, stating that the elderly should be respected and

there must be recognition of the contributions they had made during their younger years. Held at the CIOG Headquarters on Woolford Avenue, Georgetown, the programme was organized by the National Commission of the Elderly and the Ministry of Social Protection, in collaboration with the National Committee of Sisters’ Affairs’ (NACOSA) Love and Respect the Elderly project. The event was the first to be held as Guyana observes a month-long period of activities to honour the elderly.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Millions lost in Bartica arcade fire By Svetlana Marshall

MILLIONS of dollars went up in flames on First Avenue, Bartica,on Saturday when a fire of unknown origin completely destroyed two stalls, severely damaged another and scorched two other buildings. According to reports reaching the Guyana Chronicle, the fire started at around 09:30hrs in one of the stalls in front of the Kool Breeze Arcade and quickly spread to neighbouring buildings. Gary Solomon, of Lot 5 Plum Park, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, is among the stall owners severely affected by the early-morning blaze. His stall was among the two completely destroyed. Solomon told this newspaper that it was shortly after he had locked the back door of his stall and proceeded to a nearby restroom when the fire started. “Like three minutes after, I hear somebody screaming Gary! Gary! I seh like dem can’t wait, dem ain’t see I in the toilet? But is when I look outside I see de black, black smoke,” he recalled.

important documents. “All I have is the clothes I went to the toilet with. I ain’t get to save nothing. The smoke was too much, I got confused. I had my bags with all my documents and I was to go and do my medical October 6,” he said. Solomon, who was hoping to migrate soon, said he was “saving up” his U.S. currency but all was lost in the fire. The clothes vendor, who had travelled to Bartica only on Thursday, said he lost approximately $5M in valuables. Leslie Holbert is the other vendor whose stall was completely destroyed on Saturday. Another vendor, Shameen Chan, told the Guyana Chronicle that her food stall was severely damaged during the blaze. At the time, she was cooking when she heard loud screams. “I was cooking and all I hear them boys saying Fire! Fire!” She said it was not long before public-spirited citizens starting drenching a nearby stall with water. “I see black, black smoke com-

“

All I have is the clothes I went to the toilet with. I ain’t get to save nothing. The smoke was too much, I got confused. I had my bags with all my documents and I was to go and do my medical October 6 (to migrate to the U.S.” – Gary Solomon, whose stall was completely destroyed With a bucket in his hand, Solomon ran to the river to collect water, and together with other vendors, tried to douse the stall as much as possible. “I ain’t know who call the [fire] station; all I know I started throwing water,” he stated. Still distraught, Solomon said despite his attempts he was unable to save his belongings, including very

ing from the man stall that does sell clothes. Dem boys de throwing water but fire was too much for dem,” she added. According to Chan, it was not long before the fire started to spread to the other stalls. She is of the opinion that the fire could have been contained, if the Fire Service had been prepared to handle the blaze.

The fire ripping through the stalls at the Kool Breeze Arcade

“By the time the fire [tender] come they didn’t had water and they had to pump water from the river and that the pump took a time to start it working,” Chan contended. She added, “Like 10 minutes after, the pump ran out of gas and by the time they

do all of that the stalls were destroyed, at least two of them.” The businesswoman said though her stall was not completely destroyed, all her valuables were burnt. “Is only yesterday I buy drinks and suh and stock

up my stall, all those things burn up, the stove, gas bottle, everything.” She is estimating her losses to be in the millions. Another vendor, Donna Nurse, was also left to count her losses. “I wasn’t there when it

started, and by the time I got there, even the fire truck had gone.” The side of her stall was scorched and the lights damaged as a result of the fire. The WK Shopping Mall was also scorched. An official from the Bartica Fire Station told the Guyana Chronicle that they received a call alerting them to the fire at 09:47hrs and fire fighters responded two minutes after. He said while residents are contending that the Fire Tender arrived on the scene without water, it arrived with 450 gallons of water but that was exhausted within 1:30 seconds and so the fire fighters turned to the river. “Some people don’t understand how it works; they believe that the truck is a tank that never runs out of water, but that is not true, it could only hold 450 gallons,” he explained. He said that after arriving on the scene, the fire fighters doused the affected buildings and prevented it from spreading to the mall. He said vendors initially attempted to put out the fire but it was only after it became uncontrollable that the fire service was called. “They didn’t call fire service; it was the police who saw the fire and called the fire station,” the Fire Station official stated. Investigation into the fire is still ongoing. The cause is still to be determined. “However, it could be electrical in nature, because there has been a fluctuation in the flow of electricity,” the officer posited. Deputy Mayor Kamal Persaud, while noting the destruction to property, said she was pleased there were no fatalities or injuries. “It could have been worse, but we are thankful that the fire service arrived on time, contained the fire and no life was lost,” she told this newspaper.

Three hospitalised after Enmore drive-by shooting A DRIVE-BY shooting that occurred on Friday at the “Bless Up” Wash Bay and Chill Spot Bar at School Street, Hope West, Enmore, East Coast Demerara has left three persons hospitalized and police hunting for the suspects who shot and wounded them. Those hospitalised are 32-year-old taxi driver Ron Robinson, called “The General”, of Bachelor’s Adventure, ECD; Tishana Persaud, 29, of Foulis, Enmore, ECD; and wash bay employee Toby Etwaroo, called Kevin, 24, of

Lot 226 Hope West, Enmore. Eyewitnesses told the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday that the taxi driver arrived with two women to have his car washed at the wash bay on Friday at about 19:30 hrs. They were liming when a heavily tinted silver grey car pulled up and an occupant of the said vehicle opened fire indiscriminately at the group, seemingly intent on hitting the taxi driver. The wash bay employee Etwaroo, who was about to bring chairs for others to sit on, was shot in the abdomen.

Wounded: Toby Etwaroo

Nanda, Etwaroo’s mother, told the Guyana Chronicle that she was at home when someone came to her house to say that her son was shot. Thinking it was a joke, she did not venture out to inquire, until neighbours came to her house to tell her that her son was on the road bleeding; then she believed the report. Nanda Etwaroo said her injured son was attempting to make his way home, but collapsed a few houses away. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he underwent surgery. His mother

said he is in a stable condition, but is unable to walk. The bullet, which exited his body, was recovered at the spot where he collapsed -- in front of a neighbour’s house. It was handed over to ranks at the Enmore Police Station on Saturday morning. Nanda Etwaroo reported that her son had seen a car following him and thought he was being traced, thus in fear he had tried to make it home. She said the car was occupied by his friends, who were looking for him to take him to the hospital.

Nanda said her son, a father of one, used to work at the said wash bay for many years, but had left the job and had returned to same only about two weeks ago. Robinson was shot twice in the hand, while Persaud was shot in the back and side. Robinson is in stable condition while Persaud is yet to undergo surgery. Reports are that an employee of the wash bay, who was present when the shooting occurred, is in police custody pending investigations.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Government needs to be more sensitive to African Guyanese concerns MY COLUMN last week sought to alert readers to what I discern as a growing disconnect between the Government and its supporters. Some people ask how do I know that; did I do a poll? Whenever I am in Guyana, I move around the African Guyanese communities, talking and listening to people. I do activist work on behalf of a couple of organizations I belong to, and also in my personal capacity. I am often invited by residents of communities to speak to them and to listen to their concerns. Individuals from all over the coast come to Georgetown to see me mostly to complain about discrimination in their villages and at the workplace. I meet with them mostly at Rodney House, but I also meet with groups of people wherever it’s convenient. I go to communities and help to organize people into organizations. Recently, I began meeting with a group of youths on the road at Buxton Backdam-side. That group is now a thriving youth organization that meets in a church pastored by Pastor Cleaveland Harry. In addition to talking with people in their communities, I am inundated with scores of emails and Facebook messages from people, asking my view or expressing their view on politics in Guyana. Sometimes I am not able to answer all of the mails. So, I think I have a fairly good sense of the pulse of the African Guyanese community. Not unexpectedly, some people disagreed with my assessment in last week’s column. I have no problem with disagreements, it is an important aspect of public discourse; but some interpreted my warning as a sinister plot on my part to bring down the Government. I was not surprised by that charge; our deeply tribal politics have bred a sub-culture of political defensiveness that

frames all criticism of party and Government as political destabilization. There is little attempt to distinguish between criticism as partisan-tribal “cussing out” and a more objective form of criticism aimed at ensuring accountable and democratic governance. I am therefore quite aware that I am part of a very small group of public commentators who attempt to do a very delicate balancing act between expressing support for a government while critiquing its actions. I understand the frustration with my type, especially when it comes from overzealous Government supporters. It is the same frustration that many in the USA have with young people, including young African Americans, who dread a Trump presidency but are uncomfortable with Clinton’s half-baked stances on core progressive issues. In the end, I hope they vote for Clinton, but I believe the questioning of her candidacy would ultimately help to shape a candidate who is more sensitive to the motions of her base. The results of our last election were very close; it was victory for the Coalition by less than 5,000 votes. The local government elections which followed soon after revealed that, despite its loss at the general election, the PPP’s base remains intact. The PPP got more of its supporters to go out and vote in its favour, while the Coalition struggled to get enough of its supporters to do the same. The above tells us two things. In order to win the next election, the Coalition has to be able to hold on to the votes it got at the last election. It also tells us that, in a very short time, the enthusiasm of Government supporters had waned. The overwhelming majority of the Coalition’s votes came from the African Guyanese community. The

other votes came from the Amerindian and Indian Guyanese communities. Some commentators have pointed out that, in the mix of things, the votes of the two latter communities are indispensable; that there would have been no victory without them. On the face of it, that is true, but such an analysis runs the risk of downplaying the African Guyanese vote. Yes, in the context of our ethically driven politics, because it is the natural constituency of the Coalition, its votes are a given; but that does not mean that the Coalition does not have to fight to hold on to those votes beyond appeal to political and ethnic loyalty. People vote for parties because they expect those parties to represent their interests and advance polices that are favourable to them when those parties get into power. The question, then, is this: Are the three ethnic groups satisfied that the Government has adequately represented their interests and advanced policies beneficial to them? Some in the Government have touted the notion of race-neutral policies that benefit all Guyanese, regardless of ethnicity. While that sounds seductive, it actually does not, in reality, play out that way. Are the benefits of the policy perceived to be equitably distributed? Do all of the groups have the capacity to take advantage of the policy? In any case, given the ethnic compartmentalization of our economy, it is extremely difficult to craft any single race-neutral economic policy. I say the above to make the point that government in Guyana has to always be sensitive to the ethnic impact of its policies. My estimation is that Government has not been as sensitive as it should when it comes to the African Guyanese community. Despite the PPP’s dread narrative about the Government’s attitude to the Indian Guyanese community, the

Government has been more sensitive to the concerns of that community than the PPP government was to the concerns of the African Guyanese community. The continued subsidizing of the sugar industry in the form of massive bailouts has directly benefited the mainly Indian Guyanese community. The PPP never did the same for sectors heavily populated by African Guyanese. In fact, it sought to remove the electricity subsidy from Linden. One sees the Ministry of Public Infrastructure move to directly address Indian Guyanese concerns about crime. One sees the Government risking its reputation by steering government contracts to Indian Guyanese businesspeople, including some who were enablers of the PPP’s destruction of Guyana and its transfer of state resources into private hands. The Government has also put a lot of energy and resources into the Amerindian communities. Again, this contradicts the PPP’s charges of discrimination against Amerindians. Amerindians are adequately represented in the extended Cabinet. The President and his Ministers have spent a lot of time in that community. One gets the sense that there is a Government Amerindian strategy. Am I saying that Amerindians and Indian Guyanese do not have complaints against the Government, or that they get more resources from Government? Absolutely not. But at least one sees the Government making an effort to be sensitive to the concerns of those communities. The same cannot be said for its attitude to the African Guyanese community. I think the Government has demonstrated less open sensitivity to the African Guyanese concerns at the level of policy. The Government has more often than not

found itself on a collision course with sections of the African Guyanese community. A few instances spring to mind. The Georgetown City Council’s relocation policy has hurt the mostly African Guyanese vendors psychologically and economically. The vendors are being chased around. They tell heart-wrenching stories of their goods being seized. They are herded into a yard where consumers don’t go. Their earning capacity has decreased. The mainly African Guyanese public servants, including teachers, are at loggerheads over wages. The Government has taken a hard line against the workers; they have thrown the IMF playbook at them. They are being told to be grateful and thankful for small “mercies.” The President, to his eternal credit, appears to have pulled back a bit, but enough damage has been done. The Government has promised to do something about the problem of bias in the awarding of contracts, yet the mainly African Guyanese small contractors are still left out in the cold. There is apartheid going on in the administration of cricket in Guyana, but the Government has not lifted a finger to correct the problem. Many young cricketers from regions not controlled by the rogue Guyana Cricket Board are being denied facilities and opportunities. There have been no elections for the GCB for almost a decade. This miscarriage of democracy and justice disproportionately affects African Guyanese cricketers, who expect their government to bat for them. The issue of prosecuting the wrongs of the past regime is a very sensitive one in the African Guyanese community. They see it as a form of justice for them, since they were more often than not the victims of the PPP’s rampage. The Government’s apparent weak

attitude to the audit results dents African Guyanese optimism that Government can be an agent of justice. The seeming disinterest in getting to the bottom of the Crum-Ewing assassination and the other victims of state-sponsored political violence is not lost on the community. The embarrassment of not being able to access government or communicate with the Ministers, who are viewed as a new, conceited elite, is alive in the community. This is not to say that Government has not done anything in the African Guyanese community. Only recently, the President committed the Government to treat with the UN charter on the International Decade of Peoples of African Descent. There are Government-sponsored training programmes emanating from some ministries. Some people have gained employment and some communities now enjoy social services they did not have before May 2015. But, in the end, it is the big policies that really matter. And it is the cumulative effect of the above examples that hurts the Government’s standing in its constituency. Popular and respected journalist Gordon Mosley, in a response to last week’s column, asked if I did a poll. I am not a pollster, and polling is not the only way to capture political behaviour. But I challenge Gordon and other journalists to go into the fields and speak to vendors, teachers, public servants, the African Guyanese youth, the unemployed, and even some party faithful, and report your findings to the nation. More of Dr. Hinds ‘writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www. guyanacaribbeanpolitics. com. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

15 policemen dismissed for unprofessional conduct ‒ another 15 transferred FIFTEEN policemen were dismissed from the Guyana Police Force following charges of robbery under arms, simple larceny, wounding and other offences, while another 15 ranks were transferred or re-assigned other duties because of other misconduct, acting Commissioner David Ramnarine said Friday. “They never understood that the public they chose to serve did not take an oath, they did. And they wore a uniform, so we had to let them go,” Ramnarine stated at a press conference. In explaining the actions in one of the dismissals, Ramnarine said one rank attended an event of great significance to the country. During the occasion, one of the dignitaries misplaced a cellular phone. The rank picked up the phone and was advised on what to do with it, but he chose to do differently. The phone was eventu-

ally found in his possession. He noted that two constables are going to be charged this week with simple larceny. They also stole a cellular phone. “These are guys who don’t even have six months service yet, and this is not to say in the training environment we don’t make sufficient effort to make them understand who they are, their role in the organisation, what the organisation’s role is and what are the expectations in the society,” Ramnarine stated. Another case involved a constable who was handling a traffic issue on the road. The matter was drawn to the Traffic Chief’s attention and the traffic head subsequently made contact with the rank. The rank was given directions on how to proceed with the matter but, he did not comply, choosing instead to do his own thing. “Are we supposed to be silent on that? That is a matter that requires

Dead: Budhram Jainaught

2016 road fatality figure to 100. Police say the young man was reportedly on his way to patch a tyre for his father’s Canter truck when he swerved the vehicle he was driving to avoid hitting a female who was running across the public road. He then lost control of the car and the rear of the

‒ President plugs need for more resources to fight drug trade

By Ravin Singh

Commissioner of Police (ag) David Ramnarine

immediate action,” the commissioner asserted. He further disclosed that the Guyana Police Force had to let go of a subordinate officer, whose wife owned a bar which was creating confusion among members of the public. “There were complaints, congestion on the road; and

the police were under pressure. Other people observed what he and his family can get away with so they decide to do the same thing too, making it difficult for the lawmen,” he stressed. As a result of this, the force had to decide on sending off the officer.

Young truck driver killed in Greenwich Park accident TWENTY-THREE-yearold truck driver Budhram Jainaught of Lot 5 Unity, Parika, East Bank Essequibo lost his life on Friday morning when he crashed his father’s car, PMM 9055, into a trailer parked on the Greenwich Park public road, East Bank Essequibo. His death has taken the

‘Narco-trafficking will end’

vehicle slammed into the back of a trailer that was parked on the roadway. Public-spirited citizens rushed the young Jainaught to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A female passenger who was in the vehicle received minor injuries and was treated at the Leonora Cottage Hos-

pital before being sent away. The elder Jainaught told this publication, “If the trailer was not parked on the roadway, my son would have been alive. The rear of the car collided with the trailer; if it was not there, then he would have just been on the parapet next to the drain.”

The rear of the vehicle slammed into the trailer that was parked on the roadway

NARCO-trafficking, which continues to be a sore issue for law enforcement agencies, will be brought to an end, President David Granger has said; but he noted that this would require more resources going to the relevant agencies in their fight against the illegal trade. “We [Government] are not going to take extreme measures as some countries (have done), but we are going to bring narco-trafficking to an end,” the President said on his weekly TV programme ‘The Public Interest’. Guyana’s Head of State said narco-trafficking could be described as the “mother of all crimes”, as it usually

President David Granger

co-trafficking], the police need better all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to go into the hinterland and rural areas. There needs to be better maritime capabilities to work along the coast. Also, we

“

To do this [address narco-trafficking], the police need better all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to go into the hinterland and rural areas. There needs to be better maritime capabilities to work along the coast. Also, we will put more horses in the Rupununi to (facilitate) patrol. We’re not relying on patrol cars and motorcycles alone. We’re responding in appropriate ways to ensure that policemen could get to where these crimes occur.” – President Granger

leads to executions; the recruiting of rogues, who then become involved in crime; and ultimately the bribing of law enforcement officers. He said that once illegal drugs continue to enter Guyana, it will be difficult to control crime. “We do not have the resources, the assets, and we do not have aircraft to patrol our borders. We do not have the ships to patrol our sea space. We do not have the vehicles to patrol the land space to bring these crimes to an end…,” the Head of State said. He was keen to note that though there exists a “watchlist” in relation to narco-trafficking locally, it is “impossible to control every kilometre of Guyana’s border with our present resources.” Cognizant of the need to address this transnational issue, President Granger pointed out that both the Government and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) have responsibility to ensure that Guyana’s landscape and borders are secure. However, he said, the Force would need to be better equipped. “To do this [address nar-

will put more horses in the Rupununi to (facilitate) patrol. We’re not relying on patrol cars and motorcycles alone. We’re responding in appropriate ways to ensure that policemen could get to where these crimes occur,” the President said. He disclosed that Government is currently working to acquire surveillance aircraft, while efforts are being made to place mounted police ranks in the wide open areas. “We are doing our best in the circumstances, but this is a problem that has developed over the last 16 years,” he declared. The President also noted that engagements are being made with international partners, including the USbased Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), to interdict narco-trafficking. “We have set up the institutions, and just recently the national Drug Strategy Masterplan has been reissued. We are taking other measures to ensure the narco-trade is brought to an end,” he said.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

City Hall’s crisis with the Parliament View vendors

ONLY the heartless who watched last Friday’s Capitol News coverage of the Parliament View vendors’ situation would not be touched. Clearly from the standpoint of the vendors they are aggrieved and feel that they are not considered an important part of the society and economy. Even in the face of economic hardship and operating in a less than pleasing environment, thought-out approaches to dealing with the crisis have been proposed. Earlier this year these persons were removed from the Stabroek Market vicinity, on the pretext of restoring the area to its original state and cleaning up the environs, within and around, as part of the deservedly embarked upon clean-up project. The relocation to Parliament View -- a privately owned property on Hadfield Street opposite Parliament Buildings, which is being rented by the council, giving the site its name -- was announced to be temporary. Subsequently, the nation learnt that the Independence Day parade would assemble

and move off from Stabroek Market Square, the very site the vendors were removed from, though initially it was said the parade would have started from the East Coast. People of this society are not fools and are not easily fooled. The promised temporary relocation of vendors, since early May for an initially promised three months, has found them in surroundings without basic necessities for human existence and ability to ply their trade consistent with hygienic standards. From the vendors’ mouth via Capital News, the wider society is being made aware that they are catching hell. The tents provided to them by City Hall on the pretext of protecting them from the weather are evidently inferior, currently tattered, flying in the wind, and give the place the semblance of a shanty town. Some vendors, evident in the background, have said they were forced to resort to buying their own tents or having to repair what was assigned to them. A vendor told the news-

cast portable water is not available. It would be recalled one of the reasons City Hall used to ruthlessly remove the vendors on Robb Street, however temporarily, was on allegation of the use of dirty water to sprinkle the greens, fruits, etc. It boggles the mind that while City Hall used water as a mean of denying vending in one area, the responsibility to provide potable water in another area is not being fulfilled. Such double standards being exhibited are demonstrated in other spheres of the city’s management. The Kitty/Campbellville bus service that operated in front of Demico was forcefully removed during the Stabroek Market so-called restoration campaign, the infrastructure dug up and disposed of, only to find within a few months the service was reintroduced in the same place by the very City Council that had removed it. What we are looking at here outside of proper planning and disregard for people, is that a cash-strapped council has to dig into its coffers to

build what it had initially destroyed. Planning would factor in that the city has grown exponentially since the 1800s. More people are also traversing the area, and it follows that such traffic brings with it diverse and competing needs and interests. The vending population is addition to responding to this evolution, has by itself grown out of needs and crises situations. Where City Hall did not plan for the inevitable, such as population growth, movement and needs, a group of people have used their ingenuity and responded. Additionally too, where employment and economic opportunities were and remain scarce, and the country has had moments of economic disruption, the vendors have filled the void and responded to these moments of crisis through internal and external trading, bringing what are considered needed items to the people. Vendors are engaged in legitimate activities -- given that City Hall has over the years been charging a fee

-- and providing for themselves and family, taking that responsibility away from the State and at a cultural level, free of the stigmatisation of being called lazy. Outside of the National Insurance Scheme, which remains this country’s only major social safety network and caters primarily to its contributors, Guyana has no other institution to cushion economic dislocation. In some countries government provides vouchers to the unemployed and low-income workers to assist the primary parent/guardian, infant and child, during and after pregnancy. The employed who have become unemployed, once satisfying requirements, would be entitled to unemployment benefits. Guyana does not provide such services neither at this stage seems likely to. So when persons have taken legitimate initiative to advance and protect their economic interests, it requires of the city finding ways and means in working with them in advancing and realising their pursuit. For instance, with the re-

location to Parliament View, City Hall could have provided basic support such as placing visible signs at Stabroek Market. Those who usually patronise the vendors or are aware of their presence outside the market, through signage could have been told of and guided to the new location, and be asked to continue showing their patronage. Some vendors in the newscast proposed other measures to ensure their livelihoods that a compassionate council would find worthy of paying attention, interacting with them and their representative, at arriving at mutually agreed upon decisions with the aim of alleviating the crisis. The matter also gives rise to concern about the necessity of a social-impact study to guide actions being taken by the council, and whether such has ever been done. A study of such nature helps in preventing these ever-emerging crises, resulting in less shock and animosity between and among groups.

Corentyne mother, daughter commit suicide A 55-year old Corentyne woman and her 17-yearold daughter have committed suicide, sending shockwaves through the East Berbice village of Crabwood Creek. Madojri Sawh and Diana Sawh of Grant 1802 Crabwood Creek died days apart after ingesting a poisonous substance. The mother died on Friday, September 23rd, and the daughter died last Friday, September 30. They were both hospitalised after ingesting the substance on

Tuesday, September 22. Reports are that the teen girl, apart from borrowing some money, had pawned some of her mother’s items to help her boyfriend fix his car, which was involved in an accident. The former student of Line Path Secondary School was supposed to get the money to uplift her mother’s items from the pawnshop on September 22. However, she was unable to do so, and the mother became frustrated. After taking the poison-

ous substance, the mother was rushed to the Skeldon Hospital by relatives. It was there that they learnt that the daughter had likewise ingested a poisonous substance. According to her brother, Ms Sawh was traumatised after her mother had drunk the poisonous substance. Their deaths have sent a strong message across the board that much more has to be done to help curb the scourge of suicide, especially in Berbice.

Madojri Sawh

Diana Sawh

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Over 3,500 city students awarded for attendance, punctuality THE Ministry of Education Friday held its annual Attendance and Punctuality Award Ceremony at the St. Joseph High School. The ministry presented awards to 3,543 students from 72 schools in Georgetown. In a statement, the Ministry of Education said there are 91 schools in the city, but only 72 schools recorded attendance rates of more than 95% for the 2015/2016 academic year. In addition to individual students who have excellent attendance records, South Road Nursery, Winfer Gardens Primary and the Bishop’s High School were awarded for achieving the highest overall attendance record for the academic year. The current enrolment in Georgetown for 2016 is 34, 085 students, with nursery schools accounting for 3,880, primary17,697 and secondary 12,508. Officers of the Ministry of Education who addressed the gathering all spoke about the importance of children attending school frequently

Glenna Vyphius, Chief Schools Welfare Officer, presents a certificate to a student (Ministry of Education photo)

and punctually, as studies show that there is a correlation between students attendance and their grades. Immanuel Bridgewater, Principal Education Officer, said that schools are required

to correctly record each student’s attendance. Addressing the ministry’s efforts to curb poor attendance, Bridgewater said that the Schools Welfare Department typically checks

on students with less than a 75 percent attendance rate. Follow-up on such students usually entails home visits, letters, and phone calls to the parents of those children who have been frequently

absent from school. Glenna Vyphius, Chief Schools Welfare Officer, encouraged students to attend school regularly and highlighted the benefits of doing so regularly. She noted that in spite of the numerous challenges children face, it is worth it to stay in school. “Do not give up,” she said. The acting Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson, applauded the Department of Education and Schools Welfare Department for consistently recognising pupils and students of Georgetown for their excellent attendance and punctuality over the years. He said that excellent punctuality and attendance are essential to success at school. “It is also vital that our pupils and students learn to become independent and develop important time management skills,” Mr. Hutson posited. He continued, “Attendance and punctuality shows commitment, attentiveness and determination.” Permanent Secre-

tary Delma Nedd, while noting that thousands of students were celebrated for their outstanding attendance at school, spared a thought for the many others who still find it difficult to attend school on a daily basis. She said that poor attendance is a major problem for the education system. “Generally, low attendance at schools sometimes occurs because of factors exogenous to the system,” she noted. Such exogenous factors range from inclement weather patterns, high transportation costs or socio-economic factors. The permanent secretary said that the ministry’s goal is to enhance welfare measures to reduce the costs of education for poor families. Such measures include the distribution of exercise books, textbooks, school uniform assistance, school feeding programmes, and President Granger’s Three Bs initiative, which aims to provide transportation for children to attend school regularly.

$59M to fix houses at Perseverance, EBD SOME $59 million will be used to fix government-built houses at Perseverance, East Bank Demerara, and residents are eager for the works to begin and for the area to be cleaned up. On Saturday, a “National Tree Planting Day” exercise came as a pleasant surprise for residents of the developing community, when a team from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) lead by Minister within the Communities Ministry with responsibility for housing, Valerie Patterson, Saturday delivered a number of fruit trees to their homes. Several residents had come out to greet the minister and her team and collected their fruit trees, while other residents had the pleasure of having the items delivered to their doors. The trees came just days after the ministry commenced what could be a massive drive to repair and complete some 200 homes in two months. Minister Patterson reiterated the authority’s intention to have all the

problems with the houses in the scheme rectified by Christmas. The project’s new manager, Kennard Dazzle, detailed that the ministry commenced physical work last Wednesday and is now preparing their onsite office, apart from the materials bond that presently exists. He said that there are about six teams that will conduct remedial works. This work, Dazzle noted, has been prioritised to assist those most affected by the incomplete and substandard work delivered by the ministry under the previous administration. He explained that the CH&PA is extremely concerned about getting to those persons who are paying mortgages on their homes. These persons are first priority since they had purchased homes but could not enter because of the incomplete works. Aside from that, another team is expected to commence remedial works on the occupied homes and materials are already being stocked. Dazzle said he wants to im-

Residents who came out to collect fruit trees from the ministry

prove the aesthetics and security of the community, pointing to huge overgrown bushes, grass and an unfavourable loam road. He is also prepared to work on the water system, since the entire community is not yet covered, improve drainage and increase street lighting. Perseverance residents were told that their upcoming

neighbours may be living in condominiums and duplexes, since this is the forwarding idea for the completion of phases three and four of the project. “We have considered not to continue with the same setting of the current phases,” the minister said. She said instead, apartment duplexes, double apartments and three

and four-storey condominiums are on the frontline. The design for these units have already been done, and would also be built at Little Diamond and Great Diamond, and East La Penitence in the first instance. The new ideas are not definitive, the minister said, and as such financing for the project has not been final-

ised, nor has the arrangement by which persons would be allocated spaces. The Perseverance Housing Scheme consists of 200 homes, each costing $4.9m. Of that number, 141 are incomplete and the other 59 require various repairs. Some $59 million has been released to the ministry to start its work.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Towards a Good Life in a Green Economy

Climate change, sustainable development and the good life By Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Gary A. R. Best Presidential Advisor on the Environment UNDER the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the two responses to climate change identified are mitigation of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), and enhancing sinks and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. In fact, GHGs from most developing states are relatively low, and consequently, they are required to adapt to climate change, while developed nations are required to mitigate climate change due to high emission rates. Further, under the UNFCCC, developed countries agreed to transfer technology to, and fund, the cost of adaptation for developing countries. At the regional level, Caricom Heads of Government expressed concern about the global impact of climate change, and advanced a global solution which requires the reorganization of all climate change funding to incorporate a vulnerability index, in order to enable small island developing states (SIDS) and small developing states (SDS) to access international financial resources. The Heads established the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) as the region’s implementation agency, and recognized the Guyana Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) as a tool for harmonizing climate change mitigation and economic development (Liliendaal Declaration, 2009). It should be noted at the outset that Guyana’s blueprint to adapt to climate change was through a mitigation instrument, the LCDS, which is a payment for ecosystems’ services (PES) plan to raise revenue to finance its adaptation to climate change. However, at the regional

Mr. Gary A. R. Best is a retired Rear Admiral and former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force. He is an Attorney at Law and is the Presidential Advisor on the Environment. He is a PhD. candidate at the University of the West Indies. He holds a BSc in Nautical Science (Brazil) and Masters Degrees from the University of the West Indies and the University of London. He is also an alumnus of the National Defence University and the Harvard Kennedy School. His research areas include climate change governance, climate change finance, international relations and environmental law.

level, vulnerability became the small nations’ anthem at successive annual and special climate change conferences, to attract international attention to the special nature of SIDS and SDS. A WIDER RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE Two recent developments are worth noting in the context of Guyana’s wider response to climate change. Firstly, the Paris Agreement to the UNFCCC provides for all countries to be legally bound to voluntary reductions of GHGs (Article 2:1(a); Article 4:2; Article 6:4). Secondly, Guyana’s decision to adopt a green economy pathway as it development model represents a multi-sectorial approach to climate change solutions, widening its blueprint to adapt to climate change. The LCDS and vulnerability concerns are now subsumed within the green economy, and are expressed under two of its pillars: sustainable harvesting of natural capital, and economic prosperity and social cohesion. Let’s look at this wider response to climate change in the context of adaptation and sustainable development. According to a recent report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the key

challenge now is how to respond to climate change. In their minds, two benchmarks should be met in order to mitigate climate change: stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases and maintenance of economic growth. Towards this end, Beinhocker et al suggested that there should be no doubt that economic growth must go hand in hand with climate change mitigation efforts. According to Patterson, there is also a real fear that because the main response to global warming has been through mitigation characterised by carbon sequestration, renewable energies and energy efficiency, biodiversity conservation may become a casualty. This is a possibility that Guyana’s green economy pathway must avoid. However, Gurney and Raymond doubt that the current system of limiting deforestation through reduced fossil and industrial emissions and percentage reduction targets is the appropriate model. Instead, countries are urged to consider a national target relative to the amount of untouched forest identified for preservation, and the required changes in deforestation rates necessary to get there. Consequently, within the wider climate change solutions via Guyana’s green economy pathway, emissions’ reductions capture measurement and necessary by-laws become prime activities for our national agencies, particularly the Guyana Energy Agency. There are also issues with adaptation. In this context, Jones et al (2009) point out that while adapta-

tion costs are high, costing sea level adaptation, for example, shows that it will range between 5 and 10% of GDP, whereas if no adaptation is undertaken, the cost can be as high as 14%. Accordingly to Agerup et al, “Sustainable development can only come through the adoption of institutions that enable people to engage in economic activities that create wealth and lead to technological progress”. Writers such as Jones et al are more forthright. They posit that sustainable development and climate change are inextricably linked through the requirements of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. Perhaps the greatest challenge to sustainable development is the inability to generate wealth due to poverty. Guyana’s goal must be to reduce poverty and avoid any type of environmental crisis. Contrastingly, Matthew et anor submit that the environmental effect of the unsustainable consumption practices of the world’s rich is displaced amongst the world’s poor despite all the hype and money being spent on mitigating climate change, preserving biodiversity and promoting ecosystems’ services. If this is true, then greening Guyana’s economy must be balanced and result in reducing inequalities and creating an equitable space for wealth generation for all citizens. The green economy must therefore generate wealth through jobs and industries. Even though this is the case, Jones argues that climate change efforts at the international level are dominated by negotiations

for mitigation through emissions’ reduction, leaving climate change adaptation on a very narrow front, and the wider goal of sustainable development inadequately addressed. Contrastingly, Agerup et al suggest that “policies intended to mitigate climate change through restrictions on atmospheric carbon are almost certainly unsustainable; they are costly, would have little impact on the climate, and will most likely perpetuate poverty, making it more difficult for the poor to adapt to change”. They also argue that sustainable governance by developing states is plagued by the absence of open trade and good governance. To this initiative, Jones et anor (2009) add that the areas of emphasis in the context of adaptation identified to enable sustainable development adaptation include strategies to effect and enhance agriculture and forestry production and services; understanding that water resources’ management is critical to maintaining wetlands which mitigate climate change; development of coastal zone management and protection plans; and identifying health issues as derivatives of climate change. There is a lot of learning here for us in Guyana, as these adaptation measures reflect the multi-sectoral approach that the green economy presents. If we agree that climate change and sustainable development are inextricably bound up, then we can also agree that the green economy pathway is a sustainable development initiative within the sustainable development paradigm. And in that context, greening Guyana’s economy should be seen as a climate change solution grounded in innovative actions, nationally developed plans and investment packages, ultimately leading to the good life. (Comments can be sent to towardsagoodlife@gmail.com)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Guyana looks to ‘green development’ partnership with China PRESIDENT David Granger and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Limin Friday evening pledged to continue working together to deepen and strengthen relations between the two countries, especially in the pursuit of a “green” agenda and sustainable development, the Ministry of the Presidency has reported. “We look forward to intensifying cooperation between our two republics in our common quest to ensure greater use of clean, green and low-carbon technologies and renewable sources of energy,” President Granger said at a ceremony at the Chinese embassy to mark the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). He said that Guyana has observed, with keen interest, China’s introduction of its 13th Five-year Plan (20162020) which committed to achieving a “green economy” by introducing low-carbon industries, expanding sustainable energy sources, extending forest protection and establishing a green development fund. “Guyana, through its own ‘green agenda,’ has similar objectives,” the President noted. Mr Granger said that Guyana, since the inception of the PRC, has always been a partner of the nation. “Guyana recalls with pride its adoption of a principled position 45 years ago,

when the countries of the world were deeply divided, to have voted in support of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 in October 1971. Resolution 2758 recognised the repre-

internal affairs, cooperation for mutual benefit, respect for treaties and international law and the maintenance of international peace and security, a major, common interest is the promotion of sustainable

Guyana and China have collaborated in academia, culture, defence, energy, health, infrastructure development, medicine, mining and other fields. We look forward to building further on the firm

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Limin, President David Granger, First Lady Sandra Granger, Mrs. Liu Yu and acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, at the event Friday evening. (Ministry of the Presidency photo) sentatives of the government of the People’s Republic of China as ‘the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations.’ Guyana has never changed its principled position and remains committed to a One-China policy,” the President said. The President noted that while Guyana shares with China common values such as mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-interference in each other’s

development, particularly in the area of renewable energy. This cooperation, the President said, is something to look forward to as since diplomatic relations between Guyana and China were established in 1972, the two states have only continued to grow in their cooperation. “Guyana and China have now maintained mutually beneficial, high-level and friendly relations for 44 years through continuous cooperation in several spheres.

foundation of this solid, longterm relationship. “Guyana shares with China a desire to deepen and strengthen economic relations and trade ties to our mutual benefit,” he said. The President highlighted that China has emerged as one of the largest and fastest-growing economies and the largest trading nation in the world and the country’s economic advances over the past 20 years have been accompanied by increased in-

vestment and trade with the rest of the world, including the Caribbean. This cooperation with the Caribbean, which has extended to Guyana, President Granger said, is deeply appreciated and will serve only as an impetus for continued collaboration. “Guyana welcomes, especially, the introduction of the multi-lateral, multi-billion dollar platforms such as the People’s Republic of ChinaLatin America and Caribbean (PRC-LAC) Industrial Cooperation Investment and Infrastructure Funds. These initiatives will certainly strengthen our economic relations,” he said. Ambassador Limin, in his remarks, said that the relations between Guyana and China have been marked only by cooperation, collaboration and a friendly approach to economic and social development. The Chinese Ambassador urged the local Chinese population to respect the cordial relationship which has existed between the two countries till now by upholding and having due respect for the laws and regulations of the land. “Over the years, the Chinese people and companies in Guyana had taken an active part in the social life and the public welfare undertakings of Guyana. You have won the respect of the local friends by diligence and self-discipline. “I hope you would cherish the fine tradition of the China/Guyana friendship, abide by the local laws and customs. While developing yourself, please remember to fulfil

the social responsibilities and continue your responsibility to promote the friendly relations between China and Guyana,” Ambassador Limin said. He noted that President Xi Jingping of China considers Guyana a friend of the country and he expects that with time, the relationship will bloom into more fruitful, deeper and meaningful encounters, since he believes that the country is filled with great hope and even greater potential. “Friends make distance disappear and that is how Chinese President Xi Jingping has described the relations between China and the Latin American and Caribbean countries including Guyana. China and Guyana are separated by mountains and seas,but the two countries enjoy a long-standing traditional friendship since the Chinese first arrival in Guyana in 1853. The Chinese people have taken Guyana as their second hometown,” he said. The event was also attended by First Lady Mrs Sandra Granger; acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge; Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes; former President and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds; Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland; members of the Opposition; members of the diplomatic corps, as well as Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud and Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Mark Phillips.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Alleged Berbice serial robber remanded

TWENTY-THREE-yearold Jamal Munroe, the alleged serial robber who was shot during a confrontation with ranks of the Anti-Crime Unit on September 3, appeared before New Amsterdam Magistrate Alex Moore on Friday, charged with break and enter and larceny, and was remanded until October 22. He was not required to plead to the charges, and Police Inspector Grace Bris-

tol objected to him being granted bail after highlighting several cases which the defendant has pending in the New Amsterdam Court. In this instance, it was alleged that Munroe, between August 17 and 30 last, broke and entered the home of Simone and Troy Steele at Lot 46 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam and stole three flat screen televisions valued at $525,000; two designer handbags valued at $50,000;

four pairs of Clarks footwear priced at $100,000, and five bottles of liqueur, priced at $44,000. Virtual complainant Simone Steele had, on August 17, secured her home and left for the United States of America. Her mother Rita Wilson, who was tasked with checking on the premises, reportedly informed her of the robbery. On her return, acting on information, she saw the defendant dressed in green and

cream footwear similar to that of her husband’s, which had been stolen. A report was made at the Central Police Station, and ranks arrested the suspect. Munroe told the police that he had bought the brand named shoes from a “bus man”, but was unable to identify the said salesman. And on September 3 last, Munroe was shot during an altercation with police ranks who had gone to arrest him at

Jamal Munroe, known as Oku Savannah Park, where he resides. At about 03:30 hrs that day, ranks of the anti-crime patrol spotted the suspect in the house, and after realizing that he was seen and was cornered, he jumped through a window and onto one of the ranks who was staking out the house below the window. A scuffle ensued and Munroe was shot, but he managed to escape into the nearby bushes and later made his way to the New Amsterdam Hospital to be treated for the gunshot wound. Police were then called in. He was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital under Police guard. Munroe faces several other charges, among which is that of simple larceny allegedly committed on March 21 at Nicolay Street, New Amsterdam, where he and others allegedly robbed Lloyd Butchey of a gold chain, a Samsung Galaxy Smartphone and $12,000 in cash.

On March 31, he also allegedly broke and entered the home of Erica Hope of Lot 56 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam Berbice and stole two laptops, two cell phones and a DVD player. Further, he allegedly was part of a gang which was responsible for the prison disturbance in 2014 during which four high profile prisoners were injured. Moreover, he was charged with being in possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking, and was also charged with simple larceny, having robbed a Guyana Defence Force Lieutenant of an Apple phone. Munroe also faces a burglary charge which alleges that he robbed two school teachers at Harkman’s Lane, New Amsterdam, Berbice. On bail on all the charges, Munroe had fled the jurisdiction but was nabbed on a narcotics possession charge in Georgetown and was unable to post the required $20,000 bail. He was subsequently remanded, and an alert prison officer recognized his as Jamal Munroe, called Oku, instead of Junior Munroe, the name he had given investigators. He was thereafter escorted to the prison in Berbice, where he has several charges pending. However, he was again granted bail, and later committed the recent offence for which he was arrested, charged and refused bail.

Stipends for students of technical institutes STUDENTS at Technical and Vocational Training Centres at Mahaicony, Leonora and the Upper Corentyne will now benefit from stipends introduced by the Government after approval by Cabinet. A Government statement issued Friday noted that Cabinet has agreed to the proposal for the Ministry of Education to pay the stipends to students at Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Centres at the three locations. Students from Mahaicony and Upper Corentyne will be paid $2,500 per month, while those from Leonora will be paid $4,000 per month. This took effect from September 1, 2016. The Government explained that these centres were established to provide second opportunities for youths to develop skills that would enable them to obtain gainful employment. Further, the statement pointed out that for the past three years it was observed that approximately only 46 per cent of the students enrolled managed to graduate. “The major reason for this was cited as the high cost of transportation. It was also noted that the completion rate for courses given in collaboration with other institutions such as the Board of Industrial Training where stipends were given, was much higher,” the statement said.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Electrocution of Tony’s Auto Spares worker could have been avoided ‒ investigation finds THE Ministry of Social Protection Friday last handed over the final report on the death of former Tony’s Auto Spares construction worker Asraf Hoonsaney. The report was handed over by the Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, on behalf of the Ministry of Social Protection. The reported stated, that the accident which occurred on the 2nd August, 2016 causing the death of Hoonsaney could have been avoided if the company had been maintaining occupational safety and health practices and standards. The report highlighted that no supervision was in place at the time of the accident, and no risk assessment was done to eliminate possible hazards. This publication was made to understand that the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Company was not contacted before or after the accident to isolate the said area where the work was being done. The investigation revealed several findings which stated that the power line which the victim came into contact with carried

the maximum of 240 volts, which was confirmed by Networks Operations Manager of GPL Shaun Hamlet. Also, no first-aid kit was on site at the time of the accident. However, after the incident, the company had one of its employees wrap the exposed wire with insulation tape. A sum of $250,000 was offered to the family of the deceased by the company. Hoonsaney died as a result of being electrocuted while on duty at a bond for Tony’s Auto Spares. It was reported that he walked along the roof and adopted the bending posture to nail the zinc of the shed and was not aware he was bending under a power line which had a portion exposed; as he straightened to walk off his body came into contact with the exposed power line. A subset of the report stated that “Safety with respect to the work being done was not properly assessed which could have highlighted the risks involved by working in close proximity to the consumer intake line… As a matter of fact, no prior risk assessment was

IMC to manage affairs of Paradise Co-op Society THE Ministry of Social Protection is seeking to establish an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to manage the affairs of the Paradise Multipurpose Co-op Society Limited for a period of six months. According to the Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Keith Scott, the ministry had received a series of complaints from both factions in the Paradise, East Coast village on how the co-op society was being operated. He explained that the ministry recently embarked on reorganisation of the co-op, however, more information on that will later be revealed. “The ministry is merely seeking to tighten and put things into place; we are

reacting to these complaints in the course of our work,” he said. Minister Scott posited, “Within the six months of IMC, we hope to have records updated, to get a list of [the] membership and ultimately have an election to put a proper, functioning and representative body. We have no special interest in running the organisation. He also added that it is the first time action is being taken in a serious way, looking at all co-ops in Guyana. Minister Scott said complaints were also lodged about persons being robbed within both factions of the Paradise village, in relation to houselots. As a result, persons began attacking each other.

The report from the investigation conducted by Roydon Croal and Radhadevi Takchandra-Singh, Labour, Occupational Safety & Health Officers (right) was presented to Suresh Singh, General Manager of Tony’s Auto Spares. At left is Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle (Aubrey Odle/Ministry of Social Protection photo)

done by the company.” The Labour, Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) Department highlighted that a risk assessment should have been car-

ried out before the commencement of the job by the company. Tony’s Auto Spares may be liable to the estate of the deceased.

The LOSH department hopes that Tony Auto Spares will see their shortcomings and take the necessary steps to correct them to avoid accidents in the future.

Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, stated that companies and employers are being encouraged to set and maintain the highest possible standards within the realm of safety. “The notion that accidents are inevitable has no place in the thought process and value system of the ministry,” Ogle said. The Ministry of Social Protection is encouraging all members of the public to use the hotline facility and report all safety breaches and potential breaches. Ogle said that all workplaces will be investigated and the findings will be shared with the employers, so that the lessons learnt can form the basis for pre-emptive training in the future.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

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

Plaisance claw back to edge Golden Stars; BA Paradise SC beat BV Triumph United PLAISANCE FC showed impressive maturity against home team Golden Stars, erasing a one goal deficit to walk away winners after two unanswered goals, while Bachelor’s Adventure sports Club proved too solid for a game BV Triumph United side when play in the GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Intra Association Under-17 league continued yesterday at the Golden Grove ground, East Coast. Battling in the feature match, Golden Stars were aiming to erase the thoughts of their defeat against BV Triumph the weekend before and came out positive against the Plaisaince unit. While the first half did not produce any goals, the home team went to the break with the momentum going their way as they enjoyed the better of the exchanges having entered the Plasiance defensive third regularly but to no avail, goal wise. The second half produced an early goal for the Golden Stars boys when Frederick

Trotman rocked the nets in the 50th minute to break the scoring deadlock. But history repeated itself for the Golden Stars boys who had also scored first against BVTU but ended up on the losing side. Plasiance never let up going after the home side and were duly rewarded with the neutralizing goal in the 70th minute thanks to a Keiron Hamer goial. Five minutes later Golden Stars were stunned when Edon Small smashed home the winning goal for Plasiance as the silenced the home fans. In the first match of the afternoon, Bachelors Adventure Paradise Sports Club, the reigning East Demerara Football Association Under-17 champions romped to a 3-1 win over a determined BV Triumph United side. Ronaldo Morgan put the winners ahead very early in the piece when he nudged home past BV custodian Shawn Cudjoe in the 10th minute. But like they have shown throughout the league so far, they {BVTU}

are a determined unit despite giving up size to most of their opponents. The little lads allow the ball to do the work with their short passes and smart plays in attack and defense. Their stout play is reflected in the time between goals. As a matter of fact, BV it was that dominated the exchanges for the first 25 minutes of the second half but just could not put the ball away. However, Bachelors Adventure doubled their advantage on 65 minutes when Tishawn Gordon netted the first of his double. Ten minutes later, BV pulled one back with a powerfully taken shot from Jerome Robinson that sailed past goalkeeper Holder to his disgust. But Bachelor’s Adventure did not leave anything to chance as they scored another goal to restore the two-goal advantage when Gordon tucked in his second of the match with 5 minutes to full time. Tw o m o re m a t c h e s would be contested today at the same venue.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Third annual Bakewell Junior Tennis Open tourney serves off THE Guyana Tennis Association’s (GTA) third annual Bakewell sponsored Junior Open tournament served off yesterday at the National Racquet Centre, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown. The tournament is held annually to coincide with the death anniversary of the late Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bakewell, Naeem Nasir,and also to honour his contribution to national sporting events, specifically tennis. A number of matches were played yesterday and will continue today at the President’s College court,before the final set of matches,billed for the National Racquet Centre,are played during the weekend. According to a release f ro m t h e A s s o c i a t i o n , Amanzar Yacoob, representing Bakewell on behalf of the current CEO Rabindranauth Ganga, said that the entity is excited to be a part of junior tennis for the third time, contributing to the development of children. “Bakewell will carry on the legacy of the late CEO and continue to support the development of the sport” The release informed that Mr. Nasir had constructed a tennis court at President’s College during 2010. Tournament Coordinator, Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan,in her remarks said that 39 players had registered and that the

usual high level of discipline and honesty is expected when playing and scoring. Three categories: Under-12,Under-14 and Under-18, are being contested

support for tennis. She noted that this prestigious tournament,being the last one before the Tennis IGG games, will form part of the evaluation for selection

es played so far are as follows:Boys U-12, Adesh Khayyam defeated Anish Sharma 5/3 ,5/4; Adesh Khayyam def. Vadeanand Resaul 5/3, 5/3; Jeremiah

4/0;Adesh Khayyam def. Wayne Baker 5/3, 4/2;Jordan Beaton def. Jeremah Kalekyezi 4/1, 4/0;Jordan Beaton def. Akil Browne 4/1, 4/2;Ridwan Kasim def.

GTA’s tournament coordinator Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan (second right),addresses participants of the Bakewell Junior Tennis Open tournament in the presence of Bakewell’s representative Amanzar Yacoob,yesterday at the National Racquet Centre). for both boys and girls. Round Robin format will be used for maximum competition and observance of performance. Former GLTA President and now Committee Member,Grace McCalman,thanked the management of Bakewell for fulfilling its social responsibility towards national development through long-term

for the team of 12 players. Tennis IGG will run from October 26 to November 1 in French Guiana. McCalman further informed that the association is working towards a tennis programme for the college (President’s College) and nearby primary schools during the coming year. Results of the match-

Kalekyezi def. Wayne Baker 4/2, 4/2;Nigel Lowe def. Jeremiah Kalekyezi 2/4, 4/1 (12/10);Nigel Lowe def. Wayne Baker 4/1, 4/1;Vadeanand Resaul won by walkover from Anish Sharma. Boys U-14:Joshua Kalekyezi def. Wayne Baker4/0, 4/0;Ridwan Kasim def. Vijay Sharma 4/0,

Michaia Andrews by walkover;Vijay Sharma def. Michaia Andrews by walkover; Viraj Sharma def. Adesh Khayyam 5/4,(7/1) 4/1.Boys U-18:Joshua Kalekyezi def. Ridwan Kasim 6/0, 6/0;Shimron Lewis def. Alexandre Almeida by walkover;Viraj Sharma def. Ridwan Sharma 6/0, 6/0; Heimraj Resaul def. Vijay Sharma 6/1, 6/0;

Heimraj Resual def. Ravin Ramprasad 6/0 ,6/2;Joshua Kalekyezi def. Khalid Gobin 6/4, 6/2; Khalid Gobin def. Ridwan Kasim 6/0, 6/0; Mark McDonald def. Alexandre Almeida 6/1, 7/5; Ravin Ramprasad def. Ariel Khan 6/3, 5/7, 10/5;Shimron Lewis def. Akil Browne 7/5, 7/6(7/3) 10/7;Vijay Sharma def. Ravin Ramprasad 6/0, 6/1; Viraj Sharma def. Khalid Gobin 6/4, 7/5. Girls U-12: Akilah Jones def Nandanee Ramdyhan 4/1, 4/1; Akilah Jones def Paula Kalekyezi 4/1, 4/1; Nandanee Ramdyhan def Paula Kalelyezi 2/4, 4/2 (10/2); Sarah Klautky def Akilah Jones 4/0 ,4/1; Sarah Klautky def Nandanee Ramdyhan 4/0, 4/0 ; Sarah Klautky def Paula Kalekyezi 4/0, 4/0. Girls U-14: Diena Sandbeharry def Alana Chung w/o; Nathalie Ramdyhan def Margaret Subryan 5/3 ,4/4(9/7); Sarah Klautky def Ciara Pooran 4/0, 4/2; Alana Chung def Sarah Klautky 4/1, 2/4, 10/5;Ciara Pooran def Deina Sandbeharry w/o; Ciara Pooran def Alana Chung 4/1, 5/3;Sarah Klautky def Ciara Pooran 4/0, 4/2, Girls U-18: Kalyca Fraser def Nathalie Ramdyhan6/1 6/4; Margaret Subryan def Kureece King 6/0, 6/0; Nicola Ramdyhan def Kalyca Fraser 6/1, 6/2;Shivani Persaud def Margaret Subryan 6/1, 6/2.

Liverpool move second, Chelsea back to winning ways By Martyn Herman LONDON,(Reuters)-Liverpool recovered from a poor start to beat Swansea City 2-1 and move second in the Premier League table yesterday and Chelsea got back to winning ways at Hull City. Outplayed for half the match by struggling Swansea and trailing to an early goal by Leroy Fer, Liverpool were a different proposition after the break and took the points thanks to a late James Milner penalty. Liverpool, for whom Roberto Firmino equalised nine minutes after halftime, have won five of their opening seven matches and are on 16 points, two behind lead-

ers Manchester City who play third-placed Tottenham Hotspur (14) on Sunday. “We could have done so much better in the first half,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told reporters. “It’s not allowed that we accept a bad day. “Even on a bad day you have to fight against the start in this game, you have to strike back in the game.” Chelsea, who had suffered back-to-back defeats by Liverpool and Arsenal, were held by Hull for an hour before curling shots from Willian and Diego Costa secured a 2-0 win that moved Antonio Conte’s side into sixth spot with 13 points. Costa leads the Premier League scoring chart with

six goals, although it was Chelsea’s defending that would have most pleased manager Antonio Conte after they had leaked seven goals in their last three games. “This week we’ve worked a lot, we must find

the right way to be more compact,” he said. “A clean sheet is important for the confidence.” The day’s other three matches ended all square. Dimitri Payet scored a dazzling equaliser to earn West Ham United a 1-1

Liverpool’s James Milner scores their second goal from the penalty spot Action Images via Reuters / John SibleyLivepic.

draw at home to Middlesbrough, although they remain in the bottom three with only one win from their opening seven. France international Payet dribbled past several Boro defenders before scoring with a low shot. “It reminded me of (Lionel) Messi’s goals and was brilliant from Dimi. It got us a point, but unfortunately we didn’t win,” manager Slaven Bilic said. Sunderland scrambled a late point -- only their second of the season -- thanks to Patrick van Aanholt’s 83rd-minute equaliser at home to West Bromwich Albion who led through Nacer Chadli’s third goal in four league games. They moved off the bot-

tom above Stoke City who face a daunting trip to Manchester United today. Watford shared four goals at home to Bournemouth with substitute Isaac Success securing a 2-2 draw. Callum Wilson had put Bournemouth ahead before Watford captain Troy Deeney’s 99th goal for the club levelled the score. Josh King was also on target for Bournemouth. Champions Leicester City are at home to Southampton on Sunday while Arsene Wenger celebrates 20 years in charge of Arsenal as his side travel to Burnley. The Premier League will pause next week for international action.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Government should take decisive action to ensure free and fair GCB elections IN 2011,former Chief Justice (Ag) Ian Chang,in his ruling on the Angela Haniff vs GCB application for an injunction,stated that the Government through its Ministry/Minister of Sport,should install an Interim Management Committee (IMC) as a short-term measure and legislature as the long-term remedy for the escalating cricket crisis. This effectively placed the responsibility on the ‘Government’ to resolve the lawlessness that had taken over the very essence of our cricket. Sad to say,that to date there has been no improvement. Both governments, the PPP/C and the APNU/AFC, must share collective responsibility for the current shambolic state of our cricket. Although the PPP/C Government through its Minister of Sport established the IMC and enacted the Law consistent with the former CJ’s recommendation, the process took too long,principally because of the evident ambivalence within that Party.While some Party leaders were publicly acknowledging that the GCB officials were operating illegally, others seemed more disposed to accommodating the ‘illegality,’ especially former Director of Sport,Neil Kumar,who publicly gave ‘unflinching support’ to that illegal Board. The GCB’s Executive then and even now,consisted of people who were fearful of facing any democratic process that involves free and fair elections. Guyana is a multi-ethnic country and it is inconceivable if not highly improbable that in any transparent cricket electoral process,all Executive Members elected could be of one particular race. The APNU/AFC Government,while in opposition, remained relatively quiet during the turbulent years 2009-2014,but participated meaningfully in the Parliamentary process through the Cricket Select Committee,in refining the draft bill presented by the PPP/C administration into a readily acceptable document. The inclusion of the Ombudsman in the new Act was important to ensure transparency in the voting process at elections of the various Boards,along with the inclusion of the Upper Demerara Cricket Association (Linden),which remains totally ostracized from participating in any cricket activity to date. It is very instructive to note that Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, in his very eloquent presentation to the National Assembly on the merits of the Cricket Administration Bill 2012,stated and I quote:1. “The very word ‘cricket’ has become a synonym for all that is true and honest. To say ‘that is not cricket’ implies something underhand, something not in keeping with the best ideals”, 2. “For now, suffice it to say that the crisis of Guyanese and West Indian cricket is not unconnected with a crisis in cricket administration. In fact, recent events have shown that

the crisis reaches right up to the ICC”. 3. “The Bill before us today, I believe, is an attempt, long delayed and much deferred, to grapple with our own local situation. It is my hope that what we are doing in relation to the Cricket Administration Bill will reach into the other territories where there is much to be done in relation to cricket administration”. 4. “We can neither afford to luxuriate in the nostalgia of glories past nor wring our hands as we bemoan the current decline”. 5. “What then are the key elements of the Bill? The Hon. Minister (Dr. Frank Anthony) has outlined some of them. One, the issue of elections to the executive of the GCB; this is at the heart of the issue”. To date,even though the political guard has changed and the APNU/AFC coalition is now the Government and Dr. Roopnaraine is Minister of Sport, cricket is still suffering. The GCB’s twelve (12)member Executive is still of one particular race. This is a totally unacceptable situation where there have been no elections held and where the illegal GCB Executive Members have sought and served injunction after injunction to prevent any further elections,notwithstanding Dr. Roopnaraine’s statement that “elections of the GCB are at the heart of the issue”. And despite meetings with Dr. Roopnaraine, the Attorney General, the Minister of State, the Director of Sport, the National Sports Council and President Granger himself,nothing has been done. Instead, after sixteen (16) months of the APNU/AFC Government,the illegal cricket regime is still being allowed to operate with impunity. Dr. Roopnaraine had lamented in his address then “who could have imagined that the current West Indies team would not include a single Guyanese”. This is due to the incompetence of the current leaders of our cricket administration who seem to be inextricably inter-twined with both the previous and the present governments. For some time now the GCB has been destroying our cricket by victimizing players, Associations and Boards and also through their inability to transition our talented players from the local to the international level. The Boards/Areas with the competent personnel to improve our cricket all round will undoubtedly emerge after the process of free and fair elections are implemented according to the law which this same group claims they recognise. The successful development of our cricket cannot be achieved within the present illegal framework where there is no cohesion nor fusing together of the best resources available. Development could best be achieved if there is a structured and well thought-out programme with all involved. It must include the re-establishment of our school cricket, the strengthening of the club structure and the organising of carefully-designed competitions at the Association and Board levels,

along with support for coaching, academy, umpiring, scoring, pitch and ground (venue) upgrading programmes. The scrapping of the Inter-County Tournament is a clear case of short-sightedness and while it is certainly a good idea for players to play as much cricket as possible, the three (3) -day Premier League has been badly implemented and will be counter -productive without the requisite stated pillars of support; the foundation upon which we can build a sustainable cricket development programme. The current Government campaigned on the tenets of transparency, democracy and anti-corruption and promised “a better life for all”. “All” must include the youngsters of Upper Demerara, East Coast and the many disenfranchised players throughout Guyana. The Government cannot be seen to be supporting the illegality that the current GCB regime represents,by awarding them and by not enforcing the Law. It is time for the Attorney General and the Minister of Sport to defend the challenge and clear the way for the democratic process of free and fair elections to begin. It must not be further delayed. Mr. Odinga Lumumba,in his contribution to the debate on the Cricket Administration Bill 2012 stated: “Mr. Speaker, I want to say and as I try to argue that the present crisis of West Indian cricket and the current drought of emerging talent in Guyana have much to do with the state of cricket administration in the region and here in Guyana. My own hope is that our newly-minted Cricket Administration Act will set a new standard for cricket administration throughout the region. Further Mr. Speaker, cricket is not the only sport to have had administrative difficulties. Presently, we have difficulties in football, basketball, volleyball and boxing;all of which have their own difficulties. But this activity today will prove to the wider community of Guyana that the dreams and aspirations of our youths that are shattered by a few selfish, narrow-minded thinking men can be set aside by this National Assembly. Leadership, and in particular ethical leadership, must be the yardstick of any social organization. It is inappropriate to put a thief, a culprit or a shady character to head any segment of society. And it is more regretful when politicians and men and women of cloth choose to represent characters who have the capacity to paint their path with birthday

parties, outrageous fees and complimentary tickets in order to buy favours. When these things occur, the good of the organization will often derail the dreams of our sportsmen and women and their future is then cast aside. The objective of the organization then becomes a wealth scheme for the few and the role of the National Assembly can be questioned if we do not act decisively. This awful cricket tragedy in Guyana has resulted in the undermining of the skills sector of Guyana’s cricket. The Hon. Dr. Roopnarine spoke well of that issue. The continuous confrontation has resulted in underdevelopment and un-development of a sport that has given so much to this nation. On behalf of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government,I am proud to support this Bill, and I am honoured to support the right of Linden as it earned its right to give us more Basil Butchers. With these few humble words, I support the passing of this Bill which will certainly represent the end to cronyism and mosquito politics in cricket affairs in Guyana. Thank you”. The above represents an impressive array of statements by Dr. Roopnaraine and Mr. Odinga Lumumba (extracted from Hansard on the parliamentary cricket debate). I am nonplussed at the unwillingness of successive Governments of Guyana to deal condignly with this most unacceptable situation that is stifling our cricket. In light of the foregoing, it is incumbent on the current Government,after sixteen (16) months in office,to take decisive action and remove the impediments to free and fair elections, thereby eradicating the lawlessness of an illegal regime masquerading as The Guyana Cricket Board. The AG must now appoint a Lawyer to defend the frivolous challenge to the Law and the injunction granted to stop all elections (2014-HC-DEM-CIV-106). An appeal was immediately filed by the previous AG’s lawyer (2015-HC-DEMCIV-APL-49) who was removed by Mr. Basil Williams when he became Attorney General,leaving that matter undefended. Government has the responsibility to ensure that justice, legality and proper accountability are the hallmarks of any national organisation,including the GCB. CLAUDE RAPHAEL Former Executive- GCB Former Director-WICB

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Bhuvneshwar five-for puts India in charge

(REUTERS)-Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up five wickets in a fine display of seam bowling to floor New Zealand after Wriddhiman Saha’s battling half-century helped India reach 316 on the

for seven at the close on a rain-interrupted day. BJ Watling (12) and Jeetan Patel (five) were at the crease for the touring side. It was the fourth five-wicket haul for the

of my dreams to take five wickets in India.” Mohammed Shami struck first, trapping o p e n e r To m L a t h a m (one) lbw, before out-ofsorts Martin Guptill (13) departed when the ball

Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up three of the first five New Zealand wickets to end the day with figures of 10-0-33-5. second day of the second Test at Eden Gardens yesterday. After India were dismissed shortly before lunch, their seamers did most of the damage as New Zealand staggered to 128

26-year-old Kumar, who replaced Umesh Yadav in the side. “In India you rarely get this kind of wicket, so I wanted to make full use of it,” Kumar told the host broadcaster. “It was one

GCB extends condolence to family of Umpire Pritipaul George THE executives and staff of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has learnt with great sadness of the passing of Guyana and Regional umpire, Pritipaul George, who succumbed to renal failure yesterday morning at the age 54. A statement from the GCB reads, “We extend our condolences to his family, friends, umpires and the entire cricketingt faternity. He was always a pleasant individual, ready to assure anyone in whatever way he can. His demise is a huge loss to the members of the sub-associations across Guyana, the players and officials.” According to the release, George has given loyal service to the game of cricket and through the quality of his work, earned respect of the players and spectators at the local and national levels. He also held the post of President of West Demerara Umpires Association in the 1990s. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. May his soul rest in peace”.

ricocheted off of his elbow and on to his stumps after he lifted his arms to avoid a sharply-rising Kumar delivery. Henry Nicholls (one) was out soon after play resumed in the second ses-

sion when the left-handed batsman chopped Kumar on to his stumps to reduce the Kiwis to 23-3. Stand-in captain Ross Taylor (36) and Luke Ronchi (35), who made 38 and 80 in the first Test in Kanpur, took the fight to the hosts with a 62-run fourth-wicket stand before the latter was trapped in front by left-arm spinner Jadeja. New Zealand’s hopes rested heavily on Taylor’s shoulders with regular captain Kane Williamson absent due to illness but after a twoand-half hour rain delay the right-hander pushed hard at a Kumar outswinger to be caught at first slip. Kumar completed his five-wicket haul by sending back Mitchell Santner (11) and Matt Henry (nought) in successive deliveries. Earlier, resuming on 239-7, India, who lead the three-Test series 1-0, added valuable runs through their lower-order batsmen, with Saha (54 not out) completing his third test fifty. The 31-year-old Saha, who has cemented his place in India’s test side after the retirement of

long-standing captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was struck on the elbow and the ribcage by some hostile New Zealand bowling. But the right-hander did not flinch and brought up his fifty with a four and a six in successive deliv-

eries off left-arm spinner Santner, much to the delight of the crowd, who applauded at length for the local player. Saha added 41 for the eighth wicket with Jadeja (14) and another 35 for the final one with fellow home favourite Shami.

SCOREBOARD INDIA 1st innings (Overnight: 239-7) S. Dhawan b Henry 1 M. Vijay c Watling b Henry 9 C. Pujara c Guptill b Wagner 87 V. Kohli c Latham b Boult 9 A. Rahane lbw b Patel 77 Ro. Sharma c Latham b Patel 2 R. Ashwin lbw b Henry 26 W. Saha not out 54 R. Jadeja c Henry b Wagner 14 B. Kumar lbw b Santner 5 M. Shami c Henry b Boult 14 Extras (b-8 lb-10) 18 Total (all out, 104.5 overs) 316 Fall of wickets: 1-1 S. Dhawan,2-28 M. Vijay,3-46 V. Kohli,4-187 C. Pujara,5-193 Ro. Sharma,6-200 A. Rahane,7-231 R. Ashwin,8-272 R. Jadeja,9-281 B. Kumar,10-316 M. Shami Bowling: T. Boult 20.5 - 9 - 46 – 2, M. Henry 20 - 6 - 46 – 3, N. Wagner 20 - 5 - 57 – 2, M. Santner 23 - 5 - 83 – 1, J. Patel 21 - 3 - 66 – 2. NEW ZEALAND 1st innings M. Guptill b B. Kumar 13 T. Latham lbw b Shami 1 H. Nicholls b B. Kumar 1 R. Taylor c Vijay b B. Kumar 36 L. Ronchi lbw b Jadeja 35 M. Santner lbw b B. Kumar 11 B. Watling not out 12 M. Henry b B. Kumar 0 J. Patel not out 5 Extras (b-5 lb-4 w-5) 14 Total (for 7 wickets, 34 overs) 128 Fall of wickets: 1-10 T. Latham,2-18 M. Guptill,3-23 H. Nicholls,4-85 L. Ronchi,5-104 R. Taylor,6-122 M. Santner,7-122 M. Henry To bat: N. Wagner, T. Boult Bowling: B. Kumar 10 - 0 - 33 – 5, M. Shami 11 - 0 - 46 - 1(w-1), R. Jadeja 8 - 3 - 17 – 1, R. Ashwin 5 - 2 - 23 – 0.

Tamim century inspires Bangladesh as Mosharraf makes up for lost time TAMIM Iqbal’s century set Bangladesh on their way to a resounding 141run victory over Afghanistan in the final one-day international to seal the series 2-1. The previous two encounters had been closely-matched affairs, Bangladesh winning the first by seven runs before the tourists squeezed home by two wickets with two balls to spare last time out. But this decider in Mirpur was anything but, Tamim Iqbal acknowledges the applause of the Tamim’s seventh ODI crowd after getting to his seventh ODI century. hundred providing the foundation for Bangla- took 3-24 as Afghanistan him pay heavily. His 118 came at exdesh’s 279-8, before left- crumbled to 138 all out. Afghanistan captain actly a run a ball, inarm spinner Mosharraf Hossain - whose last in- Asghar Stanikzai dropped cluding 11 fours and two ternational appearance Tamim when he was on maximums as he enjoyed came eight years ago - one, and the batsman made a second-wicket stand

worth 140 with Sabbir Rahman (65). Those two scores were the only ones of note in the Bangladesh innings as Afghanistan fought back well in the final 20 overs, Rashid Khan returning a tidy 2-39 from his 10 overs. Although Bangladesh may feel they should have gone beyond 300, their total proved to be more than enough as Afghanistan collapsed. Only Rahmat Shah (36) and Nawroz Mangal (33) offered any real resistance, Mosharraf making up for lost time as the hosts cruised to a 100th ODI win and a series victory. (Omnisport. com)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

LANCELOT RICHARD GIBBS… LEAN, LIMBER AND LISSOM A FEW days ago (Thursday, September 29 to be precise), one of Guyana’s finest sons and cricketing icon, Lancelot Richard Gibbs, celebrated his 82nd birth anniversary without a great deal of pomp and ceremony. Presently residing in Florida in the United States of America, he is no doubt reflecting on his journey in life that has been primed with fulfillment, fun and famous moments that have touched the lives of family, friends and fans for over eight decades. Gibbs was a truly world-class off-spinner who played with immeasurable pride and passion for Demerara, Guyana, Warwickshire and the West Indies, and represented the latter in 79 Test matches, in a distinguished career between 1958 and 1976. On the local scene, he turned out for the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC),and started off as a leg-spinner, only switching to offbreaks after the late West Indian middle-order batsman, Robert Christiani, got stuck into him. He was a tall, lean figure who delivered the ball from a great height through his long, supple fingers, which allowed him to extract turn and bounce from almost any wicket. He was also a master in the art of variation and the subtle use of the crease which proved time and again to be the bugbear of batsmen the world over. Gibbs first played for Guyana against the touring MCC side in 1954,and was engaged in 330 first-class matches;bagging 1024 wickets at 27.22 runs each. He made his Test debut at the Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad, in the second game of the five-match series during Pakistan’s first visit to the Caribbean in 1958. He duly topped the bowling averages with 17 wickets at 23.05 runs apiece and subsequently booked a spot on the West

LANCELOT RICHARD GIBBS Indies team to India and Pakistan later that year. However, his performances in Asia were overshadowed by the brilliance and domination of speed aces Wes Hall and Roy Gilchrist. In the historic series against Australia in 1960-61, he did not play in the first two Tests,but by the end of the tour, he did not only headed the averages again with 19 scalps at 20.78 runs each, but had established himself as one of the finest exponents of his craft. At Sydney, in his first game (the third of the series), he took three wickets in four balls and helped his team to surge to a comprehensive victory by 222 runs. In the next Test in Adelaide,he completed the hattrick, the first in Australia since 1903-04 as he dismissed Ken MacKay, Wally Grout and Frank Mission with consecutive deliveries. His best bowling figures were achieved against the Indians in the Barbados Test of 1962 when he ended with eight for 38 off a marathon 53.3 overs. Incredibly, all eight wickets were snarled in a magical spell

after lunch,in which he sent down 15.3 overs, 14 maidens and conceded a mere six runs, as the West Indies were propelled to another huge win. At this juncture of his career, Gibbs had fortified his place in the team and in the 1960s he went on additional tours to England (1963, 1966, 1969); India (1966-67) and Australia and New Zealand (1968-69). He also played at home against the Australians (1965),and Englishmen(1968). During this period,he reaped rich rewards but as Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith became less effective, he was used more as a stock bowler and was burdened with a heavy workload. By the end of the decade,the wickets dried up and in the 1971 and 1972 series in the Caribbean,he lost his place as the selectors tried newcomers Jack Noriega, Tony Howard, Arthur Barret, Inshan Ali and Raphick Jumadeen. In 1968,he commenced his five-year relationship with Warwickshire and claimed his best first-class bowling analysis of eight for 37,against Glamorgan in 1970. The following season was phenomenal as he had a bountiful harvest of 131 wickets at a measly 18.89 runs apiece. Gibbs was recalled for the 1973 series against the visiting Australians,under the captaincy of his fellow countryman, Rohan Kanhai, and though the West Indies went down 2-0, he had a splendid series. He, along with the late Max Walker, took the most wickets in the series (26),but Gibbs had sent down 50 overs more than his rival,as he was carrying the weight of a docile attack. He was on the successful trip to England in 1973 and played in the drawn rubber when the Englishmen paid a return visit a year later. Under new captain and cousin, Clive

Inside

Edge

With Edwin Seeraj

Lloyd, he toured India and Pakistan in 1974-75 and took seven for 98 in the first innings of the deciding fifth and final Test in Bombay (Mumbai),which went a far way in ensuring a West Indies win of the encounter. His final series was on the ill-fated tour to Australia in 1975-76,when the West Indies were drubbed 5-1. Among the few highlights of the West Indies party on tour was the master craftsman having Ian Redpath caught by Michael Holding in the final Test,to overtake England’s paceman Fred Truman’s then world record of 307 Test victims. He then departed the Test arena rather reluctantly as the regional team implemented the four-pronged pace policy,with the emergence of a stream of high calibre fast bowlers. He was the first spinner to reach the 300-wicket landmark in Tests,and in the process claimed no less than 18 five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket bags. His eventual tally of 309 victims is some 151 more than his nearest West Indian spin rival of the 1950s, Sonny Ramadin, who ended with 158 wickets from 43 Tests. The twilight of Gibbs’ career was the dawning of the One Day International game,but he still managed three matches, including the West Indies inaugural ODI encounter against England at Headingley in 1973, and one of the opening fixtures of the very first World Cup in 1975,against Sri Lanka in Manchester. Gibbs was one of the legends that were involved in the now defunct Adam Stanford Twenty/20 Regional Tournaments that were held in 2006 and 2008, and consistently continues to perform ambassadorial roles for companies and organisations,seeking to promote their products and services. Happy Birthday, Champ!

First NSBF wins for NAMS, Kwakwani Under-16 By Daniel Haynes BLOWOUTS seemed to be the continued theme of the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) as play continued on its second weekend. There were big wins for all of the teams. For Kwakwani and New Amsterdam Multilateral Secondary (NAMS) ,they registered their first wins in the tournament. The first game of the night featured an U-16 matchup between Kwakwani and Tutorial High School, with Kwakwani dominating 53-13. Once again,Kwakwani’s up-tempo style of play coupled with lock down defence contributed to their win. Also,balanced scoring saw Kwakwani with 10 of their 12 players scoring points, with leading scorers being David Conway, Isiah David and Kadeem Dover with 13, 9 and 7 respectively. On the Tuorial side, Zion Gray and Joel Spooner had 4 apiece. Kick-starting the U-19 matchups was

Mackenzie High taking on Berbice High;with Mackenzie coming out the winners 43-26. National player Yannick Tappin led the Linden side with 12 points;with two 3-pointers and was assisted by Leon Benjamin. On the Berbice side, national U-16 guard Shamar France led the scoring in a losing effort with 13 points. France also added 5 rebounds and two steals to his stats. The third game of the night saw New Amsterdam Multilateral Secondary downing St. Stanislaus College 48-26 in the U-19 matchup. Neil Wills scored 13 in the winning effort with a combination of post moves that seemed unstoppable. Wills also had a power dunk in transition. He was supported by national guard Kelmar Carmichael, who had 9 points and 9 rebounds in the effort. Travis Belgrave was Saints’ primary offensive threat with 13 points. St. Rose’s capped off the night,filled with blowouts,with a win over Queen’s College

Game action from NAMS and Saints encounter with the game finishing 39-16. Lance Martin led all scoring with 11 points, with Patrice Agrippa contributing 9 points in the win. For QC, it was Johnaton Browne and Damani Thomas who had 9 and 8 points respectively.

The games continue today with the Quarter finals for the U-16 category from 14:00hrs. The tournament is sponsored by Digicel, Banks DIH Limited and Beharry Group of Companies.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Persaud’s blistering 155 lights up Tuschen cricket ground ... Fudadin, Andrew Lyght (Jnr) also register tons on day 2 By Rajiv Bisnauth AN awe-inspiring innings from West Demerara’s S k i p p e r, A k s h a y a P e rsaud,made day two of the sixth round Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Jaguars Franchise League Threeday tournament,between Lower Corentyne and West Demerara,his own by bludgeoning his way to a 165ball 155,yesterday at the Tuschen Community Centre ground. The hosts were bowled out just before the close in the final session for 329, a first innings lead of four, in reply to Lower Corentyne’s 325,on day one. Lower Corentyne will start their second innings this morning, after bad light prevented further play at the close of West Demerara first innings. It was a breathtaking innings by Persaud,who unleashed a flurry of strokes on both sides of the wicket to leave the visitors in a daze. Overall,he stroked 13 fours and nine sixes. Earlier, West Demerara lost both overnight batsmen within the first half hour of play, but Akshaya showed immense maturity with two vital partnerships. The host started the second day on 22 without loss,and went to lunch at 188-4, with Persaud on 89. Tagenarine Chanderpaul was the first to be dismissed,when he lofted a simple catch to Raun Johnson at mid-on off the bowling of Royston Crandon for 10 before his fellow opening partner Chabriraj Ramcharran was then removed by Johnson for 13. The task ahead was a gigantic one when Safraz Esau and Persaud joined forces together, with the host still 285 runs adrift of their first innings target. It was bound to be a tough assignment, but the duo played sensibly and exposed

the visitors attack somewhat with an 84-run third-wicket stand. The pair did not allow the bowlers to settle down and were quick to punish any loose deliveries. However, after hitting five sweetly timed boundaries

roads, claiming the wickets of Travis Persaud (11), Romario Shephard (2), Akshaya Persaud,and Mahendra Dhanpaul (6), while Nail Smith removed Kemol Savory,and Deven Clements accounted for Keshram Seyhodan (5). Ramcharran finished with

3/50. East Bank Demerara are 24/2 at the close of play,chasing 412 for an outright victory. At Imam Bacchus ground: Essequibo rattled up 484 all out. Rayon Fredericks top scored with 87

ASSAD FUDADIN

ANDREW LYGHT JNR.

and a six, Esau was removed by off-spinner Sharaz Ramcharran for 36. The 19-year-old Persaud,who kept on batting unperturbed,was joined by Raymond Reifer, and the pair shared a fourth-wicket stand of 58 before Reifer was removed by Gajanand Singh for 34, on the stroke of lunch. With eleven short of his landmark, Persaud continued to flow along nicely in company with Travis Persaud,and reached his hundred with his fifth six,off Kassim Khan just after the interval. His hundred came up off 119 balls, with nine fours and five sixes. What makes Persaud’s effort even more praiseworthy is that he maintained his composure almost all through his innings. However, at 13:08hrs,a sharp shower stopped play, but by then Persaud had progressed to 135, while his partner was on 11. When play finally recommenced at 15:35hrs, Ramcharran made significant in-

A k s h a y a P e r s a u d ’s knock included 13 fours and nine sixes.

figures of 5-51. Meanwhile, summarised scores from the other games are as follows: At Everest: East Bank Demerara, resuming at their overnight score of 75/4,eventually declared with the total on 97/9. Danny Narayan was dismissed without addition to his overnight score of 30. Bowling for Upper Corentyne, Eon Hooper claimed his fourth 5 wicket haul of the competition ;claiming 5/13,while Keon Sinclair took 3/29. Upper Corentyne,in their second innings,were led by Assad Fudadin who followed up his first innings 92 with an unbeaten century to lead his team to 286/7 declared. He finished on 101 not out which included (10x4’s). All-rounder Clinton Pestano made an attacking 84 with (4x4’s) and (7x6’s),while Jason Sincalir made 45 including (7x4’s). Bowling for East Bank Demerara, Steven Jacobs took 4/69,and sherfane Rutherford

while Kemo Paul struck 82, Ricardo Adams 73, Avinash Persaud 72 and Anthony Adams hit 61. Bowling for East Coast Demerara, Steven Sankar claimed 5/152 and Ameer Khan 2/73. East Coast Demerara were 2/1 at the close of play. At Cumberland:West Berbice were dismissed for 113,in reply to Georgetown’s first innings 243. Andrew Dutchin top scored with 36. Bowling for Georgetown, Gajanan Suknanan had 3/25, Christopher Barnwell and Kellon Carmichael took 2/18 apiece,and Devon Lord 2/24. Georgetown,in their second innings,rattled up 308/6 declared with Andrew Lyght Jnr. making a blistering 119 while Sunil Singh made 52, Robin Bacchus 50 and Kellon Carmichael 26 not out, being the principle scorers. Keyron Fraser had 2/49 and Dutchin claimed 2/103. West Berbice ended the day at 112/2,chasing 439 for victory. Avishkar Sewkarran is on 59 not out.

Tobago 2016 Cycle Classic

Geron Williams finishes third in 50-lap road race on day-three GUYANA’s National road race champion Geron Williams had to settle for third in the 2016 edition of the Tobago Cycling Classic which culminated yesterday in the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Williams,after resting on Thursday,after two days of competition, could not hold off last year’s champion and the eventual winner of Friday’s leg of the Classic series, Jamaican Marloe Rodman who found the form he showed last year. It has been reported that Rodman, representing Team PSL, made good use of Thursday’s rest day as he came out with energy to win the Plymouth Criterium ,which saw the cyclists pedal for 65km (50 laps) in divison one. Rodman, who won the four stage Tobago Classic last year, GERON WILLIAMS finished ahead of Nick Stopler (second) of the Netherlands and Williams, respectrively. The overall leader heading into yesterday’s final stage was Dutchman Arno Van Der Zwet of Team PSL, while Stopler is second overall and Oscar Pachon (Colombia/ Team Cocos) is third. Williams,Guyana’s only professional cyclist and riding for Team Foundation of the U.S, along with other Guyanese – Raynauth `Obeahman’ Jeffrey, Hamzah Eastman, and Jamal John - was scheduled to contest the fourth and final leg of the event yesterday,which is a 60-lap Criterium around the Market Square at Wilson Road in Scarborough. Jeffrey, Eastman and John are all representing different teams and it should be noted that the Guyanese are not a national unit. Other Guyanese that were expected to be in action yesterday were Jebon and Romello Crawford ,who contested the Division Two category and were down to contest a 20 lap/20km criterium. Riders from Colombia, Germany, Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Sweden, Venezuela, France, Antigua, Cuba, Martinique, Canada, Jamaica, Argentina, USA, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Denmark participated in the annual event.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday October 02, 2016) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & the City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & AUDREY’S TASTY SNACKETTE-176 Charlotte Street, Georgetown (Tel: 226-4512)

Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

(1) Imad Wasim-9 wickets (2) Imad Wasim-5/14 (PAK)

Today’s Quiz:

(1)What was the result of the first game of the recent T20 series involving the WI & Pakistan? (2)What was the result of the second encounter?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 2, 2016

Ming narrowly misses Podium finishes as F1600 winds down

(By Stephan Sookram in Virginia, Compliments of Mings Products and Services, B.M. Soat, National Sports Commission, Buy Me Auto Sales and Coffee Bean Eatery).

GUYANESE driver,Calvin Ming ,on two occasions was narrowly beaten off the podium at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR), as the Formula 1600 series in the United States winds down. Round 19 on Friday was the first of the three on this weekend,and Ming’s 1:59.288 was the fastest in the 30 practice sessions until the closing stages when Team K-hill Driver Peter Portante slotted in a 1:59.104 for pole. The first race of the weekend,which took place at 18:00hrs on Friday,saw Ming’s teammates Phillipe Denes and Kaylen Fredericks,utilise the drafting technique to slingshot ahead from the word go, giving the Mygale/Honda team the top three positions for the first two laps. However, Ming ran off

off. I had to recover from a 10- second gap which I managed to do just on the last lap,so I think that ended up good,” Ming told the media. Spurred by his earlier error, Ming managed to catch the lead pack in just over six laps before driving pass Portante in a daring last lap move to finish fourth. In the process, he set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:57.491,which was 2 seconds quicker than the rest of the field and seven hundredths of a second shy of the circuit record for that class (1:58.422). That lap also landed him pole for Race two yesterday. K-Hill’s Neil Verhagen, who lead for the final three corners in the 15 lap-race,finished in first while Team Pelfrey’s Denes and Frederick made up the podium. In Round 20 (race two of the weekend), Ming again fell prey to the drafting method, falling back to third before the safety car was deployed on lap five. On the restart, Fredericks suffered the same fate as Ming on the same corner of the first race.

Calvin Ming being assisted into his F1600 race car for Round 20 of the Championship in Virginia. (Stephan Sookram Photos) in the first of the 17 corner track,quarter way through the race but recovered to resume in sixth. “I made a little mistake off my own. I overshot the brake zone and then I went

A close battle between team mate’s Portante and Verhagen saw the latter finish six hundredths off the time, with Denes ending .085 seconds behind the leader and Ming a tenth of

Green Machine crushed by Mexico

GUYANA’S Green Machine, the National Rugby 15’s Rugby team crashed out of the Rugby America’s North (RAN) finals after being trashed by host Nation Mexico yesterday Playing in Mexico City, the locals were 3-3 heading to the half,but were clearly outdone in the second half, having lost the game 33-3. Chronicle Sport will provide more details in a subsequent edition.

a second off. “The race today [Saturday],I was just trying to find the right position in the last lap but unfortunately I got clipped right at the end of the race and they managed

to overtake me.” “The game plan is to be smart again, try to stay up in the lead pack. Try to minimise my mistakes and be in a good position going into the last lap to get a run

for first place,” He added. With that finish, Verhagen picked up the f1600 title with Portante (705) leading Denes (694) and Ming in the battle for second with 55 points up for grabs in the

final race of the season. Race three this morning will see Federick starting on pole,ahead of Portante, Ming, Verhagen, Ada and Denes in that order.

Calvin Ming of Team Pelfrey chases K-Hill’s Neil Verhagen.

Golden Jaguars squad trimmed to 22 … 12 overseas-players expected

By Ras Wadada WITH less than a week before game time in Paramaribo,the Golden Jaguars squad has been reduced to 22 players, including 12 overseas-based,

The five newcomers include MLS’ Philadelphia Union midfielder, Warren Creavelle,along with California schoolboy winger Cash London and goalkeeper Andrew Nestor of Brooklyn College. De-

cannot get time off from school. Coach Jamal Shabazz is optimistic going into the two crucial encounters,although he will be without the services of a number of seasoned players,and despite

have to go and hunt, therefore if we are hungry for success, the Golden Jaguars must go out and battle for it”. The full 22-man squad: Goalkeepers – Kai Lyle, Andrew Nestor and Alex

Head coach Jamal Shabazz(left) and Christopher Nurse who rejoins the Golden Jaguars squad after missing the second round of matches. who are expected in the country by tomorrow. The unit also shows five new faces, while several key players have made themselves available for the 2 third-round matches in the Caribbean Football Union’s (CFU) senior Men’s Championship. The Jaguars face Suriname next Saturday,and three day later host Cup holders Jamaica at the Leonora Stadium. The team will also be without a number of starters due to injuries, but rejoining the team after missing the 2nd round matches is Puerto Rico based captain Christopher Nurse.

fender Anani Mohammed recently signed with Mexico’s division two side Atalante , while 6’ 5” Kai Lyle plays for Barnett in the English Division Two. . The other foreign based players are; Canada based Adrian Butters, US-based Brandon Beresford and European based Walter Moore, Jake Newton, Samuel Cox and Marcel Barrington. The injured list reads: Neil Danns, Sheldon Holder, Emery Welshman and Anthony White;while the unavailable players are; Kester Jacobs, Devon Millington and Gregory Richardson;while Canada based Shaquille Agard

poor preparations. “There is no time to cry or complain over what should or did not happen, regarding our preparations. It’s all about approaching the job with a positive mindset and giving of our best to get the result”, Shabazz stated. The philosophical Trinbagonian added that the Jaguars must be hungry, “The thing I love about football is when you have your full squad bonded, united and ready to go, you kiss your troubles goodbye and look forward to fighting for three points. Instinctively,when Jaguars are hungry they

Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216.

Murray; Defenders - Jake Newton, Samuel Cox, Quincy Adams, Walter Moore, Adrian Butters , Colin Nelson and Anani Mohammed; Midfielders – Dwight Peters, Cash London, Brandon Beresford, Trayon Bobb, Christopher, Warren Creavelle, Daniel Wilson and Kevin Beaton; Forwards – Anthony Abrams, Vurlon Mills, Pernel Schultz and Marcel Barrington. The 20-man squad to travel to Suriname will be announced after the final two training sessions this Tuesday and Wednesday. The team is expected to depart on Thursday

The ‘Beautiful Game’ needs urgent dialogue and compromise … another FIFA intervention will be suspension By: Ras Wadada THE current stalemate existing within the ‘Elite family’ of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is in need of immediate dialogue and without a doubt, some compromising among the chief stakeholders of the ‘Beautiful Game’ before it gets real ugly. It is not a year as yet since the present GFF’s executives were elected to govern the sport after just over one year of a FIFA appointed Normalization Committee’s (NC) reign. The narrow victory by Wayne Forde’s Team Integrity over Team Unity, in what is considered the most fairly contested elections in the history of the GFF, was disappointing and a bitter taste to some that perhaps still lingers. This might very well be the root cause of this current imbroglio. The sport of football, like any other sport, is governed by and must be guided by its rules and regulations without partiality. No one should be above the rules or the Sport, but here in Guyana we have inherited a culture of self-satisfaction and very little regard for guidelines. Since assuming office, it is obvious that this present Executive is striving to change that kind of mentality in order to bring the ‘Beautiful Game’ to a quality and marketable product that is well respected and supported. I often say whatever GFF president we do off the pitch can be WAYNE FORDE mirrored by an on-field action and in this instance it is reflective of a game situation where the two sides think the Referee has made a wrong call that can perhaps determine the outcome of the game. In the real game scenario,the two sides will respect the referee’s decision and continue playing for the ‘good of the game’. Of course there have been very few occasions where either side or both would ignore the referee’s judgement call;thereby bringing the game into disrepute. At this juncture,Guyana can ill-afford the latter because it will mean an instant two year suspension and all parties will feel it since a lot of money have been invested by teams. More importantly, the long awaited GOAL project, which has just begun, will be halted and the big increase of FIFA’s annual grant we will not have access to. In this off-the-pitch game, the Constitution of the GFF is the referee,and it must be respected as we ‘bury the hatchet’ for the ’good of the game’; and in a positive spirit of the Game we move forward and not backward. There must be urgent dialogue and compromise if we truly love the “Beautiful Game,’ and do mean well for the family. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2016