Issuu

TUESDAY 24th December, 2019

' No.105861

Norway releases $9.1B final payment for Guyana PAGE

61 % of new GPL warns of aged registrants confirmed

T&D network

PAGE

â€Ścommits to reliable power supply for holiday

Exxon in 15th oil strike SEE STORY ON PAGE 03

On Sunday, 100 children from Constituencies 10 and 11 in the Georgetown District received early Christmas 'goodies' , courtesy of the Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, and members of the Diaspora. The event was held on Independence Boulevard

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

‘All Eyes on Guyana’ Greenidge says oil will make development easier through proper economic planning

By Lisa Hamilton GUYANA, now an oil producing nation, will gain more serious attention by other states, investors and institutions and will swiftly move from a ‘Cinderella country’ to one earning significant incomes. This is the projection Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, who told the newspaper that development will be made easier for Guyana through systematic and proper economic, social and physical planning. On Friday, President David Granger announced ‘first oil’ lifting the thoughts of Guyanese to all which could now be in greater reach for the country. “The most important implication of ‘first oil’ is the promise or hope that it brings. First, here is the prospect of a dramatic increase in the country's total

annual income, its ability to export and our capacity to import as well as to increase the income going to the State. That means that we will be in a position to enhance the wellbeing of Guyanese and to improve their standard of living by purchasing more and better goods and services,” Greenidge said. With the income going to the country’s treasury and being managed by the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), he stated that the government will be given more leeway to focus on programmes of employment, training, health, education and production improvement. However, key aspects the Foreign Secretary looks forward to being addressed include skill level improvement in all sectors, public infrastructure development, improvements to public services and security and safety

Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes

in public life. He noted that Guyana has grappled with the challenge of emigration over the years and low levels of productivity in existing industries but with greater resources, the educational curricula, which include vocational and technical training,

Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge

can be made more relevant. Furthermore, former Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted the need for diversification through investment stating: “…the main constraint on investment – and foreign investment in particular – is poor and insufficient infrastructure such as roads, electricity, pure water supply and physical infrastructure such as transport facilities. Part of the problem is also low consumer incomes. Enhanced incomes can assist in the setting of higher standards of packaging and health standards for example.” Greenidge said that he believes the government ought to give the greatest priority to physical planning which includes strategic road-building and traffic control which is consistent with the growth of pedestrian traffic and motor vehicles. Also important is economic planning which would ensure consistency in the activities of the government's sectoral agencies and those of the private sector. He wants to see this include banking, export promotion in line with export market opportunities and process-

British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn

ing facilities consistent with health standards. “The priorities for expenditure of the funds received ought to be in support of the main priorities and most importantly, in line with breaking the bottlenecks the country currently faces and those it is likely to face,” Greenidge advised. “None of this is magic… attention will need to be paid to many of the areas currently neglected if the petroleum sector itself is to prosper and benefit Guyanese.” A DIGITAL STATE Meanwhile, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, stated that she looks forward to oil production leading to the making of a modern Guyana which affords each Guyanese equal access to the same services. Hughes stated: “First oil is perhaps one of the best things that has happened to Guyana since the three counties were first merged in July 21, 1832. Our generation is fortunate to have been afforded the privilege of transforming Guyana into a modern developed equitable society in which all of its citizens will be afforded a genuine equal opportunity at

development.” Thousands of residents from hinterland communities have been connected to the Internet through means such as the Ministry’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) access and e-services for Hinterland, Poor and Remote Communities (HPRCs) pilot project. Through other projects, secondary and primary schools, tertiary institutions, government ministries and agencies have all been connected with free Internet. “Communities that had Internet had to buy it off a private company and you had the headache of finding every month — I heard there were times when it cost as much as $50,000 to bring Internet to your communities,” the minister had told the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC) Conference in October 2019. She told the Guyana Chronicle on Monday: “From a technological development perspective, increased revenues to this industry will not only reduce the technological deficit between hinterland and coastal communities, TURN TO PAGE

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Exxon in 15th oil strike

…Gov't promises continued vigilance, strengthening of capacity DAYS after announcing ‘first oil’, ExxonMobil and its partners have discovered more oil offshore Guyana with another strike at the Mako-One well in the Stabroek Block. This latest find brings the total number of discoveries to 15 for the company and adding to the estimated recoverable resource of more than six billion oil-equivalent barrels in the block. In a release on Monday from the Department of Energy (DoE) Director, Dr. Mark Bynoe, stated that the well is located southeast of the Liza field which began commercial production of oil on Friday. It encountered approximately 164 feet (50 metres) of a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir in the well drilled in 5,315 feet (1,620 metres) of water. “This discovery by ExxonMobil and its partners comes on the heels of the start of oil production. The Cooperative Republic of Guyana is experiencing a truly-historic moment that has all the ingredients to facilitate a paradigm shift towards sustained economic transformation.” Dr. Bynoe said. The energy director explained in the release that this newest geological discovery will have to undergo further appraisal to determine its commercial value and the resource base. Meanwhile, Senior Vice-President of Explora-

The location of the Mako-1 well in the Stabroek Block

tion and New Ventures at ExxonMobil, Mike Cousins, said in a separate release, “New discoveries in this world-class basin have the

potential to support additional development…our proprietary full-wave seismic inversion technology continues to help us better define

our discovered resource and move rapidly to the development phase.” Guyana achieved ‘first oil’ in the Liza Phase One

development on December 20, 2019 and is set to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day utilising the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. The Liza Unity FPSO, which is under construction for production start-up by mid-2022, will be employed for the Liza Phase Two development and will have a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil. Exxon has stated that pending government approvals and project sanctioning of a third development, production from the Payara field north of the Liza discoveries could start as early as 2023, reaching an estimated 220,000 barrels of oil per day. ExxonMobil’s previous discovery was at the Tripletail-One well which encountered approximately 33 metres of high-quality oil bearing sandstone reservoir. Upon completion of operations at Tripletail, the Noble Tom Madden drillship had plans to drill the Uaru-One well, located approximately six miles east of the Liza field and the Hassa-One. The Mako-One well was drilled by the Noble Don Taylor and the three explorations were labelled as “near term” and fall with Exxon’s short-term drilling outlook. Added to this, earlier in December, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, applied to

the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the authorisation to explore 31 wells in three oil blocks offshore Guyana. The project includes a 25-well exploration programme in the Stabroek Block, a three-well exploration programme in Kaieteur Block and a three-well exploration programme in the Canje Block. “The Government of the Cooperative Republic Guyana will continue to conscientiously and assiduously ensure that petroleum revenues benefit all Guyanese through the ‘Decade of Development’ 2020-2029. The Department of Energy will continue to be at the vanguard of this effort through, inter alia, strengthening its capacity and building out the legislative framework to allow for effective and efficient management of Guyana’s hydrocarbon resources and enhanced value retention,” Dr. Bynoe said. EEPGL is operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 per cent interest.

Norway releases $9.1B final payment for Guyana ‘All Eyes on ... FROM PAGE

THE Kingdom of Norway has released $393.4M Norwegian Kroner or G$9.1B to the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund. The fund, administered by the World Bank, is used to finance developmental projects here in Guyana. Head of Ministry of the Presidency’s Project Management Office, Dr. Marlon Bristol, on Monday, confirmed that the final disbursement by the Kingdom of Norway was made. According to him, the funds were released to the World Bank last Wednesday; however, it was only on Monday that the World Bank issued a confirmation, indicating that the funds had been received. Dr. Bristol said the funds will be used for projects in areas such as renewable energy, ‘green’ tourism, biodiversity, strengthening of indigenous mechanisms, and the European Union- FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) Partnership, which is a legally-binding trade agreement between the European Union and

Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams, and Minister of Climate and Environment Norway, Ola Elvestuen, met on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September, 2019

a timber-producing country outside the EU. Guyana, Dr. Bristol further disclosed, will also enter a new round of talks with the Norwegians to support Pres-

ident David Granger’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) and especially those environmental safeguards that can realise a ‘green’ economy. “These fruitful develop-

ments are possible owing to the hard work of several ministers and especially the Minister of State under whose purview the Guyana REDD+ Investment (GRIF) falls under; other government agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Indigenous Peoples’ representation among others. A special thank you as well to you to the Kingdom of Norway,” Dr. Bristol said. He added: “Project development can now move ahead assiduously for the full realisation of long-awaited benefits to the Guyanese people. From a slow start and a past of penalty to the tune of USD$15M before this government took office, the Guyana Norway Agreement can now boast of satisfactory results.” It was explained that the transfer was made possible following a meeting between Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams, and Norway’s TURN TO PAGE

develop and expand other sectors, but offers to catapult the country into a modern advanced state-of-the-art country. Finally, we have the opportunity to realise the potential generations of Guyanese have only dreamed of. Let’s prepare and celebrate this glorious gift we have been given.” Also commenting on the ‘first oil’ announcement was British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn, who stated that while it will take some time for us to begin to see the real benefits, Guyana stands to benefit largely from oil. “First oil is a wonderful thing and a good thing for this country but the important thing is that everybody from Guyana, down to the smallest village in the Deep South, from the west to the east, everybody needs to benefit from oil,” he said. “What oil will do is provide the funding for the building of the infrastructure facilities, hospitals, social services, and that’s where we all need to be looking up going forward…I certainly believe that with the amount of money that will come into this country with the amount of oil, everybody should and everybody will feel the positive benefits.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Turkey, rights groups decry Saudi verdict on Khashoggi murder

(AL JAZEERA) Turkey and international rights groups have led condemnation of a Saudi court verdict over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying it failed to deliver justice. Five people were sentenced to death on Monday over the brutal killing of the writer by a team of Saudi agents inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul last October, but two top aides to powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) the de facto Saudi leader - were exonerated. The Saudi prosecutor’s office said a total of 31 people

were investigated in connection with the killing, and that 11 people were charged. Three were handed jail terms totalling 24 years and the rest were acquitted. None of the defendants’ names was immediately released. “The investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated ... The decision was taken at the spur of the moment,” Saudi Deputy Public Prosecutor Shalaan al-Shalaan said, a position contradicting the findings of a United Nations-led investigation. Ahmed Benchemsi, spokesman for Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that the

trial was “all but satisfactory”. The case was “shrouded in secrecy since the beginning, and it’s still ... until now ... We do not know the identities of those masked perpetrators, we don’t know the specific charge levelled against who exactly,” Benchemsi said. “Saudi prosecutors did not even attempt to investigate the upper levels of this crime, and whether they played a role in ordering the killing, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” he added. Khashoggi, a critic of MBS, was living in self-imposed exile in the United States, where he had been granted residency status. After weeks of repeated denials that it had anything to do with his disappearance, the kingdom eventually acknowledged that its officials were behind the gruesome murder. Turkish intelligence agen-

cies concluded that he was killed in a premeditated murder, while the CIA has reportedly concluded that MBS likely ordered the killing. But Riyadh has consistently denied that the crown prince was involved. Here are the reactions to the Saudi verdict: TURKEY Turkey described the verdict as “scandalous” and said those responsible for the murder had been granted immunity. “Those who dispatched a death squad to Istanbul on a private jet ... and sought to sweep this murder under the rug have been granted immunity,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top press aide, Fahrettin Altun, wrote on Twitter. The foreign ministry said in a statement that the decision “is far from meeting the expectations of both our country and the international community to shed light on the murder with

all its dimensions, and deliver justice”.Ankara said there was no clarity on key aspects of the murder including the whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body, labelling it a “fundamental deficiency” in terms of accountability. UN RAPPORTEUR Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on summary executions, who has previously directly linked MBS to the killing, said the sentence “is anything but justice”. “Under international human rights law, the killing of Khashoggi was an extrajudicial execution for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible,” she wrote on Twitter. “Bottom line: the hit-men are guilty, sentenced to death. The masterminds not only walk free. They have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial. That is the antithesis of Justice. It is a mockery,” said Callamard, who does not speak for the UN but reports

her findings to it. Reporters Without Borders Paris-based media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders said that justice was “trampled on” with the death sentences meted out after a trial that did not respect international standards of justice. The group’s secretary-general Christophe Deloire tweeted that the sentences “can be interpreted as a means to permanently silence the suspects, a way to prevent them from speaking to better cover up the truth”. “The opacity of the procedure and the concealment of evidence does not allow us to get an idea” of why several others were convicted or acquitted, said Deloire, adding: “We still expect a full accounting.” Amnesty International Amnesty International criticised the verdict as a “whitewash which brings neither justice nor the truth for Jamal Khashoggi and his loved ones”.

24 December, 2019 - 03:30hrs ~ 05:00hrs

Saturday December 22, 2019

19, 24, 12, 15, 22

0, 4, 5

5, 2, 3

02, 04, 05, 10, 15

05 06 07 11 15 21 16

December 20, 2019

13 17 19

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Under attack, Colombia Indigenous Guards fight for land, survival (AL JAZEERA) Tacueyo, Cauca - Jose Norman Montano carried his infant daughter close to his chest as he slashed through untamed banana leaves, carving a passage to reach the crest of a hill. “Zero-zero-20, do you copy?” A voice crackled a reply from his walkie talkie reporting the findings on a different mountain. In the distance, a thin plume of smoke dissipated into the midday heat - maybe a sign of one of the armed groups camped out on Indigenous land. Montano peered through a spyscope before passing it off to a woman, who held it to her five-year-old daughter’s squinting eyes. All 12 in the group wore blue cotton vests embroidered with the words, “Kiwe Thegnas”, on the back - “land defenders” in their people’s native language, Nasayuwe. For kilometres in every direction, hundreds of people in the same uniform combed the Nasa Indigenous reserve of Tacueyo in the wartorn state of Cauca, looking for possible threats. Every now and then, the static gurgling from their radios coalesced into words: “Kiwes, we might have a situation down below.”

The dawn to nightfall operation was part of Norman’s duty as part of the Guardia Indigena - Indigenous Guard - an unarmed civilian defence force of women, men, children, and elders that has stood up to violence in their territories for decades. Using sheer power in numbers, they work to prevent armed groups from seizing control in an area that has been plagued with conflict for generations. In recent weeks, the Guards have joined hundreds of thousands of others across Colombia who have rallied in a National Strike against the government of President Ivan Duque. Colombians, frustrated by issues ranging from pension cuts to assassinations of social leaders, have taken to the streets since November 21. For the Indigenous Guards in Cauca, the historic mobilisation represents just another step on a long and interminable path of resistance. The practice of mass dissent is a familiar one to them, older than any administration - the only difference this time is the scale of solidarity. “This is what we’ve always sought,” Luis Ascue, a former leader of the Guard told Al Jazeera, speaking of the recent protests. “We are

always stronger together,” he said. Defenders of life Saddled over the shoulder of every Guard, where a rifle might go, are wooden staves adorned with red and green ribbons - the colours of blood and earth. To an unknowing spectator, the blunt sticks might seem impotent against the threat of gunfire, but their staves are ancestral symbols of authority endowing strength deeper than the crude force of weaponry. Cauca has always been a hotbed of the country’s half-century-long armed conflict. Rebel groups installed themselves in the state’s sprawling green mountains; army and paramilitary forces sought to exterminate them. Indigenous communities in the area have lived at the crossfire for generations. In 1971, the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) was established, consolidating a groundswell effort by Indigenous people across multiple tribal identities working to reclaim their ancestral land. As a result of their grassroots organising in Cauca, Indigenous peoples throughout Colombia now have constitutionally protected collective territories and autonomy rights. These advances were made possible

because of the movement’s dogged efforts carrying out dozens of highway blockades, mass marches, and other forms of peaceful civil disobedience to reverse state oppression. But as the CRIC gained regional strength, it became a target of armed groups on every side of the conflict threatened by its grassroots power. The Guard emerged as an instrument of territorial defence with the principle that they could not control the war through more violence. “The strategy is called Active Neutrality,” said Ezequiel Vitonaz, an Indigenous former mayor of Toribio, a town near the birthplace of the Guardia. “We weren’t just going to sit back and let ourselves be annihilated,” Vitonaz told Al Jazeera. “But by using weapons, we would just be another armed group like all the other ones keeping this conflict alive, and it hasn’t worked for more than 50 years.” The Guard activated as an organised force in 2001 after the brutal paramilitary massacre of Naya that left dozens of civilians dead or injured, and forecast the risk of expanding paramilitary power. Rather than add to the bloodshed, the Guards dialogue with different parties

of the conflict to negotiate solutions - a tactic that earned them Colombia’s National Peace Prize in 2004. They have maintained a sophisticated intelligence network of checkpoints where they monitor who goes in and out of Indigenous territories. The Guard’s peaceful methodology has been so successful at resisting the armed conflict that it has proliferated throughout Colombia. There are now 60,000 active members across the country - 13,000 of whom are in Cauca. The service is voluntary and without remuneration, but participation continues to grow. Leaders of the Nasa Guard in Cauca have trained Afro-Colombian and peasant communities to develop their own versions - the guardia cimarrona, and guardia campesino. The Guard’s power comes from implacable unity and spiritual practices connecting them to the land they protect. The force is not so much defending against armed groups in the conflict, as a deeper concept of harmony at the root of the Nasa cosmovision, which the violence disrupts. When confrontations occur, the Guard activates the masses with a quick of alert that disseminates over the

radio. That was their approach in February of 2018, when a group of armed dissidents descended upon the town of Tacueyo to retrieve the weapons that the Guard had confiscated from them. At the first sign of danger, the patrolling guardia called for backup, and within minutes, hundreds of people surrounded the assailants. The tactic has worked more times than Ascue can remember. Even heavily armed personnel, when they find themselves engulfed by an entire community, are reluctant to murder thousands of men, women, elders, and children, that quickly swarm in around them. A few days after the skirmish in 2018, the Guard held a public assembly, where they sawed through every machinegun and broke apart each bullet in a ceremonial act to reject the violence. “From the very beginning, we designed La Guardia from the strength of the collective,” Ascue said. “It’s not just those of us who actively patrol; the Guard is all of us. We are defending life.”

Rastas: T&T ganja law a step forward, but don’t abuse it (TRINIDAD NEWSDAY) IN light of the decriminalisation of marijuana, which took effect on Monday, chairman of All Mansions of Rastafari (AMOR) Ras Clyde Noel is urging the public to be responsible and not to abuse the holy herb. People can now be in possession of up to 30 grammes of cannabis and grow up to four plants on their property. Noel said the group sees it as a step in the right direction, which can contribute to the “healing of the nation.” “We have fought so hard – a lot of our parents, children, have suffered...the brunt of the law. Some of us have lost our families through this. “We hope all the persecution we went through for years eases and we can get a chance to really teach the people about the herb.” But he says while people have more freedom now, the herb should not be abused. “It’s our civic right as it is a God-given plant for man to use. “That’s the holy sacrament. We use it during our daily prayers, giving thanks and praise, for relaxation and meditation. Others use it to help

Clyde Noel, representative of All Mansions of Rastafari. PHOTO BY SUREASH CHOLAI.

them write, sing, perform... But just like any other food – we call it brain food – you can’t overdo it. Everything is supposed to be done in moderation.” He said over the years, Rastafarians have been “de-

monised” and seen as nothing more than “weed smokers,” which caused a lack of support for the movement. “Before this, some people who use it wouldn’t even come out to our rallies and show their face because they didn’t wanna be demonised and, ‘Aye, he dealing with marijuana and is a supporter of that.’ Everybody wanted to distance themselves from Rastafari because of the marijuana. “Now everybody want to be farmers and connoisseurs. He hopes the change will help the group get sponsorship. He is also reminding the public there is more to the movement than cannabis. “We deal with repatriation and reparations, teaching people about peace and love and living in unity in their communities. “We focus on the ‘Back to Africa’ movement and the healing of the nation.” There are four mansions within AMOR in TT – Bobo Shanti, Nyabinghi, 12 Tribes of Israel, and African Unity. Noel made it clear that not all Rastafarians use cannabis. He said while the group does not agree with all the

details of the new law, it was thankful progress is being made. “You have to put one foot in the door first to get in, so we will take that first step and then work out how to get what we really want.” A post on the group’s Facebook page on Monday morning said, “Give Jah the glory. Yes, I, Rastafari has seen a victory where decriminalised cannabis is concerned, but we are mindful still that Babywrong (Babylon) has their heels on our necks still. “We will not accept a licence for our sacramental herb and we will not be told how and where to use our holy cannabis. “Thankful our fellow man here in TT can’t be locked up for an ounce of weed and he can grow his four trees at home.” There are yet no provisions in the bill specifically for Rastafarians, as in the Jamaican legislation. The Cannabis Control Bill has been sent to a joint select committee, and will be reviewed next year. This bill deals with obtaining licences to sell, import and export. Jamaican law allows rastas to use cannabis at registered

places of Rastafarian worship, as well as the ability to apply to host “exempt events” once the primary purpose is the observance of the Rastafarian faith. Noel said moving forward, the group would like Rastafarians to have an equal place in society. The group plans to meet at its headquarters in Sea Trace, Diego Martin on Monday night to celebrate “the healing of the nation.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Kwanzaa and unity ON Sunday, the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) announced the celebration of KWANZAA this year and offered tips as to how the occasion is to be observed. The African-centred Kwanzaa observances began in 1966 as an African-American celebration. It started as part of the Black Nationalist opposition to Christmas, which was seen as a Euro-centred observance, but it has, overtime, emerged as a separate and distinct cultural force among African peoples all over the world. The weeklong Kwanzaa observances will commence on December 26-- the day after Christmas. Professor Maluana Karenga, the founder of Kwanzaa, saw it as a means of reconnecting Black people in the diaspora to their African roots—a cen-

tral tenet of the Black Power movement of the 1960s-1970s. It is estimated that in 2016, 2030 million people worldwide celebrated Kwanzaa. Here in Guyana, ACDA, the best known African Guyanese cultural organisation, has, for the last two decades, led the way in observing Kwanzaa. Hundreds of Guyanese have joined in the observances which have emerged as the second most important event on the African-Guyanese cultural calendar. Although it has not been designated a national holiday, the week-long observances have benefited from the holidays surrounding the Christmas season. It should be noted that Guyana has long played a major role in the global African movement with ACDA’s predecessor, the African Society for Cultural Relations

with Independent Africa (ASCRIA), being the pioneer Black Power-era organisation in the Anglophone Caribbean and a leading force in the Black cultural revolution of that time. The Kwanzaa observance is premised upon seven principles of African heritage or Nguzo Saba, which is part of the Swahili culture of South-Eastern Africa. The Swahili language, although not a language of West Africa, the epicentre of the Atlantic Slave trade, had emerged as the language of the Pan-African movement of the latter half of the 20th century. The seven principles which capture the cultural praxis of Africa and the African diaspora are as follows: Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race; Kujichagulia (Self-Deter-

mination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves; Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together; Ujamaa : To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together; Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness; Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it; Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our lead-

ers, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. For us in Guyana, the first principle, Umoja, is particularly important. Unity or the lack thereof has been a central concern within the African-Guyanese community and among the diverse cultural communities in the country. While the enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas as a very diverse group, the experience of enslavement engendered a new Pan-African identity that was premised on a shared experience of subjugation on heritage. That unity of heritage and experience was pivotal in the construction of the unity of purpose that was most manifested in the Village Movement, whereby the freed Africans instantly bought lands and created the villages which we, today, call communities. Unfortunately, over the last

few decades, despite charges of external manipulation of the group, African-Guyanese organisations have found it difficult to unite around a common agenda. So, as we observe Kwanzaa, we urge African-Guyanese leaders and organisations to think beyond narrow celebration and use the opportunity to reflect on the state of the community in relation to the principles of the observances. It is time African-Guyanese organisations engage in some self-criticism and soul- searching on the extent to which they have not lived up to the Kwanzaa principles. In the end, leadership matters. Happy Kwanzaa to African-Guyanese and Guyana. May the spirit of the ancestors shine positive light in the new year.

The benefits of oil are far-reaching Dear Editor

IT was recently reported that ExxonMobil has made the 15th oil discovery offshore Guyana at the Mako-1 Well. That discovery adds to the previously announced estimated recoverable resource of more than six billion oil-equivalent barrels in the Stabroek Block. While it is well known

and accepted that the revenue garnered by the treasury will contribute significantly to Guyana’s development, one should not overlook the huge positive economic ripple effects of the discovery and extraction of that valued resource. Additionally, owing to the well-known, undisputed, honest, and trustworthy nature of President David Granger, as well as his

proven leadership skills, all Guyanese from all walks of life, stand to benefit. Editor, while the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) wants Guyanese to believe the falsehood that only a few people will benefit from oil, any right-thinking, smart citizen surely knows that this is a bare-faced lie.

The fact is, the oil industry will benefit each and every citizen. Airlines will get more passengers because of increased traffic from overseas; hotels will get more guests; restaurants will sell more food; foreigners will want to buy our beautiful craft products; they will wish to visit our picturesque interior locations; barbers will benefit because visitors will need hair-

cuts, and the list goes on. Editor, in other words, jobs will be created across all of Guyana’s regions, not to mention that Guyana will have the money for an honest President, David Granger, to improve infrastructure; increase spending on education; further improve healthcare services and foster new and innovative manufacturing ventures.

Guyanese are encouraged

to support President Granger as he competently leads our country forward. Regards, Mark DaCosta

Road safety is everybody’s business, get involved Dear Editor

AS the wanton destruction of lives, limbs and property continues on our roads and highways, with the mini-bus drivers being the greatest sinners, it also can and must be said that other categories of road users are also contributing significantly. We must acknowledge that these buses are providing an invaluable service to the people in all of our 10 administrative regions of our country and in the same breath, I can say they have become over the last decades, the most dangerous weapons on our roads and highways; but the question is, can we all do without them? The answer is a resounding no, and while they might be

a group of persons or should I say the privileged few who do not use these buses, those persons depend heavily on us who use this vital service daily in every region and route in more than one way. I can remember when the National Road Safety Council was a vibrant organisation in Guyana, it was headed by one Mr Naraine. I cannot remember this goodly gentleman’s name, but he was from Enterprise on the East Coast of Demerara. There was a slogan “Road Safety is everybody’s business, get involved now.” There were a whole lot of activities for Road Safety Month, including the Best Driver Competition for all categories of vehicles; erecting and painting of signs; lectures at all schools and a host of other

activities. The world has changed, the population has grown, they are far better roads and highways and more of them also; they are also more and more vehicles and faster ones also; a lot of people would not know what the Morris Oxford, the Austin Cambridge, the Consul, the Vauxhall and many others looks like; they were by far slower and sturdier. All the front pages of our daily papers and social media carried a photograph of the mini-bus which was involved in the accident, thereby claiming the lives of five persons and severely injuring many others. The bus was reduced to what you can describe as a heap of twisted metal. You don’t have to be a police officer or a driver

to conclude that speeding may have been the major cause of the loss of so many lives and serious injuries to several persons; the evidence was there to make such a conclusion. I read the Stabroeknews of Friday 20.12.2019, page 7, written by one Mr Keith Evelyn, a person who a lot of us know that for decades, this gentleman has been associated with the insuring of motor vehicles of all types; his letter was very, very edifying. Paragraph three speaks volumes, but the question is, where do we as a people go from here? Every Guyanese has a critical role to play if we are to get on top of this woeful situation as it is. It can be said that the Ministry of Public Security has done and will continue its efforts to curb

this carnage on the road as it currently is. The Top Cop is on record as making certain comments that surely indicate that they are some rogue traffic cops in the police force and efforts are being made to weed them out; the persons who purchase mini-buses and give to the drivers and conductors to operate also have a role to play. The travelling public have their role to play. The commanders and each and every member of our police force have a role to play; the magistrates and judges; the teachers, each and every one of us have different roles to play. Because when we are in the confines of our homes, may even be sleeping, we have friends, relatives,

neighbours, workers and a whole lot of people who we know on our roads and highways. Mr Evelyn by way of his letter, has made a sterling contribution to make our roads and highways a safer place. I have done before now by way of letters to the editors of our daily newspapers and will continue to so do, in an effort to minimise the loss of lives, limbs and valued property that is wantonly destroyed on a daily basis on our roads. We never know for whom the bell would next toll. Road Safety is everybody business, get involved, not tomorrow, but now. Regards Archie W. Cordis

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Charrandass is a prolific actor Dear Editor TEMPERS flared on the night of December 21,2018 and emotions were raw as we all felt the proverbial knife being driven into our backs when then coalition MP Charrandass Persaud executed a vain attempt to overthrow this legally elected APNU+AFC coalition government. Persaud, who will forever be remembered as Guyana’s “Judas politician,” gave no indication that he would have voted against the legally elected government and shocked us all. To say the least, we along with most Guyanese at home and abroad were hurt and disappointed. Anyone who listened days before to Persaud’s presentation on the budget, his best since 2015, would conclude that he is a prolific actor and a pathological liar after his act. This dishonourable man claimed that he voted with his “conscience.” Among his petty, nonsensical and confusing reasons for voting against the government were: Hamilton Green, former Vice-President and Mayor of Georgetown, who had his pension reinstated after 25 years and sugar workers who were retrenched. Charandass’s utterances about GuySuCo are laughable to say the least. It isn’t clear whether he was truly concerned about the GuySuCo workers who have all received their severance

payments, or the fact that the estates were closed. Charandass, the man who read to become a lawyer several years ago, clearly never read anything about GuySuCo; he is totally ignorant on this subject matter. In 2012 GuySuCo received a subsidy of G$4Billion; G$5.4Billion in 2013; G$6Billion in 2014; G$12Billion in 2015 and G$11Billion in 2016. Even though Guysuco received these subsidies, GuySuCo still incurred the following losses:- G$17.5 billion in 2014, G$18.1 billion in 2015 and G$12.1 billion in 2016. Can you believe that the APNU+AFC government’s decision to close this industry which was haemorrhaging the Guyanese economy, was the industry that Persaud voted against the government for? Clearly the former Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) MP was not up to date about the fate of the bauxite workers of Linden, who were retrenched under the PPP/C government, but did not receive their severance; or those workers from the Diamond Sugar Estate that was closed under the PPP/C, but did not receive their severance either. It is obvious that the leader of the opposition was the grand architect of the ill-considered no-confidence motion. Mr Bharrat Jagdeo thinks that he has some divine right to rule Guyana and has always shown utter contempt for the laws of our

country. Article 71 of the Constitution states: “Local Government is a vital aspect of democracy and shall be organised so as to involve as many people as possible in the task of managing and developing the communities in which they live.” Jagdeo bluntly refused to uphold the constitution of Guyana and hold local government elections every three years for a period of over 20 years. On May 20, 2011 James Bond, Eddy Collins and others who protested against this were shot with rubber pellets and bled profusely. This Bharrat Jagdeo who has always shown utter contempt for our constitution is the one with whom Charandass Persaud sided. It is quite evident that we are indeed living in a new Guyana, where Charandass, a person who committed a treasonous act was safely escorted to the airport-- unharmed. In stark contrast, protests and criticism of the PPP government was a death wish, as in the case of the Linden Martyrs. We are all aware of the court proceedings and sequence of events that took place after passage of the no-confidence motion of December 2018. It must be reiterated, that while delivering the judgement of the court in respect of consequential orders, Justice Adrian Saunders stated: “It is not the role of the Court to establish it on or by which the elections must be held or to lay down timelines or deadlines that

are in principle the preserve of political actors guided by constitutional imperatives.” It is important to note that the responsibility for elections lies solely with GECOM. Article 226(1) and (7) guarantees GECOM’s independence. According to Article 226(1), in the exercise of its functions, GECOM shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority. Contrary to Jagdeo’s fallacies, rants and haphazard diatribes, the President did not delay elections but upheld all applicable constitutional provisions. An election could not be called by the president, as GECOM is the constitutional body assigned this function and, moreover, the existing list was expired and did not include persons who are now 18 years of age. Charandass, Christopher Ram nor any of the PPP/C attorneys are clearly not experts on the Guyanese constitution. The upcoming 2020 elections are considered “the mother of all elections” and should be taken seriously by everyone – especially our youth who were denied their constitutional right to freedom of education from nursery to tertiary level by Jagdeo and the PPP since 1994. This is a perfect example of how Jagdeo and his cabal showed utter contempt for our constitution. In 2015, the PPP was already on a losing streak and they feared a no-confidence motion as they were at that time a minority government.

Donald Ramotar prorogued Parliament, one of the things for which he will be remembered. He, despite his action, continued to unethically spend significant state funds without parliamentary approval or oversight. It is common knowledge that there is an investigation into the award of the Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks (worth hundreds of billions of dollars) by the PPP regime during a six-week period prior to the 2015 elections. Note that these blocks that possess a lot of potential wealth for the Guyanese people were awarded secretly; the nation was left in the dark; there was no parliamentary oversight, because parliament had been prorogued since November 10, 2014, and elections were held six months later on May 11, 2015. You think the PPP/C really cares for Guyana and its people? The Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, is nothing but a flat-footed political hustler who tried his utmost to destabilise Guyana by using inflammatory speeches such as “chase them out” ; but Guyanese youth are sensible and they have ensured that Jagdeo did not racially divide us and that peace and stability prevailed. Young people, the ball is in your court, do not give Jagdeo (Irfaan Mohammed Ali) a third chance to ruin this country. Guyana has risen from the ashes of shame, wounds and disgrace after 23 years of PPP/C rule. We have

made tremendous improvements since 2015 in every single area. Let the progress continue. We must remind Jagdeo and his greedy and unscrupulous cabal that they are in no position to lecture anyone about flouting the law of this land. We must never let Bharrat Jagdeo lead this country again, since it is clear that Mr Fake Degrees is only his puppet. At one time I felt that Charandass was a traitor, but as the old adage goes, hindsight is always 2020. I am thankful for the fact that Charandass took off the camouflage and revealed his true self. Many residents of Guyana I am sure would wish that the thrash system was so effective and that it could take itself out, as in the case of Charandass. We are 10 times better off as Guyanese since the incident. More students became interested in constitutional law, the APNU+AFC government was given a beautiful chance to regroup and comeback stronger than ever and our supporters’ loyalty has quadrupled, as they saw first- hand the deviousness of the wicked PPP/C cabal. This now favoured oilrich country is in safe hands with a David Granger-led administration. Regards Jermaine Figueira

If the coalition loses the 2020 elections then deception wins Dear Editor

further his own agenda.

WHILE still sitting at the table eating with Jesus Christ and his fellow disciples – pretending to be with them – Judas had already agreed with the enemies of Christ to sell Him out to

While Christ the leader was battling for His life, one of His own team members was in the enemy’s camp offering himself as the one through whom they could end the leader’s earthly jour-

ney. December 21, 2018, was reminiscent of Judas’s actions. Just days before the former coalition parliamentarian voted with the opposition to overthrow his own government; he sat on the government side (at the

table) pretending to be in concert with them. He stood up in the hallowed chamber and appeared to vigorously defend his coalition’s performance and budget presentation. All the while, deception reigned in his heart. He had already planned to say “yes”

to the opposition’s NCM. While his leader was battling for his life, (having been diagnosed with cancer), one of his team members had deceitfully consented and conspired with the rulers of the opposition to end the leader’s political journey.

If the March 2020 elections result in defeat for the coalition (and I hope it doesn’t), then deception would be the real winner. Regards, Remington Nelson

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

‘They’ve tried everything, but we’re still here’ …Jordan urges Guyanese to be wary of opposition

GUYANESE are exercising their index fingers in order to be ready to go out and cast their votes at the upcoming March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, which the incumbent coalition, A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), will be looking to win by a landslide. Since being elected to office in May, 2015, the coalition government has been resilient against constant challenges and banter from the opposition, People’s Progressive Party (PPP), said Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, who noted that, despite the odds, the government is still firmly grounded. “They have tried everything but we are still here, we still have resilience because we are not here for short sprints… notwithstanding what was thrown to us, we kept going… they could huff and puff but they cannot blow the coalition government away,” said Jordan in his assertive remarks to residents

of Non Pariel at a community meeting, on Monday. Minister Jordan said the PPP has been relentless in its efforts to point out the government’s flaws and bring down the administration, but those efforts have failed. “They thought when a certain someone voted with them last year, they knocked us out, but that wasn’t the case, we are still here and we are still resilient,” said the minister, noting that government will be elected to office again, come 2020. Despite his confidence, the finance minister said rhetoric will not win the elections but rather a good voter turnout will ensure that the coalition returns to office. Minister Jordan encouraged persons to vote when the time comes, he said: “we not gone win elections by staying home, we nah gone win by who could shout the hardest…don’t take this election for granted, we have to work on our supporters.” Far too often political parties predict and announce

their victory because of overconfidence and in order to

cess because the opposition will not be wished away,”

NU+AFC would have 33 seats in the 11th Parliament,

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan flanked by members of the coalition during the community outreach, on Monday (Delano Williams photo)

avoid this, Minister Jordan encouraged supporters of the coalition to cast their votes and ensure that they stick around to be sure that their vote was counted. “Too many times we drop the ball when we thought we had it in the bag… elections aren’t won until all these things are done and until the final results are declared… therefore, you must be diligent at every step of the pro-

said the minister, adding that the coalition needs more than a “knife edge” victory this time around. In 2015, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) had announced that the APNU+AFC secured 207,200 votes and the PPP got 202, 694 votes. The results reflected that APNU+AFC won by 4,506 votes. GECOM explained that as a result of the votes, AP-

while the PPP will have 32. “You see with results like 2015, the opposition just had to entice one person and it resulted in the government falling and even the nation falling…as such, we have to work hard and ensure that we secure a massive win,” said Minister Jordan. BE WARY As the coalition and its supporters move forward

with victory in sight, Jordan said persons must be wary of the opposition and its falsities. His perception is that the PPP will “ratchet up” its behaviour as the elections draw closer. “You know how wood ants are, they don’t invite you to see their business, but when you see him is too late,” said the minister, as he encouraged persons to pay close attention to the opposition’s actions. The minister said he has confidence in the people of Guyana because: “Guyanese people don’t buy into their (opposition) falsity…with your effort they will stay there in the opposition.” Guyanese have seen that the opposition cannot be pleased and are not interested in national unity and cohesion, so Jordan believes that the path is set for a coalition victory at the upcoming elections. He said Guyanese can look forward to “good times” under the coalition government.

GPL warns of aged T&D network

…commits to reliable power supply for festive season THOUGH the aged Transmission and Distribution (T&D) network continues to pose a major challenge, the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) said it remains committed to providing reliable electricity supply during the holiday season. ‘We have made every effort to ensure there is adequate available generation. However, the inadequacies within the aged Transmission and Distribution (T&D) network continue to pose problems. Despite the cir-

cumstances, GPL continues to make the most of the existing assets through proactive maintenance and prudent operational practices,” GPL said in a statement on Monday. The power company wrapped up pre-planned maintenance activities on the T&D network on December 8. It, however, continues to put measures in place to ensure that issues that could cause potential widespread outages during the holidays are addressed. “In some instances, this may mean having localized outages for shorter

periods of time. We apologise for these situations, but they are necessary, given the vulnerabilities of the T&D network,” it said. Providing a breakdown of available generation and projected demand for areas served, GPL alluded to the fact that, in most instances, the distribution network is radial and failure of any one component may result in service interruption to customers. “Every effort will be made to prevent these failures and to act promptly if they occur,” it assured.

In the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS), the available generation capacity is 137 Megawatt (MW). “Efforts are being made to maximize available generation capacity for the festive season by, among other things, bringing back into operation generating units that were unavailable due to scheduled maintenance. Peak demand for this year has thus far hit 124.6 MW, which is about 7% higher than the peak for last year,” the power company said. Meanwhile, the three

units at the Anna Regina Power Plant provide a total of 5.4 MW. Additionally, GPL has maintained three (3) Caterpillar units with total capacity of 3.8 MW to complement the three new sets. According to the power company, peak demand is currently 5.3 MW and is expected to increase over time. It intends to add a fourth 1.8 MW Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) fired unit at the current site, and a new 5 MW block by 2021. It detailed too that a 5.2 MW of generation will be available to provide customers in Bartica with an adequate power supply to meet the peak

demand of approximately 1.6 MW. Units with an aggregate capacity of 0.8 MW are currently available at Leguan. These units can adequately supply the peak demand of approximately 0.3 MW, GPL reported. “With a peak demand of approximately 0.3 MW, customers in Wakenaam are expected to have adequate power generation with the availability capacity of 0.97 MW. As we work towards improving system reliability and service delivery, we take this opportunity to wish all our customers a safe and enjoyable holiday season,” it further stated.

Norway releases $9.1B final ... Minister for Climate and Environment, Ola Elvestuen, back in September on the margins of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York. During that meeting, Norway had agreed to pay over the $393.4 Norwegian Kroner or approximately US$50M of climate funds to Guyana, which authorities said represents the remainder of the pledge made by that country back in 2009. In accordance with the bilateral agreement between the two countries, the two ministers had agreed that Guyana stood by its commitments and as such, Norway should disburse all final payments. Minister

Hastings-Williams acknowledged that at this juncture, both countries indeed would have met their responsibilities with the final release. In signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Guyana on November 9, 2009, the Government of Norway committed to providing financial support of up to USD$250M until 2015 for results achieved by Guyana in limiting emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, which will support the implementation of the country’s then Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). As part of the agreement, the two countries

agreed to establish the GRIF as the financial intermediary mechanism for the performance-based payments from contributors to Guyana. The Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) represents an effort to create an innovative climate finance mechanism which balances national sovereignty over investment priorities, while ensuring that REDD+ funds adhere to the Partner Entities financial, environmental and social safeguards. Impressed with the government’s 2025 energy-mix proposal, the country’s deforestation rate of 0.05 – one of the lowest and the role President David Granger has been

playing in championing sustainable development – Norway unlocked billions of dollars under the Norway Forest Agreement. The Granger Administration has long indicated that the funds would be directed towards intensified efforts to achieving 100 per cent renewable energy use, which includes the construction of solar farms totalling 100 megawatts. These farms will be located in Bartica, Lethem, Mabaruma, Mahdia and several interior locations. In the past, the funds were used to finance projects such as the ICT Access and e-Services for Hinterland, Poor and Remote Communi-

FROM PAGE

ties Project. Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy underscores the importance of fostering sustainable development in the hinterland regions and a key component in achieving such outcome is the linking of public services and information flows to the deployment and use of new Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). It was against that backdrop that the ICT Access and e-Services project was initiated in December, 2017 to the tune of US$17M funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF).

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Guyanese win big in Chronicle Christmas promotion THROUGHTOUT the year, the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL), publishers of the Guyana Chronicle, has provided the nation with quality news content, but the company has taken on the role of Santa Claus and distributed prizes to persons who entered and won the company’s Christmas promotion. This year, nine persons walked away with “big” prizes, which added a “merry” to their Christmas this year. Those persons were drawn from 852 entries, the most the company has ever received since it started the promotion six years ago. “I want to thank you all for reading our newspaper because that was the only way you would have gotten the coupons,” said General Manager (ag) of GNNL, Donna Todd, during her remarks at the simple distribution ceremony at GNNL, on Monday. She said the number of entries represented a fraction of the readership but gives an idea of how many persons read the newspaper.

Merry Christmas! All smiles as winners of the Chronicle Christmas promotion show off their prizes on Monday. Also in the photo are General Manager (ag) of GNNL, Donna Todd; Finance Controller of GNNL, Moshamie Ramotar, and the company’s Marketing Coordinator, Akash Persaud (Delano Williams photo)

The content of the paper has increased over the past four years and there are now things in the paper which every member of the family could enjoy. “You can enjoy the content...the newspaper is packed with a lot of things that could enhance your lives…the topics are good for all of us to read,” said Todd, adding that the company has also remained professional in its release of content by staying away from sensationalism. The general manager (ag)

explained that because the publication is aligned with the State, the aim is to have informative pieces that are not sensationalised. For years the company and its product were in the “bad books,” but the company’s management, over the past few years, has been working to rebrand the newspaper in order to boost readership, said Todd. The aim of management is to ensure that the reading public trusts and appreciates what is published by the company. Most of the content,

particularly what is published in the Sunday Pepper Pot, is written by young writers, who remain objective and creative in their reporting. “We have been doing a lot and we will continue to do a lot because we want to encourage you and your families to read the newspaper because when you do that you keep our employees employed,” said the general manager (ag), noting that the annual promotion is one such initiative. Todd, however, said the

promotion would not have been possible without the donations of prizes from various individual organisations. GNNL’s Marketing Coordinator, Akash Persaud, said the prizes were donated by Riaz Computer Centre, Camex Restaurants Inc, Java Coffee Bar, Roraima Group of Companies and D Singh’s trading. A cake hamper from the Guyana Chronicle was also up for grabs. Among the other prizes up for grabs were a printer, food vouchers, hampers and

a trip for two to Arrow Point Nature Resort. The trip to Arrow Point was won by Bhesham Persaud, who got married recently. Persaud, who was evidently elated, said this is the first time he won something and he was very appreciative of it because he will able to enjoy it with his wife. In addition to showing his gratitude for the prize, Persaud congratulated the GNNL team for the work they have been doing over the years and encouraged them to keep producing quality content. Television Personality, Edwin Seeraj, who won a hamper, also joined in congratulating the company on its work over the years. He said the Chronicle does not produce sensational news, but the content is great. “You can find many things in the Chronicle… from things related to the government, sports and even advertisements,” said Seeraj, adding that the company has been doing good by giving back more than just content, especially at Christmas time.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday December 24, 2019

Guyanese writer pushing for creolese to become more mainstream GABRIELLE Mohamed, a 26-year-old poet and playwright, is seeking to lend her efforts to the mainstreaming of Guyanese Creole in literary works to foster the development of an authentic, Guyanese voice in writing. On Sunday, at the Roraima Duke Lodge, the young woman launched two of her books. The first is a collection of plays called “Blackout Daze”, and the second is her collection of poetry called “Is you madness, nah me own”. Speaking briefly at her moderate launch, the Gabrielle highlighted that as a writer that chooses to integrate creolese in her works, she has found that the reception for her writings are often met with some degree of “ignorance”. Creolese, according to her, is still largely frowned upon as ‘improper’ English. Through her own

Gabrielle Mohamed speaking at her book launch on Sunday night

Patrons eagerly waiting for Gabrielle Mohamed to sign their copies of her books [Vishani Ragobeer photos]

volition, however, she has decided to use the language in her writings despite these perceptions. Importantly, Gabrielle was selected as one of the three writers to represent Guyana at the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) XIV, held earlier this year in Trinidad and Tobago, and it was there that these two books were put under the limelight.

“The creole is important to me because it’s for my people back home [in Guyana],” she explained to the Guyana Chronicle, “Any person, from any stature in society, could pick up [my books] and be able to relate to it.” Additionally, the young writer indicated that she uses her writings to spotlight local social issues, albeit with the use of her imagination, a bit of history and folklore, and fiction. Gabrielle also provided some insight into the experiences that necessitated her present success as a published writer. These included an unsuccessful attempt at the Walter Rodney Creative Writing Awards, and closer to home, her own mother falling ill. “From the valley of darkness, the seeds of light began to grow,” the writer said, explaining that these, and other experiences, were all part and parcel of the process Furthermore, Mohamed shared that she never imagined that one day she would be an author, much less an author of two books. Notably, both of Gabrielle’s pieces are self-published, owing to the difficulties faced locally in doing so.

Greater Level of Enthusiasm for the Electoral Process By Dillon Goring DIRECTOR GENERAL of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, believes that Guyanese now have a greater level of enthusiasm for the electoral process, ahead of the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections . Harmon was, at the time, speaking on a side interview with the Guyana Chronicle, during a ceremony, on Monday, at his Law Office. According to the Director General, the number of parties that were contending, some 19 so far, the March 2, 2020 elections, would dwindle, significantly, by nomination day, January 10, 2020. He said that “already we are seeing some parties coming together, colliding with each other, and so on, because the requirements for nomination day, when the reality hits, many of these persons who have an idea, when they recognize the realities are about actually competing in a national election, then they would recognize that this is not you just wake one morning and decide you want to do……” Harmon believes that there is a lot of enthusiasm being generated in the nation and preparations for 2020 elections are on the way, with the major

political parties ‘operating’ in several parts of the country. Harmon is of the view that the benefits of Guyana’s oil industry has to be above politics, and personal aggrandisement, but to the benefit of all Guyanese, irrespective of their political persuasion. Mr. Harmon made the point that this would require a certain level of statesmanship of all political leaders. Government was by no means intimidated by the emergence of the new political parties who will contest the March elections. Based on his success from managing the 2011and 2015 elections campaign, and now the agent for 2020 elections campaign, Harmon is confident that Government will return to office. Over the last four years, Government has worked assiduously to put Guyana on the right track, after 23 years of the previous administration’s rule. Harmon opined that Guyana is on the right track, therefore we are blessed with resources and the Government is a Government that stands for truth, justice and integrity. Guyana will shine, thus boosting tourism and the return of overseas-based Guyanese.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

SBM celebrates FPSO Liza Destiny ‘first oil’

SBM Offshore, which awarded contracts in relation to the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO)

vessel, has assured its partners and the Guyanese public that it is ready for the next phase of the country’s journey into oil production.

In a release on Monday, SBM said that it was pleased to announce that FPSO Liza Destiny has produced first oil as of December 20, 2019 and

Guyana’s first Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, the Liza Destiny

is formally on hire. “We are proud of FPSO Liza Destiny reaching ‘first oil’ for our client and the people of Guyana. The vessel is producing the first oil in Guyana’s history. Our teams have done an excellent job by completing the project well in line with our client’s schedule. The delivery time from the engineering study phase until first oil – three years – is impressive and a clear testimony of our capabilities and industry-leading experience. We are looking forward to further generating value for our client ExxonMobil and in particular with respect to making a contribution towards Guyana becoming a significant oil-producing country,” CEO of SBM Offshore, Bruno Chabas, commented. The Liza Destiny FPSO was transformed from the oil tanker, “Tina”, a VLCC

(Very Large Crude Carrier) built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and the contract for its conversion was awarded to SBM Offshore in July 2017. The Liza Destiny has a production capacity of up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day and an overall storage volume of 1.6 million barrels. During normal operations, there will be at least 80 persons living and working onboard the vessel. SBM noted that the FPSO is installed at the Liza field, located circa 200 kilometres offshore Guyana in the Stabroek Block. Managing Director of Operations at SBM Offshore, Oivind Tangen, also commented: “We are delighted to be taking the Liza Destiny into the next phase of its journey. We remain highly focused on diligently moving through the final steps, with

HSE remaining a first priority. This milestone also marks the formal hand over of the project to our operations organisation in Guyana, an organisation that is supported by our global organisation. Together we shall ensure a responsible operatorship and continuously strive for operational excellence in all our activities.” SBM Offshore has also been awarded contracts to construct, install, lease and operate the Liza Unity FPSO – Guyana’s second – and has completed the project financing of US$1.14B. The Liza Unity FPSO will be designed to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day with a storage capacity of two million barrels in comparison to the Liza Destiny FPSO with 120,000 barrels of oil per day.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

From cradle to elderly will benefit from oil wealth

-says Finance Minister

By Navendra Seoraj TRANSFORMATION of Guyana’s economy beckons with the potential wealth which the new petroleum state will start to earn from next year, wealth which Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, said will benefit from “the cradle to the elderly.” American oil giant, ExxonMobil had made its first lift of crude offshore Guyana at the Liza-One well, on Friday, officially making Guyana an oil-producing nation. The country is now a petroleum state due to the efforts of ExxonMobil, which will go down in history as the first company to pump oil for commercial purposes here. Following up on its announcement of “First Oil” on Friday, ExxonMobil announced its 15th oil discovery, on Monday. The discovery was made at the Mako-One well which is southeast of the Liza field in the Stabroek Block. Director of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, said the discovery adds to the previously-announced estimated recoverable resource of more than six billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block. The Mako-One well encountered approximately 164 feet (50 meters) of a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. The Well which was drilled in 5,315 feet (1,620 meters) of water, is located approximately six miles (10 kilometers) southeast of the Liza field, which began commercial production of oil on Friday,

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan

December 20, 2019. “All these finds and the potential wealth from the new industry offers hope… this petroleum, with its possibilities of billions of USD coming to Guyana, will turn around this country once and for all…from the cradle to the elderly must benefit from this potential wealth,” said Minister Jordan during his remarks at a community outreach exercise in Non Pariel, on Monday. The minister said oil is being pumped and soon “big tankers” will arrive in Guyana’s waters to export the crude. With the exportation of crude set to begin in 2020, Jordan said Guyanese can expect an eventful year, which will bring riches and spoils, all of which will be handled efficiently. Minister Jordan made a promise that the sector and revenue from the sector will be effectively and efficiently managed in order to transform an economy (Guyana) which had, for too long, depended on one or two resources for sustainability. Over the past years, Guy-

ana has boasted resources like bauxite and manganese which were both being managed by foreign companies, said the minister, who added that despite having all those resources, there was very little to show for it. “More recently we had gold and so on, yet we have very little to show for it…we learnt a lesson that we had a lot but we eat out everything and didn’t save for a rainy day,” said Minister Jordan, noting that even the rice and sugar industries had brought in decent revenue, which was not saved by the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration. The current A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration learnt a lesson from those failures, said the minister, noting that in an effort to save money, President David Granger authorised the creation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (Natural Resource Fund). The fund, which was established under the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act, was created to manage the

natural resource wealth of Guyana for the present and future benefit of the people and for the sustainable development of the country, and for connected matters. With a proper system for the management of oil revenues in place, Minister Jordan believes that government will be able to ensure that the benefits are equitably distributed. One of the immediate goals of the government is to ensure that some of the revenue is used to connect the coast and hinterland. The vision as outlined by the minister is to: “create a Guyana that is interconnected where the coast and the hinterland are no longer strangers.” Minister Jordan said the country will be connected by bridges, rails, roads, boats and other infrastructure. He believes that once there is greater connection, government will be better able to distribute the benefits of the oil and gas sector. As a reminder of Guyana’s new dawn and potential prosperity, President Granger declared December 20 as ‘National Petroleum Day.’ The President said: “the proclamation will remind Guyanese of our duty to protect the country’s patrimony and to ensure the sustainable management of finite hydrocarbon resources.” Guyana will lift its first cargo of petroleum produced at the Liza Destiny during February or March. This follows a handful of lifts by the

Contractor Group, which includes ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC. The order follows international conventions for a “fair” lifting order that goes by whoever has the next largest entitlement percentage at that time. The government will have the largest outstanding entitlement to lift by February – though of course royalties will be paid on all of the earlier cargoes. During all of these lifts and for all future lifts, the oil-lifting process will be monitored by both independent third-party auditors and two additional government representatives. Last weekend, Director of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe , said that the first three cargo lifts of Guyana’s crude following ‘first oil’ will be up for direct sale to international traders who were expected in the country this week. Through his department, Dr. Bynoe clarified misguided reports, by confirming that the country’s decisions are being guided by a full team of international experts, internal experts and the Guyana Public Procurement Commission (PPC). Apart from HESS, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) holds 45 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a 25 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block. It is estimated that there is over six billion barrels of

oil equivalent in the oil-rich Stabroek Block, while the involved partners continue to see “multibillion barrels of additional exploration potential.” ExxonMobil and its partners have racked up 14 commercial oil discoveries in the Stabroek Block, the last being the Tripletail-One exploration well located approximately three miles northeast of the Longtail discovery. The Tripletail discovery adds to the six billion barrels of oil equivalent. The Liza Phase One project will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day at peak rates utilising the Liza Destiny FPSO. It is expected to generate over $7B in royalty and profit oil revenues for Guyana over the life of the project. The Liza Phase One development project features the Liza Destiny floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel moored 190 kilometres offshore Guyana, and four subsea drill centres supporting 17 wells. The Liza Unity, a second FPSO with a capacity to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day, is being constructed to support the Liza Phase II development. Front-end engineering design is underway for a potential third FPSO, the Prosperity, which is geared at developing the Payara field upon government and regulatory approvals.

61 per cent of new registrants confirmed

APPROXIMATELY 61 per cent of 16,863 new registrants recorded during the house-to-house registration exercise have been confirmed as existing during the five-day field-verification process which concluded on Sunday. A document shared by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Public Relations Officer (PRO), Yolanda Ward showed that a total of 10,329 persons were confirmed within the timeframe; 6,534 were unconfirmed, meaning that they were not at their residence at the time of the visit. While Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) showed the greatest number of new registrants confirmed, it also had the greatest number of persons unconfirmed. It was

followed, respectively, by Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). A complete breakdown of the regions with new registrants and how many were confirmed showed: Region One (Barima-Waini) – 467out of 688; Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) – 810 out of 1,134; Region Three – 1,651 out of 3,038; Region Four – 4,056 out of 7,713; Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) – 666 out of 911; Region Six – 1,267 out of 1,754; Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) – 190 out of 271; Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) – 116 out of 154; Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) – 260 out of 290 and Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) – 846 out of 910.

Less than a week ago, the commission had voted that a team of scrutineers would be working up to December 22, 2019 to ensure that they verify the existence of some 16,000 new registrants. The time limit was critical as failure to do so could have affected the commission’s planned timelines for the March 2020 elections. “The exercise seeks to confirm the identities of approximately 16,300 persons. Working along with our staff and members of the scrutineering teams we will be moving to ensure that those persons are found. If not found, then the commission, at the next statutory meeting…will deliberate on further actions to be taken,” Chief Elections Officer

(CEO) Keith Lowenfield had stated. The need for verification came as there had been instances of duplicates whereby persons already on the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB) were found to be listed as new registrants. Lowenfield said that the activity will bring closure to GECOM’s preparation of a Revised List of Electors (RLE), which will be the final list published for review before the Official List of Electors (OLE). The commission is expected to meet again to deliberate on what will be done with the information gathered.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Look out for

Guyana Chronicle Christmas Special

Members of the quartet, ‘Adoration’

Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, the Guyana Chronicle will bring to you its online Christmas Special which will feature musical renditions and a seasonal message of hope.

The programme will be aired at 10:00hrs on our Facebook and YouTube page and promises to be one which will keep your mind fixed on the true reason for the season.

Tune in to hear the word of God brought to you by Pastor Hugh Mckenzie, the harmonious blends of the quartet ‘Adoration’ and much more. You can’t afford to miss it!

Coming home for Christmas! ―Visitors accorded traditional Guyanese welcome at CJIA KNOWN for our unique Christmas celebrations, Guyana is welcoming thousands of persons this season. With two days left until the peak of the most anticipated holiday season, the Guyanese Christmas experience is off to a grand start for incoming passengers at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). Trinidadian Jason Johnson is in Guyana for what he describes as the best Christmas in the world. “It’s different from all the others. Well, I live in Trinidad, but it’s really different from Trinidad. I love the pepperpot, the garlic pork, the cook-up, cane juice, cherry

juice and these kinda things. And the vibes, the vibes different,” Johnson declared. Canadian resident Michael Haimraj shared his love for Guyanese Christmases. “I’ve been coming here

for the last five, six years, regularly. Can’t get enough of this country. So, what I expect for Christmas is excitement, and a good time with family and friends,” he said. First-time visitor Kam-

lata Prashad, who has lived between the UK and Canada her entire life, is excited about her stay. “I love it. You all welcome the foreigners and everybody,” Prashad remarked.

Treated to slices of our unrivalled black cake, steelpan music and Christmas hats from the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), CJIA and Digicel, the visitors have begun their Christmas the

Jason Johnson

Michael Haimraj

Kamlata Prashad

Dillon Barry

A visitor enjoying a Christmas welcome from GTA

Families sharing light moments

right way. “I came here for Christmas to celebrate my grandfather’s 80th birthday. My family always talks about how great the Guyanese Christmases are, they say it’s a good time to meet up with everyone, and you get to see your whole family and enjoy your day,” said Dillon Barry, a first-time visitor who plans to celebrate his best Christmas yet. The GTA and the CJIA have embarked on a special welcoming treat over the last few days for incoming passengers who are coming to enjoy a Guyanese Christmas; one which comes highly recommended. (DPI)

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday December 24, 2019

Palestinians in limbo for Christmas --after permit reversal

(AL JAZEERA) Gaza City, Gaza - As tourists from across the globe arrive in Bethlehem and Jerusalem for the Christmas holiday, hundreds of members of the Palestinian Christian community in the besieged Gaza Strip were anxiously awaiting news on whether they would be granted permits to travel to the holy cities. Israel on Sunday said it would allow Palestinian Christians in Gaza to visit Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank “in accordance with security assessments and without regard to age”, reversing an earlier decision not to issue them permits. Late on Monday, Israel had issued 193 permits to travel, according to Kamel Ayyad, public relations director of the Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza. A total of 950 applications were submitted earlier this month, he added. About 1,050 Christians reside in Gaza, where 1.9 million people live under a blockade imposed by Egypt and Israel since 2007. UNCERTAINTY The days on stand-by and the late reversal have not been easy for many Christians in

Gaza, who have been anxiously waiting to know if they will be able to reunite with family members who reside in the West Bank this Christmas. “People’s entire plans have to be changed last minute. They’d have to cancel celebrations in Gaza, buy gifts and clothes, pack their luggage and borrow money for the trip, all in few hours,” Elias al-Jildah, a board member of Gaza’s Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), told Al Jazeera. Although they are geographically separated by Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are considered a single territorial unit under the Oslo Accords, signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1990s. But since 2007, after Hamas seized control of the territory a year after unexpectedly winning Palestinian elections, Israel and Egypt have blockaded the coastal territory, imposing severe movement restrictions on the enclave’s residents. “For 12 years, Israel has imposed a generalised ban on travel for the people of Gaza, caging in two million Palestinians living in the 11-by-40km strip of land and limiting travel to ‘exceptional humanitari-

Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the YMCA in Gaza City [Walid Mahmoud/Al Jazeera]

an cases’,” said Omar Shakir, Israel-Palestine director of Human Rights Watch. “Israel, in coordination with Egypt, has turned Gaza into an open-air prison,” he said. Gaza’s Christians who plan to travel to the West Bank for Christmas or Easter have to apply to Israel in advance to obtain a temporary single-use travel permit from Israel’s Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), but the process is not straightforward. Ayyad told Al Jazeera that Israel first began accepting applications on December 11,

but COGAT said on December 12 that Gaza Christians would be allowed to travel abroad but none would be permitted to go to Israel or the West Bank. “We were shocked to learn that Israel won’t issue permits for Gazan Christians to visit the West Bank this year,” said. He explained that later on the same day, COGAT announced there would be a quota of 500 permits to be issued to members of Gaza’s Christian community, but that this statement was quickly reversed. ‘ARBITRARY SYSTEM’ Ayyad and al-Jildah

remained cautious about COGAT’s most recent announcement and stressed that the phrase “security assessments” could be used as a pretext to arbitrarily deny permits. COGAT did not immediately say how many permits had been issued. “I would have loved to pray at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem with my family and visited my sister-inlaw and cousins in the West Bank,” al-Jildah, a 53-yearold father of three told Al Jazeera. “But I haven’t gotten a permit since 2015. Israel never responds back to us to let us know if we’re banned or not or what are the reasons for

denying us permits. So, our only option is to wait until the next holiday, apply again and see what happens.” “We should all be granted travel permits. Why is Israel playing politics with our rights to free movement and religion?” he added. “Israel’s permit system is entirely arbitrary and random; in my family, sometimes only one small child who would get a permit without the parents or the other way around, so it ends up that nobody travels.” Father Ibrahim Shomali, chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the restrictions were “unacceptable”. “Access to holy sites should be free, it shouldn’t require a security permit to worship God,” he told Al Jazeera. Despite the seemingly likely inability of many of Gaza’s Christians to celebrate Christmas in the West Bank this year, Ayyad said the Orthodox church has attempted to mark Christmas in Gaza. “We got used to holding alternative traditions and rituals in Gaza on Christmas given that this isn’t the first time Israel bars us from the West Bank. The occupation, after all, won’t succeed to bar us from finding happiness in the darkest situations,” al-Jildah said.

China hosts Japan and South Korea as regional tensions simmer

(AL JAZEERA) China will host the leaders of squabbling neighbours South Korea and Japan on Tuesday, as Beijing flexes its diplomatic muscle to encourage a truce between America’s two key military allies in Asia. The trilateral meeting in the southwestern city of Chengdu, which will also address the regional challenge posed by North Korea, will include the first oneon-one between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in 15 months. Ties between Seoul and Tokyo have hit rock bottom in recent months over trade issues and other disputes related to decades of bitter wrangling over Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean peninsula. The United States has frequently urged its two allies to bury the hatchet, worried that their poor relations were complicating diplomacy in Asia - although it has held off on direct mediation. “As the region’s major power, China hopes to show its diplomatic presence to the world by bringing the Japanese and South Korean leaders to the same table,” Haruko Satoh, professor and expert on Chinese politics at Osaka University, told AFP news agency. South Koreans mark anniversary of end of Japan’s colonial rule Beijing’s role as diplomat could also help avert global attention from its domestic issues, Satoh suggested, including the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong

president of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, told AFP.

Ties between Seoul and Tokyo have hit rock bottom in recent months over trade issues and other disputes related to decades of bitter wrangling over Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean peninsula [File: Toru Hanai/Reuters]

Kong. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said at a meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday that he “highly” appreciates China’s “important role in securing denuclearisation and peace on the Korean peninsula”. And at his own separate meeting with Xi in Beijing Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said both China and Japan have a “big responsibility for peace, stability and prosperity” in the region. Nuclear talks between Pyongyang

and Washington remain deadlocked, and Pyongyang has threatened a “Christmas gift” to the US if it does not offer to ease the sanctions imposed on Pyongyang by the end of the year. US officials believe that North Korea may test an intercontinental ballistic missile - which would destroy US President Donald Trump’s argument that he has succeeded in reducing risks from North Korea. “It will be important for China, South Korea and Japan to present a unified stance on Pyongyang,” Yun Duk-min, former

‘SEVERE’ SITUATION Before leaving for China, Abe told reporters at his office that links with Seoul remain “severe”. “But considering the security environment in East Asia, I recognise that relations between Japan and South Korea as well as relations among Japan, the US and South Korea are important,” he said. However, analysts have warned that the impact China can have is limited. “There isn’t much Beijing can do on the Seoul-Tokyo row,” said Yun. The relationship between Japan and South Korea is overshadowed by the 35 years of brutal colonisation by the Japanese - including the use of sex slaves and forced labour - that is still bitterly resented today. Ties began a downward spiral in recent months after a series of South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese firms to compensate wartime forced labour victims, which infuriated Tokyo, who insisted the matter had been settled by a 1965 treaty between the two countries. Seoul then threatened to withdraw from a key military intelligence-sharing pact, although it reversed course in November and agreed to extend it “conditionally”. The United States welcomed South Korea’s decision, saying it “sends a positive message that like-minded allies can work through bilateral disputes”.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Flooding at Stabroek Market disrupts shopping –– Vendors call on Mayor and City Council to provide better facilities WHILE several vendors and shop owners were benefitting from the last minute sales, stall owners at the back of the Stabroek market were forced to close their businesses early, due to flooding on Monday afternoon. When the Guyana Chronicle arrived at the market to investigate what caused

the flooding, the newspaper learnt that there was a sewer system backup which caused pungent smelling water to cover parts of the market, forcing consumers to discontinue shopping and vendors to close their stalls. Tomotanye Wong-wing, a stall owner, stated that the water started rising around 13:30hrs and, within seconds,

the water was past her ankles. She added that, while the water ran off rather quickly, it had a pungent smell and was very ‘dirty’ looking as if it was ‘infused’ with faeces. She added that, because of the unhealthy environment, consumers ceased shopping in that section of the market. Wong-wing further stated

that, she would be closing her stall early, since she had been feeling very nauseous from the awful scent of the water. The woman in an appeal to the relevant authorities urged them to not forget about vendors like herself and the unwholesome conditions they were forced to work in to sustain their families.

A section of the Stabroek Market that was flooded on Monday afternoon

Tomotanye Wong-wing next to her stall in the Stabroek Market

A vendor cleaning up after the flood

Another vendor who requested to remain anonymous stated that she was fortunate since her goods were not damaged. However, due to the unpleasant scent and colour of the water, consumers ceased shopping in that section of the market and that hindered her sales greatly. The woman further stated that a regular customer went to her stall to purchase an item and she slipped and fell in the ‘dirty’ water. That, she added, caused even more

persons to cease going to the back of the market to shop. Meanwhile, the woman remained optimistic and stated that she was hoping that, after the water ‘runs off’, sales would pick up; if not she would have to close her stall for the day like several of her colleagues. The woman stated that vendors experience regular floods in that area of the market and the issue was often ignored or just swept under the rug.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

With December 25 just a few hours away, the Stabroek Market was abuzz with shoppers flocking vendors’ stalls to purchase ingredients for their Christmas meals (Delano Williams photo)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday December 24, 2019

Christmas would not be the same in Guyana without the captivating sounds and vibrations of a masquerade band prancing through the streets of Georgetown (Delano Williams photo)

The streets of Georgetown were hives of activity as consumers flock vendors’ stalls to catch up on their last-minute shopping (Delano Williams photo)

The streets of Georgetown in a buzz as consumers flock vendors’ stalls to catch up on their last-minute shopping (Delano Williams photo)

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Harmon honoured for his contributions to nation building DIRECTOR-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Mr. Joseph Harmon was on Monday presented with a framed portrait of himself by a student of the fledgling Compton Babb School of Art for his sterling contributions to Guyana’s development. The presentation was held at Mr. Harmon’s law firm on

Mr. Harmon receiving the framed portrait of himself from young Shani Bellamy who undertook the project (Photo by Carl Croker)

lower Hadfield Street, Werken-Rust. Delivering the portrait was the artist herself, Ms. Shani Bellamy, who spoke to the Guyana Chronicle about the inspiration behind the piece of artwork. She recalled spending many nights thinking long and hard about the many contributions Mr. Harmon would

have made to the nation. Ms. Bellamy, who has been in the field five years now, says that she plans doing the portraits of other government officials who would have also made sterling and significant contributions to nation building. In response to the kind gesture, Mr. Harmon told the

gathering that it is sometimes what’s in the artist’s mind that comes out on the canvas. That said, he thanked the young artist for choosing him to launch her project, and said he is happy that the work he does is an inspiration to young people to aspire to do even greater things.

‘Merry Christmas, Merry Children’ --carrying on a tradition started by Alison Butters-Grant

AN extraordinary woman with a passion for giving stumbled upon the rural village of Victoria, where she fell in love instantly with the children in the village during her search for lands to establish her seafood business on the East Coast of Demerara. In 2017, Alison Butters-Grant and her husband, Kerwin Grant, journeyed to the coastline in search of lands to develop further, their business, Global Seafood. She was able to find a perfect plot of land in Victoria near the seawall. As she began to interact with the residents of the village, she fell in love with the people and of course the children who were very warm and welcoming to her during her visits. Alison then decided that she wanted to give back to the children of Victoria and contacted the Victoria Youth Organisation

Some of the children who attended the event posing for a celebratory picture with their gifts Alison Butters-Grant

(VYDO), a local youth group in the community, and held the first ‘Merry Christmas, Merry Children’ Christmas party. Unfortunately, in 2018, Mrs. Butters-Grant fell ill and passed away. However her husband and the President of VYDO, Anthony Samuels, decided that they should continue her legacy by not letting her

Members of Global Seafoods and the Victoria Youth Development Organisation, along with the children who attended the party on Sunday afternoon

memory and love for Victoria fade away. On Sunday afternoon, Butters-Grant’s husband and VYDO collaborated to host the second ‘Merry Christmas, Merry Children’ Christmas Party at the Victoria Community Centre, treating over 100 children with gifts and goodies and a surprise appearance by the man himself, Santa Claus. The event was a buzz as the children gathered at the community centre, played games and sang Christmas carols to celebrate the season. Mr. Grant stated that his late wife was and extraordinary woman with a big heart who found joy in giving back to the community. “Remarkable woman, I miss her dearly, she was the one who had this vision to have this party. It was her love for children and for this village

that motivated her to do this,” he stated. Mr. Grant further stated that because of his wife’s love for the community, he wanted to do something special to remember her and he decided to make the Christmas party an annual event in memory of his dearest love. Additionally he stated that he will continue to invest in the village to aid in its development by providing employment for many of the youths in the community with the establishment of his seafood business. In addition, Samuels stated that, while his encounter with Mrs. Butters-Grant was brief, she was truly an extraordinary woman, who placed others before herself. He noted that she really loved Victoria, and was dedicated to helping residents in the community in whatever way she could.

'GT' taxis continue to double fares during Christmas season FOR some time now, it has become an annual norm for independent taxi drivers around Georgetown to double, or even triple, fares during the Christmas season, and “short drops” around Georgetown which regularly cost $500 are currently going for $1000. However consumers would have to wait quite a while to see this situation addressed, if ever, as it would seem there actually exists no regulatory laws, or authority that govern taxis or their fare structure, leaving all to the mercy of the drivers. Both the Ministry of Business and Guyana Police Force (GPF) note that they do not have authority over the fare structures of taxis. “I just think it’s really ridiculous,” expressed Murielle Bristol, who doled out a $1000 last week for a short drop. “I literally came from the Ministry of Public Service on Waterloo Street to my office on Brickdam, and it was $1000. It’s a $500 drop but the guy was like ‘is Christmas after Christmas it gon’ go back down’. I

Taxi operators at the Stabroek Market square

was highly angered but because I’m a professional I couldn’t express myself how I wanted to so I just let it go, but it was really disappointing for me. They look me in my face and tell me the price is doubled, and you have to pay this money.” Her sentiments were echoed by another person who shared that they were told that a taxi from Georgetown to Diamond on the East Bank would be a whopping $6000, a route where a taxi regularly costs $2500. “It was a taxi outside Bounty [Supermarket] at Stabroek, I didn’t take him though. It’s ridiculous, highway robbery,” she conveyed.

Others who refuse to be exploited, are sticking to their primary mode of transportation, and walking their distances in resistance. “I took a taxi from Georgetown to Pouderoyen [on the West Bank] and paid $2500. In Georgetown I needed one from upper Regent Street to down town and they needed $1000, likewise from Robb Street to Carmichael Street they wanted the same, so I walked regardless of my load,” Marcellus Grimmond shared of his encounter with the situation. “They got more attitude than anybody else. No passenger does be happy about being exploited. They will always say something negative about that money or that driver and we know words have power, so they only doing themselves more harm than good. Nothing given insincerely will last.” Justin Knights said he is also refusing to be abused. “I had the money to pay the cost but I just refused to be exploited by taxi drivers. I don’t believe the taxi drivers are equipped with the necessary

customer service to demand any increase. I flagged down several taxis on Regent Street between Orange Walk and Albert Street asking about the price to be transported to Durban Street and all of them said their price is $1000,” Knights notes. Taxis attached to taxi companies are not allowed this practice, though some “base taxis” do try to at times with the hopes that they can get away with it. The taxi drivers, however, explain that the fare is justified, given the traffic situation that obtains at this time of year, which sees short distances taking extended periods to traverse. “If passengers did not pay the fare I for one would not work during this time of year. Today I took 57 minutes from Demico Park [Stabroek] to GRA return. It cannot pay at the regular price, it won’t make sense,” explained taxi driver Kirk Jardine. Public Relations Officer (PRO) at the Ministry of Business, Cordel McClure, relates that while that ministry has

some amount of authority over minibuses and the control over their fare structure, it does not currently have monitoring responsibilities for taxis. “There is no clear-cut indication as to who really has responsibility for monitoring the taxi fare. I don’t think that issue has ever been resolved. As far as I’m aware, I don’t think that there’s any entity that specifically has direct control over any fare structure for the taxis. The issue came up some time last year and based on what I recall what was said is that the ministry only really has responsibility for the minibuses,” he explained. However, even in the case of the minibuses, fare regulation continues to be a challenge. Minibus operators continue to act as though they are a law unto themselves despite operating public transportation. Many routes similarly increase their fares during certain peak hours, however this is not only relegated to the Christmas period and usually obtains throughout the year. For the Route 42, a passenger

complains that the regular fare of $260 from Georgetown to Timehri is usually raised by minibus operators to $500 on ordinary days “But during the Christmas time it gets worst, particularly Christmas Eve day. The police seem to be non-compliant where that is concerned and we are left to the mercy of unscrupulous drivers, drivers who don’t have a heart,” the passenger notes. The situation of lack of fare regulation is not entirely regulated to the taxis around Georgetown, hire cars plying the Wales to Vreed-en-Hoop route on the West Bank of Demerara, on Monday, informed passengers as they entered their vehicles that an increase of fares from $160 to $200 for the two days prior to Christmas, was being instituted. Regional Commander, Simon McBean, notes that, to the best of his knowledge, fare structure regulation does not come under the authority of the Guyana Police Force, so there is not much he thinks the police can do.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Over 80 GWI employees graduate as certified first responders

SOME 82 Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) employees from across seven regions, on Monday, December 23, 2019, graduated as certified first responders, during a ceremony at the company’s head office in Georgetown. The employees were trained by medical personnel from the Non-Profit Organisation, Emergency Medical Services Guyana, as GWI continues to prepare a workforce that is skilled and prepared for challenges which may occur in the environment. Director of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Dr. Zulfikar Bux, in his remarks at the ceremony, said that, based on feedback he received, the level of engagement and willingness to learn is at a higher level amongst GWI’s workforce. He commended the newly certified first responders for their commitment to the training. According to him, a total of 190 GWI employees have been trained as certified basic first responders within the last 2 years. Seventy-three

Participants of the training pose for a photo with members of GWI’s Management and EMS team

(73) were trained in 2018 and 117 in 2019 and the EMS Director said he looked forward to increasing that number in 2020. He expressed optimism that the first responders will implement their acquired skills within their work environment and, by extension, the public domain. This was particularly expressed after Dr. Bux listened to stories of participants who have already applied said skills to assist friends and family members. Dr. Bux took the opportunity to urge the first responders to

desist from practising what has become the norm -- capturing accident victims on videos in the moments when they need assistance. He told them to put their phones in their pockets, and, instead, ‘pull out’ the skills which they would have acquired to assist members of the public He commended GWI’s Managing Director and his leadership team for the initiative of training its employees in this area. Further, he assured that the company had the support of his organisation to ensure that GWI becomes

the first organisation with all of its staff trained as first responders. Dr. Bux also expressed gratitude to his team for conducting the training. Meanwhile, GWI’s Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles, stressed the importance of the training as he pointed out that the work of the company was driven by its human capital, which was required to be healthy so that they can provide a good product to the citizens. He said that the training will not only benefit the partic-

ipants and their GWI colleagues, but also their family members, the company’s customer base, community members and the country at large. According to him, the participants will also be able to implement preventative measures within their communities. Dr. Van West-Charles noted that a country that had an army of first responders bodes well in terms of ensuring that human capital is safe. GWI, he assured, will be examining the conducting of refresher courses as well as building on what the first responders would have learnt. Further, as he highlighted that employees in Region 1 would have been trained, he expressed the desire to see more hinterland employees trained. He congratulated the first responders and thanked them for their commitment and participation in the programme. Gratitude was also expressed to Dr. Bux and his team for conducting the training exercise. GWI’s Health and Safety

Manager, Mr. Christopher Cathro, in his remarks, stated that every employer had a legal and moral obligation to provide its employees with a safe and healthy workplace. According to him, one of the best ways to do so was through first aid training. He pointed out that faster emergency response can save lives in the workplace and leads to faster recovery time which then results in less downtime. Another benefit of the training exercise was the reduction of accidents in the workplace through awareness. Further, Mr. Cathro highlighted that the first responders training helps them to be more responsible with the use of first aid kits and allows for a more positive work environment, given that persons feel safer knowing there were capable persons to render assistance. By participating in the training, he said, the GWI employees were making GWI a better place and, by extension, their communities.

Christmas shopping picks up steam in Anna Regina --carrots, seasonings flood the markets this year

The scene at Jaigobin’s Supermarket at mid-afternoon on Monday

Late shopping on Monday at Anna Regina

WITH just 24 hours to go to Christmas Day, Essequibians are rushing into the markets to do their last-minute Christmas shopping. Many persons were seen Monday morning flocking the stalls at the Anna Regina Market as well as the popular supermarkets. There has been a noticeable increase this year in fresh seasonings and carrots on the market. Carrots are now going at three packs for $500. Celery and eschalot are also going fast and cheap. Many seasonal vendors

were later in the day seen erecting make-shift tents on the roadside to capitalise on the season. The price of meat and eggs have somehow managed to remain relatively stable for the season. The rush presently is for Christmas Trees, runners, curtains, and eggs. “I came out to do some last-minute shopping, fuh li’l things like apples, grapes and so on,” said Lalita James, a housewife. “I already dress my home, so the focus right now is on groceries,” she added. By sundown, the town of

Anna Regina was transformed into a veritable shopping mall, with those who have regular day-jobs coming out to do their last-minute shopping. For some strange reason, there has been a noticeable increase this year in toy and fruit vendors. Some of the more popular businessplaces have also engaged the services of Santa Claus to attract the children. The town also came alive with the beating of drums, courtesy of the masquerade bands.

Last-minute shopping at Shawn’s Mini Mart at Anna Regina

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday, December 24, 2019

CDB lends US$75M to Barbados to support economic reform and social protection

THE Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved a loan of US$75M to assist the Barbadian Government’s reform programme. The policy-based loan will support the restoration of macroeconomic stability and place the economy on a path of strong, sustainable and inclusive growth, while safeguarding

the financial and social sectors. The operation will assist the Barbadian Government in some key areas of the reform programme, such as broad-based growth, social development, enhanced revenue administration, and improved financial management. “The Caribbean Development Bank continues to support the reform programme to

secure a better future for all Barbadians. The US$75M loan will help to bolster the Government’s fiscal performance while safeguarding poor and vulnerable people,” said CDB President, Dr. Wm Warren Smith. The Government of Barbados has demonstrated strong resolve and commitment to the plans and targets of its economic recovery and transformation plan.

Public debt restructuring and fiscal restraint are making the debt burden more manageable. The CDB projects that the public debt will fall from 117.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 to 80% of GDP in the next eight years. Sustained effort to strengthen social protection and protect the interests of the poor and vulnerable are

important for the continued success and sustainability of the reforms. “The loan will enable the Government to meet critical targets and help to instill the investor confidence needed to accelerate economic growth in Barbados”, said Smith. CDB’s support is part of a wider coordinated assistance provided by international

financial institutions. CDB provides policy-based loans to governments in response to urgent needs occasioned by external or internal economic imbalances, including debt crises and temporary foreign reserves shortages.

Essequibo businessman delights Anna Regina children --with annual Christmas Tree light-up, fete

Children having a rollicking good time

Patrons patienly awaiting the lighting of the tree

SQUEALS of delight filled the air Sunday night as Essequibo businessman Ganesh Jaigobin threw on the switch, causing the giant well-decorated Christmas Tree outside his premises in downtown Anna Regina to come alive with festive lights. The squeals came from the scores of children gathered outside, expressly for the light-up, and to partake in the sumptuous spread he lays out every year come Christmastime. What made the event all the more exciting was the count-down before the switch was thrown, and the appearance of such Christmassy cartoon characters as Elsa, Santa & Mrs. Claus, Barney, Spiderman and Olaf from Frozen. According to Jaigobin, it is the sixth year the company has been lighting up and feteing the kids for Christmas. Jaigobin is the owner of the ever-popular G & P Jaigobin & Sons Supermarket. As he told the Guyana Chronicle, the event just so happens to coincide with the company’s 11th Anniversary. “We really want to give

The cartoon characters at the centre of all the confusion

The massive gathering outside Jaigobin’s on Sunday night for the ‘lightup’

back to society, especially the children,” Jaigobin said, adding: “They shop all year, so we want to do something special. It is 11 years since the supermarket was opened in Anna Regina, and business has been great ever since.” Jaigobin said the tree will remain lit until the season is over.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Gov’t heeds residents’ cries, installs lights along Providence road

THE streets of Plantation Providence, East Bank Demerara, will soon be brightly lit as government has begun installing lights along the main road. Over the past year, residents have been calling on the relevant authorities to provide better roads and street lights. As such, over the weekend government commenced the installation of lamp posts along the main road. The project is being carried out by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. The project will facilitate energy-efficient street lights that will enhance visibility for drivers and other road users at night. The main road which stretches for over two miles becomes pitch dark at night

and stray horses, cows and sheep would often wander on the roadway. This has been deemed a safety hazard and is also responsible for many fatal and damage accidents which occurred at nighttime in the community. The call for adequate road lights was done by taxi drives and villagers, given the rise of robberies and carjacking in the area. Sherwin Smith, a resident of the upper East Bank community, said that he is grateful for the streetlights which he deemed a “blessing.” He explained to the Guyana Chronicle that only a few weeks ago, a woman was robbed on the Providence Public Road while awaiting a taxi. “Two men roll up pon

de lady and beat she,” Smith said. “Dem run away wid she bag and t’ing. Dem t’ings is normal fuh de road front. “Only last week,” he added, “a taxi man pick up a man at de road head, and he didn’t even know was a bandit. When they meet de road end, de man pull out a gun and tek ‘way he money an’ he car.” One frustrated resident who is a pineapple farmer, told the Guyana Chronicle that he was recently awakened out of a deep sleep, only to be confronted by three heavily armed men. The men reportedly held him at gunpoint and relieved him of a quantity of cash and other valuables. In another incident, a taxi driver was just about to pull up outside his home after he One of the street lights being installed at Plantation Providence, East Bank Demerara

had finished working, when he was ambushed by three men armed with guns and

knives. He was not only beaten but was robbed also and relieved of his vehicle.

Another resident, who declined to give her name, said her son was recently shot in his leg while coming home from school. “My son caught a car from the road head like normal, and when he stop off at the corner to walk in,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks, “like somebody came out the same time and was following him.” The woman said her son’s assailant not only held him at gunpoint and robbed him, but when he tried to raise an alarm, the man shot him in the leg. “I believe that there should be a police outpost in the community, which would help make our lives safer in the village,” the woman said. The residents believe that the installation of street lights will put their minds at ease and will make their community safer.

Robbery, rape convict to be sentenced January 6 COME January 6, 2020, at the Demerara High Court, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall is expected to sentence a 25-year-old man who was found guilty of robbery and rape, committed nine years ago on a woman. Travis Evans, of ‘C’ Field, Sophia, Georgetown, pleaded guilty to the two charges which read that on October 30, 2010, in the county of Demerara, while being armed with a knife, he robbed a woman of $650,500 and also sexually penetrated her. The convict was charged jointly with John Sampson and Alex Williams, for whom arrest warrants have been issued. Evans will be sentenced after a probation report and victim impact statement are presented in court. Evans is already on remand for two counts of murder and was one of three prisoners who escaped from the Lusignan Prison on October 15, 2018. He was recaptured days after. The particulars of the first charge stated that, between July 31 & August 2, 2018, at Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, East Bank Demerara (EBD), he murdered Gregory Wayne Frank in the company of others during a robbery. According to reports, Frank, 46, a legal clerk of Lot 686 Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, was found dead in a pool of blood in his home on August 2 and it was suspected that he might have been killed during a burglary. An autopsy revealed that Frank died from

Travis Evans

asphyxiation due to a compression injury to the neck, compounded by blunt trauma to the head. The police had said Frank’s body, “with a swollen forehead,” was discovered around 04:30hrs in the living room of his house. The statement had noted that the rear door to Frank’s house was found ajar and the entire house was ransacked. Valuables were also reported missing from the house. On August 20, 2018, Evans was also charged with the murder of his friend and he appeared before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. It was alleged that Evans, on August 2, 2018, at ‘C’ Field, Sophia, shot and killed 21-year-old Ronsley Clarke of Fire Station Road, Timehri, during an argument.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday December 24, 2019

Driver hospitalized after Bartica crash A TAXI that failed to yield to a stop sign at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Fifth Street Bartica ‘contributed’ to serious accident on Monday. The two vehicles involved in the accident were identified as Motorcar HB 8308 and Motorcar PPP 6197. Reports indicate that the hire car HB 8308 was proceeding north along the western side of Sixth Avenue Bartica and failed to confirm to the stop sign located at the approach of the intersection. As a result, the driver of the other vehicle which was proceeding west along the southern side of Fifth Street Bartica, at a fast rate of speed, collided with the taxi and lost control. The car ‘turned turtle’ due to the collision. The injured persons, from PPP 6197, were picked up by public spirited citizens and carried to the Bartica Regional Hospital where they were seen and treated by a

The taxi that allegedly failed to yield to a stop sign.

doctor on duty and the driver was admitted. The driver, was identified as Clinton Hopkinson, 27, of West Indian Housing Scheme Bartica. He received head injuries and was registered as stable in the hospital.

Fisherman allegedly kills father of three

A lABOURER, who was hired to construct a veranda, was stabbed to death on Sunday at the construction site at Logwood Squatting Area, Emnore, East Coast Demerara (ECD). Dead is Balchan Baichan called ‘Avai’, 32, of lot 137, Logwood Enmore North ECD. The father of three was stabbed in the neck with a Barbecue Fork. An autopsy, done on Friday, indicated that he died of multiple injuries. Reports indicate that a 67-year-old fisherman known as ‘Harrypaul’ was on his verandah imbibing, when Balchan Baichan entered his yard. He then asked him to leave and this resulted in an argument. The fisherman then armed himself with a Barbecue Fork and stabbed him (Baichan) in the neck. Balchan was taken to the Nabaclis Health Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival. According to the father of the deceased, Rajpaul Baichan, his son was hired to construct a veranda at the fisherman’s house, since the two were known to each other. However, the father said that

Dead: Balchan Baichan

he was unaware of the reason behind the argument or the motive that led to murder. Relatives of the dead man described him as a willing person who assisted many in the community, when called upon. “He was a quiet-going person. He was stabbed while he was lighting a cigarette when he turned his back. At the time he was making a veranda and shed for the man’s sister. He was working on the same veranda he was killed on,” the father lamented. The body was subsequently taken to the Jerrick’s Funeral Home. The suspect is in custody assisting with the investigation.

The veranda that Balchan Baichan was killed on

The car that turned turtle as a result of the crash

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday December 24, 2019

Larceny accused granted bail MAGISTRATE Sherdel Isaac-Marcus, on Monday, December 23, 2019, remanded a 23-year-old labourer to prison on a break and enter and larceny charge. Orlando Rickett appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to the charge, when it was read to him. Particulars of the charge stated that, on December 20, 2019, at Spurwing Drive, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, he broke and entered the boutique of Asha Gray and stole a quantity of men’s

and women’s brand-name clothing, valued at $315,000 and $100,000 cash. “I went in the shop and take out two hat and a jacket I in know about any money I swear I telling the truth,” Rickett said. The court heard that Gray and Rickett were known to each other since they were aunt and nephew. According to information, on the day in question, Gray secured her boutique around 13:00 hours and went out. When she returned around 19:00 hours, she discovered her business door was

open. When she entered the shop, she observed the articles missing, along with the money. She then viewed the camera footage and saw Rickett entering the shop and removing the items. The matter was reported and Rickett was arrested and charged. Magistrate Isaac-Marcus, after listening to both the prosecutor and Rickett, asked the probation officer to speak to Rickett and family. The matter was adjourned until January 20, 2020, for report and sentencing.

Orlando Rickett

Wounding accused granted bail MAGISTRATE Sherdel Isaac-Marcus, on Monday, December 23, 2019, granted $30,000 bail to a 49-year-old vendor accused of wounding a man. Gary Morris appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and denied the charge, when it was read to him. Particulars of the charge stated that, on November 29, 2019, at Orange Walk, Bourda, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Navendra Kumar. Facts were not presented in court and no objection was made to Morris being granted bail.

Gary Morris

Magistrate Isaac-Marcus released Morris on $30,000 bail and adjourned the matter until January 6, 2020.

Ex-cop accused of possession of illegal firearm granted bail

Andre Pollydore

EX-COP Andre Pollydore, was, on Monday, December 23, 2019, granted $100,000 bail for illegal firearm. Pollydore of Lamaha Place, South Ruimveldt, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Sherdel Isaac-Marcus and denied the charge, when it was read to him. It is alleged that, on December 18, 2019, at Sheriff Street, Campbelleville, he had one 9mm pistol without being the holder of a firearm licence. Attorney-at-law Dexter Todd,

who represented Pollydore, told the court that his client had no knowledge of any gun and he was in the car with three other persons but only he (his client) was charged. Todd also asked the court for his client to be released on reasonable bail. The police prosecutors gave two different accounts of the matter. The first one stated that, on the day in question, police, acting on information, intercepted a car with Pollydore and three others; a search was carried out on Pollydore and the gun was found. The second prosecutor intervened and stated that, on the day in question, police intercepted a car with Pollydore and three others. A search was conducted and Pollydore handed over the gun to the police. He was arrested and later charged. Magistrate Isaac-Marcus, due to the conflicting statements given by the prosecutors, granted Pollydore $100,000 bail and ordered him to report to the Kitty police station once a week until the conclusion of the matter. The matter was adjourned until January 27, 2020.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Annai Secondary crowned champs of KFC Football tournament ANNAI Secondary defied the odds on Sunday evening to be crowned champions of the second edition of the Petra Organisation’s KFC Goodwill football tournament. Played at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue, the game was tense in the lead up but by the final whistle, the margin was

2-0 in favour of Annai over Lodge Secondary. Annai stayed true to their attacking mindset and from the first whistle they got started causing trouble in the Lodge backline. The Region Nine team wasted little time in going for goal, having three tries on the goal in less than 10 minutes into the game.

However, it was eventual Most Valuable Player (MVP) Junior Rodrigues who opened Annai’s account in the 20th minute. He pounced on a volley from a corner piece to send a screamer past the goalkeeper and send those in attendance into frenzy. Niaaz Mohamed doubled the team’s lead just three

minutes later after some fancy footwork allowed him to ‘dance’ into the box and deliver a low shot that was just out of the diving Lodge keeper’s hands. At the half, Annai were leading but on the resumption, Lodge came out fiercely. Try as they might, however, they could not pierce the backline of the hinterland

team. In the third-place playoff earlier in the evening, Shiva Boys made light work of DC Caesar Fox (Waramadong) Secondary 3-1. Adica Ash, the tournament’s highest goalscorer, added two more goals to Stephen Thomas’s opener in the 15th minute being the other goal.

Britton, Persaud win Senior and Junior TT tournament

FORMER Caribbean Under-21 champion Shemar Britton and his junior partner Yeudistir Persaud were crowned champions of the Senior Partners with Juniors Table Tennis Team tournament on Sunday night at Malteenoes Sports Club, in Georgetown. Britton, who is one of the organisers of the event, was able to lead his team to a 3-1 win against the other organiser, senior national player Joel Alleyne and Caribbean U-13 Boys bronze medallist Colin Wong. Eighteen players (nine juniors and nine seniors) competed in the two-day event, which started on Saturday evening with the round robin clashes. Emerging from the pre-

liminaries were the teams of Alleyne/Wong and Britton/ Persaud who finished first and second in Group A and Christopher Franklin/Thuraia Thomas and Warren Hackshaw/Isaiah Layne from Group B. Although the final was competitive, the tester for the eventual winners was their semi-final clash against Group B winners Franklyn and U-18 female champion Thomas. That battle proved eventful with its highpoint being a grudge match between the best two current male table tennis players in the game. The younger Britton, who had only faced the experienced Franklin once before in a tournament (last year’s

Bolt happy to see massive interest in Tokyo Olympics

FORMER Jamaican sprinter and triple-double Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt said he was heartened to see the kind of support that turned out for the inauguration of the National Stadium in Tokyo ahead of the Olympic games to be held there and what it meant for the 2020 showpiece multi-sport event. “I know that Tokyo is going to be exciting, it is going to be extremely big because you can see the number of people in the stadium now,” said Bolt. Bolt ran a lap at the new Olympic Stadium with one of the Olympic rings in his hand, marking the facility’s opening, saying it was an honour to be given the opportunity. “I was happy and excited because I won’t get to compete so the fact that I got to run on the track was an experience in itself and as was said earlier it was wonderful that everybody could come together and compete. It’s for a great cause; it’s to show the world that we need to unite as one. So I was very honoured and very happy,” said Bolt. The lap, done at a jog with other former Olympians carrying rings as well, reminded Bolt that coming out of retirement was not on. “I won’t be competing. No. I’m actually in pain right now from the little run I just did,” he said. Still, Bolt is an excited man because these Olympics will mark the first he has attended as a fan. “I will be here watching them (Jamaican team to the Olympics) and cheering them on. This will be my first Olympics where I’m just here to watch, so I’m gonna really try to see everything and just try to enjoy it.” (Sportsmax)

nationals, where he lost after leading by two games to nil) had an amazing year in Trinidad where he is studying. The 21-year-old, who won the Trinbago Men’s Open title in October, had loads of playing time with some strong players, but although Franklin has had a relatively quiet season, his tactical approach to the game was superior. The national champion opened with an 11-9 win before Britton stormed back to an 11-7 win. Both players employed backspins and countered well with excellently placed shots. Britton preferred to play faster, while Franklin countered by slowing down the game and mixing his shots

well, but although he won the third clash 11-7, Britton was too good on the day and fought back to win the last two games 11-8, 11-8. Earlier Franklin and Thomas had lost the doubles (8-11, 7-11, 11-13), while Britton eased past Thomas 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 before Franklin pulled a game back with a 3-0 (119, 11-6, 11-4) win against Persaud. In the other semi-finals, Alleyne and Wong had made light work of the pair of Hackshaw and Layne with a comprehensive win. In the doubles, Alleyne and Wong won 11-8, 13-11, 11-5, while Alleyne beat Hackshaw 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 in the seniors battle, before Wong got the better of Layne

3-1 (11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8) in the junior battle. Although they had defeated Britton and Persaud 3-2, in the preliminary round. Alleyne and Wong could not replicate the feat against their opponents in the final. Britton and Persaud raced to a 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-7) win in the doubles, which gave them a critical advantage for the rest of the game. Alleyne then drew the game even with a 3-1 (7-11, 11-3, 11-8, 1513) win against Persaud. Britton, though, took control to win the final two games. He first defeated the talented Wong 11-8, 11-9, 12-10, before he got past fellow senior national player Alleyne (11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5).

Mourinho bemoans Son ban and VAR use in Premier League

(REUTERS) - Son Heung-min’s unavailability due to a three-match ban for a red card in Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat by Chelsea is a big loss for Tottenham Hotspur, manager Jose Mourinho said on Monday. Son kicked out in retaliation at Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger and referee Anthony Taylor produced a straight red card after a VAR review, leaving Spurs with 10 men for the last half hour. Mourinho confirmed Spurs would be appealing Son’s red card ahead of three games in seven days starting with Brighton & Hove Albion’s visit on Thursday. “It would be a big loss, we don’t have a big squad,” Mourinho told reporters. “We don’t have

lots of players. “This is a moment where it is normal to think about rotations and very difficult situations for players to play every game. We don’t have (Erik) Lamela and it’s a big loss for us.” Mourinho was adamant the incident should not have been referred to VAR because Taylor had seen the incident. “It’s the wrong call,” Mourinho said. “This is England, this is the Premier League, this is the best competition in the world, with characteristics that if we change them we are killing the best league in the world. “Taylor had the feeling, he was there, he saw it clearly so I think it’s the wrong call. Then it’s with things like this that people don’t like the VAR, because with penalties like

that everybody likes VAR. “When it’s a clear and obvious mistake everyone says ‘welcome VAR’... It’s clear, clear. So for me that’s the VAR that I like and yesterday on the Son red card, the VAR that I hate.” Rudiger was a victim of alleged racial abuse shortly after Son was sent off and the defender has called for the guilty fans to be punished. Mourinho said that society needs help in eradicating racism but that the entire Spurs fanbase should not be condemned. “It’s not fair to say Tottenham fans. One Tottenham fan is not Tottenham fans,” he said. “Tottenham fans, at least since I am here... have been phenomenal... respecting the opponents. Incredible behaviour.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Teenaged pacer Naseem stars in Pakistan’s emotional home Test series win LAHORE, PAkistan (Reuters) - Pakistan celebrated Test cricket’s return to the country after a decade with an emotional 1-0 series victory against Sri Lanka yesterday after teenager Naseem Shah bowled them to a 263-run win in the second and final match in Karachi. A lot of coaxing and cajoling went behind organising the series, which marked Pakistan’s first Tests on home soil since the 2009 militant attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore. Top Sri Lankan cricketers opted out of a limited-overs series in Pakistan earlier this year and agreed to travel for the Test series only after promised watertight security. The hosts needed only 16 deliveries to claim the last three wickets and Naseem grabbed two of them to signal his arrival as Pakistan’s next pace prospect. Chasing an improbable 476 for victory, Sri Lanka folded for 212, their last four batsmen perishing without adding a single run to the total. “Definitely we needed this performance. Special

thanks to the Sri Lankan team and the Sri Lankan board from the bottom of our hearts” for touring Pakistan, elated home captain Azhar Ali said at the presentation ceremony. “They probably don’t

seem, the 16-year-old quick, who got rid of Lasith Embuldeniya with the first ball on the fifth morning to be on a hat-trick. Vishwa Fernando denied him the feat but could not deny Naseem his five-wicket

to Yasir Shah, failing to add to his overnight score of 102. Abid Ali, who smashed a century in the drawn Rawalpindi Test and another in Karachi to finish the series as its top scorer, was adjudged player of-the-match

the same innings. “We dominated the first two days but Azhar and his team came back very strongly and put us under pres-

sure,” Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne said. “They batted really well and we lost our patience as well.”

SCOREBOARD PAKISTAN 1st innings 191 Sri LANKA 1st innings 271 PAKISTAN 2nd innings Shan Masood c Oshada Fernando b Lahiru Kumara 135 Abid Ali lbw Lahiru Kumara 174 Azhar Ali stp. Niroshan Dickwella b Lasith Embuldeniya 118 Babar Azam not out 100 Mohammad Rizwan not out 21 EXTRAS: (lb-5, w-2) 7 TOTAL: (three wkts decl. 131.0 overs) 555 Fall of wickets: 1-278, 2-355 .3-503. Bowling: Vishwa Fernando 24-2-105-0, Lahiru Kumara 29-5139-2, Lasith Embuldeniya 50-4-193-1 (w-1), Dilruwan Perera 21-1-94- 0 (w-1).

Naseem Shah is congratulated by his team-mates. (AFP Getty Images)

know how much happiness they have given us by playing here ... It was a special series for us and boys played special cricket.” One of them was Na-

haul and fell in the quick’s next over. Oshada Fernando, whose maiden Test century was the lone significant resistance in the Sri Lankan innings, fell

as well as of the series. Abid was one of the four centurions in Pakistan’s second innings, only the second instance when each of the top four batsmen got a hundred in

SRI LANKA 2nd innings Dimuth Karunaratne c Mohammad Rizwan b Mohammad Abbas 16 Oshada Fernando c Asad Shafiq b Yasir Shah 102 Kusal Mendis c Babar Azam b Naseem Shah 0 Angelo Mathews c Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Afridi 19 Dinesh Chandimal lbw Naseem Shah 2 Dhananjaya de Silva b Yasir Shah 0 Niroshan Dickwella b Haris Sohail 65 Dilruwan Perera c Mohammad Rizwan b Naseem Shah 5 Lasith Embuldeniya c Mohammad Rizwan b Naseem Shah 0 Vishwa Fernando lbw Naseem Shah 0 Lahiru Kumara not out 0 EXTRAS: (lb-3) 3 TOTAL: (all out, 62.5 overs) 212 Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-40, 3-70, 4-96, 5-97, 6-201, 7-212, 8-212 9-212. Bowling: Shaheen Afridi 14-3-51-1, Mohammad Abbas 12-233-1, Naseem Shah 12.5-4-31-5, Yasir Shah 20 -3-84-2, Haris Sohail 4-0-10-1.

Pakistan captain thanks Sri Lanka for touring Broad, Archer bowl at full pace in nets PAKISTAN captain Azhar Ali said Sri Lanka’s first visit since an attack in 2009 had given “immense happiness” after his side claimed a series win.

Lahore on March 2 2009, when six policemen and two civilians died and several Sri Lanka players and coaches were injured. The hosts recorded a 263-run win in the sec-

Azhar Ali was one of four Pakistan batsmen to score a century in the second Test against Sri Lanka

It was the first Test series in Pakistan since the Sri Lanka team bus was ambushed by gunmen in

ond Test before going to the Sri Lanka dressing room to thank their opponents.

“It’s a great occasion for happiness for all of us that we won the series,” Azhar said. “It carried great importance and was very significant because we were playing our first home Test series.” After Pakistan’s top four batsmen all scored a century in the same innings, the side needed just 14 minutes to seal victory on the fifth day in Karachi, giving them a 1-0 series win after rain led to a draw in the first Test in Rawalpindi. Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne urged other teams to consider touring Pakistan, saying “security was 200%”. “They have seen us playing here and enjoying it here,” he added. “They will have something in their minds and they will decide (for themselves).” (BBC Sport)

BENONI, South Africa (AFP) - England fast bowlers Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer bowled at full pace in the nets yesterday, raising hopes that they would both be fit for the first Test against South Africa, starting at SuperSport Park on Thursday. “They’re exactly where we hoped they would be,” said England coach Chris Silverwood, who said both bowlers would be considered for selection if they continued to make progress. Broad, Archer and left-arm spinner Jack Leach have yet to bowl in a match situation on the tour after falling ill and missing both the touring team’s warm-up match. Leach also bowled in the nets but may miss out on selection if England decide to field an allseam attack on a ground which has not been receptive to spin in recent years. Broad and Archer both bowled five overs at full pace in an optional practice attended by the three recovering bowlers as well as Craig Overton and Dom Bess, who arrived in South Africa on Saturday to be on standby in case the originally-selected players were not fit. Silverwood said he did not believe it would be a gamble to pick Broad and Archer, provided they came through the next two days in good health. “If Broady tells me he’s fit

I’ll believe him,” said Silverwood. “He’s got a lot of experience, he knows his body and he knows what he needs to do during the Test match. Jofra, too. He’s had two good days and as long as his pace is up and he feels good and gets the practice he needs he’ll be a serious contender.”

South Africa A, which ended on Sunday, had been encouraging despite the absence of the three front-line bowlers. “The opposition we faced was a really good side. I think both teams came away with something really positive.” The England coach said the batsmen had applied themselves

Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad who played in England's last Test in New Zealand early December are on course to be fit for the next one in South Africa. (AFP photo/Peter Parks)

Silverwood confirmed that there was a possibility that England would not pick a spinner. “You look at what is effective on this ground. We’re not definitely going all-seam but we’ll discuss it over the next few days.” The England coach said a drawn three-day match against

to ensure the tourists posted a big first-innings total. “We’re continuing to build those methods and create good habits,” he said. “From a bowling perspective, Jimmy (Anderson) and the others got overs in the legs and they all started finding rhythm.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Chelsea’s Rudiger wants swift action against alleged racist abusers LONDON, England (Reuters) - Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has urged Tottenham Hotspur to find and punish the individuals who allegedly directed racist abuse at him during Sunday’s Premier League match. The German was involved in an incident in which Tottenham’s Son Heung-min was red-carded in the 62nd minute and indicated shortly afterwards that he had been the victim of a monkey gesture from the home section of the crowd. The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) called for a government inquiry into racism in the English game following the match between the London rivals, which Chelsea won 2-0. “I really hope that the offenders will be found and punished soon, and in such a modern football ground like the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with dozens of TV and security cameras, it must be possible to find and punish them,” Rudiger wrote on Twitter.

“If not, then there must have been witnesses in the stadium who saw and heard the incident. It’s just such a shame that racism still exists in 2019. When will this nonsense stop?”

every fan via the cameras and have spent many hours reviewing CCTV footage,” the club said. “We have engaged lip readers to study the footage and contacted Chelsea for further infor-

Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger reacts as Tottenham fans look on (REUTERS/Eddie Keogh)

Tottenham are reviewing CCTV footage and vowed to take the “strongest possible action” if any supporter is identified as having made racist gestures but said in a statement their investigations so far have been inconclusive. “We are able to track

mation from their players. “We have also taken statements from other parties present at the time. The police will be reviewing our evidence alongside us. Please be assured we shall be exhaustively investigating this matter.

Bumrah back for India’s limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, Australia

(REUTERS) - India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has recovered from a back injury and has been named in their Twenty20 and one-day international (ODI) squads for series against Sri Lanka and Australia, the country’s cricket board (BCCI) said yesterday. Bumrah, India’s leading

bowler at this year’s 50-over World Cup, with 18 wickets, sustained a stress fracture in his lower back which has ruled him out of action since September. India are set to host Sri Lanka in three T20Is followed by three ODIs against Australia in January. Medium-pacer Deepak

Jasprit Bumrah was sidelined with injury since September

Chahar is set for a spell on the sidelines with a lower back injury which ruled him out of Sunday’s third ODI against the West Indies. “Deepak Chahar has been diagnosed of a stress fracture in his lower back,” the BCCI said in a statement. “He has started his rehabilitation at the NCA (National Cricket Academy) and is expected to regain match fitness by April 2020.” India’s T20 squad: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar. India’s ODI squad: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami.

“Any fan found to be guilty will receive a lifetime ban. At this time, however, we should point out that our findings are inconclusive and would ask that comment is reserved until the facts are established.” APPROPRIATE STEPS The FA, the country’s soccer governing body, is working with all parties to establish facts before taking action. “Following the incident in the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea ... we’re working with the match officials, the clubs and the relevant authorities to fully establish the facts and take the appropriate steps,” the FA said in a statement on Twitter. The British Prime Minister’s office issued a statement expressing support for the efforts to stamp out racism. “Clearly there remains more work to be done by the football authorities in tackling this issue and we are committed to working with them on this to stamp it out,”

a spokesman said. “The FA, Premier League and English Football League have significantly stepped up their efforts, but we expect them to continue to prioritise this issue and to consult with both players and supporter groups,” the spokesman added. “We will be monitoring how the football authorities implement their plans through the season. We will continue working with the authorities on this, including the PFA, and we don’t rule out taking further steps if required.” Sports Minister Nigel Adams welcomed the investigations and is in discussions with the Premier League, PFA and Spurs. “Racism or any form of discrimination has no place in football or society and we must confront this vile behaviour,” he said a in a statement. STADIUM ANNOUNCEMENTS Anti-racism organisation Kick It Out applauded referee

Anthony Taylor for following the protocol which led to repeated stadium announcements warning the fans. Rudiger is the latest Premier League player to suffer alleged racist abuse during a match, with Manchester United’s Fred targeted by a Manchester City fan this month. Racist incidents have tainted European soccer recently, with Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku and Brescia’s Mario Balotelli subjected to racist insults from rival fans during Serie A matches in Italy this season. “It’s really sad to see racism again at a football match, but I think it’s important to talk about it in public. If not, it’ll be forgotten again in a couple of days (as always),” Rudiger added. “I don’t want to involve Tottenham as an entire club into this situation as I know that just a couple of idiots were the offenders. I got a lot of supportive messages on social media from Spurs fans as well ... thank you a lot for this.”

South Africa paceman Philander to retire after England series JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) - South Africa seamer Vernon Philander announced yesterday the upcoming Test series against England will bring down the curtain on his international career.

four years later in Cape Town when he marked his Test debut by taking five wickets for 15 runs in seven overs as Australia were bowled out for just 47 in their second innings. He was named player-ofthe-match in a fixture South

Vernon Philander says he is ready to leave the crease (AFP photo/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA)

Philander made his Proteas debut in a one-day-international in 2007 but came to worldwide prominence

Africa won by eight wickets. The 34-year-old has played 60 Tests, taking 216 wickets at an impressively

low average of 22.16. He has also appeared in 30 ODIs and seven T20 internationals. The four-Test series against England starts on December 26 at Centurion. The final Test in Johannesburg begins on January 24. “I feel that it is the appropriate time to conclude what has been an amazing journey,” Philander said in a statement released by Cricket South Africa (CSA). “My entire focus and energy at this time is to help the Proteas beat England which I am really looking forward to.” Graeme Smith, Philander’s former Test captain who is CSA’s interim director of cricket, praised Philander’s cricket and his character. “One of the many things that have stood out for me with Vern is his character, his determination and the way that he has always been up for a fight and a challenge has shown the heart of the man,” Smith said. “I hope he can finish his final series for South Africa with the same character and flair that has become synonymous with him.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Pollard upbeat about future BV’, Golden Grove despite ODI series defeat 592 Beer Inter-Village Football Championship

CUTTACK, India (CMC) – Captain Kieron Pollard said he was proud of the strides West Indies had made despite their 10th straight oneday series defeat to India here Sunday. Chasing a victory that would have ended their near two-decade wait for an away series win against the subcontinental powerhouse, West Indies went down by four wickets in a tense finish at the Barabati Stadium to concede the three-match rubber 2-1. West Indies won the first match in Chennai by eight wickets before India levelled in Visakhapatnam with a 107-run win. “I don’t think there’s much to be disappointed about,” Pollard said following Sunday’s loss. “Yes, we live in a results-oriented world where results matter but when you look at where we have come from to where we are at this point in time, honestly I’m very, very proud of the guys. They carried themselves well in the two series and the mettle that they showed, the mindset in terms of our

batting. Yes, we faltered a bit with the ball in the field and the total attitude from the management staff and the team, you can’t fault the guys at the end of the day.

cellent form with 222 runs at an average of 111, including an unbeaten hundred while Shimron Hetmyer got the other century for the Caribbean side – 139 in the opening

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard is pleased with his side’s performance against India

“Yes we came out on the losing side but well played to India for going out and pushing the limits and showing why they’re the number one team. We competing with them and pushing them all the way, I think was fantastic.” There were several bright sparks for the Windies during the series, primarily among the batting group. Opener Shai Hope extended his ex-

ODI – to finish with 180 runs at an average of 60. Left-hander Nicholas Pooran also impressed with whirlwind half-centuries in the last two ODIs to end with 193 runs at an average of 96. “As I said at the start of the series, we have a lot of exciting talent, a lot of exciting persons on our dressing room and it’s just a matter

of allowing them to express themselves,” Pollard said. “And we got a glimmer of what they can do – Pooran getting a couple fifties, the way Hetmyer has batted getting over 130 in one of the games, Shai Hope and his consistency, there’s still Brandon King who hasn’t gotten that opportunity … I think there’s a lot to look forward to for us in the near future.” Pollard also managed to get among the runs, notching his first half-century since his recent return to ODIs following a threeyear break. He had managed only 35 runs from three previous innings but came good with a shot-filled 51-ball unbeaten 74 to help propel West Indies to 315 for five. “When you get an opportunity you want to be able to capitalise on it, so for me it’s just trying to contribute when it’s necessary for the team and trying to guide these guys. Again, I’m very, very excited about what’s to come.”

Hope into top 10 of ICC one-day rankings after bumper India series LONDON, England (CMC) – Elegant West Indies stroke-maker Shai Hope has moved into the top 10 of the ICC one-day batting rankings for the first time, following his heavy scoring in the recent series against India. In the latest rankings released Monday, the 26-yearold opener had jumped five spots to ninth position, to be the highest placed West Indies batsman. His upward movement comes on the heels of the three-match series against India where he gathered 222 runs at an average of 111, to top the Caribbean side’s aggregates.

The Barbadian struck an unbeaten 102 in the opening ODI in Chennai which West Indies won by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Overall, Hope has scored eight ODI hundreds and boasts a career average of 52.75. More instructively, he has scored four hundreds in 2019 at an average of 61.13 – the highest of any player who has featured in more than 20 matches. Hope was one of several West Indies players enjoying a rise in the ICC rankings. Lefthander Shimron Hetmyer, who finished the India series with 180 runs at an average of 60 – including a career-best

139 in Chennai – has jumped six places to 19th. Nicholas Pooran, another exciting left-hander, enjoyed the biggest leap

West Indies stroke-maker Shai Hope

moving 33 places to 30th, following a series which saw him plunder two half-centuries en route to 193 runs at an average of 96.50. They are the only West Indies players in the top 50 of the rankings. In the bowling rankings, left-arm speedster Sheldon Cottrell leapt six spots to 30th after picking up five wickets while rookie seamer Keemo Paul catapulted 35 places to 104th after claiming six wickets in the series. India captain and master batsman Virat Kohli tops the batting rankings while teammate, seamer Jasprit Bumrah, continues at the top of the bowling rankings.

Browne injured in deadly collision BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Former West Indies wicketkeeper, Courtney Browne, escaped with a broken leg following a fatal vehicular collision which claimed the life of another man here Sunday. Reports said Browne, accompanied by his wife Tricia, was driving along Bennetts Road section of the Ronald Mapp Highway in the northwest of the island in the early hours

Courtney Browne

of the morning, when his blue BMW collided with a Toyota car travelling in the other direction. Michael McClean, 37, the driver of the Toyota, died on the spot. Browne and his wife – who complained of pains to her chest and abdomen – were freed from the wreckage by fire service personnel using “the jaws of life” rescue tools, and taken to hospital by ambulance. Browne, who celebrated

his 49th birthday just two weeks ago, is a successful former Barbados captain who also represented West Indies in 20 Tests and 46 One-Day Internationals. H e m o re re c e n t l y served as chairman of West Indies selectors until he was removed in an administrative overhaul earlier this year, following the election of new Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt.

advance on ‘penalty’ IT was an evening of penalty shoot-out victories, as Beterverwagting (BV) and Golden Grove secured semi-final berths in the inaugural 592 Beer Inter-Village Football Championship on Sunday at the Golden Grove Community Centre ground. Both matches ended scoreless at the end of regulation time, as BV defeated Ann’s Grove and hosts Golden Grove downed Brusch Dam. BV prevailed 3-1 in a tense penalty shoot-out. Kicking first, BV got off to the perfect start, as the first round ended 1-0 in their favour, following a miss from Brusch Dam. BV maintained their lead at 2-1, as both teams converted in the second round. However, BV missed to start the third round, gifting Ann’s Grove the perfect opportunity to equalise. Ann’s Grove spurned the opportunity, firing wide of the mark, much to the disappointment of their fans. BV secured a 3-1 advantage to start the fourth round as they converted. Needing to score to keep their hopes alive, Ann’s Grove were eliminated as the goalkeeper denied their fourth effort. Similarly, Golden Grove defeated Brusch Dam 3-0 from the penalty mark. However, the clash was almost decided in the 89th minute, when Golden Grove was awarded a penalty kick for a wild challenge on Dwain Jacobs. The penalty kick was wasted as it was blasted over the crossbar. Brusch Dam started the penalty shoot-out and missed wide of the right corner. Golden Grove capitalised to take the 1-0 lead. Brusch Dam’s misfortune continued as they fired over the crossbar in

the second attempt. Once again, the hosts capitalised to score to make it 2-0. The failure for Brusch Dam continued as they once again blasted the ball over the crossbar to start the third round. The match was then sealed as Golden Grove scored once more. Tournament coordinator Eon Havercome, during a brief comment said, “The knockout round has clearly lived up to its billing and has provided entertaining football. Both matches required penalty kicks to decide the outcome which indicates the competitiveness of the tournament. The fans were treated to the drama of the penalty shootouts which is always a sight to behold and I anticipate much more drama and excitement as we now progress to Christmas Day for the second round of quarterfinals in Buxton.” The first match on the card will pit Mahaica against Friendship from 20:00hrs. In the second fixture, hosts Buxton tackle Paradise at 22:00hrs. The winners of the competition will receive $500 000 and the championship trophy. Meanwhile, the second-, thirdand fourth-place finishers will receive $200 000, $150 000 and $100 000 respectively and the corresponding trophy. Individual prizes will also be awarded - Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament, MVP of the finale, Best Goalkeeper of the tournament and the Best Goalkeeper of the final. Sponsors of the tournament include Bakewell Guyana Incorporated, ExxonMobil, the NSC, Flavours Boss BBQ Grill and the Colin Talbot Construction Services.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 24, 2019

GFF ‘Super 16’ Championship

Santos, Den Amstel book ‘Boxing Day’ quarter-final berth

DEFENDING champions Den Amstel brushed aside a rugged Riddim Squad side 4-1, while Santos soared past Eagles 4-0, last Sunday when the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Super 16 tournament continued at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora. With the win, the two sides will join the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Western Tigers, Guyana Police Force, Buxton United, Milerock and Fruta Conquerors in the quarter-finals. In the opening game of the double- header on Sunday, LaVaughn Eniss scored a double (33rd and 57th), while Marcus Wilson netted in the 61st minute and defender Kester Jacobs found the back of the net in the 87th minute that kept Eagles scoreless in the one-sided affair. Den Amstel, on the other hand, despite an advantageous scoreline, had to endure the physicality of Riddim Squad, but it was Andre Hector’s brace in the 55th and 67th minutes, along with a goal each from Gideon Payne (14th) and Chris Macey (85th) that pushed last year’s winners over the line at the end of ‘90’. Kevin Agard scored the lone goal for the East Bank Demerara side,

Vincent strikes twice for ABFC’s second win in Atkinson Brothers Five-A-Side football

Annalisa Vincent (left) and Samara Rodriguez were on target for ABFC on night two SENIOR national footballer Annalisa Vincent scored a brace to lead the ABFC females to a 3-0 win on night two of the Atkinson Brothers Five-A-Side floodlight football competition on Sunday evening at the Kumaka Recreational Ground in Santa Rosa, Region One. Vincent had been key for the Silver Sands Football Club, who were defending seven-time champions. She, however, decided to switch to the Atkinson Brothers Football Club after Silver Sands had failed to field a team. The youngster netted a free kick in the first half before she scored in the box in the second period for ABFC in their win against Rincon United FC. Samara Rodriguez netted the other goal. Night two opened with the Rising Son’s defeat of the Mighty Warriors 1-0 in an U-15 clash, while in an U-17 battle, Rincon United FC beat Kyrie Flames 3-0 (goals from Chavez Rodriguez, Shawn Henry and an own goal). Kyrie Flames’ females claimed a 2-1 victory against All-Star Blazers with goals from Shonett Griffith and Indranie. Odessa James scored for All-Star Blazers. Meanwhile, in the male battle, Kumaka FC won in extra-time against Park East 2-1, before Kyrie Flames claimed a 2-1 win against Kamwatta A.

Andre Hector scored a double for Den Amstel in their 4-1 win over Riddim Squad

doing so in the third minute. Santos and Den Amstel will face each other on ‘Boxing Night’ (December 26) in the second quarter-final at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground. The opening game will bring together GDF and Buxton United. Meanwhile, on Christmas Night (December 25), the star-studded Guyana Police Force FC will host Western Tigers in game two, and the opening game will bring together GFF Elite League sides Fruta Conquerors and Milerock FC. The tournament which kicked off on December 15, is sponsored by MACORP, Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana, EC VIEIRA Investments, BACIF, Pegasus Hotel, Bakewell, Marics, Sleepin Hotel, Impressions, China Harbour, 94.1 Boom FM, NAMILCO, MVP Sports and Xtra Beer.

Big Boss Girls win Strikers Sports ClubChristmas Bonanza Aggregate Dominoes tourney THE curtain came down last Thursday at Strikers Sports Club as the inaugural All-Christmas Bonanza concluded. Six female teams for six weeks battled it out for supremacy in a points system aggregate dominoes tourney. The six teams were Turning Point, All Seasons Angels, In Time, Cody Girls, Bing Boss Girls and Big Girls with the captains being Sandra Welch, Barbara Marshall, Loraine Rodney, Claire Benjamin, Charlyn Barnwell and Yonette Christmas. This gesture was seen as a step in the right direction according to all the captains of the various teams in their closing remarks at the tourney. The idea was the six teams play each other twice while amassing points as the winners get five points, second-placed 3 points and third 1 point. Women are always made to compete against men and most of the time they are at a disadvantage because the numbers are against them i.e. If there is a tournament consisting of 21 teams, we barely may find at the most three (3) all-female teams that can compete and, this does not augur well for them. They are usually booted out by their male counterparts, as we would say in Guyanese parlance, before seeing the

‘promised land’ to a final nine in the competition. The idea was also to move away from the traditional monetary prizes and present hampers and tokens instead for the winners. After due diligence and lobbying six all-female teams were gathered to compete among themselves. The winners were awarded

with a hamper each from Dynasty Sports Club, the Most Valuable Player on the other teams after tallying up their scores were also awarded hampers compliments of Mr Earle Aaron of Sterling Products Limited and Mr Nigel Worrell of Ansa McAL Trading under the STAG Brand. A complete Gas Range was donated by Mr Heekima Paul of Massy Gas

In photo, M. Heekima Paul of Massy Gas Products presents the overall winner and Most Valuable Player, Cheryl Fraser, with a complete Gas Range for her outstanding performance

Products Guyana Ltd for the overall Most Valuable Player. A bonus was added for the final by Clifton’s Electronics of two Black and Decker irons and one Black and Decker Microwavable bowl set for the winners of the final matchup and the first love in the final. Tokens were also given to each participant for their participation compliments of Strikers Sports Club. Trophies were sponsored by Mr Stephen Thomas of Sunrise Marina Inc., Dynasty Sports Club and Big Boss Transportation Services. At the conclusion, Big Boss Girls were the leaders with 24 points, Turning Point Girls and Big Girls locked at 19 points, Cody Girls 16 points, In Time Girls 15 points and All Seasons Angels 14 points. The overall MVP and Player-of-the-Final was Cheryl Fraser while MVP for Turning Point was June Watts, Emily Dobson carted away hers for Big Girls, Amanda Singh was adjudged best player for All Seasons Angels, Loraine Rodney was the top scorer for In Time Girls and Sheron Jerome was the leader for Cody Girls. The first love in the final was shared by Ann Thomson of Cody Girls. Barbara Lee also of Cody Girls and Roseann Taylor of In Time Girls won the irons.

Annai Secondary crowned champs

of KFC Football tournament PAGE

31 Annai Secondary and Lodge Secondary were locked in a tense final

Annai Secondary players display their trophy for winning the KFC Goodwill series (Elvin Croker photos)

Bolt happy to see Britton, Persaud win Senior massive interest in and Junior TT tournament Tokyo Olympics PAGE

31 PAGE

Usain Bolt grimaces after completing a lap at the new National Stadium in Tokyo

Colin Wong (left) and Joel Alleyne finished second in the competition

Yeudistir Persaud (left) and Shemar Britton won the championship trophy on Sunday night

Teenaged pacer Naseem stars in Pakistan win 32 PAGE

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2019