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No. 104149 SUNDAY APRIL 5, 2015 GUYANA’S MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED NEWSPAPER

President warns

against true nature of Opposition

INCLUDING VAT

Page

...at Essequibo public meetings

President Donald Ramotar gets a warm hug from this Essequibo resident

4-yr-old killed by GT&T holds first Easter minibus in Tiger Bay Page

Dead: Jadon Andrews

SEE INSIDE

Linden 26 businesswoman killed, son injured during robbery Page

Hat Show

Page

Marriott owners lodge Nagamootoo’s protest against Kaieteur, padded 3 Stabroek News 24 resumé exposed …provide evidence discrediting Page

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erroneous claims by Chris Ram

as falsehoods

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

President Ramotar warns against true nature of Opposition ...at Essequibo public meetings

AS Guyanese prepare for the May 11 General and Regional Elections, they are being urged to reflect and become more informed on the country and its history, and where it is today. President Donald Ramotar made the call on Wednesday evening, while speaking at two public meetings at Cotton Tree and Devonshire Castle, Essequibo Coast, Region 2. The President spoke at length about the developments Guyana has seen over the years, as he noted that under the new political dispensation, in the 10th Parliament, the Government was hopeful of continuing the developmental work. This, President Ramotar said, was a herculean task. With more developmental programmes planned, President Ramotar told the gatherings his Government has been faced with an Opposition bent on taking the country back into the colonial days, where basic

food items were only had illegally. The gathering was also reminded of how indebted the country was under the days of the rule of the People’s National Congress, and how the incumbent PPP/C Government worked to build and stabilise the economy, which has seen nine years of consecutive growth. H o w e v e r, a l l o f t h e achievements realised thus far were not without challenges, President Ramotar said. Speaking of some of the challenges, the President said the combined Opposition in the Parliament blocked several key developmental projects which would have turned Guyana into a more modern state. Mention was made of the Amaila Falls Hydro Power project, the Specialty Hospital, and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion project. The Head of State however, noted that despite

President Donald Ramotar addresses the gathering at Devonshire Castle, Essequibo

efforts by the Opposition, much was achieved, but more could have been garnered had the Opposition been supportive. Referring to the combined Opposition as anti-developmental, President Ramotar said if they were pa-

triotic, and had the Guyanese people at heart, they would not have cut the budget for three consecutive years. Touching on the rice industry and given the fact that the Essequibo Coast is a large rice producing area, President Ramotar promised that his Administration

would never abandon the industry, which was suggested by the Opposition. Speaking of his administration’s commitment to the industry, the President said the sector has contributed significantly to the country’s economic growth, and it is only fair that help be ren-

dered to the sector, when it is needed. President Ramotar said that once back into government with a majority, bigger developmental plans in the making will unfold and these would ensure that all citizens enjoy a better quality of life.

4-yr-old killed by minibus in Tiger Bay A nursery school boy, wishing to bring joy to the heart of a crying twoyear-old who had no kite,

lost his life as he tried to get one for him. Dead is Jadon Andrews, aged 4, of Queen Street,

Tiger Bay, and a pupil of St. Margaret’s Starters Nursery School. He was the son of Oswald An-

Family members try to revive the dead child’s mother, Onicka

Dead: Jadon Andrews

drews and Onicka Charles. Struck down on Water Street outside Giftland shortly after noon yesterday, Jadon was pronounced dead, moments after being admitted at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. He died while receiving treatment. Tragedy struck around 13:35 hrs. when a speeding Route Number 45 minibus, travelling north Turn to page 13 ►

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Nagamootoo’s padded resume exposed as falsehoods By Vanessa Narine CHARACTER, policies and a track record ought to constitute the benchmarks against which political players are judged, heading into the upcoming May 11 General and Regional Elections. People’s Progressive Party/ Civic member, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, expressed this view at a news conference held at Freedom House, where he responded to the litany of positive traits with which Moses Nagamootoo crowned himself. FALSE CLAIMS The prime ministerial candidate of A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, at a rally held at Whim, Region 6 (East Berbice Corentyne) claimed, among other things, that he was nominated twice for national awards by the late former president, Dr Cheddi Jagan. “I declined the nominations and I said to Dr Jagan and to the leadership of the PPP that when my public life is over, then I shall think whether or not I deserve to be honoured by my nation,”

Dr Leslie Ramsammy

he said. Nagamootoo claimed that he refused salary increases, since public servants earned less. “I was the first Minister who refused to accept increase in my salary unless, as I said to the Cabinet, the Government could pay more to nurses and teachers,” he said. The APNU+AFC prime ministerial candidate also

chatted about decisions he took which favoured the interest of the Guyanese people, when he chaired Cabinet. Nagamootoo also touted the fact that he resigned as part of the governing party’s ranks, drawing references to national interests. LIES EXPOSED These were only some of the claims he made at Whim,

Moses Nagamootoo

according to Dr Ramsammy, who dismantled them all. According to him, Nagamootoo did resign twice from the party, first in 1995 and then in 1997; however, Dr Ramsammy made it clear that resignations were the result of an ultimatum given to him by the party’s leadership. The PPP/C member explained that in 1995, Nagamootoo wanted to main-

tain his ministerial post and complete his degree at the University of Guyana, but he was asked by Dr Jagan to make a choice, since he could not do both full-time simultaneously. “He resigned,” Dr Ramsammy said. Two years later, under the late former president, Mrs Janet Jagan, he was given a similar ultimatum when he wanted, again, to hold

the post of Minister of Local Government and attend the Hugh Wooding Law School. “He resigned again,” the PPP/C member said. On the question of chairing Cabinet, Dr Ramsammy was adamant that there are no records this ever happened, as was the case with the acceptance of salary increases. Nagamootoo was Minister of Information in 1992 to 1996 and in 1995 salaries were increased from $25,000G to $65,000, one dollar above what the permanent secretary was earning. The PPP/C member noted that the Ministry of Finance records of the Parliamentary payroll can attest to the fact that be benefited from the increased salary. As for the issue of nominations for national awards, he stated that he is unaware of this. Dr Ramsammy observed that in asking the Guyanese people for their votes, one’s character, policies and track records are open for scrutiny “I did not raise these issues. He (Nagamootoo) did…he is asking the Guyanese people for their votes…I am asking questions,” he posited.

Vendors, vehicles to be charged nominal fees for use of Gardens and national parks on Easter Day T H E P ro t e c t e d A re a s Commission (PAC) has announced that vendors and vehicles desirous of using the Botanical Gardens in Georgetown and the northern side of the Joe Vieira Park on the West Bank of Demerara will be charged a nominal fee on Easter Monday, April 6th. The fees will be charged by the National Parks Commission, and similar fees will be charged at the National Park by the duly authorised franchise holder. A release has disclosed that the fees will be used for maintenance and to offset expenses incurred in cleaning the Gardens and Parks

of the usual garbage and debris left in the aftermath of kite flying and picnicking at those venues. The Vlissengen Road gates of the Botanical Gardens will be open to vehicular traffic from 07:00 hours until 17:30 hours. Those gates will be closed at 17:30 hours, and all vehicles must exit the Gardens via the Mandela Avenue gates by 18:30 hours. The Mandela Avenue gates will not permit entrance of vehicles into the Gardens, and vehicles will not be allowed on or in front of the access road to the Zoological Park. At the National Park, all

events on Easter Monday will be managed by an authorised franchise. At Joe Vieira Park, West Bank Demerara, the gates will be open to vehicular traffic from 07:30 hours. “Additional trash recep-

tacles and bags will be made available to the public at these locations. Patrons are asked to dispose of their waste in these receptacles. Park volunteers will be present to answer questions and provide garbage bags where

available,” the release said. Meanwhile, the PAC, through the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry (MNRE), hereby wishes all visitors to the Parks and Gardens a happy and safe Easter celebra-

tions! “We look forward to the cooperation of the public as we seek to enhance the conditions and services at the Botanical Gardens, Joe Vieira Park, Zoological Park and National Park,” the release concluded.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Shi’ite fighters leave Tikrit after looting: Iraqi officials

(Reuters) - ALMOST all Shi’ite paramilitaries had left Tikrit on Saturday after locals complained that some fighters had spent several days looting the Sunni city after helping retake it from Islamic State. “Most of the (paramilitaries) were removed from the city,” said Ahmed al-Kraim, the head of the council of Tikrit and its province Salahuddin. The rampage of theft and burning began on Wednesday, within hours of the Iraqi government declaring that security forces and Shi’ite paramilitaries had recaptured the city from Islamic State (IS) after a month-long battle. IS had held Tikrit since last June. Local officials said the mayhem left hundreds of homes and shops looted or torched. The violence had threatened to cast a pall over the government victory in the city, home of the late dictator Saddam Hussein. Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, a Shi’ite Islamist, met officials from Salahuddin province and took the decision that the paramilitaries had to leave Tikrit. Kraim called the talks with Abadi “very positive”. The Sunni politician said that the looting and burning had stopped on Saturday after “the federal and local police along with (counter-terrorism) troops became responsible for Tikrit’s security.” A spokesman for the Shi’ite paramilitary fighters, Karim al-Noori, confirmed that 80 percent of the Shi’ite volunteer fighters had left Tikrit. “The situation now is calm,” said a police major in Tikrit, speaking on condition of anonymity. Some eyewitnesses and government officials also blamed local Sunnis for the looting. Abadi, a moderate Shi’ite Islamist, has insisted that he will not tolerate rights abuses by any group in the war against IS, which has massacred thousands of Iraqi Shi’ites and members of other groups. Iraqi troops, working in tandem with Shi’ite militias, secured Tikrit on Wednesday, but as the

Shi’ite paramilitary fighters hold an Islamist State flag which they pulled down during victory celebrations after returning from Tikrit in Kerbala, southwest of Baghdad April 4, 2015. Reuters/Mushtaq Muhammed government declared victories, paramilitary fighters started ransacking buildings, according to local officials and witnesses. On Friday, Abadi had ordered security forces to arrest anyone breaking the law and then convened his

Kenyatta says campus attackers ‘embedded’ in Kenya’s Muslim community (Reuters) – KENYA’S President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Saturday that those behind an attack in which al Shabaab Islamist militants killed 148 people at a university were “deeply embedded” in Kenya, and called on Kenyan Muslims to help prevent radicalization. His televised speech in response to Thursday’s 15-hour siege at the Garissa university campus came after the Interior Ministry said five suspects in the assault had been detained, some while trying to flee to Somalia. Four suspects were Kenyans of Somali origin, and the fifth was Tanzanian, the ministry said. The suspected mastermind, Mohamed Mohamud, a former teacher at a Garissa madrasa,

DATE: 04/04/2015 H

meeting on Saturday with Salahuddin’s governor and key officials. “It sent a clear message to everyone. Although it is very challenging, the prime minister is on the top of situation,” said Rafid Jaboori, Abadi’s spokesman.

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is still on the run. Kenya has offered a 20 million shillings ($215,000) reward for his arrest. “Our task of countering terrorism has been made all the more difficult by the fact that the planners and financiers of this brutality are deeply embedded in our communities,” Kenyatta said. “Radicalization that breeds terrorism is not conducted in the bush at night. It occurs in the full glare of day, in madrasas, in homes, and in mosques with rogue imams.” The attack at Garissa, which lies 200 km (120 miles) from the Somali border, has put Kenya on high alert and spooked its Christian communities after reports the gunmen sought out Christian students while sparing some Muslims. Kenyatta’s comments will put more pressure on Kenya’s Muslim community, who make up about 10 percent of the 44-million-strong population. More than 400 people have been killed by al Shabaab on Kenyan soil since he took power two years ago, including 67 people who died during a siege in September 2013 on a Nairobi shopping mall.

04/04/2015

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

UK ‘spied on Argentina’ Plot to steal over Falklands, claims general election Edward Snowden Jack sees sinister plot behind HDC drive…

( B B C N e w s ) DOCUMENTS released by the American whistle-blower Edward Snowden claim that Britain spied for several years on the Argentine government. According to reports

surveillance programmes. T h e B B C ’s S o u t h America correspondent Wyre Davies says there has not been any formal response yet from either the British or Argentine government to the allegations, which have

Michael Fallon said last month that Britain will spend £280m over the next 10 years on renewing and beefing up its defences of the Falkland Islands, to taking into account “any future and possible threats” to the islands.

helping its own poor than on defending the Falkland Islands. Delivering a speech to honour her country’s war dead in the conflict, she said: “What a paradox when there are more than one million Britons eating at the

( Tr i n i d a d G u a r d i a n ) INDEPENDENT Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner believes that there is another more sinister reason behind the People’s Partnership Government’s ramped up distribution of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) houses. He says the drive may be linked to a Government plan to use information contained in the Elections and Boundaries Commission’s (EBC) report on the 2013 local government elections, which it has so far failed to disclose to Parliament, to its advantage ahead of the general elections. Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Warner claimed Government officials received the report 18 months ago and are hiding it. “The ILP is very concerned

constituencies, like Couva North and Couva South, since persons can be relocated into select constituencies, especially marginal constituencies, and registered as electors in those constituencies after only two months according to Section 12 (1) of the Representation of the People Act.” Attempts by the ILP, for the greater part of last year, to obtain a copy of the election report from the EBC have been unsuccessful, Warner said. “The ILP has been constantly advised by EBC officials that the report was prepared by the EBC and forwarded to the Minister of Local Government as required by the law, and the release of the report is therefore up to the whim of the Government,” he said. Warner strongly believes

Falklands Islands Defence Force soldiers are a constant presence on the islands in the Argentine media, Britain was concerned that Argentina could launch another attempt to reclaim the Falkland Islands. The two nations fought a war over the islands in 1982. Last month the British government announced it was upgrading its military presence on the islands. Mr Snowden says British agents were actively spying on Argentina between 2006 and 2011. The former CIA worker, who now lives in Russia, has previously leaked sensitive information about US

been published by a number of Argentine news agencies. The claims are that B r i t a i n b e g a n a l a rg e scale operation which may have involved implanting computer viruses, circulating false propaganda and collecting intelligence with the aim of diminishing or discrediting the Argentine government, our correspondent added. The news comes around the 33rd anniversary of the start of the war, which saw more than 900 servicemen killed. Defence Secretary

Meanwhile, Argentine foreign ministry officials say they will prosecute oil companies operating near the Falkland Islands, which are known as Las Malvinas in South America. The officials said companies active there were operating illegally in Argentine territory. Earlier this week, three British oil exploration companies announced new oil and gas finds north of the islands. And Argentine President Cristina Fernandez said Britain should spend more

food banks they have had to open in one of the most powerful countries in the world. “Don’t worry. Don’t spend another pound sterling on defending the Malvinas. “Spend your money feeding the English, on providing jobs for your young people and a better quality of life for the British, because we are not a threat to anyone.” She has also ordered the declassification of all her country’s secret documents on the war.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar comforts Corine Louis Conyette, who became emotional during Thursday’s distribution of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) homes to 103 people with disabilities at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts in San Fernando. Photo: RISHI RAGOONATH over this because we believe that the Government is suppressing this report for many reasons and have therefore failed to lay it before the Parliament. “I believe that the distribution of houses is just another candid scheme to help them manipulate some

that alleged manipulation of the electorate to obtain an advantage is a fraud on the population. “It is a threat to democracy that brings into question whether the General Election 2015 will be fair,” he said.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Editorial Guyana

The day of reckoning is on the horizon NOMINATION DAY on Tuesday for the scheduled May 11 General and Regional Elections can now be expected to take place amid ongoing speculations over the quality of manifestos to be released by the respective contesting parties. The incumbent PPP/C, which is optimistically seeking a successive fifth term in government, has already signalled its preparedness to release its manifesto well ahead of voting day. Of much interest is what kind of credible manifesto the PNC/AFC coalition could possibly release within a reasonable time-frame prior to V-Day! After all, the ‘shambolic’ display of

the AFC for the 2011 elections is still being recalled with hilarity. Then it had managed to merely release a few pathetic pages of printed material of “promises” to justify the funds it had received from abroad, particularly from overseas-based Guyanese. This time around, it is contesting as the junior coalition partner of the PNC. It is, therefore, expected that since they are like peas in a single pod and campaigning from a shared platform, they cannot be at variance in the policies and programmes they plan to pursue as a government. There lies the rub! For what they really have in common is a shared hatred for the PPP/C—a

political hatred that energised them to systematically oppose , for the sake of opposition, a range of major fiscal, social and economic development programmes by the PPP/C Administration. And this, mind you, to the detriment of Guyanese-across the political divide. In our reckoning, therefore, the political marriage of convenience that has resulted in a painful delivery of the PNC/AFC pre-election anti-PPP/C coalition, seems destined to suffer the consequences on elections day. I f e a r l y a s s e s s m e n t s o ff e r a reasonable guide, the price to be paid for reckless, opportunistic anti-PPP governance during the 10th Parliament

would be forthcoming in the valid ballots of voters on May 11. They are quite capable of making their own independent assessments of what’s best in Guyana’s national interest, as distinct from what has resulted from a political marriage of convenience in the form of a PNC/ AFC “coalition”, with nothing of substance to support hateful political claims. The day of reckoning is on the horizon. Those who have betrayed fundamental principles to hamper Guyana’s continuing patterns of progress will soon face the verdict— Progress, YES! Political deceit and sabotage, NO.

PNC/APNU and the Military Establishment SINCE 2011, when Granger accepted t h e l e a d e r s h i p ro l e o f b o t h t h e Parliamentary Opposition APNU and the PNC, there has been increasing evidence of the militarisation of the Opposition’s leadership. Legally, actively serving members of the Disciplined Forces are prohibited from active politics. Thus, retired Officers dominate the Political leadership,

including Collins, Harmon and Felix. The 2015 election campaign has seen an unprecedented increase in the presence of actively involved retired military personnel, many residing abroad, mostly in USA. The impact on the serving military is as expected. Granger had been warned of the implications of the militarisation of his campaign. The history of the military’s role in the perpetuation

We must teach religious and ethnic tolerance THE recent cold blooded and brutal slaughter of 147 college students in Kenya, reportedly by al-Shabab Islamic extremists, must be condemned by all right thinking people throughout the world. This is indeed a barbaric act committed by religious fanatics and people of sick minds. According to media reports, Christian students were targeted in the killings, and many more might have been killed were it not for their professed belief in the teachings of Islam. This action was rightly condemned by Pope Francis, the UN Secretary General and the US President, among other world leaders. There is need, however, for the Muslim community both locally and internationally, not only to condemn such actions, but to openly disassociate themselves with terrorists

groups such as al-Shabab and Boko Haram, which are only giving the religion of Islam a bad name by their destructive and terrorist actions. At a more fundamental level, there is need for the teaching of religious and ethnic tolerance starting from the nursery level which must be reinforced in the home. Respect for religious and cultural diversity is the hallmark of civilisation and any society which fails to inculcate and reinforce such values do so at their own peril. It has been scientifically established that there is no superior race or culture and it is therefore imperative that we inculcate these ideas and precepts in our children in their early formative years. HYDAR ALLY

of the illegal undemocratic Burnhamite PNC regime is recent still, and painful; it is a blot on the military tradition in Guyana, one that Guyanese should try hard to forget. The spectre of the PNC and the military becoming political bedfellows again must be disturbing to most Guyanese. A political machinery run by the military is no longer fiction:

Granger made it happen. Guyanese can only think of implications of the Military Political Alliance to succeeding in the coming election. The candidate list of APNU/AFC will confirm our worst fears. Then Guyana will have to think of the payback. Dr Roger Luncheon Head, Presidential Secretariat

Confused!!! Didn’t you want to buy the same ‘corrupt’ Marriott project Mr. Badal??????? I was reading Kaieteur News (2015-0401) when I came across an article titled “Marriott’s reputation will suffer for colluding with “corrupt” PPP – Pegasus Owner!” Please bear with me, but wasn’t Mr. Badal the same man who claimed, not so many months ago, that he had US$8M to invest in the Marriott whilst waving around a hypothetical $8M cheque? I am confused Which is it Mr. Badal - Is the project corrupt or not? Or is it only a legitimate project if you are allowed to invest in it? Your statements in the press are starting to sound more like sour grapes and selfishness rather than genuine concern for the tax paying Guyanese. Later in the article, Mr. Badal is reported to have said that Marriott Management is

given a blank cheque on poor tax payers’ resources to poach employees of local hotels and established businesses. Apparently Mr. Badal does not understand how a free market economic system and movement of labour works. We Guyanese are free to work wherever and with whoever we want. Whosoever offers the best wages, conditions and opportunities will be entitled to our labour. Mr. Badal should be more focused on improving the working conditions, wages and management style of his operations and the exploited Guyanese taxpaying employees he employs and worry less about the Marriott’s reputation. SELINA HARRIS

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Some policemen rekindling party paramountcy THE AFC+APNU coalition is chanting the mantra of forgetting the past but the past actions of the PNC is very much evident in Berbice and some members of the Guyana Police Force is bent on ensuring that the legacy of the PNC remains intact. They are now rekindling the party paramountcy principles even before the advent of the ‘Second Coming of Burnham’. Remember the days when the GPF used to do the biddings of the leaders of the PNC? On Good Friday, a group of AfroGuyanese policemen literally destroyed the ‘good’ on that day by arresting a group of nine villagers of Chesney Village whose only crime was playing a game of cards under some trees. This patrol was from the Whim Police Station and this incident took place at Chesney, Albion at around 5.15 pm in the afternoon. This game of cards is the regular pastime for these hard working Guysuco workers. They were not gambling. The policemen bundled these respectable family men into the vehicle and drove off in the direction of the police station. These men were then abused and reviled by the Corporal in charge of the patrol for not attending an AFC/APNU meeting that was to be held earlier in the week. That AFC+APNU meeting was cancelled. I wrote about the cancellation of this meeting in one of my letters a few days ago. I said that the

carload of policemen was there but no AFC/ APNU speakers were present. This letter was published in the Guyana Times, in which I unambiguously stated that the residents of Chesney boycotted that meeting and wanted nothing to do with the coalition since they see it as betrayal by Nagamootoo and the AFC. The police corporal told these men that, “all yu have time to play cards but yu don’t have time to attend APNU/AFC meetings”. A few minutes later he released the men and they had to walk back to the village. These men were severely traumatised and were shaking with fear, but they had a taste of what was a regular feature during the PNC dictatorship. These men had no previous problems with the law but was racially profiled and targeted simply because they were residents of Chesney who boycotted an AFC/APNU public meeting. Is this the way APNU+AFC intends to run their election campaign? They are asking Guyanese to forget the past, but they themselves have not the capacity to forget and erase their past misdeeds. It is embedded in their hearts and souls and no amount of rhetoric and denial will ever erase that from their actions. It is indelible! It will last forever! What was the crime that these villagers committed? They were merely indulging in a game of cards under some trees. They cannot afford to visit expensive clubs. These are family who lead respectable lives. They

THE OPPOSITION BIAS THE Opposition has been making a lot of unfounded commentaries reference the appointment of the new Commission of Police. I wonder if this is consequent to the impending election. Editor, allow me please to highlight the bias of the Opposition and their narrow political gimmickry. Firstly, when serving Commissioner and now Member of Parliament for APNU Mr. Winston Felix’s controversial conversation with another Member of

Parliament of APNU Mr. Basil Williams, came to light there was utter silence, there was no call for resignation. He was allowed to continue into retirement with full benefits. Secondly, when serving Commissioner Mr. Henry Green was accused of rape, the Opposition again was mute; there were no calls. Thirdly, Commissioner Mr. Leroy Brummel acted for and extended period and was subsequently sworn in as

Commissioner of Police in the absence of a Police Service Commission (PSC). Mr. David Granger gave no objection to this appointment and did not see any breach of the constitution. The constitution stated that the President shall appoint a Commissioner of Police based on the recommendation of the PSC and meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. M r. G r a n g e r o b j e c t e d t o t h e appointment of Mr. Seelall Persaud on the basis that two ranks who were charged with torture were promoted d u r i n g M r. P e r s a u d ’s t e n u r e a s acting Commissioner. However, a predecessor of another race was sitting Commissioner when these officers were re-instated, the case having been dismissed in the court; the Opposition was silent. Seemingly it is acceptable for them to be members of the force but not so for promotion. These promotions was made by the PSC, which the Commissioner has no control of, and in which the Opposition have representation; there were no objections and as such the Opposition’s representation endorse the promotions. Now, if Mr. Granger is so peeved with the appointment why did he ask this very Commissioner for protection? Notwithstanding, the biasness of Mr. Granger and the Opposition is glaring and a direct racial attack on the Commissioner. It is time that Mr. Granger and his Opposition comrades stop playing the race game and disparaging professional Guyanese character. JALIM MOHAMED

sweat and toil in the cane fields. They do not take bribes and become involved in corrupt practices. They have the democratic right to attend any public meeting they choose and they have the democratic right to vote for a party of their choice. But this is a result of the direct racial incitement of Ramayya, Charrandass, Marl Ross, Ramjattan and Nagamootoo, who have been continuously making racist remarks against the Indians and have been telling Berbicians especially, that they do not want a Blackman to rule then. Three or four times a week Indians in Berbice have been hearing and viewing this on DTV 8. I have also written about this in the press but to date it seems that the authorities are incapable of handling this. But I have warned them that this race baiting will escalate in violence if nothing is done. We have now seen that some members of the GPF are willing to take this race baiting to a higher level. Force and threats are now being used to get Indians to vote for the AFC+APNU coalition. Should we now blame Minister Rohee for this? The AFC presenters on DTV8 see it fit to always target MrRohee whenever members of the Guyana Police Force commit infractions and are involve in alleged criminal activities. I wonder if Rohee instructed these policemen to threaten Indians to vote for the Coalition? How do we reconcile him in this equation?

This goes to show the ridiculous nature of those accusations and false allegations against the Minister. There are rogue elements in the GPF who are making it clear which political party they belong to and it is evident that many of these will do everything possible to tarnish the GPF in order for the Government to look bad and to usher the PNC into power once again. This is a fact and it is time we face the truth. The same is happening in the health sector and other sectors as well. It is ‘time for change’ indeed and it is time to put an end to this type of racial politics which is propagated and practiced by AFC+APNU. L a s t l y, I a m p l e a d i n g t o t h e Commissioner of Police to thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure that those responsible will face the full brunt of the law since the action of those policemen are criminal in nature. I call on all civil society to condemn what was done to my villagers. Their freedom of choice, their liberty and their democratic right were snatched away from them! ‘It is time’ indeed, to ensure that the PNC, in whatever disguise, should not be returned to power. This is a review of the past and a preview of what is to come should voters make a ‘wrong turn’! HASEEF YUSUF

We are surprised Stabroek News published Mr Ram’s letter WE refer to the letter from Mr. Christopher Ram published in the Stabroek News (27/3/15) captioned “Contrary to what Brassington says, the feasibility study for the Marriott was submitted after the contract had been signed.” We are surprised and disappointed that the Stabroek News should see fit to publish Mr. Ram’s letter having decided not to publish the AHI press release of 25th March to which Mr. Ram’s letter refers. Our press release, in fact, pointed out that the statement attributed to Mr. Ram, in the Kaieteur News publication of 24th March, 2015, taken verbatim from Mr. Ram’s blog, that Mr. Winston Brassington had “signed contracts for the (Marriott) Hotel since in October 2011, but only had the critical feasibility study done by a Miami-based consulting firm in September 2012”, is entirely false. M r. R a m ’s l e t t e r, w h i c h y o u published without your readers having the benefit of our release, persists, falsely, that his statement was correct and attempts to offer as evidence, pictures of “a letter dated October 1st, 2011 addressed by Mr. Brassington to Mr. Michael Zhang, Managing Director of S.C.G International Inc. which was awarded the contract to build the Hotel” and “the two front pages of a report of a feasibility study dated September 2012 of the project

submitted to the Chairman, Atlantic Hotel Inc., Mr. Brassington”. Mr. Ram has chosen, in his letter, to deliberately ignore the facts presented in our press release, which you did not publish, which points out that “Had Mr. Ram been less intent on character assassination and less given to propaganda, instead of professional analysis and research, he would have discovered that the first market Feasibility Study undertaken with regard to the building of the Marriott Hotel was conducted by the Marriott Hotel Group in 2010. Mr. Ram would have also discovered that a further independent study by a highly reputed international Miami based firm, HVS Consulting, was also conducted in 2010.” Our release also quoted at length from Notice Paper No 12 of the Tenth Parliament on 15th February 2012, which records the Minister of Finance responding to questions from the Opposition on whether there was any Feasibility Study done prior to any agreements being signed. The Minister’s response was: “Yes, there was a market Feasibility Study conducted by the Marriott Hotel Group and one conducted in 2010 by an independent American firm which is being updated to 2012.” SELINA HARRIS

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Obama’s visit to Jamaica and CARICOM’s meeting Analysis by Rickey Singh THE people of Jamaica and the Caribbean Community in general have something of much political significance to look forward to now the Easter holidays are over. Yes, it’s the impending brief official state visit on Thursday April 9 of US President Barack Obama. After all, it’s a rare occurrence for the leader of the world’s sole superpower to include even less than a one-day state visit to a small Caribbean island, but one with a most impressive post-emancipation history that spreads the gamut with names well-known to President Obama, his advisers and the American people. Whether, that is, the issues relate to Caribbean and international political developments; ‘Rastaman and ‘ganja’ culture; sports and the performing arts; or names like Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley and Usain Bolt. Also in the era of hemispheric political developments we can well recall Michael Manley’s linking of his People’s National Party as a firm ally of Fidel Castro’s revolutionary Cuba and, subsequently, for Jamaica to become one of the original quartet of CARICOM states to bring Cuba out of the diplomatic isolation to which it had been placed by then President Jack Kennedy’s administration. The US President’s visit to Jamaica also provides for a hurriedly arranged summit meeting between Mr Obama

President to make an official visit to this Region within 32 years. The first of the presidential trio to do so was Mr Ronald Reagan in 1982 to Jamaica. Mr Edward Seaga was then Prime Minister. Curiously, Reagan’s Jamaica visit was to be followed by the US military invasion of Grenada in October 1983, in which Prime Minister Seaga and his now late prime ministerial colleague of Dominica, Dame Eugenia Charles, were key players. Then followed in May, 1997, President Bill Clinton’s summit meeting with Caribbean leaders in Barbados with a special President Barack Obama focus on regional security and CARICOM Heads of Government would be that included sensitive Government. However, advised against high ex- issues on drugs traffickonce there is the will, pectations for gestures ing and illegal trading in decisions of significance of significance from the small arms. Host for that could be achieved before US President, despite historic event was then the US President flies out frequent ‘friendship’ as- Prime Minister Owen Arthur, currently sitting to Panama to participate surances. Increasing challenges as an “independent” in in the coming Seventh Summit of the Americas to social and econom- parliament. ic development within The scheduled cauon April 10-11 . S o f a r a s t h e f e w CARICOM remain con- cus between President hours of summit meeting stant amid comparatively Obama and CARICOM in Jamaica is concerned, high levels of unemploy- leaders in Jamaica would CARICOM Secretary ment--including rising contrast with informal General Irwin LaRocque joblessness among youth- meetings they held with said in our telephone con- -as well as the depress- him on the margins of versation that he expects ing rates of murders and both the Fifth and Sixth a ‘very positive response’ other gun-related crimes Summits of the Ameriby the Community’s lead- across the Community, cas held, respectively, in including Barbados. Trinidad and Tobago in ers. These and related is- April 2009 and Colombia NO HIGH EXPECTA- sues would most cer- in May 2013. tainly be major concerns TIONS Nevertheless, if such for discussion during the CRITICAL REFLECTIONS previous high-level sum- CARICOM leaders tight Now comes President mit meetings offer any working hours with Mr guidance, our Heads of Obama—the third US Obama’s tightly packed

official visit to Jamaica. Perhaps it’s time for some critical reflections by CARICOM Governments on the pluses and minuses from the separate visits to this Region and discussions held with the trio of US Presidents—Reagan and Clinton and, soon, with Obama. In between those years, the only US President to host a structured formal meeting with CARICOM Heads of Government in Washington was President George W. Bush, in contrast to recurring requests by CARICOM for a scheduled summit with President Obama who, nevertheless remains popular with the people of this Region and, generally, more so with the wider Caribbean/Latin America diaspora in the USA. It would not be surprising if President Obama seeks to raise his administration’s concerns over what it projects as growing undemocratic and dictatorial tendencies in Venezuela under the administration of President Niclolas Maduro, successor to the late popular revolutionary leader, Hugo Chavez who had maintained close relations with CARICOM member states via trade and economic projects. For their part, while CARICOM Governments have, varyingly, expressed interest in the normalisation of diplomatic and economic rela-

tions between Washington and Caracas, in the interest of hemispheric peace and stability it would be surprising to witness any immediate shift away from the prevailing confrontational politics between Washington and Caracas. President Obama, leader of the world’s sole superpower, would be aware that Washington has a very hard political row to hoe in making out Caracas as the original ‘villain’ for their deteriorating soured relations. Let’s hope that expressions of “genuine friendship” between superpower USA and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela could yet deliver practical forms of new initiatives to replace today’s unhelpful, hostile posturings in Washington and Caracas. As of now, their diplomatic standoff seems set to further unravel in Panama during the 7th Summit of the Americas. P re s i d e n t D o n a l d Ramotar faces the tough choice of being in Guyana for Tuesday’s Nomination Day and making himself available for the Obama/CARICOM Summit on April 9 and also, hopefully, the subsequent 7th Summit of the Americas in Panama. (Jamaica has announced that Mr Obama will be there on April 8) (Rickey Singh is a noted Caribbean journalist)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Guyana’s Triple Heritage:

A LOGIC FOR THE FUTURE Contribution from Lawrence Lachmansingh, David Singh & Kojo Parris

SAINT Stanislaus College alumni Lawrence Lachmansingh, David Singh & Kojo Parris have been exchanging views around their enduringly common interest: Guyana. Having completed a three-part Series titled, Taking the Pulse: Public Trust, Corruption and Violence, they propose a path away from the escape routes of suicide, migration and public disengagement. Guyana is rated as having the highest, or very high, levels of suicide, migration and public disengagement globally. IN this article, we weave three main and overlapping themes that characterise both the challenge and promise that is Guyana in 2015, themes that might well be a basis for an enduring and meaningful “Project Guyana”. We are cognizant that there are numerous approaches taken by people when they consider the future for their societies. We choose an approach drawing from the simplicity in the logic of the late Professor Ali Mazuri, world-known academic and political writer who penned the seminal work: “The Africans: A Triple Heritage” in the 1980s. Our approach is meant to simplify without becoming simplistic. According to the 2014 LAPOP Survey, rising Public Distrust, Corruption and Violence are all reaching worrying levels in Guyana. The former are not only high in absolute terms but also when compared to other countries within the Americas. Taken together in Guyana, public distrust, corruption and violence correlate directly with three key “escape” indicators: migration, suicide and apathy. The World Health Organisation (2012) placed Guyana’s suicide rate at 44.2 per 100 000, the International Organisation for Migration (2013) placed migration rates at -8.2%, and an average 68% of LAPOP respondents having never engaged social institutions. These rates are amongst the highest in the world, in spite of the substantial investments in education, and in building social and institutional structures, and in support of the rule of law and governance over the years. While suicide and migration may be considered to be definitive forms of escapism, levels of public engagement in community groups and organisations may also be a good indicator of “opting-out.” LAPOP statistics on public engagement between 2006 and 2014 show that 65% of respondents cited had never attended social associations such as a parents’ association or community improvement associations. If attendance at religious organisation is excluded, this number climbs to 72%.This form of indifference correlates with a lack of political affiliation, where an aggregate 80% of respondents did not identify with a political party, and an average of 77% indicating that they had little or no interest in politics (Figure 1). Sustainable development is not possible if migration, suicide and public disengagement are not consensually addressed. Responding to this crisis of confidence in Project Guyana requires numerous actions and tactics that support a few key strategies. These must necessarily be based on a theory of change that addresses as best as possible the complexities inherent in Guyana’s abnormal numbers.

One compelling theory of change suggested by the data is that strengthening participatory political systems that engender social cohesion at all levels will result in improved governance performance, creating the space for people to participate rather than to escape from the challenges of forging a better, stronger and more resilient community in which they live (Figure 2). Clearly there are a number of enabling activities that will have to form part of such a programme, inclusive of implementing and enacting existing and new policies, laws and strategies that involve citizens at a profound level. One critical strategy within this theory is the need for improved relations across the various divides. An improved way of relating is needed to permit meaningful and healthy dialogue and debate, legitimacy and even consensus on Guyana’s critical and required policy changes. In other words, improved political systems are only partly about the rules of engagement (constitutional reform, electoral reform, governmental reform etc.): it is also about the quality of that engagement. A second vital strategy suggested by Guyana’s realities is the need to reduce human resource deficits. With such a small population and a high migration rate (particularly of post-secondary graduates), there is not enough human resource capacity available to perform the many important functions at hand. Structured programmes to open the economy to inward investments at all scales in close collaboration with Guyanese, and a vibrant diaspora initiative are certainly areas to be explored. Starting with the University of Guyana and the Training and Teaching Colleges, an educational system that trains Guyanese for Guyana should be hastily designed and implemented. CONCLUSION Professor Mazrui stated that navigating the dynamics of traditional, Euro-Christian and Islamic heritage inform the framework for understanding African society. This ‘Triple Heritage’ at once described the black/ African dilemma and mapped an enduring platform for progress presented by this textured heritage. With paradigmatically less scholarship and even profundity, we have highlighted three central spheres of concern in Guyana, and rather less clearly, call attention to some of the macro questions which arise. These three spheres of concern, public trust, corruption and violence, echo the sentiments of the ‘Triple Heritage’ in that they represent both a challenge and an opportunity for Guyanese. We cannot claim a monopoly on the logic for a healthy and sustainable future for Guyana. At the same time, our society would demand us to address questions such as where should we turn to for leadership, and what are the qualities expected of such leadership? What role should the diaspora play? To what extent do we need to address our minds to the root causes associated with the abnormal numbers, and should this be contained within the actions and tactics rather than a precondition for action? What explains the paradox of high levels of escapism and human capital loss, alongside

Lawrence Lachmansingh

David Singh

high levels of sustained growth in GDP and improvement in Human Development (as measured by the UN-HDI) in Guyana over the past many years? We thank the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) and its major supporters (the United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Development Programme, the Inter-Amer-

Kojo Parris

ican Development Bank, and Vanderbilt University) for making the data available.We have worked also with an analyst from Corruption Watch in South Africa, unconnected to our part of the world, to analyse the data. For those who wish to share their thoughts on these pieces, we may be reached via e-mail at 3Guyanese@gmail. com.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Shabby APNU-AFC coalition

By Dr. PremMisir

THE new political wagon in town, APNU-AFC, sells itself cheaply as being so saintly in that it has no flaws, but can only see faults with its nemesis the PPP/C. And to put the icing on the cake, it says that it has all the answers for whatever troubles Guyana, notwithstanding the presumed opportunistic nature of its coalition, misplaced anger and misplaced priorities, and no platforms (beliefs, policy choices, ambitions, and their impact on the nation). APNU-AFC, a new political body, or perhaps not so new as it is the PNC in a different clothing, may be a fading novelty that will wear off in the weeks ahead, as befalls all novelties whose freshness is temporary. And the PNC executive had to approve APNU-AFC coalition to make it happen; otherwise, there would have been no APNU-AFC coalition. And so, it is the PNC Executive that drives APNU-AFC coalition. The PNC sees this coalition as its best chance to return to political office as was the case of its exploitation of its short-lived coalition partner United Force (UF) under Mr. Peter Stanislaus D’Aguiar to form a government in 1964. Having then fortified its illegal political base to go it alone, the PNC unceremoniously annihilated the UF in the 1968 general election. If this historical trend with the PNC still holds, the AFC will face decimation once it has outlived its usefulness for the PNC (APNU)/APNU (PNC). In this sense, the AFC ‘s slogan for its coalition with APNU as right now, just because it invokes Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s early attempts at PPP-PNC coalition in 1955, then from 1962 through 1964,and his subsequent attempts, has to be opportunistic and deceptive. I see some people do not like me to refer to APNU-AFC coalition as opportunistic and deceptive. Their concerns have a basis in public perceptions and not substantive arguments and evidence. I made this reference because the AFC sees its coalition as a parallel to Dr. Jagan’s bold attempts at merging the PPP and the PNC and asserting that if it were right then, then the coalition is right now. However, in the case of 1964, Jagan lost out because of Mr. Forbes Burnham’s written rejection of further communication with Jagan on the coalition matter and, indeed, also because of the British and American imperialist’s support for Burnham to form the next government. Of course, this was the period of the Cold War and the West’s obsession to stop communism from spreading around the globe. And the talk about if Burnham were not there in 1964, there would have been another Burnham, is not based on evidentiary logic and is a simplistic

over-generalisation, as the possibility existed that perhaps another person with different personal constructs might have seen things differently and done things differently. In post-Independence attempts at PPP-PNC coalition, it should be clear that Burnham had no interest in a coalition because his illegal political machinery was firmly institutionalised, ensuring no threat to his political power base; and so Mrs. Janet Jagan’s assertion of mistrust in the coalition negotiation then was

Peter d’Aguiar, his UF, a victim of the PNC

certainly not the major reason for the end of coalition talks. Besides, it is the PNC and Burnham’s latent rejection of coalitions with the PPP that now makes any coalition with the PNC suspect, and indeed opportunistic and deceptive. Consider what happened to the UF. Now let me look at the matter of misplaced anger and misplaced priorities. APNU-AFC, as a novelty for a political party, brightly shows its misplaced anger against former President Bharrat Jagdeo. I say ‘misplaced anger’ because APNU-AFC’s focus should be on their platforms for Guyana and the impact of those platforms for the nation, and not personally on Jagdeo, as he is not running for political office. First of all, APNU-AFC unsuccessfully tried to

reprimand Jagdeo because he branded the APNUAFC as the first to start the racist talk; you will recall that this year, at Babu John, Jagdeo referred to the AFC leadership as saying that it can bring 11% of the Indian vote to APNU as if it had some transport over Indian people, and that in previous elections, African activists, amid African drumming, called out African voters to vote out the coolies. Jagdeo reported what he garnered from the media as evidence of who commenced the racist talk. Second of all, APNU-AFC devoutly displayed its misplaced anger and misplaced priorities when its shadow Finance Minister called on Jagdeo to talk about his record. Jagdeo at a recent press conference referred to Greenidge as the most unaccountable Minister of Finance in Guyana’s history, where he presided over an economy not credit worthy, an economy with the largest external debt, and with no government audit between 1983 and 1992; these are facts. However, Greenidge, like the rest of APNUAFC, shows misplaced anger and misplaced priorities in his rhetorical response to Jagdeo, when he should tell the nation what APNU-AFC’s economic and financial plans and their impact for Guyana are; and not to provide mere sound bites on policies for economic and financial development. On the question of APNU-AFC’s platforms, the Guyanese people know nothing and may have learnt nothing as to how the platforms will impact the nation. For instance, inequality is growing worldwide and has touched Guyana too. What policy choices to reduce this inequality does the coalition have to share with the nation? Especially with a new coalition as a political party, long before elections, people want to know what the coalition stands for. And just a few weeks before elections, APNUAFC has no platforms for the public to consume. People want to know whether there is compatibility in APNU-AFC leaders’ strategic beliefs. People want to know what single issues are different between AFC and APNU. People want to know whether APNU-AFC is a mere electoral alliance. People want to know of strategic ideological and distributional issues between APNU and AFC. People want to know its joint electoral strategy and office benefits. People want to know about policy differences between APNU and AFC. People want to know whether differences in the sizes of APNU and AFC matter. APNU-AFC looks shabby without this information on its platforms, notwithstanding the concerns on its presumed opportunistic nature and misplaced priorities.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Shabby APNU-AFC coalition

By Dr. PremMisir

Peter d’Aguiar, his UF, a victim of the PNC

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Minister Webster rises in defence of Mrs Elizabeth Harper – deems Nagamootoo facetious and seeking to score cheap political points ATTACKS on Mrs Elisabeth Harper, the governing’s party’s prime ministerial candidate heading into the 2015 Regional and General Elections -- especially those that focus on her domestic violence platform –- have been deemed by Human Services and Social Security Minister Ms Jennifer Webster a “facetious” move to score “cheap political points”. At yesterday’s press conference held at Freedom House, Minister Webster declared that comments in this regard emanating from Moses Nagamootoo underscore “uncouth” character traits. The prime ministerial candidate of A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition railed last Sunday on Mrs Harper while making remarks at a rally held at Whim in Region

6 (East Berbice/Corentyne). “Do you know me? Do you know who Elisabeth Harper is?” Nagamootoo questioned, while adding sarcastically, “Well, this Harper lady says she wants to be Prime Minister because she was a victim of domestic violence.” According to Webster, Nagamootoo’s attack on Mrs Harper does not augur well in a society where efforts are being made to place increasing emphasis on women’s rights. “Our women are the backbone of our society. Our men must respect our women,” she stressed, adding that equal rights in economic, political and social life have been the focus of empowerment of women. Webster, like several other of her party colleagues, contend that Mrs Harper had, very early on, decided on the priority issues that

would form part of her platform. Additionally, the PPP/C prime ministerial candidate, in her debut interview, a 20-minute broadcast aired on the National Communications Network (NCN) in the latter part of February, had declared those issues dear to her heart when questioned by Olive Gopaul. Mrs Harper is a 57-yearold career diplomat who has worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for decades. She explained that her priorities as prime minister include: education, jobs, crime, support for the elderly, economic growth, and the preservation of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Those are not one issue, as insinuated by Nagamootoo. During the interview, the last issue out of seven Mrs Harper had touched on was that of domestic violence

Women of the PPP/C. From left are Jennifer Webster, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Elisabeth Harper, Africo Selman and party stalwart Gail Teixeira

-– the subject of a story she has been able to tell, and has vowed she will continue to tell she if it means support for another woman. “Domestic violence is real,” Mrs Harper declared. She added, “Me being able to tell my story, I feel that I could encourage women and interest groups in society to help to rid us of this; also help young women who are looking for role models

(and) who are looking to empower themselves.” Her sentiments were expressed with the same confidence as when she commented on being able to emerge after the May 11 General and Regional Elections as Guyana’s first female prime minister. She had said then, “This is for all the women out there who see me as the first woman Prime Minister.” Harper explained that,

4-yr-old killed by minibus... along Water Street, hit the child who was crossing the road. Eyewitnesses said the driver, after hitting the child, drove away, but was stopped by a Social Worker travelling on the bus. Under pressure, he took the injured child to hospital. Relatives said the child who had suffered broken ribs, was bleeding internally and died while receiving oxygen. But even though suffering excruciating pain, the injured child was able to give his name to someone on the scene who enquired. And at the hospital he recognised his mother and pleaded with her, “Mommy, don’t go and lef’ me inside hey,” and the mother promised.”I’ll stay with you, Jadon.” But it was soon after that he died. A woman who gave her name as Lukesha Kelman related that other boys around had kites and her

two year-old, who did not have one, began crying for a kite. She said Jadon offered to go buy a kite from Giftland, just one corner away for the child. However, the woman’s elder child who had observed what was happening, took the money and decided that he would buy the kite. However, it would appear that Jadon, out of excitement, had still followed the lad, unknown to him, and was at the corner of the road when the accident happened. He said he was in the store when someone ran inside and told him that Jadon just got hit down. Meanwhile, as news of the tragedy spread, family members, neighbours and friends hastened to the GPHC where hysteria broke out. Family members were inconsolable; his mother fainted constantly, and there was loud weeping. Relatives

and neighbours, in deep shock, recalled what a pleasant and obedient

child Jadon was. “His mother never had problems with him,” his tear-

altogether, these seven issues are major ones that, with the appropriate continued focus, can complement the overall effort to ensure that Guyana is a country within which Guyanese youths remain and enjoy good lives, as well as contribute to Guyana’s development. PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee also dismissed Nagamootoo’s comments last Tuesday.

From page 2

ful grandmother volunteered, recalling that his eldest brother was also

killed during the Easter season. He died on Easter Sunday, 2012.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Minister Webster rises in defence of Mrs Elisabeth Harper – deems Nagamootoo facetious and seeking to score cheap political points ATTACKS on Mrs Elisabeth Harper, the governing’s party’s prime ministerial candidate heading into the 2015 Regional and General Elections -- especially those that focus on her domestic violence platform –- have been deemed by Human Services and Social Security Minister Ms Jennifer Webster a “facetious” move to score “cheap political points”. At yesterday’s press conference held at Freedom House, Minister Webster declared that comments in this regard emanating from Moses Nagamootoo underscore “uncouth” character traits. The prime ministerial candidate of A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition railed last Sunday on Mrs Harper while making remarks at a rally held at Whim in Region

Women of the PPP/C. From left are Jennifer Webster, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Elisabeth Harper, Africo Selman and party stalwart Gail Teixeira

and neighbours, in deep shock, recalled what a pleasant and obedient

child Jadon was. “His mother never had problems with him,” his tear-

From page 2

ful grandmother volunteered, recalling that his eldest brother was also

killed during the Easter season. He died on Easter Sunday, 2012.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

CORRUPTION IN GUYANA:

perception versus reality WITH one of the most significant General and Regional Elections since 1992 looming, the political cost of the corruption question is being weighed against variations in ‘answers’ from political contenders.

However much is said about corruption in Guyana, the consensus from politicos is that there is a gap between the perception of corruption and the actual incidence of corruption; and this is supported by credible reports that

are as recent as 2014. A report compiled by Vanderbuilt University’s Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), a premier academic institution that is a large, cross-national regional research project which under-

takes surveys in the Americas and has over 30 years of experience, was released on December 3, 2014. It addresses ‘The Political Culture of Democracy in the Americas’, and speaks to the incidence of corruption in Guyana. That

'There is a weak correspondence at the country level between the bribery victimization and perceptions of government corruption.' – LAPOP: The Political Culture of Democracy in the Americas (2014) report finds, between incidence and perception, a huge gap measuring a whopping 84 per cent. That 2014 Americas Barometer study is based on interviews with 49,738 respondents in over 20 coun-

countries is Venezuela with an 80 per cent rating, while Canada again secured the lowest ranking with a 61.8 per cent rating. “There is a weak correspondence at the country level between the bribery

tries. Nationally representative surveys of voting age adults were conducted in all major languages using faceto-face interviews in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Internet surveys in the United States and Canada. The sample size was over 1,500 Guyanese.

victimisation and perceptions of government corruption,” the report said. The report also detailed that there are differences, seen in categorising individuals involved/affected by incidences of corruption; for example, corruption experiences break down on gender lines. The report said, “Group diversity reflects differences in the shares of individuals that are willing to offer a bribe, as well as differences in which groups are targeted by officials. Differences across groups can also potentially reflect differences in the frequency with which groups interact with specific institutions or government officials.” The report adds, “If we look within countries, individuals who were targeted for bribery in the last year judge their public officials as more corrupt than their counterparts…of course one does not have to be directly affected by corruption to believe corruption is common… personal experiences with corruption, on average, spill over into broad evaluations of political corruption, even if the two concepts do not perfectly coincide.”

'Corruption also generates political cost…corruption has pernicious economic, social, and political effects.' – LAPOP: The Political Culture of Democracy in the Americas (2014)

TWO DIMENSIONS Among other things, the report focused on two related but distinct dimensions of corruption: whether or not the respondents were asked to pay a bribe to obtain services; and if they perceive public officials as corrupt. According to the report, Guyana ranks at 14 out of 25 countries where citizens acceded to police bribery requests, and participated in bribery in schools, public health services, and work settings. The corruption victimisation rate was estimated at 15.8 per cent, with Haiti topping the list with 69.2 per cent of corruption victimisation, and Canada having the lowest with 4.4 per cent. On another parallel, the perception of corruption found Guyana ranking in fourth place with a 78.5 per cent. Topping the list of 21

Turn to page 15 ►

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Nigeria: A plunge into the unknown By Gwynne Dyer

“I think, once a dictator, always a dictator,” said Sonnie Ekwowusi, a columnist for Nigeria’s This Day newspaper. “Many people are afraid that if (Muhammadu Buhari) wins, they will go to prison.” Well, Buhari did win the presidential election, and there are many people in Nigeria who really should go to prison, mainly for corruption while in political office. Quite a lot of them worked with or for the outgoing president, Goodluck Jonathan, whose six years in office were marked by corruption that was impressive, even by Nigeria’s demanding standards. The problem is that the last time Muhammadu Buhari was president, in 1984-85, he was a general who seized the office in a military coup and jailed not only the elected president, Shehu Shagari, but some 500 hundred politicians, officials and businessmen. Many of them undoubtedly deserved it, but legal norms were not observed, and many other people whose only offense was criticising Buhari (like famed musician Fela Kuti) also ended up behind bars. That President Buhari, now 30 years in the past, was single-minded in his anti-corruption drive, but also somewhat simple-minded. At the petty end of the spectrum, civil servants who short-changed the government by showing up late for

work were forced to do frog hops. At the other end, he ordered the abduction of Shehu Shagariâs former adviser, Umaru Dikko, who was found drugged in a shipping crate at London’s Stansted airport. He was the loosest of loose cannons, and his own military colleagues overthrew him after 20 months of arbitrary mayhem. But once democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999, Buhari started running for president as a born-again democrat. Now, on his fourth try, he has won, and by a safe margin: 15 million votes to Jonathan’s 12.5 million. It’s a typically low Nigerian turnout; around a third of eligible voters. But it is nevertheless a famous victory. It’s the first time in half a century of Nigerian independence that one elected president has handed over power to another after losing an election. Full credit to Goodluck Jonathan for that: Unusually for Nigeria, he didn’t dispute the outcome of the election. But there is still a large question mark over his successor. Partly it is a question of whether the leopard can ever truly change his spots. Buhari claims to have changed a great deal in thirty years, and has apologised for his past behaviour while in power, but the doubts inevitably linger. And partly it is a question of whether anybody can rule Nigeria successfully. The country has three major problems that cannot be solved in the short term. The

CORRUPTION IN... POLITICAL MILEAGE This spillover -– the fact that incidence and perception of corruption do not coincide -– influences the generation of a political cost. “Corruption also generates political cost…corruption has pernicious economic, social, and political effects,” the report said, adding that a worry is that citizens might begin to consider corruption as a natural part of politics. Political observers insist that the variation in ‘answers’ from political contenders to the corruption question translates to a new problem -– the blurring of lines between having corruption seen as a “natural party of politics”, and scoring political points and

securing political mileage. The political Opposition has, year after year, latched onto reports from Transparency International (TI) relative to its Corruption Perception Index (CPI), despite criticisms of its reliance on questionable sources of data. TI’s admission with regard to its methodology in compiling its reports has not served it well in debunking the mounting criticisms, at both regional and international levels, which continue to be laid at its doorstep. Irrespective of the fact that these concerns have not been addressed, unsubstantiated allegations of corruption continue to be levelled against the governing party, which

population, now 182 million, is growing at five million a year, and the birth rate had not dropped at all in the past ten years. Nigeria will overtake the United States in population by 2050, but it will be packing all those people into an area only slightly larger than Texas. Secondly, Nigeria is more or less evenly split between Muslims, mostly in the northern half of the country, and Christians in the centre and south, but per capita income in the north is only half that in the south. The election of Buhari, a Muslim from the north, restores the traditional alternation of Christians and Muslims in the presidency, but that deal is unlikely to last much longer, because the northern birth rate is far higher than in the south. Thirdly, the poverty and over-population of the north has been an excellent incubator for extremism, and an Islamist cult called Boko Haram has now seized control of much of the north-east. At least 13,000 people have been killed in the ongoing violence since 2009, and a million-and-a-half have been displaced. Boko Haram now swears allegiance to the ‘caliph’ of the ‘Islamic State (ISIS)’ in the Middle East, and competes with it in cruelty. Oh! And the price of oil, the main source of government revenue, is down by half. Muhammadu Buhari may be a reformed character, and he will certainly do much

Gwynne Dyer

more than Goodluck Jonathan on the anti-corruption front. (He could hardly do less.) But all these other problems will continue to undermine Nigeria’s stability and prosperity, even if he manages to eliminate the worst of the corruption. On the other hand, it could be a lot worse. As Wole Soyinka, the celebrated author who has become Nigeria’s public conscience, told The Guardian on Tuesday, “Unambiguously, it is good that the Jonathan government has been removed. It was impossible. Even a plunge into the unknown was preferable to what was going on. We were drowning.”

From page 14

has been in office for over two decades. The consensus from the leadership of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is that if the evidence of corruption is produced, action will be taken without apology. No such evidence has been brought to the fore, although the Ministry of Home Affairs’ ‘I Paid A Bribe’ website has led to some investigations into areas where bribes were reportedly paid, particularly in the Traffic Department. This, however, is not seen as enough; and reports on mass firings of Cabinet ministers by Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar, for wrong-

doings have not helped to limit the corruption perception. CONCRETE ACTION Concrete action by the current administration has, however, found favour in some quarters. Guyana signed the Inter-American Convention against Corruption in 1996, and ratified it in 2000. As recent as on June 16, 2011, Guyana has designated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as its central authority to deal with matters related to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. Under its obligation, Guyana has had its first review in 2006; its second in 2008, and its third in 2011.In September

2011, when the third-round review of all the countries was completed, the committee decided that the fourth round would include visits to countries as well as a follow-up on implementation of the recommendations that were made during the first-cycle review in 2006. As it relates to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the areas addressed include prevention, criminalisation, international cooperation, and asset recovery. Guyana signed on to that Convention in 2003, and ratified it in 2008. Guyana has also taken steps to address the issue of corruption. By becoming party to the

two anti-corruption conventions, the country has undertaken obligations and expectations for enactment of the standards and rules that are central to both conventions. The LAPOP Report recognises that corruption trails crime and the economy as public priorities in the Americas. The public has consistently been force-fed a diet of corruption cases, and political observers have recommended that the issue be registered as an issue in election debates, giving an opportunity to clear the air and have facts like the ones underscored in the LAPOP Report addressed in public.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Continue positive change ...Cummings Lodge spawned by PPP/C residents urged “INSTEAD of the APNU+AFC telling the people what they will do for them, they are telling you what they will be doing for themselves!” People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Vindhya Persaud emphasised this point at a recent PPP/C political meeting as she educated residents of Hugh Ghanie Park in Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, on the surreptitious happenings in the coalesced opposition. Dr Persaud admonished the large and attentive audience with the following words: “Time and time again we were oppressed, but each one of you has a voice, and you must exercise that voice at this year’s election.” A PPP/C victory, she noted, will happen only if everyone in the various audiences go out and vote PPP/C. She thanked Cummings Lodge for its continued support of the PPP/C over the

years; “and I hope you are ready to work with us and stand with us at a critical time in our history”, she added. Explaining the procedures of voting and voting right, she placed much emphasis on addressing youths in the community who would be voting for the very first time. “We want you to come out and vote, and do it right!” she said, as she urged the residents to make sure they know where their polling stations are located. Dr Persaud echoed the words of her colleagues when expressing her concerns for educating the youths about the history of the people of Guyana, and the struggles they faced prior to 1992. “We must know of the struggles and problems we had in the past, so that we don’t repeat the same mistake in the future. “Times have changed, we have moved, and today we all enjoy the benefits of hard work and struggle. We have

Dr Vindhya Persaud during her address

an improved education system, better health care, better roads and water supply among other (things)”, she said. Speaking on the empowerment of women, Dr Persaud noted that the Government has always placed emphasis on empowering women. “We have one-third of the PPP/C Parliamentary seats given to the women of our country; and in this year’s elections, we have chosen a

woman to represent us at the prime ministerial position. That woman is Mrs Elisabeth Harper!” she proudly declared. She took time to emphasise on the things that had been included in the previous manifesto and those in the current manifesto as those things relate to women and their betterment. Dr Persaud concluded her speech by urging the residents

to go out and vote. “We need you to come out and vote on May 11! Exercise your right and return the PPP/C to Government with a majority win!” she urged the audience. Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Mr Anil Nandlall, in his speech, declared: “This is one of the most important elections of our history! This election is about the future we want for the younger generation to live under.” The Attorney General also highlighted that A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has changed face on numerous occasions; and now, he said, they have roped in another -- the Alliance For Change (AFC) -- for this love affair they are trying to forge. “You are the persons who will decide what you want on May 11; and if you want to continue with positive change, then you know what your choice should be!” he stressed. People’s Progressive Party

Civic representative Rikki Ramrai, who was also a featured speaker at that meeting, began the night’s proceedings by encouraging his audience with these words: “Each and every one of you (is asked to) reflect on where our country was, where it is today, and where we want our country to be in the future.” He noted that, over the years, “we have had massive development across our country; but we also need to reflect on what is the best vehicle that will take us from today to the future. “You are all aware,” he declared, “of where we were prior to 1992, and you have seen what this Government -- this PPP/C Government -- has done since then! You have seen the track record of the PPP/C, and this is the only party that can move us into the future. Come May 11, ensure that you put the X next to the cup and return the PPP/C to government with a majority!” Ramraj stressed. (Rebecca Ganesh)

GT&T holds first Easter Hat Show THE Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Limited (GT&T) held its first ever Easter Hat Show at its main office at 69 Brickdam, Georgetown, and participants were staff members from its different departments. Proceedings were filled with laughter and camaraderie even as keen rivalry dominated the quest for first prize among the twelve departments that vied to be crowned the best. Participants were tasked with making Easter hats that appropriately represented the department in which they worked, and each hat depicted what service that department provided on an average day. The hats were judged on their originality, creativity, crowd appeal, brand representation and humour. The hats were, moreover, guarded under lock and key as each department had its ‘lookout’ checking on the competition. The judges were inevitably given the Devil’s own job to decide which hat was the best. (Rebecca Ganesh)

A section of the staff members in attendance

A male model from the OSP and Maintenance Department poses for the cameras

Even the Canteen became involved and presented its depiction of healthy eating

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

US$30M SKELDON POWER DEAL:

Critical financing now accessible for system upgrades – GPL Chairman SKELDON Energy Inc. (SEI), the recently created power company that, for US$30M, acquired the installed generation facilities owned by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), can now approach financial institutions and be able to refinance its operations aimed at system upgrades and expansion. This is according to Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Mr Winston Brassington, who made the announcement this past week and alluded to the add-on benefits as a result of the transaction. He said: “One of the benefits of this arrangement is the ability to have a stand-alone, independent power producer who, based on the revenue stream that it can derive from the sale of power, can finance all that is needed not only to pay GuySuCo for the assets, but also to invest in expanding and maintaining these assets.” GPL has, in recent years, been the recipient of billions of dollars in transfers from Central Government; but, in securing a windfall from the drop in fuel prices, the power company has managed to shell over a total of US$15M to acquire the facilities. SEI is jointly owned by GPL and the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL). Financing, for the project comes in the form of debt and equity involving GPL and NICIL, in addition to local and

international financial institutions. Skeldon Energy Inc. is funded using equity financing of US$9M and debt financing to the tune of US$21M, secured from local and international financial institutions. Brassington has explained that, on the equity side, US$5M will be coming directly from NICIL, with an additional US$4M coming from GPL. Repayment of the US$21M debt financing will be made using earnings from the sale of power to GPL and GuySuCo. REFINANCING GPL has, over the years, been unable to secure large sources of financing, leading to Government having to intervene on numerous occasions to bail the power company out. This has led Brassington to point out that SEI will be able to approach financial institutions based on the strength of its Power Purchase Agreements, assets and revenue stream. Brassington, who also sits as Executive Director of NICL, explained to media operatives during the announcement that an agreement has already been inked with Wartsila for the management of the power plant. He said, too, that Wartsila has agreed to inject just over US$3M into rehabilitation of the generation facilities acquired by SEI, and this money would be refinanced over time. INCREASED DEMAND “We have to plan to

Winston Brassington

ensure we have sufficient generation…. If Skeldon was not available, we would need to look at installing additional generation,” Brassington said as he spoke to the increase in demand for electricity in the country of Berbice. The excess available from the Demerara grid which is exported to Berbice will not be sufficient in the future, given the ever growing demands, Brassington said. Speaking to the US$30M deal that led to the creation of SEI along with its acquisition of the GuySuCo generation facilities, Brassington said: “What we are doing here is seeking to not only maintain, but to expand the power generation facilities at Skeldon.” The Chairman of the GPL Board explained, saying: “By next year, we expect the total power generated out of that plant to increase by 50 per cent; and by 2019, (we expect) the total power to double.” The investment, he said, was inevitable, “and this is the optimal way to

make that investment.” As part of the US$30M transaction, SEI acquired three Wartsila generation plants at an installed capacity of 10MW, in addition to a bagasse-using cogeneration plant with an installed capacity of 30MW. ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS According to Brassington, the 30MW cogeneration facility has more installed capacity than has even been used; but, “in order to harness that full capacity, we need to do a number of things… we need to make some investments to increase the transformer capacity so we could take more power out of that plant.” He said it is expected that, over time, “we will be able to maximize the level of power coming out of there.” The GPL Chairman said, too, that based on modest projections, it is expected that the power leaving the plant will double in a few years’ time. Brassington used the

Raj Singh

opportunity to explain that, by putting the generation facilities into a separate company with focused management, “that company, as a separate stand-alone unit, on the strength of the Power Purchase Agreement between GPL and GuySuCo, can go out and raise money for financing whatever it needs to do.” He stressed: “One of the benefits of this arrangement is the ability to have a stand-alone independent power producer who, based on the revenue stream that it can derive from the sale of power, can finance all that is needed not only to pay GuySuCo for the assets, but also to invest in expanding and maintaining these assets; and that is one of the huge benefits!” As a result of the transaction, US$30M in capital resources will be going directly to GuySuCo to pay off its creditors, while the new arrangements are also expected to lend to a more stable and reliable source of power and, at the same time, relieve

the sugar company of the responsibility to manage the power plant. REBUILDING CONFIDENCE Meanwhile, GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr Raj Singh, who was also on hand for the historic announcement, told reporters bluntly that the US$30M “is clearly going to our creditors, our suppliers, our contractors, companies and entities that we owe monies to; and we have begun payment already to those creditors.” What GuySuCo is also looking to do with the US$30M, according to Singh, “is to rebuild confidence in our creditors so that we can continue to have business relationships with them that would serve both of us well…. We are working hard to do that!” GuySuCo staff members previously attached to the generation facility have since been seconded to SEI to work along with the Wartsila management team.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Resounding victory for PPP/C come May 11

– Leguan residents assure at public meeting

President Ramotar addresses the rally at Leguan

RESIDENTS on the island of Leguan, Region 3, are confident that the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic will return to office at the May 11 polls. Pledging their support at a public rally Thursday evening on the island, they assured President Donald Ramotar, PPP/C’s Presidential Candidate, and Housing and Water Minister Irfan Ali that they will turn out in their numbers on polling day to cast their ballots in support of the PPP/C. Supporters brightly decked out in the party colours of red, black and yellow, adorned the streets and themselves with replicas of the Party’s symbolic cup, chanting “Victory for the PPP/C! Progress must continue! The PPP/C in and we staying in!” Welcoming President Ramotar and Minister Ali, the supporters led a parade from the Leguan Stelling through the streets in Leguan before gathering for a rally. There Presidential Can-

didate for the PPP/C, Donald Ramotar, thanked them for their support and urged that they cast their ballots correctly next to the cup come election day. “For me and the PPP being in Government is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. What we want to do fundamentally is to lift the quality of life of all the people of our country so that we can end poverty, end ignorance,” he said. Explaining the prorogation of Parliament to the residents, Ramotar recalled that the Opposition loomed with a no confidence motion and “it means that the Parliament would have been shut down immediately, so I prorogued the Parliament.” He noted that he opted for prorogation to give people time to be registered and for the Guyana Elections Commission to accommodate people, “and with the new round of registration more than 7000 new persons came on the list.” Ramotar also spoke

about the challenges of the Tenth Parliament, such as the non-passage of the telecommunications bills, which would have allowed more companies to be involved in the telecommunication system and widen internet spread across the country. “The Opposition refused to talk about that!” The modernisation of education bill faced a similar fate, and this was a major setback, “because since 1966 we did not have a new bill to modernise education and we needed to align education with the needs of the people to create more jobs. And again the Opposition refused to talk.” The anti-money laundering bill also did not attract the Opposition’s support, which is a spoke in the wheel of Government’s effort to fight terrorism and drug trafficking. “The international community can blacklist our country and if they do, all of us will suffer…two times they voted against the bill. They voted against the

people…but they don’t care. They want power. When they vote against this bill they actually vote to support the criminals. This is the nature of the people we are dealing with,” he said. Over the last three years, the Opposition’s efforts have stymied progress, Ramotar said, but in spite of these challenges and the global financial crisis, Guyana has progressed and recorded several years of consecutive economic growth. “Internally, the Opposition has not lifted a finger. They did not use their one seat majority to promote development in Guyana. They did not say government you need to build more school, road, or hospital, or government you need to invest more in the productive sector. They never. Instead they used their one seat majority to try to cut $89 billion from the budget to prevent us from spending that money on you,” he said. He said that the areas that came under the axe included

the Amerindian Development Fund, the expansion of the airport, and student loans for students attending the University of Guyana. “How can they come now and try to tell you they are interested in young people when, with their one seat majority, they tried to deprive young people of a tertiary education… the Opposition voted for that project in 2013 and we went and signed a contract to build a new airport, and in 2014 they voted against it and that means that if we did not put back the money we could have been sued by the company for billions of dollars for breach of contract, so the Opposition deliberately set out to put our country in harm’s way,” he said. He told the supporters of other countries cutting corners, such as scaling down and closing their sugar industries to rally the economic down turn. The President also spoke of several initiatives geared at improving people’s lives

under his administration, including the $10,000 school children’s grant, and the provision of transportation, school meals and textbooks. He noted that progress is sure, but will take time because of the state Guyana was left in by the PNC Government. Reading from an affidavit by Carl Grenidge, the Finance Minister under the PNC, Ramotar quoted Grenidge as saying “Guyana is one of the poorest countries of the world and the second poorest in the western hemisphere. That is what the PNC, now calling themselves APNU, did to Guyana. When the coliation government in 1964 took power, Guyana was the most developed country of the English speaking Caribbean.” Speaking about future plans for Guyana, the President said high on the list of priorities is the development of human resources, people’s quality of life, the country’s infrastructure, inclusive of air transport and tourism. Taking the podium, Minister Ali told the gathering that the elections are about “the future of the country, the future of your children.” He took them back to the time in history when there was limited access to education and people living in Leguan suffered immensely. “Today, right here in Leguan, not only do we have access to primary, but secondary education as well, and many young people from Leguan are attending the University of Guyana and Cyril Potter College of Education. These are opportunities that you never had that your children and grandchildren have today. … things are not perfect we have work to do on the roads, sea defence and better management of the hospital, but we have improved,” he said.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Resounding victory for PPP/C come May 11

– Leguan residents assure at public meeting

President Ramotar addresses the rally at Leguan

about the challenges of the tenth parliament, such as the non-passage of the telecommunications bills, which would have allowed more companies to be involved in the telecommunication system and widen internet spread across the country. “The opposition refused to talk about that!” The modernisation of education bill faced a similar fate, and this was a major setback, “because since 1966 we did not have a new bill to modernise education and we needed to align education with the needs of the people to create more jobs. And again the Opposition refused to talk.” The anti-money laundering bill also did not attract the Opposition’s support, which is a spoke in the wheel of Government’s effort to fight terrorism and drug trafficking. “The international community can blacklist our country and if they do, all of us will suffer…two times they voted against the bill. They voted against the

people…but they don’t care. They want power. When they vote against this bill they actually vote to support the criminals. This is the nature of the people we are dealing with,” he said. Over the last three year, the Opposition’s efforts have stymied progress, Ramotar said, but in spite of these challenges and the global financial crisis, Guyana has progressed and recorded several years of consecutive economic growth. “Internally, the Opposition has not lifted a finger. They did not use their one seat majority to promote development in Guyana. They did not say government you need to build more school, road, or hospital, or government you need to invest more in the productive sector. They never. Instead they used their one seat majority to try to cut $89 billion from the budget to prevent us from spending that money on you,” he said. He said that the areas that came under the axe included

the Amerindian Development Fund, the expansion of the airport, and student loans for students attending the University of Guyana. “How can they come now and try to tell you they are interested in young people when, with their one seat majority, they tried to deprive young people of a tertiary education… the Opposition voted for that project in 2013 and we went and signed a contract to build a new airport, and in 2014 they voted against it and that means that if we did not put back the money we could have been sued by the company for billions of dollars for breach of contract, so the opposition deliberately set out to put our country in harm’s way,” he said. He told the supporters of other countries cutting corners, such as scaling down and closing their sugar industries to rally the economic down turn. The President also spoke of several initiatives geared at improving people’s lives

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Community related policing marked with youth expo By Leroy Smith

the force. Television personality The Guyana Police Force Travis Chase, who perlast Sunday took some formed the duties of master time out from the busy of ceremonies, kept the schedule of its elections crowd lively as the young and other preparations people took to the stage to host a youth exposition displaying fashion and talfor twelve youth groups ent in various disciplines which have been formed including dance, song and and supported by the po- drama. lice “A” Division over the On display were food, last year. craft, art, achievements of Sunday’s event, at the the groups and the force Thirst Park ground, re- over the last year. ceived the blessing not Addressing the gathonly of the Commissioner ering were Commander of Police and Divisional Hicken and Top Cop Seelall Commander, but also the Persaud. In his address, business community and Hicken expressed his apprivate sector. preciation for the level of The main focus of the participation shown by the initiative was to bring the youth groups, communities young people from the var- and the support provided by ious youth groups together police ranks who have been to celebrate the one year part of the process from anniversary of the police day one. public/ partnership which Hicken said that next has come to to all divi- year the event is expected sions since Commissioner to be even bigger ,as they Seelall Persaud took over plan to commission even

more youth groups. He stressed that what is important is that all the groups have been socialised to learn a different skills, so that whenever they all come together they can learn from each other. According to Mr. Clifton Hicken, the force has seen added ways of working with the young people and those would be adopted as soon as the groups get back to their normal weekend activities, and after the hectic political season which will demand that the police be on the alert. develop that relationship that will see each being comfortable with each other. According to Seelall Persaud, the Guyana Police Force has been able to see a reduction in serious crimes. And he credited this directly to the involvement of the police with the communities.

Commissioner Persaud, Commander Hicken and other senior ranks seated in the front row at Sunday’s event

Children from youth groups interact with the cartoon characters

Police in Divisions A, D, E distribute kites to communities By Leroy Smith A DIVISION Commander Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken, D Division Commander Marlon Chapman and E Division Commander Calvin Brutus have brought Easter cheer to hundreds of children within their respective divisions. On Thursday the police in D Division distributed kites to several of the youth groups which they have been

working with over the past months and where youth groups have been formed. The kites were procured with the assistance of members of the business community. And yesterday , Commanders Hicken and Brutus followed suit in their respective divisions. Commander Brutus distributed kites to approximately 35 children from Blue Berry Hill. He conducted the distribution following

the official closing of the community’s police youth group activities for the Easter season. Meanwhile in A Division, Commander Hicken travelled to five different communities where he also distributed kites. In addition, Hicken also used the opportunity to pass through several communities where the police have not yet commenced community relations, and distributed kites.

A Division Commander Hicken and members of his team distribute kites to children of North Sophia

Commander D Division Marlon Chapman and his deputy pose with the children in that division during a kite distribution on Thursday

E Division Commander Calvin Brutus and Deputy Commander Lowenfield pose with children and teachers on Saturday in Linden

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Community related policing marked with youth expo THE Guyana Police Force last Sunday took some time out from the busy schedule of its elections and other preparations to host a youth exposition for twelve youth groups which have been formed and supported by the police “A” Division over the last year. Sunday’s event, at the Thirst Park ground, received the blessing not only of the Commissioner of Police and Divisional Commander, but also the business community and private sector. The main focus of the initiative was to bring the young people from the various youth groups together to celebrate the one year anniversary of the police public/ partnership which has come to all divisions since Commissioner Seelall Persaud took over the

force. Television personali t y Tr a v i s C h a s e , w h o performed the duties of master of ceremonies, kept the crowd lively as the young people took to the stage displaying fashion and talent in various disciplines including dance, song and drama. On display were food, craft, art, achievements of the groups and the force over the last year. Addressing the gathering were Commander Hicken and Top Cop Seelall Persaud. In his address, Hicken expressed his appreciation for the level of participation shown by the youth groups, communities and the support provided by police ranks who have been part of the process from day one. Hicken said that next year the event is expected to be even bigger ,as

they plan to commission even more youth groups. He stressed that what is important is that all the groups have been socialised to learn a different skills, so that whenever they all come together they can learn from each other. According to Mr. Clifton Hicken, the force has seen added ways of working with the young people and those would be adopted as soon as the groups get back to their normal weekend activities, and after the hectic political season which will demand that the police be on the alert. According to Seelall Persaud, the Guyana Police Force has been able to see a reduction in serious crimes. And he credited this directly to the involvement of the police with the communities.

Commissioner Persaud, Commander Hicken and Clinton Urling seated in the front row at Sunday’s event

Children from youth groups interact with the cartoon characters

Police in Divisions A, D, E distribute kites to communities A DIVISION Commander Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken, D Division Commander Marlon Chapman and E Division Commander Calvin Brutus have brought Easter cheer to hundreds of children within their respective divisions. On Thursday the police in D Division distributed kites to several of the youth groups which they have been working with over the past months and

where youth groups have been formed. The kites were procured with the assistance of members of the business community. And yesterday , Commanders Hicken and Brutus followed suit in their respective divisions. Commander Brutus distributed kites to approximately 35 children from Blue Berry Hill. He conducted the distribution following the official closing

of the community’s police youth group activities for the Easter season. Meanwhile in A Division, Commander Hicken travelled to five different communities where he also distributed kites. In addition, Hicken also used the opportunity to pass through severa l c o m m u n i t i e s w h e re the police have not yet commenced community relations, and distributed kites.

A Division Commander Hicken and members of his team distribute kites to children of North Sophia

Commander D Division Marlon Chapman and his deputy pose with the children in that division during a kite distribution on Thursday

E Division Commander Calvin Brutus and Deputy Commander Lowenfield pose with children and teachers on Saturday in Linden

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Marriott owners lodge protest against Kaieteur, Stabroek News

…provide evidence discrediting erroneous claims by Chris Ram ATLANTIC Hotel Inc (AHI)—the owners of the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown—have lodged a formal complaint with the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU), over recent reportage by the privately owned Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, and provided evidence discrediting what it calls erroneous reports. The two privately owned newspapers recently regurgitated assertions by blogger Christopher Ram, who claimed on his chrisram.net outlet that the ‘Construction Contract’ for the US$58M Marriott Hotel, with Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), was in fact inked before a Feasibility Study was completed. ERRONEOUS PUBLICATIONS AHI, the owners of the Marriott Hotel, in a public missive, have since put its complaint to the MMU— an arm of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)—into context, noting that following the erroneous publications, clarifications were offered but these were never published by the offending newspapers. Ram, in his writings, relied on a Feasibility Study dated 2012 and conducted by HVS Consulting and Valuation. He juxtaposed this with the date for which the Construction Contract was inked with SCG in November of 2011, the previous year. According to AHI, what Ram, Kaieteur News and Stabroek News failed to acknowledge is the fact

Christopher Ram

'The credibility of the press is linked with commitment to truth, to the pursuit of accuracy, fairness and objectivity …the obtainment of these goals and the respect for ethical and professional values may not be imposed. These are the exclusive responsibility of journalists and the media' that since 2012, all Members of Parliament were provided with the knowledge that the Marriott Group, along with an Independent American Firm, had already completed two Feasibility Studies for the Hotel Project since 2010. AHI said the 2012 document referred to by Ram is in fact an updated 2010 report, done by the American Firm, HVS Consulting and Valuation. This information was provided to all Parliamentarians in February 2012 and recently resupplied to

the media following the erroneous publications, none of which were retracted or corrections issued. EVIDENCE AHI has since made public extracts of the Feasibility Studies conducted by the Marriott International Inc. and HVS Consulting and Valuation in 2010, inherently discrediting the offending articles. One extract made public was pulled from the report’s Market Study and Feasibility Analysis Chapter for the Proposed

Winston Brassington

Marriott Hotel and Entertainment Complex. The extract states: “The date of the report is October4, 2010. The subject site was inspected by John P. lancet on September 14, 2010.” AHI also disclosed that in the 2010 Feasibility Report conducted by HVS Consulting and Valuation Services, it was envisaged: “The proposed hotel will be managed by Marriott Worldwide Corporation (MWC). Terms of this agreement call for a base management fee of 0.25% of total (gross) revenues.” Providing further evidence of the 2010 studies for the Marriott Hotel, AHI also supplied an extract of the ‘Executive Summary Market Study and Estimates of Future Operating Performance dated January 2010 and prepared by:

“Marriott International Inc. Development Planning and Feasibility.” At the time, according to the documents supplied by AHI, the hotel was envisioned to be a 160-room edifice. AHI, in further discrediting the assertions by Ram and reprinted by both the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, also supplied an extract of the ‘Estimates of Future Operating Performance’ dated February 2011, this time for a 197-room facility, also prepared by Marriott International Inc. UNFORTUNATE MEDIA In the strongly worded missive, AHI has since reminded that under the ‘Declaration of Chapultec’, of which the Guyana Government is a

signatory: “The credibility of the press is linked with commitment to truth, to the pursuit of accuracy, fairness and objectivity …the obtainment of these goals and the respect for ethical and professional values may not be imposed. These are the exclusive responsibility of journalists and the media.” According to AHI, “It is unfortunate that our media consistently fail to accept that responsibility.” Winston Brassington, AHI’s Chairman, as a result of the infractions and failure on the part of the named media houses to correct the erroneous reportage, states: “We shall be writing to the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) of GECOM and to the Guyana Press Association, pointing out the unprofessional and completely unacceptable behaviour of our media in publishing Mr Ram’s false allegations without any attempt to verify their accuracy and then refusing to publish our response to these allegations which they publish.” Brassington stated too, “It has now become the habit of Mr Ram to publish in his blog, inaccurate, tasteless and, often, defamatory statements with regard to myself, NICIL and the Marriott Hotel, without any reference to the facts or the truth.” “It is unfortunate that some media houses believe that they have a license to indiscriminately republish Mr Ram’s utterances without any regard for the obvious inaccuracies,” he opined.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Chronicle Weekend Roundup with Telesha Ramnarine March 30-April 4, 2015

Monday, 30

PPP/C launches elections campaign… Ramotar to Granger: ‘GAME OVER’

AS much as an hour before the scheduled start time for the official launch of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) 2015 elections campaign, large groups of supporters trailed all along Alexander Street, Kitty. jamming to what has become a traditional feature at PPP/C events, Bob Marley tunes, the energy in the air was tangible. Tassa drumming added pep to the steps of the many groups that marched along the Kitty Market square inching their way closer to the campaign platform. President Donald Ramotar’s message to the Alliance of A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) was made clear – come May 11 at the General and Regional elections, it is “game over.” The incumbent President detailed in a meticulous manner the plans, programmes, policies and legislative agenda that form part of the PPP/C vision for Guyana after May 11.

Granger touts revamping of sugar industry at Whim rally

EXPRESSING concerns last year about the viability of the sugar industry in Guyana, presidential candidate of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, David Granger, proffered the idea of a revamping of the sugar industry should his party be elected to the government at the May 11 General and Regional elections. But this new position is one which contradicts that of his party following calls made last year by Executive member of APNU, and sugar expert, Anthony Vieira, who posited that the production of alcohol-ethanol as a replacement to sugar is a more “viable” option. Facing a crowd of thousands last evening at their Unity Rally held at Whim, Berbice, Granger insisted on the importance of sugar to the economy of Guyana, adding that Berbice is the cutting edge of Guyana’s economy since it is perfectly positioned to aid in economic growth through the maneuverings of different sectors of production.

‘Guyanese people need more than allegations, bring the evidence’

A QUESTIONABLE property acquisition in 1993 and the equally “questionable” record of Carl Greenidge as a former finance minister were brought into the spotlight by former President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo. He was responding to allegations of corruption, which the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) executive charged were facilitated by him and others in the leadership of the ruling party. “Greenidge is contesting to be the minister of finance if they win power…if you are coming to the people and asking for their votes, then you cannot run from your record,” the former President posited. Dr Jagdeo was adamant that Greenidge owes the Guyanese people, whose votes he is asking for, more than allegations. Tuesday, 31

Andrew ‘Six-Head’ Lewis now declares support for APNU+AFC

LESS than a week after declaring his endorsement of the People’s Progressive

Party/Civic (PPP/C), former world boxing champion Andrew ‘Six-Head’ Lewis has recanted this statement, saying that he is now firmly behind the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) alliance. Lewis, at a PPP/C rally in Albouystown last week, had told the Guyana Chronicle, in the presence of former Labour Minister, Mr Manzoor Nadir, that he endorses the ruling party, and is on board to ‘knock out’ the APNU+AFC alliance.

National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition. A statement said NCN had been forced to abandon its series of debates after exhaustive efforts failed to get all stakeholders on board. It added that the debate series was aimed at allowing the two main contesting political parties in the General and Regional Elections and other stakeholders to ventilate their positions on several national issues, including the sugar and bauxite industries and crime and security.

Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), will be servicing primarily the Berbice area under the management of Wartsila. GuySuCo, in turn, will be paid US$30M which will immediately be used to settle a number of owed creditors, including the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). Wartsila, in the Management Agreement, has also committed to investing an additional US$3M in rehabilitation works on the generation end.

Jagdeo tells Kitty rally… Granger ‘chasing away’ investors

Kaieteur News hits ‘new low’ – U.S. Embassy demands newspaper apologise for fabrication

Education Minister commissions state-of-the-art nursery school in Region 6

FORMER President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said Guyana has moved from being a country where the national wealth could not sustain its investment needs to a nation on a stronger footing. Speaking at the launch of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C)’s campaign at the Kitty Market Square, Dr. Jagdeo told the thousands in attendance that there was a time when Guyana could not get any investment because it was managed by an insular administration. The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), he said, has not changed, and has found a willing partner in the Alliance For Change (AFC) in chasing away investors.

Three dead, six hospitalised in West Berbice accident

A drunken spree at a pool party in New Amsterdam in Region 6 ended in an horrific accident on the shoulders of the Good Hope Public Road on the West Coast of Berbice in Region 5 in the wee hours of the morning, and the consequent death of three New Amsterdamers plus hospitalisation of six others at the New Amsterdam and Georgetown public hospitals. Tommy Thomas, Jeron James and Jevon Gregory-James all lost their lives when rented Toyota Raum PRR 1163, crammed with nine persons, according to the police, became uncontrollable and collided with two lorries parked on the shoulder of the road at Good Hope, West Coast Berbice. Brian Simpson, Janelle Blackman, Luanna Ross, Jamacey Monroe, Demville Hemthor and Devon Pydana were all hospitalised as a result of the accident. Wednesday, 1

TUF to go it alone at May 11 polls

TARGETING primarily the youth support base in Regions 1, 8 and , the United Force (TUF) is preparing to launch its 2015 Elections Campaign with Party Leader, Marissa Nadir at the helm as Presidential Candidate. In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Nadir, who had contested the 2011 General and Regional Elections as Prime Ministerial Candidate of the party, said she is not so naïve as to think that the TUF at this election could win and is instead aiming at a minimum of two seats. The young politician and practicing attorney-at-law told the Guyana Chronicle that come May 11, the TUF is looking to secure a voice for the Guyanese youth in the National Assembly.

NCN forced to cancel debates – after non-confirmation from APNU+AFC

THREE rounds of town hall-style debates proposed by the National Communications Network (NCN) have been cancelled after non-confirmation from A Partnership for

THE United States Embassy in Georgetown has taken strong objection to the Kaieteur News publishing a fictitious story which gave the impression that the Embassy has a vendetta against the Government. The Kaieteur News, dubbed by ‘WikiLeaks’ as a ‘muck-raking newspaper’ that thrives on slander and sensationalism, represents a degeneration of the newspaper to a new low in the business of fabrication. The ‘false news’ in question was published under the headlined, “US revokes Gov’t officials’ visas… in major money laundering, bribery probe”. Thursday, 2

No. 51 Village Magistrate’s Court commissioned

JUSTICE must be blind so that people with money must not have more access to justice than the poor. In other words, the court must be a major defender of the poor. These were President Donald Ramotar’s words to members of the judiciary as he commisisoned yet another new court building, this time in Region 6. He unveiled the plaque to the $46M No. 51 Village Magistrate’s Court, East Berbice/Corentyne. The President recounted hearing of untold suffering from people across the country who feel deprived of justice because they lack resources and contacts. Persons, he said, also complain frequently of others being released on bail even though they are charged with committing serious offences or are repeat offenders.

Gunmen grab $90M – hijack bus with driver, police escort

The Police had in custody a minibus belonging to the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC), a serial robber, his girlfriend, a driver, and more importantly, two police constables. The five persons were taken into custody as investigations got underway with regard to a daring early morning robbery on Regent Street, when several bandits disarmed one of two police ranks of a G-3 rifle before forcing both ranks into the GPOC vehicle while ordering the driver to drive. The vehicle was transporting approximately $90M in seventeen bags which were destined for seventeen post offices to effect payment of old age pensions and other forms of public assistance.

US$30M Power Company comes online in Berbice

CABINET and Government’s Counsel of Ministers have approved the creation of a new power company, Skeldon Energy Inc (SEI), which, using the generation facilities previously owned by the Guyana

Friday, 3

A state-of-the-art nursery school, built to CARICOM standards, at a cost of $82.3M, with funding from the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), and equipped with ramps at the entrances and exits to cater for disabled children, was commissioned at No.77 Village, East Berbice Corentyne by Education Minister Priya Manickchand. The minister described the impressive edifice as the most beautiful and modern nursery school in that part of the country; and in highlighting the importance of early childhood education, she noted that the early childhood years are recognised by psychologists, teachers and policy makers as being very important years in children’s lives.

GRA opens new Tax Centre in G3 Building at Diamond

THE Guyana Revenue Authority opened its doors to the strategically located Tax Centre, in the G3 Building at the entrance of the Diamond Housing Scheme, to serve communities along the East Bank Demerara corridor. Ingrid Griffith, Head, Operational Support Services, said while focus over the course of the next month will be placed on the collection of annual Income Tax returns, the facility will become a ‘one stop’ location for GRA services offered to the Diamond and adjoining communities. The office has been in the making for some time now, according to the senior GRA official, as she explained that it is meant to serve as a portal for GRA services outside of the hustle and bustle of the entity’s main office in Georgetown.

Suspect in dismembering Buxtonian woman names two others

KEVIN Ramsawck, 22 years, of Berbice who was picked up from a house at Middle Walk, Buxton, during investigations into the murder of 39-year-old Samantha Benjamin, has reportedly admitted to killing her. The man also indicated to police investigators during interrogation at the Criminal Investigations Department in Georgetown that he was assisted in the murderous act by two other men who are also from Buxton. Benjamin’s headless and limbless remains were discovered among the boulders at the Annandale foreshore, East Coast Demerara. When the Atlantic Ocean tide receded, the woman’s head, hands and feet were also discovered a short distance away. The 22-year-old, when further questioned by detectives about why he had committed the act, explained that the woman was killed during a robbery bid.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Linden businesswoman killed, T&T politics at a new low son injured during robbery By Leroy Smith SHEVON Gordon, 45, of Lot 125 One Mile Block 22 Wismar Linden, was shot and killed while her son Devon Gordon was shot and admitted to the Linden Hospital Complex last evening. The two were shot during a robbery in front of their home. Information received revealed that Shevon Gordon, who operates a beverage stand at the Linden/Georgetown bus park in Region 10, was about to enter her yard with her husband, Eldon Gordon, 48. They had just pulled up in their vehicle and Eldon was still in the driver’s seat when they were approached by two men, one of whom was armed with a handgun. The men demanded a

bag containing cash with Shevon Gordon had in her possession and she resisted. Then one of the bandits opened fire and she was struck several times about the body. Her Husband, Eldon Gordon, and one of his sons, Devon Gordon 23, chased after the bandits and the younger Gordon was able to catch up with one of them. In the scuffle that ensued, the young Gordon was shot to the leg and the bandits managed to escape. Shevon Gordon and Devon Gordon were then rushed to the hospital where the woman was pronounced dead on arrival, while the young man has been admitted to the hospital. Police investigators in the region told the Chronicle that they have received

information as to who the bandits might have been and up to press time they were hunting the men. Contacted last evening, another one of the woman’s sons who, is employed with the Guyana Defense Force, told the Chronicle that he was not in Linden when the incident occurred. He said that he was in Georgetown when he received the news about his mother’s killing and the injury to his brother. Persons in the community described the woman as a very easy going person who had a good relationship with those she did business with, and even those who would encounter her from time to time. The police are continuing their investigations into the incident.

(Trinidad Guardian) ROMAN Catholic Priest Father Clyde Harvey yesterday (Good Friday) led a group of Catholics in a silent protest around the Parliament building in Port-of-Spain, as he lashed out against the state of T&T’s politics. The group gathered outside Parliament at the Waterfront Complex at noon. Harvey read a letter which encapsulated that Parliament had become a “place for minding other people’s business.” “No party has been innocent in this regard. All are guilty. All are responsible. This year Parliament may well be seen as an appropriate nominee for Good Friday Bobolee,” Harvey read. Saying that all the country’s institutions were dying if not already dead, Harvey added that there was still hope as Easter signified a time of

new beginning. The group then walked around the Parliament building and at 12.30 pm they walked in an anti-clockwise direction. At one pm, they then faced the building and recited the Lord’s Prayer, followed by the singing of God Bless Our Nation. Harvey then led the group in front of the memorial wall bearing the names of this country’s famous athletes, where the National Anthem was sung. On why he decided to hold such a march, Harvey described it as a will of the “flesh” more than anything else. “It really took flesh during mass on the Saturday before Palm Sunday when I was praying and it suddenly came to me, ‘Good Friday...Parliament building.’ From then it was a question of asking people what they thought and whether they would support it,” Harvey said.

Asked whether he believed anything would be achieved and if those holding the seat of power would actually pay attention to the action, Harvey said he intended to send them a copy of the letter. “It’s up to them, but really I think the country is at a point now where either they grab the ball and run with it in terms of people wanting a better T&T, or they refuse to run for a better T&T and the consequences we all face,” Harvey said. Regarding detractors who may accuse him of mixing religion and politics, Harvey said politics was a very “broad” word. “You can start with partisan politics, which is centered on your own group and your own group’s interest, the politics which is the affairs of the city, the State is something which all of us are involved in,” he said.

Feeding the homeless (Jamaica Gleaner) EVERY THURSDAY, members of the Santa Cruz Area Group of the St Elizabeth branch of the Jamaica Red Cross take to the streets of Santa Cruz with warm, homecooked meals for the homeless. “We have a feeding programme, where we feed the street people [on the streets of Santa Cruz] every Thursday, and we have about 25 street persons [who we feed regularly]. They are the ones who go and ravage through the bins to find food. “We cook and box the food and take it to them. We cannot get them to assemble at one point, so we drive around the town in the ambulance with the amber light on and where we see them, we stop and take the food to them,” one member of the Santa Cruz Area Group, Lawrence Doctor Snr, told Rural Xpress. Doctor, who is the first-

aid coordinator and ambulance driver for the St Elizabeth branch, has been a member of the club for more than 35 years. He said the idea for the feeding programme was born some 10 years ago, when he recognised the need in the area. “I’m retired and when I [came] down to Santa Cruz in the mornings and [saw] those [persons] digging up the garbage bin to find food, it [reached] me so I [brought the idea of] this feeding programme [to] the meeting and they agreed,” Doctor explained. He said it gave him immense joy to be able to participate in such a cause, but said he sees where more could be done for other needy persons in and around the town of Santa Cruz. Doctor said, however, that the project was funded by the members of the Santa Cruz Area Group and as a result, they were limited in how much they were

able to do. Subsequently, he called on members of the business community to join with the club to make an even greater impact. “I have a sense of pride that I’m able to help my fellowmen in this, and they are quite appreciative of it. If I should drive the ambulance downtown right now, you would see some come out and look at me; some would come and stop me because they are mentally disturbed, [and once they see the ambulance] they think it is food. “I would be happy if the business community would come on board with us by way of donation of food items. We could feed more because we have persons who are shut-ins. We could extend it to the surrounding areas; we could go up to Burnt Ground, Leeds and other areas, instead of just focusing on the street people in the town,” Doctor said.

Linden female vendor killed during robbery By Leroy Smith

Shevon Gordon 45, was early last evening shot and killed while entering her yard in Linden. Police sources have confirmed that the woman, who sells beverages behind the Linden to Georgetown bus park in Linden was killed in what seems to be a robbery. The woman, according

to investigators, was entering her lot 125 One Mile Block 22 home when she was shot. Police were able to recover five spent shells and one live round at the scene of the shooting. Contacted last evening, one of the woman’s sons, who is employed by the Guyana Defense Force, told the Chronicle that he

received a call about the incident and was preparing to travel to Linden from his home in Georgetown. Persons at Linden described the dead woman as a peaceful person who was known for going about her business and living comfortably with those around her. The police investigations into the matter are ongoing.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

T&T politics at a new low (Trinidad Guardian) ROMAN Catholic Priest Father Clyde Harvey yesterday (Good Friday) led a group of Catholics in a silent protest around the Parliament building in Port-of-Spain, as he lashed out against the state of T&T’s politics. The group gathered outside Parliament at the Waterfront Complex at noon. Harvey read a letter which encapsulated that Parliament had become a “place for minding other people’s business.” “No party has been innocent in this regard. All are guilty. All are responsible. This year Parliament may well be seen as an appropriate nominee for Good Friday Bobolee,” Harvey read. Saying that all the country’s institutions were dying if not already dead, Harvey added that there was still hope as Easter signified a time of

new beginning. The group then walked around the Parliament building and at 12.30 pm they walked in an anti-clockwise direction. At one pm, they then faced the building and recited the Lord’s Prayer, followed by the singing of God Bless Our Nation. Harvey then led the group in front of the memorial wall bearing the names of this country’s famous athletes, where the National Anthem was sung. On why he decided to hold the such a march, Harvey described it as a will of the “flesh” more than anything else. “It really took flesh during mass on the Saturday before Palm Sunday when I was praying and it suddenly came to me, ‘Good Friday...Parliament building.’ From then it was a question of asking people what they thought and whether they would support it,” Harvey said.

Doctor, who is the firstaid coordinator and ambulance driver for the St Elizabeth branch, has been a member of the club for more than 35 years. He said the idea for the feeding programme was born some 10 years ago, when he recognised the need in the area. “I’m retired and when I [came] down to Santa Cruz in the mornings and [saw] those [persons] digging up the garbage bin to find food, it [reached] me so I [brought the idea of] this feeding programme [to] the meeting and they agreed,” Doctor explained. He said it gave him immense joy to be able to participate in such a cause, but said he sees where more could be done for other needy persons in and around the town of Santa Cruz. Doctor said, however, that the project was funded by the members of the Santa Cruz Area Group and as a result, they were limited

in how much they were able to do. Subsequently, he called on members of the business community to join with the club to make an even greater impact. “I have a sense of pride that I’m able to help my fellowmen in this, and they are quite appreciative of it. If I should drive the ambulance downtown right now, you would see some come out and look at me; some would come and stop me because they are mentally disturbed, [and once they see the ambulance] they think it is food. “I would be happy if the business community would come on board with us by way of donation of food items. We could feed more because we have persons who are shut-ins. We could extend it to the surrounding areas; we could go up to Burnt Ground, Leeds and other areas, instead of just focusing on the street people in the town,” Doctor said.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

MISSING SINCE WEDNESDAY…

Body of 9-yr-old found floating in canal

The dead child’s relatives weeping as the remains were identified

By Leroy Smith THE body of 9-yearold Shaquan Gittens of 2950 North Ruimveldt was on Saturday afternoon found floating in a canal several miles

b e h i n d C a n e Vi e w, North Ruimveldt. He went missing on We d n e s d a y a f t e r n o o n shortly after he was seen flying a kite with young men from his community.

Sunday, April 5, 2015 - 05:30 hrs Monday, April 6, 2015 - 05:30 hrs Tuesday, April 7, 2015 - 05:00 hrs

Dead: Shaquan Gittens

According to information reaching the Guyana Chronicle, when his relatives realised that he had not returned home, they launched a search and reported the matter to the police. Ye s t e r d a y , w h i l e the family was still out looking for him, they received a call that his body was found floating in a North Ruimveldt backlands Canal. W h e n t h i s p u b l i c ation visited the scene in North Ruimveldt yesterday afternoon, it was observed that the child’s body was floating face down in the canal and his pants and brief were missing, while his jersey was rolled up to his chest. Investigators are of the view that the child might have been sodomized and murdered by persons before they threw him into the canal. Family members who showed up at the scene were inconsolable at the sight of the bloated body. The discovery of the body angered relatives and residents from the community.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Alpha United and Bakewell Slingerz ready ... From back page

time around, we’ve got a more disciplined bunch of players and we’re very disciplined going into the finals. We’re not looking out to any big expectation, just going out and get the job done on the night because a lot of people are looking forward to this final.” Wensley Christoph, the Surinamese International winger will once again be at the forefront for the ‘West Side’ team, joining Mills, Devon Millington (scored three goals in three matches), Dominican striker Julian Wade, Anthony Abrams, Colin Nelson, King Solomon Austin and Joshua Brown. For the ‘Hammers’, their captain Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson is by far one of the best the country has to offer and along with Daniel Wilson, Manasseh Primo, goalkeeper Ronson Williams, Sheldon Holder, Calvin Shepherd and Chris Camacho, they will play part of the cast that will be responsible for getting Alpha United their third title (having won in 2007 and 2010). “Alpha United takes every game serious regardless if its a big club like Slingerz or a minnow because on the football field, it is not names that wins game, but it’s the good performance and who capitalise on their chances so every game we take very serious” said Alpha United’s head coach Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover. According to Dover, things are different now with the Bakewell sponsored team, noting “the previous encounters, we got the better of them from a tactical stand point and I think on the night the team that comes being the more tactical based on the preparation they’ve put in.” With Alpha United set to participate

in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship, Dover said that the tournament has so far provided his charges with the preparation needed for the regional competition, but tonight’s final will be their ultimate test. “This would be one of our biggest game when it comes to local football,” Richardson said, adding “this game is worth more than what people think to Alpha because we don’t prove no point, we play the football that we always do and we do the right things what the coach say and this a test towards the CFU” For Slingerz FC, one would believe that the pressure must be high on Coach Joseph ‘Bill’ Wilson and his troops, but the team’s captain is of the opinion that “Alpha will have the pressure, trying to maintain their record against us and we’re coming looking for the win, putting in 100% and ready for the game.” Wilson said that he refuses to let his team fall prey to public pressure or that of any form and encourages his players to stay focus on only executing what was thought to training and the victory will fall into place. “We’re just happy to know that we’ve come a long way as a club and as a team and we know that Alpha has been the number one team for a number of years and they should be the more pressured team because we feel no pressure we’re just going out their looking for the win. No coach can determine results we can only hope that the work we’ve put in the players can do,” Wilson said. Riddim Squad and Pele will face each other in the third place play-off where the winner of that game will pocket $750,000 and the loser $500,000. Kick off time is 18:30 hrs, while the final is set for 21:00hrs

ENGLISH

FRENCH RACING TIPS

PLUMPTON

IRISH RACING TIPS

SOUTH AFRICA RACING TIPS

CORK

Musselburgh 08:50 hrs Indian Giver 09:25 hrs Smalljohn 09:55 hrs Polar Forest 10:25 hrs Be Perfect 10:55 hrs Powerallied 11:30 hrs X Raise 12:05 hrs Roy’s Legacy 09:10 hrs Frampton 09:45 hrs Star Presenter 10:15 hrs To The Sky 10:45 hrs Boss Des Mottes 11:15 hrs Abidjan 11:50 hrs Tribal Dance 12:25 hrs Golden Games

Scottsville 08:25 hrs London Call 09:00 hrs Taking Chances 09:35 hrs Normanz 10:10 hrs Double Clutch 10:50 hrs Shezamatador

Saint-Cloud 08:30 hrs Sarrasin 09:08 hrs Prince Jean 09:40 hrs Stormy Victoria 10:10 hrs Redbrook 10:45 hrs Windy King 11:15 hrs Simba 11:55 hrs Ginger Lad

Fairyhouse 09:20 hrs Unic De Bersy 09:50 hrs Greatness 10:20 hrs Petite Parisienne 10:50 hrs Shaneshill 11:20 hrs Apache Stronghold 11:55 hrs Mr Fiftyone 12:30 hrs Death Duty 08:55 hrs Poker Gold 09:30 hrs A Hardy Nailer 10:00 hrs Reflet Ambre 10:30 hrs Thunder Zone 11:00 hrs Speed Demon 11:35 hrs On His Own 12:10 hrs Tennis Cap 12:40 hrs Shady Rondo

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Steely Chelsea unfazed by chasing pack or Adam stunner By Martyn Herman LONDON,|(Reuters) - Under pressure from the chasing pack and rocked on their heels by a Charlie Adam bolt from the blue, Chelsea showed cool heads to extend their Premier League to seven points yesterday with a 2-1 home win over Stoke City. Arsenal’s 4-1 thrashing of faltering Liverpool and Manchester United’s 3-1 victory over Aston Villa moved them into second and third places respectively before Chelsea kicked off at Stamford Bridge. When Adam launched a 60-metre missile from inside his own half just before halftime to cancel out Eden Hazard’s pen-

alty it could have provoked a few jitters but Chelsea held firm to claim three points after Loic Remy tapped in following a bad mistake from Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic. They have 70 points from 30 games with Arsenal on 63 and Manchester United on 62, both having played a game more. Champions Manchester City can reduce the gap to six if they beat Crystal Palace on Monday, but the reality is that Chelsea need 16 points to win the title for the first time since 2010. The main talking points, however, were Adam’s freakish goal and a worrying injury to Chelsea’s leading striker Diego Costa who limped off with a hamstring problem

Charlie Adam celebrates with team mates after scoring the first goal for Stoke. Reuters / Tony O’Brien

shortly after coming on as a halftime substitute. “I don’t know but a couple of weeks minimum,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports when asked about the injury to Costa, who had just been passed fit after a similar injury. Mourinho was impressed by Adam’s goal. “It was a goal every super player in the world would like to score, from the Messis, to Maradonas to the Peles,” he said. While Chelsea have been labouring in recent weeks, Arsenal are showing belated title-winning form and they notched a 10th win in 11 league games in a rout of Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers’s side, desperate to boost their top-four ambitions seemed to have weathered an early storm at The Etihad, but collapsed as Hector Bellerin, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez scored in an eight-minute spell before halftime. CURLING SHOT Jordan Henderson reduced the arrears from the penalty spot but Liverpool had Emre Can sent off for a second booking and Olivier Giroud put the icing on the cake for Arsenal with a superb curling shot in the last minute. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger played down his side’s hopes of reeling in Chelsea, although the leaders still have to play Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. “What we can master now mathematically is the top four, where we will finish,” he told

reporters. “For the title we need us to be perfect and Chelsea not to be perfect, so let’s focus on what we can master.” Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera scored at the end of each half and Wayne Rooney added a spectacular strike in between as United moved above Man City into third place. “We are looking up and we have to win every week, but anything is possible,” United boss Louis Van Gaal said. Liverpool’s top-four hopes are fading fast and they are on 54 points in fifth place, seven behind Man City. “It was a game we needed to take something from,” Rodgers said. “We didn’t defend well enough in key moments of the game.” It was a good day for teams striving to avoid relegation. Andy King’s scrambled late goal earned bottom club Leicester City a precious 2-1 home win over West Ham United, their first in nine, and 18th-placed Queens Park Rangers crushed 10-man West Bromwich Albion 4-1 for a rare away victory. Hull City’s worries deepened, however, after a 3-1 loss at Swansea City. Leicester are still four points adrift of 17th-placed Sunderland who play Newcastle United today, but QPR are only a point below the relegation cut-off. Everton all but ensured safety with a 1-0 win over Southampton whose hopes of a top-four spot now look forlorn.

Serena strolls to eighth Miami title By Simon Evans

MIAMI, (Reuters) - Serena Williams won her eighth Miami Open title with little trouble, enjoying a 6-2 6-0 win over Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in just 56 minutes yesterday. The victory was the world number one’s third consecutive title at Miami and she becomes just the fourth woman in the open-era to win the same tournament eight times, joining Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf. “It feels really good to have eight under my belt. I can’t say I thought I would win eight, especially in the beginning of the week,” Williams told reporters. The American had to pull out of Indian Wells before her semi-final due to a knee injury and there had been doubt over her participation at Miami. “It just feels really weird,” said Williams, “and I’m happy to be able to get through it.” In bright sunshine at Key Biscayne, the 12th seeded Suárez Navarro started with determination but

Williams broke to go 4-2 up in the first and never looked back as she went on to win 10 straight games. Williams broke again at the end of the first set and the second was barely a contest with the Spaniard winning just five points. The American, a 19-times grand slam champion, produced some magnificent winners, 27 in all, and her powerful serve delivered seven aces. The win also extended Williams’ winning streak at premier mandatory level matches to 46. The most titles won at a single event is 12 by Navratilova at Chicago but Williams, 33, appeared horrified at the suggestion she might manage four more in Miami. “I hope not because I would still be here and I would be how old?” she said, counting on her fingers. “No. Let’s pray that I don’t get to 12.” Given the one-sided nature of the final and the lack of real competition for Williams, who has been world number one for over two years, she might not be the only one.

Serena Williams celebrates with the Butch Buchholz Championship Trophy after her match against Carla Suarez Navarro (L) as tennis hall of famer Martina Navratilova (R) looks on in the women’s singles final on day thirteen of the Miami.. Open..

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

In-form Guptill earns Test recall for New Zealand ... Pacer Matt Henry also included in touring party

(REUTERS) - MARTIN Guptill has been recalled to the New Zealand test squad for the two-match tour of England after the top-order batsman finished top scorer at the recent 50-over cricket World Cup. Guptill, whose last Test was also in England two years ago, scored 547 runs in nine matches at the event co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, earning him a place in the squad announced by selectors on Saturday. New Zealand lost to Australia by seven wickets in the World Cup final on March 29.

“This is a stable, established Test side but there will be opportunities for contenders,” coach Mike Hesson said on the New Zealand Cricket website (www.blackcaps.co.nz). “Martin’s a classically styled batsman and there’s really no reason why he can’t be as influential in the longer game as he is in the short,” Hesson added of a player who averages just 29.62 in 31 Test appearances. Brendon McCullum has been named captain of the 15-player squad but will miss the two warm-up matches ahead of the opening Test at Lord’s on May

21 due to domestic cricket commitments, with wicketkeeper BJ Watling taking charge of those contests. Paceman Matt Henry is the only player in line to make his Test debut on the tour, the right-armer called up to replace injured all-rounder Jimmy Neesham after also impressing at the World Cup as a late replacement. “It’s another step up for Matt but we’ve been impressed by the maturity and skill-set he’s already shown in the ODI format,” Hesson added. Fast bowler Adam Milne, who was ruled out of the World Cup due to a

heel injury and replaced by Henry before the semi-fi-

nal against South Africa, has been picked in the limited-overs side along with uncapped all-rounder Mitchell Santner. Headingley will host

MARTIN GUPTILL

the second Test from May 29 before a five-match oneday series begins on June 9, ahead of the only Twenty20 game of the tour at Old Trafford on June 23. Test squad: Brendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Luke Ronchi, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson. ODI and T20 squad: McCullum (captain), Anderson, Boult, Grant Elliott, Guptill, Henry, Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Southee, Taylor, Williamson.

Organisers forging ahead with Canadian Premiere League By Frederick Halley TORONTO, Canada -- Organisers of the first-ever Canadian Premiere League (CPL) are forging ahead with plans for the staging of the gala event, set to be bowl off at the Montreal Olympic Stadium on July 31, despite not receiving the requisite sanction from Cricket Canada. According to founder and Chief Executive Officer Guyanese Roy Singh, Cricket Canada has refused to budge despite being offered a substantial financial sum. Several key West Indians are reportedly part of the hierarchy of the Canadian Premiere League with former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul said to be a director while Dwayne Bravo, Test captain Denesh Ramdin and Keiron Powell are listed as co-owners. Singh disclosed recently that some 10 teams, namely The Snow Owls, The Hummingbirds, The Condors, The Predators, The Hornets, The Huskies, The Sentinels, The Bobcats, The Spartans and The Wolverines will vie for supremacy in the tournament with the final scheduled for Sunday, September 28. Singh pointed out that each team will consist of 15 professional cricketers from around North America as well as global cricketing superstars from across the world. Each squad will be filled by invitation only to key players. So far a number of top international cricketers will be included in each team, namely West Indians Bravo, Chris Gayle, Powell, Chanderpaul and Ramdin; Australia’s Shane Warne and India’s Sachin Tendulkar. A total of 48 games will be played during the tournament, with all games scheduled to be televised internationally to a world-wide

audience upwards of 300 million people. Among the sponsors expected to be on board are Money Gram, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Campbell Soup, Labatts and Molson Canadian. Singh conceptualised and created the

fundamental development, career advancement and community involvement. “With an increasing number of Canadians born in countries where cricket is part of their life-blood, the CPLT20 is in a dynamic position to capture the hearts and imagination of hundreds of thousands of fans in this country,” Singh said. CPL will own the ten teams for the first two years of the company’s existence before selling each team after the initial two years. The entity is also currently selling ownership stakes to interested investors. Apart from Singh, the highly successful Toronto-based entrepreneur, director Chanderpaul and co-owners Bravo, Ramdin and Powell, former, Emma Everett is Managing Agent to Bravo, Ramdin and Powell while Sir Richie Richardson will serve as Head of Global Player Operations. The historical partnership was inked last August following the conclusion of the 2014 Caribbean Premiere League, prompting

Ramdin to state “I fully support the growth and development of international-calibre T20 cricket through the Canadian Premier League and the direction being taken by Roy Singh, the League’s founder and CEO. “Roy has the vision, determination and drive to make this League truly successful and sustainable and I am thrilled to be coming onboard as part of such a pioneering venture for the North American market”. Ramdin’s sentiments were also echoed by Bravo who pointed out that “the Canadian Premier League is already creating waves of excitement within the international cricketing community. What makes the League stand out is Roy Singh’s brilliance and initiative in carving out a niche market in this region and ensuring that the business model surrounding his League is based on longevity that centres around a real passion for growth and development of the game. I am looking forward to being part of this powerful venture.”

Notable Dates ROY SINGH Canadian Premiere League in the summer of 2012 after recognizing the opportunity to expand cricket in Canada through the excitement and exhilaration of a glamorous Twenty20 League. The purpose of the league is to serve as a training ground for developing professional cricket players, coaches and personnel on and off the field with emphasis being placed on

KENNY Bristol kept his unbeaten streak intact when he met Gil Rosario on April 5, 1978 in New York. The lanky Guyanese won on points in a six round contest against Rosario to improve to 6-0. It was the first contest that Bristol was involved in that was not held at the Sunnyside Garden in Queens. The gangly southpaw had turned pro in October 1976 and by July 1979 was crowned Commonwealth junior middleweight champion. He was 27-years-old when challenging Pat Thomas for the Commonwealth title and won the 15-rounder via unanimous points decision.

Bristol would hold on to his unbeaten streak until May 1981. He was 14-0 heading into a fight against Canadian Wayne Caplette. Also a southpaw, Caplette won the 10-rounder by split decision. The return was held five months later and Bristol lost following a disqualification in round four. By now in the twilight of his career, Bristol would have four more fights, losing three of them. He called it quits in February 1984 following a defeat by then unbeaten James Shuler. During his eight years in the ring Bristol scored 15 victories and five losses. He won one fight by knockout.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

Ajmal back in Pakistan squad for all three formats SAEED Ajmal has been picked by Pakistan for all three formats for the tour of Bangladesh, after his remodelled action was cleared by the ICC in February. Umar Akmal, who had a poor World Cup, was dropped from the three formats, while opener Ahmed Shehzad was left out of the ODI and Test squads, but found a place in the T20 side. Allrounder Fawad Alam, who was not picked for the World Cup, made a comeback for the ODIs as Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi’s retirements vacated two spots. Younis Khan’s name was missing from the ODI squad, but the PCB said he was “rested.” Fast bowler Junaid Khan returned to the Test and T20 squads after he missed the World Cup with a thigh injury, while Mohammad Hafeez was picked for all three formats. A calf injury had kept Hafeez out of the World Cup too, and he is yet to clear the ICC test, scheduled for April 9, with his reworked action after he was suspended last year. Wahab Riaz and Sohail Khan were rewarded for their performances in the World Cup - they were Pakistan’s top two wicket-takers - by

being picked for all three formats. “We carried out an indepth discussion about Pakistan’s World Cup performance, our future strategy and how we can take the team forward,” newly-appointed chief selector Haroon Rasheed said in a press conference in Lahore. “The Test ranking is good but the area of concern is the one-day team as our ranking is quite low, around seventh position. We need stability and the upcoming Bangladesh tour is very important and we have to give continuity to the team.” The selection panel made a whole host of changes for the Bangladesh tour. They named two new faces for the ODIs - wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and left-handed opening batsman Sami Aslam, the Under-19 captain from the 2014 World Cup. They left out an out-ofform Nasir Jamshed after he played three matches in the World Cup, making scores of 4, 1 and 0. He last scored an ODI fifty in July 2013. The selectors went for Asad Shafiq instead, who last played in the ODIs against New Zealand in the UAE in Decem-

ber. Shafiq has scored three fifties and a hundred this year in domestic one-dayers in Pakistan. Shehzad and Akmal were the two main players to be

Saeed Ajmal last played for Pakistan in August 2014 © dropped from the squads as both had underwhelming performances in the World Cup. Shehzad, whose best scores came against UAE and Ireland, made 227 runs at an average of 32.42 in his seven innings while Akmal could manage just 164 at 27.33. It is understood that apart from their performances, both players had discipline issues

throughout the World Cup and their axing was mainly centred around their “attitude.” The tour report from one of the key officials in the team management described both as “not into cricket.” Rasheed did not divulge the report on both players but dished out a strict message for them regarding discipline. “If you want to play for Pakistan, you have to fulfil the requirement of discipline and country should come first,” Rasheed said. “Just not the off-field discipline but the cricketing discipline. Your job is to contribute towards Pakistan’s victory. You have to keep your individuality aside. We will support all the players, but we expect thorough professionalism. For that, if we have to take some strict measures we will take it. It’s a normal decorum; we have sent a message that cricketing discipline is more important to us. Performance must be for the benefit of the team and not the individuals. “ We h a v e s e e n t h e World Cup performances. We are not against anyone’s career, they are still available but they have to perform according to the merits and according to the team management’s think-

ing and strategy. It’s a combination of everything. The selection committee is taking independent decisions and there’s no pressure. We will keep aside all the pressures and will try to select the best team. We will see where Pakistan team stands now, after one year and after three years.” From the Test squad that played against New Zealand in the UAE last year, Ehsan Adil, Imran Khan, Mohammad Talha, Shan Masood and Taufeeq Umar were left out, making way for uncapped batsmen Sami Aslam and Babar Azam, who averaged 53.62 in the recent first-class season and 63.44 in one-dayers. The T20 squad from the previous tour in UAE left out Anwar Ali, Awais Zia, Raza Hasan to bring in Sohaib Maqsood, Rizwan and uncapped batsman Mukhtar Ahmed - a promising middle-order batsman with only five domestic T20s to his name. The 22-year-old batsman has scored two fifties and a hundred this year in one-day matches for State Bank of Pakistan, who won the President’s Gold Cup in February. He has a T20 hundred and a strike rate of 161.15. Fast bowler Mohammad

Irfan, who was injured during the World Cup, was not available for the Bangladesh tour. Pakistan’s tour to Bangladesh is yet to be announced officially and has been delayed due to public holidays in Bangladesh. Pakistan are likely to arrive in Dhaka on April 13 to start the threeODI series from April 17 in Mirpur. Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sami Aslam, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali Pakistan ODI squad: Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Sohail, Sohaib Maqsood, Sami Aslam, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Sohail Khan Pakistan T20 squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Rizwan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi (capt), Sohail Tanvir, Saad Nasim, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan. (ESPN Cricinfo).

Notable Dates Our best chance to beat Pakistan in ODIs - Shakib UNDEFEATED Brian Muller travelled into his opponent’s hometown of Ohio, USA; defeated Gary Coates, and moved back out without any commotion. The fight took place on April 5, 1980 at the Armory in Ohio and was the second in the USA for the Guyanese southpaw. The judges had the slick Muller, who went into the ring having never lost in eight fights, ahead on points at the end of the eight-round encounter. However, the undefeated trail ended in his next fight as Mark Harris gained revenge for an earlier loss. On Boxing Day 1980, Harris won by split decision after 12 rounds. Muller had beaten the best that Guyana had to offer. He came out unscratched against the legendary Lennox Beckles, had back-to-back victories against Albert Browne and triumphed over vastly skilled Reggie Ford. Muller would later turn his attention to North America where he reaped success. He engaged in 11 fights there, losing only twice. He made his last professional appearance in June 1986 and suffered a TKO in the seventh round, while challenging Frank Tate. A contender for a spot on the list of Top Ten boxers from Guyana, Muller ended a seven year career with 20 victories, 3 defeats and one draw. He now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

BANGLADESH all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan believes his side should start as favourites in the ODI series against Pakistan later this month, and said it was their best chance to beat the side on home soil. Shakib, who left for Kolkata Thursday, will be playing the first two games of IPL 2015 for his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, before returning home to play against Pakistan. Pakistan are likely to arrive in mid-April with a new-look side, without the retired Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi. “I will start training from tomorrow,” Shakib said. “I will only play two matches in the IPL so the Pakistan series will be on my mind. If I do well in the two matches, that confidence will work in my favour. “I think we should be starting as favourites to win the ODI series against Pakistan. I think this is our best chance to win against Pakistan. Everyone in the team believes so, too. We have proved that we can beat any team at home. If we play our best cricket, we can do well against any side. We beat New Zealand seven times, and they are the World Cup runners-up.” Bangladesh have won only one in

32 games against Pakistan, with the sole victory coming in the 1999 World Cup. The teams have played two bilateral ODI series in Bangladesh previously, apart from a single game in 1999, with Pakistan winning all the matches. The forthcoming tour, involving two Tests, three ODIs and a T20, has had its share of controversies with an impasse between the concerned boards over revenue-sharing. According to Shakib, 2015 will be a critical year for Bangladesh’s ODI prospects, especially with a 10-team World Cup looming on the horizon. Bangladesh are currently ranked ninth with 76 points, after gaining only one point following the World Cup. They are scheduled to take on Pakistan, India, South Africa and Australia this year. “It is a very important year for us since it will be a 10-team World Cup next time. We need to go up the rankings,” he said. “If we can win against higher-ranked sides, we will get more points. “Ultimately we have to stay within the top eight to play in the World Cup. We have been around Nos. 9 and 10 for a long time. We got up to No. 8 for a

brief period, but now we have to get to that level and stay there.” Shakib also felt his performance in the World Cup could have been better as the tournament wore on, after he made two fifties in the first three games but only totalled 35 runs in his last three innings. He also took eight wickets at an average of 37.25, giving away runs at 5.16 per over (compared to an overall rate of 4.30). He was impressed with the Bangladesh newcomers and urged them to keep performing rather than learning at the highest level. “There is no end to performing better. I think I did well in the World Cup. If I could have ended the tournament like I had started, it obviously would have been better,” Shakib said. “Still, I don’t think I should be disappointed about the numbers next to my name in this World Cup. “I thought the new players did well. The team performed, which is the most important thing. Soumya, Sabbir and Taskin played well. The senior players were also up to the mark. The team is in good shape. The young players have to perform, not to be taught.” (ESPN Cricinfo)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

England cricketers arrive in Caribbean for Test tour

BASSETERRE, St.Kitts, (CMC)England’s cricketers arrived in the Caribbean late on Thursday for their three-Test tour of the West Indies. The visitors, captained by Alastair Cook, have two warm-up matches in St Kitts before the first Test starts in Antigua on April 13. Their departure from London was overshadowed by debate over the possibility of Kevin Pietersen’s return to the side which suffered a five-nil white wash in Australia last year. Incoming England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves had hinted at a recall for Pietersen but coach Peter Moores refused to be distracted by the issue before the squad flew out for the tour of West Indies. “Kevin is not on this trip so I don’t need to focus on Kevin at all. I understand Kevin’s a huge subject but I don’t think we can be drawn into that,” he told a news conference on Thursday “My focus is to support Alastair (Cook). I always support the captain and work with those 16 players to try and make sure we put the best 11 out”. Top-order batsman Jonathan

Trott returns for England for the first time since November 2013 when he left the Ashes tour due to an anx-

ALASTAIR COOK iety problem. “The frustration for me is that people whose dreams are being made by going on this tour aren’t being mentioned,” Moores said.

“They are not getting any air time and it’s frustrating. We’ve got some very, very good players. That’s very exciting”. Under new one-day skipper Eoin Morgan, England were woeful in the recent 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and were knocked out in the first round. “We need to get back to winning ways,” said Cook. “In terms of a brand of cricket it’s about trying to win this series and that’s all these 16 guys and the support staff can focus on.Everything else, the ECB, the hierarchy, have to deal with that”. Their first warm-up comes against a St Kitts & Nevis Invitations XI at Warner Park in Basseterre on April 6 and 7 with the second on April 8 and 9. The opening Test against the hosts West Indies is set for the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound less than a week later. The second match of the series is scheduled for National Cricket Stadium in Grenada, starting on April 21, and the third is set for Kensington Oval in Barbados, beginning on May 1.

George returning for Pacers, eight months after breaking leg (Reuters) - Two-time NBA All-Star Paul George will make his season’s debut for the Indiana Pacers today, eight months after breaking his leg in a horrifying incident. George announced on Twitter that he would be available for the game against the Miami Heat, a crucial contest for both teams who are part of a five-team battle for the final two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference. He had initially expected to miss the entire season. George’s lower right leg snapped like a twig

when he collided with a backboard stanchion during a scrimmage

game with the U.S. national team last August. “The recovery has

Aug 1, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USA Team Blue guard Paul George lays on the floor after injuring his leg during the USA Basketball Showcase at Thomas & Mack Center. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)

been a long process and this is another step in the process,” George said on the Pacers’ website. “I’m excited, but at the same time I’m aware I’m still in a rehab stage and will continue to work to get back to full strength.” Indiana basketball operations president Larry Bird said George will initially play limited minutes. “He has worked hard to get to this point and still has work to do, but it’s a positive step toward what we hope will be a full recovery at some point,” Bird said.

Spinners steer National U-15 victory -Defeats USACA by five wickets LED by their trio of spinners in Kevlon Anderson, Kelvin Omroa and Pradesh Balkissoon, the National Under-15 team yesterday defeated the United States of America Cricket Association Academy Under-15 lineup by five wickets at the Georgetown cricket Club ground. Winning the toss and opting to bat first, USACA Under-15 raced to 32 without loss before the introduction of the spinners saw them catapulting for 73, with Nand Kishan Das topscoring with 19, as Anderson (4 for 11), Omroa (4 for 19) and Balkissoon (2 for 5) did the damage with the ball. In reply, the National Under-15 team who is the reigning West Indies Cricket Board Regional Under-15 champions replied with 75 for 5 from 19.3 overs, thanks to 16 each from Alphius Bookie and Sachin Singh and unbeaten 12 from skipper Ashmead Nedd, as Ronak Patel took 2 for 9 and Sanjay Jonathan 2 for 18. When USACA Under-15 batted, openers Das and Praneel Jadhav added 32 for the first wicket, with Das hitting both Qumar Torrington and Haifa Walters for boundaries as he was the more aggressive of the two. Balkissoon was introduced into the attack in the seventh over while Omroa followed in the eighth and together they not only stifled the visitors batting lineup, but took wickets at regular intervals during their 20 overs spell which when ended saw USACA Under-15 on 52 for 6. Das was bowled by Omroa after hitting three fours in his 19, while Jadhav (08) and Sanjay Jonathan (04) were both caught by Bookie at mid off, when they looked to hit Omroa over the top, while Daoud Mohammed (00) and Humzah Babar Khan (02) were sent back in quick succession at 49 for 5. They were followed by Aman Patel (06) who was sent back by Balkissoon at 50 for 6 in the 25th over, before the introduction of Anderson saw the remaining four wickets going down for 23 runs from 17.2 overs. In their reply, the home team slipped to 14 for 2, losing both Junior Sinclair (04) and Robin Williams (09) to Jonathan and Sanjesh Reddy, while Orlando Jailall (00), who was in an ultra defensive mode, was bowled by Jonathan, who breached his forward defensive prod with ease to knock his off stump at 23 for 3. Bookie and Sachin Singh pushed the score to 55, with Singh hitting Jonathan and Michael Katwaroo for boundaries, even as Bookie also struck Katwaroo for four, following which they were both dismissed by Ronak Patel at 55 and 62 respectively. It was the last success for the visitors who play the same opposition today at the Police Sports Club ground, as Nedd and Anderson saw their team to victory with Nedd being unbeaten on 12 and Anderson 6.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 5, 2015

New rule for PCL draft

… franchises must select at least two players outside of their territories ST.JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC)- A new rule mandating franchises to select at least two players outside of their territories will come into effect when the draft for the second edition of the Professional Cricket League (PCL) takes place later this year. President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Dave Cameron says decision on the new rule was reached during a recent meeting of the WICB. The WICB has expressed disappointment with last October’s draft for the inaugural PCL with only one team selecting a player outside its territory. “As a board we were disappointed. So this is what we have done. Coming out of that meeting we have agreed that you must select at least two players from outside of your territory, going forward,” Cameron said on the regional television sports programme Big Bang. “And remember the PCL is new, our view …let’s get it on the road and let’s tweak it as we go along Initially, only two players - former Guyana and West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and Barbados All-rounder Raymon Reifer were selected by franchises outside of their territories during the first PCL draft.

However, Ramnaresh subsequently withdrew from the Trinidad and Tobago squad citing personal reasons while Reifer was a star performer for

Ramnaresh Sarwan the Guyana Jaguars who ran away with the title. “So the first rule is that come later

this year when we have the draft you must select at least two players from outside of your region and that’s a minimum. So in the case of Leeward etc. could be much more than that as we strengthen that franchise to make sure that they can compete next year,” said Cameron in his first television interview since being reelected for another two year term. “So we are mindful. Should we just jump down the road and make it free agency? I am sure that will come at some point. But it’s going to take some talking to”. Meantime, the Leeward Islands Cricket Association (LICA), which will have an option to select at least three players, has welcomed the new rule for the PCL draft. “The West Indies Cricket Board is going to be insisting that two players must be (selected) from outside of the territories as part of the draft selections,” said LICA President Auckland Hector. “In the case of the Leeward Islands who are at the bottom of this year’s tournament, we would be allowed a minimum of three players outside of our territory, and we are going to have the first option of the draft.”

Silver Jubilee Stadium in St. Kitts to be renamed after Kim Collins THE Silver Jubilee Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts, host of the 2015 CARIFTA Games, is to be renamed in honour of the 2003 World Championships 100m champion, Kim Collins. An announcement to that effect was made by Deputy Prime Minister of St Kitts & Nevis Sean Richards at the Opening Ceremony of the 44 th CARIFTA Games on Friday. The naming of the stadium signals a thawing of relations between Collins, who lives in Montego Bay, Jamaica and the St Kitts &

Nevis Athletics Associations after he was kicked off the team at the 2012 Olympics in London. Collins had gone missing from the Olympic Village without giving his team mangers any reason and was taken off the competition lists. Since then, there had been a war of words between both parties. The 38-year-old Collins has run a string of impressive times indoors over 60 metres this season, the best of which is a World Leading 5.75 seconds set in February.

KIM COLLINS

AKTFF presents gear to talented young cricketer

THE Aditya Kids Trust Fund Foundation (A.K.T.F.F) out of Toronto, Canada, with its local Chapter at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, in Guyana, made a generous donation of cricket gear to one of Guyana’s most talented young cricketers, Andrew Persaud. Persaud hails from Mahaicony and is presently attending one of Guyana’s top secondary school, Queen’s College and is in Form Three. Persaud plays Under -15 cricket for his club, Malteenoes Sports Club, and recently represented the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) in the Demerara Inter-association tournament. His good performance caught the eye of Garvin Nedd who was the coach of the GCA and thus he was selected to represent

Demerara in the Inter -county U-15 tournament. Unfortunately, the young man who started playing cricket at age six had to opt out of the tournament because of his academic commitments at school. At present he is playing in the GCA Brain Street Under-15 tournament but also has to balance his National Third Form Projects and cricket. Andrew is very thankful to the AKTFF for its kindness. He pledged to continue to seek excellence in whatever he does. The donation includes a bat, batting pads, batting gloves, cricket boots, thigh pad, mittens, a gear bag along with other items. The entire cost is just over $80 000. Inderjeet Persaud, our International cricket

AKTFF director Premnauth Punwassie (left) hands over part of the gear to Andrew Persaud.

commentator, who is Andrew’s father, expressed sincere thanks to Archie Mohan the President and CEO of the AKTFF, Toronto, Madramuthu Moonsammy, the President of the Local Chapter and other executives of the organisation for their timely intervention. Premnauth Punwassie, who is also a director, made the presentation to Persaud last Thursday at a grand kite flying competition at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice. The AKTFF, over the years, has made tangible contributions to hundreds of youths in the field of sports, Computer Science Education, Health and Religious undertakings. For the last two years the organisation has taken its annual Santa Claus Parade to Wakenaam.

Sport CHRONICLE

The Chronicle is at http://www.guyanachronicle.com

New rule for PCL draft

… franchises must select at least two players outside of their territories

see story on page 39

Kashif and Shanghai football..

Alpha United and Bakewell Slingerz ready for an unforgettable finale tonight By Rawle Toney ALPHA ‘The Hammer’ United versus Bakewell Slingerz; a match that has more than just $2M at stake, will be contested tonight at the Guyana National Stadium, as the curtains come down on the 25th Kashif and Shanghai (K&S) football tournament. Described as two of the country’s biggest clubs, the two sides will meet for the fourth time in two years and so far it’s the ‘Hammers’ who holds a 3 – 0 record in the matchup. The Vergenoegen based club on debut in the tournament defeated Victoria Kings and Fruta Conquerors by 2 – 1 margins, while running a rampage on Riddim Squad winning 4 – 0 to

book their place in tonight’s finals. For Alpha United, the country’s number one club registered a 2 – 0 victory over Agricola Red Triangle followed by a 5 – 0 swamping of the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) and 1 – 0 win over Pele, which saw them through to face their foes. The last time the two sides met, Alpha United came away 5 – 0 winners but much has changed, according to Slingerz FC captain Vurlon Mills. Speaking at a Press Conference yesterday at the 704 Sports Bar, one of the tournament’s sponsor, Mills pointed out that “this

Narine to know his IPL fate by tomorrow

Turn on page 25

FACE OFF! Bakewell Slingerz Captain Vurlon Mills (left) and Alpha United skipper Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson at yesterday’s Press Conference.

CHENNAI, India, (CMC)-West Indies offspinner Sunil Narine will know by Easter Monday if he will be allowed to ply his trade in the new edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which starts this week. Narine has completed a fresh testing process on his bowling action at the Sri Ramachandra Universtity, an ICC-accredited centre, in Chennai on Thursday, according to reports from India. The reports from the test were likely to be submitted by yesterday, and by tomorrow, the BCCI’s sub-committee dealing with suspect bowling actions will finalise its decision on whether Narine would be available to play for Kolkata Knight Riders this IPL. Narine was twice called for having a suspected illegal bowling action during last year’s Champions League Twenty20 here and was eventually banned from bowling in the final. However, he was subsequently cleared by cricket’s world governing body, the International Cricket Council. However the BCCI has dismissed the

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ICC report. Reports from India say Narine appeared in front of the BCCI’s sub-committee which deals with suspect bowling actions- headed by former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath and includes former India captain S Venkataraghavan and ex-international umpire AV Jayaprakash. Srinath’s panel observed Narine in real time and also put him through various tests with the entire process lasting for less than two hours. Narine remains the most valuable player for Knight Riders, the defending IPL champions, who will play Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener on April 9 at Eden Gardens. He made a comeback to competitive cricket with Trinidad & Tobago in the Nagico Super50, including a career-best 6 for 9 in the final to overwhelm Guyana. Narine achieved that feat with a new bowling action, which he has been working extensively on in the company of experts like former Pakistan offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2015