2015 5 18

GUYANA

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

Gov’t to review Agreements/ Contracts inked by PPP/C No. 104193 MONDAY MAY 18, 2015 GUYANA’S MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED NEWSPAPER

PRICE: $80

INCLUDING VAT

Page

3

– transition team to ascertain extent of State assets – HPS Harmon

MEDICAL EMERGENCY…

Man-in-the-Street welcomes wind of change

Lichfield child nearing death’s door President Granger goes ‘walkabout’ Page

2

Colleacia in happier times

President Granger during a ‘walkabout’ yesterday in the vicinity of the Independence Arch at the junction of Brickdam and Vlissengen Road where a ‘clean-up’ exercise is in full swing (Photo courtesy of NewsNow.gy)

Page

13

– believes President Granger can, will deliver

2

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

MEDICAL EMERGENCY…

Lichfield child nearing death’s door – without brain cancer surgery overseas – needs GD$7M before May 23 deadline

By Clifford Stanley

“The patient has a very urgent need for a neuro-surA SEVEN-year-old West gical intervention due to Coast Berbice child will an intra-ventricular mass soon be at death’s door that she developed about if her parents do not get two months ago. Without enough money to send her medical intervention the overseas for urgently need- patient is at risk to develop ed brain surgery. Collea- a life threatening complicacia Harcourt of Lich-field tion. This could result in Village fell ill in late March a catastrophic consequence and was subsequently di- for this young patient. She agnosed with brain cancer. needs pre-ops, neurological An organisation named and endocrine work and JIPA network, based in Mi- immediate craniotomy and ami, Florida, USA has writ- ventriculostomy.” ten the parents to tell them The expertise for medical that she can be saved if emergency is not available in they can find USD$35,000 Guyana. or GD$7M for surgery in This family needs the Colombia. However, JIPA financial support to ensure also warned that time is of rapid and immediate medessence. The deadline for ical attention. Whatever surgery is May 23rd, 2015. assistance is provided will be The organisation said: greatly appreciated.

Colleacia in happier times

The child’s father, Travis Harcourt is a barber and her mother Shonetta is a housewife.

Shonetta said that prior to her sudden illness in late March this year, Colleacia had been a lively and precocious child who often amused them with her frequent assertions that she

wanted to become a lawyer when she got older.

She took ill in school with a severe headache in late March. The painkilling tables worked at first but after a while they failed to give her relief.

Her mother recounted: “We tried all the hospitals and local doctors, including eye doctors, but no relief.

Then one of them recommended that we take her for a CAT scan.”

The CAT scan and a subsequent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain detected the malignant tumor.

Since then, despite the painkillers and other medications, the child ‘s medical condition has deteriorated.

The severe headaches were followed by episodes of vomiting, numbering about five to six occasions per day.

She started to develop an unsteady gait and eventually suffered a stroke of her upper and lower extremities.

Bedridden: Colleacia and her mom Shonetta at their home yesterday

She soon stopped moving around and is now at home, bed-ridden.

“When she feels the

pain now she can no longer scream. We know she is in severe pain when her entire Turn to page 3 ►

3

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Gov’t to review Agreements/ Contracts inked by PPP/C

– transition team to ascertain extent of State assets – HPS Harmon

By Gary Eleazar HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Lieutenant Colonel (Rt’d) Joseph Harmon, who has been appointed to lead the Government transition team by Head of State, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, has assured that A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government will hit the proverbial ground running, with specific priorities already identified.

A priority, according to HPS Harmon, is that of State Property and Assets, Key Personnel at State Institutions, and policies pursued by the previous administration.

The high-level transition team, which is headed by HPS Harmon, also comprises Messrs Carl Greenidge, Nigel Hughes, Raphael Trotman, and Noel Holder, and Dr. Rupert Roopnarine and Amna Ally, among other persons.

HPS Harmon has indicated that his predecessor,

Dr Roger Luncheon, has intimated that he would be leading the team which held the reign under the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government, which officially came to an end over the weekend.

On the matter of State Property, HPS Harmon told the Guyana Chronicle that this is a matter of priority for the incoming administration, as there first needs to be a complete assessment of what assets are still owned by the State, what has been disposed of already, and to whom.

The National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL), which also has under its ambit the Privatisation Unit (PU), has been the key body responsible for the disposal of Stateowned assets as well as the management of State-owned corporations and other such bodies.

FORENSIC AUDIT NICIL has been under considerable focus in recent years, and according to HPS Harmon, NICIL/PU,

Lichfield child nearing...

From page 2

body starts trembling and she raises her left hand and clutches her head and her face twisted… the distress on her face. It’s hard,” the mother sobbed.

Recovering somewhat, Mrs Harcourt said that the family has been staging fund-raising activities such as concerts and fish fries and even soliciting door to door donations, to try to accumulate the amount needed for surgery.

The family established a bank account for donations and some people have given money but quite a few persons called and said they went to the bank and then turned away because: “the lines were too long.” They have raised $2M to date.

FORMER GOV’T HAD PROMISED $2M Shonetta blamed the former Government for apparently being more interested in the elections

than trying to help .

“They promised us $2M since April. We kept checking. The Ministry of Health kept pushing us around with one instruction after the other. We haven’t received a cent to date.”

She said that the family agonised over the seemingly long process leading to the swearing in of President David Granger .

Now that this is done, the girl’s father will be going all out this week to try to get assistance from the recently sworn in President before it is too late for Colleacia.

In the meantime, persons who wish to help the desperately struggling parents and their seven-year-old girl can contact the family at Lot 44 Lichfield Village, West Coast Berbice on telephone Nos.: 699-1005; 622-4080 and 613-4422.

They can also make donations at Republic Bank Account # 730-269-8.

Joseph Harmon

Dr. Roger Luncheon

its functions and operations will be subject to full forensic audit, to firstly build a base of information upon which to act.

He said, too, that the APNU+AFC Government transition team will also have to deal with, as a priority, the matter of personnel at key State Institutions.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that another of the key areas that the transition team will be paying keen attention to, would be that of policy and existing international agreements and contracts that the PPP/C Government would have signed on to.

The HPS observed that the previous administration has inked a number of agreements with foreign entities and companies that will have to be reviewed as a priority, given the numerous questions and uncertainties that still abound, a direct result of a lack of transparency practised under the previous administration.

NO POLITICAL WITCH-HUNT HPS Harmon has assured that there will be no political witch-hunt, and that as such honest, hardworking government employees under the previous administration need not fear any form of retribution, reprisals or victimisation.

He did point out, however, that the new Government will be paying keen attention to ‘Contract Employees’, some of whom have been accused of being ‘fat cats’.

HIGH-PROFILE PROJECTS While in Opposition, APNU+AFC had lamented the manner in which a num-

ber of large Government projects were being pursued, and even their feasibility.

Among the high-profile projects to have grabbed headlines were the Amaila Falls Hydro-Electric Project; the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) terminal and runway; the Skeldon Sugar Factory; the Berbice Bridge; and the Georgetown Marriott Hotel.

Policies pursued in the forestry, gold and related sectors have also been identified by the APNU+AFC Government as areas for review.

On the matter of imminent Cabinet appointments, HPS Harmon said that the only appointment so far is that of Head of the Presidential Secretariat, but he assured that the requisite information will be made public in a timely manner.

He said too that the transition team and government will also be looking to fulfill its mandate and deliver within the first 100 days in office what it had promised.

Under the proposed plan of action for the APNU+AFC Government, it intends to, among other things, provide significant salary increases for public servants across the spectrum; implement a phased reduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT); increase Old Age pension; liberalise the telecommunications and ICT sectors; and hold Local Government Elections.

Head of State, Brigadier (rtd) Granger, was sworn in on Saturday last by Chancellor of the Judiciary, Mr Carl Singh, at which point in time he announced the appointment of Harmon as HPS and the transition team he will lead.

In his inaugural address to the nation from the balcony of the Public Buildings, Head of State Granger said that with the elections over, democracy has been fortified, and as such implored: “Let us now put past rivalries behind us and work in unity to banish poverty, ignorance, fear and hatred.”

President Granger, in his address, told the Guyanese nation, “We have witnessed the damage done to our beautiful country over the past twenty-three years…

We have had to bear the cost of the squandering of state resources on exorbitant but misconceived mega-projects…We have suffered most from the high cost of living and the high level of unemployment.”

He said, however, “We have not been filled with hatred by these conditions.”

According to President Granger, “We are, indeed, more determined than ever to refashion society…

We the Guyanese people have seized the opportunity to vote for human safety, national unity and inclusionary democracy.

We now look to the future.”

4

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Rubio says ‘we don’t have the votes’ for broad immigration bill WASHINGTON, (Reuters)-Republican presidential contender Marco Rubio said yesterday he still favors immigration reform, but he has accepted the need for a piece-bypiece legislative approach because “we don’t have the votes to pass” a comprehensive measure.

Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, said on “Fox News Sunday” there were fewer votes in Congress for comprehensive immigration reform now than two years ago, when he worked with Senate Democrats to

tion. Rubio, who faced criticism from the right over his work on the Senate bill, now backs a piecemeal approach that would begin with border security.

“I still believe we need to do immigration reform,” said Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants. “The problem is we can’t do it in one big piece of legislation. The votes aren’t there” in the House of Representatives.

Rubio is one of a half-dozen Republicans running to be the party’s nominee in the November 2016 election, with more expected

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Senator Marco Rubio country illegally.

That measure died in the help pass a comprehensive bill that included a path to House of Representatives citizenship for those in the amid conservative opposi-

in the race soon.

Some critics have accused Rubio of backing away from comprehensive reform to placate conservatives who will play a big role in the Republican presidential primaries. Asked why he would not fight for comprehensive reform, Rubio said he was dealing with political realities.

“The context in which we are having this debate is much different,” he said.

He cited Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s primary loss last year in part because of

his support for comprehensive immigration legislation, as well as Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s executive order last year easing the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented residents. “ C l e a r l y, l e a d e r s stand for the idea you need to do something, but you also have to deal with the reality that in the political process people are going to vote based on what they’re hearing from their constituents and others,” he said.

Islamic State claims full control of Iraq’s Ramadi BAGHDAD, (Reuters) - Islamic State militants claimed full control of the western Iraqi city of Ramadi yesterday in the biggest defeat for the Baghdad government since last summer.

In a statement, the group said it had seized tanks and killed “dozens of apostates”, its description for members of the Iraqi security forces.

Ramadi is the capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi signed off on the deployment of Shi’ite mili-

tias to attempt to seize back the area, a move he had previously resisted for fear of provoking a sectarian backlash.

Earlier, security sources said government forces evacuated a key military base after it came under attack by the insurgents, who had already taken one of the last districts still holding out.

It was the biggest victory for Islamic State in Iraq since security forces and Shi’ite paramilitary groups began pushing them back last year, aided by air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition.

The government had vowed to liberate Anbar after routing the militants from the city of Tikrit last month.

But the security forces, which partly disintegrated under an IS onslaught last June, have struggled to gain traction in the vast desert province.

An officer who withdrew from the besieged army base said the militants were urging them via loudspeaker to discard their weapons, promising to show mercy in return.

“Most of the troops withdrew from the operations command headquarters and Daesh fighters managed to break in from the southern gate,” the officer said. Daesh is an Arabic name for Islamic State.

“We are retreating to the west to reach a safe area”.

“TOTAL COLLAPSE” Earlier on Sunday, Anbar provincial council member Athal Fahdawi described the situation in Ramadi as “total collapse”.

Central U.S. hit by floods after tornadoes flood watch or flash flood warning on Sunday morning as thunderstorms battered several central states, the National Weather Service said.

Parts of the town of Mosby, Missouri, with a population of about 200 people and located some 25 miles northeast of Kansas City, were being evacuated due to flooding on the Fishing River that has shut roads, the Clay County

By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas, (Reuters) Thunderstorms and floods battered several central U.S. states yesterday after a tornado series hit large parts of the area a day earlier, cutting power lines and damaging structures.

Parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kansas were either under a flash

DATE: 13/05/2015 M

It was one of only a few towns and cities to have remained under government control in the vast desert terrain, which borders Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan.

Islamic State, which emerged as an offshoot of al Qaeda, controls large parts of Iraq and Syria in a self-proclaimed caliphate where it has massacred members of religious minorities and slaughtered Western and Arab hostages.

The United States and its

27 28 14 18 09 01 20

15/05/2015

11

04

01

20

21

15/05/2015

4

Sheriff’s office said on its Twitter feed.

The flood warnings come after there were 29 reported tornadoes on Saturday that hit states ranging from Louisiana to Wyoming, the weather service said.

Texas and Oklahoma were the hardest hit but there were no reports on Sunday morning of major damage or deaths.

Thousands were without pow-

5

2

15/05/2015

allies have been pounding the militants for months with air strikes in both countries.

Washington said on Saturday its special forces had killed a senior IS figure in a raid into Syria.

Over a period of 24 hours up to 0500 GMT yesterday, the U.S.-led coalition carried out seven air strikes near Ramadi, according to a statement -- the highest number on any single location in Iraq and Syria. er due to the storms.

“We haven’t had any injuries reported as of this morning,” Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said.

The damage in Oklahoma was mostly in the southwestern and northeastern parts of the state, she said.

The National Weather Service has also issued a flash flood watch for parts of south-central Pennsylvania.

07 13 06 15 20 08 12

5

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Opposition party urges supporters to prepare for next general election BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, May 17, CMC – Opposition Leader Dr. Denzil Douglas Sunday urged supporters to prepare themselves to return to government at the next general election saying that past St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) administrations had brought significant social and economic development to the twin island Federation.

Addressing the 83rd annual national conference of the party, DR. Douglas, who lost the February 16 general election, said there were visible signs of progress all

over the country including the “ultra luxury 5-star Park Hyatt Hotel, the first Park Hyatt in the Caribbean”.

Dr. Douglas said the twin island Federations successes were also due in part to the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP), which he said “also provided the confidence to tackle our national debt, significantly reduced from nearly 200 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) to about 80 per cent, and responsible for amassing EC$700 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) surplus in our Trea-

sury and creating a Foundation (SIDF) that is the blueprint for transitioning our sugar agriculture economy to one of services”.

Dr. Douglas told supporters that his administration was able to develop and implement an economic strategy that produced, in 2014, a growth rate that was twice what the experts expected.

“We produced a growth rate that was the highest in the Caribbean with the exception of one country.

We produced a growth rate, Comrades, of some seven

per cent. This was recently announced by the International Monetary Fund. And for this, too, we are thankful.

For this, we rejoice.”

Dr. Douglas told supporters that after near 20 years as prime minister, “there are no monuments to Denzil Douglas: There are no airports in my name. Because that, my party and I would have found distasteful. There are no highways named after me because the priority of Labour has always been service. Not self-adulation.

“There are no buildings, no institutions, no schools

named after me because those who have emerged from them bear testament of my dedicated and enduring commitment for knowledge and learning. The support of this Federation’s majority, as reflected in our most recent elections, is my monument.”

But the former prime minister said that the SKNLP will expose the wrongs in society that are emerging following the victory of Team Unity noting that people “have been stripped of their livelihoods in our Federation today, for no good reason.

“There are those who

are suddenly being denied opportunities for training and personal advancement that were already approved. This the public must know. And this, the public in collaboration with the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, must fight, and fix.”

Dr. Douglas said that some people are being denied access to state-funded homes that had already been designated as theirs as well as to land for which they had already begun paying.

“This, as well, Labour shall fiercely resist,” Douglas warned.

Opposition legislators to end boycott of Parliament PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, May 17, CMC – Opposition members of the People’s National Movement (PNM) will return to Parliament on Friday putting a temporary end to their non-participation in the legislative chamber following the suspension of their leader Dr. Keith Rowley earlier this month.

PNM chairman Franklin Khan, speaking to reporters after the party’s General Council meeting on Saturday, said that the move to return is strategic and would prevent a move by the coalition government to move to have the seats declared vacant.

Parliamentarians who miss six consecutive sittings of Parliament without leave of absence could have their seats declared vacant.

But Khan said the opposition legislators would return to their boycott until Parliament is prorogued on June 17 because of the unlawful and vindictive suspension” of Rowley.

“That decision still stands, however, as you would realise the UNC (United National Congress) has been keeping two sittings (of Parliament) per week now instead of one, on a Wednesday and a Friday, only for them to invoke the

six consecutive absences from Parliament without the Speaker’s permission to invoke the decision to declare the seats vacant,” Khan said.

Khan said in addition, Friday will be private members day, when opposition legislators could table motions for debate and the PNM intends to file a motion on the “contentious and scandalous SouthWest Soldado project.

“That is tabled for debate so we will attend Parliament this Friday coming, Friday 22nd May, to debate our motion because that is really Opposition Day and debunk this whole foolishness that they feel they setting trap for us to miss six successive sittings,” he said.

Khan said after the May 22 sitting there will be no more than six sittings until Parliament is prorogued “save and except if they decide to keep a session every day of the week”.

“And knowing them they may well do that but it will look ridiculous and scandalous to the population,” Khan said.

Opposition member Colm Imbert will be also moving a motion on the adjournment calling on the Parliament to rescind the decision to suspend Rowley.

“At least that will give us a half an hour of debate on the matter even though we don’t expect them to vote in favour of it but at least we will have half an hour airtime as it were on that matter,” Khan said.

Leader of the small Independent Liberal Party (ILP), Austin Jack Warner, who failed in his bid to have a motion on Rowley’s suspension debated by the Parliament, last Friday, had also filed a motion to have the matter debated on Private Members Day. Meanwhile, Khan said the PNM has no intention of forming any “formal alliance” with anyone to contest the upcoming general election.

“At this point in time the PNM has no intention of joining forces with anybody to contest any election in Trinidad and Tobago.

We will meet people in the national interest, the classic example of that is the round table,” Khan said.

He said the party participated in the Chaguaramas march last weekend and other meetings involving the roundtable but this however does not signal an alliance.

“But as we speak there is no intention on the part of the PNM to form any formal

alliance with anybody to contest the election,” he said.

Khan said while the PNM appreciates the two motions filed by Chaguanas West Member of Parliament Jack Warner calling for Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley’s suspension from the Lower House to be rescinded, this does not

equate to any alliance between the two parties.

“He (Warner) is an opposition voice in the Parliament and he is free to do that and we appreciate the sentiments he expresses sometimes, but being that translated into formal political alliance in terms of contesting an election that is a non- starter,” Khan said.

Rowley was suspended after the government accused him of bringing “faked:” emails to the Parliament indicating that senior government ministers including Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar were involved in a plot to undermine several state institutions as well as the media.

6

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

EDITORIAL

GUYANA

On building trust TO everything, there is a season, and a purpose for everything under Heaven.

This conviction is going a far way to provide solace to the souls of those who hoped for a different outcome from the 2015 Elections.

Global history has shown that power corrupts, even in our own country. There are few and rare leaders who put humanity above self-interests and has eschewed violence and vengeance,

even against those who have done them wrong.

Foremost among these are Mahatma Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Guyana’s own Dr. Cheddi Jagan – undoubtedly great iconic souls in the human equation.

Amidst accusations of irregularities and outright fraud, and allegations of complicity by GECOM and foreign observers and envoys of the recent electoral processes, Brigadier (Rtd)

David Granger was sworn in as the 8th Executive President of the Republic of Guyana.

He has come into office with the great weight of his previous affiliation with the hated and feared PNC regime, sitting like the legendary albatross upon his shoulders, and this has undoubtedly tainted his image.

However, even if he had been complicit, as he has been accused, in the Burnhamite brand of leadership,

the olive branch he has extended to protagonists in his inaugural presidential speech – if he proves sincere and stays true to the message of hope and healing he has projected to the nation, then he can, with a great deal of effort and sustained commitment to national reconciliation, carve his own niche in the socio-political dynamics of the nation.

The fear of the return to the politics of the despised PNC regime is very real and

engenders massive distrust of the Granger Administration in the substantial PPP/C support base, and President Granger can only eradicate this fear and mistrust by stamping his own imprimatur on the national landscape by demonstrating through example his commitment to govern this nation with equitable and just leadership.

The biblical Saul became Paul, and Plato has said that a man can change

by “… turning his whole soul toward the light.”

Guyana needs to emerge from the dark era of racial divisiveness and turn toward the light of a united nation with common goals for upward mobility.

But for this to become an eventuality President Granger has to build the trust, not only of his own supporters, but of all Guyanese, even his bitterest opponents in the socio-political fray.

Guyana needs to diversify its energy sources ASIDE from providing Guyana with a cheap, clean source of electricity, the question on every everyone’s mind seems to be is the Amaila Falls Hydroelectricity Project viable? There are two camps. The pros say it is and the cons say it is not.

It all depends on your

point of view.

Let’s face it. Amaila Falls is about saving hardearned foreign currency which is being spent on imported oil and about reducing the price of electricity in Guyana so that manufacturing can take off, creating thousands of jobs. But, at what cost ask

the cons?

The pros seem to be focusing on the savings that they envisage the Amaila project would make over time and about the number of jobs the manufacturing industry would create, which is looking to the future. Whereas, the cons seem to be focused on the

actual cost and the amount the investor makes.

Who cares how much the investors (IDB and Sithe Global), make? They are the investors, they are taking the risk. So, they should be rewarded for their efforts. What Guyanese care about is the actual amount it saves Guyanese

African Guyanese have helped lift our collective political culture IN the course of the elections, African Guyanese have helped to lift our collective political culture.

The APNU+AFC Coalition’s victory in Guyana was made possible by the priceless contributions of Guyanese of all ethnicities and social class. Women and men voted and gave moral and practical support.

The elderly, the not so old and the very young came forward in their numbers. In the end it was a Guyanese victory for all Guyanese.

But we would be

dishonest if we did not recognise the particular role played by the African Guyanese section of the electorate. Some analysts have contended that it was the increased votes in Region 4 that ultimately made the difference. Perhaps the craziness that accompanies any discussion of race and ethnicity precludes any such assertion. So, at the risk of being accused of introducing race, let me be the first to do so openly and unambiguously.

African Guyanese were the majority ethnicity of the Unity Train. The African Guyanese youth

led the way, casting off the curse of apathy and disinterest in public politics. Young Black men, often the most abused section of our society, stepped up as never before. African Guyanese women, of all ages and classes, were constant mothers, daughters and sisters of the flock.

And most of all, when the PPP, in the days after the election tried to provoke African Guyanese, the people displayed a patience that nailed the lie of the angry, violent African.

Finally, the African Guyanese community showed

an unbelievably high level of respect for their non-African comrades in the Unity Train. Moses Nagamootoo was embraced not as a token, but as a brother-leader-in arms.

As they did in 2011, African Guyanese voted for National Unity, Equality and Mutual Respect and in the process have helped to lift our collective political culture. As an African Guyanese who believes in an equal unity, I salute the African Guyanese Sisterin and Brethren. Big up the Massive.

DR DAVID HINDS

in their electricity bills (re-

ported to be in the region of 40%). And, how much foreign currency it saves Guyana over the life of the hydroelectric dam (around 75 years).

One can argue that the assumption the cons make is that the price of oil will remain static when in fact it is likely to rise because India, Africa and China are becoming more developed.

The pros and cons need to understand that no matter how much planning you do nothing in life is certain.

Certainly in the business world nothing is certain.

We could build the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project only to find out that it does not live up to expectations or we may not build Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project only to find that the oil price continues to rise

leaving us with huge oil import bills.

On the other hand, the effect of shale oil (which America is pursuing to become less dependent on the Middle East) may cause a collapse in the oil price. This is what the pros ignore in their arguments.

So, the question remains whether the Amaila project is viable. I suggest that we have another feasibility study done by a company that has actually built a hydroelectric project to get a better understanding of cost. Preferably not the Chinese. Then, build Amaila. This is because the electricity consumption in Guyana is rising so we will need more electricity anyway. We need to diversify our energy sources so we are not reliant on just oil for electricity. We are really asking for trouble by just relying on oil.

Build Amaila, but not at any cost.

There is no denying that hydroelectricity is both a cheap and clean source of energy.

SEAN ORI

7

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

UN doesn’t view racial identity as divisive IN the year 2015 we are still discussing the fundamental idea that there should be tolerance and respect for every group within our society, including ethnic and cultural groups.

Because our race relations have erupted into violence, there is a fear of diversity. There is the notion that it breeds separateness and divisiveness. The argument is that if we take away the labels the problem will go away. So which labels should disappear and who decides, anyway? Muslims can no longer be Muslims?

Or Rastafarians? The WaiWais must give up their tribal identity? ACDA and the APA, too, must disband?

I am proposing these examples while hoping that it is not the Indian identity alone that is the issue with all the letter writers proposing racelessness, Guyaneseness, maya, DNA traps, and even the absurdity that race relations are some sort of culinary tourism where everyone delights in everyone else’s food.

Diversity is a celebration of life and any fear of it is driven by suspicion and, almost always, by a lack of knowledge and information about those feared.

I want to believe that most of us have the individual maturity, self-assurance, and knowledge that it takes

to be respectful of every other citizen no matter their colour, creed, gender, race, etc. This is the Guyana we all want to live in.

H o w e v e r, s i n c e m y own words seem insufficient to the discussion, I would like everyone who subscribes to the idea that Guyanese citizens should be raceless, or that Indians, in particular, have no right to their heritage and culture, to ponder the following quotes: Marcus Garvey: “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”

Elie Wiesel: “Without memory there is no culture. Without memory there would be no civilisation, no society, no future.”

Actress Salma Hayek: “I have never denied my background or my culture.

I have taught my child to embrace her Mexican heritage, to love my first language, Spanish, to learn about Mexican history, music, folk art, food, and even the Mexican candy I grew up with.”

William Shakespeare: “This above all; to thine own self be true.”

Queen Latifah: “Be bold, be brave enough to be your true self.”

Writer Milan Kundera: “The struggle of man against power is the struggle

of memory against forgetting.”

V.S. Naipaul: “To be converted you have to destroy your past, destroy your history. You have to stamp on it, you have to say ‘my ancestral culture does not exist, it doesn’t matter.’ ” V.S. Naipaul: “Men need history; it helps them to have an idea of who they are.”

V.S. Naipaul: “But we go back and back, forever; we go back all of us to the very beginning; in our blood and bone and brain we carry the memories of thousands of beings.”

Mahatma Gandhi: “Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.”

Mahatma Gandhi: “Intolerance betrays want of faith in one’s cause.”

Catholic priest Henri J. Nouwen: “Over the years, I have come to realise that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity or power but self-rejection….

Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contravenes the sacred voice that calls us ‘Beloved.’ Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”

I agree with the sentiments and views expressed in these statements and feel, as Father Nouwen does, that

self-hatred is the worst form of racism in that it is directed inwardly at the self and outwardly to the very group to which the self belongs.

It is the only racism that is two-pronged in its attack.

I have memory, history and a great heritage bequeathed to me by my ancestors. It is the greatest gift we receive from our foreparents and we should never dishonour or squander it. For these reasons, I am a very proud Indian Guyanese. I count myself among the billions around the world who are the Beloved.

We could each commit, at an individual and personal level, to practising tolerance, such as Gandhi teaches; respect for everyone’s history and culture as stated by Marcus Garvey; and to see self-rejection as the enemy, as preached by Father Nouwen.

I would like us all to ponder also two subsections of two of the articles from the UN Declaration of Human Rights which were agreed on by most of the nations of the world after WWII and the defeat of Hitler and Nazism. They were written to protect all the world’s peoples, including us here in Guyana whether we are Indians, Africans, Amerindians, Chinese, etc.

Article 1: “All peoples

have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

Article 5: “Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms recognized herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the present Covenant.”

This brings me to the statements made, as reported on page 27 of Kaieteur News of May 15, 2015, by UN Resident Coordinator Khadija Musa that Guyanese citizens are to view themselves “as Guyanese without divisive racial identities”. She expanded that we are to “market” a “full identity” as Guyanese.

The UN views no racial identity, or any other identity of the world’s peoples, as divisive. Nor does the UN ever suggest to any people what they should have as their “full identity”. Nor does the UN ever propose or promote any such idea as “one national identity” for any nation.

It is not the role of the UN to tell any nation or people who or what they should be. Any such role

would contradict its own covenant on the right of self-determination. Ms Musa’s statements also contravene Article 5 in that it is aimed at destroying rights and freedoms.

I have had interactions with past UN representatives on the issue of race and identity and, as far as I am aware, all UN personnel promote peace and reconciliation through understanding and tolerance among peoples and groups of people.

I was then President of GIHA (Guyana Indian Heritage Association) and every UN official we met with respected and supported our right to our ethnic and cultural identity.

Ms Musa’s statements directly contravene every single covenant and tenet sanctioned and upheld by the UN. By her own words, she shows herself unfit to hold the office of a UN representative.

She can retract her statements fully and apologise to the peoples of Guyana. Failing this, a formal petition citing Ms Musa for human rights violations will be drawn up and circulated for signatures, then sent to the UN Secretary General.

The petition will demand her removal from office.

RYHAAN SHAH

Time to protect the future of CXC Literature

PROFESSOR Gordon Rohlehr shaped hundreds of Caribbean teachers to the value of Literature and expected a more prominent place for the subject in the school curriculum.

He surmised that illiterate and alliterate boys in particular needed more, not less Literature but that need could not be satisfied by teachers who believed that Literature was an elitist subject. That need is even more vital today, but the Literature experience will not advance in schools to meet the needs of any student once CXC’s revised plan for the subject

is implemented. CXC’s successive revisions of the original conceptualisation of Literature teaching and learning has been so detrimental to the discipline that it is now time for teachers to advocate for another examining board to oversee the advancement and protection of the discipline.

Originally, in the 1980’s English B offered schools a 3-year cycle of choice of a minimum of 5 from 12 possible set texts. What a joy it was to teach and assess the responses of students and candidates from the Region!

What diverse perspectives

were offered and what mature discussions were generated among teachers at the marking tables. CXC was not hemmed in, then, by the need to select ‘the brightest candidate’ in the Region or in each territory, as its initial vision was decidedly democratic and inclusive, determined as we were to create a postcolonial regional ethos and ethic.

CXC’s challenge was the wide variation among the distribution of marks in the 22 optional questions.

Instead of addressing the issue by developing markers’ skills in detecting and assessing the quality of the

candidates’ generic skills set in interpreting the questions and responding to the texts, this ‘entrepreneurial’ regional institution jettisoned the best interest of Literature and introduced in 2006, the first major blow against the original ideal of wide reading, choice and thematic focus in Literature Study – the equally weighted three profiles of Drama, Poetry and Prose.

The disaster that created in teacher self-confidence and student reaction to Literature still reverberates throughout the region today.

Over time, CXC reduced the examining time, candidate choice of text and

questions, discouraged the most efficient markers and presided over the most precipitous decline in candidate entries even as the majority of Caribbean nations achieved universal secondary education.

The most recent revision in keeping with CXC’s self-serving business plan is to offer a five-year cycle, remove choice of question on set texts in the profiles and publish Study Guides to coach candidates’ parroting in examinations which will not involve marker discussion of responses. And I have not even factored their SBA plans for English. Is this not

an evil that must be rejected?

Professional teachers of English Literature who have been influenced by Professor Rohlehr must feel enraged by these developments. It may very well be that the Caribbean will have to look to genuinely autonomous Caribbean teacher leaders to ensure that a genuine movement of teacher professional action will stave off this new CXC onslaught, before effects worse than that of 2006-8 are repeated.

It is time to protect our future from CXC’s present plans for Literature.

MARTIN JONES

8

The week that was

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

– Chronicle Weekend Roundup with Telesha Ramnarine MONDAY, 11 Cops make 154-lb cocaine-in-fish bust at CJIA HIGH drama unfolded on the West Coast Demerara when ranks from the Police Narcotics Branch came under fire from a businessman they were approaching to effect an arrest following an earlier cocaine bust at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. The businessman was identified as one Mohamed who usually exports frozen seafood, mainly to the United States.

The man asked one of his employees, a labourer whose name was given as Komal Ramgobin, to oversee a shipment of frozen fish that was to be loaded on a Caribbean Airlines flight at the CJIA. However, he was observed acting in a suspicious manner by Police Narcotics Branch ranks.

Bandits target Route 32 minibus –rob all hands on board PRESIDENT of the Guyana Press Association Neil Marks was among several persons in a minibus who were robbed by two bandits, who were armed with a handgun and ice pick. The minibus, which was travelling from the West Coast Demerara to Georgetown just after noon, stopped to pick up two male passengers at the Vreed-enHoop junction. When the minibus reached on the East Bank Demerara vicinity of Eccles, the bandits began robbing those who were seated next to them and directed the driver to turn off the public road to a desolate roadway that leads to the National Milling Company, NAMILCO where everyone was robbed.

Mother, son shot in South Ruimveldt home invasion A MOTHER and her teenaged son were shot and injured by bandits who invaded their South Ruimveldt Gardens home with intent to commit an armed robbery. A police report said three men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, broke into the home of 39-year-old Manya Valenzuela at Cadet Lane, South Ruimveldt Gardens. Valenzuela is an employee of Air Services Ltd. On entering the home, they confronted Valenzuela and her 19-year-old son, Donovan, who put up a gallant resistance but both he and his mother were seriously injured. Manya Venezuela sustained three bullet wounds, one to the chin, another in her shoulder, while the third struck her neck, grazing the esophagus.

The woman’s son, Donovan, was shot in the right instep.

TUESDAY, 12

City remains a ‘ghost town’ as Guyanese await elections results AS expected, a number of people around Georgetown remained indoors as the city

appeared like a ‘ghost town’ following the General and Regional Elections, while the results of the poll were being anxiously awaited. During a drive around the city, popular businesses remained closed, and hardly anyone could be seen walking the streets.

Apart from businesses being closed, some schools were closed as well.

Hope, ECD teen attempts suicide on family farm DOCTORS at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) are battling

to save the life of 18-year-old Rameshwar Samaroo of Hope Backdam, East Coast Demerara, who admitted to ingesting a dangerous substance, thought to be gramoxone.

Rameshwar’s mother, Vidya Samaroo, said Rameshwar and his brother, Navin, would normally get up early in the morning and head down to the backdam to help their father, Dasraj, water plants and offer other assistance on the farm. But on Monday Rameshwar did not wait for his brother; he left on his own for the farm, riding his bicycle. After he had not been seen or heard from, his borther Navin decided to go down to the farm. There he was confronted with the ghastly sight of his brother lying on the ground vomiting up black stuff, rolling and groaning in pain.

Civil unrest flares in ‘C’ Field, Sophia THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) have commenced joint patrols in an effort to safeguard citizens following several incidents that occurred outside several polling stations in the city, and especially in Sophia. The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) had to retreat when they came under attack by an angry mob in ‘C’ Field, Sophia, while responding to a report of a fire outside the home of Church of Christ Pastor, Narine Khublall. His vehicle was set alight after irate villagers reacted to a misleading report alleging that he was storing ballot boxes on his premises and was operating an illegal polling station. Meanwhile, several vehicles were reportedly torched while debris was placed on the roadway and the riot police and villagers were exchanging gunfire.

WEDNESDAY, 13 Essequibians form new fishing organisation A NEW fishing organisation has been formed on the Essequibo Coast to represent all fishermen, and develop the industry in the Supenaam-Pomeroon Region. Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Alli Baksh, and Minister of Labour with responsibility for cooperatives, Dr. Nanda Gopaul met recently with more than 80 fishermen in the Regional Boardroom at Anna Regina and discussed several issues affecting the fishing industry in Region 2. Minister Baksh, who interacted with the fishermen, suggested that

they form themselves into a broad-based organisation so they can apply for funding to develop the fishing industry.

CARICOM accredits new Mexican envoy THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United Mexican States solidified diplomatic relations with the accreditation of His Excellency, Ivan Roberto Sierra-Medel, at the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat here in Georgetown.

CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque reflected on the longstanding relationship between CARICOM and Mexico. That relationship, the release says, goes back to 1974 when the Spanish-speaking country became the first with which CARICOM established a Joint Commission that facilitated the promotion of economic, cultural and technological cooperation. $84.5M Moleson Creek Bridge to be completed by August A SECOND bridge in Moleson Creek, Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne), costing $84.5M, is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by August. The construction of the bridge under the aegis of

mechanic, medical laboratory assistant, medical records, nurse aide, pharmacist, videography, welding and fabrication. The training was done under the theme: National Training Project for Youth Empowerment.

Bomb scare at GRA building in NA A BOMB scare shut down the Guyana Revenue Office in New Amsterdam after a telephone call was received by a tax inspector. The staff was evacuated as the bomb squad searched the building at the corner of the New Amsterdam Stelling Road. Police have since given the all-clear and deemed the building safe. Thirty-six-year-old Nicola Luther, reported that on answering a telephone call from landline number 3332948, the male caller was heard saying, a bomb was in the building. The police were summoned and a team from the Criminal Investigations Department, led by Sergeant Curtis Cort conducted “precautionary safety checks” on the building.

FRIDAY, 15 PPP/C claims elections ‘rigged’ --calls for total recount of ballots REACTING to the release of the third round of preliminary results of the General and Regional Election results, President Donald Ramotar was emphatic in stating that the process was “rigged” in favour of the political Opposition.“We are convinced that these elections were rigged,” he said at a news conference. He also made no bones

the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) began on February 27, 2015 by B & J Civil Works and is expected to be completed by August month-end. The bridge under construction will be 150 feet in length.

According to Sherod Parkinson, the Ministry of Public Works Engineer overseeing the project, works to be carried out include the replacement of structural steel and driving surface and widening of support piers.

THURSDAY, 14 Elections Day Sophia arson victim said conflagration erupted after Granger departed PASTOR Narine Kubhlall, the key victim of the carnage in ‘C’ Field Sophia, following the close of polls along with his wife, children and relatives returned to the Lot 588 premises under heavy police guard to salvage whatever household items remained.

The Guyana Chronicle was at the scene when the Khublalls arrived during the afternoon, by which time a small group had already been assembled for some time outside of the premises where burnt-out shells of a number of vehicles also lay waste. Pastor Narine, a long standing member of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), has since February of this year, allowed his property to be transformed into the party’s Command Centre for the district.

29 graduate from Board of Industrial Training in Essequibo TWENTY-nine students have graduated after completing a one-year training programme through the Board of Industrial Training, Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security. According to reports, the training programme prepared students to work in such fields as clerical office practice, community health practice,

about calling out the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on the question of collusion with the political Opposition, even as he acknowledged that not all of the polling- day staff acted in a manner that undermined the democratic process of May 11.

“We think that these are serious issues that deserve to be investigated and done before a final pronouncement on these elections is made,” Mr Ramotar said.

GECOM’s figures show APNU+AFC coalition wins 2015 elections The figures provided by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield show that A Partnership For National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) party has won the 2015 General and Regional Elections.

The results for the General Elections are as follows: APNU/AFC 206,817; PPP/C 201,457; TUF 880; URP 338; NIP 561; and IP 338. The results were taken after GECOM processed the 2,299 Statements of Poll (SoPs) which were presented to them Turn to page 11 ►

9

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Huge rally planned outside Wismar Market this evening – as Lindeners celebrate change of gov’t AFTER overwhelmingly showing their support for the A Partnership For National Unity+Alliance For Change Coalition at the recent General and Regional Elections, the people of Linden and by extension Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) are expected to converge outside the Wismar Market this afternoon as they celebrate

the accession to office of a new Government.

The people of Linden will celebrate the win by the APNU+AFC Coalition with a massive thanksgiving ceremony which starts at 18:00hrs, with full participation of all religious faiths and the wider sections of the community in the perennial stronghold of the Opposition over the past 20-odd years.

Last Thursday, in anticipation of the announcement of an APNU+AFC win in the elections, scores of cars, trucks, motorcycles and hundreds of persons wormed their way through the streets across Linden, on both the Mackenzie and Wismar shores; and finally made their way in central Mackenzie to the Linden/ Georgetown Mini Bus Park,

Van Vicker talks about the benefits of being an actor VAN Vicker, who is one of the actors who paved way for the Ghana-Nigeria collaborations in terms of acting, has called on the film authorities to see to it that both countries do not put a stop to such collaborations.

In a chat with Razz Newspaper reporter, Mustapha Inusah, he said that though producers are not shooting many movies of late, it’s difficult for movie lovers to see actors and producers from both countries collaborate with each other.

“I don’t want to speculate much about why we don’t shoot much Ghanaian–Nigerian collaborative films; I went to Nigeria to shoot one movie last month, and I saw Majid Michel also going to shoot a movie, but the rate at which we used to shoot movies in Nigeria has dropped drastically” he revealed.

Speaking about the benefits both countries enjoy from such collaboration efforts, he said that formerly, the Ghanaian film industry was riding on the back of the Nigerian film industry because the latter was well established; but now, he can safely say that the Ghanaian film industry has solidified.

“When we speak about African films, many people immediately think Nollywood, as actors all across Africa are called Nollywood actors, especially by the international media because Nollywood was more established. So, our collaborating with them has benefited us tremendously,” he said.

To him, one can easily be popular in Af-

rica when he or she features in Nollywood films, because most of them who moved to Nollywood are way ahead of the others in terms of popularity across Africa and beyond.

“That is not to say you can’t be popular in Africa through Ghanaian films, but doing Nigerian collaborations makes it easier; and our moving to Nigeria also gave us a chance for more new talented actors to be discovered in Ghana,” he said.

He explained that the collaboration between both countries also brought a healthy human and business relationship between both countries.

“If we allow the collaboration to totally fall, that unity and rapport we have with both countries will also decline,” he said.

Van said that not all Ghanaian movies go outside Ghana because we don’t have as many producers in Ghana compared to Nigeria.

By contrast, the Nigerian producers are many, and the majority of them take the movie outside Nigeria, which makes it easier for actors and the films to get the necessary attention across Nigeria.

As to what he will be doing to make sure that the previous collaboration that existed between Ghana and Nigeria will come back to life, Van said it is the job of the various institutions like the Film Producers Association and Actors Guild to see to it that such progressive collaboration persists and improves.

where they were greeted and addressed by the Co-Chairs of the Region Ten Elections campaign, Sharma Solomon of APNU and the AFC’S Audwin Rutherford.

The hurriedly put together rally at the Mackenzie location last Thursday was well received and the next day, Friday, a Church Service was held at the Mackenzie Sports Club pavilion,

drawing the denominational churches in Linden to give thanks to God for a peaceful elections.

This evening’s grand rally, therefore, on the west side of the town alongside the Demerara River, should see hundreds of Lindeners outside the Wismar Market as celebrations continue for the APNU+AFC Coalition win.

The region bettered its

last elections showing in numbers for the recent Opposition led by Brigadier (Ret) David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo.

Apart from the opening prayers from the religious organisations, there will be a cultural presentation and several speeches are expected from well wishers on this grand occasion.

(Joe Chapman)

DESMOND ELLIOT NOW WANTS TO GOVERN LAGOS

NOLLYWOOD actor cum elected political office holder, Desmond Elliot, has disclosed that he would like his political career to lead him to the seat of the Governor of Lagos State some time in the near future.

The actor, who won the Lagos State House of Assembly election, and would proceed to the State Assembly where he'll be representing the Surulere Constituency 1, believes that the future holds greater prospects for him as far as politics is concern.

In his words, “I am looking forward to becoming the elected Governor of Lagos State in the not too distant future; I want to serve the people of Lagos, and I know I can do it.

“People say that politics is a dirty game; I don’t know exactly how dirty it can get, but my intention basically is to serve humanity.

“My choice as a representative of the good people of Surulere constituency 1 is an added advantage for me to utilise my humanitarian service to my people. To me, it is a bold step, and a stepping stone; and I promise never to disappoint my constituents,” he noted. (NigeriaFilms.com)

JIM IYKE SENDS BABY SISTER TOUCHING BIRTHDAY MESSAGE “HAPPY Birthday, Baby; my baby sis, confidante, prayer partner, grandma and daughter,” he began.

“From the first time I saw u kicking in your crib as I walked into Gladys marternity room,” he continued, “I fell in love with u unconditionally. I know she’s up in Heaven, smiling down at her baby. I literally co-raised u, nurtured u and watched u grow into the awesomeness I see every day. You’re wise ‘n forthright far beyond your years.

“I’m always in awe of your alien intelligence, and

the grace you bring to bear everywhere. You’re my loudest cheerleader, and yet my most conscientious critique. I’m beside myself with joy ‘n gratitude at the young woman you’ve become. God bless your

day with laughter and love.

May u find the secret of the small. And humility in the big. May u find a father, a friend, and an equal in the man that shares your life for life.

“I love u so, u lovely, amazing, gifted, blessed child. I gat u as long as there’s breath in me. Mi casa su casa. Celebrate your Earth Day like tomorrow will never end. Bless u!”

Talk about true love!

Well done, Jim! And a big happy birthday to your ‘sis’; she is truly beautiful! (NigeriaFilms.com)

10

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

ELECTIONS AND TECHNOLOGY

THE United Kingdom general election of 2015 was held on 7 May 2015, where close to 60 million people cast their votes, and got the results… the next day!

The introduction of information and communications technologies (ICT) into the electoral process is generating both interest and concern among voters, as well as practitioners across the globe. Today, most electoral management bodies (EMBs) around the world use new technologies with the aim of improving the electoral process.

These technologies range from the use of basic office automation tools such as word processing and spreadsheets to more sophisticated data processing tools, such as data base management systems, optical scanning and geographic information systems.

Some of these tools have been available for some time and their strengths and weaknesses are well known. Every year, however, new technologies and tools that are not so well-known are introduced to the market.

While these technologies open up new frontiers and offer new possibilities for the electoral process, especially for voting operations, there may be unforeseen risks involved, such as an increase in vote selling or difficulty in auditing election results. Careful consideration also needs to be given to the risks of inappropriate or untimely introduction of technology, especially if it has the potential to compromise transparency, local ownership or sustainability of the electoral process.

Why "Elections and Technology"?

In many countries, technology is present in activities related to the electoral process, and in some cases it is essential to the conduct of elections. Technology is used, for example, to compile voter lists, to draw elec-

them on the screen. MashMe was created by Darian and Vedran Škarica. Both brothers have an extensive experience in electrical and computer engineering and they ran a small video house called DivIT. They built MashMe internally in an effort to streamline game development with live actors.

MashMe targets regular consumers and requires only a standard webcam. Because it doesn’t require any prior animation or technical knowledge, anybody can use it.

The original project used a Kinect to track the body and generate an animation.

The pair soon realised, however, that they could use a standard webcam to watch a scene and map an animated figure onto a human. The system also supports facial

home PCs and laptops, and it includes all of the main Windows 10 features like the new Microsoft Edge browser, Windows Hello face-recognition, and built-in universal apps.

To complement the home desktop version, Microsoft also has a Windows 10 Pro edition.

This will be the equivalent to Windows 8 Pro, with the ability for businesses to connect up to domains and take advantage of Windows Update for Business.

Microsoft is also renaming Windows Phone with the launch of Windows 10 across PCs, phones, tablets, and the Xbox One. Windows 10 Mobile is the official replacement name, and it will include new touchoptimised versions of Office and support for the new Continuum for Phone feature. It will

movements, ensuring your dinosaur can look happy, sad, or surprised by his/her impending extinction.

The vision is to become an app anybody in the world can use to create Shrek or Frozen at home without having any prior technical or animation skills. So, why wait… set yourself free and be anything you want… well kind of.

Microsoft reveals all the editions of Windows 10 While Microsoft has not yet revealed an exact date for the Windows 10 launch (other than summer), the software giant has revealed all the editions that will be made available when the operating system is finalised. Windows 10 Home is what Microsoft calls the "consumer-focused desktop edition." It’s the edition that will ship on most

support phones and small tablets (less than 8-inch displays), with the familiar Windows Phone interface. Microsoft is also offering a Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise edition, designed for big businesses to license the operating system on smartphones and small tablets.

toral boundaries, to manage and train staff, to print ballots, to conduct voter education campaigns, to record cast votes, to count and consolidate vote results and to publish elections results. The appropriate application of technology to elections can increase administrative efficiency, reduce long-term costs and enhance political transparency.

The complexity level of technology used for the administration of elections around the world varies enormously. The rate of technological change is so high that election management bodies (EMBs) must regularly reevaluate their use of technology to determine whether they should adopt new or updated technology to improve their performance.

AUTO-MAGICALLY SOFTWARE Have you ever wanted to be a dinosaur? A lion? A robot? A kitten? Man, you have come to the right place. Croatian company MashMe wants to make your weird dreams come true.

The company makes animation software that follows your movements and recreates

SEVEN EDITIONS IN TOTAL Alongside these main editions, Microsoft will have Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Education, and Windows 10 IoT Core for smaller gateway devices. That’s seven editions in total, across a range of devices and use cases. Starting this fall, customers can expect ongoing innovation and security updates for their Windows 10 devices, including more advanced security and management capabilities for businesses.

11

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Winners of the 2015 Mother and Daughter Pageant announced AS EXPECTED last Saturday, the promoters of the Annual Mother and Daughter Pageant produced a magnificent event that showcased a whirl of colours, winsome smiles, saucy pivots and dazzling sashays.

As the enchanting daughters and their equally captivating mothers entertained a mammoth crowd of enthusiastic attendees, the judges certainly had their work cut out to determine winners, as the battle among

the breath-taking damsels raged fiercely.

In the Junior category, the delightful Kristia Ramlagan and Gabrielle took the top honours, while Guyana Chronicle’s Garianne Butters and Aliandra raked in the second position. In third place were the charming Quenita Waldron and Kya. In the Middle category, the ladies turned up the heat to scorching degrees, but none could match the finesse of Renita Crandon-Duncan and her daughter LeShae,

who took top honours in this category. In second place were Subbrina Nixon and Nikeisha, while Vaulda Welcome and Maria placed third.

The contestants exploded in a blinding kaleidoscope of glitz and glamour in the Senior category, where Ann Rodrigues and Odessa stole the show, with Natasha James and Nkasi copping second. Occupying the third position were the alluring Judith Cummings and Gabrielle.

Senior category winners Ann Rodrigues and Odessa, Natasha James and Nkasi, Judith Cummings and Gabrielle

The week that... by the returning officers who worked on May 11, during the 2015 General and Regional Elections.

Middle category winners Renita Crandon-Duncan and LeShae, Subbrina Nixon and Nikeisha, Vaulda Welcome and Maria

Junior category winners Kristia Ramlagan and Gabrielle, Garianne Butters and Aliandra, Quenita Waldron and Kya

Fraudulent processing of election voting results…

Fake SOPs submitted to GECOM A MEMORANDUM to electoral observers was sent by the ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), detailing incidents of fraud in the processing of thousands of votes cast by the Guyanese people on May 11, 2015. The PPP/C said influenced by fairly extensive Reports of Irregularities by PPP/C Polling Agents, it made formal requests for recounts. At the GECOM Commissioners’ meeting held on Wednesday, Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield made a startling disclosure about his findings about the Statement of Polls (SOPs). It would seem that fake Statement of Polls (SOPs) had been submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from the Electoral Districts. It was disclosed that these fake SOPs had layouts and formats different from the authentic one earlier distributed by GECOM intended for use by Polling Agents. Additionally, these

fake SOPs did not carry the GECOM endorsement which had been applied to all the SPOs purchased from Canada.

SATURDAY, 16 One dead, another injured in Corentyne home invasion RAMESH PURAN succumbed to a gunshot injury during an armed robbery at his home while a relative was injured. Police reported that four men armed with cutlasses and a handgun entered a home at Belvedere, Corentyne, through an open door, and held up Ramesh Puran, 49, his wife and two other relatives, and demanded cash and jewellery.

The perpetrators took away a quantity of jewellery and Puran was shot to his body, while a cousin, Devika Ramotar, was chopped in her head. The bandits got away.

‘I did not concede’ – President Ramotar NEWS Source Guyana’s reports that President Donald Ramotar has been on the phone with a number of the Heads of the Foreign Missions in Guyana and has indicated that he has made a decision to concede the elections are false.

The Head of State informed the Guyana Chronicle that he has not contacted any member of the diplomatic community

From page 8

nor has he made a decision to concede defeat at the 2015 General and Regional Elections. “I did not concede,” he said. Additionally, a statement from the ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) said, “The Party refutes reports in the media that Head of State, President Donald Ramotar is preparing to concede electoral defeat to Opposition Leader David Granger. Any such insinuation is grossly inaccurate and the agenda of such media houses further arouses suspicion.”

‘Publish data used to calculate results’ PRONOUNCEMENTS by the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Dr Steve Surujbally himself, belie contradictions that the ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) wasted no time in exposing.“We have been frustrated; more than 200,000 people voted for the PPP/C and they deserve to have their votes counted…the PPP/C has more than 200,000 people that we represent and we speak for them. We want their X’s counted, period!” said PPP/C member, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, at a news conference.

12

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

His Excellency, Brigadier (Rtd) David Arthur Granger, MSS HIS Excellency, Brigadier (rtd) David Arthur Granger, MSS, Guyana’s duly elected and sworn 8th Executive President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of State of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

Brigadier David Granger is the Leader of the coalesced A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government elected on May 11, 2015.

He is a graduate of the University of Guyana, where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees; the University of the West Indies, where he received his post-graduate Diploma in International Relations; and the University of Maryland, where he was a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow.

He also attended the Urban Policy Development Workshop at the University of California, Los Angeles; the Defense Planning and Resource Management

course at the National Defense University, Washington DC; and the Counter-Terrorism Educators’ Workshop at the Joint Special Operations, University, Florida, USA. COMMANDER Brigadier Granger is a former Commander of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and National Security Adviser to President Hoyte.

He received his military training at the Mons Officer Cadet School, and the School of Infantry in the United Kingdom; the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil, and the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria. He was a member of several defence and security agencies.

He held the chairmanship of the Central Intelligence Committee; co-chairmanship of the Border and National Security Committee; and was a member of the Guyana Defence Board, National Drug Law Enforcement Committee, and the Disciplined Forces Commission. David Granger has served in several public organisations.

His Excellency, Brigadier (rtd) David Arthur Granger

ACADEMIC/ HISTORIAN He was elected to the presidencies of the History Society, the Guyana Heritage Society, the University of Guyana Guild of Graduates; and the Guyana Chess Federation. He is also a former member of the University

of Guyana Council, Association of Caribbean Historians, Caribbean Studies Association, Guyana Press Association, Guyana Book Foundation, and is currently a member of the Guyana Legion and the Board of Trustees of the Guyana Veterans Foundation.

PUBLISHED AUTHOR Brigadier Granger has written extensively on national defence and public security issues. He is the author of National Defence: A Brief History of the Guyana Defence Force, 1965- 2005; Public Security: Criminal Violence and Policing in Guyana; and Public Policy: The Crisis of Governance in Guyana.

He has also written several monographs, including Five Thousand Day War: The Struggle for Haiti’s Independence, 1789 - 1804; The British Guiana Volunteer Force, 1948 -1966; The Guyana National Service, 1974 - 2000; The Guyana People’s Militia, 1976 -1997; The Queen’s College Cadet Corps, 1889 - 1975; Guyana’s Coinage, 1808-2008; The Era of Enslavement, 1638 -1838; and The Village Movement, 1839-1889.

He is co-editor, with Winston McGowan and James Rose, of Themes in

African-Guyanese History, and is former publisher of the Guyana Review and Emancipation magazines.

He is in receipt of various academic awards, including the President’s Medal for the best graduating student; Dennis Irvine Prize for the student who has made the greatest contribution to all cultural life of the University; Council of the University Prize; Elsa Goveia Medal of Excellence; Guy de Weever History Prize; Earl Attlee History Prize; Mary Noel Menezes Award for History; Department of History Prize and others, from the University of Guyana.

HUSBAND/FATHER David Granger is married to Sandra (née ChanA-Sue) and is the father of two daughters. He is the holder of three national awards: The Military Efficiency Medal (1976), the Military Service Medal (1981), and the Military Service Star (1985) for distinguished military service.

Dear Uncle David

Let me tell you about my life...

Sara Bharrat I WILL only address you as Mr. President when we are in those overly formal situations which demand it.

Outside of that formality, you will be Uncle David to me because you are family, and I hope that by holding you so close to my heart, it will encourage you to keep me close to yours.

I know for certain that I have faith in you and one or two of your soldiers. I recognise that at this point in Guyana’s history, a Government led by you is the best choice for our nation moving forward. But I don’t think many Guyanese realise just why this was so necessary. It is necessary because it is the first step in changing the political tradition which has ripped our nation limb from limb.

Tonight, I expected to be happy now that you’ve been sworn in, but instead, I find myself in a kind of pain for which I am still too young to describe with just the right words.

Tonight, Uncle David, I am in tears, and I look at my family and I look at the walls of my home and I feel as if I am alone here, and as if I am homeless.

Many of us have said much about what one Government

or the other has done to Guyana. But most of our stories seek only to cast blame on one side or the other. But me, I am lucky that I can see the bigger picture; I see that it isn’t one side or the other, but it is the entire system and tradition of politics which have been responsible for our state.

Let me tell you about my life, Uncle David; let me tell you about what our country’s tradition of politics has taken from me.

It has taken my mother’s peace and replaced it with a fear so heavy that it drags her into deep, dark places where even I cannot reach her. It has taken my Nani’s good sense and replaced it with a loyalty to men and women who will never love her. It has taken my family from me, Uncle David, and replaced them with strangers who look at me across our kitchen table with anger in their eyes.

I have looked steadily back at them, and done my best to calm their fears while dealing with my own. I told Nani to remember that the greatest wars in our Hindu scriptures were fought within families to rid the world of evil. I have told her that it is her own wayward family that has blinded her so, and that love is no excuse for tolerating things which are wrong.

I am not sure she could really hear me. Even the woman I have loved best in my life; even she has been taken from me.

This week I walked through my village to shouts of “We done with dem coolie sk*nt” and “Yuh coolie crass, we gon tek back everything now.” These words will hurt me for years to come, but hurt is all I will feel. I will not feel anger or bitterness or the need to retaliate, because I know that this is the legacy of our political tradition. So you see, Uncle

David, I have inherited the hate and anger that is directed to that last batch of politicians for their infamous deeds. And this is yet another thing politics has taken from me, Uncle David; it has taken my face and turned it into an icon which represents one section of the elitist group of rulers who have ruined our nation in the only twisted sort of unity of which they were capable.

The things I feel today, I am certain that many Guyanese have felt them to some degree in their lives. But how many have been able to resist the anger that comes from that sort of pain? How many have been able to keep their fear in check, so that it did not manifest into hate? I am afraid of the answer, Uncle David; very afraid. This is not what our people deserve.

I choose to tell you these things today, because I am certain that even as you go through the necessary social rituals, you are well aware of how serious our situation is and just how difficult the road ahead will be. I want you to remember my words, and keep in mind that every day we spend not bridging the divide is one more day of misery for me and you and all of us. Go with our blessings.

Without Wax Bharrat (Re-printed from sarabharrat.wordpress.com and written

by Sara Bharrat. Published on May 16, 2015)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Man-in-the-Street welcomes wind of change

THE results of the National and Regional Elections held on May 11, after a prolonged and anxious wait, were announced on Saturday and Brigadier (ret’d) David Granger, Leader of the APNU+AFC Coalition was sworn in as the 8th President of Guyana.

As congratulations continue to pour in for the new Government and its leaders, the Guyana Chronicle invited comments from the man-in-the-street. Here are some of the responses:

GAVIN ENGLISH, hire-car driver: “I feel that the Elections were fairly contested, and the champions came out as the champions. I think Mr. David Granger is a fair man, and he would give justice to the people, based on what I have heard from people who worked with him. He is a fair man.

“Right from the vey beginning, I would like to see him cause all the mess that has been done for 23 years to be cleaned up; I would like him to especially take a look at the crime situation we have in this country, because crime is at an all-time high in this country. I’d like him to inject more into education and training for the young people, and moreso to see the creation of jobs for them. “As promised by him, I would really like to see old age pension and public assistance doubled to better take care of the needs of our pensioners.”

DESMOND ZEPHYR, missionary: “I feel that all Guyana is in favour of this new Government, because in them we have decency; we have morality, honesty, and integrity; all you can ever want. I am a born Buxtonian, and had this election gone otherwise, I would have gone right back to the United States. God bless the new leadership!

“The first thing I would like to see them do is have Local Government Elections, Desmond Zephyr because every district would be able to look at its need and the things they would like to accomplish, and move forward with that. We wouldn’t have the town in a condition like this; and every village would have to give account for itself, and everybody would be happy.

“I am told that last night, for example, some people from Annandale and Lusignan came across to Buxton and they all had a wonderful time. And it involved big businessmen and ordinary people as well. That is a healthy sign.”

YVONNE JACK, pensioner: “Having Mr. Granger as President is just wonderful, and I wish him and his Prime Minister and Cabinet God’s speed and abiding favour. We are now looking forward to him delivering what he promised us during the campaign, especially for the youths, because the youth deserve a break in life.

They’ve had life too hard for much too long. We need more jobs for them, and an increase in pension for the elderly.

Yvonne Jack “I am particularly concerned about the situation where two patients are being accommodated on one bed at the Public Hospital. That cannot be comfortable; it is not healthy. People are admitted to hospital because they are sick, and what is happening is that you are exposing people to sicknesses that they did not come to the hospital with. I do not like that at all, and I hope that with the new Government, all that would change. It is not nice to see two big grown people sharing one hospital bed.

Then there is the case of those elderly women (advanced in age) who are sitting around selling next to nothing and they have children to provide for. I think those people need more help, because the life of women in this country now is a bit tough.”

RUBY DOPWELL, overseas-based Guyanese: “I am delighted that the APNU+AFC coalition has won, and that we now have Mr. Granger as President and Mr. Moses Nagamootoo as Prime Minister.

“If Mr. Granger would do all that he promised, it would be a wonderful thing; it would be a feather in his cap. I pray and thank God that he sticks to his programme, and try his best to

13

--believes President Granger can, will deliver don’t get jobs right away, so I vote for a change.”

MOHAMED SALIM, bus driver: “I feel that we needed a change, and that is the change that would bring about happiness and prosperity. For the past 23 years is one Government working, and is sheer promises. Well, it’s time to give somebody else a chance; we can’t continue to live on promises.

“I would like to see more development; the completion of projects. Many of these projects just begin and are left incomplete; and that you could say is money gone down the line. Finally, I would like to see unity among the races; we need one another, and must love one another.”

Bhola Persaud & Lloyd Marks do all he has promised to do, especially for the elderly, the youth and the hospital. I ask God to keep him, guide and direct him, inspire him to do all that he is supposed to do.

“For example, looking into the interest of the elderly, and I add, getting the people who are sleeping on the streets off the streets. As for the hospital, it is badly in need of venetian blinds; the patients are baking in the sun as they lie in their beds. When I lived here, I Ruby Dopwell was a member of the ‘Friends of the Georgetown Hospital’, and we contributed to satisfying such needs for the hospital.

We bought curtains, sheets and pillow slips for the pregnant women.

And most of all, I call for unity among the Guyanese people; let there be no race hate and ethnic division. “Years ago, we had such unity as is evidenced by the many inter-marriages.”

BHOLA PERSAUD, security guard, and LLOYD MARKS, self-employed: “Well, it is nice that we have a new Government, but we have to wait and see how things will develop. I want to see them bring down the price of land; it is too high for poor people to afford. Guyana’s got more than enough land for everybody to have a house lot, therefore why make it so difficult for a person to have one to build for his family.

“And yes, I want to let people know that the Coalition party can work, and it will work; Indians and Negroes can co-exist. Look at me and my friend Lloyd Marks here; we’ve been friends for years, and no elections can bring us apart.

“I am hoping that Mr. Granger can deliver what he promised, because we’ve been hearing promises for 23 years now, and that’s a very long time. They did do some things, but when Bharrat was there, he had his cronies; and the people in the country suffered, because he made some promises, like reducing VAT, and he did not keep them. And the people get frustrated. Don’t ever promise if you cannot deliver; you don’t know what it can do to people building their dreams around those promises; so you end up with people who are broken, empty and bitter; that’s not a nice way to be. Some people even run off their rockers.”

MARCIA FORDYCE: “I feel good and optimistic about the APNU+AFC coalition. I wish Mr. Granger every success, and God’s richest blessings and guidance. I would like see the government reduce VAT, reduce the Berbice Bridge toll, and work towards the creation of more jobs for young people, as well as scholarships for them so they can pursue higher learning in areas not offered by the University of Guyana.”

SHAUNDELL MELVILLE, student: “Voting for the first time was a great experience for me; the procedure I had to go through wasn’t hard, and I really appreciate how they conducted the process. Everything went smoothly and peacefully.

Now that we have a new Government, the changes I would like to see are: The creation of employment for us young people, because most of the youth who come out of school

RABINDRA DEBIDEEN, conductor: “I would like to see the Government get about the business of creating jobs for young people; ensure security for the people; in their homes, on the streets and even at work, people must be secure. There are too many robberies and killings. I support the new government; we are all Guyanese, and we’re one people. We have to support each other; we have to work as one and build Guyana, so that when the tourists come, they have something positive to see and can admire and respect our country and always want to come back. It will bring in money into this country. Guyana is a beautiful country, and has lots to offer in the line of tourism.”

MARIE GUNRAJ, Holland-based Guyanese: “I am Guyanese, but I live in Holland and have come home for some sunshine. They say that the APNU+AFC coalition is the best Party, and I am happy about that; but now it will have to prove itself. I hope they can cause a cleanup of the city, and have it restored to its former glory. I pray that we can all work together and make Guyana the place it used to be.”

RAS SHARPLES: “I want to wish the new leader, President Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo all the best from the Stabroek Warriors of Big Market. I feel good about the new Leader. Right now, Georgetown feels different; you feel like a burden come off your back. Like that slavery thing, and that dictator thing and that ‘bad boy’ thing come off your back so. I feel good and you getting that sense right throughout the town.

However Stabroek Market in a deteriorating condition right now and I would like to see Stabroek get some attention, likewise the Mayor and City Council should get the place back in order.

Omica Douglas: “I am happy that the Government change so we could get a better education for our children and we could get house lots and other things. I applied in 2010 for a house lot and they told me is not my time I have to go back and wait. Now five years later and I still ‘waiting me turn’ and Omicka Douglas what I managed to save up for a louse lot five years ago cannot buy one right now, let alone ‘when it is my turn’.”

DWAYNE HICKS, businessman: “I would like to congratulate Mr. David Granger and Mr. Nagamootoo. My desire is for them to look out for the young people of this country; they have proven themselves as sensible, serious minded and mature people who came out in all their numbers to vote for the Government of their choice on Elections Day. They have spoken, and they deserve to be heard. Young people need jobs; those coming of age need land at affordable cost.

“We also want that the Banks should be more accommodating when people approach them for loans to build or do whatever legitimate business; it hurts to know that you have a transport and it is not being accepted by the Bank as collateral. What are we to do? We have children, and need to live stable and progressive lives so that our children can have what the majority of us did not have. But in this regard, the Banks are not customer- friendly; the advertisement is good, but the reception is not.”

ROBERT BYZETT: “We are glad for a change, because right now it real rough as young men, trying to build a family and achieve anything in Guyana. It’s time for everybody to be treated equal; not some got rights and others don’t have.”

14

Guyana Islamic Trust congratulates President Granger and APNU+AFC ––looks forward to working with new gov’t

THE Guyana Islamic Trust (GIT) has extended congratulations to His Excellency David Arthur Granger and the APNU+AFC on their victory in the just-concluded General and Regional Elections.

The Administrative Council of the Guyana Islamic Trust, in a press release, said: “We join with the entire Muslim community in urging the new Government to approach this great responsibility with the highest level of integrity, commitment and statesmanship, and we eagerly look forward to the fulfillment of the promises made for ‘the first hundred days’ after assuming office for the benefit of all Guyanese.

“Furthermore, we look forward to working with the new Government towards the upliftment of the moral standards in our country, as well as the promotion of love, unity, care and concern among all Guyanese without discrimination of any

kind, since Islam teaches equality of all people.

“Our Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) has said: “All people are equal like the teeth of a comb. No superiority is given to an Arab over a non-Arab or a white person over a colored person except by the fear of God.” “We commend the Guyanese people on the maturity, patience and peacefulness they have demonstrated in the last few days since elections, and we urge all to continue in the same vein to ensure the continued security and stability of our nation.

“We wish to also thank the previous Administration for its support to the Muslim community while in Office.”

The GIT added that it is looking forward to a warm and cordial relationship with the new government in working towards a brighter future for all Guyanese.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

GMSA commends APNU +AFC, people of Guyana ––for a job well done THE Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) has extended to President David Granger, MSc, MSM, MSS, their congratulations on being elected to the Executive Presidency of Guyana.

The GMSA in a press release said, “We also take this opportunity to congratulate his party, the APNU+AFC Coalition, and the people of Guyana in general for the maturity displayed during and after the just- concluded General and Regional Elections.

“The nation’s manufacturers, service providers, commercial entrepreneurs, importers and exporters are indeed anxious at this time to get on with business, to continue the process of raising Guyana’s standing in the world of trade. The GMSA is particularly anxious to get on with our business of facilitating the creation of more value-added industries that will utilise Guyana’s many natural resources in secondary and tertiary production. Our country’s capacity in this regard is

‘We anticipate that more effective strategies will be implemented in the immediate future to re-train and re-equip our law enforcement bodies to ensure the personal and material safety of business owners and their communities’ --GMSA tremendous even with the traditional products such as gold, rice, sugar, timber and agricultural crops.

“Today Guyana stands on a springboard and we at the GMSA are ready to promote the evolution of downstream manufacturing and services enterprises which are expected to spring up from the find of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons (oil and gas); from the anticipated construction of a deep water harbour; from the rehabilitation of the Demerara Harbour and Navigational Channel; and from the resurgence of the gold and diamond industry.

“The agriculture and agro-processing sector is also ripe for immediate expansion which the GMSA plans to facilitate with technical and financial support through our trade development partnerships with agencies in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.

“The Association looks forward to close collaboration with the incoming Coalition Government which has already laid out broad strategies to address these initiatives that will redound to the benefit of the business community and to Guyanese in general.

“In addition, we anticipate that more effective strategies will be implemented in the immediate future to re-train and re-equip our law enforcement bodies to ensure the personal and material safety of business owners and their communities.

“The GMSA continues to hope that the calm which has accompanied these recent elections will stretch into the years ahead,” the release concluded.

Muslim bodies congratulate newly-elected President David Granger ––say Guyanese have chosen path of change and optimism

THE Anna Catherina Islamic Complex (ACIC) and the Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman (GUSIA) on behalf of the wider Muslim community have expressed their “heartfelt congratulation to Mr. David A. Granger, as the 8th elected President of the Republic of Guyana.”

According to the Muslim organisations in a press release, “In choosing, you the Guyanese people have chosen the path of change and optimism.”

‘We call on you to be a President for every Guyanese, those who voted for you and those who voted against you’ --Anna Catherina Islamic Complex and Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman The release said further that “at a time when the nation is so divided, the expression of faith in you and in the future is placed in the hands of yourself and your Government. It is See page 15

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Muslim bodies congratulate ...

From page 14

now up to you to bring about the unity that is so badly needed in our country.

“At this time when we must face the enormous challenges in this beautiful country of ours, your election raises immense hope for the establishment of a united Guyana and to preserve peace and prosperity as well as the enviable diversity of the peoples of this great nation.

“We call on you to be a President for every Guyanese, those who voted for you and those who voted against you. Your extension of a hand to the Opposition party will be most welcomed to take our nation forward.

“Your leadership remains vital to meeting

the tremendous challenges; peace and security and basically living the dream of a people who are united by race, by religion and by ethnicity.

Guyanese are prepared to work together to build our country.

“The Muslim community will work and support your government and pledge our contribution in nation building.

“As an Honorary Member of ACIC, we are doubly proud of your assumption to the highest office of the land and we are committed as a group to remain involved in the process of nation-building by holding the Government accountable for the decisions and the implementation of all the promises made during the campaign period.”

CARICOM Chairman welcomes President Granger to the fold THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Perry Christie has extended heartiest congratulations to President Granger on his election to the Presidency of Guyana.

According to a press release, CARICOM also extended congratulations to the coalition of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) + Alliance For Change (AFC) on its victory at the polls, a press release stated.

The release said further that “CARICOM praises the people of Guyana for the free and fair elections and on their discipline and patience as they awaited the final result of the polls.

“President Granger, the electorate has reposed their confidence in you and your

coalition of parties, to carry them forward in their quest for sustainable development and continued improvement in their standard of living.

“CARICOM stands ready to support you and your Government in this regard.

“As a founding member of CARICOM and its headquarters’ country, Guyana plays a critical role in the integration movement.

“We look forward to the fresh ideas and perspectives which you, Mr. President and your Government, will bring to the strengthening and solidifying of our Community.

“My colleague Heads of Government and I look forward to personally welcoming you, Mr. President, to the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, at the soonest possible opportunity.”

CARICOM SG looks forward to working with President Granger SECRETARY-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Irwin LaRocque is anticipating “the fresh ideas and views” that newly-elected President of Guyana, His Excellency David Granger “will bring to assist in advancing the interests of the Community and its people.”

In a letter to President Granger congratulating him and the coalition of A Partnership of National Unity (APNU) + Alliance For Change (AFC) on their victory at the polls, Ambassador LaRocque said they had been given a mandate by the people of Guyana “to lead them towards greater prosperity and to further the development of the country.”

The Secretary-General assured the President that CARICOM and its Secretariat stood ready to work with his administration in this task.

President Granger was sworn in as Guyana’s eighth President in a ceremony on Saturday at the National Assembly in Georgetown shortly after being officially declared winner of the elections held last Monday.

The Secretary-General underscored the impor-

tance of Guyana to the Community as an original signatory to the Treaty

establishing CARICOM, and as the headquarters country.

15

ARIES - You might not be in the mood to cooperate today. You will most likely want to work on projects alone at your own pace. You will probably have to come out of your shell and interact with others. You may need advice or input. Try not to be too pouty with your partner or kids. They might not understand the real reason why you’re distracted.

TAURUS - Start today on the right foot by projecting a positive mood and healthy mindset. If you’re dragging your heels and already dreading the forthcoming events, you will only succeed in making it harder to move ahead, regardless of what you end up doing. Attitude is everything. This is one of those days in which it matters the most.

GEMINI - You may discover your emotions are tempered today, as you want to turn inward. You’re apt to surprise yourself and the people around you when you decide that all you want to do is go into your room and sit by yourself instead of join the crowd outside. Don’t feel bad about doing this even if you’re expected at the party in full regalia.

Do what feels most natural for you.

CANCER-Your strength lies in your inner resources. Today you will find that these resources have opened up within you. You will find that your emotions are calm and under control in the face of chaos. This time of new beginnings is extremely important. It would behove you to probe your depths and fix any internal quirks that might give you trouble in the future.

LEO - Offer your services to others. Your generosity in spreading your knowledge will be rewarded. Things might be rather confusing at first, but once you start talking, you will be surprised by how much you really know and how far your incredible wit, manners, and sociable attitude can take you. Try your best to reach out to others without seeming needy or demanding.

VIRGO - If you feel slighted today, don’t shut yourself off from the situation. It may seem like everyone has ganged up and turned against you. Either that, or they all want to be your best friend. Things are always extreme for you, with no in-between. The slightest action from someone else can cause turmoil in your mind unless you learn to control your emotions. Make it a goal.

LIBRA -You may wake up in a fog of confusion this morning for some reason. The good news is that the air is likely to clear as the day continues. By late afternoon and early evening, you should be revved up and ready to go once again. Your normal self has returned and you’re ready to face the world with a dramatic show of courageous action and adventure.

SCORPIO -Here’s a suggestion. If you get a strange vibe about a situation today, walk away. Your instincts will tell you if something is dangerous or not. If you don’t feel safe, find another place to be. You won’t be productive in an environment where you don’t feel comfortable. You will also enjoy yourself much more if you can relax in the situation instead of being uptight about it.

SAGITTARIUS -It’s time to take charge of your life. Don’t rely on other people to sort out your problems. There may some anxiety in the air today that causes you to overreact to a situation that normally wouldn’t faze you. You need to dig down and take responsibility for getting out of this mental or emotional jam. Don’t rely on other people to do it for you.

Monday, May 18, 2015 - 05:00hrs Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 05:00hrs Wednesday, May 20, 2015 - 05:00hrs

CAPRICORN -It’s time to show other people that you have backbone. It could be that up until now very few people have noticed, since you’re so flexible and adaptable to change. You easily wriggle your way downstream, and as a result, people may think they can control you. Prove to them that this isn’t the case by setting your own agenda and sticking to it.

AQUARIUS - You may be anxious to get some new projects underway today, even though they aren’t necessarily ready or well thought out. You must first learn that patience is key. Jumping the gun could cause a false start that disqualifies you from the race. Avoid this fate by playing it cool and laying low. Keep your big guns under wraps for now. You don’t need to bring out all the heavy artillery yet.

PISCES - There’s a romantic, dreamy feeling to today that you should indulge in. If you have a special someone in your life, this is the perfect day to share these feelings! Try to plan a candlelit dinner at home for just the two of you. But don’t feel pressured to cook an elaborate meal. Pick up some Chinese and serve it on the good china. Keep the focus on the two of you.

16

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

17

18

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

19

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Arsenal stay ahead of United, City win thriller

By Sam Holden LONDON, (Reuters)-Arsenal stayed ahead of Manchester United in the race to qualify directly for next season’s Champions League when they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford yesterday while Manchester City made sure of their place in the group stage with a 4-2 win at Swansea City.

“But of course I am satisfied, We set our goal at the beginning of the season and we have reached our goal. The fans seem pleased with us, that’s fantastic, but I want more.”

United went ahead when Ander Herrera volleyed in a cross from Ashley Young that beat David Ospina.

Arsenal equalised in the 82nd minute when a shot from Theo Walcott took a

Manchester United’s Radamel Falcao in action with Arsenal’s Nacho MonrealReuters / Phil Noble United are now left hoping Arsenal slip up in their last two home games so they can catch them, finish third and avoid a playoff for a place in Europe’s top club competition.

With the season ending next weekend and the title already Chelsea’s, the three behind them are still jockeying for the final positions.

Chelsea have 84 points with two games to play, City have 76 with one to play, Arsenal have 71 with two matches remaining while United have 69 with one to go.

Chelsea and City have guaranteed their direct qualification to the Champions League group stage, while Arsenal just need a point from their last two games, at home to Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion to make sure they join them.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports after the game: “It was very important today not to let Manchester United get in front of us, even if we have a game in hand.”

United manager Louis Van Gaal seemed to accept that United would most probably finish fourth and told Sky: “Then we will have to play a round to qualify because we have not qualified for the Champions League yet.

“What Arsene Wenger has said is right, its always stressful because you can meet an opponent who are halfway though their season already and we are just starting our season, so its not so easy.

deflection off Tyler Blackett and flew past Victor Valdes, who had only come on seven minutes earlier to make his United debut.

The former Barcelona keeper, who has been at United since January, replaced the injured David De Gea, who could have made his last appearance at Old Trafford as a United player following widespread conjecture he will join Real Madrid next season.

YAYA TWICE Earlier Yaya Toure scored twice to lift Manchester City to a 4-2 win at Swansea after the hosts fought back from 2-0 down to level the scores.

Ivorian midfielder Toure struck his 50th league goal for second-placed City to give them a first-half lead and James Milner added a second.

Gylfi Sigurdsson pegged one back for Swansea with an excellent curling effort on the stroke of halftime and Bafetimbi Gomes struck his fifth goal in as many games to level the scores early in the second half.

As the hosts pushed on to complete a remarkable turnaround, Toure squeezed the ball in at the near post to restore the visitors’ lead before City keeper Joe Hart made a stunning save to keep out a header from Federico Fernandez.

City’s former Swansea striker Wilfried Bony added the fourth in stoppage-time.

Lady Jags set for return Guyana to participate in Women’s Olympic Qualifiers

By Rawle Toney Guyana is drawn in Group Four in the Caribbean Zone of the 2015 Women’s Olympic Qualifiers, which will be hosted in St Kitts and Nevis from August 21-25.

While the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is yet to make an official announcement, Chairman of the Normalisation Committee Clinton Urling had confirmed the team’s participation in a recent interview with Chronicle Sport.

“We’ve reactivated the women’s squad and we will be sending a women’s team to Olympic Qualifiers but Claude (Bolton) will tell you guys more about that later,” Urling said.

Guyana will be placed alongside the host (St Kitts & Nevis) and Cuba.

Having seen success against both countries in 2010, Guyana will now look to replicate their performance on August 21 when they face St Kitts and Cuba on August 25.

Group One will be hosted by Puerto Rico and fields Aruba, Puerto Rico, Haiti and Grenada.

Group Two features St Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, the Cayman Islands and Trinidad & Tobago, to be staged in Trinidad & Tobago.

The Group Three games will be played in Suriname and the teams in this group are Dominica Republic, Dominica and Jamaica.

While the tournament has an age limit of Under-23 for men born on or

SOUTH AFRICA RACING TIPS Flamingo Park 08:20 hrs Princess Chichibu 08:50 hrs San Vicenzo 09:20 hrs Imperial King 09:50 hrs Dukes Idol 10:20 hrs Devon Gold ENGLISH RACING TIPS Towcester 09:10 hrs Earcomes thedream 09:40 hrs Twelve Strings 09:10 hrs Beauchamp Viking 15:40 hrs Maller Tree 11:10 hrs By The Boardwalk 11:40 hrs Vieux Lion Rouge 12:10 hrs Passing Fiesta

after January 1, 1993, there is no age ceiling for the Women’s Qualifiers.

Three teams will advance from the female category into the CONCACAF Women’s Summer Olympic Tournament for 2016.

Technical Director Claude Bolton had hinted to the ‘Lady Jags’ return and had told the Chronicle possibility exists for the bulk of the team once again being made up of overseas based players.

In 2010, Guyana participated in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which was held in Cancun Mexico (October 28 – November 8).

The ‘Lady Jags’ had qualified after beating Cuba in a home (0–1) and away (3–1) playoff to become the first Guyanese team to feature at the Gold Cup; the pinnacle of CONCACAF football.

At the tournament in Mexico, Guyana grouped with the home side, Trinidad and Tobago, which at the time was coached by Jamaal Shabazz, and Canada.

The Guyanese unit failed to pick up a win at the competition, losing 7–2 against Mexico, 8–0 to Canada and 4–1 to Trinidad and Tobago but in the end, they turned out to be the darlings of the tournament.

Most of the players from the 2010 team were standout players in the USA and Canada collegiate system and Bolton had told reporters recently that he was in contact with former women’s head Coach Mark Rodrigues for information on the whereabouts of the ‘Lady Jags’ now.

Redcar 09:20 hrs Risk Adjusted 09:50 hrs Rainbow Orse 10:20 hrs Highest Quality 10:50 hrs Noble Asset 11:20 hrs Sir Lancelot 11:50 hrs Takafol 12:20 hrs Hidden Rebel 12:50 hrs Mon Gris SOUTHWELL 09:30 hrs Flash Crash 10:00 hrs Mistymoisty morning 10:30 hrs Surround Sound 11:00 hrs Thunderbird 11:30 hrs Misu Mac 12:00 hrs Space War 12:30 hrs Quadriga IRISH RACING TIPS Roscommon

12:55 hrs Azzuri 13:25 hrs Nice Vintage 13:55 hrs Kaleefa 14:25 hrs Ceylon 14:55 hrs Contempt Of Court 15:25 hrs Final Gift 15:55 hrs Jarob AMERICAN RACING TIPS Parx Racing Race 1 Talk Show Talent Race 2 Lawyer Dave Race 3 Ricky Tick Race 4 Cousin Michael Race 5 Luckysdream Race 6 Ruby’s Mine Race 7 Brazilian Symphony Race 8 Irish Lute Race 9 Midnight Wind

20

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Kiwis beat Worcestershire after Guptill’s 150 NEW Zealand warmed up for their first Test against England with a 15-run victory over Worcestershire in their four-day match at New Road.

The tourists declared on 275 for nine in the second innings with Martin Guptill firing 150 and spinner Shaaiq Choudhry posting the first five-wicket haul of his senior career.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore struck a half-century as the hosts’ reply got off to a strong start, but their last six wickets fell for 22 runs as they squandered a commanding position of 208 for four.

New Zealand, whose two-Test series against England opens at Lord’s on Friday, polished off the home side with 3.4 overs to spare.(PA Sport)

MARTIN GUPTILL

Barca beat Atletico to wrap up 23rd La Liga crown MADRID, (Reuters)-Treble-chasing Barcelona are La Liga champions for the fifth time in seven years after a clinical Lionel Messi strike secured a 1-0 victory away to Atletico Madrid that wrapped up the title with a game to spare yesterday.

Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick for Real Madrid in their 4-1 victory away to Espanyol but Barca cannot be caught now with a four point lead.

Messi combined with Pedro Rodriguez and then slotted home from the centre of

the penalty area with 65 minutes gone.

It had been a cagey game but the talent of the Argentine shone through again to break the deadlock and help Luis Enrique to his first piece of silverware at the helm of Barcelona.

The Catalan side have dominated the list of La Liga titles in recent years and remain on course to repeat their trophy treble of 2009.

They are through to the Champions League final on June 6 to face Juventus and will play Athletic Bilbao in the King’s Cup showpiece on May 30.

Lionel Messi scored the only goal, as Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 to clinch their 5th La Liga title in seven years.

Whatmore confirms team leaving for Pakistan

By Nick Said CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) - Zimbabwe flew to Pakistan yesterday for a limited-overs tour, their coach Dav Whatmore told Reuters.

The tour, the first in six years by a test-playing nation to Pakistan, was throw in doubt last week when a terrorist attack on a bus killed 47 people in Karachi.

“The tour is going ahead and we leave tonight,” Whatmore said via telephone from Harare before reconfirming his belief the tour would be successful and that security measures put in place by Pakistan will be adequate.

Zimbabwe will play two Twenty20 internationals, starting on May 22, and a three-match one-day series that begins four days later. All the matches are in Lahore.

Zimbabwe Cricket released a statement on Thursday saying a decision had been reached not to tour on the advice of the country’s supreme sports regulatory

authority, the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).

The SRC cited concerns over the safety of the squad.

However, just minutes later the statement was withdrawn and Zimbabwe Cricket spokesman

DAV WHATMORE Lovemore Banda said discussions were still ongoing.

It is understood that concerns also emanated from the players themselves, some of who were reluctant to travel but have

now been persuaded to tour after additional security measures were announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Those were still deemed not good enough for the International Cricket Council, though, which released a statement yesterday saying they would not be sending match officials for the series.

They cited a report by a security consultant who advised against sending a team of officials to the country.

The ICC said the PCB would have to appoint its own officials, but that this would not affect the status of the games which would remain as full internationals.

Zimbabwe are the first Test-playing nation to tour Pakistan since a 2009 gun attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore left six Pakistani policemen and a van driver dead.

Some players and a local umpire were injured.

(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)

21

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Djokovic over-runs Federer, Sharapova wins in Rome ROME, (Reuters)-Novak Djokovic boosted his hopes of completing a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros after he lived up to his top billing at the Italian Open by brushing aside old rival Roger Federer in the final yesterday.

After dropping a set in each of his three previous matches in Rome, the

Novak Djokovic of Serbia holds his trophy after winning the final match over Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Rome Open tennis tournament in Rome, Italy, yesterday. Reuters/Stefano Rellandini world number one showed that he was back to his best as he humbled Federer 6-4 6-3 to capture his fifth title of the year.

Earlier, Russian Maria Sharapova ground down Carla Suarez Navarro 4-6 7-5 6-1 to claim the 35th WTA

Tour victory of her career.

The first set went with serve until Djokovic and Federer were meeting the final game when Djokovic rifled a for the 39th time and top seed Djokovic return winner that clipped the edge of narrowed his opponent’s overall lead the tramline and converted his first set to 20-19. point.

With one week to go until the The Serb never looked in danger French Open, the Serb extended his after breaking again in the second unbeaten run to 22 matches as he added game of the second set and wrapped to the Australian Open, Indian Wells, up the title when Federer hit a foreMiami and Monte Carlo titles he has hand out on match point. won this season.

“So far, this is the best season of my life,” Djokovic, who needs to win the French Open to complete his grand slam collection, told reporters. “I don’t know how it will go at Roland Garros, but I’m very confident.

“I’m playing with great joy and concentration and Maria Sharapova’s first two titles in Rome came in I hope to contin- 2011 and 2012 ue.

“This has been a very exciting week Third seed Sharapova looked slugand today was my best match. It’s al- gish against her Spanish opponent in the ways a big challenge to play Roger and first set and Suarez Navarro fought back obviously I’m very pleased.” from 1-3 and 3-5 down in the second to World number two Federer admitted level at 5-5. there was not much he could do.

But Sharapova reeled off the “Novak was rock-solid today, he next two games and tore through the played great throughout. He made decider against the tiring 10th seed, very few unforced errors. I’m happy, sealing victory in more than two and feeling good and healthy.” a half hours with her 39th winner.

England will be weaker without Pietersen, says Clarke

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY,(Reuters)- Australia captain Michael Clarke has absolutely no doubt England will be a weaker side without batsman Kevin Pietersen when the Ashes rivalry resumes in Cardiff on July 8.

Pietersen was sacked by England last year following the 2013-14 trip to Australia during which he was accused of being disengaged from the team as the tourists crashed to a 5-0 defeat.

Despite being England’s most prolific batsman in all forms of the game and going back to score runs in county cricket, the 34-year-old was told last week he would not be part of the side for the Ashes this year.

Clarke, speaking on Sunday before his departure for a two-test tour of the West Indies that precedes the Ashes, said he had sympathy for Pietersen but that his absence would make Australia’s task easier.

“There’s two sides for me -- there’s the personal side where I feel for ‘KP’ because I get on well with him and I’d love to see him back playing cricket for England,” he told reporters at Sydney

Airport.

“His form has been outstanding, he’s still a great player, I know he wants to play for England so I feel for him on that side.

“On the other side, we go there soon to play against England. Any team without Kevin Pietersen won’t be as strong, I think his statistics speak for

KEVIN PIETERSEN themselves. He’s been a wonderful play for a long time and he’s still in career best form.”

Clarke said it was important that Australia’s players were not distracted by the

circus surrounding Pietersen’s exclusion, which has enjoyed widespread coverage Down Under.

“I’ve tried to stay quiet and keep out of it. The last thing we want to do as a team is get caught up in what’s happening in England or West Indies or anywhere else,” he added.

“We need to stay focused and make sure we’re as well prepared as possible.

“England will be tough. When we get there, no matter what 11 players they put on the field, they will be tough, they know their conditions really well.”

Clarke said it was also vital that the team focused on performing well in the two tests in Dominica and Jamaica next month and did not dwell too much on the prospect of winning the Ashes in England for the first time since 2001.

“It’s been a long time but ... we’re being really focused on doing all the right things so we can perform at our best,” he said.

“We’ll be really dedicated and disciplined with this trip to West Indies.

Hopefully individuals will get some form behind them for England, and we’ll worry about that when we get there.”

Attack survivor picked as Pak-Zim umpire PAKISTAN have appointed a local umpire who survived a 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team for their home series against Zimbabwe after cricket’s governing body refused to send officials.

Ahsan Raza, now 40, will officiate during the series featuring two Twenty20s and three one-day internationals against Zimbabwe, who are set to become the first Test-playing nation to tour Pakistan for six years.

Major cricketing nations suspended tours to Pakistan following the March 2009 assault on the Sri Lankan team bus i n L a h o re , w h i c h killed eight people and injured seven visiting players.

Raza suffered mul- Umpire Ashan Raza who tiple bullet wounds and fought for his life after fought for his life for the 2009 attacks will offiover a month. ciate in Lahore.

Pakistan said Aleem Dar, Shozab Raza, Ahmed Shahab and Khalid Mahmood would also officiate along with Zimbabwean umpire Russell Tiffin.

Pakistan appointed the officials after the International Cricket Council (ICC) said earlier yesterday it would not send its elite panel neutral umpires.

“The ICC’s decision has been made after receiving a report from its security consultant,” the council said in a statement.

The world body said it decided in April that the mandatory requirement of neutral umpires for international matches would be waived due to security conditions in Pakistan should the series with Zimbabwe go ahead

BCB sends congrats to APNU/ AFC government THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday became the first sports organisation to send a congratulatory message to the recently installed APNU+AFC government.

In a release, the BCB congratulated President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and also thanked the former government for “all the support that was given to the board over the years and is confident that the relationship with the new government will be no different”.

According to the BCB “cricket is our number one sport and it is the single largest unifying force for our country and we all must recognise the importance of this game.

Is it a noble game that crosses all races and religions, and we hope that the newly elected government will quickly help to remove all the controversies that exist in our cricket today. We must all recognise the task ahead and it can only be achieved if all of us put our shoulders to the wheel.”

22

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

James hammers Merritt again, Spencer clocks WL SHANGHAI, China, (CMC) – Olympic champion Kirani a world-leading 54.71 seconds.

James beat reigning World title-holder Lashawn Merritt She beat the American pair of Tiffany Williams (55.27) in the 400 metres for the second and Cassandra Tate (44.68) into time this year at the Shanghai second and third respectively, and Diamond League here yestersaid she had already trained her day. sights on the World ChampionThe 22-year-old Grenadian, ships later this year. himself a former World champion, “I am very happy with my clocked 44.66 seconds to out-run first place. I am happy with the World silver medalist Tony Mcworld lead,” said the 28-yearQuay of the United States who old, who won gold in the event clocked 45.54, and Merritt who at the Commonwealth Games in trailed in third in 45.58.

Glasgow last year.

Only last month, James beat “I really believe I can win in Merritt into fifth at the Drake ReBeijing. Now I have to try harder, lays in Des Moines, Iowa, en route stay focussed and injury free.” to a world-leading 44.22.

Olympic silver and World “This is my second time combronze medallist, American Lashpeting in the Diamond League inda Demus, finished fifth in a Shanghai and also my second season-best 56.14 seconds. win,” James said afterward. “It’s There was disappointment for always a great atmosphere and a Jamaica, however, as World and great field. It was very tough but I Olympic champion Shelly-Ann am very happy.”

Fraser-Pryce slumped to a fifth Running out of lane four, place finish in the women’s 100 Olympic champion Kirani James.

James got away smartly and metres. cruised down the backstretch, She clocked a sluggish 11.25 making up the stagger on Merritt in lane five, with 100 seconds in what was her opening 100 metres of the year, conmetres run. tinuing a poor sequence that has seen her unable to dip below He was ahead after 200 metres and came off the final turn 11 seconds since 2013. with a four length lead, pulling away with powerful strides Fraser-Pryce tried to remain upbeat, however. late on to cross the line unchallenged.

“The feeling is ok. I am looking forward to my next race.

Trinidadian Renny Quow finished one from last in the What comes, comes,” she said. nine-man field in 46.65.

Nigerian Blessing Okagbare clocked 10.98 seconds for James was joined in winners’ row by Jamaican Kaliese the victory with American Tori Bowie second in 11.07 and Spencer who snatched the women’s 400 metres hurdles in Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye, third in 11.13

Simmons misses out on fifty but Mumbai power into IPL playoffs HYDERABAD, India, (CMC) – West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons narrowly missed out on a half-century as Mumbai Indians crushed Sunrisers Hyderabad by nine wickets, to clinch second spot in the Indian Premier League and romp into the playoffs Chasing a paltry 114 for victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Mumbai easily chased down their target with 37 balls to spare, with Simmons striking 48.

The victory, which left Mumbai second on 16 points at the end of the preliminaries, completed a remarkable turnaround for the franchise after they lost the first four fixtures of the campaign.

Chennai Super Kings topped the tables with 18 points with Chris Gayle’s Royal Challengers Bangalore third with 16 points and Rajasthan Royals fourth also with 16 points.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, with the West Indies duo of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, just missed out on the playoffs after ending in fifth with 15 points.

Simmons and Parthiv Patel ensured

Mitchell McClenaghan celebrates after dismissing David Warner in Hyderbad.

there would be no upsets, posting a measured 106 for the first wicket, which snuffed the life out of Sunrisers.

The right-handed Simmons faced 44 deliveries and counted four fours and two sixes while Parthiv stroked nine fours in a 37-ball, unbeaten 51.

Simmons started cautiously but slowly upped the tempo, moving into overdrive with victory beckoning when he crunched two back-to-back sixes off leg-spinner Karn Sharma in the 12th over of the innings which cost 22 runs.

He seemed almost certain to notch a half-century but sliced Karn Sharma to Shikhar Dhawan at point in the bowler’s next over.

Earlier, Sunrisers were dismissed for 113 off their allotted overs, with left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan destroying the innings with three for 17 from his four overs.

Lokesh Rahul was the only batsman to pass 20 with a top score of 25.

Mumbai take on Chennai tomorrow in the first qualifier while RCB and Rajasthan clash in the second playoff.

seconds.

Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown, a silver medallist in Glasgow last year, was fourth in 11.22 while her counterpart Schillonie Calvert was one from last in the nine-woman field in 11.53.

In the men’s 200 metres, Jamaica claimed two of the top three spots as Panama’s Edward Alonso took gold in 20.33 seconds.

Julian Forte, a World Junior finalist in 2012, clocked 20.36 for second while Nickel Ashmeade finished third in 20.44. Another Jamaican, Rasheed Dwyer, was third in 20.56,

GTTA expects very competitive tourney on Sunday THE Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) expects a very competitive tournament when it stages its ‘C’ and ‘B’ Class Open, Senior doubles Men and Women, Senior Mixed Doubles, Master Open 50 years to 55 years, 56 years to 60 years and 60 years and at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Sunday and Tuesday May 26 from noon and 10:00 hrs respectively.

According to a release, the categories to be played have been absent from table tennis tournaments for a very long time.

The tournament will be open to any player affiliated to the GTTA as well as to new players interested in participating in the tournament.

Further, registration for the tournament –which will run until May 26 – will close on May 24, the morning of the tournament.

Meanwhile, with the tournament being conducted under the rules of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) a technical meeting will be held on the day of the tournament at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The Master’s Open will commence at 12:30 hrs, while the Seniors’ doubles for men and women will serve off at 15:00 hrs.

The Senior mix doubles gets underway from 15:00 hrs.

On May 26, the `C’ and `B’ Class open events will start at 10:00 hrs and 12:00 hrs respectively.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Monday May 18, 2015) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market &The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & AUDREY’S TASTY SNACKETTE-176 Charlotte Street, Georgetown (Tel: 226-4512)

Answers to yesterday’s quiz: WI vs AUST, Bourda, 2003 MorneMorkel-KKR (KKR vs MI, April 08)

Today’s Quiz:

How many times Shiv Chanderpaul has been dismissed for ‘ducks’ in Tests?

How many wickets Sunil Narine took in IPL 2014?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

23

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday May 18, 2015

Skipper Clarke says Aussies wary of revitalised Windies SYDNEY, Australia, (CMC) – Australia captain Michael Clarke left for the Caribbean Sunday urging his side to be cautious against a revitalized West Indies, in the upcoming two-Test series starting next month.

Clarke said he was wary of the Windies seamers and with the Caribbean side at home in their conditions, he expected them to prove a handful.

“Obviously [we want] success. Nothing has changed there. That’s our number one goal, to have some success in the West Indies,” he told media prior to his departure.

“I think they have a really good bowling attack. I think they swung the ball, whether that was with the brand new ball or reverse swing, and they’ve got some handy spinners as well.

“I think the conditions we’re going to face will be very similar to the subcontinent so I think the wickets will be slow and low and will spin.”

West Indies defied the odds earlier this

month to pull off a surprise 1-1 draw with touring England in their three-Test series.

Australia captain Michael Clarke

Broad apologises to ECB over missed sponsor function STUART Broad has apologised to the England & Wales Cricket Board for missing a sponsor’s event after a reported drinking session with former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

Broad, 28, played down Thursday’s incident, saying: “It was probably not as bad

STUART BROAD as it was portrayed. And I woke up with a migraine.”

The Nottinghamshire pace bowler added: “I wasn’t on England duty for the ECB. “But I did apologise for putting them in that position.”

According to reports, Broad returned to his hotel at 7am on Thursday and was unable to fulfil the sponsor’s engagement two-and-a-half

hours later.

Batsman Ian Bell deputised for the his team-mate at England Test sponsor Investec’s launch of the New Zealand series on Thursday.

“After the week they’ve had with Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen, it was probably not what they needed,” admitted Broad.

Ex-England skipper Strauss, newly installed as the ECB’s director of cricket, said on Tuesday that batsman Pietersen, sacked by England in February 2014, would not be recalled this summer because of a “massive trust issue”.

Broad added that he had not discussed Pietersen’s omission with his team-mates and backed the management’s stance on the issue.

“I’ve genuinely not spoken to anyone above me or to anyone in the team about Kevin,” he said. “As a player underneath Strauss you have to back the selectors and Strauss for making the decision.

“Only time can tell if that was the right decision.

If we lose the Ashes, there will be a lot of pressure. We can only wait and see.”(BBC Sport)

They drew the first Test in Antigua, lost the second in Grenada by nine wickets before stealing a shock five-wicket victory in the final Test in Barbados.

Clarke said it was important Australia did well away from home in foreign conditions.

“Obviously they are coming with some form from against England so nothing changes for us as a team,” he explained.

“Travelling overseas is a tough part of playing international cricket, to be able to win away from home and that’s the challenge we face in the West Indies.”

Australia will clash with the Windies in the first Test starting June 3rd in Dominica before squaring off in the second match in Jamaica June 11th.

The Aussies will have one warm-up match prior to the first Test, a three-day game against a West Indies President’s XI starting May 27th.

With Australia, ranked second in the World, expected to make light work of the eighth-ranked West Indies, all the focus has

Notable Dates ON May 18, 1996 Michael Parris won by points after 12 rounds over a young and confident Darius Ford . The two battled for the bantamweight title of Guyana which Parris had won when he defeated Anthony `The Pearl’ Andrews in November 1983.

It was the second meeting between Ford and Parris. In the first held in August 1985, the more experienced Parris won by TKO in the eighth round. Parris became a professional in November 1982, two years after winning a bronze medal at the Moscow Olympics.

Parris would lose to Andrews in February 1984 via an 11th round TKO. He would make attempts at the Commonwealth bantamweight and super bantamweight titles but was unsuccessful on both occasions.

MICHAEL PARRIS Bahamian Ray Minus won a unanimous decision to take the bantamweight title in March 1989 while Neil Swain won the super bantamweight crown following a second round TKO of Parris.

In November 1995 Parris pulled the curtains down on a stellar career. He TKOed Paul Lloyd in round four to end his career on a high note. Today, Parris remains the lone Guyanese to win an Olympic medal.

been on the summer Ashes series against England.

However, Clarke warned that the Ashes was still a way off and the Windies series was a hurdle his team first needed to clear.

“I think it’s important we stay really focused on this West Indies tour and try to have some success there,” he reiterated.

“Right now it is about staying focused on the West Indies, making sure we’re doing all the right things and allow the England cricket team to do whatever they need to do. There’s plenty of time before we get over there … so we’ll focus on West Indies right now.”

The remainder of the Australia-based players and staff are expected to leave here Monday and link up in Miami with English county players Peter Siddle and Adam Voges, before heading on to Antigua.

David Warner, Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc, all currently involved in the Indian Premier League, will join the squad when their commitments to their respective franchises end.

Australian World Cup winner Haddin quits one-dayers SYDNEY, (Reuters)- Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has decided to make March’s World Cup final his last one-day international and announced his retirement from the format yesterday.

The 37-year-old, who will leave Australia for the two-test tour of West Indies and Ashes campaign in England on Monday, played every match in the triumphant World Cup campaign earlier this year to take his tally to 126 ODIs for his country.

He took 170 catches, 11 stumpings and scored 3,122 runs at an average of 31.53 with a top score of 110 against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2010.

“I have had a privileged one-day career and I have been fortunate enough to be involved in three cricket World Cups and now is the right time to walk away,” he said in a Cricket Australia news release.

“Not many players get to write a script like mine at the end of their careers and I have been lucky enough to do just that after winning a World Cup on home soil.

“I leave the team with Australian ranked number-one in the world and I am proud of everything we have achieved.”

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said Haddin had maintained Australia’s tradition of “outstanding” wicketkeeper batsmen in the 50-overs game.

“He leaves big shoes to fill as a talented player and important senior figure within the team,” he said.

“Whenever Brad wore the green and gold, he always gave maximum effort and he should be incredibly proud of his achievements.”

Sport CHRONICLE

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

Skipper Clarke says Aussies wary of revitalised Windies see story on page 23

Lady Jags set for return

Guyana to participate in Women’s Olympic Qualifiers see story on page 19

Flash-back ... Guyana’s female National Football team aka ‘Lady Jags.’

Green Machine heightening preparation for Olympic Qualifiers WakeMed Soccer Park, venue for the NACRA Olympic Qualifier, is home to the North American Soccer League’s Carolina Railhawks.

The 150-acre complex in Cary, N.C., contains a 10,000seat natural-grass stadium with two additional championship fields, and multiple practice fields on site.

The full slate of teams competing in the NACRA Sevens tournament, as well as ticketing information for the June 13-14 event, will be released in due course.

Flash-Back! Guyana celebrating their 2014 NACRA 7’s Title

By Rawle Toney GUYANA and reigning North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 7’s Champions Guyana, are heightening preparing for their title defence and Olympic Qualifiers in North Carolina on June 12–13.

Having already surrendered their NACRA 15’s title to Trinidad and Tobago, Head Coach Theodore Henry told Chronicle Sport yesterday that the team is now anxious at not only retaining the trophy, but also becoming the first ‘team’ to represent Guyana at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, despite the inclement weather, Henry said the team is in the process of wrapping up their endurance training this week and will be focusing on their speed and agility leading into the tournament.

“Most of the team should be together by the 29th (May) and then the squad will be named shortly after,” Henry said when asked about the final composition of the team.

“What I can say is that the best possible players will be going to the qualifiers and the guys are all working hard. No one is a guarantee for the squad because everyone is working hard as well, so hopefully we get through this process quickly and head off to do Guyana proud,” said Henry.

The ‘Green Machine’ as they are more popularly known, according to the Head Coach, will travel to New York on June 5 where they would play a series of warmup games.

Meanwhile, Henry said that the year has started poorly for his side, having lost their 15’s title and a dismal performance at the Hong Kong Sevens but the players nonetheless are looking to do well in North Carolina.

“Having done so well last year, we started off on a sour note this year. We lost our 15’s trophy and then things didn’t go so well in Hong Kong for us, so the guys are excited to go out there and basically redeem themselves. They are all up-beat and working hard on getting the best result in the tournament, so things are looking good for us,” Henry said.

Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

Australian World Cup winner Haddin quits one-dayers see story on page 23

Australia wicket-keeper Brad Haddin leaves on a World Cup high.

MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015