Chronicle 04 24 2016

‘Massive’ shift of prisoners to Mazaruni needed SUNDAY APRIL 24, 2016

No. 104531

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‒ President Granger P.3

Kamarang boy 12 recovering after tack removed from lungs P.

‒ surgery among most complicated done at Georgetown Hospital

Miners plead for ‘genuine partnership’ with gov’t P.23 ‒ object to new policies without consultation

Javier Lawson and his mother Rosalyn Ferreira react during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle. After swallowing a thumb tack, Javier, an avid footballer from Kamarang in Region Seven, underwent a complicated surgery, a first for the Georgetown Hospital, and is now recovering. Inset shows the tack, after the lower right lobe of Javier’s lung was removed (Samuel Maughn photo)

Passports to be issued soon in 2 Berbice ‒ Felix assures P.

Four wanted in fraud probe

P.23

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

Passports to be issued ‒ Felix assures soon in Berbice

Acting President Moses Nagamootoo, with wife Sita, interacts with a Berbice resident on Saturday at Corriverton

By Nafeeza Yahya RESIDENTS of Berbice will soon have no necessity to travel to Georgetown in connection with application for, and uplifting of, passports.

The long wait -- for hours -- to have their passport applications processed, and the necessity to make the trip a second time a week later to uplift the document will soon be things of the past.

Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, gave this assurance on Saturday when he, as part of a team of government ministers led by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who is performing the functions of President, went on an outreach exercise to that county.

Minister Felix said a building has already been identified in Corriverton to set up the office, so that residents of Corentyne would

be able to apply, for and receive, their machine readable passports right in the Upper Corentyne area.

He said it is now only a matter of getting the necessary equipment and staff in place.

This announcement drew resounding applause from his appreciative audience.

A number of persons had attended the meeting to have that very issue addressed.

“In relation to immigration services to this community, you can come here and apply for a machine readable passport, have your information taken here, and you can receive your passport here.

“It is pointless to have a service in Georgetown which is a burden. It is not nice to see people lining up from 6 am.

“We can do it with the passport, and we can do it with the birth certificate, which will be eventually

issued right here.

It is the President’s wish that in these towns we provide services so that it makes the lives of people easier,” Felix stated.

Residents of Corentyne communities stretching from Lancaster to Molesen Creek took to the town of Corriverton for the meeting as the Ministry of the Presidency continued its outreach in East Berbice/Corentyne.

The initiative, started by Minister of State Joe Harmon, sees ministers of government taking to various communities to air their concerns and issues and have same addressed. In most instances, some issues are dealt with on the spot, but others are noted and passed on to the relevant ministries or officials.

In attendance was acting President Moses Nagamootoo, who applauded Minister Harmon for taking the government to the people and being able to hear and see first-hand the issues that affect residents. He appealed for patience in dealing with some issues, but pledged that all issues would be ad-

dressed.

“Today I want to complement Joseph Harmon for having taken the initiative to take our government to the people. It is a revolutionary experience that I deem the mobile government, the open government; and this is the government that must be built on the basis of partnership among the people and their elected leaders. We are your servants,” he told those gathered.

Albert Welcome, 75, a resident of Limlair Village, made the forty-minute trip to meet with officials from the Ministry of Communities; he said his issue was the drainage in his community: “It needs digging, soon the weather will change. The sea defence was fixed recently (Bush Lot/Adventure) and is also broken again; they just putting boulders and mesh and they are not putting anything to tie it; it needs cement for it to hold, so I am hoping they look into it,” he explained.

Acting President Nagamootoo told the large gathering that all their issues will be dealt with effectively.

“If the people are unable, for various reasons, to go to Government, Government must come to its people; and that’s why we are here. I want to caution you, though, that your problems are many.

We will listen to you, (but) it will take some time for some of the problems to be addressed; and therefore, you have to exercise patience.

“We have been in Government for less than one year; we are settling in, and we are finding in all our ministries and government buildings problems, and it will take some time to get all of our issues addressed,” he explained.

Evadney Wilson, a resident of Princeton, Corriver-

ton, said she was pleased that she had her issues addressed in an efficient manner. She said everyone was welcoming and professional, and she was happy she didn’t have to go all the way to Georgetown.

The acting President said the ministerial outreaches are not political events.

“Our government is about bringing service to its people.

This is not a political forum; this is not an occasion to play politics. This is an occasion for us to do our duty -- our civic governance duty. It’s to come to the people and to listen to them and to address their problems,” the acting President adumbrated.

Minister Harmon, in his Turn to page 10 ►

Berbice father dies after falling from roof A BERBICE father of two is now dead after falling from a roof .The incident occurred around 15:00hrs on Saturday.

Dead is Yugraj Seelall, 29, a carpenter of Number ‘0’ Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

Reports are that the man was working on a building at the time when the incident occurred.

The distraught family was in a state of shock as they learnt of the incident.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

‘Massive’ shift of prisoners to Mazaruni needed ‒ President Granger

By Svetlana Marshall

THERE needs to be a massive redeployment of prisoners from the Georgetown Prison to the Mazaruni Penal Settlement, President David Granger said in the light of the March 3 prison riot which claimed the lives of 17 prisoners on March 3.

It is no secret that the Georgetown Prison is overcrowded. In fact, the penitentiary which sits in the heart of the capital city has approximately 1, 000 prisoners, almost double the amount it was designed to cater for.

Speaking during his weekly “Public Interest”

TV Programme, President Granger said the problems facing the Prison Service is chronic, alluding to the fact that in 1997 there was a massive riot at the Mazaruni Penal Settlement in which several buildings were burnt. Additionally, though there were several escapes in the past, the infamous

Only Public Security Minister may issue tint waiver – Traffic Chief AS THE Police Traffic Department continues its campaign to remove illegal tints from vehicles, the Guyana Police Force has clarified that only the Minister of Public Security can authorize a waiver.

Traffic Chief (ag) Superintendent Boodnarine Persaud said the law is what provides the Minister of Public Security with authority to exempt a motor vehicle or motor vehicles of various class or classes or descriptions as he may think fit.

As a result, one may see certain government officials, senior military officers and businessmen carrying tint on their vehicles.

That is because they would have been given exemptions

by the Minister.

The Tint campaign started earlier this month. Quoting a section of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, the Traffic Chief noted that: “No person shall have fitted to his motor vehicle any glass or safety glass, or any material used in the place of such glass or safety glass, which is so tinted or otherwise treated or coloured in such a manner or to such extent as would result in obstructing the identification of the driver of the motor vehicle or any other person travelling in the motor vehicle by any person from outside the motor vehicle.”

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had noted that govern-

Acting Traffic Chief, Superintendent Boodnarine Persaud

ment will be moving to review the existing policy regarding tint on motor vehicles as one of the components of the National Crime Fighting Strategy.

Mashramani Day escape of 2002, when five prisoners shot a female prison officer and stabbed a male prison officer dead on their way out of the Georgetown jail, and the recent riots are thus far the worst in the country’s history.

President Granger said the three main prisons in Guyana – New Amsterdam, Georgetown and Mazaruni – are inadequate for the number of prisoners, in particular the Camp Street Prison.

“Now the problems will not be resolved unless there is a massive redeployment of prisoners from Georgetown…to Mazaruni.

Mazaruni has the space… [but] it needs to be reinforced and fortified,” the President said.

Since the riot, a number of prisoners have been transferred from the Georgetown Prison and it is expected that more prisoners will be transferred in the coming weeks.

However, the President emphasised the need for the Mazaruni Prison to be extended. He said new blocks will be built but “money has to be provided.”

The situation is further compounded by the shortage of prison officers, the President added, noting that there is need to increase the staff complement and provide enhanced training.

Since the riot, prisoners have increasingly voiced

their concerns over the length of time they are on remand. Alluding to this issue, President Granger pointed out that the Executive branch has engaged the judiciary in an effort to reduce the build-up of cases.

Just recently, the Government has given “favourable assurances” for the proposed establishment of night courts. Night courts have been proposed to expedite the backlog of cases which have resulted in several persons being held on remand, thereby overcrowding the prisons. A growing number of persons have, for several years, been held on remand awaiting trial, some for more than five years. On March 16, the Prime Minister led a Government team to a meeting to discuss the backlog of court cases with a team from the Judiciary, headed

by Chancellor Carl Singh.

Meanwhile, when questioned by the Guyana Chronicle about the state of affairs at the Georgetown Prison, President Granger said the situation is approaching normalcy. “The situation is approaching

normalcy and approaching stability,” he said.

The Joint Services took control of the penitentiary recently after 13 prison officers reported sick.

President David Granger had also instructed that the outer cordons of the prison be extended to include D’urban, John and Bent Streets, which are currently blocked off to the public except for those persons residing within those areas, as is done on Camp Street.

This, according to the President, was done to prevent individuals from throwing contraband over the prison walls.

While the situation may not have returned to normalcy, Director of Prisons Carl Graham has recently given the assurance that security at the prison is under control, even as he refuted claims that the prisoners have taken control of the penitentiary. However, he admitted that inmates were more agitated than usual, but he assured that they have not taken control.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Board of Industrial Training graduation …

Hinterland youth says training ‘life-saving’ - Tops class in IT

By Shirley Thomas FROM being an unassuming and introverted lad who dropped out of school to endure a rough life toiling in the “gold bush,” Davin Noel has had his dream of having “a certificate” come true.

He was named the Best Graduating Student in Information Technology and Office Procedure during the graduation exercise of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), which caters for out-of-school youths and other young people looking to develop a skill.

Noel, 24, received his certificate last Wednesday during the graduation ceremony held at the National Cultural Centre, at which the Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Volda Lawrence, and Chairman of BIT, Mr. Clinton Williams, were among guests making presentations.

Noel, who hails from Kato, Region Eight, left the village at the tender age of four and relocated to Georgetown with his parents, taking up residence in Campbellville and later in Sophia. He attended Campbellville Secondary School, but at that time he did not fall into the category of the high-flyers.

He left school about eight years ago, at age 16, and being of an independent mind, travelled to the gold-mining interior, where he was employed as a labourer, providing physical labour at a mining camp.

“It was strenuous, but okay, because after a while you would get accustomed to it,” he said.

He recalled that his job entailed assisting in lifting heavy engines and the like. He explained that gold-mining work can be kind of nomadic, since, whenever you’re not finding gold, it becomes necessary to move to other locations; and also, whenever someone needs workers, or as he put it in local parlance, when “you get a shout.”

But one thing he found repulsively inherent in the gold-mining business of late was that almost everywhere you turned you hear about camps “taking blows”; and so “everywhere it was difficult to make money,” even though he was prepared to give a hard day’s work for a fair day’s pay.

To make matters worse, a few months before Christmas, he contracted malaria and was forced to give up the job. On recovering, he went back into the mining interior, but this time selling diesel and soft drinks. But given the constant threat of malaria, he considered it dangerous to his health, and returned to the city, where he took up employment as a porter with a private business. But things did not work out, since the payment was always “very small.”

Conceding that probably the odds were against him, he in time grew despondent and introverted. He did not make a lot of friends. In his sober moments, he would reflect, introspect and make projections for the future.

“Personally, I wanted to elevate myself. I began surfing the Internet and was learning things, but I wanted something like a certificate. I started looking at the newspapers, but most of the ads called for CXC subjects and I hadn’t that,” he said.

Then one day Noel’s sister left a card on the table. He

Davin Noel with his certificate looked at it and it read something about youth employment.

He called the phone number and learnt about the BIT National Training Project for Youth Employment. He elected to pursue training in Information Technology and Office Procedure, signed up for it and was successful. His base was the Eccles Training Centre, where he spent the entire period of training.

In a presentation, during which he shared with the audience at the graduation his experience about how he fared on the course, Noel recalled that he was shy, introverted and was never one to make friends. On the other hand, everybody seemed busy and just getting about what they had to do. Perhaps it had to do with his past experiences of being shortchanged and taken for granted in his early work life.

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Recounting his early experience, Noel told the Sunday Chronicle: “When I first started the course I didn’t know what to expect, and so I kept to myself, and no one wanted to be a partner.”

He said he continued in that vein and he felt lonely and depressed, and it was at a time that was critical to his performance at examinations.

“I can’t make it anymore,” Noel told himself, but purposed in his heart that there had to be some way out.

He looked around the class and found that there was someone somewhat easy going and who tended less towards socialising as well, but had a ready smile. This, he thought, could be his opportunity to exert his strength over someone less vocal. He made a spirited advance towards the colleague, asking him why was he being so withdrawn, adding that it was not good for his health or personality. Surprised, the other person turned and looked towards him. Noel seized the opportunity to engage him in a conversation, and before long they had become friends.

That encounter served them both well, and Noel, for his part, was able to focus better on his class work, to the extent that his grades began to improve dramatically. He continued in that vein, with the result that he emerged ‘Best Graduating Student in Information Technology and Office Procedure.”

That accomplishment was for him a “dream come true,” since during his years of instability, he had always longed to acquire “a certificate” to boost his status.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Board of Industrial Training graduation…

Single mom tops Catering class - secures job with city restaurant

By Shirley Thomas WITH great pride and joy and a sense of accomplishment, 39-year-old Cellon Timmerman, a former student of the Charlestown Secondary School, strutted onto the stage of the National Cultural Centre last Wednesday to receive the coveted Certificate as the Best Graduating Student in Catering -- one of the many courses offered by the Board of Industrial Training.

The South Georgetown mother of two fought hard to hold back tears of joy as she shared with those assembled her experience in journeying through the course.

Instead of an attack of the dreaded cold feet, the presence of dignitaries at the graduation buoyed Cellon into mustering up the courage to step forward and share her story; for on this, her special day, she was a celebrity and had the attention

CELLON TIMMERMAN me the health, strength and determination to successfully complete it and so make my parents, trainers and all those who supported or invested in me proud.

gramme, she wondered how the practical assignments would be completed in four months, and silently questioned her ability to cope.

“But I was wrong,” she

“I can now look back on it with pride and joy as I share my experience journeying through the programme. But initially it was with great trepidation that I approached it, not knowing what to expect or how much was expected of me; nor was I sure whether I had the potential required to make it successfully through to the end. All I knew was that I liked cooking.” of a distinguished gathering, she later told the Sunday Chronicle.

Of the course, Cellon said: “I must say that it was challenging but it was wonderful, and there are fun times that I could look back on. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the programme.

I must first say thanks to those who introduced me to the programme, then say thank you Jesus for giving

“I can now look back on it with pride and joy as I share my experience journeying through the programme. But initially it was with great trepidation that I approached it, not knowing what to expect or how much was expected of me; nor was I sure whether I had the potential required to make it successfully through to the end. All I knew was that I liked cooking.”

Cellon recalls that when she first started the pro-

added. “I must say I was inspired by teacher Ms. Grace, who, when students were not living up to expectations, would caution us in a rather no nonsense tone of voice: ‘You either stay and burn or cut and run!’ But yet, from her very body language, you immediately knew that it did not mean that you had a choice; you had, of necessity, to ‘stay and burn!’”

She then remembered her pastor’s counsel for overcoming trials.

He would say: “The more trials face you, just remember that ‘the finest pottery comes through the fiercest heat’. He would explain that, in making ceramics, if the clay was not sufficiently “fired” it would not assume a perfect finish, and might have to go back into the heat again until it is thoroughly baked.

“The moral of the story was that situations may come your way to teach you to endure to the end and make you strong. That was the story of the ‘potter’s clay’, and so I stayed and endured, and today I am proud that coming out of that experience I was adjudged the Best Graduating Student in Catering.”

She said that, more than anything else, her attention was focused on successfully completing the course and one day being able to clinch a job in some reputable catering entity. After all, she had a love for cooking and thought that it would be to her advantage if she were to do it at a professional level.

And her hard work was not in vain, for she was successful in securing employment as a cook at a reputable restaurant in Georgetown, where she is fully and meaningfully utilizing her newly acquired skills.

Her course was done at the Eccles Training Centre under Miss Grace Grant-Andries, and Cellon recalled that sometimes in one day they did as many as five practicals with the assistance of Ms Torisa and Ms. Tandica from the last graduating class.

She said: “And they all delivered well. I was able to master the art of making

rice dishes; chicken, beef, fish, pastries, roti, buns and other things too numerous to mention.

“If I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I would be right back at Eccles Training Centre where I did my course. I enjoyed every moment of it, because I like cooking. The course was challenging, but I loved it.”

A notable and appreciable feature of the programme, Cellon said, was that it catered to the welfare needs of the students. Trainees would come to the programme with different problems, but the mechanism was in place to respond to those needs through counselling and related interventions.

With an attitude of gratitude, Cellon has words of appreciation for her supporters: “I want to say a special thank you to the Government of Guyana and the Board of Industrial Training for giving me a lifetime experience.

To all my teachers, especially the teachers of Eccles Training Centre – Ms. Grace Grant-Andries, Miss Torisa, Ms. Scotland, Ms Karen and Sr. Seon Bastiani -- I thank you all.”

And finally, she had words of encouragement for other persons who might pursue training: “Whatever you’ve started, make a good job of it and continue to the end. Try and try. You’ll succeed at last.”

The BIT, for its part, plans to continue to intensify the delivery of technical and

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vocational skills training with a view to addressing the skills demand needs, not only for the existing, but also other emerging industries.

The programme aims to intensify delivery of technical and vocational skills training to vulnerable groups, such as youths from depressed communities, single parents and school dropouts.

Among the attendees at the graduation were Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence; and Permanent Secretary Loreen Baird; Chairman of the Board of Industrial Training, Mr. Clinton Williams; Region Four Chairman Ms. Genevieve Allen; and other BIT officials and trainers.

In his remarks at last Wednesday’s graduation ceremony, BIT Chairman Mr. Clinton Williams said the ultimate goal of these programmes is geared not only to positively impact increased employment generation, entrepreneurship and empowerment; but, by extension, it should be viewed as a vital socio-economic intervention as it relates to poverty alleviation and crime prevention, In closing, the Chairman assured: “We [at BIT] believe that we are sufficiently poised to make a tangible contribution to the current Administration’s programme and policies aimed at producing a good life for all the people of Guyana.”

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Editor-In-Chief

Nigel Williams Editor

Godfrey Wray

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

Editorial

The workers’ movement THE trade union community will today begin its week-long commemoration activities with a morning church service and afternoon wreath-laying event, and will culminate same in a Labour Day march and rally on Sunday, 1st May. While the genesis of May Day, which in Guyana is referred to as Labour Day, is rooted in the May 4th, 1886 Haymarket Square riot in Chicago, when workers striking for an 8-hour work day were shot and killed by police, Guyana, though joining the global community to mark the event, has added its local twist.

As a nation whose first peoples, the Amerindians, fought against the exploitative system of slavery; followed by our African community, and the Indians, Chinese and Portuguese who fought against indentureship; and later all, including Europeans, against colonialism; all can identify with the cause that gave rise and meaning to the Labour Movement.

Historians will recount numerous instances of workers, though not formally organised, standing up against what they considered poor conditions under which they worked and the less-than-adequate sums paid for their labour. Historical evidence recounts workers, be they enslaved, indentured, colonised or free, resisting poor working and living conditions and high cost of living.

In the 20th century, where the trade union movement has it genesis as a formal organising mass and taking up the workers’ cause as we come to know it, the understanding of the workers’ movement has come to be accepted through these lenses.

In 1905, when the 21-year-old Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow led stevedore workers in a strike at the John Fernandes Wharf, the first act of mass mobilisation was registered. Apart from putting Guyana on the map as the birthplace of the Father of Trade Unionism in the British Commonwealth, Critchlow went on to lead causes in the interest of the workers, in and outside of the workplace. He, along with other Caribbean Labour Leaders, is credited for putting in place the framework that helped to shape the struggle of the Caribbean peoples for the advancement of their social, cultural, political and economic wellbeing. This included the utility paid to international self-government and regional integration as important pillars in development.

And whereas regional integration was first achieved with the West Indian Federation, the Caribbean Free Trade Agreement to the Caribbean

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Include more of rural Guyana on the ERC Dear Editor: OUR ability to meet the challenges facing this nation on the social cohesion front and to achieve the opportunities of our time depends in large measure on how we configure and construct the next Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). While our people have worked out their own mechanism at the local level to co-exist side by side amiably, at the national level, the social cohesion and ethnic relations situation is in an abysmal shape.

There are many reasons for this, but one cannot deny that the attempt to dominate the conversation by the Georgetown-based elites is a serious causation of the social cohesion degradation. One only has to examine the list of invitees to nominate the next Commission on Ethnic Relations and you can easily identify how rural Guyana is being marginalised in this process. It seems as though people from Buxton and Albion, Victoria and Enmore have no say in national life anymore. Less than 15 percent of the invited organisations have their genesis in rural Guyana.

But to compound this eye-pass against rural Guyana, one can drill down another layer to observe what is the state of representation for different segments of the rural society. Because of lack of space I will focus on two segments of society – rural Hindus and rural youths.

Hindus constitute some 30 percent of the nation and most of them live in

rural Guyana. However, on the list of invitees to this nomination process for the ERC, the Hindus are provided with less than 10 percent representation and most of the invited Hindu groups are Georgetown-based. Why are bodies such as Tain Hindu Mandir, the Mahaica Creek Hindu Temple, the De Hoop Hindu Temple, the Unity Shiva Mandir, the Strathaven Hindu Temple, the Lusignan Mandir, the Enterprise Hindu Mandir, the Guava Bush Hindu Temple, the Enmore Shiva Mandir, and the Annandale Hindu Temple not invited? I can list at least 40 other Hindu Groups across rural Guyana who have been excluded from this process. Isn’t this a clear and present act of discrimination against rural Hindus?

We talk every day about equal rights for women, but yet this perverted system cannot recognise the power of the rural Hindu woman. Strong women leaders, who continue to mould communities in rural Guyana, dominate the management scene in most of these rural temples, but they have no voice according to these Georgetownbased elites.

Now what about the rural youths? The footballers and cricketers in Buxton, Albion, Victoria and Enmore have no voice in this process? Why are they not being invited to this ERC nomination process? Again, more than 65 percent of Guyana are youths, but

Community, (CARICOM) established in 1973, still stands today as a marked achievement of the workers’ movement.

Self-government, hinged on first establishing the right to one-man one-vote, wherein every eligible citizen is given the right to exercise the choice of electing his/her representative, is owed to the trade union movement.

And where there exists doubt about the ability of Guyanese to work harmoniously with each other, the trade union movement has shown that this is possible.

After the March 1926 meeting of Caribbean Labour leaders, in which Critchlow participated, history has shown that, in December 1926, Critchlow met with the then British Guiana East Indian Association to discuss how Indians can get involved in the political process of voting.

Once called the African Crosby by Indian sugar workers, who likened him to an immigrant agent that represented their interests, he helped in giving direction and support to the struggle to improve living and working conditions on the estates.

When sugar workers deferred to trade unionist Ayube Edun, being their leader of choice, this decision was respected.

if you observe the youth groups, save and except for the Rose Hall Group, there is again a predominance of the urban elites.

So I am calling out these blatant acts of marginalisation on the part of the Georgetown-based ruling elites and let the record show that unless the rural Hindus and rural youths are not properly represented in the ERC, it will be another failed institution of Guyana.

One of the most progressive political documents crafted in Guyana, the Herdmanston Accord, caused the establishment of the ERC. It was made a constitutional body and was designed to do many things, but one of its most important role remains: How can we promote harmony and good relations when rural Guyana remains largely excluded from the nomination process to the Commission? Or is this more public relations gimmickry?

Rural Guyana have already expressed their displeasure at being so under-represented in the state institutions under this Coalition Government in the just concluded Local Government Elections, but like no one seems to be listening to their voices.

Let us be mature and rise about our comfort zones and do the right thing if we want to progress Guyana’s human development. The status quo is nothing but counterproductive.

Regards SASE SINGH

The workers’ movement has a storied and complex legacy in this nation’s history. It is one that has played a sterling role in building this country, and includes the fight for equality, universal free healthcare and education, childcare, fair treatment by landlord, housing development, decent pay and working conditions, minimum wage, and paid leave, among other things.

At the internal level, there have been differences between unions that have seen breakaway, disbanding of the original Guyana Trades Union Congress, formation of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana, its later disbandment, and formation of another. It is not unfair to say the movement has always had an attraction for politicians, who find it a ready institution with mobilised and militant workers/citizens, and also used it as front to serve or reinforce political agenda.

That aside, given the existence of laws, notably the Constitution which specifically addresses the right to join a trade union of choice to represent one’s interests (Article 147), the involvement of the trade union in the management and decision-making processes of the State (Article 149C) and its duty to help in the development of the economy (Article 38), the presence of the workers and their organisation will be felt and known.

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President wants use of Norway funds widened

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

THE government wants use of the remaining funds from Guyana’s forest-saving deal with Norway to be used for projects other than those envisaged when the US$250 million deal was struck in 2009.

Some of the funds of the five-year deal are yet to reach Guyana, including US$80M that was locked into the Amaila Falls Hydro Project. A final decision on the future of the project is to be made by the end of June, or Guyana risks losing the funds; but the government is hoping that if the project is found not to be feasible, then the money could be used for other initiatives.

Speaking on his weekly “Public Interest” programme, President Granger opined that the initial plan by the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration was too narrow, since it focused mostly on the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), Land Titling and the generation of energy through the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.

“It is our view that the allocation was too narrow...,” the President posited.

Under his leadership, the President said the fight to mitigate global warming would go beyond the use of hydropower energy in Guyana. “We would like to look at Climate Change more broadly,” he said, while adding that major emphasis will be placed on reforestation of mined- out areas and the generation of energy utilising solar farms and wind power in addition to hydropower.

On the issue of deforestation, the President pointed out that the Potaro-Siparuni, Cuyuni-Mazaruni and the Barima-Waini Regions are severely affected by deforestation through mining. “Those areas are scarred, badly scarred and those are the priority candidates for reforestation…,” he said.

In addition to renewable energy and reforestation, recycling and coastal zone management will also be placed high on the agenda.

“The previous plan did not include much about coastal zone management and that is an area of vulnerability, because as you know sea defences from time to time crack and salt water invades,” President Granger explained.

On Friday, Guyana signed on to the Paris Agreement and according to the President, the country will spare no effort to contribute to both a sustainable future and to an effective global response to climate change.

The Paris Agreement, reached on December 12, 2015, is the most ambitious international environmental agreement in modern history. It presents a historic opportunity for the global community to respond to the challenge of climate change in an appropriate manner.

Guyana has signed the agreement on account of its recognition of the need for resolute action to combat this challenge. “We will ensure the deposit of the instruments of ratification this year,” the President said, pointing out that Guyana is a net carbon sink. “Our forests sequester more carbon than the country’s human activities generate. Guyana, with the world’s second highest percentage of rainforest cover (85 per cent), commands important carbon stocks.

The country, nevertheless, is fully committed to contributing to limiting the rise in global temperature to below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“Guyana intends to implement initiatives in the forest and renewable energy sectors, including through the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) Plus programme.

“We will move closer towards a 100 per cent renewable power supply by 2025, conditional on appropriate support and adequate resources.

“Our proposed commitments through avoided emissions can contribute the equivalent of up to 48.7 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide to the global mitigation effort.

“Guyana is prepared to sustainably manage, conserve and protect our national patrimony, and place our ecological resources at the service of humanity,” President Granger said. (Svetlana Marshall)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

Our Independence Freedom Song: I have never known what happiness is/I have never known what sweet caress is IN A FEW weeks’ time, Guyana will observe its 50th Independence anniversary. The observances will coincide with the first anniversary of the current government. From all indications, Guyana is ready for a big party; that is part of who we are as a Caribbean people. In a sense, the very act of celebration is an affirmation of freedom. The plantation was a closed space, with all the horrors bottled up therein; so, logically, emancipation and independence meant reclamation of the open space. That is where our carnival spirit comes from, and why cricket speaks to, and of, our spirit.

Bob Marley, the poetic genius of our Caribbean Independence, was moved in the 1970s to ask of the powers that be: “Why can’t we roam this open country/Oh why can’t we be what we want to be/We want to be free.”

Bob Marley asks a very serious question in that verse: Why can’t we be free? This is the question I want to pose today. If you come out of the bowels of slavery, indentureship and colonialism, your appetite for f reedom is bound to be large. We Guyanese are no different. That is why when May 1966 arrived, we sang the freedom song in a land that was no longer strange to us. We had turned a “strange land” into a

freedom space. The challenges were many, but in the end we overcame.

You see, Independence was not about who the political father was or which party led us to 1966; it was and is more profound. It was and is about FREEDOM — the opportunity for the sufferers to suffer no more. Bob Marley’s chant pierces our consciousness: we want to be free.

But have we really been free?

Can we roam the open country? Fifty years later, are we what we want to be?

Marley would simultaneously proclaim: “No chains around my feet/But I am not free/I have never known what happiness is/I have never known what sweet caress is.”

We have survived the plantation and we have survived the harshness of Independence, but as Brother Eusi Kwayana, our own sage, would say, the scars of bondage are raw; and I submit that bondage is not a thing of the past, it is very much in our present.

That is why when my national newspaper dispatches history to the pit of hell, I weep for Guyana. Our

“

foreparents did not fashion a history of survival, resistance and freedom for some lost soul to write it out of history. As Marley would ask— “where is the love to be found?”

In Guyana we have not known what happiness is these fifty years; we have not known what sweet caress is. It is not that some of our leaders have not meant well. It is not that our people have not raised their voices in protest against the

journey and our present condition.

Let us not depend on Google to explain our history — our story; we are better than that. Our own Martin Carter speaks for all of us: “From the niggeryard of yesterday I come with my burden/To the world of tomorrow I turn with my strength.”

Our current government finds itself in a tight spot; it is a rare product: it has the burden of facilitating that love and happiness and sweet caress which Brother Bob talked about. Brother Granger calls it the “good life.” All our people ask for is some love and respect, some sweet caress, some happiness. I see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices, and touch it when I touch flesh with them. Our politics have never been easy. But we have got to face our demons and cast them out.

All our people ask for is some love and respect, some sweet caress, some happiness.” agents of unhappiness. It is not that there have been no socio-economic advances. It is not that our collective creative imagination has not soared.

We have done right in the sight of God and humanity, but still we are not free to be what we want to be.

So, to quote Marley again, we forward “in this generation.” But is it triumphantly? Come next month, what songs will we sing? Will we join Brother Bob to sing redemption songs? Or will we party as if we are fully free? Please let us leave some time and space to reflect on our

RAS MICHAEL JEUNE: ROOTSMAN TO THE CORE; ARTISTIC TO THE CORE Ras Michael Jeune was my friend, my mentor, my brother. In a little wooden house at Buxton-Friendship Line Top,

he taught me and others how to write and read poetry, and how to write period. He taught us drama and storytelling and short story writing. He is for me Guyana’s best short story writer of his generation. Michael was the first person to clarify for me what is the meaning of democracy and dictatorship. It came out in an argument he had with a “lil hot hand” name John Cromwell. Mike introduced me to the poetry/chant of Andre Tanker and the artistry of Ken Corsbie, Marc Matthews, Johnny Agard and Henry Muttoo.

It was he who explained to me that Walter Rodney was an artist too, and that Kwayana had that touch of genius.

I love you Mike. Go back to your ancestors and continue your work of the mind and of poor people looking to break free. This year, Emancipation at Buxton Line Top would not be the same, but the first libation will be for you: Rootsman to the bone, artistic to the core.

More of Dr. Hinds ‘writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

No weapons allowed in Jubilee Festival venues ‒ emergency measures in place GOVERNMENT agencies are pooling resources to ensure there are no security glitches during Guyana’s 50th Independence celebrations slated for May 19 – 22 at the National Stadium and Colgrain House, Camp Street, Georgetown.

The Guyana Power & Light Inc., Guyana Water Inc., the Ministry of Public Health and the Mayor and City Council have established a plan to deal with potential emergencies that may occur during the time.

According to a release from the Ministry of Public Telecommunications/Tourism, Security Specialist and Head of the Guyana Jubilee Festival (GJF), Johnny Mortley, said

various layers of protection and emergency measures including First Aid facilities and ambulances will be utilised.

The release noted that uniformed and plainclothes security personnel from private agencies and the Joint Services will be supported by CCTV cameras.

In this regard, representatives of all four entities recently met with the GJF sub-committee and laid out the procedures each entity would employ.

GPL & GWI Engineer attached to GPL, Curtis Daniels, said that the company’s transmission and distribution crews are already servicing the entire power

distribution network for miles around the stadium to ensure that all feeds to the tarmac are sound.

The company will add a fourth emergency feed in the event of power interruption to the East Bank circuit. Meanwhile, it was noted that GWI is engaged in similar activities, ensuring the integrity of all three water sub-stations at Eccles, Peter’s Hall and Providence.

These stations will be in operation for 24 hours each day of the Festival. In addition, GWI will set up a large water-storage facility at the venue in the unlikely event of a water shortage for sanitation and food-handling purposes.

M&CC Additionally, the M&CC

has stepped in to provide guidance to every food handler who will be exhibiting and selling food items at the Festival. The release noted that the council’s Public Health Department officials will meet shortly with all booth holders in the Food Court, the mobile units and large tents to give the necessary guidance and to ensure that each exhibitor is equipped with Food Handlers Certificates.

The Security Specialist stated, “The last thing we want is for the Festival to be tarnished by people falling ill from tainted food.”

The Council’s Solid Waste Management teams will be in operation each day and night throughout the event to clean and prepare the venue for the following day’s activities.

It was noted that the Public Health Ministry will join other health agencies to provide emergency services in a designated section of the stadium tarmac ,which will be supported by at least two ambulances.

Leave weapons at home The committee has made it clear that strict measures will be implemented to ensure that no visitor enters the venue armed with weapons of any kind, including guns, knives and ice picks.

It was noted that an Advisory will be issued about the procedures visitors may follow if they wish to lodge their weapons at the nearby Providence Police Station, the Agricola Outpost or the Ruimveldt Police Station.

Meanwhile, the planning

committee expects to host thousands of local and foreign visitors, including children, to the day-time exhibitions of Guyanese products, as well as the evening concerts.

“It is not too much to expect that the four-day festival will end without bloody altercations or armed robberies.

We will be prepared,” Mortley said.

On April 30, the Security and Emergency committee will conduct an awareness and sensitisation programme for police ranks, private security firms, security consultants and other operatives in the sector, who will make up the many layers of health, emergency and security in and around Guyana’s Golden Jubilee Festival.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

Development requires the Labour Agenda being incorporated into the nation’s agenda THERE is no development without workers. Workers are the key ingredient to any developmental process, and without them the engine of production cannot turn.

Labour still remains a key factor in production and development, and once labour remains a key factor, workers must be treated with dignity and respect.

People often pay lip service to labour, preferring to pay more attention to land, capital and entrepreneurship, forgetting that labour is the key factor.

Labour has always been exploited -- from slavery unto today. It is against this backdrop that the labour movement, formed in 1905 under the leadership of Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, saw dockworkers striking to demand their labour be treated with respect and dignity. This demand was grounded in the right to self-determination, which in the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 1700s saw similar acts being committed by workers who were dislocated from the cottage industry and denied the right to have a say in their conditions of work.

The month of May will mark Guyana’s 50th anniversary of independence. Independence is an achievement of self-determination

consistent with the universal right to charter one’s political, social, cultural and economic wellbeing.

The pursuit of internal self-government began in 1926 when Caribbean Labour Leaders met in Georgetown, strategised, developed a menu of measures, and led the fight to achieve independence.

It wasn’t until one year shy of a quarter-century that a mass-based political party, the People’s Progressive Party (1950), entered the fray and supported the struggle.

This year, as Labour takes time out to reflect on its erstwhile contributions to self-determination of the workers (past, present and potential), theirs and the nation’s development, there remains the need for a redoubling of efforts.

This is so given that Labour is not only being taken for granted in determining the nation’s development, but workers are being treated as though they are not key to development and are only incidental to the process.

Some even consider workers nuisance when they stand up and demand the achievements from their blood, sweat and labour that resulted in international declarations, conventions, charters and laws be respected.

Let me make it very clear: No

politician today, in or out of the Executive or Legislature, could be where he/she is without the foundation that was laid by the trade union movement and the Workers’ Agenda which was incorporated into the Political Platform and received the support and votes of the workers. The fight for one-man one-vote started in 1926 with the trade union. This fight, which from 1953 paved the way for politicians -- irrespective of their socio-economic status and identity -- to have a presence in the legislature and the executive, is thanks to Labour.

And where Labour has made its mark in achieving these two important milestones in the fight for self-determination, it will be an affront to the workers and movement to ignore the foundation laid by us; which today is either taken for granted, coveted, or is under threat to be denied us and have us shut out of the political decision-making processes of the state at the national, regional and local levels.

2016 finds the Labour Movement a united unit based on the conviction that unity exists only when Labour is in one federation that stands convinced of the universal right to freedom of association protected in the Guyana Constitution (Article 147) and the

International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 87 (Article 6). Consistent with respect for these tenets, 90 years after the foundation was laid and 50 years after political independence was achieved, the Labour Movement stands proudly united and committed to hold dear the legacy bequeathed to this nation; which shall be relentlessly safeguarded, deepened and strengthened even as we ward off the forces of contempt and disregard for our blood, sweat and tears.

Going forward, trade unions across Guyana have committed to the following: i) Right to Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining; ii) resolution of all outstanding labour grievances; iii) demanding a seat at the decision-making table; iii) ensuring the honouring of the social contract; iv)upholding of international declarations, conventions, charters, time-honoured principles and the Laws of Guyana.

Where, in 2016, there exists a Ministry of Business to address the wellbeing of entrepreneurship and there is no agency to address the wellbeing of Labour, the Trade Union Movement has every right to be aggrieved. For whereas back then the struggle was against the ex-

ploitation of labour by the merchant class, which had the support of the colonial government; today, under self-government, entrepreneurship is once again given pre-eminence over labour.

And while it is noted that President David Granger holds the view that Social Protection encapsulates Labour, holding a view does not necessarily make that view right.

Social protection, according to the ILO, is one of the 4 strategic objectives of the Decent Work Agenda.

The absence of a Ministry of Labour clearly sends a signal that workers are not considered a strategic component of national development. Where a ministry which normally has responsibility for addressing issues that cut across every facet of governance is miniaturized, it speaks to a misunderstanding of what Labour is all about. It also speaks to contempt for the spirit and intent of the Guyana Constitution and the key role workers play in national development via production, distribution and consumption.

In this 90th year, where workers paved the way to celebrate the 50th anniversary, there shall be unity against indignity, disrespect, and the miniaturising of our presence, contributions and roles in society.

GHRA welcomes signing of Paris climate pact, ban on river mining THE Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has welcomed the decision by President David Granger to sign on to the Paris Agreement on climate change, and his intention that Guyana will ratify this Agreement before the end of the year.

The Friday event in New York represented the launch of the document, agreed upon in Paris last year. Only fifteen states were prepared to ratify the new treaty, and a further forty is required before it comes into effect.

The Agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to limit global warming at between 1.7°C and 2°C. A statement from the GHRA noted that the President’s action on climate change coincides with the announcement by Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, that the ban on river mining will be reintroduced.

“The fact that the announcement was followed

by TV notices drawing the attention of miners to the

ban suggests a stronger determination to implement the ban than was the case with a similar ban in 2012.

On that occasion, the weaker restriction -– a suspension of new licenses for river mining –- was withdrawn after a month, following an uproar from the mining community.

“The new ban makes clear that all mining on buffer zones, that is, land within thirty feet of the river bank, is closed to mining,” the GHRA noted.

The GHRA is of the view

that without effective regulation, mining activity will pollute the headwaters of many rivers coming off the Guyana Shield, and will simply destroy this asset, unless adequate regulation is seriously enforced.

“Moreover, enforcement of the real costs of land and river reclamation is urgently needed, and failure to face up to this reality is another form of climate denial”, the GHRA said.

“Environmental advocates, both indigenous and coastal, looking for more

aggressive rights-related protection of Guyana’s fresh water sources will welcome this signal that the Government of Guyana is conscious of its global responsibilities for the 30% of the world’s fresh water generated from the Amazon Basin. As with the Congo Basin in Africa, the world’s other major source of fresh water, protection of the Amazon has been a low priority for most Amazonian countries.”

The human rights body noted also that fresh water will soon become valuable

to Guyana in the not-toodistant future. It has referred to Trinidad, Barbados and the French Caribbean territories which are considering rationing fresh water to assure its citizens they possess adequate reserves.

“We have seen wars fought for oil in the past decade, and according to UN estimates, wars over freshwater resources will soon be a reality. Desertification of parts of the Middle East has directly impacted the instability in Syria”, the body has said.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

CCJ allows first criminal appeal by State THE first criminal Appeal filed by the State of Guyana since the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in 2005, was allowed by the Full Bench on Friday, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has disclosed.

The Full Bench comprised five Judges with the Honourable Sir Dennis Byron sitting as the President of the Court.

“The appeal focused on the interpretation of Section 8(2) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Appeals) Act, Chapter 3:04, which provides that upon receipt of the Magistrate’s memorandum of reasons for decision, the Clerk shall forthwith, and at latest within 21 days of the receipt thereof, prepare a copy of the proceedings including the reasons for the decision, and when the copy is ready he shall notify the appellant

in writing and, on payment of the proper fees, deliver the copy to him,” the DPP explained.

On October 15, 2015, the Majority of the Court of Appeal (Justice of Appeal Roy and Justice Rishi Persaud, sitting as an Additional Judge) in hearing the appeal of Sichan Harrychan v. Suraj Singh ruled that Section 8(2) of the Act had to be strictly complied with by the Clerk and non-compliance would render the Notice sent outside that stipulated period invalid.

The Majority then ordered that a fresh notice be sent by the Clerk to the Appellant, noting that the Clerk’s non-compliance should be remedied through a request for an extension of time within which to comply, in accordance with Section 14 of the said Act. However, in a dissenting judgment, the Honourable Madam Chief Justice Yo-

nette Cummings-Edwards ruled that non-compliance by the Clerk would not invalidate the notice. The Chief Justice in order to justify her decision referenced the CCJ case of Watson v.

Fernandes, and emphasised that service of the Notice on the Attorney equates to service on the Appellant.

On November 17, 2015, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Judith Gildharie Mursalin filed a Notice of Application to the CCJ seeking Special Leave to appeal the Majority Decision on this procedural issue in accordance with Section 8 of the CCJ Act and also sought an order that the application for special leave be treated as the hearing.

The Respondent was represented by Attorney-at-Law, Ronald BurchSmith. “The State submitted that even if the Clerk, constrained by limited resources available to the admin-

istration of justice, failed to comply with the time period, his subsequent act of sending the notice was not invalidated since the Section was to be read as directory,” the DPP stated.

Additionally, the State argued that the remedy for the Clerk’s non-compliance could not be an application for an extension of time, since the Clerk was not a party to the proceedings, explaining that Section 2 of the said Act defines Clerk to mean the Clerk of the Magisterial District from which an appeal is brought and if there is no clerk, includes a Magistrate.

The State contended that Parliament would not have envisaged that a Magistrate, performing the duties of Clerk, failing to perform the functions under Section B (2) would have to apply under Section 14 for an extension of time to do so. The State relied on the

decision of the Full Court, Williams v. Chesney [1953] LRBG 1 in which it was stated that Section 14 was enacted to allow an intending appellant to make an application for special leave to appeal, who, through some unavoidable circumstances had been prevented from doing so within the prescribed time.

On April 7, 2016, the CCJ granted Special Leave to the Applicant to appeal and on April 22, 2016 allowed the appeal and ordered that section 8(2) of the said Act should be strictly followed by the Clerk of Court and although there may be non-compliance, that would not invalidate the service of the Notice outside that time period.

The Court also ruled that service of the Notice on the Counsel who signed the Notice of Appeal equates to service on the Appellant.

The substantive appeal was remitted to the Court of Appeal for hearing with directions that the Court of Appeal take into consideration the considerable delay in this matter.

The decision was delivered via video conference held at the Court of Appeal in Kingston.

Sichan Harrychan was charged on September 28, 2007 with the offence of demanding with menace and was found guilty in November 4, 2010. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment and on November 18 that year, a Notice of Appeal was filed on his behalf. The appeal came up for hearing on July 10, 2015 before the Court of Appeal. There were no grounds of appeal filed by the Appellant and the State sought to have the appeal deemed abandoned in the absence of grounds. In applying for an extension of time within which to submit grounds of appeal, the Appellant argued that even though he did not comply with the Statutory requirements, the Clerk also failed to do so as he was in breach of Section 8(2) since his Notice was sent, not within 21 days after receipt of the Magistrate’s Memorandum of Reasons but some 17 months thereafter.

Passports to be issued...

From page 2

short address to the gathering, assured the residents that Government is serious about its commitment, has kept its promise, and is delivering to the people what it said it would.

“These outreaches are about taking the service of government to the people…

Our coalition is about making hard decisions for the benefit of the lives of its people, and I believe that our first year in office, I believe by far and large, we have delivered.

“We have come out here to Corriverton to continue delivering that quality of which you have now become accustomed. I don’t believe in any other point of time or in the history of our country that we had these types of ministerial engagements. We are not just here as a talking shop; we are going to try to resolve issues, and we will try to make decisions here.

We promised that issues that cannot be dealt with on site will be taken back to the office and (given) a timely response.”

Among the chief issues raised were poor streets and roads; need for street lighting; issues with water, drainage and irrigation; allegations of nepotism at the regional level in the award of contracts; problems getting NIS benefits, and the need for electricity in certain communities, among others.

With regard to nepotism, several contractors levelled allegations at the Regional Tender Board of Region #6, and at its chairman, the Regional Executive officer of Region 6, Dr. Ramayya, claiming he is awarding work only to a select few contractors (names given) while the others are being sidelined.

The group was very vocal and verbally attacked the REO personally, accusing him of taking money from the said contractor in return for work.

The REO denied the allegations and said he is planning to file a lawsuit against the individuals for levelling the allegations against him.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

Towards a Good Life in a Green Economy

The Good Life: Freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom to live in dignity

By Clement Henry

the realities in Guyana. In this context, current drivers of human insecurity in Guyana include unemployment, poverty, inequality, social and political exclusion, diseases, flooding, interpersonal violence, trafficking of humans, and illicit trafficking in drugs and small arms.

es and responsive institutions that will protect individuals from risk and vulnerabilities, empowering them so that they become THE quintessence of the ‘Good resilient to a wide variety of life-threatening circumstances in Life’ is where all people -- rethe economic, food, environmental health, physical, societal and gardless of physical characterpolitical dimensions. istics and social and Because the elements of human security are political linkages -- are interrelated, achieving human security also requires LEMENT HENRY is a Research and able to live in freedom broad-based partnerships among a variety of actors Development Specialist. Mr. Henry graduated and dignity: free from from international and regional institutions, central and poverty and despair, from Andrews local government, community-based organisations, and able to fully denon-governmental organisations, and the private sector. velop their human po- University with a Bachelors of Arts Degree (cum It requires understanding the correlates of insecurity and tential. This is a goal laude) in Theology, emphasis on Public Health, acting proactively to prevent conditions that generate of human security. In insecurity. fact, human security is and from the University of Guyana with both a Post It is apposite to note, as a reminder, a United Nations synonymous with the Graduate Diploma and Masters Degree in General Assembly Declaration which states, “human ‘Good Life’. security calls for people-centered, comprehensive, Human security, as Development Studies. Mr Henry is a Ph.D. Candidate context-specific and prevention-oriented responses that an emerging approach, at the Institute of International Relations, strengthen the protection and empowerment of all people contends that fundamental to the ‘Good Life’ is an University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus. and all communities.”[a condition that undoubtedly leads acceptance that people’s existence is characterised by towards a good life]. three key freedoms: freedom from fear, freedom from His doctoral dissertation (already submitted) is One of the challenges we will face in operationalwant, and freedom to live in dignity. In its broadest titled ‘A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the ising human security is our ability to measure human understanding under these three heads, human security security, which is a multidimensional concept. However, therefore encompasses economic and income security, Dimensions of Human Security: the Case of Guymeasuring human security as a multidimensional confood security, health security, personal security from vi- ana’. He is currently the Project Manager of the cept is achievable via the application of statistical type olence, community and identity security, environmental operations. Towards this end, perception surveys have Citizen Security Strengthening Programme. His security, and security of political freedoms. been used in evaluating levels of citizen security in GuyThe relevance of human security as a way of concep- publications include “An Analysis of the ana, and similar approaches can be useful in measuring tualising and practising security became more apparent Effectiveness of Foreign Aid Flows to Guyana” in human security. across the globe post-1989, at the end of the Cold war, Measuring human security, in the final analysis, when practitioners and scholars came to recognise that Selected Essay in Contemporary Caribbean Issues. offers tremendous benefits for the development of evistate security does not always correlate with the security dence-based strategies to protect and preserve the citiof citizens. In reality, there are numerous instances when zenry. It can also support the identification of priorities, people have suffered and died as a result of poverty, hunger, It is worthwhile to note also that a 2012 UNDP Citizen Se- risks and protective factors. communicable diseases, criminal violence and environmental curity Survey found that only 42.7 per cent of respondents felt Because human security is closely related to the concept of disasters, even though state structures persist. secure living in Guyana. A corollary of this finding is that human the ‘Good Life’, analytical innovations in this concept can be The paradox between security of the state and human security insecurity among citizens poses a major challenge to realising the transferred to the latter, thereby offering Government practical is consistent with local realities. This contradiction is evident in vision of the ‘Good Life’ across Guyana. Notwithstanding this means of assessing, measuring, and developing a road map toa Stabroek News article dated August 26, 2010, wherein a se- challenge, human security is achievable in Guyana! However, wards achieving the ‘Good Life’ for all. nior policy maker was reported as saying that “national security achieving human security for all will require proactive approachComments can be sent to: towardsagoodlife@gmail.com remained intact” notwithstanding the country’s homicide rate for that year was 18.6 per 100,000 population, robbery rate was 145.8 per 100,000 population, and 52.1 per cent of the robberies committed that year involved the use of firearms.

While one might be tempted to dismiss the senior policy maker’s conclusion on national security as being uninformed (I do not think it is so), what it really reveals is the gap between security of the state and security of the individual. As Dr Edward Newman, Professor of International Security, explains: “State security, while being a necessary condition for citizen security, is not a sufficient condition.”

And while traditional perspectives on security are tightly built around security of the state, human security is principally concerned with protection of individuals. It is not atypical, therefore, for traditional views of security to subsume, if not conflate, human security concerns with state security. Further, the human security perspective’s call for attention to individual security, as apart from state security, is based on the overarching prevalence of existential threats to the security of individuals emanating from both state and non-state actors.

Nevertheless, human security is not a substitute for national security. The state remains fundamentally responsible for security. Human security, however, is important to attaining the ‘Good Life’ because it highlights the various vulnerabilities and insecurities that people face in their everyday lives. It is people-centred, its elements are interdependent, and it is best achieved through empowerment and early prevention.

At the system level, a human security approach is relevant to

C

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

Kamarang boy recovering after tack removed from lungs ‒ surgery among most complicated done at Georgetown Hospital

By Neil Marks

JAVIER Lawson, of Kamarang in the Upper Mazaruni, was having one of his regular days at his school on February 22 this year.

But things took a horrible turn.

The eight-year-old picked off a thumb tack which was holding up a poster behind the chalkboard and placed it in his mouth, using saliva to glide it from one side to the other.

Before he realised it, the tack went down his throat, sending teachers into panic mode when they realised he was panting for breath and coughing.

His grandmother, a retired medex who was taking care of him while his mother

was on the coast, was quickly called in.

Javier was rushed to the Kamarang hospital, but the doctor there could do nothing to help and so referred him to the Georgetown Hospital – a one-hour flight away.

The regional administration made the arrangements, and Javier was on the next flight out to the city.

At the Georgetown Hospital, he was seen by the Ear, Nose and Throat team. A decision was made to remove the tack using a rigid bronchoscope – a stainless-steel tube which is put through the mouth into the airways of the lungs.

The bronchoscope carries a light at the bottom, enabling doctors to see where the tack was lodged. They then used a metal clamp to try to remove

Javier Lawson

it, but that failed.They tried the same procedure a second time, and failed again. The failure was due to the sharp end of the tack perforating the bronchial wall (wall of the airway) into the lung

tissue.

It was a heart-rending moment for Javier’s Mom, Rosalyn Ferreira. She was desperate for some good news.

Javier was referred to Dr Cheetanand Mahadeo, the lone thoracic surgeon in the country.

He also used a rigid bronchoscope on Javier, trying to determine the exact position of the tack. He found that the tack was tightly stuck and the body had started to “wall” it off, sort of being built into the part of the lung it was stuck to. This process is called fibrosis.

Dr Mahadeo decided that he needed to open Javier’s chest, but there were a problem – the double lumen tubes that were required was not available in Guyana. These

Javier Lawson and Dr Cheetanand Mahadeo after the surgery

tubes are what would be connected to the ventilator, allowing selective collapse of one lung so the operation can proceed safely and allow removal of the tack. A CT scan of the chest was also done to assist in surgical planning and 3D localisation of the tack. This scan showed consolidation and atelectasis of the lower lobe of the right lung (poor air entry and fluid filling).

Dr Mahadeo and the doctors at the Anaesthesia department at GPHC tried sourcing the tubes needed from overseas (namely Trinidad), but none could be found and Javier’s family could not afford to take him to Trinidad – one of the options which they thought was the only one left.

Javier’s mother’s heart sank. She was beginning to get out of sorts, unsure of what lay ahead for her boy.

Javier sat next to his Mom, looking at her intermittently during an interview at a relative’s house in Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown, where the Guyana Chronicle visited this week for an interview.She tried to hide the tears that had started to build up.

“I just didn’t know what

to do or what would happen,” Mrs Ferreira said. She grasped Javier’s hand, water settling in her eyes.

“He was just there in the hospital.

“Then a week later, we were told Javier would be going into surgery.”

Dr Mahadeo and his team decided that they would use something called a “bougie,” which they would use to intubate one side of lungs (placing a flexible plastic tube into the trachea, or windpipe, to maintain an open airway) and allow the other side to collapse, so the operation can take place to remove the tack.

The team was assisted by the visiting paediatric anaesthetic doctor from “Baby Heart” mission, which was a bonus.

With Javier in the operating theatre, his Mom waited patiently and then she began to panic. Javier was taken into the theatre at 09:00 hrs, and she was told the surgery would take about three to four hours. But that time had elapsed – one hour, two hours more. She kept thinking of all the prayers that were said from Javier – her own prayers and that of the school, his football team, the church, and Continued on page 13 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

Murder of Sophia mother

Baby-father charged Dead: Simone Hackett

Cleavaughn Hamilton at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court

GOLD miner Clevaughn Hamilton, called “Quarters”, who confessed to police that he killed the

mother of his child, Simone Hackett of “C” Field, Sophia, then dumped her body in a canal at Cum-

mings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, was remanded to prison on Friday by Sparendaam Magistrate Zamina Ally.

The 30-year-old father of two stands indicted for the murder of 25-year-old Simone Hackett, allegedly committed between April 16 and 19, 2016.

Hamilton, of Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara,

Kamarang boy recovering after tack...

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family and friends.

Inside the theatre, Dr Mahadeo and his team realised that they could not just extract the tack – they had to remove the lower lobe (the right lung has three lobes) on the right side of his lungs.

To do that, they had to do a mobilisation of the lungs to ensure that the other two lobes on the right side of the lung would expand to fit the chest - once the one with the tack was removed - in order for Javier to breathe properly.

And so, the original timeframe Javier’s Mom was given was going to take double the time. Of course, she had no way of knowing what was going on inside.

Then at 15: 45 hrs, after what seemed like an entire lifetime, Javier’s Mom was overjoyed at news that the surgery was successful.

Post-operatively, Javier did quite well and was discharged five days following the surgery.

“Javier is able to breathe easily, and in a month’s time he can go back to playing football,” Dr Mahadeo told the Guyana Chronicle.

As far as Dr Mahadeo was told, this kind of surgery was never previously done at the Georgetown Hospital.

In fact, he said less than two percent of humans who ingest a foreign object would need this kind of operation.

Dr Mahadeo is advocating the establishment of a Thoracic surgery department at the Georgetown Hospital, as this would more readily allow the hospital to respond to cases like Javier.

“I have been trying for the last three years to bring such a service to reality,” he said.

He said too that such a department could respond to the “endless amount of chest cases” in Guyana, and could lead to the early diagnoses of diseases, such as cancers, before they develop to a critical stage where they cannot be managed.

“I am very thankful for the residents, GMOs, Interns, Nurses,the anaesthesia team/ ICU, the ENT department and Dr Zilo, all who volunteered their kind assistance to the ground-breaking surgery.

“This is entirely new to Guyana, so the medical community is not familiar with the nature/extent of care these patients require, however, the above persons were enthusiastic and integral to the outcome.

“It’s never a one-person operation, every link is important,” Dr Mahadeo told the Guyana Chronicle.

Meanwhile, Javier is getting ready to fly back to Kamarang – eager to get back to football.

Unable to contain her

tears, Javier’s mother told us to include in anything written about Javier, a world of thanks for the medical teams who worked on her son.

“I would [like] to thank the nurses and the doctors who were so very kind to us throughout everything.

“I would like to thank Dr Mahadeo who was so, very, very kind to us.”

was not required to plead to the indictable charge, and was remanded to prison until May 18.

Represented by Attorney Patrice Henry during his court appearance, Hamilton alleged through his lawyer that he was beaten by inmates while in the holding cell at Sparendaam Police Station. And according to the lawyer, he was denied the right to see his client.

After the court appear-

ance, there was a confrontation between Hamilton’s relatives and family members of Hackett. Both sides were emotional as Hamilton was taken away by the police.

The mother of one was reported missing by relatives on April 17, after she had not returned the previous night from going to collect a package allegedly sent from Mahdia by Hamilton.

Investigators had ques-

tioned a bus driver and conductor who transported Hamilton to the city on Friday last, a day before Hackett went missing.

The report of the post-mortem performed on Hackett indicated that she died as a result of incised wounds to the neck.

Her body was discovered by two schoolboys on their way to school, and was positively identified by relatives.

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Project begins to create more opportunities in agri for youths

By Shirley Thomas AGRICULTURE Minister Noel Holder sees agriculture as having the potential to effectively tackle the near 40 per cent youth unemployment rate in Guyana, which is soaring 15% above other Caribbean countries; and the regional food import bill of US$4 billion.

“In tackling the high unemployment rate and other problems faced by Guyanese youths, a booming agricultural sector provides a ready opportunity,” Minister Holder said on Thursday as he delivered the feature address at a two-day Regional Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO/IFAD)-sponsored Participatory Workshop for

Some of those who participated in the workshop

Youths at the Carifesta Sports Complex Facility on Carifesta Avenue in Georgetown.

The theme of the workshop, which concluded on Friday, was “Strengthening decent rural employment opportunities for young women and men in the Caribbean.”

In this regard, the importance of Guyana’s agricultural industry cannot be overstated, he said, as the sector contributes significantly to the economy with 20% to GDP, 33% to employment and 40% to export earnings.

The objective of the workshop was to gather in-depth information from rural youth representatives from different organizations, groups and relevant sectors on the situation of rural youth; access opportunities and demands for employment, self-employment and other economic activities in Guyana. In short, it served to generate inputs that will allow characterizing the situation of youth in terms of decent rural employment, analyzing the constraints and opportunities.

This approach will pave the way for the preparation of a National Profile of Rural Employment and Youth in Guyana as part of the project activities under the regional project, FAO/IFAD Youth Focal Point, Christopher Ross said.

Noting that youth and development are tied together, and that young men and women form the grassroots of civil society network, Minister Holder said it is essential that youths be involved in the decision making process.

Some of the variables the minister identified as exacerbating the agriculture issues in the Caribbean include: ● The aging farmer population, ● Agriculture appears to be of little attraction to youths, and in some respect is unpopular, rigid and archaic ● Regional food imports replacing or displacing local agriculture food production to the extent that the regional

food import bill now stands at US$ 4 Billion.

Minister Holder posited that the development of agriculture is a potential avenue out of the economic downturn. At the same time, he addressed some of the issues alluded to.

Observing that for the industry to attain sustainability it must address the aging population, the Minister noted that, in Guyana, the average age at which persons take to farming is between 50 and 60 years. Hence it would appear that the farming population is gradually becoming less robust.

To this end, given the regional and local scenarios, Minister Holder is of the view that young people can bring the vigour, innovation, capability and skills needed to enhance agricultural resources in the sector.

He said that, under the project, our young farmers will gain access to not only grants, but also the agricultural knowledge and best practices accumulated across the Caribbean Region.

Minister Holder spoke about agriculture having become more scientific and technologically advanced, making the point that countries such as Guyana need to carry out more research and development to adapt to the growing competitiveness on the international market.

“This FAO/IFD project provides a timely opportunity, as agricultural knowledge and best practices accumulated across the Caribbean will be made available to our youths,” he assured.

The minister noted, too, that Guyana holds an agricultural system that is replete with opportunities, and he cited educational institutions such as the Guyana School of Agriculture, Port Mourant Apprentice Training Centre and the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Agriculture.

“We can accomplish much through support and Continued on page 15 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

Hindu Dharmic Sabha wants tough action to prevent crimes THE Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has expressed concern about criminal activity in the country and wants the government to take swift action to arrest the current situation.

The Sabha wants to see strong, comprehensive and ur-

gent action to protect citizens.

“The protection and security offered to citizens is ineffective and unsatisfactory,” the Sabha said in a statement.

According to the organisation, there needs to be more police patrols, faster police responses to calls reporting

crime, more police presence in crime-ridden areas through police outposts or huts with alert and well trained ranks.

“Police outposts should be functional and equipped with the resources to offer protection to communities.

“There is need for work-

Project begins to create... training, including scholarships in agriculture or business development skills,” he said, adding that agriculture must be viewed as a profitable business rather than purely for subsistence. Embracing this is key to revitalizing agriculture in Guyana and the CARICOM Region, he said.

The Participatory Workshop Project, he said, is just one of the many initiatives that the government has planned for the social and economic upliftment of young people.

“Young people are our future leaders, a

From page 14

future manpower resource that will continue to drive and propel our economy.

Young people are a big part of our plans, and this will remain so,” Minister Holder concluded.

Also addressing the participants at the workshop were: FAO Representative in Guyana, Mr. Reuben Robertson; and Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment, (OP), Mr. Aubrey Norton; Ms. Alda Berardinelli of PROCASUR Corporation presented an overview of the workshop.

ing emergency numbers and working telephones at police stations, as well as vehicles to get police to areas of crime.

“With the high crime rate, civil society and other stakeholders need to be advised of safety measures and [be] involved to come up with strategies to protect themselves and increase safety

in communities,” the Sabha stated.

The Sabha contended that persons are being “violated, murdered, robbed and harassed across the country by thieves and bandits and very little has been done to stem this tide.

“Young persons, the elderly, women and children

have not been spared; and more lives continue to be lost in these senseless killings and brutal acts of violence.”

The organisation noted that some crimes are unreported because of the loss of faith in the system, claiming that citizens are terrified and afraid to leave their homes.

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Gov’t meets with German Bank to finalize protected areas project A TEAM from a German Development Bank (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau - KfW) is currently in Guyana to finalize discussions that will launch Phase III of the Guyana Protected Areas Systems (GPAS) Project, which will significantly enhance some of Guyana’s most iconic protected areas.

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman met with the team on Wednesday, and discussions were had

between the two bodies. The areas identified are Kaieteur National Park, the Kanuku Mountain Range and Shell Beach.

While in Guyana, the team also plans to visit two of the three protected areas’ sites that will benefit from its support.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, this third phase will support Government’s efforts to create a more integrated environmen-

tal management system that recognizes and fosters the linkages between the PAC, Wildlife Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies of the ministry.

The Government of Germany, through the bank, will make funds available to expand the work of the Commission by supporting infrastructural development onsite at Shell Beach, Kaieteur Park and the Kanuku

Mountains.

It was noted that Germany and Guyana have enjoyed almost two decades of cooperation on GPAS initiatives, which have benefited the people of Guyana. Further, the ministry sought to highlight that both parties are now anxious to move this current partnership forward by the signing of an aide memoir.

The Protected Areas Act was passed in Parliament in 2011, and its accompanying legislation paved the way for establishment of the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) in 2012.

The PAC is responsible for protection and conservation of Guyana’s natural heritage and natural capital through the coordination and management of the National Protected Areas Sys-

tem (NPAS). This system, the ministry said, ensures effective protection and sustainable management of ecosystems within Guyana in a way that is self-sustained, transparent, decentralized, and managed through partnerships.

Under the NPAS, four areas of extraordinary biological value were designated legally protected areas: Kaieteur National Park, Shell Beach, the Kanuku Mountains, and the Iwokrama Centre for Rainforest Conservation.

During the meeting, the team expressed its satisfaction with the progress made to date, noting, “We are very positive about the good progress of the Government in advancing the field of environmental protection.”

Minister Trotman, on

behalf of the Government, expressed appreciation for the German Government and the bank’s support, despite shifting priorities and rapidly changing contexts in Europe.

“We really appreciate the fact that you have remained committed, because your priorities have changed, your challenges have changed, and your focus is on so many other things. We thank you very much for that commitment,” the Minister said.

Phases I and II of the project provided support for a number of activities, including sustainable livelihood projects in thirty Amerindian communities associated with three protected areas, and the establishment and development of infrastructure for the offices of the Protected Areas Commission (PAC).

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‘Throw back’ son who confessed to killing mother was constant abuser that,” another villager said.

This newspaper understands that the man had told police his mother was the victim of a slip-and-fall accident, but police did not believe him.

According to residents, after Madray’s husband

Dead: Cecilia Madray, called “Susie”

By Rabindra Rooplall The Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara man who allegedly beat his mother to death with a chair on Thursday night had years ago sold the house his mother lived in while they both occupied the property.

Terrence Mandray, 53, called “Throw back”, is in police custody after allegedly confessing to killing his 75-year-old mother, Cecilia Madray, called “Susie”.

Her body was discovered in a pool of blood on the floor of her Lot 2, Good Faith, Mahaicony, ECD home by members of the Community

The property that the septuagenarian and her son once shared

Policing Group (CPG) after neighbours had heard loud noises coming from the house.

The Guyana Chronicle understands that the bloodied body was discovered lifeless on a mattress covered with a mosquito net, and there was a gaping wound to the head.

A post-mortem examination performed on the remains of Madray on Friday revealed that she died from a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head. Blood was oozing from the ear.

While news of Madray’s death was shocking, it came as no surprise to many neigh-

Sunday, April 24, 2016 - 05:30 hrs Monday, April 25, 2016 - 05:00 hrs Tuesday, April 26, 2016 - 05:00 hrs

bours, who claimed she had faced abuse. In an interview with this publication, residents expressed disgust at not only the murder, but the rampant drug use that has become a scourge within the community.

“He is one of the most miserable creatures to come across when he drinks and smoke up the drugs. When he is sober he is okay, but when he get high is madness,” one woman disclosed.

Residents described the pensioner as a peaceful and easygoing woman who had lived under tremendous embarrassment because of her son’s activities.

One man explained that the property she lived in was sold by her son while they occupied the property.

“The man even beats his poor mother for money to support his drug-and-rum lifestyle. There must be a special place in hell for people like

died, she relocated to a foreign country to live with her daughter, who also passed away subsequently. Madray then returned to Guyana and lived with her son. She had been involved in an accident which had caused her to become bedridden.

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300 booths sold for GuyExpo 2016 ‒ potential exhibitors urged to apply early

A worker getting a tent ready for GuyExpo

The entrance to the Sophia Exhibition Centre, where GuyExpo will be held

By Navendra Seoraj WITH 300 booths already sold, potential exhibitors are being urged to apply early for remaining space, given that the date for GuyExpo 2016 is “around the corner.”

Being held under the theme “50 Years: Guyana means Business – Promoting Enterprise, Driving Productivity,” this year’s event is expected to be one of the largest events of its kind.

Coordinator of events, Tameca Singh, said 300 of the 400 booths have already been sold and preparations are moving apace. As such, she called on potential or interested exhibitors to apply early.

“Once these persons apply early, that is, before the end of April, we will be able to put that aspect aside and focus on meeting the demands of the exhibitors, and also other factors that could prove beneficial towards the run-off of the GuyExpo 2016,” she said.

Those who have already picked out their spots have already begun to mount poles, tents and other structures, so as to get everything in shape before May 12, when the Expo will begin.

During a visit to the site at the Sophia Exhibition Centre, the Guyana Chronicle saw workers mounting their structures, painting, and also engaging in other preparatory works.

Some of them explained that the work has been tough, but as long as they complete the external and physical work, they can begin to place more focus on the more technical aspects of their booths.

The coordinator of the event highlighted the fact that they have received applications for booths from local companies and also from

international companies from Indonesia, Chile, the USA and the United Kingdom.

“Preparations are going well and we are already set and ready for May 12 to the 15,” said Singh.

This event, as opposed to the Business Expo, provides an avenue for micro, small, medium and large enterprises to showcase what they have; and it also gives consumers a chance to browse through an array of services and products.

At the launch of GuyExpo 2016 recently, President David Granger underscored the importance of the event.

The President also said: “GuyExpo is placing more emphasis on the local manufacturing sector to help revitalise the economy, which has too long now, been dependent on the exportation of raw materials.”

Being one of the biggest commercial events, it opens the avenue for economic development and commercial exposure.

Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, at the opening ceremony in March also said that GUYEXPO 2016 is well aligned with the objectives of his ministry, as well as the economic development priorities of the government, and is designed to nurture and promote business growth and development in Guyana.

“One of the areas of focus for the Ministry of Business is on the development of micro and small enterprises.

This level of enterprise accounts for almost 30 percent of our country’s GDP and employs tens of thousands of people,” said Gaskin.

The minister said that many businesses have the capacity to develop beyond the small- business level and GUYEXPO presents the opportunities for this kind of growth.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Lloyd Doobay: Laluni farmer gro Irish potatoes and 61 other cro

By Navendra Seoraj

Lloyd Doobay examines one of his pepper trees

EXEMPLIFYING hard work and perseverance, farmer Lloyd Doobay, 51, has been employing innovative ways to stay in the agriculture business, in which he has been engaged for the past three decades.

Doobay carries on his farming business from the little community of Laluni, on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. Over the years, he has provided employment to persons within the community to keep up with his expanding variety of crops, now numbering over 62, with the latest addition being Irish potatoes. His main crops include cherries, peppers and eggplant.

Achieving such a feat did not come easy for the farmer. He started out as a security guard with the Guyana Stores Limited in 1983, but found the job could not provide for his growing family and their betterment. He needed to think of another means of earning an income to provide for his wife, Ram-

Cherry pickers at Doobay’s Laluni farm

dularie, and three children – one boy and two girls.

In 1985, Doobay moved his family to Laluni, where he started cultivating tobacco; then the industry collapsed. Battling poverty, Doobay resorted to operating a grocery shop, which gave him the entrepreneurial skills needed to progress further.

With the shop not doing as well as he had wanted, Doobay once more resorted to his passion – farming. He recruited a group of persons from the area and they began cultivating various crops on nearby land. However, as time went by, his human resources became depleted by the eventual exodus of persons, and the farmer was left with just about 61 different crops to manage by himself.

“Maintaining my produce was hard, but I never gave up because I loved what I was doing. I planted them with the help of good workers, and I won’t leave this place till the day I die. This is what allowed me to be who I am today, and send my children to

school,” the farmer confessed.

For over 30 years, he fought the bondage of poverty, and eventually got to where he is today. In that process, apart from creating betterment for his family and himself, he provided employment for neighbouring persons, especially youths who work along with him and his son, Ravi, on the farm.

Doobay is not just a prolific farmer, but is also an accomplished entrepreneur.

He is currently the main supplier of cherries to popular juicing factory “Topco”, and is also engaged in other commercial activities, thanks to his perseverance and patience.

Along with the help of his son Ravi, Doobay continues to work hard to produce more and develop his farm.

Currently, he is seeking major markets for his wide produce of the different varieties of pepper he has cultivated.

Doobay is currently involved in a ground-breaking experiment with the

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owing ops

Canadian non-profit organization World University Services of Canada (WUSC), cultivating Irish potatoes in Guyana. The farmer says he intends to be the largest producer of potatoes in the country, once the experiment is proven successful.

Other farmers were selected to grow Irish potatoes, but the dry weather curtailed their efforts.

Doobay, however, innovatively drilled a well next to his plot, from which he has been able to access enough water to supply his crops.

If all goes well, Doobay will be able to harvest approximately 17,000 pounds of potatoes in two months’ time.

Doobay’s Irish potato field

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

GRDB to penalise rice millers who owe farmers ‒ RPA supports actions

GRDB General Manager, Nizam Hassan

RPA General Secretary, Dharamkumar Seeraj

THE Guyana Rice Development Board (GRBD) has intensified pressure on rice millers who owe above five per cent of outstanding payment to farmers across the country.

Farmers have, for many years, complained bitterly about millers failing to pay farmers for paddy provided. As such, the GRDB has found it necessary to intensify its actions against those delinquent rice millers who, according to GRDB General Manager Nizam Hassan, have owed rice farmers since 2015.

The Rice Factories (Amendment) Act 2007 states: “the licensee’s total debt owed to producers shall not, at any given time, exceed five percent of the licensee’s gross turnover for the preceding calendar year ending on 31 December (inclusive of that date), unless the licensee notifies the Board in writing as soon as the total debt owed by the licensee to producers exceeds the level specified above, and gives the Board the reasons for this.

“Upon being notified, the Board gives the licensee written approval (subject to any conditions that the Board thinks fit) for that total debt to exceed that level for a specified period, not exceeding three months from the date of the approval; and at the end of the specified

period, the total debt owed by the licensee to producers (should) no longer exceed that level”.

Hassan, in a telephone interview, said the millers who owe in excess of five per cent payments will not have their 2016 operation licence.

Added to that, until the outstanding payments are made, millers who owe above five per cent will be banned from exporting their produce. This is intended to help rice farmers get their payments.

Farmers have, in the past, resorted to many measures, including protesting, in order to receive their money.

Farmers even explained that they had to employ other methods in order to gain a passive income. Some have even expressed anguish at having to lose their belongings because of failure to repay loans owed to banks.

This, they said, was because millers owed them, in some cases, millions of dollars for paddy they had provided the millers.

General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj, said he welcomes any action taken by the GRDB to assist farmers in getting paid.

Seeraj also said that farmers have been owed since early last year, hence it is time they receive payments owed to them

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 24, 2016

Miners plead for ‘genuine partnership’ with gov’t ‒ object to new policies without consultation THE Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Saturday indicated that they would like to see a “genuine partnership” with government as they resisted the implementation of new policies without consultation.

In a strongly worded statement, the association said that over the last couple of weeks, stakeholders in the gold and diamond-mining industry have felt blindsided as they were surprised by the “sudden, rushed and high-handed” implementation of several new policy decisions. They have requested a meeting with President David Granger to iron out the issues.

The GGDMA is complaining that VAT-exemption requests will no longer be considered for heavyduty earth- moving equipment for use in medium -scale mining; that there is a requirement to report annually on a “confidential basis” sensitive financial records regarding the operations on each Mining Permit; and the Ministry of Natural Resources’ recommendation to rescind all previously approved permission for access and egress via the river banks to access mining properties.

The body noted that these “ill-informed decisions” will significantly increase the burdens, costs and also make the management of mining operations more onerous.

Additionally, the association noted that this dire scenario of non-consultation and

“disregard” presently has stakeholders in the industry in a state of worry and stress.

According to the GGDMA, despite the campaign promises and commitments from the Government for waivers, tax concessions and other mechanisms designed to boost production in the industry, it has been unable to get anything beyond “lip service.”

“Now we are told even the conditions we historically enjoyed are to be taken away and we will have to pay even more to work in the industry.

The traditional waiver of taxes is now being taken away and we did not even get the courtesy of a consultation” they said in the statement.

In the 1990s, the use of heavy -duty equipment, particularly excavators, was added as an important tool to aid quantity and efficiency of mineral extraction. While full duties and taxes have always been paid on spare parts for these machines, once they have been utilised in the local mining industry, the removal of all duties and taxes on the new machine itself was enjoyed by legitimate miners, the association said.

Before the introduction of VAT, Consumption Tax, which VAT replaced, was waived for heavy- duty earth- moving equipment which are utilised in the mining industry at all scales of production.

Given the removal of the VAT waiver on all heavyduty equipment in the indus-

try, the additional cost that a miner will have to bear on each new excavator will be between M$4.5 to M$7 and in the case of bulldozers it will be significantly higher, GGDMA stated.

The body also noted that to date, not a single miner has benefited from any of the promised concessions on fuel and other items that were granted last year October for a period of six months to tax-compliant miners.

“Despite many tax-compliant miners submitting all the requested paperwork and the GGDMA following up and meeting with the representatives of the agencies responsible for administering the concessions, namely GGMC, GRA and GEA, nothing ever materialised during the stipulated time” GGDMA said.

Annual financial report As it is presently, the GGDMA is of the view that the majority of policies that govern the mining industry today were compiled without any consultation with representatives from the sector.

This, according to them, was the main impetus that lead former President Donald Ramotar to establish a ministerial committee to meet, consult and deliberate on revisions to the Mining Act and other related policies and regulations before the revised 2012 regulations were to take effect.

The main reason was to ensure applicability and practicality, GGDMA said, adding that the consultations

Four wanted in fraud probe THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) is seeking four persons in connection with a series of fraud allegedly committed on numerous persons.

The wanted persons are: Romanie Bowman; Floyd Primo, called “Wild Buck”; Marjorie Edinboro; and “Shane”.

Anyone with information leading to the arrest of these persons is asked to contact the police on the following telephone numbers: 225-6411; 225-8196; 226-9941, 226-1326, 911, or the nearest police station.

The GPF has said that all information will be treated with strict confidence.

Marjorie Edinboro is Romanie Bowman Shane, only name Floyd Primo, known of African is of East Indian given, is of African as “Wild Buck”, is of ancestry and lives at ancestry and lives ancestry and hails Amerindian ancestry Lot 70 Prince at Durban Street, from Soesdyke, East and lives at Durban William Street, Lodge, Georgetown Bank Demerara and Street, Lodge, Plaisance, East and Port Kaituma, Port Kaituma, North Georgetown Coast Demerara North West District West District

process on these matters were stymied and put on the back burner for numerous reasons. However, the association sought to once again reiterate to the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, that they would like to rekindle this process before any such dormant regulations are enforced.

Rescinding of permits GGDMA is contending that the decision taken by GGMC and the Ministry of Natural Resources to rescind all permissions that were granted to access and egress mining properties via the river banks is “harsh and unreasonable.”

The association reasoned that the only way it can fathom that such a move is sensible and justifiable is if all the operations previously given

permission were scrutinised and were all found to be in violation of the mining permission.

If this is not the case, then the GGDMA is contending that this “Peter pays for Paul and Paul pays for all” approach is very worrying and irregular. “Miners who are mining within the limits of the agreements should not be penalised for the actions of those who are in breach of the agreements,” they said.

“While we can appreciate GGMC’s desire to enforce the mining permissions/ agreements and to have compliance in the sector, we wish to reiterate that it should be done via a genuine private and public partnership, where there is consultation and education before action.

Transitioning the way the industry works and the manner in which miners operate cannot be done overnight, but it is a process that will take some time.”

The association also noted that if there is no genuine partnership, an unnecessary burden is placed on all the operators in the industry, and it is only natural that this will result in a growing distrust as operators continue to live in a state of fear and worry.

Further, as the lobbying body of the mining industry for over 30 years, the GGDMA reaffirmed that it stands ready to take the necessary action to protect the livelihoods of all legitimate Guyanese and other miners who have invested time, money and energy in the sector.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Spurs, Cavs cruise in NBA play-offs THE Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs moved a step closer to advancing in the NBA play-offs.The San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers took 3-0 leads in their respective NBA play-off series on Friday.

The Spurs rallied past the Memphis Grizzlies 96-87 at FedExForum to be on the verge of a sweep in the Western Conference first-round series.

Kawhi Leonard starred for the Spurs with a gamehigh 32 points.

Kawhi Leonard starred for the Spurs with a game-high 32 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Danny Green and Manu Ginobili contributed 11 points each, with the Spurs outscoring the hosts 26-16 in the fourth quarter.

Zach Randolph (20 points and 11 rebounds) and Matt Barnes (17 and 11) tried hard for the Grizzlies.

The Cavs are 3-0 up against the Detroit Pistons after a 101-91 victory in game three.

Kyrie Irving (26 points) led the way in terms of points, while LeBron James (20 points and 13 rebounds) and Kevin Love (20 and 12) had double-doubles.

The Pistons had a more even contribution with five players in double-digits, but they are set for an exit in the Eastern Conference.

The Boston Celtics pulled back to a 2-1 series deficit against the Atlanta Hawks courtesy of a 111-103 win.

Isaiah Thomas had 42 points to see the Celtics to their win at TD Garden.(Sportsmax.com)

Suarez makes history as Barca, Real, Atletico win

By Richard Martin BARCELONA (Reuters)-Luis Suarez became the first La Liga player to score four goals for the second game in a row as Barcelona, helped by three penalties in the second half, stayed top by hammering Sporting Gijon 6-0 yesterday.

Elsewhere, Gareth Bale made up for the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring twice as Real Madrid came back from two goals down to win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano while Atletico Madrid kept up their title hopes with a 1-0 home victory over Malaga.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone could be facing a three-game touchline ban after being sent off at halftime when a ball was thrown on to the pitch from the technical area.

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Inside

SIX OF THE BEST WHEN Carlos Braithwaite struck huge sixes against England’s Ben Stokes off the first four balls of the last over of the recent World T20 final, it understandably brought back memories of the other men who plundered sixes in an over in first-class and limited-overs cricket.

India’s Ravi Shastri and Yuvraj Singh together with South African’s Herschelle Gibbs have all hit their way into the record books, but the man that led the way was the West Indian Sir Gary Sobers who clobbered six super sixes for Nottinghamshire against Somerset in 1968.

Inside Edge shares a part of ‘Six of the Best’-one of the chapters of Sobers’s autobiography-in which he gave details of his involvement in English county cricket, his six-hitting and much more.

“I would have loved to go into county cricket before 1968, but I wasn’t going to spend two years qualify-

tickets home to Barbados and a car.

“Nottingham, Trent Bridge, suited me nicely because whenever I had played there I had found it to be a true batting wicket and I had scored a couple of double-centuries there for the West Indies.

“I was appointed captain, taking over from Norman Hill and, it was said, much to the disappointment of Brian Bolus who apparently expected the job. If he did, he never showed it and he was a fine example to everyone at the club.

“The season started extremely well and when we went to play Glamorgan at Swansea at the end of August, we were poised to finish fourth in the standings (from the bottom three for 10 of the last 11 seasons) if we beat them.

“The Welsh side were well placed and if they defeated us, they stood every chance of winning the title.

Gary Sobers-Six balls , six sixes ing and not playing for my country. If that rule had not applied, I would have played county cricket much earlier.

“I was playing for Norton in the Staffordshire league when the rule was changed and immediately county secretaries from several clubs came creeping round the back of the pavilion after games to inform me that the laws were going to be altered next season and that they would like me to play for them.

“The move to county cricket came a little later in my career than I would have liked. I was 31 and had played 14 solid years of cricket around the world, but the offer was a good one5000 Pounds Sterling per season with accommodation,

So the scene was set with everything to play for, not to mention several bottles of champagne.

“I went in when the score was about 300 for 5 and I played a few overs, looked up at the scoreboard and realised that we needed a few quick runs to get Glamorgan in if we were to try to bowl them out for a victory.

“The wicket, as usual, aided the spinners on the last day, but Bolus propped up the innings with a big hundred. With an hour to play I was on 40 and thought I should go for it and as a result, I became the first batsman in first-class cricket to hit six successive sixes in a six-ball over.

“The unlucky bowler was Malcolm Nash, a 23-year-old Welshman who

had opened the bowling with his medium-paced deliveries and was now bowling his left-arm overthe-wicket spin.

“As he prepared to bowl, I remembered the two versions of how to go about the proposed assault. Sir Everton Weekes used to tell me that if I kept the ball on the ground, no one could catch me, while Sir Learie Constantine preferred the alternative, saying if you hit it up in the air and out of the ground no one could catch it anyway.

“Obviously, if you want quick runs you have to make sure that you hit it over the boundary, but at this stage there were no thoughts of six sixes, just runs, and I was not even bothered whether I was out or not-all I was interested in was quick runs and a declaration.

“There was a fairly small boundary on the right-hand Gorse Lane side of the ground which, with Malcolm being a left-arm spinner who was not turning the ball a great deal, presented a perfect target.

“I tucked the first two over that short boundary without a problem and when he bowled the third one a little wider I dispatched it over wide mid-on. The fourth delivery I struck way over the bowler’s head and into the stand and it was only then that I even contemplated going for the six sixes.

“The crowd, although partisan Welsh, were caught up in the excitement and were chanting ‘six, six, six’ and then I thought that I should give it a go for there was nothing to lose.

“The fifth ball was wide of the off stump and although I connected well I didn’t middle it and there was a fielder Roger Davis, underneath it.

“He was furiously back-pedalling all the time and as he caught it everything went over the boundary. I started walking but the crowd shouted to me, “ You’re not out, get back, get back” and these were the Welsh fans but they didn’t want me to go….they were obviously enjoying themselves.

“The rules had recently been changed and I wasn’t exactly sure where I stood.

I stopped as the umpires converged and conferred and after a short while a six was signalled.

“The crowd hollered for murder and they and I began to think seriously about the possibility of being the first batsman in history to hit six sixes off an over in a first-

Edge

With Edwin Seeraj class match.

“As Tony Lewis, the Glamorgan skipper, spread his fielders all round the boundary with a preponderance on the leg side, all sorts of things were going through my mind.

“A no-ball or a wide would spoil it and make it difficult, because that would require a seventh ball while Nash would certainly not fancy becoming the first bowler to be on the wrong end of this particular record.

“I felt sure that he would try to deceive me; being a former fast bowler, he would run up as if to bowl another off-break and then bowl a straight, faster ball.

“Unfortunately for him, he obviously didn’t realise that we were both thinking along the same lines, and he pitched his quicker ball a little short. I was seeing it as big as a football by this time and I had one eye on the ball and the other on that short boundary.

“Even if I had a topedge it would have gone for six, but I caught it right in the middle of the bat and it not only cleared the boundary, but went over the stand as well, rolling down the hill towards Swansea town centre.

“When I hit the sixth six, the British Broadcasting Corporation’s television commentator Wilf Wooller shouted, “it’s gone, it’s gone, it’s gone over the houses, over the buses, it’s gone to the Guildhall, clean into Swansea.”

“A young man found the ball, battered and torn, still rolling down the street

and he dutifully returned it to Wilf the next day. It was mounted and sent to the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Museum.

“I might have gone on for the quickest hundred, but that wasn’t in the script and I quickly declared at the end

corner of his eye, I caught him smiling to himself and I politely asked him what he was smiling about.

“I want you to understand that I’m with you,’ he replied. “I don’t mind that I’m at the wrong end, I’m in the record books with you.”

Malcolm Nash, the bowler hit for six sixes by Garfield Sobers of the over. We bowled them out and went on to claim our fourth place, having played in all but two matches that season, sending down 773 overs taking 83 wickets and scoring a few runs.

“The television waited for our comments until the end of the day’s play and as Nash and I walked across the field from the dressing rooms towards the interview room together, out of the

“Nash has been regularly invited to sportsmen nights to talk about the six sixes from his perspective. Unfortunately, we had no nights or dinners like that in the West Indies, so Nash probably had the last laugh on me by making more money out of my record than I did!

“But when I see him now and tell him that he owes me some of that money, he just laughs.”

12-team dominoes tournament set for April 29 TWO major sporting activities have been planned as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Golden Jubilee programme by Entertainer and Sports Organiser, James ‘Uprising’ Lewis.

The two activities include the Inter Ministries/Special Invitational Knock Out 12 team dominoes tournament and the Big Super six overs knock out Tape Ball cricket competition, which would include ministries and agencies.

The dominoes tournament will be held

on April 29 on the lawns of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Protocol department from 16:30 hrs, while the cricket will be held on May 2 at the National Cultural Centre tarmac from 9:00hrs.

The sponsors include Ministers of government, Survival Supermarket, Action Tyre, R&R taxi service, Regal Stationery & Office supplies, Starcom office supplies, Star Party rentals, Mike’s office supplies and the Guyana Chronicle.

35

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Mustafizur, Warner help Hyderabad thump Kings XI DAVID Warner’s excellent Indian Premier League form continued as Sunrisers Hyderabad eased to a five-wicket victory over rock-bottom Kings XI Pun-

jab yesterday.

Having contributed unbeaten innings of 90 and 74 in the Sunrisers’ previous two matches, Australia batsman Warner thumped 59

from 31 balls on this occasion to help his team chase down 144 with ease.

While Warner’s typically belligerent knock, which featured seven fours

Delhi Daredevils extend winning streak DELHI Daredevils produced a fine all-round show to beat defending champions Mumbai Indians by 10 runs and extend their winning run in the ninth Indian Premier League, in New Delhi yesterday.

Young Sanju Samson (60) struck a fine half-century while JP Duminy made a brisk unbeaten 49 to help Daredevils post 164 for five after being asked to bat at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.

Defending the total, Daredevils dished out a disciplined bowling and fielding display to restrict Mumbai Indians to 154 for seven and register their third win on the trot.

Veteran Amit Mishra proved why he is regarded as the best leg-spinner of the country at present by returning with figures of 4-0-24-2, which included the important wickets of Ambati Rayudu and Jos Buttler.

Chasing 165, Mumbai lost Parthiv Patel early but skipper Rohit Sharma (64 off 47 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (25 off 23) added 53 runs for the second wicket to steady the innings.

While Rayudu played an aggressive knock, Rohit’s was an uncharacteristic innings as he preferred to play the second fiddle. Rayudu cracked four boundaries before he was cleaned up by a

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flighted googly from Mishra in the ninth over.

After Rayudu’s fall, Krunal Pandya came to bat and the youngster used his long handle to great

Player of the match Sanju Samson top-scored for Delhi Daredevils with 60 off 48 balls. effect to make a quickfire 36 off just 17 balls before he was caught short off the crease at the non-strikers end by a direct hit from Daredevils skipper Zaheer Khan off his own bowling.

Krunal struck four boundaries and two huge

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sixes and together with Rohit shared 41 runs for the third wicket. The way Krunal was going at one stage it looked Mumbai would finish off the match in quick time but his run out and Mishra’s brilliant spell in the middle overs turned the things in Daredevils favour. Mishra then foxed Butler with another googly to trap the batsman plumb in front of the wicket.

With Mumbai Indians needing 47 off the last four overs for a win, all hopes of the visitors were on the shoulders of their skipper Rohit and Kieron Pollard.

Rohit and Pollard then brought down the equation to 32 off the last two overs and the big-hitting West Indian raised the hopes of Mumbai Indians when he clobbered Zaheer over long-on boundary for a six.

But it was not to be Mumbai’s day as Pollard departed in the next ball when he miscued a shot only to give a simple catch to Chris Morris at sweeper cover.

Needing 21 off the last over, Rohit brought down the equation with a six off the second ball of Morris but he fell victim of an unnecessary mix up with Hardik Pandya in the very next ball while going for a double.

Thereafter, victory was a mere formality for Delhi and they wrapped up the match in style without any further fuss.

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Mustafizur Rahman returned figures of 2 for 9 in his four overs © BCCI

and three sixes, proved eye-catching, Mustafizur Rahman’s efforts with the ball were no less impressive.

The Bangladesh seamer enhanced his burgeoning reputation as one of the leading bowlers in limited-overs cricket by returning 2-9 from four overs – the most economical figures of this season’s IPL to date.

Hyderabad have now won three in a row after beginning the tournament with successive defeats, while the Kings XI remain rooted to the foot of the table with one victory from five outings.

Shaun Marsh, the Kings XI’s top scorer with 40, and Nikhil Naik (22) were the victims of Mustafizur, whose

off-cutters and yorkers caused no end of problems and Hyderabad were left with a modest target despite Axar Patel’s unbeaten 17-ball 36.

Warner then dominated an opening stand of 90 in 9.5 overs with Shikhar Dhawan (45) to effectively end the match as a contest.

The Kings XI removed Warner and Aditya Tare from successive deliveries, the latter run out following a mix-up with Dhawan, and again claimed two wickets in as many balls when Eoin Morgan (25) and Deepak Hooda (5) departed in the 17th over.

Yet the Sunrisers were still comfortable winners, making it home with 13 balls to spare.(Sportsmax. com)

36

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Glory Guys prove unstoppable as CDA tourney climaxes

By Frederick Halley TORONTO, Canada – Defending champions Glory Guys shrugged off a fierce

challenge from front-runners and newcomers East/ West to once again enter winner’s row when the Canadian Dominoes Associa-

tion (CDA) annual aggregate tournament climaxed recently at Fusion Bar & Restaurant, Scarborough, here.

By far the most consistent team in the tournament over the years, Glory Guys had to call on all their reserves with East/West taking the early lead, but failing to maintain the momentum towards the closing stages.

In the end, Glory Guys emerged winners with a commanding 2886 games with East/West having to settle for the first runner-up spot

and $60 (Can) respectively.

John Gonsalves of Titans copped the title for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards with seven, while the consistent Zakir Khan had six and there were five each for Robin Gowkarran and Alim.

Glory Guys skipper Ryan Chung shared the most loves (seven), with his teammate Seeram Singh and Demer-

move to assist him.

Khan also disclosed that the CDA has been able to assist an orphanage in Guyana over the last year, with several items being donated, while some 30 persons were also fed.

The humanitarian efforts also extended to a library in Malvern, Ontario, while a family in Scarborough was the recipient of a

Four of Glory Guys players, including skipper Ryan Chung, pose with their winnings. CDA president and organiser Zakir Khan is at far left. on 2864, Cougars third on 2814 and Better Hope fourth with 2810.

Of the other sides in the nine-team tournament, Essequibo ended with 2801, Demerara 2780, Young Blood 2773, Titans 2761 and Empire 2751.

Zakir Khan, who is also the long-standing president of the CDA and who represented Better Hope, emerged as the leading scorer with 533 games, earning $180 (Can) in the process while Rashinal (Glory Guys) finished second with 503, Bernard Thomas (Glory Guys) third with 498 and Duggie Bacchus (East/ West) fourth with 497. The second and third-place finishers took home $100 (Can)

ara’s Errol Budhoo finishing with six each. Chung collected $70 (Can) for his efforts.

Cash prizes totalling $5000 were handed out to all the participating teams with the winners collecting $1200; first runners-up $900; second runners-up $700 and third runners-up $570. All the other teams received $200 each. Several trophies were also up for grabs.

In a magnanimous gesture, Zakir Khan donated his winnings and an undisclosed sum to Empire’s Zane Cooman, who is in the process of furthering his academic studies. According to Khan, he’s very impressed with the youngster’s effort to upgrade his skills, hence the

refrigerator. Khan extended thanks to the players for making these ventures a reality.

However, Khan’s announcement that he was giving up the mantle as leader for the CDA was met with instant disapproval by the players, who all felt he has been doing an excellent job. Whether or not that decision will be reversed before the next season commences in October is unknown.

Glory Guys’ remarkable run of victories has increased to an amazing 11 out of 12 seasons. The only team to stop their unprecedented march were Cougars in the 2012-2013 season, when they finished second.

GTBA to stage three-day schoolboys competition THE Georgetown Tape Ball Cricket Academy (GTBA) will be staging a three- day school boys’ cricket as part of its Golden Jubilee celebration activities.

The competition will be played on April 30 and May 1 – 2 at the tarmac of the National Culture Centre from 9:00hrs.

The matches are being sponsored by

P&P Insurance Brokers Ltd, Good Wood Racing Service, E-Networks and Trophy Stall, Bourda Market. The competition is open to all school boy teams with free entry.

Team captains are asked to contact the organisers on telephone numbers: 613-0844, 666-5857.

37

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Rugby America North Man City go third, Newcastle (RAN) 15’s tournament … rally boosts survival hopes Guyana

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON, (Reuters)-Manchester City moved up to third in the Premier League yetserday while Newcastle United boosted their hopes of survival by coming back from two goals down at Liverpool to draw 2-2 and secure a precious point.

On an afternoon that reaped 19 goals from four matches, last season’s Player of the Year Eden Hazard finally opened his league account for the season with two in Chelsea’s 4-1 win at Bournemouth.

Manchester City’s bid for a top-three finish picked up extra momentum, a 4-0 demolition of Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium lifting them a point clear of fourth-placed Arsenal with 64 points from 35 matches.

Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho, 19, scored in the 64th and 74th minutes and was brought down for the penalty in the 43rd from which Sergio Aguero netted his 16th goal in as many

games in all competitions this year.

Fernando headed City’s opener from Jesus Navas’ 35th-minute corner.

Leaders Leicester City, who have 73 points from

side.

POSITIVE DOPE TEST The match was overshadowed by the news that Liverpool’s French defender Mamadou Sakho had failed

Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho, 19, scored in the 64th and 74th minutes.

34 games, host Swansea City today while Arsenal travel to third from bottom Sunderland. Second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, on 68, entertain West Bromwich Albion tomorrow.

Liverpool stayed seventh in the table after their 2-2 draw at Anfield which marked the return of former manager Rafa Benitez with a combative Newcastle

a dope test.

Benitez, who managed Liverpool for six years and won the Champions League with them in 2005 when they came back from 3-0 down against AC Milan to draw 3-3 and win on penalties, had another rollercoaster afternoon.

Daniel Sturridge put Liverpool ahead after 76 seconds and it was 2-0 on the half-

hour when Adam Lallana scored the second but Newcastle rallied after the break through Papiss Cisse and Jack Colback to clinch their first away point of 2016.

Second from bottom Newcastle are level on 30 points with Sunderland, who have two games in hand, and one behind Norwich City.

Aston Villa, who have already been relegated, lost 4-2 to visiting Southampton as they slumped to a 10th defeat in a row.

On the south coast, Chelsea took their revenge for a 1-0 home defeat in December by defeating Bournemouth in a closer contest than the scoreline suggested.

Hazard, who had not scored in the league for 29 games and 356 days, was on target in the 34th and 91st minutes.

Cesc Fabregas set up three of the goals, with Spain forward Pedro opening Chelsea’s account in the fifth minute and Brazil midfielder Willian notching their third.

Kenyan champion Kiprop wants jail terms for dopers

By Isaack Omulo NAIROBI, (Reuters)-Kenya’s threetimes world 1,500 meters champion Asbel Kiprop reiterated yesterday that athletes who fail dope tests should serve jail terms.

Commenting on the Anti-Doping Bill which was signed into law on Friday by the country’s President, Kiprop described it as a huge relief for clean athletes.

“I said two years ago in Doha that dopers should be jailed. I maintain that, although it should not be done retrogressively,” he told Reuters on Saturday at the Kenya Police Championships on the outskirts of the east African capital.

“I am a lucky athlete because this law has come during my time. Our (Kenya’s) name has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. From now on, dopers should serve jail terms.

But those already banned should just serve their sanctions,” he said.

Kenya is a traditional global powerhouse in middle and long distance running but about 40 of their athletes have failed dope test in the past four

years.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) gave Kenya a May 2 deadline

Asbel Kiprop of Kenya reacts after winning the men’s 1500 metres final during the 15th IAAF World Championships at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, August 30, 2015. (Reuters/Phil Noble) to put in place anti-doping systems which meet its demands.

Kiprop maintained his quest for an Olympic medal in Rio Games by tearing apart a strong field at the Police Championships.

“I am only 50 percent fit now. By the time of the (Olympic) Trials, I hope to be 70 or 80 percent, then I will be good to go,” he said.

“I will be running at the first Diamond League meeting in Doha in two weeks then at the Nike Meeting in Eugene, followed by Oslo and back to Kenya for the (Kenyan) Championships and Trials,” Kiprop told Reuters after winning the race in 3:40.50.

The world champion moved back and forth during the race and even had the luxury of slowing down on the home stretch before speeding past his strongest challenger, Abednego Chesebe, to win easily. Chesebe was second in 3:40.90.

“This is only April and I am happy with my shape. We still have a long way to go. By August when the Games start in Rio, I will be in a better shape. My aim is the Olympic final. Anything else will follow from there,” Kiprop said.

ruggers steam flying-fish 48-17

By Stephan Sookram A WELL-OILED green machine steamrolled their Barbadian opponents yesterday when Rugby America North 15’s action scrummed off at the National Park.

The locals wasted no time in “frying” the flying fish men, getting off to a pacey start thanks to the efforts of a successful penalty from former captain Ryan Gonzalves.

Avery Corbin’s and Rickford Cummings’s successful tries within minutes of each other then ensured that the Green side would assume a further gap at 13-0, before Gonzalves again moved the score to 15-0 with a conversion.

Barbados number 4 Anthony Faggiani would finally open his side’s account with a successful try.

That would not faze Guyana as Corbin returned again to power through the Bajan backline and take the score to 20-5, as the Guyanese used the full width of the pitch and the acceleration of their players to outclass the men from Barbados.

Another trifecta of conversions from Gonzalves and a try each from Dwayne Schroeder and Corbin’s ensured that Guyana ended the first half at a cruising distance of 36-5.

Upon the resumption, the Bajans made another deposit in the bank, thanks to Faggiani’s try again, but the Green Machine kept the pressure on,with Lancelot Adonis scoring a try and Gonzalves converting.

Jeren Clarke returned for the blue and yellow unit to score a try before Kevin Carter converted for the best scoring period of the Bajans’ attack, but that closed off the day for the visitors, who were at sea for Guyana’s pace.

The relaxed Guyanese unit by this time had the sense of victory as they began to craft together more plays as a nippy run down the right flank from Dane Parks ensured that Guyana upped their tally to 48-17, which would hold till the final whistle.

Speaking after the win, Coach Larry Adonis contended that the side worked well, adding, “Barbados put up a good fight at the start but then we started to break them down and started running up the score.”

Meanwhile, captain Richard Staglon contended that the unit played well under the circumstances, saying, “We executed very well. Right now we are at 80%. We had a couple of new guys coming in the middle. We were missing Claudius Butts and Theodore Henry in the centre.

“We wanted to attack up the middle and play a bit expansive and score some tries from there,” continued Staglon, who was humble in victory

38

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Exciting day expected for Boyce and Jefford Relay Festival SPECTATORS and participants alike can all expect a vibrant day of activities when they turn out today at the Police Sports Club ground for the inaugural hosting of the Boyce and Jefford’s Relay Festival and Family Fun Day. While many will be looking out for the relay competition which includes 10 male and female relays, with the day including a mixture of track, softball, football and domino competitions, along with family activities, there seems sure to be something for everyone who turns out today.

“It will be a day of excitement, thrills and keen competition. All the clubs will be going after the cash prizes, so that in itself will be something exciting, “ Chairman of the Boyce and Jefford committee, Colin Boyce, declared yesterday.

Approximately seven teams, including the Guyana Police Force and Guyana

Defence Force are set to take part in the relays, which carries $20000 for the winning team, $12000 for second place and another $8000 for third.

At least nine teams have been confirmed for the fivea-side football competition, which is being sponsored

by Xtra Energy and Extra Orange Drink for a firstplace prize of $50000. A $25000 prize is set for the second-place finishers.

Teams set to participate include the Police, Agricola, Rich Boys, Wartsila, Brazilians, Customs Barbershop, Sparta Boss, and West Front among others.

In the softball competition, things are expected to be particularly interesting with the inclusion of Guyana and West Indies all-rounder Christopher Barnwell, as well as Lennox Cush playing for the Boyce/Jefford XI, who will take on the Trophy Stall XI. Meanwhile, rumour also has it that Ramnaresh

Sarwan may also make an appearance, though his par-

The Guyana Defence Force’s Natrena Hooper (left) collects the baton ahead of Police’s Jevina Sampson at the Joint Services competition last year. The two teams are expected to clash today at the Police Sports Club Ground again.

Notable Dates KENNY Bristol won his 15th professional fight when he out- boxed Jamaican Michael Dewar on April 24, 1982 in Port au Prince, Haiti. The gangly Guyanese junior middleweight was ahead on all the judges score cards when the 10-round contest came to an end.

Dewar (22) was eight years Bristol’s junior and suffered his first defeat in 17 fights. Bristol, a southpaw, was born on March 9,

1952. He ascended to the professional community in October 1976.

On December 3, 1978 he won a hard-fought unanimous points victory over Reggie Ford to remain undefeated in eight bouts. In June 1979, Bristol became the only Guyanese to win a Commonwealth title at home when he out-pointed Pat Thomas, who was born in St Kitts and Nevis.

Bristol received the first blemish when he met Ca-

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday April 24, 2016) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & AUDREY’S TASTY SNACKETTE-176 Charlotte Street, Georgetown (Tel: 226-4512)

Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

(1) Delhi Daredevils (2) Rising Pune Supergiants

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Which team won the 2009 IPL title?

(2) Who were the losing finalist in the 2009 IPL?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

ticipation is not yet confirmed.

And that’s only for the male side. In the female softball competition, patrons can expect to see the performance of female West Indies World Cup Champions Shemaine Campbell and Tremayne Smartt. However, this time the two will be pitted against each other, with Campbell playing for Mike’s Well Woman and Smartt playing for the Trophy Stall Angels.

The winner of the female softball competition will pocket $50000, and a trophy, while the runner up gets $25000. There will also be prizes for the “Best Batter” and “Best Bowler” for both of the teams.

The domino competition is set to go down with over 20 teams participating.

The day’s competitive activities are expected to kickstart at 10am, with the football preliminary matches.

The relays are expected to start off around 1pm, and run intermittently with the other

events. The dominoes and softball will begin at 2pmand run concurrently.

No doubt saving the best for last, the day’s activities are expected to end with the 4x400m relays, which is expected to carry fierce rivalry, especially from the GDF and GPF camps. Adding some excitement to the mix will be the inclusion of University of Guyana team, which recently returned from participating in Jamaica and also copped a number of wins at last week’s Jubilee Relay Festival at the National Track and Field Centre.

Another feature of the day is the $1M grudge 100m race between Colin ‘Poison’ Boston from Big Boss Trucking Service and Cadogan of Dynasty. Each participant has lodged $500,000 for the $1M winner take all purse to settle an age-old score.

Other family fun activities for the day include trampolines and bouncy castles.

Shemar Britton is more than table tennis

By Daniel Haynes

KENNY BRISTOL nadian southpaw Wayne Caplette on May, 1981.

After battling the Canadian in his home town of Manitoba, the Guyanese was adjudged the loser by Split Decision.

His attempt to make amends five months later ended in a disqualification in the fourth round.

Bristol would go on to achieve a record of 20 fights with 15 victories from an eight year career.

He remains one of the best junior middleweight products from Guyana.

IT is impossible to talk about table tennis in Guyana without mentioning the name Shemar Britton in the conversation. At the age of 17, the 2013 Guyanese junior sportsman of the year has the world as his oyster.

Shemar Ronaldo Britton was born on July 13, 1998 and is the older of two children. He started playing table tennis at the age of 9 as just another sport in the Physical Education Class at Mae’s Primary.

However, his interest in the sport extended far beyond the boundaries of his P.E class. From the time he picked up the racquet to this present time he has dominated.

According to Britton, his most notable moments came at the age of 14 when he was the 2013 Guyanese Junior Sportsman of the Year . He also said that in the same year he became the youngest ever Guyanese men’s champion. In the year 2014 he became the first

Guyanese to win the men’s Super Bowl table tennis title

SHEMAR BRITTON in Trinidad and Tobago Despite being the table tennis genius that he is, his time is not dominated by the sport he loves. He is an avid football player and an especially good one, having represented both his former school Queen’s

College and his current school Bishops’ High. He is also equally dedicated to his studies and is currently preparing for the CAPE examinations.

“I understand that CAPE is on another level, but I’m looking to do even better than I did at CSEC,” said Britton. For the record, his CSEC grades were excellent.

He procured eight grade ones and three grade twos from the 11 subjects he wrote.

When asked what drives his success and his life, he laughed, saying: “I’m driven by the fear of being average.

It’s why I push myself so hard… when the chips fall, people must never be able to say that about me.”

Britton recently returned from The Dominican Republic where he got a bronze medal in the singles 18 and under category and a silver medal in the doubles 18 and under category. He is currently preparing for the Pan-American Junior Championships, which he will attend after CAPE.

39

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, April 24, 2016

Demerara grab Hand-in-Hand title after Renee’s 99 - Yadram smashes 177 against Berbice

By Rajiv Bisnauth MAN-of-the-Match Ronaldo Renee fell one run short of a century, but his effort was enough as Demerara pocketed vital first-innings points over Essequibo at the end of the third and final round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) sponsored Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company Under-19 three-day cricket tournament yesterday at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground.

Despite the drawn encounter, Demerara finished the tournament on top of the points standing to claim the three-day title.

Renne’s 99 was the highlight of Demerara’s first innings total of 240, although left-arm spinner Akenie Adams produced three mesmerising spells, taking 6-87.

The in-form Renee occupied the crease for 197 minutes, faced 207 balls and reached the boundary on eight occasions.

The right-hander was dropped on 92 by wicket-keeper Nathan Persaud, but apart from that blemish, he batted responsibly and held the innings together.

Resuming on 16 without loss, still 182 runs behind Essequibo’s first innings, Demerara openers Renee and Raymond Perez weathered the storm perfectly, with both putting on an opening stand of 73.

But Adams and off-spinner Looknauth Chinkoo took two vital scalps each to leave the host battling for the crucial first-innings points at the end of the first session.

Renee comfortably outscored Perez in the opening stand

WDFA senior league to kick start today THE West Demerara Football Association’s (WDFA) Stag Beer senior league will kick start today at the Den Amstel ground, West Coast Demerara with a double -header starting at 16:00hrs.

According to a release, 11 clubs will be a part of the tournament and they are; Pouderoyen, Wales United, Den Amstel, Beavers, Young Achievers, Stewartville, Golden Warriors, Eagles, Jetty Gunners and Uitvlugt along with new comers Vegac of Vergenoegen.

The top four teams will receive trophies, and medals, compliments of Ansa McAl whose brands manager Lindon Henry last week presented the sponsorship cheque to WDFA’s president Orin Ferreira in the presence of the association’s vice president Christine Smith.

Henry noted that Ansa McAl is pleased to be associated with the tournament and its continued partnership and development of sports in the association.

Ferreira, on behalf of the club and its executives, expressed his gratitude to Henry and Ansa McAl for their unwavering support and pointed out that the Ansa McAl company have also been sponsoring the annual Derrick Josiah Memorial tournament as well as the annual Super 16 KnockOut tournament which also involves teams from the East bank and East Coast of Demerara.

Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) president Wayne Forde is expected to be on hand for the march past of teams and the official opening ceremony.

All matches in the WDFA Stag League tournament will be played atb the Den Amstel ground.

Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company representative, Mikhail DaSilva hands over the Man-of-the-Match trophy to Ronaldo Renee. before the latter was trapped leg before wicket to Adams for 23.

Chinkoo then removed both Sherfane Rutherford (15) and

Romain Muniram (3) to leave Demerara at 96-3.

Shell-shocked by the setbacks, Demerara resorted to defensive play, consolidating themselves through Renee and skipper Travis Persaud.

The fourth-wicket pair added 39 before Persaud was stumped off Adams for 18.

However, the right-hander Renee stuck to the task commendably and was a model of concentration and application as he battled through the first session to be unbeaten on 52.

Soon after, Demerara’s innings was plunged into further trouble with the loss of Gavin Boodwah (3) and Malcom Hubbard (4), in the post-lunch session, at 162-6.

Renee, meanwhile, was calmly building his innings, and in company with Ronaldo Alimohamed, the duo shared a determined seventh-wicket stand of 42 which eventually took Demerara over the first-innings barrier.

However, Adams removed Renee and soon after completed his five-wicket haul when he removed Ramnarine Chatura for 10.

Ali Mohamed made a stubborn 35 before he was dismissed by Chinkoo (3-43). Adams continued his classical exhibition of left-arm spin bowling to claim the final wicket of Keshram Seyhodan.

With a first-innings deficit of 43 runs, Essequibo reached 66-1. Mark Williams was the batsman dismissed for 42. Nathan Persaud was unbeaten on 19 when play ended.

Meanwhile, Bhaskar Yadram slammed a stroke-filled 177 against Berbice in the other final-round game played at Wales.

Replying to Berbice’s first innings 73, the Select Under-17 team batted the entire final day before they were eventually bowled out for 327 within the final hour of the day’s play.

The one-day version of the tournament bowls off tomorrow.

GABA holds final camp for schoolboys

Jamaican boxers Joshua Forrest Davidson (at left) and Daniel Hylton THE Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) will this afternoon wrap up its final two-day training camp for schoolboys and juniors.

The camp is the third of its kind and is part of the fine-tuning process ahead of this weekend’s International Schoolboys and Juniors tournament at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

A total of 36 young boxers from around the country turned up at yesterday’s session at the Andrew `Six Head’ Lewis gym. The session was conducted by AIBA Three Star coach Sebert Blake with assistance from

GABA Technical Director Terrence Poole, Clifton Moore and Orland Rogers Today, the pugilists drawn from the Essequibo Gym, Forgotten Youth Foundation, Harpy Eagles, Pocket Rocket and Rose Hall Jammers of Berbice, are expected to have sessions at the National Gymnasium and Andrew Lewis gym. The camp is being held to prepare the locals for the expected Caribbean invasion.

The international tournament to be held on Friday and Saturday has attracted the attention of Barbados, Jamaica and St Lucia, all

of whom have confirmed participation. The Jamaican team is scheduled to arrive on Thursday.

The team includes two boxers and one coach, but GABA president Steve Ninvalle disclosed that the island is seeking to send one more fighter. Joshua Forrest Davidson (69 kg) and Daniel Hylton (60 kg) would be battling for the Land of Wood and Water during the twoday tournament with Robert Napier as the coach.

Hylton was in Guyana last November to compete in the Caribbean Development Tournament. He beat local Christopher Moore

in his first fight, but later lost to Trinidadian Justin Parris.

St Lucia has confirmed a team of four that would be led by light welterweight Nathan Ferrari. Lightweight Kareem Boyce and welterweight Taj Brown are the other fighters on the team.

Ferrari was named St Lucia’s Best Junior Boxer of 2015 and would be paying his second visit to Guyana.

This weekend’s tournament is the first of its kind in the Caribbean and was organised following a regional call more attention to be paid to the nursery of the sport.

Demerara grab Hand-in-Hand title after Renee’s 99 see story on page 39

Rugby America North (RAN) 15’s tournament …

Guyana ruggers steam flying-fish 48-17 see story on page 37

The victorious Guyana team celebrate after ‘frying’ Barbados 48-17 at the National Park (Delano Williams photos)

A Barbadian player trying to hold on to Guyana’s Lancelot Adonis summed up the touring side’s performance at the National Park yesterday.

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Exciting day expected for Boyce and Jefford Relay Festival

see story on page 30 SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2016