Guuyana chronicle e paper 03 18 2018

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SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018

No. 105217

Price: $140

60/40 split in profit (VAT Inclusive)

– in favour of Guyana should Tullow and Eco (Atlantic) strike oil here O3 PAGE

These children of Starters Nursery School stole the spotlight at the school’s first Easter themed Hat Show and Egg Hunt at the Promenade Gardens on Saturday (Adrian Narine photo)

GGMC closes illegal shops at Puruni

Blindness not end of the road

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National conversation Laluni farmers switching to to address health issues permanent crops PAGE

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

Laluni farmers switching to permanent crops Story and photos

by Alva Solomon

IT is Saturday afternoon and Sarojinie Persaud and

her husband are trying to fix their irrigation system to allow water onto their farm at Laluni off the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

Persaud , fondly called “Radha,” is not only concerned about the changing weather patterns, but a transition she and her family are making

A variety of sorrel, which is almost ready for picking, at a farm in the area. Some farmers also cultivate the “black sorrel”, another variety of the plant

from investing time, money and energy in permanent crops, which the matriarch of the family noted, is in demand these days against cash crops.

Persaud has been a farmer for decades, since her teenage years she said and these days, the farmland is being prepared to brace for an expected dry-weather patch.

Several days ago, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Hydromet Office issued a call for residents to conserve water as Guyana begins the transition into the secondary dry season.

It is necessary for residents, especially farmers, to conserve water during this period, the authorities implored.

Ironically, overcast conditions developed over Laluni within minutes of the visit to the Persauds, even as her husband walked the length of the acres of land, checking the pipes as he investigated why the water was not finding its way to the plants.

“I fixed the pump only yesterday, so must be another problem,” he said, as he called

out to Radha to check on a patch of corn the family had planted a few weeks back.

The mother of four children noted during a tour of a section of the family’s farm, that she has sectioned–off her lands to her children and each has his/her own plots which are also actively under cultivation.

On her patch, Persaud has planted a range of permanent crops, including red beans, two varieties of seime, sorrel, sweet corn, oranges, and cherries, among others.

She said the corn would be ready for harvesting in another three –four weeks and there

mencement of agriculture at Laluni, were planted nearby as the Persauds remind themselves of how they started farming in the area.

Farther up the road, Edward Henry was awaiting the growth of his peppers at a small nursery he has erected, as he too prepares for the dry weather.

Back in February of 2016, when the country was hit by the El Nino dry-weather phenomenon, this newspaper visited Henry’s farm and at the time the farmer, like others, was experiencing difficulties accessing water.

Over the weekend, he ap-

Sweet corn plants on Sarojinie Persaud’s farm

is already a market for the product.

In addition, Persaud pointed to a group of “tiger teeth” pepper plants, which she noted will be picked soon, and according to her, while markets for the permanent crops are there, the cash-crops seem to be taking a beating.

As such, she said the family has planted less bora, calaloo, celery and cabbage, to name a few. She said all farmers in the area are making the transition and this was evident as this newspaper travelled through each of the four sections of Laluni.

Persaud noted however, that while she is moving on from the cash crops, at the moment she is experimenting with several non-traditional crops. These include parsley and purple cabbage and the plants were cultivated under a shade-house, which the family erected with help from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).

She said her daughter is also grooming a patch of cauliflower plants on a plot aback hers, and according to the woman, the plants are responding well to the soil.

RESPONDING WELL She said the plants at the shade-house have been responding well to the land, noting that no fertiliser has been utilised in the growth process thus far.

Two tobacco plants, which are synonymous with the com-

peared in brighter spirits as he explained that the rains have been intermittent in recent weeks, and according to him, it is a sign that there will be a change in the weather patterns.

“I am hoping it isn’t anything serious,” he said of the expected dry weather.

Henry, who is the son of Vincent Henry, the founder of Laluni, noted that his son has a plot of land adjacent to his and he too is preparing to invest in permanent crops.

During checks with other farmers, it was observed that most have invested in water systems at the farmlands, a network which is connected to nearby creeks; and while the weather may change, the residents appeared to have their plans in working order as regards water sources.

Farming at Laluni became popular when the Demerara Tobacco Company (Demtoco) ceased cultivating tobacco there in the early 1990s.

The population has since increased and the villagers find a readily available market in the capital city, at the Stabroek Market on Friday nights through the weekend.

Some are also lucky to market their entire truck or busload to vendors at the city’s largest market.

While access to markets is not an issue, better prices for goods have always been a concern for farmers in the area; but planting and reaping will not cease anytime soon at the self-sufficient community of Laluni.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

60/40 split in profit

– in favour of Guyana should Tullow and Eco (Atlantic) strike oil here

A PRODUCTION-Sharing Agreement (PSA) inked between the Government of Guyana, Tullow Guyana B.V and Eco (Atlantic) Guyana Inc. indicates that the country could benefit from as much as 60 per cent in oil profit, including a one per cent royalty, once the companies commence pumping for oil in the Orinduik Block.

Tullow Oil, parent company of Tullow Guyana B.V. is a leading independent oil and gas exploration and production company, which has interests in 90 exploration and production licences across 16 countries that are in West Africa, East Africa and ‘New Ventures’, which includes Guyana and

French Guiana.

Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Inc. is a small independent international oil and gas exploration company based in Toronto, Canada.

It has a 40 per cent interest in the Orinduik Block while Tullow Oil has 60 per cent.

According to the Petroleum Contract, which was signed on January 14, 2016, once the recoverable costs have been satisfied, the profit will be shared between the government and the contractor for each field, based on an established system. This could see Guyana receiving a profit share as high as 60 per cent and as low as 50 per cent.

“The balance of crude oil and/ or natural gas available in any month after

recoverable contract costs have been satisfied to the extent aforesaid (hereinafter referred to as “Profit Oil” and or “Profit Gas’ as the case may be) shall be shared between the government and the contractor for each field…,” Article 11:04 of the Petroleum Agreement states.

For the first 25,000 barrels of oil, Guyana is in line to receive a profit of 50 per cent. For the next 25,000 barrels, the country’s profit would increase to 52.5 per cent and 55 per cent for the next 15,000 barrels. For the subsequent batch of 15,000 barrels of oil, Guyana would benefit from a 57.5 per cent profit and 60 per cent profit for more than 80, 000 barrels of oil. The profit

will be shared between the government and contractor on a monthly basis.

According to Article 15:06 of the Petroleum Agreement, a one per cent royalty is included in the government’s share of profit. “The government’s share of profit oil specified in Article 11 includes royalty payable by the contractor at the rate of one per cent of crude oil produced and sold, and delivery to the minister, pursuant to Article 14 of his share of profit oil equivalent to royalty shall constitute payment of such royalty in kind,” the agreement states.

The agreement also provides for associated gas produced from an oil field within the contract area to

be used for the purposes of the operations of production and production enhancement of oil fields, such as gas injection, gas lifting and power generation.

3D seismic operations in the Orinduik Block were completed early September 2017, and according to the Natural Resources Ministry, processing and subsequent interpretation will follow with the possibility of drilling in 2019.

“Both companies are very optimistic about the prospects for recoverable petroleum in the Orinduik Block,” the ministry said in a statement.

It was noted too that the terms of the contract are the same as those for Esso (Exploration and Production)

Guyana Limited and partners Hess and CNOOCN. The Natural Resources Ministry released the Petroleum Agreement the Government signed with Tullow Guyana B.V and Eco (Atlantic) Guyana Inc. in keeping with its commitment to release major contracts between the government and companies in the extractive industries sector.

In the interest of transparency, it said, it will continue to make Petroleum Agreements available to the public. Contracts entered into with ExxonMobil and its joint venture partners, Ratio Guyana Inc. and CGX Energy have already been released and on the ministry’s website.

Patterson refutes claims businessman was snubbed – says his wind-energy proposal, though well received, needs careful thought

By Navendra Seoraj MINISTER of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson has expressed disappointment in businessman, Haresh Narine “Chinee” Sugrim’s claim that the government did not respond to his request to supply power to the national grid with his wind turbine.

Patterson, by way of a letter, has indicated that aside from written correspondences he had even met Sugrim last February and agreed to discuss with the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) the possi-

bility of accommodating the request, even on the basis of a pilot project.

He, however, said that it was agreed internally to await the arrival of the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company to have his input on the matter.

In a letter purportedly penned by Ras Leon Saul, management of the Classic International Hotel, which is owned by Sugrim, has virtually accused the government of not only scutlling its plans to generate its own electricity, but also putting a damper on its enthusiasm about the

The wind turbine that has been set up at Line Path, Skeldon, in Berbice and is expected to be commissioned this month (Adrian Narine photo)

administration’s quest to go ‘green’.

The letter was published in the March 14, 2018 edition of both the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, under the headlines “Delay in permission…Berbice hotel threatens to dismantle wind turbine, ship it back to India” and “Government has not responded to offer to supply national grid from wind turbine” respectively.

Management of the $1B five-star Classic International Hotel, which was officially opened last April, reportedly had plans of investing in a

wind turbine to cut back on energy costs.

Said the hotel in one of its missives: “Commendable is the national objective of creating and utilising alternative sources of energy. As such, we are very perturbed and dismayed that we have not yet received a response to our offer to the government for the supply to the national grid from our 250 KVA wind turbine set at Skeldon, Corriverton, Berbice.”

The hotel is claiming that correspondence to that effect was sent to Minister Patterson, officials of the Guyana

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson

Power and Light Inc (GPL) in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and other Turn to page 13 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE March 18, 2018

‘Don’t arm teachers’ –– survivors of Florida shooting plead

STUDENTS who survived the Florida school shooting have strongly rejected the idea of arming teachers.

Suzanna Barna, a pupil from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 died in a gun attack last month, told an education conference: “More guns is not the answer.”

A fellow student, Kevin Trejos, said arming teachers would mean extra risk, and a greater chance of accidents.

President Donald Trump has said armed teachers could quickly stop attacks.

On Wednesday, students across the United States staged a walkout from classes, in a commemoration marking one month since the attack.

There were calls for action to prevent further gun violence, but President Trump has suggested that arming school staff could provide greater safety.

“We’ve spoken to the teachers at our school, and none of them think it’s a good idea,” said Lewis Mizen, a student at the school in Parkland, Florida.

“The universal message, from anyone

with any commonsense, is that no-one wants this,” he told the Global Education and Skills Forum.

“It completely changes the environment in which education is given. I for one wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing my teachers were carrying around guns.”

‘EMPTY DESKS’ Originally from Coventry in the UK, Mr Mizen said, “Playing videogames was my only experience of guns.

“The idea that teachers would have to put their lives on the line for their students, isn’t something that really comes into consideration in England.”

“Teachers shouldn’t be the first line of defence from a rampant gunman on campus,” he told the conference in Dubai, which will see the award of the Global Teacher Prize today.

He promised that the campaign over gun control would continue beyond the current wave of protests.

Mr Trejos told the conference: “Every single gun poses greater risk.”

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High students during a walkout staged at their school on Wednesday He warned that if teachers had firearms in schools, there could be accidents, or guns could be seized or stolen, adding to the danger rather than reducing it.

In the wake of the shootings, Ms Barna said it was still hard to “acknowledge the reality of what happened”.

The “hardest day”, she said, was “going back to see the empty desks”.

TRACKING ATTACKS An education project in the US has

been tracking school shootings, in an attempt to stop people becoming “desensitised” to such attacks.

So far there have been 69 people killed or injured in school shootings since January, according to the Education Week tracker.

There have been two more firearm incidents in schools since the attack in Parkland.

The most recent, in California this week, saw injuries to three students caused by an accident during a gun safety lesson.

(BBC)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE March 18, 2018

Port of Spain in danger of sinking – seismologist warns

JUST before 11 pm on Thursday, shaken residents in the northern part of the island took to social media to alert friends and family with a ubiquitous, “Earthquake” update.

The tremor lasted, according to some, about a minute. The UWI Seismic Research Centre quickly responded with its own Facebook update that an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale, did indeed occur at 10:49pm, 75 kilometres west-northwest of Port of Spain, in the Caribbean Sea, just off the coast of Venezuela.

Earlier that day, Seismologist Dr Ilias Papadopoulos, a Research Fellow in Engineering Seismology at the Centre, had given a presentation to members of the Port of Spain Central Rotary Club about the risk of earthquakes to TT. The country, he noted, is located at the convergence of three tectonic plates— the Caribbean, North American and South American— part of the earth’s rocky crust that glide over the mantle, the second layer of molten rock.

Trinidad, in particular, is split in two, with half the

country part of the North American plate, and the next part of the South American— demarcated by the Central Range.

The country gets 2,200 earthquakes a year— ten to 15 a day—but most are so small that only the most sensitive scientific instruments are able to pick them up.

The recent activity caused

by Grenada’s underwater volcano, Kick ‘Em Jenny, has brought that up to about 50 to 70 per day.

While most destruction caused by earthquakes is because of poor construction, Papadopolous said the biggest risk to Trinidad—or rather, Port of Spain—is liquefaction.

Liquefaction, as the

name suggests, is when a solid behaves like a liquid when under stress—for example, land that is waterlogged is shaken during an earthquake. This can cause buildings or other material to sink into the ground, and when the stress is removed, that is, the shaking stops, stay there, stuck because the earth has returned to its solid state.

“Port of Spain is in grave danger, because the water in the subsurface is shallow; you only have to dig a metre down to find water,” Papadopolous said.

Luckily, despite another aftershock Friday afternoon at about 2pm, the city still stands. (T&TNewsday)

PAHO puts Caribbean on measles alert WASHINGTON, CMC –The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) is urging Caribbean countries to redouble efforts to vaccinate their populations in the wake of ongoing measles outbreaks in the Americas.

PAHO is also urging the countries to strengthen surveillance to detect possible patients, and implement measures to quickly respond to any suspected cases.

In an epidemiological update released here on Friday, PAHO said that while measles was declared eliminated from the Americas in 2016, following the declaration of rubella and CRS elimination in 2015, “the highly contagious nature of the measles virus and the fact that both it and the rubella virus continue to circulate in the rest of the world mean that the region is at risk of outbreaks.”

PAHO said the region was the first in the world to have eliminated all three

diseases, culminating a 22year effort involving mass vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella throughout the Americas.

In the first months of 2018, PAHO said there were several countries in the region reporting confirmed cases including Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Venezuela.

It said so far this year, there have been 159 cases.

The epidemiological update said that, in 2017, four countries in the region of the Americas reported confirmed cases of measles and that cases of measles in the European region quadrupled in that year, “which increases the risk of imported cases to countries in the Americas.”

PAHO said it has been alerting countries of this situation since May 2017, and through successive epidemiological updates.

In light of this situation, PAHO has recommended that Caribbean and other countries vaccinate to

maintain 95 per cent “homogeneous coverage with the first and second doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in all municipalities.”

It also urged regional countries to strengthen epidemiological surveillance in public and private health services to detect suspected cases; and “respond quickly when an imported measles case is detected in order to prevent the reestablishment of endemic transmission of the virus.

“This includes activating teams to follow up on patients with measles and their contacts,” PAHO said.

Additionally, it urged countries to maintain a “reserve of measles-rubella (MR) vaccines for imported case control actions.

In 2017, PAHO said the countries of the Americas pledged to take action to maintain the elimination of measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome by approving an action plan for that purpose.

The plan emphasizes that vaccination coverage rates in a population should be 95 percent or above in order to maintain elimination, PAHO said.

In the last five years, it said regional coverage with the first dose of the MMR vaccine has ranged between 92 per cent and 94 per cent.

PAHO said measles is one of the most contagious diseases and affects primarily children.

It is transmitted by airborne droplets or via direct contact with secretions from the nose, mouth, and throat of infected individuals. Symptoms include high fever, generalized rash all over the body, stuffy nose and reddened eyes.

PAHO warned that measles can cause serious complications, including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea, ear infections and pneumonia, particularly in children with nutritional problems and in immunocompromised patients.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE March 18, 2018

Adapting to positive changes for a better life WE live in a world that keeps changing at a rapid pace.

Looking at our television screens at the hourly news and events telecast, is a reminder of the dynamics of this change.

What is sensational in terms of its occurrence and impact on a given day is soon to be forgotten, often replaced by an event(s), of an equal intensity, or higher.

In this defined communication pace-driven world, are announcements on new developments surrounding the frequent introduction of innovative technology, that have brought about groundbreaking changes that make obsolete the ways of yesteryear. This is reflected, for example, in the pervasiveness of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), with its revolutionary communicative components of the social media that have reduced the perceived large globe to the size of a global village. Because of this medium, information of whatever import, is instant. The growing impact of ICT on globalisation can be evidenced by the fact that it has led to a rapid application of recent scientific advances in new products and processes, a high rate of innovation across various countries, as well as a shift to more knowledge-intensive industries and services, together with rising skill requirements.

Even traditional conclusions and beliefs, derived from early scholastic works on issues such as health and medicine, religion, humans, and about the world in which we live, have been modified or overthrown, because of new discoveries and reconstructed theories. This is extended to include fashion of every kind that continues to evolve, in both design and wear, and related accessories.

In this day and age, there is a growing realisation that science, technology and innovation have served as keys to improving a nation’s economic performance, as well as its citizens’ social well-being Another example of change, and its impact on society, has been the new genres of music, inclusive of lyrics, which interpretation and meaning, supported by explicit videos, have influenced the moral behavioural interpretation about women, their persons and roles, sexual deviancy, and the laws of society. Added to this visual will be the video games that are just as revealing for what they entail.

It is inevitable that these changes, gradually diffused from wherever their origin, will certainly impact daily lives, influencing behaviour patterns and habits, in bringing changes to societies and often posing challenges to the moral status quo.

These are the challenges of the modern world in which parenting is constantly being put to the test in raising their young in an environment that is vastly different to that of their parents’ upbringing. In fact, it is instructive to note that there is not much of a difference in the growth and development experience of today’s parents and children, as the former now frequently commences in the early teen years.

While we accept that many of the modern changes are to the benefit of mankind, they have also been consequential in exacting negative influences throughout societies.

And since no country is ever immune from these influencing factors of social change, it is no surprise that there have been marked changes even in our own society, which involve the younger segment, and also adults, who should be giving guidance, but have instead become lost along this racy highway of change.

It is not uncommon for caps, particularly, and hats not to be removed by their male wearers on entering a building, even in schools; or removed when being a pall-bearer. Offering an apology for coming into body contact, whether along the roadway, or aboard public transportation has become a courtesy of the past.

In return from the errant party, is mostly

an acknowledging stare, or verbal abuse against a justifiable protest.

Giving the salutation of good day is often met with stares. Probably victim to the now constant travel to other societies where such courtesies are not extended.

Using profanities and other perverse language by adults, inclusive of parents, as verbal reprimand in many instances, has become the norm in some households; and even in conversations that may include children. Added to this, is also the growing habit of allowing children to consume alcoholic beverages.

There is the argument that because of modernisation and a changing world, such should herald the need for adaptation. The latter should only embrace the former where it adds to, and enhances, those positive mores and values that are absolutes for a better human, and in the process make for a stronger moral society.

For any other reason can only result in constant social decay, implicit of a human that adds no value to self, or to society.

There will always be changes as long as there is life; but we must all be careful in understanding what they mean -- first, for the wider world, and second, for us as individuals, especially where there are young children to guide and mould.

Persons wishing to supply national grid must first check with GPL

Dear Editor,

REFERENCE is made to a statement issued on behalf of the management of Classic International Hotel by Ras Leon Saul and published in the March 14, 2018 editions of Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, under the headlines, “Delay in permission…Berbice hotel threatens to dismantle wind turbine, ship it back to India” and “Government has not responded to offer to supply national grid from wind turbine”, respectively.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI), and by extension the Government of Guyana (GoG), applauds the

proprietor of Classic International Hotel, Mr Shamnarine Narine, for his supposed interest in pushing for a “Green State” and in contributing to the national grid. However, it is disappointing to read Mr Narine’s claim of non-responsiveness on the part of the GoG when several items of correspondence from different agencies within MoPI were sent to him. In fact, I had met with Mr Narine in the past concerning this matter.

In April 2017, the ministry and its energy-related agencies were surprised to read reports in the media of the launch of Mr Narine’s hotel and wind turbine. We were also surprised at his

mention of a request to the MoPI, the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), or the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) for its installation and use, since the wind turbine was designed, procured, and installed without our knowledge. Nonetheless, we replied shortly afterwards and indicated that, under the law, any person can self-generate.

However, we had said, the law only restricts persons from supplying power to another, except in cases where a licence is granted by the minister. We also invited Mr Narine to meet with us to clarify any questions and to provide whatever assistance we reasonably could.

In September 2017, Mr

Narine wrote GPL to introduce his wind turbine which, according to him, can generate 350 KVA of power, but of which only 20 per cent can be utilised by his hotel.

On October 17, 2017, Mr Narine briefed me via letter on his 300 kW wind turbine, which should have become operational at the end of the said month. In this correspondence, Mr Narine shared that only 50 kW of the generation capacity was required by the hotel and, as a result, he would be willing to offer the excess 250 kW to the national grid.

According to Mr Narine, the wind turbine had been procured with the intention of powering a housing develop-

ment project. However, this project did not materialise, thereby leaving Mr Narine with the underutilisation of power and the issue of storing the excess power.

However, GPL’s existing frameworks cover the connection to its grid of either independent power producers (IPPs) supplying 10 MW and more, or businesses supplying 1.5 MW and above. As a result, Mr Narine was advised that it was not possible at this time for an individual to connect to the grid, unless the supply met the minimum of 1.5 MW. He was further advised that GPL was limited due to ongoing development of a policy, and legal and technical frameworks

to permit and guide supply that is less than 1.5 MW and the sensitive technical issues affecting any supply of power of an intermittent nature (such as wind or solar) to the grid.

Nonetheless, we agreed to examine Mr Narine’s proposal with GPL with the objective of identifying and addressing the technical issues, while we developed the framework for intermittent power supply below 1.5 MW to the grid.

On January 22, 2018, a letter from Mr Narine to His Excellency, President David Granger, stated that the wind turbine could See page 7

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE March 18, 2018

GuySuCo’s new board brings fresh ideas, decades of experience Dear Editor, I WAS elated to see the full-page advertisement on March 14, 2018, showcasing GuySuCo’s new Board of Directors.

The Cabinet did well in the selection of this new board. From the information on the directors shown in the advertisement, one can gather that this new board is filled with years of experi-

ence in the sugar industry, as well as experience in managing companies and finances.

Moreover, I was heartened to see that the new Chairman of the Board is Mr Colvin Heath-London. As an avid reader, I have seen Mr Heath-London’s name pop up many times over the years, and it is always something positive about the work that he has done on the international scene, or home

in Guyana. To paraphrase the full-page advertisement, the new chairman is a man with a wealth of experience in consultancy/advisory positions and is no novice in the world of sugar, and business turnarounds. He has worked on multi-billion-dollar projects in the Region and across the world, and was instrumental in putting together the US$150M CJIA expansion project.

Concerned about mining in Marudi Dear Editor, THE 21 communities who are members of the South Rupununi District Council, a statutory body, are very concerned about the potential implications of mining in the Marudi area.

The Marudi, Kariwaimiintaaua mountain range is sacred to the Wapichan people. One of the reasons it is sacred is that it is a critical watershed that provides fresh water in both directions: towards the south and towards the north. The fresh water in the creeks and rivers is the habitat for numerous water dogs and fish stock, especially the himara, which, among others, the Wapichan and other peoples depend on for food. Other wildlife exists here as well.

Within these lands there are no-go zones, which are the habitat of the grandfather spirits of the various ecosystems that hold together

all living things within.

This area is already being destroyed, yet apparently more mining concessions/ blocks are being doled out by the Ministry of Natural Resources without the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the indigenous Wapichan people. The recent mercury survey, carried out by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Aishalton, Karaudarnaua, Para Bara and Shulinab, revealed that the community of Para Bara suffers from high levels of mercury, above the safety level. Is this of any concern to the relevant agencies and ministries?

These yet pristine areas will definitely be destroyed further if mining continues.

The flow of polluted water will reach right into the Atlantic Ocean, affecting all the indigenous villages that exist along Kwitaro, Rewa, Rupununi and the mighty Chiipwao (Essequibo) Rivers, as well all other

settlements including the town of Bartica.

To further compound this, Romanex Guyana, through its parent company, is now being funded by a Chinese Company named Zijin Mining Group, one of, if not the largest, gold producers in China, to do further exploration work.

Research on this company reveals that its environmental and social track records is very questionable. So this raises more questions.

What are we going to see here? Open-air heap leaching? Cyanide? What will happen to the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) currently being conducted by Ground Structures? Now that Zijin is going to be involved, is there going to be another ESIA conducted before work begins? We are aware that Zijin is well financed and we are also aware of its terrible spills in 2010 and the millions of dollars the

Persons wishing to supply ...

From page 6

not operate without a connection to GPL’s grid, as per the advice of engineers from India, who came to Guyana upon Mr Narine’s invitation, for the turbine’s commissioning.

On the said date, Mr Narine wrote to me, urging the connection of the turbine to the grid, since his invited engineers were present. On January 25, 2017, he later requested a licence to supply power to the grid.

Around early February 2018, I met with Mr Narine on the subject and agreed to discuss with GPL the possibility of accommodating the request, even on the basis of a pilot project. Internally, it was determined to await the new CEO of GPL to receive his input into the matter.

It therefore becomes clear that Mr Narine had been more than kept in the loop concerning this matter, from April 2017 to as recently as February 2018.

While the public may be anxious to seize the opportunity of solar and wind

energy and to connect to the grid to save on the cost of energy storage, the complexity of utility size generation, transmission, and distribution of power – a complexity which is further compounded by the weaknesses of GPL’s grid and the sensitivity of intermittent supply – requires judicious adherence to feasibility studies and grid-interconnection processes, which are typically detailed and costly, but which are necessary to ensure reliable and stable supply of electricity and the safety of the grid.

Furthermore, the Government of Guyana commends all private citizens and business owners who are willing to move towards the use of renewable energy. However, we wish to urge those who are interested in supplying power to GPL’s grid to first check with GPL to determine whether policies and technical and legal frameworks exist to accommodate such requests.

I also gathered from the advertisement, that the board is well balanced in age. This should enable a balance of fresh ideas with the knowledge from decades of experience. In addition to this, I also took note that three former directors of the board are on this new board. These veterans, in retrospection should be able to show the new blood where things

have gone bad, and where the board was able to have success in the past. As with every important thing that we do in life, striking a balance is vital to being successful.

As a proud citizen of Guyana, I implore all of my fellow Guyanese, especially those in powerful and influential positions, to give this new board a chance. Our sugar industry is important

to our economy and livelihoods of thousands of Guyanese, and anything other than working together would be counterproductive to reviving the sugar industry.

With the balance, experience and knowledge of the new board, we should be optimistic about the future of the sugar industry.

courts fined the company for the damage it caused.

Added to this, we are also aware that the Norwegian Ethics Council barred Zijin from the Norwegian Pension Fund up until 2017.

All of this has now put a spotlight on Romanex, GGMC, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. When and how will all information be put out publicly, especially to all of the communities that will be affected?

The Constitution tells us

in Article 25 that every citizen has a duty to participate in activities to improve the environment; it tells us in Article 36 that the well-being of the nation depends on the preservation of clean air, fertile soils, pure, clean water and the right diversity of animals, plants and the ecosystems. The Wapichan people are very concerned that their human rights to our way of life as enshrined in Article 149G of the constitution to an environment that is not harmful to him or

herself in article 149J; and to meaningful and effective participation, as well as to free prior and informed consent, are and will continue to be disrespected and violated.

Are we really truly pursuing the concept of a Green Economy?

Regards, Tony Morgan

Regards, Tony James. AA Chief Kokoi.

Wapichan Elder, Indigenous Peoples Rights Advocate

8

PORTRAIT OF A PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT THAT is the title of my booklet containing a biographic sketch of Cheddi Berret Jagan, which was distributed during the funeral for the late President of Guyana. Since then, much has been said and written about this legendary Guyanese leader, the centenary of whose birth is being celebrated this year.

I expect that as part of the national effort to remember the late President, that the Guyana Post Office Corporation will issue a commemorative stamp. A request to this effect was made to me by a few trusted aides of the late President, and I had passed on same to the Minister of Public Telecommunications for her attention. In time, I also expect to see erected by the Seven Ponds or somewhere else in Georgetown, a monument befitting the stature of this cherished national hero.

INDEPENDENCE PIONEERS Cheddi Jagan was born on March 22, 1918 in Port Mourant, then a colonial sugar plantation in Berbice.

After his education in the USA, he returned to then British Guiana and pioneered with others, initially in the Political Affairs Committee and, later, in the united People’s Progressive Party, struggles for indepen-

dence of the colony from Great Britain.

Cheddi Jagan entered parliament in 1947, as an independent candidate. He went on to become Chief Minister in 1953, Premier in 1961 and Executive President in 1992. The New York Times described him as a “firebrand” and as one of the “Caribbean’s most contentious political leaders” for half a century.

The “contention” was over his avowed Marxist stance, and his political alignment with the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, which were used by the British as a subterfuge to remove his government in 1953; and by the United States to engineer his ouster from office in 1964.

REFORMED MARXIST However, Cheddi Jagan mellowed as the Cold War thawed, describing himself as a “Gorbachev before Gorbachev” after the Soviet leader introduced “Glasnost and Perestroika” that eventually resulted in the dismantling of the authoritarian Soviet state. In a booklet, “Retracing our Footsteps” on which we worked together, Cheddi Jagan tried to re-package and re-image his ideological positions. It was at that time that the celebrated author V.S. Naipaul referred to the aging firebrand left-wing warrior, in his article, “In the Red Corner”

as a pure, ethical Marxist – a euphemism for the better guy, who was trying to make a come-back to office with overwhelming popular support. On a de-briefing trip in 1989 to the USA, I presented Cheddi Jagan as a revolutionary democrat, who was committed to the rule of law, a free press and civil liberties. Others like Senator John Kerry and the influential Congressional Black Caucus, gave their support for the red corner.

Cheddi Jagan modified many of his apparent dogmatic ideological views.

For example, as regards one-party rule in Cuba, he stated that “multi-party rule is the wave of the future” During his final days, he busied himself with re-formulating his ideas for a New Global Human Order, which has since been adopted as a resolution by the United Nations, and recommitting Guyana to making the Caribbean a Zone of Peace. I worked with him on revision of the Epilogue to his epic book,The West on Trial, in which he artic-

Former Georgetown Mayor Compton Young passes on THE City of Georgetown has lost a strong crusader, said the Mayor and City Council as it reacts to the passing of former Georgetown Mayor Compton Young.

Young served as mayor from 1990 to 1994.

The M&CC said that during his tenure, Young encouraged citizens to improve the aesthetics of their local communities and to take responsibility for the physical condition of their neighbourhoods.

“He was particularly passionate about restoring

Georgetown to its pristine state which earned it the reputation as the ‘Garden City’.

Even after he left City Hall, the late Mr. Young remained unswervingly committed to the vision of a clean, green and healthy city. Mr. Young will be long remembered as a visionary city leader and for his good works and wisdom, said Mayor Patricia ChaseGreen and other former city councillors, who worked and served with him at the Georgetown Municipality,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the councillors said

despite being elected mayor with the ticket of a political party, Young managed the City Council, rising above partisan politics and thus became a true city father and change-maker of the City.

“The Council remains grateful for the precious time and invaluable service he gave to the City of Georgetown. The Mayor and City Council extends sincere condolences to his grieving relatives and those who loved and cared for him. May his soul rest in peace,” the statement concluded.

ulated his fresh vision. He wanted to do the same with “The Caribbean Revolution: Whose Backyard?” but time ran out on him, as he fell ill on February 14, 1996, and died weeks later in Washington, where he had been rushed for heart surgery.

But the Cheddi Jagan that I have known and worked besides for over 25 years, was not trapped in any ideological cocoon.

He was open-minded and looked at the world around him with gentle, humane eyes. His pro-poor attitude could not be defined by ideology. So too was his position on issues such as reduction of spending on weapons and wars; and re-distribution of resources to eradicate poverty. Even before Nobel Laureate Mohammad Yunus came up with his concept of the Three Zeroes of the World -- to eradicate poverty, unemployment and carbon emissions -- Cheddi Jagan was an ardent advocate for international action, especially from the more powerful countries.

MODEST AND UNASSUMING Cheddi Jagan was modest and unassuming. Besides, he was not vengeful.

I will give a few simple examples. After he became President, he was uneasy over exaggerated references to official status. I recall that during an internal party meeting, a minister tried to be politically correct when he addressed him as “His Excellency”. Without lifting his head, the Guyanese leader calmly said: “Call me Comrade Cheddi”. Most of us have never referred to him since by any other appellation.

I also remember that after taking office, his first

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

instruction to me was to issue a statement that he was no longer the President of GAWU. He was now President of all the Guyanese working people. He also asked me to issue a statement that under his presidency, there would be no discrimination, no victimisation and no recrimination.

Comrade Cheddi wanted to bury the ghost of the political past in order to make space for reconciliation.

He believed in and practised consultation, even when the process is painful or dragged out. He always wanted to involve the grassroots of the party. Some times when he had a strong position on an issue, he would defer discussions to allow others to have a better or global view of the subject. He would also help the discussion by preparing “pros” and “cons”. That was part of his belief in “democratic centralism”, but when he died, almost immediately the democracy from centralism was removed. It was replaced by bureaucratic centralism, and later by crude, authoritarian bullyism. That led me and other quality leaders to walk, in my case after 50 years of association with Cheddi’s party.

CRITICAL REVIEW There is time yet for a critical review of the Cheddi Jagan era, which has to be periodised to see the challenges and mistakes in the anti-colonial struggle for independence, the post-independence period leading to state control of the economy, experimentation with a socialist model of economic development, etc. This assessment would of necessity involve a broader examination of the role of both Cheddi Jagan and Forbes

Burnham, the authenticity of their ideological disputations, and what would appear to be at times, a naked drive for political office in which ethnic mobilisation became the principal vehicle.

That examination should provide more definitive answers as to why two working- class parties that were ostensibly committed to the same or similar goals, remained separate and apart, and unapologetically drove a wedge in the quest of the Guyanese people for national unity.

NATIONAL UNITY I can say however that the greatest obsession of Cheddi Jagan was to bring about closer working relations between himself and Forbes Burnham, and between their parties. I have no reason to believe that Burnham did not want that, and had probably bent backwards to accommodate that unity when he accepted into his ranks almost the entire corps of Marxist-Leninist PPP ideologists.

It must be remarkably strange that some countries that had been devastated by wars, hurricanes and earthquakes have invariably rebuilt their ravaged states.

But in Guyana, the schism that resulted from the “party split” in 1955 remains like an ugly scar on our political landscape.

The centenary of the birth of Cheddi Jagan must give us cause to relook at our past and to deepen the efforts at uniting our Guyanese people.

With a multi-party government in place since the May 11, 2015 elections, a new platform has been created to accommodate this elusive unity.

9

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

By Dr. Ken Danns

Challenges and Opportunities:

The paradigm of publishing and the University of Guyana Press

By Dr Ken Danns

THE advent of new technologies has fundamentally transformed and liberated human communications and concomitantly the paradigm of publishing. The paradigm of publishing refers to the complex of systems, technologies and media for the acquisition, reproduction, dissemination, ownership and marketing of information and scientific knowledge.

Publishing is an expression of freedom. The right to publish underlines freedom of expression that is fundamental to any democratic society. When you publish you propagate information to the public or to a community through broadcasting, printing or the internet. It is a formalised medium to share and to be heard, to convey news and to disseminate scientific, artistic and other scholarly knowledge.

An inability to publish is restrictive of the spread of enlightenment and of scientific development. An inability to publish muzzles the voice. It enables cocoons of complacency and ignorance to flourish. Dictatorships and authoritarian systems actively control the capacity to publish and to be heard.

Poverty, underdevelopment and indifference equally impede publishing capabilities.

The University of Guyana has historically been negatively affected by two poverties of publishing.

First, the poverty of access to publications -- contem-

porary books, journals and other published materials necessary for its effective functioning as an institution for higher learning in the modern world.

Second, the University of Guyana has historically been negatively impacted by the poverty of publishing and disseminating the scientific and scholarly knowledge it manufactures.

The impact of the poverty of access to publications is that the students and faculty of the university may have been inadequately exposed to and integrated into the body of knowledge, paradigms and schools of thought that characterise their respective academic disciplines. The foreign exchange crisis in Guyana during the last three decades of the 20th century severely limited access to text books, which were almost exclusively published abroad. Broader resource deprivation of the university severely limited its capabilities to stock its libraries with current books and journals. It was not unusual for students to take a class that had no assigned textbooks. Or, if such books were assigned, they were not able to afford them. The shelves of the university bookstore were sparse and stocked more with t-shirts and plantain chips than contemporary books for the various courses. Even when books were written by local or regional scholars, the cost to access these was prohibitive.UG lecturers generally had no relationship with publishers and often

had to rely on books and notes derived from a past era.

Similarly, scientific research was limited by the inability to access relevant literature.

Gallant efforts and sacrifices were however made by the University of Guyana library to remain contemporary, and, by individual scholars to stay engaged within their respective disciplines. The Caribbean Research Library, developed and sustained by the heroic efforts of Joel Benjamin, was a beacon of accomplishment in this trend of deprived access.

The second poverty of publishing has been the crippled capabilities of the university to publish and disseminate its intellectual manufacture. Consequently, serious research produced by scholars at the university was confined to photocopied and stencilled documents which had limited availability and circulation. The existence of a couple of academic journals such as “Transition” the Journal of the Institute of Development studies and Faculty of Social Sciences, was compromised by only being able to produce an issue on the average every two to three years. Marketing these journals was an uphill battle and the university lacked institutional capabilities to do so. These journals, along with books published locally and abroad by UG scholars, were not readily available to the university community.

The march of history and technological advancements, such as the internet

and social media, have revolutionised the paradigm of publishing. The paradigm of publishing has been transformed. The internet has allowed millions global access to published materials.

Further, social media has transformed every individual into an online publisher and a disseminator of information and ideas. People on social platforms such as Facebook mainly externalise their private selves and market their professional beings. People share online, knowledge about themselves, their families, communities and country. They share information on issues and goings on everywhere. Importantly, many share scientific information and intellectual knowledge from themselves or from others. Some even self-publish manuscripts online and offer these for sale.

This tsunami of information and publications from the internet brings the good, the bad and the indifferent surging through institutional barriers, national boundaries and parental controls. It

blurs the boundaries between the real and unreal, genuine and fake, the scientific and the imagined. It places both access to and control of information at the fingertips of the average person in ways hitherto unimagined. It frees citizens from the control of authoritarian regimes, while making them at the same time susceptible to alternate influences competing for their loyalty.

The University of Guyana Press (UGP) is a medium for promoting scientific enlightenment and engendering scholastic growth. The University of Guyana Press has been launched amidst the ferment of this new paradigm of publishing. It is occasioned by the all-embracing reach of the publishing revolution that requires institutions to have a unique publishing presence in order to define and sustain their identities as well as promote their brands. ● UGP then, is an imperative for the affirmation and marketing of the University of Guyana’s brand. It is a public and global voice of

the university’s scholarship. ● UGP must incentivise UG’s students and faculties to conduct research and seek publication of these. ● UGP must attract, develop and promote quality academic research from the university community and from scholars in the Region and the broader diaspora. ● UGP must make its publications both available and affordable to students.

Publishing today and for the foreseeable future is and will be largely digital. The days of producing printed books are rapidly receding. People are reading books online and on their computers and other electronic devices. These changing modes of delivery and knowledge transmission are integral to this new publishing paradigm. The UGP must, from its inception, embrace digital publishing and online sale and distribution of its products.

It must however, still retain the capabilities to produce and market hard copies of its publications.

Apology The Guyana Chronicle in its March 16, 2018 edition regrettably published a photograph of Errol M Adams as one of three men killed in a shootout with police on Thursday.

Errol M Adams has since contacted this newspaper and we once again offer sincere apologies to Adams and his family for this grave error. Below is a photograph of Adams, who is very much alive.

10

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

Blindness not end of the road – Hazel Sears-Morris does all her house chores and furthers her education

By Lisa Hamilton HAZEL Sears-Morris remembers the exact day she became blind: Thursday, December 9, 1982 while she was at the Buxton Health Centre for a routine checkup, solely because she was five months pregnant.

Sitting down with the Guyana Chronicle, Hazel was open enough to tell the newspaper of how her life

changed in just one moment and of how she adjusted to her new disability to create a well-functioning life for herself.

“I remember I was five months pregnant and I went to the Buxton Health Centre and I was waiting there to be attended to. I started to see blurred but, in the meanwhile, my whole body was feeling hot. So I went to the receptionist and asked her

for a glass of water,” she began.

The nurse, disregarding Hazel’s request, asked her to take her seat as she was very busy and would attend to her shortly.

However, what happened next caused the nurse and many others to drop everything to attend to the pregnant woman.

“When I went back to sit down, there is where the sight went. Completely, like when you switch a light off. At that time, everybody put tools down and they were testing my pressure and they were trying to see what was the cause at that time and …they took me to Georgetown hospital,” she recounted “At that moment I was crying, I was crying all the time,” Hazel said, adding that health care in the 1980s was nothing like it is today.

After she was taken to the Georgetown hospital by a medic, Hazel underwent several forms of tests as the doctors grappled to come up with a diagnosis for her sudden blindness.

“At that time in 1982, I don’t think people were fully aware about what glaucoma is and what are the causes of glaucoma like how they’re taking it seriously now. Because I didn’t have any symptoms, I didn’t know that I had glaucoma until I went totally blind and went to the Georgetown Hospital.

“They were saying that

Hazel Sears-Morris opens up about her inspiring story of strength and determination at the Guyana Society for the Blind, where she furthers her education (Photo by Samuel Maughn)

the baby was feeding on the optic nerve and when the baby is born the sight will return. When that didn’t happen, then they came up with the fact that I had glaucoma,” she explained.

MIXED EMOTIONS After long hours in the delivery room, many mothers gave way to their emotions at the sight of their new baby but, for Hazel who now could not see, it was a completely different experience with a mixture of emotions.

“I couldn’t see anything.

I have never seen the baby.

She’s in her thirties now and I’ve never seen her but I remember knowing her from her forehead. She has a little high forehead,” Hazel chuckled, adding: “[One time] when one of

the nurses came to my bed with two babies and they gave me the first one, when I take the baby and I felt it and I said, ‘No, this is not my baby’. So when she put the second one in my hand I said, ‘Yes, this is my baby and it was a big thing [as persons asked] how I knew. So I explained to them it was by her forehead.”

Hazel said raising a child while being blind was not easy, but at the time she had help from her sister, mother and, later on, a cousin.

She now has two children, both of whom, she says, have perfect sight.

Last April, Hazel graduated from a two-year computer course at the Open Doors Centre of National Vocational Training while, currently a member of the Guyana Society for the Blind, she is studying for the Caribbean Education Examination (CSEC) subjects, Office Administration and Social Studies.

Last Tuesday, she told this newspaper that she was presented with a laptop computer by the Ministry of Social Protection which will assist her in her studies and day-to-day communication.

Like the average housewife, Hazel cleans, washes, goes to the shop, takes trips locally and internationally and makes her favourites: black cake, metem, ochro and corilla.

However, things were not always easy for the woman.

There were times when Hazel was affected by a number of experiences and some of the negative things people would say.

“I remember one time I was at Stabroek Market… it

was me and a friend; we were going there to do some grocery shopping and I jammed a stand and the woman created a session, wanted to fight.

But [later on] I think she was ashamed because she didn’t realize that I wasn’t seeing,” she recounted.

Telling of another occasion, Hazel said: “Sometimes when you going down the road you might hear people make some negative comments, ‘Why you don’t stay home?’. There was a time when things used to get under my skin but as you grow older you know how to cope with situations.”

She says the experiences do not occur as much as before, as persons are becoming much more helpful and added that her experience with God as a Seventh-Day Adventist is one which continues to strengthen her.

GOD FIRST “I believe that there is a God. God doesn’t allow bad things to happen; it is the devil that causes these things to happen. Why I put God in front of everything is because I am here and when I call upon God and ask Him for anything, it might not happen the same time but I get answers,” she said.

Finally, leaving words of encouragement to many others out there, Hazel said: “What I would like to say to my colleagues who are blind or visually impaired is: accept your disability first and then you will deal with the rest. Life is not easy where ever you go, but you have to make the best out of it and just go about and fix the things that you can fix and leave the rest for God.”

11

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

Even at 80, ‘Granny’ not giving up on cassava business GONE are the days when the cultivation of cassava and manufacture and sale of cassava-bread and its by-products were nestled in the exclusive domain of the indigenous peoples of Guyana.

And as 80-year-old Maureen Lewis, popular Regent Street cassava bread and casareep vendor would tell you, this is far from being so. For as far back as she could remember,

Eighty-year-old Maureen Lewis also called ‘Granny’ at her cassava stand on Regent Street

Ina Thomas gives God thanks and praise before opening up sales for the day

her family and other coastlanders she knows have been engaged in the business of cultivating cassava.

And personally, she has been making cassava-bread and its by-products for more than 50 years and living comfortably.

Mrs Lewis, fondly referred to as “Granny”, lives at Lot 1, Middle Walk, the area which separates Ann’s Grove from Two Friends Village and recalls she has been involved in the business ever since she was a youth. In fact, she proudly boasts that it is a family tradition – handed down by her foreparents over generations.

“In as much as I am a cassava vendor, our family does other agricultural works. We rear pigs, cattle, poultry and also do cash-crop farming, but cassava is my business and I am proud of it,” “Granny” told the Sunday Chronicle.

In order to market her stocks, every day of the working week, “Granny” travels all the way from Ann’s Grove to Georgetown by bus, where she plies her trade on the pavement outside Fullworth’s Store and Bounty Supermarket – and long before the latter was ever conceptualised.

From her stand, she sells packaged cassava bread, casareep, sweet cassava bread (quinches), starch and farine and tapioca (cereal also derived from the cassava bread).

A mother of seven – two girls and five boys, two of whom are now deceased, she has 37 grandchildren and numerous great grands and even though many of them have attended and graduated from the University of Guyana in many disciplines, it is the rule of thumb, in the family she says, that everyone, at some time in their lives must get involved in the cassava business.

Many of her children and grandchildren have graduated in

technical fields: one as an eye specialist, one as a geologist, another still is currently attending university in Jamaica, studying to become a medical doctor.

But like President Forbes Burnham did in the days of National Service in the 70s and 80s, he mandated that before students graduated from university they had to do a stint in the Guyana National Service (GNS). And so for “Granny” a stint of work in the cassava business at Ann’s Grove is likened unto giving noble service.

“In our family, you could come out as this; come out as that … you have to first come in and try your hands at cassava,” she declared. But these young ones are lucky today, she declared, noting that in her time and her parents’ time, they had to plant, as well as reap and manufacture the cassava.

Then employing labour-intensive methods, peel and grate the cassava, after which they sat under a matapee practically for hours in order to extract the juice which is settled to extract starch, or boiled down to make casareep.

But today, the process is easier, since the Lewises have a mill and everything is done electronically – peeling, grating and the works.

“Granny” also explained that the reason a higher premium is placed on the cassava business in the family, is that it takes much longer to get returns from the animals reared, than with cassava.

It takes much longer for cows to mature before yielding

milk; or for the pigs to be slaughtered before you can get pork out of it; likewise in the poultry business.

And so, being able to access cassava (roots) from sellers at any time puts them in a position to make manufacture of the product an ongoing business.

Meanwhile, selling alongside “Granny” Lewis, and always there to give her both moral and physical support, is 65-year-old Ina Marks Thomas, also of Ann’s Grove, who has been in the business for about 30 years and shares the same joys and challenges. They travel together, sell together and see their businesses grow together.

The products they offer for sale include cassava bread; sweet red cassava (quinches); casareep; starch; tapioca cereal; and farine.

But the items most in demand, the women say, are cassava bread; casareep and quinches.

Casareep sells for prices that range from $1,000 to $2,500, depending on size, while cassava bread is being sold in packets at $100 and $120 per piece.

Both ‘Grannie’ Lewis and Ina Marks are grateful to the persons who support them – both on a daily basis as well as those from the diaspora who come home during holidays and look out for cassava bread and casareep to take back with them.

“Without their patronage, our business would not have been the success it is. We are also grateful to the management of Fullworth’s Store for allowing us to relocate our stands from the open pavement to a dry place under his façade whenever it rains,” “Granny” gratefully remarked.

12 A friend of mine mentioned that the national discourse has not yet addressed the ways oil will impact Guyana’s role in the Caribbean and I must admit I agree. I want to focus on a particular element of that relationship, Guyanese firms and building up regional exportation, to illustrate what we need to do to fully benefit from our close relationship with the other Caribbean countries in the context of the oil economy.

In order to understand this, however, we need to pause and consider the Roman corvus, because that is essentially what we need now to build. A corvus is essentially a bridge with a hook one ship uses to latch onto another, and the Romans used this to board their opponents’ during the first Punic War. Historians note that at the Battle of Ecnomus it was used with great effect to allow Romans to fight hand to hand, which we all know they excelled at, winning what has been described as the largest naval battle of all time.

But why did they go

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

By Elson Low

The Great Bridge

to the trouble of inventing this? I believe the thinking here is simple- the corvus allowed the Romans to exploit their competitive advantages. How do Guyanese now exploit the advantages oil will bring us? I want to again make mention of a youth bank, and point out that this institution would be far more valuable to the nation than we might at first perceive.

While visiting that

famous hub of innovation, Stanford University’s campus, I one evening came across a poster that mentioned so-called Angel investors, who fund innovative projects in the hope they will become the next giant corporation. It seemed those investors were coming directly to meet with students, and as a Guyanese unfamiliar with large sums of money being handed out to fuel such

creativity, this very much shocked me. Free money for my ideas? But I have ideas all the time!

But when you step back and think about this, the funding flowing through that campus was forming in a way the core of US competitiveness, as the research and testing students were doing in pursuit of funds, would find its way into not just the firms students created, but US industries as a whole. We have very few, almost no businessmen locally willing to fund a wide array of such projects and as a whole I would say the investment climate is very risk averse.

Investing oil money in a youth bank which aims to fund basic research and development as well as offer grants to startups with profitable ideas will help fill this gap. It is a classic example of the type of government intervention economists would strongly support. Just like infrastructure, which individual

companies are loath to put in place because of onerous costs, individual Guyanese investors appear to be unwilling to jump in when returns are not guaranteed.

And indeed it is fair to ask who would without a few successful local examples of technology firms, given the risks.

But these examples will come, the returns to technological advancement are too great to be ignored forever, and a youth bank will certainly speed this process up. We need to put oil revenues into developing what I call our “intellectual infrastructure,” with institutions like this youth bank and the University of Guyana at the core of an advancing economy. Even further, however, over time this will also develop the local corvus--the great bridge-and that is the real goal.

Guyana’s long term ability to invest in research and development will outstrip that of its peers for the foreseeable future and

as our businesses benefit from innovations coming out of this their competitiveness, will grow at a rate difficult for regional competitors to match. This will in turn allow them to begin to dominate some international markets--the Caribbean being a prime example--and thereby massively increase their growth potential. The purpose of a youth bank is not just to employ young people, but to help Guyanese businesses surge. This will be the beginning of an economic transformation.

I want to close with a word of caution, as a misunderstanding of business competitiveness can often derail development ideas that have great potential. We do not need to attempt to compete in every industry possible, as this makes little economic sense. Projects which merely copy existing ones, or don’t build off of any local competitive advantages, are just not good enough.

Business common sense should always prevail, lest resources are mismanaged.

Too little energy in the current oil debate is being focused on ideas like these, which will make Guyanese businesses shine for decades to come.

And that’s much of what government’s role is, even though we seem hardly to ever frame things this way. It’s not just about which community gets what. It’s not just about which official said what.

It’s about where the country is going. That’s what I felt, at my core, every time I visited Stanford-things were moving forward. With a youth bank to promote innovation, they will be here too.

13

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

CPGs celebrate 42nd anniversary A ROUTE march was held Sunday morning in Mahaicony to observe the 42nd anniversary of the establishment of Community Policing Groups (GPGs) in Guyana.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramattan, in his address to the gathering at the Mahaicony Sports Club, commended the CPGs for their dedication to their communities; he, however, noted that more could be done.

“I want to thank you for all the great work that you have done, but we have more that we need to do. Today it is necessary, in these evolving times, that you be pre-

Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, delivering remarks

pared for a shift in focus and we need a shift in focus to include more public awareness,” Minister Ramjattan

said.

He also issued a call to the older members of the CPGs and the various com-

This Community Policing Group carries a banner during the march

Patterson refutes... stakeholders.

According to Sugrim, he wrote GPL last September telling them about the wind turbine he’d acquired. In that letter, he reportedly told GPL that though the turbine has the capacity to generate 350KVA (kilo-volt-ampere) of power, he only needed a fraction of it, 20 per cent to be precise, to run his hotel.

Minister Patterson, in his letter, acknowledged receiving a letter to that effect from Sugrim, whom he unwittingly refers to as Narine.

“On October 17, 2017,” the minister wrote, “Mr. Narine briefed me, via letter, on his 300 kW wind turbine which would become operational at the end of the said month.

“In this correspondence, Mr. Narine shared that only 50 kW of the generation capacity was required by the hotel, and, as a result, he would be willing to offer the excess 250 kW to the national grid.

“According to Mr. Narine, the wind turbine had been procured with the intention of powering a housing

development project. However, this project did not materialise, thereby leaving Mr. Narine with the under-utilisation of power, and the issue of storing the excess power.”

But according to the minister, GPL’s existing frameworks, however, cover the connection to its grid of either independent power producers (IPPs) supplying 10 (Megawatts) MW and more, or businesses supplying 1.5 MW and above.

Minister Patterson said that this being the case, the businessman was advised that it was not possible at the time for an individual to connect to the grid, unless the supply met the minimum of 1.5 MW. Sugrim was further advised that GPL’s hands were tied due to the ongoing development of a policy, and legal and technical frameworks governing the supply of less than 1.5 MW of power, and the sensitive technical issues affecting any supply of power of an intermittent nature (such as wind or solar) to the grid.

From page 3

Said the minister, “Nonetheless, we agreed to examine Mr. Narine’s proposal with GPL, with the objective of identifying and addressing the technical issues, while we develop the framework for intermittent power supply below 1.5 MW to the grid.”

While the public may be anxious to seize the opportunity of solar and wind energy, and to connect to the grid to save on the cost of energy storage, the complexity of utility-size generation, transmission, and distribution of power is large.

According to the minister, the complexity is further compounded by the weaknesses of GPL’s grid and the sensitivity of intermittent supply.

He went on to say that it requires judicious adherence to feasibility studies and grid interconnection processes, which are typically detailed and costly, but which are necessary to ensure reliable and stable supply of electricity and the safety of the grid.

munities to pay keen attention to the young people within their areas.

This, Minister Ramjattan opined, will help to deter them from being involved in criminal activities.

“We have to know what the leading members of the community can do to ensure that we nip criminal activities in the bud; especially among young people. It can only happen when we bring back the elders to watch and look after the young people. Spot

their talent, shift them into positive areas, so by the end of their times, they would’ve taught so many positive attributes to young people, that we will not have them indulging in negative things.

So, it is not only an enforcement role, but it is a role to mould our young people in the communities.”

Community Policing in Guyana commenced in 1976, with the objective being, to harness the energies of willing members of communities

across Guyana in support of the work of the police, to achieve a crime-free society, and to be responsive, together with the police, to the needs of the communities in respect of the necessity to maintain law and order.

The theme of this year’s observance is “Promoting Safe and United Communities by Building Social Cohesion through: Improved Quality of Communication; Community Understanding and Citizens’ Needs”.

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National conversation to address public health issues THE Public Health Ministry and PAHO-WHO are teaming up this week to spearhead a national conversation to help upgrade the laws, acts, regulations and policies guiding the local pharmaceutical sector.

The purpose of the twoday meeting is to address the widespread abuse of antibiotic medicines, the existence of illegal pharmacists, and other irregularities instigated by many patients.

Mr Oneil Atkins, Director of Pharmacies at the Public Health Ministry, said Friday that the two-day consultation is to beef up the existing “weak” medicines and pharmaceutical policies which are preyed upon by patients, professionals and charlatans operating in the sector.

Atkins said, too, that the forum is intended to help patients especially to identify which are registered pharmacies in the country.

The two-day forum is also intended to help sharpen the awareness of local patients, whom he said are “too uninformed” about critical pharmaceutical issues and policy matters in the sector.

Atkins, who also functions as Adviser to Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, is concerned that local patients always “demand medication every time they see a physician,” when sometimes all they need is a conversation with a specialist.

“We need to educate the public,” Atkins said, adding: “The business of medicines is handled very loosely in Guyana by the professionals and the public.”

He said that one of the outcomes of the two-day consultation is to “hold professionals accountable and responsible” for activities in the sector.

It is anticipated that although the archaic policies, laws, acts and regulations will be updated and be substantially more rigid, they will retain the element of “flexibility to ensure safety and to ensure that they provide maximum benefit from the medication for patients.”

He is especially concerned about the abuse of antibiotic medicines among practitioners and patients, and said the upgraded documents will force the former “to be more responsible and accountable,” and help keep counterfeit drugs off the local market.

According to Atkins, the “widespread abuse” is especially acute in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Three (Essequibo

Oneil Atkins, Director of Pharmacies at the Public Health Ministry

Islands-West Demerara); Four (Demerara-Mahaica); and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Consequently, he is hoping that legislators will act “as fast as possible” to get the new laws and regulations enacted to help the Public Health Ministry deal with the “grave problem with antibiotics resistance in Guyana.”

Improvements are also in urgent need to help the government weed out many who are dispensing medicines, but “never saw a pharmacy school.”

The long-overdue overhauling of the pharmaceutical sector is to help “administer the quality of primary healthcare and health services to the citizens of our beloved country,” Minister Lawrence pointed out when the issue became public last year.

She had prescribed then that when improved, “… policy decisions must be evidence-based and tailored to meet the specific needs of our population and health services.”

The Guyana Government remains strongly committed to ensuring healthy lives and the well-being for all, and promises to continue to look and assess the existing management systems, and strengthen them and make necessary changes to guarantee that the systems “can become efficient and effective and accessibility and adequacy of the supply of safe, essential, quality and scientifically sound drugs and medical products can be realised in all health facilities in all regions,” Lawrence assured last year.

PAHO-WHO’s Dr William Adu-Krow; Dr Shamdeo Persaud, Guyana’s Chief Medical Officer; Atkins and Ms Kesaundra Alves, Chairperson of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) board, are expected to address tomorrow’s opening ceremony.

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GGMC closes illegal shops at Puruni

By Svetlana Marshall

A NUMBER of illegal businesses operating on the Puruni Landing in Mazaruni Mining District Three have been shut down by a team from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Mines Division.

Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes said the exercise forms part of a wider operation to regularise mining areas like the Puruni Landing.

Connecting the Lower and Middle Mazaruni, Puruni Landing is a thriving business hub and while the GGMC grants yearly licences for business and residential purposes to persons in the area, many are operating without that critical piece of document while others have opted to sublet – a move that is illegal.

On Friday, officers from GGMC’s Mines Division moved on the illegal operators, closing their businesses with ranks of the Guyana Police Force on standby.

Edward Anthony Persaud, a resident of Bartica who operates a shop at the Puruni Landing, was among those affected. According to Persaud, the GGMC officers, without any notice moved in on several businesses, some owned by Brazilians, and barricaded their doors, using wooden materials. Persaud’s wife is Brazilian. The couple operates a Brazilian Beauty Salon and a Variety Store on the Puruni Landing.

According to him, those affected were immediately denied access to paid facilities to sleep and prepare meals. He pointed out that many of the persons affected usually pay between G$200,000 to G$250, 000 to rent the properties.

On Saturday, Persaud told Guyana Chronicle that he was not present at the time his wife informed him that their business was closed down by the GGMC officers because they illegally sublet the building. The Bartican had been operating the business for years.

Questioned whether he had received a licence to operate his business, Persaud said he made several attempts to regularise his business but was unsuccessful.

“I had checked with the GGMC officials at Puruni for a business permit to do business on the Puruni Landing but was told that it was

Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes

only granted to the person who was granted permission to occupy a plot of land by the GGMC on the Puruni Landing and I could operate under that person’s business permission,” he said.

Unable to secure a business license, Persaud contended that he then moved to apply for a plot of land in the area but that too had proven to be difficult. “It has been that way for years… I decided to apply to GGMC for a plot of land on the Puruni Landing. I got a formal response indicating that at that time there were no available land space on the landing,” he recalled.

However, Minister Broomes ruled out the notion that the business operators at the Puruni Landing were never informed of the move to regularise the area.

REPEATEDLY WARNED Stating that she, in her capacity as minister, visited the landing approximately nine times, Minister Broomes said the business operators were repeatedly warned by the Commission.

“The Commission would have written the shop owners there… I visited Puruni Landing since I took office just revisiting, talking, encouraging them to do the right thing,” Minister Broomes told Guyana Chronicle on Saturday.

Putting the issue into prospective, the Junior Natural Resources Minister explained that GGMC issues yearly business licence at a fee of G$10,000, and an additional $1,000 to those desirous of providing temporary accommodation to miners.

She said that instead of adhering to the laws and regulations governing the mining industry, holders of these licences would construct huge buildings and sublet to a number of persons at a time.

There have been cases in which two persons have

Edward Persaud

business licence for a single location, and sublet to a number of persons. These rental fees range in the hundreds of thousands, and according to Minister Broomes, in some cases one million dollars.

“GGMC grants business licences, those licences do not give you permission to sublet. The officers wrote all the persons who were not licensed owners,” she emphasised.

Many of the illegal businesses fail to adhere to environmental best practices, the Junior Natural Resources Minister posited while adding that there are also concerns about human trafficking occurring within the area.

The minister noted that when the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government took office, the mining sector was plagued with illegal activities and the government has been cleaning up the situation.

Amid allegations that the Brazilians were targeted, Minister Broomes made reference to a recent decision by the Minister of Citizen-

ship, Winston Felix, to grant temporary amnesty to illegal foreign national miners so that they can regularise their status in Guyana, as she set the record straight.

“That is not true… if we are offering them amnesty, why would we target the Brazilians. It is misleading,” she stated. In late February, miners were told to visit the Ministry of Citizenship with their passport and apply for an extension of stay.

The ministry offered the temporary amnesty based on representation made by Minister Broomes.

On Friday, officers from GGMC’s Mines Division moved on the illegal operators and closed their businesses

In recent times, Minister Broomes visited the Puruni Landing with the Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission

(GLSC), Trevor Benn who had encouraged operators to visit the GLSC’s Bartica Office to regularise their status.

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Kronoco Safety Solutions opens for business

By Gibron Rahim KRONOCO Safety Solutions officially opened for business on Friday with the launch that day of its Sheriff Street office.

The company seeks to offer occupational health, safety, environment and quality solutions to businesses and individuals across all sectors of Guyana. The launch, followed by a brunch, included a demonstration of some of the products Kronoco will be offering.

Latoya Jack, Kronoco’s CEO and co-founder, noted that having herself worked in the mining sector, she knows how difficult it can be to work in conditions where one’s safety footwear is unsuitable for the job.

Her initial idea had been to offer V12 safety footwear.

However, while doing her initial market research for the V12 safety footwear, she realised that there was a greater need to fulfil in Guyana. “As such, myself and business partner assessed ways in which we could offer the assistance to the local population in a most valuable way,” Jack said. Kronoco Safety Solutions was born out of this.

Jack related that she had recently heard Guyana being referred to outside of Guyana by a non-Guyanese as “the land of opportunity”. Referring to that story, she said that it brought the true reason for which Kronoco was created into focus. “The time of opportunity is really here for

The Kronoco Safety Solutions logo Guyana, but unless we can do what it takes to grab hold of the opportunities,” she said, “It will be lost to those who are not only willing but, more importantly, to those who are ready.”

Jack emphasised the need to improve Guyana’s safety culture. She explained that Kronoco Safety Solutions aims to increase the awareness of occupational health and safety in the workplace and prepare local businesses and professionals for international contracting opportunities through training, certification services and offering the right supplies for the right kinds of jobs.

Co-founder Darrel Gilkes, said that Kronoco is distinguishing itself, as the “new kid on the block”, in terms of quality and training. He explained that the company intends to maintain high-quality standards. The training Kronoco will provide aims to prepare young people for a working environment. Gilkes also related that Kronoco intends to provide quarterly quality checks, providing continued support to workers. “Our intention is to be long-term and give you that opportunity to develop yourself for your organisation,” Gilkes said.

Gilkes noted that the products that Kronoco offers are applicable to any environment or industry, whether automotive, oil and gas, construction, or even at home.

Among the products for home use are emergency lights and smoke-detection devices. “The idea for us is that we supply the product to you, we show you how to use it and we show you why it’s important to have it,” stated Gilkes.

He affirmed Kronoco’s commitment to supporting local and emerging industries with services that will See page 20

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Major rehabilitation for Region Seven schools

STUDENTS in Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) are poised to receive their education in an environment more conducive to learning.

This move comes as several schools in the region are being rehabilitated to ensure students have access to a friendly learning environment.

Regional Education Officer, Akbar Chindu outlined the various interventions to be undertaken, in an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI). Chindu stated that a new Primary School will be constructed in Kamarang at an estimated cost of $26M Additionally, he said, “We are going to have an extension at the female dormitory at D.C Caesar Fox Secondary. There we are going to have a sanitary block there, and twelve apartments.” The REO also disclosed that there will be “an enclosure at Karrau Creek primary school, that is in lower-Mazaruni and we are going to replace the burnt-out section of the Bartica Secondary School dormitory. There was a section that was destroyed by fire a few years ago but this year we are going to have that completely refurbished.”

Since its election, the government has been actively working to ensure the establishment of ‘child-friendly schools’. These institutions provide students with an environment that is physically safe, emotionally secure and psychologically enabling. With that in mind, the government has heavily invested in the country’ education system.

In this year’s budget, $41.9B was approved for the sector’s development. Region Seven accounted for $1.4B of that amount.

Kronoco Safety ...

From page 19

enhance their competitive advantage.

The company also has inspectors who are qualified and competent in their roles. “Competence separates us from accidents,” Gilkes said.

“That’s what we want to promote as a practice of Kronoco Safety Solutions.”

V12 SAFETY FOOTWEAR Jack invited Rick Corbin, a representative of V12 safety footwear and Völlner Lighting, to give a demonstration.

Corbin showed the audience the features of V12 that make the safety footwear both durable and comfortable.

He noted that the V12 brand is based on technology.

The toe caps of V12 safety boots are made of reinforced fiberglass, rather than metal. The material he said is just as strong as metal, while conducting neither heat nor electricity and returning to 90 percent of its shape should an object fall on it, allowing the safe removal of the foot.

The V12s are also puncture-proof, also called bulletproof, since they contain Kevlar midsoles. The midsoles replace the traditional metal plates of safety boots and allow flexibility.

The footbeds of the V12s are made of memory foam and a shock-absorbing foam called PORON. Corbin explained that the foam absorbs more shock than the traditional material used. Taking a small lead ball, he bounced it on a footbed made of traditional material and one made of PORON. While the ball bounced on the more traditional footbed, it simply landed on the PORON footbed to the awe of the audience. The soles also allow air circulation and have antifungal linings on both sides.

Corbin concluded that V12 safety footwear combines safety, comfort and affordability.

Jack addressed the audience once more and announced that, due to recent events, Kronoco has decided to start a best-packages campaign as part of its launch series. The intention is to offer a holistic, operable option for anyone looking to implement safety. “The campaign focuses on best practices of safety for the home, the individual and the professional in varying fields,” she said.

The bundle for the home will include fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and emergency lights as part of a onetime package. Kronoco will visit customers’ homes and perform the necessary installations, as well as service the fire extinguishers on a yearly basis.

“Safety is an individual and personal thing, but your safety is our business,” Jack concluded.

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HERO medical team completes 31 successful surgeries A MEDICAL team from the Health and Education Relief Organisation (HERO) has concluded a one-week surgical mission to Guyana where 31 successful surgeries were completed.

Eleven of these cases originated from the hinterland. The team of approximately 46 doctors and volunteers was led by Director John Mitchell. Also forming part of this mission was a plastic surgery team, making its third trip here. The operations which were done at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), were mostly paediatric in nature, while all others involved orthopaedic surgery. The procedures included correcting children with Development Displacement of the Hip (DDH) and Meniscal repairs, among others.

Director, John Mitchell of HERO, said, “One of the goals of the mission is not only to provide care, but to transfer knowledge… What we hope to see going forward is that the senior guys transfer the knowledge to the junior guys, and as we keep building on operating procedures. Those junior surgeons [can] also learn those skills in going forward.”

Further, Dr Mitchell said that after coming to Guyana for 12 years, there are services that can be independently provided by the GPHC, “Over the years, we have evolved to the point where we don’t have to do most of the procedures ourselves.” Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GPHC, Brigadier Ret’d George Lewis, thanked the team for their

Malissia Andrews, a happy mother, is satisfied that her son can now live a normal life after surgery to correct a developmental displacement of the hip

continuous support of the local health system. CEO Lewis indicated that based on the increased work being done by HERO, an invitation will always be open for them “to provide their beneficial services.”

Minister Lawrence recognised HERO’s invaluable contribution to developing the capacity of local doctors. She stated, “It will take Guyana a very long time if we were to send people out and come back and to be able to perform those services that your team comes here and performs. We would have a lot of people waiting for these services… for that, we are forever grateful.”

During a visit with some of the paediatric patients in the surgical ward, the minister found them recovering well and they and their family members in high spirits. One mother, Malissia Andrews, thanked the team, as well as Minister Lawrence, for facilitating the life-changing operation that corrected a DDH condition her son had. “I want to say thank you to the team on behalf of all the parents for giving our children a regular life. I can’t begin to describe how I feel, because I have been waiting for a while,” Andrews said.

Dr Mitchell added that for future trips, there may be the possibility of breast-reconstruction surgeries for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, “We have so far not been able to identify a cohort of patients for this procedure, but that is still our goal.”

The Health and Education Relief Organisation (HERO), is a not-for-profit humanitarian organisation based in the United States of America (USA). The

medical team is generally dedicated to providing free, high-quality health care and educational support services in communities throughout the Caribbean.

The HERO organisation implements its primary mis-

sion by conducting annual medical and educational outreach programmes, staffed by volunteer specialists in all branches of medical and surgical care, nutritional, therapeutic and even follow-up services.

With regard to providing medical education for health professionals, HERO ensures that doctors, more particularly surgeons, have a ‘hands-on’ approach to learning new skills in their respective fields. (DPI)

One of the surgeons (Dr Watson at extreme right), explains to Minister Lawrence the recovery phase of each of the patients

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National Assembly reflects on lives of former members

THE National Assembly on Thursday reflected on the lives of former parliamentarians Sandra Adams, Dr Mohamed Shahabuddeen, Philomena Rayman, Simon Hilton and Mohamed Deen, who died recently.

Motions expressing sym-

pathy on the deaths of the outstanding parliamentarians were also moved in the House.

Sandra Adams, who served as a member of parliament from July 15, 1998, to May 2, 2006, died on January 2, 2018. She was the

younger sister of Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Adams Patterson-Yearwood and was the People’s National Congress Reform’s (PNCR) Region 10 Executive and Assistant Director of Community Development.

Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, reflected on her vibrant character and her contributions in the House and politically. Adams was also highly praised by opposition member of Parliament (MP) Ganga Persaud.

MPs also paid tribute to Dr Mohamed Shahabud-

The late Sandra Adams deen’s dedicated service to the Parliament. Dr Shahabuddeen, who served as Attorney General and Min-

ister of Justice from July 24, 1973, to October 31, 1985, passed away on February 17, 2018. He also served as First Vice-President, First Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General from December 9, 1985, to February 5, 1988.

His service extended beyond Guyana, as Dr Shahabuddeen served as a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from 1988 to 1997 and has worked as an arbitrator and consultant in international law.

Sympathy was extended to the sorrowing widower, children, and relatives of former Parliamentary Secretary and MP, Philomena Rayman, who passed on August 16, 2017. She served in the National Assembly from July 26, 1973, to October 25, 1980. She also served as the Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister from January 1, 1981, to December 31, 1981, and an ordinary MP from January 1, 1982, to August 28, 1992.

The House also reflected on the life of former MP, Simon Hilton Ng-See-Quan,

The late Dr Mohamed Shahabuddeen who died on October 21, 2017. He served as MP from November 24, 1992, to October 28, 1997.

Additionally, the dedicated service of the late MP, Mohamed Deen, was highlighted by Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, and Opposition MP, Odinga Lumumba. Deen served in the Parliament of Guyana from December 24, 1985, to October 28, 1997.

(DPI)

Halt construction –– Lima Sands residents urge officials, in light of poor road work

By Indrawattie Natram SCORES of residents from Lima Sands located some five miles aback Anna Regina, Region Two, have raised concerns over the poor construction of the road leading to their community.

According to the residents, they have waited too long for the community to be given ‘sloppy’ work.

Speaking with reporters, residents say the road under construction is narrow and the building materials used to reinforce the shoulders are inferior.

The residents, who act as monitors of the project, said they are dissatisfied with the work done and called for a halt to the project and an investigation to be launched into the work done.

Representatives of the Amerindian People’s Association and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) councillors at the recent Regional Democratic Council (RDC) meeting raised the issue of poor materials being used on the road shoulders.

These are a mixture of sand and loam on a road frequented by heavy-duty trucks.

Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt said the beneficiaries should have been consulted before imple-

mentation of the project.

“There was no consultation with the project beneficiaries and this may be the main reason why the project is poorly designed; consultation on the other hand would achieve proper project designs,” Ramdatt said.

He also said several complaints were brought before him by residents about the project, pointing out that there is need for consultation and transparency in the region as it relates to projects.

The region’s RDC has instructed the Works Committee to inspect the project and provide a report, which will be shared with Regional Executive Officer (REO) Rupert Hopkinson for his intervention.

When contacted, REO Hopkinson said the engineer confirmed that the contractor is following the specification of the projects.

He said the project has engaged his attention and he will see what adjustment can be made by the contractor, but as it is, the contractor is honouring the specifications of the works.

Hopkinson also inspected the project and had a first-hand view of what residents were requesting.

Lima Sands is a small, mixed community that has a population of close to 300 persons.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

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Ireland seal grand slam in style on St Patrick’s Day

By Mitch Phillips LONDON (Reuters) - Ireland secured their third Six Nations grand slam in emphatic style on Saturday when, on a St Patrick’s Day to remember, they overwhelmed defending champions England 24-15 at Twickenham to join the men of 1948 and 2009 in the country’s rugby hall of fame.

The Irish made light of sleet and biting wind and an England team desperate to avoid a third successive defeat as they deservedly led 21-5 at halftime with tries by Garry Ringrose, CJ Stander and the prolific Jacob Stockdale.

England, unbeaten at home in the Six Nations since 2012, managed tries

by Elliot Daly in each half and another in stoppage time

by Jonny May but always looked second-best.

Ireland, who have now won 12 games in a row, top the standings on 26 points ahead of Scotland on 13, Wales 11, France and England on 10 and Italy with one.

Following Scotland’s win in Rome earlier on Saturday and with just the Wales versus France game left in the championship, England will finish outside the top three for the first time in 12 years and could end as low as fifth - their worst performance in 35 years.

Chase Chased!

Defending champs booted from Milo U-18

By Stephan Sookram THERE will be new champions for this year’s Milo Schools Football tournament following the departure of defending champions Chase Academy yesterday.

They were out-done 1-0

by Sir Leon’s Lesson under lights at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue.

In a game precariously perched, the first half belonged to the eventual winners who had the best chance on goal, a swirling low shot that beat the keeper but found the upright instead of the net.

While the chances were few, Chase managed good runs but failed to finish them - their striker slipping at the mouth of goal.

Their lack of cohesive play and failure in the final third also did not help their cause, with skipper Jeremy Garrett sharing the same view.

“We just didn’t finish in the final third,” he said, adding, “We (the team) have young players who will be

back next year, but they need to learn to lose in order to learn to win.”

On the opposing side, while there were even less chances for Sir Leon’s, they were scoring chances which required the Chase defence to work.

In spite of that, the half ended goal-less and the fans were enjoying every minute of the tenseness.

On the resumption, the game carried almost the same rhythm, Chase building well but then giving the ball away in the final third and Sir Leon’s getting a sprinkling of runs on the opposition.

However, Leon’s Teon Forde bullied his way down the left side of the field, pushing past two defenders and unleashing a cannonball into the right side of the net.

Chase were horrified.

The crowd could not be contained and Forde wheeled off in celebration. “At that time, I was overjoyed. We knew one goal would have beaten them. We knew it.”

With just over 10 minutes

to go and losing, Chase went on the attack, their keeper in one instance rushing to the centre line to ensure they kept possession. They raided constantly without result, landing several on the mouth of goal but none getting past the keeper.

As the clock counted down, it slowly began to sink in; a dynasty had been felled.

And when the whistle sounded to confirm the result, the crowd poured onto the field in jubilation for Sir Leon’s.

In the earlier match, Buxton Youth Developers were a runaway train against Masters Academy beating them 4-0.

Teshaun Gordon (45th, 78th and 83rd) scored a hat-trick while Shamar Scott scored in the 27th minute.

Those two teams are through to the semi-finals with the other two to be decided today when Lodge Secondary play Pure Masters from 14:00hrs and Morgan Learning Centre go up against Annandale from 16:00hrs

GOA unveils Guyana’s Commonwealth Games contingent THE Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) yesterday unveiled the names of 20 athletes and 10 officials who will be heading to Australia’s Gold Coast for the April 4-15, 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games.

At a press conference, hosted at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), president Juman-Yassin said that he’s confident, the representatives of the various disciplines selected by the respective association will do well ‘Down Under,’ and he truly believes the best athletes were selected.

Guyana will be represented in badminton, boxing, rifle-shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis and track and field.

Godfrey Monroe, who sits at the helm of table tennis in Guyana, told the media that the team of Trenace Lowe, Priscilla Greaves, Christopher Franklin, Natalie Cummings, Shemar Britton, Nigel Bryan and Joel Alleyne will depart Guyana next week along with coach Idi Lewis and with the assistance of Sydney Christophe, they will compete in the Westchester Open in New York.

Monroe said he believes that the tournament in the U.S. will offer the

much-needed competition and the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) is confident that the team will perform above expectations in Australia.

In the absence of coach Ramon Chan-A-Sue, David Fernandes, Guyana’s General Team Manager, said the squash team (Mary Fung-A-Fat, Taylor Fernandes, Sunil Seth and Jason Khalil) will be heading to the Commonwealth Games as a confident bunch, adding, “The good thing for squash is that most of the top players in the world are from countries within the Commonwealth, and as such, I think the games will give them (the team) a chance to play the best in the world and I’m sure they will give their best.”

Meanwhile, in boxing, coach Sebert Blake said Keevin Allicock and Collin ‘Superman’ Lewis happen to be Guyana’s best chances of medalling at the games.

Blake referred to the pair of fighters’ showing at the CAC Games qualifiers in Mexico, where they both finished with bronze. They will be representing Guyana in Colombia later this year.

“I believe they are in their best shape and will do

great things in Australia.

I’m glad that we’re actually getting in a week early so we will be able to acclimatise and adjust to the conditions in the Gold Coast,” Blake noted.

Julian Edmonds was announced as coach of Guyana’s track and field team that comprises Troy Doris, Winston George, Emanuel Archibald, Leslain Baird, Natricia Hooper and Natrena Hooper.

Narayan Ramdhani is the lone badminton player in the squad and his father Gokarn Ramdhani will serve as his coach.

Andrew Fowler and Jamila Sanmoogan’s chances of a podium finish seem slim, according to coach Sean Baksh, who said the pair have been doing decent times in the pool, but the games will be used as part of their longterm goals of preparing for the Olympic Games in 2020.

The rifle-shooting team will include Paul Slowe (coach), Ransford Goodluck and Lennox Braithwaite.

The athletes and officials will depart at different dates leading up to the games, but will all be present in Australia ahead of the April 4 opening ceremony.

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88 days to go …

How Germany could look at the 2018 World Cup Elsewhere, given that Niklas Süle continues to impress in Bayern colours, it’s hard to overlook his claims to be the next cab off the centre-back rank behind Hummels and Boateng.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen is already pencilled in as Manuel Neuer’s No.2 - will there be a better back-up goalkeeper in Russia? – while Bayer Leverkusen’s Benjamin Henrichs is perhaps most in danger of slipping out of this team after a slow start to the 2017/18 Bundesliga campaign.

If you want proof of Germany’s current strength in depth, then how about this: our third-choice line-up contains three World Cup winners from 2014 (Mario Götze, Shkodran

one appearance, raising serious doubt over his likelihood of reprising his role in the World Cup-winning side.

Given that he’s now returned to action with Dortmund, Julian Weigl will no doubt be pushing the midfield in options 1 and 2. The same goes for the goalscorer in the final against Argentina in Rio in July 2014, Götze, who has shone in the BVB midfield of late following his return from metabolic disturbances.

Löw is also a fan of Amin Younes’ trickery: the former Borussia Mönchengladbach man offers the option of playing with a genuine

Full-backs Joshua Kimmich and Jonas Hector are two players who were not involved in the 2014 squad in Löw’s first-choice XI.

HAVING been drawn against Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, Germany coach Joachim Löw must pick a squad for the tournament. With no shortage of experts hailing the country’s wells of talent, we took it upon ourselves to see just how deep they run, drawing up no fewer than FOUR world-class starting line-ups.

Thomas Müller is as Thomas Müller does, while Mesut Özil’s quality and experience guarantee him a spot.

Werner’s remarkable recent form for Leipzig makes him the first-choice out-and-out striker, although, should either Mario Gomez or Sandro Wagner continue to impress during the Bundesliga season, then they will put pres-

There are three 2014 World Cup winners in this option, including Mario Götze, scorer of the winner in the final.

Mustafi and Benedikt Höwedes).

Bernd Leno’s impressive displays so far this term for Bayer Leverkusen look to have the keeper ahead of Kevin Trapp - who has lost his place at Paris Saint-Germain - in the running to be third choice at the World Cup. In front of Leno, Jeremy Toljan’s move to Dortmund has catapulted him up the fullback queue, while Jonathan Tah adds to the Leverkusen presence in the back line.

winger Julian Brandt adds to the Leverkusen connection, and could well push for more regular international recognition if he continues to impress at club level.

Up top, Lars Stindl has impressed since being included earlier this year: although no spring chicken at 29, the Gladbach skipper boasts plenty of Champions League experi-

Schalke’s Leon Goretzka is pushing for more regular inclusion with impressive display after impressive display; the same goes for Sebastian Rudy.

Boasting seven World Cup winners and a youthful injection in the form of Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich and RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner, this line-up is a combination of the players Löw prefers to utilise and those who would feature, were everyone fully fit.

Kimmich’s vision, energy and reading of the game make him a ready-made replacement for former team-mate Philipp Lahm - Löw has called Kimmich “world class” - while Cologne’s Jonas Hector has cemented his spot as first-choice left-back since making his debut in November 2014.

The spine of the team is built around the 2014 World Cup winners: the Bayern core of captain Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, and Jerome Boateng comprise a formidable defensive trio, while Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira - both starters in last season’s Champions League final with Real Madrid and Juventus respectively - dovetail naturally in midfield.

sure on Werner’s place.

It goes without saying that Löw has alternatives in the attacking midfield positions at the ready, should he prefer to shift Müller into the lone striker role or should Marco Reus’ injury troubles continue, but the Borussia Dortmund man has looked in imperious form since returning from his latest lay-off.

Captain of the Confederations Cup-winning unit, Draxler, is also in contention for the first-choice side, given Reus’ well-documented injury troubles, while Gomez looks to have rediscovered some form since his move to VfB Stuttgart, and provides nous and experience up top - as well as a guarantee of goals (31 in 71 caps).

Marvin Plattenhardt looks to be at the front of the left-back queue when Hector is unavailable; Hertha Berlin’s free-kick specialist is as impressive going forward as he is solid in defence.

His variation offers a mixture of youth and experience. Dortmund’s Maximilian Philipp will be pushing for higher honours soon, while Sandro Wagner will also be hoping for a place on the plane.

Comfortable at right or centre-back, former Schalke skipper Höwedes had hoped he could impress in Serie A with Juventus this term, but injuries have limited his playing time to just

ence and underlined his big-game mentality by scoring the winner in the Confederations Cup final this summer.

28

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

Barbados to open Regional U-15 defence against T&T ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Four-time champions Barbados will open the defence of their Regional Under-15 Championship title against arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago, when the tournament bowls off in Jamaica later this month.

Ironically, the Barbadians lifted the title last year after beating T&T in the final round, when the championship was staged in Bridgetown.

The tournament, which runs from March 28 to April 4, will see Leeward Islands, Guyana, Windward Islands and Jamaica joining Barbados and T&T to do battle over five rounds of one-day cricket.

Cricket West Indies’ director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, said the tournament represented a chance for selectors to identify the future international stars` This is one of the key development tournaments on the

Cricket West Indies annual calendar,” said the former West Indies captain.

“This tournament serves the purpose of encouraging junior players from across the Caribbean to excel and to be given the opportunity for early recognition, while promoting competition among their peers at the regional level.

“In our bid to make Windies a consistently successful side in the near and long-term future, it is important that we pay close attention to our development pipeline and make sure it is working effectively.”

Leewards, who finished in second place last year, take on hosts Jamaica at Up Park Camp while Windwards, who were third last year, clash with Guyana at Kensington Cricket Club.

This year represents the third time in the last six years that Jamaica will host the agegroup tournament, and Adams believes this will be an excel-

Director of cricket, Jimmy Adams.

lent opportunity for players to also engage personal development off the field.

“Jamaica is a great place to play the game, so it’s also an opportunity for the players to become acquainted with another culture and gain a greater appreciation for the region in which they live – that is also part of the learning experience of playing in a tournament like this,” he

SFSCL/ Orlando Cup II

Flawless Regal teams on course for semis REGAL Masters and Regal All Stars convincingly won both of their preliminary round matches on the opening day of Orlando Cup 2 last Friday in Florida, USA. Playing at Geveve grounds, Regal Masters were in clinical mode when they dispatched both South Florida Softball Cricket League (SFSCL) and Tri State Masters on the opening day of the three-day tournament.

In the opening match against SFSCL, Regal won by 9 wickets with 10.2 overs to spare.

The victory was set up by man-of-the-match, Mahesh Chunilall and the consistent Mahendra Hardyal who showed their readiness for the annual championship.

SFSCL were invited to bat and got to 82 before they were bowled out in the 19th over. Hardyal snared 3 for 16 (4 overs) and was supported by Throy Kippins with 3 for 25 while Kayume Mohammed made 21.

Chunilall then got 51 not out (6x6, 3x4) as Regal raced to their target in sunny conditions. Hardyal hit 19 (3x6) in an opening stand of 70 before he was dismissed.

Mohammed picked up the lone wicket for 18 runs from 2 overs.

In the second match, Regal were up against Tri State Masters who also showed no competition.

They resisted for 20 overs before they folded off the last ball of their innings for a paltry 87.

Ramkumar Seenarine topscored with 20 while Amir Ahmad made 16.

Hardyal was once again in ripping form with 3 for 38 while Fazleem Mohamed took 2 for 10 and Throy Kippins had 2 for 17.

In the run chase, Chunilall finished on 44 not out (6x6; 3x4) and was once again supported by Hardyal with 36 (4x6; 3x4) as they got home by 9 wickets with a mammoth 13.4 overs in hand.

Regal were scheduled to meet New York Blitz yesterday morning in their final preliminary round match before playing their semi-final from 13:30hrs Regal All Stars will meet World Boss in their final preliminary round match before playing their semi-final from 13:30hrs as well, after disposing of Speed Boat and New York Assassins.

And in the Over-45 category, Floodlights won their two matches and are on course for the semi-finals.

The finals are set for today at Hogshead grounds.

explained “We also hope that experiencing the passion that people from outside of their own territory have for the game will also help to inspire them to continue along the development pipeline and one day wear the Windies burgundy; so we look forward to seeing loads of talented players being unearthed at this year’s tournament.”

KP calls time on cricket career (REUTERS) - Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen appeared to have brought the curtain down on his cricket playing career yesterday, announcing his decision to step away from the game in a series of messages on social media.

Pietersen, 37, who briefly captained England in 2008-09, spent the latter part of his career playing for a number of club teams across the world after controversially being told in 2014 that he was no longer in the national side’s plans.

A hard-hitting batsman who often made playing unorthodox shots look easy, Pietersen, was part of England’s 2005 Ashes-winning side and helped them win the 2010 World T20 title.

His international career ended in 2014 when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sacked him, saying that then-captain Alastair Cook had to be able to trust and rely on the support of all his

SCHEDULE of matches All matches start at 09:30hrs local time, (East Caribbean add 1 hour) ROUND 1 – Wednesday, March 28 Barbados vs Trinidad & Tobago – Melbourne Oval Guyana vs Windward Islands – Up Park Camp Leeward Islands vs Jamaica – Kensington Cricket Ground ROUND 2 – Thursday, March 29 Windward Islands vs Barbados – Chedwin Park Trinidad & Tobago vs Jamaica – Kensington Cricket Ground Leeward Islands vs Guyana – Melbourne Oval ROUND 3 – Saturday, March 31 Barbados vs Jamaica – Chedwin Park Windward Islands vs Leeward Islands – Jamalco Cricket Ground Trinidad & Tobago vs Guyana – Windalco Cricket Ground ROUND 4 – Monday, April 2 Leeward Islands vs Barbados – Windalco Cricket Ground Guyana vs Jamaica – Jamalco Cricket Ground Trinidad & Tobago vs Windward Islands – Chedwin Park ROUND 5 – Wednesday, April 4 Guyana vs Barbados – Up Park Camp Trinidad & Tobago vs Leeward Islands – Kensington Cricket Ground Jamaica vs Windward Islands – Melbourne Oval TOURNAMENT WINNERS (Hosts in brackets) 1996 – Trinidad & Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) 1997 – Barbados (St. Lucia) 1998 – Guyana (Jamaica) 1999 – Guyana (Guyana) 2000 – Trinidad & Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) 2001 – Trinidad & Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) 2002 – Trinidad & Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) 2003 – No winner (Jamaica) 2004 – Barbados (St. Vincent & the Grenadines) 2005 – Trinidad & Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) 2006 – Jamaica (Antigua & Barbuda) 2007 – Windward Islands (Trinidad & Tobago) 2008 – Jamaica (Dominica) 2009 – Jamaica (Trinidad & Tobago) 2010 – Trinidad & Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) 2011 – Jamaica (Trinidad & Tobago) 2012 – Barbados (St. Kitts & Nevis) 2013 – Trinidad & Tobago (Jamaica) 2014 – Guyana (Jamaica) 2015 – Guyana (Guyana) 2016 – Trinidad & Tobago (Grenada) 2017 – Barbados (Barbados) League.

Kevin Pietersen

players.

Pietersen played 104 Tests for England after making his debut against Australia at Lord’s in 2005. He scored 8 181 runs at an average of 47.28 and struck 23 centuries and 35 fifties.

The South Africa-born Pietersen also played 136 one-day internationals - scoring almost 4 500 runs with nine centuries and 25 fifties - as well as 37 Twenty20 internationals.

It was in the shortest format that Pietersen delighted fans in India, playing for Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore among others in the lucrative Indian Premier

SORRY HEART “Boots up! Feet up! Family, animals, golf ... HOME,” the swashbuckling batsman tweeted yesterday, before following it up with another message to his 3.65 million followers.

“Just been told that I scored 30 000+ runs which included 152 fifties & 68 hundreds in my professional career.

Time to move on.”

Gladiators are due to face Peshawar Zalmi in Lahore on Tuesday with the final scheduled for Karachi next Sunday. All previous games in the Twenty20 league were in Dubai and Sharjah.

In a video on the Gladiators’ Twitter feed, Pietersen said: “... it is with a very hardened heart, a very sorry heart, that I have to leave Dubai, going back to London now.

“I wish I could travel but unfortunately

family’s very important, family decision, and I hope that you can respect my decision and my family’s decision not to travel. “ The Gladiators tweeted: “You will be missed @KP24 Great career!! Thank you for everything. Wish you could (have) stayed with us till PSL final but we respect your decision.”

Pietersen scored seven runs in his last match for the Gladiators against Islamabad United on Thursday.

“Well done @KP24 on an fantastic career ... Not everyone’s Cup of Tea but you will do for me ... Best Batsman I had the pleasure to play with ...

1st England batsman that put fear into the Aussies .. #WellDone,” former skipper Michael Vaughan tweeted.

“Well done Kidda what a career,” former England paceman Darren Gough wrote in tweet, while the England and Wales Cricket Board simply tweeted: ‘Thank you @KP24!’

Pietersen’s England career Matches Runs Average Tests ODIs T20Is

104 136 37

8181 4440 1176

47.28 40.73 37.93

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

29

Harvard Rugby Club to visit Guyana for GRFU season-opener on March 24 THE Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) will open its 2018 Rugby season on Saturday, March 24, with a sevens tournament, featuring Trinidad and Tobago’s Harvard Rugby Club.

With the event set for the National Park, the Guyana Defence Force, Pepsi Hornets, Yamaha Caribs, Guyana Police Force and Panthers will match skills with the Twin Island Republic’s leading sevens team for a winners’ purse of $200 000.

The team to finish in second place, according to the GRFU, will pocket $100

Australian-based Kevin McKenzie will be in action for Pepsi Hornets

The Harvard Rugby Club of Trinidad and Tobago

000 and the player adjudged the most valuable (MVP) will receive $20 000.

The GRFU, in a release, also noted that the day will also see Guyana’s leading

female ruggers in action in a playoff for $50 000.

Rawle Toney, vice-pres-

Windies great Ambrose, Reon King among 25 coaches Level 3-certified

Curtly Ambrose

WEST Indian fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose as well as former Test players Reon King, Pedro Collins, Stuart Williams and Ryan Hinds are among 25 regional cricket coaches who achieved Level 3 certification through a collaborative effort between Cricket West Indies and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The eight-day tutored course focused on preparing coaches to work with elite players and teams and is expected to further advance the continued efforts of Cricket West Indies (CWI) to strengthen coaching and ultimately improve the quality of regional squads and players.

“The Level 3 course is an important part of the current CWI coaching pathway which starts from the foundation course and incorporates Levels 1 and 2 and

now includes Level 3,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“We are keen on ensuring all our franchises have the benefit of coaches prepared at the elite level.

“With the Level 3 certification, coaches are better equipped to lead their national teams and the training and experience should provide the tools necessary for more one-on-one coaching while allowing them to better prepare elite players.”

Ambrose, who was delighted at the opportunity to upgrade his technical knowledge, said, “I want to use this newly-acquired skill as soon as I am able to and I am looking forward to contributing more, soon,” he said.

Andrew Richardson, assistant coach of the Jamaica Scorpions and manager of the Jamaica Tallawahs, was also among the batch of coaches certified.

“It was an opportunity I have always wanted. I am hoping this will benefit the players I work with at all levels; to be able to produce the best players for West Indies cricket,” said Richardson who also coaches at the high school level.

Adams noted that producing world class players and winning teams is the number-one objective within CWI’s new five-year strategic plan.

“There is a proven direct correlation between high-level coaching standards and good players and ultimately winning teams,” he said, “and by collaborating with the ECB, this is a great demonstration of how partnerships can help CWI pool resources to increase

Reon King

investment in our great game.”

The team of instructors was led

by Tim Dellor from the ECB and he was assisted by West Indians Tony Gray, Jeffrey Dujon, Hendy Springer and Gus Logie. The course was completed in Antigua last November while final assessments were done in Barbados and Grenada in mid-February.

The coaches certified included Vinood Maharaj, Terrance Corke, Brendon Ramjal, Robert Turner, Brian Browne, Zubin Surkari, Stuart Williams, Kulbir Jaswal, Raphael Croney, David Bernard, Keith Charlery, Andrew Richardson, Cleton Burnett, Curtly Ambrose, Calvin Waldron, Ryan Hinds, Clay Smith, Pedro Collins, Reon King, Ricky Clarke, Winston Smith, Dave Marshall, Bharat Mangru, Errol Barrow, and Richard Clarke. (SPORTSMAX)

ident of the GRFU, related that an official launch will be held on Wednesday,

where details with regard to sponsorship and other information will be made public.

“This will be the maiden voyage for Harvard Rugby Club to Guyana, and with players like Claudius Butts on their roster, I believe it will be the biggest season opening ever,” Toney said.

According to Toney, local clubs are going allout to cash in on one of the biggest takings in rugby, and with Australian-based Kevin McKenzie suiting up for Pepsi Hornets fans of the game would not want to miss out on the action.

Osaka stuns Halep as rising stars reach Indian Wells final (REUTERS) - Japan’s Naomi Osaka made short work of a subdued world number one Simona Halep on Friday, the unseeded 20-yearold racing to a 6-3, 6-0 semi-final victory, to set up a surprise BNP Paribas Open final against Daria Kasatkina.

The Russian, also 20, continued her sparkling run of form earlier in the evening when she outlasted American veteran Venus Williams in a three-set slugfest lasting almost three hours.

Osaka’s defeat of the top-seeded Halep stood out as the bigger of the two upsets, which played out under the lights on a chilly night in the California desert city of Indian Wells.

The Romanian had won all three of her previous meetings with the emerging Japanese player and looked poised to make a run to reclaim the title she won in 2015, but instead she put in a puzzling performance full of uncharacteristic errors and little fight.

The match started as a cagey affair until it reached 3-3 in the opening set before Halep’s game unraveled, as she coughed up a litany of errors, paving the way for Osaka to reel off the next nine games without much resistance.

“It wasn’t easy,” Osaka said in a courtside interview. “I was really stressed out the entire time but I am really happy I could end it fast.”

Halep offered few excuses for her baffling display but felt that the long

Japan’s Naomi Osaka

wait to get on court had not helped her cause.

“I just didn’t feel the ball at all. I was out of the game today. I played okay until 4-3 but then I just went out. I don’t know why. I just lost my concentration,” she said.

“She was better. She was more prepared and she was ready to play and ready to win the match. I was not.”

KASATKINA OUTLASTS VENUS While Osaka barely broke a sweat in her 64-minute victory, it was a different story for Kasatkina, who emerged the victor after a marathon 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 battle against Williams.

Kasatkina took advantage of a sub-par serving night from the more powerful Williams as the match progressed, forcing long rallies that ultimately wore her 37-year-old opponent down over the course of the contest.

30

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

Gise/Star Party Rentals first-division tournament

Jacobs, Narayan bowl MSC to first-innings honours against GCC ... Chandrika hits unbeaten 149, five-wicket haul for Johnson, Jacobs, Nedd, Suknanan and France

By Rajiv Bisnauth

MALTEENOES Sports Club (MSC) spinners tore into the Georgetown Cricket Club’s (GCC) batting order late on the opening day to claim first-innings honours when play in the GCA’s Gise/Star Party Rentals first-division tournament ended yesterday at Bourda.

Off-spinners Steven Jacobs (5-41) and Vishal Narayan (4-34), combined to cause the dramatic collapse.

Through a combination of poor strokes and some excellent spin bowling, GCC slumped from a comfortable position of 63-1 to 121 all out off 30 overs.

With a first-innings lead of 78, MSC batting a second time reached seven without loss when bails were lifted at 17:30hrs.

Openers Nkosie Barker and Stephon Browne will resume today.

Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to bat, the visitors managed to score just 199 runs in 68 overs with Barker and former national youth player Kellon Carmichael, the principal scorers with 55 and 58 runs respectively.

Barker and Browne put together a 73-run stand to give the innings the perfect impetus before they fell apart to left-arm spinner Devon Lord (4-113) and leg-spin-

Gajanan Suknanan

ner Leon Johnson (5-25) who combined to take nine wickets.

The right-hander Barker was the more dominant, hitting nine fours and a six before Johnson provided the breakthrough with the wicket of Barker.

Thereafter, the Thomas Lands side lost two wickets, to slip to 117-3 at lunch.

Lord trapped Brown leg-before-wicket for 18,

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Shimron Hetmyer-171 runs

(2)

Affie Fletcher-5 wickets

Today’s Quiz: (1) Who took most wickets for the WI in the group stages of the ICC WC Qualifiers?

(2) Which WI woman had the best bowling figures in a single game in the recent ODI series against NZ? Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Ali Mohamed (1-31), was the other successful bowler for the hosts.

Thereafter, the hosts’ openers Robin Bacchus and Winston Forrester laid

89.

Over at the Malteenoes Sports Club ground; Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO) were bowled out for 141

Kellon Carmichael

Steven Jacobs

while Johnson had Marcus Watkins in similar fashion for nine.

The post-lunch session saw the hosts put further grip on the game with the last seven wickets, but Carmichael was the main source of inspiration for the visitors.

The talented all-rounder stood firm at one end to provide the much-needed resistance in an innings which was decorated with seven fours and a six before he became Johnson’s fourth victim.

Rawle Merell, having struck two fours and two sixes in a rapid unbeaten 23, and skipper Jacobs (11) were the other batsmen to have reached double figures.

Medium pacer Ronaldo

Narayan then bowled Lord (10) and Johnson (14) before Jacobs completed his five-wicket haul with the wicket of Stephon Wilson (10). Rovaldo Phillips was run-out before Narayan finished off the innings.

Meanwhile, in the other games, hosts Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), replying to Everest Cricket Club’s first-innings 282 all out, were 194-6.

Test-discard batsman Rajendra Chandrika stroked an entertaining unbeaten 149 for the Camp Road side. Tagenarine Chanderpaul made 22. Bowling for the hosts, left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd was the best bowler, claiming 5-84. For the hosts Christopher Barnwell made

Rajendra Chandrika

a solid foundation, putting together 63 for the first-wicket, but a rapid decline began shortly after the opening stand was broken by Jacobs when he trapped Forrester lbw for 28.

Narayan removed Bacchus in similar fashion for 36 (4x4, 2x6) before Jacobs claimed the wickets of Martin Pestano-Bell (4), Ali-Mohamed (0) and Kennard Moonsammy (0), without further addition to the score.

Devon Lord

against GNIC. Kishan Singh and Wazim Alli were the principal scorers with 28 and 24 respectively. Off-spinner Gajanan Suknanan claimed 6-39.

In reply, GNIC were skittled out for 139. Trevon France claimed a seven-wicket haul. Batting a second time GYO reached 9-1.

Ambrose aiming to make it two in second leg of Cheddi Jagan Memorial road race NATIONAL cycling coach Hassan Mohamed will run off the second leg of the 21st annual Cheddi Jagan Memorial cycling road race on the West Bank of Demerara today, as the country’s top cyclists battle for top honours.

The race, which will pedal off at 08:30hrs from the Demerara Harbour Bridge (West Bank), will proceed to Bushy Park, East Bank Essequibo, before finishing at the point of origin. Top quality riding from a number of cyclists is expected but in the spotlight will be GDF’s Alonzo Ambrose.

Ambrose took the first leg in Berbice on Sunday. He held off tough competition from Team Coco’s Jamual John who had to settle for second place on that occasion, John is still looking for his first win of the year despite consistently placing among the top bracket at respective meets.

The other top six places went to Andre ‘Padlock’ Greene (third), Paul DeNobre-

Alonzo Ambrose will be in the spotlight today in the second leg of the 21st Cheddi Jagan Memorial road race.

ga (fourth), Andrew Hicks (fifth) and Christopher ‘Chicken Legs’ Griffith in sixth.

At last year’s edition, Curtis Dey

was the victorious junior rider on the ‘West side’ but he is now competing as a senior cyclist, so the junior title is up for grabs.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, March 18, 2018

31

Danny Persaud aiming for Group Three glory

By Stephan Sookram HAVING had a broken year in 2017, Danny Persaud is ready to seek glory atop the Group Three standings, starting with the first National Race of Champions in a week’s time.

Missing a few of the local legs last year cost him valuable points in the run-up to the championship finale in November but Persaud says that he is raring to return.

“Last year, I had some stuff I wanted to work on personally so I missed a few meets both locally and internationally.

This year, it’s going to be different,” he said.

“Car preparation has begun a while ago and at the moment, we’ve got some finery to do on the car but as it stands, there is nothing major that needs to be done to the car.”

He noted that they have been working on more reliability for the car

as they push ahead to the Caribbean Championships which begin in Jamaica in May. “We are also using this meet as a bit of litmus for the CMRC (Caribbean Motor Racing Championships) first leg at Jamwest so how the car performs here will determine that.”

Competitor-wise, Persaud admitted that the other drivers in his group are also looking for a good start to the local drivers’ standings.

“Well, there’s of course Vishok (Persaud, the defending Group 3 champion) as well as Stefan (Jeffrey) and some of the other guys who I know are going to come hard so it’s not going to be easy.

His blue Mazda Miata is sponsored

by Buy Me Auto.

Among the meet’s sponsors are STAG, Mohamed’s Enterprise and Tropical Shipping.

Western Tigers back on top!

Fruta Conquerors stop Milerock to move into second spot DEFENDER Colin Nelson netted twice for Western Tigers in their 2-1 win over New Amsterdam United, to keep the West Ruimveldt-based club unbeaten in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League and move to the top of the 10-team table, when action continued at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground on Friday evening.

Fruta Conquerors also picked up their fifth win of the Elite League on Friday, with a 4-1 whipping of Linden’s Milerock United.

Behind coach Calvin Allen, Western Tigers have imposed themselves as one of the favourites to win the country’s top senior football league title, and so far, they have been living up to expectations.

On Friday, Nelson netted in the third and 32nd minutes to give Western Tigers their fifth win in six outings and to move them to 16 points (five wins, one draw) but just one point above Fruta Conquerors.

The Tucville-based

Colin Nelson

team’s tally of five wins and a draw puts them in second place behind Western Tigers. Against a hapless Milerock United, coach Sampson Gilbert’s team saw goals from Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson (30th),

Denis Edwards (42nd), Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams (77th) and Anthony Benfield (80th).

Colric Beckles scored the lone goal for the Linden unit in the 60th minute. Milerock slipped to their fifth defeat of the Elite League, while securing only one win to settle on three points.

Meanwhile, tonight defending champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will host sixth-place Buxton United in the night’s second fixture of the double-header at their Camp Ayanganna ground.

From 17:30hrs, fourth-place Victoria Kings will look to secure their fourth win of the Elite League against a stubborn Den Amstel side.

Latest points standings in the GFF Elite League

Danny Persaud’s Mazda Miata (GTRidez photo)

QC ready to ‘take on’ Barbados ... 17-man squad prepares for Sir Garfield Sobers Int’l Schools tourney:

By Vishani Ragobeer A 17-MAN cricket squad from Queen’s College is preparing to compete with teams from around the world in the 32nd Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools Tournament scheduled for July 9-23 in Barbados.

Queen’s College (QC) had sent a team to this tournament in 2016 and the side fared well against other international teams.

This year, however, the Vice-captain of the QC cricket team, team - with its new manager Amos Sarwan, receives the donation (school teacher) Mohammed from a Star Sports representative.

Nasir - is pumped to ‘Take on Also in photo is team member Ronaldo Bar’ and bring home glory for McGarrell. the school and for the country. up to the Barbados tournament, Captain of the QC cricket team and leading run-getter from the team will be focused on honthe 2016 meet, Navindra Persaud, ing their skills and amassing the stated adamantly that the team is resources that will enable their intent on securing the top position undertaking. at the end of the tournament.

On Friday, owner of Star Sports “We have a balanced team, with located in Enmore, Sheik Mohamed everyone from the core of the team (a former national player), chipped having club experience; some with in with a donation towards gear for experience playing on the national the players. level and a few who have played for The donation, team member Guyana,” Persaud related. and Upper Sixth Form student Additionally, the Under-17 Ronaldo McGarrell said, will defiplayer asserted that the team consists of players with “promising nitely go a far way in supporting talent” who perform excellently, on the team but additional support is welcome to help offset additional a consistent basis.

In the coming months leading costs.

Chase Chased!

Danny Persaud aiming for group three glory

PAGE

31

Defending champs booted from Milo U-18 PAGE

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The one that got away!

The Chase Defense could not contain Teon Forde in the 87th as he scored the decider for Sir Leon in their quarter final match.

Buxton Youth Developers Railroaded Pure Masters 4-0. (Adrian Narine Photo)

Ireland seal grand slam in GOA unveils Guyana’s Commonwealth Games contingent style on St Patrick’s Day PAGE

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Some athletes and officials during the GOA’s media briefing to announce the full Commonwealth Games contingent

Ireland celebrate the clean sweep after victory at Twickenham

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SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018