Guuyana chronicle e paper 04 02 2018

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No. 105175

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018

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The truth is out there – says brother of Lindo Creek victim

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Raising awareness: These young ladies had an audience when they visited the Giftland Mall on Saturday to raise awareness of sexual reproductive health and rights with a special focus on family planning/ contraception in Guyana (Delano Williams photo)

One dead, several O7 injured in Schoonord accident PAGE

800 sugar New information workers hired surfaces at job fair PAGE

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– official documents suggest permission was granted to establish law school here

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

New information surfaces

– official documents suggest permission was granted to establish law school here ON the heels of the Council of Legal Education Meeting of the Executives this month, the Attorney General’s Chamber has provided official documents suggesting that Guyana had been granted permission to establish a law school here as stated by Attorney General Basil Williams.

Chairman of the Council of Legal Education (CLE) Reginald Armour has reportedly said that permission was never granted for Guyana to establish its own law school.

Former Attorney General and executive member of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Anil Nandlall, has also argued that no permission was ever given.

But excerpts from the Council of Legal Education minutes dating as far back as 2002 suggest that approval was granted, and that the matter was actively discussed.

According to an extract from the minutes of the 34th Meeting of the CLE on September 2, 2002, the then Attorney General Doodnauth Singh (SC) had informed the Council of the country’s intention to establish a law school. A motion was then carried for a task force to be set up to work on the estab-

lishment of the law school in conjunction with a committee set up by the Government of Guyana.

Additionally, minutes of the 36th Meeting of the CLE on January 21, 2005, revealed that progress had been made and the parties involved were considering a site for construction of the law school.

According to the minutes, the chairman reported to the Council that the Cabinet of Guyana had appointed a small committee to consider where the law school should be sited.

“The vice-chancellor of the University of Guyana and members of the law teaching department had purposed [sic] that a new facility be constructed on the campus of the University of Guyana,” another section of the January 21, 2005 minutes read.

The matter had also arisen at a meeting of the Council of Legal Education on September 2, 2016, the documents provided by the Attorney General Chamber show.

In January 2017, Williams had announced the launch of the project for establishment of the JOF Haynes Law School – after some two decades of lobbying for an alternative to the

Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas.

But since then, the attorney general has been engaged in a battle of words with the PPP executive member and even the CLE chairman, contending that no approval had been granted for the law school to be established here.

Williams has made it clear that if Armour continues to interfere in the matter, it is likely that Guyana would resort to taking the issue to the CARICOM heads.

WARNING “If this chairman continues to act in the manner in which he is acting, against the interest of Guyana, we would have to take the matter to the CARICOM heads again. I am not sure Guyana would be comfortable with such a person remaining in office to chair this organisation,” Williams threatened during a news conference earlier this year.

Williams himself early December had announced that a Review Committee of the CLE had agreed that the Council should defer the establishment of new law schools.

Attorney General Basil Williams

The attorney general said that Armour, of Trinidad and Tobago, relied on a report of a Review Committee which included former Chancellor Carl Singh, to say that the CLE never gave permission to Guyana to establish its own law school.

Justice Singh, former acting Chancellor of the Judiciary here, was the only Head of Judiciary on the Review Committee established in 2009 and was allowed to continue to serve on it by the new chairman, until his removal was requested, as he had retired from that office at the last CLE Council Meeting held in Trinidad and Tobago

from September 7 to 9, 2017.

Justice Singh has since denied any involvement in any meeting.

Williams contends that the Review Committee which was set up for a different purpose, suddenly reopened a decision of a Council Meeting in Antigua in September 2016, chaired by previous chairman, Jacqueline Samuels-Brown S.C., of Jamaica, who concluded after considering several documents, including an unauthorised letter of inquiry by one Trevor Hamilton of Jamaica, that some “determination had been made”; that is, granting Guyana permission to establish a law school.

The Review Committee comprised the principals of the three law schools under the CLE: a senior counsel from Barbados; former Chancellor Carl Singh, and the new chairman.

Guyana’s delegation at the September 2016 meeting of the CLE in Antigua included Madam Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Chancellor (ag); President of the Bar Association, Gem Sandford-Johnson; Secretary of the said Bar, Excellence Dazzell; and Attorney General Williams S.C. It is as a result of the

decision of the Council that Guyana entered into the MoU with the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) and the Law College of the Americas (LCA) last January.

The MoU provides for a feasibility study to be undertaken to determine whether the Joint Venture Partners should proceed to execute the establishment of the Joseph Haynes Law School (JHLS) here.

The JOF Haynes Law School is being established through a Public-Private Partnership between the Government of Guyana, the Law School of the Americas (LCA) and the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) and will add to the existing options available to holders of a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB), and who intend to pursue their Legal Education Certificate (LEC).

Despite the attorney general and the CLE chairman being at loggerheads, a timeline of 2018 was set for the establishment of the local institution. Guyanese students are faced with hefty sums they have to pay and along with the small quota of students accepted into the Hugh Wooding Law School, are of concern to his administration.

International gospel artiste to host lecture – at Vreed-en-Hoop Wesleyan Church INTERNATIONAL gospel recording artiste, Reverend Nicole Ballosingh-Holder will share her wisdom with

the youths of the Vreeden-hoop Wesleyan Church, West Coast Demerara (WCD) over the next few

days.

Ballosingh-Holder will join the church for its annual camp meetings from Feb-

ruary 2-5. This year’s camp is being hosted under the theme, “Leap: Don’t just get back on your feet”.

A representative from the church explained that the meetings are set aside in the church’s calendar to bring together Believers from all walks of life for encouragement, renewal and to impact every area of their lives.

The focus of the meeting is to help Believers to understand that regardless of what they have been through, God does not only want to restore them.

Ballosingh-Holder, who is the guest minister for the

camp, is described as a true Caribbean woman and a musical powerhouse.

She began singing at the age of five. Her huge stage presence, powerful voice, inspirational performances and strong convictions have earned her the respect of being a record-breaker and pioneer in many areas of the Gospel.

She also holds ministerial credentials with her covering organization-- Grace Fellowship Family Church Ministry.

The singer is also described as a powerful preacher, teacher, prophetess, coun-

sellor, worship leader and experienced minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

She has ministered in many churches in Guyana several times, across denominations.

The camp meetings are scheduled to start at 19:00hrs each evening, and will be held in the church’s auditorium.

According to the representative of the church, all are invited to be part of the event and are encouraged to go expecting God to transform their lives through the ministry of the servant of God.

West Berbice man among latest road accident reportedly occurred picked up in an unconscious fatalities at around 21:10 hrs on Friday. state and taken to the Fort Reports are that the Wellington Hospital, but was A 50-year-old man is now dead after he was struck down by a motorcar while standing at the Plantation Hope Public Road, on the West Coast of Berbice.

Dead is Vishnu Deonarine of Plantation Hope. The

53-year-old Cane Field, Canje resident who was the driver of motorcar, PSS 981, was proceeding east along the northern side of the roadway when he was allegedly blinded by the lights of an oncoming vehicle.

Deonarine was reportedly

pronounced dead on arrival.

A breathalyzer test was done on the driver, but found zero traces of alcohol.

He is currently in custody at the Fort Wellington Police Station assisting with the investigation.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

The truth is out there – says brother of Lindo Creek victim GUYANESE will finally get the opportunity to know the truth about the Lindo Creek Massacre now that a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) has been launched, one of the key witnesses, Courtney Wong said while emphasising that the “truth is out there.”

In an interview with Guyana Chronicle on Saturday, Courtney Wong – the brother of Clifton Wong who was among the eight miners whose burnt remains were found at Lindo Creek on June 21, 2008 – said news surrounding the massacre had been smeared with lies by political leaders and the security forces, but the CoI will give the world a chance to know the truth – “the full truth” about the incident.

Leonard Arokium, the owner of the mining camp in which the eight miners were found dead, had long argued that the killings were committed by members of the Joint Services.

Police on the other hand had said that the men were murdered by the then Rondell Rawlins alias ‘Fine Man’ gang.

Close to 10 years later, Wong, who had worked along with Arokium at the mining camp as a mechanic,

expressed the belief that the men had been killed by the Joint Services.

“I am glad that the truth will be able to come out now,” he told this newspaper.

Arokium’s son, Dax, 29; his brother, Cedric called “Brother”, 51; Clifton Wong known as “Berry”, 46; Lancelot Lee nicknamed “Piggy”, 42; Compton Spires called “Tona”, 58; Horace Drakes or “Pona”, 40; Bonny Harry, 48 and Nigel Torres, 17, were those brutally murdered at Lindo Creek.

Wong’s brother had journeyed to the Lindo Creek mining camp in the Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice Region to replace him after he had left for Georgetown to conduct business.

VISIT Flipping back the pages of history, Wong recalled that when Arokium returned to the city after discovering the burnt remains of his son, brother, and colleagues, he was visited by senior ministers of Government and the then Commissioner of Police, Henry Green, who had attempted to convince him that the murders were committed by a criminal gang.

“Sam Hinds was prime minister at the time, Clement Rohee was the minister of home affairs and Henry Green, the commissioner of police,” Wong recalled.

According to Wong, after having discussions with the officials, Arokium asked him to take members of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force to the crime scene, since he was familiar with camp site, and without any hesitation, he agreed.

The man said much to his surprise, the commissioner of police reportedly told the press that he had colluded with Arokium to stray the Joint Services away from the camp site.

“This was nothing but a lie, a total lie,” he posited.

Singling out former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, who had served under the Presidency of Bharrat Jagdeo at the time, Wong contended that the former Government official had claimed that miners had been notified that there was a Joint Services Operation being conducted within the area but said that too was false.

Wong is of the opinion that once the CoI starts from “scratch” and is properly conducted, the truth

will be revealed.

WILL TESTIFY He said when the time comes, he will testify at the CoI to ensure that justice is served.

His interview with Guyana Chronicle comes at a time when the recently launched commission is inviting witnesses, affected and or interested persons, to submit written statements or letters.

Retired Justice Donald Trotman is leading the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) in accordance with the Commission of Inquiry Act. Based on the findings, the commission will make recommendations on actions to be taken against all persons and/ or organisations that are deemed responsible for the deaths of those persons.

President David Granger said the CoI into the Lindo Creek Massacre is pivotal in unraveling the tapestry of criminality that engulfed this country between 2000 and 2008.

He said while there were approximately eight massacres during the period of the “Troubles”, the investigation into the Lindo Creek Massacre is critical in exposing the intellectual authors behind the criminal network that wreaked havoc

under the Bharrat Jagdeo administration.

“We feel that the way in which the investigation was handled indicated that there was a high level of collusion by the government of the day. We feel that this will be a pivotal investigation, which will unravel the criminal network which was behind the killings in what is now called the Jagdeo era, during the Troubles,” the President told the press.

He said the report of the Donald Trotman-led CoI will lead to other inquiries, including that of former Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh.

Speaking on the matter recently, Minister of State Joseph said closure was necessary as he alluded to the hundreds of persons murdered during the crime wave.

“At some point in time you have to bring closure and indeed this is what the President is saying, that we have to bring closure,” Minister Harmon told reporters, adding that under the Coroner’s Act there is provision for an inquest to be held into any unnatural death.

Under the presidency of Bharrat Jagdeo (August 11, 1999 to December 3, 2011) there were three massacres: Lusignan– where 11 people were killed; Bartica — where another 12 were killed; and Lindo Creek — where eight miners were slaughtered.

Besides, there were countless extra-judicial killings, with some activists estimating that around 400 Afro-Guyanese males were gunned down.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Italian man held in drive-by shooting --targets primarily black immigrants

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian man opened fire on African migrants in the central city of Macerata on Saturday, injuring six people before he was captured, in what police said was a racially motivated attack.

The shootings happened just days after a Nigerian migrant was arrested in connection with the death of an 18-year-old Italian woman, whose dismembered body was discovered stuffed into two suitcases near Macerata.

Police named the suspected shooter as Luca Traini, 28, and said he had an Italian flag draped over his shoulders when he was seized in the street by armed police. Onlookers said he made a fascist salute before being handcuffed.

“He drove around in his car, and when he saw any black people he shot them,” Marcello Mancini, a Macerata resident told Reuters

television. Police said one of the six victims was seriously hurt and needed surgery, but gave no further details.

Traini also fired shots at the offices of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) in Macerata, but did not injure anyone there. The PD said he had stood as a candidate for the rightist Northern League at local elections last year, but had not received any votes.

The League backs fiercely anti-immigrant policies, and is part of ex-prime Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right alliance that is leading in the polls ahead of a March 4 national election.

League leader Matteo Salvini distanced himself from the shooting, but blamed mass immigration for the tensions.

“I can’t wait to get into government to restore security, social justice and serenity to Italy,” he told reporters.

PD leader Matteo Renzi called for calm. “The man who fired the gun, hitting six people of colour, is a squalid, mad person. But the State is stronger than him,” he wrote on Facebook.

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Italy would come down heavily on anyone promoting violence.

“We will stop this risk; we will stop it immediately. We will stop it together,” he said.

“Hatred and violence will not be able to divide us.”

DENIED ASYLUM Police said the shooter drove around Macerata, which is famed for its outdoor opera festivals, in a black Alfa Romeo car firing out of his window at migrants in various locations.

With police closing in, he left his car in the city centre but was almost immediately stopped. Local media said he

shouted, “Long live Italy,” as he was taken away.

Tensions in Macerata had risen this week following the gruesome discovery of Pamela Mastropietro’s body. The teenager had run away from a drug rehabilitation centre on Monday and met a Nigerian asylum seeker, Innocent Oseghale, the next day.

Her body was found on Wednesday, and a preliminary post-mortem could not immediately identify the cause of death.

Witnesses said they had earlier seen Oseghale with the suitcases in which the body was found. He refused

to talk to the police after his arrest. Newspapers said he was denied asylum last year, but had remained in Macerata to appeal against the decision.

“What was this worm still doing in Italy?” Northern League leader Salvini wrote on Facebook at mid-week, accusing the centre-left government of responsibility for Mastropietro’s death for allowing migrants to stay in the country. “The left has blood on its hands,” he wrote.

More than 600,000 mainly African migrants have reached Italy by boat over

the past four years, and thousands have perished on the journey. The centre-right bloc, which includes the League, says the vast majority have no right to asylum, and has promised mass expulsions if it takes power.

Leftist parties have ruled out any such deportations. “What happened today in Macerata shows that inciting hatred and whitewashing fascism, as Salvini does, has consequences. It can spark violence,” said Laura Boldrini, a leftist politician and the speaker of the lower house of parliament.

Canada’s Trudeau talks tough on NAFTA NANAIMO, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a tough line on NAFTA on

Sunday, February 4, 2018 - 8:30hrs Monday, February 5, 2018 - 9:00hrs

Friday, repeating that he could walk away if he was not happy with talks to modernise a pact the United States contends needs major changes.

“The negotiations are complex and challenging...

I’ve said many times, we are not going to take any old deal,” Trudeau told a sometimes raucous town hall event in the Pacific province of British Columbia. “Canada is willing to walk away from NAFTA if the United States proposes a bad deal.”

“We will not be pushed around. At the same time we can remain confident about NAFTA,” he said, adding that if Washington walked away from the deal, it would be “extremely harmful and disruptive” to both the United States and Canada.

Canada and Mexico are striving to address U.S. de-

mands for NAFTA reform, which they argue threaten the highly integrated North American economy.

Last Monday, a senior U.S. trade official rejected proposals for unblocking the negotiations but pledged to seek “breakthroughs,” easing concerns that Washington would soon withdraw from the $1.2 trillion North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trudeau said he did not think U.S. President Donald Trump would pull out of NAFTA, despite slow progress at the talks.

During the town hall event, Trudeau was interrupted by hecklers angry that his Liberal government approved a plan by Kinder Morgan Canada (KML.TO) to increase the capacity of an oil pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia.

Police removed at least three demonstrators, who complained that the risk of a spill was too great to allow the project to continue. Trudeau repeated that the pipeline would be built.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

St. Lucia launches CARICOM –countries from new PAHO to benefit agreement ambitious agribusiness project CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – St. Lucia has launched a multi-million dollar project aimed at strengthening agri-business operations within the context of climate change.

The US$1.8M Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded Sustainable Agribusiness for Laborie and Environs (SABLE) project is intended to benefit farmers and fisherfolk mainly in the south of the island.

“The project is innovative, as it will deliver financial support for the adoption of climate resilient practices and improve livelihoods for our members. In addition, the project explicitly connects market opportunities, investment capital, capacity building and technical support,” said Steven Auguste,

president of the Laborie Co-operative Credit Union (LCCU), which is executing the programme.

He said this is being done through a blended financial intervention to support greater climate resilience, environmental and commercial sustainability of small agro production, and fishing in the south.

“The LCCU is extremely well positioned to facilitate and support the successful implementation of the proposed intervention in climate change adaptation of farmers and fisherfolks,” Auguste said.

LCCU general manager, Lucius Ellevic said fisherfolk and farmers are not doing well because the systems and methods which are supposed to help them sell and generate

revenue from their production have failed them.

“Thus is the salient area in which this project will address itself,” he said.

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said the government fully supports the project, and that it is the intention of his administration “to ensure that there is a clear market space for fresh fruits as well agro processing.

“That is why the development of the south is so critical,” he said, noting that development projects such as hotels which will soon commence in the south creating opportunities for farmers.

“What is taking place here is timely; I am appealing to farmers to make use of the opportunities we have provided under this project,” Chastanet said.

WASHINGTON, CMC – Seven Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are to benefit from a new multi-country strategy for technical cooperation in health through 2024.

The strategy was signed by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts- Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“This strategy is your vision of how PAHO-WHO can best support the work of your ministries of health in improving the health of their people,” said the Director of the PAHO/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, “It is aligned with your countries’ national health policies, strategies and plans as well as with established Caribbean-wide health goals and the United Nations Multi-country Sustainable Development Framework for the Caribbean,” she added.

The new strategy is the second agreement of its kind between PAHO and the seven countries, and focuses on achieving previously unmet

Caribbean IDB governors to meet in Jamaica KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Caribbean governors of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) meet here later this month with a focus on helping the Caribbean embrace strategically, the reality of the digital revolution.

The seventh annual Caribbean Governors’ Meeting, from February 26-27, will be held under the theme, “Jump Caribbean”, and the IDB said it wants the region to tap technology and to apply innovative methods as a means to solve problems, improve productivity, generate employment and

advance development.

IDB Governors are expected from the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago.

IDB President, Luis Alberto Moreno, other senior IDB officials and Dr William Warren Smith, the President of the Caribbean Development Bank are also expected to attend the two-day meeting of the governors.

Global business leader, Sir Richard Branson and Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the former president of the Republic of Estonia, will also participate in the high-level meeting to provide insight on how the Caribbean

can take advantage of the opportunities for accelerating growth, building resilience to natural disasters, developing policies to improve productivity, and creating vibrant sustainable economies through the digital and technological revolutions.

“At the upcoming meeting, the Caribbean has the opportunity to seize the moment, to ignite the changes needed to create a better and brighter

future,” said Therese Turner-Jones, general manager for the IDB’s Caribbean Country Department, “As the leading development partner in the region, the IDB looks forward to fresh ideas and innovative perspectives that take full advantage of the digital and technological revolution.

This is key to improving lives of the people of the region,” added Turner-Jones.

goals, while also addressing new challenges the countries face, including health sector reform required to respond to the needs of aging populations, the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, and the health effects of climate change.

PAHO said that the 20182024 Multi-country Cooperation Strategy for Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Countries is based on five strategic priorities: Strengthening the countries’ health systems to advance universal health coverage and access; reducing deaths and illness from communicable diseases like HIV, Tuberculosis and Hepatitis B; achieving optimum family health throughout the life course; reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs); and strengthening preparedness and response to health emergencies and disasters while also reducing environmental threats and risks.

“We hope that the priorities defined in this strategy will provide the support you need in the coming years to continue to make your health

systems more resilient and to ensure that you achieve universal access to health and universal health coverage, as well as your other national health goals,” said Dr Etienne, who earlier this week began her second five-year stint as the PAHO/WHO director.

PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean countries, Dr. Godfrey Xuereb, noted that the strategy was developed through a consultative process involving all the countries and representatives from the public and private health sector, other government ministries, nongovernmental organizations, civil society and key development partners.

Dr Etienne said that the PAHO/WHO looks forward to continue working with other agencies and institutions, such as the Caribbean Public Health Agency, the University of the West Indies and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Secretariat, to improve the health of the peoples of the Caribbean.

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Editorial

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

CoI into the violence of 2002-2008 WE welcome the government’s decision to launch the long-awaited Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the violence that had bedeviled Guyana between 2002 and 2008. It was one of the most frightening periods in the modern history of our country -- the country had not witnessed that level of violence since the ethnic disturbances of the 1960s. In any functioning democracy, such violence should not pass without official investigation into its origins and scope. The government owes that to the citizens who have a right to know what happened, including the extent to which state and para-state actors were involved.

Those who lived through that period, especially the citizens of Buxton and surrounding villages, know firsthand the physical and psychological damage the violence did to their communities. The scars are still very fresh. But while Buxton was the epicentre of the violent activities, as is the case with such mayhem, the effects were felt throughout the country. In fact, there were many violent incidents in communities far away from Buxton, such as Lindo Creek.

It is apparent that the violence was part of a larger network of destabilisation that was grounded in the politics of the day. Who were the masterminds? Was the government of the day involved? If so, to what extent? What were their political motives? These and other questions we hope the CoI would be able to answer. Towards this end, we hope that political actors and others with information would come forward with their stories. This is a critical area of the work of the CoI, because history has taught us that often persons with valuable information are usually reluctant to give evidence in the absence of some form of witness-protection.

We note the hesitancy of the now opposition PPP to cooperate with the CoI. Their claims of exclusion from the planning of the inquiry to their objection to the commissioner chosen for the Lindo Creek inquiry as a partisan player, are being challenged by the government and other independent commentators. Some have pointed to the fact that not so long ago when the then PPP government launched the CoI into the death of Dr. Walter Rodney, they went to great length to exclude others, including Rodney’s party.

In an ideal world, it would be nice to have all the political forces cooperate on these matters, but experience has taught us that this is not the case with Guyana. How can the government involve the opposition PPP when the latter by word and deed has consistently refused to cooperate with the government on anything? Just recently, the opposition leader publicly berated the leaders of the sugar unions, who are members of his party, for meeting with the government to find an amicable solution to the impasse in the industry.

The PPP cannot want it both ways—it cannot refuse to cooperate with the government as a matter of policy, yet complain when the government presses forward with the nation’s business on its own, as it is mandated to do by law and practice.

We also note the resurfacing of old arguments over the period that should be covered by the CoI. Most of these arguments are partisan in nature. We recognise that all parties have their favourite periods, but in the end a judgement must be made about which periods capture the essence of the problem at hand. Charges and counter charges of ethnic violence have been plentiful since 1964. Some of these have been addressed in one form or the other. The violence in the wake of the 1997 election was addressed by

the Herdmanston Accord, out of which came constitutional reform, among other recommendations. To ask to include that period in the current CoI is tantamount to asking to remove the focus from the events of 2002-2008.

We support the selection of Justice Donald Trotman as a credible and able candidate for the task of commissioner.

The PPP claims that he is disqualified because he happens to be the father of a government minister. We feel such an objection stretches the principle of conflict of interest.

Justice Trotman is not presiding over a personal matter involving his son. Further, observers have again pointed to the PPP’s double-standard on this issue. In the case of the Rodney CoI, it had adamantly refused to entertain the many objections to the partisan connections of one of the commissioners.

We are not arguing that because the PPP did something, this government should be given a pass for doing the same thing. As we have pointed out, the circumstances and facts are different. We raise the matter to draw attention to the party’s double standards and possible dishonesty which are not good examples of political morality. Such political behaviour cannot be held up as good examples for younger politicians. So, let the CoI go forward. The government, thankfully, has honoured another campaign promise—this time on an issue that is fraught with political sensitivities, but one that is most important. Our hope is that the PPP and the other political parties, organisations and operatives cooperate fully, so that we can get to the truth.

The oil company, not the government, must pay for oil spills

Dear Editor

KAIETEUR News is wrong in its contention that the government is obligated to pay for oil spills caused by ExxonMobil’s operations (see, for example, KN 30-1-2018 “Contract reveals… Guyana foot bill for litigation brought against ExxonMobil”). The newspaper also has mischaracterized the situation with regards to the payment of litigation fees. One need not be a lawyer to point out KN’s errors here.

A simple reading of the Petroleum Agreement is enough.

First, on who pays for an oil spill. Under Article 28 (Social Responsibility and Protection of the

Environment), sections 28.4, 28.5 and 28.6, taken together, clearly state that any emergency, accident, or pollution affecting the environment, the Contractor (the company) is obligated to take measures to remedy the failure and the effects thereof.

Section 28.6 states that if the company fails to undertake the clean-up, and the government undertakes the effort in its stead, the “costs and expenses of such actions must be borne by the Contractor”. A straight interpretation of these sections therefore leads to the conclusion that the company, not the government in any way, foots the bill for remedying an oil spill or any other damage to the environment.

That said, the question that immediately follows is: Could the company recoup this cost under cost recovery? A reading of Section 3.3 in Annex C (Costs not Recoverable under the Agreement) may help. There, clause 3.3 (g) states that unrecoverable costs include those “incurred as a result of willful misconduct or gross negligence of the Contractor”.

If an oil spill does not qualify under this definition, nothing else will. In sum, the agreement states that the company must pay for damages to the environment and cannot recover the costs for remediation.

Let’s next ponder on the contention of the Kaietuer News (parroted by others) that it is wrong for

Guyana to “foot bill for litigation brought against ExxonMobil”. The newspaper is referring to a clause in Annex C of the agreement that says, in short, that the company can recover all costs and expenses of litigation and legal or related services necessary or expedient for the protection of the contract area and in defending or prosecuting lawsuits involving the contract area or any third party claim.

I am not sure what is the problem the KN and others have here when (i) all such litigation against third parties is in the interest of protecting the operation and thus Guyana’s own revenue stream from it, and (ii) the proceeds of any successful legal ac-

tion are to be credited to the accounts of the operation, thereby reducing the company’s claim under cost oil (Annex C, section 3.5d - Credits under the Agreement). In passing, it is worth noting that the company cannot recover the costs of arbitration for any dispute with the government itself or any fines and penalties imposed by the Courts of Law in Guyana.

One is left to wonder why the government is so casual in responding to this and other misunderstandings regarding the oil agreement that appear in the newspapers almost daily.

Regards Sherwood Lowe

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

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One dead, several injured --in early-morning accident at Schoonord A TWO-vehicle smashup early Saturday on the Schoonord, West Bank Demerara Public Road has left a 25-year-old woman dead and several persons injured.

Dead is the driver of motorcar PWW 972, Alana Ramsarran, of BB Eccles, East Bank Demerara. The name of the driver of the minibus, BTT 3118, involved in the accident has been given as 42-year-old Ramkumar Persaud.

According to reports, at around 06:30hrs that morning, Persaud was proceeding along the Schoonord Public Road with a load of passengers, while Ramsarran was proceeding in the opposite direction.

Persaud is alleging that as he was about to pass the motorcar, it suddenly swerved into his lane, resulting in a

collision.

The minibus driver was also injured in the mishap, as were several passengers who were travelling in the minibus.

They were all reportedly taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital. The driver of the motorcar, Ramsarran, was pronounced dead on arrival.

Among the passengers from the minibus who were injured are Alvin Edmond, 59, and his wife Rhonda Edmond; Leon LaRose, 30; Alisha Allicock, 28; Roneta Paul, 36; and Fizan Mohammed, 50.

Paul’s and Mohammed’s injuries were so severe that they had to be transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

DEAD: Alana Ramsarran

What remains of the minibus after the Schoonord accident

Radical changes needed at NA Multilateral School

Dear Editor,

IT is with great concern and deep-seated frustration that I pen this letter to ascertain why officials at the Ministry of Education, including the Minister of Education, have turned their backs on the current state of affairs at the New Amsterdam Multilateral School hereinafter referred to as N.A.M.S. This school has often been associated with academic excellence, once ranked third (3rd) in the country based on CXC and CAPE

results, and recognised both locally and regionally in the areas of Sports and Theatre Arts.

However, the image of this school has been tarnished by the poor quality of leadership. Under current management the following issues have occurred: (1) drastic drop in student population (moving from over 900 students at one point to about 400 students presently), (2) an increase in the number of transfers requested by parents for students to other schools in the region, (3) a drastic drop in results

at the CXC and CAPE examinations.

The school has also been embroiled in many scandals involving issues related to pecuniary abnormalities and the recent issue of racism, which caused six teachers to request transfers. The issues mentioned have inevitably eroded staff morale and affected their ability to deliver the curriculum to students who are in their care.

Investigations have been done by Ministry of Education officials. An investigation was even conducted

by the Ministry of Social Cohesion. The findings from these investigations have highlighted poor quality of leadership by the HM and DHM (Ag), their inability to work together and how these factors have collectively affected the development of the school. In point of fact, based on findings from a recent investigation, an administrative transfer letter was issued to the DHM (ag) to take up a substantive post in another school.

However, that transfer was countermanded by the Chief Education Of-

ficer and a directive was issued by him that the HM and DHM (Ag) continue to work together. This decision has left a corrosive taste in the mouths of many teachers and parents. The decision by the CEO begs a very important question: if the HM and DHM (Ag) have failed to work together over the past five years for the continued development of the school, what makes the CEO think they will be able to do so now? Contextually, it should be noted that the CEO and the DHM are very close friends and

one must wonder if nepotism played a role in his decision. I am requesting that swift action be taken and that the HM and DHM (Ag) should be removed from this school, so that it can once again live up to its motto, “Progress through Cooperation”. It is time for change! In conclusion, I urge Ministry of Education officials to consider the importance of the phrase “No School Left Behind!”

Regards Concerned Parent Orlando Fraser

Abel Seetaram’s statements misleading Dear Editor, I WISH to respond and to bring clarity on a letter written by Mr. Abel Seetaram which was published in the Guyana Chronicle and the Kaieteur News and captioned “PPP Region No.5 Chairman admits that he stalled the RDC meetings in 2017”.

Mr. Editor, the statements by this APNU/AFC Councillor is totally misleading, since at no time had the Chairman of the RDC said that he will investigate the

alleged misuse of the NDIA excavator in the Bath/Woodley Park NDC. The RDC is guided by Parliamentary Practices and in such case the Council needs to launch an investigation and not the Regional Chairman. I have maintained this position from the first day this matter came before the Council. This was always my position on the matter for the council to investigate the alleged misuse. However, Mr. Seetaram nor his colleagues from the APNU/ AFC found favour in doing

so.

At the Statutory Meeting for the month of December,2017, I mentioned that to date no investigation has been launched into the alleged misuse of the excavator and implored on Councillors not to allow the said issue to unfold in 2018 and so, the Council should move forward in the best interest of the people of Region No.5. The APNU/ AFC Councillors prevented the Council from holding a successful meeting for over seven months during 2017

and scrutiny of the spending of tax payers’ monies could not have been possible and the APNU/AFC Councillors were very comfortable and never attempted to put the matter to rest so [that] the people of Region No.5 can properly benefit from the services the RDC offers.

I want readers to understand that the breaking up of RDC Region No.5 Statutory meetings was conveniently done by APNU/ AFC Councillors and they have signalled their intention to do so again if they

do not get things done their way. There is something sinister about this move.

Region No.5 and the entire Country needs to pay close

attention.

Regards Vickchand Ramphal Regional Chairman Region No.5

8

LAW AS OUR SWORD AND SHIELD ON Tuesday, January 30, an extended Cabinet session was underway when President David Granger handed me a crisp note. My heart pounded with patriotic emotions as I declared that the session would be momentarily interrupted.

I then invited the President to announce the “breaking news”.

At the announcement, spontaneous applause reverberated inside the Cabinet room. For a moment it seemed that the entire, united Guyanese nation was in the august chamber, celebrating the decision by UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. That decision refers to the International Court of Justice, the legal contention raised by Venezuela over the validity of the arbitral award on the territorial boundary between Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

LONG, HARD BATTLE Guyana has fought a long, hard and costly battle for a juridical resolution of the controversy, and the UN decision came as a vindication of the consistent and strenuous national efforts, particularly since the APNU+AFC Coalition came to office. We stood within the law, even when we took blows from the bigger, more powerful and aggressive neighbour. We suffered enormous damage to our economy and loss of investment opportunities. But the law has been and remains Guyana’s sword and shield!

In the coming days and weeks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to highlight the significance of the UN decision as part of nationwide civic education.

Every child needs to know that the only just and lasting settlement of the controversy must flow from legal processes, and that the World Court is the guarantor of these processes.

LAW AS OUR SWORD AND SHIELD Enlightened and seasoned

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

diplomats have hailed the decision as the best forward move in what has been a stale and stagnated row that has troubled relations between two peaceful peoples on the shoulder of South America.

But, the Venezuelan ruling clique, didn’t think so. It rejects the path to settlement under international law, of its own legal fiction.

The world is watching and it knows that in spite of the expected political bombast and braggadocio, the present Venezuelan regime, or a future government, cannot wish away the jurisdiction of the ICJ, nor can it trifle with its persuasive and authoritative rulings -- whether as opinions or advisories.

The World Court or ICJ, is the major judicial branch of the United Nations. The judges are elected by the powerful Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations. A full bench consists of 15 judges who represent the major power blocs and various nationalities. Our own Guyana-born former Attorney-General, Dr. Mohamed Shahabuddeen, has been a distinguished judge of the International Court of Justice (1988-1997), which routinely upholds the inviolability and sanctity of treaties.

TREATY OF WASHINGTON February 2 marked the 121st anniversary of the Treaty of Washington, under which the United Kingdom and Venezuela agreed to submit to arbitration, questions regarding the boundaries of then British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela. The first Article of the Treaty provides that an Arbitral Tribunal “shall be immediately appointed to determine the boundary-line between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela”.

Article V states that all questions considered by the tribunal, including the final decision, shall be

embrace Guyana as a peaceful, helpful and friendly neighbour.

For those observing the skirmish in furtherance of a false claim, which has been stoked for close to 60 years, it is clear that the Venezuelan people cannot carry the burden of a past, mistaken contention that an international treaty is flawed. They too, like all Guyanese, must be free to realise their dreams within their rich (or potentially so) secured land-space, not borders that exist as a figment of a greedy imagination.

determined by a majority of all the arbitrators, whilst Article XIII provides for consideration of “the result of the proceeds of the Tribunal of Arbitration as a full, perfect, and final settlement of all the questions referred to the Arbitrators”.

COUNTRY FIRST On September 24, 2017 in my column “Country First”, I reminded that October 3 last marked the 118

years of the Tribunal Award on the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela. The Award, as provided for by the 1897 Treaty, is binding “as a full, perfect and final settlement”.

In his address at the United Nations on September 20 last, President Granger reminded the world that Venezuela has claimed two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. Later, Foreign Affairs Minister, Vice-Pres-

ident Carl Greenidge, explained at a UN Social Media platform that there is no other case in the world where one country claims two-thirds of another country.

In spite of that baseless claim, many Venezuelans seek refuge in Guyana, as they do in Colombia, most in search of food and work.

They seem unmindful that their leaders are ungrateful to the good Samaritan, and

ROAD TO THE HAGUE President Granger underlined the fatal effect of that imagination on access

by Guyana not only to the sea, but entitlement to our fishing, and oil-and-gas potentials. He told the world: “We depend on our territorial and maritime resources for development and for the release of our people from poverty.”

The decision by the UN Secretary-General has opened a fresh new window through which we could re-assert Guyana’s sovereignty over our territory – all of it. We should, as I have repeatedly urged, put “Country First” and let our collective, patriotic heart beat and live for our beloved Guyana. We cannot be divided over our common duty to our Motherland.

As President Granger recently retorted, “We cannot sell out. We cannot give away. We cannot offer the adversary any corridor or any passage.”

The road to a peaceful, lawful settlement leads to The Hague!

9

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Region Three GuySuCo reform necessary records 100% – to save the Treasury and industry, says Sharma project completion REGION Three has achieved 100 per cent completion of its 2017 projects, with the full support of the local organs, according to Regional Executive Officer (REO) Denis Jaikaran.

“I say that last year was a success because of the fact that we (regional administration) were able to complete the capital and recurring expenditure projects, in good time, before December. As it relates to the capital expenditure, I must say that the mere fact that all of the projects have been completed, we still have payments to be made for two buildings which will be the special needs school and the storage facilities at the Department of Education,” the REO explained.

Jaikaran stressed that the completion included rehabilitation and construction of roads, cleaning of the drainage and irrigation trenches, among other projects. He noted that the administration hopes to extend the services to other communities that have been overlooked by the previous administration.

The region was allocated $5.050B in the 2018 national budget of which $17.600M was assigned to Regional Administration and Finance; $48.700M for Agriculture; $179.100M to Education; $104.168M to Health Services; and $65.500M to Public Works. Under public works, the region saw the construction and furnishing of a special needs school at Schoonord, the completion of the region’s Department of Education building and the construction of a cold storage unit at Plantain Walk.

Under Education, the construction and enclosure of teachers living quarters at Great Troolie were completed, as well as the construction of headmaster’s quarters at schools in Northern Hogg Island, Caria Caria, Upper Bonasika and Western Hogg Island. Jaikaran stated that the good standing between his administration and local organs within the region has assisted significantly in the completion and support of the works slated last year.

“In June 2017, the Re-

Region Three REO Denis Jaikaran

gional Democratic Council (RDC) initiated the 2018 budget for the region and they received submissions.

These were submitted to the administration and we were able to complete it and went back to the RDC. They gave us their blessings, so all in all the RDC played a significant role in what took part in the region for 2017.”

The REO said he plans to build on the relationship with the local organs, particularly with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC).

Child shot while playing with shotgun A TEN-year-old boy is currently hospitalised after being accidentally shot in the abdomen by his 12-year-old friend while playing with a 12-gauge shotgun.

The incident reportedly occurred at around 16:00hrs

at Taruka Village in the Monkey Mountain area on Thursday, February 1.

The injured child has been identified as John Issacs, a pupil of Monkey Mountain Primary School.

According to reports, the boys are good friends, and

on the day in question, were playing with the shotgun, which belongs to a relative of the suspect.

The victim was rushed to the Monkey Mountain Medical Centre, and is reportedly in a stable condition.

Armed bandit trails, robs East Bank businesswoman A LONE gunman on Saturday escaped in a waiting silver-grey coloured 212 motorcar after robbing an East Bank businesswoman whom he and the driver allegedly trailed from a neighbourhood bank.

Reports are that the woman, who lives at Diamond, had just withdrawn a large

sum of money from the bank to pay her employees.

She was reportedly on her way to a nearby shop when the gunman pounced, snatched her handbag and made good his escape in his accomplice’s vehicle.

According to the police, the woman had over $50,000 in cash, along with her cell-

phone and some personal documents.

Since the robbery was caught on a CCTV camera, the police were able to identify the suspect, whom they said was recently charged and granted bail for similar offences.

The matter is being investigated.

MORE than $45,000 is the sum every citizen in Guyana would have had to pay were they to personally contribute to the $32B subsidy pumped into the ailing Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) by the coalition government.

Another $6,500 would have been the sum taxpayers would have had to hand over, if they were to personally contribute to the additional $5B that has been slated for the payment of severance to retrenched sugar workers.

Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma told the Guyana Chronicle on Friday that while the sums of money being pumped into the sugar industry are not from the immediate accounts of citizens, it is still taxpayers’ money being used to save the industry.

He said given the fact that not all citizens in the country are employed and pay taxes, the individual sum of money contributed by citizens to the sugar industry would surpass the mentioned amounts.

“We can average that about 748,000 citizens live in Guyana, but not all are employed. We have children in there, and where you have persons 18 and above that you expect to be working, they are not.”

To paint a truer picture of what the cash-strapped GuySuCo is costing the nation, Sharma said it would depend on the number of persons who are actually paying taxes. Those are the persons

whose money is going into GuySuCo, since they are the ones honouring their civic obligations.

Sharma continued that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) would be able to say the number of persons paying taxes. Based on those figures, a more accurate sum could be arrived at in terms of what the individual cost of subsidising the industry would mean to each citizen paying tax.

“That is why the GRA is encouraging the payment of outstanding amounts, and is looking at charging no interest,” Sharma related.

He said the country needs all the money it can get and GRA is seeking to increase its revenue and strengthen its collecting capability.

The junior finance minister mentioned deficits in relation to the 2018 budget and the Consolidated Fund, before noting that government must be prudent in balancing its expenditure and revenue.

It was reported however that during the last seven years of the previous government, some $48B was used to financially aid GuySuCo, while in 30 months the current government spent $32B to keep the corporation going.

This would mean that just over $1B was given to GuySuCo every month and about $2000 monthly from the salaries of taxpayers.

To cover severance payments, the government recently announced that it

Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma

would be cutting back from some sectors to accommodate this abrupt expenditure.

The news of the cuts had forced some sector heads and ministers to warn their agencies that they will have to use the money allocated from the budget or risk losing it to GuySuCo. The APNU+AFC coalition has determined that the loss-making sugar industry cannot continue to be a burden to citizens.

The government has thus commenced a transitioning plan, whereby some three poorly functioning sugar estates have been closed.

Apart from the industry being groomed to financially resuscitate itself, hundreds of sugar workers will receive their severance payments.

GuySuCo also has planned training in various trades, business and other areas for retrenched workers.

An offer of additional lands is also on the table.

Hunt on for ‘Bourda Rat’ – following recovery of stolen vehicle THE hunt is on for a man known as “Bourda Rat,” following the recovery of a stolen vehicle that has been traced and impounded at the Brickdam Police Station more than six months after it was stolen during an armed robbery in Georgetown.

According to the police, investigations have revealed that the vehicle was carrying

a fake registration number and had a colour change.

The vehicle was taken from its owner on June 6, 2017, at Roxanne Burnham Gardens.

On November 27 last, the vehicle was intercepted with three persons following the robbery of two persons in Georgetown. The two were charged, but were subsequently freed after their victims refused to offer evi-

dence against them.

The driver, who was acquitted, then made several unsuccessful attempts to uplift the vehicle since he had been unable to provide proof of ownership.

Police said on Saturday, the vehicle was positively identified by its owner and efforts are currently being made to have the suspect known as “Bourda Rat” re-arrested and charged.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

‘Keep the rivers alive’ campaign taken to Kamarang

2000-2010: A Decade of Death …Is it really the ‘Jagdeo-era killings’?

PRIOR to their 2015 electoral success, both the AFC and the APNU spent the greater part of a decade calling for a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the unprecedented criminal mayhem and extra-judicial killings that engulfed the country during the decade ending around 2010. As part of its social contract, the Coalition is under obligation to hold inquests into the killings listed as part of its own dossier presented to a myriad of international agencies.

This week a CoI into the Lindo Creek Massacre was announced; since then a number of issues were brought to the fore.

Major among them is that the lone commissioner, Justice Trotman is the father of a serving Government Minister and would therefore introduce political bias, thereby affecting the credibility of the entire Inquiry.

There is a question mark on how meritorious this objection is. Justice Trotman has an unblemished record as a distinguished Guyanese and Commonwealth lawyer and jurist. It is therefore not in his interest to skew the inquiry and cloak his accomplishments in ignominy and bring public ridicule to the proud family reputation of excellence.

The advanced age of Justice Trotman was [also] brought into question. The government seems to have

an ‘ol boy’ for almost every assignment and there seem to be little or no mechanisms for transfer of knowledge and experience to the upcoming generation. Next, why only one commissioner? I have not heard an official explanation from the government, but for whatever reason, the government for its part should have anticipated and addressed these criticisms and questions.

Perhaps a second and much younger commissioner with proven independence should have been added. Had that been the case the objections raised would have been substantially addressed.

References to “the Jagdeo-era killings” has no doubt drawn sharp and irate critical response from Mr. Jagdeo, but it is difficult to escape the tag when he was firmly in control of the apparatus of state. He wants a “comprehensive” (big-tent) CoI covering all incidences for the entire period; anything less is seen as an attempt to exculpate “political operatives” of the current government who participated in the criminal mayhem. He claimed to have a mountain of evidence implicating current government operatives and failed to lift a finger even though his party in government had all the resources of state, but stoutly refused to conduct inquests.

Mr. Jagdeo wants to be consulted in determining the Terms of Reference(ToR)

for a comprehensive CoI, but he will face credibility issues. Mr. Jagdeo should be reminded that the President is constitutionally required to consult and/or obtain the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition on a number of matters, but convoking CoIs is not one of them.

Considering Jagdeo’s public stance of non-cooperation since 2015, made more inflexible after the naming of the GECOM chair, his offer of cooperation is surprising, garrulous and conceited; one wonders if he could be taken seriously. At this point it’s the president’s call, he is well within his right if he chooses to completely ignore Jagdeo. In such event Jagdeo has two options: (1) Craft suggested ToRs and make an unsolicited submission to the president for consideration and (2) Release to the public alternative TORs in the hope of bringing public pressure to the president for their inclusion. Beyond these two choices Jagdeo has little recourse.

There is merit in conducting several focused inquiries; the events were much like a bowl of spaghetti-- important details on specific cases may be lost if taken together. However, by whatever route, at the very least the entire decade should be covered if the government wants to stand on the side of credibility while discharging a key component of its commitment to the people.

Whether the government do several focused CoIs or otherwise, it should heed the call for credible international jurists to sit as commissioners, not because the skills are not available locally, but because of the possibility that “Crimes Against Humanity” may have occurred if there is a state element in the killings. If there is need to escalate cases to the International Criminal Court, it can do so without reproach.

Second, while in opposition the government made demands for an international panel; it cannot now show disinclination. If it does then it loses credibility and with it a golden opportunity to bring closure.

There was an eye-popping letter to the press by former Prime Minister Sam Hinds, in which he justified the employment of a “counterforce” to put down the criminal resistance because the police “showed remarkable inability” to cope with the magnitude of crimes. He finds allegations against Dr. Leslie Ramsammy for procuring spy equipment for the “phantom force” unworthy of consideration.

Hinds’ letter is a veiled admission that the long list of extra judicial killings of civilians, activists and joint services ranks were both state-sponsored and justified. This is hair-raising and may indicate that the opposition is shedding crocodile tears and thus views any inquest with trepidation.

‘South’ man busted with ‘coke’ CUSTOMS Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) ranks on Friday evening retrieved a total of 514 grams of suspected cocaine from the Blue Sackie Drive, South Ruimveldt Park residence of 30-year-old Collin Hopper.

According to reports, traces of the substance were discovered in various parts of

the house, while there were also signs that someone had tried to flush the evidence down the toilet.

Ranks were, however, able to retrieve a small quantity of the suspected drug from the pipe leading to the septic tank.

Hopper is currently in custody and is assisting with the investigation.

The cocaine-like substance that was retrieved from the pipe leading to Hopper’s septic tank

POLICY Forum Guyana (PFG) last week commenced the systematic phase of its campaign to protect Guyana’s rivers from the devastation of mining pollution with a training workshop in Kamarang, Upper Mazaruni.

Launched last July with a rally, ‘Keep the Rivers Alive’, the campaign aims to monitor river pollution due to mining.

In a release, the PFG noted that based on water monitoring techniques developed by the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN), young people from in the Mazaruni communities of Paruima, Waramadong, Kako, Kamarang, Jawalla and Imbaimadai will be enabled to develop plans to protect water quality on a sustainable basis.

The PFG urged that action at both community and national levels is needed to shield Guyana’s once-pristine major rivers from the effects of mining. Seen from the air, long stretches of the Potaro, Cuyuni, Mazaruni and Puruni rivers have been reduced to chains of toxic, sediment-choked muddy pools winding through a blighted landscape.

“Strengthening community capacity to combat the negative effects of mining pollution is, however, utterly inadequate without national regulatory and policy frameworks purposefully countering the decades of regulatory abuses ramped up by widespread mechanised mining,” the release said.

According to PFG, traditional small scale, unmechanised mining has largely been rendered obsolete, other than ‘punting’ in the indigenous communities.

Earlier this week, The Lancet, one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world, in a major report entitled “The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health” states that “Pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death in the world today”, making specific mention of “mines, and hazardous waste sites… polluted by toxic chemicals, radionuclides, and heavy metals released into air, water, and soil.”

Opposition of powerful vested interests in gold min-

ing has been a perennial barrier to control of pollution, exerting disproportionate influence on mining officials, resisting imposition of effective regulation, tax evasion, manufacturing doubt about the effectiveness of interventions and paralysing Government efforts to impose realistic cost recovery measures.

The PFG stressed that developing and industrialising countries can apply control to avoid many of the harmful consequences of pollution— to leapfrog over the worst of the human and ecological disasters that have plagued industrial development in the past—and to improve human health and well-being.

“Every dollar invested in control of ambient air pollution in the USA since passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, for example, is estimated to yield US$30 in economic benefits.” the PFG added.

The policy forum added that these interests resist the conclusion – proven across the developed world -- that pollution is an avoidable consequence of economic development.

As pointed out in the Lancet study, “many pollution control strategies that have proven cost-effective in high-income and middle-income countries can be exported and adapted by cities and countries at every level of income”.

Whatever forms the Green State Development Strategy may adopt, the non-negotiable nature of environmental standards applicable, for example, to freshwater in Guyana has to be sustained, the PFG said.

“It speaks volumes, for example, that neither side in the growing confrontation between the Rupununi Miners Association and the Ministry of Natural Resources over access to the Marudi Mountains has sought to reference protection of rivers threatened by the expansion of such mining.

“Any solution to this dispute not accompanied by enforceable environmental guarantees will inevitably see the poisoned fate of the rivers of central and western Guyana spread to the upper reaches of the Essequibo and Rewa rivers in the South Rupununi” it added.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Bridging gap between coastland and hinterland a step closer – Minister Bulkan

THE commissioning of the Rupununi Magisterial District Court Office and magistrate courts, in Karasabai and Aishalton, is a step closer to the fulfillment of a promise made by the Government to bridge the gap between the coastland and hinterland in all sectors. This is according to Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan.

Speaking on Friday at the court’s commissioning ceremony, Minister Bulkan said grave disparities existed in the justice sector between the coast and hinterland, and the establishment of the district office will bring to an end the long hours of commute which residents in the region had to endure.

He told those gathered that “information provided tells me that currently, it takes more than six hours

to travel from Achiwib to Lethem and approximately six hours from Lethem to Kurupukari. From either of these points, therefore, it requires six hours to get to the nearest place of justice and that is not a high court.”

The Minister noted a comparison with what ob-

tains on the coastland which reveals that within that time one can travel from Crabwood Creek to Charity and along the commute, there are 17 magistrates’ courts and 3 high courts, excluding the courts in Georgetown.

The establishment of the

The Rupununi Magisterial District Office and the Lethem Magistrate’s Court building

courts in that region is part of efforts by the Administration aimed at building, developing and maintaining a decentralised system of governance.

The adoption of a consultative approach to public administration, the Minister pointed out, is a vision of President David Granger and represents the Administration’s commitment to a democratic system in which decision-making power is diffused.

He added that the commissioning of the district office and the establishment of the courts is a step closer to the promise made by President Granger at the declaration of the Lethem Township in October 2017, where he committed to “greater opportunities…innovative solutions to problems and delivering a better life for all

and pest infections are on the rise.”

“We have less than a half of the maize we used to have,” Ashmita adds.

Nepal is one of the countries hardest hit by the impacts of climate change, and farmers are some of the worst affected. Poverty, reduced yields and difficulty obtaining enough food are pushing people to migrate, looking for better lives.

FAO-supported project, Ashmita and some 3,000 farmers learned to grow crops that are better adapted to the impacts of climate change. Farmers test different varieties of crops and use tailored techniques to determine the best crops to grow for their land.

They learn by doing.

They also received support to raise animals by understanding what and when to feed their livestock. This is

citizens through empowerment and capacity building in all regions”.

Toshao of Aishalton, Douglas Casimero confirmed that consultations were held in the sub-districts, related to making justice accessible to all in a time-efficient manner.

“Over the years, there would have been injustice done to us within the justice system… I want to thank you all [government and judiciary] for putting things in [the] plan so that we can realise what is happening now, so that justice indeed can be delivered,” Toshao Casimero said.

He expressed gratitude on behalf of the residents and village leadership of Aishalton.

Meanwhile, Regional Chairman, Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo (Region

Nine) Brian Allicock also expressed gratitude to the Government on behalf of the regional administration and residents for the opening of courts at Karasabai and Aishalton.

“With this intervention by the government we are happy…when you have these issues coming up, the magistrate will be there in the sub-district to attend to those matters,” he noted.

The Chairman committed to supporting the Magistracy in the region to ensure the timely and effective dispensation of justice.

He also called on the Government to establish a correctional facility in the region that will offer skills training for young men who fell on the wrong side of the law, so that when they are released, they are better equipped to support themselves. (DPI)

Climate-smart farming Last year, Ashmita Thapa’s husband left their hometown in southern Nepal to find work in Saudi Arabia.

He had been working as a farmer and used to be able to grow enough food for the family.

But now, Ashmita explains, the yields are poorer and poorer. “This is a part of climate change,” she adds.

“There isn’t as much rain as before; winds are stronger

Her husband’s move, however, did not improve their situation. He was unable to find a good job and repay the debts they incurred for his trip. “We were facing lots of problems,” confesses Ashmita.

“Last year we were told about an FAO project. We felt happy that it could be a solution to our problems,” she continues.

Taking part in the

Nepal is one of the countries hardest hit by the impacts of climate change. With 70 per cent of the population dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, Nepal’s farmers are some of the worst affected (Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos for FAO)

part of the climate-smart and sustainable agriculture approach that helps transform agriculture into resilient systems that effectively support development and ensure food security in the face of a changing climate.

“Before this project, we had to buy vegetables from the market. We now grow them in our fields. We can save money,” Ashmita exclaims.

“We have learned many things from this project. We hope to learn more going forward, and if we do, it will not be necessary to go abroad,” she concludes.

This FAO project is made possible thanks to the support of the Global Environment Facility. FAO and its partners are helping to make leaving home a choice not a necessity.

Using a climate-smart approach, Ashmita and about 3,000 other farmers learned to grow their own vegetables to feed their families and help them save money. These new techniques make agriculture more resilient to decreased rainfall, stronger winds and other impacts of a changing climate (Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos for FAO).

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

800 sugar workers hired at job fair

Managing-Director of Gaico Construction and Services Komal Singh has challenged retrenched sugar workers to prepare for change and explore the opportunities set before them.

Singh was at the time addressing residents in the Patentia area at the recent job fair hosted by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Chamber of Commerce. The event saw close to 800 residents of Patentia and surrounding areas being hired on-thespot by various private and public companies.

“We all do not like change, but change is a must and you must be willing to adapt to changes. If there is no change, then we will remain stagnant and we do not understand the opportunities that sit beyond the boundaries,” Singh said.

Singh explained, “If it was [sic] not for the closure of the sugar estates, many persons including the Private Sector Commission

Some of the participants at the job fair held at Patentia

probably would not have engaged in the ongoing job fair initiative.”

He encouraged residents of the West Demerara area to be prepared for transformation and make the most of opportunities before them, while recount-

ing his years as a former sugarcane cutter. “If you are employed with a company, you will have to go to work all day (9-5) …so be prepared to change, it’s a whole cultural shift you will have to adapt to. But trust me, there are enor-

mous opportunities, I was once where you are,” Singh emphasised.

The managing-director began the Gaico Con struction and Services Company some 25 years ago on the West Bank of Demerara area, where the

majority of his employees reside. According to the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Edward Boyer, the job fair initiative will be ongoing throughout 2018 and will

be held at all the estates.

However, he noted that the jobs offered will be open to both retrenched estate workers and other persons seeking employment (DPI).

Nabbed with gun in crotch

The loaded gun and matching ammunition and other paraphernalia the youngster was carrying when he was nabbed

A 23-year-old Nutmeg Street, North Ruimveldt resident is currently in police custody after being nabbed in a minibus with a loaded firearm.

According to reports, the man was apprehended on Friday evening in the vicinity of Laparkan Shipping on Lombard Street, here in the city, after the police got word that a male was seen with a firearm in a minibus.

The suspect, on seeing the police approaching the minibus, tried exiting the vehicle and running away, but was caught.

On searching him, the police found an unlicensed Taurus pistol with nine live rounds in his crotch. He is currently being processed for court on Monday.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

By Elson Low

Caesar marches on Rome JUST before Caesar marched on Rome, ending the Republic and eventually leading to the long rule of Roman emperors, there was a famous meeting that almost saved Roman democracy. In it, Caesar’s representative and close friend, Mark Anthony, met with leading Senators Cicero, Pompei and Cato to discuss the terms of Caesar’s disarmament. Of course, these negotiations failed, but it is that failure I think that is really critical to understanding the true context behind the next election in Guyana.

No issue crystalises this context more than the upcoming commissions of inquiry into death squads and other forms of extra-judicial

killings. Even further, I will argue that these types of commissions are actually good for the PPP/C and that if they lead to an electoral loss in 2020, this will be better still for the party’s longterm competitiveness.

Essentially, the fall of the republic comes down to the decisions of one man, and Caesar that is not. Rather, Cato, with his steadfast loyalty to the past, and an overwhelming refusal to compromise, have been cited by many as the true culprit.

This 2020 we will one way or another learn whether the PPP/C’s former supporters have decided to stubbornly return to their ranks, in particular, due to racially motivated voting.

But this article is not to

indict the PPP/C, because that party is only a gasp away from developing a truly fair governance approach.

Rather, we must all confront the past in the form of the much-needed commissions of inquiry.

I don’t want to rehash the gory details of Guyana’s most notorious crime spree, which will be a focal point for the inquiry, but at least make the point that even if extra-judicial killings were not actively allowed, they were not effectively prevented. This led to a series of anarchic outcomes, highlighted perhaps most prominently by the shooting of political commentator Ronald Waddell.

That extra-judicial killings, especially those of political commentators, take

Gunman robs Shell McDoom gas station THREE female pump attendants at the Shell Gas Station on the McDoom, East Bank Demerara Public Road, were on Friday evening robbed by a lone gunman.

The Shell gas station at McDoom According to reports, the attendants were on duty around 19:00hrs when the suspect walked up to them and holding them at gunpoint, relieved them of a total of $57,900, property of Sol Guyana Inc before making good his escape on foot.

The police are reportedly investigating the matter.

Bicycle bandits rob schoolchildren on lunch break SEVEN South Ruimveldt Secondary School students were,during their lunch break on Friday, robbed of their cash and valuables by two gun-toting bandits on bicycles.

The students,four girls and three boys between the ages of 15 and 16, were robbed of a total of over $158,000 in cash and their cellphones while they were buying lunch around 12:15 hrs at Keisha’s, a shop on Macaw Lane, South Ruimveldt.

According to reports, the teens were held at gunpoint while the bandits carried out the robbery.

The police are currently investigating the matter.

place is a classic sign of democratic governance collapsing. Rather than the law, it becomes the directives of the most powerful in society that determine who lives and who dies. It is better to have almost any other form of government, than one in which citizens are not safe to express their opinions.

This core threat to democratic governance is exactly what the Roman negotiators faced, but only Cicero is said to have truly recognised. If Caesar refused to disarm his legions, fearing persecution, he could instead simply march on undefended Rome and seize power from the democratically elected Senate. While Cato pushed for Caesar’s prosecution, Cicero advocated for the type of

compromise that would diffuse this crisis.

Like Cicero, we need to recognise how serious it is that this crime spree took place under the PPP/C, and that stamping it out far outweighs all other electoral issues. If we do not demonstrate to them that such an inability to control extra-judicial killings is a standard we can’t accept, it sets an extremely worrying precedent.

Even further, if such a poor security environment returns, it would not be surprising to see violence against party supporters from every group escalate as a form of revenge.

This would reduce the democratic process to a form of rival gang warfare and perpetual civil strife, in much the same way as Caesar’s famous Roman invasion.

Additionally, I believe the best thing that could happen to the PPP/C strategically is an electoral loss in 2020. Not only would this force the party to take its past errors seriously and reform, it would resolve the internal ideological struggle, which I think limits the party’s policy-making and electoral effectiveness.

Conflict between the party’s historic communist, labour-friendly roots and its modern, pro-business stance undermines the PPP/C’s ability to advocate for the types of reforms that would help Guyanese businesses excel.

I can imagine that every time senior party members advocated for a tax cut to

benefit local firms, they were confronted with the group’s historical reliance on sugar worker votes, and the expensive bailouts that come with that commitment.

The pro-business potential that occasionally shone through has thus been stifled by left-wing commitments like bailing out failing sugar estates. This will only continue if they are elected in 2020, as they have already committed to monthly payments to thousands of former sugar workers with no specific end in sight.

Even more important, however, allowing this pro-business stance to flourish will broaden the party’s appeal as this is an approach behind which swing voters can get. As a result, the PPP/C would come out of a loss in 2020 a more effective party, both electorally and in policy-making, to the benefit of all Guyanese.

The commissions of inquiry into extra-judicial killings come I think at an opportune time. Guyanese will have at least a year before the next election to come to terms with what really happened and digest the implications this has for any administration wielding at least 300 million U.S. dollars a year in oil revenue. I believe the PPP/C has a critical role to play in building national greatness, but also that these types of inquires will make it clear that the party needs more time to reflect and reform.

14

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

OP-ED

Seize the Moment

By Sherod Duncan

JANUARY is gone. 2018 is in a hurry to get somewhere and I hope you are too. I see lots of people complaining about jobs being unavailable; on the other hand, I see many persons who are creating

work for themselves and others. While some persons -- not only here at home -are complaining that things are bad, others are thriving. The persons creating work and thriving are those who’d rather see the glass as half full. Perspective in life is everything.

I’m thrilled by the fact that entrepreneur Dason Anthony is expanding his business 592Tees, diversifying his offerings to the public.

And I admire the courage of Nirvana Mahase venturing into the service industry with Café Bellvana, which has become one of my favourite cosy spots in the city. With equal pride, I welcomed the news that Jubillanté Cutting copped the Nelson Mandela-Graça Machel Innovation Award for her activism with

the organisation, Guyana Animation Network. I’ve also been very impressed with strides by Dr. Rosh Khan, while I’m wishing success to his second installment of the Digital Wealth Creation Summit. But what is your success depending on this year?

Like on social media’s Facebook, leadership expert John Maxwell believes your success depends on what your ‘status’ is right now.

He says, “It’s not where were you or even where you’re going, but in the present, who are you and what are you doing?” Dr. Maxwell says, “We can’t live off of yesterday, it was yesterday and it’s gone forever. We don’t have any guarantees of tomorrow and where we’re going to be. He believes, ‘the secret

of success is dependent on our daily agenda, your status, what you are doing right now, what’s happening to you. It’s either positive or negative. It’s either helping or hurting’.

Patricia Bacchus, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Caribbean Container Inc., said to me a tool of success is to “continue to learn”. “It’s what will set you apart from others. Continue the acquisition of knowledge. Desire to learn more, to understand more. How else do you make decisions? Everything is data-driven. If you can’t measure something, you can’t manage it. It doesn’t only relate to the small sphere in which we are operating; but the wider your acquisition of knowledge, the better you’re able to analyze any situation.” Patricia’s life and career trajectory has always fascinated me, and I take her advice to heart.

Additionally, I also have a healthy appreciation that there might also be setbacks.

Again, how you view failure can be instrumental to your success this month, this year.

My friend and CEO of Ac-

tion Coach, Vishnu Doerga, suggested to me, “Whenever there are enough people complaining about something, there is money to be made.”

Vishnu asks, “Do you take your energy and focus on the things you can’t change, or do you take your energy and do something positive?” He says, “Do not use your energy in a way that doesn’t help anyone or yourself. The things we are complaining about, more times there are other people complaining about them as well. If there is a volume of people complaining, it means there is a demand, there is a need to be served. We are taught that when an alarm sounds, you run from the sound, but as entrepreneurs we look to where the problems are, because we get paid to solve problems. Be happy that you have problems to solve, because that is how you can get paid.”

Finally, I noticed in our National Budget 2018, that government has set aside over 1.7 billion dollars in programmes that address the needs of young people.

Finance Minister Winston

Jordan in presenting the budget stated, “In Guyana, our young men and women are calling for meaningful civic, economic, social and political participation. In response, government has crafted a multi-faceted, multi-tiered and multi-agency approach to create the enabling environment through which our youth can express their multi-talented capabilities, capacities and values in a wide and varied cross-section of endeavours.”

I keep wondering how many young people will seek out the opportunities in the suite of programmes available to them, such as The Youth Innovation Project of Guyana (YIPoG), Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST), and the Sustainable Livelihoods and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) programme, among others.

In 2018, I hope that you find what motivates you and pursue it. Refuse to complain, but instead seek out those persons, those opportunities that can help you get to where you need to be. And continue to be inspired.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

15

Cabinet finished ‘reshaping’ draft tourism policy --document to be again tabled in the House

THE draft National Tourism Policy is one step closer to realisation, as it has been reviewed and modified by Cabinet and will be sent for consideration again next week.

Minister of Business with responsibility for tourism, Dominic Gaskin has told the Guyana Chronicle that the policy was recently “examined” by members of Cabinet and has been reshaped.

“A number of ministers made a number of suggestions,” Minister Gaskin said, and that they have all been taken into account and incorporated into the document.

He, however, said that none of the suggestions that were made were “major”.

And while he did not wish to disclose the newer contents of the policy until

Cabinet has given its full blessing, he did mention that other government ministers have made worthwhile contributions to bettering the bill, vis-à-vis their suggestions.

Among those suggestions, he said, were that emphasis should be placed on ‘agro-tourism’, and that something should be done to boost “airlift” to Guyana.

He also noted that while the policy has not yet been approved by Cabinet, it has “been referred to a Cabinet sub-committee.”

COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENT The proposed National Tourism Policy is reportedly a comprehensive document that is expected to guide the sector over the next two decades.

Minister of Business with responsibility for Tourism, Dominic Gaskin

Minister Gaskin had mentioned in a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the Guyana Tourism

Authority (GTA) has been adhering to the policy’s action plan since 2016, as it conducts its various programmes.

The policy details measures that which will aid in promoting Guyana as the ideal tourist destination.

Chief among these measures, as underscored by the minister, is the training of locals to develop the necessary human resources needed to drive the industry.

“Training is an important component of what the GTA does,” Minister Gaskin had said. “Last year they would have trained hundreds of persons from various establishments in different aspects of the tourism services,” he’d told the DPI during the interview.

He said, too, that the policy will also focus on

developing new activities in the country, investment, and marketing of industries in the tourism sector.

Also adding to the efforts of promoting “Destination Guyana” was the recent appointment of US-based Brian Mullis as the new head of the GTA. NEW GTA DIRECTOR As Minister of State Joseph Harmon had said when the announcement was made, “The appointment of a new Director of Tourism is part of the restructuring of the Guyana Tourism Authority, which began in early 2017 and is expected to boost the development of sustainable tourist destinations, especially in the hinterland, and to promote strategic

marketing of ‘Destination Guyana’.”

The Tourism Sector has been identified as one of the key drivers of economic growth in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)’s Strategic Plan for 2015 to 2019.

It is a sustainable industry with a myriad of sub-sectors that can contribute significantly to a country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

During the 2018 budget debate, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan had reported that growth in the tourism sector for 2017 had increased by 5.7 per cent when compared to 2016, in that the period at reference had seen the arrival of a total of 170,322 visitors between the months of January to September alone.

The changing fortunes of Barbuda --where 19th Century land ownership is at risk

By Gemma Handy AROUND the dominoes table, spirits appear high but faces are weary. It is not long before the light-hearted banter is replaced by the topic currently dominating every conversation in Barbuda.

Islanders say that government plans to overturn a centuries-old system of communal land ownership will destroy their unique way of life and erase their cultural identity.

The controversial bill introducing the freehold sale of land would revoke this 19th Century practice, which was

ricane Irma.

Almost five months after the monster storm ripped the tiny Caribbean island apart, destroying homes and vital infrastructure, depression is setting in.

Electricity and running water have yet to be restored, schools remain closed, and less than 400 of Barbuda's 1,800-strong population have returned home following September's mandatory evacuation to the sister isle of Antigua.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne says allowing parcels of land to be sold will raise the revenue Barbuda needs to rebuild.

John Mussington

enshrined into law in 2007.

It is now gathering pace after being passed by both chambers of Antigua and Barbuda's parliament.

COMMUNAL OWNERSHIP Here, in this makeshift bar amid the ruins of Barbuda's once charming capital, people are still reeling from the wrath of devastating Hur-

Under the existing system, Barbudans govern all land communally with no private ownership.

Residents can identify parcels for residential, commercial or agricultural use which are then approved by the Barbuda Council and can be passed on to their heirs.

Many fear the changes will open the floodgates to wealthy foreign investors, and

transform the quaint, pristine isle into a tourism hotspot.

Earlier this month, an application for an injunction to put the brakes on the process was refused by the High Court.

The lawyer representing

still "ironing out the mechanics", but concerns abound that future generations will be priced out of the market.

"As soon as the land is sold, it is lost to us," says secondary school principal, John Mussington.

Thomas Thomas

Residents enjoying a game of dominoes while they discuss pressing issues

those behind the application, British QC Leslie Thomas, argues that the government has contravened laws which state that communal ownership can be repealed only with the consent of the majority of the Barbudan people.

Public meetings have traditionally been held to gauge consensus on various issues.

"You can't seek consent without consultation," Mr Thomas tells the BBC, adding that campaigners were prepared to fight all the way to London's Privy Council, the country's final court of appeal.

The draft bill would limit freehold titles to 10,000 sq ft (0.23 acre) per person, with sale prices to be determined by government.

The government says it is

"Our traditional lifestyles of farming and hunting, which require large amounts of land and have been our economy for hundreds of years,” he said, “will be completely disenfranchised. Our resources will be removed with one stroke of a pen."

Mr Mussington says that even if every Barbudan bought the 10,000 sq ft allotted to each resident, that would only amount to less than one square mile in total out of the island's 62-squaremile territory.

He fears what the government will do with the remaining 61 square miles of land, which, under the new law, it will be free to dispose of as it sees fit.

UPSIDES But residents have welcomed some of the proposed changes.

Loosening the rules to allow those with one Barbudan parent, rather than two, to become landowners is fair, says local resident Goldie Harris.

But he, like many others, is angry about the lack of public consultation.

"We were never notified; we never received a copy of the changes to the land act.

They just rammed it down our throats," he alleges.

"This island is paradise for us, but the government sees it as a money-maker for high-rollers. I agree Barbuda needs development, but on a limited basis. Our children will never be able to afford land here," he adds.

Thomas Thomas, another resident, fears the close-knit community where neighbours are considered family and doors are left unlocked, will change.

'EMPOWERING MOVE' MP for Barbuda, Arthur Nibbs says islanders have been consulted, but "in batches, not in the regular form".

He says Crown land would only be available to Barbudans, and foreign investors would continue to apply for leases.

"Barbudans have long been tenants of the Crown, with a right to occupy. This will empower them to become land owners," he adds.

But the bill also seeks to replace the word "Barbudan" with "resident of Barbuda" in some places in the text.

Islanders say that could pave the way for foreigners to be able to acquire freehold titles, which are currently restricted to Barbudans.

"I want my grandkids to have the same privileges we had; to acquire land freely and do what they want to do," says Shiraz Hopkins, a farmer.

"If my son wants another piece of land, it will be priced way too high for him," he says about the plans.

Island-wide, frustration is omnipresent. Not just at the looming changes to the way of life, but the minutiae of them too.

There is the daily trudge for water to bathe, cook and clean, and the cost of running generators.

"We are tired and fed up," Kelly Burton says.

"And on top of everything, this bill seeks to erase our heritage."

On the boat back to Antigua, a calypso song blasts out a nostalgic homage to yesteryear. With Barbuda's future uncertain, it is a poignant tribute to an island which, in a few years' time, might look very different.

(BBC)

16

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Mocha-Arcadia gets ICT hub

Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes

Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes and Director of Community Development and Social Management of the NDMA, Phillip Walcott, Barbara Boyce, Chairman, Management Committee, with two children cutting the ribbon to open the ICT Hub at the community centre

Barbara Boyce, Chairman, Management Committee speaking at the opening ceremony

THE Ministry of Public Telecommunications has opened an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub at the Mocha-Arcadia Community Centre, East Bank Demerara, geared at shoring up opportunities for the some 4,000 residents of the community.

“Technology is changing rapidly. When you look at the world it gives [the] opportunity to people regardless of where you are,” this was the advice given to the residents by Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes, as she explained the numerous benefits that the hub offers to all, young and the not so young.

“Education is the one thing that can change the

prospects of your child.

You have the opportunity with the hub, for that child to grow,” Minister Hughes told residents.

She added that the Internet enables persons to connect with others worldwide, whether through online classes, business ventures, or socialising. The minister revealed that the ministry will be providing learning materials in the coming weeks; List of 1000 questions- Grade Six Assessment, and CSEC pre-questions for students on the computers.

This project is a collaboration with the Ministry of Public Telecommunications (MoPT) and the National Data Management Authority (NDMA).

The grand turnout on Friday afternoon at the Mocha-Arcadia Community Centre

Phillip Walcott, Director of Community Development and Social Management of the NDMA, announced that very soon the ministry will launch a project to train volunteers in the areas with the ICT Hub. This is to ensure that persons can be better assist-

ed with the technology. The programme will entail basic management of the equipment, basic troubleshooting knowledge, and training on how to manage volunteers.

It was explained that the hub has some 20 laptops and a team of 12 persons to manage and monitor the

operations. According to Barbara Boyce, Chairman, Management Committee, the hub will also soon be equipped with a printer. “We had a bumpy journey to this day, but we are here and very grateful.”

While commending the initiative, Boyce highlighted

the need for individuals with technological backgrounds to help with the ICT hub.

The newly established hub provides free WiFi, mentors, consultation and support, computer training, and the opportunity to conduct research.

(DPI)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

17

Bartica teachers, community reps receive STEM training for ‘green’ development TWELVE teachers from Bartica, along with four community stakeholders, Saturday underwent a one-day training workshop in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Robotics, aimed at equipping them with technological skills, which can assist in providing solutions to the challenges of transitioning Bartica to the first model ‘green’ town in Guyana and the Caribbean.

The training saw participation of five other persons, drawn from the Lusignan/ Good Hope Learning Centre and The Deaf Association of Guyana.

The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Office of Climate Change (OCC), Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Telecommunications and STEM Guyana and was held in the Ministry of Public Telecommunications boardroom.

The sessions were facilitated by Founder of STEM Guyana, Karen Abrams and her daughter Imah Abrams.

Noting that robotics itself offers innovative possibilities for developing waste management and energy-generation solutions among other things, Project Manager of the Bartica Transitioning to National Energy Security Project, Gavin Bovell, explained in an invited comment that the OCC is cognisant of the fact that science and technology play a critical role in developing solutions to many common issues.

Taking this into context, he said that the OCC in June

2017 launched a US$650,000 pilot project for the purpose of establishing a reliable point of reference for the existing state of energy use in Bartica.

The financing was received from the Government of Italy in support of the Model ‘Green’ Town, Bartica Project. The data generated from this project will be used for future measurements and predictions for evidence-based decision-making and pursuance of projects and programmes.

One of the components of the five-component project focused on sensitisation and awareness among the populace. It is in this context, he said, that the project was born to not only raise awareness, but to also equip the residents, particularly students, with the relevant skills to help find viable solutions.

“For the sensitisation, what we planned to do is to go into schools and have hands-on activities.

So we thought it interesting and timely that the STEM Guyana team was here in Guyana already and so we decided to collaborate to sponsor 16 persons to be trained, so that they can go back into their communities and schools and train students. We believe that this is important because the kids can go back into their communities and come up with solutions using the applied skills that they would have received, that they can come up with their own solutions,” he said.

The pilot project, under which today’s workshop falls, is divided into two

A section of participants at the training held in the Ministry of Public Telecommunications boardroom

phases: in phase one, which is currently being implemented over a period of 12 months, energy audits and public-awareness exercises are being completed, along with the establishment of an energy data management centre.

To the degree possible, some small-scale demonstrations have also commenced.

In phase two, the information gathered will be used for the scaling up of projects.

Abrams, in an invited comment, said that STEM Guyana is pleased to be a part of the project. She

noted that if Guyana is to fast track its development and compete globally, it is important that citizens be exposed to such programmes, so that they can formulate solutions to solve issues ranging from the environment to agriculture to health care.

The younger Abrams echoed these sentiments, noting that citizens can be empowered through technology to find solutions to everyday problems.

“We want to prepare and empower them to utilise technology to develop dynamic

solutions to problems they face within their communities and so this morning, we really want to hammer home that. We will be focusing on the coach platform, judge system, scratch programming, help them to create animations, the fundamentals of robotics and programming of robots,” she said.

One of the participants, Ron Ghanie, a teacher from the Three Miles Secondary School, said that while he is not versed in Information Technology, he is looking forward to leaving Georgetown with the knowledge and

skills to help make a change in his community.

“I do not know much about scratch programming [a free programming language and online community, which allows persons to create their own interactive stories, games, and animations], but I am looking to take that away with me. I hope that when I get back to Bartica, I can inspire my students to partake in activities that we can embark on. This is a really, really great idea,” he said. (Ministry of the Presidency)

PNCR to show love for Region 10 elderly --via ‘Adopt a Grand Friend’ initiative

THE People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) will be showing its appreciation to the senior citizens of the region through their “Adopt a Grand Friend” initiative.

The recently launched initiative is intended to encourage the youths of Region 10 to bridge the gap between themselves and the elderly.

The initiative is part of the PNCR Region 10 Community Awareness Programme 2018.

The Region 10 Discount Card that will be issued to senior citizens of the region

According to party Regional Chairman, Deron Adams, persons 60 and over will be eligible to receive discounts from businesses in the region, providing that they have their ‘Region 10 Discount Card,’ which will be issued to them in the near future.

He said that businesses such as Jermaine Family Store, James and Son, Rite Care Pharmacy, Corporate supplies, Three Kings Taxi Service and Triple ‘A’ Stationery will be giving senior citizens a 5%

discount on their purchases.

In addition, with the decentralisation of the Immigration Office, senior citizens in Region 10 will now have access to free passport forms, and will be helped by the party’s office to complete them.

Adams is encouraging the youths of Region 10 to adopt a “Grand Friend” attitude by assisting and respecting the elderly.

“Today,” he said, “you are encouraged to first let us begin with those in our neighbourhoods.

“We in Region 10 are a caring people; and, moving forward, it is my hope that this

will extend to the other regions in the near future…

“Those of us who are today filled with so much youthful vigour, it is my hope that we will unite to make this initiative a success.”

As a part of its Community Awareness Programme, the PNCR recently donated one ‘SwingFog’ fogging machine to the Moblissa Health Centre.

This came about as a result of growing health concerns of those in the Moblissa community. Steps will now be taken to reduce the number of mosquitoes in the community.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

What the mayors say … on Guyana-Venezuela border controversy

AFTER years of lobbying, Guyana is successful in having the territorial controversy with Venezuela referred to the International Court of Justice. On January 30, 2018, the United Nations Secretary General spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric announced that Mr Antonio Guterres has fulfilled the responsibility that has fallen on him within the framework set by his predecessor, Mr Ban Ki-moon in December 2016, and has chosen the ICJ as the means to be used for the solution of the controversy. He had noted that no significant progress had been made at the level of the Good Offices process over the last year.

The news has been welcomed by the Guyana Government, though rejected by the Venezuelan Government. This week, we spoke with some of the Mayors of Guyana on the decision of the UN Secretary General and its importance to Guyana.

Here are their views:

Mayor of Mabaruma, Henry Smith

Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland

The Guyana/Venezuela controversy necessitates the stimulating of nationalist or patriotic fervour. Too many of our people are unaware of the ramifications of the controversy and its potential for irreparable consequences. While I am adamantly optimistic that as a nation we will travail over this challenge, I also view this challenge with hope for strengthening the ties that bind us as a nation. It is my opinion that this controversy creates room for us to promulgate an agenda that stimulates nationalistic sentiments among our people. Venezuela was doing that for years and have brainwashed their people into believing a lie, so we need to get the right education out to our people. This is a time when the leader of the opposition needs to be heard championing this cause and seen standing next to our President in full support of Guyana’s move to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It will demonstrate cohesion rather than partisan politics at a time when it is most necessary.

Mayor of Corriverton, Krishnand Jaichand

The United Nations (UN) Secretary General’s decision to refer the Guyana/Venezuela Border Controversy is the correct approach because this matter has been pending for too long. Since in the late 1980s early 1990s when I was a headmaster in the Yarakita/Haulingover Area – an area bordering the two countries, Venezuelan helicopters frequently circled the area, one even landed on the cricket field. At Mabaruma, they use to fly low low as though they were going to touch down, taunting Guyanese soldiers. Today, many years after, we are concerned about the high influx of Venezuelans in Mabaruma; you would believe you are in Caracas… and we are also concerned about our safety. So yes, I am pleased that the border controversy will be going to the ICJ for final settlement. It is time our territory be respected.

The decision by the UN Secretary General to send the Guyana/Venezuela Border Controversy to the International Court of Justice is most welcomed by the people of Corriverton and should be respected by all. Venezuela's claim that the 1899 Award is null and void is indeed a baseless claim, it lacks merit.

As [our]country prepares for a judicial settlement, we must remain united and continue to educate ourselves on the facts about the controversy.

Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall Mayor of Anna Regina, Rabindranauth Mohan I believe that it is the best thing that could've happened since the other options have been exhausted. I am also aware that this issue was settled with the 1899 Arbitral Award of the boundaries and therefore any claim by Venezuela is null and void. I am in full support of the Government’s position in leaving no stone unturned in having this matter settled once and for all. I appeal to all Guyanese to stand steadfast in support and in defense of our Independence and territorial integrity.

I'm heartened at the news of the decision by the Secretary General of the United Nations to refer the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Guyana has saddled the effects of this century old controversy. This I believe would have created an atmosphere of uncertainty and an unnecessary burden to the people of Guyana.

Moreso, future generations of our country should not have to face the uncertainty of this border issue. An early resolution will most certainly be welcomed by all. Further, the APNU+ AFC Government’s commitment to finding a resolution is most commendable.

What’s most commendable is not only the "political will" to resolve the controversy but the peaceful method that was chosen. We live in a world where peaceful solutions are a rare option.

As a result, we the people of Bartica support the Government and offer our best wishes for a positive outcome.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Commissions of Inquiry POLITICIANS are a special breed—they never fail to amaze you.

There is a kind of barefacedness about their utterances and actions that makes you wonder if they should be leading people and nations. As a student of politics, I make allowances for tactics and strategies or for unavoidable ignorance when I read or listen to what politicians say.

Take the PPP’s response to the recent announcement of the Commission of Inquiry into the violence that almost destroyed this country in the years 2002-2008. After declaring that it would welcome the inquiry because it has lots of dirt on its opponent, it changed its tune as soon as the government announced the CoI. Some may argue that this is typical politicking, but the reasons given by the PPP boggle the mind.

The party contended that the CoI was set up by the government without input from the opposition PPP. On the face of things, this sounds like a good enough reason for threatening not to participate. Just a few short years ago, this very PPP set up a CoI into the murder of Dr. Walter Rodney without consulting the opposition, including Rodney’s party, the WPA. No amount of pleading by the opposition could get the PPP President, Donald Ramotar, to change his mind. He contended that he was instructed by Rodney’s widow not to consult with the opposition. The government proceeded to mount the inquiry, whose findings were promptly rejected by the PNC which is now the

major party in the coalition government.

For its part, the PNC didn’t bother to protest its exclusion from the process—it simply didn’t want an inquiry. It however argued that the PPP wanted to use the CoI to embarrass and slander the party. This did not budge the PPP, which made no secret of its desire to do just that. The PNC initially decided not to participate in the CoI, but later changed its mind and entered an appearance in the person of the current attorney general.

Now the PPP is making the very same threat— it says its members may not give evidence before the commission. This is the same party which didn’t budge when the PNC threatened not to participate in the Rodney CoI. And the PNC is now heading the government, which did not consult with the PPP before setting up the current CoI and which does not seem to care whether the PPP participates or not. Further, from the comments of the government spokespersons, there is little doubt that it has already found the PPP guilty, even before the first witness has testified.

Sounds familiar? Back in 2005, the PPP abstained from its own motion in parliament to set up the Rodney CoI, because the said motion was amended to substitute the word “death” for “assassination”. The argument by the then opposition was that the main objective of the CoI was to determine whether Rodney was assassinated or not. The more we change and rearrange, nothing changes.

The PPP objects to the naming of Justice Trotman

as the sole commissioner, because he is the father of Minister Trotman. The government isn’t budging on that either. But the PPP cannot forget that the PNC and WPA had objected to one of the commissioners of the Rodney CoI, claiming he was connected to the PPP. Of course, the PPP did not remove him.

One does not know whether to cry or laugh when confronted with these instances of political dishonesty. Of course, in a functional democracy, the objections of the PPP would have lots of merit.

But the PPP has no moral standing, because the very things about which it now complains, it did when it was in charge. Why do you expect that now you are out of power your opponent should be impartial, when you showed no respect for impartiality when you held power?

And why did you object to partisan partiality when you were in opposition, but now you are in power, you practise the very partiality?

The answer is simple— Guyana’s elite political culture is dysfunctional.

I predict that the current CoI or CoIs into that bloody period in our recent life would suffer the very fate of the Rodney CoI. One side would claim victory and the other side would reject the findings.

We are what we are and that’s the way it is.

THE FORMAL LEADER VS THE DE FACTO LEADER The long knives are out for GAWU leader Komal Chand, because he dared to do something Guyanese elite political culture does not embrace—he decided

to act independently of his party. He chose the union’s interests over the party’s interest and in the process, angered the leader. You see, Dr. Jagan was leader of both GAWU and the PPP, so he could not be ousted.

Jagdeo has been acting as leader of both organisations on the sugar issue, but formally he is

leader of the PPP only.

So, when Chand decided to talk to the government, he was showing Jagdeo who is formally GAWU’s leader. For now, the formal leader always gets his way, but the de-facto leader, Mr. Jagdeo, always prevails within the PPP. Ask Donald, Clement, Moses and Khemraj.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Private sector must get on board – Jagdeo tells Sustainable Development Forum FORMER President Bharat Jagdeo has said

that there is need for broader awareness and

action involving not only governments, but also the

private sector in building climate resilience, adapting to climate change, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Academia and civil society need to be involved as well,” said Jagdeo in his capacity as Patron-in-Chief at the World Sustainable Development Forum (WSDF), recently.

According to a press statement from the leader of the opposition’s office, he pointed out that there is no single approach for all countries, especially developing countries, where support is needed to assist them for both climate adaptation and mitigation.

Jagdeo in his remarks indicated that WSDF is being convened at a time when there is loss of political momentum from the high note of Paris 2015.

“We need to push for the implementation of the Paris Agreement and to raise both the level of ambition and financing to support implementation,” he said.

Jagdeo pointed out that the discussion is shifting from one of cost of implementation to one of opportunity; and where there is a significant role for the private sector.

The forum which convened in Mexico City over the period February 1-2, 2018, brought togeth-

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

er leading luminaries and global personalities in the area of climate change and sustainable development.

Among those making presentations were former Prime Minister of Portugal and former President of the European Union, Jose Manuel Barrosa; Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, former Prime Minister of Malta; and Yukio Hatoyama , former Prime Minister of Japan, along with representatives from the Government of Mexico.

Leading Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and representatives from business, academia and civil society were also part of the two-day event, which saw presentations from former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hollywood actor and climate change advocate

Leonardo Di Caprio.

Also present were representatives of international organisations, including the United Nations.

The forum, which was hosted by Mexico’s capital city and with sponsorship from the Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation and the United States Energy Association among others, focused on critical issues such as ambition and the Paris Agreement; energy transformation; the leadership challenge on climate change and sustainable development and the role of key stakeholders, such as businesses and civil society.

WSDF is expected to be an annual event to help raise awareness and push for action on climate change and sustainable development.

Plumber killed in Corentyne accident A 68-year-old man is now dead after he was struck down on the Williamsburg Public Road, East Berbice-Corentyne on Saturday morning by a hire car.

The man identified as Winston Williams called “Willo,” was allegedly struck down by a speeding motor car bearing licence plate number HC 3825, sometime around 06:30 hrs.

According to reports, the man was heading in a western direction on his bicycle when he was struck from behind by the Red Toyota Fielder wagon.

The driver allegedly lost control and came to a

Winston Williams

stop on the northern parapet after colliding with a

bus shed.

According to eyewitnesses, Williams’s motionless body was picked up and rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Williams, who was employed as a plumber, leaves to mourn his siblings and other relatives.

Meanwhile, the driver of the car who was identified as a 47-year-old resident of South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown, who plies the Corentyne to Georgetown route daily, is in police custody assisting with the investigation.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Establishment of ERC could bode well for ethnic relations and governance CONSTITUTIONAL reform brought with it some explicit fundamental insertions and should they be enforced, can secure advancement in human development.

One such is the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), which in itself represents acknowledgement that such is deserving of dedicated attention if we are to fulfil our aspiration as One People, One Nation, One Destiny, which clearly shows respect for the equality of man. Last month, the National Assembly approved the appointment of the new ERC 10-member commission, after six years of non-operation.

The ERC is an agency of the state. Its mandate is far-reaching and most of its work to help the improvement of our system of governance will be reliant on feedback from the people, buttressed by research and guided by universally acceptable principles, the constitution and Laws of Guyana. Ours is a diverse society. Diversity brings with it inherent conflicts,

views and interests and managing these consistent with common understanding and mutual needs is an on-going process.

It means that conversations have to be frank, honest, credible and open in order to realise and maintain the infrastructures of peaceful co-existence. Out of necessity, it will require emotional growth on the part of the condemned and critiqued. It expects of us respect for the fundamental right of persons to fearlessly articulate their realities or positions on any issue, whether such conform to, deviate from, or reject the status quo. When persons cannot express how they feel, others won’t know their feelings. When we don’t have conversations, we won’t be able to achieve common understanding, which is crucial in addressing mutual needs.

The ERC has the scope to recommend that infrastructures be put in place for the development of all groups. Such an aspiration cannot be held hostage to forces of intolerance, deceit

or fear. He who exercised the right to criticise must be equally prepared to accept same when the circumstances have changed, for we do our development a disservice by accepting the contrary.

We would recall that the ERC under Juan Edghill’s leadership ran into serious problems, due to disregard for universally acceptable principles and the respecting of rights. The first case that came before this commission was Dr Kean Gibson’s book, “The cycle of racial oppression in Guyana.” A complaint was made by what was then the Indian Arrival Committee, that the book was creating racial hatred in the society. Rather than seek to examine the merit or demerit of the charge, the commission attacked Dr. Gibson’s scholarship, calling for the book to be banned, and some forces moved to have her dismissed from employment, which constituted an attack on academic freedom and the right to work, intended to send a message of the likely consequences for those who do not conform.

To proclaim the desire to work for improved relations or argue the absence of good relations and society’s underdevelopment is due to ethnic division, will necessitate the preparedness to listen to others, recognise their concerns and sensitivities, and act in a manner thereafter that will improve rather than stymie or hinder such relations. Ours is a society where excuse has been found to alienate and discriminate against on the pretext that the fundamental right to self-determination is selective and not universal, which is contrary to Article 147 and 149 of the constitution.

For instance, groups will continue to vote according to ethnic interest. A progressive ERC would recognise the importance of protecting this fundamental right, equally as safeguarding the

right not to be discriminated against for exercising such association. Advocacy and support to recognise this will come not only from research and arguing the respect for our laws, but also submitting to the government (executive and legislature), the necessity to realise legislation to give meaning to Articles 75, 76 and 77 in the constitution.

Democracy is not only about elections. It’s a continuous process that recognises the desires, roles and responsibilities of the people, including government by, of and for the people. This can only be achieved in an environment where the right to expression is held sacred. At the same time, it is not lost on me that this right carries corresponding responsibility, but such does not include denial of dissenting or alternative views.

There is also need to be

mindful that a disservice is not done to ethnic relations, if the view is held and want to be imposed that racial identity should be ignored and what must matter only is being Guyanese. One’s geographic birth is not necessarily the same as inherent physical characteristics. It is not counter-productive celebrating both or addressing matters that affect the latter as a requirement of human development. The United Nations has so recognised the premium of this and continues to honour same through calendar dedication and calls to action. We stand to benefit from such.

I wish the commissioners well. Their job is cut out for them. There’s no doubt where there exists respect for rights, laws and universally acceptable principles, the society will be behind this body.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Guyana to soon test local produce for chemical residue

By Navendra Seoraj IN an effort to ensure that foods consumed by Guyanese are wholesome and healthy, the Pesticides and Toxic Chemical Control Board (PTCCB) will soon conduct chemical-residue analyses on local products and produce.

“We will soon know what is hitting our markets, because we will do a residue analysis on products across the market place and also be able to guide producers towards farm certification,” said PTCCB Senior Inspector Suresh Amichand during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

He explained that for the first time, the PTCCB will be able to test for chemical residue once their new $140 million laboratory facility is furnished.

The laboratory is located next to the PTCCB headquarters at Agriculture Road,Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Amichand said the tests will be conducted by trained chemists, who would be constantly sensitised by the PTCCB regarding modern standards and new methods of testing for chemical residue.

“Every year we train people… so we have qualified persons who will conduct the various tests,” said the senior PTCCB inspector.

Guyana currently racks up a hefty bill, because the PTCCB sends items to Jamaica or Trinidad to be tested for residue of pesticides and toxic chemicals.

Once the lab is completed, Guyana hopes to extend its services to countries in

Senior PTCCB inspector Suresh Amichand

the Region.

Even the crops produced by farmers, the senior PTCCB inspector said, would be certified and accredited locally, because the lab will do independent tests that would be able to withstand scrutiny anywhere in the world.

In the past, farmers complained about not being able to export their produce, because there was no way of measuring the standards locally.

Jairam (only name given), a farmer from Region Five, said the lab is a big step for Guyana, particularly farmers, because they would be able to know the quality and standard of their produce.

Amichand also believes that the lab would help to improve trade relations, because the tests would reveal if the residue is accepted or unregulated.

He reiterated that the facility should be fully operational by mid-year once the lab is furnished with the right tools and equipment.

Late last year, the Guyana Chronicle reported that Guyana is in a strong position to develop sound and credible systems of food safety management for processed, semi-processed and raw foods produced for local consumption, as well as for external markets.

This was so because the country received the Codex Procedural Manual and Codex Strategic Plan. The development of the Codex Procedural Manual and Codex Strategic Plan was made possible through collaboration between the Government of Chile and the local office of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Co-chairperson of the National Codex Committee, Dr Maxine Parris-Aaron, had said the procedural manual and the strategic plan will help all stakeholders to achieve consensus in harmonising local food production standards with those required for international trade.

The newly constructed laboratory facility next to the PTCCB headquarters at Agriculture Road, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) (Adrian Narine photo)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Sexton inches Ireland past France

(BBC) - IRELAND snatched a remarkable win over France thanks to a brilliant long-range drop-goal by flyhalf Johnny Sexton.

After the Irish had led for most of the game in Paris, winger Teddy Thomas scored a fine 71st-minute try to give France the lead for the first time.

However, Sexton pulled off his dramatic drop in the 83rd minute to give Joe Schmidt's side a valuable opening win.

The incredible last-gasp score denied France a winning start under their new coach Jacques Brunel.

Sexton landed four penalties before missing his fifth, which would have given the visitors a 15-6 lead.

That failed attempt looked like proving costly when Racing 92 star Thomas scythed through the Irish defence for what seemed like being the decisive score.

Perhaps it is unfair to com-

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pare an uncapped teenager with the British and Irish Lions starting fly-half, but the difference between the sides was crystallised by the fortunes of the two men wearing the number 10 shirts.

On his Test debut, Matthieu Jalibert lost an early aerial battle with Rob Kearney and minutes later he miscued an attempted chip over the Irish defence to cough up possession.

The Bordeaux youngster was too frequently guilty of crabbing across the field, which cut off space for his team-mates, before limping off after 30 minutes following an awkward collision with Bundee Aki. In contrast, Sexton's control of the Irish attack was flawless.

The Leinster man consistently probed at the French back three with an array of clever kicks.

The playmaker showed nerves of steel to land the match-winning score at the death.

Johnny Sexton scores monstrous match-winning drop-goal

National Darts championships open at Duke Lodge

THE National championships of the Guyana Darts Association (GDA) opened on Friday evening with the first round of matches at the Roraima Duke Lodge.

The tournament which featured teams on the opening night will see Men’s singles, Women’s singles and Mixed doubles games before it concludes this evening.

President of the GDA, Sheik Yassin, told the media, “We are using this tournament as a medium of going forward to our international tournaments.”

He also said that the body intends to take darts to another level and this is the first step in doing so.

Meanwhile GDA treasurer, tournament organiser and eight-time reigning Men’s champion Sudesh Fitzgerald shed some light on how the tournament will run.

“We expect about 20 players. Due to the constant mi-

gration of players that number may increase or decrease.”

He added, “It’s supposed to have been done every year but due to some constraints

However, the members of the GDA have decided that sponsorship or not, we will go forward and make the event possible.”

Fitzgerald, a former Caribbean and South American champion and current JBL Brazilian champion contended that he intends to take the Men’s title for a second time.

He is also half of the Mixed doubles and Men’s doubles champion teams.

Female competitor and other half of the defending Mixed doubles champion Victoria Chandra said that she is ready and raring to go.

The other half of the men’s doubles team and Fitzgerald’s doubles partner as well as singles opponent said that while he has never beaten his team-mate in singles competition, he is hoping that this year will present a change.

The competition is sponsored by Duke Lodge with the proprietor’s son Kevin Gouveia officially declaring the tournament open.

ANN’S Grove recorded a 4-0 thumping of Dolphin Secondary as the Milo Schools Football tournament continued yesterday at the Ministry of Education ground.

Four different scorers registered their names on the sheet as the tournament completed its third playing date.

Kenaz De Camb started the scoring late in the 45th before Romario London 52nd, Ingram Rahaman 56th and Carlos Cole 67th ensured that there was no coming back for the Georgetown school.

The second game of the afternoon, however, had players and fans on the edge

of their seats as Bishops’ High played Pure Masters to a goalless stalemate.

Both teams had chances but at the end of the day, they both can take only one point from the game.

In the final game of the afternoon, Lodge Secondary won via walkover from Queen’s College.

Matches continue today when Annandale Secondary will play Friendship Secondary from 12:00hrs with Christianburg and Vergenoegen doing battle from 13:30hrs.

Morgan Learning Centre will face School of the Nations in the last match of the day.

with sponsorship we were not able to host it quite often.

The tournament was declared open by Gerald Gouveia’s son Kevin who threw the first dart.

Ann’s Grove thump Dolphin in Milo U-18 football

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

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Sri Lanka back in control after three quick wickets (ESPNCRICINFO) - THE fall of three late Bangladesh wickets gave hope that the Chittagong Test may yet produce a result, after Sri Lanka had secured a first-innings lead of 200, amassing 713 for 9.

Roshen Silva completed an assured hundred, Dinesh Chandimal a measured 87 and Niroshan Dickwella a rapid 62; but it was Sri Lanka’s spinners who truly breathed life into the game.

Finding turn with the almost-new ball, Dilruwan

Perera, Lakshan Sandakan and Rangana Herath struck once each in the final 12 overs of the day. With both Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal among those dismissed, the Bangladesh middle order is now charged with carrying them to safety on day five. They are still 119 runs behind.

The late wickets came after the hosts had begun their second innings with such confidence. Tamim Iqbal was not quite as belligerent as he had been in the first

innings, but he was nevertheless positive, stroking Herath through midwicket early in his innings, before delectably flicking Suranga Lakmal through square leg in the fourth over. Sri Lanka raised some good lbw shouts, but batting still appeared a relatively uncomplicated exercise. Imrul Kayes was quieter than Tamim, but hardly seemed to be struggling.

It was in the over that Imrul was dismissed that the scenario changed. Tamim was beaten twice by turning

Dilruwan Perera deliveries before he finally managed to get himself off strike off the fifth ball. Imrul then somehow managed to get the toeend of his bat to an attempted ramp shot, and the ball looped out towards the square leg fielder, who completed an easy take.

The remaining 11.5 overs were tense; only two boundaries were struck before stumps. Tamim was largely to blame for his dismissal - prodding at a Sandakan ball that was not

threatening the stumps, only to send a thin edge to the wicketkeeper.

Mushfiqur, however, can consider himself very unlucky. He got forward to defend a full delivery from Herath, only for the ball to hit his bat and bounce off his shoe. Kusal Mendis took a good low catch at silly point.

Sri Lanka’s march to their gargantuan score was, it must be said, utterly tedious viewing, even if it may turn out to be in service of a Test win.

The morning session

was speckled with Sri Lanka milestones - Roshen and Chandimal bringing up the third century-stand of the innings, before Roshen completed a proficient maiden Test ton. Later in the session, after Roshen had been caught behind, off a Mehidy Hasan delivery, Sri Lanka ploughed on past 600.

Bangladesh’s bowlers were by now in various states of fatigue, and their four front-line bowlers had all conceded over 100 runs apiece.

Kalra hands India fourth U-19 title

(ESPNCricinfo) - INDIA sauntered to a record fourth Under-19 World Cup title in front of a partisan crowd of 4 000 odd at Bay Oval, to finish an unbeaten campaign that had begun against Australia at the same venue, three weeks ago.

The margin of victory then was 100 runs, and it was comprehensive in the grand final as well - eight wickets.

To win the tournament, India pulled off their second-highest successful chase in U-19 World Cups, after the 226 to beat Australia in Townsville in 2012.

Unmukt Chand had led that chase with a sublime century, and yesterday another Delhi boy, Manjot Kalra, repeated the feat.

In the tournament opener against Australia, Kalra had

pects all the sports books in Nevada to take in a record $155 million in bets before the 6:30 pm kickoff. The previous high to date for a Super Bowl was $138.48 million, which was wagered on last year's Super Bowl.

And a huge chunk of that so far has been bet in favor of the Eagles.

William Hill reports about 85% of the money thus far has been wagered in points spread bets on Philly and about 79% of the money line bets have been placed on the Eagles.

That kind of exposure has Bogdanovich rightfully concerned.

“There’s no question we are going to be rooting for the Patriots,” Bogdanovich said. “About 90% of the time we root against the Patriots, but we need them to win this time for sure.”

Along with the two $1 million money line-wagers, William Hill also took a $1.6 million point-spread bet on Wednesday from a bettor who picked the Eagles to cover the 4.5-point spread.

The bet was placed at a William Hill sportsbook in The Bahamas.

Bogdanovich said he expected more money to be wagered on the Patriots as game time approaches.

India are ICC U-19 champs for a record fourth time.

missed his century by 14 runs in an effort to hit out. He was unbeaten on 101 off 102 balls in the final.

Kalra, driven by instinct and hand-eye coordination, powered India along with

fellow opener Prithvi Shaw, after a short rain delay four overs into the chase.

It began with a freehit which he biffed for six, and the high notes came when he took Jack Ed-

wards for three boundaries in the 11th over. When Will Sutherland got one to move away and bowl Shaw for 29, India were 71 for 1.

Australia’s relief was short-lived, as they watched

Money on Eagles to beat Patriots (USA Today) - THE big money is on the Philadelphia Eagles so far.

William Hill - which operates more than 100 sportsbooks in Nevada and hundreds more worldwide - has taken three bets on the Eagles of $1 million or more since Monday, the latest coming Friday afternoon. That $1 million money-line wager was made by the same bettor who placed a $1 million bet on the Eagles on Monday.

the in-form Shubman Gill - averaging over 100 in Youth ODIs and having made six successive 50-plus scores - play three exquisite cover drives within five minutes of his arrival at

the crease.

Kalra went on to bring up a 47-ball half-century.

The signs were ominous for Australia thereon and Kalra finished with a strike rate of nearly 100, having struck eight fours and three sixes.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Harvik Desai chipped in with a spunky 47 and it was his sliced four over backward point that triggered manic celebrations in the Indian camp.

However, to say India’s win was down to just their batting would not do justice to left-arm spinner Shiva Singh. Despite not having taken a wicket in the tournament, Shiva had kept his spot because of his economy and ability to maintain pressure in the middle overs. In the final, he made a telling contribution - 10-0-36-2.

William Hill sports director Nick Bogdanovich told USA TODAY Sports “there is no explanation” to the rash of major bets placed ahead of Super Bowl LII on Sunday.

William Hill, which has operated in Nevada since 2012, had only taken one previous bet of $1 million or more before this week: a $1.2 million wager on Floyd Mayweather in his bout against Conor McGregor in August.

“This is highly unusual,”

Bogdanovich asid. “This game is crazy. Sports betting is at an all-time high and the economy is good. There’s a lot of interest in this game.”

ESPN also reported that MGM's sportsbook accepted “multimillion” bet on the Eagles as well.

It’s not odd that the Super Bowl attracts huge bets -- although it’s rare for so many to be above $1 million -- and lots of those bets are made on the money line (a straight-up

bet) versus the spread. While a bettor is getting 4.5 points on Philly (meaning the Eagles could lose by four or fewer points and still win a point-spread bet), the payout is equal -- minus the sportsbook's cut -- to the money wagered.

With the money line for the Eagles set at +155 as it stood on Saturday, a $1 million bet would result in a $1.55 million profit.

Bogdanovich said he ex-

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

James’ hat-trick leads Herstelling past Swan, Warriors, Friendship win

… Grove stay at top SHORAN James scored a hat-trick against Swan FC to lead Herstelling Raiders to their second win in three matches in the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) leg of the GFF/ Pele Alumni Frank Watson U-15 Intra Association League continued at the Grove Playfield.

The diminutive forward has now scored 11 goals in three matches as they temporarily hold down the number two spot on the points table ahead of Agricola (both on 6 points) with a better goal difference of +13 to +3, Herstelling playing one more.

Grove maintained their hold at the top after surviving against Samatta Point/ Kaneville in their 1-1 draw.

On the day, there were also wins for Kuru Kururu Warriors who needled Timehri Panthers while Friendship All Stars trounced Soesdyke Falcons 4-1.

Friendship and Kuru

Kururu Warriors notched their first points of the league, which will continue today with four more matches at the same venue from 09:30hrs. Grove will match skills with Mocha Champs, followed by Agricola versus Diamond United from 11:00hrs.

Herstelling Raiders will then oppose Diamond Upsetters from 12:30hrs with the main event of the day being Samatta Point/Kaneville against Soesdyke Falcons.

The feature game of the day turned out to be the Shoran James show - his skills and agility being too much for Swan to handle.

The Linden Soesdyke Highway-based side, contesting their first tournament on the East Bank, had needled Timehri in their debut match one week ago and were confident of taking down another of the seasoned teams but James would have none of that.

They kept Raiders at bay for almost the entire half but finally cracked when James dribbled two defenders before banging the ball into the back of the nets in the 31st minute to break the deadlock.

Swan FC continued to be a tough proposition for the Raiders in the second half but it was James whose magic doubled the advantage for his team in the 46th minute and tripled same in the 58th minute. Swan were able to pull one back in the 61st minute but lost the battle 3-1.

The third match of the day saw Kuru Kururu Warriors, the other Highway-based side that lost to Grove and Swan, rebound to record their first points when they needled Timehri Panthers who had won their first match of the league against Soesdyke.

The first half was a goalless affair and it took a penalty in the second half to separate the two sides. Kevon Scott, who was brought down in the area, was the

Action in the Herstelling Raiders FC/Swan FC feature match yesterday at the Grove Playfield

player to drill the shot past Ronaldo Blair in goal for Panthers who muffed numerous chances during the match.

Friendship also eased into the points zone with a comfortable win over Soesdyke Falcons, 4-1. Marlon Dey opened the scoring for Friendship in the 11th minute but that advantage was cancelled out in the 20th minute

GFF makes pitch to Minister Norton for Government’s support GUYANA Football Federation (GFF) president Wayne Forde led a delegation last Thursday to Minister of Social Cohesion Dr George Norton and presented the GFF’s 2018 calendar of activities and briefed him on upcoming developmental plans of the Federation.

Among the key items discussed at the meeting held at the Ministry’s Boardroom was a pitch for the Minister’s support in bringing together the relevant Governmental agencies and stakeholders to facilitate the launching of a first-ever GFF/FIFA/GoG National Primary and Secondary Schools Football League.

According to a release from the GFF, the project, which is expected to be funded by FIFA to the tune of US$250 000, is a landmark initiative that will be positioned as part of the national youth programme. To this end, GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood and Schools Development Officer, Seon Bristol, outlined the key features of the programme to the Minister.

Additionally, Forde in his presentation shared the GFF’s strategic

five-year plan and outlined the Federation’s desire to partner with the Government of Guyana (GoG).

A key feature of this partnership was Government’s support for the GFF Elite League through the provision of employment opportunities for players. This, it was stated, will contribute to the greater development of the players by providing them with a livelihood through skills acquisition and increased earning capacity, which will ultimately be beneficial for the country.

Among the other issues discussed at the one-and-half-hour meeting were GFF’s interest in partnering with the Government of Guyana in the development of community grounds across the country, including school grounds, and exploring opportunities to use football as a vehicle for the dissemination of social cohesion messages.

The Minister, in response, congratulated the GFF on the initiatives tabled and progress made to date, relative to national football development.

Dr Norton, according to the GFF,

committed to providing material support to the initiatives tabled, including the areas of grounds development administered by the National Democratic Council, facilitating tax concessions on identified needs, using football as a medium to promote social cohesion, and engaging stakeholders to achieve the issues discussed.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Forde presented the GFF’s Annual Report and Audited Financial Report along with some FIFA memorabilia to Dr Norton.

Among the other GFF personnel in attendance were First vice-president Brigadier (ret.) Bruce Lovell, Executive committee members Dion Inniss and Keith Ojeer, General Secretary (acting) Rennella Bourne and Communications and Public Relations Officer, Debra Francis.

The Ministry was represented

by Melissa Dow-Richardson, Assistant Director of Sport (Policy), Brian Smith – Assistant Director of Sport (Administration) and Natasha Singh-Lewis, Technical Officer.

through a goal from Tyrone Burnette for Soesdyke.

Three unanswered goals from Alvin Heralall (49), Dey again in the 64th and Jaime France in the 68th minute confirmed Friendship’s 4-1 win which has taken them to the eighth position in the 12-team league, just ahead of the Warriors. Five teams are on 3 points with Samatta

Point on 4 in fourth place.

Yesterday’s opening clash between Grove Hi Tech, the current leaders, and Samatta Point/Kaneville ended 1-1 with Samatta Point creating the most opportunities. Ray Richards netted for Samatta Point while Hi Tech captain Devon Padmore converted for his team.

Another epic day of action is anticipated today.

The Race for the Club Champions Cup begins THE month of February is packed with exciting events as the Lusignan Golf Club hosts the first of ten club tournaments, designed to identify the best players in Guyana. Golfers will compete for points all year in an effort to put their names in the record books.

The battle began yesterday at 07:30hrs in an effort to ensure that all players have no excuse not to participate. Points will be assigned to the top players over the next ten months.

At stake are the Top Golfer, Best Gross and Best Net rankings at the Lusignan Golf Club which come with perks, hampers and prizes.

February 11, members of the CARICOM Secretariat along with more than 30 women will converge on the Club's grounds to enjoy an introduction to the game on the newly revamped grounds and indulge in wine-tasting, poetry, photo opportunities and more.

Students from the University of Guyana will also be there as they continue their quest to master the game of golf, referred to as the sport of kings.

On February 18 hundreds of visitors and families will meet at the course as the Club hosts its first Greensome of 2018 with delicious barbecues and more than $100 000 in prizes to be won.

Members will team up and have lots of fun then join to share their secret recipes with visitors. Tickets are just $1000 and can be obtained from any member or by calling the club.

Special thanks go to Trophy Stall, Kissoon’s, Banks DIH, MACORP, Vish Trading, Continental Group, Assuria, Nand Persaud, Ansa McAl, Scotiabank, to name a few, who have contributed in the past and have already committed to the success of the club in 2018.

This promises to be an exciting year for golf..

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

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Despite Berbice cricket troubles, Solomon confident in defending U-15 title … Inter-county bowls off today

By Rajiv Bisnauth

THE administration of Berbice cricket is currently engaging the attention of the courts which is gradually destroying the image of the game in that county.

However, those who are tasked to carry out the functions of the board have managed to put together an Inter-county Under-15 team to defend their title when the Guyana Cricket Board-sponsored Dave West Indian Imports tournament bowls off today.

Certainly it will not be an easy task, taking into consideration the current state of affairs, but coach Leslie Sol-

omon is optimistic that the title will remain with the team despite all the negativities surrounding the administration of the game.

“Taking into consideration all the issues at hand, we, as a team, are confident heading into the tournament,” Solomon stated during an exclusive interview yesterday.

Berbice dished out a clinical performance, beating Demerara by five wickets in the final last year, but according to Solomon, “We have a new squad of players we don’t have any player from last year, but having said that, we had our inter-zone competition,

we had a couple of training sessions and at least our confidence is high, but it will definitely take a combined team effort to retain the title,” Solomon contended.

Meanwhile, according to the local governing body GCB, three rounds of cricket will be played before the top two teams advance to the final. Two matches will be played simultaneously at different venues.

Berbice will play the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) President’s XI at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda, while Demerara and Essequibo clash at the Lusignan ground in today’s fixtures.

Leslie Solomon

The tournament continues on February 6 with Berbice facing Demerara at Everest while Essequibo will

Narine still not ready for international duty

Off-spinner Sunil Narine is not yet ready to don the maroon cap again.

(CMC) – WEST Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine has cleared the air on why he declined a spot on the West Indies squad for next month’s ICC World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

The Trinidadian said while he was still interested in representing West Indies, he did not feel he was ready yet for a return to international cricket, especially after not playing any one-day matches in 2017.

Cricket West Indies said last month Narine, along with Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell, had been invited to join the squad but had “indicated that they were unavailable to help us qualify as their priority was playing in the Pakistan Super League.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Narine told the Massy United Insurances Line & Length TV show.

“I just don’t want to rush back into International cricket and the 50-over game. I think I need to play some 50 overs cricket at the regional level and get accustomed again.”

He continued: “I don’t want to rush back into it

(international cricket) and make a mess of myself.

I think it’s about my self-performance, self-belief and trying to go out there and perform for Trinidad & Tobago and once I can do that I will be available for West Indies again.

“I think playing for the West Indies is the ultimate goal. I think you must try and enjoy your cricket and enjoy it no matter what. So, I will see how these games go in the Super50 and if I am comfortable and enjoying it, why not, I will play for West Indies again.”

Narine has played 65 One-Day Internationals for the West Indies and taken 92 wickets but last suited up for the Windies in October, 2016 in a limited overs series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

Months earlier, he had been cleared by the International Cricket Council to resume bowling, after being slapped with a ban for an illegal bowling action in 2015.

Injuries and personal reasons kept him from any one-day appearances in 2017, despite being selected.

West Indies will do battle in the March 4-25 qualifiers for one of the remaining two spots at the World Cup, and the 29-year-old Narine believes the Caribbean side will seal their qualification for the 2019 showpiece in England.

“I think they can (qualify). They have a good team,” Narine said.

“They just need to enjoy the cricket, be positive and once they are enjoying it, they can play as well as they want to.”

West Indies will play in Group A of the qualifiers against Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and the winners of the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 which bowls off next week in Namibia.

battle the GCB President’s X1 at Tuschen.

The final round will be played on February 8. Demerara will oppose the President’s X1 at Lusignan while Berbice and Essequibo do battle at Everest. The final is scheduled for February 10 at GCC. Teams will gain six points for a win, two points for a washed-out or abandoned match, and 0.1 point for each fast bowling wicket.

The Berbice team reads: Vettorie Lathman, Rampertab Ramnauth, Mahendra Gopilall, Tomani Ceaser, Zeynol Ramsammy, Antoine Alexander, Jonathon Rampersaud, Darius Joseph, Jeremy Sandia, Isia Thorne, Latchman Dhanna, Matthew Pottaya, Pavanand Ganesh and Boodram Lakeraj The Demerara squad reads: Mavindra Dindyal, Nicholas Rajpat, Zachary Jodha, Rivaldo Phillips, Rommel Datterdeen, Chandrapaul Rajpat, Shemar Yearwood, Krishna

Singh, Inderjeet Nanan, Alex Alli, Thaddeus Lovell, Shafeek Khan, Darius Andrews and Vishal Persaud.

The coach is Latchman Yadram.

The Essequibo squad reads: Ronaldo Scouten, Mahendra Basdeo, Ryan Atkinson, Davindra Ramdahin, Ramesh Ramnarine, Jarrad Allicock, Rickey Persaud, Adarsh Ramdial, Ken George, Gladwin Henry Jr, Dwayne Fredericks, Reynard Ramroop, Steven Corbin and Jonathon Lynch.

As is customary, the President’s X1 squad is made up of the reserve players from the three counties.

The squad reads: Terrence Softleigh, Avick Ramdial, Tomesh Kellawan, Hemendra Goordial, Vikash Singh, Tameshwar Mahadeo, Saffie Shazad, Shreedat Roopnarine, Rudra Goberdhan, Sanjay Persaud, Shahid Vieira, Ajay Gainda, Yohance Anjoy, Chad Tulesh Shivrattan and Aaron Persaud.

Narine helps Red Force thump Hampshire (CMC) – WINDIES off-spinner Sunil Narine once again stamped his class on the Regional Super50, producing yet another magical spell to fire Trinidad and Tobago Red Force to their second straight win of the limited overs championship here yesterday.

Defending a competitive 283 at Windward Cricket Club, Red Force dismissed English county Hampshire for 208 with four overs remaining, to seal an easy 75-run victory.

The 29-year-old Narine was once again at the forefront of Red Force’s success, picking up three for 22 in a 10-over spell, to help undermine the Hampshire innings and carry his tally to 10 wickets in three matches.

Thomas Alsop top-scored with 49, captain James Adams gathered 44 while Bradley Taylor hit an unbeaten 35 but Hampshire collapsed from a strong position of 131 for two in the 29th over – losing their last eight wickets for just 77 runs.

Left-arm spinner Khary Pierre supported with three for 43 while leg-spinner Imran Khan claimed two for 42.

West Indies vice-captain, Jason Mohammed, struck 62 to lead Red Force to 283 for eight off their 50 overs, while his international teammate Evin Lewis stroked 51 and Amir Jangoo, 49.

Tion Webster chipped in with 27 and Nicholas Pooran, 26.

SCOREBOARD

RED FORCE innings E. Lewis c Wood b Taylor 51 T. Webster c Wheal b Wood 27 A. Jangoo c Ervine b Edwards 49 J. Mohammed c Dickinson b Wheal 62 D. Ramdin c Ervine b Hart 15 N. Pooran c Ervine b Wheal 26 R. Primus c Taylor b Wheal 22 S. Narine c Taylor b Edwards 6 K. Pierre not out 6 Imran Khan not out 3 Extras: (lb-3, w-11, nb-2) 16 Total: (8 wkts, 50 overs) 283 Fall of wickets: 1-66, 2-86, 3-181, 4-207, 5-213, 6-260, 7-261, 8-272.

Bowling: Edwards 9-0-62-2, Wood 9-0-50-1, Wheal 10-0-42-3, Taylor 6-0-41-1, Weatherley 7-0-37-0, Hart 9-0-48-1.

HAMPSHIRE innings C. Dickinson stp. Ramdin b Pierre 21 T. Alsop b Webster 49 J. Adams c Lewis b Narine 44 J. Weatherley b Imran Khan 12 S. Ervine stp. Ramdin b Narine 0 L. McManus lbw b Narine 4 B. Taylor not out 35 A. Hart lbw b Imran Khan 2 C. Wood c Pooran b Primus 15 F. Edwards c Webster b Pierre 0 B. Wheal c Jangoo b Pierre 7 Extras: (b-2, lb-5, w-8, nb-4) 19 Total: (all out, 46 overs) 208 Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-108, 3-131, 4-132, 5-138, 6-139, 7-149, 8-190, 9-192.

Bowling: Cottrell 4-1-14-0, Primus 6-0-40-1, Pierre 10-0-43-3, Narine 10-1-22-3, Webster 6-0-34-1, Imran Khan 10-0-48-2.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

Annual GUMDAC Open Doubles Badminton tournament opens

… Ramdhani, Persaud take Women’s Open title

Open Men’s Doubles Quarter-finals: Open top players Jonathan Mangra & Ronald Chang Yuen overpowered the Under-13 champions Matthew Beharry & Vikash Mootoo: 21-8, 21-8. These two brave young players were fearless playing against the Seniors.

Veteran William Holder & Haymant Ramdhani defeated Akili Haynes & Russia-based Chet Bowling in an exciting three-setter: 21-16, 18-21, 16-21 Ernesto Choo-A-Fat &

Javid Rahaman beat Nicholas Bullen & Veerendra Bhagwandin: 21-11, 21-15 Darrell Carpenay & Marlon Chung bettered Gokarn Ramdhani & Dr Nicholas Waldron: 21-9, 21-16 Open Men’s Doubles Semi-finals: Darrell Carpenay & Marlon Chung got the better of Ernesto Choo-A-Fat & Javid Rahaman: 24-22, 21-8 Open Ladies’ Doubles Round Robin: Priyanna Ramdhani & Shivannie Persaud crushed Jayde DaSilva & Deandrea Assing: 21-4, 21-6 Ayanna Wickham-Wat-

son & Emelia Ramdhani trounced Jayde DaSilva & Deandrea Assing: 21-6, 21-2 Open Ladies’ Doubles Finals: Priyanna Ramdhani & Shivannie Persaud got past Ayanna Wickham-Watson & Emelia Ramdhani: 21-15, 21-15 The tournament continued last evening with play in the Men’s Doubles final, Third-place and the Mixed Doubles events.

However, up to press time those matches had not yet concluded. The results will be published in a subsequent report.

The finalists of the Open Ladies’ Doubles

THE Annual GUMDAC Open Doubles Badminton tournament opened on Friday evening (February 2) at the National Gymnasium with several competitive matches.

Priyanna Ramdhani combined with Shivannie Persaud, to defeat Ayanna Wickham-Watson and Emelia Ramdhani in straight sets

21-15. 21-15, to clinch the Women’s Open title.

The tournament which is in its fifth consecutive year is being sponsored by Darrell Carpenay,, who is the Managing Director of GUMDAC. The events which are played at the tournament are Open Men’s & Ladies’ Doubles and Mixed Doubles.

The GUMDAC tourna-

ment officially kicks off the Guyana Badminton Association’s (GBA) 2018 Calendar of Activities.

The results of matches played on the opening night: Open Men’s Doubles Round 1: Nicholas Bullen & Veerendra Bhagwandin defeated Sekher Mallampati & Isaac Mallampati: 21-11, 21-14

Action in the Men’s semi-final

‘Fishy and Friends’ 125-mile ride set for today

Cyclists will gather in their numbers for Sunday’s ‘Fishy and Friends’ group ride to Linden.

NATIONAL and senior cyclist Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams has organised a 125-mile cycling group ride for Sunday as a good faith initiative.

The idea has thus far attracted the attention of a lot of cyclists and even some private entities along with other individuals.

Cycling club Team Evolution has come on board the event and has donated snacks among other things to the group ride.

The club will also be donating beverages, sandwiches and eight ‘massive’ chickens to Sunday’s 125-mile group ride.

Andrew Arjoon of Team Evolution revealed that the club is pleased to be associated with the event and is encouraging all bike riders (recreational and competitive) to come out and enjoy the ride to Linden Town in a safe and controlled group.

Speaking to Chronicle Sport

last Friday afternoon, Williams revealed that it is “the start of something new which I plan to continue to do across the country”.

“Apart from the registered cyclists there are a lot of people with bikes who are enjoying the sport. They will have a chance to ride with the racers at this event,” he noted.

The group ride will begin at DSL on the Back Road at 05:30hrs and proceed to Linden where a warm meal will be provided. The group will then return to Georgetown.

The cyclists have all planned to ride at controlled speeds of 18- 20 mph. There will be food and beverages for all cyclists, also mechanical support and spares. Everything is free.

Interested persons can contact Marlon Williams for any additional information on 6804633. (Michelangelo Jacobus)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 4, 2018

31

Khan gunning for 13-second class

By Stephan Sookram DRAG racing action returns in exactly one week with the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club’s (GMR&SC) King-of-the-Strip meet and competitors are ready and raring to go.

This is the case of the former 13-second champion Imran Khan and his Toyota AT 150.

Khan, who spoke exclusively to Chronicle Sport, contended that his machine is race-ready and he has been out doing some testing ahead of next

Sunday’s meet.

“The car is working fine. I feel ready for the meet and I know I am going to do well,” Khan told Chronicle Sport.

Khan continued, “Preparation-wise, we did some upgrades to the clutch system, just basically serviced her up and ensured that all the lines are good and all the brakes and the clutch, everything is read to just drive.”

He noted that while there are specific competitors he will be keeping his eyes on, he does not intend to take any battle lightly,

adding that the competition in the class will be stiff this time around.

Khan was tight-lipped about specifics on how he plans to dominate the competition come next Sunday, but called on fans to come out and support his car number 20. He also heaped praise on his sponsors, A1 Auto Value, S/R Auto Spares, Shawn Auto Repairs and Summer Time Travel.

Approximately nine classes of racing are carded for the day, based on the time bracket system.

Newcomers pumped and raring to go at today’s GAPLF Novices Championships … Oudit, Taharally guest lifters

THE Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) on Homestretch Avenue will today be the venue for the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation’s (GAPLF) first competition for 2018.

The junior powerlifters and newcomers will have their first opportunity to go for glory in the National Novices/ Juniors Championship today.

The weigh-in will begin at 07:00hrs while the action will start at 09:00hrs Lisa Oudit who is the 84kg record-holder will be guest-lifting along with Nadina Taharally who is the 72kg Master 1 Pan-Am and South American gold medallist, Taharally is also the vice-president of the GAPLF.

Nadina Taharally will be a guest lifter at today’s championships

first-time lifter).

Brandon Badal who is an 83kg Sub Junior, will be com-

84KG Record Holder Lisa Oudit will be on show as a guest lifter

Among the fresh blood who will be looking to impress is Runita White (84+kg first-time lifter), Junica Pluck of Bodybuilding Fame (63kg

peting in the Juniors Championship while University of Guyana Lecturer in Microbiology, Miss Ede Tyrell (72kg) will be lifting for the

first time.

One to keep an eye on as well will be Susan Rodrigues, who is a 57kg first-time lifter; 70-year-old Noel Cummings (Masters Bodybuilder) will be competing in the 63kg Master 4 class as a first-time lifter as well.

At this competition it is understood that the GAPLF will relax only “the Singlet” rule for Novices men and Novices women.

Last year’s female Unequipped winner was Cavis Rodney (84+kg), with Male Junior Equipped going to Kevin Briglall (59kg) and Male Junior Unequipped taken by Romario Gonsalves (59kg).

The Male Novice Equipped was Thristan Kamal (Male Open 66kg), while the Male Unequipped went to Marley Vyphuis (93kg)

Imran Khan (inset) and his Toyota AT 150 (GTRidez photo)

GFF Elite League set to return February 11

THE Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Elite League, is set to recommence on Sunday, February 11, according to a release from the game’s local governing body.

This follows a break from the tournament to facilitate the GFF’s Super 16 Yearend Classic, which concluded on January 1, 2018 and the GFF’s Transfer Window, which ended on January 31, 2018 respectively.

President of the GFF, Wayne Forde, said the second half of the tournament promises to be even more exciting than the last, relating to the movement of players during the transfer period.

“The movement of several top players during the January transfer window is a good indication of what is to be expected. With the CONCACAF League of Nations commencing in September this year, it is important that our local boys get the game time necessary to prepare them for National duties,” Forde said.

The GFF said more details will be forthcoming in the coming week relative to the fixtures and community engagement plans with a player-centred focus.

Defending champs Showstoppers remain unbeaten

SHOWSTOPPERS, defending champs of the Guinness Greatest of the Streets ‘West Side’ competition, recorded their second win in the wellknown competition which continued on Friday evening at the Pouderoyen tarmac, West Bank Demerara.

With the game goalless at the end of extra time and regulation, Showstoppers won 2-1 on penalty kicks over Rising Stars. It was Rising Stars’ first taste of defeat in the tournament, after winning their opening game.

Also picking up their second win in the tournament were Zeelugt FC, who defeated Facebook Ballers 3-2, thanks to Jerron Carroll’s double in the 8th and 20th minutes, inclusive of his ‘Guinness Goal’ which counts for ‘two’.

Harmony picked up win number two of the competition, following their 1-0 victory over Veterans, while Hustlers, through Jahaal Greaves’ 17th minute goal, walked away 1-0 victors, over Gas Team.

It took sudden-death kicks from the penalty mark, for Brothers United to edge Mocha 3-2, after finishing regulation time deadlocked on a

goal each.

In the night’s fifth game, Gurmin Bynoe scored in the 6th minute to give Harmony Warriors a 1-0 win over Parfaite Hardball.

Nikosie Smith’s goals in the 7th and 16th minutes were enough to put Goal Getters ahead, 2-0 over Police-A in their encounter, and in the following game, West Side Ballers walked away 2-1 winners over Young Ballers.

Jetty defeated Boom Bang 1-0 in their penalty shootout, so too did Mocha-A over Asylum Youths (2-1).

Meanwhile, in the penultimate game of the evening, Emmanuel Thomas (6th), Kevin Jones (10th) and Lexroy Mansfield (12th) all found the net to secure a 3-0 win for Admiral United against Zeelugt Warriors.

The tournament will continue on February 7, 9, 13 and the finals on February 17.

Winners of the tournament will take away $400 000 and the championship trophy, while the runners-up will be given $200 000 and a trophy.

The third- and fourthplaced finishers will receive $150 000 and $100 000 respectively along with trophies.

Newcomers pumped and raring to go at today’s GAPLF Novices Championships 31 PAGE

GFF makes pitch to Minister Norton for Government’s support

PAGE

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President Wayne Forde presents GFF's 2017 Activity Report to Minister Norton in the presence of GFF and Ministry officials.

National Darts championships open at Duke Lodge PAGE

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Part of the Milo Schools Football action. (Adrian Narine photo)

Ann’s Grove thump Dolphin in Milo U-18 football PAGE

From L-R Guyana Darts Association president Sheik Yassin, National male champion Sudesh Fitzgerald, female competitor Victoria Chandra and Luis Miguel Ramierez.

(Adrian Narine photo)

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2018