Guyana chronicle e paper 11 11 2017

Bartica Page 14 Radio Station to throw on switch soon

No. 105093

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2017

Price: $80 (VAT Inclusive)

Way cleared for syndicates … Min. Trotman to probe concerns raised by body

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Soca to ignite D’Urban Park Police raid opposition MP property … artistes ready for Hurricane Relief Concert

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… find rifle, ‘ammo’ in car

Solid evidence against Gold Board duo –Chairman Page 15

SHOWTIME! Olatunji, Patrice Roberts and Orlando Octave have all promised to deliver high-energy performances this evening at D'Urban Park (Delano Williams photo)

Pursue careers in science, technology … PM urges Berbice graduates

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Teacher died from blunt-force trauma to head Page 2

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Pursue careers in science, technology … PM urges Berbice graduates

PRIME MINISTER Moses Nagamootoo on Thursday told students in Berbice to choose careers in science and technology when he addressed graduates of the Corentyne Comprehensive High and the New Amsterdam Multilateral schools.

A former student of the Corentyne Comprehensive himself, Prime Minister Nagamootoo advised the graduates to reach for higher learning opportunities, to

open new areas of knowledge that challenge the backwardness and ignorance of the past. The Prime Minister also pointed the students in the direction of STEM subjects – Science, Technology, English and Mathematics in the furtherance of their studies. “We have to move into a new mode of educating our children bringing up our students in the new generation that they should not be condemned to work under the

sun like a mule, like a beast of burden with a bundle of cane on his or her head or bending to fetch water in the fields or to chop grass and weeds… and only science and technology can rescue you, can give you salvation. That you can become part and parcel of a new world, of a new country that is education driven, that is intellectually driven.”

The Corentyne Comprehensive High School which recorded a 77.51 per cent

Sherlyn Semple of the New Amsterdam Multilateral School receives a plaque for being one of the best graduating students

Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo presents a prize to one of the top performers of the Corentyne Comprehensive High School,in the presence of Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes

Post-mortem finds ...

Teacher died from blunt trauma to head A post mortem on Friday revealed that 22-year-old Kescia Branche died as a result of brain haemorrhage and blunt trauma to the head.

The result of the post-mortem was released to the police who confirmed that four persons remain in custody- a civilian, a person of interest and two policemen.

Police reported that further investigations have unearthed that the deceased was in contact with a male on several occasions via cell phone in the early hours of that morning, prior to her being discovered. This person has been identified and

is in custody assisting with the probe.

The young teacher of Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, was found unconscious in the vicinity of Princes Street and Louisa Row, Georgetown, on November 5 at about 05:00hrs.

She was subsequently transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where she was in a critical condition in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) before she succumbed on Tuesday to her injuries. Branche, who has a twin sister reportedly went to several night spots on the evening

Death: Kescia Branche of November 4, before she was found at the side of the road. Her body bore severe head injuries and broken limbs.

A student ushers in Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, who is performing duties as the President pass rate, is working to be on par with the New Amsterdam Multilateral and J.C. Chandisingh Secondary Schools which both have recorded a 79 percent pass rate.

An animated headteacher, Nirmala Somwaru-Husain, noted the accomplishment of the school she oversees.

“Schools like J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School and New Amsterdam Secondary School they get the cream of the crop when national grade six results are out, and I want to tell you what their performance is, those two schools they tie at 79 per cent. Corentyne Comprehensive high is at 78… that speaks volumes,” Somwaru-Husain said.

The best graduating student, Claudius Depoo, was unable to attend, however, his proud parents collected his awards on his behalf. It was noted that, Murphy Bagot who secured second place,

did so whilst still grieving for his father who had recently died. Other notable performers were Vijay Mohabir, Parmeshwar Persaud, Kenisha Matheson and Rennae Bender Meanwhile, at the passing out ceremony at the New Amsterdam Multilateral School, the Prime Minister again encouraged the students to continue aiming high, particularly in fields of Science and Technology. “We want all of the students to recognise that nothing will be more important for a country such as Guyana than education, and that this government will spare no effort to ensure that facilities are provided… that technological support is given … every school should be equipped with a computer lab, every school should be accessing the internet, every school if you need to have easy access

and regular attendance you need to have school buses, you need to have books, you need to have boats. If you live in the riverain areas you need to have a hot meal, if it is necessary in some areas” Eion Jotis and Sherlyn Semple were the two top performers of the New Amsterdam Multilateral. Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, while giving brief remarks, reminded the graduates that there is currently a need for persons in the ICT sector. “I want to urge you to continue to study to acquire higher education whether it is at the University of Guyana, at a technical vocational institute or even online,” she emphasised.

The graduates were advised to never underestimate their abilities, to defy conventional thinking if needs be, and to take their rightful place in the world.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday November 11, 2017

Way cleared for syndicates

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…Min. Trotman to probe concerns raised by body to the Ministry of Natural Resources for permission to mine at Parish Peak, located in the Upper Berbice area, but was informed that the land has been reserved for conservation. Wade had continually pleaded with the ministers for the land, noting that his syndicate has some 200 members who are struggling to provide for their families. The Ministry of Natural Resources in April had said the Parish Peak area located in the Upper Berbice

ogise for it, but it didn’t come from my directive. It was certainly embarrassing for me to see,” he declared, noting that he will share Dennison’s explanation with the syndicates.

Trotman said the glitch has to be found and corrected because he has been telling miners one thing and something contrary has been occurring. “It makes me look like a hypocrite and that I am discriminating against you,” he stated.

on reserve, it means that the minister intends to go to that extent to write and have them closed for whatever reason. The circumstances are genuine… he is ensuring the good life to the people of Guyana,” said Broomes.

The Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources challenged the syndicates to not only think about mining, but also the environment. She reminded them of the President’s green ini-

Ministers of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman and Simona Broomes address members of the National Mining Syndicate, on Friday at the Marriott Hotel

By Ariana Gordon AFTER months of delays members of the National Mining Syndicates were on Friday permitted to start working on lands approved by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) as their paperwork is being processed.

living and reminded that it was his government, the APNU+AFC administration, which promised ‘the good life.’ He acknowledged that there have been lots of cross-talking among stakeholders which has in fact caused much confusion.

“As a Christmas gift, Minister Broomes and I had a discussion and what

follow the rules and regulations established by the mining authority.

Some syndicates have applied for more than 10 blocks to work, but the minister noted that the extra blocks would only be allocated after a one-year review. “The others you applied for will not be given out now. You will start with

Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, stands with members of the National Mining Syndicate on Friday

President of the National Mining Syndicates, Renwick Solomon, addresses fellow miners

The announcement follows a commitment by subject Minister Raphael Trotman to investigate concerns raised by the body over the last few months. Last September, the minister had met with the members of the syndicates at the Cara Lodge and committed to investigating all complaints and concerns. On Friday, during a meeting at the Marriott Hotel, Trotman and Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, informed the anxious bunch of the good news.

The minister told the miners that Guyanese have the right to earn an honest

we decided that in the meantime, you all could start working the lands you have been allocated,” declared Minister Trotman. His announcement caused much excitement as miners have for months been lobbying the administration to assist them with lands to work.

“If there is a hold-up, it is not at the government’s end – you all are free, start mobilising and I know you will do well. This initiative will transform mining, it will transform Guyana and even when oil comes we are always going to be a mining people,” Trotman declared, but cautioned the miners to

10,” the minister said, noting that he had dispatched a letter to the GGMC dated October 12 and addressed to acting Commissioner, Newell Dennison, directing him to keep the additional lands in reserve pending a final decision. Applications for lands should be limited to 10 blocks, the minister said.

Dennison, who was present at the meeting Friday, has acknowledged receiving the missive. As it relates to the Berbice Mining Syndicate, the minister thanked its President Kester Wade, whom he said has been extremely patient.

That group had applied

area is restricted to mining.

“Mr Wade, I know that you have had much grief.

We have no desire to frustrate any syndicate. Some of us went over the parish peak area recently and saw nothing happening there and in fact Mr Wade has written me, and I sent some documents on it to him,” said Minister Trotman, who disclosed that he has since asked GGMC commissioner Dennison to respond to that which he (Trotman) had discovered.

“I raised the matter with Mr Dennison and I have asked for a response…I was shown a list where three persons were given prospective licence (PL) in Parish peak in 2017; and I have asked for an explanation because It makes me look like I am up to something,” said the minister who requested the explanation in writing.

“While I am telling you all one thing, I am seeing another. So if it happened through my office I have to acknowledge it and apol-

Additionally, the minister indicated to Wade that his applications for additional lands will be processed immediately as he understands the situation in which he has found himself. He reminded the miners that his administration is working to fulfil all of its promises.

“We may not have delivered everything we said we would deliver, but it is not because we don’t intend to…there are many frustrations,” he said, as he commended Minister Broomes for initiating the syndicates which exist nowhere in South America or the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, Dennison cautioned the minister about the implications that may arise from his decision. Minister Broomes quickly outlined the legal provisions.

She told the GGMC Commissioner that the law makes provision for the minister to make certain decisions as they relates to closing areas.

“If the minister is saying to you, he will have it

tiative and called on them to practise “green” mining, prevent human trafficking, ensure safety and work in unity.

“Go immediately to land management and identify the 10 blocks you will start with…so that they could be clear,” she advised.

Meanwhile, President of the National Mining Syndicate, Renwick Solomon, expressed gratitude to the ministers for assisting small miners with lands to work.

He described the moment as a happy one and noted the sacrifices made.

“Many persons had had many negatives things to say and it is a happy moment that it has borne such good fruits. We want to get back to work and based on the provisions in the law, the minister has the power to give us certain concessions,” he told his colleagues.

“This is such a beautiful moment…the syndicate initiative is on the move. I am sure we will do well,” he concluded.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Trump and Xi clash Duterte admits killing as a teen

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have set out starkly different visions for the future of global trade in speeches at a summit in Vietnam.

In a defiant address, Mr Trump told the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) meeting that the US would no longer tolerate “chronic trade abuses”.

In contrast, President Xi said globalisation is irreversible.

Mr Trump is currently on a five-nation Asia tour, with China being one of his stops.

APEC brings together 21 economies from the Pacific region, the equivalent of about 60% of the world’s GDP. Since taking office, President Trump has pursued his “America First” agenda and pulled the US out of the regional Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade deal with 12 APEC nations, arguing it would hurt US economic interests.

In a speech in the Vietnamese port city of Da Nang on Friday, President Trump railed against the World Trade

Organization (WTO), which sets global trade laws, and said it “cannot function properly” if all members do not respect the rules.

He complained about trade imbalances, saying the US had lowered market barriers and ended tariffs while other countries had not reciprocated. “Such practices hurt many people in our country,” he said, adding that free trade had cost millions of American jobs.

But he did not lay the blame on APEC countries, and instead accused earlier US administrations of not acting earlier to reverse the trend.

He said America would make bilateral agreements with “any Indo-Pacific partner here who abides by fair reciprocal trade”, but only “on a basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit”.

Mr Trump has repeatedly referred to the region as “Indo-Pacific”, a term used to define America’s new geopolitical view of Asia.

The US president had travelled to Da Nang from Beijing, where he had also discussed America’s huge

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trade imbalance with China.

There, too, he said he did not blame the country for “taking advantage”.

Mr Trump also met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit. The two shook hands and exchanged a few words, Russian news agencies reported.

Speaking minutes after his American counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping took to the podium to espouse his country’s credentials as the new champion of world trade.

Globalisation, he said, was an “irreversible historical trend” but the philosophy behind free trade needed to be repurposed to be “more open, more balanced, more equitable and more beneficial to all”.

In contrast to President Trump, the Chinese leader defended multilateral trade deals, which he said helped poorer nations to benefit.

“We should support the multilateral trading regime and practise open regionalism to allow developing members to benefit more from international trade and investment.” (BBC)

--but later retracts saying it was ‘a jest’

PHILIPPINES President Rodrigo Duterte has said he stabbed a person to death when he was a teenager.

“At 16, I killed someone,” he told Filipinos in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang, where he is attending a regional summit. He said he stabbed the person “just over a look”.

His spokesman later said his remarks had been “in jest”.

Mr Duterte has previously said he killed criminal suspects as mayor of the city of Davao.

The Filipino leader is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, alongside regional leaders and US President Donald Trump.

He has presided over a massive crackdown on crime in the Philippines, which critics allege undermines fundamental human rights.

Mr Duterte has encouraged extrajudicial killings of those involved in the drugs trade, and said he would “be happy to slaughter” three million drug addicts in the country.

Addressing the Filipino

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community in Da Nang, he said he had killed a person during his violent teenage years, when he said he was in numerous fights and “in and out of jail”.

But a spokesman for the president, Harry Roque, told the AFP news agency that the remarks were “in jest”, and that the Filipino leader often used “colourful language” when addressing Filipinos overseas.

Mr Duterte has previously said he possibly killed someone while a teenager. In 2015, he told the Philippines edition of Esquire magazine that during “a tumultuous fight in the beach” when he was 17, “maybe I stabbed somebody to death”. It is not clear if he was referring to the same incident in his speech.

He also claims to have thrown corrupt officials out of helicopters, warning officials he would do it again if they embezzled financial aid.

His spokesman described that claim as an “urban legend”.

Speaking about human rights during his Vietnam visit, Mr Duterte proposed a “world summit” on the issue, but not

Friday, November 10, 2017

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looking solely at human rights abuses in the Philippines.

“What makes the death of people in the Philippines more important than the rest of the children in the world that were massacred and killed?” the Manila Bulletin quoted him as saying.

Since he took office, police say they have killed almost 4,000 people in anti-drug operations. More than 2,000 others have been killed in connection with drug-related crimes.

In September, the budget for the human rights commission investigating the deaths was cut to 1,000 pesos, the equivalent of $20 (£15). It had asked for 1.72B pesos ($34M).

Mr Duterte is due to hold bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump in the Philippines in the coming days, the first meeting between the pair.

The Philippines president was adversarial towards Mr Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, labelling him a “son of a whore.”

Mr Obama cancelled their scheduled meeting.

(BBC)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Penal man alleges...

‘Rats from floods killed my brother’

LAST month’s flooding in south Trinidad is being blamed for the death of a Penal resident.

Police officer Premnath Badal, 50, of Gopie Trace, died on Saturday after contracting leptospirosis, an infectious bacterial disease caused by rats.

Badal, who was on leave from active police duty, became violently ill on Friday, said his brother Ramesh Badal. Before that, he complained of weakness.

“He wasn’t bitten or anything like that. It was definitely the flood that caused this. When it rained, his home was flooded,” Ramesh said, adding: “The rats must have moved for higher ground and would have spread this disease. Somehow, he came into contact with it. He wasn’t really a sickly person and I was told he was feeling weak before they had to take him to the hospital.”

He said his brother was a “jovial” and “friendly” person, and was well known by many in the community.

Badal made an appeal to flood victims to be careful and cautious.

“Wash over everything or throw away things; don’t hold on to it,” he said. “You never know what could be in these household items; you have to protect yourself

The weather conditions under which policeman, Mr Premnath Badal (inset) lived when he died

and your family. I call on the authorities to take some kind of action to eradicate this.

No-one should have to lose their family like this.”

Penal-Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) chairman Dr Allan Sammy extended his condolences to the family, and said the corporation is continuing with its clean-up and spraying initiatives after the man was reported to have died after contracting leptospirosis.

He said this was the first incident reported where someone died after the floods.

Sammy said the recent flooding may have been a contributing factor to rats

“looking for higher ground, as we know rats are the main culprits”.

He said he would not say this incident is an outbreak, as it is the first case that has been reported, but he is warning the public, especially those affected by the flooding, to be cautious.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease which affects both humans and animals.

It is caused by bacteria known as leptospira. Many wild and domestic animals can be carriers of the bacteria, which can include animals such as rats, horses, cattle, pigs, dogs and wild animals. (TrinidadExpress)

LIAT to increase flights

--to hurricane-hit countries ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – the cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT, on Friday announced that it would, from next week, be increasing its scheduled commercial flights into the territories affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria that ploughed through the Lesser Antilles in September, causing several deaths and billions of dollars in damage.

The airline, whose major shareholders are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said that it had been working to restore capacity to the affected territories as they continue their rebuilding efforts.

Last month, LIAT’s chief executive officer, Julie Reifer-Jones said the struggling Antigua-based carrier should also be considered for assistance as the region emerges from the devastation caused by the hurricanes.

This is so because it assisted with evacuation flights and other forms of relief for seven storm-battered territories, namely Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Dominica, the British Virgin Islands, St Kitts and Nevis, St Martin and Turks and Caicos Islands.

She said that the loss to the carrier’s network as a result of the

recent storms had been estimated at more than US$4M. In its statement, the airline said that it would increase its flights into Dominica, St. Maarten, and Tortola, adding, “This will provide greater connectivity for passengers within and outside the LIAT network.”

Interim Chief Commercial Officer, Audra Walker noted that demand is improving, and the airline has been working closely with the relevant authorities to rebuild capacity to pre-Hurricane levels.

“We at LIAT are committed to

helping our region stay connected, and we are keen to reinstate flights where there is demand for seats, as well as cargo and Quikpak services,” Walker said.

The airline will now operate three flights a week into St. Maarten and five weekly into Tortola. It will also increase the number of flights into Dominica from an alternating daily service to three flights per day.

LIAT said that the new schedule will become effective on November 16, which is next Thursday.

Some DACA Caribbean applications rejected NEW YORK, CMC – Lawyers say the late delivery by the United States Postal Service has resulted in the rejection of applications to let some young undocumented Caribbean and other immigrants stay and work in the US legally.

Attorneys for applicants to the programme, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), said on Friday that paperwork mailed from New York and other places to meet the October 5 deadline, at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processing centre in Chicago, did not arrive on time because of the postal delays.

The New York Times has reported that on September 14, Allison Baker, a lawyer for the Legal Aid Society, sent via certified mail a client’s application to renew a DACA permit long before the deadline, but the mail arrived on October 6, a day after the deadline.

Lawyers from across the New York region, in at least 33 other cases, said unusually long postal service delays resulted in rejections of DACA applications, throwing the lives of their clients into frantic limbo.

But attorneys in Boston and Philadelphia, which also send their applications to the

Chicago processing centre have said they have not seen evidence of an issue with the mail.

However, in Chicago, in the backyard of the USCIS, there were at least 21 DACA recipients whose renewals, sent well before the deadline, arrived late, according to US Congressman Luis V. Gutiérrez, Democrat of Illinois.

He said an applicant sent a renewal on September 13, and it arrived on October 6.

Another sent the paperwork on September 21, and it was received on October 9.

“Because somebody else did not do their job correctly, we are taking innocent young immigrants and making them deportable,” said Gutiérrez in a statement. “That is unacceptable.”

On Thursday, in a rare admission from a US federal agency, the US Postal Service took the blame.

David A. Partenheimer, a spokesman for the post office, said there had been an “unintentional temporary mail processing delay in the Chicago area.” But USCIS said nothing more could be done; the decisions were final.

“According to USCIS regulations, a request is considered received by USCIS

as of the actual date of receipt at the location for filing such request,” said Steve Blando, a spokesman for the agency, in a statement.

“USCIS is not responsible for the mail service an individual chooses, or for delays on the part of mail service providers.”

He however added that “USIS is committed to working with the USPS [US Postal Service] to understand and address the USPS error that occurred that delayed the mail.”

Because DACA is an executive order, signed by President Barack Obama in 2012, and not a statute, applicants cannot appeal the decision.

The DACA programme had offered temporary protection and work permits for about 800,000 young adults who had been brought to the United States illegally as children.

In September, US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions announced, after months of speculation, that the Trump administration was canceling the programme and recipients were allowed to keep their permits until they expired at the end of the current two-year term.

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Editorial

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Misdemeanours at schools IT was with some amusement and bewilderment that the nation on Monday learnt that some primary school students stole some $1.8 million from their hinterland school.

The story carried by this publication did not say how the act was committed, but from the source of the information, the Auditor General’s Report, the content appears to be accurate. Over the years, the school system like any other the world over, has faced challenges and these range largely from bullying to physical confrontation among students, but stealing huge sums of money is something up to the time of publication of the story was unheard of.

It would have been interesting to know how the money was stolen and

why that much money was placed at the school and what measures were put in place to secure it, but some other questions also have to be asked on the action of the students.

Why would students between ages eight to 12 want to steal that much money? How did they get to know about the money?

And how did their parents deal with the matter? From the Auditor General’s Report, the matter is engaging the attention of the court and some $700,000 has been repaid. The report also went on to say that the students’ parents had entered into an agreement to repay the amount stolen on a monthly basis.

This can be very burdensome if the parents are poor, in the sense that it will put additional strain on them to repay the sto-

len sum and meet the expenses of sending their children to school.

But at the heart of the matter is a moral issue.

And one gets the sense that with proper instructions in morals, ethics and values in this fast-paced society, some of the misdemeanours that happen on a daily basis would be less, especially if it is imparted to people early in their lives.

It is for this reason that it will be important that good values, conduct and morals are taught as a mandatory subject in the school system and schools devote some attention in setting up religious societies to help impart this priceless knowledge.

At the end of the day, it would be of useful help to administrators in the school system, since it

would most likely result in more disciplined and dedicated students, and importantly, students will learn that acts of stealing are not only a crime against the State, but also a crime against God. From the Auditor General’s Report, generally speaking, there seems to be a lack of proper accountability at schools in the hinterland regions. The auditor general observed that for all the schools visited, the receipts and payments cash books were not properly written up and there was a lack of segregation of duties in relation to the store-keeping procedures, while stock ledgers and goods-received books were not properly maintained.

“There was no evidence of the records being checked by any member of

the management committee of the school… meetings were not held by the management committee,” the report said, adding that “the treasurers kept unspent balances in their personal possession and bank accounts were not reconciled for the period under review.”

And in one case, a headmaster was found to have misappropriated some $1.5M, which the government will be deducting from his gratuity. These matters point

to the need for greater monitoring of schools by district and regional education officers and for head-teachers to take a more hands-on approach in the management of their schools.

The auditor general’s findings could also mean that head-teachers and senior teachers in the hinterland regions need training in management and administration. Here is where the Ministry of Education has an important role to play.

Jagdeo’s law comes back to haunt him Dear Editor,

IT should be recalled that it was Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP who amended the constitution to place the clause that states: “Provided that if the Leader of the Opposition fails to submit a list as provided for, the President shall appoint a person who holds or has held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth, or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court, or who is qualified to be appointed as any such judge.” This clause was placed in Bill No 2 of 2000 by Jagdeo and the PPP while they operated on the false premise that they

would never lose power.

Clearly, it is Jagdeo and the PPP that laid the basis to move away from the Carter Formula. That is what happens to persons of Jagdeo’s ilk whose desire is power and not the promotion of democracy.

The intention of Jagdeo and the PPP was to have a mechanism to subvert the Carter Formula if they couldn’t find someone on the opposition list to serve their interest. To this end, they amended the constitution and put in place a clause permitting him to act unilaterally and legally at the same time.

Unfortunately for the megalomaniac, he and the PPP lost power in 2015 and their own doing has come back to haunt them. It is Jagdeo’s desire to act unilaterally that led him

to make a unilateral decision constitutional. Why is he crying foul when he placed the clause in the constitution?

The lesson to be learnt is that law should be made for the good of all and not for the extant dictator -- in this case the dictator Jagdeo.

President Granger is expected to operate based on law and he did, using the law created by Jagdeo and the PPP. It is therefore laughable that Jagdeo and the PPP could be deeming the President’s action unilateral.

The President’s action is constitutional. It is the PPP and Jagdeo’s desire to act unilaterally, as they did throughout their terms in office, that led them to rather than promote democracy, to place a clause in the constitution that has returned to haunt them. It must

be the irony of the century for Jagdeo to call anyone a hypocrite; that Jagdeo is the indisputable hypocrite in Guyana is well known. To be both corrupt and a hypocrite is the summit of indecency – in this regard Jagdeo is unchallenged.

The English dictionary defines a hypocrite as “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion,” or “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs and feelings,” and I add, in contradiction to their actions.

By all definitions, Jagdeo is the chief national hypocrite.

This man who throughout his presidency violated the constitution, now purports to be protecting it. Has Jagdeo forgotten that the law states that government funds must

be placed in the Consolidated Fund and during his reign of arbitrary use of power, he never did operate based on law. Has he forgotten that he did as he liked with the Lotto Funds in violation of the law?

Jagdeo must be reminded that while he imposed a rule which said that if you got land from the government you couldn’t sell it until you have owned it for 10 years.

Hope he recalls that he broke that rule. Jagdeo has a legal right to talk. What he doesn’t have is a moral right to do so. His actions as a President were the nadir of national lawlessness.

As for respect, I am glad you don’t respect President Granger. That you don’t respect him is because he has ended the law-

lessness and has a different philosophy to yours. We don’t need the respect of a man who allowed murders to go unsolved, drugs and violence to dominate our society and a few including he Jagdeo to get rich at the expense of the people.

I am dead sure that at the end of this President’s tenure, he will not have to defend ill-gotten gains.

Unfortunately, that is not true of you and the PPP leadership. One author once noted that leaders should “practise what they preach or change their speech.” Guyana awaits your change of speech, so that we will not see you as a hypocrite.

Regards AUBREY C. NORTON

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

RK’s seeks outstanding payments from government Dear Editor, I WISH to state from the onset that I believe His Excellency, (Ret’d) Brigadier President David Arthur Granger, outside of politics, is an absolute gentleman and a good human being. I have had no reservations of telling him this in the past, in writing it openly in the media, or expressing it to him personally.

I am simply writing because the government has a substantial sum owing to our company for a number of years (some of the debts from the previous government have rolled over) and they seem bent on not wanting to pay what is long overdue.

I had written His Excellency after writing the permanent secretaries and ministers in the ministries and receiving no response. During that period, we were never given any indication that the matter was being pursued. In my experience, when writing the President, his responses always come very quickly and with his signature affixed which impresses and astounds my mind. In his letter sent to me on (2016.09.06), he carbon-copied it to the Minister of Communities for necessary action. However, the minister never responded despite several calls, letters and emails from my secretariat. On another matter, the President copied his reply to the Minister of Finance and stated that this minister would respond and handle the important matter. To date, the Minister of Finance has not written our company. This is causing a terrible financial strain on us as the government has a way of owing money, but not wanting to pay interest on the amount.

However, due to our managerial experience, we have been able to survive, functioning at a loss over the years.

Nonetheless, as a contractor, I am committed by law to pay my workers, irrespective of if we are paid or not. How is our business expected to

survive? At certain times the regions and other ministries would have caused delays in our payments, forcing us into an overdraft which had to be repaid at an expensive interest rate. Added to that, whenever a year passes and we are not paid by the end of that year, it is referred to as “previous years” and this becomes a matter for the court, and parties must wait until the end of the next year to resolve payment.

At this juncture, we are owed tens of tens of tens of millions of dollars. Our company being obligated by law has had to continue paying PAYE, NIS deductions for our workers and we have paid VAT where applicable. Our quarterly taxes, licensing fees etc. have all been honoured.

COURT JUDGMENTS RK’s Guyana Security Services, through me as their representative, obtained two judgements on the 4th November, 2016 and 31st March, 2016 respectively: Action No. 587C/D of 2015 and Action No. 1305-C/D of 2015. Recent letters were written by our Attorney-at-Law, Mr. K.A. Juman-Yasin on the 3rd January, 2017 and 2nd May, 2017 to the Attorney General, advising him of the judgments and that payments should have been forthcoming. Unfortunately, no response was ever received; this encompasses an acknowledgement of our correspondences. Our attorney have sent copies of these letters to the President and the Minister of Finance.

In my opinion, it appears that the government seems only willing to pay judgments and outstanding debts to the local and foreign multi-billion dollar corporations. This is referenced to cases involving DDL, BK Group of Companies, Rudisa Beverage and others. All of which the government settled and issued compensation.

The biggest travesty is that non-payment of these monies have forced us to

give up our regional contracts, causing approximately 400 workers to be sent home earlier this year in March. If this continues, our business may be headed into a further slump and more workers and their families will be affected. While we recognise that the government has a major responsibility in servicing the entire nation, they must realise that the financial burdens faced by tax-compliant, honourable companies such as ours are greater when compared to other companies who evade, avoid and “scamp” taxes and their workers. Budget 2018 is expected to be read, debated and hopefully passed soon, which should provide the government with the opportunity to make provisions for payments of these judgments.

(If it were not done before) This writer decided to make this public with a view that these matters could be settled before hitting the corridors of the courts and also any picketing exercise at the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Presidency. I took this opportunity to comment on these issues before they are court-activated and I become subject to sub judice. Governments need to pay their debts and governments need to respect the decision of the court. Our company has tried to avoid embarrassing the government, as we are a professional security service operating in the public service for many decades.

It is unfortunate that the entire process has been stymied, due to what I view as negligence and unwillingness by certain senior officers in government, over the years. One can only hope that this government will recognise their part in this and move to rectify the situation.

Regards Mr. Roshan Khan Snr. CEO/Chairman/Founder RK’s Guyana Security Services

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday November 11, 2017

Fix for drug distribution system soon

– health authorities

By Svetlana Marshall FAR-FLUNG communities that are facing shortages of drugs and medical supplies because the distribution system has failed will soon have their supplies readily available as the Public Health Ministry collaborates with USAID to address the supply and distribution challenges.

Through a USAID Glob-

al Health Supply Chain Programme-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) Project, the Public Health Ministry is strengthening its capacity to develop sustainable systems to ensure availability and security of vital health commodities.

In painting a clear picture of the problem, Director of the Materials Management Unit (MMU) Cecil Jacques, during the Biannual Region-

al Health Officers Meeting on Wednesday at the Lake Mainstay Resort, pointed out that during a visit to Kamarang in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni District, Region Seven, in August, a box of medical supplies was sitting in the hospital there since July 14, 2017 for the health facility at Jawalla.

Weighing in on the problem, GHSC-PSM Country Director Caroline Healey said distribution to the more than 350 health facilities across the regions is complex.

“The Ministry of Public Health doesn’t possess the capacity or the resources or the equipment to deliver

Global Health Supply Chain Programme-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) Country Director Caroline Healey

Global Health Supply Chain Programme-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) Country Director Caroline Healey

The box of much-needed medical supplies was ‘sitting’ in the Kamarang District

commodities to all regions, so that is a major challenge,” Healey acknowledged.

Participants of the Biannual Regional Health Officers’ Meeting at the Lake Mainstay Resort, Essequibo Coast

Hospital for more than a month, although Jawalla is just three hours away by river.

Citing another example, Jacques said a team of health officials flew into Mahdia before departing to Kato and Paramakatoi, “and sitting at the Mahdia Airstrip were medicines for Kato.”

In expressing his frustration, the MMU Director said the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) must take responsibility. These councils comprise of [sic] Regional Health Committees, which are responsible for the administration of healthcare at the regional level.

“As soon as it hits the Mahdia airstrip, somebody must know that it is coming on this plane and as soon as it gets there, somebody must be able to pick it up and get it out where ever it has to go… somebody must be responsible for them,” Jacques told the regional health officers present.

In aiding the Public Health Ministry, regional authorities use different modes of transportation to transport the drugs and medical supplies to the various communities within their regions, but she said this is oftentimes done in an uncoordinated manner.

“It also means that there is a lack of coordination into the warehouse operations whether it is the MMU or Diamond,” she posited.

NECESSARY STEPS However, she said the Public Health Ministry is conscious of the problem, and is taking the necessary steps to overcome those challenges.

It was pointed out that through the USAID-funded GHSC-PSM Project, the system is being reviewed with the aim of correcting its deficiencies.

Healey noted that last June, an analysis Turn to page 9

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday November 11, 2017

Public servants to get training in leadership development TWENTY-FIVE senior ministerial officers will benefit from a three-day Leadership Development workshop hosted by Department of the Public Service, within the Ministry of the Presidency.

The exercise, under the theme “Leading for Result from the middle,” aims to provide a wider insight into leadership approaches and tools to promote synergy and high performance in teams within the public service.

Delivering the feature address, Minister of the Public Service within the Ministry of the Presidency, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, said that the participants selected for the training all hold critical leadership positions. They will, in turn, impart the knowledge gained at the

From page 8

of the current distribution network for transportation and delivery of health commodities from central to health facilities was carried out.

The GHSC-PSM country director said it was found that Guyana has three unique segments for distribution.

The regions are grouped into three segments based on their geographical locations, and as such, utilise different approaches to distribution.

She pointed out that Region One (Barima-Waini); Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni); Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); and Region Nine (Upper Essequibo-Upper Takutu) form part of segment one. These re-

workshop to their colleagues in an effort to address faltering standards within the public service. He noted that implementation of the Caribbean Leadership Programme (CLP) is vital to improving the services of the country.

“The Caribbean Leadership Programme (CLP) has developed a sustainable strategy for leadership development beyond the CLP’s lifestyle. This strategy involves improving the capacity of the participating countries, national training arms, and unit to deliver leadership training,” Minister Roopnaraine explained.

Reginald Brotherson, Permanent Secretary (PS) in Department of the Public Service, said that despite the unit being

small, one of their many objectives is the implementation of training to build capacity to ensure organisational results and efficiency, hence the importance of the workshop. “We [participants] are gathered here because we are part of the Caribbean Leadership Development Programme. Of course, this programme aims to enhance skills at permanent secretary level, middle-managers level and now we are at the third level. We [ministry] tried to fashion a programme with an edit of the Caribbean Leadership Programme to suit our local needs,” Brotherson said.

The PS added that he expects an attitudinal change among the participants. It was highlighted that the Canadian High

Commission launched a CDN$20M Caribbean Leadership Programme (CLP) last year that aims to create a sustainable leadership programme for countries across the Caribbean region. The overall purpose of the CLP is to support public service leaders in developing their capacity to contribute more effectively to regional integration, economic growth, and gender-sensitive public-sector reform.

Currently, the participating countries in the CLP are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Fix for drug distribution... gions, Healey reminded, are hard to reach and in many cases more than one mode of transportation are required to distribute medical supplies at the community level.

Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); and 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) are part of Segment Two. In this segment, the MMU distributes to major sites within each region and then staff in the region distribute from these major sites out to health facilities.

AD HOC MANNER Healey said though Re-

gions Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and Five (Mahaica-Berbice) are located in proximity to the MMU, their distribution of drugs and medical supplies appears to be done in an ad hoc manner.

“Segment Three (Regions Four and Five) has an ad hoc distribution pattern, disproportionally higher number of dispatches and uses a single mode of distribution,” she noted.

Since the assessment, Healey through the GHSC-PSM Project has made some key recommendations, including that of outsourcing for those regions grouped in Segment One. “Basically we want to

look at finding an organisation to manage and coordinate distribution on behalf of the ministry. We want to look at making sure that there are proper links in the distribution systems…. So if something arrives at the port, it just shouldn’t be sitting at the port, someone should organise to collect it,” she explained.

As part of the series of recommendations, Healey has advised the Public

Health Ministry that roles and responsibilities should be clearly documented, and the key performance indicators should be determined.

For the second batch of regions, Healey said it has been recommended that it be clearly stated that who are the officials responsible for the distribution of drugs and medical supplies at the regional level and their roles and responsibilities.

Standard Operating Proce-

dures (SOP) must be clearly established, she emphasised.

Similar recommendations were made for Regions Four and Five.

“We are very much behind the ministry in the need to develop a more efficient distribution system, particularly to look at outsourcing distribution, looking at contracting arrangements…,” the GHSC-PSM country director assured.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Artistes ready to ignite Hurricane Relief Concert

TRINIDADIAN Soca stars Orlando Octave, Patrice Roberts and Olatunji, have promised ‘high octane’ performances for tonight’s Civil Defence Commission’s (CDC) Hurricane Relief Concert at D’urban Park.

The CDC teamed up with the BK Group of Companies, CARICOM and the Ministry of the Presidency to host the event, which will see all proceeds going towards their hurricane relief efforts, to help affected Caribbean countries.

“I think it’s important for us to be here [in Guyana] to show support and give back to countries that were affected by the hurricane,” said Orlando Octave, who further added “You know, these are countries that we go to make money; people book us for their carnivals, parties and so on. So this is a way for us to give back to them.”

The ‘single’ singer noted that this is his second time in Guyana, and as such, he’s promising fans an unforgettable

evening.

Patrice Roberts, one of the genre’s biggest names, just like Orlando Octave, believes that this is her way of giving back to the people who supported her throughout her career.

“When I got the call first, I jump on the opportunity because this is the perfect way to show appreciation and also help out a worthy cause,” Roberts highlighted.

According to Olatunji, fans could expect some of their usual hits and new re-

(L-R) Olatunji, Patrice Roberts and Orlando Octave (Delano Williams photo)

leases out for the 2018 Trinidad Carnival. Regular tickets cost $1,000, and Stage Front (VIP) $5,000, and are being sold at Gizmos and Gadgets,

Shoe Heaven and Nextcell Electronics. The organisers are promising security at their paid parking areas and are asking patrons to come

early. Gates will be opened at 18:00 hrs and show time, 20:00 hours. The event is also being used to launch the BK Mingles Band.

Man freed of ‘Ideal Road’ murder

RUDOLPH Singh, a father of two walked out the Georgetown High Court a free man on Friday afternoon after a 12-member jury found him not guilty of the 2013 murder of his children’s mother male friend at Ideal Road, Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara.

Singh was acquitted when members of the jury after deliberating for more than two hours returned with a not-guilty verdict for murder and as well as the lesser count of manslaughter.

Following the announcement Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall told Singh that the jury has found him not guilty and he was free to go, after which he was unshackled and joined his crying relatives who were in the courtroom.

According to the state’s case, Rudolph Singh allegedly murdered Kevin

Harrison at Ideal Road, Soesdyke on July 12, 2013.

Freed: Rudolph Singh at the Georgetown High Court on Friday.

The state had called seven witnesses to take the stand.

Singh was represented by attorney Pamela De Santos.

Singh, 35 then, was accused of fatally stabbing 24-year-old miner, Kevin Harrison on July 12, 2013 during an altercation at Ideal Road, Soesdyke. It is alleged that around 19:30hrs on July 12, 2013, Harrison was walking with Singh’s reputed wife Omefa Atkinson at Ideal Road, Soesdyke, when Singh emerged from some bushes and attacked his wife with a cutlass.

The woman fled but a scuffle reportedly ensued between Harrison and Singh, during which time Harrison was allegedly stabbed. A post-mortem revealed that he died from perforated lungs due to stab wounds. Singh fled, but turned himself over to the police within the week of the alleged murder.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday November 11, 2017

Lethem resident granted lease approval --after two-year wait during GLSC outreach to Region Nine

AS the Government of Guyana continues its drive to ensure that sustainable, family-oriented communities are created across Guyana, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) on Friday surprised Lethem

to resolve,” Mr Benn said, adding: “We want to know how they impact you, so that we can address them. Land is our national patrimony, and it has to be used and given out judiciously; it cannot be a

In this regard, Mr. Benn urged the Town Council to be servants of the people and not masters, as once their leases are valid and signed off, they have an entitlement to enjoy their lands.

“The constitution must be upheld at every point,” Mr Benn said as he chided the council.

“We cannot ask people to uphold the law and we

GLSC Commissioner, Mr. Trevor Benn, during a meeting on Friday with Region Nine Chairman, Mr. Brian Allicock and other regional officials

resident Mr. Edward DaSilva with the approval letter for his lease.

“Your wait is finally over.

Thank you for your patience and I apologise for the delay,” said GLSC Commissioner, Mr Trevor Benn, as he handed over the letter, which was over two years in the making, to Mr DaSilva.

The presentation occurred during the first public meeting hosted by the GLSC in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) at the Amerindian Hostel’s Auditorium to address land and title issues.

A pleasantly surprised Mr. DaSilva, in an invited comment, said that not only is he grateful for finally being able to have the document in his hand, but more importantly that the commission has taken the step to reach out to residents and listen to their concerns.

“I feel very good,” Mr DaSilva said. “I put in the application since 2015, and I am very happy to receive this confirmation.

“I am very, very happy.

This outreach has been well organised, and people have left satisfied. I agree that in the past there were many errors made, which complicated the issue of lands in this country, and there is a lot of work to be done, but I am happy to see this today.”

In his address to residents present at the public meeting, Commissioner Benn assured them that his team was there in the region to hear first-hand from them what their issues are, and how they can be addressed in the fastest possible way.

“I am here to listen to your issues, because we know you have issues that we need

free-for-all. We want to make sure that you put it to productive use.”

PROCESSING TIME With one of the major issues being the period of time it takes to process applications for lands, Mr. Benn acknowledged that the GLSC has been lacking in that regard, but that the matter will be addressed in the coming months.

“We acknowledge that the process takes too long and that has to change,” he said. “My wish is that once you apply, it should not take more than three months, but you must appreciate that we have limited financing, and we cannot do everything at once.

“There are many issues we are faced with that prohibit us from operating at a maximum, but we are trying to change the way things work.

“We are putting in systems and changing the way staff work, so we are working to ensure that we can deliver.

We are not a perfect organisation; we have problems, and we acknowledge those problems.

“I inherited many of them, and some are continuing, but as we find them, we are taking steps to correct them, and we will try our best to ensure that we address your issues.”

During the meeting, concerns were raised by some residents that despite having their leases and approvals from the GLSC, the Mayor and Town Council, for whatever reason, has been prohibiting them from utilising their spaces.

They said that in many instances, denial of approval by the Mayor and Town Council has prevented them from building.

don’t do the same thing.

Once they have their leases, then there is no reason that they cannot enjoy their land.

“If you have issues with the area for which the lease was issued, then the way to go is dialogue; and once you come to an agreement, then the commission would be more than happy to facilitate relocation, but you have to speak to the people.”

A LONG-STANDING ISSUE Ms. Mary Bernard, who attended the public meeting, in an invited comment, said she has had land issues dating back to 1992. However, she noted that with the visit by the GLSC Commissioner and his team, she has no doubt that her issues will be addressed.

“I am very happy to be here today at this meeting, and to be able to meet with the commissioner,” Ms Bernard said.

“And from what he has said and the assurance that he has given to us, I feel relieved, and I know he will assist and help to resolve the issues as best as he could.

“I am really thankful for this outreach, and his coming here to meet us,” she added.

Besides meeting with residents, Mr Benn and his team also met with members of the Town Council and Regional Chairman, Mr. Brian Allicock, who all expressed their appreciation for the team’s presence in the region.

Mr. Allicock said that there are many disputes and unresolved issues in the area, since most of of the lands are State lands and residents

as well as regional officials welcome the team’s visit.

“Land is a never-ending issue, and there are many issues here in this region, so I am happy that you have made it your duty to visit this region. I know that your commission is trying its best and I also know that it is not a simple task, but we are happy to have you here,” the regional chairman said. (MoTP)

Mr. Edward DaSilva receiving his letter of approval from GLSC’s Mr. Trevor Benn (MoTP photos)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Telecoms Ministry implementing AG recommendations THE Ministry of Public Telecommunications said it is in the process of implementing every recommendation made by the auditor general including the creation and maintenance of registers for fuel and security and also the early reconciliation of payments for electricity with IFMAS accounts.

In a statement issued on Friday the ministry said too that it will ensure that the stocks of laptop

computers are physically checked periodically for accurate conciliation.

Permanent Secretary of the ministry Derrick Cummings said that the MoPT is an 18-month-old ministry with oversight for several older agencies including the GPOC and the eGovernment Unit/ NDMA. He said that the main challenges arise from the very necessary changes to be made to ensure that the entire ministry is com-

pliant with the trajectory of the administration and with the introduction of new technologies.

Meanwhile, the Audit Office had recommended that the ministry must ensure that the four employees who hold ‘temporary’ NIS numbers should have their statuses changed to ‘permanent.’ Cummings said as soon as he was apprised by the auditor general in September 2017, he immediately notified

the four affected employees. He said they received guidance from the ministry’s personnel office with respect to their approach to NIS. The Insurance Scheme’s regulations dictate that transactions of this nature be completed by the contributors themselves.

In October, three of the four employees received their permanent NIS numbers and the NIS has given the assurance that it is their

Permanent Secretary of the ministry Derrick Cummings

standard policy to transfer all employees’ contributions from temporary to permanent policies. The fourth MoPT employee is still to conclude her part of the procedures and she is being encouraged to do so without further delay.

According to the ministry, Cummings said that human error was the most likely cause of the failure to flag the different statuses of the four employees.

As such, he has implemented a procedural change to ascertain that every new employee receives ‘permanent’ status by the NIS within three months of employment.

Police raid opposition MP property … find rifle, ‘ammo’ in car

A 52-year-old man was on Thursday busted by police at a property reportedly connected to an opposition Member of Parliament with a high-powered rifle along with a pair of handcuffs and a bulletproof vest.

The man, David Nelson, was remanded to prison by City Magistrate Leron Daly when he appeared before him on Friday. Nelson pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleges that on November 9 at Quamina Street, he had an AR .223 rifle in his possession when he was not a licensed firearm holder.

His attorney Adrian Thompson told the court that his client is licensed to carry a .32 pistol and that the rifle was found in his client’s car, while two other persons were in the vehicle at the time.

However, Police Prosecutor Sanj Singh told the court that Nelson had given a caution statement to the police admitting that he bought the gun from a Brazilian national.

The magistrate remanded Nelson until December 1.

The AR .223 rifle that was found

Bullet Proof Vest and Handcuff

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Courts opens ‘Sleep Centre’

Kayeann Moore, Furniture Buying Manager, Courts Guyana Incorporated showing Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence, some of the items offered at the Sleep Centre

MINISTER of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, was on hand on Thursday for the official launch of the Courts Guyana Incorporated’s newly opened Sleep Centre.

The centre, which features viscoelastic foam mattresses and accessories in the Tempur-Pedic to Posture-Pedic lines will appeal to persons who suffer from lower back and shoulder pains as well as from stiff necks from sleeping on poor-quality mattresses.

In a release, the Department of Public Information said Minister Lawrence thanked the company for the initiative and noted the product which is being introduced, is vital to

a good night’s sleep, which in turn plays a fundamental role in maintaining good health and well-being. “I express my gratitude on the behalf of the Ministry of Public Health, because this product that you are about to [launch in] the Guyana market is quite significant to the health of the people of Guyana.” Minister Lawrence said.

She noted that this initiative is in keeping with the ministry’s 2020 health vision.

Kayeann Moore, Furniture Buying Manager, Courts Guyana Incorporated showing Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence some of the items offered at the Sleep Centre. Commercial Director

of Courts Guyana Incorporated, Joel Persico, said that the launch of the Sleep Centre shows that the company is living up to its mandate, to provide comfort and ideal products to patrons. He added that the customer representatives are well informed about the products and can provide assistance to any consumer making enquiries about the products. A representative of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (G.C.C.I) also present at the unveiling described the Sleep Centre as an innovative delivery of improved products for the benefit of all Guyanese.

Cocaine-in-lumber trial put off to February THE trial of motorbike racer, Stephen Vieira and three other men, including a former customs official, has been deferred until February 2018.

Former Customs Officer, Sherwayne De Abreu of Street Eight, Section ‘A’ Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown; Vieira of Middle Street, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown; and businessman, Tazim Gafoor and his son, Nazim Gafoor, a motorcar racer, both of Menzies Street, Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara are accused of aiding Hakim Mohamed to traffic in 84.986 kilogrammes of cocaine between March 1 and May 2.

The trial was scheduled to commence before Magistrate Rushelle Liverpool at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court on Friday,

but the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor, Konyo Sandiford, begged the court for an adjournment date.

Sandiford told the court that while the main witness, Hakim Mohamed, was present, his evidence-in-chief would be more than four hours.

The men are represented by Attorneys-at-law Latchmie Rahamat, Everton Lammy-Singh and Glenn Hanoman.

With no objection from the attorneys, the magistrate adjourned the matter until February 6, 2018, when Mohammed will take the witness stand.

CANU had focused attention on the suspects following the discovery of some 84.986 kilogrammes (187lbs) of cocaine worth $550M in lumber at the Lot 227 Zeelugt, East Bank Es-

sequibo premises of Mohamed on May 12.

The bust was made just as the lumber was being packed into a truck. CANU ranks had searched a truck laden with several pallets of 1×6 dressed lumber boards prepared for export. Several pieces of boards were drilled randomly by the ranks and revealed a whitish substance.

The lumber was packed at a sawmill sited at Lookout, East Bank Essequibo, belonging to Narine Lall, to be transported to a wharf in Georgetown and then shipped to the US. Vieira was listed on the shipping documents as a representative of the shipper, Narine Lall. He has been charged separately in absentia with trafficking in narcotics.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday November 11, 2017

Bartica Radio Station to switch on soon

By Svetlana Marshall WITHIN days, residents of Bartica and far-flung communities like Karatabo, Westerbeck and Karrau in the CuyuniMazaruni District will be able to switch on their radios and hear ‘familiar’ voices as the Government moves to commission the Bartica Radio Station.

The multi-million dollar

radio station is expected to be commissioned on Sunday, November 19. The National Communications Network (NCN), Assistant Production Manager (Studios), Devon Roberts told the Guyana Chronicle that the radio station is 91% complete. Housed in the Bartica Learning Research Centre, the radio station, which comprises a lobby, technical/editing room, stor-

age room, training centre and a studio, is equipped with the latest technology in the radio broadcasting industry.

“We are using Axia IP mixing consoles – this is the newest technology in radio broadcasting, it is audio-over-IP, it is less complicated, it is cutting edge.

This is the very best radio technology available right now,” Roberts said with a

NCN Assistant Production Manager (Studios), Devon Roberts, setting up the Radio Studio at Bartica

sense of pride.

Region Seven Regional Chairman, Gordon Bradford

district. Region Seven Re-

The Bartica Learning Research Centre where the Bartica Radio Station is being housed

It was also explained that from the radio station, a wireless signal is sent to the transmission site located at Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) Company’s transmission site in Bartica. The radio station is also equipped with a small dish that receives signal from the National Communications Network (NCN).

“That dish is receiving signal from Voice of Guyana, 98.1FM and 100.1FM, even NCN TV via satellite, that’s the NCN satellite system,” Roberts further explained. On Thursday, the technical team was expected to commence fulltime testing of the station.

Coordinator for the Community Radio Project and Consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr. Rovin Deodat, has been conducting training sessions with potential broadcasters from within the

gional Chairman, Gordon Bradford, in a recent interview with Guyana Chronicle said that the radio station will be a tremendous blessing to the district and neighbouring communities.

He said for a very long time residents living in the riverine communities have been starved of critical information in the areas of education and development and as such, the station would fill that gap. Bradford said when the radio station goes into operation; the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) will be able to keep residents informed about the developments unfolding within the district. He said too, that the radio station would be used to promote educational and health programmes much to the benefit of residents.

Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall had ex-

pressed similar sentiments during an interview with this newspaper. “Communication, we will all agree is the fuel of any progressive society. Without such, democracy can easily be derailed. It allows for consultation, participation and inclusion of programmes and ideas,” he said.

He said, unfortunately, the work of the municipality is significantly hindered due to the lack of effective and constant communication. “We have long struggled with communicating our vision, programmes and developmental agenda to the people of Bartica.”

However, he noted that with the radio station coming on stream, the council will be able to effectively communicate with its people. “The community radio will be a major asset to the people of our town. It reflects government’s commitment to the transformation of Bartica. Our social, economic, and developmental landscape will be boosted,” the Mayor noted.

The multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art facility, is expected to serve the more than 15, 000 residents of Bartica in addition to the outlying communities, not only in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni District but in Region 10 as well, such as Goshen and Rivers View. Goshen and Rivers View are in close proximity to Bartica.

The community-oriented radio station is being established via a “three-way partnership” among the Office of the Prime Minister – the executing agency; NCN, which is providing technical support; and the Region. The region has provided the building to accommodate the radio, in addition to human resource (broadcasters) and security.

Shot policewoman on road to recovery …commander says force was unaware of dispute between couple

COMMANDER of ‘D’ Division, Leslie James, has confirmed that woman constable, 21-year-old Shanice Fraser is on the road to recovery after being critically shot by her reputed lover Clement Cockfield, who killed himself during the ordeal on Tuesday night.

The couple was stationed at the La Grange Police Station, West Bank Demerara (WBD). They reportedly got into an argument at their workplace which led to Cockfield shooting Fraser several times before shooting himself.

Ranks who were on the scene reported that they ran to the young woman’s aid and it was then that Cockfield turned the gun on himself. The woman was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Reports indicated that prior to the incident, Fraser was allegedly abused on many occasions by Cockfield but the ‘D’ Division Commander said the force was unaware. He said that had they known, the couple would have been sent to separate stations.

James said the woman has nonetheless been gradually recovering but is still somewhat incapacitated because of clinical reasons.

On the other hand, the ‘D’ Division Commander said a post-mortem examination revealed that Cockfield died from haemorrhage and shock due to the gunshot wounds under his chin and the left side of his head. Though the incident reportedly went by quickly, it still left some officers who were present at the scene in trauma, so James has confirmed that they will undergo counselling.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday November 11, 2017

Evidence thorough, persuasive

-Gold Board Chairman

By Ariana Gordon INSTANCES of financial irregularities have been discovered at the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) and has resulted in two members of staff with decades of experience being sent home pending the outcome of investigations, GGB Chairman Gabriel Lall told reporters on Friday.

Lall’s statement comes one day after the media reported that the GGB’s accountant and clerk have been sent home for fraudulent activities.

But notwithstanding discovery of the financial irregularities, Lall assured that clients’ assays are intact and its operations have not been compromised.

“We had to send home two workers and we have an investigation ongoing where some financial irregularities have surfaced. Without going into any detail, let me say the documentation is thorough, the evidence is persuasive and comprehensive; that is about as much as I can say,” said the GGB chairman.

He said too that the investigation is ongoing and noted that it would be unfair for the GGB to make its own conclusions “even though we have our arms around it to a very satisfactory extent”.

The two persons sent on leave have been identified as an accountant and a clerk; Lall, who was accompanied by the acting general manager of the GGB, Eondrene Thompson and Attorney Stacy Weaver, disclosed that the duo has so far “agreed with what they have heard; what was presented to them”.

The duo was identified because on every false document their names and signatures were attached. “They identified it, they were shown it and they admitted that it was their signature.”

The GGB chair said

too that miners are involved in every process when they take their gold to be purchased at the Gold Board. In fact, he disclosed that miners (clients) are provided with a document which they take for their payment to be processed while emphasising that the “opportunity to shave off is simply non-existent”.

“We want to send the reassurance out there that up to date, despite our numerous discoveries, no miner’s assay is compromised,” said Lall, who did not disclose the amount of money tied up in the illegal activities.

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS “Let’s limit our conversations to millions of Guyana dollars,” he said quickly, noting that the duo did not benefit from millions weekly.

Meanwhile, Thompson like Lall sought to assure that gold is not being shaved as miners are able to follow their transactions every step of the way.

“There is no way we would have that happening in the system.”

She disclosed that when the discovery was made, the Gold Board decided that the staff should be sent home so that the evidence is not compromised.

“What we saw… were major inconsistencies or irregularities,” she said, noting that additional information could not be disclosed, given the nature

of the investigation.

Asked what sparked the investigation, Thompson said, a situation where a client’s assays, in the name of the said client, who usually has a high percentage, results came back showing a low percentage.

“When that result came back, it came back lower than is usual. It is contrary to his profile, so we decided to investigate it. It turned out, it probably could have been a switch with that client’s assay and that was rectified.

However, we decided to comb the system where we unearthed a number of inconsistencies,” she stated.

A client who has a very

be over 94 per cent.

INTACT In combing the system, Thompson said the GGB went as far back as January

facility at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).

“In addition to that, when the GGB is not satisfied with a specific result, especially

Guyana Gold Board Chairman Gabriel Lall

Guyana Gold Board General Manager (ag) Eondrene Thompson)

low volume of sale does not require assay. So if a client only sells four ounces of gold, that client would not require an assay but a client with large amounts, from 10 ounces up have to have assays. That assay is tested for purity and must

1, 2017 and over the last two months unearthed the inconsistencies. She was quick to point out however, that all of the board’s clients’ assays are intact.

“It was what we would call, falsification of documents,” the acting general manager said, while explaining that it was observed that the accused used the exact results, payout factor but did not allocate same to the right client.

“They would go to a client who sold a very small quantity that did not give rise to an assay. They used someone else’s name with a small client’s voucher advice,” she added.

“That small client that did not require an assay sample… the payment advice number was taken from that and placed on a fabricated assay certificate and a large client’s name would be used and the percentage pay out,” she continued, noting that nobody’s assay was tampered with.

Meanwhile, Thompson explained that the GGB uses the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) which refines its gold to do assay testing. She noted that some clients consider the results of the RCM more accurate than the local testing

when a client brings a large volume of gold and it is a high percentage; we always take the better route to go to RCM for testing.

“When the results come back, in most cases, or I should say in all cases we accept it because the client feels satisfied and we compare it also with the results we get from GGMC as against what we have paid out,” the acting general manager stated, contending that the RCM assay testing “is a better rule of thumb”.

In addition, it was noted that the RCM provides certification and the GGB provides clients with payout certificates.

TIMELY However, the process to have RCM test the assays is somewhat timely as the GGB said it mostly ships assays once monthly.

“If we have large volumes, we ship twice a month; that’s the maximum we have ever shipped,” noted Thompson who explained that when the RCM results return, whatever is owed to the GGB is paid over and whatever GGB owes is paid to the client.

“When the results return they still have to be analyses

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and that analysis is done at the GGMC laboratory and not the accounts department of the GGB. It is then sent to the general manager, then to the finance manager after which it goes to the accounts department for them to process.”

“Therefore, we are matching clients with results,” she stated, while disclosing that there are over 200 clients within the GGB’s database.

RCM has since been informed out of courtesy that there have been developments within the GGB which point to financial irregularities. Great care was taken to ensure the RCM understands that the matter is not one of anti-money laundering or source of gold but an internal matter.

Meanwhile, Lall said measures have been implemented for the tightening of the system at the GGB but noted that the problems are imbedding at the entity.

“You have just got me a little angry here… not with you, but with what I inherited here. We paid tens of millions of dollars for a system and what was delivered was half of a system. And when I raised my voice at somebody they reported to the minister that I threatened them,” Lall told a reporter in response to questions on the system.

“We have a half of a system, where the people in the trenches know that this is how it operates and they try to work their way around it. That’s all I’ll say right now,” he added while noting that the system in place is supposed to have certain layers of security performs the checks and balances.

Asked whether staff have resisted the system, Lall said, the staff of the accounts department are aware of the limitations within the system.

The police have not yet been called in, but deliberations are ongoing as to the way forward with the investigations.

Repeat offender refused bail --for latest armed-robbery charge

A LITTLE over three months after 20-year-old Antonio Maraj was freed from a multi-million-dollar robbery charge, he has once again found himself walking up the court steps to answer to another robbery charge.

Maraj on Friday appeared before City Magistrate, Leron Daly, and was remanded to prison.

He denied that on November 2, at D'Urban Backlands, Georgetown, while being in the company of another and armed

with a gun, he robbed Wes Matthews of an IPhone along with other items totaling $71,000.

Police Prosecutor Richard Harris opposed to Maraj being released on bail, since he is a known character to the court.

According to Harris, the defendant is a repeat offender, and currently has four ongoing matters before the court.

The Magistrate, based upon the objection raised by the prosecutor, remanded Maraj until November 24.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday November 11, 2017

133 ranks added to Police Force -- ACP Hicken urges good police-community relations

The new police officers who graduated from the Felix Austin Police College share a moment with their seniors (Samuel Maughn photo)

THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) has received some 133 ranks at a time when it is implementing strategies

of the ongoing security reform to boost its capacity.

After undergoing rigorous training and graduating

from the Felix Austin Police College on Friday, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, believes that

the new constables can be the catalysts of change in the Police Force.

“You need to take all you learnt and put them into practice… don’t worry, we have a structured mechanism so you will not be unsupervised,” said the assistant commissioner.

Hicken urged the new ranks to be disciplined and informed when making decisions, noting that their decisions will be made on behalf of the commander and by extension the entire Police Force.

In order to make informed decisions, the ranks were encouraged to read the Discipline Act, since a breach

would not only shame the Force but would subject them to correction.

The assistant commissioner also expressed the belief that the recruits were properly regimented and will continue to learn as their journey in the Force continues.

“You will be on the frontline where you can interact with members of the public more often, so it is important that you fit yourselves into communities,” said Hicken as he underscored the importance of good community relations.

The ranks, he also urged, should get into communities and identify problems before

they escalate as it will enable the Force to focus its attention more on prevention than detection.

“It is important to rebuild public trust, so we need to ensure that we change the bad publicity that we often get into good ones,” said the assistant commissioner.

He admitted that over the years the Force has been unable able to stop bad publicity but has adopted a partnership approach to help change the negative perception.

The Force will be beefing up security during the Christmas season and the new recruits will be playing an active role in the process.

New Amsterdam gets new mayor, deputy

Newly elected DeputyMayor, George Tucker

STALWART and former two-time Deputy Mayor Winifred Haywood was unanimously elected to serve as Mayor of Guyana’s oldest town, New Amsterdam; while businessman George Tucker, was elected as the new deputy mayor.

Haywood was elevated to the top post following the sudden resignation of Mayor Kirt Wynter.

Mayor Haywood, a retired head-teacher and former President of the Guyana Teachers Union, is a practis-

ing preacher at the Mission Chapel Congregational Church in New Amsterdam. She is a long-serving member of the New Amsterdam town council and the only one returning from the past era. During that time, Haywood served with distinction in various, posts including that of deputy mayor. With her vast experience and work ethic, she is seen as a good foil and inspiration to guide the new members and take the council forward.

Haywood expressed gratitude to her colleagues for the confidence shown in her and for their support during the past months, while she served as deputy mayor. While acknowledging that the job will be challenging, Haywood expressed confidence that together with her colleagues, several issues affecting the town will be addressed.

Deputy Mayor Tucker for his part assured that the newly elected mayor has his

Newly elected Mayor, Winifred Haywood

full support in the executing the mandate of the council.

Both Mayor Haywood and Deputy Mayor Tucker appealed to residents to abide with the by-laws and regulations of the New Amsterdam Mayor and Town Council.

A massive clean-up campaign is presently ongoing in the town with the Burnham Park, Mental Hospital Compound and Playfield, and The Esplanade Park Areas being attended to at the moment. (DPI)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Covent Garden wins JOF Haynes debating competition COVENT Garden Secondary school emerged the champion of the 2017 JOF Haynes Inter-Secondary Schools debating competition.

In a keenly contested final at the Theatre Guild Playhouse earlier this week; the victorious team comprising of Tenisha Evelyn, Aaliah Corlette, and Amabel Campbell, amassed a score of 282 points, while the runners-up, St. Ignatius Secondary, recorded 279.3 points. The Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo) school was represented by Ave Thony, Kerion Ramscindo, and Amisha Ramdin.

The less than three points that separated the two teams is an indication of the competitive nature of the encounter between the two schools, the Ministry of Education (MoE) said in a release. The students debated the topic “Crude oil is one of the main natural resources that can move Guyana from a developing to a developed country”. Covent Garden opposed the moot while St. Ignatius Secondary was the proposing school.

Watched by former Guyana Elections Commission Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally, Assistant Chief Education Officer (Nursery) Ms. Ingrid Trotman and other senior MoE officials and students, the debaters gave skillful accounts of themselves.

When the battle lines were drawn the leader of the proposition Ave Thorny opened proceedings. Although she was a bit rushed at the beginning of her presentation, Thorny was confident and projected her voice across the venue. She also clearly did her research and did not rely on a script as she delivered ‘off the cuff’.

In explaining her position on the moot, the young woman argued that crude oil has proven its worth in countries across the globe, and it will be no different when oil begins to flow in Guyana by 2020.

She said that the ‘oil money’ will be used to strengthen the ailing industries such as sugar, rice, and cash crop cultivation.

The proposition leader noted that oil will not replace the traditional industries but rather, it will complement these same industries that are cur-

rently struggling for different reasons.

Her two colleagues Kerion Ramscindo and Amisha Ramdin underscored much of what their leader argued. Kerion Ramscindo, the lone male in the final and the second speaker was ‘cool, calm and collected’. He took his time and delivered a skillful presentation that received quite an ovation from the audience of mostly school children from across the regions.

When Covent Garden took to the podium it was very evident that the three young ladies were excellent orators. The leader, Tenisha Evelyn, set the scene for what was to come from her team.

She argued that in the many years Guyana has been an independent state, there are many natural resources such as bauxite and sugar that has not lifted it to a developed country. She wondered how certain can we be that oil will aid in this regard.

Further, she pointed out that there are many countries that have large oil deposits and are no better off than when there was no oil wealth flowing. Like her colleagues, she labelled this belief of oil being the proverbial saviour of the economy as a ‘figment of people’s imagination’. The second opposition speaker, Aaliah Corlette was impressive from the start, she had flare in the way she delivered her presentation.

Corlette gave the impression that she has been a debater for some time. She paid attention to her tone at different points in her presentation and to pronunciation and utilised a range of words.

At this juncture of the competition, it would have been easy to conclude that there wasn’t anyone that could upstage Corlette as the best speaker. Those thoughts could not have been more wrong because when Amabel Campbell took the microphone, she had everyone’s attention from the start. With a soothing, good speaking voice; she was clear with every word she uttered and her tone throughout her presentation was refreshing. Campbell was by far the best speaker from among the six participants, and it was no surprise that she was adjudged

the best speaker at the end of the debate.

It is the third year in succession that a Region Four school has won the JOF Haynes debating competition.

In 2015, President’s College was the champion and last year, Annandale Secondary School emerged victors.

The JOF Haynes debating competition is an annual MoE event that forms part of the calendar of activities for Education month.

Students of the Covent Garden Secondary School who won the JOF Haynes Inter-Secondary Schools debating competition

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

PSC nudges GPL to up performance THE Private Sector Commission (PSC) is calling on the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to fulfil its mandate and provide the country with reliable electricity.

In a statement on Friday, the PSC said within recent months, GPL has subjected the entire country to a series of unannounced and frequently prolonged power outages.

According to the com-

mission, there has been no credible explanation from the company’s management or the board for these failures.

“To add insult to injury, the GPL recently from 2nd September to 5th November, 2017, announced a series of scheduled maintenance power cuts which, in Georgetown alone, amount to a total of 149 hours spread between 17 sections of the city. In addition, power cuts averaging about five hours each were

scheduled for the Essequibo Coast, Berbice, East and West Bank Demerara, West Coast Demerara, Soesdyke and East Canjie,” PSC said.

It said too that while notices may be published in the local newspapers, informing the public about scheduled maintenance power cuts, many citizens do not see them. The commission further opined that many residents do not have private generators to provide alter-

native power, and as such are greatly affected.

“Judging from this performance or, to be more accurate, absence of performance, GPL simply have[sic] neither the management nor the capacity to deliver a reliable power supply to the country and the government has consistently failed to address this reality. Guyana’s manufacturing and commercial sectors cannot function in these circumstances and,

in this day and age at the exorbitant price that we are expected to pay for electricity Guyana’s population should not be subjected to this punishment. As the Christmas season approaches, this has now become an even more pressing source of concern for the populace,” PSC stated.

Efforts to contact GPL Board Chairman, Robert Badal, proved futile; however, GPL Public Relations Officer Shevon Sears told the Guyana Chronicle that the concerns of PSC will be brought to the attention of the company’s administration and board, and a statement will soon be issued.

Back in August Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson had expressed disappointment over the constant power outages and had committed to spend the parliamentary recess to zero

in on GPL. Minister Patterson had said that he will be visiting the power stations to ascertain first-hand what interventions can be made to restore the situation to normalcy.

“I met with the staff of Guyana Power Light Incorporated (GPL); they’ve explained the issues they have, such as manpower and those equipment that have been ordered and not coming in [as] quickly as they should.

I’m meeting with the board and [will] ensure that they are equipped as fully as possible to address these issues,” Minister Patterson explained.

The minister further explained that GPL is currently, financially stable; therefore, monies should be invested towards enhanced generation, so that issues such as tree-trimming and burnt generators will not affect distribution.

GTA greets visitors with tokens as part of Tourism Awareness Month

Passengers being greeted by staff of GTA and receiving their Guyanese tokens

INCOMING passengers at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) were pleasantly surprised Friday morning, as they were greeted with local snacks and tokens by representatives of the Guyana

Tourism Authority (GTA) as part of the organisation’s Tourism Month activities. Some of the visitors included Guyanese returning home, as well as first-time visitors to the country.

Passengers being greeted by staff of GTA and receiving their Guyanese tokens

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson wins fifth straight World Cup 50m breaststroke JAMAICA’S Alia Atkinson continued her impressive winning streak in the 50m breaststroke this season, topping the event at the Beijing leg of the FINA/ Airweave World Cup Tour yesterday.

The 28-year-old Jamaica, described by FINA, the world governing body for swimming, as the fastest and most consistent breaststroker in the history of the Short Course World Cup, was a comfortable winner in 29.57s.

She was almost a full second ahead of Junyang Feng (30.40) and China’s Ran Suo (30.44).

It was Atkinson’s fifth consecutive win in the event this season following previous gold medal performances Moscow, Eindhoven, Hong Kong and Qatar. It was also her fifth consecutive winning time in 30 seconds this season.

Atkinson currently holds the World Record of 28.64 seconds in this event.

(Sportsmax)

Alia Atkinson

Kemar Mitchell’s hat-trick propels Jamaica to tomorrow’s final

KEMAR Mitchell scored a hat-trick as Jamaica’s men thrashed Guatemala 7-0 in yesterday morning’s rescheduled CAC Games qualifiers fixture at the JN Hockey Field in Kingston.

The win sealed Jamaica’s spot in tomorrow’s final against Guyana as well as automatic qualification to next year’s CAC Games in Colombia. Jamaica are now level on points with Guyana who lead the standing by virtue of having scored more goals.

Jamaica took the lead in the third minute when

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Onuque Salmon scored from close range for his first international goal.

Mitchell doubled the lead in the 24th minute as Jamaica went into the halftime break leading 2-0.

The Guatemalans started fast in the second half earning three penalty corners in quick succession but failed to convert from any of them.

Jamaica made them pay.

Kishawn White marked his 50th game for Jamaica with a goal in the 35th minute when he pounced on a rebound from a penalty corner shot by Mitchell.

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The home team increased their stranglehold on the game as the Guatemalans failed to deal with the pace and attacking prowess.

Mitchell got Jamaica’s fourth and his second of the game from a penalty corner in the 40th minute before completing his hat-trick in the 53rd minute.

Brandon Clarke, who scored in the 44th minute and Charles Burton in the 52nd, rounded off the scoring for the Jamaicans Jamaica will complete their preliminary round fixture today against Guyana at 16:00hrs, in what will be a dress rehearsal for tomorrow’s final. (Sportsmax)

New Pee Wee champs to be crowned today

A NEW champion will be crowned today when the COURTS Pee Wee Football tournament concludes at Thirst Park.

West Ruimveldt play Marian Academy today with both sides looking for a trophy to add to their case.

Inaugural champions Marian Academy have been clinical in their tournament triumph so far and can be expected to continue their run.

Their side features a well-balanced starting XI that can switch on and off

in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, the West Ruimveldt side will be an interesting unit, considering that they are being coached by current Western Tigers star, Jamal Pedro.

A constant performer in the quarters and semis signalled that they have numerous big game experiences and can surely run away with the title.

Their compactness in the midfield also means that they can pass the ball quite effectively and disperse plays smoothly.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

COMPLIMENTS OF: THE TROPHY STALL Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & AUDREY’S TASTY SNACKETTE 176 Charlotte Street, Georgetown (Tel: 226-4512) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1)Jason Holder-110 (2)Hamilton Masakadza-147 Today’s Quiz: (1)Which WI bowler had the best bowling figures in an innings in the just-concluded WI/ZIM Test series?

(2Which ZIM bowler had the best bowling figures in an innings?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

GMR&SC hosts successful testing day ahead of International Race of Champions THE South Dakota Circuit was a hive of activities yesterday with the first official practice of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) International Race of Champions.

The meet, which also

forms the basis for the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC), saw several competitors get the chance to test and tune ahead of today’s qualification and official race day.

According to GMR&SC president Rameez Mohamed, the day was successful and incident-free as several competitors had a chance to test their cars.

“I would say the day was a success; we’ve seen

about 30 or 40 competitors that came out today (yesterday) to check and tune and basically get a feel of their cars.”

He added, “We also had a chance to test the new lighting system we installed on a new crossover at the track so that is also a success. We’ve explained to the competitors how the lights will work and we will do so again before today’s meet.”

Meanwhile, the club is gearing to push off its first

Rameez Mohamed

two-day race meet at the Timehri facility from today with qualification commencing at 10:00hrs.

The 27-race programme, which features both Radical Racing and Drift Car exhibitions, is expected to feature a host of local races.

Among them are the Street and Sports tuner classes as well as the Starlet Cup. Meanwhile tomorrow’s race day begins at 08:30hrs.

Nadal confident of being fully fit at ATP finals

(REUTERS) - World number one Rafael Nadal is confident he will be “100 percent fit” at the ATP Finals event in London as he continues to recover from a knee injury.

The Spaniard pulled out of the Paris Masters before his quarter-final match against American John Isner after experiencing discomfort in his right knee during his third-

round win over Pablo Cuevas.

“Hopefully the knee is good, “Nadal told Sky Sports. ”I’ve done everything I’ve needed to do in order to get ready for London. Let’s see if I am able to be 100 per cent to compete.

“If nothing happens, then I will play. I visited my doctors after the Paris Masters - it was a tough day for me having to pull out of Paris.

“I know I‘m confident because I‘m having a great season with one event to go. I am here to try my best.”

Reigning French and US Open winner Nadal begins the quest for his first ATP Finals title against Belgian David Goffin on Monday, and will also compete with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and Austrian Dominic Thiem in his group.

Jaguars tottering after Hurricanes...

From Back Page

He put on 165 for the second wicket with Carty who struck five fours and a six in a 232-ball knock before going, caught at the wicket off Rutherford – a dismissal which sparked a slide that saw three wickets fall for a single run just before lunch.

Devon Thomas fell after the break for 20 but Hamil-

ton anchored two stands to frustrate Jaguars, putting on 51 for the sixth wicket with Cornwall (28) and 69 for the seventh wicket with Ward, as the hosts reached tea at 351 for six.

Hamilton faced 98 balls and struck five fours and a six while Ward notched four fours and a six in a 126-ball

innings, to gather a half-century on first class debut.

Meanwhile, Jamaica Scorpions, resuming on 77 without loss, reached 111 for two at the close on a rain-hit second day of their day/night third round Regional four-day match against Barbados Pride at Sabina Park yesterday.

SCOREBOARD HURRICANES 1st innings (o/n 181 for one) M. Hodge b Paul 91 C. Hughes lbw b Shepherd 32 K. Carty c wkp. Bramble b Rutherford 82 D. Thomas c Hemraj b Shepherd 20 N. Bonner c S. Chanderpaul b Rutherford 0 J. Hamilton c Johnson b Hemraj 56 R. Cornwall c Rutherford 28 T. Ward stp. Bramble b Permaul 52 J. Louis c Johnson b Permaul 6

M. Matthew not out 21 Extras: (b-6, lb-2, w-7, nb-10) 25 Total: (9 decl., 160.5 overs) 412 Fall of wicket: 1-58, 2-223, 3-223, 4-224, 5-246, 6-297, 7-366, 8-381, 9-412.

Bowling: Joseph 25-5-61-0, Paul 22-7-49-1, Shepherd 26-6-64-2, Permaul 46.512-104-2, Rutherford 266-92-3, Hemraj 14-3-31-1, Vishaul Singh 1-0-3-0.

JAGUARS 1st innings T. Chanderpaul c Cornwall b Louis 3 C. Hemraj c Carty b Simon 23

L. Johnson b Louis 2 V. Singh not out 17 V. Permaul run-out 0 S. Chanderpaul c Hamilton b Cornwall 5 A. Bramble c Louis b Ward 0 Extras: (b-1, lb-1, nb-1) 3 Total: (6 wkts, 16.3 overs) 53 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-8, 3-39, 4-39, 5-47, 6-53.

Bowling: Louis 5-0-18-2, Matthew 3-1-8-0, Cornwall 5-1-11-1, Simon 3-0-11-1, Ward 0.3-0-3-1.

Position: Jaguars trail by 359 runs with four firstinnings wickets remaining.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Johansson gold gives Sweden 1-0 win over Italy JAKOB Johansson came off the bench to give Sweden a 1-0 firstleg win and leave Italy staring at the ignominy of World Cup elimination.

Italy face failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 after substitute Jakob Johansson gave Sweden a 1-0 firstleg lead in their play-off encounter.

Questions over Gian Piero Ventura’s abilities as head coach of the Azzurri must now be met with a decisive answer in Monday’s return at San Siro after a disjointed display in Solna.

Watched on by the iconic Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the stands, Sweden’s robust forward duo Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen

proved a handful for the unusually discomforted Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini in Italy’s defence.

AEK Athens midfielder Johansson had not been on the field for four minutes as Albin Ekdal’s replacement when Italy failed to deal with a long throw just after the hour and he beat Gianluigi Buffon via a deflection.

Matteo Darmian came closest to finding an equaliser when he was denied by the post but a tough task awaits them in Milan, especially after influential midfielder Marco Verratti collected a booking to rule himself out of Ventura’s date with destiny.

The tone was set for a bustling,

frenetic opening inside the first minute when Toivonen caught Bonucci with an elbow. The AC Milan defender writhed on the floor and Berg received a booking for dissent as he did so.

RB Leipzig playmaker Emil Forsberg skied a fourth-minute free-kick – Bonucci tugging Berg to the floor to continue his inauspicious start - before Andrea Belotti headed Darmian’s searching left-wing cross narrowly wide on Italy’s first attack.

Toivonen than pulled a drive just past Buffon’s right-hand post following cute work by Forsberg, who lifted wastefully off target again when the ball broke to him on the edge of the Italy box in the

Bowlers give Red Force big edge over Volcanoes PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Steady, if not menacing bowling from Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, led by veteran leg-spinner Imran Khan, put the skids on the Windward Islands Volcanoes’ batting and tightened the grip on their Regional 4-Day Championship match yesterday here.

Volcanoes reached three without loss in their second innings before bad light stopped play, after they were asked to follow-on 236 runs behind on first innings, on the rain-marred second day of their round match at Queen’s Park Oval.

This followed Khan grabbing 3-46 from 15 overs and three other bowlers collecting two apiece, as the Volcanoes were bowled out for 166 around the time for the scheduled close, replying to Red Force’s first-innings total of 402.

Kavem Hodge hit the top score of 46 for the Volcanoes, Tarryck Gabriel made 38 and their captain Tyroine Theophile got 30, but there was little stability for the rest of the batting and the visitors lost their last six wickets for 12 runs in the space of 64 deliveries.

Sherman Lewis had led the Volcanoes’ fightback in the morning period following the Red Force’s opening day’s batting rampage.

The Grenadian fast bowler ended with a career-best 5-64 from 20 overs, former West Indies Under-19 fast bowler Ray Jordan bagged 3-68 and Barbados-born all-rounder Kyle Mayers snatched 2-79 from 27 overs.

Red Force captain Denesh Ramdin added just 12

Imran Khan

before he was dismissed for 116 and former Red Force captain Jason Mohammed collected 13 before he fell for 113, but no other batsman on the day reached 20.

Their partnership of 213, however, fell short of the Red Force all-time record for the fourth wicket and their separation triggered a slide that saw the home team dismissed about five minutes past the scheduled lunch interval, as they lost their last six wickets for 40 in 68 balls.

Starting the day on 334 for three, Red Force cruised

past 350 without further loss, but Lewis trapped Ramdin, Mohammed and Tion Webster all lbw in three successive overs to leave the hosts 373 for six.

Ramdin, the former West Indies captain and wicketkeeper/batsman, struck nine fours from 170 balls in his 3 ¼-hour stay at the crease, and Mohammed cracked nine fours and one six from 187 balls in just over four hours in the middle.

After this, there was token resistance from the tail, and rain offered Red Force a 35-minute respite before they returned and swiftly went into decline.

After lunch, Volcanoes were set back early, when prolific, veteran left-hander Devon Smith was caught at slip off Roshon Primus for three.

The wickets of former West Indies batsman Kirk Edwards for 15 and Theophile in the space of four overs – both to Webster – left Volcanoes 52 for three.

There was still some fire in the Volcanoes, when Hodge came to the crease and put on 70 for the fourth wicket with Gabriel to take them past 100 and forged a useful stand of 32 with former captain and fellow Dominican Liam Sebastien for the fifth wicket to carry the visitors past 150.

When Hodge became the first wicket for leftarm fast-medium bowler Daniel St Clair, none of the rest of the batsmen showed much fight and they surrendered meekly with Sebastien, Mayers and Shane Shillingford all dismissed lbw.

25th minute.

Italy were struggling to gain a foothold in the contest and Verratti encapsulated their simmering frustration with an ill-judged challenge on Berg that brought a yellow card to rule him out of the second leg.

Buffon was forced to fling himself expertly at the feet of Toivonen after Chiellini became the latest of his old defensive lieutenants to err under pressure from Berg.

The visitors began the second half with greater conviction – Antonio Candreva’s devilish cross from the right sewing confusion between Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen and captain Andreas Granqvist,

almost forcing the latter into an own-goal.

As the hour approached, the teams were involved in an increasingly fractious contest, with Berg orchestrating much of the disquiet.

The Al Ain striker barged Chiellini to instigate a collision with Buffon before catching Daniele De Rossi with another of his wandering elbows.

Italy were increasingly irked as a collective and it was in this state that they fell behind.

Toivonen outmuscled Chiellini to get his head to Emil Krafth’s long throw and Johansson, with his first meaningful contribution, smashed goalwards to see a telling

deflection off Marco Parolo do the rest.

Ventura sent on Eder for the ineffective Belotti in a bid to force a reply, which almost arrived from an unlikely source – Manchester United wing-back Darmian clattering a thunderous drive against the post with Olsen rooted to the spot.

A convincing final rally failed to materialise, even with Lorenzo Insigne on in Verratti’s place.

Ventura could do worse than trusting in-form Napoli attacker Insigne to salvage matters when the teams reconvene. If Italy do not escape, Antonio Conte’s successor will surely see his reign end in ignominy. (Sportsmax)

34

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Going for gold at Nationals is my main aim, says Garnett COME this month end some 1 500 athletes will be assembling for the National Schools Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships, better known as Nationals.

It’s Guyana’s longest-running multi-sport schools event, and for many participating it’s usually an honour just being there, even if they don’t get a chance to earn one of those medals.

However, one athlete who is looking forward to this year’s event is Tiffauna Garnett.

For Garnett, she hopes to use this year’s event to improve her performance as a national athlete. The super upcoming runner will be representing the South Georgetown District 13 at the esteemed event, where athletes from across 15 different

districts will be participating.

Garnett, who has achieved only a silver medal at Nationals, is really hoping to secure gold. But there will be at least two major hurdles for the Freeburg Secondary School student - national athletes Kenisha Phillips and Deshauna Skeete.

To date, Skeete and Phillips have been Guyana’s top performing female sprinters, solidifying their places with recent medals on the international scene. But Tiffauna, who has been developing her skills over the years, says that she’s ready to throw her hat into the ring in a big way.

“Once I train, I know I can go forward for it. So far my training has been coming along good. I’ve been training in the morning and

Tiffauna Garnett

Finalists for Hamilton Green KO Cup Football tourney to be decided next Friday

THE two teams to contest the final of the Hamilton Green Cup Knockout Football tournament will be decided next Friday at the Victoria ground, East Coast Demerara.

The tournament, which started some months ago, saw the organiser and former national captain, Lennox Arthur, having to switch venues and dates, as some of the teams that are part of the competition have engagements in other competitions that take precedence over the Hamilton Green tournament.

For next Friday’s matches, Soesdyke Falcons of East Bank Demerara

Hamilton Green

will face Upper Demerara’s Winners Connection from 19:00hrs, while Police of Georgetown will do battle with Upper Demerara’s Milerock.

The final of the competition will be played the following weekend.

The winning side of the final will receive $500 000 and the winners’ trophy, while the runners-up will earn $250 000. The third- and fourth-place teams will collect $150 000 and $100 000 respectively for their efforts

afternoons just for this from 06:00hrs,” Garnett said.

Garnett will be running in the Girls’ Under-18 category in the 100m, 200m and 400m as well as in the long jump.

At least in the sprints, she is sure to encounter Phillips, who will be representing North Georgetown District 11.

But Phillips has been enjoying a great year, most recently medalling at the South American Youth Games.

She’s also the reigning Girls’ Under-18 100m champion.

But, despite the challenge, a confident Garnett is looking forward to the competition.

Like the other students, over the past few weeks, Garnett has been going through the rounds from inter-house, to inter-school, to inter-zone,

to qualify for a spot on the South Georgetown District’s team to Nationals.

And it has so far been an easy task, after she took major wins; so she’s looking forward to the challenge to help push her towards improving her skills.

This will be Garnett’s fourth year at Nationals, having competed consecutively since 2014. It was in the Girls’ Under-12 category that she won silver in the 100m.

After making it to Nationals and realising she had a talent in athletics, Garnett decided to join a club, with the encouragement of her father. From there she has been measuring her improvements and is really looking forward to using this year’s Nationals to see how far she’s come.

Marseille’s Evra banned from European competition, leaving club ZURICH, Switzerland (Reuters) - Olympique Marseille full-back Patrice Evra has been banned from European club football for the rest of the season, UEFA said yesterday, and is leaving the French Ligue 1 club by mutual consent as his career looks set to come to an ignominious end.

The former France international was sent off before kick-off in Marseille’s November 2 Europa League match at Portugal’s Vitoria Guimaraes, where he had been named as a substitute, after appearing to aim a kick at a fan at pitchside during the warm-up.

The 36-year-old has been suspended from all UEFA club competition matches until June 30.

In a statement on their website (www.om.net), Marseille said he was leaving the club.

“He has done something

Patrice Evra

irreparable by reacting to shameful provocations from a few individuals,” the statement read.

Evra, who started his professional career in 1998, played for Monaco, Man-

chester United, Juventus and Marseille, winning five English Premier League and two Italian Serie A titles as well as one Champions League title with Manchester United in 2008.

35

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, November 11, 2017

Brusches final on tonight Nand Persaud Karibee Sprint at MSC Hard Court … Linden’s Jets seeking to retain crown

By Joe Chapman TWO years ago the ‘Dream’ Akeem Kanhai piloted Amelia’s Ward Jets to the Mining Town’s first Brusches Classic tile with an MVP performance and tonight he promises to deliver a second crown as the Jets face nemeses Ravens in what could be a gripping final.

Fans are craving for this final between the Linden and Georgetown sides which is set for 21:00hrs.

However, at 19:00hrs Georgetown’s Colts will face Linden’s Victory Valley Royals in the first game of the evening.

The Jets coach Kevin Joseph is confident that his side will once again prevail.

His confidence is boosted by the fact that Kanhai has been a great influence on his young side with Adrian Webster and Donnel Benjamin

Travis Burnett

Ryan Stephney

playing well inside.

But, the Ravens coach Darcel Harris has at his disposal their captain Ryan Stephney, who has been an important cog. He was absent in 2015 when the Ravens were beaten by two points in the final against this Jets side.

But with Travis Burnett slicing with ease throughout this tournament and Stephney gaining much attention as he moves around, this could be a tough one for the Jets.

However, even as Harris mentions the point of Steph-

ney, coach of Jets, Kevin Joseph, feels that on the night his charges are ready for whatever the Ravens bring to the floor in front of a partisan Linden crowd.

With Parrish Cadogan, Nathan Saul, Kanhai and marksman Orin Rose in the back court this Jets side can retain honours once they can control the opposing Burnett especially as he is in great form.

The winners collect $300 000 while the losing finalists pocket $200 000.

The winners of the third place playoffs get $100 000.

Among those expected to attend the games are the president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation, Nigel Hinds, the Linden Amateur Basketball Association president Lawrence Simon and Monty Profitt the major sponsor of this championship.

RHT Gizmos and Gadgets U-21 cricket team clinch 5/5 title THE Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets Under-21 cricket team claimed the Tamarind Root Cricket Club 5/5 cricket title last Sunday when the one-day tournament concluded at the Hampshire ground.

Seven teams participated in the tournament, but after a fascinating day of cricket, RHT Gizmos and Gadgets U-21 cricket team came out on top.

In the final, Tamarind Root Cricket Club won the toss and elected to field first. Rose

Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets Under 21 reached 76-3 in their allotted overs, with Kevin Sinclair 24 (3x4, 1x6), Junior Sinclair 33 and Kevlon Anderson 12 batting responsibly.

Tamarind Root Cricket Club in response could reached only 52-3. D. Looknauth threatened briefly with 18 from eight balls.

Kevin Sinclair was named the MVP of the tournament for his brilliant batting, tight offspin bowling, brilliant fielding and astute captaincy of the

Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets team.

Meanwhile, Secretary/ CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, Hilbert Foster, congratulated the Tamarind Root Cricket Club for hosting such a highly successful tournament, which attracted massive support from the general public.

Foster stated that his club is committed in assisting the Tamarind Root Cricket Club in any way possible.

Cricket manager of the team, Ravindranauth Kissoonlall, congratulated the team and disclosed that the management of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club has decided to invest heavily in its younger players at the second- and first-division levels as they are the future.

Further, the management of the club expressed its congratulations to the Karibee female team for winning their title of the Guyana Softball Cup tournament last Sunday

The winning Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets Under-21 cricket team

Classic set for December 10

THE Nand Persaud Group of Companies will stage its Sky Plus Incorporated Promotions Group `Nand Persaud Karibee Sprint Classic’ Horse Race Meet on December 10 at the company’s racing facility at Number 36 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

Seven sprint races are carded for the day and more than $4M in cash and trophies will be up for the taking.

The feature event is open to horses classified `D’ and Lower over 880 yards with $400 000 going to the winning stable.

The `H’ and Lower animals will also battle over 880 yards and the winning stable will earn $260 000, while the `I’ Class horses will race for 660 yards for the $200 000 first prize money.

Horses classified `K’

and Lower will contest 660 yards and will have a first prize purse of $140 000.

There will also be three races for `L’ and Lower horses and two of these races will see the horses galloping for 660 yards to win the first prize package of $100 000 each.

The other `L’ Class event will be an 880 yards contest and carries a first prize worth $100 000 also.

The champion jockey, the champion trainer and the champion stable will all receive trophies, compliments of Trophy Stall of Bourda Market, Georgetown.

Entries will close on December 5 and interested owners and trainers can make contact with Mohini Baker on 600-4728 or Amanda on 646-2390.

United Cycle Club’s `Dash for Cash’ 30-lap cycle race set for today

THE United Cycle Club’s `Dash for Cash’ 30-lap cycle race will be staged around the inner circuit of the National Park from 09:00hrs today and is expected to attract Guyana’s top pedal-pushers.

According to Guyana Cycle Federation’s Assistant Racing Secretary Joseph Britton, the event is open to cyclists from all across Guyana. Already most of the country’s top cyclists have indicated their intention to be a part of the activity, which usually carries a prime prize

for each of the 30 laps as well as a handsome financial package for the top finishers.

Among the top cyclists expected to face the starter today are: Team Evolution’s Raul Leal, Marlon `Fishy’ Williams and Orville Hinds among others. Then there are United’s Andrew Hicks and his sibling David, Trojan’s Jonathan Ramsuchit, Team Alanis’ Paul ChoWee-Nam and Raynauth Jeffrey and Continental Cycle Club’s Geron Williams.

Over $200 000 in cash prizes will be up for grabs.

New Pee Wee champs to be crowned today See Page 31

Jaguars tottering after Hurricanes ram home advantage BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) – Rampant Leeward Islands Hurricanes produced an incisive all-round performance to stun leaders Guyana Jaguars and leave them tottering on the second day of their Regional fourday contest at Warner Park here, yesterday.

The hosts piled up 412 for nine declared with Montcin Hodge top-scoring with 91, Keacy Carty getting 82, Jahmar Hamilton, 56 and Terrance Ward, 52.

Sherfane Rutherford was the best bowler with three for 92 while fellow pacer Romario Shepherd (2-64) and leftarm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (2-104) were the other wicket-takers.

In reply, seamer Jeremiah Louis made two key early strikes as Jaguars collapsed badly to end the day on 53 for six – still 359 runs behind on first innings heading into today’s penultimate day.

Chanderpaul Hemraj got 23 while West Indies lefthander Vishaul Singh was carrying the fight on 17 not out but key batsmen like captain Leon Johnson and veteran former West Indies left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul perished cheaply to leave Jaguars against the ropes.

Left with just over an hour to navigate in the final session, Jaguars were quickly in trouble when left-hander Tagenarine Chanderpaul edged a defensive push at Louis and was caught low down by captain Rahkeem Cornwall at first slip for three with the score on six in the third over.

In Louis’ next over, Johnson offered no stroke to one

Fast bowler Jeremiah Louis snatched two wickets to stun Jaguars.

Brusches final on tonight at MSC Hard Court See Page 35

Adrian Webster

Akeem Kanhai

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too close to off-stump and was bowled for two with as many runs added to the total.

Hemraj then played positively, striking three fours and a six off 31 deliveries, adding 31 for the third wicket with Vishaul.

The partnership was flourishing when the left-handed Hemraj gave debutant seamer Stanny Simon his maiden first class wicket in his first over, driving the right-armer, to be well caught at point by Carty, at 39 for three.

In the next over with no runs added, nightwatchman Veerasammy Permaul was run-out without scoring after Vishaul pushed to Louis at cover and called for a sharp single, and Shiv Chanderpaul perished for five with the score on 47, caught high at slip by Hamilton pushing forward to off-spinner Cornwall.

Jaguars appeared to be battling their way safely to the close when Anthony Bramble had a rush of blood and needlessly holed out to mid-off in off-spinner Terrance Ward’s first over, to depart without scoring and signal the end of play.

Resuming earlier from 181 for one, Hurricanes lost momentum in the first session, losing four wickets for the addition of 74 runs, to stumble to lunch at 255 for five.

Hodge, unbeaten on the start on 72, fell just short of three figures when he was bowled by seamer Keemo Paul after facing 333 deliveries and counting 11 fours and a six.

Turn to Page 32

Lancaster off to CONCACAF heads of refereeing workshop THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Head of Refereeing Department, Stanley Lancaster, has been invited to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association (CONCACAF) 2017 Heads of Refereeing Workshop from November 10 to 12 in Miami, Florida.

Lancaster will be a part of this first CONCACAF meeting of all Member Association Heads of Refereeing workshop, which has been developed for heads of refereeing to receive critical information that will help each member association to direct their refereeing departments in the future.

The workshop is meant to be an annual event.

In an invited comment, Lancaster said he expects to see a difference in his

Stanley Lancaster

approach to his duties after completing this workshop.

“The knowledge received from this workshop will be a plus for Guyana since I’ll be exposed to the standard recommended by CONCACAF. This knowledge will subsequently be filtered to referees, instructors and assessors through training and education.

“Coming out of this we will surely see growth in the standard of refereeing in Guyana.”

SATURDAY,NOVEMBER, 11 , 2017