Guyana chronicle e paper 01 04 2018

MMA/ADA averts flood crisis in Reg 5 Page 13

No decision yet No. 105144

THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2018

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…President grants Jagdeo time to study nominees for top judicial posts …Justice George-Wiltshire did not apply P3a&ge9s

Opposition to submit nominee for TSC Paddy exports to Mexico reach 88,000 tons Page 12

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Garbage contractors pull services again Page 12

President David Granger greets Opposition Leader, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo upon his arrival at State House (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

$11.2B worth of drugs seized last year

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

$11.2B worth of drugs seized last year …over 300 persons charged SOME $285, 205, 817 worth of cocaine was seized by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) during last year and another $11.7B in cannabis.

This disclosure comes amid a major Joint Services operation currently underway in the Waini River, which has resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of cocaine and the arrest of ten persons including foreigners. Top sources in the security sector have confirmed the operation was launched during the weekend and intensified on Monday. So far reports suggest that thousands of dollars in foreign currency was seized and among the 10 persons arrested are

Guyanese, Venezuelans and persons of other nationalities.

Meanwhile, sources close to the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (NANA) revealed that for the same period heroin valued at $4, 806, 000 was also confiscated. The GPF, seized 64, 887kg 674.45g of cannabis while, CANU seized 123kg 825g and GRA-DEU seized 18kg 982g totaling 65, 030kg 481.45g of cannabis altogether representing $180 per gram.

In the case of cocaine, the GPF seized 24kg 481.6g, CANU 290kg 989g, GRADEU, 382kg 826.6g representing a street value of $745 per gram. As it relates to heroin, the GPF and the GRA-DEU made no seizures while CANU seized 1kg 602g. The street value of the heroin stood at $3000 per

gram. Three hundred and sixty three (363) persons were charged by the Police and 27 by CANU, bringing the total number of persons charged to 390. There were 319 cases of the 363 cases made by the Police Force, while CANU only made 22 cases out of the 27 persons charged.

In the case of eradication of illicit cultivation, there were nine operations, in which nine fields were targeted representing 17.5 acres of land. Some 61,330 plants were discovered weighing 75, 166kg. In the case of dried cannabis, 2kg 210 grams were discovered and some 1355kg 231.45g of herbal seizures were done representing a grand total of 1357kg 441.45g. Only two persons have been charged.

Dried cannabis representing $397,800 was seized ($180 per gram street value), while

Head of NANA, Michael Atherly

herbal seizures represented a street value of $243, 941, 661 ($180 per gram, street value); a combined total of $244, 339, 461.

Meanwhile, President David Granger, since taking office in 2015 has said his administration will bring narco-trafficking to an end.

He described the trade as “the mother of all crimes” and noted that once illegal drugs enter Guyana it would be difficult to control crime here. “We do not have the

resources, the assets, and we do not have aircraft to patrol our borders. We do not have the ships to patrol our sea space. We do not have the vehicles to patrol the land space to bring these crimes to an end…,” the Head of State had said in October 2016.

In March 2017, Major General (ret’d) Michael Atherly took charge of CANU following former head of the Unit, James Singh being sent on accumulated leave. Atherly heads NANA, which also has overarching responsibility for CANU. Major General (ret’d) Atherly was responsible for leading the review of the National Drug Strategy Master Plan 2014-2018. This review led to the development of the National Drug Strategy Master Plan 20162020.

In its 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, the United States said the Government of Guyana cooperates closely with it but is limited

by resource constraints and high levels of corruption in the country. The current administration elected in May 2015, has expressed a strong willingness to cooperate with the United States on drug control, extradition, and mutual legal assistance, and other international crime issues. The report also states that the United States would welcome increased levels of cooperation with the Government of Guyana, to advance mutual interests against the threat of international drug trafficking. Guyana has shown strong interest in furthering collaboration under CBSI. The United States looks forward to tangible progress on investigations, prosecutions, extraditions, security sector capacity enhancement, the engagement of ‘at-risk’ communities, and enforcement of laws against money laundering and financial crimes.

Man torches house during argument A Grant 1802 Crabwood Creek man is on the run after torching his home, leaving his wife and three children homeless.

According to information received, at around 13:00 hrs on New Year’s Day, Shazam Silvanesh, 31, was involved in an argument with his wife Shameeza Silvanesh, 27, when he made the awful decision The woman told Guyana Chronicle that her husband accused her of having a relationship with his cousin who often rescues her when she is abused by him.

Prior to the fire on January 1, Shameeza related that her husband brutally beat her and kicked her down the stairs while she was pregnant.

It was during this time the cousin of the husband came to her aid and took her and the children in for safety.

The woman also noted that her husband even told the probation officer that he no longer wants her and she is free to move on with his

Shameeza Silvanesh with her three children

cousin.

However, a family member of the cousin later brought her back to her hus-

band where they lived for a few days until New Year’s Day when he went berserk.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

No decision on top judicial posts …President grants Jagdeo time to study nominees PRESIDENT David Granger and Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo are to meet again next month for a another round of consultation on the appointment of a substantive chancellor of the judiciary and a chief justice after Wednesday’s meeting saw the latter asking for more time to consider the nominees of the Head of State for the top judicial posts.

The President was accompanied by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Wil-

liams S.C. and the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, while Opposition Members of Parliament, Gail Teixeira and Priya Manickchand accompanied the Opposition Leader.

Belize Chief Justice, Kenneth Benjamin, who is Guyanese by birth, was nominated by the head of state to hold the post of Chancellor, while acting Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards was nominated for the post of Chief Justice. Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire is cur-

rently serving as the acting Chief Justice.

Justice Benjamin had served as a magistrate in Georgetown in 1980 and 1981, and subsequently an Assistant Judge Advocate for the Guyana Defence Force. The Guyanese scholar has served 17 years as a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Court (ECC). If appointed chancellor, Justice Benjamin will replace Justice Cummings-Edwards, who has been acting in the post since March, 2017. Justice Cum-

mings-Edwards has previously acted as the chief justice.

The nominees were selected and recommended to the President by a panel comprising former Justice of Appeal, Claudette Singh; Justice James Patterson and Professor Harold Lutchman.

The President had written to the Opposition Leader, informing him of the two persons to be appointed as Chancellor and Chief Justice and Jagdeo is also in receipt of their respective resumes.

In a brief comment after the meeting, Minister Harmon informed that the Opposition requested more time to con-

duct their own due diligence regarding the two nominees.

“He requested a month to do due diligence which the President graciously agreed to…and we expect to meet again on February 7, when we will have that matter finalised,” the Ministry of the Presidency quoted the Minister as saying. Article 127 of the Constitution of Guyana states that the Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition; it is as a result of this constitutional provision that President David Granger

President David Granger and his team comprising Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon and Attorney General, Mr. Basil Williams, meet with Opposition Leader, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, and his team comprising PPP/C MPs Ms. Gail Teixeira and Ms. Priya Manickchand (MOTP)

is bound to meet with the Opposition Leader on the matter.

It is expected that at the next meeting, the Opposition Leader is likely to indicate his agreement with the nominees put forward by the President. Guyana has been without a substantive Chancellor since 2005 since the then Chancellor, Desiree Bernard, retired and took up the post as judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) the same year.

The non-appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice is a result of the government and opposition sides not agreeing to the candidates for the post.

Should the Opposition Leader reject the initial nominees of the head of state, he (the President) may very well have to return to the drawing board and make additional nominees.

Meanwhile, during his press conference in December, President Granger said every effort is being made to have the appointment made. President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Sir Dennis Byron, during the Bar Association dinner in November, had underscored the importance of having a substantive chancellor of the judiciary and chief justice in place soon.

Paddy exports to Mexico pegged at 88,000 tons GUYANA has exported 88,000 tonnes of paddy to Mexico in 2017, making Mexico the single largest destination of Guyanese grain exports.

In July, Guyana loaded 17,000 tonnes of paddy for export to Mexico following that country’s Government’s decision to allow tax-free importation of 150,000 metric tonnes of paddy and rice products from outside of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) member states. The value of that contract is US$17.7M, the equivalent of approximately G$3.8B. Guyana has been able to send paddy to the Spanish-speaking nation as the National Service of Health, Safety and Agro-Food Quality (SENASICA) approved imports of paddy from Guyana. The SENASICA is also processing Guyana’s sanitary and phytosanitary certificate to import rice.

FLASHBACK: Paddy being offloaded from two of the many trucks that lined the John Fernandes Wharf on Friday (Rabindra Rooplall photo)

Representatives from the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), the Guyana Rice Exporters and Millers Association (GREMA), along with private millers, earlier in the year attended the Expo Antad International Trade Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was during that visit that Mexican Ambassador to Guyana and Plenipotentiary

Representative to CARICOM, Ivan Sierra, made provisions for the team to have a liaison who related the information that was later published in the Mexican Official Gazette.

The Gazette stated that during the period January to December 2017, the Government of Mexico has granted approval for 150,000 metric tonnes of

paddy and rice products to enter Mexico from outside of NAFTA, free of the payment of taxes.

Normally taxes for countries, other than NAFTA member states trading with Mexico, are nine per cent on paddy and 20 per cent on rice products.

It was in March 2017, that the Embassy of Mexico and the senior leadership

of the GRDB worked together to organise the first business mission to Mexico. That mission aimed at establishing contacts with large supermarket chains in Mexico.

A country booth was set up at the Expo ANTAD International Trade Fair in Guadalajara; the largest trade fair in Latin America with a focus on supermarkets. For approximately 35 years, the fair has brought together senior managers and sourcing executives from 40 countries.

It was through the Mexican Embassy that initial appointments with large supermarkets in Mexico were facilitated and through which permits to introduce samples were achieved.

The business contacts at Expo ANTAD 2017 made it possible to begin exporting Guyana’s paddy to Mexico.

In 2015, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had traveled to Mexico for the

Open Governance Global Summit held in Mexico City and there he met with Mexico’s Agriculture Minister, Jose Calzada, on the matter. Nagamootoo’s meeting followed concerns raised by rice farmers over the loss of the Venezuelan rice market.

Calzada had advised PM Nagamootoo, after representation was made, that Mexico is keen on buying Guyana’s rice and assured that steps would have been tracked to open market for Guyana’s rice in Mexico.

Mexico imports some one million tons of rice annually.

Meanwhile, as a result of the success, the Mexican Embassy has teamed up with the GRDB and COPA Airlines to ensure that Guyana has a bigger presence at the Expo this year. The Expo will take place from March 6-8 and more than 50,000 people from 30 countries are expected to attend.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday , January 4, 2018

North Korea reopens border hotline …as Trump boasts of ‘bigger’ nuclear button

North Korea reopened a long-closed border hotline with South Korea on Wednesday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to mock the North’s leader by saying he has a “bigger and more powerful” nuclear button than he does.

The North’s decision to open the border phone line came a day after South Korea proposed high-level discussions amid a tense standoff over North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. That followed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s New Year address in which he said he was open to speaking with the South and would consider sending a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held just across the border in Pyeongchang in February.

U.S. officials said Wash-

ington would not take any talks between North and South Korea seriously if they did not contribute to denuclearizing North Korea. A State Department spokeswoman said North Korea “might be trying to drive a wedge of some sort”.

Kim ordered the reopening of the hotline at the truce village of Panmunjom at 0630 GMT on Wednesday, when South Korean officials at the border received a call from the North, the South’s unification ministry said in a text message.

Officials on both sides were checking the line and conducting a conversation for about 20 minutes, the contents of which were not disclosed by the ministry. That gesture came only hours after Trump, who has mocked Kim as “Little Rocket Man”, again ridiculed the North Korean leader

on Twitter.

“Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” Trump tweeted. Trump and Kim have exchanged a series of bellicose comments in recent months, raising alarm across the world, with Trump at times dismissing the prospect of a diplomatic solution to a crisis in which North Korea has threatened to destroy the United States.

While appearing to open the door to discussing taking part in the Winter Olympics, Kim also warned that he would push ahead with “mass producing” nuclear warheads in defiance of U.N. sanctions. His New Year’s Day speech came after a steep increase in mis-

sile launches in 2017, as well as the North’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Kim, who has vowed to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the United States, said he had a nuclear button on his desk.

‘SERIOUS AND SINCERE’ The hotline with the South was shut down by North Korea in February 2016 in retaliation against the closing of a border factory town that was jointly operated by the two Koreas. “We will try to keep close communications with the south Korean side from sincere stand(sic) and honest attitude, true to the intention of our supreme leadership, and deal with the practical matters related to the dispatch of

our delegation,” the North’s KCNA news agency quoted Ri Son Gwon, chairman of North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, as saying.

The talks would aim to establish formal dialogue about sending a North Korean delegation to the Olympics, Ri said. South Korean presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan said the North’s decision to open the hotline had “significant meaning” because it could lead to constant communication. U.S. officials had voiced scepticism about the possibility of meaningful talks, particularly if they did not take steps towards banning North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, warned North Korea against staging another mis-

sile test and said Washington was hearing reports that Pyongyang might be preparing to fire another missile.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said both sides should seize the Olympics as an opportunity to improve ties and make concrete efforts toward alleviating tension. “All relevant sides should grab hold of this positive trend in the Korean peninsula and move in the same direction,” Geng told a daily news briefing in Beijing. North Korea regularly threatens to destroy South Korea, the United States and Japan, and says its weapons are necessary to counter U.S. aggression. The United States stations 28,500 troops in the South, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. (Reuters)

Thursday, January 4, 2018 - 05:00 hrs Friday, January 5, 2018 - 05:00 hrs

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Peru ‘Devil’s Bend’ Argentina’s parliament sacks ‘gnocchi’ crash kills dozens phantom workers

At least 48 people have been killed after a coach plummeted 100m (330ft) down a cliff and landed upside down on a beach in Peru, officials say.

The health ministry said six people had survived the accident, one of whom had jumped from the bus before it fell. The accident happened on a notorious stretch of road known as Curva del Diablo (devil’s bend) in Pasamayo, north of the capital Lima. The coach, with more than 50 people on board, collided with a lorry. Transit police said the lorry driver had been detained for questioning.

PERILOUS ROAD The bus, which belongs

to the San Martín de Porres transport company, was travelling to Lima from Huacho, about 130km (80 miles) north of the capital.

The stretch of road winding alongside the Pacific Ocean where the accident happened is considered one of the most dangerous in Peru.

It has no barriers separating it from a sheer drop to the ocean and the sea spray and frequent fog can make it particularly slippery. The bus company that said its driver was very experienced and was travelling with an assistant.

The company also said that the bus had passed a mechani-

cal check before leaving Huacho. Footage showed rescue workers struggling to reach the bus, with a helicopter winching down some emergency workers while others were lowered down the cliff with ropes.

Rescue work had to be halted overnight as the tide rose and engulfed parts of the coach. A Peruvian navy boat helped get the rescuers off the beach.

Local media reported that one of the passengers managed to survive by jumping out of the coach before it plunged down the cliff. The doctor in the

hospital where 24-yearold Máximo Jiménez Vilcayaure was being treated for a broken arm said the man had jumped out of a window and onto the tarmac with seconds to spare. Five other survivors were pulled from the wreckage and are being treated for multiple fractures. Twenty-four bodies have so far been recovered. Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said it was “painful for the whole country to suffer an accident of this magnitude”.

He sent a message of “deep solidarity” to the families of the victims. (BBC)

‘I begged my daughter to walk away from abuse ’ Two young children witnessed the horror of someone they know choking their mother to death at their home at Lime Head Road, Old Southern Main Road, Chaguanas yesterday.

The woman, identified as Arisa Vana David, 25, was the mother of two girls—ages seven and two—was in an abusive relationship for the past seven years, relatives said. Relatives said the level of abuse intensified over the last two years. The killer, aged 36, from the same area, is now in police custody assisting officers in their investigations.

According to the police, at about 8 am David was found dead in her bed by relatives after one of the children told their grandmother what they had witnessed. A relative, who lives adjacent to David’s home, was called to the house where he found David’s lifeless body. Police believe the woman was killed around

midnight.

David’s death sent shock waves throughout the closeknit community with residents pouring out in the roadway leading to the track near her house, many recounting incidents where David was abused, even on the streets in public. One neighbour shouted: “Nobody deserves to be killed, not Vana.”Speaking with the T&T Guardian at her home, David’s mother, Debra said she was shocked over the incident but admitted that she warned her daughter to walk out of the abusive relationship many times before.

She said the man who killed her daughter came to her house and asked for her daughter after she was found dead. “I had tried to call him several times and he never answered. Then suddenly he pulls up in front the house after my daughter was found dead and walking up to the house. I say let me go and talk to him. I asked him if he was

Residents gathered at the scene where mother of two Arisa David was strangled by a man at Lime Head Road, Chaguanas, yesterday. Photo by:Roberto Codallo

home by me last night and he said no. He then asked me for Vana and that’s when I tell him that she dead like a nit in my house.”

“The man did not say a word to me again but he walking up and down the road whole morning, even drink something and just normal, until…well…the police take him and gone,” she said. Debra said for years she begged her daughter to walk out of the relationship but said that she believed that she was not strong enough to do so. “Many times she would write on Facebook that she and the man done and then people seeing them hugging up and walking the road. The next thing people seeing the man beating her all over the place.”

“She could not have talked to anyone, the man would

feel offended. She got a little job in the parlour right here and he going there and abusing she. He always sticking up on her. Over a year ago, he pelt her with a cellphone and her eye got damaged, she always had to go to the doctor,” she said.

Debra said her daughter would have celebrated her 26th birthday next Friday.

“Nobody knows how my daughter get big so and how I was taking care of her… now the two little children end up without a mother.”

David’s murder is the ninth for the New Year but the first woman to be killed.

(The Trinidad Guardian)

Nearly 200 phantom workers at Argentina’s parliament have been caught in a crackdown on employees who only show up sporadically for their jobs, it has been reported.

According to La Nación newspaper, the Argentine Congress implemented a new attendance control system for employees two months ago, and it has already caught 190 who had not shown up for long periods without a good explanation. Authorities have begun proceedings to remove 160 of them from their positions, while 30 others decided to resign when confronted with evidence of their absenteeism, La Nación said.

Known as “gnocchi” or “noqui” in Argentina - after the popular dumpling dish that is traditionally served on the 29th of each month it is a nickname given to state employees who do not perform real work, and only go to their official workplace once a month to claim their salary cheque. With the new system in place, La Nación notes that “the corridors of the legislature are flooded with employees, the nearby cafes are crowded and old faces that were not seen in the area for a long time can be seen”.

The new biometric system requires employees to sign in with their fingerprint every day if they want to draw a salary, La

Noticia1 reports. Of the 160 staff under investigation from the payroll of 16,500 persons, 83 had missed at least 10 days in a row at work without being able to justify themselves.

When he arrived in office in December 2015, President Mauricio Macri proclaimed a so-called “war on gnocchi”, and his government says that thousands of phantom workers have been removed from public payrolls. He has often accused his predecessor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who governed from 2007 to 2015, of allowing state payrolls to become bloated with political supporters. Labour unions have questioned President Macri’s characterisation of widespread absenteeism among state workers and have accused him of using it as an excuse to undertake large scale personnel cuts at state agencies.

The mass firing of 20,000 civil servants in January 2016 brought protesters onto the the streets of Buenos Aires, where marchers converged on the square outside yhe presidential palace to hold a gnocchi cook-out, offering the snack to passers-by.

However, the current crackdown against absentee parliamentary workers has the full backing of all sides of the Argentine legislature, as well as the Association of Legislative Staff (APL) trade union, La100 news website says. (BBC)

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Editorial Forging a united Guyana

AS we begin the new year, it is a good time to reflect on our condition as a diverse society.

As uncomfortable as it is to discuss ethnicity and race, our ethnic diversity compels us to keep that discourse open.

Our ethnic diversity is a function of our evolution as a society from the first encounters between the Europeans and the Amerindians. The Africans would later be brought against their will to bear the burdens of the most anti-human system in the history of humanity -- slavery.

The dynamics of that slave system would continue to have an overpowering effect on the shaping of our collective identity. By the time our East Indian, Chinese and Portuguese ‘brethren and sistren’ arrived in the mid-19th century, the nation had begun to take shape. Emancipation brought freedom from plantation slavery, but it also marked the beginning of a new form of servitude, called colonialism. It is into

this state of affairs that the indentured labourers were brought.

Their experiences were, in many respects, not much different from what slaves experienced in their social relations on the plantations. In fact, colonialism continued the dehumanisation of enslavement without the formal architecture of slavery. During colonial rule, our various ethnic groups were forced to seek and find common ground in their quest to combat the consequences of being subjects. This movement for unity, however, was not a seamless exercise.

It was constantly interrupted by the direct and indirect divide-and-rule interventions of the colonisers. But in the end, it was the inter-ethnic solidarity of our various groups that brought us to self-rule in the 1950s. But before we could attain independence, the movement split again; this time with disastrous consequences. It is to our credit, however, that 51 years into our

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday , January 4, 2018

independence, we are still together as a single nation. This represents a victory for the unity impulse, first forged during the anti-colonial struggle. It has not been an easy road, for the forces of division are constantly at work.

The biggest obstacle to a more comprehensive unity has been our party politics, which has not been able to accommodate the dictates of the politically united system. From 1961 to the present, we have articulated the need for a government of national unity, but have not been able to effectively translate that to anything concrete. Yet, we must continue to work towards that reality in both word and deed.

The coming to power of a coalition has understandably raised hopes that we are closer to such a government. The merging of six political entities in the coalition presents a model to the nation.

In a real sense, the working people of the country would want a system of gov-

ernance that guarantees security for all groups. They understand the relationship between polarisation and poverty; that our economic development as a nation is tied to our united purpose.

It is for this reason that we must, this year, put the realisation of a united government at the top of the agenda.

We are lucky to have a president who is prepared to walk the walk on this matter. We obviously need constitutional change in order to enshrine the unity principle in our rules and laws. But those would mean little if our people do not demonstrate without a doubt that they are on board. The ball is in the court of our leaders, and they must step up to the plate and put their partisan prejudices aside in the interest of the nation. But we, the people, must pressure our leaders to bow to the inevitable and release our nation into the community of diverse countries that dare to confront their internal divisions.

A closer look at the ruling in the No. 40 Seafield land cases Dear Editor, THE recent landmark rulings by Chief Justice(ag) The Honourable Madam Roxanne George whereby Head of State and Commander-in-Chief H.E. President David Granger has been deemed to have acted unconstitutionally and unlawfully are cause for serious concern, due in particular to the implications for the rule of law in this country and democracy generally.

It is important then that we deeply examine the rulings in light of the abject failure of state attorneys to adequately represent and defend the President’s actions despite mountains of evidence to do so. It is only fair for the general public and the world to be made aware of the

pertinent reasons for these matters going to the courts in the first place, and to determine whether their damnable conclusions are justified.

As a layman, I am not the competent person to do so; but being a resident of this community for just over 60 years with intimate knowledge of all issues relating to these lands, a former school teacher and a tutor with the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (UG); a community leader; and a middle-management employee of the MMA/ADA for several years, I feel compelled to offer my “two bits” on these rulings for the third time in two months ( see SN 2017-11-21& GC 2017-12-09).

In my humble opinion, the rulings seem woefully lacking for their dearth of an investigative element,

For a cursory check would have revealed that the leases granted by former President Donald Ramotar are for lands that have been occupied by two registered co-operative societies for over three decades.

These co-operative societies remain registered. Seafield Co-operative Land Society Ltd Reg. No. 1720 and No. 40 Farmers Co-operative Society Reg.No. 1513 have developed, maintained and paid for these lands through the decades up to the time they were arbitrarily seized from these societies and given out to other individuals in the form of 50-year leases.

The actions of Mr Ramotar’s administration have resulted in deep social acrimony amongst villagers, numerous police interventions, enormous legal costs and

a legacy of discord in our villages.

Moreover, by these actions, Mr Ramotar’s administration seems to have violated the The MMA/ ADA Act 69:11, which defines its relationship with entities and institutions in the region and does not in any way allow the MMA to tamper with the operations of these entities/ institutions (MMA Act69:11: 4 (1) h; Sec. 21(1,2,3).The Co-op Act, Laws of Guyana, Chapter 88:01.

Sec. 38 (1) to 46(3) as well as our constitution Articles 11 and 16 all seem to have been violated by the MMA and the administration of Mr. Ramotar. However, it is President Granger who sought to correct these injustices and unlawful acts who has been deemed to have acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally.

But do judges investigate prior

to giving their rulings? Or do Judges familiarise themselves with all the issues relating to matters before them? In the cases under reference, this doesn’t seem to be so. But my recent experience with Honourable Justice Madam Melissa Robertson shows at least some do. Appearing before her for two overseas-based Guyanese for whom I am their power of attorney on land issues was very timely and educational. One case had to do with the granting of a transport for an individual whose parent died intestate. The other had to do with a parcel of land occupied by a family for decades, but another family had a valid transport for all the lands in as many decades.

The cases have been subjected to some of the Turn to page 7

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday , January 4, 2018

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Sugar workers need to first examine all avenues for financial assistance

Dear Editor

GOVERNMENT is encouraged to fast forward plans and financial assistance payments to sugar workers immediately. This is not an issue to leave on the desk.

Guyanese abroad with families in the sugar belt are encouraged to make contact with them to see what can be done to help them if necessary. And please understand that while you will give what you can afford, more than US$200 monthly would be really appreciated.

My sympathies go out to our sugar workers. This will probably mark the most

difficult part of their lives, but all Guyanese encourage them to face this time of their trial boldly, and know that choosing suicide only makes it much worse for their families. Affected sugar workers are placed in a situation in which virtually everything that earns an income becomes an opportunity get money.

Before they start looking for work, they should explore all available avenues of getting financial assistance, from family abroad or wherever.

Looking for a job will involve screening the classifieds every day for job opportunities and leaving home early every day for places where there is a possibility of

getting either a regular job, or 'job work' if available. They should take a check of their skills set -- things like carpentry, mechanic, masonry, welding and construction experience and cooking. They should also know when they are getting robbed by their potential employers, because these instances will arise very often. Their minds should be resolved to do anything that is not illegal to acquire money and could include even going into the interior, although I was made to understand that things are not so bright there right now. Bartica is the best place to enter the interior because although there are some fairly large mining

companies in Georgetown, a few of them and other smaller mining enterprises in GT are scamps themselves, and will rob them blind in addition to exposing them to malaria and other diseases that arise as a result of unsanitary conditions in their camps.

It helps to keep yourself properly groomed, well shaved and your hair as low as you can allow, as in bald, to save on barbering costs. Employers capable of extending a hand by offering jobs to sugar workers without underpaying them too much should step up to the plate and give something back to Guyana by taking on a couple of sugar workers until they can estab-

lish themselves more firmly.

To our sugar workers we say: Chin Up, Cheer up, and Don't Give Up! We are with you!

Help Us Build A Better Future For Guyana Today.

Join Our Facebook Group Now And Suggest Ways To Help Our Sugar Workers.

While we await the details of government’s financial assistance package to determine its effectiveness, we propose that in the interim our established companies come together to set up a single account under the supervision of an independent accounting firm to receive donations to distribute to affected workers. There

Justice Roxanne George ruling... most rigid examinations and investigations, both into the current status and history of the lands. All documents have been examined and questioned. And most astoundingly, the Honourable Judge made a site visit to verify some of the information given to her.

This was after either one or both attorneys made the request. It was a marvel to see the Honourable Judge arriving in an ordinary hire car with a few of her staff to do a site visit.

On arrival, she questioned “Do I have to put on long boots?” To which we replied, “No Justice, you don’t have to.” Imagine, a judge prepared to put on long boots to get it right.

Mr Robert Corbin, former opposition leader and Mr Ramesh Rajkumar are the attorneys in one of the cases mentioned. They can verify. Now these plots of lands are less than one acre each.

Now juxtapose the above-mentioned cases with that of the two co-op societies with an average of 800 acres combined and let us question ourselves whether the judge in this matter did anything near what Justice Robertson did to get to the bottom of the issues at hand. Certainly, had there been some questioning of the history of the lands under consideration and the legitimacy of the actions of Mr Ramotar in issuing those leases, then our current President Mr Granger would not have been deemed to have acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally.

Unsurprisingly, the MMA that was part of the writ served on the attorney general did not contribute to the defence of the actions of the President. The MMA was a key element in the seizing of the coops lands, yet there is nothing in the case that refers to a submission by the MMA. With state attorneys at sea on the whole matter, former Attorney General Mr Anil Nandlall and his team could not have had it better. It must be mentioned that our lands were seized just prior to the holding

of Regional and General elections 2015, and a senior functionary of the MMA/ ADA is alleged to have campaigned on behalf of the then ruling party, both in the 2011 and 2015 Regional and General elections, contrary to public service rules.

That same official is the one who should have supplied the Attorney General’s Chambers with the relevant information in defence of the President’s actions, but this seemed to have never happened. Sampson in the Bible told those who answered one of his riddles that “If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle”; Judges 14:18. Now put the pieces together and read between the lines and you will see why the Attorney General’s Chambers lost two cases in a row to the former attorney general with complete ease. Oh, for the complexity and cunning of our political and judicial reality!

Editor, I am not attempting to do PR work for the government. I am not nearly qualified.

But I am conscious of the truism that “a lie told often enough becomes the truth” Vladimir Lenin and “ ...the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie” Joseph Goebbels—Internet.

To be continued....

In the meantime, I am publicly inviting socio-political commentators: the likes of Mr Freddie Kissoon, Dr David Hinds, Mr Tacuma Ogunseye, Mr Lincoln Lewis and others to assess former President Mr Donald Ramotar’s diametrically opposed actions in the Villages of Cotton Tree, Rampur and Shieldstown, as against that in No. 40 and Seafield Villages. I would like for them to also look at the reasons why the former President would take away half of the small land holdings of a mother of six children( at the time, five at school from nursery to secondary, and the eldest just starting teachers’ college) despite her personal pleadings to him and

senior MMA officials. Also, why would the former President give 15 acres or

60% of another farmer’s holding to a family that already had over 100 acres

can also be American, Canadian, and UK accounts, which can in turn funnel donations to the Guyana account. Advertisements should be placed in the local press to encourage affected sugar workers to register.

Payments could be made twice per month: the 2nd and 17th. Additionally, major supermarkets and grocery stores could establish links with religious institutions within the affected areas to work out plans for providing hampers which should include sanitary items and foodstuff at least.

Regards Craig Sylvester

From page 6 of state lands.

Regards Patrick Hamilton

8

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday , January 4, 2018

Man confesses to killing drinking partner POLICE in Berbice have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a fisherman Sahadeo Sankar called “Goja”40 whose body was discovered at around 06:30hrs Wednesday in front of Annirude Grocery Shop, Grant 1802 Public Road, Crabwood Creek, East Berbice Corentyne.

Sankar who has no fixed place of abode has been living in a car at Burn Sawmill Dam for

several months. A police release confirmed the suspect has since confessed to the murder. The suspect a 32-year-old of Crabwood Creek was seen on a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) beating and kicking the victim. The surveillance footage also captured the suspect in pursuit of the victim on the roadway beating him about his body.

According to reports the inci-

dent occurred at around 03:00hrs.

Reports indicate that Sankar and the suspect were seen imbibing as customary with the duo; during the drinking session an argument ensued, which subsequently led to an altercation. It is alleged that the suspect then whipped out a knife and injured the thirty two-yearold man, who in retaliation began hitting Sankar about the body until he collapsed.

Meanwhile, a relative of Sankar told the Guyana Chronicle that she last saw him on New Year’s Day when he visited and spent the night. “He don’t really have a place to stay so he does deh all over ah drink and sleep… .” The relative explained that due to his constant drinking habits people would usually take advantage of him and beat him up.

Dead: Sahadeo Sankar

No change in Constituency 5 of Rose Hall Dear Sir,

THE much heralded Local Government Elections were touted to be the changing point for residents in Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, and the dawn of a new beginning. Residents living in Constituency Number 5 voted for a young APNU+AFC councillor who campaigned on a platform of “Improved drainage/ irrigation, Enhanced Public Infrastructure, Stimulating Job Creation, Enticing Investors, Improving Public Health and Security, Promoting Sports, the Arts, Culture and Empowering Youths, especially those in the Ghetto.” A massive billboard bearing the candidate’s picture was set up, while smaller leaflets were distributed to residents with these promises.

Mr. Editor, we recently

read in the national newspaper, a Georgetown councillor for Constituency Number 2 highlighting his achievements and we would be very grateful if the councillor of Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, can do the same. He was the only APNU+AFC councillor to be elected in the constituency in Rose Hall Town, Corentyne and our hopes were high that he would set an example for the next election due in 2019. Sadly, he has been a big disappointment to the people who voted for him on the basis of his promises. Not one commitment has been fulfilled and over the last two years, we have not heard nor seen him in his constituency.

The situation in this closely knitted constituency has gotten worse with impassable roads, poor security lighting at nights, huge bushes all around, regular flooding

whenever it rains, garbage all over the place, while not one single programme or project has been organised to empower youths as was promised during the campaign.

What is worrying about the situation is that this elected councillor is not doing anything for his constituency, finds the time and energy to constantly attack residents who are making huge contributions to the township and get involved in numerous organisations across Berbice.

He has somehow found himself involved in cricket, volleyball, athletics and horse racing, among other activities. The popular talk is that he is a failure at everything he does, with not one simple achievement in his column. The councillor attends council meetings at his own pleasure and is known not to sit down for

the entire meeting and collects his $10 000.00 stipend each month. The Mayor of Rose Hall Town, a concerned resident, does not collect his monthly stipend; instead, he uses it to develop his township. We would like to advise the councillor from Constituency Number 5 to do likewise.

Mr. Editor, we would like the councillor to answer the following questions based on his election promises. a) What events has he organised to promote Sports, the Arts and Culture in his constituency? b) What has he done to empower youths and those from the ghetto? He has described himself as the spokesperson for those in the ghetto, but apart from talking what has he done? c) Which investor has he enticed to invest in his

area and how much sponsorship has he raised for any programme or project? d) What has he done to improve public health and security for residents as promised? e) What programme has he organised to stimulate job creation for youths and can he name one youth for whom he got a job, or recommended for a job? f) What public infrastructure has he enhanced? g) Why are our drains full of bushes and garbage everywhere when he promised us to improve drainage and also promised better garbage disposal? h) How much in financial stipends has he collected from the Town Council for his non- performance and is it true that he took three months leave of absence from the Council and still collected his stipends?

i) Since he seemed to know better than everyone else how to run organisations, why did his one-man club known as the Rose Hall Town Athletics Club disappear after a few months?

We would like to appeal to the leadership of APNU+AFC to recall this non-performing councillor and to make sure that at the next elections, they select people who talk less and are more action-oriented.

The same councillor and his fellow APNU+AFC councillors owe the Mayor of Rose Hall Town an apology for going on television and accusing him of corruption. When proven wrong they have simply refused to do the correct thing and apologise.

Regards Names Provided

Berbice cricket stakeholders concerned about interference Dear Editor WE the Cricket Stakeholders of Berbice are extremely concerned at the recent happenings in the Upper Corentyne area as they relates to the management of cricket.

We are therefore seeking your assistance in highlighting these concerns, so that the general public can be informed. Editor, it has come to our attention via an article published in a recent newspaper publication of an election of office-bearers to the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association (UCCA).

The general public should be informed that there is already a legitimate UCCA

executive body in place that was elected on the 27th September, 2017. It is therefore inconceivable that a few misguided persons from two clubs could form themselves into a body with the assistance of a person who is closely associated to a faction that manipulated the recent Berbice Cricket Board elections. Incidentally, these elections were deemed to be null and void and of no legal effect in an action brought by Mr. Albert Smith and others before the Honourable Justice Navendra Singh in the Berbice High Court and new elections have since been ordered.

Sir, the UCCA is a duly registered body that is tasked

with managing and developing the game among other things in the Upper Corentyne area. It is a registered body with a fully constituted executive body.

The members are Messrs.

Dennis De Dandrade, President; Sydney Aloysius Jackman,Vice-President; Winston Roberts,Secretary; Chatrapaul Lionel, Treasurer and Deodat Persaud Thakurdin, Navendranauth Balram and Clayton Ricardo Griffith, Committee Members.

Sir, it is extremely disturbing and strange that this association which was formerly lead by an Interim Management Committee met and elected the above-mentioned persons on the 27th

September, 2017 could have had elections again in December 2017.

It is unbelievable that persons could be influenced by the false promises of a person aligned to the former BCB could call elections in an organisation when they had no authority to do so.

This action of this unscrupulous faction of Berbice cricket who on numerous occasions tried to wrest control of Berbice's cricket from the legitimate administrators have now revealed the depths to which they will stoop. This move to set up a parallel UCCA was in anticipation of new elections of the BCB and is nothing but a vote-procur-

ing act. It is therefore small wonder that this illegal president of the illegal BCB could move with such remarkable speed to give recognition to this de facto body without consideration of the legitimate body already in place.

Further, it is not coincidental that the executive which moves were made to oust were openly supportive of the Hilbert Foster candidacy at the now nullified BCB elections.

It is a known fact that the President of the UCCA had nominated Foster for the position of President of the BCB. It is also a fact that the Secretary of the UCCA, Mr. Winston Roberts, took a very principled stand by refusing a

position of vice-president to Mr. Somwaru and further by pronouncing on the elections as being fraudulent.

It is therefore our considered opinion that this move to set up a parallel UCCA is an act of 'payback time’ for what occurred on October 8.

We are therefore calling on all cricket-loving pundits, the private sector, sponsors and potential sponsors, cricketers and clubs not to be influenced by these imposters who want to seize authority of Berbice cricket via the back door, as what had obtained at those elections.

Yours Respectfully Berbice Cricket Stakeholders

9

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Justice George did not apply for CJ, Chancellor posts

By Ariana Gordon ACTING Chief Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire did not apply for either position of chief justice or chancellor of the judiciary, sources close to the panel that conducted the interview said on Thursday.

In fact, the Guyana Chronicle understands that there were five applicants including the duo nominated for the two top posts: Kenneth Benjamin (Chancellor) and Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards (Chief Justice). There has been much public discourse over who applied and have been nominated by the President. Many were of the opinion that Justice George was overlooked

by President David Granger when in fact, she did not apply for any of the posts.

On Wednesday, in a letter to the editor, six representatives of the Red Thread, a non-governmental organisation joined the debate. In their missive published by this newspaper under the heading, “Both had demonstrated integrity and independence in their decisions,” the letter writers said both Justices George and Cummings-Edwards are worthy of confirmation in their posts.

“Both have demonstrated, particularly since their acting appointments, integrity and independence in their decisions in constitutional and

Chief Justice of Belize, Kenneth Benjamin

Chief Justice (ag) Roxanne George- Wiltshire

citizens’ rights cases and in upholding the rule of law, and have clearly not allowed governmental expectations to influence their decisions,” the letter said.

The letter writers comprising Andaiye, Karen De Souza, Patricia SheerattanBisnauth, Josephine Whitehead and Danuta Radzik, said it would be disappointing if either of the two women jurists applied for their substantive posts and not be recommended by the advisory panel appointed by the president.

That panel comprises Justice of Appeal, Claudette Singh; Justice James Patterson and Professor Harold Lutchman. “We are not aware of any other acting appointments in which the holders have not been sub-

stantively confirmed and have effectively [been] demoted in preference for someone else. It seems that the notion that women are dispensable and should be ready to step aside for a man when asked to do so is alive and well in Guyana, despite all the rhetoric about gender equality,” the missive continued. The letter writers opined that the appointment of the women to the acting positions in March 2017 “gave hope and encouragement to women and girls that are survivors of brutal trauma and sexual assault.”

While the other applicants and nominees for the two posts are unknown, sources maintain that Justice George did not apply and as such could not be considered for either post.

Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Yonette Cummings-Edwards

Meanwhile, Benjamin, who is a Guyanese-born Chief Justice of Belize is an experienced judicial officer and attorney-at-law with highly developed research skills and a profound knowledge of the laws of the Commonwealth Caribbean states and territories, his Curriculum Vitae stated. He was admitted to law practice 39 years ago and serves as a judicial officer at the magisterial, high court and appellate levels in Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize for 24 years.

He also lectured and facilitated training initiatives for judicial officers and court personnel in the Eastern Ca-

Man torches house during...

“Me and he was home alone. He was drinking and he see the bai passing and call he in for a drink, so he cousin tell he, ‘look you and your wife live’ and he gon go away and he walk go away. When he left meh husband grab me and beat me up and tear up all meh clothes, then he rush after he cousin Nehaul. After me collapse, me see Nehaul come pick me up and carry me out the track and when we was going out somebody holler fire.”

Shameeza said when she looked back she saw the house engulfed in flames.

“I run back to go in to see if he still in there and to save them children paper but he jump put the window and run away and somebody pull me out the house,” the mother of three related.

From page 2

The remains of the Grant 1802 Crabwood Creek house set alight by Shazam Silvanesh

She was unable to save anything and is now staying at a family’s house.

“Them children nah get nothing, no clothes and school ah start Monday. All

them paper bun up.”

The mother is seeking help from the public to send two of her children, ages four and nine to school.

Interested persons can con-

tact Shameeza on cellphone number 603-9703.

Police have launched an investigation into the fire and are searching for Shazam who is on the run.

ribbean, Barbados and Belize, supervisor of implementation of case-management and delay-reduction processes in the criminal justice system in Saint Lucia, participated in committees for rule-making and civil-procedure review in the Eastern Caribbean. Benjamin also served as chair of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission and General Legal Council of Belize, introduced and executed criminal justice reforms and alternative dispute resolution initiatives to the justice system in Belize and piloted child-friendly family courts.

Additionally, he serves as Chair of the Conference of Heads of Judiciary of the Caribbean, a post he has held since 2015. Benjamin, a former Queen’s College graduate, studied law at the Universities of Guyana and the West Indies, along with the Hugh Wooding Law School.

Justice Cummings-Edwards on the other hand has 28 years legal and judicial experience. She started her career as a state prosecutor and legal advisor in the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecution and rose to various senior positions thereafter. Apart from being acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, she served as acting Chief Justice, Justice of Appeal, judge of the High Court, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, and Senior state Counsel. Justice

Yonette Cummings-Edwards is also the holder of a Masters of Laws Degree from the University of London.

She has also attended several international conferences and participated in a number of international courses including but not limited to, the Inter-American Congress on the Environmental rule of Law, workshop for judges and judicial officers on cyber-crime, case management and backlog reduction, National Association of Women Judges Conference, Military justice and human rights, workshops on trafficking in persons, narcotics and psychotropic substances control, precursor chemical and witness protection among others. Justice CummingsEdwards is a member of the Guyana Association of Women Judges, where she serves as President, the Caribbean Association of judicial officers, where is an executive member, the International Association of Women Judges, the Hague Network of Judges, the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association and the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, where she was a fellow. A number of landmark decisions were handed down in the Court of Appeal of Guyana for which she has had responsibility.

Female soldier held for possession of illegal gun, ammo A 34-YEAR-OLD female member of the Guyana Defence Force has been arrested for possession of an unlicensed pistol with seven matching rounds.

According to a police release, ranks of the Force’s Narcotics Branch on Tuesday afternoon conducted an intelligence-led operation at Latchmie Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara. Police said the operation led to the discovery of an unlicensed 9mm pistol with seven (7) matching rounds in a house and a matching 9mm spent shell in the yard. The GDF rank and her 32-year-old husband, who is a taxi driver, were arrested as the police investigation continues.

10

GuySuCo rolls out social resilience programme in sugar belt IN the wake of reports that two sugar workers had allegedly committed suicide, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Ministry of Public Health have teamed up to implement the ‘Social Resilience’ component of its ‘Sustainable Communities Programme’ for the sugar–dependent communities in the vicinity of Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales Estates.

GuySuCo and the Mental Health and Men’s Health Units of the Ministry of Public Health are jointly pursuing a social resilience programme to establish a network of individuals, groups and organisations within the targeted communities with a view to build their capacity and capability to provide psychosocial support to ex-employees of the Corporation, as well as their families and residents in the targeted communities.

According to GuySuCo the objectives of the programme are three-fold. to: develop and implement a social resilience programme for ex-employees of GuySuCo; build a network of individuals, groups and organisations to provide psychosocial support; build a network of medical personnel, religious leaders, other community leaders, as well as personnel from GuySuCo to support ex-employees in these sugar-dependent communities to cope with and adapt to disturbances or changes as a result of the re-organising of the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. and

the sugar industry.

The targeted groups are ex-employees from Skeldon, Rose Hall, East Demerara (Enmore) and Wales Estates, family members of ex-employees and residents in these communities.

Activities to be done under the programme include: mobilisation of relevant stakeholders, for e.g. religious leaders, groups and organisations; civil society organisations in relevant communities to provide counselling and other support; counselling, training of medical personnel to provide counselling and other psychosocial support; training for religious leaders within Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales Estates; training of representatives from civil society organisations in relevant communities to provide counselling and other psychosocial support; establishment of centres (specific points) in communities to provide support in counselling and other psychosocial support (e.g. churches, mosques, temples, community centres); development of a monitoring and evaluation system to ensure the effectiveness of the programme.

In a release, GuySuCo said one of the key outcomes of the Social Resilience Programme will be the development of a blueprint on the process as a ‘National Social Resilience Approach’ for transitioning communities nationwide. The first training will be held for 30 medical personnel who will be drawn from GuySuCo and the Ministry of Public

Health, to equip them with the knowledge of addressing issues such as depression and suicidal ideation and to equip persons with the required coping skills. The training will be conducted from Tuesday 9th to Thursday 11th January, 2018 from 09:00hrs to 16:00hrs at the GuySuCo Staff Club at its head office at La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara.

In the following week 15 – 18 January, 2018, the corporation and the Ministry of Public Health will be conducting ‘Mobilization/Awareness Sessions for Religious Leaders’ from Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore, Wales and their neighbouring communities.

The sessions are scheduled as follows: 15 January, 2018– Rose Hall Community Centre; 16 January, 2018 – Skeldon Community Centre; 17 January, 2018 – Enmore Community Centre and 18 January, 2018–Wales Community Centre.

The Mobilisation/Awareness Sessions will be held from 16:00 – 18:00hrs on each day. According to GuySuCo, a number of activities are also planned under the programme.

The Social Resilience Programme will be implemented over the period from January to December, 2018 and GuySuCo hopes to build partnerships with other organisations to ensure that the ex-employees, their families and the sugar-dependent communities receive the best support in this area.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Licence suspended until death driving case completed A 27-year-old Wisroc, Linden, taxi driver was on Wednesday charged and released on $500,000 for causing the death of a 64-year-old pedal cyclist during an accident along the Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara last year.

Keon Haynes appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and denied that on August 23, 2017 at Grove Public Road, he drove HC 3809 in a dangerous manner, thereby causing the death of George Klass.

Keon Haynes

Attorney James Bond represented Haynes and made an application for reasonable bail.

However, Police Prosecutor, Arwin Moore objected to bail on the grounds that Haynes, on the day in question, saw the elderly man attempting to cross the road with his bike and still proceeded at a fast rate which resulted in Klass sustaining severe head injuries to which he later succumbed.

The chief magistrate released Haynes on $500,000 bail and suspended his driver’s licence until the completion of the trial. The matter was adjourned until January 17, 2018.

Construction worker remanded on drugs charge A 50-year-old construction worker was on Wednesday remanded to prison by Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman for drug trafficking.

Malcom Garraway pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that on December 29, 2017, at Pamela Landing, Potaro River, he had 1,119 grams of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of traf-

ficking.

The magistrate remanded Garraway until January 9 when he will appear before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

According to reports, police, acting on information, raided the landing and found two parcels of cannabis in a haversack.

Garraway reportedly confessed to the ownership of the drugs.

Malcom Garraway

Prison clothing to replace stolen outfits A 19-year-old Venezuelan was on Wednesday sentenced to 18 months jail for breaking into a man’s home in Port Kaituma and stealing almost $90,000 worth of clothing Mark Sampson con fessed that between December 23, 2017 and December 31, 2017 at 3 Basin, Pork Kaituma, he broke and entered the home of Edward

Mark Sampson

Cox and stole 10 pants, 16 jerseys, 4 shirts, 10 boxers and other items totaling $88,000.

According to reports, on December 23, 2017, Cox secured his home and went away to Big Creek Backdam, Port Kaituma, and upon his return on December 31, all of his clothing were missing. A report was made to the police station and based upon investigation, Sampson was arrested and confessed to breaking into the house.

Magistrate Latchman sentenced Sampson to 18 months’ jail.

Charged over fake scrap metal Man who stole from his boss gets 18 months licences AFTER months of investigations, two former employees of the Ministry of Business were on Wednesday charged over the forging and issuing of fake scrap metal export licences at the ministry.

Neilston McKenzie Jr, 38, and Omar Sutton, 29, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on separate charges and were each released on $150,000 and had their matter transferred to City Magistrate Fabayo Azore for January 10.

McKenzie, newly employed as a manager at Tower Hotel,

Neilston McKenzie Jr

Omar Sutton

denied that he forged a scrap metal export licence in favour of Puran Jagnaught of Avinash Scrap Metal Dealership, between June 20, 2017 and October 2, 2017, at Georgetown with intent to defraud.

Meanwhile, Sutton is

charged with conspiring with persons known and unknown to forge a scrap metal export licence in favour of Steven Bourne between August 4, 2017 and October 4, 2017 at Georgetown. Sutton denied the charge.

A 28-year-old miner was on Wednesday sentenced to 18 months’ jail by Magistrate Judy Latchman for stealing from his employer.

Derick Oudkerk admitted that between December 21, 2017 and December 31, 2017 at St. Elizabeth Mission, Mahdia, he stole a fuel pump, starter, six pails of diesel and a quantity

Derick Oudkerk

of groceries, all valued at $245,000, property of Sherwin Bernard.

The prosecutor told the court that Oudkerk was a miner employed

by Bernard to work on his dredge. Between the dates in question, Oudkert was left in charge of the operation while his employer was away and he stole the items mentioned.

The magistrate sentenced Oudkerk to 18 months’ imprisonment.

11

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Errant driver in La Jalousie accident to be charged – investigating traffic rank to be disciplined THE driver who crashed into a businessman’s parked vehicle on the La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara (WCD) public road on New Year’s Day will be charged.

The traffic rank who visited the scene, on the other hand, is to be disciplined for neglect of duty after failing to administer a breathalyser

test along with other standard operating procedures.

This was disclosed by the Guyana Police Force Press Officer Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan in response to an article published in Wednesday’s edition of the Guyana Chronicle under the caption, “Businessman knocks police probe into crash.”

The odd angle at which the businessman’s vehicle was found after the crash

Ramlakhan noted that the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident has been charged with dangerous driving, and that the case is been fixed for hearing at the Leonora Magistrates’ Court next Tuesday.

He said, too, that the subordinate traffic cop who visited the scene indeed neglected to administer a breathalyser test on the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident; and that he will be disciplined for the neglect and has no further role to play in the investigation.

The Mahaicony businessman, Navindra Singh, who owns a lumber yard and hardware store at Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, had called on the Guyana Police Force to conduct a thorough investigation into a crash that wrecked his Toyota Rav 4 vehicle, PVV 1109, which was parked on the parapet in front of Lot 17 La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara (WCD) on New Year’s Day. He said that his vehicle

was completely off the roadway when a Suzuki vehicle, PTT 9200, crashed into his, moving it several feet away and squeezing it between a fence and utility pole.

He noted that the driver, who identified herself as Candice Canzius, claimed that she had fallen asleep at the wheel when the accident occurred.

Singh, however, said that the police corporal who visited the scene did not conduct a proper investigation. “He operated like he was not even a police; not even a breathalyzer test was done, and this was on New Year’s Day, when many persons are driving under the influence,” the businessman said.

He had questioned the poor police work that results in citizens having to face the royal run around in order to have things properly done in a systematic manner.

Brazilian murder suspect caught

– was attempting to slip into Lethem BRAZIL’S military police on Tuesday afternoon arrested wanted woman, Nelciane Pereira de Andrade in a taxi destined for Lethem from neighbouring Bom Fim. The 25-year-old was wanted by police in Brazil since last month when she was suspected of killing a young woman there by stabbing her 50 times. Another woman is also being sought in connection with the grisly murder which was filmed by the suspects.

The suspect was also being sought in connection with another murder, the victim of which was rescued alive, but died at the hospital, Brazilian media house, Folha Boa Vista reported on Tuesday night.

Pereira, who was arrested with another woman and three men, had in her possession a pistol and ammunition.

The Guyanese taxi driver was later released after being

Brazilian murder suspect, Nelciane Pereira de Andrade

questioned by the authorities across the border.

Last week, the courts in Brazil issued arrest warrants for Pereira and Ana Carolina, who is still on the run.

12

Garbage contractors pull …summoned by City Hall services again to meeting today

By Telesha Ramnarine

BOTH of City Hall’s major garbage contractors – Puran Brothers Disposal Services and Cevons Waste Management--feel that the municipality has ‘squandered’ a great opportunity provided by central government recently to bail it out of millions of dollars in debt.

The help government had provided expired last December 31, and ever since, the two contractors have put a pause on their operations, complaining that City Hall did not contact them even once during the five-week period.

“Up until Old Years Day, we were looking out; hoping to hear from them,” manager at Puran’s, Mr. Kaleshwar Puran, told the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday.

However, both he and Mr. Morse Archer from Cevon’s Waste Management indicated that Town Clerk, Royston King, invited them

to a meeting today (Thursday) at City Hall.

“It has not been our company’s impression that City Hall had made any serious effort to use the November 27–December 31 period to seek re-engagement with its long-term garbage collection contractors,” Archer said in a statement.

“Cevons Waste Management wishes to make it clear that it stands altogether prepared to continue to serve our country’s capital in the manner that it has done for some years. We believe, however, the objective observers would understand, even embrace our position that it is altogether undesirable to provide the service… under conditions which, just recently, resulted in much difficulty for our capital,” he added.

The contractors had opted to pull their services last August when the city council had racked up more than $400M in debt to the two companies. Although

the companies had agreed to wait for payments for the years 2015 and 2016, the municipality was not even keeping up with its current balances for 2017.

Government stepped in and paid the contractors all of the outstanding balances and even went further to create a special arrangement to cover services up to the end of the year.

During this time, the contractors had anticipated that the city council would make some effort to contact them on a new system beginning 2018.

Garbage has begun piling up again at various quarters in the city and some observers are questioning the tardiness with which the city council has been approaching the matter.

“I’m deeply disappointed that even with the help of Central Government in 2018 of a bail out, City Hall’s administration still managed not to meet in a timely manner with our

solid waste contractors to smoothly transition to a viable working arrangement for 2018,” Alliance for Change (AFC) Councillor Sherod Duncan said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

“This has caused the contractors to suspend their services to the city. This intransigence in the attitude of City Hall’s administration is UNACCEPTABLE!” Duncan added.

Asked how the Council will manage on its own from this month, the town clerk only last week told this publication: “I would say citizens have absolutely nothing to worry about in terms of collection and disposal of their garbage as of January.”

“We are aware that we have an obligation towards the city to ensure there’s an effective and efficient collection and disposal of the city’s wastes. The committee is considering inviting other small contractors to be part of the whole arrangement to provide solid waste management infrastructure and also to help with the collection and disposal of wastes,” he said. Within the first quarter of 2018, he said the city council will be moving to charge residents a fee for the collection and disposal of their household waste.

“We are now moving to ask residents in local communities to help us, as we subsidise the collection of waste, by paying a small fee. I understand that they are looking at perhaps $200 a barrel,” he informed.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Opposition to submit nominee for TSC

PRESIDENT David Granger has agreed to allow Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo to submit a nominee for the Teaching Service Commission, the Ministry of the Presidency has reported.

This was done when the Guyanese leader met with Jagdeo on Wednesday at State House. That meeting was substantially to deal with the appointment of a Chancellor of the Judiciary and a Chief Justice. In a release, the ministry said the two leaders also deliberated on the appointment of members of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC). The Minister of State, in briefing the ministry’s Public Relations Unit, said the President had submitted the full list of seven nominees to Jagdeo, with whom he is required to consult.

Of the seven names, the three that were identified by the President, were the subject of the discussions between the two sides. According to Harmon, the Opposition Leader spoke of a convention whereby the Opposition is allowed to put forward a nomination to the Commission and in the interest of good governance,

the President readily agreed.

“Clearly, that is not what the law is, but in so far as us trying to ensure that we have a Commission that is fully representative [of the Guyanese society], the President agreed for the Leader of the Opposition to submit a name that he will consider. So as it is right now, the Commission is not yet established because of the need for the Leader of the Opposition to submit a name, which he has undertaken to have done very shortly because of the need to ensure that we have a Commission to deal with the issues in relation to [the teaching fraternity],” Minister Harmon stated.

The provision of a name by the Opposition Leader will signal the end of the necessary consultations on the TSC. The President will then consider the Opposition’s nominee, paving the way for the appointment of this Commission. The last TSC was chaired by Leila Ramson and included Allan Munroe, Avril Crawford, Maydha Persaud, Kamal Keshore Dhanesar and Roopnarine Harripersaud.

The Chief Education Officer is an ex-officio member of the commission.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday , January 4, 2018

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Flood crisis averted in Region Five -- due to prompt intervention of the MMA-ADA

FOR the first time in many years, Region Five residents were able to survive the second rainy season without being affected by flooding.

This is largely due to swift interventions by the Board and Management of the Mahaica/Mahaicony/ Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ ADA).

The authority, in conjunction with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), in the lead-up to the rainy season, commenced critical drainage and irrigation works within the catchment areas.

Among the works undertaken are the rehabilitation of three sluices and clearance of several rods of D&I canals.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder lauded the authority for ensuring measures are in place to safeguard farmers' livelihoods. The decision was taken in wake of the scheduled rains, which annually would see farmers counting their losses.

“It is no secret that many areas in Region Five suffer greatly during the rainy season. This time around, we were able to rehabilitate three critical sluices that were inoperable for over 30 years.

Although heavy rainfall did result in some accumulation of water, for the first time we were able to avoid a major flood,” Holder said.

The rehabilitated sluices

located at Number 12 Village, Golden Grove/Lovely Lass and Trafalgar, were done at a cost of $30M and saw over 200 farming households directly benefiting from the intervention.

MMA/ADA general manager, Aubrey Charles, said the work of the authority will continue with the aim of ensuring that no flooding is recorded in the near future.

To this end, the MMA/ ADA will soon start construction of a new sluice in the MMA block (D’Edward Sluice).

The structure, once completed, will aid flood relief efforts in the region and is set to positively impact over 5000 persons in both residential and farming areas.

The general manager also spoke of the works being undertaken to have the MMA phase two project completed.

He added that once all is in place, farmers can benefit from additional prime agricultural lands to expand their cultivation.

However, for this to be a success, Charles is calling on farmers to pay all outstanding leases owed to the authority to ensure that monies are available to offset expenses for the expansion.

“We have seen an increase in production and productivity and this will increase significantly with the completion of MMA-Phase

Teacher upgrading programme to return to Region Eight THE Teacher Upgrading Programme being offered by the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) will return to Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) this year, the Ministry of Education has said.

Initially, the programme was offered through a special project but it was suspended because of a number of issues and challenges, which included monitoring and evaluating what obtained in the region to ensure the quality was similar to what was being delivered at the College’s main campus at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.

However, the programme will now be re-launched in Paramakatoi in the first quarter of this year with renewed vigor to ensure that there is no disparity in the standard of education offered and

accessed on the coast and in the hinterland communities, the ministry added.

Currently, there are 68 students from North Pakaraima who are teaching but are untrained. With the re-introduction of the programme, the CPCE will provide those teachers with the necessary upgrading skills. This upgrading programme lasts for two years, after which, they can enrol in the Trained Teacher’s Certificate Programme.

Meanwhile, to further improve the level of teaching offered by the CPCE in the remote communities, a Course Delivery workshop was recently completed.

During that exercise, thirty-six tutors and co-ordinators from communities across Guyana visited the Turkeyen campus where they received special training.

Two. There are some farmers who have been aiding the call from the MMA to pay outstanding monies owed to the authority, but there is a fraction who the MMA has had to issue letters to,” the general manger said.

According to the general manager, the authority will no longer be benefiting from subsidies from the Government's coffers, and as such, is required to be self-sufficient in order to provide much needed services.

In the earlier parts of

2017, during the May-June rainy season, many areas in the region experienced excessive rainfall which resulted in extreme flooding.

The MMA-ADA and NDIA, as a result, deployed mobile pumps at the Trafalgar Sluice and Bush Lot Village. Four excavators were also moved to the flooded areas while four tractor pumps were mobilised to drain flood waters from the residential areas of Golden Grove and south Trafalgar.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday , January 4, 2018

Visiting French family leaves with sweet memories --after spending Christmas here, traipsing around the hinterland

By Lisa Hamilton A FRENCH family of 20 who spent the Christmas holidays here exploring our rich and diverse natural resources, has left with sweet memories of a country they’ve always heard about but never saw until now.

The group, which comprised 14 adults and six children, two of them teens, arrived on Christmas Day and left on Wednesday.

The relatives of Amazon Caribbean Guyana Limited’s Managing-Director, Mr Christophe Sureau, their decision to come for a 10-day visit was at the instigation of his parents, Martin and Michelle Sureau.

Sureau says that the visit was long in the making, and although his company has been marketing Guyana’s products in France for over 30 years now, the majority of his family have never had the opportunity of coming and experiencing Guyana for themselves.

“Most of us, we didn’t have the experience and the chance to visit Guyana,” he said. “What I found out in all my trips coming to Guyana, going to [the] North-West, Berbice and Georgetown is that Guyana is known mainly from the coast; not enough inside the country,” Sureau told media operatives at a press briefing hosted by the Ministry of Business and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) on Tuesday at the Grand Coastal Inn. NATURE AT ITS BEST As such, the family’s excursion was centred on experiencing the exotic nature and wildlife of Guyana, which, according to Sureau, is in the seldom-explored interior savannahs and highland regions.

According to Director-General of the Ministry of Tourism, Mr Donald Sinclair, when Minister of Business Mr Dominic Gaskin learnt that a family of 20 was coming to Guyana, he wanted to ensure that their time was well spent.

So, with the help of Iwokrama’s Tourism Manager, Mr Michael Patterson, various destinations were put together to ensure that the

Sharing in the sweet memories with the Sureaux are: Iwokrama’s Mr Michael Patterson (left); GTA’s Ms Carla James-Chandra (second right); and Director-General of the Ministry of Tourism, Mr Donald Sinclair (right). Second left is Amazon Caribbean’s Mr Christophe Sureau (Photo by Adrian Narine)

The Sureaux at the world-famous Kaieteur Falls

group had a safe and well-arranged tour of Guyana.

The group’s itinerary entailed visiting the Lake Mainstay Resort; the Iwokrama Eco Lodge, the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway and the Atta Rainforest Lodge; the Surama Eco Lodge; the Kaieteur Falls; and Turtle Mountain, which took them to such places as the North-West District and the Barima, Essequibo and Pomeroon Rivers.

Patterson, who also served as the family’s key logistics planner, said that the level of service the group

had received was an important subject matter during the preparation stage.

“It’s a very big family,” he explained. “We also realised that there were a lot of children involved, and things like safety and coordination and standards were some of our concerns that we really wanted to ensure happened from the beginning right to the end.”

WELL RECEIVED And, based on the feedback so far, it would appear that these concerns were well addressed, as according to Christophe Sureau,

his family was well received wherever they went.

One of the highlights of the trip, he said, was the sighting of a jaguar on the way to the Atta Rainforest Lodge, located some 500 metres from the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway.

Noting that the family was able to steal a few quick photos of the animal, camouflaged though it was by the nearby bushes, before it quietly slipped away, Sureau said: “That jaguar was really one of the best moments, of course, but all around, our trip was wonderful; it was

really good.

“Iwokrama is known for its wildlife, while Surama is known for the people living there; their natives.

“This village is so quiet; so peaceful, more Guyanese need to know about this place.”

The group also saw a Caiman near Iwokrama, Cockof-the-Rock and monkeys.

One of the downsides, however, was hearing from the residents of Surama about the problems they have with communication and transportation in the area.

“There is a lack of communication and transporta-

tion for Guyanese, and also tourists, to reach those places which are far,” Sureau said.

“You can go by plane, but it is very expensive. You can go by bus, but the road is not so good, especially right now as it’s the rainy season.”

Despite these factors, Sureau wants Guyanese to know that they have a very beautiful country, and that they should try to get to know it and not just confine themselves to the coastland.

Before leaving, the Sureaux were given little tokens to remind them of their trip to Guyana.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday , January 4, 2018

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Maximum attention -- Gov’t ramps up efforts to reduce flooding in Canal Nos. 1 and 2

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder (second left) and the team doing an inspection of the farming communities

Residents of Canal No. 1 try manoeuvring out of their flooded yard

A farmer of Canal No. 2 makes his way out of his flooded yard

By Navendra Seoraj RESIDENTS of Canal No. 1 and 2 West Bank Demerara (WBD) are satisfied with the work being done by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to clear all channels to reduce flooding in their communities.

For over two weeks, residents have been facing the adverse effects of flooding due to excessive rainfall.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and a team during a visit to the areas on Sunday discovered that the water level was high despite efforts to clear all channels.

The NDIA was instructed by the minister to deploy additional excavators to swiftly clear the channels.

The visiting team included NDIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick

Flatts, NDIA's Regional Engineer Lall Piterahdaue and other government officials.

The aim of their visit was to assess flooded agricultural areas and implement immediate interventions to assist farmers in the affected communities.

During the visit, the minister and the team interacted with farmers and residents of the villages, as they sought to look at alternatives which would bring immediate relief to those affected.

The flooding, which was a result of heavy rains over the past few weeks, saw the livelihoods of farmers coming under threat.

While some were still in distress, it was a bitter-sweet moment for residents who were finally able to walk freely in their yards and traverse the streets in the community.

“Although we glad that the water pulled off, we still have lots of cleaning to do, because as you can see the water reach in the house and make a mess,” Sherryan Singh, a resident of Canal No. 2 told the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday.

In her yard was unhealthy residue washed up during the flood a few days ago.

The mother of two was still happy the water has receded and her family will be able to go about their lives as per normal.

A resident of Canal No. 1, Omela Persaud, said although the canal was desilted, the flooding did not stop.

Persaud told this publication that she had no choice but to walk through the stagnant water to conduct her daily routines. As a result, she became sick. Several others got sick for the same reason.

Even the animals struggled to cross a bridge in Canal No. 2

“I don’t know if the trench clogged up or what, but I hope this water recede before school open next week… normally when this happens, it does take a month, but I hope this is not the case,” she lamented.

LOSSES Farmers from the area were also in a distraught state, since they have lost all their crops and even livestock and will have to start afresh when the water recedes.

A young farmer, Brian (only name given) said it has been tough for him, since all his crops were damaged due to excessive flooding.

“I gotta start over now Turn to page 16

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday , January 4, 2018

CPA eyes ‘grass-roots approach’ --in bid to promote early reading

THE Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA), under the purview of the Ministry of Social Protection (MoSP), is seeking to embed an early interest in reading in toddlers through its “Back to Basics” literacy programme.

The programme, which

falls under the Early Childhood Development Unit of the CPA, seeks to foster an “early interest” in books in children, which, according to a ministry release, “gives children a head-start and prepares them for formal education.”

Speaking to the Guyana

Chronicle was the Manager of the Early Childhood Development Unit, Concheeta Gray, who stressed that this initiative is a “grass-roots approach” to fostering reading and early education.

“We’re going to health centres, and we hope that all children will be able to

benefit,” she explained. The registration and licensing officers at these centres will be instrumental in this process.

Gray said that the ideal situation is to meet the parents with their children and demonstrate how the youngsters would garner pre-reading skills from be-

ing read to, or from just turning the pages of books and explaining the pictures.

From this simple act of learning to read from a parent’s lap, children would be able to acquire the skills of following words across a page, turning the pages, and eventually reading for themselves.

As of 2016, Guyana’s national literacy rate was at an average of 88%, a little above the then global average of 86%. The government has committed to increasing these rates, and has since initiated programmes through the Ministry of Education (MoE) to fulfill this goal.

The disparity that existed in hinterland and riverine areas was identified as one of the deterring factors in improving the national average, and as such one MoE programme, the ‘Read, Play, Love’ programme targeted

these areas especially.

Thus the MoSP, cognizant of those inherent differences, will not only be targeting the more populated areas, but areas across Guyana.

The success of this programme, though, is reliant on the cooperation of parents viz a viz reading for and/or with children, developing their pre-reading skills and thereafter necessitating their ability to read.

And while there is no definitive date for the implementation of this programme, Gray ascertained that the programme should be launched by the end of January.

Additionally, the Ministry is currently engaged in a book drive to accumulate books to disseminate at the health centres to the parents of all children. Books can be donated to any of the Ministry’s District offices or to the CPA’s Broad Street office.

Maximum...

From page 15

, it tough, it really tough, but I hope the water pull off before school open next week, because I need money to send my children to school and run the house,” said the concerned farmer.

Since December 25, 2017, the NDIA had tried to remedy the situation by executing additional clearing exercises which involved using two rice tractors to remove floating mass that would have accumulated in the outfall channels.

These efforts were not enough and three more excavators were deployed to carry out works in these areas.

During inspection of the drainage and irrigation structures, Minister Holder said it was evident that all D&I structures were operable.

He promised residents that additional machinery would be deployed to the areas to ensure that the water recedes quickly.

"It is not a case where the flooding is due to the inadequate drainage, but rather of high levels of rainfall. Given the fact that the areas are relatively large, it takes some amount of time to drain and with persistent rainfall, these areas flood as fast as they are drained.” the minister said.

WORKING FEVERISHLY Excavators have been working round-the-clock,

he said, to ensure all channels are cleared of mass which tend to accumulate and contribute to flooding.

Apart from the additional machinery deployed, the canals are manned by four pumps which operate during the day.

“Because these areas are agricultural areas, vegetation grows quickly and there is quite a large amount of floating mass that gathers in the channel that the NDIA would clear regularly to avoid flooding. Because of the amount of mass, we do not employ manual clearing, but rather mechanical clearing. Currently, there are several excavators working in the areas to ensure the seven miles of outfall channel is cleared at all times,” Holder said.

Minister of State Joseph Harmon, along with a team from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and the local Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) sought to eliminate some of the distress that the residents faced last Friday by distributing “care packages”, but some residents said they have a long way to go until their lives can return to normalcy.

Although major parts of Georgetown were not affected by flooding, Minister Harmon urged citizens to take the necessary precautions and desist from littering the drains.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Woeful Windies slump to defeat (CMC) – WOEFUL West Indies ended their ill-fated tour of New Zealand in the same wretched manner in which it started, plummeting to a heavy 119-run defeat in the final Twenty20 International here yesterday.

C o l i n M u n r o ’s r e cord-breaking third career T20I hundred of 104 was the catalyst behind the hosts’ imperious 243 for five off their 20 overs – their highest-ever total in the shortest format.

Fellow opener Martin Guptill stroked 63 and Tom Bruce, 23, ensuring New Zealand maintained their momentum to gather the seventh-highest total in T20s.

In reply, West Indies produced yet another dismal batting performance, collapsing to a depressing 124 all out in the 17th over.

Only Andre Fletcher with a polished 46 from 32 balls showed any sense of purpose, and was one of only three frontline batsmen to reach double figures and the only one to pass 20.

The Caribbean side’s woes were compounded by the unavailability of Shai Hope who injured his shoulder while fielding and was unable to bat.

Not for the first time this tour, the Windies were tormented by seamer Tim Southee (3-21) and newball partner Trent Boult (2-29) while leg-spinner Ish Sodhi claimed two for 25, as the Black Caps claimed their biggest-ever win in T20s and the third largest overall.

For West Indies, the defeat was their seventh on tour in internationals after losing both Tests, all three one-dayers and two T20s. The second T20I was washed out after just nine overs on New Year’s Day. The reigning T20 World champions have also now lost six of their last 12 matches in the

shortest format.

Opting to bat first at Bay Oval, New Zealand were propelled by a 136run opening stand between Munro and Guptill – the country’s third-highest stand for any wicket in T20s.

The left-handed Munro was utterly dominant en route to his third score of fifty or more in the series, facing 53 balls and striking three fours and 10 sixes.

No Windies bowler was spared from the 30-yearold’s brutal all-out assault, as he raced to his half-century off 26 balls before reaching three figures off 47 deliveries to mark the fastest-ever hundred for New Zealand in T20s and joint sixth-fastest of all-time.

He also became the first batsman to score three hundreds in T20Is. Guptill, meanwhile, was more than just a spectator, lashing five fours and a pair of sixes in a 38-ball knock – his 11th half-century in this format.

With the Windies bowlers loose, the pair cashed in, plundering 52 off the first five and 118 at the half-way point of the innings.

Debutant medium pacer Rayad Emrit’s first two deliveries in T20 cricket were greeted with a couple of leg-side sixes by Munro, in an over which leaked 16 runs and saw the South Africa-born dynamo to his half-century.

Guptill eventually edged a wide one from Emrit to fall to a catch at the wicket in the 12th over but Munro and Bruce kept the pressure on the Windies in a 55-run, second-wicket partnership.

Even when the hosts lost four wickets for 35 runs in 19 deliveries, the runs kept flowing with 60 runs gushing from the last five overs.

The Windies then had a disastrous start to their run chase when Chadwick Walton drove the first ball of the innings from South-

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: Tom Latham-5 catches Shai Hope-3catches/1 stumping Today’s Quiz: How many NZ players made their ODI debut in the recent WI/NZ ODI series?

How many the WI did so?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

ee into Munro’s lap at cover.

Four balls later, superstar Chris Gayle was surprised by a short ball and gloved a simple catch behind to depart without scoring, leaving the Windies tottering on one run for two wickets.

Fletcher and Rovman Powell (16) then staged the best partnership of the innings, putting on 41 for the third wicket.

The right-handed Fletcher struck four fours and three sixes – two of which were sweetly-timed back-toback inside out blows over extra cover in the sixth over

by left-arm spinner Anaru Kitchen which went for 20 runs.

Powell holed out to cover off Kitchen in the fourth over and Shimron Hetmyer was tragically run-out for seven in the fifth over, leaving West Indies on 49 for four.

Fletcher posted 31 off 20 balls for the fifth wicket with captain Carlos Brathwaite (15) to temporarily stem the flow of wickets but once the Grenadian missed a heave at a straight one from Sodhi and was bowled off-stump, the last four wickets tumbled for 44 runs.

SCOREBOARD NEW ZEALAND innings M. Guptill c wkp. Walton b Emrit 63 C. Munro c Hetmyer b Brathwaite 104 T. Bruce b Brathwaite 23 A. Kitchen run-out 9 K. Williamson b Taylor 19 G. Phillips not out

7 M. Santner not out 6 Extras: (lb-4, w-7, nb-1) 12 Total: (5 wkts, 20 overs) 243 Fall of wickets: 1-136, 2-191, 3-204, 4-226, 5-226.

Bowling: Taylor 4-0-53-1, Badree 4-0-51-0, Nurse 4-0-43-0, Brathwaite 4-0-50-2, Emrit 4-0-42-1.

WEST INDIES innings C. Walton c Munro b Southee 0 C. Gayle c wkp. Phillips b Southee 0 A. Fletcher b Sodhi 46 R. Powell c Williamson b Kitchen 16 S. Hetmyer run-out 7 C. Brathwaite c Bruce b Boult 15 A. Nurse not out 14 R. Emrit lbw b Sodhi 5 J. Taylor c Santner b Boult 13 S. Badree c Bruce b Southee 2 S. Hope did not bat Extras: (w-4, nb-2) 6 Total: (9 wkts, 16.3 overs) 124 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-1, 3-42, 4-49, 5-80, 6-92, 7-99, 8-114, 9-124.

Bowling: Southee 2.3-0-21-3, Boult 4-0-29-2 (w-3, nb-2), Kitchen 4-0-33-1 (w-1), Santner 2-0-16-0, Sodhi 4-0-25-2.

Result: New Zealand won by 119 runs.

Series: New Zealand won three-match series 2-0.

Man-of-the-Match: Colin Munro.

Man-of-the-Series: Colin Munro.

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09:15 hrs Parlour Maid 09:45 hrs Shanty Town 10:15 hrs Uppertown Prince 10:50 hrs Fin And Game 11:20 hrs Tailor Tom 11:55 hrs Before Midnight Newcastle 09:30 hrs Strictly Art 10:05 hrs Good Time Ahead 11:10 hrs Champagne Pink 11:45 hrs Rockley Point 12:20 hrs Ceeltic Artisan 12:55 hrs Pearl Acclaim Wolverhampton 09:55 hrs The British Lion 10:25 hrs Progressive Jazz 11:00 hrs Diagnostic 11:30 hrs Breathless Times 12:05 hrs Billyoakes 12:35 hrs Bobby Vee 13:05 hrs Influent 13:35 hrs Tis Wonderful

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Olympic cyclist Caroline Buchanan injured in car crash (BBC) - TWO-TIME Olympian and world cycling champion Caroline Buchanan has suffered serious injuries in a car accident in her native Australia.

Buchanan, 27, posted an image on Instagram of herself in hospital, with a bloodied face and wearing a neck brace.

She wrote that she

had a broken nose and sternum and a collapsed lung.

Local media reported the accident involved a single vehicle and happened in New South Wales, but further details were not yet clear.

“I wouldn’t say 2017 ended quite as planned.

It’s been a rough couple of days in ICU after a

vehicle roll,” Buchanan said in her caption.

“I just moved to a private room and ev erything is moving in a positive recovery direction.”

She wished her followers a happy new year and said “off season just got a little more tough!!” in a post that has drawn thousands of

comments.

Buchanan has three BMX and five mountain bike world titles, and competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

Most recently she took out the mountain bike 4-cross world title in August and was named Canberra’s female athlete-of-theyear in November.

Woakes out, Crane in for ODI series

(BBC) - ENGLAND will give a debut to leg-spinner Mason Crane in the fifth Ashes Test, with pace bowler Chris Woakes missing out because of a side strain.

Hampshire’s Crane, 20, will become the youngest specialist spinner to play for England in 90 years at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

All-rounder Moeen Ali keeps his place as the tourists opt for two spinners.

“It looks like it will give a lot of spin throughout the game,” captain Joe Root told

BBC Sport.

“It should give a hint of turn and hopefully Mason comes into the game in both innings.”

Crane, who has played two Twenty20 internationals, is on his first tour with the senior squad.

“He’s very excited, as you would be,” added Root. “It’s great to see someone so desperate to play for England.

It’s a great place for him to start his career. “ H e ’s a s e r i o u s competitor and has a really good mental game for Test cricket - he proved that when

he played the T20s last year.

“Hopefully it can be the start of a long, illustrious career.”

Crane is the first leg-spinner England have selected since Scott Borthwick made his debut, also in the Sydney Test, during the 2013-14 series.

Woakes has a problem with his left side, the same area that caused him to miss more than two months of cricket in the home summer.

However, this new injury is thought to be very minor and he is expected to be fit for

the five one-day internationals which follow the Test series.

Australia, who have already secured the Ashes, have pace bowler Mitchell Starc fit again following a bruised heel, with Jackson Bird making way.

The Sydney match is the traditional ‘Pink Test’, now in its 10th year of raising money for breast cancer charity for the McGrath Foundation, founded by former Australia pace bowler Glenn McGrath in memory of his late wife Jane.

Caroline Buchanan has eight world titles in BMX and mountain bike racing.

Liverpool brace for Coutinho bid (BBC) - LIVERPOOL are yet to receive a new bid from Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho, but reports in Spain claim a renewed offer for the midfielder is imminent.

Barcelona’s long-standing interest in the 25-year-old has been rekindled by the January transfer window and his continued desire to join the club.

Liverpool are now braced for another attempt to secure a deal this month.

Liverpool rejected three offers, and a transfer request from the Brazilian, before the start of this season.

The last of Barcelona’s three bids was £118M - which included add-ons totalling in excess of £30M based on Coutinho winning the Ballon d’Or, and other built-in clauses.

Barcelona will have to increase that last offer, without assorted clauses, to have any hope of resurrecting a deal.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are refusing to be drawn into any public debate about an issue that provided an unwelcome backdrop to manager Jurgen Klopp’s planning for this campaign when it became a saga during the last close season.

Liverpool will also know sanctioning a sale could impact on their pursuit of a place in the Premier League’s top four and the Champions League, where they face Porto in the last 16.

Coutinho could not play for Barcelona in the Champions League having already represented Liverpool, but this has not cooled the Catalans’ intention of doing a deal this month.

And in a bizarre twist, Coutinho’s name briefly appeared on a Nike advert for Barcelona shirts this week before being removed.

Significantly, however, there has been no repeat of the hardline public stance Liverpool adopted last summer when the club issued a statement insisting “no offers will be considered” for Coutinho and this was a “definitive stance”.

Coutinho, who joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for £8.5M in January 2013, was also told he would not be leaving in that summer transfer window in a meeting with Mike Gordon, president of Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Bravo produces the goods for Renegades

Medium pacer Dwayne Bravo

(CMC) – ANOTHER outstanding spell from medium pacer Dwayne Bravo helped Melbourne Renegades to their third win of the Australian Big Bash, when they comfortably brushed aside Sydney Sixers by eight wickets yesterday.

Playing at the Simonds Stadium, Renegades restricted Sixers to 111 for eight off their 20 overs, with South African Johan Botha top-scoring with an unbeaten 32 off 23 deliveries.

Nic Maddinson chipped in with 24 from

28 deliveries and England’s Sam Billings, 22 from 26 balls.

Yet again, Bravo was at the forefront of the attack, claiming three for 29 from his four overs to cripple the Sixers innings.

He accounted for opener Jason Roy for five at 11 for two in the fourth over, caught by Aaron Finch at mid-off.

Bravo was also sharp in the field, running out Maddinson with a direct hit from short third man in the 13th over, before returning towards the end of the innings to

collect another brace of wickets.

In reply, Renegdes sped to their target in the 16th over with captain Finch striking 51 and Cameron White, an unbeaten 49.

Finch faced 38 balls and counted six fours and two sixes while White struck five fours and a six in a 45-ball innings, the pair adding 91 for the second wicket.

When Finch fell via run-out in the 14th over, Bravo (six not out) arrived at the crease to see Renegades home.

Bellerin’s late volley salvages Arsenal draw (BBC) - HECTOR Bellerin’s stunning injury-time strike earned Arsenal a point against Chelsea in one of the most entertaining matches of the Premier League season so far.

The two sides shared an incredible 30 chances, with the heroic keeping of Gunners’ Petr Cech and Blues’ Thibaut Courtois ensuring only four goals were conceded.

Courtois had made exceptional stops to deny Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette before he was finally beaten when Jack Wilshere fired high past the Belgian in the 63rd minute.

The lead only lasted four minutes, with Eden Hazard converting from the spot to level after he had been fouled by Hector Bellerin.

Chelsea must have

thought they had secured all three points when Marcos Alonso flicked home substitute Davide Zappacosta’s low cross after 84 minutes.

But in the second minute of stoppage time, Bellerin produced an exceptional half-volley to earn the Gunners a point.

There was more drama seconds from the end when Zappacosta’s shot thundered off Cech’s crossbar.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Guyana’s Duguid to officiate in ICC Under-19 World Cup GUYANA’S international umpire Nigel Duguid has been chosen by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as one of its match officials for the upcoming ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup scheduled to get underway in New Zealand from January 18.

It marks the second consecutive World Cup appearance for Duguid who also stood in the 2016 tournament in Bangladesh.

Duguid joins Barbadian Gregory Brathwaite as the other regional umpire on the international panel which includes Robert Bailey, Anil Chaudhary, Shaun George, Shaun Haig, Mark Hawthorne, David Odhiambo, Buddhi Pradhan Ranmore Martinesz, C.K. Nandan, Ian Ramage, Ahsan Raza, Shozab Raza, Tim Robinson, Langton Rusere and Paul Wilson.

The former Georgetown

Cricket Club (GCC) left-arm spinner who gave up playing for an umpiring career in 2010, was appointed to the ICC TV Umpires panel the following year and has been officiating in regional matches ever since.

Duguid officiated in his first T20 International, featuring West Indies and Ireland on February 21, 2014 and has done five matches to date. He also stood in his first One Day International (ODI) on March 5, 2017 when West Indies opposed England and has done three more games since. He is also among the umpires in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Duguid also had a stint in the English cricket season in 2012 after doing duties in the Bangladesh ‘A’ team tour of the Caribbean the previous year.

Apart from them, David Odhiambo, Buddhi Pradhan and Ian Ramage from the

ICC Development Panel will also be officiating in the tournament.

Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, and Devdas Govindjee and David Jukes of the International Panel of ICC Match Referees, will also be officiating in the tournament.

Shaun George and Ahsan Raza will be the on-field umpires for the match between defending champions West Indies and hosts New Zealand on the opening day at the Bay Oval in Tauranga, while Robert Bailey will be the TV umpire and Timothy Robinson the fourth umpire.

David Jukes has been appointed as the match referee for this match.

Umpire and match referee appointments for the knockout stages will be announced after the teams have been confirmed.

The West Indies will be looking to defend their title

and emulate Pakistan, who won consecutive titles in 2004 and 2006. Australia and India have each won the title three times while England and South Africa are the other teams to have won the tournament, which replicates a major tournament experience in terms of organisation and playing facilities.

The other teams participating in the 16-team tournament are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

The teams have been divided in groups of four. The top two sides from each group will advance to the Super League while the remaining eight teams will figure in the Plate Championship.

The preliminary round matches will be followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, plus the play-offs.

Nigel Duguid

GFF opens mid-season transfer window THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has opened from January 1 its mid-season transfer window that will close January 31 to enable players to move from one club to another.

During this transfer period clubs are encouraged to process the transfers needed in a timely manner to avoid the last-minute transactions, which have become the norm.

Competitions Director of the GFF, Ian Alves, said this is a great opportunity for clubs to bolster their capacity and increase their chances of success, adding “with a lot of football tournaments being contested within the member associations countrywide in the first half of the season, clubs and teams have had a good chance to take note of their deficiencies on the pitch, if any, or to see what possible projected adjustments might be needed in order to improve the team’s performance going forward.”

According to Alves, “The mid-season transfer window provides those clubs and teams with an excellent opportunity

to fix whatever needs fixing in terms of their composition and harmony on the field of play.

It is therefore anticipated that maximum use would be made of this opportunity accordingly.”

A domestic transfer, in order to be considered procedurally correct, must involve the former club, the player, the former Regional Member Association (RMA), the new club, and the new RMA (in the case of a transfer out of the former association).

Unless and until all of these entities are informed and involved, and provided that none of these raises any legitimate concerns with the attempted transfer, and as a result refuses to concur or approve the transfer, the transfer is incomplete.

The new club has the recourse of seeking the intervention of the relevant RMA, or subsequently the GFF, if it is of the view that the transfer is being unjustly hindered by the former club or the relevant RMA. The process for the Domestic Transfer is as follows:

1 – The new club confirms the player has an interest in the transfer and, if so, the new club makes contact with the former club to negotiate the transfer agreement.

2 – If it’s agreed upon, the new club collects the transfer document from the relevant RMA 3 – Each entity involved fills and signs its part namely on the form; player, former club, new club 4 – The form is then submitted to the relevant RMA which confirms the authenticity of the involvement of each party.

5 – Everything being in order, the RMA approves the transfer and gives a copy to the new club.

6 – If the player is being transferred across RMA, the new club takes its copy of the form to its new RMA so that the player can be registered within that RMA and cleared for participation as a player of that club It is important to note that the GFF is the RMA for Elite Clubs.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, January 4, 2018

Leaders Jaguars face hosts Scorpions, as Regional 4-Day resumes today … Reifer, Joseph make return

By Rajiv Bisnauth FRONT-RUNNERS and defending champions Guyana Jaguars will look to extend their dominance when Cricket West Indies (CWI) Professional Cricket League Regional 4-Day Tournament resumes today.

rounds.

Complacency will be the only thing that Leon Johnson and company will have to resist, but the Jaguars have never given the impression that this is something they have to guard against by the way they operate.

They have won five

Keon Joseph

The Jaguars, who enjoyed home advantage for the past three rounds, will resume outside of their home territory against hosts Jamaican Scorpions at Sabina Park.

Currently, the Jaguars sit on 118.0 points, 42.8 points ahead of second-placed Barbados Pride (75.2). Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (71.6), Jamaica Scorpions (71.4), Leeward Islands Hurricanes (61), and Windward Islands Volcanoes (52.2) complete the points table after seven

games in convincing fashion, drew against the Hurricanes and recorded a tied against the Windward Islands Volcanoes in round six.

Recent history favours the Jaguars – the three-time reigning champions started their quest for a fourth-straight title in style when they crushed the Scorpions by 263 runs in round one last October.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars have made two changes to their squad from the last game, with the inclusion of new West Indies recruit Ray-

mon Reifer and West Indies A team fast bowler Keon Joseph.

R e i f e r, t h e B a r b a dos-born all-rounder returned from New Zealand where he made his Test debut in the second Test last December, while Joseph recovered from a slight injury.

Anthony Adams and Sherfane Rutherford are the players making way. While Adams has not played a game this season, Rutherford has played in all seven rounds.

Rutherford has chalked up 239 runs at an average of 29.88 and picked up 19 wickets at 20.26.

Devendra Bishoo was not selected for this round, as he is still recovering from an injury.

The Jaguars, three-time defending champions of the competition, are on course for a fourth consecutive title.

They will play hosts Barbados Pride from January 11 to 14; and return home to face Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final round January 18-21.

Guyana Jaguars squad reads: Leon Johnson (captain), Vishaul Singh, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Keemo Paul, Akshaya Persaud, Raymon Reifer, Anthony Bramble (wicketkeeper), Gudakesh Motie, Veerasammy Permaul, Romario Shepherd and Keon Joseph.

Raymond Reifer

Vickery moves into ASB Classic Quarter-finals with win over Royg

…will play Agnieszka Radwańska today SACHIA Vickery continues her impressive showing in New Zealand, this time thrashing Paraguayan Veronica Cepede Royg in straights sets 6-2, 6-4 yesterday, at the ASB Classic, in Auckland to reach the quarter-finals of the event.

The 22-year-old Vickery, ranked 122 in the world, showed that her upset win (61, 6-2) over defending champion Lauren Davis was no fluke, as she graciously brushed aside Paraguay’s tennis queen to set up a classic showdown with Poland’s Agnieszka Radwańska.

Radwańska, 28, is ranked 28 in the world and has reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the US Open.

The Polish tennis ace defeated American Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-5 to set up an expected ‘humdinger’ against Vickery today.

Born to Rawle Vickery, a former National football player from Linden, and Paula Liverpool, also from Region 10, Vickery has been creating waves in the tennis world recently.

Leaders Jaguars face hosts Scorpions, as Regional 4-Day resumes today

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See Page 23

Woeful Windies slump to defeat

Munro soaks in his third T20I hundred, the only man to do so. (Getty Images)

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Vickery moves into ASB LGC elects Classic Quarter-finals new with win over Royg executive

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

THE Lusignan Golf Club will be led by Aleem Hussain, following the election of the 2018 executive last Saturday.

Hussain will have Paton George as the vice-president and Rabindranath Persaud as secretary, treasurer Aasrodeen Shaw and assistant secretary/treasurer, Parmanand Persaud The club captain is Chatterpaul Deo with Anasha Ally as PRO while the grounds superintendent is Mike Gayadin.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2018