Guyana Chronicle E-paper 01-19-2019

SATURDAY 19th January, 2019

No.105522

Granger to lead coalition … as political parties gear up for new polls

… hailed as superior candidate in likely crowded field PRESIDENT David Granger will be the APNU+AFC Coalition’s presidential candidate for the next General and Regional Elections, top sources within the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change have confirmed.

The Guyana Chronicle has been reliably informed that the Head-of-State who is currently undergoing his fourth of five cycles of chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, in the Republic of Cuba, is in good condition to contest the presidency.

“The President is in good health. Yes, he has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, but he has been responding well to treatment.

He is able to effectively manage this country, he is fit,” the source who requested anonymity told this newspaper on Friday. In fact, the source noted that the President, who has been in recent

Five held 17 with guns, grenades PAGE

weeks making several public appearances is consistently improving, given his diagnosis. “As you know, he has to complete five rounds of chemotherapy, he is in his fourth round and his progress is consistent. So, there is no question about him being fit, health wise, to run,” the source added.

The source continued: “There is no question as to whether he is the candidate. He is competent, he is uncorrupted, he has integrity, his health is improving steadily and he has the interest of Guyana and Guyanese at heart. He is a genuine leader.”

While President Granger himself had said he would not “run away from service” as the coalition’s presidential candidate, he has not indicated that he is the candidate.

At his last press conference in August 2018, the President said his run for a second term in 2020 is up to the parties in the APNU+AFC coalition. When asked by the media whether he will run for a second term, President See page 2

Charrandass 03 under probe for Speaker failed bribery, gold to follow precepts smuggling 10 in constitution AG tells court:

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Granger to lead ...

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Granger said, “I am a servant of my party, I am a servant of the partnership and I am a servant of the coalition and my duty is to serve and I would not run away from service.”

Granger, who is also the leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), was re-elected unopposed at the party’s congress last year.

President Granger will likely come up against four other contenders for the presidency, including three newcomers from the Liberal and Justice Party; A New and United Guyana Party and the Federal United Party. His strongest test however will come from the main opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic, who are likely to name their presidential candidate this weekend.

FIT and READY Minister of State Joseph Harmon, who is also General Secretary of the APNU back in December dismissed the suggestion that President Granger may not be the APNU+AFC presidential candidate for the upcoming general elections.

“I think we have an excellent candidate in the President,” Harmon told Stabroek News.

Minister Harmon’s statement followed former Member of Parliament, Charrandass Persaud’s vote in favour of Opposition, People’s Progressive Party’s no-confidence motion.

“He’s getting much better. I figure that by the time he gets back here, he will be in a position to resume his meetings,” Harmon told

Stabroek News. Similarly, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams, SC hinted that President Granger will return as the presidential candidate.

Williams said: “The President has big plans and projections for this country’s future with him being President of Guyana.”

PERSONAL INTEGRITY In September, Alliance For Change (AFC) leader, Raphael Trotman indicated that his party supports the head-of-state for a second term, while citing his integrity as an important criterion.

Executive member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Dr David Hinds, had also endorsed the President for a second term, stating in one of his columns that while he does not favour President Granger’s style of leadership, he does not see another candidate with greater potential among presidential hopefuls. “…So in such a situation incumbency rules. Granger’s strength is personal integrity, which in our political environment is a tremendous asset. If one were tempted to look elsewhere for an alternative leader, it would be hard to find one with the same degree of personal integrity. What he lacks in political nimbleness he makes up in that critical area. So, I am prepared from this distance, barring any big unforeseen political development to forecast that he would be the presidential candidate of any coalition,” Dr Hinds said in the column which appeared in the Kaieteur News. As per the Cummingsburg Accord of 2015 which created the coalition

and subsequently the coalition government, the presidential candidate for the coalition comes from APNU, while the AFC is allocated the prime ministerial position.

Born 15 July 1945, President Granger is a retired military officer who served for a time as Commander of the Guyana Defence Force and subsequently as National Security Adviser from 1990 to 1992.

In 2010, he made a successful bid to be elected as the presidential candidate of the People’s National Congress Reform for the November 2011 general and regional elections. He was leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Guyana from 2012 to 2015. Granger stood as the opposition coalition’s presidential candidate in the November 2011 general and regional elections, but was defeated. He was elected President in the May 2015 general and regional elections.

Born in Georgetown, Granger attended Queen’s College, Guyana’s elite and prestigious school like the former Presidents Forbes Burnham, Cheddi Jagan, Samuel Hinds and scholars such as Walter Rodney and Rupert Roopnaraine. After leaving Queen’s College, where he was a member of the Queen’s College Cadet Corps, Granger joined the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) as an officer cadet in 1965 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1966. He received his professional military training at the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria; the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil; and the School of Infantry and the Mons Officer Cadet School, respectively, in the United

Kingdom.

He trained in Britain, then Brazil, then Nigeria, and eventually became commander of the Guyana Defence Force in 1979 and was promoted to the rank of brigadier.

Granger was appointed National Security Adviser to the President in 1990[1] and retired from military service in 1992.

PUBLISHER Additionally, President Granger also founded the Guyana Review news magazine in 1992 and served as its managing editor. He has researched and published on military, historical and media themes, and is also the author of Guyana’s state media: the quest for control, and A Preliminary Study of Women Soldiers in the Anglophone Caribbean.

Granger has received various academic awards, including the President’s Medal for the best graduating student, University of Guyana; the Dennis Irvine Prize for the student who has made the greatest contribution to all cultural life of the university; Council of the University Prize; the Elsa Gouveia Medal of Excellence; the Guy de Weever History Prize; Earl Attlee History Prize; Mary Noel Menezes Award for History; Department of History Prize and others, from the University of Guyana.

He also holds three national awards: the Military Efficiency Medal (1976), the Military Service Medal (1981), and the Military Service Star (1985) for distinguished military service.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

AG tells court:

Speaker failed to follow precepts in constitution ARGUING that there was a miscalculation of majority when the motion of no-confidence was put to a vote on December 21, 2018, Attorney General Basil Williams in his submission to the High Court, contended that the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland failed to follow the precepts as stipulated by the constitution.

In the case The Attorney General vs Speaker of the National Assembly and Leader of the Opposition, Williams (the applicant) is challenging passage of the no-confidence motion against the government on the basis that the opposition did not secure a majority as required by the constitution.

In his legal submissions on Friday, the attorney general maintained that in order for the government to be defeated on a vote of confidence, 34 or more votes of all the elected members in favour of the motion was required and not 33. This, he said, is grounded in established parliamentary precedence and practice and case law in the Commonwealth.

In laying the foundation of his argument, Williams referenced the definition of “majority rule” as outlined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary (1828). According to that definition, majority rule is “a political principle providing that a majority usually constituted by 50 per cent plus one of an organised group will have the power to make decisions binding upon the whole.”

According to him, this definition is applied in no-confidence cases to both even and uneven numbers Parliaments and in the latter case where fractions are involved, the rounding up of the fractions require at least a majority of two clear votes.

Citing the case of Kilman V Speaker of Parliament of Vanuatu (2011), Williams alluded to the fact that the Vanuatu Constitution provides for the Parliament to pass a motion of no-confidence in the prime minister, but only if supported by an absolute majority of the Members of Parliament. That Parliament has 52 members; however, in the case in point, only 51 voted and the Speaker had ruled that the motion was carried by a 26:25 vote.

While the Speaker’s ruling was upheld at the level of the Supreme Court, the Appellate

Court ruled that the Speaker’s ruling was in contradiction to the constitution.

“At P.667 letter h the Court of Appeal stated, “We consider that the phrase ‘an absolute majority of the Members of Parliament,’ can only mean at least half the Members of Parliament plus one. That is half of 52, being 26, plus one equals 27,” Williams pointed out in his submissions.

The attorney general submitted too that the rounding up of the fraction formula was also the manner of calculation used by the Speaker of the Anguilla House of Assembly in determining matters of quorum, citing the case Hughes v Rogers Civil Suits (High Court of Anguilla January 2000) as a case in point.

He said more recently, the Conservative Party applied the same formula when a motion of no-confidence was moved against Prime Minister Theresa May last December.

“The total number of voters was 315, but when divided that number would have been 157.5 and when rounded up the number would be 158. In order for the motion to be carried, the majority needed was 159. Although this was not a motion of the Parliament it still demonstrates how uneven numbers and fractions are to be treated with respect to voting in the case of majorities for no- confidence motions,” Williams explained.

He put to the court that 34 votes were required for the motion to be effective.

“In accordance with the Laws of Guyana, the National Assembly comprises 65 members. Mathematically, half of all the elected members of the current National Assembly would result in a fraction of 32.5. That figure should then be rounded up to the next whole number being 33, which would now represent half of the elected members. In accordance with practice, the application of the meaning of majority means that ‘1’ must now be added to ‘33’ to calculate a majority,” he maintained.

It was on this basis that he put to the High Court that the failure to obtain 34 or more votes breached article 106(6) of the constitution. He is contending that the issuance of Resolution 101 by the Speaker is unlawful.

Citing the case of Smith v Mutasa and Another, in which the Speaker’s certification

of a matter was deemed unlawful, the attorney general reminded the High Court that the principles of the constitution are sacred and sacrosanct and cannot be discharged by the Parliament itself.

“We submit most respectfully that the framers of our constitution could not have intended for a government to be defeated by a majority, but rather an absolute majority of all members present. In all the circumstances, this could only be 34 votes in order that the motion be carried,” Williams said.

He also put to the High Court the question of whether Resolution 101 being subsidiary legislation can lawfully abridge or curtail the five years the government’s term of office provided for in Article 70 (3).

“It is respectfully submitted that Resolution 101 cannot lawfully abridge or curtail the five years term of office of the APNU+AFC Government and to the extent that it is inextricable [sic] connected with and intertwined with the mandatory requirements of article 106 that the Cabinet and President resign no later than March 31st 2019, it purports to curtail or abridge the APNU+AFC term which constitutionally expires no earlier than May 2020, and to that extent that it has the effect of reducing the five-year term in terms of article 70(3), it is pro tanto inconsistent with Article 70 (3) and invalid for such inconsistency,” he told the court.

Meanwhile, Attorney-at-Law Anil Nandlall, who is representing the interest of the second-named respondents, put forward four definitions to support his argument that a majority refers to more than half.

He pointed out that a majority, according to Blacks Law Dictionary 8th Edition, “always refers to more than half of some defined or assumed set. In parliamentary law, that set, may be all of the members or some subset, such as all members present or all members voting on a particular question.”

Nandlall put to the court that 33 is what constitutes a majority in the National Parliament of Guyana.

“It is of course true that a motion of no-confidence which received the vote of 34 elected members will have been passed by

Attorney General, Basil Williams,SC a majority. But the inevitable consequence of the approach which the attorney general advocates for determining a majority is that in every case where a body is made up of an uneven number of persons, a majority of that body must exceed the minority by at least three. By his calculation, a majority of 11 would be 7 (11÷2=5 1/2,, rounded to 6;6+1=7). This would necessarily mean that a court comprising three judges can only make decisions unanimously, since a majority of three must necessary [sic] be three,” the lawyer representing the opposition leader argued.

He noted too that there is no definition of the word “majority” under the constitution, and as such, it must be given its natural and ordinary meaning.

“Arithmetically this translates to the number which is greater than half of the whole question,” he said, while putting to the court that the attorney general erred in his arithmetical formulation.

Report on window-tinted motor vehicles submitted to Cabinet

By Svetlana Marshall A REPORT, on a survey research on the use of tint on vehicles in Guyana has been submitted to Cabinet for review and approval.

The report was submitted

by Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, made the disclosure at the Ministry of the Presidency on Friday January 18,

2019, during his first 2019 post-Cabinet media briefing.

“The survey research was conducted to facilitate a review of the policy by which vehicles’ tint permits are issued,” Minister Harmon explained. It was noted too, that the survey was intended to solicit the views of citizens as regards the use of vehicles with tinted windows in Guyana. The report also included the information on best prac-

tices in a number of countries with regard to the use of tint on motor vehicles.

According to the state minister, Cabinet accepted the report and undertook to examine its full content before its approval.

The Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act states: “No person shall have fitted to his motor vehicle and glass or safety glass or any material used in the place of such

glass or safety glass which is so tinted or otherwise treated or coloured in such a manner or to such extent, as would result in obstructing the identification of the driver of the motor vehicle or any other person travelling in the motor vehicle by any person from outside the motor vehicle.”

In the past, the public security minister had underscored the need to have a survey conducted on tint on the

glass of motor vehicles. At the time, he pointed out that many persons suffering from a range of health conditions had been granted approval to use tint on their vehicles.

“As it is, I have restricted it to people who suffer skin disease and ultraviolet rays affecting their eyes and also for certain public officials who, for security reasons, need it and some businessmen,” he had explained to

the media.

Citizens had questioned his decision to grant permission to some persons and not others.

He said that while many people approached his ministry with health issues as the reason for their need to use tint, the police have pointed out that some persons were using tints so dark, it had become a threat to security.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Court can hear dual citizenship case

… insist lawyers challenging validity of Charrandass’ ‘yes vote’

By Svetlana Marshall

LAWYERS representing Berbice farmer Compton

membership of the National Assembly, dismissing arguments put forward by attorneys for recalled MP Charrandass Persaud who has been found to have dual citizenship following his vote with the opposition to topple the coalition government.

Senior Counsel Rex Mckay, Neil Boston and attorney Robert Corbin submitted that Article 163 of the constitution gives the High Court and the Court of Appeal ‘exclusive jurisdiction’ to adjudicate and determine matters such as the one brought by Reid.

Reid, a New Amsterdam farmer, is challenging the validity of the vote cast

by Persaud in the National Assembly on the basis that he breached Article 155 of the constitution which bars Members of Parliament from having dual citizenship. Persaud is a citizen of Canada. Reid’s lawyers

Reid have insisted that the High Court and the Court of Appeal have exclusive jurisdiction to determine

have handed over several pieces of critical documents to prove that Persaud held valid Canadian passports from the year 1998 to the present date.

Speaker of the NATIONAL Assembly Dr Barton Scotland and Attorney General, Basil Williams have also been named as respondents in the matter, which was first called on Tuesday before Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire. “Article 163 of the constitution gives the High Court and the Court of Appeal, “exclusive jurisdiction” to adjudicate and determine the maters listed in the said Article (1) (a), (b) (i) (ii) and (iv), (c) and (d). The National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act Chapter, 1:04 is constitutionally grounded in the said Article 163 (4), which provides for Parliament to make provisions to facilitate the proper dis-

Saturday, January 19, 2019 03:30hrs –– 14:30hrs

charge by the High Court and the Court of Appeal of their constitutional mandate of “exclusive jurisdiction,” Reid’s lawyers led by McKay, S.C said in their opening arguments on jurisdiction.

Persaud, through his lead attorney Sanjeev Datadin and associates, is contending that the court has no jurisdiction to grant several declarations being sought by Reid, because all challenges to the election and appointment of members of parliament must be by the provisions of the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act Chapter 1:04) which must be brought within 28 days by an Election Petition.

Datadin and associates are also arguing that there can be no challenge to the vote of Persaud in the National Assembly because Article 165 (2) preserves the “validity of the vote,” despite any supposed defect of any of the participants of the vote.

But Reid’s lawyers rubbished the claims put by Persaud’s attorney, stating that such an argument suggests that once 28 days had elapsed after an election there is no remedy for any flagrant breach of the constitution.

“The second proposition would also lead to the conclusion that unconstitutional acts by the National Assembly of the Parliament would be valid, even if there are breaches of the provisions of the constitution by the said National Assembly,” Reid’s attorneys argued.

They submitted to the court that it was not the intention of the framers that the constitution would authorise, condone and preserve any breaches of its own provisions and provide remedy.

McKay and associates, in supporting the arguments, pointed out that Article 163 (1) provides that the High Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine several questions, including: qualification of any person

to be elected to the National Assembly; whether, inter alia, an election has been lawfully conducted or whether seats lawfully allocated or have become vacant.

But in their submissions, Datadin and associates maintained that the court has no jurisdiction to enquire into the internal proceedings in Parliament, unless where express provision is made for such intervention.

“In the instant case, Parliament has expressly set out a separate and special procedure for challenging the qualification a member of the National Assembly.

The procedure is grounded in Article 163 of the Constitution of Guyana and provided for in the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act that is made under Article 163 of the constitution. The procedure provided is for there to be an elections petition and that petition has to be filed within 28 days,” Persaud’s lawyers maintained. They cited the case of Sir Vincent Floissac in Russel v AG (1995) in which the court said “it is essentially a parliamentary jurisdiction conveniently assigned to the judiciary by the constitution and by the legislation.

DECLARATIONS In response to requests

by Reid for the court to issue several declarations confirming Persaud’s Canadian Citizenship and invalidating his December 21 vote, Datadin and associates said it is established that the court should not grant declaratory orders in relation to the conduct of matters in parliament. The case of Bradlaugh v Gossett and R v Office of the Prime Minister (2008) were cited as examples.

Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo, who was recently added as a party to the case, called on See page 5

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Ramnarine extends leave

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police (ACP) David Ramnarine, who was overlooked for the position of commissioner of police, is still on annualised leave and was grant-

ed an extension based on his request to Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan.

This was confirmed by Commissioner of Police Leslie James on Friday

during a news conference.

“He is expected to resume this year; I cannot recall the specific date,” the commissioner said. Ramnarine, 49, proceeded on annualised vacation leave from

Court can hear ...

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the court to strike out Reid’s application. Jagdeo is represented by Attorney Anil Nandlall and team.

According to Jagdeo, Reid’s application does not disclose any reasonable ground for bringing the claim; it is an abuse of the process of the court, it is scandalous, frivolous and vexatious and the proceedings fly in the face of the constitution.

“It cannot be disputed that the second-named respondent was elected to sit in the National Assembly pursuant to elections held under Articles 60 and 160 of the constitution as referred to by Article 163 (5) of the constitution. It is submitted that Parliament has indeed made provisions to which Article 163 (4) of the constitution makes reference.

That provision manifests itself in the form of the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act and National Assembly (Validity) of Elections Rules.

“It is further submitted that this honourable court’s jurisdiction to determine any question regarding the qualification of any member of the National Assembly can only be done in the manner prescribed by Article 163 of the constitution, that is to say, in accordance with the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act and the accompanying rules,” Nandlall argued on behalf of his client.

But the attorney general, though being a respondent in the matter, endorsed the positions outlined by Reid and his lawyers. “We are completely in agreement with and adopt the arguments advanced by Counsel for the Applicant

Compton Herbert Reid with regard to Mr. Charrandass Persaud’s eligibility to vote on Resolution 101,” the Attorney General Basil Williams stated in his submissions on Friday. He, like Senior Counsel McKay and associates, is arguing that the court has jurisdiction to hear the case.

“This is not an election Petition as contemplated by Section Three of the National Assembly Validation of Elections Act Chapter 1:04. As such, it is not hinged to the time stringencies of Section Five of that Act,” the Attorney General explained through his attorney Maxwell Edwards.

On the basis that Persaud, while a Member of Parliament held dual citizenship status, Williams put to the court that resolution 101 cannot survive the unlawful vote of the Canadian Citizen.

“According to the Speaker’s certification, resolution 101 was passed by a one- vote margin. It is obvious therefore that when Mr. Persaud’s unlawful vote is removed from the tally, the motion could not pass,” Edwards put to the court.

He added: “The framers of the constitution took the issue of unlawful voting seriously. I believe it is the only issue where the framers have included a specific penalty for noncompliance.”

Article 58 (1) states: “Any person who sits or votes in the National Assembly, knowing or having reasonable ground for knowing that he or she is not entitled to do so, shall be liable to a penalty of $50.00 dollars for each day upon which he or she sits or votes.”

September last after he had congratulated the new leadership of the Guyana Police Force.

He turns 50 this June at which time he would be eligible for early retirement in accordance with Public Service rules. President David Granger had said that he can justify his appointment of James, while overlooking Ramnarine who had acted in that capacity for several months.

The Head of State had noted that the selection of the commissioner of police is governed by the constitution and every stage is mandated. He explained that the Police Service Commission (PSC) and its chairman had to be consult-

ed and after deliberations, recommendations were put forward and after careful assessment and examination, a final decision was made.

James was appointed as the 12th commissioner of police. He is supported by four deputy commissioners, namely Lyndon Alves, Maxine Graham, Nigel Hoppie and Paul Williams. The four deputies are responsible for operations, administration, law enforcement and special branch/ intelligence.

The President said that the appointments pave the way for the force to be more efficiently managed, including having a system of succession planning, notably train-

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Assistant Commissioner of Police David Ramnarine ing others in preparation for high office. The Head of State noted that security of the state and the safety of the Guyanese people rest on the police force and the officers who command it.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

President Granger for second term

IT has been confirmed that President David Granger will lead the APNU+AFC coalition into the next General and Regional Elections, ending all speculation as to who that coalition’s presidential candidate would be.

Mr Granger will be seeking a second term in office. This revelation, although not surprising, should be good news to all Guyanese. His Excellency is certainly the most qualified person to continue the job that he started: that of of leading Guyana’s citizens on the journey towards full democracy, social cohesion, equal opportunities for personal development, and equitable access to the benefits of Guyana’s resources. The President is unquestionably the most suitable candidate to lead our nation into a brighter future and a good life for all. The journey to a better future which began on May 16, 2015, must continue without interruption.

The man who is Guyana’s ninth president and arguably one of the country’s most qualified and visionary Heads-of-State, attended Queen’s College. He is a graduate of the University of Guyana, the University of the West Indies, and the University of Maryland, among other recognised institutions of higher learning. His areas of study include international relations, urban policy development, defence planning and resource management, and counter-terrorism.

His career in the service of his beloved Guyana began when he joined the army in 1965. Determined

to be the best, he pursued military training in a wide range of skills and disciplines, both locally and internationally. He attended the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria, the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil, the School of Infantry and the Mons Officer Cadet School, both in the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the young officer met and fell in love with Sandra Marie Chan-A-Sue. They married in 1970 and had two daughters, Han and Afuwa. Granger excelled in the army, earning the position of commander of the Guyana Defence Force in 1979; he was promoted to the rank of brigadier. In 1990, David Granger was appointed National Security Adviser to the President. His military career ended when he retired from the service in 1992.

David Granger then became an entrepreneur and managing editor when he founded the Guyana Review news magazine in that same year.

Later, Granger added “author” to his already outstanding résumé when he wrote two books, ‘Guyana's state media: the quest for control,’ and ‘A Preliminary Study of Women Soldiers in the Anglophone Caribbean.’

Throughout his life, Granger has pursued multiple interests: he has headed numerous societies, associations, foundations, and boards. He became known as a voracious reader, prolific writer, and ardent student of history. Despite his wide-ranging interests and areas of expertise, he has always made time to play his

favourite game-- chess. Of course, he served as President of the Guyana Chess Federation, and, to this day, remains a respected opponent.

At this juncture in his already remarkable life, Granger reportedly became increasingly aware of the plight of the majority of Guyanese. He was troubled by the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the scarcity of opportunities for hinterland Guyanese; and he decided to work towards the goal of fixing those and other problems.

In 2010, he successfully campaigned to be elected as the presidential candidate of the People’s National Congress Reform. In the November 2011 General and Regional Elections, Granger ran as the opposition coalition's presidential candidate; the coalition lost the bid for the presidency and control of the executive branch of government; Donald Ramotar of the PPP became president and Granger was unanimously elected leader of the opposition in the National Assembly on January 16, 2012.

As Guyana’s descended into an authoritarian, oligarchic, drug-transshipment, failed state under the anti-democratic, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Granger became increasingly disgusted with the situation, particularly the lack of local democracy, the flouting of the law, and the alleged corrupt diversion and theft of Guyana’s resources by the PPP cabal led by Bharrat Jagdeo.

Granger stood again as the presi-

dential candidate of the opposition APNU+AFC coalition in the May Regional and General Elections. The coalition won the majority of votes and Granger was sworn in as President of Guyana on May 16, 2015.

On that day, Guyana was freed from the stranglehold of the PPP dictatorship. The capital city was cleaned up, corruption was uprooted, drug-lords were no longer welcome at State House, crime rates declined, human traffickers were placed before the courts, and local democracy was renewed twice, as required by the constitution. It was the dawn of a new and refreshing era as extra-judicial killings, political imprisonment, and anti-democratic practices became only dark memories.

But, oil has been discovered in Guyana, and Bharrat Jagdeo was now leader of the opposition. Late last year, while President Granger was receiving medical attention abroad for an illness from which he is now recovering, Jagdeo moved a motion of no-confidence against the coalition government. The motion was debated and voted on by the National Assembly on December 21, 2018.

One government Member of Parliament voted in favour of the motion, and the Speaker declared the motion passed. Under the circumstances, the constitution stipulates that elections must be held.

Even as the courts have yet to pronounce on the validity of the passage of the motion, it has been decided that in any event, President

Granger will stand for re-election to the presidency at the next general election.

The accomplishments of David Arthur Granger are too numerous to mention. His work to improve the quality of the public service by identifying problems via a commission of inquiry is an example of his systematic approach to problem-solving. His expert knowledge of matters of security will finally put an end to Venezuela’s aggression. President Granger’s vision of a ‘green’ economy, equality, equity, cohesion, inclusion, harmony, self-sufficiency, opportunity, development, education, economic diversification, decentralised government, good governance and full democracy are exceeded only by his actions to make that vision into reality.

Guyana cannot afford to go backwards into the dark days of PPP dictatorship, greed, cronyism, theft, and corruption. Guyanese cannot afford to allow Bharrat Jagdeo to get his hands on Guyana’s resources. Instead, Guyanese must stay steadfastly focused on moving forward. The democratic gains that we have made under the skilful leadership of a man whose name has never been blemished by corruption, a soldier whose reputation has never been touched by scandal, a gentleman whose character has never been questioned, must continue and be sustained.

Appropriate readiness for credible elections

Dear Editor

“PSC urges GECOM chair to assure nation about preparedness to hold elections,” a captioned letter to the editor in the Guyana Chronicle of January 17. Its contents lay bare the naked indecency of this vested interest of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) clamouring for elections to be held in the constitutional time frame relative to the aftermath of the results of the now infamous no-confidence motion tabled by the PPP/C in what is now being deemed under treacherous circumstances.

Of course, this organisation desires most dearly a return to the status quo of the PPP/C, which had doled

out generous tax concessions which a poor country like ours could not have afforded, and waivers, which in the main were not used for the purpose as requested, as subsequently revealed by the Guyana Revenue Authority investigative checks, from 2015 onwards.

The new dispensation has brought to an end such executive lawlessness which had denied the treasury much needed revenue.

Simply put, it has a score to settle with the current government for halting its many illegalities. Sections of it had been clearly complicit in the foreign currency plot against the state, by deliberately hoarding this key finance.

It was a plan with political backing and support, that had been designed to destabilise

the national economy and in the process embarrass the government.

It brought an unmistakable partisan agenda to its criticisms of the government, particularly illustrated during the helmsmanship of a particular captain of industry. This observation had been highlighted by another very high-profile commercial house, whose leader criticised the approach as “political.’’

Therefore, its pretence of urgent concern for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), to assure the nation about its readiness for national and regional elections, is about adding one more of the frenetic voices that have been responsible for the unnecessarily charged atmosphere that prevailed in

the nation after the immediacy of the motion.

Of course, it is GECOM that must be able to pronounce on readiness or not for the polls; and must be able to verify this certainty or not of the premier constitutional event, without being influenced by such incessant and unfair clamour that spouts from such national bodies as the PSC, or both direct and indirect pressure from the phalanx of groups that are salivating at the prospect of the flow of oil in 2020. It must not be rushed into any premature decision, because of some of the unholy and greedy voices whose intent in what has been unfolding since December 21, 2018, have been exposed.

In fact, there is a truth and reality which is conveniently

absent from the opportunists and devious crescendo that have been sounded like righteous decibels: GECOM has been placed in a position because of what has been clearly a raid on democracy in Guyana, for reasons which even the man in the street has comprehended to be treacherous in its construct and therefore totally unnecessary.

This means placing GECOM in the very challenging and unfair situation because of the power hungry and lustful grabbers of power. Crucially-- and most important-- there has to be, among other vital prerequisites, a new round of voter registration so as to occasion a new voters’ list, something about which opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo had already raised hackles. Of course,

the court will rule on the challenges before it; but there has to be a proper voters’ list, properly prepared. There must be no shortcut to this critical essential of eligible citizens, as yet unregistered and entitled to the exercising of their franchise of the democratic vote.

The PSC and its political allies are well advised that GECOM must not be harried by their deception and less-than-convincing pitch. Let this constitutional body be allowed to deliver a state of proper readiness for credible elections. It is its constitutional mandate to do so.

Regards Mark DaCosta

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Let the court decide Dear Editor WHAT is now the historical coalition government of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change(APNU+AFC) coming into office was to usher in a new dispensation of the type of politics which has become the barometer as to how well this nation understood the dynamics of national politics, especially the brand that is intended to shape a new society in its thinking and understanding of itself as striving for cohesion, and all its attendant attributes.

The revelation since 2015 has been instructive as to the mindset-- honest or not-as to the expectations of a coming together of different political groupings of persons in the context of our national politics, given its well-known history of race, and what such a combination should be able to achieve in such a highly challenged milieu as Guyana.

Out of such an observance, there has been an endurable theme which is constant for its deliberate portrayal of coalition politics, in our peculiar context, as one where the junior partner had been expected to put a brake on the political behavioral instincts of its bigger coalition colleague; with this leading to daily political fights and

public political blood-letting.

This was, and still is, a mantra of a particular collective with vested interests, which includes a significant political segment that has a serious grudge against the AFC that is undoubtedly hateful.

The numerous views of this entire collective, comprising letter writers, drawn from a specific political faction, and its easily identified constituents; friends and cronies alike, political radio broadcasts, televised discussions have been politically convenient in their statements. In fact, their unmistakable view was that the coalition had failed in its mission.

But we hasten to say that it has not, despite the many challenges it has had to confront, inclusive of a collapsed sugar industry which caused a national industrial crisis.

Much has been achieved, primarily from a socio-economic standpoint. Of course, better can be done, but of the air of high expectation on the part of the general citizenry, because of the positive things that have so far been done, and are continuing against the background of the well-received 2019 BUDGET, there can be no doubt.

Guyanese since 2015, can dare to dream.

The recent no-confidence motion brought against the coalition government, and

all that has ensued so far, again brings to the fore a deliberate misinterpretation of constitutional meaning, and an equal misrepresentation of the APNU+AFC response to the post-motion environment.

Without any resort to language of intellectual style, it is the right of any citizen, any institution or organisation that is of the opinion that a matter that had been engaged in the courts, or even otherwise, with which there is dissatisfaction with the latter’s ruling, or otherwise, has the right to seek further remedy. This is allowed, and facilitated in any country where there is democracy.

In more simple terms, even a person sanctioned before the court, and believes that such has been unjust, is advised by counsel to appeal.

Surely, from a purely layman’s point of view, this is natural justice.

Absolutely, such a right is also that of any government, as is the case with the current executive challenging the results of the no-confidence motion.

From the deafening cacophony of demands that were made by the many legal minds who took on the self-ascribed role of “constitutional experts,’’ there was indeed a deliberate omission of the legal steps taken by the coalition government, beginning with the presentation of

Chips will fall where they must Dear Editor BHARRAT Jagdeo, leader of the parliamentary opposition, has become an example of political deviousness and continuous deception.

And this is no attempt to be disrespectful to a former President of Guyana.

He has been around for over 20 years as part of this nation’s political landscape, enough time for an objective assessment and conclusion to be made.

For him to have been presenting himself since his party’s sojourn on the opposition benches, as a new advocate of correct measures to be taken now, that he and his government had totally ignored during their tenure, illustrates not only a politician, but a human who is wholly convenient, speaking with a forked tongue.

He has become a vexation to the spirit for the often hypocritical and misleading

narrative which he leads. The Charrandass affair, markedly the JUDAS chapter of Guyana’s politics, is so indicative of his involvement, and his well-known brand of deception, that every subsequent statement uttered from his press conferences, continues to add to the public perception of a described dangerous leader. But it is comical as well, for the unconvincing “crap” that he spews.

For him to suggest that he “would support an impartial probe into whether Charrandass was bribed”, as reported in News Source on January 17, 2019, is another of his deceptions, designed to simply “throw sand” into the public’s eyes. Such a statement is designed to deflect his and party’s central role in a filthy political scandal which stench emanates in a most nauseating way from the corridors of Freedom House.

The most treacherous

page in Guyana’s political history is a product of Jagdeo and his party, in alliance with some well-known personalities. So Jagdeo needs to stop the barefaced attempts at moral rectitude, in so far as this particular incident is concerned.

Definitely not! Jagdeo must be told that there is no need for foreign input to support any such investigation. At least not to satisfy a leader who has no respect for the truth. In fact, an investigation into the political treachery is well advanced.

It is in the hands of capable investigators who can since 2015, operate in a professional environment, free of the naked political interference that marked the period of PPP/C administrations. The chips will fall where they must.

Regards Dillon Goring

its grounds to the Speaker for review, and a request that he overturn the results of his ruling that the results of the motion had been carried.

These are legitimate steps on the part of the government.

The narrative was dishonest, since the government never said that it did not respect the dictates of the constitution, except that it had significant concern for which it was advised by the Speaker to seek a judicial ruling, which decision will be of future guidance to the latter and the National Assembly.

The impression given by those whose actions amounted to a clear attempt to grab power, by means that are gradually being exposed, and supported by those with vested interests, was of a government that had been hell bent on undemocratic methods to remain in office. This has been clearly debunked by the executive and verily understood by a matured nation.

Indeed, the nation has found itself in uncharted territory, brought about by a situation that was contrived in treachery and

deception; attempts at creating a false environment of national crises when there is none, and intended to mislead, thus creating social tensions. What has arisen, following the motion, can only be determined by the court, and not by vested-interest attempts, coupled with wild summations and distortions to force the government from office, to which it had been democratically elected.

Regards Shawn James

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Not of this noble order

Dear Editor

“BISHOP” Juan Edghill, your letter in the January 08, Kaieteur News, captioned: “Faults of the David Granger administration” is yet another example of the wicked moral mindset of a political outfit that you continue to serve, represent and being a substantial part of by virtue of the fact that you are a spokesperson for the PPP/C. You have been subscribing and continue to add to a dishonest narrative which is wholly deceptive, totally vile in its construct and content, and wicked in its intent.

It is not worth anyone’s mental energy to respond to such grievous lies that

are ashamedly scandalous, as you desperately seek to scrape together reasons that are both misleading and misrepresentative of the facts as they pertain to the coalition government’s stewardship since May of 2015.

However, you must be reminded that you and cabinet colleagues of your former government bequeathed a country that had in effect become a CRIMINAL STATE during your party administration’s tenure in office.

This was by design and not by accident, as systems and laws were shunted aside to facilitate plunder and pillage of multi billions of dollars of state assets and allied resources, some of which have been traced to foreign banks,

as reported by international investigative agencies.

It explains why Guyana became a failed state, since hardly any institution functioned at a prescribed standard. They all became compromised and hostage to a state which was deemed the most corrupt in the history of the English-speaking Caribbean; so much so, that a United States State Department official described your party’s leader and former president as the head of a “Mafia State.” That, “Bishop” Edghill, should surely tell you where the “most corrupt” description ought to be ascribed.

No amount of lies and deception--even those repeated after your party’s equally deceptive leader--will ever

remove that factual understanding of what Guyanese experienced during the dark night of PPP/C governance.

Case in point, you as chairperson of the then Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), shamefully stood by, as the party you supported and still serve, made institutionalised racism its dogma. For you to have been the key person of such a constitutional body, without tendering any objections to an unfair and ungodly practice that had done nothing for inculcating tolerance, much less unity in a divided nation, qualifies you for the description as hypocrite par excellence. You never took a principled stand for that segment of the population that suffered economic genocide under a government that ensured its denial of equal opportunities. You stand convicted in every way, since your very silence aided and abetted a most iniquitous system meted out to one section of Guyanese.

The recent revelations about your racial abuse towards black people, describing them as “hard-headed,” says as much for your acquiescence towards the PPP/C as it says about your integrity.

Where was your care and humanity for those bauxite workers who were terminated at Linden, when they sought your intervention in their struggle with RUSAL? What did you do? Ignore their pleas; similarly turning a blind eye to a region that faced extremely difficult times through loss of employment.

“Bishop” Edghill, you should be reminded that a no-confidence motion should only be brought against a government when its governance is in dire crises, such as what obtained during your party’s last administration.

Any visitor from Mars would truthfully convey the fact that no such environment existed here prior to the parliamentary vote leading up to the treacherous Judas affair, and the fraudulent no-confidence motion (NCM) vote taken.

In the cacophony of strident calls for the government to resign, what malfeseance did the government perform to have an NCM moved against them? Such a motion had absolutely nothing to do with the performance of the coalition government. It was a political band--you included--that plotted the removal of a democratically elected government. It was about RACE and OIL and who controls the latter.

Again, you aided and abetted a process by which

you will be adjudged--and by extension your party. And this, a perfidious plot, began from almost the inception of the coalition’s office, with the collapse of the once mighty GuySuCo. The government provided G$30 billion to the sugar industry over 30 months to subsidise an industry that the PPP destroyed, INCLUDING investing in a US$200 million or G$40 billon white elephant at Skeldon.

You have joined with a party and former administration to continuously blame the APNU+AFC government for the shameful and abject debacle of such a great industry, when it was the PPP that destroyed sugar. This narrative speaks as much for your adherence to moral truth, as to the political distortions that you continue to represent.

So, an NCM can be brought against a government, according to Charrandass, for destroying the sugar workers livelihood, in an industry which is failing globally.

However, “Bishop,” you support your party’s good governance of criminal activity in hiring death squads to kill its own citizens, because of its support for a criminal economy, drug, gold and fuel smuggling and the likes of drug kingpin Roger Khan.

Further, for you to state that “Any decent, fair-minded, analytical, objective oriented and future-thinking Guyanese would agree that APNU+AFC was the most inept…and incompetent administration in the history of Guyana,” is laughable as it is intended to convey the figment of your and the PPP/C’s great imagination for fiction and false narratives.

For all of the deliberate acts of what clearly amounts to sabotaging the implementation and progress of its socio-economic programmes of national renewal, and the monumental challenge of reigning in the inherited culture of massive state corruption, among the many dark holes, the coalition government has achieved many, many successes, in many spheres of this country’s socio-economic life, since 2015.

Just remove the wilful mental wool, self-placed over your eyes, and you will immediately observe a newness that has begun to emerge; for example, the emergence of vital infrastructure in so many communities that had been denied such amenities for the entire reign of PPP/C governance. And this extends to even communities that support your party – they, too, are benefiting from a government

that is governing for ALL Guyanese and not by RACE, or PARTY affiliation.

You are aware of the numerous achievements of this government since 2015, but you and your party have been frantic in spinning a filthy narrative intended to create disaffection among the people of this country, with a government that has ensured the restoration of this country’s once battered image; political freedoms; the Rule of Law; a gradually emerging professional police force, which is now able to solve many more serious crimes with the restored cooperation of the public, and improved training; increases in the minimum wages, salaries, and pensions, by many percentage points since 2015; vastly improved Math and English passes at both the SSEE and CXC levels; creation of four new towns, along with the commissioning of community radios in many hinterland communities. The latter is to ensure that citizens are informed as to what is taking place within their country, while preparing Guyana for first-oil in 2020.

“Bishop” Edghill, you, as well as others, have sought to make a big political meal as regards the signing bonus sum of US$18M; as well as, making all sorts of inferences surrounding the visit of a party of coalition ministers to Texas. What a fertile mind that continues with its sordid matter, ready always to unload in a misleading manner.

Of course, by now you must be aware that the entire sum has been accounted for, and is being directed towards the expenses for Guyana’s border controversy, now before the ICJ. Let me say this: it is a tragedy to daily truth for you to be a participant in a narrative that has no basis for the plethora of falsities that it has been conveying, especially to its constituents. You have been part of this cohort of lies that is unmistakably being contrived for sinister motives.

You are a continuous part of a political movement which has committed so many grievous wrongs against the citizens of this land; wrongs that were done in the name of race and ethnic domination; wrongs that have left a bitter taste in the mouths of its numerous victims; crimes that took so much from this country, and committed by former officials of a government who still believes that its supporters ought not TURN TO PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

GTA developing destination action plan

THE Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and key stakeholders are in the process of developing a destination development map and action plan for Guyana as it continues to push tourism here.

In its effort to continue the development of the local tourism product, the GTA has embarked on developing the map and plan through the engagement of stakeholders, building partnerships, increasing tourism investment and improving resource efficiencies.

Director of the GTA Brian Mullis said the aims are to strengthen the capacities of leaders in the travel and tourism sector and move toward a demand-based approach to guide tourism product and infrastructure development.

“The main aim is to help realise the potential of the Guyana tourism sector, and in doing so, meet its aspiration of becoming a ‘Green’ State, a leading sustainable tourism destination in the Latin America – Caribbean Region, and relevant to everyone even tangentially en-

gaged in the travel and tourism industry,” said Mullis in an invited comment on Friday.

Many tourism product and infrastructure development initiatives only have a limited degree of market orientation. As a result, very often tourism service providers do not understand the explicit or underlying motivations of visitors.

Mullis believes that the lack of understanding can lead to a situation where tourism products and services do not meet market demand or

Is Jagdeo complicit in fraud?

Dear Editor, PLEASE pay close attention to what I’m about to say.

Remember this guy pictured below? He is Prof.

Jacob Opadeyi. He was the PPP’s unpopular choice for vice-chancellor at UG from 2013-2016. Remember the many days of protest at UG against him? Remember when he was to face the UG masses he conveniently fainted?

Remember this government did not renew his contract in 2016 after a no-confidence vote at UG and his poor performance? Now look at the document also pictured below?

You got it? Brilliant!!!

This very guy is now “supervising” Irfaan Ali’s “PhD”. The professor is an engineer supervising someone who knows absolutely nothing about engineering.

It is like an English teacher trying to supervise a Spanish class. Anyway, isn’t it suspicious that he is now writing a

letter supporting Irfaan?

Now look closely at the letter? Got it?

No UWI letterhead. No UWI official stamp.

You get my point now?

This is not an official letter from UWI. This is a personal letter from one of Jagdeo’s friends.

Another fake representation, this time on Jagdeo’s Facebook page in a desperate attempt to protect his presidential candidate of choice.

Come on Jagdeo and Irfaan, provide authentic documents for a change. Defend the serious allegations against Irfaan Ali about his qualifications.

Finally Editor, let me share this with Mr. Jagdeo, since he never did post-graduate studies, I did.

When I did my masters in medical education, during the final of my dissertation, I saw my supervisor a grand total of three times in one year. If I had withdrawn from my studies, she would be totally unaware, since she was supervising a few other masters students.

If someone were to write to her about my registration at the university, she would have likely directed them to the admissions or registration department of the university. You got my point editor? It was not Prof. Jacob Opadeyi’s place or responsibility to confirm or refute Irfaan Ali’s registration at UWI. Frankly, he would not have such information. Frankly, that was for someone below his academic standing, unless of course he was rewarded with a few bottles of cassareep.

Regards Mark Devonish MBBS MSc MRCP (UK) FRCP(Edin) Consultant, Acute Medicine Nottingham University Hospital UK

Not of this ...

FROM PAGE

to be made to account before the courts for charges levelled against them.

Because of such a lawless position, a new morality has been emerging in this country: of wrongs being excused because of ethnicity and party affiliation. As one who professes to know the truth, your conscience should be troubled that your colleague now seeks to have charges dismissed against him for the Pradoville Two

matter, when it is reported that other involved parties have been seeking to settle the outstanding sums as difference for the lots that were undersold them.

It has to be the greatest of contradictions for you to be in such an unholy environment, while concomitantly embracing the cloth. You do not have the moral authority to still lay claim to truth, when in your very letter

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you mentioned so many distortions, and false narratives. This means that you identify fully with its milieu, its beliefs, ideology, and practice. Such is a tragedy for the church, for what it should represent – the truth, and morality.

Surely, you are not of this noble order “Bishop.”

Regards Earl Hamilton

consumer expectations and the failure of new tourism enterprises. The GTA and key stakeholders are however focused on moving to a market-driven approach to tourism development based on visit readiness, market access, and strategic visitor flows.

“The resulting work will become a living Destination Development & Management Action Plan for Guyana that informs tourism development nationwide,” said Mullis, adding that the authority continues to strengthen its work with key stakeholders such as Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and GO Invest to prioritise policy recommendations which will improve the enabling environment

for tourism businesses and investors.

In many ways, he believes that Guyana is already an ideal destination for the increasing number of travelers who are seeking out authentic nature, culture and adventure experiences.

“This reality is reinforced by the fact that Guyana continues to be recognised in the international media. It was, for example, recently accorded yet another distinction and featured in National Geographic Traveller’s ‘The Cool List 2019’,” said Mullis.

Despite that, the GTA intends on continuing to improve the safety, quality and sustainability of the local tourism product in order to maximise socio-economic

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and conservation outcomes and improve overall visitor experience. This, Mullis said, will require inter-ministerial and cross-sectorial collaboration. In realisation of the continued impending growth, he said there is an urgent need to improve infrastructure, refresh existing products, develop new products, and reduce the cost of domestic travel.

Mullis believes that the greater the investment in travel and tourism-related product development, infrastructure, and local capacity, the greater the tourism sector can contribute to the economic transformation which prioritises a ‘Green’ State agenda.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Charrandass under probe for bribery, gold smuggling … to be questioned, extradited if necessary … Top cop says investigations have gone to a significant stage

By Rabindra Rooplall FORMER Member of Parliament, Charrandass Persaud, is being investigated for alleged bribery and the illegal movement of gold from the State of Guyana, Commissioner of Police Leslie James confirmed on Friday.

The police chief during a news conference at the commissioner’s boardroom, Eve Leary, told media operatives that although Persaud is in Canada, he will be contacted when the Force reaches that stage of the investigation.

He said that if Persaud refuses to return to Guyana for questioning and there is need for extradition, it will be processed. James said that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is gathering evidence at this point into the allegations in the aftermath of a report made to police.

The commissioner sidestepped questions on anything pertaining to links of the

Former AFC Member of Parliament Charrandass Persaud investigation being carried out because of the no-confidence vote in parliament on the night of December 21, 2018. “I am saying that following a report we have caused an investigation to commence, it’s still ongoing, at the conclusion of the investigation, we will seek legal advice, the commissioner said.

Describing the matter as sensitive, the commissioner said the investigations have gone to a significant stage. He said that a number of statements were taken from various persons and whatever information is gathered, those leads are being followed.

Further, James said that the Force interviewed multiple gold dealers who have corroborated as part of the investigation.

“The person we are investigating is innocent until proven guilty and I will not be prejudicial with this investigation, this is an impartial investigation we are undertaking,” the top cop asserted. “We are not seeking to manufacture anything, whatever is given to us is being taken and we will submit for legal advice, the advice given to us, we will respond to it.” Noting that the Force will not be hiding anything, the commissioner said any devel-

Commissioner of Police Leslie James opments on the matter will be made public through himself or the public relations unit.

When asked if the Minister of Public Security had contacted him about providing security for Charrandass, the commissioner said he was contacted and assured the minister that security will be provided for anyone who faces a threat.

The People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) is on record as saying that the former AFC Member of Parliament was allegedly bribed by the opposition. Persaud has since denied the allegations. However, Persaud had admitted to a dubious transaction where he was attempting to purchase some US$1M in gold.

At a news conference on Thursday, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo sought again to distance his party from allegations that they bribed Persaud to vote in their party’s favour.

Jagdeo’s top adviser, Peter Ramsaroop, had breach security protocol at the Ogle Airport to sprint Persaud away one day after the vote.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan recently told a news conference at his party’s headquarters that he is not aware of any attempts or plan on the night of December 21 to harm Persaud after he voted in favour to topple the government.

The security minister said that given the nature of the vote, he knew that had anything happened to Persaud, it would have reflected very badly on the government and as such, the necessary steps were taken to provide security for him. Ramjattan also denied having any knowledge of plans to harm Charrandass once he returns to Guyana, be it to answer charges or otherwise.

Persaud is reported to have said that he received information that efforts are afoot to have him killed either on the road or once he is sent to prison, to have him hang in his prison cell.

Minister Ramjattan rubbished these claims and told the Guyana Chronicle that Persaud is using these excuses as a means of not coming back to Guyana.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

GDF prepares for ‘Exercise New Horizon’

GUYANA Defence Force (GDF) troops stand to benefit from the skills of their US counterparts during “Exercise New Horizon”, which is scheduled to return to Guyana from January to August this year.

This is a joint training exercise between the GDF and the United States Military which will see the latter entity focusing on civil engineering, medical and support service personnel’s ability to prepare, deploy, operate and re-deploy outside of the USA while also benefitting the local community.

Two senior officers from the Guyana Defence Force joined representatives from the Ministries of Health, Education, and Communities, the Mayor of Linden, and personnel from the Security Co-operation Office of the United States Embassy in Guyana, at three planning conferences in Arizona.

In addition, a series of site surveys and consultations were conducted in the communities which are to benefit during the exercise. According to the GDF, during the exercise, various

projects will be undertaken.

These will enable GDF personnel to gain through skills transfer with the partnering US Military.

The Force will provide engineering personnel including masons, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, doctors, nurses and medics, who will be well positioned to enhance and build capacity.

In Linden, a women’s shelter and community centres are slated to be constructed. The construction of community centres is also planned for Yarrowkabra, while medical and veterinary outreaches are programmed for all the communities where the exercise will impact, including New Amsterdam.

The US team will be stationed at Base Camp Seweyo, which is also expected to benefit from a series of developmental works including repairs to the access road, the installation of solar-powered street lamps and the general development of the accommodations for participating troops. Work has already commenced on the repairs to the access road and the road network in and around

Tailor in hit-and-run accident freed A 26-year-old tailor was on Friday, January 18, 2019, due to the lack of evidence, freed from the charge of killing another man during a hit-and-run accident at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara back in 2017.

Ryan Seecharran of Herstelling was on trial before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore for the charge which read that on June 24, 2017, at Third Street Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, he drove motor car PVV 4911 in a manner dangerous to the public, causing the death of Kalicharan Goordial.

Seecharran was also charged with failing to render assistance to Goordial and failing to stop the vehicle after the accident. The accused was represented by attorneys-at-law Glen Hanoman and Everton Singh-Lammy.

The magistrate, on Friday, January 18, 2019, ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case due to insufficient evidence and, also, the eyewitness’ evidence was off. The case was dismissed.

According to reports, the incident occurred at 15:00hrs on the day in question at

Ryan Seecharran Third Street, Herstelling, a few streets away from Goordial’s home in Creek Dam. It was alleged that Seecharran, the driver of the motor car PVV 4911, was turning a corner when he collided with Goordial.

During the police investigation, it was revealed that Goordial was intoxicated and was lying in the centre of the cross-street, which adjoins to Third Street.

The driver of the motor car fled the scene and the injured man was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre by residents nearby.

Goordial was pronounced dead on arrival at the centre.

the base.

“Exercise New Horizon” is an annual U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) sponsored exercise designed to enhance joint humanitarian assistance between the U.S. Military and partner nations in Central and South America, and the Caribbean. This is not the first time Guyana would have benefitted from this joint exercise.

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Some of the stakeholders during one of the planning conferences in Arizona

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

CARIFORUM’s fight against crime moves forward … draft Model School Drug policy to be developed

THE development and implementation of a drug policy for school moves forward, as Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) Coordinators and other stakeholders from across the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) meet on 21-23 January 2019, in Saint Lucia.

The expected outcome of the three-day meeting is a draft Model School Drug policy, the CARICOM Secretariat said in a release. The draft policy will be subsequently reviewed and validated by Member States before submission to the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) for endorsement.

It is expected that the model policy will guide Member States in the formulation of their national policies, where necessary.

The meeting is organised into a number of plenaries.

Setting the context in the first

plenary will be presentations of the Report on Students’ Drug Use in 13 Caribbean Countries (2016) and the Implications of Marijuana Use on Adolescent Development.

The second plenary: Management of School Drug Use in the Caribbean will, among other issues, look at the challenges and windows of opportunities associated with the management of drug use in schools from the perspective of different countries. A review of Grenada’s National School Drug Policy (20182023), will also be done. The third and fourth plenaries: Crafting the Model School Drug Policy and Creating an Enabling Environment to support School Drug Policy, will respectively examine the components for excellence in learning in the Caribbean new school model. Legislation and the School Drug Policy and the way forward will also

Duo remanded for robbery of Bissan’s Trading Store

TWO men, who allegedly broke into the Bissan’s Trading store, located at King Street, Georgetown, and carted off over $13M in cash were on Friday, January 18, 2019 remanded to prison.

Patrick Smith of Curtis Street, Albouystown and Lincoln Trotman of Guyhoc Park, appeared before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and denied the joint charge.

Particulars of the charge read that, between January 10, 2019 and January 11, 2019 at King Street, the

lar crimes and also had pending charges before the court.

According to the facts, the money mentioned in the charge was kept secured in a safe located in the Bissan’s

Patrick Smith

Lincoln Trotman men broke and entered Bissan’s trading store and stole $13.1M in cash, property of Bissoon Singh.

Prosecutor, Corporal Sanj Singh, during his objection to bail, told the court that both Smith and Trotman were known felons and were previously charged for similar offences Singh further argued that both defendants were also convicted for simi-

Trading store and was last seen on January 10, 2019.

However, on January 11, 2019 it was discovered that the store was broken into and the money was missing after thieves torched the safe. The matter was reported to the police, who, acting on information, arrested Smith and Trotman.

Trotman was searched and $410,000 was found in his possession. It was suspected that same was stolen.

Both men, under caution, confessed to breaking into the store but admitted to only stealing $1.3M. The police had also arrested a third person who confessed to taking Smith and Trotman, in his motorcar, to Bissan’s Trading.

Magistrate Daly remanded the duo to prison until February 11, 2019.

be central features of these plenaries.

The sessions are interactive and will be moderated by regional and international specialists in the various fields. The meeting opens with a brief session at 09:00hrs, at the Auberge Seraphine Hotel, Castries, to which the media are invited.

Remarks will be given by representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat, European Union and the Government of St. Lucia.

The Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) is a subgroup of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and serves as a base for political and economic

dialogue with the European Union. It was established in 1992. Its membership comprises the fifteen CARICOM States and the Dominican Republic.

The Caribbean is a critical and central route between drug producers and large scale consumers and violence and crime remains a pressing problem. The Caribbean Community Strategic Plan indicates that citizen security remains a priority for the

Community, and in this context CARIFORUM. The 10th EDF CARIFORUM focuses on three main thematic areas.

These are: reducing the demand for and dependence on illicit drugs; advancing the thrust towards drug supply control Initiatives with enhanced coordination and dialogue with Latin America, and addressing some of the critical factors for crime and violence prevention and social development.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Caribbean exports rise but at a slower rate – IDB EXPORTS from Latin America and the Caribbean hit their highest level in six years thanks to a 9.9 percent increase in 2018, albeit amid growing downside risks in the future, according to a new report by the Inter-American Development Bank.

The region exported $1.08 trillion last year.

While this is the highest level since record exports in 2012, the rise fell short of the 12.2 percent growth rate for 2017. The region’s performance also lagged a worldwide trade increase of 11.6 percent for the Jan-Sept period (compared to the same period the previous year).

Mexico and the Caribbean region were above-average regional export performers, with South America lagging, according to the latest version of the series Trade Trends and Estimates: Latin America and the Caribbean. The report analyzes the region’s trade performance as well as its main subregions and countries. A decline in mineral and agricultural product prices hurt export performance, which was only partially offset by higher oil prices.

“The evolution of exports from Latin America and the Caribbean continued to be positive,” said Paolo Giordano, principal economist of the Integration and Trade Sector at the IDB and the study’s coordinator. “However, there is a slowdown trend taking place in the context of growing external risks that could weaken the export performance in the future.” Risk factors include a slowdown of the world economy, higher international interest rates, greater financial uncertainty, and more trade tensions involving major global players, according to the report.

China continued to be an important driver of export growth for the region. Shipments to the Asian giant rose 24.2 per-

cent in 2018, above the increase in sales to the United States (8.6 percent increase) and interregional exports (7.8 percent).

Sales to the European Union rose an average 10.6 percent for the year but flattened sharply in the second half of the year.

Among the subregions, exports from the Caribbean climbed 22.4 percent in 2018. South America saw its exports rise 8.9 percent – a sharp decline from the 15.1 percent increase registered in 2017. Central America, Mexico and the Dominican Republic chalked up an estimated increase of 10.6 percent.

Last year reversed a trend of rising commodity prices that weigh heavily in the region’s export portfolio. Downward pressure in commodity markets was driven by specific factors and, mainly, by a stronger dollar. Copper saw its price drop 6.1 percent in the Jan-Nov period when compared to the same period in the previous year. Soy dropped 4.3 percent in the same timeframe, coffee dropped 16.4 percent, and sugar fell back 23.4 percent.

Export volumes, which had risen by an average of 4.7 percent in 2017, fell back significantly in 2018, with an estimated increase of just 2 percent, according to available data for nine countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mexico and Chile were the only countries in the region that experienced improvements in real export performance. In Mexico, export volume growth increased from 8 percent in 2017 to 9 percent in 2018. Chile reversed a 2 percent decline in 2017 with a 7 percent volume boost in 2018. The Estimates sister publication -- Trade and Integration Monitor--published in November includes recommendations to improve Latin American export competitiveness in an increasingly challenging international environment.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Jagdeo confirms PPP MPs have dual citizenship GENERAL Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, Bharrat Jagdeo, has confirmed that two of the party’s parliamentarians have dual citizenship.

Amidst fallout over parliamentarians holding dual citizenship here, he has confirmed that Adrian Anamaya and Party Stalwart, Gail Teixeira have dual citizenship.

Teixeira, who is also a Presidential hopeful, is a Canadian citizen and has been a Member of Parliament since 1992 although the Constitution bars against MPs having dual citizenship.

Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Duke Pollard had said that the National Assembly should be cleared of all Members of Parliament with dual citizenship.

The Alliance For Change said of its 11 MPs: “Ten of the party’s MPs are citizens of Guyana only. The other MP, Mr. Dominic Gaskin, was born in the United Kingdom but is a citizen of Guyana by descent.”

“The issue of renouncing citizenship does not apply to Guyanese who were

Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira born in another country,” the AFC said. It is of the opinion that Minister Gaskin, constitutionally, sits as a duly elected MP without any hindrance or issue.

The issue of dual citizenship was brought to the front burner after AFC MP Charrandass Persaud broke ranks and voted in favour of the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion to bring down his government last December.

Article 155 of the Constitution states: “(1) No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who – (a) is, by virtue of his or her own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.”

PPP could name presidential candidate today

THE Central Committee of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is expected to vote for a presidential candidate in a matter of days.

Those in the running include: Opposition Chief Whip and former Home Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira; former Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony; former Attorney General Anil Nandlall; former Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali and Dr. Vindhya Persaud.

The members vying for the top position as presidential candidate made their case to the party’s Central Executive Committee last Thursday and Friday.

“Within a matter of days the voting could take place,” said General Secretary of the PPP/C, Bharrat Jagdeo, during a press conference at his Church Street office on Thursday, January 17, 2019.

Although the party is expected to vote for one of the five, there is still room for a consensus candidate whom Jagdeo said is always better.

“But one thing that happened in the presentations is that every single one of the five said if they do not become the candidate, they will work and support whoever is elected,” said Jagdeo, adding that it is not about the candidates, it is about the programmes of the PPP/C. He said every candidate will have to pursue the programmes of the party which include inclusionary governance, resuscitating the sugar industry and improving conditions for miners among other things.

When asked if he will take a backseat after a candidate is selected, Jagdeo said he will do so only after the General and Regional Elections.

Jagdeo, who was accused of being closely involved in the operations of the past administration, denied doing such and said he will, however, play a formal role if the PPP/C returns to office.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

ANUG officially launched, appeals for ‘shared governance’ system - party confident of holding balance of power in National Assembly

A New and United Guyana (ANUG) party was officially launched on Friday at Moray House with founding member and former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran appealing for a political system of shared governance.

According to Ramkarran, Guyana is a politically unstable country. He noted that this stemmed from the one-seat majority that the PPP had while in government and that the current government has.

“This instability is likely to continue and we are facing a critical time in our history.

We need to make our decision before the oil starts to flow,” the former speaker said. “Unless we have a governance system that eliminates or substantially reduces the potential for corruption, the authorities will buy over the Guyanese people with some economic reform and some economic development, so it will reduce their fear of economic domination by the another side.”

And Ramkarran has said that a shared-governance system could be the solution Guyana needs.

Founding member of ANUG and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran

(Left to Right): ANUG steering committee members Ralph Ramkarran, Akanni Blair, Dr. Henry Jeffrey, Beni Sankar and Timothy Jonas.

“I have been convinced for a very long time--for many years-- that the best solution to the problem of Guyana is a governance system that includes the major political parties,” he said.

That was tried since 1950 with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), according to Ramkarran, but the parties since then have embarked on a struggle for “ethno-political dominance” and that has remained the political culture in Guyana to this day.

He highlighted that there were several efforts engaged in by both the PPP, PNC and even the APNU+AFC coalition

governments to foster a system of shared governance, but those efforts were not successful.

“It didn’t come about for one simple reason: if those proposals are put in place, it is likely that the PPP will get the presidency and the PNC will get the prime minister-- which is perceived to be a lower position,” he said.

With the opinion that neither of the major political parties will work towards a shared system of governance that would augur well for Guyana, Ramkarran noted that ANUG’s intention is to apply pressure in the political landscape.

“We will not join either of the major political parties to form a government. We will not go into a government. If one of the parties gains a plurality and not a majority and they are searching for a partner to give them a majority, we wouldn’t be there,” he affirmed.

Simultaneously, he expressed confidence that ANUG could win the elections, but even if that does not happen, he said: “I believe that there is a very strong possibility that we will get enough seats in the National Assembly to hold the balance of power.

“We want to have the vote

to ensure that we will be able to play a role in forcing the major political parties to come to a constitutional accommodation,” he said.

And speaking on the party’s agenda, he said that persons within the party may have different political ideas, but what the party intends to do is listen to the people of Guyana and hear what it is that they really want.

In a detailed statement issued at the launch, ANUG also identified youth, reducing poverty, consensus on governing the oil industry and climate change as major areas of focus.

MEMBERSHIP At the launch, no mention was made of the party’s presidential candidate or party leader.

In the party’s constitution however, which was presented at the launch, it provided for a National Conference of Members, an elected Executive Committee and a Party Group.

“We hope to gather enough members-- and events like these will bring in membership-- and once we get a good set of members we will hold a members’ conference,” Ramkarran told the Guyana Chronicle.

He shared too that it is the intention of the party to engage more with members of the public and recruit members.

“I think once we hold some more of these meetings-- out in the regions and so on-- we will be able to develop very quickly,” he said.

The party was unveiled on Christmas Day, 2018, but now has to contend with garnering public support possibly as soon as by March of this year, for regional and general elections, following the no-confidence vote against the incumbent APNU+AFC government.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Five held with drugs, guns, ammunition and grenades during raid at Blackwater Creek

RANKS attached to the Joint Services, who were conducting patrols in the Blackwater Creek and Cuyuni River last Wednesday and Thursday arrested five persons (three Venezuelans and two Guyanese) with drugs, guns, ammunition and grenades.

The police reported that, on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, at about 13:30hrs, the lawmen intercepted a boat, conducted a search of its occupants and found in the possession of the 26 yearold Guyanese Captain of Eteringbang Landing, a live 12-gauge cartridge and 271 grams of cannabis.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, at 15:30hrs, on Thursday, January 17, 2019, ranks also intercepted a boat at Mode Hole, Cuyuni River, and found a live grenade in the possession of each of two of the 17 occupants.

However, later the same day, at about 17:30hrs, another vessel was seized and

Truck driver freed of ‘causing death’ charge A TRUCK driver was on Friday, January 18, 2019, freed of the charge of causing the death of a pensioner who was struck down and killed on the Houston, East Bank Demerara (EBD), Public Road, over a year ago.

Lennox Williams, a driver and supervisor at a shipping company, was on trial for the offence which read that on August 10, 2017 on the Houston Public Road, he drove motor lorry GMM 6597 in a manner dangerous to the public and caused the death of Chitrykha Sankar.

He was out on $700,000 bail during his trial before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore, at the Georgetown Magistrates Court.

At the end of the trial, Magistrate Azore ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove its case due to the lack of evidence and dismissed the charge against Williams.

According to the evidence, on August 10, 2017, Williams was driving the truck north on the eastern side of the western carriageway of the Houston Public Road.

Sankar was crossing the road when Williams collided with her and threw her into the air, causing her to land on the roadway.

one of the two occupants who resides at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara, was found in possession of an unlicensed pistol with 11 live matching rounds of ammunition.

The ranks again, that very day (Thursday January 17), this time at 23:30hrs, searched a boat at the Eteringbang Landing and found in the possession of the 27-year-old Venezuelan captain, five live rounds.

Ranks of the Guyana Police Force, on Thursday, January 17, 2019, acting on information, went to a location at Wismar, Linden, and found a 2 ½ acre cannabis cultivation with about 1100 plants measuring six inches to a foot in height, along with a nursery with about 500 seedlings and a makeshift camp.

The plants and camp were photographed and destroyed by fire.

The suspects are all being processed for court.

Teen killed in Onderneeming crash

Some of the items found during the raid

POLICE in Essequibo are investigating a fatal accident which involved a teenager on the Onderneeming Public Road in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Dead is 19-year-old Rajendra Anauge of Section B Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast.

The accident occurred at around18:40hrs on the Onderneeming Public Road, Essequibo Coast. The accident involved motorcar PSS 7038 which was being driven by a 23-year-old resident of Suddie Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast.

Information revealed that the vehicle, which was proceeding north along the western carriageway of the road at a fast rate of speed, was reportedly negotiating a right turn when he lost control and collided with the pedestrian. The pedestrian, who was rushed to the Suddie Public Hospital in an unconscious state, later succumbed to his injuries.

The driver, who failed a subsequent breathalyser test, is in custody assisting with the investigation. The post-mortem is scheduled for next week.

Case against former GGB employees set for February 21, 2019 COME February 21, 2019, former accountant and clerk attached to the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) will go on trial for allegedly forging documents in order to rob the entity of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On Friday January 18, 2019, Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus set aside February 21 for commencement of trial into the matters against former accountant Rosanna Ramnarine, 35, of Republic Park, East Bank Demerara, and former clerk, Deborah Forbes, 51, of Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara.

The women were joint-

The Accountant, Rosanna Ramnarine and the Clerk, Deborah Forbes ly charged on August 6, accounts.

2017, at the GGB, located 2017, and granted $450,000 The first charge read at Lot 68 Upper Brickdam, bail each for conspiracy to to Ramnarine and Forbes Georgetown, being emcommit a felony, larceny stated that between January ployed as clerks or servants, by clerk and falsifying of 1, 2017 and February 28, they willfully, and with the

intent to defraud, falsified a document in possession of the GGB, that is to say, payment advice #80230, purporting to show that Clinton Alphonso, received a payment of $436,409, on January 24, 2017.

The second charge alleged that the women, with intent to defraud the GGB, conspired, with person or persons unknown, to forge GGB payment advice #80230, dated between January 1, 2017 and February 28, 2017.

The third charge stated that the two accused, between January 1, 2017 and February 28, 2017, while being employed as clerks or

servants at the GGB, stole $436,409 in monies in the possession and power of the GGB, their employer.

The women were arrested by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) during an investigation at the GGB, since the women allegedly forged several payment vouchers and stole the money.

A handwriting specialist was called in and the women’s signatures were on the forged vouchers.

Ramnarine was charged in July 2018 before Magistrate Fabayo Azore for six similar charges and was released on $300,000 bail.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, January 19, 2019

Tourism earnings estimated at US$143M –– GTA director forecasts 500,000 visitors by 2025

GUYANA’s tourism industry is placed third among the country’s top export earners behind gold and rice, raking in some US$143 million.

The Government of Guyana conservatively estimates that the average visitor spends US$500 per visit, said Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority GTA, Brian Mullis in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Friday.

“This means that with estimated arrivals figure of 286,000 for 2018, tourism generates at least US$143 million in direct economic

benefits in Guyana,” he said, adding that Guyana is well positioned to attract 500,000 visitors by 2025 – best case scenario, or by 2030 if average annual growth was to remain static.

Mullis believes that either way, the future of the tourism sector in Guyana is bright since the sector has been growing since 2009. For the period January to November 2018, visitor arrivals to Guyana increased by 16.88 per cent compared to 2017.

Mullis said the increase includes an increase of 1.19 per cent in diaspora visitation; 11.66 per cent in leisure

vacation travel for November 2018 versus 2017; increases within all of Guyana’s core source markets with the United States of America (USA) recording 7.8 per cent, Canada 2.01 per cent, United Kingdom (UK) 10.04 per cent, and Germany 2.92 per cent from January to November 2018 versus 2017.

Guyana also recorded a marked increase of 15.73 per cent in travel from Cuba for shopping and for processing U.S. visas for November 2018 versus 2017.

The GTA director estimated that a typical visitor from Cuba stays four to six

Director of the GTA, Brian Mullis (Adrian Narine photo)

days and spends US$2,000 to US$3,000 per visit on purchases, lodging, food and other necessities, resulting in US$85 million being gener-

ated annually for Guyana’s GDP from Cubans alone.

As part of an effort to capitalise on those figures, increase visitation and pro-

mote Guyana as an emerging and sustainable destination, GTA has enlisted Concept Farm, a boutique strategic advertising agency based in Long Island City, New York, to develop a living integrated marketing and communications strategy and action plan for the destination.

From their work in tourism and their expertise and depth of their people, Concept Farm has the right credentials, knowledge and experience to develop a new strategy for Guyana and build the capacity of the Destination Marketing team to evolve it over time, said Mullis in a recent statement.

Cuban fined and placed in custody A Cuban, who is currently in police custody for threatening to bomb the United States Embassy, appeared on Friday, January 18, 2019, before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, after being charged for overstaying in Guyana.

Hunyarys Reygagd had the charge read to him, with the aid of an interpreter. The charge read that between December 14, 2018 and January 17, 2019, at Georgetown, he failed to comply with conditions which stated that he was granted permission to stay in Guyana from November 14, 2018 to December 13, 2018.

Reygagd, who was represented by Bernard DaSilva, pleaded guilty to the charge.

Police Prosecutor Sanj Singh told the court that on November 14, 2018, Reygagd arrived in Guyana through the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and was granted one month ‘s stay in the country by an

Hunyarys Reygagd

immigration officer.

On January 17, 2019, Reygagd and his mother went to the Embassy of the United States where it was discovered that he had overstayed his time. Also, stemming from the same incident, it was alleged that Reygagd told his mother in Spanish “If I have to cross the border of the United States that’s what I have to do or place bombs or whatever so that they can

understand us” A representative of the embassy, who also spoke Spanish, heard what Reygagd said and alerted officials.

The magistrate, after hearing the facts, fined Reygagd $30,000 with an alternative of six months imprisonment. He was taken back into police custody, as the investigation into the threats made by him, at the US embassy, continues.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

Jaguars lead by 97 runs after Pestano, Shepherd inspire spells

By Rajiv Bisnauth

THE Guyana Jaguars managed to stretch their lead to 97 at stumps on day two of the fifth round West Indies Four-day championship encounter against the visiting Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul survived off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall’s relentless spin onslaught to remain unbeaten on 15 from 104 balls in just over two hours at the crease while Christopher Barn-

well is yet to score when rain brought a premature end with the four-time defending champions ending the day at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, on 76-2.

Earlier pacers Romario Shepherd and Clinton Pestano produced two inspired spells of bowling which eventually gave the Jaguars a slim lead.

On a pitch offering some assistance to the pacers on both sides, the Berbician duo broke the back of the Volcanoes’

middle-order batting line-up with Shepherd finishing with splendid figures of 3-31 off ten overs while Pestano, who had a wicket late on day one, ended with 4-50.

Some injudicious shot-making from the remaining Hurricanes batsmen saw the visiting team dismissed for 175 inside 59 overs.

Resuming at 57-3, 139 runs behind the Jaguars’ modest first-innings total of 196, they progressed to 77 without

much difficulty before rain intervened for a short period of time.

But upon resumption both Akeem Saunders (28) and Terrance Warde (30) helped themselves with a few boundaries which carried their partnership to 57.

At that point Shepherd and Pestano utilised the overcast conditions to their advantage, claiming five wickets for 19 runs just before the lunch interval.

It started when the strong-

ly-built Shepherd, with a probing line outside off stump, induced Saunders into an edge behind.

At the other end, Pestano also discovered some movement to send back Warde leg-before-wicket while Jason Peters (0), was out in a similar fashion in successive deliveries.

The 24-year-old Shepherd continued his inspired spell of fast bowling when he removed both Orlando Peters (8), and Jeremiah Louis (0), lbw, to leave the visitors on 116-8 at lunch.

The post-lunch session saw the right-handed Cornwall hitting six fours in his 29 while Damion Jacobs also struck six boundaries in his unbeaten 34 but their chance of getting any closer to the Jaguars’ first innings evaporated midway the session.

The 26-year-old Pestano bowled Cornwall after he had faced 34 balls while leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo chipped in with the final wicket of Sheno Berridge.

The home team began their second innings with a 21-run lead and a 57-run first-wicket partnership between 22-year-old Chanderpaul and Trevon Griffith.

The two batsmen took different approaches to their innings with Chanderpaul, the more reserved, while the 27-year-old Griffith played the more attacking style.

The opening pair frustrated the bowling unit for the remainder of the session. A few minutes into the final the tourists did enjoy a brief period of success. Cornwall (2-22), then trapped Griffith lbw for 37 with six boundaries before he bowled Leon Johnson for 15.

Play is set to resume at 09:00hrs today.

SCOREBOARD

LEEWARD ISLANDS HURRICANES

innings (overnight 57-3) K. Powell lbw b Pestano 4 M. Hodge c Bishoo b Paul 15 K. Carty c Griffith b Permaul 12 A. Saunders c wkp. Bramble b Shepherd 28 T. Warde lbw b Pestano 30 R. Cornwall b Pestano 29 J. Peters lbw b Pestano 0 O. Peters lbw b Shepherd 8 J. Louis lbw b Shepherd 0 D. Jacobs not out 34 S. Berridge c wkp. Bramble b Bishoo 2 Extras: (b-1, lb-9, nb-2) 12 Total: (all out, 58.1 overs) 175 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-26, 3-40, 4-97, 5-97, 6-97, 7-106, 8-116, 9-138.

Bowling: Paul 17-4-43-1, Pestano 13-3-50-4, Permaul 10-3-181, Bishoo 8.1-1-25-1, Shepherd 10-3-31-4.

GUYANA JAGUARS 2nd innings

T. Chanderpaul not out 15 T. Griffith lbw b Cornwall 37 L. Johnson b Cornwall 15 C. Barnwell not out 0 Extras: (1-b, 4-lb, 4-nb) 9 Total: (for two wkts, 33 overs) 76 Fall of wickets: 1-57, 2-74.

Bowling: Louis 8-3-19-0, Berridge 5-3-16-0, Cornwall 126-22-2, Warde 1-1-0-0, Peters 7-3-14-0.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

Dhoni, Chahal help India seal series (REUTERS) - FORMER captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored his third successive half-century to guide India to a seven-wicket victory in the series-deciding third one-day international against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday.

Dhoni, who was dropped

twice in his innings and could have been run-out too, made 87 not out as he combined with Kedar Jadhav (61 not out) to guide the tourists home with four balls remaining and complete India’s 2-1 series victory.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, making his first appearance in the series,

SCOREBOARD

AUSTRALIA 1st innings Alex Carey c Virat Kohli b Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5 Aaron Finch lbw Bhuvneshwar Kumar 14 Usman Khawaja c & b Yuzvendra Chahal 34 Shaun Marsh stp. MS Dhoni b Yuzvendra Chahal

39 Peter Handscomb lbw Yuzvendra Chahal 58 Marcus Stoinis c Rohit Sharma b Yuzvendra Chahal 10 Glenn Maxwell c Bhuvneshwar Kumar b Mohammed Shami 26 Jhye Richardson c Kedar Jadhav b Yuzvendra Chahal 16 Adam Zampa c Vijay Shankar b Yuzvendra Chahal 8 Peter Siddle not out

10 Billy Stanlake b Mohammed Shami

0 Extras: (lb-2, w-8)

10 Total: (all out, 48.4 overs)

230 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-27, 3-100, 4-101, 5-123, 6-161, 7-206, 8-219, 9-228.

Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 8-1-28-2, Mohammed Shami 9.4-0-47-2 (w-1), Vijay Shankar 6-0-23-0 (w-2), Kedar Jadhav 6-0-35-0, Ravindra Jadeja 9-0-53-0 (w-4) Yuzvendra Chahal 10-0-42-6 (w-1).

INDIA 1st innings Rohit Sharma c Shaun Marsh b Peter Siddle 9 Shikhar Dhawan c & b Marcus Stoinis 23 Virat Kohli c Alex Carey b Jhye Richardson 46 MS Dhoni not out

87 Kedar Jadhav not out

61 Extras (lb-1, w-7)

8 Total: (three wkts, 49.2 overs) 234 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-59, 3-113.

Bowling: Jhye Richardson 10-1-27-1 (w-2), Peter Siddle 9-1-561 (w-3) Billy Stanlake 10-0-49-0 (w-1) Glenn Maxwell 1-0-7-0, Adam Zampa 10-0-34-0, Marcus Stoinis 9.2-0-60-1 (w-1).

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Saturday, January 19, 2019)

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What is the highest individual score made by an Indian player in a Test innings against Australia?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

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had earlier finished with a career-best 6-42 to help dismiss Australia for 230 in 48.4 overs.

Australia had won the first match in Sydney last Saturday by 34 runs, before Dhoni and skipper Virat Kholi combined to give the visitors a final-over six-wicket victory in Adelaide on Tuesday.

The Australians only had themselves to blame for their defeat yesterday as they had several opportunities to turn the game their way.

Kohli (46) was dropped

by Peter Handscomb at slip on 10, Dhoni was dropped by Glenn Maxwell at point on his first ball while both should have also been run-out early in their partnership.

Dhoni was also dropped in the 48th over by Aaron Finch with India needing 27 runs from the final 18 deliveries.

The Australian bowlers had kept their side in the match with some tight bowling, which frustrated Kohli and also made the finish tighter than it should have been.

Dhoni and Jadhav, however, never looked flustered and ensured the victory in their unbroken 121-run partnership.

The Indians had also exploited the slow-paced pitch in Australia’s innings and set the tone early as they put pressure on the Australian openers and restricted their scoring.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar also continued to torment Finch as he dismissed both the Australian captain and Alex Carey to reduce the hosts to 27-2 in nine overs.

Kumar dismissed Finch in all three matches.

Usman Khawaja (34) and Shaun Marsh (39) steadied the innings with a 73-run partnership, but both fell to Chahal in the same over and their dismissals were typical of Australia’s innings with the batsmen getting starts but then falling at times when they looked well established

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to push on.

Handscomb top-scored with 58, but became Chahal’s fifth wicket, with the score on 219-8, on the final ball of the 46th over and just when he was needed to see his side through to the full allotment.

MS Dhoni plays a pull shot. (Getty Images)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

UK calls for robust changes at WADA (BBC) – United Kingdom anti-doping chiefs have called for “robust changes” in order to rebuild trust in the World Anti-Doping Agency, including an independent review into its handling of the Russia crisis.

A WADA team retrieved data from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s laboratory on Thursday, 10 days after a deadline.

The Moscow visit was a condition of Rusada’s reinstatement in September.

U K A D c h a i r Tr e v o r Pearce said the passing of the deadline “alienated athletes” and “promoted distrust”.

“The steps taken to break the deadlock of recent years should be recognised,” he said.

“Also to be recognised are the efforts of WADA’s inspection team to the Mos-

cow laboratory - successfully conducting their work in challenging circumstances.”

would “build strong cases” against athletes found to have doped.

Leading athletes have opposed the lifting of Russia’s suspension

On Thursday, WADA president Sir Craig Reedie said the data retrieval was “a major breakthrough for clean sport”, adding WADA

However, in calling for an independent review, Pearce said the “management, governance and communication” of the Russia crisis should be

looked into.

H e a d d e d : “ WA D A should recognise that significant changes may be required to ensure that similar criticisms cannot be levelled at it and that athletes can trust in it.”

On Tuesday, WADA’S executive committee will consider a recommendation from its compliance review panel on whether to suspend Russia for missing the original end-ofyear deadline.

“WADA now finds itself at another critical juncture for the future of the global anti-doping system,” Pearce said.

“It is not for Ukad to second-guess the outcome of the January 22 decision. However, we now look to WADA to ensure that appropriate rigour and objectivity is applied to its decision-making.”

Tom Brady vs Patrick Mahomes: The stats behind the starring QBs (SKYSPORTS) - TOM Brady versus Patrick Mahomes; A 41-year-old, five-time Super Bowl winner versus a 23-year-old, second-year quarterback (QB) - but a future NFL superstar at that.

M a h o m e s t h re w a league-best 50 touchdown passes for the Kansas City Chiefs’ No.1 scoring offence this year, in only his first season as an NFL starter - he is just the third QB in NFL history to hit a half-century, after Peyton Manning and, yes, Brady.

But, now Mahomes faces his toughest task yet; Brady in the playoffs.

Here, we break down some of the staggering stats registered by the two diametrically opposing quarterbacks as they prepare to battle it out tomorrow for the right to represent the AFC at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta on February 3.

THEY’VE MET BEFORE Both quarterbacks impressed, with Brady throwing for 340 yards, one touchdown (TD) and a 109.2 passer rating. Mahomes, meanwhile, put up 352 passing yards, four TDs, two interceptions (INT) and returned a 110.0 rating in a losing cause.

Tw o o f M a h o m e s ’ touchdown passes were deep - 67 yards to Kareem Hunt and 75 yards to Tyreek Hill. The last QB prior to that was with two deep TD passes versus New England - Nick Foles on the way to defeating them in Super Bowl LII. Different to that October 14 meeting, the re-

match is to be played at Arrowhead stadium, as Kansas City host their first-ever AFC Championship game.

Brady, would you believe it, has a losing record on the road in the playoffs (excluding neutral-site Super Bowls), with three wins to four losses - losing his last three straight. He has eight passing TDs to go with eight interceptions in those games, for a 75.9 passer rating.

terbacks in the playoffs since the 1970 merger.

New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees (40) and his Los Angeles Rams counterpart Jared Goff (24) have the third-highest age differential (15 years, 272 days), while Brady and Mahomes take top spot at 18 years When Mahomes was born in 1995, Brady had just graduated high school, he was four years old when Brady was drafted by the Patriots

his second playoff win following Kansas City’s 31-13 beating of the Indianapolis Colts last week - but the odds are stacked against him.

No quarterback with one or fewer career playoff starts has defeated Bill Belichick’s Patriots in the playoffs since 2001. Such QBs have gone 0-8 in that span, with a completion percentage of 56.9, a TD:INT ratio of 9:10 and a 73.3 passer rating.

Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes meet in the AFC Championship game on Sunday night

For context, Brady is 20-3 at home in the playoffs, with 46 TDs, 18 INTs and a 93.1 rating.

MIND THE GAP There is quite a considerable age gap between these two.

In fact, Sunday’s Conference Championship games feature two of the three largest age gaps between opposing quar-

in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft and he was just six when Brady won his first Super Bowl in 2002.

Brady has since gone on to win five of the things, appearing in eight, while he has also racked up postseason records in passing yards (10,569), passing TDs (72) and wins (28).

Mahomes, meanwhile, is looking for just

The stats are similarly damning for a quarterback making their Conference Championship debut against a former Super Bowl winner. Since the 1970 merger, rookie QBs are 5-17, and 1-11 over the last 25 years.

Brady, meanwhile, is preparing for his 13th AFC Championship encounter and eighth straight.

Wozniacki beaten

by Sharapova

Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open in 2008 (BBC photo)

(BBC) - DEFENDING champion Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out of the Australian Open as five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova provided a reminder of her ability with a three-set win.

Russia’s Sharapova, seeded 30th, hit 37 winners in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory to reach the fourth round.

Wozniacki, 28, led 4-1 in the first set, only to see Sharapova battle back.

The third seed broke in the final game of the second to level, but Sharapova edged a tight third in Melbourne.

The 2008 Australian Open champion, 31, took her second match point to win in two hours 24 minutes and set up a fourth-round meeting with Australia’s Ashleigh Barty tomorrow. “ I h a v e n ’t p l a y e d many matches in the last year, especially against top players and these are the ones I train for, so it’s really rewarding to win,” said Sharapova, who served a 15-month ban for failing a drugs test.

Danish world number three Wozniacki, defending the ranking

points won in Melbourne last year, is set to slide down the standings as a result of the defeat.

She was competing at a Grand Slam as the defending champion for the first time, but says the experience did not put on added pressure.

“I did not find it hard at all. I find it kind of pleasurable,” she said.

“In tennis, you’re one on one, you battle and you do your best. One day you win, some days you lose.

“I gave it everything I had today. She was just a little bit better than I and that was really it.”

Sharapova has been unable to climb back into the upper echelons of the game since returning from a doping ban in April 2017, making just one Grand Slam quarter-final at last year ’s French Open.

But against Wozniacki she proved she still has the talent - and, most importantly, desire - to cause problems for the world’s best.

It was not Sharapova’s biggest win in terms of ranking since returning, having also beaten Simona Halep - who was then second in the world - at the 2017 US Open.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

Roach relishes underdog tag against England (CMC) – FAST bowler Kemar Roach believes despite being labelled “underdogs”, West Indies have what it takes to challenge England in the upcoming three-Test series in the region.

Roach is the oldest and most experienced member of the 13man squad preparing for the series – which starts at Kensington Oval here next Wednesday.

The 30-year-old boasts an impressive record of 166 wickets in 50 Tests, putting him in the West Indies top 10 wicket-takers of all- time.

“Looking ahead to the series, I’m feeling fit and ready. I’m confident I can do well and make an impact for the team,” the Barbadian said during the ongoing training camp here.

“We are the underdogs, we know that. But we were underdogs back in 2017 and we played some fantastic cricket to win at Leeds and show the world we have quality. We will prepare well, we will plan well, we will look to take our chances and look to challenge and win again.”

Roach was referring to the 2017 tour of England when West Indies suffered a crushing innings and 209-run defeat in the opening Test at Birmingham but bounced back to stun the hosts by five wickets at Headingley.

He, along with the Windies players, entered camp on Thursday, and will wrap up their preparations over the weekend going into next week’s big event.

“I recently reached one of my goals in the last series … obviously to be among the top ten West Indian bowlers of alltime in Test cricket was something special,” he noted.

“My next goal is to get 200 Test wickets and in doing so win some more games for West Indies. I will see how far I can go from there. I think I still have another three to four years in West Indies cricket, and I want to contribute to the team.”

The speedster has a very good record at Kensington Oval, managing 24 wickets in five Tests at the historic venue. His best match figures were eight for 116 against New Zealand in 2014.

Roach, who has been a key member of the Windies attack after returning to the squad in 2017, following a 19-month break due to injury and loss of form, said he was eagerly looking forward to performing in front of his home fans.

“As a Bajan, playing at Kensington Oval in front of your home people is always a good feeling to perform well … it is very important at home, you know the conditions well,” he pointed out.

“Once you go there and be focussed and be mentally prepared, I think it will be a very good feeling to represent the West Indies in your homeland.”

He continued: “Seeing the names of past greats on the stands is an inspiration. Kensington is a historic place and a lot of great cricketers have played at the ground.

“It has been renovated from the old one but it is still a good feeling to go out there and see Sir Garfield Sobers Pavilion, Greenidge and Haynes Stand, The Three Ws, Hall and Griffith, or bowling at the Malcolm Marshall or Joel Garner Ends.”

Windies fast bowler Kemar Roach

Stoute helps Jamaica on day one CWI refers Lewis comments to ethics committee

(CMC) – ALL-ROUNDER Kevin Stoute made an instant impact in his first match of the season, grabbing a five-wicket haul to rattle Trinidad and Tobago Red Force on the opening day of their day/night fifth round match in the Regional Four-Day Championship here Thursday.

The 33-year-old seamer finished with six for 35 as Red Force, opting to bat first at the Brian Lara Stadium, were dismissed for 170 in their first innings.

Only Yannic Cariah with a patient 36 showed any resistance as Jamaican fast bowler Marquino Mindley backed up Stoute well with two for 34.

However, Barbados Pride failed to capitalise on their bowlers’ enterprise and were stumbling on 52 for three at the close, still 118 runs adrift of overhauling their target.

Jamaican speedster Odean Smith did the damage, removing both openers Anthony Alleyne (17) and Shayne Moseley (12) cheaply, with Aaron Jones departing without scoring to add to the visitors’ woes.

Alleyne was the first to fall, slashing outside off and edging a catch to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin and Jones followed four overs later after facing 11 balls, missing a tentative prod at seamer Daniel St Clair and having his stumps rattled.

Left-hander Moseley

perished when he edged a lifting one from Smith and was taken at gully by Khary Pierre.

Earlier, Jeremy Solozano (20) and Barbadian Kyle Hope (15) had put on 38 for the first wicket to give Red Force a decent start.

fourth wicket to repair the damage.

But yet again, one wicket led to another as Mohammed nicked a push at a wide ball from pacer Shamar Springer and was caught behind, leading to the loss of four wickets for 31 runs.

Seamer Kevin Stoute

But once Hope steered Mindley into the hands of Ashley Nurse at second slip, Red Force lost three wickets for five runs to slip to 43 for three.

Captain Denesh Ramdin and Jason Mohammed, who both scored 19, posted the best stand of the innings when they added 36 for the

Cariah, who faced 108 balls in just short of 2-½ hours at the crease and counted four fours, put on 34 for the eighth wicket with Pierre (15) to prop up the innings but became Stoute’s sixth wicket when he was last out, lbw trying to whip a full-length delivery into the onside.

(CMC) – OUTSPOKEN Cricket West Indies director, Enoch Lewis, could find himself in trouble with the regional body over his strong recent criticism of the appointment of Richard Pybus as senior men’s team head coach.

While not mentioning Lewis by name, CWI said in a statement late yesterday that the charges regarding Pybus levelled by the “objecting board director”, would be referred to the Ethics Committee “for review”.

“Recent public charges levelled at the sporting body by an objecting board director have now been referred to the governing body’s Ethics Committee for review,” CWI said.

Lewis slammed the appointment of Pybus, accusing CWI president Dave Cameron, of “hand-picking” the Englishman and ignoring the best practices of “transparency, fairness and due process”.

The Leeward Islands Cricket Board president penned his concerns in a strongly-worded letter to CWI last month and also repeated those concerns in media interviews.

He said CWI directors

had approved Nic Pothas as the choice to replace Australian Stuart Law, the South African having been put forward by director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, after consultation with players.

After Pothas rejected the initial compensation offer – which was nearly half of what Law had been paid in the position – Lewis said Cameron determined negotiations were at a stalemate, made contact with Pybus and negotiated and concluded a deal worth more than what Pothas had been offered.

“The negotiations conducted with Mr Pybus by president Cameron was without pre-authorisation and input from the Board,” Lewis contended.

“None of the (Director of Cricket), the Cricket Committee or the Technical Cricket Committee was consulted on the initiative to engage or negotiate with Mr Pybus.”

Lewis also contended that while Pybus was eventually approved by directors, the matter “provoked heated debate and proved a very divisive issue amongst the directors”.

However, in its statement yesterday, CWI said

it was “standing by its decision” to appoint Pybus as head coach, pointing out that the decision was made “with the support of more than two-thirds of its board.”

“CWI advised that the decision to appoint the coach had been further reviewed and approved by the Corporate Governance, and Audit Risk and Compliance Committees,” CWI said.

According to the release, Pybus was appointed in order to “ensure the team had strong leadership ahead of the busy cricket season this year.”

West Indies host England in a full tour of three Tests, five one-dayers and three Twenty20s starting next Wednesday, and also travel to England for the ICC World Cup in May, before hosting India in another major series.

Pybus has been appointed on an interim basis, with a permanent head coach to be found in September.

A former director of cricket and the current high-performance director, Pybus never applied for the Windies head coach position and was not among the 11 coaches shortlisted by Adams last September to fill the post.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

GCB questions CWI Selection Panel ONCE again, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) is compelled to express its extreme disgust with the lopsided and illogical approach displayed by the CWI selectors with their selection of the Test team for the First Test against the visiting English team in Barbados.

This team was released to the public on January 15 and the Test commences on January 23, 2019.

This is the second time in six months that we are having a genuine cause to question the ridiculous selection policies and practices of the CWI selection panel, headed by Mr Courtney Browne. We have been literally bombarded with calls for us to explain this outrageous situation and just cannot fathom a plausible explanation.

Firstly, we note that the administrators arranged 2 two-day tour matches to be held on January 15 & 16 and January 17 & 18 prior to the First Test. Of note is that the tour matches and practice matches are all being played in Barbados so there is no issue of travelling being an impediment for logistics.

Can the selection panel advise us why the haste in

selecting the team eight days in advance of a very important series at home?

The second tour match was set to conclude on January 18, a clear five days before the First Test.

Can you explain why the team was not selected at the end of the 2nd tour match? Or were those matches arranged just to facilitate practice for the English team and had no bearing on the minds of the CWI selectors?

T h e G C B s t ro n g ly feels that all teams should be selected on a firm set of criteria, chief among which should be; Performance, Fitness, Form, Attitude, Aptitude, Team Balance, G ro u n d C o n d i t i o n s , Commitment, Training and a few other reasonable subjective considerations.

We at the GCB have been practising these traits in the selection of our representative teams which have served us well with the structure that we have developed with our contracted and Academy players. Our structure now involves a domestic franchise system within the regional franchise system.

The GCB has fully embraced the CWI PCL franchise system, ever since its inception

in 2014, and has thus reaped rewards for the fruits of our labour by winning the PCL R4D for 4 consecutive years and well on track to make it 5 in a row this year.

We do accept that you can never satisfy everyone all the time, but you should always endeavour to execute your duties in the interest of West Indies cricket. What do we tell our players who have displayed year-round commitment and dedication coupled with outstanding performances when they are constantly being sidelined?

Since the selection panel has unilaterally decided to disregard the 2 tour matches for their selection, any prudent person would have expected that the panel would have looked at recent performances and form to guide their deliberations but, lo and behold, that was not to be.

Barring Darren Bravo, no other top or middle order batsman in the selected team has an average more than 35.25. The whole principle of the franchise system was geared to improve the standard of our cricketers whereby these ‘Test’ players would be kept on their toes by the

emerging players with great performances and form given precedence and a fair opportunity to play.

All players deserve a fair run in the team especially in this era of shortened series of just 2 and 3 Test matches but our Jaguars’ players seem to be discarded by the selection panel after just 2 or 3 Tests.

It is a well-known fact that it is always better to blood new players at home rather than on foreign soil so that they get that added confidence from their home crowds and their intimate knowledge of the regional wickets.

It follows that if we do not have the calibre of Test players with the required level of performances to be selected, we need to then look at the emerging players from the PCL. A cursory view of the stats on the CWI website would demand that the following players be called up for duty with the CWI President’s XI or the Test team immediately - Chandrapaul Hemraj, Vishaul Singh, Anthony Bramble, Keemo Paul and Veerasammy Permaul.

There may be a case to be made for a few others

Nineteen teams to battle in ECCC/SPR Enterprise 40-over cricket competition NINETEEN teams are set to battle in the East Coast Cricket Committee/SPR Enterprise 40-over cricket competition.

The tourney, which is into its third year, will bowl off at seven grounds this Sunday.

Teams will battle in two groups in a round robin format.

Lusignan Sports Club ‘A’ team are the defending champions and they are in Group A, while 2018 semi-finalist Fairfield SC and Betterhope A will join the Enmore Community Centre

Cricket Club and Starathavon SC in Group B. On Sunday, the defending champions will face Cane Grove Sports Club at the Lusignan ground; while Buxton Sports Club will host Helena/Supply SC; Mahaica Cavs will travel to Fairfield Sports Club and Betterhope Sixers, playing at home, will meet Lusignan East.

In group B: Ogle will host Paradise Sports Club; while Lusignan B will challenge host team Strathavon SC (A) and Enmore CCCC, playing at home, will tackle Mahaica SC. Matches are scheduled to start at 11:00h.

such as Clinton Pestano and Romario Shepherd.

It is not our intention to demand places for our players in the Test team without any justification, but once their performances warrant such selection, then so be it.

The GCB welcomes the decision of the panel to bring back our best test batsman, Darren Bravo, and trust that the selectors

follow the strict selection criteria outlined above as only justice and fair play will develop our players to be hungry for success which will ultimately translate into success for our WI team.

We also welcome our captain, Jason Holder, back into the fold after injury. (An official release by the Guyana Cricket Board.)

Wiltshire to host dominoes tournament at Sharmelee Sports Bar tomorrow

Mark Wiltshire

LONG-STANDING Senior Organising Secretary of the Georgetown Dominoes Association, Mark Wiltshire, has collaborated with Sharmelee Sports Bar to host a four-game tournament tomorrow at Montrose, East Coast Demerara.

The competition which is dubbed ‘Sunday in the Country’ has an entrance fee of $15 000. The winning team will take home a trophy and $150 000, runners-up a trophy and $75 000 and third- placers $45 000.

Vinod and Sons Jewellery and Pawn Shop and Rayon Tent Rentals are among the sponsors on board..

Wiltshire is urging all teams to be at the venue at least 30 minutes prior to the start of play. Teams can contact Wiltshire on 665-5855 for registration.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, January 19, 2019

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First Titans TTC ‘Mental Toughness’ Seminar a success ‘Mental Toughness’ Seminar facilitator Noelle Smith.

(Adrian Narine photos)

Some of the participants at the Titans ‘Mental Toughness’ Seminar last Sunday.

POSSIBLY the first-ever Mental Seminar for athletes, which was organised by the Titans Table Tennis Club (TTTC) and facilitated by Noelle Smith last Sunday, was a resounding success and a breath of fresh air in the sports

community, according to coach and Titans president Dwain Dick.

Dick told Chronicle Sport; “The seminar was a success.

It went well in terms of Noelle being very clear and knowl-

England draws warm up match in Barbados (ESPNCRICINFO) - BY the time, seven balls into the morning, the President's XI second wicket fell, it was hard not to fear for the final day of England's warm-up period in Barbados.

For it would be easy to look at the scores from these four days at Cave Hill and presume the home side were not up to much.

They lost 19 wickets on Wednesday, after all, while conceding nearly 400 runs on Thursday. On Friday both Stuart Broad and Sam Curran struck with their first deliveries. It was hard not to wonder whether there was much point in such encounters.

But England will have left the 3Ws Oval more than satisfied with their progress over these four days. Of course, in an ideal world, England might have had time for a couple of first-class games going into the Test series. But the schedules don't allow such luxuries these days and, by bending the regulations to breaking point, they probably gained the maximum amount of benefit from the minimum amount of time. It's not pretty or entertaining, but training isn't always meant to be and this was much more an open training session than a pair of cricket matches. They were, literally, games that couldn't be won.

So, most of England's bowlers found some rhythm; most of their batsmen found some form; their slip catching was excellent and, most of all, they demonstrated a ruthlessness that has not always been apparent in such warm-up encounters. Any side that can leave out a cricketer playing as well as Chris Woakes and there is every indication he is not among the 12 men being considered for the first Test - must be in pretty fine shape.

This President's XI squad is probably some way better than the scoreboard suggests, too. It contains six men who have played Test cricket and one more who will have done so by this time next week. And if they, at times, looked less than enthused by their task this week, it is not hard to see why. Cricket West Indies made several requests to the ECB to make this a four-day, first-class game. But once those requests were declined, most of these players would have preferred to represent their regions in Championship cricket this week rather than provide glorified net practice for the tourists. Sometimes it showed.

Sunil Ambris, at least, took the opportunity to show his ability. His Test record to date - he averages 15.09 after six Tests and was dismissed hit-wicket from his first ball at that level - is not pretty, but here he resisted admirably and put away the poor ball sweetly. He had well earned a century before he attempted

to swing one from Woakes through the leg side and fell for 94.

Nobody else in his team passed 22.

While Woakes - with three wickets - was perhaps the most impressive of England's seamers, Stuart Broad's performance was perhaps the most relevant. With every spell he has bowled, he has looked more comfortable with his slightly shorter run-up. And whether it is due to some minor technical tweaks or the Duke's ball in use here - a Duke's ball that has been specially made to withstand the more abrasive pitches anticipated here - he is gaining more swing than for some time. After claiming a wicket with the first ball of the day - a slower-ball yorker surprising Devon Thomas - he later had Chandrapaul Hemraj (named after Shivnarine but spelt differently) fending to slip.

The other bowlers enjoyed their moments, too. Curran also struck with his first ball - the luckless Jermaine Blackwood trapped by an inswinger - but was then taken for three fours in an over, while Ben Stokes would have claimed a second wicket - Vishaul Singh - had he not overstepped and conceded a no-ball.

In general, however, this was a highly satisfactory performance from England's bowlers. While the surfaces in the Test series are expected to be much quicker, England looked very comfortable with the Duke's ball and could feel well satisfied in claiming 30 wickets in two days in the field. Just as importantly, every edge that went to hand was caught.

Partly as a result, they will take the entire weekend off. It is a decision that may have one or two shaking their heads in disapproval - especially if they go one-down in Barbados - but probably reflects a fit squad that is confident, relaxed and doesn't feel the need to train to win the approval of on-lookers. Instead they will spend time with their families and enjoy a catamaran ride together. Modern schedules allow little time for such moments. It may prove every bit as helpful as another net session.

Perhaps, in a perfect world, England would have liked better surfaces on which to play these games. Especially the first match. But they have not breathed a word of complaint.

And, if the ECB - or any of the other 'big three' cricketing nations - really want to see facilities improve in the Caribbean, they might reflect on a more equitable distribution of ICC funds. The ECB, for example, are expecting a windfall of around $US50m from ticket sales for the men's World Cup this year. Cricket West Indies might well be able to fund better surfaces if they were to receive a fraction of such revenues.

edgeable. She got over the particulars to the participants with great ease.”

The seminar attracted participants from Marian Academy, Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School and Mae’s. There was not only a variety in terms of student athletes from the various schools but there also were athletes from different disciplines such as karate, badminton and hockey.

The athletes were involved in competitive group exercises, confidence-building techniques and other activities geared at strengthening them mentally.

The seminar will continue tomorrow and Dick revealed that those who did not attend the first session last Sunday are still welcome to the second session.

He said; “As a club that has many junior players and junior national players, we try to cover this area of preparation because we have a busy year ahead. This won’t be a one-off programme.

Based on recommendations from Ms Smith, we will see what we can do to have them mentally sharp and prepared for all competitions. We will always include other sport disciplines; it is an area which definitely needs development in Guyana’s sports community”.

Avon Samuels set to join St John’s University

GUYANA’S Avon Samuels will be heading to NCAA Division One track and field powerhouse St John’s University, following her stellar showing at Monroe College.

The South American U-20 400m silver medallist, in 2017, along with Claudrice McKoy and Onasha Rogers, accepted a scholarship to the New York-based Monroe College where she prominently featured on the National Junior College Athletics Association circuit with several top-of-the-podium performances for the institution.

However, this season, Samuels will get ready to take on some of best on the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division One has to offer after her move to St John’s University where Guyana’s Commonwealth Games 400m gold medallist Aliann Pompey will be her assistant coach.

Samuels was coached at the Running Brave Athletics Club by Julian Edmonds, who congratulated the athlete that he helped to fashion into one of the best in the Caribbean. He told Chronicle Sport yesterday, that he was more than happy with her upward mobility in the sport.

Edmonds reasoned that “the thing about Avon is that she was progressing last year and got injured. She came back home and we did some work and now she’s back to being herself. I mean, having a Division One College showing interest in you despite everything, that alone is an achievement and I wish her all the best.”

According to the highly respected coach, Samuels should be lucky to be at the same College where Pompey is employed as an assistant coach, adding, “It’s a plus for Guyana as well, because with Aliann there, she will have someone looking out for her interest.

“Aliann is going to keep an eye out for her, wanting success for her and even success for Guyana because if she does well, Guyana will do well also,” Edmonds said.

Jaguars lead by 97 runs after Pestano, Shepherd inspire spells

Clinton Pestano

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Tagenarine Chanderpaul is unbeaten on 15 from 104 balls.

(Adrian Narine photos)

Fast bowler Romario Shepherd celebrates with teammates after he initiated the demolition.

CWI refers Lewis comments to ethics committee 29 Page

England draws warm Roach relishes up match underdog tag in Barbados against Page

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England

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GCB

questions CWI 30 Selection Panel

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Cricket West Indies director, Enoch Lewis

Stuart Broad claims another wicket in England's warm-up Getty Images

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2019