Guyana chronicle e paper 06 04 2018

MONDAY 4th JUNE, 2018

‘We’re not rivals’ No.105295

–– President hails partnership between Gov't, GPSU at anniversary celebrations

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Guyanese celebrate Independence in Brooklyn PAGE

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Members of the GDF proudly carry the Golden Arrowhead during the Guyana Independence Parade Sunday in New York. (Enrico Woolford photo)

Dangerous pirate ‘Bolo’ captured in Suriname Champion athlete battles brain tumor –– family appeals to public for help

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New GuySuCo board by month-end

Father of three killed in Whim 13 08 accident PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Moblissa seeks help in agri revival

By Vanessa Braithwaite RESIDENTS of the farming community of Moblissa, located on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway, have

Moblissa CDC Chairman, Auther Reynolds

always looked to the soil for a living as well as poultry and dairy operations.

In the 1900s, Moblissa was earmarked as having the largest dairy operation in the Caribbean and this led to the development of the community. Persons seeking employment at the then LIDCO Dairy Company eventually settled in Moblissa and became residents. The operation provided employment for 30 families and the economic situation was deemed favourable.

With the downsizing of LIDCO in 1990 after diversification and Government selling its majority share to one director, things took a turn for the worse and the families that lived there faced the brunt of the effect. Now, one person owns the over

Heavy-duty trucks, erosion and rains have reduced the Moblissa road to a poor state 5000 acres of land that LIDCO once operated on.

Explaining the current situation of the small com-

munity was its Community Development Council’s Chairman, Auther Reynolds.

Reynolds said that LIDCO’s fall significantly contributed to the fall of Moblissa and while the population at that time expanded in the hundreds, residents who had already settled there, found it difficult to just move; and to this day, things are far from bright.

The farming, poultry and dairy work is still being done by residents, but mostly on a subsistence basis; only enough to provide for one’s family. Reynolds related that persons also engage in charcoal mining and logging to supplement their agricultural income. Some residents also rear sheep, ducks and pigs.

These, however, are not seeing favourable returns to get the community moving from remaining economically stagnated for all those years.

Currently, a few outsiders have dairy operations in the community and a few residents are employed on these farms.

STANDSTILL “Dairying is at a standstill in Moblissa, people don’t really milk animals anymore, they just raise the animals to slaughter for Christmas or Qurbani; somebody would slaughter an animal and get a $100,000 or more, and that helps to keep them going,” Reynolds related.

He himself rears a few heads of cattle and because it cannot adequately maintain his family, he had to seek employment by other means.

As a result of the stagnated economy in Moblissa, there is a huge generation gap, with the youths leaving as soon as they have finished their secondary education.

Reynolds related that the

youths would have shunned the situation in Moblissa and decided to look for betterment. “When children grow up and see their parents in that situation, they don’t wanna be around that,” he said.

A few youths who decided to stay have benefited from the Hinterland Education Youths Programme (HEYS) which will conclude in July. Most of them will use their entrepreneurial grants to commence poultry rearing. While Reynolds hailed the initiative, he said it is not enough to turn the community around, to the place it was before.

He believes that the Ministry of Agriculture needs to intervene expeditiously.

INTERVENTION NEEDED “It needs some intervention, so we are calling on the Ministry of Agriculture and other ministries to have a first-hand look at agriculture to earmark a few folks to resuscitate it and monitor them,” he reasoned.

Another challenge facing See page 7

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Dangerous pirate ‘Bolo’ captured in Suriname

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– another main suspect believed to be hiding in Guyana

–– Surinamese cops obtain confessions from several suspects in deadly April 27 attacks POLICE in neighbouring Suriname on Saturday evening arrested another main suspect in the deadly piracy attacks on April 27 that claimed the lives of at least 15 Guyanese fishermen.

The man arrested has been identified as ‘Bolo’.

He is suspected to be a key member of a notorious group of pirates that carried out the gruesome attacks on the five fishing vessels with a total of 20 fishermen.

The attack, suspected to be revenge, occurred after the death of one Somnauth Manohar who was gunned down on March 30, allegedly at the hands of other fishermen.

Well known Corentyne businessman, Nakool Manohar called ‘Fyah’, the brother of Somnauth, has since been arraigned for the murder of one of the fishermen and is the suspected mastermind behind the attacks, along with his nephew (son of Somnauth).

According to sources in Suriname, Bolo, who originally hails from Number 71 Village, East Berbice, Corentyne, was arrested at a place called Lelydorp, some 15 kilometers away from Suriname’s capital city, Paramaribo.

He was subsequently taken to the capital city under

The boat, allegedly used by ‘Sinbad’ to travel back to Guyana, is at the Whim Police Station under armed police guard heavy security. Several other men, including ‘Sinbad’, ‘Dick’ and ‘Crackhead’ are suspected to have taken part in the attacks as they were identified by survivors of the massacre.

‘Crackhead’ was arrested by the Surinamese authorities several days after the incident and has reportedly confessed to killing five persons during the attack.

Since the attack, police in both Suriname and Guyana have been collaborating and tightening the noose around the suspects by sharing intelligence and bringing survivors to Guyana to help in capturing the remaining wanted men.

Well placed sources in the investigative team have confirmed that the alleged ring leader, ‘Sinbad’, is believed to be hiding out in Guyana.

According to a source, ‘Sinbad’ is believed to have travelled back to Guyana on the ‘Cristina-1 SK-1221’ shortly after the attack on the fishermen.

The boat, which is owned

by Ron Drepaul, was reportedly identified as the one used in the attack by the pirates. The identification was done in Guyana by one of the survivors who travelled here from neighbouring Suriname.

Guyana Chronicle had first reported the boat was being guarded by ranks of the

Major Crimes Unit.

The boat was originally docked at the Number 43 fishing port until it was eventually taken to the Whim Police Station on May 23 where it remains under armed police guard.

Guyana Chronicle understands that ‘Sinbad’ and the other men allegedly took Gowkarran Outar called ‘Gavin’ as a hostage when they boarded the Cristina-1 on their journey back to Guyana.

As they neared their destination, they allegedly killed Outar and threw his body overboard. The body of the fisherman was discovered at Number 63 Beach on May 10.

Police reports state that the owner of the boat, Ron Drepaul, works with ‘Fyah’, a claim both Drepaul’s and ‘Fyah’s relatives have denied.

Drepaul was arrested and remained in custody for several days before he was eventually released on $1M bail.

In neighbouring Suriname, several suspects are still in police custody, including the son of Somnauth Manohar and at least one boat owner.

Fisherfolks who spoke on anonymity with this publication in Suriname say that the family of Somnauth had pledged revenge on the day of his funeral.

There have since been alleged death threats and vi-

olence in a bid to silence the survivors and those who have knowledge of the crime.

Meanwhile, a policeman in Suriname was killed and it has been alleged that the cop’s father was part of the group that killed Manohar.

A son of one of the survivors was stabbed in Enmore, while the home of another fisherman was burnt to the ground.

Almost after a month in custody, several of the suspects have allegedly now confessed to their involvement in the crime to the Surinamese authorities as well as in identifying others involved.

This was confirmed by Surinamese Police Inspector Erwin Cort, acting head of Capital Crimes, at a press conference to the Surinamese media on May 31.

A few days after the April 27 attacks, another attack was carried out by the same gang that executed the first one on a party of fisherman, taking the total to 25 persons who were attacked.

Nine of the fishermen have survived the attacks; four bodies have been recovered while 12 remain missing and are presumed dead. One of the five boats is still missing and is believed to have been taken away by the pirates.

Police destroy marijuana camp, fields in Linden POLICE burned and destroyed two areas of marijuana farm on Saturday at West Watooka, Wismar, Linden in the vicinity of Lucky Spot Mines.

Reports indicate that the police ranks discovered the marijuana farm with about 2,000 cannabis plants ranging from one foot to five feet in height.

The farm had a nursery with about 1,500 plants and two make-shift camps with farming tools, clothing, kitchen utensils, three hammocks and groceries, along with a quantity of dried cannabis estimated to be about 60 kgs.

The ranks destroyed the plants and burned the camps with the items and dried cannabis.

The estimated weight for the cannabis plants amounted to about 200 kgs.

Meanwhile, another marijuana farm about half acre, was discovered a short distance away in the same area with about 100 cannabis plants ranging from one foot to five feet in height. One make shift-camp was found with two hammocks, kitchen utensils and groceries.

The plants and camps were also destroyed. No one was seen at either camp.

Police are continuing their investigations.

Police destroyed the camp and marijuana field in Linden

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Trump ‘could pardon himself over Russia but won’t’, says Giuliani

(BBC) Donald Trump probably has the power to pardon himself in the Russia collusion affair but does not intend to do so, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani says.

A special counsel is investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 election, and whether Mr Trump obstructed justice.

The question of self-pardon arose after the New

York Times published a letter to the counsel from Mr Trump’s lawyers.

In it they say he has absolute power as US legal chief to end investigations, or “even exercise his power to pardon”.

Such absolute powers, they argue, mean that he could not have obstructed justice in any case.

He appeared on ABC’s

T h i s We e k p r o g r a m m e and was asked whether Mr Trump had the power to pardon himself.

Mr Giuliani, the head of Mr Trump’s legal team, said he “probably does”, but added: “He has no intention of pardoning himself.”

He went on: “I think the political ramifications of that would be tough. Pardoning other people is one thing. Pardoning yourself is another.”

Speaking on CNN on

Sunday, House Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said that no president should pardon himself.

Why would Mr Trump need to pardon himself?

It all stems from the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into alleged collusion between the Trump team and Russian officials in the election campaign that brought the president to power.

Mr Trump has always maintained there was no

Donald Trump has constantly railed against the investigation in Twitter outbursts

collusion and that the investigation is a “witch hunt”.

Part of Mr Mueller’s investigation is looking at whether Mr Trump sought to criminally obstruct it, in particular with the sack-

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ing of ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former FBI director James Comey, and with his reaction to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the investigation.

SO COULD HE DO IT? No-one really knows.

There is no precedent for a president trying.

In the case of former President Richard Nixon, the Justice Department said he could not pardon himself, but others argue it is not precluded in the US Constitution.

This latter theory was something touched on in the newly leaked letter.

So what is this letter all about?

It is dated 29 January and was sent to Mr Mueller

by John Dowd, one of Mr Trump’s lawyers who has since left the team.

The New York Times obtained the letter and published it in full.

It appears to be an attempt to show the president as untouchable. Its main points are that, because the president is the nation’s chief legal officer, he: Cannot be subpoenaed Cannot be indicted Cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice because, given his absolute powers, that would effectively mean obstructing himself Citing the powers given

to him by the Constitution, it says the president can “terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon”.

Mr Giuliani said himself last week that the special counsel’s investigation may be “entirely illegitimate”.

The leaking of the letter certainly displeased Mr Trump: But that was dated a while back and the probe is still going?

It is indeed. Robert Mueller is not going away.

He has requested an interview with the president over obstruction of justice.

Mr Trump has previously said he might be willing to attend but his lawyers appear opposed, fearing it could lead to charges of perjury.

Mr Giuliani told ABC: “It’s beginning to get resolved in favour of not doing it.”

If the president does not attend, Mr Mueller could try a grand jury subpoena but, as the letter above shows, the Trump team would try to block it.

The whole thing could end in a court battle over what can and what cannot be applied to a president.

In any case, any attempt to impeach the president over the Russia affair would not be affected.

That’s a political process and pardons would not prevent it.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Venezuela frees 40 jailed activists and politicians (BBC) The Venezuelan government has released another 40 opposition politicians and activists, bringing to 79 the number of people freed in the past two days.

Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the government was reviewing other dissidents’ cases. He said it was a goodwill gesture to help ease tensions.

The announcement comes after the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro to a new six-year term last month.

The opposition boycotted

the poll. Many countries did not recognise the result.

Fourteen countries including Argentina, Brazil and Canada recalled their ambassadors from Caracas in protest.

Those released on Friday and Saturday include politicians, the son of a dissident former general, a former army general who took to the roof of his house with an assault rifle in defiance of an arrest warrant and the former mayor of the city of San Cristobal.

Many had taken part in protests against Mr Maduro in

Former San Cristobal mayor Daniel Ceballos was among those freed

2014 and again in 2017; about 170 people died in clashes.

Opposition leader Julio Borges tweeted that they “should never have been in prison”.

“There is nothing to thank the dictatorship for,” he added.

All those freed have all been banned from using social media or travelling abroad.

The opposition says about 300 people remain in jail on charges that they say are designed to stifle dissent.

They include the best

known of Mr Maduro’s critics, Leopoldo Lopez, who was one of two people barred from standing against Mr Maduro in last month’s election.

The US has said Mr Maduro is a “dictator” and has imposed sanctions on Venezuela. Mr Maduro says his opponents are waging an “economic war” against him.

Venezuela is five years into an economic crisis, suffering from hyperinflation and severe shortages in food and medicine.

Nicaragua police end church siege after day of terror in Masaya

(BBC) Police in Nicaragua have ended the siege of a church where opposition supporters had sought refuge after being attacked by riot police and pro-government militias.

Doctors have been allowed to treat the injured inside the church in the city of Masaya.

Two people have died.

Some 30 people who were inside the church were released after the local Catholic Church intervened.

More than 100 people have been killed in Nicaragua in six weeks of violence.

‘No more repression!”

Monsignor Silvio José Báez, the auxiliary bishop of Managua, praised the local priest in Masaya, Edwing Roman, and a human rights lawyer and campaigner, Álvaro Leiva, for their efforts in negotiating with the authorities.

He urged President Daniel Ortega to end the crackdown on protests against his government.

Monsignor Báez earlier took to social media to warn people to stay indoors, because there were reports of snipers on the streets of Masaya.

“The priests in Masaya have told me that the San

Miguel parish is surrounded by anti-riot police,” he wrote on Twitter.

“There are injured and detained people inside. No more repression in Masaya!”

Masaya, some 20km (12 miles) south of Managua, was one of several cities where opposition activists clashed with police on Saturday.

the police have acted with brutality and many people were killed in the following days. Most of the victims were university students.

Mr Ortega revoked the legislation but by then he himself had become the focus of the protests.

The opposition and young activists are demanding his

Opposition activists have blocked roads in Masaya and other cities

“Delinquents and gang members” The unrest in Nicaragua was triggered by cuts to pensions and social security.

Hours after the measure was signed into law by Mr Ortega in April, pensioners and students took to the streets.

Human rights groups say

resignation.

Mr Ortega, the former Sandinista rebel leader, is in his third consecutive term in power.

He was re-elected in 2016, after the constitution was changed enabling him to stand again.

He has accused right-wing

Arthur ‘31st casualty’ of election (Nationnews) Owen Arthur has been advised to “see politics and leave it” after repeatedly failing to minimise the appeal of Mia Mottley.

Regional political strategist Hartley Henry deemed Arthur the 31st casualty of the May 24 General Election, saying the former Prime Minister suffered as humiliating a defeat as the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).

Henry said a politician of many years’ experience like Arthur should have been able to decipher for himself that, like his efforts, the DLP campaign was a lost cause. “[Yet] he jumped onto the tracks and tried to stop the train and was totally run over. That will go down to his eternal shame,” said Henry, remarking that this showed Arthur was out of touch with the Barbadian public.

“He has been put into retirement because there is really no weight to his words now. I

am not sure what future role Owen Arthur can play . . . because he has lost his credibility. As an economist he will still have a little resonance in the country, but again how seriously can he be taken is another question because [in] some of his advice and positions . . . it was too much politics.

“If he can begin to act like the seasoned professional economist we knew him to be, then the country can do with another perspective. But as far as politics is concerned, Owen Arthur should see politics and leave it. Go off the stage; the curtains have been drawn for him,” he said.

It was Arthur who brought Henry on board the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to assist the party for the 2013 General Election.

Henry revealed that back in 2010, a mutual friend of his and Arthur’s brought them together in the hope of wrestling power from the DLP in the

2013 poll. After secretly meeting Henry for a while, Arthur got Mottley involved.

“Owen Arthur and I met Mia Mottley at her home, and Owen Arthur looked at me with Mia sitting across [from us] in her living room and said to me, ‘Hartley, I want you to make this lady the next Prime Minister of Barbados. She is the best person for the job. I am only going to hang around for a short while after the Labour Party [wins]’. . . I said to Owen, ‘Leave it to me, I will deliver for you.’” said Henry.

Henry said that thereafter he met with them strategically, and it was he who conceived the theme Tings Dread We Voting Red. However, that 2013 campaign went off track and the BLP lost by two seats. After that defeat and Arthur’s exit, he and Mottley started working more closely, and that relationship delivered the May 24 victory. (SP)

sectors of infiltrating “delinquents” and gang members in the protest movement to destabilise his government.

Talks between the government and the opposition, which were mediated by Nicaragua’s Catholic Church, collapsed last week.

Several bishops taking

part in the talks received death threats, which the Church said came from the government and official media.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) visited Nicaragua last month and said it had seen grave violations of human rights during the protests.

It said state security forces and armed third parties had used excessive force.

The government announced on Wednesday it had allowed members of the IACHR and the OAS into the country to monitor the situation and report on the violence.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4 , 2018

The battle must be relentless IT is unbelievable that political leaders, inclusive of their foot soldiers, of the political opposition can continue to daily present the totally dishonest narrative of witch-hunting of former senior officials of their administration, because of political motives, as they are charged and placed before the courts accused of criminal theft and other misdemeanors against the State.

It is astonishing to say the least, but at best devious with the egregious intent of hoodwinking their constituents into believing that with a change of government, an orchestrated plan of political persecution against Indo-Guyanese is underway.

But this has never been the case; and far from the truth.

In fact, many of the former PPP/C friends, cronies, et al, are all too aware as to the plunder of the resources of the state, for they would have

benefitted from the criminal proceeds.

But for leaders, especially former presidents, to peddle such confounded lies in the face of audit evidence speaks as to their highly dubious, moral vision of leadership and claim of love for country. They cannot be patriots, for the latter category is not known to subject their motherland to such wanton criminal activity.

It is not a case of being in a state of being in denial because of a mental defect.

Absolutely not. Instead, it is an instance of naked dishonesty, blatant and disdainful disregard for their country and people, coupled with an immoral understanding of the use of tax payers’ money and other resources for socio-economic development. How can they claim love for country and all that such should mean, while at the same time mounting scurrilous attacks against

the government for bringing legal action against those involved in violations against the State?

This is not about lip service to combat the cancer and scourge of corruption, as the opposition did some time ago when Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo spoke about his position relative to those who have been found to be involved in any such activity.

His entire collective response has been one of continuous opposition and attacks on the government, and the designated investigative agencies for their task of recovering stolen assets; even going as far as to brand an agency head as “geriatric”.

Our country’s socio-morals have been badly corrupted, giving birth to a serious distortion and blurring of the lines between right and wrong. So pervasive has it become, that virtually every fortnight the current coalition administration has been

mounting anti-corruption seminars, both in the city and in other parts of Guyana, in seeking to educate public servants about the evil that is corruption, and the crippling damage that it does to citizens and their communities that are denied potable water, better roads, health centres, street illumination, and unclogged waterways, just to name some of the amenities that are so vital for habitable daily living in every community.

It is timely, too, that there has been a recent IDB – CDB seminar, the first in a reported planned series, that seeks to promote integrity with regards Caribbean Development Bank(CDB) and the Inter-American Development Bank(IDB) development financing interventions in each institution’s respective borrowing member countries. This clearly points to a concerted effort of these two important financiers of many

Gov’t award to Exxon was strategic Dear Editor, TRANSPARENCY Institute Guyana Inc’s (TIGI) claim that the government awarding ExxonMobil 600 blocks rather than 60 was a “breach of regulations” and caused “material harm to the country” could not be further from the truth.

TIGI’s feature in Stabroek News was a rambling, unintelligible gripe against ExxonMobil and the government, nothing more. If you actually read into their claims, this much is clear. In fact, it only takes an ounce of commonsense to see that the government’s decision to let ExxonMobil keep the Stabroek Block was not only well within their rights but also a strategic move… that worked!

The Petroleum Act of 1991 grants the Minister of Petroleum certain discretionary powers in awarding these contracts. These powers were exercised in the 1999 agreement as well as the 2016 agreement. Minister Raphael Trotman was well within his rights to maintain the acreage awarded to

ExxonMobil by the Jagan Administration in 1999. Furthermore, context is critical to understanding why the government chose to do this.

In 2013, the Venezuelan navy seized an exploration vessel called RV Teknik Perdana which was conducting seismic studies for Anadarko Petroleum in Guyanese waters. This incident with Venezuela made exploration near the western border a matter of national security. The Executive President has broad powers regarding national security. In this capacity, the decision to allow ExxonMobil to keep the full 600 blocks was yet again well within the rights of the government.

TIGI also claims that the government should have only awarded ExxonMobil 60 blocks and then auctioned off the rest to other companies. Again, this claim makes no sense in context.

First, the full extent of our resources was not realised at the time. Secondly, the Venezuelan threat was far too serious for other companies to be interested.

Combine those two things and you see why ExxonMobil was alone. Speaking on the Stabroek Block, Minister Trotman said, “except for Exxon showing the backbone and the courage to go there, no other company is interested”.

I’m a businessman, so I know the answer to this question, but I ask TIGI, how exactly do you sell something that no one wants?

There are companies that are interested in exploring near the Guyana-Suriname border but only ExxonMobil is willing to face the threat to the West. TIGI’s claims do not reflect this reality. Development of our natural resources will be hugely beneficial to all of Guyana. Everyone in our country will see and feel these benefits.

But, if it wasn’t for ExxonMobil’s determination, none of this would be possible.

Instead of hypothesising about nonsense, we should be celebrating what will be.

Regards, Selwyn Paul

of Guyana’s socio-economic projects over the decades, of raising awareness as to tighter scrutiny and management of their funds, whether grants or loans. After all, no lending institution would be comfortable, much less be happy, if their funds garnered from other member states’ tax payers are misappropriated.

But battling endemic corruption, whether in awareness seminars or assembling competent expertise, inclu-

sive of attorneys to prepare prosecution comes at a cost; the latter fact clearly illustrated by a high functionary of SARA. It is an investment that is worth every dollar, since it is aimed at expunging the most dangerous and deadly form of criminal anti-development that can ever be inflicted on any state.

There must be no relent; the battle against corruption and corrupt officials must be relentless.

A response to complainants against NIS Dear Sir, I am looking at the two complaints in the dailies with respect to claims made to NIS for survivors’ benefits.

There are no material differences in the claims, yet one is allegedly guaranteed payment by the GM, NIS, while the other has been disallowed by the same GM and by the Chairman of the Appeal Tribunal on appeal made to him.

Both claims have been made late, both claimants were under 45 years of age at the time of the deaths of their husbands and both claimants had and have a child under 16 years of age at the time of deaths in issue.

The only difference in the claims is the period of lateness where a child of one of the claimants is now 39 years of age.

These cases (claims) remind me of a friend who prefers to go home at 04:30hrs rather than 23:00hrs because, regardless of “big late” or

“little late”, he will be severely reprimanded by the guardian of his home.

It is the same with both claims; the late claim rule has to be applied and the claims must be paid from six months prior to the dates of their submission.

Therefore, Ms. Ismay Lake, who had satisfied all the conditions for the award of survivor’s pension at the time of her husband’s death, must be afforded the same treatment promised to Shameeza Mohamed but with respect to her claim only.

The GM, NIS, I am advised, has the authority to review her own ruling and that of the Chairman of the NI Tribunal and the Commissioner, National Insurance, if she is satisfied that the decision was given in ignorance of, or was based on a mistake as to some material fact.

She must therefore now correct her unlawful decision.

Regards, Carlton Jacques

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

TIGI’s claim of breach not true Dear Editor, TRANSPARENCY Institute Guyana Inc’s (TIGI) claim that the government awarding ExxonMobil 600 blocks rather than 60 was a “breach of regulations” and caused “material harm to the country” could not be further from the truth.

TIGI’s feature in Stabroek News was a rambling, unintelligible gripe against ExxonMobil and the government, nothing more. If you actually read into their claims, this much is clear. In

fact, it only takes an ounce of commonsense to see that the government’s decision to let ExxonMobil keep the Stabroek Block was not only well within their rights but also a strategic move…that worked!

The Petroleum Act of 1991 grants the Minister of Petroleum certain discretionary powers in awarding these contracts. These powers were exercised in the 1999 agreement as well as the 2016 agreement. Minister Raphael Trotman was well within his rights to maintain the acreage

awarded to ExxonMobil by the Jagan Administration in 1999. Furthermore, context is critical to understanding why the government chose to do this.

In 2013, the Venezuelan navy seized an exploration vessel called RV Teknik Perdana which was conducting seismic studies for Anadarko Petroleum in Guyanese waters. This incident with Venezuela made exploration near the western border a matter of national security. The Executive President has broad powers regarding national

security. In this capacity, the decision to allow ExxonMobil to keep the full 600 blocks was yet again well within the rights of the government.

TIGI also claims that the government should have only awarded ExxonMobil 60 blocks and then auctioned off the rest to other companies.

Again, this claim makes no sense in context.

First, the full extent of our resources was not realized at the time. Secondly, the Venezuelan threat was far too serious for other companies to be interested.

Combine those two things and you see why ExxonMobil was alone. Speaking on the Stabroek Block, Minister Trotman said, “except for Exxon showing the backbone and the courage to go there, no other company is interested.”

I’m a businessman, so I know the answer to this question, but I ask TIGI, how exactly do you sell something that no one wants?

There are companies that are interested in exploring near the Guyana-Suriname border but only ExxonMobil

Moblissa seeks help... anything.”

Region 10 provided the community with a mist blower machine and RDC Region Four also promised

A few heads of cattle being reared in the community residents is that the lands on which they farm and live, are unregulated and while notable strides have been made for the residents to be furnished with their leases, after many decades, they still remain squatters.

Reynolds described this as being harsh, since the residents cannot access loans from financial lending institutions.

If agriculture is resuscitated in Moblissa, Reynolds is optimistic that the good old days will return and the anxieties of life will not encroach on the simple, peaceful life the residents are accustomed to. As the gateway to the Intermediate savannahs, several hinterland communities such as Tacama, St Cuthbert’s Mission and St Ignatius can all be accessed from Moblissa.

“It’s a lovely community, it’s a peaceful place that we living in.

I’ve been living there since 1989; that is why I make it my home, it’s peaceful for me.”

NO ATTENTION Moblissa borders both Region’s 10 and Four but administratively belongs in Region Four.

One of the other major challenges residents are facing is that no attention from the Region Four administration is placed on the community, despite several promises being made.

While the residents turn to Region 10 RDC for assistance since it is closer, the little help that is received is not substantial, since monies in Region 10’s budget cannot be used in Moblissa.

Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian has sought collaboration with the officials of Region Four several times to tend to the needs of the community and while these officials did visit, nothing more was done, according to the residents.

The major problem presently is the condition of the lone access road in the community. It is virtually impassable because of erosion and is a major threat to life and limb.

Reynolds transports students from the community to Linden and revealed that because of the state of the road, the bus almost overturned with the students last week.

“The hill is eroded very badly. Last week, I nearly turned over with the bus because it is eroded so much that I had to mobilise some people to put some sand bags so we can get out. With the rains, it has become more and more deplorable. As it is right now, to get in and get out is a challenge,” he said.

Adding to the destruction of the road is the Andy Gangadin Mining trucks that transport loam from the community.

Though Minister within the Ministry of Nat-

ural Resources, Simona Broomes met the representatives of the company as well as residents during an outreach earlier in the year, Reynolds said that the situation has not been resolved and the company continues to abuse the community of its resources.

FROM POTHOLES TO CRATERS “They haven’t come to sit down with us; they had an agreement to meet with, they never got back to us. Several phone calls, messages and they never responded.

The road no longer has pot holes, it has craters; so when it rains, people have to hold up their pants and women would hold up their shoes in the hand and have to walk out to the highway,” Reynolds said.

A creek passes through the lone access road, and in 2011, two tubes were bought to construct drains to alleviate the erosion issue. It was never installed. Region Four RDC representatives visited the community and were in receipt with all information needed to have the job done, while creating employment for residents but, to date, the situation has worsened.

“They made a commitment along with the Region 10 Chairman to help fix the road and the creek and, to date, they haven’t done

to provide the chemical to spray the grass, but that has not been done either.

“I am calling for greater collaboration with Re-

is willing to face the threat to the West. TIGI’s claims do not reflect this reality.

Development of our natural resources will be hugely beneficial to all of Guyana.

Everyone in our country will see and feel these benefits.

But, if it wasn’t for ExxonMobil’s determination, none of this would be possible.

Instead of hypothesizing about nonsense, we should be celebrating what will be.

Sincerely, Selwyn Paul

From Page 2 gion Four,” Reynolds said as residents pleaded for someone in authority to help in the revival of their community.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Champion athlete battles –– family appeals to public for help brain tumor

By Nafeeza Yahya

A 15-year-old triple gold medalist at the National Schools Championships and her family are appealing to the public for assistance as she battles a brain tumor that has left her bedridden for the past three

streaming down her cheeks and offered a sober welcome.

Despite putting on a brave face, the look of helplessness could not be removed from her eyes and voice as Clarke began to explain how her daughter, who once aimed to represent Guyana at the Olympics, is now uncertain if she would make it through the week alive.

“She started complaining of headaches and vomited a lot sometime in February and

they recommend we take her to Georgetown to see a stomach specialist who said she had ulcers and put her on a 10-day treatment and send her home,” the mother related.

She said during the 10-day treatment, Ross’s condition worsened, the headache became more unbearable as did the nausea.

She was returned to the stomach specialist who immediately recommended a MRI to be done on the child. Upon viewing the result, the doctor referred her to a neurosurgeon.

surgery to drain the fluids. He explained the tumor was located in the centre of the brain and the removal could not be done here in Guyana,” Clarke said.

The mother explained that a shunt was done in March to drain the fluids and later in the month, after a review with Dr. Ivor Crandon from Jamaica, a biopsy was done and the results are due on Monday.

In the meantime, Ross has been travelling weekly from the Corentyne to Georgetown for checkups which not only take a toll on her health but also her family’s finances.

The family is seeking assistance and advice on the way forward, since they do not know what the next step is or whom to turn to for help.

“She was a jovial and active child and it’s sad to see her; she has deteriorated rapidly… every day that goes by we are hoping what the next day will be like, what’s gonna happen tomorrow? We really need some medical help for her in terms of getting about, knowing where and how we can access help for her,” Clarke pleaded.

Beyonce Ross before she became ill months.

The once budding all-round athlete, Beyonce Ross, of Rose Hall Town and a fourth form student of Lower Corentyne Secondary is unable to perform the simplest of task and can hardly speak.

With every passing day, her condition worsens and the family is at their wits end on how and what next to do since, from all indications, she would need treatment overseas to recover.

When Guyana Chronicle visited the family on Saturday afternoon, Ross’s mother Yonette Clarke was sitting at her bedside looking helplessly at her only daughter and youngest of her five children as she slept.

As she looked up and realised this reporter had visited, she quickly wiped the tears

Beyonce Ross receives her prize from Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, at the National Schools Championship in November 2017. Persons desirous of assisting Ross can contact her mother on 683-6106 or 337-4456.

we carry her to the doctors, but they said it had to be a stomach virus and give her some treatment. She did not feel better, so we carry her to another doctor who said it was food poisoning. Still she did not feel better, so we went to several other doctors in Berbice and

“When the doctor looked at the MRI results and told me to see the neurosurgeon, I know it had to be something serious and when we go in to see Dr. Dukie, I nearly pass out when he tell we she had a brain tumor and that it had a buildup of fluids that needed urgent

Ross will need overseas surgery to remove brain tumor

tisement in the Guyana Chronicle, head of the National Industrial & Commercial Investments Limited’s (NICIL) Special Purpose Unit (SPU) Colvin Heath-London was confirmed as GuySuco’s new chairman and other directors included Komal Singh; Verna Adrian; Fritz McLean; Rosh Khan (jr); George Jervis; Arianne McLean; Vishnu Panday; Annette Arjoon-Martins and two executives from GuySuCo. That month, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had told reporters that Cabinet had requested to have further consideration of the board of GuySuCo. “Cabinet made some comments with respect to the board that was identified and I am sure that within the short space of time that all of the issues as they relate to the board will be clarified and that there will be a full board of GuySuCo appointed, gazetted and working,” the Minister of State had told reporters.

The life of the previous board, chaired

by Professor Clive Thomas, ended in April,

2018.

However, in April, Minister Jordan made it clear that Heath-London was not appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of GuySuCo, despite an initial decision by a Cabinet sub-committee to appoint him to the post.

Jordan’s comments came just about a month after a full-page advertisement was published in the dailies announcing Heath-London, Singh, Adrian, McLean, Khan, Jervis, McLean, Panday, Arjoon-Martins and two executives as representatives of the new board of directors.

“He is not the chairman of GuySuCo; the chairman of GuySuCo is still Dr. [Clive] Thomas. The board of GuySuCo ends this month. In keeping with his responsibilities, Minister of Agriculture [Noel] Holder has to bring to the Cabinet a new board to be in place when this one is finished,” Jordan said.

The Finance Minister said he was unaware of the full-page advertisement placed in the daily newspapers in March. However,

he explained that the Cabinet sub-committee comprising himself, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge; Agriculture Minister Holder and Minister of State Harmon had unanimously agreed, “that the life of the GuySuCo board comes to an end and a new board put in place headed by Mr London.”

“Mr Harmon, being the secretary to Cabinet, obviously carried out the instruction and issued a Cabinet decision to that effect, but all sub-committee decisions have to be carried to the full Cabinet,” Jordan continued. It was when the matter was raised at the full Cabinet, that there were objections and a decision was made to examine the selected persons carefully.

“In essence then, Cabinet deferred decision on that board…the decision that was written up by the secretary was null and void, once Cabinet did not approve the decisions made by the sub-committee.”

Jordan said it is the full Cabinet that has to approve, disapprove or vary whatever is taken before it by sub-committees.

GuySuCo board to be named by month-end –Holder

BY the end of this month, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuco) will have a new board in place, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder said Sunday.

Speaking with Guyana Chronicle from Brazil, South America, the minister said the sugar company is not the only agricultural entity without a new board.

“All the agriculture boards are due for change by the end of June. Before the end of June, all the boards including GuySuco should be in place,” the minister, who is on travel duty, told this publication.

The announcement comes just under two months since Finance Minister Winston Jordan told reporters that a decision of a Cabinet sub-committee tasked with the identification and appointment of persons to the board of directors was deferred.

In March, by way of a full-page adver-

‘We’re not rivals’

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

–– President hails partnership between Govt, GPSU at anniversary celebrations

PRESIDENT David Granger on Sunday issued a call for greater cooperation between the Government and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).

Speaking at the GPSU’s 195thAnniversary Brunch in the Baridi Benab at State House, the Head of State said that the old model of confrontation and acrimony must be abandoned in favour of a new cooperative model in the interest of the effective delivery of public services throughout the length and breadth of the country.

President Granger reminded that the Government and the unions are partners with a common objective; not competitors or rivals.

“We need to establish among ourselves some form of social compact, particularly between the State and the servants of the State. We have to work together. What happens out there is not only the concern of Central Government; it is the concern of all of us… We are partners in administering and running Guyana,” he said.

Making reference to the first major study on the civil service--the 1953 Mills Report--President Granger said that it is his vision and mission to have a highly-skilled and professional public service, which is ca-

pable of providing to ministers of any Government, the best of its organised thought and collective experience, as it is mandated to do; explaining that ministers will come and go but the body of public servants by whom they are guided, is a permanent fixture.

He said that “never again should any government come into office and be faced with a situation in which senior public servants are taken before the courts or are removed from office”.

Recognising the importance of training for public servants, the President, soon after entering Office, established the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service, specifically targeting new entrants into the field, providing them the necessary skills to be effective at their job. The President maintained that in order to serve the people, public servants have to be educated and constantly improve their performance. In addition to improving efficiency, the Government established the Public Service Appellate Tribunal, convened the Lutchman Commission into the Public Service and markedly increased public servants’ pensions and salaries.

President Granger also reminded public servants that they must proj-

President David Granger getting some help in cutting the anniversary cake on Sunday (Ministry of the Presidency photo) ect themselves beyond Central Government and the coast, noting that have to populate the central, regional and municipal systems of Government and, therefore, they must be able to understand and communicate effectively with the people whom they serve.

CUSTODIAN OF STANDARDS “The public service has to be the custodian of standards and those standards have to characterise the delivery of services to all of the regions… You must be able to understand and communicate in the language of the

President David Granger greets a GPSU member at the anniversary brunch in the Baridi Benab, State House (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

people in the hinterland…

You represent a vital constituency and we cannot deliver public services without you,” he said.

Approximately 95 years ago, civil servants recognised the need for a body to advocate in their interest and sought leave from the Governor to form a Trade Union. Permission was granted and after several meetings, the British Guiana Civil Service Association was formed. At first, it only catered to the needs of senior civil servants but that soon changed when the lower tier of civil servants were encouraged to join.

Over the years, there were many name changes; the British Guiana Civil Service Association was changed after Independence to the Guyana Civil Service Association. However, in 1972, after a merger with the Medical Employees Union, it became the Guyana Public Service Union. First Vice President of the GPSU, Dawn Gardener said that despite the

name changes, the union remains committed to its motto ‘Justice for Public Employees’ and continues to ensure that the welfare and conditions of service for public sector workers improve.

Gardener spoke of all the milestone accomplishments that the union, working with the Government, was able to achieve. This includes the long-awaited regularisation of sweeper-cleaner conditions of service. “We all join with His Excellency in his call for a professional, career-driven public service but we cannot do it alone, we have to do it collectively,” he said.

Prior to the Brunch at State House, there was a church service at the St. Andrews Kirk Presbyterian Church, located on Brickdam and Avenue of the Republic, led by Reverend Maureen Messiah.

President Granger and Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes attended the service. (Ministry of the Presidency)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Are you a father or a dad?

THE two words ‘father’ and ‘dad’ may conjure up the same image to many, which is that of a man, maintaining and spending quality time with his off-spring. But in reality there is a vast difference between a father and a dad.

Most males above a certain age can father a child, some men are able to make children well into their 70’s; it is simply the act of copulation. For some men the act of copulation is no more than that, ‘an act’ for which they take little responsibility after they are done. They do not acknowledge their responsibility towards the conception of a foetus, the growth of that foetus into a living breathing child and the subsequent nurturing, maintenance, support and guidance of that child throughout his/her developmental years until adulthood.

That valuable care and attention that only a real ‘dad’ can feel and give, is priceless.

To be a good dad you have to be approachable and real, and most of all you have to be consistent. Some estranged ‘dads’ see their child once a week but the time spent

together is quality time and it is recorded in the child’s mind as an indelible part of his/ her childhood. Childhoods are very important, and the things men do with their child and to their child will be with the child for the rest of his/her life.

If an estranged father does not pay his child enough attention, or when he sees the child (he pushes money in the child’s hand and) he is glad to be shot of the child; that too is being recorded in the child’s mind. There is no role model for the child to follow, there is no emotional connection between the child and father and the child will grow without the balance and stability of having two parents playing positive roles in his/her upbringing.

Some fathers want their children to fear them, they believe, either through their own childhood experiences or otherwise, that fathers should be figures of authority who lay down the law for their family to follow.

But fathers are far more effective when they discuss matters with their wives and take their

children’s opinions into consideration when and where possible.

Children need to respect their fathers and the respect can only come about if the father respects the child and show the child the consideration, attention, guidance and care that is befitting of a growing youngster.

Above all, fathers need to build and maintain good communication with their child as early as possible.

0 – 5 years old: Fathers should read to their children, play with and discipline their children (along with the mother). This is the perfect age to begin showing the child that boundaries exist and there are consequences to actions. Talk and reason with your child.

Give the child the opportunity to work out right from wrong for his /herself.

5 -10 years old: A father can have a good conversation with his child and learn what is going on in his/her life. Fathers should keep abreast of the child’s school life, their social life and listen to them when they talk. Guide them with advice; explain things to them so

they understand. But do not dictate to them, bully them or intimidate them. Allow your child to be expressive, open and honest. On the other hand do not become a ‘push-over’ and allow the child to rule you. Maintain a healthy relationship.

10 -15 years old: By being supportive, consistent and by maintaining good communication with his child, a ‘father’ qualifies as a ‘dad’. During this stage, boys really need a male figure in their lives who they can depend on, emulate and trust. Girls need their fathers too. Growing up around a positive male can teach a girl child so much about life. She will learn how a man should conduct himself and she should recognise the traits in a man that will make a worthy partner.

So fathers please be advised that you are very much needed in the lives of your children as ‘dads’.

You are responsible for bringing them into the world, please maintain, care, nurture, love and appreciate them to the best of your ability.

Guyanese celebrate Independence in Brooklyn GUYANESE living in the New York tri-state area on Sunday participated in the Guyana Independence Parade held in Brooklyn, New York.

The parade is part of the New York celebration of Guyana’s 52nd anniversary of Independence from June 3-16, 2018.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green; Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall; and President of the Guyana Association of Municipalities, former Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland, all participated in the parade.

A contingent of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officers were also part of the celebrations. They were First Lieutenant Alvin Holladar, First Lieutenant Kaya Dover, Sergeant Dominic Percival, Sergeant Lawrence Douglas and Sergeant

Lester Lewis.

The officers performed the ceremonial honours at the commemorative events along with Guyanese in the United States Armed Forces. ?Sunday’s parade, which saw a sizeable crowd, began at approximately 10:00hrs at Church and Brooklyn Avenues, Brooklyn, New York and proceeded west on Church Ave., north on Rogers Ave., west on President St. to Washington Ave., and concluded at the Brooklyn Museum.

A flag-raising ceremony and grand Unity Concert began at approximately 13:00hrs at the Brooklyn Museum Tarmac, Eastern Parkway and Washington Ave., Brooklyn.

The concert saw performances by a plethora of Guyanese artistes including

Attorney General Basil Williams, Georgetown and Bartica Mayors, Patricia Chase-Green and Gifford Marshall among other prominent Guyanese at the Guyana Independence Parade on Sunday (Enrico Woolford photo) Carib Soca Monarch Brandon Harding; chutney stars Terry Gajraj and Vicadi Singh; Soca stars Jumo Primo, Adrian Duchin, Blaze Antonio, Treyvon Vibez and Melissa Vanilla Roberts. Artistes Eddie Neblet, Saiku, Kapa Shanti, Lisa Punch, Jonnygo Figure, Nesta Nelson,

Mod Stoney, Roger Hinds, Gaddie G, Gavin Mendonce, Anthony Allen and reggae superstar, Dexta Daps.

This year’s celebration is themed “Celebrate Guyana to the World”. The main sponsors of the event are Caribbean Airlines and Western Union.

Pedestrian killed while crossing Soesdyke Public road A PEDESTRIAN was flung several feet into the air and landed onto the Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara public road after motorcar PHH 4810 crashed into him while he was crossing the road.

Dead is 32-year-old Lester Oselmo, a

labourer of Lot 152 Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, (EBD).

A breathalyser test was reportedly conducted on the driver and no trace of alcohol was found.

Inquiries revealed that the car was being

driven by a 42-year-old of Norton Street, Wortmanville Georgetown and he was proceeding along the roadway when it is alleged that Oselmo suddenly ran across the road.

The driver was reportedly unable to swerve in time to avoid a collision and in-

stead the pedestrian was struck down.

He was picked up in an unconscious state by the driver and placed into his vehicle and rushed to the East Bank Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police are investigating the fatal crash.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Schoolboy chopped while pointing out carpenter’s flaws

A 16-year-old schoolboy sustained a wound to the back of his neck after the son of an Edinburg Village seamstress chopped him as he was altering a pair of pants at their home just before 18:00hrs on Saturday.

Shemar Hinds of Lot 837, New Glasgow Housing Scheme, while being accompanied by his eldest sister, Shennile Mickle, revealed that he had gone to seamstress Sharon’s home at East Bank Berbice to alter his church pants and while waiting for the re- The wound Shemar Hinds allegedly paired garment, he pointed out to the received from Viand Seetaram on woman some flaws on her wooden Saturday

Amended parking meter by-laws to go before Cabinet THE amended parking meter by-laws will be taken for discussion at the very next Cabinet meeting, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan has said.

In brief comments to the Guyana Chronicle, the Minister acknowledged receipt of the new set of by-laws which the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) last week forwarded to him, and noted that there have been some adjustments.

The M&CC had announced at its most recent statutory meeting that the by-laws were forwarded to Bulkan for his signature.

In a subsequent statement, M&CC said the parking meter re-negotiation committee has made adjustments to several parts of the contract including price, payment for space, sanctions and how profits would be shared.

Currently, M&CC noted, there is a “serious” problem of traffic congestion in several parts of Georgetown, including the central business district. “Hence, there is an urgent need for the Council to implement regulatory parking.”

The Council said it has received the endorsement of many private citizens and some companies on the implementation of the project. Apart from providing employment opportunities, it said the project would also reduce traffic congestion and improve mobility, and increase parking space availability.

“The City of Georgetown will collect revenue and reinvest it into local communities. The Greater Georgetown Development plan endorses regulatory parking.

The Municipal and District Council Act 28:01 empowers the Municipality to regulate and control parking in the City of Georgetown,” M&CC pointed out.

Thirteen city councillors earlier this year voted in favour of the amended by-laws, while two voted against and two abstained from voting. PPP Councillors Bisham Kuppen and Khame Sharma voted against, while Councillors Malcolm Ferreira and Carlyle Goring abstained.

Following discussions with Smart City Solutions, citizens would be required to pay a proposed fee of $150 per hour (VAT inclusive) or $800 (VAT inclusive) for eight hours of parking in the city.

The new parking fee was proposed by the Parking Meter Renegotiation Committee--a sub-committee of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council – after extensive renegotiation with Smart City Solutions.

The significant drop in the fee from a high of $500 per hour was among agreements reached with SCS – a foreign company – based on recommendations proposed by a Special Committee and approved by the Council.

The change in parking meter fees is as a result of several protests. Those protests had even resulted in the government suspending the parking meter by-laws which allowed for a metered parking system in Georgetown.

Even in view of the latest amendments, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), along with the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) and other stakeholders, continue to insist that the contract is illegal.

Protests continue to be held outside of City Hall almost every Thursday from 12 noon.

flooring. He then told her that he was a part-time mason.

Moments earlier, he had observed that one of the dressmaker’s sons called “Viand” was seated, viewing a telecast with the remote control in his hand.

While bending to show the seamstress the flaws on the floor, he said that he felt what he initially thought was a lash behind his neck.

Shocked, he turned around and screamed while asking his attacker why he attacked him. But, the 25-yearold man just stared at him speechlessly.

Afraid for his life, Shemar hurriedly exited the house and while scaling the nearby fence, he passed his hand behind the neck and it was then he realised that he was not hit with a blunt object, but was chopped instead.

His earlier screams had alerted neighbours who rushed to rescue him and took him to the New Amsterdam Hospital where the wound was sutured.

Meanwhile, Viand Seetaram, the alleged attacker, has been arrested and remains in custody at Sisters Police Station as investigation continues into the incident.

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Father of three killed in Whim accident

A 45-year-old cane harvester of Lot 105, Sixth Street, Whim Village, East Berbice, Corentyne, lost his life after he was struck by a car driven by an alleged drunk driver who happens to be his neighbour.

Dead: Doodnauth Sookraj Dead is Doodnauth Sookraj, called “Shooba”.

The accident occurred around 01:30hrs on Sunday when a motor vehicle bearing registration HC 4917, proceeding east along the northern side of the public road, turned north into the Whim Access Road, hitting Sookraj in the process. Sookraj was on his bicycle at the time.

According to an eyewitness, Mohindra Sookraj, 25, who was also a passenger in the car and the nephew of the dead man, after his uncle was hit, the driver of the car left the scene and went to his brother to relate what transpired.

He said he was unaware that the man who was struck down was his uncle until they returned to the scene.

Sookraj was picked up and taken to the Port Mourant Hospital where he succumbed. He was taken by the same car that struck him down but it was driven by the brother of the suspect.

“We went to the shop and when we coming back in, he [driver] bin drunk. He sway in to turn in the street and he [victim] was in the corner and when the driver pull, he couldn’t control the car and knock down the man. He go home and tell his brother he knock down somebody.

When the brother come back to see who, meh see was meh Chacha,” Mohindra said.

Meanwhile, wife of the dead man, Amchee Reddi, who was in a state of shock and disbelief, explained that her husband left home around 22:30hrs to purchase an item from a nearby shop and subsequently went to a wake in the community.

Spanish-speaking bandits rob Chinese mining company FOUR armed and masked bandits, said to be speaking Spanish and broken English, robbed a Chinese mining company of $13.5M in raw gold and thousands of dollars in $US currency recently at Black Water backdam, Cuyuni River.

Enquires revealed two armed security officers were hired by the company to overlook the dredge.

While overlooking the production with the general manager, one of the security officers left the crew and visited the kitchen to eat and on his return he was confronted by the four bandits who emerged from nearby bushes.

The bandits held him at gunpoint and instructed him to drop his firearm and he complied. One of the bandits then seized the security officer’s shotgun and the other bandits ran toward the other security officer, opening fire in the air and terrorizing those in the camp. One person was shot in the hand.

The general manager, crew and security were overpowered and the men then gathered the workers and instructed one person to burn the ‘amalgam’ gold while they stood guard.

Thereafter, the men proceeded to search the camp’s office where a rifle was discovered in a strong box and they took possession of the gun and other valuables before escaping.

Police visited the scene after a report was made. Investigations are ongoing.

She described her husband as a hard-working and very peaceful person.

The 26-year-old driver, identified as Goutam Budhoo called ‘Kesh’, was arrested. A breathalyser test done on him showed traces of alcohol above the legal limit.

He remains in police custody as the police continue their investigation into the accident. Sookraj leaves to mourn his wife and three children ages, 25, 24 and 17.

Family members gathered at the home of the cane harvester who was killed in the accident

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`Lightning’ Allicock strikes in Bolivia BOXER ‘Lightning’ Keevin Allicock assured Guyana of its first medal at the South American Games when he stormed into the semi- finals of the bantamweight division on Saturday in Bolivia.

Allicock defeated Lucas Garcia of Uruguay by a 3-2 margin and is expected to fight an Argentine tomorrow

in the semis.

Saturday’s victory has assured the 2017 Junior Sportsman of the Year at least a bronze medal. Guyana Boxing Association President Steve Ninvalle informed that the 19-year-old Allicock had a tough fight. According to the GBA boss, manager/coach Terrence Poole indicated that

Allicock was finding it difficult to get accustomed to the high altitude and weather.

“Reports out of Bolivia state that Garcia pushed our boy. It was no walk in the park but Allicock’s tenacity and superior skill were evident following a dominating third round,” Ninvalle said.

Meanwhile, light wel-

terweight Colin `Superman’ Lewis, the other Guyanese boxer at the Games, was expected in the ring last night. The gangly Lewis was scheduled to fight Venezuelan, Christian Madena, in a quarter-final event.

A victory guarantees a bronze medal and a place in the semi-final.

Guyana looking to make amends after poor Jamaica showing

By Stephan Sookram

FOLLOWIN a dismal showing at the first leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) last month in Jamaica, the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club has named a strong team for round two.

After round one, once back-to-back champions Guyana now sits at the bottom of the table in seventh with twelve points and second in the superstock standings.

Ahead of them in the following order are Cayman

Islands (32), Barbados (54), USA/CAMS (80), Trinidad (144), Antigua (205) and Jamaica (506).

On the superstock end, Jamaica has 167 points while Guyana has 66 and Trinidad and Tobago 45.

However, round two, which is set for the Frankie Boodram International Wallerfield Raceway in Trinidad later this month, will boast a proposed 13 member team which loads for the voyage between June 14 and 16.

Headlining the pro-

posed team is the defending 4-wheel-drive Group 4 champion, Andrew King, in his Mazda Rx7. He will lead the session alongside Mark Vieira (Group 4) Mazda Rx8.

Group three has Danny Persaud (Mazda Miata), Rameez Mohamed (Toyota Starlet), VIshok Persaud (Lotus Elise) and Motilal Deodass (Toyota Starlet) Group two will have Shan Seejattan (Honda Civic) and Mohamed (Honda Civic) and Rafeeq Khan (Toyota Starlet) while Group 1 has Sharima Khan (Honda Del Sol).

The superstock class will have Matthew Vieira (Yamaha R6), Paul Yearwood (Yamaha R6) and Team Mohamed’s Matt True-Love (Yamaha R6).

Apart from those, Mark Vieira is expected to ship his SR3 Radical for an invitational series that will take place during the second round, though information surrounding that series is yet to be released.

The second round of the CMRC 2018 championship takes place from June 2324.

Sri Lanka cricketer Dhananjaya expected to join Windies tour despite father’s death SRI Lanka cricketer Dhananjaya De Silva is expected to rejoin the rest of the team in the Caribbean after attending the funeral of his father reports claim.

De Silva’s father was gunned down in Rathmalana, a suburb in the capital city of Co-

lombo, on May 23 on the same day that his son was scheduled to fly to the Caribbean for the upcoming series. The player was initially expected to miss

the entire tour but now seems eager to return to the sport.

The first Test between the teams is expected to take place on Wednesday but with

Sri Lanka’s number three batsman Dhananjaya De Silva

Dhananjaya not expected to arrive in the Caribbean until today, he is unlikely to take part.

The player should, however, be available for the team’s second Test. Dhananjaya is the team’s No. 3 batsman and has hit two centuries in his four most-recent innings in the position.

His knocks included a match-saving fourth-innings ton in Delhi, last December.

Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a three-Test match series against West Indies starting from June 6. The two teams are currently playing a 3-day warm-up game.(SportsMax)

Rashid spins Afghanistan to victory over Bangladesh

RASHID Khan produced another sublime spell of spin bowling as Afghanistan earned their first Twenty20 international victory over Bangladesh.

The spinner – who has become a star of the Big Bash League and Indian Premier League – claimed figures of 3-13 from three overs in Dehra Dun as Afghanistan won the opening game of a three-match series by 45 runs.

Rashid’s heroics with the ball - which saw him claim two wickets from his first two deliveries - came after captain Mohammad Shahzad had hit a quick-fire 40 at the top of the order for Afghanistan.

Shahzad’s platform allowed Samiullah Shenwari (36) and Shafiqullah (24) to blast some late runs as Af-

ghanistan rallied from 91-4 to reach 167-8 from their allocation.

Bangladesh’s reply started badly as Tamim Iqbal fell first ball for a duck, but the rest of their top five all got starts.

That should have set them on the way to victory,

however, after the departure of Mosaddek Hossain (14) they collapsed from 108-6 to 122 all out with an over to spare.

The victory is Afghanistan’s third T20I success in a row and sets them up nicely ahead of game two today.(Yahoo Sport)

Leg-spinner Rashid Khan claimed figures of 3-13 from three overs.

19

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Golden Ball in safe hands after Oliver Kahn’s historic triumph

10

Days to go …

THROUGHOUT footballing history, Germany have acquired an enviable reputation when it comes to producing world class goalkeepers.

With Champions League winners, Manuel Neuer and Marc-Andre ter Stegan set to battle it out to be named as Joachim Low’s shot-stopper in Russia this summer, the pair are merely the latest in a rich production line of talent to follow in the footsteps of names such as Sepp Maier and Harald Schumacher, etc.

While those aforementioned names are among some of the greatest to don the gloves for Die Mannschaft, only one can lay claim to being the first (and only) goalkeeper to win the FIFA Golden Ball.

An honour bestowed on the imposing figure of Oliver Kahn, etching his name into the history books in the process.

Forging a reputation in his early career playing for hometown club, Karlsruher SC as a staunch, aggressive ‘keeper that strived for excellence, it would be their phenomenal run to the 1994 UEFA Cup semi-finals that would convince the Bundesliga heavyweights, eventually sealing a £2m move to Bayern Munich that summer.

His move to Bavaria would prove a fruitful one, earning four Bundesliga titles, two domestic cups, a UEFA Cup and C h a m pions League, all before the first World Cup held on Asian soil. Individual honours would also inevitably follow in that time, with two IFFHS Goalkeeper of the Year awards, six Bundesliga Goalkeeper of the Year awards and third place at the 2001 Ballon d’Or. Despite the glut of success at Die Roten, Kahn had to be patient on the international stage before making his immense presence felt. Making his debut in 1995 after a watching brief at the 1994 World Cup, it wouldn’t be until Euro 2000 when Kahn got his first taste of tournament football for Germany, after spending Euro ‘96 and the 1998 World Cup on the bench.

A disastrous tournament in Belgium and Holland culminated in a group stage exit in 2000, while a play-off win against Ukraine to qualify for the World Cup two years later did little to convince fans of success in South Korea and Japan; giving a 32-year-old Kahn the ideal stage to install belief back into German football.

Ousting long-term rival Jens Lehmann to be named as Germany’s number one in 2002, Kahn was also given the honour of captaincy by manager Rudi Voller, with his unparalleled passion and perfectionism deemed the ideal blend to lead a nation with a point to prove.

Grouped alongside Saudi Arabia, Republic of Ireland and Cameroon, the Germans made light work of their opening games, topping Group E after 8-0 and 2-0 wins against their Asian and African counterparts. Robbie Keane’s late equaliser would prove to be the only goal Kahn would concede prior to the final, with the skipper giving a glimpse of the saves to come.

Nicknamed ‘The Titan’ throughout his career, Kahn would provide a trio of other worldly performances in the forthcoming knockout games en route to the final in Yokohama, kicked

off by a stunning save to tip Paraguay’s Jorge Campos’ long range drive over the bar to help preserve a 1-0 win in the last 16.

The result would be repeated in the quarter finals against the USA, overcoming the Young Player of the Tournament, Landon Donovan in particular, with some smart full-length saves and crucial blocks in one v. ones, which, along with a helping hand from Torsten Frings, booked their place in the semi-finals.

A third consecutive 1-0 against co-hosts South Korea led Germany to their seventh World Cup final.

Setting up a final against the runners up of ‘98, Kahn and his teammates knew the size of the task, trying to quell a free-scoring Brazil side boasting the likes of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, and for 67 minutes, that proved to be the case at the International Stadium.

Kahn and Germany frustrated a vibrant Selecao attack in a game that provided chances for both, prior to Ronaldo’s opener. The German skipper looked at his imperious best, snuffing out the eventual Golden Boot winner with an instinctive save in the first period, before a block at the feet of Gilberto Silva in the second half led to Kahn sustaining finger ligament injury, just minutes before his fateful error.

A stalwart in the German defence, Kahn spilt a routine shot from Rivaldo in the 67th minute, leaving the predatory Ronaldo the gift of his seventh goal of the tournament, in what was a cruel turn of fate for a man who had been a cornerstone in his side’s run to the final.

His eighth of the tournament and second of the game was a scintillating Brazil at their best, killing off any hopes of the World Cup staying in Europe, while a despondent Kahn was left to reflect on what might have been after the final whistle.

A testament to the man, however, his comments after spoke of someone accepting responsibility for his mistake, but refused to use his injury as an excuse.

Despite the blot of the fumble in the final, Kahn’s fine performances of five clean sheets and countless saves in 2002 were duly rewarded, earning the coveted Lev Yashin Award for Goalkeeper of the Tournament, while even more significantly, he would receive the Golden Ball to mark him as the best player during the World Cup; a historic feat that no ‘keeper had or since achieved.

Further recognition for the Bayern Hall of Fame inductee would follow that year alone with a place in the Team of the Tournament, another second place finish at the Ballon d’Or and a third IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper in what turned out to be the pinnacle of an illustrious career.While Kahn would add four more Bundesliga titles and four domestic cups among a plethora of other trophies before hanging up his gloves altogether in 2008, the watershed moment of his Golden Ball award was a true verification of his craft.

To win such an accolade against the usually accredited attacking talents is a notion that will forever resonate throughout the history of the World Cup and football generally.

20

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4 , 2018

England cricketers end winless streak in style ...complete rout of Pakistan inside three days

Pakistan’s skipper Safraz Ahmed (left) and England ‘s Root shared the silverware at the end of the two-match Test series: AFP/Getty Images

ENGLAND made amends for their Lord’s debacle with a comprehensive victory over Pakistan at Headingley to tie the series 1-1.

Joe Root’s side were thrashed by nine wickets in the opening Test match but found their groove in Leeds, dominating with bat and ball to end their eight-game winless streak.

Newcomers Dom Bess and Sam Curran impressed with the ball on day three after Jos Buttler brought his swashbuckling best with the bat to build England’s lead

to 189.

Buttler’s unbeaten 80 helped the hosts post a respectable 363 all out, before England’s bowlers made short work of Pakistan to triumph by an innings and 55 runs.

James Anderson – so often the talisman – got them on their way before the rest of the unit chipped in, Bess grabbing his first three Test wickets to finally put a smile on Root’s face after months of misery in the longest format.

Buttler and Curran had resumed with England on

302-7 and they peppered the boundary early on as Pakistan struggled to make any inroads.

Curran, on his 20th birthday, eventually fell for 20 but Buttler was not to be denied, going to 50 with a huge six as he comfortably handled a raft of short deliveries from the Pakistan seamers.

He was dropped on 66

by Usman Salahuddin in the deep, a reprieve he took full advantage of by hitting 10 off the next two deliveries.

While the Lancashire batsman ran out of

partners, his innings led to a deserved standing ovation from those inside the ground as he made his way off the field.

Buttler’s aggressive approach was matched by new-ball pair Anderson (235) and Stuart Broad (3-28), the former making a mess of Azhar Ali’s stumps in the fifth over as the batsman played around a straight delivery.

With the winds in their sails England set about stifling the Pakistan batsmen, a plan that worked well as wickets began to tumble at regular intervals.

A sublime catch by Bess at extra cover gave Anderson his second as Haris Sohail (8) departed, before the spinner was celebrating his maiden Test victim as Imam-ul-Haq (34) was trapped lbw.

Chris Woakes (1-18) and Curran (1-10) soon got themselves in on the act as Pakistan’s resistance waned, their 189-run target to make England bat again looking tougher with each passing over.

Broad wrapped things up with the final two wickets as the tourists were toppled for 134, handing the hosts a resounding win inside three days.

Wins for Diesel XI, Superbet XI, Success Enforcers and Farm THE Unity Cup, organised by the Guyana Softball League, continued at Leonora Primary School ground with four matches despite the inclement weather.

In the first match Diesel XI defeated Marics XI by 37 runs.

Diesel XI batted first and made 105-4 in 10 overs.

Mark Braithwaithe stroked an unbeaten 47 off 14 balls which included seven sixes and a four. Panny Lalaram and Nandsam Rataram contributed 35 (5x6) and 22 (3x6) respectively.

In reply, Marics were bundled out for 68 in 7.1 overs, with Racindra Sukwah and Nanbram Rajarm taking figures of 2-9 and 2-5 respectively.

In the other match

Superbet XI got the better of Crossbreed XI. Deciding to bat first, Crossbreed XI were limited to 93 in 9.3 overs.

Malcolm Hoddaro with 32 (4x6) was the top scorer.

Feroz Rahan claimed 4-9 for Superbet XI. Superbet XI, in reply, raced to 99-5 in six overs, with Feroz Khan making a quick-fire 48 (7x6) off 12 balls. Malcolm Hobbit took 3-22.

In the Lower East Coast/East Bank/ Georgetown/Linden Zone, Success Enforcers destroyed Better Hope by nine wickets, Better Hope won the toss and batted but could only get to 53 in 9.3 overs.

Rabindra Sookram took 3-16 and Dindial Lachan

3-3.

In reply, Success Enforcers knocked off the runs, scoring 54-1 off 4.3 overs with Chris Sookram clobbering 32 not out off 11 balls which included four sixes.

Farm continued their unbeaten run defeating Enterprise Youths by six wickets: Enterprise Youths batted first and scored 104-5 in 10 overs, with Kushial Beepat scoring 35. Ameer Khan took 2-16 bowling for Farm XI. In reply, Farm XI made 110-4 in 9.5 overs. Travis Alphonso guided them with an unbeaten 47 off 16 balls.

Additionally, the one ball which carries a winning prize of $10 000 plus a beautiful trophy will continue in the various

areas.

Teams wishing more information can contact the following persons: West Demerara – Ravendra Ramgobin, 276-1381; Premnauth Bimchan (Pampalam), 670-9982; Rawle Higgins, 667-6374; Nadir Baksh (Gas), 672-0378; Lower East Coast Demerara up to Enmore as well as East Bank Demerara/ Georgetown – Linden – Rafman Ally, 654-2233; Darmin Ramnarine, 6423165; Upper East Coast Herman Persaud, 6433033; Linden – Mortimer Denny, 687-3326, 4421562; Canje/Berbice Corentyne – Pinkey Arthur, 615-2493; Ravi Ramkumar, 642-1206, Celeb Morris, 615- 2874.

SCORE BOARD PAKISTAN 1st innings: 174: England first innings(overnight 302-7) Alastair Cook cSarfraz Ahmed b Hasan Ali 46 Keaton Jennings c Sarfraz Ahmed b Faheem Ashraf 29 Joe Root c Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Amir 45 Dom Bess c Asad Shafiq b Shadab Khan 49 Dawid Malan c Haris Sohail b Mohammad Amir 28 Jonny Bairstow c Sarfraz Ahmed b Faheem Ashraf 21 Jos Buttler Not Out 80 Chris Woakes c Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Abbas 17 Sam Curran c Asad Shafiq b Mohammad Abbas 20 Stuart Broad c Mohammad Abbas b Faheem Ashraf 2 James Anderson c Haris Sohail b Hasan Ali 5 Extras 8b 13lb 0nb 0pen 0w 21 Total (106.2 overs) 363 all out Fall of Wickets : 1-53 Jennings, 2-104 Cook, 3-138 Root, 4-200 Malan, 5-212 Bess, 6-260 Bairstow, 7-285 Woakes, 8-319 Curran, 9-344 Broad, 10-363 Anderson Bowling: Mohammad Amir 23 - 5 - 72 - 2, Mohammad Abbas 26- 8- 78- 2, Hasan Ali 20.2 - 4 - 82 - 2, Faheem Ashraf 20 - 4 - 60 - 3, Shadab Khan 17- 2- 50 - 1, PAKISTAN 2nd innings Azhar Ali b James Anderson 11 Imam ul-Haq lbw Dom Bess 34 Haris Sohail c Dom Bess b James Anderson 8 Asad Shafiq c Jonny Bairstow b Stuart Broad 5 Usman Salahuddin c Joe Root b Dom Bess 33 Sarfraz Ahmed lbw Chris Woakes 8 Shadab Khan c Alastair Cook b Sam Curran 4 Faheem Ashraf c Dawid Malan b Dom Bess 3 Mohammad Amir Not Out 7 Hasan Ali c Alastair Cook b Stuart Broad 9 Mohammad Abbas c Joe Root b Stuart Broad 1 Extras 5b 5lb 1nb 0pen 0w 11 Total (46.0 overs) 134 all out Fall of Wickets : 1-20 Ali, 2-30 Sohail, 3-42 Shafiq, 4-84 ul-Haq, 5-97 Ahmed, 6-102 Khan, 7-111 Ashraf, 8-115 Salahuddin, 9-124 Ali, 10-134 Abbas Bowling : James Anderson 10 - 2 - 35 - 2, Stuart Broad 12 - 2 - 28 - 3, (1nb) Sam Curran 7 - 2 - 10 - 1, Chris Woakes 6 - 0 - 18 - 1, Dom Bess 11- 1- 33- 3,

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21

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

Neymar impresses on return but caution urged by coach Tite

By Simon Evans

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Brazil coach Tite said he was surprised how well Neymar performed on his return from a three-month injury lay-off in Sunday’s 2-0 preWorld Cup friendly win over Croatia but said the forward required patience.

Neymar came on at Anfield as a second-half substitute and made a swift impression with a superbly taken goal in the 69th minute as the five-times world champions warmed-up for this month’s tournament in Russia.

The most expensive

player in the world has been sidelined since Feb. 25, when he fractured a metatarsal and sprained his ankle playing for Paris St Germain in a French league match against Olympique de Marseille.

“He came back better than I expected. I expected much less, because it is a process,” Tite told reporters after the game.

“He has to go through stages. He is going to have ups and downs. By the third, fourth or fifth game then he will be back to his level,” added the Brazil coach.

Wearing the number 10 shirt, made famous by Pele,

Resurgent Djokovic tames Verdasco to reach last eight

By Martyn Herman PARIS (Reuters) Resurgent former champion Novak Djokovic moved ominously into the French Open quarterfinals for the 12th time on Sunday as he subdued feisty Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-4 6-2.

The Serb, seeded 20th after a well-documented form slump, was given a ferocious fight in the early stages with the opening three games lasting 29 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

But what looked like being a long evening for the 12-times Grand Slam champion ended up being a reasonably comfortable one as he kept Verdasco at arm’s length.

One break of serve was enough to take the opening set and although lefthander Verdasco produced thunderous winners to stay in touch in the second his challenge soon faded.

After arriving in Paris with his lowest seeding since 2006 and his expectations not much higher, the former world number one appears to be rediscovering his mojo at the right time.

The draw has fallen in his favour with Verdasco having removed fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov and he had another slice of fortune on Sunday when eighth seed

David Goffin was beaten by unheralded Italian Marco Cecchinato.

Cecchinato will hold few fears for Djokovic who moved up a gear against Verdasco — a dangerous opponent who has three claycourt victories over the Serb.

Verdasco saved a break point in a 22-point second game and exerted huge pressure on Djokovic in a marathon third game but could not convert two break points of his own.

The pace was getting to Verdasco and he hit a forehand long in the next game to give Djokovic a decisive break.

Verdasco recovered a break in the second set, forcing Djokovic to net a stretching volley.

Djokovic replied immediately, finding the baseline with a deep drive that forced a miss-hit from the Spaniard.

Verdasco’s hopes of reaching his first French Open quarter-final were sunk when Djokovic nailed down a break at the start of the third set before cruising to victory.

No other player has reached 12 French Open quarter-finals in the professional era, although 10-times champion Rafael Nadal can match Djokovic’s feat if he wins today.

Brazil’s Neymar celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates

Neymar’s popularity soared after he led Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal win in Rio in 2014.

The forward’s ability to

create chances for himself and open up defences adds some unpredictability to the Brazil attack and after a goalless first half on Sunday

they looked more dangerous with the former Barcelona man on the field.

Tite said there was no doubt that Neymar gives them something extra but said that needed to be kept in perspective.

“He is a player that is different but he can’t be given all the responsibility to decide the game, that’s not humane, he is a key part but not everything,” he said, declining to comment if the 26-yearold would start in the next friendly against Austria in Vienna on June 10.

Neymar became the world’s most expensive footballer when he signed

from Barcelona for 222 million euros ($264 million) last August and he is expected to start in the opening Group E game against Switzerland on June 17 even if he is short of full match fitness.

Tite also had praise for Manchester City’s Danilo who featured at right back against the Croats with Real Madrid’s Marcelo operating as an attacking left back.

“Danilo played very well today, his defensive work was close to perfection. He doesn’t construct like Marcelo because no one constructs like Marcelo, but he was very good,” he said.

French Open tennis..

Serena and Sharapova ready to sharpen the edge

By Martyn Herman

PARIS (Reuters) - The oncourt rivalry is so lop-sided it can barely be described as such yet Serena Williams’ French Open fourthround clash with Maria Sharapova today feels like the biggest match played on the women’s Tour this year.

Not just because Williams looks capable of landing a 24th Grand Slam title against all the odds having returned from maternity leave and Sharapova is seeking redemption after a 15-month doping ban with a third French Open title.

But because no match-up in a women’s field packed with potential Grand Slam winners provides the “edge” that is so apparent whenever the two spiky old warriors face each other across a tennis net.

It has been missing for two-and-a-half years, since Williams extended her domination of Sharapova to 19-2 with an Australian Open quarter-final victory that proved more significant than anyone could have imagined at the time.

Sharapova was found to have taken meldonium, a recently banned heart drug, and was slapped with a suspension by the International Tennis

Serena Williams will look to extend her winning streak over Maria Sharapova when the pair meet at the French Open.

Federation (ITF).

Sharapova’s comeback is more advanced, having returned to the Tour, with modest success, 12 months ago although this is her first French Open since 2015, having been snubbed by organisers last year and not handed a wildcard.

Williams, 36, has played only a handful of matches this year but the three-times French Open champion has looked so dangerous in her black bodysuit in Paris that she seems capable of defying conventional wisdom and reclaiming the title.

Sharapova spoke of her rivalry with Williams extensively in her autobiography last year.

A little too much, according to Williams who offered a thoughts on the subject on Saturday.

“I didn’t expect to be

reading a book about me, that wasn’t necessarily true,” she said, after a dazzling display against 11th seed Julia Goerges.

SKINNY KID Sharapova, who stunned Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final but has not beaten her for 14 years, had written: “Serena hated me for being the skinny kid who beat her, against all odds, at Wimbledon.

Hated me for seeing her at her lowest moment. But mostly I think she hated me for hearing her cry. She’s never forgiven me for it.”

So expect the roars and fist-pumps to have a little extra intensity on Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday when the pressure will surely sit more heavily on Sharapova.

After 18 defeats in

a row to Williams and losing the last 16 sets they have contested she might never have a better chance to strike a blow -a point Williams, ranked a laughable 451st in the world, raised after her third-round win.

“She’s probably a favourite in this match,” Williams said. “I’m just really trying to get my bearings and trying to feel out where I am and see where I can go.”

Former men’s champion Mats Wilander also gives Sharapova the edge after watching her destroy sixth seed Karolina Pliskova -- but says past bashings may still haunt her.

“I would say this is most probably Maria Sharapova’s biggest chance in a very long time to beat Serena Williams,” Wilander, hosting Eurosport’s flagship Game, Schett and Mats show in Paris, told Reuters.

“Maria has won here twice and her claycourt is really good at the moment.

You would assume Serena’s not at her best.

“But how much mental scar tissue, how much baggage does Maria Sharapova carry with her on court. If she cannot manage to win a set in this match then you know it has nothing to do with the physical side.”

22

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4 , 2018

Assassins rebound to cart off Rabada wins SA’s top player prize Apollo Super Bash tourney TORONTO, Canada – Unlike last year when they were upstaged by underdogs Steelcity Warriors, Assassins rebounded to take top honours when the second annual Apollo Cricket Club Super Bash six-a-side fiveover round-arm softball knockout competition came off with a bang last recently at Keele Top, North York, Toronto.

Originally set to be played on Saturday May26, the organisers were forced to postpone the tournament to the following day due to the inclement weather. This however did not deter the fans who turned out in their numbers to witness 10 teams battle for supremacy.

In the end it was Assassins who came out victorious, whipping Canje After Six by a whopping 44 runs in the five-over affair.

Led by a thunderous unbeaten 71 from former Guyana Under-19 player Farouk Hussein, whose knock included an incredible 10 sixes and 29 not out from former Guyana captain Damodar Daesrath, Assassins reached a formidable 109 without loss in their five

Members of the victorious Assassins team pose with their winnings.

overs.

Canje After Six could only muster 65 for three when their five overs expired with Yadram Bojh hitting a top-score of 35.

The semi-final encounters saw Canje After Six getting the better of Apollo while Assassins won from Apollo 2.

The fund-raising effort attracted some 10 teams with the winners taking away $1000C and the Canadian Surplus trophy while the losing finalist collected $200 and the Caribbean Lime trophy.

At the presentation ceremony, Hussein

copped awards for manof-the-match and Most Valuable Player in the final, Daesrath for scoring the most runs (109) in the tournament (a food voucher compliments of Tropical Nights Restaurant); Troy Gobin for being the best catcher (food voucher from Tropical Nights Restaurant) and Assassins for the highest team score.

Among the sponsors were Canadian Surplus Guyana (Prem Punwasi), Caribbean Heat Restaurant (Alex), Caribbean Lime (Gangaram), JDG Tooling, 24-hour Glass System (Sham), T & S Enterprise

(Tyrone Madramootoo), IR Construction (Iqbal Rahaman), Dant Powder Coating (Andrew), Tropical Nights Restaurant (Nigel), S&G Glass Insulation, Suraj Singh & Hamlet (Gordon) and Trophy Stall Canada (Roger Sunich).

Organiser, Daesrath is expressing sincere thanks to all those responsible for the successful staging of the tournament and also disclosed that an Intercounty competition is slated for the same venue in July while a similar competition will also take place in August. (Frederick Halley)

Canada T20 league coaches revealed PROMINENT names from the international cricket coaching fraternity will lead the five Canadian franchise teams in the inaugural Global T20 Canada set to take place in Toronto from June 28 to July 15.

They include Waqar Younis, legendary Pakistan fast bowler and ex Pakistan coach (Winnipeg Eagles), Tom Moody, former Australian all-rounder, ICC World Cup winner and ex-coach of Sri Lanka (Montreal Tigers), Phil Simmons, West Indies all-rounder and coach of ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 champion West Indies (Toronto Nationals), Mohammad Akram, former Pakistan fast bowler and coach of Pakistan Super League franchise, Peshawar Zalmi (Edmonton Royals) and Donovan Miller, renowned Jamaican coach

Phil Simmons

(Vancouver Knights).

All five coaches will be participating in the players draft, which organisers was conducted last evening.

Aside from two of the 10 marquee players announced on May 24, each coach will select 14 additional players for their team from a vast talent pool. In just two weeks, over 1,500 players from Canada and around the world had registered for selection.

Speaking on his

appointment, Younis said, “I look forward to this experience. I have fond memories of playing in Toronto in the 1990s. I still remember the kind of excitement it created at that time and this time it should be no different.

Global T20 has announced some magnificent names as marquee players. I am looking forward to the draft and making a well-balanced side for my franchise, Winnipeg Eagles.”

This is truly a wonderful opportunity for the game in Canada and North America,” said Moody, coach of Montreal Tigers, stressing the importance of this moment. “I am delighted to be involved as one of the head coaches of the league. I will do everything possible in my role to support the success of this tournament.”

Simmons, who will lead Toronto Nationals, holders of the number one selection in the draft, emphasiszed, “Competition like this in the North America region is very much the need of the hour to strengthen the development of the game in an associate country like Canada. I am looking forward to sharing my coaching experience with Toronto Nationals and would like to congratulate Cricket Canada and Global T20 Canada for this initiative.”

The Marquee Players are Chris Gayle (West Indies), Steve Smith (Australia), Andre Russell (West Indies), Sunil Narine (West Indies), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Chris Lynn (Australia), Daren Sammy (West Indies), David Miller (South Africa), Lasinth Malinga (Sri Lanka) and Dwayne Bravo (West Indies).

KAGISO Rabada, the world’s number one Test bowler, was named South Africa’s male Cricketer of the Year at an annual awards evening on Saturday.

The award came at the end of a 12-month period during which Rabada, 23, was a consistent matchwinner – and subject of disciplinary hearings.

Rabada took 72 wickets at an average of 19.52 in 12 Tests going back to a series in England last July.

It was the fiery quick’s second Cricketer of the Year award, following on from his 2016 gong.

He joins Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and AB de Villiers as two-time winners.

Rabada collected a total of six awards, including Test cricketer of the year, one-day international player of the year and players’ player of the year, while he claimed the award for delivery of the year for the ball which dismissed David Warner in the third Test in March.

Remarkably, it’s the second time he as won six awards - alongside 2016 - with no other player having ever won more than five in one year.

He missed one Test in England because he was banned after reaching a demerit points threshold – and would have missed the last two Tests against Australia earlier this year if he had not appealed successfully against a verdict that would have brought a two-match ban for reaching a second threshold.

Kagiso Rabada

Rabada went on to be man- of- the- series when South Africa beat Australia in a controversial fourmatch series.

The ban came after a collision with Australian captain Steve Smith. Match referee Jeff Crowe found him guilty of a level two offence and he was docked three demerit points, which triggered an automatic ban.

But it was downgraded to a level one offence with one demerit point.

Rabada remains in danger of missing more matches, though, because he has accumulated seven points, one short of a ban.

With points remaining on his record for two years, he will not start shedding points until February 2019.

Meanwhile, South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk took out the award as South Africa’s top female player. The allrounder, who plays for Sydney Sixers in the Rebel WBBL, was honoured for a year that saw her lead the Proteas to the World Cup semi-finals and capture the figures of 4-0 against the West Indies.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Monday June04, 2018) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & Cummings Electrical Company Ltd. 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 2256158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Pakistan won by 9 wickets (2) Dominic Bess (ENG) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who was declared Man of the Match in the ENG/ PAK first Test of the current series?

(2) How many fifties were scored in the first Test?

23

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, June 4, 2018

New consciousness of ‘Holder Generation’ at the heart of Windies revival: Sir Hilary B R I D G E T O W N , Barbados, (CMC) – Distinguished academic and cricket historian, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, believes the “tide is turning” in West Indies cricket, and contends the excellence of the “Jason Holder generation” could lead to a revival of the former World champions.

Speaking during a public lecture series here entitled “Fire in Babylon: Cricket as Popular Culture”, Sir Hilary pointed out that a new consciousness existed in the young generation of current Windies cricketers and as a result, they were now attempting to reconnect with previous high standards of excellence.

He also argued that the development of Caribbean society and West Indies success were intertwined and once societal issues in the region were addressed, he could foresee the emergence of a strong Windies side “in seven to eight years.”

“I believe we are now

seeing our way out of this. I believe that the tide is turning – I don’t think it is empty optimism. I believe the tide is turning,” said Sir Hilary, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies and former principal of UWI Cave Hill Campus.

“I believe that the current generation of young cricketers who are coming up – I call them the Jason Holder generation. I believe they are seeing the society differently.

I’ve spoken to them, most of them are UWI students anyway. They come to the University, they are working class boys and we speak to them. All the young cricketers – Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite – these young men who are ready and willing to fight for us.”

He continued: “I have sat in classroom sessions like this with them, to speak about history, to speak about cultural responsibility, nationhood, to explain to them what the IMF (International

Vice-Chancellor of the University of West Indies, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles .

Monetary Fund) is all about.

“This younger generation who have come through the academy, they understand the problem and they want to reconnect to the Vivian Richards, Michael Holding generation. They want to look over the head of (Chris) Gayle and (Brian) Lara and they want to reconnect with Viv Richards and Michael Holding. It’s a cycle.”

West Indies have been stuck a protracted state of under-performance over

Guyana’s women TT team advance to quarter-finals in Bolivia

Chelsea Edghill

GUYANA’s national women’s team of Trenace Lowe, Natalie Cummings and Cheslea Edghill defeated Ecuador by a 3-0 margin to advance to

the quarter-final round at the 2018 South American games taking place in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Playing in high altitude conditions, the women,

seeded sixth in South America, overcame an earlier loss to the top seeds in the group (Chile) to defeat Ecuador in a mustwin match to advance to the quarterfinals. They now await the draw to see who they will play in the quarterfinal round with a chance to advance to the semi-finals .

The South America Region is strong in terms of the quality of teams as many of the players compete on the professional circuit The women’s team is also using these games to improve ranking points and as preparation for the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) games scheduled for Barranquilla, Colombia from July 19 to August 3 as well as the senior Caribbean Championships.

West Indies captain Jason Holder

the last two decades, and have slumped to historic lows of ninth in both the Test and One-Day International formats.

They have won only four of their last 22 Tests inside the last two years and last year alone, won just three of 23 ODIs, sparking widespread criticism from fans.

But referencing the recent general elections in Barbados where the country elected its first woman prime minister Mia Mottley in a clean sweep of all 30 seats, Sir Hilary said it was evident citizens were demanding of their political

and cricketing representatives a standard of excellence.

“Many of you who have seen the team in decline, what your criticism showed was a lack of effort. Many of you were saying ‘I don’t mind the boys losing but show more effort, show more passion, give us some passion,’” Sir Hilary explained.

“But I believe those fans and citizens are coming around again and I believe that to be true because of my association with these young men. All of these things are connected.

“So what I described … as the Mia Mottley revolution in Barbados – all of these things are connected. People are coming gradually to realise that there has to be a standard of expectation from the government and citizens are asking for a minimum threshold, and nobody must fall below that minimum threshold.”

Sir Hilary, who has written several books on West Indies cricket, said

he was seeing signs of the changing tide across the region but was careful to note he was not predicting a return to the halcyon days.

He also reiterated the linkages between the region’s political development and Windies cricket, and the need for the continued growth of Caribbean society.

“These things are indeed connected. I have seen it in Kingston, I have seen it in Port of Spain.

There is a turning of the tide,” he stressed.

“I cannot say this will be to the resurgence of our Test dominance but what I will say is that there are elements that will constitute the potential for excellence, those elements are being put in place and are coming together.

“And I would like to imagine, and I don’t believe in linearity, but I would not be surprised if in seven to eight years or so we become competitive again in this form of the game but first of all I believe we have to fix Caribbean societies.”

Afridi contributes US$20,000 to Windies hurricane relief SHAHID Afridi has proven to be a man of his word when despite suffering from an injured knee, he showed up to represent the ICC World XI for the charity match against the Windies at Lord’s lastThursday.

The match was held to raise funds to repair and renovate cricket facilities in the Caribbean that were damaged during the passage of hurricanes through the region in 2017.

The former Pakistan captain took 1 for 34 off his four overs as the Windies, batting first, compiled 199 for 4 from 20 overs. He made only 11 in a losing cause as the Windies bowled the ICC XI for just 127 to win by 72 runs, but what Afridi did afterwards will endear him to cricket fans worldwide.

Shahid Afridi

The man, who announced his retirement from international cricket after the match, donated US$20,00 to the relief effort.

“Thank you for providing me the opportunity of contributing to the CricketRelief cause,” he posted on his Twitter account.

“It was a real honour for me and a memory I

will cherish for long. On behalf of my foundation, I’m making a donation of $20,000 for the Hurricane victims in the Caribbean.”

The other players donated their respective match fees to the cause as well.

Afridi said to be able to contribute was “fantastic” and thanked all of those who came out to support the cause.

Panthers, ‘arrest’ Police Falcons 32 – 5

THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) failed in their bid to ‘arrest’ the Panthers Rugby Club and were crushed 32 – 5 when the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU), Bounty Farm 15s continued at the National Park yesterday.

After a 10 – 0 half time score in favour of the Panthers, Godfrey Broomes and Jacques Archibald the two scorers in the first half for Panthers, continued their onslaught on the Police defence.

Archibald would score two more tries, pushing the score to 20 – 0 but the Panthers, through Broomes, were only able to score one of the two conversions.

After Broomes’ try, the Panthers led 22 – 0, but Quacy Kendall scored the lone try (22 – 5) of the game for Police.

Rondel ‘Bull’ McArthur and Lloyd Anderson would score back-to-back tries for the Panthers as they close out the game against a hapless Police Falcons.

Panthers clawed their way to a 32 – 5 win over Police Falcons at the National Park, in the GRFU 15s.

(Samuel Maughn photo)

`Lightning’ Allicock strikes in Bolivia See Page 18

Guyana looking to make amends after poor Jamaica showing

See Page 18

Danny Persaud’s Mazda Miata Keevin Allicock

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MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018