Guyana chronicle e paper 06 17 2018

17th June, 2018

Guyana open for business No.105308

Quiet Father’s Day for 02 Persaud family PAGE

PAGE

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‘Form cooperative 04 societies’ – Scott urges retrenched PAGE

sugar workers

– Jordan tells Chinese investors at international construction forum

Policemen among seven arrested for illegal firearm 07 PAGE

Finance Minister Winston Jordan responding to potential investors in the presence of Guyana's Ambassador to China, Bayney Karran at the 9th International Infrastructure and Construction Forum on Friday

Natural gas eruption under control

– as efforts begin to trap gas from well 05 PAGE

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

Quiet Father’s Day for Persaud family WHILE practically everyone bought gifts, will be cooking their favourite dishes or will be having a day of fun with their fathers, all that is left with the Persaud family are the memories of their dad Danesh Persaud called “Vicky and Crink”.

Persaud was brutally cut down in a pirate attack on April 27 that claimed the lives of more than a dozen Guyanese fishermen.

Persaud, 27, who hailed from Sheet Anchor, East Canje, Berbice, was the sole breadwinner of his family.

No longer in their company, his wife Tarmattie Abrahim, 29, called “Kavita” and their

two children, Javen, five and Jaden, two will be spending the day quietly.

Life was never easy for Tarmattie. At the tender age of 11, she lost her mom to suicide and on the day of her mom’s funeral, she also lost her dad to similar circumstances. She and her two siblings had to fend for themselves.

Being the youngest in a family that was struggling to make ends meet, she only managed to complete nursery school and began working at age 13, picking beans, fishing, farming and doing odd jobs to support her family.

It helped in a signifiThe Persaud family in happier times

cant way to provide for herself, her two sisters and their elderly grandmother with whom they stayed.

Her eldest sister eventually got married, but 11 months

into the marriage, she too lost her life to suicide. When her other sister got married, she moved away with her husband, leaving Tarmattie to move from home to home,

Tarmattie Abrahim with her children Javen and Jaden

living with extended families until she met Danesh at age 23.

“When we meet and he hear my story, he tell me he would take care of me,

let me stop work that I been through enough. We started living home together and for the first time in my life I felt safe, loved and had someone Turn to page 3 ►

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

Guyana open for business

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– Jordan tells Chinese investors at international construction forum FINANCE Minister Winston Jordan told China’s 9th International Infrastructure and Construction Forum that Guyana is opened for business.

Stating that Guyana sits in the middle of the most promising investment zone in the Northern Hemisphere, that is Latin America and the Caribbean, Minister Jordan said the country’s “golden treasures” have been upstaged recently by the discovery of massive hydrocarbon reserves, in excess of 3.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

As he addressed a special session of the forum held in Macao on Friday, the Finance Minister pointed out that ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess and CNOOC Nexen, forecast that first oil will be realised by the first quarter of 2020, initially at 120,000 barrels per day, with expected growth in production to over 500,000 barrels per day by 2025.

“With several other major global oil producers now rushing for a stake in our massive oil field reserves, some of whom are already exploring and drilling in areas contiguous to the current oil discovery, it is expected that we can be producing over one million barrels per day by 2030 and onwards,” said an optimistic Jordan.

ExxonMobil has also conservatively estimated over 50 million standard cubic feet of associated natural gas per day in the Lisa 1 oil well. Once these production forecasts remain constant over the next decade, Guyana can realise over US$300

More than 40 representatives of China’s business community met with Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan at Guyana’s embassy in China, last Friday, to discuss opportunities for cooperation. They were particularly interested in Guysuco and the Public/Private Partnership Framework which was recently laid in Parliament

million annually from 2020 and beyond to in excess of over US$1 billion annually by the end of the decade, in royalties and profit share from petroleum production and natural gas production, he noted.

He added that with this projected revenue stream, Guyana is poised to become perhaps the most endowed country, in terms of oil revenue per capita, in the world but emphasised the need for prudent investment.

“Ladies and gentlemen, to harness, develop and manage these resources and to create and realise the transformative opportunities that these revenue flows can bring to Guyana, we are actively seeking investors, individually or in partnership, as we consciously strategise to avoid the resource curse and Dutch Disease, which has befallen many emerging oil producing nations,” Minister Jordan explained.

Guyana, he pointed out, is developing a Green State Development Strategy that

Residents, cops capture robber AN armed 38-year-old man of Castello Housing Scheme, Georgetown, who robbed a business premises at MetenMeer-Zorg, WCD on Saturday, was captured shortly after committing the crime.

The suspect, who used a bicycle to flee the scene, was valiantly pursued by both the police and public-spirited individuals and was apprehended not far away from the scene of the robbery.

An unlicensed Special Revolver with four live rounds and some of the money stolen from the premises were found in the suspect’s possession.

Ballistic tests will be conducted on the weapon to ascertain if it was used in the commission of other crimes.

The suspect is also expected to be placed on identification parades in connection with several armed robberies committed in the division.

would act as a guide.

“This strategy articulates my government’s vision for sustainable green growth and emphasizes economic diversification of the economy for stability and sustainable growth, and promotes enhanced livelihoods so that our people can enjoy the Good Life, secured in peace,

safety and prosperity,’ he noted.

A fixed 4-lane bridge connecting major commercial and industrial regions; a 400 Km super- highway linking Georgetown to Brazil, thereby creating an International Trade Corridor; and Agro-Industrial Parks that promote hemispheric

and global food security, he said, are among catalytic investment opportunities that are designed to catapult Guyana from one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean to one of the richest in South America.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, as you have deduced by now, the main constraint to unleashing Guyana’s full potential is the ready availability of the requisite capital investment and investors. To address this challenge, our government is encouraging Foreign Direct Investment to establish linkages with our local private and public sectors, in order to bring the necessary financing, managerial expertise and cutting edge technology to jumpstart our developmental agenda,” he stated.

Minister Jordan also made a call for investors to consider newer models of financing, particularly private

Quiet Father’s Day... to take care of me; then it all disappeared just like that,” Tarmattie remarked, as tears trickled down her cheeks.

A month and a half since the pirate attack, she has moved from Canje fearing for her life, while noting that the place is not healthy for her children.

She now lives in a rented house.

Whatever little money she had as savings is now depleted. Her eldest son will be graduating from nursery school soon, but there is no certainty he will attend as his mother cannot afford to

pay for his gown and other expenses.

Since the incident, he has not returned to school, as his mother struggles to find a way to ensure her children have a better childhood than the one she had.

“I will try my best to make sure they go to school and get an education and I will try to be there for them all the way, but I don’t know what to do because my lil son is only two and I checking around for work, but I will have to take him with me, cause I have no one here with me. Monday, I suppose

investment financing as governments are facing the challenge of dwindling resources to finance infrastructural projects. The special session was arranged by Guyana’s Ambassador to China, Mr. Bayney Karran.

The 9th Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum focussed on the promotion of more robust cooperation within the sector and particularly on China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

China supports global infrastructure development.

The forum is an important platform for the exchange of knowledge and technological advances in global infrastructure development. It was attended by more than 1500 persons including businessmen, politicians and global infrastructure firms and financial institutions from Latin America, Europe, Africa and China.

From page 2

to hear back from somebody that I ask for work,” she said.

Despite her situation, Tarmattie is seen giving charity and pleading with neighbours to help another family in need where she previously lived.

Her main goal, she said, is to fulfil her husband’s wish for his family to have their own home. They had applied since 2014 for a house lot but never got a response.

Since her husband’s death, hardly a day has passed in which she has not cried.

“Javen [her son] would

pick up the phone in the nights and keep it and say ‘Like daddy nah get credit to call. Me try explain to him daddy nah coming back, but he still nah understand and it hard for me because when I try to explain, me an all a cry and he keep asking why,” the young mother related.

Today, Father’s Day will be tough as her husband is no more.

Tarmattie is looking for a job to support her family and persons willing to employ the young mother can contact her on cell phone number 647 7709.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE June 17, 2018

‘Form cooperative societies’ –– Scott urges retrenched sugar workers, says industry being resuscitated

SUGAR workers who were not retained during the downsizing of the sugar industry, were urged to form cooperative societies as the ‘resuscitation’ of the industry takes its course.

While it would be realistically difficult for workers to get back on track, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Keith Scott, believes that cooperative societies would be the best way for them to get the push they need.

“I want to make an open appeal to sugar workers to cultivate a mindset towards getting involved in cooperative societies… the ministry is ready to educate you on how to have successful cooperatives,” said the minister during his remarks at a memorial ceremony for the Enmore Martyrs at Enmore,

East Coast Demerara (ECD) on Saturday.

Just as the retrenched sugar workers face their challenges, the five martyrs had theirs, which was not a battle for themselves but one for the entire workforce of the sugar industry.

Lallabagee Kissoon, Pooran, Rambarran, Dookhie and Harry were remembered as national heroes who were killed while advocating for better working conditions for their colleagues in 1948 when colonialised “plantation life” still existed.

“We have not accepted that their cause died with them, they have not died.

The quality of life which they sought has not been fully realized, but there have been improvements, however, not to the levels we would have liked to be,” said Minister

Scott.

He made reference to the recent United Nations (UN) country programme which stated that human development in Guyana has improved, something that the martyrs had advocated for.

In 1948, living and working conditions were disgraceful and as a consequence of the martyrs, sugar workers could enjoy a better quality of life, Scott said.

Guyana had signed on to the second UN Decent Work country programme, which was designed to span from 2017 to 2021.

The terms of the programme include things that sugar workers advocated for back in 1948. Those are being addressed by the government through the decent work country programme, said the minister.

Some of those initiatives have led to improvement of the living and working conditions of not just sugar workers, but workers across the country.

Although sugar has been underperforming over the years, Scott promised that the industry is being rescued, resuscitated and re-energised by the government.

According to the minister, future plans for the industry include amalgamation of the estates, robust diversification programmes and the re-education of severed employees so that they could be gainfully employed.

Representatives of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) acknowledged that the industry has been under-

Masked bandits rob city businessman THREE masked bandits armed with handguns on Thursday night robbed

a 30-year-old West La Penitence businessman at his home.

The man was robbed of cash, jewellery and over $100,000 in cell-phone

cards.

Reports indicate that the businessman, who

Minister Scott lays a wreath at the Enmore Martyrs Monument (Adrian Narine photo) performing and workers are out of jobs, but they promised that they will follow in the footsteps of the martyrs and continue to advocate for

betterment.

Prior to the ceremony at Enmore, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at Le Repentir Cemetery.

lives in a two-storey concrete house, was on his bed when he heard his motorcycle fell. Going to see what caused it to fall, he came face-to-face with the gunmen, who made

him lie face down on the ground, before relieving him of the aforementioned valuables.

The men then made their escape on motorcycles without firing a shot.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE June 17, 2018

Memorial service for Lindo Creek victims

By Svetlana Marshall

FOR the very first time in 10 years, relatives of the eight Lindo Creek Massacre victims will come together to celebrate the lives of their loved ones.

A memorial service will be held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Brickdam) on Wednesday, June 20, 2018, to mark the 10th death anniversary of the diamond miners.

The charred remains of the eight miners – Cecil Arokium, Dax Arokium, Horace Drakes, Bonny Harry, Lancelot Lee, Compton Speirs, Nigel Torres and Clifton Berry Wong – were discovered at a mining camp at Lindo Creek in the Upper Berbice River, Region 10, on June 21, 2008 by owner of the camp, Leonard Arokium.

Lancelot Lee’s niece Kristia Ramlagan told the Guyana Chronicle that while separate memorial services were held for the slain miners in 2008, this is the first time their relatives will come

together to mark their 10th death anniversary.

The memorial service, which will be open to the public, will commence at 14:00hrs with tributes from relatives and friends for a period of one hour, before the start of a structured programme that is expected to end by 16:00hrs.

The memorial service forms part of a number of activities being held to celebrate the lives of the miners, Dax Arokium’s sister and niece of Cecil Arokium, Natasha Arokium told this newspaper. She said in addition to the service, a memorial walk will be held on Thursday, June 21, 2018.

From 10:00hrs on Thursday, relatives and friends of the Lindo Creek Massacre victims will assemble at the Square of the Revolution dressed in black and white, before moving off at 10:30hrs south of Vlissingen Road onto Cemetery Road, before ending at Le Repentir Cemetery, where wreaths will be laid and helium balloons released into the air.

Ramlagan, Natasha Arokium and Dax Arokium’s reputed wife Onicka Butts, said the wreath-laying ceremony is also of great importance to the grieving loved ones, explaining that when the Guyana Police Force (GDF) gave the Lyken Funeral Home the go-ahead to bury the remains of the miners, some four years after they were discovered, only Nigel Torres’ mother, Yonette Torres, had witnessed the burial.

Ramlagan noted that it was only this year following the start of the President David Granger-appointed Lindo Creek Commission of Inquiry (CoI) headed by Justice (Ret’d) Donald Trotman, that the Arokium and Lee families located the burial site.

Dax Arokium’s mother has reportedly been maintaining the tombs since then.

SOBER CELEBRATION Explaining the reason behind releasing yellow helium balloons into the

Natural gas eruption under control –– as efforts begin to trap the gas from the well

By Leroy Smith THE natural gas eruption at a Diamond, East Bank Demerara home on Thursday evening has been brought under control and an inter-agency team is working to trap the gas so that the lives of nearby residents can return to normalcy.

On the legal side of things, the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) is looking at its options, given the activity the resident was involved in and the damage to private property in the process.

Chairman Bharat Narine, when contacted, told Guyana

Chronicle that the council was not informed about the drilling of the water well and during a visit to the location on Friday and Saturday, many residents say they too were not aware of the drilling.

However, those who knew of it said they were of the view that the homeowner was putting down a reservoir to store water.

Narine said from the information of the depth drilled, it could not have been to facilitate a reservoir.

He also explained that when questioned, the homeowner maintained that the drilling was to build a reservoir.

The NDC chairman said

an emergency NDC team has been setup and will investigate who the resident consulted with before drilling the well.

air, Ramlagan said yellow represents ‘happiness’ and “while we are mourning, we are celebrating their lives.”

Since the commencement of the Lindo Creek CoI, a long list of persons including relatives of deceased miners and representatives from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) have testified before the commission.

One such person was co-owner of the Lyken Funeral Home, Dr. Dawn Stewart. In March, 2018, Stewart told the commission that the country’s then Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had ordered back in 2012 that the charred remains of the Lindo Creek victims be lumped into a single coffin and buried, but she had objected.

After approximately four years, the remains, on September 11, 2012, were prepared for burial, but only after consistent queries by the Lyken Funeral Home. It was the longest period the Lyken Funeral Home, in its

95 years of existence, had ever kept human remains for, Dr. Stewart had noted.

According to Dr. Stewart, it was after she had constantly visited the CID Headquarters at Eve Leary that she was told that the investigation had been completed, and the remains could be turned over to the families for burial. It was at that point she reportedly told the CID that eight coffins were required, but the then crime chief objected. “I was instructed by the then crime chief that there was only one coffin needed for the burial. However, through my negotiation, we were able to attain three coffins for them to be buried in three different tombs at that time, on that said 11th day of September,” she explained.

Dr. Stewart said it was the decision of the funeral home to hold a small home-going service for the miners before interment at Le Repentir Cemetery. One relative had attended that service, but the mortician

noted that during the first two years, family members of the deceased had repeatedly called the parlour to ascertain when the remains would be released for burial, and were always directed to the police, because the remains were still in their custody.

The Donald Trotman-led commission is expected to complete its work at the end of June 2018 and submit a report with recommendations to the President.

The CoI is investigating the circumstances surrounding the murder of miners on or about June 21, 2008 at Lindo Creek.

The police and army have long accused the notorious Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins’ gang of the heinous crime, while relatives of the deceased have laid the blame at the feet of the Joint Services.

Commissioner Trotman has assured the public that the report will be revealed at the end of the CoI.

He pointed out that based on the information the council received, the man was in the business of selling bulk water to persons in the construction business.

He could not say if the water the man sold was coming from the GWI mains or if it was stored rain water, but whenever persons involved in construction needed water, the man would ferry filled

400 and 1600 gallons black water tanks to their construction sites.

Narine said the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) would be contacted tomorrow to ascertain whether they approved the economic activity on the premises where the eruption occurred.

The eruption has caused

some amount of damage to properties nearby.

Head of the Guyana Civil Defense Commission, Colonel Kester Craig, told Guyana Chronicle that work has begun to trap the gas steaming out from the eruption.

An immediate bugbear to the process is the amount of slush deposited on the See page 8

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE June 17, 2018

Fathers T ODAY is Father’s Day. It is an occasion when fathers, the other half of the parental duo, are made to feel like a king, praised, and feted.

But, one will agree that there should be a qualification – that, that male figure, traditionally recognised as the head and pillar of the home, must be deserving in being all the things that a good father must be: being able to be a good provider, spend quality time with his family and being able to give guidance and leadership whenever challenges arise.

Children who are well-bonded and loved by involved fathers, tend to have less behavioural problems, and are somewhat inoculated against alcohol and drug abuse.

Yet when fathers are less engaged, children are more likely to drop out of school earlier, and to exhibit more problems in behaviour and substance abuse. Research indicates that fathers are as important as mothers in their respective roles as caregivers, protectors, financial supporters, and most importantly, role models for social and emotional behaviour.

As is the case, every year on the second Sunday in June, the usual buzz, excitement and hype that formerly accompanied the advent of Father’s Day is once again missing from this year’s observance. There is growing evidence that the fervour continues to lessen, with each succeeding year.

And this has been borne out from a tour of the city’s commercial houses, the markets, and supermarkets where shopping appears to be as usual, unlike the extra crowds that are known to descend for Mother’s Day. Frankly, one did not quite experience the feeling that there is a special family day for which some extra purchases are being made.

And this has been the unanimous view, of even the fathers.

Father’s Day is being celebrated at a time when more than ever, the role of the father is under very in-depth scrutiny. Are fathers accepting their responsibilities and

role that come with such an ascendancy?

Moreover, do they understand the concept of being a man, a father in relation to his person in the eyes of his family, and by extension, society?

Of course, there are still many good fathers who are deserving of the fulsome love and recognition of their family. These are the fathers who have made and continue to make untold sacrifices, providing shelter, food and all of the necessities, inclusive of education for their children. Many fathers would have achieved these vital building blocks of a strong and secure family on their own, often with very supportive wives/ companions/partners, or as a combined partnership.

There is even the younger segment of today’s family man, who these days can be seen, either taking his baby to day care; child/children to school, doing the shopping, or even doing household chores. Veteran Playwright and Journalist, Francis Quamina Farrier, has been on a recent crusade to highlight these good fathers in social media.

These two categories must be commended, since they continue to be a blessing and a boon to their respective families, as well as giving hope for continuity of a very vital input of family life.

However, there are still many fathers, just too many, branded as such because of their biological ability to procreate, but who have been abysmal failures as fathers, and family men as they are also described.

They are not seen at school PTA meetings; or at medical clinics with their children; or even visiting learning centres to enquire about their children’s education progress. Too many have been abandoning their homes and families, often with dire socio-economic consequences. And even if/ when they are present, they make no contribution to their family’s daily existence and welfare. Many often resort to the traditional harsh disciplinary/authoritarian cum abusive measures as a means of making up for their shortcomings, with often permanent psycho-

logical damage to the children.

Shockingly, and with great tragic consequences for families, husbands/fathers have been killing, injuring, and maiming their life partners, often in the presence of their children. Suicide on the part of many of these assailants is often the end result, leaving many children orphans and to an uncertain life, oftentimes one of untold hardship.

How do we explain the other half of this twin orgy of domestic-sexual violence being committed by fathers/stepfathers/male relatives on their daughters/sons, stepdaughters/ sons, nieces/nephews etcetera? It brings us to the question as to whether this is the new understanding of the role/ behaviour of the male/father in the home. That rather as protector of his young female/male bloodline, he has now become their hunter, predator, and ravisher – a pervert, whose debauchery now accounts for more than 75% of criminal court cases, in Guyana’s criminal justice system.

Such are bad examples for the younger male of today, and signals a completely new, distorted and destructive understanding of himself that the general male now exudes.

There is no question that fathers do play an important part in their children’s lives: the majority of studies affirm that an involved father can play a crucial role, particularly in the cognitive, behavioural, and general health and well-being areas of a child’s life; having a positive male role model helps an adolescent boy develop positive gender-role characteristics; adolescent girls are more likely to form positive opinions of men and are better able to relate to them when parented by an involved father.

To those fathers who continue to abdicate their important position to their children and in the home, we implore that they begin to accept their moral obligation, not only as providers, but to genuinely join with their partners for the

growth, development, betterment, and moral and spiritual direction, of especially their children. Truth be told, there are too many young men, angry because of the absence of fathers in their lives; and they continue to express that omission in ways that constantly bring them into conflict with the law. Many of these young men could have done better, and can do better, if their absentee fathers had fulfilled their obligations. In fact, fathers must be able to be the guide and temperate influence in the lives of their sons, positively. However, disturbingly we are now beginning to observe cases of fathers and sons appearing in court jointly arraigned for murder and another for forging chassis numbers as members of a carjacking ring. Is this the new facet of fatherhood?

It cannot be overemphasised that fathers are an absolute necessity in the lives and home, as an essential parent for their children, and for the furtherance of family life.

But they must be prepared to accept their role and responsibilities which will earn them the respect that they should have.

Finally, we ask our fathers to remember that their relationship with their partners must be one of working in unison, and not as bullying enforcers, abusers and murderers of the women on whom they depend so much; and who are also the mothers and sometime fathers of their children.

On this Father’s Day, we again salute those exemplary fathers, both young and old, for their sterling contributions to family-building.

We’ll know we’ve reached parity, when Father’s Day becomes as well celebrated as Mother’s Day. Happy Father’s Day to all fathers.

Where was the fairness and balance?

Dear Editor

BHARRAT Jagdeo has proven to be the kind of politician that goes with the flow –opportunism, a well-known characteristic of most politicians. But his is of a dangerously devious kind that he has perfected since his party lost the 2015 national elections.

He seeks to take a position of moral rectitude on every serious national ill, which he

and his government had totally ignored and contributed to during his stewardship in office, and ought to have remedied; but now is speaking in the correct manner in wanting the remedies.

Editor, such a leader is not only a charlatan, but the vilest of hypocrites, and an incorrigible liar. He is a category of leader that is convenient; for it is a natural characteristic of a person who continues to be immoral, with each passing

day.

It grows more incredible by the day, at this politician’s gross hypocrisy, since his administration had been the architect of racist practices.

When I’m greeted with a Kaieteur News headline, dated, “GECOM hiring concerns not about race, but fairness” on June 15, 2018.

Guyana’s Foreign Service, was once respected, and internationally renowned for the quality of emissaries that

it had produced for representing Guyana’s interests internationally. But, editor, we all know the fate that it suffered at the hands of the former PPP/C government, through its first Foreign Minister, Clement Rohee – denuding of professional, career officers whose only sin was that they were Afro-Guyanese, and therefore perceived to be supporters of People’s National Congress (PNC).

Who will forget what

they did to the distinguished Dr. Cedric Grant, the late high-ranking ambassador to Washington, and to so many European countries. He had to take them to court before they decided to pay his well-earned emoluments. It was one of the numerous PPP/C’s earliest demonstrations of spite.

Gradually, every high commissioner/ambassador that the former PPP/C government accredited was Indo-Guyanese. We all know

the infamous and pernicious lie, uttered by Dr. Roger Luncheon under oath during the hearing of Jagdeo’s suit against popular columnist Freddie Kissoon, when answering the question as to the absence of African –Guyanese Heads of Mission – he said that there were none qualified to fill such positions. It was a celebrated lie, which echoes See page 7

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE June 17, 2018

Policemen among seven arrested for illegal firearm SEVEN men, two of whom have been positively identified as policemen, were arrested on Friday night after a .38 revolver was discovered in their proximity at Onderneeming, West

Bank Demerara.

The police, in a statement issued Saturday, said that the gun had a spent shell in its chamber, and that one of the policemen who is in custody is currently interdicted from duty

and is reportedly renting a “mobile outlet” at the said location.

According to the police, “It was alleged that the suspects, along with others who escaped, were engaged in a game of chance when

Where was the fairness ...

From page 6

still ring, as a reminder of how racist the Robb Street cabal is.

Heaven knows why, despite Genevieve White-Nedd’s competent performance as chief education officer, they refused to confirm her in the position.

The above examples beg the question: what did such leader know about fairness when he and his then government ensured that “they run things”, as many of their appointees, and supporters brazenly spoke.

I stand to be corrected in adding the case of the Afro-Guyanese, whom the PPP/C’s Ministry of Health had employed to perform the duties of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s first chief executive officer (CEO). Not only did that CEO’S services come to an end, but an Indo-Guyanese was appointed to fill the vacancy of a veteran professional hospital services worker, who

had performed similar duties for a reported 48 years in Canada.

How does one explain the top most medical administrative posts, coupled with all the medical heads of department, being held by Indo-Guyanese? Can Jagdeo explain where the fairness was, and balance in such racism?

The PPP/C, its leader Jagdeo, and all of its well-known racists are today being judged by their chronic, standard practice of the racist doctrine.

The evidence is there, voluminous and well detailed. For this party, and former government being fair to qualified and well deserving Afro-Guyanese who had merited appointments, had never been a part of their understanding of governance.

Regards Earl Hamilton

the patrol approached.”

Meanwhile, on the same Friday night, ranks of the Criminal Investigation Department Headquarters, while patrolling in Albouystown arrested a 26-year-old known character on Garnett Street with an unlicensed .32 pistol and eight live matching rounds.

Ballistic tests, the police say, will be conducted to determine if the weapon was ever used to commit any crime.

The revolver that was found at Onderneeming, WBD

The unlicensed .32 pistol with eight live matching rounds

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

PIRACY: PARTICIPATION AND PUNISHMENT THE Guyana police have charged three persons with multiple counts of murder, arising from the recent piracy-related massacre of mostly Guyanese fishermen off the coast of Suriname.

The alleged mastermind and his co-accused, as well as the third murder accused, are all from Upper Corentyne. Upon conviction, they face the penalty of death by hanging.

Thirteen other persons remain in police custody in Suriname, and could also face piracy and murder charges in that jurisdiction.

The question that has been raised is whether the three murder accused should be charged in Guyana for offences committed in Suriname. The answer is found in provisions of the Hijacking and Piracy Act (2008), for offences, though committed in another country, to be treated as if they were done within Guyana or its territorial waters. In other words, as advised, Guyana has jurisdiction.

TWO GRUESOME ATTACKS During April-May this year, two separate attacks took place against five Suriname-registered fishing vessels, both with some 25

crew members – mostly Guyanese. Nine fishermen survived in the grisly, gruesome blood-bath; 12 are still missing, and are presumably dead. Of the four dead, two were Guyanese.

There are several theories surrounding the attacks, one being a vengeance vendetta for the execution-style killing of a Guyanese fishing king-pin. Whatever the motive, I wish to remind all fishing folk and their hired hands that offences at sea carry serious penalties, which include:● Life imprisonment for hijacking, that is, taking away or attempting to take away another boat; ● Life imprisonment for piracy, that is, illegally detaining a boat in a river or on the sea; or participating in the operation of a pirate vessel; ● 10 years imprisonment for covering up a piracy attack, where death resulted; and ● Death by hanging, for murder on board a vessel during an armed robbery, hijacking or piracy.

Fishing crew who sign on to work on a “pirate boat”, whether in Guyana, Suriname or elsewhere, cannot claim that they do not know the law; or plea that “is dem; not me!”

KNOWN GANGS This message, it appears, has been conveyed to fishing gangs on the Upper Corentyne who, people say, are known to have been involved in hijacking and piracy off the coast of Guyana and in the Corentyne River. Here, I want to commend my colleague, Khemraj Ramjattan, now a vice-president and Minister of Public Security, who has been a reputable public prosecutor, police adviser and criminal defence lawyer. He has a nose for the culprits and, not being his usual combative self, he had quietly sent the message to would-be offenders that the police have them on their radars.

While it may be too early to boast, it must be admitted that so far there has been not a single act of piracy or hijacking in Guyana for

2018. In fact, there have been no reported cases of piracy in the East Berbice-Upper Corentyne Region since 2016. There have been 10 reported cases in the Waini River, in the border area with Venezuela, mainly involving “shake-downs” of Guyanese miners by elements believed to be Venezuela-based “Sindicatos”.

VAST COASTLINE It has always been a challenge for Guyana to monitor its vast coastline that stretches for 270 nautical miles from Morawhanna at the mouth of the Barima river, to Corriverton in the mouth of the Corentyne river. However, with the advent of the coalition government, keen attention has been placed on border security, including monitoring of our fishing and maritime areas.

The Maritime Wing of the Guyana Police Force, the Customs and Anti-narcotics Unit (CANU) and the Guyana Defence Force have coordinated both patrols by boat and air, which are costly exercises but are necessary to protect our food-based economic activities, combat trafficking of illicit drugs, fuels and other contraband, and to protect state revenues.

ENCOURAGING RESULTS The police force has pursued all cases of piracy with vigour and has produced encouraging results in the number of cases instituted. This has not always been the case, as pirates and bandits have

been left on the loose before the new government took office in 2015. I have asked Crime Chief Paul Williams to give me relevant statistics and he reported that between 2010 and 2014, there were 52 cases of piracy and hijacking, but only 20 cases were made out. I have no information as to how many of those resulted in successful prosecutions.

Making criminals at sea pay for their crimes must be a cornerstone of our justice system. I am not one of those who take pleasure in shouting “hand dem high!” but deterrents are important, which is why Guyana remains a death penalty country.

DESMOND PERSAUD I remember when kickdown-the-door banditry was prevalent during the mid 80s, President Desmond Hoyte re-activated hangings, and thereafter there was a dramatic plunge in the morbidity statistics. Even his most dedicated critics applauded him; and a certain ethnic constituency that had previously declared no apparent admiration for the President, nicknamed him “Desmond Persaud”.

There have been no executions since 1997 and efforts to persuade President Cheddi Jagan to sign death warrants had failed. He had repeatedly said that he would have no one’s blood on his hands! President Granger has since declared a similar position.

During Jagan’s tenure, there were over 30 convicted felons on death row, but

most of them had petitions filed on their behalf with the United Nations Human Rights Commission and elsewhere, where the death penalty was viewed as cruel and inhumane. I recall when calls were made to swing the rope in the Yasseen Murder case, those were frustrated as legal procedures had not been exhausted. The convicted murderer, Abdool Yasseen, later died in prison for plotting the murder of his own brother – a kind of poetic justice!

PUBLIC POLICY DEMANDS Philosophically, I believe that Guyana will change with the times and would be inclined to interpret certain articles of our constitution in line with relevant fundamental rights guarantees of international law and conventions on human rights.

But there ought to be recognition of public policy demands and the law, as is, that favour punishment that fits the crime.

I have no doubt that in the near future Guyana would be influenced and, hopefully adopt, liberal practices in several areas of our human rights. Our presence on the United Nations Human Rights Committee will have consequential impact on our jurisprudence and, it gives me honour to applaud the appointment of the eminent jurist and legal scholar, Dr. Christopher Arif Bulkan, a Guyana-born appellate judge, as a member of this prestigious UN body.

Natural gas eruption ... premises where the eruption happened.

The system to trap the gas will be similar to the one employed at Second Bridge, Diamond, where a similar gas explosion took place nine years ago.

In that instance, the family had been able to use the gas for cooking but it is unclear if the same thing would be done for this family.

Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Inc. Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, when contacted on Saturday, told this publication that while the water company is not the one that gives permission for the drilling of wells, there should be some level of com-

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munication with the GWI before persons seek to explore underground water sources.

“I am not sure what quality of water he was expecting to get, our wells go to 900 feet deep,” Charles explained He said that it was only two months ago while a Dutch firm was drilling to build a well at Diamond, the team of engineers discovered an aquifer 150 feet below the earth’s surface.

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing rock.

Water-bearing rocks are permeable, meaning, that they have openings that liquids and gas can pass through.

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Understanding Energy: What other countries can teach us about local content rules Local content is the phrase on many people’s minds after a list was put out by the Department of Public Information that claimed to show all the Guyanese companies and individuals working for ExxonMobil.

To better understand this list, we need to define local content, explain the context around it, and look to other oil producing countries to see what has been done wrong and right in this area.

According to the Natural Resource Governance Institute, local content policies are a way of extending the benefits of oil and gas extraction throughout an economy, by requiring or incentivizing companies to use local products and hire local employees and companies.

Local content rules can be important because they help local workers and companies become involved in the industry. Tax revenues, royalties, and profit sharing all contribute money into

the government budget and represent by far the largest benefit to the country. However, local content is a way for people and businesses to benefit directly from a new industry.

It already seems clear that the local economy is benefiting. According to recent reports, those direct employment opportunities have so-far included 585 jobs for Guyanese as part of the Exxon-led project, which is a little more than half the total jobs on the project so far.

It is important to distinguish between jobs and opportunities directly for the oil company and those with the companies that are contractors and subcontractors.

This is where a lot of the confusion around the DPI-released Exxon list comes from.

As Exxon has since clarified, the document released did not just list the local companies that Exxon has

hired and worked with, it also lists companies that Exxon’s top suppliers have worked with – hence the list of 227 companies.

This is common with large international companies, who typically entrust some of their work to a handful of reliable contractors.

When thinking about local content, it’s important to think not just about the oil company, but about those contractors, since they will be hiring employees, spending money, and handing out subcontracts as a direct result of their work for Exxon.

That distinction shows how broad the impacts of local content can be. For example, if you are the owner of a small bakery in Georgetown, Exxon would not be asking you to cater for the hundreds of workers on its oil rigs any time soon—the requirements of health/food safety codes and transportation and logistics are just too big.

But the larger catering company that Exxon does hire might hire your bakery as a subcontractor, helping them supply big orders. This networks of contractors and subcontractors helps distribute the rewards of fossil fuel extraction. And as we can see from the DPI list, this is already occurring in Guyana.

Local content policies can also have longer term goals in mind. Guyana doesn’t have much experience with oil and gas and we don’t have many people who are trained as petroleum geologists, rig engineers, or helicopter pilots…yet.

As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasizes in its guidelines for resource management, good local content rules will encourage companies to train Guyanese in these fields and will guarantee a market for Guyanese companies that want to build up these kinds of capabilities. That’s why training programs like Exxon

and DAI’s jointly-run Centre for Local Business Development are so important.

However, as the IMF also warns against, we have to be careful not to push too far. Local content rules can be a double-edged sword.

Some countries like Brazil and Nigeria are often cited as examples of what not to do.

Brazil made it difficult and expensive for companies to do business because the local content rules were so strict, that meant companies had to hire Brazilians and Brazilian companies for almost every job, even if there weren’t any with the necessary special skills.

This resulted in many new projects being put off indefinitely and Brazil recently had to relax its rules to try and bring back investment.

It’s easy to see how that could be even more dangerous in a small country like Guyana, where there just aren’t many companies that

have experience with, for example, deep-water sonar equipment or laying underwater pipeline.

Nigeria provides a similar example where local content rules are time-consuming, overly complex, and don’t match local capabilities, so some companies just see the fines for violating local content rules as an inevitable cost of doing business and it makes the country less attractive to investment.

That’s a trap Guyana should try to avoid.

In the meantime, Guyana should continue to build training programs to get people ready for critical jobs. The simple reality is that it takes years to become a trained helicopter pilot or petroleum engineer. Our local content policy should fit what we and our companies are capable of now, and allow time for Guyana to develop key skills that are most relevant to this new industry.

An outsized burden

By Elson Low

IF it rains in Georgetown, is it the President’s fault that the city floods? This is but one of many interesting questions that lend credence to the constitutional reform movement, as the nation asks itself in the years to come core questions about the type of governance we want over the longer term.

After all, it is certainly no accident that, with a change in government, the capital city’s streets have become useable, even after a hard night’s rainfall, something we could seldom claim previously.

But should this have

even been the case? Should a change in administration yield such striking local changes?

One can now say that, turning the original question on its head, it is absolutely to the President’s credit that the city is bone dry.

We can hold this as a marker of coalition progress!

As Guyanese citizens, however, we can’t really hold as acceptable that if the administration again changes, things will go back to the swampy way they were. That will make basic issues like this unjust political tools, putting the nation’s reputation at risk in the

process, as virtually all visitors traverse Georgetown.

I want to punch through all the complexity, back and forth and politics involved in constitutional reform, to demonstrate how a simple reform would address this problem.

It is not an idea completely of my own design, but a combination of ones various students of this issue have put forward.

In order to bring balance to the Guyanese political system, we should amend the Representation of the People Act so that those members of parliament who represent the various regions are directly

elected from those regions.

Therefore, as an example, the Region Four representatives from the various parties will be directly elected by those who live there, rather than be appointed to hold those posts by the party lists, as they are now.

Why would this simple amendment make such a difference? It’s all about bargaining power and accountability.

The reason the drainage in Georgetown is an election issue is because the Region Four representatives are neither directly accountable to their constituents, nor empowered to advocate for funds from the national coffers. Instead, these issues are debated at a party level, and if the party in power doesn’t want to support the members of your community (presumably because they didn’t vote for them), there’s not much that can be done to

change that.

One would hope that this reliance on central government funds will, to a degree, dissipate, once the City Council improves tax collection, but there will always be a need for supplementary funds, given the city’s vulnerability to flooding.

An outsized burden for addressing these mini-natural disasters rests on Georgetown’s residents. If, on the other hand, regional representatives are directly accountable to their constituents and not dependent upon being on the party list to hold their posts, they will be independent enough to advocate for supplemental funds, no matter who is in office.

But won’t this irritate party leadership, who want, above all, conformity to the party voting line? Perhaps, but let’s not forget how heavily any elected candidate must

depend on his/her party, given that they control both voting support and campaign funding closely. It would be very naïve to think that any independence at all would lead to anarchy.

But the more you think about this, the more you’ll realise that there is precisely enough wiggle room to solve local problems while maintaining national party alliances.

I imagine the conversation between party leadership and a regional representative advocating for funds will go something like: “I need these funds or my constituents may vote me out,” followed by, “But you can’t vote with that other party; you’ll undermine us,” followed by, “What if I vote with them on a pretty innocuous bill?”

The reward to small amounts of independence is, therefore, high, while the Turn to page 12 ►

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Linden youths learn art of soap making

By Naomi Marshall THE youths of Linden are now inspired to become entrepreneurs after last week’s Soap Making Course which was held by the Connection Youth Group under the theme “The best way to predict your future is to create it”.

The course which ran for a period of five days in the mining town of Linden saw the participation of 25 youths, ages 18 to 25 who were eager and excited to know the soap making pro-

cess.

Conducting the course was chemist and entrepreneur, Melissa Younge, who co-owns the Tidy Up Detergent Refill Centre in Diamond, East Bank Demerara.

Oleka Headley, 18, one who benefitted from the Soap Making Course and plans to have her own soap business said that she grabbed the opportunity to be a part of the course, since a lot of courses of this kind are not kept in the town.

The aspiring entrepreneur and geologist said, “I plan on

Some of the end products

making soap and if possible, giving the space of time and practicing making my own stuff, I could do exactly what

the woman is doing; spreading her knowledge and so on.

I plan actually to open a little Turn to page 17 ►

An outsized... risk is relatively low. This represents an easy way to make lots of people very happy, while mildly irritating very few. And, best of all, it requires no grand national review process; just a simple amendment.

I will continue this discussion in greater detail periodically, as the more one investigates it, the more it reveals its charms. Spare a thought, however, for all the good a little independence would do.

The awarding of scholarships has recently come up as a

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point of contention; maybe that process would be better monitored and more transparent if the administration were less focused on basic local issues.

Too much frustration is pent up in our society, because there aren’t many places to go for recourse, and the administration has so much on its plate. We owe citizens the best possible governance we can give them, and this will go a long way toward making that a reality.

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CI Guyana supporting government’s efforts at phasing out mercury AS concerns loom about the negative effects of mercury in mining, Conservation International Guyana (CIG) is working to provide solutions to phase out the use of the toxic material and reduce its harmful effects on the forest.

These efforts are being pursued through the 20182022 Global Environment Facility- Global Opportunities for Long-term Development (GEF-GOLD) project and the Addressing Drivers of Deforestation project.

The former is being funded by GEF with a sum of US$3M over a four year period while the latter is being funded by Norwegian Government and has been ongoing for some two years now.

Collaborating locally towards these efforts are the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the National Toshaos Council (NTC).

In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Conservation International Guyana’s Director of Field and Implementation, René Edwards, revealed that along with much community engagement, plans are being put in place to provide alternative and safe mining equipment to miners.

Guyana’s gold mining forms a core part of its economy, contributing to approximately 11 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016 with a production of some 712, 707 ounces of the precious metal.

Contributing to the majority of this production are Artisanal, Small and Medium (ASM) --scale miners, many of whom hail from indigenous communities and rely on gold as a main source of livelihood.

However, as the country seeks to transition into a green economy, gold mining presents a threat to natural capital through negative impacts on the ecosystem such as the pollution of waterways and deforestation.

CIG presents data which show that an estimated 90 percent or 53,517 hectares of the country’s forest have been cleared between 2009

Conservation International Guyana (CIG), Director of Field and Implementation, René Edwards (Samuel Maughn photo)

and 2014 while the use of mercury for amalgamation pollutes freshwater, harming aquatic animals and humans.

Through its Responsible Mining Initiative, CIG will focus attention on how mining can be conducted responsibly with respect to the environment, communities and the economy.

CIG will work along with stakeholders to develop policies and other solutions to reduce the impact of mining and to ensure that mining sites are rehabilitated for planned after-use.

It also aims to ensure that gold mining activities are only carried out in places where viable deposits are found and that more efficient methods are used to improve gold recovery.

These methods are to be employed following a changeover to new mercury-free mining resources which stakeholders involved may soon provide to the sector.

“The miners need to have support. A lot of them are small, artisanal miners who don’t have the money to invest in or to test these mercury-free equipment. So, the project will be working with the private sector and [local stakeholders]…on making sure we have appropriate mining equipment suited for the different types of geology in Guyana,” Edwards said.

He elaborated that through a series of assessments of local and international markets along with expert advice on the right type of equipment needed, these will be acquired.

“Through a process we

will select the type of equipment, we’ll bring it to Guyana and then we’ll work with the miners to test it in the fields,” Edwards said, adding that funding for this will come from GEF and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).

To help with this equipment phase out, CIG has proposed a market approach which will see gold buyers requesting responsibly ASM gold and gold products which will in turn compel miners to meet the environmental and health-friendly standards the country hopes to set.

This will see the country’s gold exports being rebranded as ‘El Dorado Gold’.

“If we look at this value chain, especially from the marketing side, and we make sure that whoever is buying the gold is really looking at standards and making sure that wherever they buy the gold, that gold is responsibly produced, it becomes very important [to local miners],” he explained.

When it comes to ensuring that miners adhere to old and new policies, Edwards said that the Government, through the Natural Resource Ministry, will continue to improve upon its monitoring of the sector using technology.

The projects are also guided by a Rights Based Approach which takes into consideration stakeholder involvement, including indigenous communities which will all work together to design solutions for the country.

Added to this, a Sustainable Landscape Approach is being undertaken by CIG to

ensure that projects implemented at main mining areas, such as the South Rupununi, Lower Potaro and Upper Potaro, are done to the benefit of all parties.

Assisting in this regard is the Government’s Plan of Action for Regional Development, established by the Ministry of Communities.

Together, CIG’s efforts on mining serve to meet the overall goal of Guyana’s commitments under the Minamata Convention signed in October 2013.

It is aimed at protecting humans and the environment around the world from mercury emissions caused by human activities.

Linden youths learn... small business, however, I wanna do this but some of the utensils are kind of expensive.”

Headley also added that she would like to see Guyana becoming self-sufficient.

“To me also Guyana we are very dependent. We import soap from all over and the fact that we know that some people know how to make these things, we as Guyanese should give exposure more to the people that know how to do these kind of things in Guyana and we could even get our own factory and so on that can make these soap instead of importing these stuff when we have the ingredients right here in Guyana to make them,” she noted.

According to Terry Fortune, Coordinator of the Connection Youth Group, the group is attempting to develop the skills and talent of young people in different and extraordinary ways through the use of diverse strategies.

He added: “We had and we have and we continue trying to bring different strategies and different ways on how to get the youths off the street and getting them involved in different ventures.”

The Connection Youth Group was formed officially in April of 2018 and will be conducting a number of other training throughout the year, targeting the communities within

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Region 10.

“I will advise the youth of linden to get involved with Connection Youth Group; we are here to create that opportunity and let us make Linden great again,” Fortune encouraged.

The Soap Making Course was sponsored by the Small Business Bureau which aims to promote entrepreneurship.

Melissa Young (in black and white on the right) assisting two of her students at the Soap Making Course

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The Office of Climate Cha

Educating and empower younger generation to tak

By Gomatie Gangadin

GUYANA becoming a ‘green’ state forms a major part of President David Granger’s vision for the country’s advancement by ensuring environmental sustainability is aligned with economic development.

Since his assumption to office, President Granger has placed Guyana squarely on the path towards the sustainable exploitation of resources, and the protection and proper management of the environment as this small South America country takes up the giant task of using its resources to combat the effects of climate change and global warming.

The Government of Guyana, through the Office of Climate Change (OCC), has been working assiduously with all stakeholders to take collective action to mitigate the effects of climate change across all sectors.

The OCC, which falls under the purview of the

Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP) over the past two years, has been making great strides in advancing President Granger’s ‘green’ agenda through tangible, transformative initiatives at both the community and national levels.

TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH EDUCATION Education plays a critical role in rallying local, national, regional and international buy-in, and the OCC is cognisant of this fact.

As is the popular saying, “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest”, and with this in mind, the OCC in 2017 launched its Schools Outreach Programme. The programme, which targetted 20 schools in 2017 and 51 primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions in 11 districts in 2018, focuses on climate change education and sensitisation and what it means for Guyana.

It is a collaborative effort

between the OCC and the Guyana Youth Environment Network (GYEN), formerly known as the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN).

The schools are drawn from Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two), Essequibo Islands- West Demerara (Region Three), Demerara- Mahaica (Region Four), Mahaica-Berbice (Region Five), East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six), Cuyuni Mazaruni (Region Seven), Upper Demerara-Berbice (Region Ten) and Georgetown.

The Georgetown Technical Institute (GTI) and Bertram Collins College of Public Service also benefitted from these sessions. To date, approximately 700 students have been directly reached through the programme.

The first workshop with students was held at St. Gabriel’s Primary School in 2017, and was aimed at teaching the schoolchildren about the impacts and effects of climate change.

Ms. Yasmin Bowman,

Communications Specialist at the OCC, explained that part of ensuring climate change resilience is ensuring that there is an educated populace, and as such, the OCC thought it wise to undertake these sessions.

“Since Climate Change is affecting the world,” she said, “Guyana has not been spared of its effects. We [the OCC] believe that our young ones should be enlightened and informed about climate change, because, from our experience last year, we’ve noticed that a number of our children are not informed at all about climate change…

“We’re targetting both primary and secondary and also tertiary institutions throughout the year. We have post-secondary schools as well. We want students and young people to know how Guyana is being affected, and ways in which they can adapt to change in climate.

“We also want to keep the public informed about our efforts, and what they as citizens can do to contribute to

the ‘green’ agenda. As such, apart from education and awareness, we hope that these sessions can see Guyanese youth as agents of change.”

Ms. Bowman also noted that the sessions are designed to ensure that the delivery is tailored to match each school through a unique interactive approach, which is appropriate for the students’ level of understanding.

For instance, at the St. Ambrose Primary School on March 22, 2018, a short film, ‘Siege on my land, Guyana’s Battle with Climate Change’ was shown. The video, which is done in animation form, detailed the effects and causes of climate change, providing definitions for vital terms, and showcasing solutions for adapting to climate change, among other related areas in a way that the students at that level could relate to.

Subsequently, the team conducted an interactive session, where the students were quizzed on what they learnt from the video and given prizes.

“The primary and secondary levels are somewhat different in the way the sessions are presented,” Ms. Bowman said.

“In both cases, the sessions are interactive. Then there are re-enforcement sessions and exercises at the end of each engagement. At the primary level, we are focussed on discussing key terms and words, followed by group activity in the form of a word search. “At the secondary level, after the interaction, the students are divided into groups as well and are given the opportunity to draw a Sustainable Community, based on their understanding of Adaption and Mitigation.

“At the end of each session, each school is also given two posters specially designed for youth that focus on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation on Guyana’s coastland and in Guyana’s hinterland. “These sessions are extremely important to the work and mandate of the office, because it is helping our young people to be

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ange…

ring the ke action knowledgeable about climate change, and what are simple things that they can do to mitigate the effects.”

More than students, the OCC has been able to educate teachers who sit in on some of the sessions. These educators are, in most cases, happy to participate and to take the message forward.

St. Ambrose’s Grade Six teacher, Ms. Sharon McAlister described the sessions as informative, and urged the OCC team to conduct more sessions during the course of the year. “I think that this programme is very informative for the students,” Ms. McAlister said, “and as I mentioned to the team, I wish that they would come a bit more often, because the session was very interactive, and the children were able to grasp and understand the whole concept of climate change.”

A COMMENDABLE INITIATIVE Headmaster of the All Saints Primary, Mr. Bassant Jagdeo, who sat in on the session facilitated at his school, said that the initiative is commendable, and must be taken across the country so that behavioural changes can be achieved for the good of the environment, and the country as a whole.

“I really appreciate this, and not only on my behalf but the entire school population.

The kids are the ones that we have to target, and the ones who need to become more aware,” Mr Jagdeo said, adding: “I know that a lot of the adults are neglectful in their actions and saving our earth, but if we can start with the youths, then we are going to have a positive reward in years to come.

“This is a very great initiative, and we should not only target schools, but homes, too, need to be a part; parents need to be involved, because this starts from the

home.”

Headmistress of the Rosignol Secondary School, Ms. Oluremi Anthony said that she was most elated that her school was selected to benefit from these awareness sessions. She noted that as a teacher, she was also able to benefit from the session, and her students are now better informed on climate change and its effects, and how they can contribute to the process.

Students are not the only ones targetted in the OCC’s education drive to effect behavioural change. On July 28-29, 2017, the Office hosted a series of workshops for journalists and Government Public Relations Officers (PROs), which focussed on the communication and dissemination of information on the country’s steps to mitigating and adapting to the effects of Climate Change.

The sessions, which were hosted at the Cara Lodge Hotel, were conducted by the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), with funding from the United States’ Department of State. It is part of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Communication Strategy development process.

STEM AND CLIMATE CHANGE More than this, however, with climate change and global warming becoming greater concerns, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the OCC understands that Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (STEM) has a role to play in mitigating risks associated with these phenomena.

In this regard, in January 2018, 12 teachers from Bartica, along with four community stakeholders, underwent a one-day training workshop in STEM and Robotics, aimed at equipping them with technological skills which can assist in

providing modern solutions to the challenges of climate change, and transitioning Bartica, Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) to the first model ‘green’ town in Guyana and the Caribbean.

Noting that robotics itself offers innovative possibilities for developing waste management and energy generation solutions among other things, Project Manager of the Bartica Transitioning to National Energy Security Project, Mr. Gavin Bovell, explained that the OCC is

cognisant of the fact that science and technology play a critical role in developing solutions to many common issues.

Following this, the OCC, on February 27, 2018, in collaboration with STEM Guyana and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) or 5Cs, launched the STEM Bartica Programme at the Three Miles Secondary and Bartica Secondary schools.

Speaking at the launch, Head of the OCC, Ms. Janelle

Christian explained that a pillar in the fight against climate change is the involvement of young people. “We often talk about our young people being the future, but, how do we get them involved? We need to build skills, starting now. We need to build their confidence; we need to expose them to new technology, tools and concepts, so that they will be confident enough to fill those leadership roles that we often abstractly speak about,” she said.

As the world continues

to grapple with the effects of climate change and the effects continue to be felt by countries in the Caribbean, President Granger is lobbying for a broader platform to effectively provide protection and relief to Caribbean States that are vulnerable to natural disasters.

In the meantime, the OCC will continue to play its role in educating the populace, one student at a time, the achievement of the ‘green’ Guyana and a ‘good’ life for all Guyanese.

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Bandits rob Travelspan Fathers, sons go fishing employee at gunpoint AN employee of local travel agency,Travelspan, was on Friday robbed of the day’s takings after locking up the North Road office where he works and was about to board the company bus.

Reports are that two masked men sneaked up on the 49-year-old employee as he was about to jump into the

driver’s seat of the vehicle and asked him, “Wheh de gun deh?”

When they were satisfied he didn’t have one, at least at hand reach, one of the bandits reached into the vehicle and grabbed the money bag.

His accomplice having got what they were after, the other bandit then took his

weapon and smashed it into the back of the employee’s head before they both made good their escape in two vehicles that were waiting on North Road.

The police have since visited the crime scene and retrieved CCTV footage of the area to help with their investigation.

Ready, Set, Go! The fathers and sons of Kiskadee Kids Daycare and Pre-school at Blankenburg on the West Coast of Demerara before the fishing expedition commenced.

Also in the photo are two teachers who accompanied them

Know Your Purpose series rolls out next month THE Women of Mission International (WOMI), Global Cultural Understanding and Economic Development (GCUED) and Overseas Medical Assistance Team (OMAT) are teaming up to roll out a month-long agenda for their ‘Mission Hope Guyana Project,’ which will kick off with the Know Your Purpose 2018 series, starting next month.

The series of interactive multi-generational events will include the Knowing Your Purpose Conference/ Youth Summit, the Overseas Medical Assistance Team (OMAT) surgical mission, health fairs, feeding programmes and the introduction of the Inaugural Guyana

BEST Gala. The majority of the events will unfold in Linden, Region 10.

In a joint press statement, the organisations said the events which will be executed under the theme “Stronger Together” will showcase the spirit of Guyana’s people at its best.

It was noted that the Know Your Purpose Conference and the Overseas Medical Assistance Team (OMAT) Health Mission will be conducted in Linden from July 8 to 15, 2018, in addition to the inaugural Guyana BEST Gala.

“This year’s event is of particular significance as it celebrates our 10th anniversary and coincides with the celebration of The Overseas Medical Assistance Team’s (OMAT) 25th year of loyalty in service to the Guyanese

community and beyond,” the organisations stated in the release.

According to them, the Know Your Purpose agenda will reflect their commitment to forging deeper linkages, greater facilitation of Guyanese business participation, streamlining and enabling diaspora social investment efforts, as well as nurturing youth engagement.

“The conference will provide a platform for sharing the key concerns of Guyanese people who reside overseas and ensuring that our global and influential community has a real stake in the nation and its sustainability affairs,” they further explained.

Culture of Blessing Inc. is also supporting the Know Your Purpose 2018 series of events.

The Father and Son Fishing Expedition in full swing. This little boy and his father eagerly await their catch

By Svetlana Marshall KISKADEE Kids Daycare and Pre-school on Friday hosted its annual Father and Son Fishing Expedition ahead of the Father’s Day celebra tion today.

Twenty fathers and their sons along with the school’s Director, Ivor Thompson and two teachers, assembled at the school’s Queen Street, Kitty location for what many considered to be a promising day.

Around 08:30hrs on Friday, the little pre-schoolers and their daddies departed for Blankenburg on the West Coast of Demerara for a day of fishing.

“Some of the fathers who are into fishing came with their professional rods and some artificial bates. Some fathers came with their earth worms, and some used the normal

dough,” Thompson told Guyana Chronicle.

It took a while before the first fish was caught, but once the first catch was made, Thompson said it was a busy day for the little boys and their fathers.

According to Director of Kiskadee Kids Daycare and Pre-school, many of the fathers said they were thankful for the venture, explaining that for the year, not many of them had the opportunity to spend quality time alone with their sons.

For Thompson, the Father and Son Fishing Expedition, which is held every year around Father’s Day, allows fathers to create stronger bond with their sons.

The Father and Son Fishing Expedition is one of many activities that the daycare and pre-school hosts for its children and parents.

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Inaugural AAG National College Athletics Championships set for July 21 THE Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) will be hosting the inaugural National College Athletics Championships (NCAC) on July 21, 2018 at the National Track & Field Stadium.

This event, titled by the AAG, has become very crucial as a step towards improving athletes’ performances in regional and international competitions.

The transition of athletes over the years from junior to senior level has always been a challenge for all stakeholders.

The council of the AAG is of the firm opinion that this championship, which targets students of tertiary institutions and sixth formers, is pivotal for the success of this transition.

These participants will give the AAG a wider choice of available talent to represent Guyana.

Twenty-five institutions and schools have been identified in all three counties and have been invited to be a part in this historic championship.

These have been put

into four zones with each institution within the zone competing in the preliminary stage.

Those competitors who qualify will then have the opportunity to participate in the final as scheduled.

The organising committee, which includes Aubrey Hutson, Lavern Fraser, Buster Wright, Mayfield Taylor-Trim, Nicholas Fraser, Kenisha Headley, Nadine Trotz, Mondale Smith, Feiona Singh-Wordsworth, James Cole and Gervy Harry, is in the process of confirming participants, dates and venues for preliminary competitions.

Corporate Guyana is expected to provide much-needed sponsorship to ensure the success of the NCAC. Several prospective sponsors have been engaged towards this end.

The Ministry of Education, through its chief education officer, has given its blessing and commitment to support the AAG in its continued quest to realise its mandate.

From back page â–ş

Gabriel strikes for ...

In between, Rajitha and Suranga Lakmal moved the ball consistently off the seam, and all three bowlers drew plenty of false strokes - the lower order seeming to play and miss more often than they made connection.

Earlier in the day, only 12.3 overs had been possible because of Sri Lanka's refusal to take the field. When they did begin to play, Kumara was seemingly channel-

ling the ire felt in the Sri Lanka dressing room, sending down a barrage of hostile short deliveries at the overnight pair.

Smith was unruffled by the strategy, and batted with caution, much as he had on the previous day. Shai Hope was not as confident, and was eventually out edging Lakmal to the cordon for 19. Subtlety - rather than menace - would later be the end of Smith. Expecting an offbreak from Akila Dananjaya, who was operating around the wicket to the lefthander, Smith was struck on the pad by a slider that would have gone on to hit the stumps. He had made a vital 61, however.

Not only was Smith's the highest individual score in West Indies' total of 300, it was an important innings for a batsman who is attempting to win a consistent place in this team, at the age of 36.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

Instead of Debating Messi vs. Ronaldo, Enjoy What Could Be Their World Cup Farewell

(Sports Illustrated) It is a measure of their historic quality that Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo have been widely acknowledged as the world’s two best soccer players every single year going back to 2008. The last person, other than them, to win the Ballon d’Or: Brazil’s Kaká. That feels like eons ago.

Such staying power atop the planet’s most popular sport is nothing short of miraculous, especially considering the ferocity of modern defenders, the temptations of becoming satisfied, and the desperation of rivals trying to unseat them.

They share one blemish though: Neither has won a World Cup, and Russia 2018 is each star's last real chance

afterward, so tantalizingly close that he could have touched it.

Ronaldo reached the semifinals as a young pup, in ’06, but unlike Messi he has at least won a major trophy with Portugal after its unlikely triumph at Euro 2016.

By the day of the final in Moscow, Messi will be 31; Ronaldo will be 33. It is possible that they could hang on until ’22, though Messi has indicated this could be his international swan song. He has already retired once from the national team (temporarily, after defeat in the 2016 Copa América Centenario final), and his disdain for the beleaguered Argentine federation is legendary.

While Ronaldo stays in marvelous physical condition, which may allow him

Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid walk off pitch during La Liga match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu stadium on December 23, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images)

of all time. For Ronaldo, it would at least put him in that conversation. Neither outcome will be easy, though.

Argentina has been the world’s most underachieving national team; it last won a major title in 1993. And Portugal has no other player even remotely approaching Ronaldo’s talent level.

The end is nigh for these enduring superstars

who have sat astride the sport for so long. In time, perhaps sooner rather than later, players like Brazil’s Neymar and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah will overtake them. But because we have a soft spot for our memory-makers in their waning years, it will be impossible not to root for Messi and Ronaldo in Russia.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates with team mates after scoring his team's second goal of the match during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group B match between Portugal and Spain at Fisht Stadium on June 15, 2018 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

at the (kinda, sorta) height of their powers. Perhaps each's last chance, period.

Messi has come closest.

In 2014, his team took Germany to extra time in the final, only to fall on Mario Götze’s late winner. And now it is a lasting image of that tournament: Messi gazing at the World Cup trophy as he walked past it

to play in a fifth World Cup at 37, he has already lost one step on the field and is sure to lose more. In 2022, he is less likely to be starting for Portugal than he is for David Beckham’s MLS team in Miami.

So enjoy them now.

Let’s see if Messi can put the Albiceleste on his shoulders and will it to victory, just as

he did with a hat trick in a must-win final World Cup qualifier in Ecuador. Let’s see if Ronaldo can re-create Euro 2016 and spearhead a surprising championship run by taking “survive and advance” to the extreme again.

For Messi, a World Cup victory would put to rest nearly every question about his legacy. He would be viewed as the greatest player

Lionel Messi of Argentina controls the ball during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group D match between Argentina and Iceland at Spartak Stadium on June 16, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

Poulsen’s strike helps Demark trump tenacious Peru (REUTERS) - YUSSUF Poulsen redeemed himself by scoring the solitary goal against Peru after giving away a first-half penalty as Denmark picked up a crucial victory in Group C to begin their World Cup campaign at the Mordovia Arena yesterday.

Christian Cueva ballooned the spot kick which was awarded after VAR consultation, when Poulsen brought down the penalty-taker, just before halftime, the worst of several misses for Peru, who were returning to the finals after a

gap of 36 years.

Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen, who had an otherwise quiet outing, set up the game’s decisive moment by threading an immaculate defence-splitting pass to Poulsen, who beat advancing Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese in the 59th minute.

“Of course it was an emotional game,” Poulsen told reporters. “For me in particular, in the first half I made a penalty, I was the bad guy. Then I scored, I was the good guy.”

With France firm favou-

rites to top the group and already picking up their first points with a 2-1 win over Australia earlier yesterday, both Peru and Denmark were desperate for victory to boost their chances of advancing to the playoffs.

Both teams arrived in Saransk with an identical 15-match unbeaten streak and it appeared to be a matter of time before a bright-looking Peru, egged on by massive support at the stadium, would score.

Denmark started by playing long balls directed at their wingers to take

Technology helps France to 2-1 win over Australia

Paul Pogba of France celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal with teammates during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Group C match against Australia, at Kazan Arena yesterday in Kazan, Russia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

(REUTERS) - FRANCE needed the help of the first World Cup penalty awarded after a video review and a deflected Paul Pogba goal, to get their World Cup campaign underway with a scrappy 2-1 win over Australia yesterday.

Striker Antoine Griezmann lashed home the historic spot kick in the 58th minute but Australia hit back with a penalty of their own when Samuel Umtiti inexplicably handled the ball in the box four minutes later.

Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak sent his French counterpart Hugo Lloris the wrong way from the spot

to give Australia hope of forcing a draw at the Kazan Arena only for Pogba to grab the winner in the 81st minute.

“The first match is always a big one and we’re very happy to have won today,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.

“It was a difficult match, it was complicated and the Australian team were very good. We were not quick enough in our transition from defence to attack and that favoured Australia.”

Even Pogba’s goal might not have stood in the days before technology was brought into the game with the midfielder’s shot looping off the

shin of Aziz Behich, hitting the crossbar and bouncing down inside the goal before coming back out.

Referee Andres Cunha, though, simply checked the goal-line monitor on his watch and pointed to the centre circle as Australia keeper Mat Ryan stood appealing with the ball in his hands.

The Uruguayan official had earlier stood by the side of the pitch to watch the challenge by Josh Risdon on Griezmann on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor and decided the Australia right back had brought the French striker down in the area.

Yussuf Yurary Poulsen of Denmark celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Group C match against Peru, yesterday, in Saransk, Russia. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

advantage of their superior height factor but mostly

ended up playing catch up to Peru’s slick short pass-

ing game for the opening half-hour.

Iceland freeze Argentina to draw (REUTERS) - TINY Iceland made a stunning impact in their first-ever World Cup yesterday when they held 2014 runners-up Argentina to a pulsating 1-1 draw but Lionel Messi’s tournament began wretchedly, as he saw his penalty saved by Hannes Halldorsson.

Sergio Aguero gave the two-time world champions the lead after 19 minutes before Iceland, showing the same commitment and self-belief that saw them stun the soccer world with their run to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals, hit back four minutes later through Alfred Finnbogason.

Argentina, playing in allblack and roared on by the vast majority of the crowd in

a rocking Spartak Stadium, eventually took command, delivering wave after wave of attacks in the second half.

Yet they actually created few clear chances either side of the poorly-struck 64th-minute penalty by Messi, who drew a blank despite a remarkable 11 shots during the match.

Iceland, by far the smallest country by population to appear at a World Cup and inspired by their “thunderclapping” fans, ran and battled tirelessly as they wrote another unlikely chapter in their short but glorious major tournament history.

“People say we celebrate when we won a point — wait and see how we celebrate

when we’ve won a game,” said Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.

Man-of-the-match Halldorsson said he had done his homework on Messi, who has now missed four of his last seven penalties for club and country.

“I looked at a lot of penalties by Messi and I also looked at how I had been behaving in previous penalties, so I tried to get into their mindset, how they would be thinking about me,” he said.

Frustrated Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli tried to remain upbeat.

“We need to be strong as a group, believe in ourselves and know we have all the tools to beat anybody,” he said.

Hannes Halldorsson of Iceland saves a penalty from Lionel Messi of Argentina during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Group D match between Argentina and Iceland at Spartak Stadium yesterday in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

Roy disposes of Australia (REUTERS) - EXPLOSIVE batting from Jason Roy and Jos Buttler helped England record their highest-ever ODI score against Australia and fire them to a second successive win by 38 runs at Cardiff.

Roy’s fifth ODI century and Buttler’s unbeaten 91 propelled England to 342 for eight and, although Shaun Marsh replied by also reaching three figures for the first time in an ODI for five years, the visitors were all out for 304 in the 48th over.

Another victory at Nottingham on Tuesday would clinch the five-match series for England and erase the embarrassment of their recent loss to Scotland in their opening whiteball game of the summer.

With captain Eoin Morgan ruled out before the start of play with a back spasm, England needed Roy to come out firing and the opener responded with a century from 97 balls.

His departure to a sharp catch from Tim Paine, moments after the keeper had been cut on the face by a ball that reared up, did not check England’s momentum and Buttler took up the charge, finishing the innings with a boundary.

Australia were left to chase what would have been their highest-ever ODI winning total. Although debutant D’Arcy Short briefly prospered with 21, it was not until Marsh was joined by Ashton Agar (46) that he received proper support.

But after the pair had put on 96 runs from 70 balls, Agar was smartly stumped off a Adil Rashid googly. Liam Plunkett then put an end to Marsh’s superb innings on 131 from 116 deliveries to snuff out any lingering Australian hopes.

Plunkett ended with four wickets.

(Reporting by Neil Robinson, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Modric in fine form as Croatia beat Nigeria 2-0

The captain took the corner that led to the first goal and scored the second - while his passing was excellent throughout

`(BBC) - CROATIA made a winning World Cup start against Nigeria, as Oghenekaro Etebo’s own goal and a Luka Modric penalty decided a poor Group D match in Kaliningrad.

Etebo, who joined Stoke City from Portuguese club Feirense for £6.35M on Monday, turned Modric’s first-half corner into his own net after Ante Rebic and Mario Mandzukic had both got touches.

Modric then converted a 71st-minute penalty - Croatia’s first shot on target - after William Troost-Ekong had manhandled Mandzukic at a corner.

Nigeria offered little attacking threat, although Dejan Lovren blocked Alex Iwobi’s shot just before half-time, and Odion Ighalo glanced a Brian Idowu cross straight at goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.

Victory takes Croatia atop their group, after Iceland held Argentina 1-1 earlier yesterday.

Luka Modric made more passes in the opposing half than any other player on the

pitch At 33, Modric is facing what could well be his final World Cup - along with striker Mandzukic, who is 32, and midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who turned 30 in March.

The Croatia captain won the Champions League for the fourth time in five seasons with Real Madrid in May, but his run-up to Russia has hardly been smooth.

He has become unpopular in his homeland over a saga that has seen him charged with perjury - an offence that carries the threat of jail - for retracting his testimony in the tax fraud trial of a senior Croatian football official.

On the pitch, though, he has managed to put that to one side and to provide the class that guided Croatia to an unconvincing victory.

Both he and Rakitic were excellent in their passing, although the lack of movement among the forwards in front of them often thwarted their ambition.

Scoreboard ENGLAND 1st innings Jason Roy c Tim Paine b Andrew Tye 120 Jonny Bairstow c Tim Paine b Kane Richardson 42 Alex Hales b Jhye Richardson 26 Joe Root c D’Arcy Short b Marcus Stoinis 22 Jos Buttler not out 91 Sam Billings b Andrew Tye 11 Moeen Ali c Ashton Agar b Jhye Richardson 8 David Willey c & b Kane Richardson 11 Liam Plunkett run-out D’Arcy Short 1 Extras: (lb-5, w-5) 10 Total: (eight wkts, 50.0 overs) 342 Fall of wickets: 1-63, 2-113, 3-179, 4-239, 5-289, 6-300, 7-325, 8-332.

Bowling: Jhye Richardson 10-064-2 (w-1), Kane Richardson 8-056-2 (w-1), Ashton Agar 9-0-52-0, Marcus Stoinis 10-0-60-1, Andrew Tye 9-0-81-2 (w-3), D’Arcy Short 4-0-24-0.

AUSTRALIA 1st innings Travis Head c Alex Hales b Mark Wood 19 D’Arcy Short c Joe Root b Moeen Ali 21 Shaun Marsh b Liam Plunkett 131 Marcus Stoinis b Liam Plunkett 9 Aaron Finch lbw Adil Rashid 0 Glenn Maxwell c David Willey b Moeen Ali 31 Ashton Agar stp. Jos Buttler b Adil Rashid 46 Tim Paine c Adil Rashid b Liam Plunkett 15 Andrew Tye c Sam Billings b Adil Rashid 10 Jhye Richardson c Jason Roy b Liam Plunkett 2 Kane Richardson not out 0 Extras: (lb-13, w-7) 20 Total: (all out 47.1 overs) 304 Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-77, 3-99, 4-110, 5-164 6-260, 7-292, 8-293, 9-303.

Bowling: David Willey 7-0-40-0 (w1), Mark Wood (9-1-57-1 (w-4), Liam Plunkett 9.1-1-53-4 (w-1), Moeen Ali 10-0-47-2, Joe Root 4-0-24-0, Adil Rashid 8-0-70-3 (w-1).

Taxi swerves into eight Mexicans in Russia (BBC) - AT least eight pedestrians, including some Mexican World Cup fans, were injured after a taxi mounted a crowded pavement in central Moscow.

CCTV footage posted on social media shows the car veer out of a queue of stationary traffic and accelerate into pedestrians before coming

driver lost control of the car, while Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying he had fallen asleep at the wheel.

But one witness, who was across the road at the time of the crash, said it did not appear to be accidental.

“I have the feeling that he did it deliberately because

ambulance arrived quickly.

“Thank God everything went well. It’s scary that this happened in the very centre.”

An unidentified official said of the injured: “Seven of them are in a satisfactory condition and one woman is in a moderate condition.”

The incident happened

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The incident happened not far from the Kremlin and Red Square, an area packed with tourists. swerves

to a halt.

The driver then fled, pursued by several passers-by.

Moscow police said the driver was a 28-year-old national of Kyrgyzstan, who was now being questioned in custody.

The city’s mayor said the

he was in the traffic jam with the cars going really slowly,” said Viktoria Geranovich, “How could he lose control of the wheel, push the gas and drive into the crowds?”

She said “mostly girls” were knocked down, but people rushed to help and the

not far from the Kremlin and Red Square, an area packed with tourists.

Russia is currently hosting the World Cup, and promised “unprecedented” security measures in all cities hosting the games.

South Africa Racing Tips Scottsville 08:50 hrs Princess Vicky 09:20 hrs Perfect Air 10:00 hrs Q The Music 10:35 hrs Holy Flame

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

Sri Lanka deny wrongdoing in ball-tampering scheme (ESPNCRICINFO) - SRI Lanka have strongly denied any wrongdoing after being charged with altering the condition of the ball during the St Lucia Test against West Indies.

Their players protested the charge and the subsequent penalty of a ball change and the award of five extra runs to the opposition, by refusing to take the field at the start of the third day’s play.

The match eventually resumed after a two-hour delay, but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had said the players were effectively continuing with the game “under protest”.

ESPNcricinfo understands that umpires laid the charge after reviewing footage of the second day’s play, and finding evidence pointing to the application of a substance to the ball.

Officials privy to the case say the incident was similar

to the one involving South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, who was found guilty of altering the condition of the ball during the 2016-17 Test series in Australia.

“The ICC can confirm the match officials in the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka changed the ball and awarded 5 penalty runs to West Indies,” the ICC later tweeted. “If there are any, Code of Conduct charges will follow as per usual at close of play.”

The Sri Lankan board sent out a statement defending its players: “SLC advised the team to take the field to ensure the continuity of the match and wish to commend the decision taken by the team to continue with the game ‘under protest’ to ensure the upholding of the spirit of the game.”

“The team management has informed us that Sri

Lankan players have not engaged in any wrongdoing.” a board release said.

“SLC shall take all necessary steps to defend any player, in the event any unwarranted allegation is brought against a member of the team.”

But even as the umpires made their way out to the middle, none of the Sri Lanka players joined them.

Broadcaster visuals of their dressing room showed coach Chandika Hathurusingha, captain Dinesh Chandimal and team manager Asanka Gurusinha in discussion with match referee Javagal Srinath.

When the players eventually came onto the field at 10:50hrs, West Indies were officially given five extra runs and umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar oversaw the changing of the ball.

The two batsmen at the

crease - Devon Smith and Shai Hope - were given the right to choose the replacement, which is the protocol under ICC Law 41.3 (“The match ball - changing its condition”).

Before the first ball could be bowled, though, the Sri Lanka players left the middle of the ground and made their way to its periphery, which became the site of further discussions among players, team management, and match officials. It took another 40 minutes for play to finally begin.

An official present at the ground said one of the main reasons Sri Lanka did not take the field was because “the umpires informed them about the ball change just 10 minutes before the start … without evidence of any footage.”

It is understood that the umpires were concerned

about the condition of the ball at the end of the second day’s play. “We did see the umpires look at the ball a few times (yesterday), but there was no statement made at the end of the day,” the official said. “It all happened this morning.”

The controversy comes at a time when SLC is under inexperienced and temporary leadership. Although CEO Ashley de Silva is still in his job, the board has no office-bearers at the moment because the previous administration’s term had expired on May 31, before fresh elections could be held.

A ‘Competent Authority’ effectively appointed by the government currently runs the SLC, and sports minister Faiszer Mustapha - who was in the crisis meeting which advised the team - has himself only done his job for a

matter of months.

The SLC release did not confirm whether the team will officially contest the ball-tampering charge when an inquiry is held into the incident, after play on Saturday. But based on this official denial, it seems likely that the charge will be contested. Sri Lanka’s team management refused to comment when approached directly.

This is the second time in two years that Sri Lanka have found themselves part of a controversy over the condition of the ball.

All-rounder Dasun Shanaka was charged for a similar offence by the ICC in November 2017 and in that case the team accepted the sanction.

Boyce/Jefford Classic IX lobbies government for support A TEAM of officials from Jefford Track and Field Classic Committee met with the Honourable Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton, to update him on plans for the 2018 annual athletics championships.

The team comprised Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Colin Boyce and Edison Jefford, respectively, who outlined their plans for the ninth edition of the event According to a press release from the committee, Boyce and Jefford also lobbied government to support the annual activity that is scheduled for Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12, 2018 at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in Linden.

“While we have been an international meet since we started several years ago, next year we plan to move to full international-accredited status for our 10th Anniversary since we will be getting a synthetic track in Linden,” Boyce said in the release.

According to Boyce, government support is important from this year to help the event transition to the new facility, which is scheduled to be constructed at the Bayroc Community Centre ground.

He said that Boyce and Jefford is “happy that there will

From L-R: Boyce and Jefford Committee Chairman Colin Boyce, Assistant Director of Sport, Melissa Dow-Richardson, Minister of Sport Dr George Norton and Vice-Chairman Boyce and Jefford Edison Jefford

be a track in Linden”.

Minister Norton aptly responded, indicating that the magnitude of the Boyce and Jefford Classic demands support. He congratulated the group for sustaining the event for nearly a decade against many odds, including bad weather and conditions for athletics.

“I support Boyce and Jefford because you are the ones who started it; you need our support and it’s within your right to come to us. We are here to support you because we know it takes a lot of time and dedication to get to this

level,” Norton posited.

The Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic was started nine years ago in Linden, and can be credited with introducing corporate Guyana and the international athletics community to the sport here. The group has stated that its mission remains to establish a prominent place for athletics among the other traditional sport disciplines in Guyana.

They believe that they have successfully resuscitated athletics with an emergence of other meets. Interestingly, double Com-

monwealth medallist Aliann Pompey competed in Guyana for the first time at the Boyce/ Jefford Classic in 2011. Since then, many other regional and international athletes have graced these shores for the event.

“You are doing something for Guyana. You are doing something that benefits Guyana and I want to congratulate you for staying in Linden even in the tough years,” Norton said, adding that his ministry is doing its best with the resources allocated to it and will keep the public informed on all

developments.

Also present at the meeting was Assistant Director of Sport, Melissa Dow-Richardson, who made it clear that the Boyce/Jefford Classic is “one of the standout events locally”. She mentioned that she “follows the event intensely”.

“I know that the event has a good relationship with corporate Guyana and the athletes. Reaching out to the administration is in the best interest of the competition as it grows to a decade of existence,” Dow-Richardson noted.

The Boyce/Jefford Classic will dole out $4M in cash and prizes. $1M will go to the top club, second-place $500 000, third place $300 000 and fourth place $200 000. In addition there will be eight international events worth $100 000 each. $1M in cash will be handed out in other events for Masters and Media. Apart from the cash, trophies, medals and prizes for patrons will total another $1M. Jefford thanked Minister Norton and the ministry for giving the committee the opportunity to detail its plans for the event. He said that again it was a historic moment since it was the first time a Minister with responsibility for Sport showed any interest in the event.

The Boyce & Jefford Track and Field Classic is one of the biggest athletic events in Guyana. Last year Kares Engineering Inc. was the main sponsor of the event. National Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, has also been a supporter of the competition.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

Warner to join St Lucia Stars THE St Lucia Stars have announced that David Warner will join them for the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He will replace fellow Australian, D’Arcy Short, who is no longer available for the tournament.

He has been selected for Australia A’s tour of India which takes place in August and September.

Warner has played in T20 tournaments around the world, but this will be his first appearance in the Hero CPL.

In the last innings Warner had in the Caribbean he scored 109 in an ODI vs South Africa in 2016 but this will be his first visit to play T20 cricket in the region since he represented Australia against the Windies in March 2012.

A veteran of 243 T20 matches, 70 of which are internationals, Warner brings a huge amount of experience to the Stars squad. With 7 668 T20 runs and six T20 hundreds, fans of the Hero CPL can look forward to his adding to that tally when

the Stars get their tournament underway on August 8.

Speaking about the signing of Warner, Stars’ general manager, Mohammad Khan, said: “We are excited to bring David to the St Lucia Stars. David is arguably one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era and a winning player. He is going to add a lot of value on the field and in the dressing room as we pursue our first Hero CPL title.”

David Warner will replace fellow Australian, D’Arcy Shortin the St Lucia Stars side for the 2018 Hero CPL

Over $3M up for grabs in KMTC’s Emancipation Day race meet OVER $3M will be at stake on July 29 when Kennard Memorial Turf Club stages it Emancipation Day seven-race programme at its Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne location.

The closing date for entries is July 22 and entries will not be accepted after that date.

According to former Justice Cecil Kennard, a race meet should have been held to celebrate Guyana’s 52nd Independence Anniversary, but that meet had to be cancelled because of the weather conditions

After meeting with other club executives, it was decided to cancel the meet and organise one for Emancipation Day as during that time the track conditions will improve.

The feature race for the July 29 meet is open to horses classified ‘E1 and Lower’ and carries a first prize of $300 000. The other top three finishers will earn $150 000, $75 000 and $30 000 respectively.

Other races on the day’s card include events for ‘L Class’ non-earners of $50 000 from January 2017. The

winner will receive $100 000.

‘K’ Class and Lower horses will compete for $140 000 first prize, while twoyear-old animals will vie for a top prize of $100 000.

‘1 Class non-winners’ will compete for a $120 000 first prize, while horses classified ‘J and Lower’ will have $160 000 for grabs for the winner.

The ‘L Class Open event will have $130 000 on offer for the winner.

All races at the meet will be conducted under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority.

Guyana to open CBC women’s championship against Barbados today GUYANA’S senior national female basketball team will open their Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championship campaign today in Suriname against Barbados.

Ginelle Ifill will captain the side in Suriname, while Miriam McKenzie will serve as her deputy, on the team that also includes local star

Jada Mohan, Annalisa Barclay, Saffiya Greene, Kennesha Leacock, Roschelle Campbell, Demelza Nicholas, Caron Bobb-Semple, Makeida Rogers, Cliffanna Hunter and Kesann Charles.

Troy Greene is the team’s head coach, while Dave Causeway is his assistant.

Ann Gordon is the manager, and Jonas Anestal is the

physiotherapist and physical conditioner.

Drawn in Group B, Guyana will next play Suriname on Monday and will close off their round-robin group stage games against the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

Over in Group A, The Bahamas, Cuba and St Vincent and the Grenadines will battle it out.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday June 17, 2018) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Sidath Wittimuny-157 (vs PAK, Faisalabad, 1982) (2) Clifford Roach-122 (vs ENG, Barbados, 1930) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who is the first SL to take a five-wicket haul in Tests?

(2) Who is the first WI to claim a five-wicket haul in Tests?

35

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, June 17, 2018

Gabriel strikes for West Indies after narrow lead (ESPNCricinfo) - Sri Lanka's quicks scythed through the West Indies lower order, and finished only 13 runs behind for the loss of one wicket by stumps. But it was what they did at the start of the day that loomed over this game. For two hours, they refused to take the field, and when they did, it was only "under protest". The reason? Match officials had charged them with ball tampering, slapping on a five-run penalty, and changing the ball that had been used on day one. Sri Lanka's coach and team management were seen in animated discussions with match officials, after being told of the tampering allegations shortly before the teams were set to take the field. They were eventually convinced to resume play, but deny any "wrongdoing" according to a board release. An inquiry on these charges will be held after

stumps on Saturday.

Though there is a major controversy brewing, this is now a finely-balanced Test, the visitors fighting back hard, after having allowed West Indies to take control of the match over the first two days. The definitive period of play was the 20.3 overs they delivered with the second new ball, either side of tea.

In that period they took the six final West Indies wickets for 59 runs - Lahiru Kumara taking three of those wickets, to finish with an impressive 4 for 84 on a day in which he had bowled deliveries as fast as 149kph. Kasun Rajitha also collected encouraging figures in his first Test innings, removing Devendra Bishoo and Jason Holder in a single intense spell, to end with 3 for 49.

The pitch, though, remained helpful for the quicks, especially when they bowled with the new ball, and Sri Lanka will know they are in for another fight

Umpire Ian Gould adjudges Devon Smith lbw on the third day of the second Test between WINDIES and Sri Lanka on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground. © CWI Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks Latouche Photography

tomorrow. Sri Lanka had just under an hour to bat at the end of the day, and were frequently in trouble through this period. Kusal Perera

played a stroke-filled 23ball innings, collecting three boundaries, and miscuing other aerial shots. He was out for 20, leaden-footedly edg-

ing Shannon Gabriel to the wicketkeeper. The only batsmen who can be said to have prospered for a meaningful length of time on day three

were Shane Dowrich, who hit 55, and Roston Chase, who joined Dowrich for a 78-run fifth-wicket stand.

Where in Trinidad Sri Lanka had allowed West Indies' lower order to compile a formidable first-innings total almost on their own, it was Kumara's intensity and Rajitha's perseverance that enabled the visitors to shut this West Indies innings down in relatively quick time. Dowrich and Chase had built an ominous stand and had taken West Indies to within 14 runs of Sri Lanka's first-innings total with six wickets still in hand, when the second new ball became available. Kumara struck the first blow, having Chase caught at short midwicket for 44. He would later return to knock out the last two wickets, nailing Kemar Roach in front of leg stump with a yorker, and having Shannon Gabriel top edge a heave off the short ball.

Turn to page 29 ►

ExxonMobil Under-14 football tournament

Forty-three goals scored on day two

Part of the action in the ExxonMobil Under-14 Boys’ and Girls’ schools football tournament.

BRILLIANT sunshine graced the ExxonMobil Under-14 Boys’ and Girls’ schools football tournament when action continued in

round two of the tournament yesterday.

At the Ministry of Education ground, CARIFESTA Avenue, there were big wins

for Carmel, Chase Academy and Annandale.

In the first game of the day Vergenoegen beat North Ruimveldt (Multi) 3-1 with

Staray Lee scoring in the 16th & 17th minutes while Kwasi Gill scored in the 35th. Before that, Multi led through Akeem Pereira 12th.

In the second game, Uitvlugt beat Charlestown 2-1 with strikes from Joshua Fraser (9th) and Nicholas James (34th) while Tyler Lyle scored in the 15th for Charlestown.

Friendship’s 4-3 win over Tucville was chiefly off the boots of Shane Harper (7th), Jonas Isaacs (20th), Prince Forde (29th) and Stephan Harry (32nd). Tucville had Odeyo Harris (2nd), Raheim Marks (33rd) and Garfield Caesar (34th) on target for them.

East Ruimveldt through Jayden King (16th) drew Buxton 1-1 after Tyrice Dennis’ opening goal in the 1st minute while St John’s beat New Campbellville 1-0 through Emanuel Pestano in the 24th.

Dolphin thrashed Queenstown 4-1 with Ian Ward (13th), Ronaldo Forde (16th), Selwin Jones (27th) and Mickel Keith (32nd) all on the score sheet. Jahvon Worrell (23rd) scored for the losers.

South Ruimveldt won via walkover against Bishops’ while Marian Academy drew

with Ann’s Grove 1-1. Daniel Lowe (25th) was on target for the Georgetown side with Jeremiah Bowman (33rd) scoring for the opposition Carmel bludgeoned School of the Nations 5-0, thanks to Matthew Orlando (16th, 18th and 33rd), Asuffo Shamar (7th) and Jaheim Michael (28th) while Tutorial needled St George’s 1-0 with Keron Adams’ 32nd minute strike Chase Academy were also 4-0 winners over Brickdam with strikes from Sealon Sue (4th), Ronald Abrams (9th), Kevin Mullen (14th) and Jaleel Alcudor (23rd).

Annandale scored the most as they decimated Kingston 7-2. Two men did the job, Collin Hendriques (16th, 28th, 33rd, 38th) and Dashawn McPherson (22nd, 25th, 39th) while Kingston had Simeon Alleyne (32nd, 36th) on target.

Matches continue next weekend. The tournament is also sponsored by the Ministry of Public Health and the Demerara Distillers Limited through their Pepsi Brand.

Gabriel strikes for West Indies after narrow lead 35 PAGE

Shane Dowrich pulls on the third day of the second Test between WINDIES and Sri Lanka on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground. © CWI Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks Latouche Photography

Sri Lanka deny wrongdoing in 33 ball-tampering scheme

ExxonMobil under-14 football tournament ….

PAGE

FIFA WORLD CUP 2018 Fixtures June 17 2018 Costa Rica vs Serbia 08:00hrs Germany vs Mexico 11:00hrs Brazil vs Switzerland 14:00hrs

Samara Moscow Rostov

One of the Forty-one goals scored in the second round of the ExxonMobil under-14 boys’ and girls’ schools’ football tournament (Adrian narine Photo)

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Forty-three goals scored on day two 35 PAGE

SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 2018